Disclaimer!

These characters do not belong to me nor do I make any money off this story. I am merely writing Fan Fiction. The characters belong to their respective authors. I hope you enjoy Joining Forces.

Nico POV:

My first class of the day was Potions. I sat at one of the desks in the damp dungeon. "Good morning, Nico," Professor Slughorn said as he prepared the ingredients for the day's lesson. "And how are you today?"

"Fine," I replied.

"Yes," Professor Slughorn said, his voice showing obvious discomfort. "Nico, how nice of you to come early."

"I had a feeling you must be dying to see me since you seem so interested in my best friends,"

"Annabeth and Percy?" Slughorn sounded a lot more relieved and excited about switching the topic. "Your friends are so fantastic! Annabeth is truly an ingenious girl, her grades have become some of the schools top! And Percy, isn't he so talented? He continues to impress me each day. Maybe he'll even catch up to Harry soon!" By now some Slytherin students had already entered, but Slughorn paid no attention to them, "Oh! Hello class, today's we'll be learning-"

I had begun to note down the ingredients and uses of the potions Slughorn was talking about. Draco nudged me from the side, "Is Jackson really that strong?" He whispered. "I heard Slughorn and his babbling. He said he might be as powerful as Potter,"

"You finally allow some humility and say Potter is powerful,"

"You don't really think Potter is, do you?"

"He is an exceptional wizard,"

Draco snorted, catching Slughorn's attention. "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Di Angelo, are you paying attention?" I raised my head from my notes, "Yes, Professor, continue,"

"If Jackson were like Potter then I have a lot of thoughts." Draco said, his voice's volume dripping even lower, "Potter is arrogant, annoying, and I know I can beat him,"

"That didn't seem like the case yesterday," I said referencing the Quidditch match where Harry had got the golden snitch. Draco paused for a moment scowling before continuing, "I trust you. What are your opinions on Jackson?"

I repeated the same phrase I had admitted once before while cutting off the demigod part. "Percy is the most powerful person I've ever met. No offence to you but it's true."

"I can believe that." Draco admitted, "I've heard about the war with Dirt Face. I felt I shouldn't have talked about it too much since I also heard that you three don't like talking about it since you lost several considerable allies." I looked back to Draco after finishing up writing another sentence. He had slight eye bags and his hair was a mess. "Draco, are you okay? You look horrible."

"I'm well aware," Draco responded gruffly, turning his back to me, his head in his hands. "I'm just so exhausted, and I don't know why. So Percy's even more powerful than Potter?" Draco gave a small snicker, careful not to attract Slughorn's attention again. "I would love to see them battle each other, Potter needs to be put in his place, though I would like to defeat him first." It would be an interesting fight, but I wasn't sure about it. Harry had years with magic, while despite being a quick learner at the mystic art, Percy had only over a month of learning. Sure, his demigod abilities and skills would be useful but he'd be limited from using Riptide or his water powers. However, Percy had other abilities plus his knowledge of magic, while Harry probably only had his magical skills.

Draco gave a sigh and put his head on the desk as Slughorn continued talking. He seemed so exhausted today, and it didn't seem like it was because of Quidditch. After a few more moments Slughorn took notice. "Draco!" He cried. There wasn't any response. "Draco!" He said a little louder, yet still hadn't managed to receive a response. "Mr. Di Angelo," Slughorn asked, "Would you kindly awaken your friend?" I nodded and poked him several times before he showed any indication he was still alive. "What is it?" He mumbled, adjusting his position at the table.

"Draco," Slughorn scorned, "You were sleeping in my class?! Perhaps you would like to try to brew the potion I have been teaching in front of the class today?" His tone definitely said it as a demand rather than a question. Draco seemed to notice this too and half-heartedly got out of his seat and towards the front of the cauldron at a table at the front. He showed little emotion as he went behind the table and began examining the ingredients, his eyes squinting. Then before I knew it, he fainted.

"Yikes," Slughorn remarked.

Hermione POV:

I was concerned about Ron. He hardly talked all morning. I didn't want to ask him of anything, it was evident how tired he was, but I was still concerned. I could tell Harry and Percy felt the same way but were acting the same way I was. Sometimes I doubted Ron was even awake at our classes that day. We were heading to our last class with Ron lagging with us, supported by Percy, Harry and I.

"Hi-" Annabeth cried, entering the dungeons. She rushed over once she saw Ron's condition. "Is he okay?"

"What do you think?" I asked. By now, Nico had stopped as he was passing by to his next class. He took a look at Ron's condition and his expression didn't change. "Did Ron die?" He asked.

"What?!" I yelled, scowling. Ron supposedly hearing Nico's remark raised his hand, shaking his head weakly as he mumbled a response I couldn't hear. "Oh, my mistake," Nico replied.

"My!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed, walking towards us. "What's wrong with Randy?" He asked.

"We're not sure," I tried explaining, "He just was so tired this morning, he says it wasn't Quidditch." From the corner of my eyes I saw Nico's brow furrow, my scowl deepened. Of course, he probably knew something about this. "Can we take him to the hospital wing?"

"Yes, hurry." Slughorn agreed. "You three take Rory to Poppy, but return quickly," He added as we walked away, Ron's head still limp. "He knows something," I grunted, as we walked back into the school, Hagrid's lessons were usually taught outside.

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Nico," I responded, and looked over at Percy's surprised face. "I saw his brow furrow, he knew something. Percy, what do you think?"

"Well, a brow-furrowing definitely means something," Percy remarked. "I'll talk to him later."

After a few more moments we had reached the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey greeted us. "What happened?" She asked as we placed him on a bed. Some beds of the hospital wing were already occupied by students that day.

"We don't know," I admitted. "He was just tired in the morning, and he could barely talk and walk or do anything, we know it isn't because of Quidditch, and there isn't anyone else in the same condition,"

"I see," Madam Pomfrey said, pursing her lips as she checked over Ron. "But, there are others with the same condition," Madam Pomfrey explained and gestured to the bed a few down from Ron where a Slytherin student lay, his blonde hair dishevelled. "Is that Draco?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Madam Pomfrey admitted, looking upset. "Poor boy fainted in his first class of the day. Gregory and Nico brought him over as soon as he fell in front of the class. Luckily, he fell down rather than forward, who knows what would have happened if he banged his head on the cauldron, or landed face first in the ingredients. They gave me the same information you did. Tiredness since the morning, the same symptoms." Madam Pomfrey sighed and shook her head, "And Draco and Ron are the better cases,"

"The better cases?"

"There have been several other students all with the same conditions, some of them couldn't even get out of bed. It took some help to get them all to the hospital wing. I fear it is something contagious, you three should probably head back to your class, I can handle them," When I think back to breakfast, the four tables did seem to have fewer students than usual, a minuscule difference.

"Can we stay?" I asked, knowing very well how usually Madam Pomfrey reacted to visitors. The healer shook her head and gestured to the exit.