As much as he tried, Nico couldn't completely cut himself off from his mum, and so every once in a blue moon, he would find himself using the Floo network to get to St. Mungo's. The walk from the reception to the Janus Thickey ward was something he had ingrained into muscle memory by this point in his life. Ever since the first time he and his siblings saw their mum at St. Mungo's, he never went with them when the rest of his family would visit, but he still managed to see her fairly frequently.

When he entered the visiting room, he saw his mum playing Wizard's Chess with another resident and quietly wrote his name on the visitor's log. An older healer smiled at him and assured him that his mum had been lucid all day, and he returned the smile with a bored stare until she looked away and went over to Delia Zacharias, tapping her gently on the shoulder.

"Delia, dear, your son is here to see you. He's grown so much since he was last here," the healer commented, earning a quizzical look from Nico. At 168 centimeters he wasn't exactly breaking any height records and while he was in the middle of a growth spurt, he'd still been 165 centimeters when he'd last visited. Hardly worthy of a comment.

His mum nodded to the healer, and Nico approached his mum before stopping a few feet away. He wasn't exactly the 'hugging kind' and she didn't seem in any rush to initiate contact either. After several moments of silence between the two of them, the healer whistled awkwardly and decided that it was a good time to start her rounds.

"I heard you went on a trip for the past month? How was it?" She asked, though not looking away from the heated Wizard's Chess match. Her bishop had just bludgeoned one of her opponent's knights to dust.

"It was fine. Yia Yia didn't really give me a choice in attending, but at least I didn't make any new friendships," he responded casually before finding a cushioned chair by the table. "There was a moment where someone tried to hug me after the boat sank, but I just threatened to scream. You save one person's life, and they suddenly think that you want to be hugged."

Delia gave her son a pitying glance before returning her attention to the match at hand. "Is this why you have all of these holes in your face?" She gestured at his piercings. "You want to keep people at arm's distance? Think they make you look tough and scary?"

Nico's eyes glazed over as he'd heard her disapproval multiple times before. "Unfortunately, I think it has the opposite effect, as everyone uses the piercings and tattoo as a discussion topic," he retorted sullenly. "I frankly don't care why someone decided that it was a good idea to get Carpe Diem tattooed over their butt."

His sardonic retort caused Delia to cluck her tongue disapprovingly. "Now Ira, don't be so cruel."

Nico's eyes widened, and he pursed his lips. He knew that she was gone now, but he found himself glued to the seat. It was so short.

"No, mum, it's me, Nico. Ira left us," he stated simply.

She turned and looked at him, and she stood up quickly resulting in the chessboard being knocked over.

"Where are the other children? Did they take them? You have to find them!" She pleaded, and Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The healer in the room noticed the scene unfolding and hurried over to them placing an arm on Delia's shoulder. "Don't touch me! I need to see my children!"

"It's probably best if you leave," the healer murmured to Nico, but he felt dazed. After a moment, he nodded and stood up from the chair. "Now, now, Delia, calm down. Your children are safe with your mum, she's taking very good care of them while you focus on getting better."

As he walked towards the door, he noticed the healer whispering a spell and Delia's eyes started to droop as she sunk back into the chair. The healer smiled comfortingly towards him, but he couldn't even manage the slightest change of expression.

"Yeah, mum, just... focus on getting better. Everyone's fine," his voice was barely audible, and he quickly left the Janus Thickey ward wondering why he thought this visit would be any different.