Nico di Angelo and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Eighteen: Y'all Have Pomegranates?

Art by @sleepisfortheweakEXE

"Here we come!" Hermione draws my attention away from my wooden enemy as the other us start emerging from the tunnel. We were all standing now, watching as first Ron, Lupin, and Pettigrew shamble awkwardly out from under the willow. The grotesque floating puppet that is Snape drifts out, followed by Hermione and I, and finally Harry and Sirius.

Soon the clouds would part, and Lupin would transform, sending sending everything tumbling downhill art an alarming rate.

The wind blows, the clouds shift, and Lupin's body starts changing, distorting, elongating.

"We've got to move!" Harry says suddenly.

"We musn't! I keep telling you-"

"Not to interfere! But Lupin is going to run into the forest right at us!"

Hermione gasps, and starts trying to untie Buckbeak. "Where are we going to go? The Dementors will be coming any moment!"

"Hagrid's. It will be empty now." Improvising. One of the most important skills I learned in battle.

We run quickly, pulling Buckbeak along with us. When we reach the hut, Harry pulls open the door, shoving us all in, even the Hippogriff. I stumble from being pushed, only to get tackled by Fang, the boarhound I had originally mistaken for a hellhound. He barks deafeningly at us.

"Shh! Good dog! It's us!" I wheeze at the dog on my chest, little air in my lungs. I pat his head, and he leans down, licking my face. "Ugh."

Buckbeak sits contentedly by the fire, pleased to be home. Fang finally launches himself off of me, pushing what air I had out of my lungs. Fang goes and sniffs Buckbeak, tail lightly wiggling.

"I think I'd better go outside again, you know," Harry starts slowly. "I can't see what's going on. We won't know when it's time."

Hermione looks over to him suspiciously.

"I'm not going to try and interfere, but if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"

"Well... Okay then. I'll wait here with Buckbeak. But Harry, be careful. There's a werewolf out there, and the Dementors..."

Harry leaves, and Hermione and I exchange a glance, though I was more looking at her backwards and upside down.

"I'll go with him," I say, and she nods in relieved agreement.

I pull myself off of the floor and out of the hut. I look up just in time to see Harry in a dead sprint towards the lake.

"Dammit." I take off after him, quickly catching up to him crouched behind a bush at the opposite edge of the lake than the other us, who were getting their souls sucked out.

"What in the gods names are you doing?" I whisper hiss at him.

"Nico, sh. My dad is about to show up! He's going to save us!" He whispers, excitement clear on his face.

I stare at my friend for a moment, worried he had hurt his head at some point during the todays.

But then his excitement falls, and he leaps out from behind the bush.