Chapter 3: Unforgiven
"How could he do something like that!" Harry's fist clenched at the thought of his father being so cruel. Remus looked helplessly at Tonks, as he tried to search for the words to comfort Harry. "Don't.. Judge him so quickly." Harry felt a hand on his arm as he heard a quiet calming voice come from the hospital bed. He looked into the silvery eyes he'd wanted to see for days,"Luna.." Luna ignored him as she continued,"Think of it Harry, he'd only just found his best friend, he was jealous of course. But he was afraid. Afraid he'd lose his best friend when he'd just only found him." Harry's seemed to visibly relax, Remus noticed, not only his anger from earlier, but his worry for the girl. Remus looked again at the girl who was so kind, and wise beyond her years, probably even beyond his.
Luna seemed only vaguely aware she had yet to let go of Harry's hand as she looked to the side at the sad rows of empty beds taht filled the hospital wing,"It's quite sad... That such a friendship should be shattered by something such as what others thought and willed." Her silvery eyes turned to met that of Remus's,"Is it not, Professor Lupin?" Remus smiled oddly at the girl, he'd seen her in his classes, for she stuck out, being odd and brillant, not caring what others seemed to think. He'd also seen the cruelty of others toward her, he, of course, knew that sometimes actions only made the situation worse, so he could do nothing. Besides, the girl seemed to have been handling herself well enough. "I'm hardly a Professor anymore, Miss Lovegood. But, Yes, I agree it is quite sad." Luna's eyes smiled brightly at the man who seemed to be much to aged for his true age. There was something about the man Luna understood,"I somehow doubt that is the end of the story, please don't let me stop you. I'm quite curious to know how it continues." Luna spoke with a hopeful edge to her voice, her dreamy eyes filled with true curiousity, as Remus couldn't deny the girl,"I don't know much, well, I know more than most, for Sirius confided in me his thoughts of Nicole, the one thing he couldn't confide in James. He spoke of childhood memories to all of us, but later would tell me the unedited versions that included Nicole. At the time, at least, James found out later on, for they were best friends, no brothers, who could read each other like an open book. He seemed to be in his own world in his musings. But that's another story. You see, We, James, Sirius, me ,and Peter, became quite the trouble makers, Sirius lived with his regret of what he had done to Nicole. It wasn't until his 4th year could he no stand it any longer, not talking to her, ignoring his childhood friends exsistence. So he'd went to her... He'd asked my advice, and I told him to go to her...He'd told me later the results of such.."
In the almost four years of separation, he'd watched her grow, from the bright eyes blonde, lively little girl, who'd always been at his side when eh'd needed her. To the quiet, forboding bookworm, who still argued her cause, still was lively, and the bright eyes turn cold everytime they set on him. The rare times they ever set on him. She was top of her class, top of everything she joined, she was after all a Ravenclaw. He'd never tell his friends of that little swift kick of pride everytime he heard that she was on top. Nicole Hart was fourteen years old, the budding of womanhood, with her glasses balanced at the tip of her nose as she skimmed threw some book. She shivered pulling at the hem of her skirt, he'd also noticed during the winter, she still wore impossibly thin, worn stockings. "This skirt, is too short." She sighed to herself as she pushed up her glasses with her index finger, "It's positively freezing." Sirius couldn't resist, as he snuck up behind her, his hands fingering the hem of her skirt as he slowly lifted up the back,"Not short enough." He soon found him holding her wrist, facing furious dark eyes, he grabbed the other fist as it came at him. He grinned just to get a rise out of her, the heated anger in her eyes was much better than the cold looks he was used to,"Going to punch me? I'm impressed, Nicole." Something dark traveled across her face, as he saw stars, she easily got out of his grasp, putting much distance between them. She'd kicked him in the shin, "Damnit! That hurts!" "Good. Don't you ever call me, Nicole. That's Miss Hart to you!" She growled,"Be glad I didn't go with my first instinct and use my knee. It was a near thing."
Sirius looked to see noone else, that he could see was in the library, the librarian must be off somewhere, he muttered,"Should have known this wouldn't be easy." It was his mistake, as he say her whole body stiffen, her eyes flaring like never before,"Easy? Easy?" She nearly shreiked but fought to keep her calm, as her voice was now calm and level, she refused to let him see how much he'd hurt her. "Oh I see now." She walked calmly toward the table taht held her books, as she began to stack them neatly, her back toward him,"You came here, expecting to be forgiven." Sirius blinked, he shouldn't feel so surprised, she'd always been able to read him,"Yes, I have, why can't we just forget-" "Forget all the years you tossed me aside like a used doll. Abandoned me, someone you've known almost your whole life, for a boy who you knew only a week. Then, Oh, Then you ignored my very exsistance." "I never ignored you-" She only had to cast a look over he rshould to silence his denial, he couldn't quite mee her eyes. "Nicole-" "Miss Hart!" He didn't accknowledge she'd said anything as he continued, she'd been stuffing her stuff in her bag,"I was young, fooish and naive." There was a sharp silence, as she threw her bookbag over her shoulder, she turned her eyes looknig at him, oddly, as she walked closer to him, his heartpounded in his chest. She wasn't but 4 inches from his face as she grabbed his chin, her eyes meeting his, she whispered,"Apparently so was I." She released him quickly as she spun around leaving the room quickly, leaving him alone, to crumble against a table. His heart pounding, regret filling him, as well as memories of what he'd lost. He'd came expecting to be forgiven so easily. He'd never expected this, to be left alone, in the dust, to fill the weight of the hole thier severed friendship had left. To remain here unforgiven. Something inside him did dread this, the part of him that had known Nicole better, that had been her best friend. Maybe he should have taken Remus's advice and groveled. But Sirius Black didn't grovel, and he certainly didn't give up.
