O, CURSED CHILD. ﹙ harry potter ﹚

LXXX ; kiss with a fist

            "wotcher, harry," said nymphie.

            he was able to push himself into a more dignified sitting position, hastily wipe the blood off his bruised face with the back of his hand, and raise his head to look up at elara and nymphie. elara immediately came to his side, placing her hands on his face and checking for any other injuries besides his obviously broken nose,

             "save the snogging for later, we'd better get out of here, quickly," said nymphie, as the train windows became obscured with steam and they began to move out of the station. "come on, we'll jump."

            elara rolled her eyes but still hurried after her into the corridor. nymphie pulled open the train door and leapt onto the platform, which seemed to be sliding underneath them as the train gathered momentum. elara followed after, and then harry, who taggered a little on landing, then straightened up.

            the cold night air felt good on elara's skin. nymphie silently she handed harry back the invisibility cloak.

            "who did it?" said elara, automatically imagining the sweet revenge.

            "malfoy," said harry bitterly. "thanks for . . . well . . ." 

            "no problem," said nymphie, without smiling. from what elara could see in the darkness, she was as mousy-haired and miserable-looking as she had been when she had last seen her at the burrow. "lara and mine's cousin has always been the biggest pain in the ass. but, i can fix your nose if you stand still."

            he stilled as nymphie raised her wand.

            "episkey."

            there was a soft crack that made elara the slightest bit queasy. harry raised a hand and felt it gingerly. it seemed to be mended as he didn't recoil in pain.

            "thanks a lot!"

            "you two'd better put that cloak on, and we can walk up to the school," said nymphie, still unsmiling. as harry swung the cloak back over him and elara, nymphie waved her wand; an immense silvery four-legged creature erupted from it and streaked off into the darkness.

            "was that a patronus?" asked harry.

            "yes, i'm sending word to the castle that i've got you or they'll worry. come on, we'd better not dawdle."

            they set off toward the lane that led to the school. as soon as the first step was took, harry's hand slipped into elara's. she smiled.

            "how did you find me?"

            "elara and i noticed you hadn't left the train and i knew you had that cloak. elara had a suspicion you were doing something reckless. when we saw the blinds were drawn down on that compartment thought we'd check."

            "but what are you doing here, anyway?" harry asked.

            "i'm stationed in hogsmeade now, to give the school extra protection," said nymphie.

            "is it just you who's stationed up here, or — ?"

            "no, proudfoot, savage, and dawlish are here too."

            "wait, dawlish, that auror dumbledore attacked last year?" asked elara.

            "that's right."

            they trudged up the dark, deserted lane, following the freshly made carriage tracks. elara looked sideways at nymphie under the cloak. elara felt terrible that she hasn't been able to do anything to cheer her sister up. she assumed nymphie would only listen to lupin after awhile, and began to hope he was doing all he could.