Well, I am sure most of you want me to either write…or you want to kill me for leaving such a cliff hanger…maybe both. I don't know…so I shall write. This chapter, for no particular reason, is dedicated to the Dark Lord Revan, and the Exile…don't ask. It's a KotOR thing.

RECAP:

They ate their dinner happily with idle chat before making their way back home. As soon as they walked in the door, the phone started ringing. Nikki answered the phone to a very frantic Zachary.

Chapter Sixteen

Close Call and Coming Back

"NIKKI! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! NOW!" Came Zach's frantic voice.

"Why! What the Hell is going on!" Nikki asked frantically.

"Bellatrix Lestrange and Death Eaters are headed your way! GO!" Zach shouted, hanging up the phone.

"HARRY!" Nikki screamed. Harry came running into the hall.

"What? What's going on?" He asked in a panic.

"Pack your things. We have to go. But where? I don't know where to go!" Nikki shouted, becoming hysterical.

"What is going on?" Harry asked calmly.

"Death Eaters, coming here." She choked out.

"Oh shit. You go pack. Use magic. I'll go get us a place to stay." Harry said to her as he went to the fireplace. He grabbed some Floo Powder and stuck his head in the fireplace. "12 Grimmauld Place" He called as he once again found himself in the kitchen. Thankfully, Professor Dumbledore was there staring him straight in the eyes.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked, calmly.

"I am at Nikki Gryffin's house. Death Eater's are coming for her! We need a place to stay." Harry said quickly. Dumbledore's eyes changed drastically.

"Come now. The both of you." Dumbledore said as he turned to go inform the other Order members of their plight. Harry drew his head back into the house and called to Nikki. She came running into the room with two trunks floating behind her.

"Did you find a place?" She asked quickly.

"Yes, with a very safe group. Nothing can hurt us there." Harry explained.

"Thank you." Nikki replied giving him a peck on the lips. They put their trunks in the fireplace and called the name of the Order's location. They were about to get into the fireplace when they heard a loud bang come from down the street. They hurriedly got into the fireplace just before the front door burst open. Luckily, they did not hear their destination. They arrived in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Where the hell are we?" Nikki asked, wondering if this was a wise decision.

"You are in the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. You must choose now. Are you with us in the fight against Voldemort? You don't have to say yes, but if you say no, your memory of this place will be erased." Dumbledore explained.

"Death Eaters killed my parents. Of course I want to stop Him." Nikki responded. At mention of her parents, Dumbledore gained a strange, knowing look in his eyes.

"Marvelous then. I shall have Sirius or Remus show you to your rooms." Dumbledore said as he got up from the table. As if on cue, Remus walked into the kitchen followed by Sirius. Remus looked oddly at Nikki, as if he knew her from somewhere. Yes, he had seen her in class, but she looked so familiar to him. Sirius looked in the direction Remus was staring and began to look curiously at Nikki as well.

"If I didn't know better…" Remus muttered, then just shook his head and left the room.

"Harry, Nikki, what brings you here?" Sirius asked cheerfully.

"Your delightful cousin, Bella." Harry replied with a sneer.

"Damn. Alright, I'll show you to your rooms. Luckily, the Weasleys and Hermione are here so you won't get bored. Harry, you can stay with Ron. Nikki, we only have one other spare bed but you would be in a room by yourself. Is that okay?" Sirius offered.

"That's fine." She replied as cheerfully as she could. It was late so they went straight up to their rooms to get ready for bed.

"Harry! What are you doing here, mate? I thought you were staying at Nikki's." Ron said as Harry walked into the room.

"I was. We were almost attacked by Death Eaters so we came here." Harry replied, getting his pajamas out. He changed into a pair of comfortable bottoms and a plain tee-shirt.

"Wow. Well, I'm glad you're here." Ron replied.

"Not for long. Nikki is in a room all by herself and I don't want her to have to be alone in this house." Harry said as he headed for the door. He could almost sense the question about to come out of Ron's mouth. Before it could be asked, Harry turned back to Ron and replied, "No Ron, we are just going to sleep."

Harry slowly crept down the hall to Nikki's room. He slowly cracked open the door. He saw her climb into bed and shut her eyes. He opened the door even more and entered the room. He slowly approached Nikki, then bent down and softly kissed her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw who was standing over her. She pushed herself up and kissed his lips once more. He broke the kiss and climbed into bed next to her.

"Can I stay with you?" Harry whispered, already knowing the answer.

"If you leave me tonight, I'll leave you for good." She replied jokingly before kissing his lips once more. They broke the kiss and Nikki turned on her side and laid her head on Harry's chest. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

"Don't worry. I'll always be here. I'll never leave you." Harry whispered.

"I know. That's why I love you." She whispered back.

"I love you, too. Good night Nikki." Harry said, kissing her forehead. She snuggled in next to him and they both drifted off into a nice, comfortable sleep.

The next morning, Harry woke up and returned to his room before anyone knew what he had done last night. He came back each night and all they did was sleep in each others' arms. Zach had owled Nikki to let her know that Aurors had come and the Death Eaters had left before they could do any damage to the house. Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other much. Just a few "hello's" and "goodbye's" and a few "pass the muffins".

Too soon it seemed, they were on the way back to Hogwarts. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry leaned up against the window as Nikki leaned up against him…sound asleep. His arm was draped across her shoulders. He was deep in thought.

'Am I doing the right thing? She's so great. She doesn't deserve me. I don't deserve her. She deserves someone so much better, and yet she picked me. What if she realizes that? What if she regrets all that we've done? I love her so much, but what if she stops loving me?' He thought to himself. He was so deep in thought that he didn't see her wake up. She watched him for a few moments.

"Harry." She called out softly. He looked down at her with his bright green eyes. Oh how she loved those eyes.

"Hey. So, Sleeping Beauty awakens." He said, trying to be cheerful. Nikki didn't buy it.

"Harry, what's wrong? Don't lie to me. I hate lying." She said firmly.

"I was just thinking…about us." He replied.

"What? Do you want to break up?" Nikki asked.

"No! No, no, no. I love you. I was just a bit unsure if you still wanted to be with me. I was worried if you had any…regrets." Harry answered.

"What do you mean by 'regrets'?" Nikki asked, but thinking she had a good idea about what he was talking about.

"About…you know…" Harry began.

"No Harry. I don't have any regrets about sleeping with you. At first I was afraid you would leave me after that. But, you didn't, even when I turned you down on Valentine's Day. You always stayed interested in me, no matter what." She replied.

"Okay, just making sure. If you ever do, tell me these things. I want to know." Harry said as he kissed her forehead gently. She turned her face up towards him and he kissed her lips softly. They rode in silence the rest of the way, just enjoying each other's company.

When they finally arrived back at the school, it was a bit late so they went straight to bed after dinner. The next day was Saturday so they could sleep as late as they wanted.

The next morning, Nikki woke up around ten. She got dressed in a long-sleeved tee-shirt that had another muggle band, The Ramones, on the front and a pair of jeans. She went down to the Common Room to find Harry playing with his Snitch, letting it float out in front of him before snatching it back up. She snuck up behind him when suddenly, the snitch flew straight up. Nikki used her Chaser reflexes and grabbed the Snitch with lightning speed. Harry turned around to see where the Snitch had gone and found himself looking into the bright blue eyes of his girlfriend. She was holding the Snitch between her thumb and middle finger and looking at it curiously.

"Good Morning, Nikki. Let me go put my Snitch up and we'll go do something, okay?" Harry offered, standing up.

"Yeah, that sounds good. It's a great day. Let's go for a walk around the grounds." Nikki suggested.

"Sounds great." Harry replied as he darted up the stairs to put his Snitch up. When he came back down, the made their way to the grounds hand in hand. The day outside was absolutely beautiful. Harry led Nikki down to the Beech tree he once saw his own father at. He and Nikki just chatted about idle things on the way there. When they reached the tree, Harry sat down with his back to the tree and indicated Nikki to join him.

"Nikki, are you okay?" Harry asked as she leaned up against him. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm just making sure you're okay after everything that has happened recently. I know it has to be hard." Harry said, kissing her cheek.

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's not the first time they have come after us. When Zach was hurt, I was there. He told me to go. That he could hold them off…" Nikki trailed off, reliving that night as a tear rolled down her cheek. Harry reached over and wiped her tear away with his thumb. She turned around to face him as his hands slowly began to caress her face. He softly brushed his lips against hers. She responded by putting her hand on the back of his head and pulling him deeper into the kiss. Harry deepened it even more by slowly sliding his tongue in. After a few moments, their lungs were screaming for oxygen. Harry slowly broke away.

"Come on. It's a Hogsmeade weekend and I am taking you to lunch. We can go any where you want." Harry said as he stood up and helped Nikki up.

"Alright." She replied as they made their way towards Hogsmeade. When they got there, they went off onto one of the side streets to a nice little café.

"Nikki, may I ask you something?" Harry asked.

"You just did, but sure."

"Are you happy with me? I mean, are we still in love?" He asked.

"Of course, why would you even ask something like that? You know I love you." Nikki replied.

"I know. I just wanted to hear you say it." Harry said, smiling. He leaned forward and gave her a soft, quick kiss on the lips. After they finished lunch, they strolled around Hogsmeade with Harry's arm around her shoulders and Nikki's arm around his waist. As they walked, many thoughts were going through Harry's mind. He thought about Voldemort. He had barely been seen or heard of all year. It was unnerving. Harry knew why Voldemort was so docile this year. He was planning. Harry didn't want to let Nikki, Ron, or Hermione know, but sometimes late at night, Harry would dream about some of the things Voldemort was planning. Only, they weren't dreams, they were visions. He knew something bad was going to happen soon. It was inevitable. Next year was Harry's last year. After that, he was on his own. Dumbledore wouldn't be around to protect him any longer. Pettigrew had really screwed things up for Voldemort. Now, everyone knew that Sirius Black was innocent. Everyone knew that Voldemort had returned, no questions asked.

Around four, they made their way back to the castle. The minute they walked in, Hermione handed them study schedules. They had completely forgotten that there were only two months until school ended. When Harry had walked into the Common Room, Ron had been setting up a chess set. He called Harry over and they began to play. Nikki just sighed and turned to leave. She just let her feet carry her. She didn't pay attention to where she was or where she was going. Before she knew it, she was in the Library. She went in and went over to a window. She climbed up on the sill and looked out over the grounds as the sun began to set.

YAY! Another chapter finished. I still have three more to do and this story will be finished. How terribly, terribly sad. Well, I know you all want me to write a sequel as soon as I finish this one…but alas, I am not that nice. I am writing a Marauder's fic, as you all well know. I am already quite far into that one. It is already longer than this one, and it's not even Christmas in this one yet. I will write/post that one before I write the sequel. I, at one point, was going to call my new story Sympathy for the Devil, but that is over used. My sequel will be entitled Sympathy for a Dragon. And before you read that one, READ ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR! It is an awesome story and it will help you while reading the sequel…well, that is all. Good day to you.