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“This is a bad idea,” Will said.
“Don’t be absurd, this is a perfectly fool-proof plan,” Nico said, grinning. He interlocked his fingers with Will’s as they walked into an empty corridor.
The corridor was vast with high ceilings and stone walls, just like any other region of the castle. It wasn’t one that was frequented often; it was to the offside of Hogwarts, deserted as it held no real value. On one side, there was a small window. Through the window, both boys could see their fellow classmates and other Hogsmeade goers sprawled about, probably waiting on a chaperone or two. Nico could clearly make out Reyna, Hazel and the others in the back of the crowd. If he had to guess, they were currently facepalming from Percy and Leo’s stupid antics. It was one of the two reasons why Nico was actually glad that he and Will weren't officially allowed to go: he wouldn’t have to put up with their stupid bullshit. The other reason was that he was finally going to be able to be alone with Will where he didn’t have to worry about his friends cockblocking or a professor docking points for “inappropriate” behavior.
As they stepped away from the window, Nico untangled their hands. Will cocked his head as Nico whipped out what looked like a cloak from inside robes.
“What the fuck?” Will blinked. “Since when were you hiding that?”
“Since always.”
“Wait… isn’t that Percy’s cloak? The one that he uses to go on midnight rendezvous with Annabeth?”
“Yeah. I nabbed it from his trunk when he wasn’t looking,” Nico said, shrugging.
“I think that’s called stealing, Nico.”
Nico gave him a look. “No, we’re borrowing it. We’ll put it back before Percy even realizes it was ever gone. What Percy doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Will opened his mouth and then closed it. He couldn’t exactly argue with that logic.
Nico wrapped the cloak around both himself and Will. It was a tight fit, but it worked out thanks to Nico’s slender physique.
“Don’t tell me that your brilliant plan is for us to walk along the Hogsmeade path with this cloak as our only means of concealment and defense?” Will asked. Even though they were under the cloak, Nico could still see Will’s bright blue eyes as they stared right into Nico’s brown eyes.
“Have you no faith in your own boyfriend? The cloak’s only half the plan. I think you’ve forgotten how useful Percy can be,” Nico said as he pulled out some parchment from under his cloak.
Will raised an eyebrow. “And how exactly is a piece of parchment supposed to make me feel any better?”
Nico rolled his eyes. “It’s not just ‘a piece of parchment,’” Nico said, mocking Will’s voice, “it’s a map of Hogwarts. It shows you every path, corner, and stretch of the grounds, as well as the location of every student, professor, staff, and whatnot.”
Will blinked. “You’re joking, right? That’s--”
“‘Bloody brilliant?’” Nico asked with a knowing smile.
“Yes,” WIll nodded, giving Nico a peck on his cheek.
Nico pulled out his wand and directed it at the currently blank parchment. He gently tapped the parchment with the tip of his wand and recited the, quite literal, magic words: “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
The map glistened in Nico’s hands as dark red ink danced across the parchment, painting the familiar Marauder’s logo on the front. Nico flipped the pamphlet like parchment open. With Will looking over his shoulder, he scanned the map. Holding the map firmly in one hand, Nico used his right index finger to trace a distinct path on the map, starting from the corridor the boys were in all the way to Hogsmeade, specifically: Honeydukes Sweetshop.
“‘One-Eyed Witch Passage?’ What kind of name is that?” Will commented.
“It’s only named that because the entrance is hidden behind a statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor, a one-eyed witch who also happened to discover the cure to Dragon Pox. Honestly, Will, shouldn’t you know this? I thought you wanted to be a healer.”
“Yeah, a healer. Not a historian.”
Nico ignored the statement and led Will towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. With the map at hand, it was easy to avoid any passerbys. They passed the classroom and headed towards the nearby staircase. From there, Nico was quick to locate the statue in question by using the incantation Dissendium and both boys swiftly entered the One-Eyed Witch Passage.
The passage ran underground and, as a result, was incredibly dark. Nico could hardly see a thing. If Nico hadn't felt Will’s warm breath against his neck, he wouldn’t have known where Will was.
“Lumos,” Nico whispered. Immediately, his wand lit up. The luminous light filled the underground tunnel, seeping through the invisibility cloak as if it was, well, invisible. Nico could see the old, ancient walls, the freckles on Will’s face, and even the faint, distant end of the tunnel in the horizon of his view. While their vision was clearer now, Nico had to admit that the passage was still dark. Especially for Will’s taste.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Will said.
“Agreed,” Nico said as they began following along the path.
As they walked, both boys tried their best to fill the silence and the distance of the tunnel in order to make the other more comfortable. Nico did his best to keep his lumos spell consistent as it was the only light they had and Will forced Nico to give him the map so that both Hufflepuffs could hold hands. The rest of the walk consisted of a lot of teasing, really bad jokes that they agreed never happened, and a dash of playfully pushing each other around.
As they reached the end of the passage, Nico turned to Will.
“Shhh,” Nico said as he let go of Will’s hand and brought his index finger up to his lips.
Will nodded in acknowledgement, shoving the Marauder’s map into his cloak pocket.
Nico secured his wand in one hand and gently opened the trapdoor above them. As the door kept opening a few notches, Nico scanned the region, looking around for any witnesses.
There were none. He flipped the door open.
“Let’s go before someone sees us,” Will said.
And so the two boys pulled themselves up onto the basement floor of Honeydukes, shut the trapdoor behind them, concealed said trapdoor, and disguised themselves under the cloak once again all in the matter of a minute.
“Step...right...” Nico said in an attempt to make walking up Honeydukes’ stairs under the invisibility cloak easier for both Will and himself.
When they reached the top of the staircase, Nico slowly opened the door between the basement and the main parlor of Honeydukes, careful to not hit anyone on the other side. As the door opened, the floorboards creaked underneath, creating the exact effect that Nico was looking for. It was almost as if the wind or, even, a ghost, opened the door, so to speak.
“Haha, very clever,” Will remarked in a low whisper that only Nico could hear.
Nico elbowed him in the stomach.
The boys tried their best to maneuver past the many, many customers. They dodged the heated arguments of nearby couples, flying candy, and even Professor Slughorn, who was busy talking to his favorite pair of Slytherins.
As the duo made their way towards the door, it opened wide. Nico stopped dead in his tracks, sending Will crashing into the Hufflepuff.
Standing in the middle of the doorway stood Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. And Percy, Piper, Nico’s own sister, and the rest of the infamous seven, but that was irrelevant; although she wasn’t the only prefect in the friend circle, she was hands down the scariest. If she caught wind of what Nico and Will were up to, she wouldn’t hesitate to write them up and send both boys straight back to Hogwarts.
“Let me guess: Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum?” Jason asked Percy, in between laughs.
Annabeth shook her head in disappointment, despite the fact that everyone knew she was sporting a wide smile.
Percy grinned. “You know me.” Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum was what was considered to be one of the many “Special Effects” sweets. The gum produced bluebell-colored bubbles that were just about as stubborn as bubbles could get. They last for days, refusing to be popped.
Nico rolled his eyes. Of course Percy was getting the same, stupid, blue gum that he’s been ever since he was a first year. It was Percy’s favorite sweet. Everyone in Hogwarts knew it.
Will nudged Nico, giving him a suspicious look.
Nico let his eyes do the talking for him: what?
Will made a few incoherent noises.
If Nico’s face wasn’t sending the message of confusion before, it definitely was now.
Will rolled his eyes. How could Nico be so good defending himself from nonverbal spells but not be able to understand what Will was saying? Gods, teenagers these days…
Will gestured to Percy, and then to Nico. At this point, if Nico couldn’t put two and two together, Will was going to give up and just resign to being more of a pain in the ass to Nico the next time Nico asks for help with his homework or studying.
Nico blinked. He looked over to Percy and then back to himself, just as Will had. What was— oh.
Nico’s confused look quickly morphed into one of blushy complexion, paired with a small, sly smirk that Will wouldn’t have even noticed if he wasn’t about five inches away from Nico’s face.
Since he couldn’t exactly talk without risking exposure, Nico simply kissed Will on lips and whipped his head around, leaving a shocked Will Solace behind.
Nico thought about turning back around to catch another glimpse of his boyfriend’s stars truck face, but just at that moment, he noticed Reyna staring right through the not-so-empty-empty space where he and Will were standing. Preferring dragging Solace’s confused ass and chance of avoiding Reyna on the way out of Honeydukes to sticking around and testing Reyna’s detective skills, Nico grabbed Will’s hand and dashed out of the open front door of the oh so famous sweets shop.
Just as they were leaving, Nico and Will heard one last part of their friends’ conversation that just so happened to mention them.
“Make sure to order some chocolate skeletons. I don't want Nico to feel too bad about missing out,” Hazel added as the crew went through their order.
Frank threw his head back. “I still can’t believe Nico and Will got caught making out in the greenhouse. Let alone by Professor Snape! What luck!”
And the door shut.
“Now that that’s out of the way— Shrieking Shack?” Will asked.
“Definitely.”
The Shrieking Shack was perhaps Nico’s favorite discovery in all his time at Hogwarts. The legends of the terrible screams that plagued the town of Hogsmeade from the Shack were still rumors to this day. It was one of the biggest tourist attractions in the town as many, including the hundreds of Hogwarts’ students, visited Hogsmeade just to get a glimpse of the infamous Shack. While everyone loved to visit it, no one dared to ever enter it. Well, no one until Nico. And then Will when he had lost a bet to Nico… but that was a story for another time.
Currently, the Shrieking Shack was number one in Nico and Will’s list of Best Making Out Spots. It was spacious, dark, and private. What more could one ask for?
The boys strolled along the path to the Shack. Usually they would race, but given their circumstances (cough, the invisibility cloak), it was probably better this way.
As the wind whistled, a few shrubs that were bunched together moved. A few autumn leaves fell off the trees, painting the ground in red, orange, and even yellow. A few birds were chirping and singing in the distance. There were a few animals in the nearby woods, but nothing bigger than a rabbit or, if they were lucky, a deer. Nico could hear the sound of twigs snapping, but it was just too light, too faint to be a fellow Hogwarts student or Hogsmeade resident or just a person in general. Besides, why would Nico care about normal woods activity when he could just stare at his precious boyfriend instead?
The one who’s soft, blonde hair flew in the air, despite being under a magical cloak. The one who’s eyes sparkled with such depth it was almost as if they held the entire universe in them. The one who’s cheeks were tinted pink in the chilly, autumn wind. The one who’s sweater hugged him so snuggly that Nico could make out the shape of his torso. The one who put up with Nico’s stupid antics. The one who can match Nico’s stupid antics. The one who was always there for Nico. The one that was absolutely perfect for Nico.
“Stop staring at me,” Will whispered, bringing Nico out of his daze.
“Then stop being so damn pretty, Solace.”
“What? Saying that out of nowhere…we’re almost at the Shack, have you no patience?” Will said, running a hand through his hair.
Nico giggled.
If this had been a year ago, Will would’ve thought he misheard. When they first started dating, Nico was still reserved and hated personal contact… Now he was more of the same, except he began exhibiting characteristics of his younger self (or as Percy liked to tease: the Ghost King): he was more talkative, he expressed his emotions better, and he let more people, especially Will, in both mentally and physically. Gods, Will was so happy that he got to watch Nico grow and start to overcome his childhood traumas. Witnessing Nico’s giggle was peak adorable, the height of Nico’s appeal. Nothing could ever beat the glowy presence of Nico’s happiness. Not making out. Sex. Nothing.
“Oh, shut up, you,” Will said, not even bothering to hide the bright smile that was planted on his face as he dragged Nico by the arm. “We don’t have all day, y’know.”
When they got to the border of the fence in front of the Shack, Nico and Will scanned the grounds.
“See anyone?” Nico asked. He was in charge of the right side and Will, the left.
“Nope.”
“Brilliant.” Nico turned back to the fence and enabled one of the charms he had left on the fence, revealing a secret wedge in the fence that acted like a door when called upon. It was a project that Nico had committed himself to the year he decided that he wanted to explore the Shack and boy, did it come in handy.
The boys walked through the opening as discreetly as wizardly possible and Nico sealed it back up as they crossed into the Shack’s threshold. Still wary of making any obvious movements that screamed “Hi! We’re here hiding under an invisibility cloak!” they kept the cloak on as they crept up the few steps leading up to the front door.
“It’ll probably be best if we do this part as fast as possible, right?” Will asked.
“Yeah,” Nico replied. It was the only warning Will received before Nico spun the door open, entered the Shack, sending Will flying into him as well, and shut the door as quietly behind them as possible, making it look like an air draft the same way he had back in Honeydukes. (Nico did that trick so many times that Hogwarts students started to think that if you didn’t get to see the door shudder in the supposed wind, then you didn’t get the full Shrieking Shack experience.)
“Free at last,” Nico muttered. He yanked the cloak off, exposing both boys to the raw, frigid air for the first time since they had been in the empty corridor at Hogwarts. Without the cloak, there was no barrier between the world and themselves.
“Quit complaining,” Will said, pulling Nico closer. “You’re acting like you’re not about to have the highlight of your week.”
“And to think you were going to let Snape rob me of making out with my boyfriend,” Nico said, gently pressing Will against the wall.
As Will’s back approached the wall, in the distance, behind Nico, Will could make out a familiar shape. The second Will hit the wall, he threw his head back against the wall in exasperation. His lips quipping into a frown as he let out a groan. And not the sexual kind.
Nico hung his head. “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”
“Yep.”
Slowly, both boys turned around to bare witness to their inevitable demise.
Leaning against the Shack’s wall, stood none other than Professor Snape.
“Look what we have here.”
“We can explain,” Nico and Will said at the same time.
Snape ignored them. “One hundred points from Hufflepuff, di Angelo. Same for you, Solace. Not to mention the three months of detention you just earned.”
Nico opened his mouth and then closed it.
“Yes, sir,” Will said, slightly bowing his head.
“Out. Let’s go,” Snape ordered, walking out the Shrieking Shack door in long strides.
They hurried behind Snape, trying to keep up with their Professor.
“I’m never helping you with homework again,” Will whispered to Nico.
Nico rolled his eyes. “Shut up. You know you love me.”
Will looked at his boyfriend and let out a long, suffering sigh. “I hate that I can’t disagree with that statement.”
Outside, they were met with an even worse fate than Snape: public humiliation.
Standing along the Shack’s fence was Reyna, Percy, Hazel, and the rest of the lot.
“Well, fuck,” Nico said.
“Another five points, di Angelo,” Snape said.
Nico facepalmed. Right. He forgot about Snape.
“I knew I wasn’t losing my mind in Honeydukes!” Reyna said. She was never going to let Nico live it down, was she?
“Didn’t they just get in trouble?” Leo asked.
“I’m going to eat all your chocolate skeletons while you rot in detention!” Hazel said enthusiastically. It took all of Nico’s strength to stop himself from giving her the finger. If Snape saw that, then they’d definitely be done for.
Instead, he turned to Will, but before the words could even come out of Nico’s mouth—
“I told you this was a bad idea.”