"Oh God..." whispered Nikita, her arms leaving Bill's neck.
"Remus...Remus, this is not -" began Bill, leaving her and walking up to Lupin, not quite knowing where to look.
"Not what it looks like? Oh, but I think it is, Bill, I think it is. Please spare me the denial. Now answer my question. How long has this been going on?" said Lupin, his face still grim, folding his arms and staring at the two of them.
Bill looked at her and saw her terrified eyes, out of pure love, he reached out and took her hand again. She shook her head slowly, her eyes filling with tears.
"Six months."
"How did you -?" began Lupin, shocked...he didn't realize that these two children were so good at keeping secrets. And a hospital wasn't the best place to discuss...affairs? Could he call this an affair?
Bill wasn't the sort to have relationships he wasn't serious about, Nikita from the looks of her did not seem to have...
But her mother did, didn't she? said a nasty little voice at the back of his head.
That isn't fair. Tarini loved James.
"You two are going to come home and are going to discuss this matter with the whole family. Including Padfoot."
Nikita looked down at her feet, whilst Bill stared at Lupin in dismay.
"Remus...How do I tell Mum about this? She'll -"
"Be very disappointed in you but you have to tell her anyway." said Lupin, ignoring the pleading look on both the children's faces.
"It's alright, Bill...we were going to have to tell them sometime..." she murmured. Bill's worry disappeared and he nodded. He had feared for her and from the look on her face, she was afraid for him...
And as usual she was right.
His taste for danger had ended up getting them caught.
And the worst was, she had warned him.
Each time he would pull her into his room, a closet, even in his house, she had told him that they were going to get caught. But he didn't listen.
He never listened to sense.
It was a wonder how he became head boy.
Nikita ran a shaking hand through her hair. The amethyst ring gleamed and caught Lupin's eye.
He caught her hand and looked at her ring finger and back at Bill... his breath came out in a long hiss...
He had no idea that the two had gone this far. If he wasn't mistaken this was an engagement ring...
Oh God...they had gone much further than he had anticipated...
He really didn't know how to feel about this. There were things he could have said...
She's too young... you're an adult, Bill... act reasonably both of you... you're making a big mistake... you're both much too young... how are you going to get married when the order is in so much trouble?
But he said none of these things.
He was a fair man. He would hear their side of the story before making his conviction or judgment.
Instead Remus Lupin let go her hand and opened the door of the the hospital room.
The he turned around and looked at the two children. Both of them were looking at their feet, overcome in shame and the embarrassment of being caught.
"I gather you both have plenty to tell. Plenty more than I expected."
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Harry glanced around at the room. It was the first time he had felt at home in days. He had longed to come out of Hogwarts because of the way people looked at him now.
The Daily Prophet had slandered him enough to make sure he hardly had any more believers and friends despite Ron, Hermione and Nikita...well...Nikita didn't count. She was his sister.
"So Harry...how does it feel to have a sibling?" asked Arthur Weasley, his eyes gleaming as he surveyed Harry.
"Very Frankly? I don't know." said Harry for once speaking out what he really felt.
And it was true. He didn't know how he felt.
His sibling was what he had always longed for as a sister. Everything he needed in a family.
But her appearance had had a major affect on James's position in Harry's mind.
All those stories he had heard of Dad always loving Mom and there being no other in their lives.... Lily and James forever... And now suddenly everyone expected him to be so happy about the fact that his father had had an AFFAIR for crying out loud!
Sure, it wasn't during whilst he was married to his mother but in his eyes, it was still an affair.
An affair which had had a direct impact on his life.
I mean, GOD DAMN IT! It had caused him to have a half sibling. And he wasn't just angry about the fact that his father had had an affair, he was angrier about the fact that his sister considered herself a mistake because of this very thing.
His sister, it was impossible to hate her.
She was kind and sweet and lovable with a nasty temper and guts.
She didn't try to hide her flaws. It was basically her attitude that said 'this is me, take it or leave it.'
She was just like him in that way. She didn't relish hero worship and she preferred to be left alone most of the time. And the temper...well, he was guessing that was something that ran in the family.
She seemed to have gone through everything he had, and even without words...they understood each other, in that sense.
But being back here amongst his father's friends, Moody, Lupin, Sirius, Tonks, Knightsley, even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, everyone seemed to know about this affair, and they seemed to think that Harry would accept it just as quickly as they had.
It was unforgivable!
ALL of them knew about it, yet, no one had mentioned it to HIM!
This was his father for crying out loud!
Harry didn't noticed that the entire room was watching him scowl.
Knightsley spoke quietly...
"Harry it's understandable that you're... you're angry at your father. But you have to remember that he was just a man. A very good man, a very powerful wizard but a man none the less..."
Harry suddenly couldn't take it anymore. He got on his feet and glared at Knightsley.
"Listen, I've heard that before. But he did make a mistake! That one night has turned MY LIFE upside down! Not to MENTION the fact that my sister thinks she is a MISTAKE!"
"What?" growled Moody quietly... "Don't tell me she blames herself..."
"YES, SHE DOES! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT?! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT MY FATHER MAKES A MISTAKE, BUT YOU PEOPLE FORGAVE HIM LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED!!!"
Harry was breathing heavily and he stared hard at Knightsley.
Moody gripped his shoulder.
"Now, Potter, calm down."
"I'M CALM!!!"
Moody saw Lupin, Nikita and Bill enter from behind them and immediately, Nikita was by Harry's side.
"Harry, are you..."
"I'm NOT!"
She looked around at everyone apologetically.
Ron, Hermione, the twins and Ginny hardly looked as shocked as their parents and the rest of the adults.
"Excuse us for a moment." she said and tugged at Harry's sweater.
He sighed and walked out with her, fuming still.
"Harry, what's happened?" she asked once they were outside and well out of ear shot. She laid a cool hand on his shoulder and he shook it off.
She backed away, hurt.
He sighed and leaned against the wall..."I don't know...I really don't know."
She was silent. He looked up at her and said "Can I ask you something?"
"That's what I'm here for."
"Well, it's all quite simple isn't it? Dad makes the mistake, everyone forgives him, expect me to be happy and you to be eternally grateful. Don't you think that's unfair?"
"Yes."
"And why don't you say anything about it?"
"Because what he did, he did. Quite frankly, I'm glad. If he hadn't made that mistake, I wouldn't exist and my mother would have never been complete... Instead, I exist and I have a blessing."
"And by blessing you mean..."
"You, Harry."
She quietly walked back into the room where Mr. Weasley was staying, leaving a surprised Harry in her wake.
He followed soon after, suddenly feeling a little less confused than before, mumbling to himself.
"Well... that's one way to look at it."
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Lupin sighed.
The two did not seem to be talking.
It was dinner time now, and there had been no change in behavior from either Nikita or Bill. Yes, they certainly looked uncomfortable an there were times when Nikita would disappear from time to time, but other than that they didn't seem to be expressing any news to anyone about their pending engagement.
Looks like he was going to have to say something.
But not now, he thought as he surveyed a very happy Harry put his arm around his sister and cheer as Charlie made his butter beer reappear and take his seventeenth shot. Bill laughed as he poked Ginny for pulling his ponytail and Mrs. Weasly walked around making sure everyone was eating more than their fill.
Sirius had not looked so happy in years.
McGonagall and Knightsley were in a heavy discussion next to him and kept drawing him into it.
"So, Remus, you have to tell us, what do you think?" asked Knightsley.
"I'm sorry...I missed your question."
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"Hey..." she whispered as she heard a soft crack in her room. She had cast a soundproofing charm on her door. Luckily, she had a room of her own.
He came to her and sat by her bed. She shifted up slowly and he slid under the covers with her.
He had removed his shirt and she felt the fabric of his jeans against her skin.
"So..." He said, his mellow rich voice washing over her. "What do we do now?"
"Tell the truth." she said, resting her head on his now bare chest. He could feel the warmth of her skin radiate from under the material of her thin night shirt.
Bill sighed as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. "And what truth is that Nikita? That we're in love? That we're getting married? That you're constantly in bleeding because -"
Suddenly he felt her tense and utter a low moan of pain.
"Nikita... Nikita are you -"
The moan turned into a small scream as she twisted herself out of bed clutching her stomach. The blood began to trickle down from her mouth!
Bill jumped down next to her and quickly conjured a bowl.
Holding her head gently above it, he felt his heart go to his throat as he watched her choke out her own blood.
As soon as she stopped, he lifted her in his arms and into the bed. Gently he cleaned her mouth with a wet towel and sighed, conjuring it away. She was restless but rested her head on his shoulder, calming down as he slipped into the covers with her again...
His guilt was unbearable.
This was all his fault...he just wished she had told him this was going to happen to her if -
"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!"
Bill stared in absolute horror to face his mother. He hadn't heard her -
"Mum, NO! This is not what it LOOKS LIKE!!!"
But it was too late, his mother's screech had probably already woken up everyone in the house and Sirius was suddenly in the room. Bill leapt out of the bed and Nikita weakly managed to sit up... her weakness not quite covering the pain of shock on her face.
For a second there was only silence as Sirius surveyed the scene in absolute horror.
Then he stepped in front with a contorted look of absolute fury and snarled "Bill, what's the meaning of this?!"
Bill drew himself up to his full height and said firmly "I love her."
"What on earth is -" said Lupin as he entered. His mouth formed a small 'O'. But Sirius and Mrs. Weasly could see that he wasn't as surprised as he should be.
"You...Remus, YOU KNEW! You never told us!" roared Sirius.
Bill shook his head in dismay. "We had promised we would tell you -"
"Why is there so much noise over here?" asked a sleepy eyed Fred and George following him into the room. One look at Bill and Nikita, and their eyes were wide open, all traces of sleepiness gone...
"What the bloody hell -"
Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry followed them into the room.
And stood stock still in shock.
Harry was the first to come out of his shock and he felt his fingers clench in fury. Before anyone could stop him, he flew at Bill socking him hard in the jaw. Bill didn't even flinch.
After all he had a sister himself...
"You...YOU BASTARD! YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY SISTER!!!"
Sirius grabbed Harry around the middle as George and Ron pulled him back.
"Harry, CALM DOWN! There has to be an explanation for this."
Bill looked down, ashamed. More ashamed than he had ever been in his life.
"Bill..." he heard a choked whisper from behind him. He knew what was going to happen and before waiting to explain anything to anyone, he conjured up the bowl again as she leaned over and threw up blood again.
This caused an immediate reaction on everyone.
Mrs. Weasley screamed.
"Nikita, what the hell is wrong"
Harry and Sirius were quickly by the bed side, shouting for someone to get water.
Lupin looked bewildered for once and conjured up a wet towel.
The rest of the kids, including Hermione and Ron looked on in shock.
As soon as she lifted her head out of the bowl, Bill enfolded her in his arms as she leaned back against him, absolutely exhausted.
She vaguely heard the questions being thrown at her about how why when where, but there was one statement that stood out in her mind.
"Dumbledore's here."
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Professor Dumbledore looked tired and older than Harry had ever seen him before. It seemed like he had aged ten years in the past six months.
His beard had grown longer and he looked as though he hadn't slept in days.
Suddenly, Harry felt a great fear grip him hard
He looked over at his sister, who was in an upright position, still unconscious in Bill's arms... she stirred.
Immediately, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a goblet and rushed over to her bedside...
"Drink this, dear..." she said quietly.
Nikita took a long draught as Bill stroked her hair.
"You okay?" he asked her gently...
She nodded.
Professor Dumbledore then spoke.
"Nikita. I think it's high time you told everyone exactly why you have been so ill lately. I believe both you and Bill owe your families an explanation."
"Alright professor. It was you who the Lady with Child told me about?"
"Yes. It was me."
"Thank God..."
She turned around and looked at the understanding deep blue eyes of her husband to be.
"Bill... will you help me?"
It was a plea... how could he not listen to her plea? He held her hand tight. "Of course."
Nikita's quiet voice suddenly filled the room, a room where the pin drop silence had conquered its territory. The Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Lupin, Sirius, Knightsley, Tonks and Moody listened intently to what the girl had to say...
Dumbledore was the only one who didn't seem to be anticipative of what she was going to say. He already knew.
Nikita took a deep breath before speaking.
"The weapon that shall assist Harry in destroy Voldemort are the children that are in my womb."
She paused for a moment to let that sink in... Bill's hold on her hand became tighter.
"The children are creatures that are known as Azmake Vampires..."