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THE FOLLOWING FEW DAYS NYX tried her hardest not to fall behind in class. She was well aware that she was at a disadvantage compared to her fellow second years but she didn't want to make a big deal about it. She just wanted to make the most of her brand new magical education. Unfortunately, it seemed as though no matter what she did she was unable to conjure any magic! It didn't make any sense to her at all! Why was it so difficult? Nyx had produced magic before when she was younger, recently she'd made the discovery that all those times hadn't been her imagination but in truth her abilities as a witch coming through. However, what if she was wrong? What if those instances never happened?
Nyx wouldn't be feeling so anxious if other people were facing the same problem but nope! She was the only one it seemed. Even when the worst performing students failed they at least failed in a magical way!
She'd gone to see him about it at once fearing that maybe there had been a grave mistake and maybe she really wasn't meant to be here.
"It would make sense, wouldn't it? The reason why I didn't get my letter earlier is obviously that I'm not magical at all! There's been a mistake! I'll never get it!" rambled Nyx as she paced around in Severus's office that evening. "What if I'm really not a witch after all? What if I'm a-a..."
Severus looked up from the work he was trying to grade only to see Nyx hyperventilating and on the brink of tears.
"A squib?" He had finished the thought for her. Nyx stopped in her tracks and nodded sadly. Severus just exhaled and looked back down at the parchment rolls.
"You're not a squib," he told her.
"And how can you be certain of that?" asked Nyx.
He paused for a moment as a single memory returned to him. One that contained a floating blonde baby giggling joyfully as she just rolled through the air.
Severus stared at her. "I just know."
Knowing Severus, Nyx knew that was all she was going to get out of him which didn't help with her doubts. He seemed awfully certain though, so maybe she should have just taken his word for it? Still, Nyx needed to talk to someone about this and so she decided that person would be Hermione Granger. They had every class together, in which they sat next to each other in every single one, and they also slept in the same dorm room so it seemed natural to get Hermione's opinion on the matter.
Hermione admitted that it was a bit odd but that it was probably because Nyx had started out so late. She assured Nyx that she would get it eventually and to remember that she had still gotten a wand and had performed magic in her childhood before.
"But if you're that worried we could always ask a teacher, maybe Professor McGonagall? Or we could go to the Hospital Wing?"
"No, no!" Nyx shook her head. "I think I should wait a bit, y'know? I could just be overreacting and if that's the case I don't want to make a big spectacle out of it."
"Well, all right," said Hermione. Their conversation moved on from there. "Ron, Harry and I are planning to go down to Hagrid's hut on Saturday. Do you want to come with us?"
Nyx, having no plans, agreed. "But who's Hagrid?"
"He's the gamekeeper and a friend of ours." Hermione smiled, dangling a string of yarn in front of Poppy who swiped at it. "You've seen him before."
Nyx sat back on her bed and started brushing her hair. "I have?"
"It was at Diagon Alley. Hagrid was the one who pulled Malfoy's father and Mr. Weasley off of one another."
Nyx's jaw dropped as she remember the enormous man who'd easily plucked the two fathers away from each other. That was Hagrid? Now Nyx was excited to see him again. He was the biggest person she'd ever laid her eyes on! Nyx tried to imagine what it would be like to have that height. She'd always be able to see over crowds, reach the top of shelves ...
⍣ ೋ
It was finally the weekend, so that meant no more classes. Nyx woke up to give Poppy some food before getting ready for the day. She and Hermione exited the girl's dormitory together, discussing their similar yet different experiences in the muggle world. They were particularly invested in why the wizarding world had a lack of modernized facilities and inventions.
"No, I thought it was strange too. But I suppose with magic there's no need to invent things," said Hermione as they reached the Common Room.
Their conversation had somehow migrated into chatting about the things they thought were strange about the magical world. Nyx told Hermione she'd sent her friend Alex a letter days ago but Hypnos had yet to return. She commented on how it was strange to use owls in the current century.
"I understand electronics and magic don't go well together, telephones are out of the question. Still, you'd think with magic they're be a simpler way of communicating." Nyx paused and then grinned. "But I guess, owls are far cuter so it's not all that bad."
"Wood's gone and kidnapped all of them!"
Hermione and Nyx turned around to see Ron rush down from the boys' dormitories by himself.
Nyx looked over at Hermione was visibly lost. "Was that code for something?" she asked her.
Ron made his way over to the girls and continued to explain himself.
"I just woke up and Harry was gone; he left a note. Wood's dragged them all off for some early morning practice. They're probably still there now." said Ron to Hermione, then he noticed Nyx. "Oh, hi Nyx."
"Hello," smiled Nyx. "Question: who's Wood? And morning practice for what?"
It was all explained to her once Ron had put on his robes (he was in his pyjamas) and they left Gryffindor Tower. Apparently, Harry was part of the Quidditch team since last year and he happened to be the youngest house player in a century. His position was Seeker which evidently was an important role because only he could end the game by catching the golden snitch.
The terminology was confusing for Nyx at first until Ron took it upon himself to explain the game of Quidditch to her. Nyx listened attentively while Hermione looked rather bored. Ron was energetic though Quidditch was his favourite sport and he played it all the time with his brothers.
"Okay, I think I get it now," Nyx said once Ron had finished explaining. "So everyone's always so excited about Quidditch because all the Houses compete against each other for the Cup?"
"Exactly." Ron nodded.
"It does sound like a brutal game. I hope Harry doesn't get himself hurt," Nyx said worryingly. It had been a few days since the term had started. Nyx was still spending most of her time with Hermione, so she and Harry weren't exactly close friends yet. Still, she worried about his well-being; strange how that worked.
"He's fine, nothing's ever happened to him," Ron said quickly.
Hermione rose an eyebrow at him as she huffed.
"Last year he almost fell off his broom," she pointed out.
Nyx's eyes widened as she turned to hear Ron's response.
"That wasn't his fault though, bloody Quirrell was jinxing his broom."
Jinxing? Nyx thought to herself. She was sure that wasn't allowed.
"Who's Quirrell?" she asked.
"Our old Defence Against the Dark Arts professor," said Hermione casually.
"Oh." Nyx nodded but furrowed her eyebrows. "... Wait, what? A professor was jinxing Harry's broom?"
Ron and Hermione shared a knowing look before they said in unison, "It's a long story."
The Quidditch Pitch was a large, oval stadium. Hundreds of seats were raised in the stands around the pitch so spectators were high enough to see what was going on, and at either side of the pitch were golden poles with hoops on the end. There was a broom shed nearby where students stored their broomsticks, and according to Ron, the Pitch had a dressing room and offices for the Quidditch Captains.
By now the sun was already in the sky, although remnants of mist hung over the grass of the stadium. Ron, Hermione, and Nyx were all sitting in the stands after having a quick breakfast in the Great Hall. They waited to see when the team would come out—at that moment Harry walked onto the field.
"Aren't you finished yet?" called Ron incredulously.
"Haven't even started," said Harry.
Nyx noticed how he was looking jealously at the toast and marmalade they'd brought out of the Great Hall. She stood up, went to the edge of the stand and held out a piece of toast to him.
"Would you like some? I doubt you've eaten yet," she offered.
Harry's tired face seemed to light up. He mounted his broomstick and kicked it off the ground into the air. Nyx watched him in awe as he flew directly above her and took the piece of toast offered.
"Thanks," said Harry as he took a bite. "Wood's been teaching us new moves."
Harry stuffed the rest of the toast in his mouth and then soared right around the stadium at full speed. Hermione, Ron, and Nyx continued to observe from the stands as Harry raced twin gingers (Ron said they were his older brothers, Fred and George).
"He's really fast," Nyx pointed out, as her eyes could barely follow Harry as he sped around.
"He's a great flyer, and he's got a Nimbus Two Thousand," said Ron but his voice was sort of muffled by an unusual clicking sound.
Nyx looked around. Just what on earth was that? She turned to see a small boy sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, taking picture after picture, the sound strangely magnified in the deserted stadium.
"Look this way, Harry! This way!" he cried shrilly.
Nyx blinked. "Does Hogwarts have a yearbook club or something?"
"No." Hermione shook her head, also looking over at the small boy.
"That's Colin Creevey," said Ron annoyingly. "And he's a huge fan of Harry. Follows him around every chance he gets asking him to sign his pictures."
"Why would he want Harry to sign his pictures?" Nyx asked without thinking. But before either Hermione or Ron could reply, she quickly answered her own question. "Oh, that's right, Harry's famous in the wizarding world, huh?"
"He's the Boy Who Lived." nodded Ron. "But don't tell him I called him that, 'cause he hates it."
Nyx made the motion of zipping her lips. "My lips are sealed."
Fame seemed like a cool thing to Nyx, but she could understand how someone could get tired of it. From what she'd seen, Harry didn't seem like the type of person who enjoyed needless attention. She noticed that back at Diagon Alley when all those cameras were on him, and now he was facing the same at Hogwarts with Colin Creevey.
Must be hard, Nyx said to herself.
"Bloody hell, what are they doing!" exclaimed Ron staring down at the pitch.
Nyx followed his gaze, she looked down at the field to see several people in green robes walking with their broomsticks in hand. The Gryffindor team one by one all flew down to the ground to meet them. The two teams were talking and Nyx noticed how much bigger the Slytherin team looked physically—oh and they were all boys too unlike the Gryffindor team who had some girls on it.
"That doesn't look good," mumbled Hermione.
Ron was already out of his seat and making his way over. Hermione and Nyx quickly got up as well and followed suit. As they crossed the grass, suddenly both teams were looking over at them; someone must have pointed out that they were coming.
"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"
He was looking at Draco, taking in his Slytherin Quidditch robes.
"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Draco, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father bought our team."
Nyx frowned. She'd seen Draco flying in his room before during summer. He must have been practicing for tryouts. But if he'd practiced so hard why was he proud that his father had to bribe the team with new brooms? It seemed redundant.
Ron gasped, open-mouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him. Nyx thought that they did look far newer than some of the brooms on the Gryffindor team, but she didn't know anything about the mechanics of broomsticks and why some were better than others. Although, now that she thought about it, it might be a lovely read.
"Good, aren't they?" said Draco smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweet Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."
The Slytherin team howled with laughter.
"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," said Hermione sharply. "They all got in on pure talent."
The smug look on Draco's face flickered.
"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood." He spat.
The only reason why Nyx knew Draco had said something offensive was because of the chaos that was let loose once everyone had heard and processed his words. A tall, muscular and unappealing Slytherin player had to dive in front of Draco to stop Fred and George from jumping on him, one of the Gryffindor girls shrieked "How dare you!" and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand, yelling, "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" and pointed it furiously under the large player's arm at Draco's face.
A loud bang echoed around them and a jew of green light shot out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backward onto the grass. His body had just flown right out of view.
"Ron, Ron! Are you alright?" Hermione gasped, as she ran over to him. But when Ron opened his mouth to speak no words came out, instead have an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth into his lap.
The Slytherin team was paralyzed with laughter at the sight that had occurred. Their captain (the tall unappealing one) was double over leaning on his broom for support, Draco was on all fours banging the ground with his fists. The Gryffindors were gathered around Ron, who kept belching large glistening slugs. Nobody seemed to want to touch him.
Nyx stood there, unmoving. In front of her were the Slytherins roaring their heads off, and this included Draco who up until now she'd considered her friend. Behind were the Gryffindors, her house, and the victims in the situation. She didn't know what a "mudblood" was but, Nyx knew it had to be awful. Besides, Ron seemed like a good person, and he was defending Hermione who was one of Nyx's close friends now.
But Draco ... Nyx contemplated. She lived with him, she'd spent months with him. They had spent so much time together and he made Malfoy Manor seem a bit more homely. She knew that he was a bully though, she knew that he'd lied before about being a victim of bullying too. Nyx had looked past it, she thought that it couldn't possibly be a big deal. He was a product of his environment and whenever the two of them were together he seemed like a good person.
"What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill? But you can cure him, can't you?" Colin Creevey had run down from his seat and was now dancing alongside them as they left the field.
Ron gave a huge heave and more slugs dribbled down his front.
Why am I even thinking about this so hard? Nyx wondered. She could feel Draco's pale eyes staring at her. She felt as though he was ordering her to stay put, daring her to move.
Nyx met his eyes with her own; this was a simple decision.
"Ooh!" said Colin, fascinated and raising his camera. "Can you hold him still, Harry?"
Harry looked violently at the younger boy and was about to blow up at him when Nyx placed her hand on Colin's shoulder. Colin looked over at the girl who smiled at him.
"I don't think right now's the best time, Harry trying to help his friend. You wouldn't want to get in his way, would you?" she said gently.
Colin blinked. "Oh, right! Sorry, Harry."
The boy backed away allowing Harry and Hermione some room to support Ron out of the stadium.
Harry looked over at Nyx who was following them, his eyes said it all. He was thankful.
"Don't look at me like that," murmured Nyx. "It's the right thing to do, besides ... I should have come a lot sooner."
She moved a strand of her golden hair out of her face while peeking over her shoulder at Draco who looked far from pleased. Nyx stared back at him boldly—something that made his glare waver. She knew one thing was certain...
Lucius was going to hear about this.
Harry, Nyx, Hermione, and a sickly Ron crossed the grounds toward the edge of the forest.
"Nearly there, Ron," said Hermione as the gamekeeper's cabin came into view. "You'll be all right in a minute—almost there—"
They were within twenty feet of Hagrid's house when the front door opened, but it wasn't the enormous man Hagrid who emerged. Gilderoy Lockhart, wearing robes of the palest mauve today, came striding out.
"Quick, behind here," Harry hissed, dragging Ron behind a nearby bush.
Nyx grabbed hold of a reluctant Hermione and they all hid.
"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing!" Lockhart was saying loudly to Hagrid. "If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book. I'm surprised you haven't already got one—I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, goodbye!" And he strode away toward the castle.
What a peculiar man, Nyx thought to herself.
Once Lockhart was out of sight, Harry pulled Ron out of the bush and up to Hagrid's front door. They knocked urgently. Hagrid appeared at once, looking very grumpy, but his expression brightened when he saw who it was.
"Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me—come in, come in—thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again—"
Hermione and Harry supported Ron over the threshold into a one-roomed cabin, which had an enormous bed in one corner, and a fire crackling merrily in the other. Nyx thought the inside was fairly small (especially for someone of Hagrid's size) but it had everything that was essential for living, just all pressed together in one spherical room.
Hagrid didn't seem perturbed by Ron's slug problem, which Harry hastily explained as he lowered Ron into a chair.
"Better out than in," Hagrid said cheerfully, placing a large copper basin in front of the gagging ginger. "Get 'em all out, Ron."
"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop," said Hermione anxiously, watching Ron bend over the basin. "That's a difficult curse to work at the best times, but with a broken wand—"
Hagrid was bustling around making them tea. Nyx smiled happily when she saw a large dog slobbering over Harry. She quickly went to pet it and it licked her all over, which made her collapse in a fit of giggles.
"That tickles," said Nyx.
"Nyx, what are you..." Hermione trailed off and didn't even finish her sentence. She was going to ask why Nyx wasn't taking the situation seriously but decided to drop it. That just didn't seem like Nyx's style.
"What did Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?" Harry asked.
"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of the well," growled Hagrid, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot. "Like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle."
Hermione, however, said in a voice somewhat higher than usual, "I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job—"
"Achoo!" Nyx sneezed loudly which startled Hermione.
Nyx sniffed, her nose was getting stuffy, and her eyes felt itchy — actually her whole body felt itchy. She shrugged it off and continued playing with Fang.
"Didn't Dumbledore also hire a professor who jinxed Harry's broom?" asked Nyx, her voice sounding very different from her now stuffed nose.
"I think yeh might be allergic to Fang," Hagrid said to Nyx, who was now sniffling every two seconds.
"W-What? No, I'm not." Nyx's stuffed voice gave her up, however, and Hagrid called his dog, Fang, away from her which made Nyx frown.
"As for Lockhart, Hermione, he was the on'y man for the job," said Hagrid, offering hem a plate of treacle fudge, while Ron coughed squelchy into his basin. "An' I mean the on'y one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. So tell me," Hagrid jerked his head at Ron. "Who was he tryin' ter curse?"
"Draco," Nyx answered while picking up some fudge.
"He called Hermione something—it must have been really bad because everyone went wild," explained Harry.
"It was bad," said Ron hoarsely, emerging over the tabletop looking pale and sweaty. "Malfoy called her a 'Mudblood', Hagrid—"
Ron dived out of sight again as a fresh wave of slugs made their appearance. Hagrid looked outraged.
"He didn'!" he growled at Hermione.
"He did," she said. "But I don't know what it means. I could tell it was really rude, of course—"
"It's about the most insulting thing he could think of," gasped Ron coming back up. "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggleborn—you know nonmagic parents. There are some wizards—like Malfoy's family—who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood." He gave a small burp, and a single slug fell into his outstretched hand. He threw it into the basin and continued, "I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all. Look at Neville Longbottom—he's a pureblood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up."
"An' they haven't invited a spell our Hermione can' do," said Hagrid proudly, making Hermione go a brilliant shade of magenta.
"It's a disgusting thing to call someone," said Ron, wiping his sweaty brow with a shaking hand. "Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's ridiculous. Most wizards these days are half-bloods anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out."
He retched and ducked out of sight again.
"Well, I don' blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron," said Hagrid loudly over the thud of more slugs hitting the bain. "Bu' maybe it was a good thing yer wand backfired. 'Spect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son. Least yer not in trouble."
Nyx set down her piece of fudge suddenly losing her appetite. She slowly got up from her seat and went to walk out of the hut.
"Nyx, where are you going?" asked Hermione.
Nyx halted at the door, put on a smile and looked over her shoulder. "Taking care of something," she said. "Oh, it was lovely meeting you, Hagrid. I'm Nyx, by the way, Nyx Riddle."
Hagrid's eyes widened slightly as his facial expression shifted. But then he just smiled back and nodded. Nyx left the hut, and her smile had disappeared instead she was burning with fury with a downright deadly glare on her face—if looks could kill ...
⍣ ೋ
When she reached the Quidditch pitch the Slytherin team was enjoying their time flying around practicing their plays. The Gryffindor team still hadn't left though. Nyx could see them standing by the dressing room entrances. One of them, the captain (Wood) had a face as red as his Quidditch robes. Nyx didn't care that there were dangerous bludgers flying around, she marched straight onto the grassy field. As she did so the playing overhead gradually stopped and everyone sort of just stared down at her like she was crazy.
"Hey! Get off the field, blondie!"
Draco Malfoy looked down and noticed Nyx standing in the middle of the field with her arms crossed looking up at him. He smiled smugly, thinking that she had come to her sense and was here to apologize and maybe laugh at Ron Weasley's expense. He flew down to the ground and dismounted his broom ... only to find that he was sorely mistaken.
Loud gasps were heard all across the field from both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors teams when Nyx had slapped Draco cleanly across the face.
Draco held onto his now red and sore cheek as he looked back at the girl with wide eyes.
Her chest was burning as she narrowed her eyes at him. "'Mudblood', huh? How dare you use that word? You had no right to call her that. I thought I'd give you another chance after I found out that you'd lied to me about being bullied. I thought that I'd give you the benefit of the doubt, that I'd put my trust in you. But then you go and do this?"
"Nyx, I —" Draco shut up when Nyx balled her fist.
"I can see it clearly now ... you're a revolting person, Draco Malfoy! To think I ever believed otherwise amazes me!" Nyx scoffed. "Make sure you tell Lucius, that I'm doing very well in Gryffindor, that I've become great friends with a Miss Hermione Granger. Also, why don't you tell him that my best friend, who I plan to actively stay in contact with just so happens to be one of those filthy muggles he hates so much."
"Nyx—"
"Also!" Nyx would not allow Draco to speak. "I revoke your invitation to see the sunrise or set with me. Your presence would just ruin the whole experience. From this day forward, Draco, you and I are complete strangers. I don't associate myself with bullies, let alone bigoted ones!"
Nyx turned her heel and walked away from him after that. Not allowing Draco to defend or justify his actions. As she did so she noticed the Gryffindor team hollering with laughter, while the Slytherins had all flown down to see if Draco was already.
He wasn't thought. Draco's cheek started to swell up, but more importantly, his ego was bruised.
Nyx had no regrets, not even a little bit. If this got her kicked out of Malfoy Manor or got her detention ... then so be it.