As the anger wore off, another emotion began to ebb away at Nic. Her hair changed to a bright white and her eyes shifted to an icy blue. Glancing over at her, Harry asked, "You okay?"
Stopping at Magnolia Crescent, she set down her trunk and replied, "Harry, there's something I haven't told you."
"What?" he asked, looking surprised.
"At Christmas, I got a gift from someone I didn't know," she explained quietly, sitting down on the low wall beside them. "It was first year. It was a notebook...from Mum and Dad."
"What did it say?" Harry asked softly, too tired to care why she'd not told him.
"It had a letter from them...to me," she sighed. "They...they seemed to think I was more likely to survive if something happened. Dad wasn't like she described him as. He was a good man, Harry."
"I know," he sighed, sitting down next to her. "Dad had an invisibility cloak. Dumbledore passed it on to me that same Christmas."
Smiling slightly, Nic sighed, "We both got something from them then." Her smile dropped as she said, "I wish we could've know them." Harry sighed but made no response as Nic pulled out the notebook again. She scanned over it as Harry began digging in his trunk for something.
Dear Nicki,
If you're reading this is means something has happened to me and your father, but you somehow survived. I hope Harry is with you, but I know that whatever kind of world you're living in right now you will make great. I can tell that you are a sweet little girl. A few months after you and Harry were born, Harry was crying because he'd spilled his cup of milk and you didn't like seeing him cry. So you gave him yours and since then I've only seen you be kind, even as a young, young girl.
I love you, sweetheart, but I want to do all I can to protect you. Inside these pages is a spell that I worked out with your father and his friends in their fifth year. I want you to use it so you can be protected. It's complicated and hard, but I believe in you, sweetie. Take care of your brother if he's still around.
Love,
Mum
Dear Nic,
Merlin I hope you never have to read this, but if this whole encounter with Voldemort goes as he wants it to then I need to make sure you know a few things. The first and most important one is that you know that I love you. I love you more than you can imagine. When you were born and you came into this world I wouldn't let you go. I held you in my arms for hours and hours, watching your hair and eyes change color. I remember once you changed it so you looked almost exactly like Harry.
Another thing I need you to know is that if you ever need anything then go to one of the following people: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, or Albus Dumbledore. I'd trust them with my life and I know that they'd look after you too. Please use the spell in these pages. I believe in you too, sweetie. I hope that you grow up getting to know me and your mum, but in case you haven't, please just know how much we love you.
Love,
Dad
Just as she finished, Harry jolted up, looking around him sharply. Shoving the notebook in her trunk, Nic stood, whispering, "What is it?"
"Something's over there," he breathed. Harry lit his wand and it revealed a large, dark shape. Harry backed up as Nic jumped, both tripling and falling to the ground. Nic's fall was much worse than Harry's, for she had landed on her wrist which made a deafening crack. Another loud bang echoed through the alley and a bus appeared before them.
Harry helped Nic to her feet to face the violently purple bus that was now before them. She cradled her wrist in her other hand as a conductor stepped out. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch and wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you wherever you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve-" He broke off, spotting the surprised and confused looks on both the children's faces.
Dropping his professional exterior, the man asked, "Woss your names?"
"Neville Longbottom," Harry replied quickly, stating the first name that came to his head.
"Hermione Granger," Nic lied. Stan opened his mouth to say something, but Nic interrupted, "How much to get to London?"
"Twenty-two sickles for the two o' ya," he replied. Handing over the money, Harry and Stan began to get their things on the bus. Nic merely carried Sonata as her wrist was throbbing painfully. There were no chairs in the bus. Instead, there were several brass bedsteads. Harry plotted down on one and Nic simply sat next to him, still clutching her wrist tightly. Nic lay back on the bed next to Harry and closed her eyes. She wasn't sleeping. Merlin she wasn't sure if she'd be able to, but she was tired.
She had just begun to get her mind settled so she could begin to drift off when Harry shook her suddenly. "What?" she groaned, sitting up irritably.
"Look," he hissed, showing her the front page of the Daily Prophet he'd taken. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the page and began scanning over it. She quickly read over it. It was an article talking about a man named Sirius Black. At the end of which stated he had killed thirteen people with a single curse, but something was bothering Nic. Her father's letter had said that Black was one of the people he'd trust with his life.
She was positive Sirius Black was the name of the man. Nicki had read that letter over and over, possibly even a hundred times since first year. There was no way she'd mistaken the name. "He murdered thirteen people, with a single curse?" Harry asked after re-reading the article over Nic's shoulder.
"Yep," Stan replied. "In front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big trouble it caused, dinnit Ern?"
"Ar," the driver replied.
"Black woz a big supporter of you-know-woo."
"What, Voldemort?" Harry clarified.
"You outta your tree?" Stan gasped, pale as a sheet. "Choo sayin 'is name for?"
"So, so Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?" Nic interrupted.
"Yeah," Stan replied, rubbing his chest to sooth the harsh pounding of his heart. "Yeah, that's right. Very close to You-Know-Who, they say. Anyway, when little 'Arry Potter got the better of You-Know-Who, all the..." As he continued explaining, Nic couldn't listen. Her mind was filled with the contradiction between her father's words and what the Wizarding world believed. Once it had quieted down, Nic lay back on the bed, her heart pounding and her mind swirling.
She turned her back to Harry and the others and lay with her eyes wide open. A little later, Harry asked, "You okay?" She said nothing, not wanting to talk to him at the moment about what was going through her head. Letting out a sigh, she nodded, not giving him anymore of an answer. Soon, however, they arrived at Diagon Alley. Once they had gotten their trunks out, Nic merely carrying Sonata as her wrist was still throbbing painfully, they suddenly heard a voice behind them.
"There you are, Harry, Nicole." Turning, Nic saw Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. He had placed a hand on both of their shoulders, causing Nic to flinch at the touch. He pretended not to notice and led the two of them into the Leaky Caldron. Nic's ears were ringing as they were led into a private parlor and served tea and some scones. Once the three of them were alone, Fudge directed them to sit across from him. Harry did, but Nic refused.
"Nic, just do what he says," Harry hissed, turning to her. Rolling her eyes, she did so, laying her now very swollen wrist in her lap.
"I am Cornelius Fudge," Fudge stated, sitting opposite the twins. "Well, Harry, Nicole, you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle like that! I'd started to think...but you're safe, and that's what matters." Nic listened with narrowed eyes as Fudge rattled on about how they'd fixed the issue with Marge, but there was no mention of any punishment. After Harry had mentioned it and been dismissed and Fudge left, Nic turned towards Harry silently.
"Something's off here," she remarked quietly.
"Yeah," Harry replied, staring after Fudge. When Fudge came back, Nic instantly left the room, still holding her wrist tightly to her chest. Once she had passed him, she went to Tom, the owner and asked which room was hers. Once inside, she found Sonata and all of her other things. Sonata swooped down and landed next to her. She stroked her feathers, staring around the room. Then she curled up and went to sleep, trying to ignore the harsh throbbing of her wrist. When the pain kept her awake, she moved over to her trunk.
She had a splint from when she had broken she wrist when she was younger. She still had it and slipped it on her wrist. It almost completely restricted movement, but it would have to do until she could see Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts. This time, she was able to get to sleep.