Harry Potter and the Lost Half-Bloods. *1*

Jason

I run into trouble and tickle it to the ground
JASON: As a student who was starting his sixth year at Hogwarts, you think I'd be used to the school's endless surprises. It wasn't rare to walk down the halls at night and find yourself in a new passageway you weren't familiar with or even come across a new talking portrait or two. On more than one occasion I'd found hidden corridors, strange dungeons, and even some things I'd rather not talk about. (One of those things being the time I walked in on Filch when I swore he was whispering sweet nothings to Mrs. Norris.)

Still, none had been as strange as when I ran into Nico Di Angelo.

He literally appeared before me out of thin air, holding a cap in his hand.

"Listen, I overheard two kids in my house around that corridor. They're going to try to pull a prank on you. Have your wand ready, okay? When I give you the sign, turn around."

"W-What?"

"Just be ready! They're coming!" The second the cap returned to his head, Nico was gone.

I continued walking, not knowing was else to do. Just as he had said, there were two Slytherins students coming my way. I didn't have any reason to trust this kid, but I also didn't have a reason not to trust him. So of course, I listened. My hand slipped into my pocket around my wand.

"Ready?" Whispered his disembodied voice. Okay, now I was freaking out. "NOW!" He whispered harshly.

Immediately, I turned around. Sure enough, the girl had a wand pointed at me.
Two ropes emerged from her wand, quickly approaching. I immediately dodged them and uttered the only spell I could think of at that moment.

"Rictusempra!" I boy shouted. Draco suddenly fell to the ground in laughter.
Before the girl could react, I disarmed her.

"Hey!" She shouted.

As she looked at me, her anger seemed to double, as did my embarrassment as I recognized her. Piper McClean, popular Slytherin, also known as the girl I knocked over in the halls this morning.

"You're the boy who knocked me over in the halls this morning!" She pointed out.
Draco had finally stopped laughing. He tried to stand up, but I cast the same charm on him again. Draco fell to the floor again, in a fit of laughter.

"Piper!" Draco gasped, in between fits of laughter. "Deduct some points already!"

"Right. Um, I am a prefect! I should be treated with respect! As your higher authority, I deduct ten points from Gryffindor house for your need to be a nuisance."

I shook my head and turned away without a word. There was no point in fighting back. Slytherins would never give up, and I wasn't a prefect. It's not like I could deduct any points for what they had done.

"Ahem!" She shouted, I turned around. "Give me my bloody wand, you idiot!"

I stood and stared blankly. My mouth moved, but I couldn't form any words. I really need to work on my social skills.

"Are you going to stand there and stare like an idiot, or are you going to hand my wand?!"

Draco was finished laughing now, the charm had worn off. He marched towards me in fury. Then as it had before, something strange happened.

He tripped. He tripped, over nothing!
Wait--not nothing. Nico? Perhaps...

"HAND ME MY WAND!"

I listened, almost automatically. It was as though I were in some sort of trance; I did it without thought.

"G-Go away before I hex you! Leave, you idiotic--" She stopped herself, looking down at our hands to realize that she had been gripping my hand since she'd handed me the wand. She was digging my nails firmly into my hand. I was terrified. I hated confrontation. She released my hand. The second she did so, I took off.