To Find What is Lost

Chapter 30: Snowballs

Hello!! So I asked you all if you would prefer longer chapters with breaks in between or continued daily postings of shorter chapters,  the majority voted for continued short chapters, so that's what will be happening! Just to let everybody know this story is very slowly drawing to a close (don't worry not yet) but we are on the last legs. I love writing about snow because I NEVER GET ANY which is sad T-T But hey apparently Scotland is better for the stuff, not that I've done any research whatsoever so I'm just trusting JK on this XD. Anyway enjoy the chapter and vote & comment! -Emmi

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The next morning Will and Nico really would get onto the mission. It was of the utmost importance, the mission came before all else. Granger... Granger... 

"Hey Americans, bet you can't beat me and Pansy in a snowball fight!"

"Oh it's on!"

The mission could wait a few minutes, surely, just a quick snowball fight and then they'd get to work immediately.

"First to three!"

"First to five!"

"First to nine!"

A huge ball of snow hit Nico in the face and he flew backwards into the snow-bunker he and Will had constructed. He blinked the white powder out of his eyes and rose with a vehemence. Blaise was grinning at him from across the sunlit field, but before he could even react a huge pile of snow dropped on his head, almost completely burying him under the mounds of whiteness.

Nico roared with laughter as the Slytherin shot to his feet furiously, shaking his head and shivering as if the cold had gone down his neck. He angrily looked up and around his head in confusion. Spells really were wonderful creations.

"Hey!" Blaise scowled, finally realising what had happened, "No magic!"

"No magic!" Nico retorted, snorting with a big grin still plastered on his face, "In a wizarding snowball fight!"

And he used another spell to drag the ice out from under the other team's feet, leaving them fumbling in the deep drifts. If you didn't know better you'd think the teams had declared open war. The game became heated, and Draco joined in half way through at everyone's constant begging. He joined the Demigods team as Will couldn't do magic and so Nico said they were at a disadvantage.

"A disadvantage!" said Will in a hurt tone.

The son of Hades rolled his eyes and patted Will on the shoulder; "Yeah, that's what you are, a big hot disadvantage."

Will winked, "I think I'll just take the 'hot' and ignore the rest."

The two boys snorted, and then shouted out furious war cries as charmed snow started pelting them incessantly.

When the snowball fight was finally won (Blaise and Pansy made for a surprisingly indomitable team) Draco gave everyone a smirk and said he was probably going to go inside now; "My suits ruined 'cause of you guys honestly!"

Nico turned to ask Pansy and Blaise if they wanted to head up to dinner with him and Will, but was stopped by the son of Apollo, who bore a small delighted grin.

"Look."

Nico did, and found to his surprise, and yet not-really-surprise, that the two were kissing. They were in a pile of soft white snow as if they had just fallen over, and while Blaise looked utterly shocked, Pansy was grinning slightly.

"Took them long enough." said the son of Hades with a smirk, and he and Will left for the castle full of smirk and grin. Nico had never been one for gossip, but it made him happy to see his two good friends realising something which had been quite obvious to everyone around them for the last year or so.

***

Dinner would have been great if it weren't for the constant stares that Will was attracting, apparently a new kid in school was a very rare occasion, and the muttering about Nico was reaching a new high-point. Apparently it had somehow leaked across the school that he was gay, and Hogwarts didn't feel at the moment like the most accepting of places. No one tried to bully him, he was too scary for that, but everyone was whispering, and eventually one Slytherin sixth year even brushed past him in the corridor and hissed: "freak"

Nico cannot be blamed for hexing him, and as a nose-elongation charm shot out of his wand the son of Hades thanked the gods that he had gotten rid of Voldemort's soul, or he was very ready to believe that it would have taken the boy's nose right off. Of course Madame Pomfrey would get it off in a jiffy, but the couple still watched with delight as the boy ran off in horror to the hospital wing.

But something always has to go wrong in these situations, especially if Nico di Angelo is involved, so a second later a slight cough came from behind Nico. He spun around to find himself face to face with Professor McGonagall. 

He froze, unsure of what to do. Would she tell him off? Give him detention?

But no, instead a small smile flickered on the headmistress's lips, and that crazy old woman winked at him once before striding off down the corridor.

She winked at him? Winked?

Nico let out a bemused smile as he watched her form disappear behind the staff-room door. Could it be possible that the professor was on his side?

Will grinned from his place next to Nico, having watched the whole exchange.

"She looks like a cool old lady."

The son of Hades turned to him, hesitated a moment, and then grinned, "The coolest."

Now the two boys sat at Slytherin table and chatted and laughed, ignoring the looks. After all, they were just people. What did it matter if all your fellow students thought you were a freak if your loving boyfriend was by your side?

Exactly.

By the time the two got back to the common room late that night, it was far too late to think. Everybody knows thinking is for the day-time. Well at least Nico and Will did. They spent their night laughing and joking with Blaise and (sometimes) Draco, and (occasionally) sleeping.

There was still a whole day before the ball, and two days after that before Will had to leave for them to work out a plan about Granger, and to the boys that seemed like a perfectly adequate amount of time.

They'd figure something out tomorrow.