Disclaimer: Harry Potter is from the creative genius that is J.K. Rowling. We are not her.
Author's Note: The next two chapters are quite a bit darker than our others. They deal with Alaire's past. The adage that sometimes its not our problems that shape our lives, but how we deal with them is quite, quite true.
"Expelliarmus!" Alaire shouted as the spell leaped out of her wand, and missed as Harry dodged away from it.
"Sorry! Missed again, Alaire!" he taunted as he cast a spell on himself that seemed to make him shimmer before he suddenly seemed to appear a few feet from his last location.
"Stand still, damn it!"
"A Death Eater won't stand still just to let you get it and neither will I!" he said, still moving about.
"Immobulus!" she yelled, quite irritated as she aimed the spell a little left to where Harry was. It was by nothing but pure luck that the spell hit Harry in the foot. He found himself trying to move while dragging the foot which felt as if it had fallen asleep.
"Incarcerous!" Alaire snapped, a smile finally gracing her face. Thick ropes fell around Harry pulling him to the floor.
"Ridicusempra!" she yelled, thinking that she'd make him pay for being so difficult to stun.
Now, not only couldn't Harry move, he was being tickled mercilessly. "St-stop! I give! M-m-mercy!"
"Finite incantatem!"
Alaire bent over the red-face boy and smiled. "You are soooo busted." She bent over and helped him stand. "Wait until I tell Ron that I got you roped and tied in under twenty minutes. I think I'm ready to be a cowgirl."
"You got lucky," Harry said matter-of-factly.
Alaire knew that he was right, but still she was a bit peeved about that fact.
"Oh, really? OK, Potter. Let's up the stakes a bit. We have about ten minutes until Neville comes to pick me up and sees you tied to a post begging for mercy."
Harry gave her a quizzical look.
"Don't you remember my last name, Harry? It's Goodnight." She stepped away from him and cried out, "Nox!" Suddenly the room was pitch black.
"Where'd you go?" Harry shouted. The only answer he got was the tracer of a spell as it missed him by inches. "Oh, shit!" He swore as he ducked and rolled on the floor as another tracer whizzed by him.
"What's wrong, Potter? Can't see in the dark?"
"Neither can you!" he yelled back.
"But I can hear! Immobulus!" Harry ducked just in time.
"So that's the way you want to play," Harry whispered to himself as he crawled towards the door to the room or, rather, where he hoped the door was. "Stupefy!"
Harry sent the spell towards a bump that he heard across the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry. You missed again."
Harry didn't waste a moment and quickly sent the Incarcerous spell towards the voice. He knew he had hit when he heard a whoomp as Alaire hit the floor. "Alaire, are you okay?"
"Why don't you just come and see?"
Suspecting a trick, Harry made his way over in the dark not wanting to give his position away. He heard Alaire struggling with the ropes off to his left. He dropped to the floor and crawled quietly towards the sounds.
"Ridicusempra!" He hurled the curse then threw himself onto the floor. Alaire began giggling and gasping for air as she cursed Harry with every Muggle expletive she could bring to mind.
"What a dirty mouth! Do you kiss Neville with that mouth?" he taunted.
"Harry, please, stop the tickling."
"Finite!"
"Thank you," Alaire gasped. "Now the ropes?"
"No way. You play dirty."
"Harry Potter, are you insulting my honor?"
"Yep. Lumos." Harry turned the lights up until he could make out the form of Alaire tied up neatly with her hands above her head. Her face was flushed from the training and sweat beaded on her forehead. "Can't get away, can you?"
"Harry, don't be an ass. Let me up."
"Not until you promise to tell everyone that I won."
Alaire glared at him. "Fine."
"Excuse me, what did you say? Did you say, 'Harry beat me at Defense?' I wasn't listening." He bent his head closer to her mouth. "What did you say, Alaire?"
She was torn between spitting out the words just to be untied and just spitting. "Hmmm?"
Harry bent forward until their noses were touching. Suddenly, Alaire could sense the teasing manner changing. "Harry, you won. Please let me up."
Alaire tried to tamp down the odd fear that was starting to rise up in her chest.
"You know I ought to charge you a kiss to untie you" Harry started to lower his lips to her when something broke in Alaire.
Suddenly the ropes popped loose and Harry found himself on his back. He was totally unprepared for what happened next. Alaire had begun to pummel his chest and face as hard as she could. He quickly rolled into the fetal position only to find himself being kicked in the kidneys and hips. He tried to roll away only to be stopped by a swift blow to his head.
"Alaire! I'm sorry! Stop! Alaire! Stop!" But Alaire didn't seem to hear him. She was screaming and sobbing and kicking all at the same time.
Suddenly, the attack stopped and Alaire collapsed against a wall sobbing. Harry couldn't move. It hurt too much. Alaire had attacked every single inch of his body. He tasted blood in his mouth but couldn't open his eyes to check himself out.
After what seemed an eternity, the door opened and Neville came in.
"What's going on here? Alaire? Alaire, look at me!" Harry could hear Neville trying to calm Alaire.
He half-dreaded when Neville would discover him. He tried to curl into a smaller ball but it hurt too badly. A groan escaped as he tried to move his legs.
"Harry? Harry, what happened?" Neville said frantically.
"I-I don't know. She-she snapped," Harry managed to whisper.
"I'm going for help. Don't move." Harry honestly didn't have a problem with that.
A few moments later, he heard the sounds of feet shuffling into the room. Arms picked him up then levitated him out of the room down to the hospital. He blacked out somewhere along the hall.
"Alaire, come on. We've got to get you down to see Madame Pomphrey," Neville pleaded.
Alaire simply shook her head and began to rock back and forth. It was the same as the Halloween party but much, much worse. There was nothing for it. Neville bent over and pulled Alaire up then threw her over his shoulder. Thank goodness that he had lifted plenty of heavy bags in the greenhouse. He walked slowly to the infirmary, telling her the whole way that it would be alright and praying to Merlin he was right.
Madame Pomphrey was trying to assess Harry but came to a stop when Neville walked in with Alaire.
"Oh, dear. Oh, dear." She quickly ran to the fireplace and flooed for Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall. "Put her on the bed."
Neville tried to gently put her down but Alaire's head still flopped onto the pillow. The paleness of her face contrasted sharply with her red, swollen eyes.
"She has meds. They're on her necklace," Neville said as he began to fumble with Alaire's shirt trying to find the necklace.
Opening it carefully, he spilled two pills into his hand. Madame Pomphrey poured a glass of water and between the two of them managed to get Alaire to take the medicine. She began to calm down but continued to rock and moan with glazed eyes that seemed to see nothing but some terror in her mind.
What had happened? Neville asked himself. This was only Alaire and Harry's third defense practice. Had he said something? Had he hit her with a strange spell or something? Neville refused to let his mind go there. He turned his attention back to the girl on the bed.
"Alaire, love, speak to me," he said as he tried to stroke her cheek, but she fought against him. " It's Neville. Alaire?"
Suddenly, a hand shook Neville's shoulder. Snape raised his hand to silence him.
Leaving Alaire and Neville, Madame Pomphrey went back to the moaning Harry who had been placed on a nearby bed by two house-elves. Waving her wand, she healed most of his cuts and bruises. She then poured a pain-relieving potion into his mouth. The room grew quiet as the two patients began to absorb their medicines.
"What happened, Neville?" Dumbledore's voice startled him.
"I-I don't know. I left Alaire and Harry at the Room of Requirements to practice Defense spells. I came back an hour later to pick her up and found them like this. I think Alaire had some kind of attack. She hasn't been like this since Halloween night."
"Severus?"
"Step back, Longbottom. I'll handle this." Snape pulled him away from the bed. Before he could say anything, Dumbledore was beside him motioning for him to be quiet. Snape was kneeling in front of Alaire, holding her face in his hands, and staring into her eyes. "Alaire? Alaire? Look at me, Alaire."
Neville sat astounded at the tenderness in the potion master's voice.
"Alaire? Look at me." Alaire's eyes fluttered open. Snape mumbled under his breath then bent over to look into her eyes. They stared at each other for a moment then Alaire began to gasp for air. "Stay with me, Alaire. Alaire? It's Snape at Hogwarts."
He began muttering half to himself and half to Alaire. After a few minutes, Alaire began to blink and a glimmer of recognition came onto her face. Alaire began to move trying to get away from the professor's stare.
"Stop it! Stop it! Let go of her!" Neville found himself pulling at Snape's arms as hard as he could and pleading to quit hurting Alaire. Snape sat up suddenly and grabbed Neville's robes. "I'm not the one that hurt her!"
Neville's eyes followed to where Snape was pointing. Harry's body still lay curled into a tight ball. Any actions by Neville were halted by a gasp from Alaire.
"Where . . ." Her eyes closed again then slowly reopened. "Snape?"
The professor quickly dropped Neville and turned back to Alaire. "Yes, you're safe now. I promise."
"I'm sorry." Tears began to fall afresh down Alaire's face.
"It's not your fault," Snape said still holding her hands.
"B-But . . . I should've known. I shouldn't have . . . Don't get mad."
Snape seemed to tamp down something deep inside. With more tenderness than Neville ever thought Snape capable of he said, "No one's angry at you, Alaire. It's over and done. Remember?"
Alaire stared at him for a moment then full realization hit her.
"Oh, my God! Where's Harry? What did I do?" She pulled away from Snape and looked wildly around. "Oh, God. I hurt him! I know I did!"
She tried frantically to get out of the bed then she saw Neville. "Neville!"
He quickly pulled her into a tight hug.
"She'll be okay for now, Albus but do you remember why Alaire joined us?" Snape asked.
Dumbledore nodded.
"She, um, mistook our Mister Potter's actions for someone else's." Dumbledore looked grim. "Poppy, is there anything more we can give Ms. Goodnight to make her more comfortable?"
"Dreamless sleep potion may help."
Snape nodded. "Yes, that should work. She needs rest more than anything."
Madame Pomphrey poured a large dose into a glass and handed it to Snape who motioned for Neville to help him. Together they pulled Alaire forward and got her to drink almost half the medicine.
"She'll sleep now. Mr. Longbottom you should go back . . ."
"He can stay if he likes. I think Ms. Goodnight would appreciate it." Dumbledore raised a hand against Madame Pomphrey's protests.
"Neville, just promise me that you will wait until tomorrow when we hear what really happened to make any judgements. Alaire needs you calm. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'll go tell Minerva that Ms. Goodnight, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Longbottom will be spending the night here. I'll leave everything in your capable hands, Poppy." Dumbledore patted Neville on the back and left.
Neville looked up to see Snape giving him a curious look. If he didn't know better, it seemed like pride. It quickly gave way to the impassive look that haunted his usually gaunt face. "Take care of her, Neville. You've become a very serious young man."
He stood with one last look at Alaire. "Come and get me if she awakens and is . . . troubled. I'm sure she'll explain everything tomorrow morning." He sighed. "This charade needs to end."
He turned and left a very confused Neville in his wake.
"Alaire," he began to question the girl in his arms but interrupted by Madame Pomphrey.
"I suppose it would do no good to tell you to go back to your room?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then you can help me with Mr. Potter then pull up a bed beside Ms. Goodnight." She motioned for Neville to follow her.
Harry was a mess. He hadn't expected to be physically attacked by Alaire and had also held back by some sense of "shouldn't hit a girl." He had a black eye, his chin was bruised and he had a nasty cut on his shoulder.
"What the hell!" Neville exclaimed before he could stop himself.
"I wish I knew," Harry managed to squeak out. "One minute we were fine and the next BLAM! I didn't know what to do."
"Try being quiet," Madame Pomphrey said testily. "You could practically nurse yourself at this point, you know."
She motioned for Neville to lift Harry's legs so that she could tuck in a pillow under his back. When Harry was finally comfortable, she said with a smile, "I've ordered the plaque, you know, 'Harry Potter Slept Here' just for this bed."
Harry smiled as he accepted the flask of Dreamless Sleep potion.
"I promise I'll drink this as soon as we're finished talking. Okay, Madame Pomphrey?"
"Like I said, you could run this place yourself with all your experience, Mr. Potter. I'm sure you know best by now." She smiled sarcastically and walked away leaving the two boys.
"H-Harry, what happened?"
"We were practicing in the dark and I had hit her with a binding spell. She fell down and I had bent over her to lower the curse and help her up when she went ballistic. That's all that happened, mate." Harry felt he was being somewhat honest. They had been flirting but he had never actually kissed Alaire although he had wanted to do so. "I was getting ready to release her when she started to act like she was suffocating then before I could cancel the curse, she burst out of it. I was in such shock that I just sat there and then she turned on me and began beating the shit out of me. I didn't know what to do, Neville! She kept at it for like a minute or so then just collapsed in the corner crying. You walked in a few seconds later."
Neville say quietly digesting what he had heard. He knew that Harry still cared for Alaire but he knew Harry very well and Harry would NEVER force himself on anyone especially Alaire. Something else was going on. They would find out tomorrow until then he simply had to have faith both in an old friend and a new girlfriend.
"Okay. Until tomorrow. Drink up, Harry. You look like shit."
Harry turned up the flask and drank deeply. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Neville went back to Alaire's bed. She looked horrible. Her eyes, bruised from crying, lay in sharp contrast to her pale skin. With a sigh, he tried to make himself comfortable in his chair but it was no use. Looking around, he saw that Madame Pomphrey had retired for the evening. He quietly levitated a bed next to Alaire's and lay down. He was almost asleep when he felt a soft hand join his.
The next day, three very tired students went to Dumbledore's office. Alaire took a deep breath to steady herself as she followed Harry up the stairs with Neville. She had awakened to find herself wrapped tightly in Neville's arms. She had carefully extricated herself, went to the loo, then almost passed out when she saw Harry in another bed. She had quickly run back to the bathroom and was sick. Guilt ate at her as she made her way back to her bed.
A fresh change of clothes was lying at the end of the cot. Pulling the curtains, she quickly put on the clean clothes. She was just pulling on her socks when she noticed that Neville was awake.
"Hi."
"Hi, yourself."
"How do you feel, love?'
"Better. You?"
"Been worse. Been better."
"I-I'm sorry about last night."
Neville sighed. "You scared us pretty bad."
Alaire nodded and bit her lip.
"I'll be right back." Neville stood and made his way to the bathroom. When he returned, Harry was dressed and eating breakfast. He had improved greatly. The only sign that he had been in a fight was a stiffness in his left arm.
"Morning," Neville proffered.
"Morning."
"Um, Alaire's awake so we can go talk to Dumbledore whenever you finish." Harry nodded and Neville went to check on Alaire.
She was standing by her bed gazing out a window at the snow covered hills. A few lonely tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Want some breakfast?" he asked motioning to a tray of buttered toast, jam, and juice at the end of the bed.
"No. It'll just come back to haunt me," she said quietly.
Neville took a piece of bread and slathered it with butter then grape jelly. "Humor me."
Alaire reluctantly took the toast and took a small bite. Neville crossed his arms and stared at her.
"God, you're worse than my mother. Fine." She took another three bites before Neville was satisfied. She was finishing a goblet of pumpkin juice when Madame Pomphrey joined them.
"Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape would like to talk to you now."
Alaire nodded then headed out of the infirmary, head down as if she was going to her execution. She could tell that Harry and Neville were burning up with curiosity but, for once, she didn't care. She had demons to face and her two best friends would just have to understand. Dumbledore greeted her with a smile and waved her to a seat near a cozy fireplace. Neville and Harry sat down on a nearby sofa.
"So, I take it you're feeling better Ms. Goodnight? Harry? Neville?"
All three students nodded.
"Good. Now, I have a question for you, Alaire. Would you mind if Professor Snape sat in with us? I believe he knows something of what is bothering you."
Alaire nodded. Dumbledore threw some powder into the fireplace and called out for the professor who was obviously waiting for his summons. He stepped through the fireplace, nodded to the boys, then sat down on a conjured seat near Dumbledore's desk. Alaire would have to turn to see him but she knew he was there.
"Good, now that we have everyone here, I think we're hear to listen to your story, Alaire, and possibly, an explanation for what happened last night."
Alaire took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She quickly assessed the room and felt mostly curiosity and warmth. It was time to come clean it seemed.
"I found out that I was empathic when I around thirteen years old. It took a while to figure out what was going on. Eventually, I learned to manage my reactions to other people's feelings but I was still bombarded by them every minute of the day. I would get tired and when that happened I would get swept up in what they were feeling. Sometimes it would get all muddled together and I wouldn't know where they ended and I began.
"I've worked on that since I came here. Thanks to Professor Snape, I no longer have that problem. But when I was sixteen, I didn't know any better and when I did, I didn't always care. Combine that with my overprotective parents," she looked up at Neville who gave her the slightest smile. "and you pretty much have a recipe for disaster.
"I had been going to a wizarding school when one of my friends there discovered my secret. She betrayed me. She told everyone there about my empathy and then lied. She said that I was using it to spy on them.
"Everyone turned on me except for one person, John Canady. He began to pay attention to me. My parents wanted me to quit school but I stayed because of him. I was thrilled when we went on our first date. We went to dinner at the local pizza place then went to a movie. Then . . ." Alaire's voice trailed off as she forced herself to remember that night. "Then . . ."
She couldn't make herself continue it was too painful. A heart-wretching sob escaped her.
"Alaire?" Snape's voice broke the silence. "It's time to put that demon to rest, Alaire. Face it then put it away. Isn't that what you told me to do?"
Alaire wiped away a tear as she nodded in agreement.
"What do you Americans say? Pot calling the kettle black?" An odd half sob/half laugh escaped from Alaire as she continued.
"It was a beautiful spring night. John was driving me home. I live a few miles from everywhere it seems. So we were going down this country road when he pulled over and stopped the car. He-He told me how much fun he had had that night. Then he told me how pretty I was. Then he kissed me." She sighed. "I was so stupid. I was so vulnerable. We-We did more than kiss. Sometimes things got all muddled together, another's emotions override me, making me do things. . .I went – I went," she looked up embarrassed.
"I think we understand, dear," Dumbledore quickly saved her from any more awkwardness.
"The whole thing became a blur to me. It was like I wasn't in control of myself. I just wanted one thing and I just had to do that-that thing. When it was over, I got out of the car and felt sick. I managed to get a few feet from the car before I lost it. I was bending over trying to recover when I heard John on his cell phone. He was talking to my ex-best-friend. He said," she paused as anger began to invade on her senses. "He was saying how cool it was that he could just think about something sexual and make me do it. I was his little puppet." She spit out the last few words.
"I couldn't take it. I began to run. I knew that I was close to home if I cut across a few fields. I'm still not sure how long I ran. When I got home, I was covered in scratches from briars and such. When my dad saw me, he headed out the door. My mother had to put him in a full body bind then actually have my uncle duct tape him to a chair to keep him from going out and killing John."
She paused and looked up expecting to see shock and loathing on Harry and Neville's faces toward her. Instead, there was understanding and love. It almost broke her heart. How had she ever deserved two such special people. Harry might be a bit preoccupied with saving the world but on an individual level, he was very concerned. Neville had the same look that her father had worn that night. His hands were balled up into fists and he gripped the edges of his shirt tightly. Professor Snape cleared his throat. She turned to see him even paler than usual.
"What happened to the boy?"
"My mother called a meeting of the local wizarding board. She explained that something had to be done before my father committed a crime. They, um, went to his house that night. They took away his wand and sent him away to Haiti to do six months of community service. Last I heard, he had gotten into trouble for illegal dark magic."
Quiet fell over the room as each person digested this information. At last Dumbeldore broke the odd silence. "So, now we know why you came to Hogwarts. A new beginning. And a chance not to forget the past but to plan a new future."
Alaire nodded.
"But we still need an explanation for your attack on Mr. Potter."
Alaire started to answer but Harry interrupted her. "You thought I was him, didn't you?"
"For just a moment, all that anger from that night that I had held in just exploded. You just happened to be in the way."
Harry swallowed then asked, "Do I look like him?"
"No! He had blonde hair and blue eyes. You know, the typical All-American boy. Harry, I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"
Harry stood and pulled Alaire from her chair into a hug ignoring Neville's gasp. "Only if you promise to channel that anger towards a Death Eater if you ever run into one. You could be pretty lethal."
Alaire let go of a deep breath that she didn't realize she was holding.
"Well, now Mr. Potter, I think you could go back to classes now. You are going to have to live with the rumor that Ms. Goodnight managed to put you in the hospital but I'm sure the stories will die down soon."
Harry smiled. "I'm sure I will get quite a heckling but it'll be worth it. You can count on me. This secret is safe with me. Wizard's promise." Alaire could feel pride welling up in Dumbledore.
"Thank you, Harry. Ms. Goodnight and Mr. Longbottom will join you directly."
Dumbledore turned to Neville and Alaire. "I'm sure that the two of you have a lot to talk about. I'm excusing from this afternoon's classes but I expect you to make up any work assigned in them. Understood?"
The pair nodded then practically ran out the door after dismissed.
Watching them go, Snape commented, "I believe she'll make it now."
Alaire sat down heavily on the couch in Neville's study grateful for a few moments peace and quiet. She felt so drained. She didn't have the energy to tune anyone out at the moment. She could feel happiness, despair (probably over a test she thought) and even a tinge of lust. But, the feeling that seemed to flood the room was anger and it was coming from Neville Longbottom.
"Neville, I'm sorry. I should have told you earlier," she said trying to placate him. He didn't answer. She started to panic, what if he hated her now? "I-I had just tried to put my past behind me."
Still silence.
"I kinda mentioned it once, remember?"
Neville turned from where he was staring out the window. "I remember."
He paused for a long moment stroking the mimbulus which seemed happy for the attention. "Why?"
"Why what, Neville?" she asked, feeling as though her heart was breaking.
"Why did you act the way you did when you got here? Why did you come on to me? Why did you . . . How could be so sexual when that happened to you?"
Alaire couldn't bring herself to look at Neville. "I wanted to see what it was like to feel that way on my own. That date with John came when I so vulnerable but I needed it so badly. I guess that once I felt that I was more in control of my empathy, I decided to try again. I-I felt safe with you, Neville. I knew you never take advantage of me like that. I fell in love with you because you the exact opposite of everything that I come to expect in a guy. You were sweet and sensitive. You took care of me and didn't expect anything in return. I WANTED to kiss you and you wouldn't even give me the time of day.
"Neville, think about it, it feels so right to be with you that I'm willing – Hell, I'm wanting to try things with you that once almost destroyed me. You're that wonderful to me."
She waited for her words to sink in but the anger continued. "Neville, why are you mad at me? What else can I say?"
"You think I'm mad at you?" he said disbelievingly.
"Yeah. I can feel it."
"I'm not mad at you, Alaire," he sighed.
"Then . . . I-I'm confused. Just because I can feel your emotions, doesn't mean that I can tell why you're having them."
"I'm just thinking that after I deal with Bellatrix for torturing my parents that I'm going to have to go to Haiti."
Alaire was completely floored.
"What did you say?"
"I just don't understand how he could do that to you, Alaire! I mean all blokes want something to happen on a date. We're just wired that way but to do what he did! I-I . . ."
He didn't get a chance to finish his thought because Alaire had wrapped herself around him so tightly he couldn't breathe.
"I love you so much," she said, hugging his tighter. "But I want, you listen to me, Neville Longbottom. I don't need a knight in shining armor to rush off and protect my honor. I need a friend and lover who will love me no matter what and be with me right here. Don't leave me. Please."
Neville could tell that Alaire was scared.
"Oh, love, I'm not going anywhere. It's just that a huge part of me wants to protect you. Anything like that ever happened here, a full body bind and duct tape wouldn't stop me. Understand?"
Alaire nodded but still held on to him as if she would never let go.
"Alaire, I can't breathe."
She finally loosened her grip a bit. "We don't have to go to classes, do we?"
"No. We're excused."
"Good. I don't think any glamour spell on earth could help me right now."
"Let's just finish up our homework and then, if you're a good girl, we could take a nap together."
"Not going anywhere, Neville?"
"Nope. Not going anywhere."