(A/N Hey, I didn't take thirty years to update. I think that deserves a review. (Although I have more reviews than ten times the number of chapters.))

Chapter 38: The Strongest Thing in the Universe

Nico

"Are you alright?" Trevor asked at breakfast.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Trevor." I managed.

He looked at me for a second then smiled. "You're still a jerk, Di Angelo."

"Fair enough."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I… uh… I got a letter from my sister. She can always put me in a good mood."

He nodded.

A few minutes later, he turned to me again. "I can't believe you aren't coming back next year."

"I'll keep in touch."

"I cannot see you actually remembering to keep in touch."

"I'll try."

He smiled. "I'm going to miss you."

"Same here."

We sat in silence.

"Ready for more exams?" I finally asked.

Trevor laughed.

Harry

The next days went by very slowly, with exam after exam.

The only fifth years who didn't seem down were Nico and one of his Slytherin buddies.

On Friday, before our last exam, I heard the two talking happily.

"I'm sure I can come visit." Nico said. "I mean, my dad has no problem getting me rides places." He said it with a slight smile, like he was hiding something.

"Someday I'm going to come visit, Di Angelo," The boy replied. "I want to see the States."

"I like it better here." Nico said.

The conversation immediately quieted.

"Then why don't you stay?"

"My sister for one. But besides, I don't belong here."

"And why not?"

"I don't belong anywhere."

"You belong, Nico."

"You know, I used to think that death was the strongest thing in the universe."

"And what do you think now?"

"Okay, I'm about to get corny. Friendship. It's something I never expected to have."

I'm not even sure why I was listening, but I realized I was about to run late to the exam. I ran.

Nico

"Don't you have friends at home?"

"No. At home, I don't even know if I can call it that, everyone is… well afraid."

"Of you?" Trevor raised an eyebrow.

"I can be quite a threatening person, Quincy."

"Don't call me that." He was trying to change the subject.

"Oh, but you can call me by my last name? Surname, I mean." I let him.

"Come on, Nico."

I didn't know any of the things on the exam, having paid even less attention to Binns than the other teachers.

Then, while I was day dreaming about spending the summer with Hazel, Harry fell to the ground screaming.

While the professor was talking to him I turned to Trevor on my right.

"Did you grab any of those snackbox things from the Weasley twins?"

They had sold a million before they left.

He nodded.

"Do you have one on you?"

He handed me one, without question.

I bit off the correct end, and my nose started to bleed.

"Oh, my!" The professor came back. "Off to the hospital wing with you." He was clearly ignorant of the snackboxes. "Are you done?"

"Yes, sir."

He took my paper and I ran out of the hall.

I bit off the other end as soon as I had left, and the bleeding stopped.

I waited for Harry outside the hospital wing.

The bell rang and he ran out a minute later.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"Wha… what d'you mean?"

"Harry, do you think that I'm stupid?"

"No."

"I'm trying to protect you Harry! You have to tell me."

"I don't trust you."

I was about to respond, but I shut my mouth. "Fine. I'll find out one way or another, just watch."

Harry

"Hi." Ginny walked into the middle of my argument with Ron and Hermione. Behind her came Luna. "We recognized Harry's voice- what are you yelling about?"

"Never you mind." I said.

"There's no need to take that tone with me. I was only wondering whether I could help."

"Well, you can't."

"You're being rather rude, you know," Luna said serenely.

"Wait," Hermione said. "Wait… Harry they can help."

"Well, you'll need me too then." Nico stood in the classroom's doorway.

"What do you…?"

"Yes." Hermione answered.

"What, no!"

The look in Nico's eye was positively terrifying right then. "You don't seem to understand, Harry Potter, that you need me. No hero can be a lone savior. My cousin learned that the hard way."

"And what happened to him?" I challenged.

"He survived," The power of Nico's eyes didn't lessen. "Living through things change a person. Death changes a person. Your fate isn't happy, Potter. No hero's is."

No one spoke.

"We need to establish if Sirius really has left headquarters." Hermione said.

"I told you, I saw-"

"Harry, I'm begging you, please! Please, let's just check that Sirius isn't at home before we go charging off to London- if we find out he's not there then I swear I won't try and stop you, I'll come, I'll d-do whatever it takes to try and save him-"

"Sirius is being tortured NOW!"

Nico

I tuned out a lot of the conversation, but I knew what Hermione wanted me to do.

"You go and get the Invisibility Cloak and we'll meet you at the end of Umbridge's corridor, okay?"

"I'll take him," I volunteered. "I can get there fast."

Hermione nodded.

I leaned in and gave Luna a kiss before grabbing Harry's arm.

"Prepare to be scared." I murmured, smiling.

I shadow-traveled to the entrance of Gryffindor tower.

Harry shivered and stood in shock.

"Go!" I yelled.

He ran into the tower and came back out a minute later.

"How do you do this?" He asked running to me.

"Shadow-travel?" I smiled. "It's a long story."

I concentrated on the end of Umbridge's corridor.

I silently swore. As I felt the ground reappear, the world quickly went black again.