— "NIC, YOUR SISTER IS WAITING OUTSIDE THE COMMON ROOM."
Nicole sighed, crossing her legs over the sofa as she looked at Lavander in expiration. "Please tell her to leave." she mumbled, taking a pillow, placing her head on Harry's lap and covering her face with it out of shame.
She hasn't spoken to Aurora ever since the incident with the boggart. People in their year talked about it— a lot, actually. Draco Malfoy even went to the point that he mocked Nicole because of the incident along with Pansy Parkinson and his goons, but Aurora came and cast a hex on him.
"Why don't you two try getting it signed by Professor Mcgonagall?" Hermoine asked, playing with Crookshanks on her lap. Nicole's owl suddenly hooted, which made Ron roll his eyes. "Not you, Mcgonagowl."
The owl let out a sad hoot, and flew away near the fire. Crookshanks hopped out of Hermonie's lap and walked over to the owl; as if they were conspiring something.
"She's too strict." Nicole answered back.
"I mean, you got to atleast try, right?" Ron questioned, straightening up. "You guys have nothing to lose."
"I was excited to go to Hogsmeade too." Nicole mumbled, bringing the pillow to her chest. Harry kept awfully still— afraid that he moved a bit Nicole's head would fall out of his lap. "All because I pulled that shit on Flint."
"Let's just hope Professor Mcgonagall remembers how you guys saved the Gryffindor quidditch team." Ron joked, standing up. "I'm going to sleep. Are you coming Harry?"
Out of instinct, Nicole removed her head from his lap. She quickly fixed her hair as she smiled at Harry. "Let's go to sleep too, Hermoine. See you guys tomorr—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Crookshanks had suddenly pounced on Ron's bag. Suddenly, Mcgonagowl started to circle around Ron's bag while Crookshanks attacked it.
Needles to say, this caused a huge misunderstanding between Ron and Hermoine. The two of them yelled at each other and Nicole and Harry had to drag their friends away from each other before they kill themselves.
—
It was the afternoon of Haloween day. The third year to seventh year students were all lined up and gathered in the courtyard for their trip to Hogsmeade. Harry and Nicole had frantic look on their faces.
"Now remember, these visits to Hogsmeade village are a privilege. Should your behavior reflect poorly on the school in anyway that privilege shall not be extended again." Mcgonagall said.
Ron and Hermoine watched as Harry and Nicole ran up to Mcgonagall with their papers in hand.
"No permission form signed, no visiting the village. That's the rule, Potter. Hwang." she said sternly.
"Those with permission, follow me. Those without, stay put." Filch said, making his way towards the group. While the rest of the class walked away, Hermoine and Ron stayed back to wait for Harry and Nicole. They were hoping that somehow they could make Mcgonagall manage to agree.
"But professor we thought if you signed it, then I could..."
"Professor, you know how Harry's muggle relatives are. And my parents—"
"I can't. Only a parent or a guardian can sign. Since I am neither, it would be inappropriate." she stayed, starting to leave the pair alone. A flicker of hope made it's way towards Nicole's chest as she turned around.
"I'm sorry, you two." she said with the upmost sincerity. "That's my final word."
Nicole frowned, playing with the strings of her sweater, the same one that was given to her by Mrs. Weasley during her first year. The pair faced the rest of their friends with evident frowns on their faces. They both really wanted to go, but there wasn't any arguing with Mcgonagall.
"Well, we tried everything.." Nicole trailed off, looking at her friends who stated at them in pity.
"Forget about it, guys. See you later." Harry mumbled. Before Hermoine and Ron could even interject, he dragged Nicole over towards the castle.
—
Harry and Nicole were in the castle grounds, infront of a mirror Nicole had brought. They were in the bridge that connected the forbidden forest to the back of the castle.
"Hair tie. H-a-i-r t-i-e." Harry repeated, showing Nicole the elastic piece he had gotten from Hermoine. He always noticed how Nicole would get a long string to tie her hair, at it honestly ticked him off whenever he saw her struggling to use it.
"Hair tie?" Nicole repeated, looking at the muggle object unfamiliarly. She took it from Harry's hands and started to stretch it, but the boy quickly retreated his hand before she could ruin the elasticity.
"You don't do that." Harry mumbled, taking the hair tie again. "Just... look the other way. I'll show you how it works."
Nicole turned around and saw herself in the mirror. Harry, who was a few inches taller than her, slowly tied her hair with the hair tie. The girl watched in amazement as he managed to put her hair into a ponytail.
"That's so cool!" Nicole gushed at the peculiar object. "It's way better than using a spring!"
"Yeah." Harry mumbled, still trying to fix her hair up. His eyes widened when he spotted Professor Lupin walking towards them with a smile, and he quickly let go of her.
"Oh, hello Professor Lupin!" Nicole waved, walking over to the man. The girl had grown to like him and found his lessons really interesting.
Lupin had a timid smile on his face as he watched the moment that had just happened a few minutes ago.
"Hello Nicole. Harry." he greeted. "Not in Hogsmeade?"
"No signatures." Harry mumbled , walking over towards the man. His eyes suddenly widened, remembering something.
"Professor, can I ask you something?"
It was as if he expected Harry to ask the question. "You want to know why I stopped you facing that boggart, yes?" he paused, walking over to them. "I would've thought it'd be obvious. I assumed it would take the shape of Lord Voldemort."
Nicole looked at her teacher in awe; surprised that he could say the name easily.
"I did think of Voldemort at first..." Harry trailed off, staring over the bridge with Nicole. "But then I remembered that night on the train... and the dementor."
"I'm very impressed." Lupin said. "That suggests what you fear the most is fear itself. This is very wise."
Nicole cringed; remembering how the whole class saw her boggart.
"Before I fainted... I heard something. A woman... screaming.."
"Dementors force us to relive our very worst memories. Our pain becomes their power." Lupin said.
"I think it was my mother... the night she was murdered." Harry trailed off once again. The girl sighed, feeling a bit sorry for her friend. Now that she thought of it, Harry went through so much already and he was only 13.
"The very first time I saw you, Harry, I recognized you immediately." Harry was about to tune him out, since he heard this a lot of times already. How people would tell him about his scar and how—
"Not by your scar, by your eyes. They're your mother, Lily's."
Harry looked at his Professor in surprise.
As if noticing his confusion, he smiled at him. "Yes. Oh, yes. I knew her. Your mother was there for me at a time when no one else was. Not only was she a singularly gifted witch... she was also an uncommonly kind woman. She had a way of seeing the beauty in others... even, and perhaps most especially, when that person could not see it in themselves."
He paused, smiling as if he was remembering a good memory. "And your father, James, on the other hand... he... He had a certain, shall we say, talent for trouble. A talent, rumor has it, he passed on to you."
Harry smiled.
He looked at Harry with a reassuring smile. "You're more like them than you know, Harry. In time, you'll come to see just how much."
After a few seconds of silence, the man spoke again. "Nicole?"
"Yes sir?"
"I knew your father too. The moment I heard from the other Professors that you got into detention for screaming at Professor Snape— that's when I realized that the two of you are very alike."
Nicole looked at him in wonder. She has never heard of anything about her father during his years at Hogwarts.
"Your father is a good man, Nicole. Remember that."
Nicole just hoped that what Lupin told her was true. The crippling fear she felt for the past few days was coming up to her and she didn't like it at all.
—
Harry and Nicole stood near the staircases, waiting for their friends to come. After the talk with Lupin, they walked around the castle for a bit. Harry got a bit tired since the castle was huge, so Nicole dragged him to the great hall so they could just wait for Hermoine and Ron.
"Way better than going to Hogsmeade, if you ask me." Nicole mused, looking at Harry who still looked quite disappointed. The girl started to shake his body as if it would cheer him up— and to her surprise he started to laugh a bit.
"Harry! Nic!"
The pair turned around to see Ron and Hermoine running towards them. They looked like they had loads of fun. They were both carrying some products (which they had bought for the two) and students were starting to go up the staircases to go back to their common rooms.
"How was the trip?" Nicole asked weakly, still envying the two. Ron didn't seem to notice their displeasure, and started to ramble about how good the trip was. "Honeyduke's Sweetshop is brilliant, but nothing beats Zonko's Joke Shop. We never did got a chance to go to the Shrieking Shack though. You heard it's the most—"
"The most haunted building in Britain. Yeah I know." Harry said; knowing this information already because Hermoine had already told them all about it.
The four of them stopped in the stairs. Everyone, (including students from the other houses), were gathered around the entrance of the Gryffindor common room.
"What's going on?" Nicole questioned, to which Hermoine laughed dryly to. "You and Harry are the ones who stayed back. Aren't you supposed to know it?"
"Probably Neville forgotten the password again." Ron mumbled.
"Hey!" Neville's voice had protested from behind. Nicole giggled, patting his back as she looked back at her friends.
Percy made his way by the crowded students, pushing them all out of the way."Let me through, please. Excuse me! I'm Head Boy!"
"Have I mentioned that I don't really like your brother?" Nicole joked, but Percy had somehow heard this. He snapped towards her direction and gave her a annoyed look, before he looked back at the painting. "Get back, all of you. No one is to enter this dormitory until it's been searched."
As Nicole frowned and gave Harry a look, the students around them began to whisper frantically. Just then, Ginny came down the steps with a scared look on her face.
"The Fat Lady! She's gone!"
The crowd parted to show the Fat Lady's portrait. It was slashed by what looked like claw marks. They were unnaturally big, and Nicole couldn't help but wonder what kind of thing could manage to do a thing like that.
"Serves her right." Ron mused. "She was a terrible singer."
"It's not funny, Ron."
"It's technically true, Hermoine." Nicole giggled, looking over to her side to see Aurora peeking at her with a few curious Slytherins. The girl's eyes widened as she went behind Harry to hide her body, using him as a shield.
"Nic, what are you—"
"Shh. Don't move."
"The headmaster's here." Percy announced. The four of them stared at Dumbledore who was walking over to the commotion.
"Come on, move."
"You heard. Move!"
Filch pushed her over to the railings, which made Nicole trip over. Had it not been for Dean Thomas who snatched her just on time, Nicole would probably have tripped on herself and fall on the shit ton of staircases.
"Thanks, Dean." Nicole clicked her tongue, making herself stand up properly to see the commotion. Dean just gave her a thumbs up, and she went beside Harry again. This time, hopefully not tripping herself.
"—Eyes like the devil, he's got, and a soul as dark as his name. It's him, headmaster. The one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle! Sirius Black!" she screamed. The sound of his name sent the students into a frenzy, and everyone started to panic.
Nicole held her hand out and took Harry's, sending him a nervous glance.
"Secure the castle, Mr. Filch. The rest of you, to the Great Hall."
—
"Merlin Harry, why is it that every year there's always someone trying to kill you?"
The pair stood up in their sleeping bags. The great hall was filled with students who were either asleep or were pretending to be asleep. Nevertheless, they kept their voices down just to make sure.
Harry didn't reply, instead looking at her. It was really dark, and the moon was illuminating on her face. He was about to make a joke until Nicole spoke again.
"You know what I think, Harry?"
"What?"
"I think we should go outside, get your cloak, and sneak into Hogsmeade while everyone is asleep. It's a perfect plan and this is our opportunity! We should—"
"Someone is coming." Harry hissed, removing his glasses quickly and closing his eyes as he pretended to sleep. Nicole quickly shut her eyes and faced to the side.
"I've searched the Astronomy Tower and the Owlery, sir. But there's nothing there." Filch's voice stated.
"Ah, thank you."
"The third floor's clear too, sir." Flitwick added.
"I've done the dungeons, headmaster. No sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle." Snape's voice stated. Nicole opened her eyes and met with Harry's, and started to mock Snape but she closed them in no time since she felt the steps come closer.
"I didn't really expect him to linger." Dumbledore replied smartly as the footsteps came closer and closer.
"Remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter Hogwarts Castle on one's own... completely undetected?"
Nicole had the urge to mock Snape once again, but she couldn't risk it with him and Dumbledore just trailing behind them.
"Quite remarkable, yes." Dumbledore stated.
"Any theories on how he managed it?" Snape asked once again.
"Many. Each as unlikely as the next."
"You may recall... prior to the start of term I expressed concerns... about your appointment of Professor..."
Nicole scrunched her eyes. The only newly appointed Professor was Lupin; surely Snape wasn't trying to blame him for Sirus Black entering into the castle?
"Not a single professor inside this castle would help Sirius Black enter it. I'm quite convinced the castle is safe... and I'm more than willing to send the students back to their houses."
"What about Potter? Should he be warned?"
"Perhaps. But for now, let him sleep. For in dreams, we enter a world that's entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud."
There was a long silence, which made Nicole open her eyes and stand upright, thinking that Dumbledore and Snape were long gone. To her surprise, they stood, an unreadable look on both their faces.
"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, sir." Nicole smiled, not bothering to greet the potions teacher. "I had just woken up. May I go to the washroom please?"
Harry coughed while he pretended to be asleep. He found it funny— out of all the excused Nicole could make, she chose that.
"Oh yes, Nicole." Dumbledore smiled kindly. "You are free to go."
As she ran away with all her might, Nicole had managed to trip on her feet which Harry saw as he opened his eyes. He tried so hard to control his smile as he was supposed to be asleep, but did it when Dumbledore talked again.
"Nicole... she reminds me a lot of her father. I see her a lot in him." he spoke, and Harry could hear the faintest scoff coming from Snape.
"Sure she does, headmaster." Snape said. "Although I must say, her twin is a much better student in my class."