Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I own Nate. I also own this story.
Chapter Seven: A Dream and a Standstill
"Name?"
"Nathaniel Daniel"
"KILL HIM!"
"RUN!"
Nate woke up with a start. He was soaked in sweat and fueled with anger. Four voices. Two female, two male. Never any light, it was only a void of words. And it was only those four phrases. This was the forth time Nate has had this nightmare, and he was honestly getting tired of it. He hunched out of bed, getting an angry "Hoot" from his light brown owl, Annalise, and hobbled his way down the stairs.
It was five-thirty in the morning, nobody was up. Not even his best friend, Hermione, was awake. He started pacing the common room, re-thinking everything that has happened since he had arrived at Hogwarts.
First, he had met Hermione at Kings Cross. Then, he met Ron and Harry. They got to Hogwarts and were all sorted into the same house, Gryffindor. After Harry had dealt with Malfoy during their first flying lesson, he had made the Quidditch team. After reluctantly agreeing to go with Harry to duel Malfoy, and almost getting caught by Filch, he and his friends had wandered into the room where a massive three-headed dog laid.
By this time, they had their attention shifted between the dog and their classes. But when Halloween came around, himself, Ron, and Harry had saved Hermione from a twelve foot troll that was trying to kill her. That night, he had started getting that nightmare. Quidditch for Harry occurred the next day, when Harry concluded that Snape was trying to get the item from Gringotts that the dog was guarding. After narrowly escaping death from his jinxed broomstick, Harry had been certain that Snape tried to kill him on his broom.
The Quartet had then used Hagrid's unintentional way of letting secrets slip to learn that the item had to do something with Nicholas Flamel. Nate was saddened and annoyed. It drew the life out of Hermione scouring through book after book in the library just for nothing.
Now obviously, Nate had intentionally left out parts like his stay in the hospital wing, and his gift that he still had to give to Hermione. But it hadn't mattered to him. There were two months until Christmas, and he was going to owl his parents and Anna to get him a care package.
Suddenly, a pretty brown haired missile barreled into Nate, squeezing the life out of him, but he knew all to well that it was Hermione. The duo had been spending every minute of their free time studying for classes and going through the library. They still hadn't found anything.
"Breakfast, Nate?" Hermione suddenly asked.
"Sure," Nate replied quickly.
The duo were about to step out when Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown sulked down the stairs.
"Where you goin' Mione?" Lavender asked sleepily, "It's only six!"
Parvati simply giggled as Hermione paled and then suddenly blushed badly.
"um, um, I don't know!" Was all she sputtered out before Nate sprinted to his dorm and tossed down a book.
"Read that Mione, you'll like it… again!"
The four smiled and laughed.
It was nearly seven when Ron and Harry plonked themselves in the common room.
"Anyone hungry now?" Ron asked before standing up.
"Yes," came everyone's response, and the six walked down to the Great Hall.
Nate, Hermione, and Parvati sat on one side, while Harry, Ron, and Lavender sat on the other side. It was all too obvious that Lavender liked Ron, but Ron being Ron, he was too thick to notice.
So, that is how the day went. Parvati and Lavender broke off after breakfast, Harry and Ron went to play Wizards Chess, and Hermione and Nate hoofed it to the library.
For most of November and for the first week of December, this was how the Quartet operated, though as the days went on, Harry and Ron spent more time in the library with Nate and Hermione. It took them most of their free time for a month before they got to the other side of the library with no success. Nate kept morale up by providing care packages for them group every few days, courtesy of his parents and Anna. Hermione and Nate constantly studied together, and by December tenth, the Quartet were studying together daily. As Christmas loomed around the corner, the kids got excited over what plans would be.
Despite coming up empty handed, and questioning Hagrid, they got no closer to finding who Nicholas Flamel was. Morale was lowering exponentially, even with Nate's care packages. And upon attempting to help Hagrid move an illegally obtained dragon off school grounds, they had lost Gryffindor two hundred points. Spirits were low coming into the last two weeks before Christmas, but nothing, noting could warn the Quartet of what they would be in for during the winter season at Hogwarts.
Author's Note: I apologize for this being late! It was just I had a brainfart and I didn't want to drag out two months of the same thing. I summed it up and I think it came out pretty decent. The next update won't be until May Twenty-third, as I am going on a miniature Covid-friendly vacation. In that time I am going to hopefully refine older chapters as well as write out most if not the rest of first year. I apologize again for the sudden absence of updates, but I feel it is necessary if I want to keep up the standard which I set myself out for. I'm still learning and this is my first fanfic, so I am just following the river of my mind and typing away. Thanks guys and see you next update!
P.S. Parvati and Lavender's presence will become much more influential for the scenes after Christmas.