To Find What is Lost

Chapter 6: Oracle

Hellooo lovely readers!! I know, I'm uploading a day early, but I just felt like it today. Don't worry, I'll still be uploading tomorrow anyway. If you like my story remember to comment/click that little star!! -Emmi

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When Nico awoke he was startled for a moment by the strange surroundings, green hangings, light, just straight out hangings. (Nico found them unnecessary, after all, the Hermes kids slept in the same room with loads of people, and they most certainly did not have hangings.) However he had to admit he was glad of the privacy.

He woke up earlier than anyone else, glancing at the clock he noted that it was six fifteen.

Stretching and yawning, he made his way to the bathroom to take a shower.

His first day of Hogwarts could have gone worse.
He sat in the common room practicing spells until his dorm-mates woke up, Just him, Draco, and a boy called Blaise Zabini. Draco informed him that the rest of the Slytherin boys from this year had decided not to take their eighth year.

Draco came down first, chatting to Zabini, and he introduced the two. They waited a few minutes more until they were joined by Pansy. Nico couldn't help but smile when he saw her excited rosy face, he was starting to see why Draco was friends with her, she was kind of sweet in her own way once you got to know her.

The four of them made their way to breakfast, and after half an hour Nico- perceptive as always (note sarcasm)- slowly began to notice that everyone in the hall was shooting them dirty looks, or muttering something about them to their friends, or both.

For the first time Nico thought back to the accusations Potter had made yesterday. Having been confronted with very similar insults all his life, he didn't read too far into it. But what if there actually was something behind the dirty looks. He mentally shook himself, whatever had happened, he was sure it was a big misunderstanding. He was the ruling champion of misunderstandings, after all.

Really starting to rock his 'perceptive' role, Nico felt that now was a rather insensitive moment to bring it up, so he just continued to nibble on his slice of toast.

When everyone was finished they all set off to their first lesson of the term, and -as luck would have it- it was with the Gryffindors.

***

Nico slumped in his chair, groaning for the millionth time when professor Trelawney came gliding over to him, bangles and necklaces clattering and clinking up a racket and her eyes bulging through her spectacles like those of an insect.

As if the pink and the stifling heat, and the terrible stench of perfume wasn't enough, the fake-oracle had decided that he, along with Potter, was the perfect victim. Every time she so much as glanced at him she would shriek and predict death in the most terrible ways, to Nico's dry humor it seemed rather amusing that she kept predicting deaths that weren't as far off from the truth as everyone thought they were.
When on her fourth round she predicted that he be slowly suffocated in a giant jar, he snorted in shock and glared at her;

"How do you-!"

Then he realized she was just an old fraud who had mistakenly stumbled across this coincidental method of torture, quickly after came the realization that the whole class was staring at him, and he sat down quickly;

"Sorry, professor."

"No matter boy, no matter, death is a cruel master, I am glad you at least see the truth in my gift. Stay away from jam jars!"

Nico nodded, playing along. "I will, professor." he promised.

The bug seemed satisfied and moved on, screaming out in agony that Harry Potter was to die, boiled in a vat of lava. (After he was eaten alive by cockroaches?)

They were all supposed to read each other's tea leaves, Nico was partnered with Draco, and Harry was with Ron. With nothing else to do, Nico examined his newest pair of sworn enemies sitting in front of him. Harry was grudgingly examining his teacup, directing a constant stream of questions at his ginger friend; but Ron wasn't speaking, and he hadn't even touched his teacup. He looked hollow and depressed.

Two of his brothers were lost in the war. His brother Fred was killed, his brother Percy ran away and the family haven't been able to find him anywhere, they think he may have committed suicide.

Nico blinked, wondering why Hecate had thought this would be important information.

Draco however was still thinking about his outburst before, and his eyes were trained unfocusedly on the son of Hades. Thinking deep thoughts, pondering deep questions, considering himself and recoiling. 

"You're a monster." he whispered. He wasn't speaking to Nico.