DECK THE HALLS WITH INVISIBILITY CLOAKS
Harry wasn't having a very merry December so far.
They had been searching for Nicolas Flamel for weeks, and they still had no idea who he was. Malfoy had pretty much given up, and the rest of them weren't doing much better. The only one who didn't seem disheartened by their lack of progress was Artemis.
"Research does not yield results in a day!" he would urge, "We have to keep trying, he'll show up eventually!"
Nico would reply to this by saying, "It's been weeks, not a day Fowl. This is getting us nowhere!"
But no matter how terribly boring it was, they kept searching. Harry and Nico read through books like their lives depended on it, Artemis looked fiercely determined and unwilling to accept defeat, Hermione looked happy to just be in the library, and Draco, well, he was probably just there because he didn't want to get jinxed by Artemis for chickening out.
School work wasn't getting any better either, Snape never passed up a chance to embarrass him, Draco teased him mercilessly, and Madam Pince wouldn't even let them research in peace.
If only there was a way to snoop around in the library without anyone seeing or bothering them.
Soon enough, it was time to go home for the holidays, at least, for most people. Harry definitely wasn't going back to Privet Drive any time soon. Apparently Nico had nowhere to go as well, or something like that anyway. When Harry asked him why he was staying, all he said was, "It's better than being a dandelion and eating cereal" which didn't really make much sense to him.
Artemis looked ready to leave at a moments notice.
"Finally! I haven't touched or even seen my phone in months! I have so much research to catch up on! I wonder how mother is doing, she's probably driving Juliet mad…"
Harry, Ron and Nico, who were all staying for the holidays, went to see their friends off. Although, Nico hadn't exactly come willingly, seeing as Harry had broken into the Slytherin dormitories and dragged him out of bed to get him to join them.
"You will keep looking while we're gone, won't you?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, no slacking off just because there's no one to keep an eye on you." Said Artemis sternly.
Nico rolled his eyes at that, "Jeez Fowl, you make it sound like we're children."
"You are children."
"Not the point!"
Harry decided to interrupt before those two started another hour-long argument.
"Anyway, we'll try to learn as much about Flamel as we can. You two enjoy your vacation! But try to do a bit of research as well, only if you can, of course."
They exchanged goodbyes and soon half of Hogwarts' population was on the train back to Kings Cross Station.
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By the time the holidays started, no one even thought of Flamel. Harry reveled in Malfoy's absence and spent his days having fun with other Gryffindors, dragging Nico with him as well.
Most Gryffindors were wary of Nico, but they learnt not to protest when they saw him in the common room. Nico didn't seem to mind all the whispers and stares much, but Harry certainly did.
On Christmas Eve, Harry, Ron and Nico were hanging out in the library. By hanging out, he meant trying to concentrate on finding Flamel, but having too much fun laughing at Ron's stories about his family to really get anything done.
"And then Fred was all like, 'Just because most things are my fault doesn't mean everything is!' And then Mum said, 'Was it your fault?' and it was! And that is how Fred got grounded for making our toilet sing whenever it gets flushed."
Harry laughed harder than he had in years. Much to his surprise, Nico was laughing too. Harry hadn't noticed that he was staring until Nico glared at him.
"What? Is it really that strange to see that I can actually laugh?"
Harry nodded, "Umm, pretty much, yeah."
Nico sighed, "Fred reminds me of a boy I know, who lives back in America. His name is Percy. He's really funny too, and would probably say something like that too."
Harry noticed that Nico got a slightly distant and dreamy look on his face when he talked about this Percy. But something told him that he shouldn't comment on it unless he wanted to die.
Nico got up, "I'm going to try and sneak into the restricted section. There should be something that can help us there, and maybe I could sneak into it without anyone else noticing. Trust me, I'm good at that."
Nico left without waiting for a reply. A few minutes later they heard a scream.
Harry and Ron rushed into the Restricted Section, rules be damned.
Nico was nowhere to be seen.
*************Line break************
Nico cursed as he made his way to the Great Hall. Just when he had started to enjoy himself, Persephone had kidnapped him and made him look for his father's sword. Technically, that quest had ended soon enough, but Hades had asked him to stay for Christmas dinner. Nico wasn't going to lie and say that he hadn't been delighted, but now he had to think of an excuse to explain why and how he had disappeared.
The moment he sat down at the table, he was ambushed by Harry and a slightly less enthusiastic Ron.
"Where have you been? What happened to you? Are you okay?" Harry asked, looking like a very concerned mother hen.
"I'm fine" Nico said, rolling his eyes, "I just had to visit my dad for a while."
"But what about the screaming", asked Ron looking suspicious.
"Dad has a flair for the dramatic. He surprised me, that's all."
Ron looked like he still had a lot more questions, but Harry butted in.
"Never mind that! You've got presents! Come on!"
Nico sighed, his dinner would have to wait. The three of them headed up to the Slytherin common room. Technically, students of different houses weren't supposed to go to each others common rooms, but they had pretty much thrown that rule out of the window.
Nico froze. There was a pile of presents dumped in front of his bed.
"These are for me?"
Harry laughed, "I know, right? I felt the same way when I opened mine!"
Harry had given him a book on Quidditch, was apparently supposed to help him appreciate the sport without experiencing it. Ron had sent him some sweets, Hermione had sent him a McDonalds coupon( he may or may not have mentioned how much he loved cheeseburgers ) and Draco had sent him a creepy black cloak with blood red lining with a note that said, 'Unleash your inner emo'. Artemis had decided to gift him with a strange looking device with a short letter attached to it.
'Try it out. It's a little project of mine. See if it works at Hogwarts. And I know that you haven't done any research. I'm watching you.'
Nico would be lying if he said that the note didn't creep him out a bit, but he guessed that was just Artemis being Artemis.
Harry looked at him eagerly, "Nico! Look at this!" Harry took out a shimmery looking blanket, "It's an invisibility cloak!"
Oddly enough, Harry's hand had disappeared as he laced his hand through the cloak.
Nico reached out to touch it, but then withdrew his hand with a hiss. The cloak was well, cloaked with death.
"Where did you get that thing?" Nico asked.
"It was my dad's" replied Harry, looking a little disappointed that Nico didn't seem to find it very cool.
"You have to get rid of that thing Harry! It just feels… wrong."
Ron glared at him, eyes blazing, "You're just jealous that Harry's got such a cool cloak!"
"No! It's just… uh, never mind." Nico sighed. He would never be able to explain what was wrong with the cloak without telling them about his powers. He would just have to stay put and hope for the best.
Harry frowned at the cloak, "Okay…? Anyway, I was sneaking around the castle yesterday, when I saw this awesome mirror!" Noticing Nico's incredulous look, he added hastily, " It was so weird, I could see my family! Maybe you could see yours!"
That got Nico's attention. Harry's parents had died before he could remember, and he couldn't remember his mother either. His father had been no help whatsoever, so maybe he could see his mother!
Nico knew that this was probably a terrible decision that could land them in huge trouble, but if he could finally meet, or at least see his mother, it would definitely be worth it.
"Well then ,I can't believe I'm doing this, but count me in!"
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