So... hi again, sorry for the long delay and all that. Here it is... enjoy.
XOXOX
Nicole felt awareness return to her slowly. The first thing she noticed was the strong smell of clean sheets. They were still crisp enough for her to surmise the bed must have been changed recently. A sense of comfort washed through her. She had missed freshly made beds and any other number of homely comforts that had been so long denied her. Slowly stretching she sat up and stared round the small room. It was nondescript with plain walls. Clothing was strewn across the floor from a trunk at the foot of the bed. A broomstick rested innocuously by the cupboard. Everything around her seemed half heartedly haphazard and despite the clutter the room felt desperately empty.
Realising that she had slept enough she slowly pulled back the covers and clambered out of the comfortable bed. Nicole decided to search for the houses other inhabitants. She was sure by the light coming through the windows that it was around noon meaning she must have slept at least six hours. She opened the door of Ginny's bedroom and walked slowly down the hallway. It was eerily silent and she felt like a thief creeping through a sleeping household. She made her way into the kitchen and found a pot of what looked and smelt like porridge stirring itself unattended on the stove. She was about to grab a bowl when a voice behind her interrupted her actions.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a bland voice, Nicole turned to find herself staring at the younger Malfoy.
"Draco," she said in surprise before looking down at the pot on the stove, "Why not?"
"It's a potion," he replied, "And not one recommended for human ingestion."
She took a very hasty step away from the stove and turned to face him. He had probably just saved her from an extremely nasty start to the day and she felt a little thankful.
"Oh," she said, "well uhm, thanks for the warning... where is everyone?"
"Around," he said lightly a small grin creeping onto his face, "Most of them are sleeping off the late night, though I think Mr Weasley is in the study. Someone's usually always awake around here."
"Sounds smart," said Nicole with a faint smile thinking of the watches that she and Harry had always kept.
"They're all about constant vigilance, or some sort of motto like that," said Draco.
There was a short silence as the pair stood uncomfortably unsure what to say. Draco gulped as he finally decided to break the silence.
"I should probably warn you..." he said somewhat nervously avoiding her gaze, she felt dread shoot through her at his words, "Granger and Weasley will probably be back tomorrow. I know how you feel about them so I thought I'd you know..."
"I see," she replied, her voice was very quiet. She was unsure how to feel about that particular pair. They had betrayed her trust and practically sold her like a pig to be slaughtered. Yet the way Harry seemed to speak of them had made them seem good people. They had been his friends through school and they had stood by his side and proven their courage. They were the resistance, they had to make hard choices for the greater good. In a sense Nicole could understand what they did to her, she did not blame them but that did not mean she could not hate them for it.
"Did you have any plans for today?" he asked, snapping Nicole out of her confused thoughts by changing the subject.
"Funny you should say that," She said quirking an eyebrow slightly, "But my schedule seems to be mysteriously clear at the moment," she made a motion pretending to check a non-existent watch, "Yep, seems my impending doom has been put on hold for a little while."
More like eternity because of that damn stone, she thought somewhat morosely. She quickly brushed it aside unwilling to dwell on anything unpleasant at that second.
"Great..." he still sounded a little nervous but there was a small grin on his face that could only be described as cheeky, "Do you want to do something fun?"
"What sort of fun?" asked Nicole with good natured suspicion.
"Have you ever heard of a broomstick?" He enquired his grin was now downright wicked.
"This wouldn't be the type that you sweep the floor with I'm guessing," she stated in slight trepidation.
"Most definitely not."
...
They stood outside and Nicole stared at the thing in front of her with severe discomfort.
"How on earth will that overgrown twig keep us both in the air?" she wondered feeling extremely perturbed.
"Overgrown twig... I think I should be offended by that description but well... it is a Cleansweep I suppose," said Draco in a droll manner, Nicole surmised that it was probably some sort of wizarding joke which she probably would never understand.
"You're telling me that thing will keep us in the air?" she asked, her nerves clear in her voice.
"Well it should do, unless you've been snacking more than usual recently," he mocked lightly.
"Oh ha-di-ha," she glared at him.
"Well no time like the present," he said raising a leg over the levitating broom, "Care to jump on the back."
The grin he was giving her was absolutely devilish and Nicole glared at him for a full minute before jumping on behind him.
"You'll want to hold onto my robes," he told her calmly.
Nicole grabbed her arms wildly around him as they levitated slowly off the ground. She had never felt anything like it before and the experience was not entirely comfortable.
"You alright back there," he asked, choosing to ignore the fact she was clinging to him for dear life.
"Bloody fantastic," she returned. Nicole was reminded of a roller coaster as the stick rose higher and higher. She felt the way she always felt when the rides began. She was trying to reassure herself that she found this sort of thing incredibly fun whilst feelings of absolute terror bubbled below the surface. She briefly wondered why she was such a massive idiot.
"Hold on tight," he warned her before the broom accelerated forward and he started to do a bunch of unfeasible and to Nicole terrifying manoeuvres. She had to bite her lip to stop herself screaming. She had never before been this scared. After a while the manoeuvres stopped and she found herself very high up in the air. There was surprisingly little wind or cloud and Nicole could see for miles around them.
She let out a little gasp. When she ignored the fact that they were slowly circling high above the ground, she could appreciate that the view really was breathtaking.
"I thought you'd like it up here," he called to her in a light-hearted tone. Nicole could practically hear the grin on his face.
"This Valley's beautiful. I can almost see why you're so into this whole flying thing," she grudgingly admitted.
"Knew you'd see it my way," he said somewhat menacingly before he once again accelerated into a dive.
"Dracccoooo," she yelled in reproving terror as her fists turned white from holding on, "I think I'm gunna puke."
XOXOX
A little while later after Nicole had been sick, much to the disgust of a particularly unlucky bird which had been circling at a lower altitude, her feet finally touched ground once again.
"That was..." she trailed off unsure how exactly to finish the sentence.
"A part from the visceral reaction, you seemed to enjoy it," said Draco innocently.
"You... I could kill you but," she paused unsure, Nicole had to admit that parts of it had been a little fun, she settled on throwing her arms around him in a thank you hug, after an awkward moment he reciprocated, "That was amazing."
"I knew you'd like it," he laughed and she found herself joining in.
"I like it a whole load better now I'm back on the ground," she told his shoulder, "What would you say to some breakfast?"
"I think it would have to be classified as lunch by this point," he informed her as she took a step backwards ending the embrace.
"Quit being pedantic, I haven't eaten yet so its breakfast," she grabbed a hold of his hand and they returned to the kitchen.
Once again faced by the bubbling and deceptively innocent looking cauldron Nicole found she had a small problem.
"Where exactly is the food?" she asked in confusion. Draco seemed equally worried.
"I'm not really sure," he said sounding a little scared, "I've never cooked before."
"How can you not have cooked?" she demanded.
"Well... I was never really exactly... I had servants, and here well Molly usually cooks, or Kreacher but I think he's busy today," he replied looking a bit uncomfortable.
"I see..." said Nicole staring around the kitchen cupboards, "Surely there must be some sort of fridge?"
"What's a fridge?" Draco asked, much to her horror.
"Bloody wizards," she muttered under her breath.
OXOXO
She stood outside the door where she knew the resistance were meeting. There was a very strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. This is it, she thought to herself, this is the moment I've been waiting for, for two years. This is the moment I get to really strike a blow to The Dark Ones. She was free of the curse now. All previous enchantments had been stripped away from her when the force in the stone invaded her body. Her tongue was no longer bound, she could finally tell the resistance everything she had learned when she was enslaved.
She pushed open the door and found a group of confused wizards staring at her. They were all there, the ones she knew and other's that she did not. They had been arriving all evening and now they were sat before her, a mixture of her betrayers, companions and rescuers.
"Nicole what are you..." asked Harry but she cut him off by raising her hand.
"I can tell you eight months worth of The Dark Ones most private plans," she informed them quietly. They sat in shocked silence for a moment before it broke into pandemonium.
XOXOX
Nicole sat on a swing seat at the end of the small walled garden. She was clinging onto the chain beside her as she rocked gently backwards and forward. There was a strange emptiness in her chest. She had fulfilled the promise she made to herself.
Granger stared at her open mouthed.
"How do you know all this?" she asked in shock.
"They assumed I was vacant... broken, when I stopped speaking. They made me into a sort of symbol a reminder of their great accomplishments. I waited on the secret councils, it's how I knew about the stone. They used me when they realised they could no longer fully trust the elves," she paused a second staring down at her hands, "I listened and memorized every word they said. They were fools."
"Why didn't you tell us before when Jenkins rescued you?" she flinched a little at the use of his name. He was here tonight but she would not look at him. She caught the gaze of the questioner one of the Weasleys.
"I tried to... so many times, but every time I attempted to do so my mouth would not work. There was a curse on me, I was researching a way to break it, I had even found one... but I was... recaptured," she met Grangers eyes and there was guilt written all over the girls face. Nicole felt a small sense of anger wash over her and she was glad the girl felt guilty. She had condemned her to hell, she deserved to feel one tenth of the pain her trade had caused Nicole. The pain of being beaten and invaded, of being unable to escape as someone you despised forced their way inside of you.
"But that's beside the point... If you'd just done as I said and destroyed that damn stone in the..." she pulled herself short it was not the time to vent her fury, "I suppose it's out of his grasp now at least."
"What do you mean?" a question from one of the wizards she did not know.
"I broke it, shattered it under my hand. Whatever was in it has forced its way inside my being. He always planned on using the power within but he could never get to it. The Dark One can pull the power out of me... but as long as I'm away from him he can't," she informed her hands once again. They were curled into fists in her lap.
"You unlocked the Verus Veneficus?" asked a quiet voice from the end of the table. Disbelief radiated through the room and Nicole's eyes never left her hands.
The swing was moving on its own now in a gentle lull. It was incredibly calming really. The Wizards had heard her information on The Dark One, they had thanked her for it.
After her revelation about smashing the stone she had left them to continue their meeting. She had little interest in the orders plans. As she had risen she noticed that he had tried to catch her eye. She ignored him, she could never look at him again not after the way he had betrayed her. She had trusted him so much and he had turned his back when she needed him she had needed him to believe her.
"Nicole I..." a girl spoke behind her and she turned her head to find herself looking at Granger, "Nicole I'm so sorry."
She did not reply, she was supposed to accept the apology, she knew that. It was how these things worked. She should allow the girl to placate her conscience. She made no answer. Nicole was tired of doing what her own conscience demanded of her.
"What I did..." the girl managed to continue, her voice was firmer than it had been before, "it was inexcusable. It was just that... I..."
She came and sat down beside Nicole. There was silence for a while.
"You're right," said Nicole finally speaking, "What you did was cruel, it was calculated, and it was entirely heartless."
The girl beside her had the grace to be silent there was nothing she could say. She would either be forgiven or her apologies would be rejected, Hermione understood then what it was to be powerless and her guilt at putting the girl before her in such a situation nearly overwhelmed her.
"But I don't blame you," Nicole said looking her in the eye, "This is a war and it was the decision that had to be made. You thought I was a traitor and so had to act accordingly, and even if that weren't the case we both know that strategically Draco was a hell of a lot more important than I was."
"It was still a terrible thing. I should have tried to help you," she replied unwilling to let it rest until she had somehow atoned for her act, "What can I do... What can I do to make this right?"
She was honourable, despite the things that the war forced her to do, to become, Hermione Granger was still an honourable person.
"Can you remove this stupid force that's invaded my body and turned me into... God knows what? Can you get it out of me?" Asked Nicole quietly. It was the one thing she needed more than anything else.
"The Verus Veneficus chooses its host," she said quietly, "It only goes to those it deems worthy of its power. It's beyond my power to interfere with something so..."
"Bloody annoying?" supplied Nicole helpfully. There was a small moment when they both smiled in a way that might be called companionable, it passed quickly, "well can you at least tell me what it's going to do to me?"
There was a long silence as the girl considered her. She looked slightly sad.
"I don't know much... only what I've read about it... but I can tell you what little I understand, it really is very complicated," Hermione stared at her as if asking her permission and eventually Nicole nodded.
"Tell me."
"The power will protect its host from harm," she said, "it seems that it would make you in a sense almost invulnerable to attacks. The stone was like it as well, no one could so much as scratch it, and believe me we all tried. I think it could possibly stop you from ageing, maybe strengthen you sometimes... but as the host I don't think you can use its powers. You're like a container, and as crude as this sounds I think you can open up to some others. Sort of like you can bestow the magic on them."
"I thought the power decided who could use it?" asked Nicole a little confused.
"No the power decides who can control the usage but not who uses it themselves... that's why no one could access it when it was a rock, because a rock can't exactly decide to bestow power," she explained, Nicole found it was beginning to make a little more sense.
"But I can't really control who uses it," Nicole exclaimed in sudden confusion, "The Dark One just pulled it out of me... I had no say in the matter."
"You can control it," said the other girl sharply, "I just don't think you know how as of yet."
"Oh..." she said, "great."
There was again more silence as the two sat there unsure what to say. Nicole took the opportunity to get a good look at the girl beside her. She seemed tired. The faintest lines of worry already tinged her face. Her hair was flat as if she had been ignoring it recently, it hung in a lifeless manner around her face and her brown eyes held a depth that was only found within the haunted. The world had not been kind to her and it showed. She was not pitiable, far from it. There was a strength in the way she held herself an assurance bred from knowing her mind and her power. Nicole wondered briefly what she would have been like if it were not for the war. She would probably have been as carefree as any other twenty year old, sitting on the cusp of adulthood without having yet jumped into it. There was nothing childish about Hermione Granger, she had been grown up since she hit fifteen.
"He regretted it," she said, turning to meet Nicole's surprised gaze, "Marcus... It tore him apart that he'd... what we did... he wouldn't meet anyone's eyes for a month. He tried to search for you as well. He was desperate to find out what happened to you..."
"Don't," said Nicole quietly cutting her off, "I don't want to hear it, I can almost forgive you Granger... but after what he did... after what he said... I just can't."
She stood up leaving the other girl on the swing. She needed to escape again and she was slowly running out of places to run. As she made her way back up to the house she used the side door deftly avoiding the kitchen that was still packed with the remainder of the wizards. She headed up to the room she was sharing with Ginny. She really had nothing against the girl. She was pretty much the only Weasley she could stand at the present.
When she opened the door, the sight that greeted Nicole caused her to freeze in panic. There was a small yelp followed by a very uncomfortable pause as Harry and Ginny stared at her with very wide eyes. She suddenly knew a heck of a lot more about either of the pair's bodies than she had ever wanted to learn. She closed the door very quickly and turned away feeling extremely awkward. Shuddering she decided it was one of those moments that needed to be quickly repressed.
Could be worse, she thought to herself wryly, I could have walked in five minutes later... that really would have been bad... She laughed a little at the absurdity of the situation as she walked back down the hall in search of somewhere else to go. After a few seconds she decided to visit Draco. It hit her very suddenly between one heartbeat and the next. I didn't have a panic attack.
She stood stock still in confusion. The last time she had seen anything like that she had frozen up. Irrational fear had taken over and she had almost broken down. So why had she reacted so calmly to it. What am I so afraid of? She found herself asking, seeing those two on the verge of... well indecency didn't affect me but the thought of kissing someone turns me into a gibbering wreck? What the hell is wrong with me? She wondered briefly if she ought to be jealous of them after Harry had tried to kiss her, but she could not find the emotion. Nicole decided that she really did not want to think about it, she resumed walking along the hallway and knocked on Draco's door. She needed to talk to a friend.
The irony of the situation was not lost on her as he opened the door and she found herself staring into a pair of guarded grey eyes. The son of her abuser was probably one of the only people she actually felt comfortable around. He was in fact the only person she could stand close contact with. It was confusing but Nicole thought she had figured out why. It was because he really understood. He had, had everything he believed in and understood ripped away from him. The others were all fighting for something, but his world had been destroyed just like hers. His beliefs had been crushed and he no longer truly held allegiance to either side of the war.
"Were you planning on coming in or did you just want to stand in the hallway," he asked quirking an eyebrow at her silence.
"Sure... I'll come in," she said pushing past him and surveying the room. It held only one bed and was sparsely decorated with a couple of prized possessions other than that it was oddly blank. It was not really his home, "How come you don't have to share with anyone.
"No one wants to sleep in the same room as a big bad Malfoy," he sighed closing the door behind him, "So to what honour do I owe this late night visit?"
"I'm avoiding apologies and Harry and Ginny are a little busy in my room so... I thought here was the best place to hide," she told him sounding as unconcerned as was humanly possible.
"I see," he said quietly, "Well sit down I suppose."
Nicole thumped down onto the bed and after a few moments he joined her.
"So... how's the flying going?" he had not taken her out on his broom again after the first time, something she was not too bothered about.
"It's alright," he said pensively, "Would be better if I still had my nimbus."
"What happened to it?" asked Nicole.
"I left it at the manor," he said seeming very sad about it.
"Oh..." said Nicole before she grinned a little despite herself, "You really such a posh boy aren't you."
He looked at her in slight confusion.
"I left it back at the manor, so sorry," she said in an over exaggerated imitation of his aristocratic tone, "Just off now for a scone and a watercress sandwich."
She burst out laughing whilst he stared open mouthed at her.
"I do not sound like that," he told her formally, he had drawn his shoulders back and was tensed all over, "And even if I did..."
"Oh come on Draco laugh for once its kind of funny," she told him still grinning.
"No it's not," he informed her but his shoulders relaxed a little.
"Fine," she said throwing her hands in the air dramatically, "You don't really sound like that, but you're still probably as posh as it gets."
"Is that a bad thing?" he asked quietly, his tone made her feel guilty for making fun of him.
"No," she said reassuringly, "I suppose it's just a thing, not good or bad... just kind of funny."
"Ah I see..." he gave the outwards appearance of understanding perfectly but something inside Nicole told her he was confused as hell. She looked away from him and stared around his room, it was then that her eyes fell on something she had not expected to see. Turning fully to look at it she stared in shock.
"Is that my..." she asked turning to look at him she saw he had followed her gaze, he now looked faintly guilty.
"Uhm..." the odd stutter was unprecedented coming from his mouth, it took Nicole by as much surprise as the object itself, "I was planning on giving it back to you... I just never really got the chance."
Nicole rose and walked over to the dresser. She picked the small pad up from the top and stared at it in confusion.
"Why do you have this?" she murmured.
When she turned to face him he was staring down at his feet.
"You dropped it remember," he said quietly, "The first day we met you jumped up and it fell on the ground. When you ran away it was just left there... I thought you might want it back."
"So why didn't you just give it to me straight away?" She asked confused.
"I meant to... but I..." he did not seem to have an answer. They stood in silence for a while before he spoke again, "I enchanted it for you."
"Huh?" said Nicole, "How?"
"I enchanted the sketches so they you know moved about, like wizard paintings," he said in a very small voice, "I was going to give it back to you soon I promise."
She flipped it open and on the first page was met with a view of a lake. The little ducks she had drawn swam about on the surface and a breeze ruffled the leaves of a tree in the foreground. Nicole stared in wonder for a few moments before closing it and looking up at him.
"Draco I..." she paused as he finally met her gaze, "Thank you, for saving this for me."
"No problem," he said awkwardly as they both blushed a little looking away. Nicole came and sat back down on the bed clutching the small pad to her chest.
"I don't know about you," she said after an uncomfortable moment, "But I'm really hungry."
"Dinner was only two hours ago," he exclaimed in surprise, "How can you be hungry again."
"I think the more important question is why aren't you hungry again," she asked him raising an eyebrow, "What sort of self respecting teenage boy isn't hungry at ten o'clock at night."
"You know I'm technically not a teenager, I'm twenty years old," he told her somewhat defensively.
"Details, details," she said blithely dismissing his age with a small wave of her hand, "Now are you hungry or not because I'm really craving some cheddar cheese... oh and some chocolate as well, the dark kind. Also a couple of prawns would be amazing... oh and ice cream, that's definitely a must."
"Where on earth are we going to get all that stuff?" he asked frowning, "It'll look like we're trying to feed an army and the orders suspicious of me enough as it is."
It took a moment for Nicole to realize he was joking the idea of good taisty food taking president over all else in her mind.
"I don't care if you have to make a deal with the dark one, just get me some chocolate," she told him firmly giving him a little shove to get him moving.
"My my pushy today aren't we," he told her with a wicked grin, at the fist that was suddenly cocked and aimed at his solar plexus he relented, "alright I'll sort it out."
"Kreacher!" he called and Nicole smiled, soon she would have her heart's desire... she wondered faintly if the elf could mix the cheese and the chocolate together somehow to create some sort of super snack. With a contented sigh she lay back and let Draco sort it out.
OXOXO
Way more Draco at this point he's a bit occ but I can't quite get him right. Hope you enjoyed more is coming as soon as I've written it... and you know a few reviews would be massively appreciated.
