Hi! Okay, my chapters are getting shorter, I think. I'm trying, really, but I'm still not exactly experienced with this whole fanfic-writing thing so please give me a break if it doesn't turn out well up to your standards!

It may be some time before I update again, unfortunately. My computer's charger got busted, and it's annoying trying to upload these from my iPad. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning it.

To H.N. Dots: Have I ever mentioned how much I love your reviews?

To The Son Of Hades123: Omigosh! I noticed that too! And I feel awful about it, really. Trying my best to extend my chapter longer though, trying!

To Guest: ;)

Nico and Guest: As I said before, I'm probably not going to be pairing Nico with anyone. Some crushes as stuff maybe but to actual get-together thing.

To Aphrodite child: Yes! I am! Sorry for taking so long!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor Percy Jackson & The Olympians

—Nyroc Lasky—

We were careful not to let anyone see us, and quickly ducked into and empty DADA classroom. Nico looked really worried and the boils all over my body were starting to itch. They don't hurt, at least compared to all the other potions I 'accidentally' spilled on myself all the other times.

When we had safely closed the door behind us, Nico handed me the flask of nectar, which I gulped down gratefully. The thing about not drinking too much had pretty much been thrown out the window.

"Are you okay?" he asked me once I was done. I checked my arms. No boils.

"I'm fine." I assured him. "They don't actually hurt, anyway."

Nico looked relieved. "I thought you were really hurt! I wasn't really sure whether it was just acting."

I gave him a weird look. "I thought Draco told you about what we were doing?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but it was sort of a last minute thing, so I wasn't sure exactly what you did. Considering all the stuff that Alabaster told me happened in first and second year..."

"Alabaster told you stuff?" I asked, shocked.

Nico gave me a funny look. "Yeah. He briefed me on the stuff that happened in first and second year since, well, he just wanted to."

I shook my head. "Don't tell Draco or Alabaster might get in trouble. Or maybe not since he's so much older. But still, Draco chews us out pretty harsh when we mess things up."

"How is telling me this stuff 'messing things up'?"

"I dunno. But if Draco didn't tell you, he must have a reason. Maybe he's afraid that you'll let somethings slip when you shouldn't know these things, being a student and all." Draco confuses me with his tactics all the time. The problem is that he usually only tells me the bits I need to know, and doesn't tell me the full plan most of the time. I know he's afraid I'll mess up but I'll bet he's messed up before himself and just covered it up by spontaneously changing the plan.

Nico looked just as confused right then, but I quickly decided that we should go on. The two of us headed to Snape's office and quickly began looking through his stores.

"We need vinewood, bezoerpowder, twinecorn, aconitemilk, and bobbleberries." I recited. We used to have a list but after two years of going through the same routine all four of us had memorized it.

I reached up to push aside a row of rather dusty jars when Nico grabbed my hand.

"Wait! You'll leaves fingerprints all over the dust!" he said. Then he took out his wand and went, "Wingardium-laviosa!"

The jars jumped up and I grabbed a small bottle of aconitemilk. Then I replaced it with one of the bottles that I had snuck out from Potions class.

"What's that?" Nico asked, confused, as all the other jars flew back into place without even dropping their dust.

"Just birdleaves." I answered, looking for the others. Snape was always rearranging his stuff, it was so annoying. "It's a secondary ingredient we use in class. If I didn't put that there, Snape would notice the empty space." I grabbed a long-necked bottle filled with murky stuff. "Vinewood. I always thought they'd miss-named it. It doesn't look a bit like wood."

Nico shrugged. "It's probably made from vinewood, in the only form possible if you wanted to use it to make a potion."

I laughed. "No wonder Hermione likes you so. You're such a smarty-pants even when you're not trying."

He blushed. "I'm only eleven! Oh, look, is that twinecorn?"

Nice change of subject. I looked over to where he was pointing. "No, that's cottoncorn."

He looked miffed. "Cottoncorn? Can't these people be more original?"

I shrugged. "Bobbleberries." I caught sight of a small container of dark purple lumps in a container on Snape's desk. Oh no. Bobbleberries were supposedly rare, so it Draco always worried that Snape would notice them gone. Well he probably would now.

I reached into my pocket and took out the sanctuary for desperate measures. Raisins.

Nico stared. "We're going to replace the bobbleberries with raisins?"

I shrugged. "They look about the same. Look here, I'll just swap the containers and no one would be the wiser. Don't touch the bobbleberries, Nico! They're sorta corrosive to skin."

Nico gingerly scraped the berries into the opposite container using a pencil then used 'scourgify' to clean it.

"There's some bezoerpowder here." I grabbed a jar filled with blueish-brownish-greenish powder and replaced it with a third bottle.

"Now we just need twinecorn." Nico mumbled. "But Nyroc, wouldn't Snape have trouble making any potions using raisins when he thinks he's actually using bobbleberries?"

"Raisins are neutral in potion-making. They'll neutralize any potion they go into, even though they have the same visual effects as any berry (or grape), so Snape wouldn't really know until he figures that the potion isn't working."

Neville is supposed to be terrible at potions, but honestly I'm only half-bad. That reputation came along mostly because I explode most of my potions and because Neville is super clumsy.

"Found the twinecorn." said Nico. I swapped it for a jar of beetle eyes and started to get the heck out of that room.

Nico slowed me down by doing a security check around the room first and we went out.

"We've got how much longer until class ends again?" I asked.

All the classroom doors simultaneously opened, making a series of thumps go through the castle.

"Now." he shrugged. "I'm not particularly in a hurry to get to History. It's like you said, I'll be getting good grades in that no matter what. Besides, Hermione isn't going to care since I was supposedly helping you in the hospital wing."

I snorted. He was so blind. "Don't worry, nothing's going to come between you and Hermione."

He flushed again. "I repeat, I'm eleven." he mumbled. "Besides, she doesn't like the real me. Only the half-real me."

"That's right." I laughed. I quickly stopped when we came across some other students since Neville isn't the kind of person who laughs at evil stuff like that. As soon as they passed, I whispered to him, "So, whad'ya say we ditch this class?"

All mentioned ingredients are almost completely made up.