Chapter 26

"Everyone in here!"

Nicolette looked up at Brandon before they both turned to find Professor Sprout leading the students back into the great hall.

"What happened," she asked Brandon.

"I don't know," he responded. "Almost everyone had left."

"Clear the tables out please," Professor Sprout shouted.

"Get up," Professor Snape said to them as he walked over. Nicolette and Brandon stood and Professor Snape waved his wand and all the tables and benches disappeared from the room.

"Professor Snape," Brandon said. "What happened?"

"Black tried to get into your common room. All the students are being brought in here until the castle can be searched."

"Oh god!"

Brandon and Nicolette stood in each other's arms as they watched the student body pile into the great hall and stand around.

An hour later Nicolette was sitting on a purple sleeping bag next to Brandon. She had made him put them in the corner so she didn't have to be near anyone.

"Nic," he said. "You know they aren't going to let me stay here tonight right? They will separate us soon."

"I know," she said with her eyes closed and her head leaning against the wall. "But I don't want you to leave me yet." The two sat in silence, Nicolette with her eyes closed and Brandon quietly observing the room they were in. "Lacey hates me too doesn't she?"

"It's not that she hates you," he said softly as he looked at her. "She understands that your relationship is different with her than it is with Anne or Becca, she is just disappointed that you won't confide in her." He took a deep breath and picked up her hand. "I think she knows how important you and I are to each other and wishes that she could be apart of it. She's jealous that you are so important to me."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Why?"

"Because you should be with her and not me," she told him. "I made my bed and I need to sleep in it. I can't use you as a crutch; you have a life to live."

"Nic," he said with a little frustration. "Stop. Lacey and I will be fine. You need me right now and no matter how hard you try, I am going to be here for you."

"Even if Lacey breaks up with you?"

"If Lacey breaks up with me because I think you need me, then she and I have bigger problems than you," he told her. "You are my sister and family comes first. She knows that you are part of the package. I love you and she knows that."

"It helps that she loves you too," Lacey said. Brandon and Nicolette looked up to see that Lacey was standing in front of them. "Look Nic, I don't want to get involved in what is going on with you and Anne or you and Oliver but you and Brandon are my business. He's not the Brandon I love when you and he aren't talking." Brandon smiled at his girlfriend.

"See Nic," he looked back at Nicolette. "Straight from the horse's mouth."

"Wait," Lacey said as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Am I the horse in this scenario?"

"You are my girlfriend in every scenario," he said with a smile.

"Mr. Wells," Professor McGonagall said as she came up to the group. "You need to go to the other side. The boys are sleeping at the other end of the hall."

"Told you," he said as he gave Nicolette a kiss on the cheek and stood and gave Lacey and kiss on the lips. "See you in the morning, both of you," he said with a stern look at Nicolette before walking down the row of Gryffindor sleeping bags.

"Miss Deloncre," Professor McGonagall. "How are you feeling?"

"Like the life has been sucked from my body," Nicolette said with an attempt at cheerfulness. "I don't need to throw up if that's what you mean," she added downheartedly. Professor nodded before walking off down the hall to check on other students.

"Can I sleep here," Lacey asked.

"If you want," Nicolette said.

Nicolette lay down on top of her sleeping bag and rolled over to look at the wall again. She fell asleep thinking about Oliver.

"Nic, wake up."

"Hum," she mumbled as she rolled over to find Brandon sitting next to her.

"Come on wake up," he said again. "We can go back to the dorms."

"I don't feel good," she said as she sat up.

"Well, you cried a lot yesterday and Lacey said you cried in your sleep most of the night."

"Oh."

"Come on," he said standing up. "We should do some of our homework for tomorrow's class."

"You really know how to make a bad morning worse don't you," Nicolette said as she stood.

"It's a practiced trait, come on," he said impatiently.

"Why are you in such a hurry," she asked looking around the hall. "Everyone is still asleep." She saw Oliver a ways down the Gryffindor row. He was facing her but his eyes were closed.

"Come on," Brandon whispered in her ear. "He is still going to be here later."

"Yeah," Nicolette said looking at her friend. "He just doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Look," Brandon said. "You can't focus on him right now. You are graduating in less than 8 months, you and James are trying to get into healer training and it's not going to be easy. You and I need to go study. Oliver needs to deal with everything before you can even talk to him again."

"You talked to him," she said as they walked out of the hall.

"Yeah," he told her. "He and I spent most of the night talking."

"He hates me doesn't he?"

"He loves you, that's not a feeling that goes away over night. But right now he is hurting and he can't deal with you."

"So you are," she said sadly. "I know you two have been friends a long time, so tell me, are you here because he asked you?"

"Nicolette," he said stopping them in the hall and turning her to look at him. "You are my best friend, he and I are friends and he may have asked me to make sure you are okay. But I am here because you need me. How many times do I have to tell you that you're my sister?"

"Sorry," she said trying not to cry.

Brandon started walking again, pulling her along with him.

"Hey Brandon," she said. "Where was Lacey this morning?"

"Anne needed her help with something."

"Oh."

"She'll get over," he told her as they entered the library. "Her and Becca both, just give them time."

As the two walked over to a table and sat down Nicolette briefly wondered how they were going to study without books.

"So," she started looking at him. "Oliver's mad at me, Anne and Rebecca are mad at me. How come you're not?"

"I am," he said seriously. "I just think that maybe you need me more than I need to be mad at you."

Nicolette put her arms on the table and buried her head in them.

"I screwed up didn't I?"

"Big time."

She looked up at him with watery eyes.

"Tell me what you really think Brandon. You were nicer yesterday."

"Yesterday was a bad day. Today you need to know that it is not all right. I love you, BUT you should have told him from day one that there was someone before him."

"But…"

"No but," he told her. "There is no excuse. You should have told him when you found out you were pregnant that there was another man who could be the father."

"You don't get it," she said fiercely. "There is no possible way that Ben could be the father. None," she stood looking at him. "Thanks for being my 'brother' and believing in me, asshole."

Nicolette stormed out of the library hurt and angry. She walked through the halls to the Gryffindor common room. It was still very early and she hoped that everyone was still downstairs in the great hall. As she got to the portrait where the fat lady usually resided she found Sir Cadogan. She spent five minutes trying to get into the common room and had no luck. So she left before she ran into someone who hated her.

Nicolette is so easy to write, she is as emotionally unstable as I am.

Please review so I can post another chapter! (Probably about a week, sorry)