❝There is nothing beautiful about the wreckage of a human being. There is nothing pretty about damage, about pain, about heartache. What is beautiful is their strength, their resilience, their fortitude as they display an ocean of courage when they...
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Chapter Eleven Charlie's Words of Advice
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Remus smiled widely when he saw a blur of black hair rush into his arms and hug him tightly. "I'll miss you too, little star."
Nova had been waiting to see her Uncle Remus all year, given it was only the Christmas holidays. He had tried to see her on the trips she took to Hogsmeade, but each time they arranged to meet something of Remus had come up. Then the Christmas holidays had finally arrived and ended quicker than either hoped for. Nova placed a kiss on her Uncle's cheek before she boarded the train to go back to Hogwarts.
The twins had stayed at the castle this year since their parents had gone to Romania to visit Charlie. Nova had received a dragon egg necklace from the Weasley on Christmas morning; needless to say, it brought a large smile to her face and made up for the time she had not seen him. Meanwhile, the twins had gifted her with chocolate again (which Remus was delighted about), but Fred had also sent an extra gift along as well. He had sent her a platter of cheesecake that the house elves had made for her just the way she loved it. It was even more of a shock to see that it had arrived intact and was packaged using a protection and cooling spell to keep it from melting.
It seemed as if the year passed by quickly and exams were around the corner.
Draco sighed as he attempted to rub the exhaustion out of his eyes. It had been the fifth time in a week where he stayed up late with Nova, studying for his exams while she did the same for hers. The Weasley twins had attempted to draw her away for a bit, but she insisted she had to help her cousin study for his Charms exam — his worst subject.
"Maybe we can review this just one more time?" He suggested and flipped his book to the levitation incantation. Nova shook her head and closed his book.
"Your exam is tomorrow and you have studied a lot. You got this," She said to him. Draco nodded and packed up his books. "And it's only your first year. You'll be fine."
"Have any of your teachers started to ask what you want to do when you graduate?" Nova said to him as they left the library.
Draco nodded. "Snape says we should be researching, at least to get an idea of what we want to look towards. Do you know what you want to do yet?"
Nova bit her lip and shook her head. "Not even the slightest clue!"
"Nova, you're almost in your fourth year!" Her cousin scolded. She shrugged, "I'm just not sure. I definitely don't want to do something boring, like work in the Ministry, and be trapped in that job forever. But nothing's really caught my eye."
"You've never thought of playing Quidditch professionally?" He asked as they drew near the main hallway of the castle.
She smiled and stopped when she reached the stairs. "Charlie always joked about it, but I didn't really take him seriously. I mean, I doubt I'm that good, so why try?"
Draco narrowed his eyes, "You love Quidditch! And aren't you always the one saying we should take more risks? Maybe you should take your own advice."
Nova scoffed and watched the small boy walk away to his Common Room, mumbling a goodnight as he did so. Retreating back to the Common Room, Nova sighed knowing she had her end of year exams at the end of the week and all the studying she had done left her exhausted.
The Quidditch season had ended oddly in her opinion. Gryffindor came in Second this year, which came as a surprise to most and complete utter shock to Oliver Wood. Ravenclaw had come in first, followed by Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. Oliver was heartbroken over the news, but quickly recovered when he announced that next year's practices would be much more intense in preparation for the season. This earned him a smack on the head from Nova, who later sent a letter to Charlie begging him to come back to Hogwarts.
In turn, Charlie merely replied to with two words: good luck.
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At the end of term feast, the green banners of Slytherin seemed to place everyone at the Gryffindor table in an awful mood. Not only had they lost the Quidditch cup that year, but they also lost the house cup as well. Talk about a wonderful year. And to top it all off, Harry Potter's name was even more well known than before when everyone discovered what he, Ron and Hermione had done to protect the Philosopher's Stone (which Nova was still skeptical existed — but that's beside the point).
Beside Nova, Lee played with his food in a bored manner. Despite the constant warnings, he received from McGonagall during Quidditch season about his use of expressions, he never once lost the privilege of being the commentator. Fred and George hadn't seemed to let him live down the time where he practically announced who his crush was during the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff game. Macy Linn, a chaser on the Hufflepuff team, was redder than a tomato after hearing him say, "Macy Linn with another ten points for Hufflepuff! What a woman she is in my eyes, folks!"
Nova let a small smile reach her lips at the memory as McGonagall dinged her glass to gather the attention of the hall. Dumbledore rose from his seat. "Another year gone. And now, as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus. In fourth place, Gryffindor with 312 points. Third place, Hufflepuff, with 352 points. In second place, Ravenclaw, with 426 points. And in first place, with 472 points, Slytherin House!"
Nova glanced behind her to see her cousin enjoying himself beside his housemates as they cheered in victory.
"Yes, yes, well done Slytherin, well done Slytherin. However, recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last minute points to award," The headmaster said, causing the Gryffindors to look up with a sudden hope in their eyes. "To Miss Hermione Granger, for the use of cool intellect when others were in great peril, 50 points."
Nova's eyes widened as she clapped and turned to look at the bush of curls across from her.
"Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years. 50 points."
Ron, sitting beside Fred, grinned. Nova placed a hand on his shoulder and grinned, "Good job, Ron!"
His eyes widened as his grin widened and all he could do was nod while his ears turned red with embarrassment.
"And third, to Mr. Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house 60 points." Nova smiled at Harry, who returned her gesture. She added the points in her mind to find they were tied with Slytherin.
"And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award 10 points to Neville Longbottom."
Lee, Fred, George, and Nova jumped in their seats when they realized they were now in first place. The Gryffindor table followed their cheers.
"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of direction is in order," Dumbledore said and lifted his hands up. The green banners changed to a mighty Gryffindor red and yellow. "Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"
Nova reached over and placed her arms around the twins, as they celebrated and threw their hats into the air. She grinned alongside her best friends as a sudden rush of joy filled her mind. Fred and George jumped, holding the small girl between them as they rushed to the four who had been announced and congratulated them.
