Written for QLFC Round 11

Team- Tutshill Tornados

Position- captain

Prompt- Write about a character who's known as a warrior

Word count-1096

Additional warning- Muggle historical AU

"What's your full name Sir Nichlos?" Sirius asks him curiously one night. Sirius and his friends have taken a liking to Nick and they visit him at any chance they get.

"Why young sir, my name is Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington," Nick smilingly replies. He adores these boys. They might be only seven years old but their energy always brings a smile to his face. Unlike the other kids their age they were always polite and helpful with him.

"We were curious about your life's history," Remus says, fidgeting a little.

"Would you tell us your story?" James asks excitedly. Remus and Sirius nod their heads from beside him, excitement visible in their eyes.

"I certainly can tell you about my story boys," Nick is pleased to know that these boys are interested in knowing about his past. Maybe he can inspire them to take after him when they grow up.

"I was born in a lower middle class family. My father was a black smith and my mother worked as a maid at the palace. I am the oldest of the five brothers. I was sent to work in the stables at the palace when I turned 10 years old. Then the plague hit our country, taking away the lives of all my family members,"

"Everyone?" Sirius questions sadly.

"Everyone," Nick confirms, equally sad.

"Anyways, so after the plague I was left to fend for myself. I decided to join the king's army since that paid better than what the stables did. At first my job was of a servant. I would polish shoes and iron clothes for my superiors. Clean around the headquarters stuff like that,"

"That's not good," James mumbles.

"That is how hierarchy works young James," Nick smiles at him.

"But did they train you to fight?" Remus asks.

"They did," Nick nods his head.

"Then the country decided to go to war with France. Suddenly it was all hands on deck. I went from cleaning the toilets one day to being on the field to another,"

"What was like at the war?" Remus asks.

"Where you scared? James pipe ups.

"Don't be stupid. Sir Nick doesn't get scared," Sirius scoffs earning a laugh from Nick.

"What's so funny?" Sirius grumbles.

"That you think I was always so brave," Nick tells him.

"But you are brave!" James exclaims.

"I am now but back during the war I was just a scared child. I was only young Andy's age at that time," Nick explains.

"That makes sense. You weren't an adult," Remus nods understandingly.

"Even adult gets scared boys. It is okay to be scared," Nick tells him. The kids nod their heads committing the advice to their memory.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, the war. At first I didn't know what I was trying to do there. I was only think how can I survive the war? I didn't know how long will it take for Britain to win the war. Days? Months? I had no idea. All I knew was I couldn't die. At first I stayed in the background. Trying to duck and hide whenever I could. I wasn't very confident in my fighting skills. Then-"

"Then what happened?" James asked solemnly.

"Then I gained courage," Nick smiles.

"How?" Sirius's mouth takes a O shape.

"Then I saw my best friend Friar get killed in front of my eyes. I then realised that this can't go on. I can't be a coward and hide behind the others. I have to take matters into my own hand."

Nick pauses for a dramatic effect. It felt nice seeing these boys on edge, totally engrossed in the story.

"I picked up my sword and started attacking the enemies. It turned out I had an affinity to hand to hand combat when I was not thinking about saving myself. I ended up killing quite a few soldiers in that war. I was promoted up the ranks."

"Good job, Nick" Sirius cheers.

"Was it difficult? Killing those people? James asks looking down.

"Killing enemies soldiers was always difficult because they were just like us. They didn't want to fight or kill us but they had no choice. They had families to feed, orders to follow from the king. If they didn't fight then the king would have them beheaded. Many didn't fight out of choice. Knowing that they are in the same condition as you makes it hard," Nick explains. "Let's get back to the story shall we?" He asks seeing their sad faces.

"After that first war. We went on to war with Scotland, Spain and Austria in the next ten years. I gained experience with each war. My heroics earned me promotions after each time. Others were envious of me. By the time the war with Austria ended the king was very much pleased with me. He ended up giving me the knights honour. That's how I became Sir Nicholas. I got married after that,"

"You have a wife?" Sirius questions distrustfully.

"I had a wife Sirius," Nick corrects him.

"What happened to her?" Remus asks.

"She died giving birth to our second child, my daughter. My daughter didn't survive the birth either," he tells them sadly.

"My wife Anne was the daughter of the chief of command in the army. After the first year of our marriage we had a healthy son Baron. He is currently one of the minister in the kings court. He is too busy to visit his father. After a couple of years I was promoted to the chief commander but I had to decline after Anne's death. My son needed his father. I retired from the army then,"

"You left the army?" Sirius is confused.

"Yes I did. The king was not happy but he understood why I had to do that," Nick tells them. "I ended up taking care of my son after that. Once my son started his own family and living in the palace. I retired to this house to enjoy my retirement. This is the story of ny life," Nick finishes his story.

"Your story is cool Sir Nicholas," Remus says.

"The coolest," James nods his head.

"I want to join the army," Sirius adds.

"You can join the army whenever you want Sirius but first grow up older," Nick ruffles his head.

After seeing that it was getting late in the day, Nick shoos the boys away to their homes. He settles down for the night feeling lighter after sharing his story with the boys he has come to love dearly.