The end of the term was upon them, and with it, exams. Neville started hanging out with Hermione again so that she could help him study. They pointedly avoided talking about Nico, and Nico himself had developed an extraordinary tendency to disappear whenever Neville entered the room. Hermione sighed, but left Nico to it; she still vividly remembered seeing his memory of Cupid, and she didn't want him to feel forced into divulging anything.

And then came exam week itself. First up, they had Transfiguration. Nico managed to turn his teapot into a perfect tortoise—unless you counted the fact that the tortoise was stone dead. In Charms, Professor Flitwick had them all split into pairs and perform Cheering Charms on each other. Nico actually did his charm decently well, while Hermione nearly lost points due to a cheerful Nico not acting much different from a normal grumpy Nico. He eventually forced a smile for Hermione's sake, unnerving Professor Flitwick so much that the tiny teacher gave up and told Nico to please just be himself again.

Tuesday morning, they had Care of Magical Creatures. Their exam consisted solely of keeping a flobberworm alive for an hour—a task so easy that even Nico could do it. In Potions, brewing a Confusing Concoction proved simple enough for Nico and Hermione, while Neville was a nervous wreck by the end of the exam. That night, they had Astronomy. Nico may have been a little less than flattering in his description of the new Huntress constellation.

Wednesday morning, they had History of Magic. Medieval witch hunts were actually a fairly easy topic for Nico, since he had befriended several school ghosts from that era. In the afternoon, they had the exam that Nico had been dreading and Neville had been eagerly anticipating—Herbology. Nico managed not to kill or be killed by any of the plants, so he considered that a victory.

Thursday morning, they had Defense Against the Dark Arts, for which Professor Lupin had set up a sort of obstacle course on the grounds. Nico mused to himself that a monster obstacle course could make for a decent training exercise at Camp Half-Blood, and pondered making a suggestion to Chiron. He passed with flying colors, as did Harry and Hermione.

Harry, Ron and Neville arrived at lunch nearly five minutes after Nico and Hermione, all looking angry about something. Ron sat down directly across from Nico and glowered at him. "I suppose you're happy now?"

"Uh…about what?" Nico asked warily, confused. He tried very hard not to look at Neville.

"They've already brought an executioner for Buckbeak," Ron explained.

"…who's Buckbeak?" Nico demanded, bewildered.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "The hippogriff who's about to be executed for attacking you?"

"What?!" Nico and Hermione exclaimed in unison.

"I told you Nico had nothing to do with it," Neville said, somewhat petulantly.

"You mean the hippogriff who tried to attack Malfoy for being the world's biggest idiot and ignoring Hagrid's instructions?" Nico asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Neville confirmed.

"So…you don't want Buckbeak to be executed?" Ron asked warily.

Nico snorted humorlessly. "If I were going to demand the death of every animal that ever tried to bite or claw me, the world would have a shortage of animals by now. At least Buckbeak was provoked."

Harry, Ron and Neville all shared a look. "There's an appeal this afternoon," Neville revealed. "I bet if you told them you don't want Buckbeak dead, he might actually stand a chance."

"Sure," Nico agreed readily. "What time is the appeal?"

"Two o'clock."

"But that's during our Ancient Runes exam," Hermione objected.

Nico shot her a disbelieving look. "You want me to let an innocent animal die, just so I don't fail an exam?"

"Well, no, of course not…" Hermione quickly backpedaled while Ron glared at her.

"Unless you know of a way I can be in two places at once, I'm leaving the exam as soon as it's time for that appeal," Nico said flatly.

Hermione sighed. "At least talk to Professor Babbling about taking the exam some other time?"

"Fine," Nico agreed.

Hermione picked up her fork and resumed eating, mind wandering off. She wondered if wizards had actually invented a way to be in two places at once…


Fortunately, Professor Babbling was very accommodating and offered to let Nico sit the exam after he got back from the appeal. Nico then had to ask around to find out where they were actually holding it. Apparently the appeal was to be held down at Hagrid's hut, so Nico went down there shortly before 2:00.

"Nico?" Hagrid said, looking both surprised and slightly suspicious. "What are yer doin' here?"

"Testifying on Buckbeak's behalf," Nico replied. "I'd have done that sooner if I had any idea what was going on. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't think yeh'd care," Hagrid mumbled sheepishly.

Nico sighed in annoyance. "Despite what Harry and Ron may have told you, I am not some bloodthirsty maniac, and I do believe very strongly in justice. You warned the whole class not to insult hippogriffs. So far as I'm concerned, this was entirely Malfoy's fault."

Tears started spilling out of Hagrid's eyes. "Thanks, Nico."

"What is a student doing here?" asked an elderly voice behind them. Nico turned around and found himself face-to-face with several adult wizards. One was a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat, one was a tall man with an axe tucked into his belt, one was a blond man who looked like he might be Malfoy's father, and the one who had spoken looked like he was due to die of old age any day now.

Hagrid put a hand on Nico's shoulder, nearly pushing Nico into the ground. "Nico here is the student who was hurt. 'E's come to tell his side o' the story."

The man in the hat frowned and turned to the blond man. "I thought it was your son who was attacked."

"It was my son that the beast tried to maul," Mr. Malfoy replied, slightly flustered. "If it hadn't been for Mr. di Angelo here, I fear there might have been nothing left of my son."

Nico looked at the man in the hat. "Did Mr. Malfoy also neglect to mention that his son insulted the hippogriff, despite Hagrid specifically warning us not to?"

Mr. Malfoy drew himself up to his full height and glared menacingly at Nico. "Are you insinuating that my son deserved to be mauled?"

Nico glared back, completely unintimidated. "I intervened purely on instinct, but if this is the result, I'm beginning to wonder if I should have let Draco get hurt. Perhaps it might have taught him the value of listening to his teachers. As it is, I assume he is the reason we have spent the rest of the year only learning about one type of creature. Rather useless, in my opinion."

"A safe creature that has not injured any students," Mr. Malfoy retorted. He turned his glare on Hagrid. "Of course, a responsible teacher would never have brought dangerous creatures to class in the first place."

Hagrid opened his mouth to object, but Nico didn't give him the chance. "Then how are we meant to learn about such creatures? Hagrid told us how to safely handle them. In a class with over a dozen students and nearly as many hippogriffs, only one student was injured—and only because another student ignored Professor Hagrid's instructions. It seems quite clear to me that the problem was your son, not the teacher or the hippogriffs."

Mr. Malfoy had turned increasingly red-faced throughout Nico's speech. For a few moments, he didn't seem to have any idea what to say, then he put a hand on his wand and shot an even more menacing glare at Nico. "Do you have any idea who I am, boy?"

"You're the man who ought to be thanking me for saving your son from serious injury."

Up until now, the other Ministry wizards had been watching the entire conversation with slackened jaws, but now the man in the hat finally seemed to remember his voice. "Look, Hagrid's teaching is not the issue here, nor are the other hippogriffs that participated in the lesson. The issue is that Buckbeak attacked and seriously injured a student, regardless of how that student may feel about the matter."

"'Seriously' injured?" Nico repeated skeptically. "That was a fairly minor cut. I didn't even notice it at first."

"My son told me you were bleeding profusely, are you calling him a liar?"

"Yes," Nico said bluntly. Mr. Malfoy looked ready to curse him.

"Ah, Nico…" Hagrid began, sounding worried, but the elderly wizard chose that moment to speak up.

"It seems to me that there is a very simple solution here. The boy claims that the hippogriff is not dangerous and that Hagrid has taught him how to safely handle the beast. Why do we not simply let him prove it? I assume the beast is nearby, is it not?"

"Yeah!" Hagrid agreed enthusiastically, eyes lighting up. "Yeah, he's just aroun' back here, come on!" He dragged Nico along, not giving the latter a chance to protest. Nico swallowed nervously, hoping desperately that this wouldn't blow up in both his and Hagrid's faces. And Buckbeak's.

Hagrid finally released Nico in the pumpkin patch, where Buckbeak was tethered to the fence. A minute later, the Ministry wizards caught up. "Well, go on, boy," the elderly wizard encouraged. "Show us the hippogriff is safe."

Nico swallowed again, took a deep breath, and cautiously approached Buckbeak. Several meters away, he stopped and bowed. Buckbeak clicked his beak, eyeing Nico like a bug he wanted to squash. Then he lifted a front leg and began menacingly flexing his talons.

"What did I tell you?" Mr. Malfoy said triumphantly. "Vicious. Untamable."

Nico ignored Mr. Malfoy, keeping his focus on Buckbeak. "You are a great and mighty creature, and I would be honored to make your acquaintance," he said loudly. Then he switched to Greek. "I am trying to help you. These men will kill you if you do not show that you can be friendly to me."

"What was that?" one of the Ministry wizards asked.

"Just complimenting him in multiple languages," Nico replied, purposely thickening his accent and still not taking his eyes off of Buckbeak. Buckbeak stared haughtily for a few moments longer, then grudgingly inclined his head. It wasn't much of a bow, but Nico took it as an opening and walked forward. Buckbeak stiffly let Nico pat his beak.

"See?" Hagrid said hopefully. "Totally 'armless when you treat 'im right."

"Well, yes, the creature does appear quite tame now," the man with the hat said uncertainly.

"Enough of this!" Mr. Malfoy cried. "I demand that the monster that tried to kill my son be put down, or I will withdraw my annual donations to the Ministry!"

Nico turned around to glare at Mr. Malfoy. "Let me remind you that I was injured in defense of your son. Until now, I have asked for nothing in return. I am now asking that you stop this ridiculous vendetta against an innocent hippogriff—and if you do not, well, my father is quite wealthy. I'm sure we can match your prior donations to the Ministry, and in the meantime, I'd be happy to tell the Daily Prophet why you withdrew your support."

"Really, Lucius, might it not be best to let this matter drop?" the man with the hat asked awkwardly. "There are more important issues to be dealing with—surely you can grant the boy this one small favor?"

Mr. Malfoy stared long and hard at Nico and Buckbeak, clearly seething. Then he sighed. "Very well," he said through gritted teeth. "But rest assured, Mr. di Angelo, this is the last favor you will ever see from me."

"Good," Nico replied. "Your debt is repaid and I want nothing more from you."

"Excellent!" the man with the hat said, forcing a look of bravado. "Shall we head back to the castle, then?"

"Yes, let's," the elderly wizard agreed readily. He led the way out of the pumpkin patch, moving incredibly slowly.

Hagrid broke down sobbing in happy tears. "Thanks, Nico. Buckbeak and I both thank yeh from the bottom of our hearts. If there's ever anything I can do…"

Buckbeak decided he'd put up with Nico's proximity quite long enough and nipped him on the ear. "Ow!" Nico exclaimed, hurriedly moving away. "It's fine, Hagrid. Just try to make lessons a little more interesting next year, okay?"

"Interesting," Hagrid agreed, beaming and nodding happily. "I can do that." There was a moment's pause, then he grabbed Nico and nearly crushed him in a hug.

"Ow," Nico said again. "You can also let me go."

"Sorry," Hagrid said, quickly letting go. "Thanks again, hones'ly."

"You're welcome. If you'll excuse me, I have one last exam I have to take now."

"O' course, go on, go on," Hagrid said happily. Nico headed out of the pumpkin patch, but stopped when Hagrid called after him. "Nico…be careful o' Lucius Malfoy, will yeh? He's not a man yeh want ter cross."

Nico shrugged. "He's just an arrogant politician who thinks he can buy or bully people into doing whatever he wants. My grandfather taught me how to deal with his type. Don't worry, I can handle Lucius Malfoy."

Hagrid nodded. "Watch yer back, all the same."

"I will." Nico finally made his escape and headed back up toward the school.

He hadn't gotten far before a black shape burst out of the trees and bowled him over, barking frantically. "Whoa, take it easy Felpato, what's going on?"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Felpato tried to push Nico back towards Hagrid's hut.

Nico stood up and set his feet in a firmer stance. "I have an exam I need to take right now. I'll come back after dinner, okay?"

"Woof!" Felpato started to rise up on his hind legs, then he caught sight of the Ministry wizards in the distance and he dropped back to all fours. He growled, looking frustrated.

"I'll be back," Nico repeated. "Promise."

Felpato reluctantly returned to the tree line and sat down, staring intently at Hagrid's hut.


Dinner had started by the time Nico completed and turned in his Ancient Runes exam. When he went down to the Great Hall, he found Neville, Ron and Harry sitting together. He hesitated, then sat down next to Neville. "You're welcome."

"Thanks," the other three boys said in unison, Harry and Ron looking slightly sheepish and embarrassed.

"Remind me not to save Malfoy's life the next time he does something stupid," Nico added, ladling out some gravy.

Ron snorted. "Don't know why you saved him the first time."

"Reflex," Nico shrugged. He started wolfing down his dinner.

A few minutes later, Hermione sat on his other side. "So, how did the appeal go?"

"Buckbeak has been pardoned."

"Thank Merlin," Hermione said, relieved. She looked toward the Slytherin table. "I wonder how Malfoy took the news."

"Haven't seen him," Neville replied. "I think he's more scared of Nico than ever, now that Nico got one up on his dad too."

"Good," Nico said with a faint smirk. Then he frowned at Hermione's full book bag. "Where have you been?"

"Arithmancy exam. Had to take it immediately after Ancient Runes."

"Blimey, you two have had a really full day," Neville commented.

Hermione nodded. "It was good, though. Arithmancy and Defense Against the Dark Arts are two of my favorite subjects." She paused, eyeing Harry with concern. "Harry, are you all right?"

"Hmm? Fine," Harry said distractedly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Apparently Trelawney spouted some prophecy of doom at him during the Divination exam. I'm telling you, Harry, she's a nutter. Just ignore it."

"I'm serious, that one was different somehow."

Nico gave Harry a curious look. "Did she go into a trance? Did her voice go all weird?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed, giving Nico a wary look.

Nico grimaced. "Sounds like a real prophecy to me. I'd be careful if I were you."

"What would you know about it?" Ron scoffed. "You're not even taking Divination."

"Because a very real prophecy ruined my life, and it wasn't even about me," Nico said flatly. He pushed away his plate and stood up. "Anyway, I have something I need to do." He left the Great Hall.


Felpato was right where Nico had left him. He sprang to his paws the moment he spotted Nico and began nudging Nico into the Forest.

"Something you want to show me?" Nico asked.

Felpato kept shoving until they were some ways into the trees. Then, he suddenly lunged forward and bowled Nico over again. He sat on Nico's chest, grabbed his wand out of his pocket…and then did something totally unexpected. He transformed into a man with filthy, matted black hair and pointed Nico's wand at him. Nico reflexively summoned his sword and swung at the man. The man turned back into a dog, narrowly avoiding the swing, and he rolled off of Nico.

Nico quickly climbed back to his feet, panting and trying to process this surprising turn of events. Frankly, given Felpato's abnormally-intelligent behavior, Nico could hardly believe he'd never considered this possibility before. And adding in his dreams about Felpato chasing Scabbers…coupled with his vision of the explosion in the street, and how there had been no body that was identifiably Pettigrew…in fact, the more Nico concentrated on Pettigrew, the more certain he became that the man had never actually died.

Nico slowly lowered his sword, giving Felpato a thoughtful look. "Pettigrew is the rat, isn't he?"

The dog turned into Sirius Black once more, staring at Nico. "…Well, this isn't quite the reaction I was expecting."


A/N: Tee hee. Was that the reaction you were expecting?

And yes, Nico managed to do a Cheering Charm "decently well". Elysium falls under Hades' jurisdiction, so if Nico believes someone (like Hermione) is a good person, he's entirely capable of producing positive effects on them.