Defense Against the Dark Arts rapidly became many people's favorite class. Professor Lupin followed up the boggart unit with lessons on various other Dark creatures. Even Nico found the lessons interesting, as he was entirely unused to defeating monsters in a wizardly fashion. He kept instinctively trying to summon his sword, which eventually led to Professor Lupin remarking on Nico's habit of twisting his wand in his grip. Nico brushed it off as a nervous habit, secretly very relieved that having his wand in hand prevented him from accidentally transforming his ring.

Care of Magical Creatures, on the other hand, had become positively boring. Hagrid had them all spend lesson after lesson caring for flobberworms, creatures that did nothing but lie around eating lettuce and excreting mucus. The worms didn't even shy away from Nico's presence, although there was one lesson where he inadvertently poisoned one by feeding it rotted lettuce without noticing.

Ancient Runes was proving to be mildly interesting. During one lesson, Professor Babbling walked around the room looking at everyone's notes, and she became very confused when she saw Nico's. "Mr. di Angelo, where did you get these Ancient Greek translations? The third-year textbook doesn't even cover Ancient Greek."

Nico did a double take as he looked at his parchment. Taking notes in Ancient Greek was such a deeply ingrained habit that he didn't even think about it. "Oh. Um…"

"He's always taken notes in Greek," Hermione spoke up. "Ask any of his other teachers."

"In Ancient Greek?" Professor Babbling repeated skeptically. Several Ravenclaws gave Nico funny looks.

"My dad taught me Ancient Greek when I was growing up," Nico lied, avoiding everyone's gaze. "I had trouble reading Italian, but Ancient Greek came much more easily to me."

"Well…so long as you're translating correctly," Professor Babbling relented, still looking bemused.

Outside of class, Neville had taken it upon himself to introduce Nico and Hermione to some wizarding games. Nico didn't care much for Exploding Snap, but he quickly got the hang of Gobstones—a game much like marbles where the stones would spit a foul-smelling liquid in the face of any player who lost a point.

One night, Nico was playing another game with Neville when Hermione walked up to them. "First Hogsmeade visit on Halloween," she announced.

"Oh no," Neville said worriedly. "I think I left my permission form at home."

"Get your gran to send it, then," Nico replied, absently reaching back to scratch Vescia's ears.

Neville blinked. "…how did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Vescia walked up behind you and you petted her without even looking."

Nico started and looked back at his cat. "Oh. Heard her coming."

"Really?" Neville said skeptically. "That cat walks quieter than a mouse."

"OI!" Ron roared from across the room. "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

Nico, Neville and Hermione all whirled around to see what the commotion was about. Crookshanks had dug his claws into Ron's bag and was tearing ferociously at it. Moments later, Scabbers flew out of the bag. He scrambled to his paws, raced across the room and hid under Vescia. Crookshanks pelted after him and began swiping at Vescia. She cocked her head, then sat down and shifted her paws to protect the rat.

"Hermione, control your cat!" Ron complained, hurrying over.

"He doesn't know any better!" Hermione defended, picking up Crookshanks. "All cats chase rats!"

"Except Nico's, apparently," Ron noted.

Nico frowned at Vescia and Scabbers. "You know, Ron, your rat is the only pet around here that isn't scared of her. You sure that's an ordinary rat?"

"He's been in my family for twelve years and never shown any signs of magical powers," Ron replied, shrugging and picking up his rat.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Twelve years? I didn't think rats normally live more than three."

"I've been taking good care of him!" Ron said defensively.

Nico shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining that your rat doesn't hate Vescia. Or me."

Ron scowled at Vescia. "Speaking of which, isn't there anything you can do to convince your cat to not attack Harry?"

Nico shook his head. "Can't teach a dead cat new tricks."

"Fine." Ron walked away.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Nico. "You really can't make her be nice to Harry, or you don't want to?"

Nico glanced at Neville, then gave Hermione a significant look. "Don't forget, she hated Ginny's diary too. Some things just set her off."

"Ah." Hermione stood in awkward silence for a moment, then glanced at the notice board again. "Well, at least Hogsmeade should be fun."

Nico shuddered. "Not sure I'd be in any condition to enjoy it if I have to go past those dementors to get there. Think I'll wait until Black is captured and the dementors leave."

Hermione swallowed. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"We'll bring you back some stuff," Neville offered. "If I find my permission slip, anyway."

Nico petted Vescia again. "Thanks."

Halloween morning dawned cold and windy. At breakfast, Nico and Harry were the only third years who hadn't bundled up (apparently Harry's uncle had refused to sign his permission form). Next to Nico, Hermione and Neville were animatedly chatting about where they wanted to go. Eventually, Hermione looked up at Nico. "You know, you'd probably like the Shrieking Shack, Nico. It's said to be the most haunted building in Britain."

"Sounds interesting," Nico agreed. "Haunted by what?"

"No one knows. That's what makes it so…"

"Creepy?" Neville finished with a shudder. "I think I'd rather go to the Three Broomsticks."

"That's fine with me," Hermione assured. "I can always go to the Shrieking Shack with Nico another time."

"Weird place for a date," Ron spoke up, overhearing.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell everyone that Nico and I are not a couple?"

"Well, the two of you are always hanging out!" Neville said defensively. "And you're the only one denying it!"

"I happen to know that he's seeing someone in America!" Hermione retorted.

"Thanks, Hermione, I wanted everyone to know that," Nico said drily.

"Really?" Neville said, interested. "What's her name?"

"None of your business." Nico savagely ripped a chunk off his toast and stuffed it into his mouth.

"You know what, let's just go…" Hermione said, looking embarrassed. She stood up to leave, shooting an apologetic look over her shoulder at Nico. Neville and, surprisingly, Ron followed her.

Nico hurriedly finished his breakfast, desperately trying not to imagine rumors of his love life spreading around the school. Once he was done, he picked up a napkin and wrapped up some sausages for Felpato. Then he noticed something by Neville's plate—a small piece of parchment on which Neville had written the current password to Gryffindor Tower. Nico pocketed the parchment, making a mental note to return it to Neville the next time he saw him.

"Nico has a girlfriend?" Ron demanded incredulously as they exited the castle.

"Forget I said anything," Hermione said quickly, red-faced. "It's his business, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Nico?" Ron repeated, as if Hermione had told him the sky was green.

"Didn't you just say you thought he and Hermione were dating?" Neville pointed out.

"Well yeah, but she's just as weird as he is."

Hermione stopped short and stared at Ron. "Excuse me?"

"What? You act more like a Ravenclaw than a Gryffindor, with all the time you spend in the library…"

Hermione gaped at him, then sped up and stormed away.

Ron turned to Neville. "What? What'd I say?"

Neville shook his head. "I'm no expert on girls, but I'm pretty sure that calling a girl 'weird' is on the list of things you don't say to a girl."

Nico soon found Felpato, who barked happily at the sausages Nico had brought him. Nico set down the food and waited silently while Felpato ate. Once Felpato was done, Nico spoke. "You seem to know the grounds pretty well…don't suppose you know a way I could get to Hogsmeade without passing the dementors?"

Felpato's ears perked up. Then he wagged his tail and took off. Nico followed.

To Nico's surprise and confusion, Felpato led him into the castle. "Uh, Felpato…I said Hogsmeade, not Hogwarts. And I'm not sure you're allowed to be in here."

Felpato ignored him and charged up the marble staircase. Nico followed more slowly, keeping a wary eye out for teachers. Sure enough, when they reached a second-floor corridor, he heard approaching footsteps. Moments later, Snape rounded the corner, holding a goblet of some smoking potion. He stopped short when he saw Nico. "Mr. di Angelo? Why are you not in Hogsmeade?"

"Uh…" Nico glanced around, but Felpato seemed to have vanished. "Didn't feel like it, that's all."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "And so you left Miss Granger to go all by herself?"

Nico shrugged. "She was with Neville and Ron, last I saw."

"Ah." Snape didn't seem to know what to make of that. "Well, enjoy your day." He continued walking. When he passed a tapestry, he inexplicably tripped and spilled his potion.

"Professor, are you all right?" Nico demanded, bending down to pick up the goblet.

"Fine," Snape said stiffly, looking both angry and embarrassed. He silently accepted the goblet from Nico and walked away without another word.

Moments later, Felpato emerged from behind the tapestry. He looked in the direction Snape had gone, looking bizarrely pleased with himself.

Nico frowned. "Felpato, did you just trip my teacher?"

Felpato nodded, still looking pleased with himself.

"Why would you do that? What did Snape ever do to you?"

Felpato let out a quiet growl. Then he bent down to sniff Neville's parchment, which had fallen out of Nico's pocket. Nico picked up the parchment again, and Felpato gave him a quizzical look.

"My friend Neville is always forgetting the password to Gryffindor Tower, so he writes it down," Nico explained. "He forgot that at breakfast this morning."

Felpato looked highly interested now.

"Yeah, his memory isn't the greatest. Good guy, though."

Felpato cocked his head, then continued leading Nico through the castle. He finally stopped by a mirror on the fourth floor. He tapped several spots with a claw, then nosed at the pocket where Nico kept his wand.

"I'm supposed to tap those spots with my wand?"

Felpato nodded.

"Okay, then…" Nico took out his wand and followed Felpato's directions. To his surprise, the mirror slid to the side, revealing a staircase leading downwards. "Is this a secret passage out of the castle?"

Felpato nodded again.

"How did you even know…ah, I suppose you can't really tell me. Well, however you know about this, thanks." Nico began walking down the staircase, and Felpato followed him. The mirror slid closed behind them.

After walking for roughly half an hour, Nico and Felpato discovered a problem with their secret passage. A portion of the tunnel had collapsed, completely blocking the way forward. Felpato nosed at the cave-in and whined, clearly disappointed.

"Where's Hazel when you need her," Nico sighed.

Felpato gave him a curious look.

"Underground is more her thing than mine. She could probably clear this up…for that matter, she could probably create a whole new passage."

Felpato looked a little skeptical at that.

"Well, since she's not here, might as well see if we can move this rock out of the way by hand…or by paw."

Felpato nosed the pocket with Nico's wand again.

"Oh. Good point." Nico took out his wand and began levitating some rocks.

Neville and Ron eventually found Hermione again in Honeydukes, examining a tray of Chocolate Skeletons. "Looking for something to bring back to Nico?" Neville suggested.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed. She took three of the Chocolate Skeletons, hesitated, then grabbed a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "And something for myself."

"I thought you didn't like candy," Neville commented, surprised.

"My parents don't like me eating too much candy," Hermione corrected. "But they always make an exception on Halloween."

"No such thing as too much candy," Ron argued, grabbing several packs of Chocolate Frogs. He took a small handful of coins out of his pocket, looked at the Chocolate Frogs, then sighed and put one pack back on the shelf.

Hermione tutted disapprovingly. "Too much candy ruins your teeth."

"There are spells to fix teeth, you know," Neville remarked.

"I do know," Hermione replied, looking mildly disgruntled. "I keep asking my parents for permission to ask Madam Pomfrey to fix my front teeth, but they insist I should continue with my braces."

"Tha's stupid," Ron mumbled through a mouthful of Chocolate Frog.

Hermione frowned at him. "You haven't paid for that yet."

Ron shrugged. "I will. Here, Scabbers, want some Chocolate Frog?" Scabbers poked his nose out of Ron's pocket, and Ron broke off a piece of chocolate for him.

Hermione rolled her eyes and headed to the front of the shop to pay for her purchases. Neville grabbed some Sugar Quills before following her.

After what felt like hours, Nico conceded defeat and sat down for a rest. The cave-in was simply too extensive to clear.

"Nico, what are you doing?" a voice demanded.

Nico jumped, and Felpato barked. They both looked up to see an Iris-Message shimmering in the air. Will and Jason were standing in Cabin One, giving Nico suspicious looks.

"Didn't I give you strict orders about Underworld-y stuff?" Will continued. "You look like you're underground."

"Secret passage," Nico replied. "Was hoping to find a way to get to the village without passing the dementors—you know, the creatures that caused me to start fading? You'd rather I just go past them and collapse again?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Will relented.

"What's with the dog?" Jason asked curiously.

"Felpato showed me the passage," Nico explained. "Smartest dog I've ever met."

"No kidding," Jason agreed. "You sure he's not a monster?"

"Well, it's been two months and he hasn't tried to kill me, so…" Nico scratched Felpato's ears. Felpato didn't seem to notice, too busy staring at the Iris-Message with an expression of utter befuddlement.

"Well, hello, Felpato," Will said warmly. "Thank you for helping my boyfriend not get himself killed."

Nico's face went red. "Don't call me that, it just sounds weird."

"Would you prefer special guy?" Will suggested. "Or significant other? Or—"

"Love of his life?" Jason cut in.

"Shut up! What did you even message me for, anyway?!"

Will shrugged. "Just making sure my Death Boy isn't using the spookiest day of the year as an excuse to do something spooky that melts him into a puddle of darkness."

"I'm not," Nico insisted. "Camp doing anything special for Halloween?"

"Decorations everywhere," Jason replied. "Conner wanted to hold a party in your cabin—you know, the whole 'death' theme—but Chiron talked him out of it. Didn't think your dad would take kindly to that."

"Austin wrote some Halloween songs for the campfire tonight," Will added. "Should be fun."

"Glad I'm not going to be at the campfire, then."

"I really hope that wasn't an insult to my brother's music," Will said sternly. Before Nico could reply, a conch horn sounded in the distance. "Aaaand it's time for breakfast. Happy Halloween. No Underworld-y business."

"Give that dog a bone," Jason added. The Iris-Message shimmered and disappeared.

Felpato sat down hard, looking thoroughly bewildered. He looked between Nico and the spot where the Iris-Message had been, whining.

"So…yeah." Nico awkwardly cleared his throat. "That was my friend Jason and my more-than-a-friend Will. I've just been outed to a dog…I don't know why that bothers me."

Felpato hesitated, then licked Nico's cheek.

"Well, nice to know you accept me. Come on, might as well be getting back." Nico led the way back to the castle.

Upon arriving at the Halloween feast that night, both Nico and Hermione stopped to gawk at the decorations. "Whoa."

Neville snorted. "You look like you've never seen the Halloween decorations before."

Nico and Hermione shared a glance. "We haven't."

"Wait, you haven't? Why not?"

"Well, first year we were both having really bad days and didn't feel like it, and then last year we went to Nick's deathday party instead," Hermione explained.

"The troll," Nico added. "Don't forget, first year there was the troll."

Neville shuddered. "Please don't spoil my appetite."

"Sorry." Nico sat down at the Gryffindor table, followed by Hermione and Neville.

The feast proved to be thoroughly delicious, and the evening was capped off with some formation gliding by the castle's ghosts. Nico had actually enjoyed himself (and the Chocolate Skeletons from Hermione), and he resolved never to skip the Halloween feast again.

Students finally dispersed to go to bed, and the Gryffindors trekked back up to Gryffindor Tower. Unfortunately, the third year boys discovered a problem. Namely, that their entire dormitory had been trashed. Ron's part of the room seemed to have gotten the worst of it; his bed looked like it had been viciously slashed with a knife. All six boys stood by the doorway, staring at the wreckage.

It was Ron who finally broke the silence. "…glad Scabbers wasn't sleeping there," he said weakly, putting a protective hand over his pocket.

"Who could have done this?" Harry wondered.

"We should report this to the prefects," Dean suggested.

Within half an hour, word had spread throughout the house, and someone had sent for Professor McGonagall. Every single Gryffindor had multiple witnesses who could confirm that they had been at the feast all night. Professor McGonagall finally decided to solve the problem by asking the Fat Lady.

"My Lady, did you admit any student to Gryffindor Tower during the feast?"

"Oh, yes," the Fat Lady admitted with a tipsy-sounding giggle. "He looked a little older and more ragged than usual, but he still had the wasspord." She paused, frowning. "Possward."

"Older," Professor McGonagall said flatly. "And who was this student?"

The Fat Lady giggled again. "The one the girls all swoon for. The one they all talk about. Sirius Black!"