A/N:Howdy guys! How are you? I'm just fine, thanks for asking. The next update may be a little long because I've already had everything written up until now and I haven't finished enough of the pages to be able to update. My friends are probably going to hurt me, but I s'pose that is the price I pay. Oh well, I have to finish updating so I can go back to writing, to please my friends and myself. I stopped writing this story for a really long time and am only back to it because I felt the urge to finish it, or at least continue. You can't really say that I had a surge of inspiration, but I wanted to get back to it. It's my baby! Okay thanks for reading and ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't and never will own anything but a copy of the Harry Potter books. Thanks!


Victory's Letter

Toxic Letter:

The next day Nikole walked down the stairs to the Great Hall by herself because all of her friends had already left on their dates by the time she'd woken up. She sat down and was joined shortly there after by Tad. Nikole starred at her plate, not really processing what it was.

"Hey, Nikole. Are you okay?" asked Tad, biting into a piece of toast. When she didn't respond he poked her in the side. Nothing happened still, so Tad wrapped his arm Nikole's neck and pulled her backwards. She almost fell out of her chair from being yanked to the rear so suddenly.

"Oh, my god Tad! Don't do that! Why'd you do that?" Nikole inquired, looking at him in a pathetic way. She closed her eyes and made a distressed sound. Resting her head on the table, she began mumbling to herself. Tad ignored her continued eating his breakfast. Tad finally pulled her back by the collar and shook her.

"Wake up, Nikole," Tad persisted his shaking until she said something back.

"Do I have to?" Nikole replied groggily.

"Yes."

Nikole smiled faintly, "Darn," she took a pancake from the plate in front of her, "I guess I should eat something." She began eating the pancake plain, which had started to enjoy recently. Nikole also took a drink of the milk that had somehow appeared in front of her. "Yum… I love milk. I always have milk when I go my grandma's house instead of water like everyone else. I always have, I don't know why. I don't really do that anywhere else." Busy enjoying the taste of the milk, Nikole didn't realize that Tad was chuckling at her.

"You are one crazy girl, you know that?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, it's a lot of fun. You really should try it some time," Nikole told him, taking another sip of milk.

"What? Being a crazy girl? I don't know if that would work out for me," Tad scratched his head, thinking about himself as a girl. He shook his head and dismissed the idea.

"That would be weird. You would be a really ugly girl," Nikole informed him.

"Hey! That's not nice. You are so mean. How do you know that I would be ugly?" Tad questioned, feigning being offended.

She poured more milk, having just emptied her glass. "I love milk. Milk, milk, milk. Comes from a cow, go mooooo. Moo means 'I love you"! Good times." She laughed to herself after her ramblings and Tad raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do I even want to know? No, probably not, anyways, eat faster or we will never make it to Hogsmeade," urged Tad. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and got off of the bench. Nikole followed suit and managed to get off the bench without falling on her face.

"Okay, we can go now. I think we should before I have a spaz attack," Nikole told him. He smiled and the two teenagers headed out of the Great Hall.

& & &

"Okay, no. I refuse to do that," Tad told Nikole firmly as she tried to get him to try on a truly hideous red hat. He walked away and she followed, without the hat in hand. Nikole poked him and looked sad when he turned around. "What?"

"It would have been adorable, oh well. Since you wouldn't try the hat, would you try on this shirt?" Nikole pulled a white shirt with blue stripe off the rack. She grinned at him and Tad shook his, quickly exited the store. Nikole ran after him and didn't try to drag him back.

"I'm thirsty, wanna go the Three Broomsticks?" asked Tad, already walking backwards very slowly in the right direction. He smiled.

"Sure. I wonder if we will run into any of the girls. I'm anxious to see what Em would be like on a date," Nikole answered, sniggering. The two headed off the Three Broomsticks, where did not meet any of their friends.

& & &

"I REFUSE to see that boy ever again!" Em stamped into the dorm room. Nikole looked up, shocked at the loud entrance by her friend. Emlynn was red and flustered.

"What? Did he brush your arm or something?" Nikole asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. When Em looked at the ground guiltily, Nikole looked at her in alarm then began laughing. "That's it, isn't it?"

"No!"

"What was it then, Em?" Nikole cocked an eyebrow.

"Well…I think he tried to hold my hand. I'll have none of that!" Em crossed her arms, outraged, but blushing. Nikole began cracking up.

"You know you like him Em. He sword fights and he's sweet. Wanting to hold your hand just means that he likes you, you should be honored, not disgusted. He's a really nice guy, don't worry about it. I'm guess you ran away after that?" Nikole inquired. Em nodded, shamefully, not saying a word. "Right, you need to somehow fix this. He probably thinks you hate him right now. Don't interrupt I know that you don't hate him. I know you would have been perfectly willing to be friends with him if it hadn't been for me and Tad." Em looked up at Nikole, confused.

"I heard the four of you one night, talking about how the only reason that the boys and we girls were enemies is because of me and Tad. I don't always fall asleep the second I'm in the sleeping position, Em," Nikole smirked at her friend. Who grinned back and laughed nervously.

"I don't always do that! Okay yeah, maybe I do, but I'm proud of it!" Emlynn defended herself. She sat Nikole's bed and picked out a book from her bedside table, which was right by Nikole's since they slept in beds that were next to each other. The room fell into silence while the two read until Addy entered the dormitory. She smiled at Nikole and Em and sat on the bed, too.

"Hi guys, how were your days?"

Em and Nikole exchanged glances and Nikole spoke, "Good, except Em may have ruined her chance with Arrym by freaking out on him about something stupid. How was your date?" Addy smiled and laid back on the bed.

"Good. He gave me his coat and held my hand. It was fun…" She smiled and closed her eyes. Nikole burst into laughter. Adelaide opened her eyes abruptly and sat up. "What?"

"See, Em. I told you! It means that he likes you! People like holding hands," yelled Nikole, smirking. Emlynn blushed fiercely and continued reading. Nikole told Addy about Em's ordeal with the first boy to try and hold her hand. Addy magically turned on some music and they listened together while reading various materials.

Randi came in next and the room exploded with sound. She was beaming from ear to ear. The other girls stared at her. Randilyn's arms were spread wide, "I think I'm in love! My date was unbelievable! Oh, my god. I can not believe I never asked him out because I was afraid that you would hate me Nikole. He is better than I thought." Randi had the grace to stop and blush. She sighed and collapsed on to Nikole's lap on the bed where the other girls were. The girls talked about the highlights of Randi's date.

"He wrapped his arm around me when I was cold. He even put his head on mine when I leaned my head against his shoulder. Oh, my god Geoff is so nice…he smells really good, too," Randi told them, smiling. The other girls laughed at her and they began talking again, while Nikole focused on a quiz article in her magazine.

Rys entered last and quietly slipped into the bathroom before the other four girls could bombard her with question. Nikole ran over to the door and began banging on it.

"I have to know how the date went! I might have to beat up Viktor. Please, Rys, tell me if something is wrong. What's wrong Aderys?" Nikole shouted through the door. She was going to bang again when the door opened and the girls saw the goofy grin on Rys's face. The girls were silent for a minute. Aderys was still blushing slightly. Nikole cocked her head, smirking. "Everything alright, Rys?"

Rys nodded, blushing further, "I had a really great time. Your brother is really sweet. He bought me a rose." Rys walked over to the now joint bed and perched on the edge. "He was really nice to me." Rys began giggling.

Nikole squealed, "What a good boy he is! I'll have to compliment him on this one. A rose? Nice touch if you ask me." Nikole sighed at how cute it must have been, knowing that Rys tended to be awkward around boys. Viktor was comfortable around girls, having had to deal with Nikole for his whole life, but he had his uncomfortable moments.

"I didn't think we'd have anything to talk about, but the conversation never stopped. It was great!" Rys smiled. The girls all laid back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Being perfectly contented with their lives at this point the girls just stared at the canopy cloth and didn't speak, knowing they didn't have to.

& & &

"Go away, Keres. I don't want to talk to you right now," Tad said, irritably to the girl walking next to him. This girl had long black hair, grey eyes, and she was relatively thin. She was in Ravenclaw. Most of the boys in school thought she was attractive. Tad wished she would go away because he really didn't like how she always bothered him when he was either least expecting it or least wanting it, which was all of the time.

"Come on, Tad. Just talk to me. That's all I want, please," she placed her hand on his arm and pretended to be sad. Tad shook his head and began walking away again. Keres jumped in front of him and she looked up set now. "Stop walking. What is wrong with talking to me? Just because your friend can't get over me doesn't mean I can't have you! He is seeing someone else now, why can't I? Geoffrey had problem; I can't help that. He was heart-broken, wasn't he?" Tad looked at Keres, outraged. She just crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"So what? He loved you, Keres. I can't believe you would be coming on to one of his best friends. I can't even comprehend why he liked you," Tad told her, trying to brush past her. She grabbed his shirt and pushed him up against the wall.

"This is why," Keres whispered his ear, before smashing her lips against his.

Around the corner of this fiasco Nikole and her best friend from the group, Randi, were talking about Randi's date with Geoffrey in great detail on their way to library. Nikole had not had a chance before this to get the very fine aspects from her best friend. The tale caused Nikole to giggle uncontrollably. Rand was blushing and giggling in a "school girl" way.

& &

"He was so sweet to me. Geoffrey paid for everything and he bought me this locket that I saw and thought was pretty. His hands were really soft when he took mine, too," Randi paused only briefly to sigh at the thought, "I tripped, nothing unusual there, and he caught me and he was right there." Randilyn indicated where Geoffrey's face had been with her hand. Her hand was relatively close to her face.

"Aww! Did you kiss?"

"I think we almost did. Neither of us moved for a really long time. It seemed like a really long time anyways. Oh, my god, my face got so red and warm. It was great!" Randi sighed and jumped around, flapping her arms around. Nikole chuckled as her friend completed her "happy dance". The two turned the corner and Nikole stopped dead in her tracks. Tad was kissing some girl that she had never seen before and she was so much better looking than Nikole knew herself to be. His hands were on her hips. Her eyes grew wide and filled with tears. Nikole slowly backed around the corner she had just come from. Sliding down the wall, Nikole's head went into her hands. Randi sat down next to her and hugged her.

"It's okay, Nikole. Maybe he didn't do it on purpose."

Nikole set her head on her best friend's shoulder, the tears streaming down her face, "I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter because weren't technically together anyways... It's just…" Nikole stopped, barely able to talk anymore.

"What? What's wrong? Tell me," Rand prodded.

"He said he'd wait for as long as I needed to know that I was ready to date him. I guess he didn't say he wouldn't date other people. It's not that important I guess…" Nikole trailed off, dissolving into tears. Randi wiped Nikole's hair out of her face and rubbed her back until her tears stopped.

Nikole walked through the door that Randi had opened for her. The dorm was empty, much to Nikole's relief. She couldn't deal with anyone else but Randi right now. Randi was someone Nikole could always rely on, even if sometimes Rand didn't know what to when someone was upset. Randi was normally one of the best friends a girl could have. She was a source of constant entertainment and happiness.

"You need to stop crying, Nix," Randi told her bluntly. Nikole nodded and rolled up in a ball on her bed. Randi put on some music Nikole would listen to and gave her a book to read before relaxing in her own bed. The two girls were silent until Nikole finally spoke.

"Hey, Rand?"

Randi looked up from her book, "Hm?"

"Thanks."

"Sure," Randi smiled and pulled herself up on her bed. "Are you gonna be okay?" She stood up and walked over the Nikole's bed. Sitting on the edge, she leaned against the bed post.

"I think so… Can I talk to you though?"

"You know you can, always," Randilyn reassured Nikole. Smiling, Nikole sat up and rested against her head board.

"Thanks, so anyways. I think I was mostly shocked when I saw that girl…kissing Tad. I guess I just never imagined Tad kissing anyone. It seems weird. We aren't dating so I guess I shouldn't care, but I do. What's that mean?" Nikole looked up at her friend, confused. Her emotions were playing with her and she was perplexed.

"I think it means that you like him. Something we already know. I also think that girl is the one who dumped Geoff and crushed his heart. She can't stay with one guy. That girl is worse than the worst players known to man-kind," Randi explained, glaring at the sheets on Nikole's bed. Nikole shook her head. "I'm sure that he didn't want to. Just act normal. Tad has had a crush on you for a really long time. Rather irritating it got after a while…"

Nikole gazed at her friend, her eyes blurring, "How long?"

"Well…He and his friends met up with the girls and me in Diagon Alley. I remember him talking to his friends about some fiery chick he'd met. That's when we first met your brother. I think Rys fell the minute she laid eyes on the guy," Randi sighed, then giggled, "It's funny if you think about it, all this going on behind the scenes of fights and almost bloody conversations." Rand giggled uncontrollably for several minutes. Nikole held off the blur in her eyes from leaving their current spot. Breathing in deeply, Nikole spoke again.

"Are you sure he isn't going to…date her?" Nikole's eyes pleaded for reassurance. Not being altogether sure about much anymore, Nikole laid back down on her bed.

"I'm sure. I would hurt him if he did. Everyone is rooting for you, Nix, even darling Thaddeus's friends are hoping for this one. Remember act normal, everything will be alright. Even if my brother totally bombs his chance with you, you will always have us," Randi crawled over to her friend and hugged her before getting off of the bed. She went to her own bed and lay down, opening a book, but not beginning to read yet.

Nikole nodded, "Right, act normal. It was probably not his fault anyways… Breathe Nikole, breathe." She looked at Rand; smiling warmly knowing Randi would always be there. "Thanks, Randi. I think I can handle this, just don't leave me by myself, okay?" Randi nodded, and smiling, delved into her book.

& & &

Randilyn, Adelaide, Emlynn, and Aderys sat in the Common Room. Randi had just come down from the dormitory, having left Nikole asleep. Aderys and Emlynn were working on their homework. Addy was sitting reading a teen magazine and laughing at the dumb things people did because she was already finished with her homework. Randi was procrastinating finishing her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay for the simple reason that she was bored with D.A.D.A.

"Is she okay, Randi?" Rys asked, worriedly. Three pairs of eyes were now centered on Randi.

"I think she will be. I told her to act like nothing happened. This was probably a big shock to her," Randilyn informed her friends. She looked at each one of them waiting for the anticipated question. Addy finally couldn't bare it anymore and asked.

"What happened?" Addy burst. Adelaide leaned forward in her chair, then realizing that wasn't comfortable anymore, repositioned herself. After the all attention turned back to her, Randi continued. The tale unfolded before the girls in an elaborate telling by Randi. No detail were spared and this only made the account more painful for all who heard and cared about Nikole.

"So she cried her eyes out, acting like she didn't care about Tad, then she went up there and now she is napping. Happy story isn't it?" Randi shook her head pitifully. "I feel really bad for her. We can't really confront my brother though. That would be weird. I think we should let this play out naturally without any help."

Em jumped into the conversation, "We have to be there for them, though. Abandoning them would be worse. What do you think?" She looked around at her friends.

"We agree." Four boys descended the stairs and approached the girls. Randi grinned as Geoffrey plopped down on the couch beside her and wrapped his arm around the back of the sofa. Rys blushed as Viktor did the same. Addy smiled when Jeremiah swung his legs over the sofa's arms and placed his head on her shoulder. Arrym sat down beside Emlynn, careful not to do anything she might not like. She stared at him before scooting closer and nervously placing her head on his shoulder, both relaxed when the other didn't react negatively.

Randi turned her head to Geoff, "You agree? How amazing. Do you even know what we are talking about?"

"Yes! We are really good at listening in on other people's conversations. Bummer about Keres she always does things like that. She takes victims then dumps them just when they want more. A toxin that one," Arrym replied. He shook his head, frustrated. The rest of the boys agreed.

Jeremiah spoke up, "She did that to Geoffy here," he indicated Geoffrey with his head, looking angry, "I can't believe she is moving on to one of his best friends." All seven agreed whole-heartedly.

"We will take care of Thadeon, you make sure my sister is backed up, okay?" Viktor said cheerily, having found the "Thadeon" comment about Tad's real name simply hilarious. The group of teens agreed to continue as if nothing had happened. Conversation didn't end until the girls started to drift up to bed sleepily.

"Well, this is going to be one hell of a ride. At least we aren't making plans. We don't have to do anything. Just make sure that we are there for Tad. I'm down with that," Jeremiah smirked at the thought of Tad riding what would be a very bumpy rollercoaster with out any interference.

& & &

"Professor Mcgonagall wants to see you Nikole," a fellow Prefect, named Idina. The girl had shoulder length hair with highlights at the bottom, which she was obviously trying to get rid of. Her brown eyes were warm and friendly as she delivered her message. Her smile was also pleasant and her glasses fit her face perfectly.

Nikole smiled at her, "Thanks for telling me Idina. How are you? School assignments working out for you?" This had become an inside joke between the two, as they worked as they had patrolled together for the first week of school, both having complained that school work was completely pointless. Idina laughed and shook her head.

"Oh yeah, really spiffy. I'm fine by the way. Nothing really interesting has happened," she sighed, chuckling, "Most Ravenclaws are really boring. Except for Keres Delateur, but that's only because she downs men like ice cream. What's wrong, Nik?" Nikole shook her head and took a deep breath, them breathed out. "Okay, but if you ever wanna talk, I'm here for you, hun. I know you have your group of friends, but you are always welcome with us, okay?" She grinned and Nikole returned the grin. She hugged Idina before telling her she had to go see Professor Mcgonagall.

"Okay, see you later!"

"Yeah, by Dee, it was good to see you and thanks for being so nice!" Nikole shouted over her shoulder as she and Idina walked in different directions. Nikole had no idea what she Mcgonagall wanted to talk to her about. She couldn't remember doing anything wrong. Having stopped fighting with Tad, Mcgonagall couldn't yell at them for setting a bad example for the rest of the school, since Tad had been made a Prefect. They also had encouraged fighting, even if just with words… Tad. Turning her face towards the ground, Nikole felt the hurt inside of her. She shook herself, trying to get her mind off Tad.

Entering the professor's classroom, Nikole came back to attention. Mcgonagall was sitting at her desk, correcting essays when Nikole came in. A feeling of anxiousness rose in Nikole, "You wanted to see me Professor?"

Mcgonagall looked up, "Yes, I did. I have something I'd like to discuss with you." Nikole walked up to her desk and stood in front of it, waiting for the professor to begin. "Well the groups for patrolling have changed, again. The headmaster felt the need to mix up some of the Prefects, so they can better get to know each other. Report to the Headmaster to see your new partner, he wanted to tell all of the Fifth years himself. That's all." The professor went back to correcting, dismissing Nikole.

As Nikole exited the room she mumbled to herself, "God, they are changing patrols, like, everyday now. It was nice having a whole week of patrol with someone, like I had with Idina. Oh, well, I'm meeting a lot of people."

"The door is open," Dumbledore's voice came from behind the door. Nikole pushed open the door and stepped in, closing the door behind. She kept her eyes cast down, feeling uncomfortable.

"Umm… Professor Mcgonagall sent me to find out who I'd be patrolling with tonight," Nikole said, shyly.

"Oh yes, thank you for coming. This will be your partner for tonight, but it might change tomorrow, I haven't decided yet," Dumbledore told her. Nikole looked up shocked. Tad sat in front of her, grinning.

"Hi, Nikole! How are you?" Tad asked pleasantly. Nikole felt her stomach knot and face flush.

"Oh..umm.. I'm okay, you?"

Tad paused before answering, narrowing his eyes slightly, "I'm fine thanks." Dumbledore released the two teens and Nikole almost ran out of the door. Tad easily caught up to her, seeing as he was athletic. He stopped her by grabbing her arm. Nikole jerked backwards and stumbled to stay upright.

"Hey, are you sure you're alright. Did I do something wrong?" Tad ask, genuinely worried that he had ruined the peace that had recently come to pass between the two. Nikole stared at him for a few seconds before answering. His gaze met hers.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine, why?" Nikole replied, moving her arm slightly so that his hand fell from it.

"It's just that it kind of seemed like you weren't happy to see me in there," he stopped, and looked at the ground, hurt, "I guess… if you wanted I could get someone to trade partners with me, so you wouldn't have to patrol with me." Nikole eyes grew in size. She realized that even though she had seen him with Keres she still wanted to be around him as much as possible. This may be awkward for her and she had a hunch that he wasn't going to tell her about Keres. This disappointed her because it meant he couldn't trust her but, she saw where he got his reasoning.

"Oh, No! You don't have to do that! I'm fine! Just being kinda spacey today, that's all," Nikole assured him. He looked relieved and sighed. They said good-bye and decided to meet in the Common Room right before curfew. As Nikole walked to the Library where her friends were gathered she had a final thought about how this was going to be the patrol from hell.

Nikole walked into the Library and walked over to the table her friends normally sat at. Two of the four were working diligently, Adery and Adelaide. Emlynn was staring at a bookshelf across from the table intently, as if trying to see through it. Randilyn was making hand motions like a conductor. Her eyes were closed and she was humming to herself. The song must have arrived at the break because she tipped back in her chair and began violently head-banging. Nikole walked past and tipped her chair back a little before pushing it forward, making sure she didn't tip over.

Randi grasped for the table, "Oh, my god! Don't do that! Holy crap… That was AWESOME!" Nikole shook her head and plopped down the chair next to Randi. She sighed and rested her head on her crossed arms, on top of the table. Randi found it amusing to tip back in her chair then let herself jerk forward. She finally grew bored and began playing with her pencil instead.

"What did Mcgonagall want, Nik?" asked Rys. She put her pencil down because she had just finished her homework.

Nikole turned her head on her arms to face Rys, "She told me to go see Dumbledore so he could tell me who my patrol was with tonight. They changed it again…" Nikole trailed off. She looked at Aderys, who realized that Nikole wasn't done.

"Who are you patrolling with?"

Nikole buried her head in her arms and mumbled, "Tad." Four pairs of eyes immediately centered in on Nikole's head. All four girls exchanged glances, knowing this had to at least semi-painful for Nikole. Addy placed her head on Nikole's arm. Em came around the table and hugged her friend.

"Has he told you anything about the other night?" Randi asked, not bothering to be gentle with the question. She received three glares from her friends. Randi grinned back before Nikole began talking.

"No, not yet. He might though," Nikole replied miserably. Then, she looked at Randi, confused. "Randi, did you tell them?"

Randi smiled at her, "Yes? I hope you don't mind?" Randi held up her hands so that if need be, she could protect her head. Nikole just shrugged, causing Randi to exhale in relief. It didn't particularly matter to Nikole that the other three knew they were her best friends after all. Nikole just didn't want to have to explain it. She knew it would hurt if she had to.

"Anyways, just act like you normally would, you know make fun of him and like you don't actually like him in that way, you should be fine," Randi told her, raising her eyebrow and smirking in unison. Nikole just shook her head tiredly. "Oh come on, you aren't even going to try to hit me? That's so lame." This comment was answered with a good whack on the head from Nikole. Randi rubbed her head and glared at her friend.

"I think she has a point, Nik. Act normally, and then he won't think anything is wrong. Hopefully he'll be a good guy and tell you what happened. Mostly likely he won't, but you can always hope, right?" Aderys said, kindly. Nikole smiled at Rys. She was the one that Nikole always went to when she needed someone to talk to. Rys had experienced a lot and was always sympathetic, yet realistic at the same time. Nikole stood up.

"Well I have to go meet him in the Common Room, see you guys later. Wish me luck…" Nikole walked away after waving to her friends. The girls at the table waved back and Nikole walked out of the Library. After watching her figure disappear, her friends turned to face each other.

"Well this is going to be a fun one for her," Emlynn mentioned, not even bothering to pick up her pencil because she was burned out on homework. The other three agreed and Addy sighed.

"Hey guys, I have to go. Jer wanted me to meet him in the Common Room. He didn't say why, but I figure I should go anyway," Addy grinned as her friends made suggestive faces at her. She walked away and the rest of the girls finally returned to their homework.


A/N: Was that good, or was that bad? I don't know so tell me, por favor! Love you all!