Nic awoke the next morning to see a cup of hot chocolate beside her and a plate of raspberry scones. Smiling, she grabbed a scone and got to her feet. Once she had dressed, she turned to the mirror and began deciding what to do with her hair today. After thinking a moment, she shifted her hair to a platinum blond and her eyes icy blue. After fixing her hair in a messy bun, she gathered her things all together.
Sitting down, she returned to her meal. When she was down to the last scone, a knock on her door caught her attention. "Come in!" she called.
"Hey," Ty greeted. "Mrs. Weasley's having a heart attack trying to get everyone together. You ready?"
"Yup," she replied, grabbing the final scone. Slipping on shoes with the scone still in her mouth, Nic grabbed Sonata's cage with the owl inside. "Can you...?" Tyriq had already grabbed her trunk before she asked. "Thanks." They headed downstairs. As they came down the stairs together, Mrs. Weasley spotted the two and gave them a strange smile before whispering to her husband. Nic had no idea what that was about, but put her trunk and owl with the others.
"Hey I just realized," Ty remarked. "You could ask Mr. or Mrs. Weasley to heal your wrist."
"You're right," Nic exclaimed, her eyes widening. "I didn't even think about that." Once it had been healed, she added the split to her trunk. Leaving was complete chaos and it was a huge relief when Nic and Tyriq finally got on the train. They found an empty compartment and had just settled in when Ginny appeared.
"Can I sit with you guys?" she asked nervously.
"Course," Nic replied, smiling. The three of them passed the time laughing and talking together. Ginny loved hanging out with Nic because, unlike her brothers, she didn't seem to care that she was in a lower year than her. She treated her like a sister. She also liked Tyriq as he was the same way. Soon they were also joined by Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang, a fourth year. They all had a brilliant time during the train ride before they had to change.
"So what electives you taking, Nic?" Cedric asked as the laughter at one of his jokes died down.
"Ancient Runes, and Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts," Nic explained. "How about you, Ty?"
"Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures," he replied. "Decided not to deal with Divination, although it seems that's what most people chose."
"Trelawney is...interesting," Cedric remarked, trying his hardest to be rude about her.
"How?" Ginny asked.
"Let's just say Tyriq dodged a bullet," Ced laughed, causing Cho to burst out laughing, having had her herself last year.
"Ced, you excited for OWLs this year?" Nic asked.
"Don't remind me," he groaned. After much more talk and laugher, it begun to get dark. They were almost there when the train rumbled to a stop. "We can't be there yet," Cedric said, growing worried.
"I'm going to go find Ron," Ginny stated as the lights snapped off. She left, leaving Cho, Cedric, Nic, and Tyriq.
"I need to go check on my little brother," Cho said, getting up. Once she left, Nic began to have a feeling of foreboding. Cedric lit his wand as the door slid open. Before them was a tall, towering figure. Instantly they all felt their insides turn to ice. The thing breathed, making the intense cold get worse. Instantly Nic began to feel light headed. Next moment, the edges of her vision began to turn to black. Then everything faded away.
Nic seemed to see before her a tall shadow. It cackled and laughed cruelty before a wand was raised before her. "Pretty little Potter at last," the voice cackled. "I wonder how many tries it'll take to kill you."
"Get away from her!" a male voice shouted.
"Ah," cackled the woman. "Daddy Potter come to the rescue. You can't protect her from me." The voice became muffled as the man picked her up, shielding her with his body. Next moment, a flash of green blinded her. Next, a flash of red and pain seared through her, causing her to let out a scream.
"Nic!" a voice shouted, shaking her anxiously.
"Nicki!" another voice cried. Next moment, she flung up from where she'd been laying on the floor with a harsh gasp mixed with a scream. Next moment, tears streamed down her cheeks. Tyriq wrapped his arms around her as someone came into the compartment.
"She okay?" the man asked.
"It was the dementor," Cedric explained quietly. It came in here and she...she fainted I guess. Then she started screaming." Kneeling beside her, the man offered her some chocolate.
"It helps," he said as she took it, but she was still sobbing.
"H-Hermione," she sobbed. "Where's Hermione? O-Or Ginny?"
"I'll find them," Cedric promised, getting to his feet before rushing off. Nic ate the chocolate and it did help, but not completely. The man had left by now and Nic was just sitting on the floor with Tyriq who still had an arm wrapped around her. Next moment, Hermione and Ginny came rushing in.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, crouching down next to her as Tyriq moved to sit on one of the seats, leaving the girls to talk to her. Nicki shook her head, still crying slightly. Cedric came back in and sat next to Tyriq as the girls helped Nicki up to sit next to them.
"Well you weren't the only one," Hermione remarked. "Harry passed out too."
"Is he okay?" Nic asked thickly.
"A bit shaken, but he'll be fine," Hermione replied.
"Hey," a voice form the door said.
"Speak of the devil and he shall come," Nic said, trying her best to make a joke.
"You okay? Professor Lupin said you..."
"Lupin?" Nic interrupted, her mind flashing to James' letter.
"He's the new DADA teacher," Harry explained. Soon Harry left and Nic calmed down slightly. Professor Lupin had stopped by again and given her more chocolate which helped as well. Soon, however, they had arrived at school. Tyriq, Ginny, and Cedric left with Nicki to find a carriage as Hermione returned to Harry and Ron.
Once in the carriage, Cedric asked, "Nic, can I ask you something?" When she nodded, he asked, "What were you screaming about when the dementor...you kept screaming 'no' over and over again."
"I saw my dad murdered," Nic explained quietly. "He-" Nic broke off, not really wanting to talk about it. She had never talking about her parents with anyone other than Dumbledore, not even Harry.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Tyriq broke in, shooting a small glare at Cedric. Nic nodded and shifted her gaze out the window.
As they headed into the Great Hall, Professor Sprout called, "Potter!" Nic turned, facing her head of house as Cedric and Tyriq shared uncertain looks. "Go and sit down, boys," Sprout ordered.
As they did so, Cedric added, "We'll save you a seat, Nicki."
"Thanks," she replied before following Professor Sprout to her office. It was a small office down by the common room. Inside were several plants and bottles of different things. Nic smiled slightly, gazing at all the plants. While Herbology wasn't her favorite, there was certainly something calming about dealing with the magical plants. "Professor Lupin informed me what happened on the train," Professor Sprout began, looking concerned. "Are you all right, my dear?"
"I'll be okay," she replied shakily. "Tyriq and Cedric both did what they could to help me after."
Smiling warmly, she said, "They're both sweet boys. It's good you have them around. Ten points to Hufflepuff for their actions. Now, my dear, do you need to spend the night in the hospital wing?"
"No, that's not necessary," she insisted. "Professor Lupin gave me some chocolate so I'm okay."
"All right," she replied, giving her a small smile. "Now in regards to your classes. You're to work with Professor Lupin for your Advanced DADA class. For the time being, however, you will just go to the sixth year DADA class. Your work will be slightly adjusted from there's, though."
"Okay, thank you," Nic replied.
"Now, how about he head down to the feast?" Sprout suggested. Nic smiled and followed along. "Oh and dear, your eyes and hair are whiter than snow." Quickly she changed her eyes to blue-green and her hair to a dark brown absentmindedly. She also made her skin look more like its normal color as it had turned very pale. They had missed Dumbledore's speech, but Nic slipped in her seat between Cedric and Tyriq. Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot were sitting with them as well as some of Cedric's fifth year friends.
"Everything okay?" Tyriq asked, grabbing some mashed potatoes for himself before offering to give her some.
She nodded and he got her some as she explained, "She was just making sure I'm all right. Can you pass me the-" She broke off as she saw Tyriq had already set the gravy by her plate. Letting out a small laugh and blushing slightly, she poured out the gravy over her potatoes and got some steak. Soon everyone was in better spirits after the dementor and more talk and laughter filled the room. Nic had just finished her food when the meal was replaced by desserts. She grabbed some of the chocolate eclairs and began to eat them.
"Oh, did I miss anything before the feast?" Nic asked, turning to the two boys in either side of her.
"Uh, warning about the dementors," Susan counted off, "the new DADA professor, Professor Lupin, and Hagrid's the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher."
"Ah, thanks," Nic replied as Dumbledore got to his feet again and told them to head to bed.