Chapter Three
The next few weeks went by in a haze of schoolwork and Quidditch practices. Flying was the only thing keeping him sane. When he was on a broomstick, Harry didn't have to worry about his classes or friends. Or about the way he felt about Nicole – something that had been plaguing him more and more the closer they got.
He was now spending all of his free time with her. Often, they would sit in the library doing homework, not talking, just being together. Harry enjoyed it immensely but found he had a harder time concentrating on his work. He was always glancing up to look across the table at Nicole. He loved watching her tuck her hair behind her ear as she bent her face closer to her work.
Ron and Hermione were worried. Harry was speaking to them less and less as he spent more and more time with the Slytherin girl.
"What if she's working for You-Know-Who?" Ron had asked Harry after he came into the common room from studying with Nicole.
"She's not, Ron," Harry told him for the hundredth time. "She hates Voldemort just as much as I do. She wants him destroyed."
"Or that's what she wants you to believe," Ron said. "She's a Slytherin, Harry."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Harry demanded. "Hasn't Dumbledore been trying to teach us unity? Hasn't he been promoting stronger friendships between houses?"
"Yeah, but it's Slytherin!" Ron cried.
"Maybe you should try getting to know her," Hermione said quietly. "Maybe we both should."
"You're agreeing with him?" Ron asked stunned.
"Yes," Hermione replied stubbornly. "We could at least give her a chance."
"Good," Harry said. "Because I invited her to come to Hogsmead with us tomorrow." He smiled at the look on Ron's face, a mixture of shock, disgust and horror. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."
The next morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione put on their cloaks and headed to the Entrance Hall with the rest of the school, third year and above, to visit Hogsmead for the last time before the holidays. Nicole was waiting for them at the bottom of the marble staircase and she smiled at the trio as they approached.
"Hello," she said cheerfully. "All ready to go?"
Harry smiled at her and whispered, "Be good" to Ron as they set off out of the grounds.
"So what is Christmas like in America?" Hermione asked.
"Very much like it is here," Nicole replied. "But there is always a lot of politics surrounding the naming of things. Everything is political there."
"Like I said," Ron declared. "Americans are nutters." Harry glared at him but Nicole laughed.
"I couldn't agree more," she said, and they walked on, Ron looking slightly bewildered.
After a couple of hours of last minute Christmas shopping, the four of them went to the Three Broomsticks to warm up with some butterbeer. Harry got the drinks and they all settled in a back corner of the busy pub.
They sat in silence for a while, just sipping and enjoying the warm atmosphere when Ron spoke without thinking.
"You're in Slytherin," he said pointedly to Nicole.
"Yes," she answered.
"What do you want with Harry?"
Hermione gasped and cried, "Ronald!" while Harry put his face in his hands and shook his head.
Nicole smiled.
"I was wondering when you would ask that," she said. Harry looked at her sharply.
"You were?" Ron asked.
"Well, I, for one, don't think it really matters," Harry said.
"Yes it does," Hermione said leaning over the table. "I would like to know why you so interest her."
"I want his body," Nicole told them with a completely straight face. Ron and Hermione sat in silence for a moment then started to laugh uproariously. Harry turned red.
"You're joking!" Ron exclaimed. "You want Harry for his body?" And he continued to laugh, clutching an ache in his side.
"Is that so hard to believe?" Nicole asked, still keeping herself from laughing although the corners of her mouth twitched.
"No, not at all," Hermione said as she struggled to stifle the giggles.
"I think I'm going to leave," Harry said getting up. Nicole grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his seat.
"They think I'm human now," she whispered in his ear. "Besides, you are cute." Harry flushed.
Walking back to the castle, Hermione pulled Ron back so that Harry and Nicole could walk alone.
"That was fun," Harry said.
"Actually," Nicole replied. "It really was. I had a good time, Harry. Thank you."
"Er – no problem," Harry stammered. Nicole reached out and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his. Harry looked down then at her. She was smiling. Harry smiled back.
"Oo, Potter's got a girlfriend," a sneering voice called from behind.
"Shut it, Malfoy," Ron said.
"What poor girl have you got devoted to your lost cause now?" Draco continued, ignoring Ron's comment. He was right behind them now, Crabbe and Goyle at their usual flanking positions.
Nicole turned around and looked at him. "Why, me." Draco stopped.
"You?" he hissed. "But your mum and dad were Dark Wizards! You can't like him!" Harry looked at Nicole, stunned. Ron and Hermione did too.
Nicole pulled out her wand. "Get out of here, Malfoy," she said in a deadly quiet voice as she looked at him in the eyes. "I'm warning you."
Harry dropped Nicole's hand as the trio laughed, cackling.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked.
"I didn't think it was important," she said looking at her feet.
"Yeah, well, it is." Harry walked off, not to the castle, but into the Forbidden Forest.
"Harry, wait!" Ron called after him but Hermione stopped him.
"No," she said shaking her head. "She's the only one that can talk to him now." They both looked at Nicole.
"I'll go," she agreed. "Don't worry if we're not back by dinner." And she turned, following Harry into the trees.
Nicole found Harry sitting under a tree next to the Whomping Willow. He was staring at its flailing branches as it tried, vainly, to reach him. But he was sitting just far enough away so that he was safe. As she drew level with him, he leaned his head against the trunk and closed his eyes.
"Harry–," Nicole whispered, but he stopped her.
"You're going to tell me that I need company when I don't want it," he said. "You're going to say you know exactly what I need to heal and then vanish again, aren't you?"
"No, Harry," Nicole said but stopped. For once, she didn't know what to say. His pain was going away, the hole was closing. Even though it would never heal completely, few pains do, it was becoming manageable. Harry really didn't need Nicole anymore.
But she needed him.
"Tell me," Harry said suddenly. "Tell me about them."
Nicole sighed and sat down next to him on the frozen forest floor. "Are you sure you want to know?" she asked. "My past hasn't been the happiest."
"Neither has mine," Harry answered. "I want to know, Nicole. Please tell me."
"Okay." She took a deep breath.
"My parents were Damien and Jezebelle Fleming, two of the most evil people alive. They held the American Wizarding community in complete terror for years. They knew people's weaknesses just by looking at them ands used those fears to terrorize them. Americans live on fear, all of them, but when they suddenly had to live those fears everyday, they didn't like it. Not at all.
"But Mom and Dad were getting bored, restless. They wanted to go global. We were living in Arizona at that time, I was just a baby, only a few months old so I don't remember anything. But my older sister, Danielle, remembers and told me all about it when I was old enough to understand. She said a man with a high, cold, cruel laugh came to our home one night.
"He proposed an alliance with my parents and wanted to work with them and get the whole world to fear his name. But they refused." She stopped and looked down at her hands. When she continued her voice was quiet. "He killed them, both. Danielle took me and ran. We hid in from that man and his followers. Eventually they gave up and went back to our house to live."
"How did you get here?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore," she said. "About the time I turned nine, my sister was killed by a witch that lived near us. She feared that Danielle was getting too close to what my parents were. I hid in the desert for quite a while but Dumbledore heard about what happened and came to find me, hoping I was still alive. He brought me to England and put me in a home with a good wizarding family. They tried to help me and still do. They're good people but I can't let go of my hate for the monster who destroyed my family; no matter how bad they were."
"Voldemort," Harry whispered.
"Yes. As soon as I got here, I knew it was him."
"Why did Dumbledore bring you here?"
"Because of my gift. You were damaged, Harry. He wanted me to fix you and help you."
"But I didn't know you until now," Harry said. "Why did he wait? Why did you wait?"
"I was afraid. I didn't want to use what I knew. I didn't want to become my parents."
"And you haven't," Harry said taking her hands in his. "You've helped me. With you, I can smile again." She looked up at him, tears glistening on her cheeks.
Sitting there, close to her, was all that Harry needed. He knew that as long as she was there, everything would be okay, no matter how bad it got. The setting sun streamed through the trees and a shaft of sun lit up her face from behind. He had never felt so full of love for someone before, except maybe Sirius. But this was a different love. A more perfect love.
He leaned over and touched his lips to hers.
For a second, Nicole pulled away, shocked. But she looked into his bright green eyes and saw something she had never seen before: love.
Nicole threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him fiercely. He kissed her back, putting his arms around her waist, not caring that this kiss was wet.
Later that night, Harry sat by the common room fire, a dazed and happy smile on his face. Ron and Hermione saw him as soon as they got back from dinner and hurried to his side.
"Harry?" Ron asked. "Why do you have that stupid grin on your face?"
Harry didn't answer, just smiled bigger.
"You didn't come to dinner, Harry," Hermione said carefully. "What happened?" He turned his head to look at her.
"Nicole and I were talking," he answered. "She told me about her family." He then proceeded to tell them all she had told him.
"So she is a dark witch!" Ron cried. "I knew it!"
"But she's not," Harry said. "Don't you see? She has made the choice to change. Dumbledore said that it's our choices that make us who we are, not our family."
"So why were you grinning?" Ron asked slyly a few moments later. Harry smiled again.
"You kissed her," Hermione said. "Didn't you?"
"I think I'm going to turn in now," Harry said standing up. "I'm kind of tired."
"What? No!" Ron cried. "I want to hear about this."
"You don't have to hear it, Ron," Harry said. "You can experience it." He looked pointedly at Hermione. She blushed.
"Harry," she chided.
"Good-night," Harry said and walked up the stairs to bed.
