"Nita, Nita!" Kit cried. Snape turned his attention from Millicent and quickly conjured a glass of water. He sprinkled some on Nita's face, yet she did not wake. Snape turned to them. "Miss Granger, will you please escort Miss Callahan to the Infirmary? Mr. Rodriquez, you may escort her. Miss Granger, please use caution in your Mobilicorpus spell. Go!" Harry and Ron looked amazed. So did the rest of the class. Snape handed them a sheet of paper. "This is a pass for magic use. Hurry along!" Hermione muttered something under her breath as she pointed her wand at Nita. Her body began to float, and Hermione strode briskly out of the room, looking uncannily like Professor McGonagall during the Chamber of Secrets incident. Kit hurried to catch up, slip of paper clutched tightly in his hand. Hermione and Kit quickly trotted through the corridors of Hogwarts, soon reaching a large door. Hermione pushed it open and quickly placed Nita's still body on the closest bed. A portly woman rushed up, looking flustered. "Miss Granger, do you have a pass for use of magic?" Kit handed her the note, now slightly crumpled. She glanced at it, frowned, read it again, shrugged, and turned to Nita. She examined her quickly and pulled a potion from a shelf. Uncorking the bottle, a strange odor wafted from the neck of the green bottle. She propped Nita up with pillows and waved the bottle under Nita's nose, than tilted her head back and poured a little down Nita's slightly parted lips. The color returned to Nita's cheeks and Kit let out the breath that he had unknowingly been holding. Hermione looked at Nita, smiled in a slightly mysterious fashion, coughed lightly, and looked pointedly at Nita's and Kit's clasped hands. Kit turned as bright as Ron but didn't let go. Nita coughed, wheezed, and whispered, "Water-" Kit let go of her hand long enough to grab a cup from a bedside table and pour a little water into it. He sat on the edge of Nita's bed and tilted her head slightly up and put the rim of the glass to her lips. She sipped gratefully and leaned against Kit. Hermione whispered into Kit's ear, "I'll be going to class now, you stay here" Kit took the glass from Nita's lips and nodded. Hermione quietly slipped away while Madame Pomfrey went to attend to another patient. They gave each other knowing looks above Kit's head. Smiling, Hermione walked out.
Kit gently stroked Nita's soft auburn hair. She had never passed out like this on a simple air-hardening spell. He mused, wondering if this strange universe was affecting their wizardry. He was brought back to earth by a sleepy, familiar voice calling his name. He jerked his hand back and snapped his attention to Nita. She looked weak, but her face was flushed. He pressed the rim of the water glass to her lips and she sipped. Pushing the glass away, she struggled to sit up. Kit gently helped to raise her to a sitting position. He got off the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Neets, are you okay? That was a close call!" Nita smiled weakly and replied,
"of course. What happened to the class?"
"Everyone's fine, thanks to you. Water?" Nita shook her head. Kit sighed as Madame Pomfrey approached. "Okay, young lad, out of here! My patient needs her rest, Merlin knows what happened that made her so exhausted. Out, get to your class! Oh, no, go to Great Hall, the midday meal is being served. We have perfectly good food here, your little lass will be fine. Out!" Kit scuttled out the door with a last look over his shoulder at Nita. She was smiling.
Kit found a seat next to Harry, facing Ron, who sat by Hermione. "What happened back there?" Harry inquired, worriedly. "Yeah, what did happen?" added Ron through a mouth full of food. Hermione studied her plate. Kit shrugged. "When we use our wizardry in large amounts, it strains us. The effort she must have used must have been considerable." Kit picked at his food, and Harry had to drag him out of his seat to get him to the next class. Kit waved to Dairine, who was standing with a large group of who appeared to be Ravenclaws, having an interesting discussion on physics, no doubt. Ginny stood beside Dairine and looked quite goggle-eyed, watching Dairine spurt off about the gravitational mass of the universe, or something like that. Kit hurried to her and whispered to Dairine what had happened. Her eyes widened, but soon returned to their normal state as she replied,
"Oh, I'm sure Nita's fine, she must be in the care of a professional. I'll talk to her later. Oh look, class is starting!" Dairine rejoined her Gryffindor colleagues and Kit rejoined Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The three led him away through the halls of Hogwarts, which seemed to him quite empty.
Nita smiled to herself and touched her hair. She had been, in fact, awake when Kit was sitting beside her. She missed his warm presence. She shook her head wildly. Was she getting soft? She knew she and Kit were just friends, right? She snorted under her breath and relaxed into her pillows, letting the waves of deep slumber rock her to sleep.
Kit quickly dashed out of the classroom he had had his Arithmancy class in and plummeted down the hallways. Harry rushed to catch up, and quickly led Kit in the direction of the Infirmary. Kit dashed to Nita's bed and found her asleep, breathing quietly and evenly, looking like a young child. Kit sighed in relief and gently touched her hair. Nita stirred and blinked. Kit looked down at her bemusedly. She sat up and grinned, looking quite refreshed. Madam Pomfrey bustled over, declaring her patient fit for release. Harry told them about their Quidditch practice, and Kit and Nita agreed to come and join Hermione in watching the Gryffindor team. They all left the Infirmary in quite a cheery mood.
Nita and Kit watched with Hermione the players soaring around the Quidditch posts and flying everywhere, chasing balls or tossing them to one another. Kit was intrigued. It looked almost as good as universal kernel finding, or playing in a universe of his own with Ponch. Harry darted past the stands, searching for the small golden Snitch. He waved triumphantly as he caught it, directly under the center goalpost on the far end of the field, opposite of where Kit, Nita, and Hermione watched. Hermione clapped her hands excitedly as Harry grinned at her. Nita looked at Hermione, looked at Harry, nodded at Kit, and they smiled in unison at Hermione, who immediately turned bright red. Quidditch practice was declared over, and Harry flew towards them. He landed on the seat behind Hermione and covered her eyes. "Guess who?" he asked jovially. Hermione giggled in a very unHermioneish way. "Harry, of course you, you big git! Who else would it be? Draco? Now that's a frightening thought." Harry shuddered and lowered his hands. Hermione stood and brushed off her robes, flushing a deep red as she caught sight of the look Nita had given her. Nita winked and stood up. She went to Harry. "Harry, are there any ways that Kit and I may be able to borrow a broom, to you know, fly on?" Harry led them to the broom closet and had them select two brooms. He showed them how to get on them and direct the broom. He was shocked to see that his two new friends seemed to be born for flying, as they did loops, soared high in the sky, and dove down again. Soon Kit and Nita dismounted cheeks and noses quite red from the chilly upper air. Their shoes crunched into the almost-undisturbed snow as they headed for Great Hall.
The next morning at breakfast, Headmaster Dumbledore pulled them all into his office, Harry, Ron, and Hermione included. They all sat on comfortable chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk, warmed by the crackling fire. Dumbledore smiled at them and started,
"So, how was your first day at Hogwarts?"
"Wonderful!" "Great!" Intriguing!" (the last of course, was stated by Dairine.)
Headmaster smiled and began again.
"As you seem to be enjoying your time at Hogwarts, I have decided that you must visit Diagon Alley for your supplies. Hagrid will accompany you, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron should come too, because they are your guides. You will travel using Floo powder, which is used by throwing a pinch into the fire, stating your destination, and stepping in. You will immediately arrive at your destination. Off you go, then, Hagrid will be waiting for you at Diagon Alley. Trust me, you won't miss him. The Floo powder is on the ashtray on the mantel. Farewell!"
Harry went first, than Nita, than Dairine, than Kit, and than finally Ron and Hermione. They arrived quickly, and were greeted by a jovial half-giant with a prominent mustache and beard. Nita, Kit, and Dairine took an immediate liking to the amiable Hagrid.
"Well, off t' Gringotts, Headmaster's orders. Let's go!" The group followed Hagrid through the crowds of robed wizards and witches, finally stopping in front of a very regal-looking building. They entered, and the goblin at the desk asked for their names. "Christopher Rodriquez" "Juanita Callahan" "Dairine Callahan" they chorused. The goblin nodded.
"Well, Miss Juanita, would you like to withdraw from vault 587, 588, 589, or 590? All of them belong to you. Miss Dairine, take your choice from vault 591, 592, 593, or 594. Mr. Rodriquez, take your pick from vaults 1253, 1254, 1255, or 1256. Well?" Nita, Dairine, and Kit were stunned. How did they get accounts here in a place where they had never been before? Hagrid pulled out three large leather sacks and handed them out. Nita mumbled,
"we'll look at them all, please." The goblin nodded, beckoned to a nearby comrade, and ordered the other goblin,
"Take the extra-large car with you, you have a large load. Here are the vault numbers, and here are the people. Go on, Garouk!" the goblin, Garouk, led them to a large coal car, the kinds used in old mines and sat them down there. They then proceeded to take a series of sharp drops and jerking turns until they reached a door. Garouk stroked the door with a finger and it disappeared. Nita inhaled sharply, as did the other members of the cart, excluding the goblin.