-Chapter One-

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter, though I wish I did. The only thing I own is Nikki and this plot.

Nikole, Nikki, sat in one of New York's many alleys. She was seated on a closed, empty dumpster, next to Tyler. The ex-boyfriend but still best friend guy. She hated him, but then loved him. Confusing really. Across from them, playing catch with an empty coke can, were Crystal and Heather. Her two chick friends. What more could she say? She loved the bunch of losers. She watched them throw it back and forth, while twirling her lip ring with her index finger. Before long, she got lost in her thoughts.

She sighed absently. She rolled up her long sleeved crimson shirt, and started absently fiddling with one of her black jelly bracelets, and looked down surprised when it snapped. 'Damn... Screw it. I have more...' she thought to herself. She shut her eyes and laid back on the dumpster. She slowly opened her eyes, and stared up at the, now, darkened sky. 'Sun must have set', she thought and then smirked to herself, 'well duh Nikki...'

After a while, Crystal threw the can at Nikki, "Get up Black," she said, a bit louder then normally.

"What's the point?" Nikki said, and she let a yawn escape her lips.

"The point is, while you were over there day dreaming, we've decided to go and get that sweet shirt from that store down the block."

"And since you're the smallest," Tyler started, "I mean that in a good way..."

"Yeah since you're the smallest, we've decided... your doing it," Heather said, rather forcefully.

Nikki sighed, "Again? Dude I got that bracelet from that one store a week ago. One of you do it."

"No... We always get caught. You never do. Come on Black, last time thing..." Tyler pleaded, almost.

"Jesus Christ, do you fags ever give up? Fine, I'll do it," she answered and jumped off the dumpster, "Well. Let's get going losers."

After a twenty or so minute walk, Nikki stared up at the store. She swore she wasn't going to steal again. Her Mom had even given her twenty bucks so she could buy the same shirt they were talking about stealing. True, she never got caught... but what if she did this one time? 'They say the last time you do it, is the last time you get caught...' she thought to herself. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She sighed and walked through the door, glancing up as the bell clinked, letting everyone know someone had entered the store. 'Stupid bell...' she thought, and made her way to the rack with the shirt. She took it off its hanger, and looked both ways, and then up on the ceiling, for cameras. She didn't see anyone coming, and she didn't see any cameras, so she slipped it under her shirt, and started making her way out. She thought she was home free, until her friend's hauled ass and left her. A sharp pain came onto her shoulder, and she slowly looked behind her, already knowing who it was.' Shit...'

The store manager led her towards the back of the store, through the Employee's Only door, and forcefully pushed her into a seat across from a desk, which he took a seat at. "Do you know what I just saw you do?" He questioned her.

Before she answered, she took time to stare at him. 'Glasses, grey hair, wrinkles. I can fool him...' she thought to herself. "No sir," she said as sweet and innocently as she could. Bull. Nikki was never sweet, or innocent.

"I saw you put that shirt under your shirt," he said, emphasis on the word your. He surveyed her over his glasses. "If you confess now, I'll let you leave here, without the authorities being involved."

She stared at him. "I... I..." she took the shirt from underneath hers, "Are you happy Gramps?" she asked glaring at him.

"What's your name?" he asked, grabbing a pen from the holder on his desk, and preparing to write it on the sheet of paper.

"Nikole Black. No... Nikole with a K," she said watching him, as he was about to write, 'Nicole,' a common mistake.

"Well, Miss Black What's your phone number? Your Father needs to have a talk with you about your... five finger discount," he said looking up at her.

"You're going to call all the way to England? Good luck there. My Father hasn't spoke to me in nearly fifteen years, what makes you think he's going to come back just because I shoplifted?" she said crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's your Mother's phone number?" he asked, not showing any sympathy to her at all. She gave it to him, and he wrote it down. He began to dial the number and looked at her once again, "What's your Mother's last name?" he asked her, before he finished the number.

"Shanks," she answered shortly.

He dialed the last number, and apparently, her Mother answered. "Hello? Yes, Mrs. Shanks..? Oh, hello. This is Mr. Jensen from Jensen's Department Store... ah yes. Well, ma'am, I caught your daughter, Nikole, down here...Trying to shoplift a shirt. If you'd just... alright. Goodbye." He looked back over at Nikki. "She said she'd be right over."

"Yeah..." she answered not really paying attention, staring at a dark red stain on the carpet.

About thirty minutes, there was a knock at the door. Mr. Jensen got up to answer it and Nikki turned around to see her Mother enter, looking livid. Nikki had never seen her like this before. Her medium length blond hair was unbrushed and her eye liner was smeared. Her clothes didn't match, and her lipstick was on her skin. Nikki stared at her. 'Damn...' she thought to herself. "Nikole Andrea Black! What the hell do you think your doing!"

"Mrs. Shanks, if you'll calm down for a minute. I've agreed not to call the police, but she is never to step foot in this store again. Is that clear?" Mr. Jensen said, still standing at the door.
"Yes, Mr. Jensen. I'll make sure she doesn't. I'm really sorry I don't know wh--"

"What got into her? She's normally a wonderful girl? Mrs. Shanks... I've heard it before. Make sure she stays out though."

"Of course..." she said and grabbed Nikki by the shoulder, "As a matter of fact, she's leaving now..." she said and dragged her out to the car. She dug her sharp fingernails into Nikki's skin, and opened the car door, pushing her roughly inside. She slammed the door, and made her way to the other side, getting in and buckling her seatbelt. "Buckle your seatbelt Nikole," she said, obviously forcing a calm tone of voice. Nikki did what she was told and stared out of the window. On the way home, they passed Tyler, Crystal, and Heather, who were laughing as they passed. Heather pointed to the car and they waved smiles on their faces. 'What the hell...?' Nikki thought to herself.

When they arrived to their run-down apartment building, Nikki got out of the car, and walked upstairs to Level B. She leaned against the wall, waiting for her Mother to unlock the door. When she did, she walked in and started to make her way to her bedroom.

"STOP!" Her Mother yelled, "Don't you---! NIKOLE!" She yelled when Nikole kept going, and went into her room, slamming the door.

'5, 4, 3, 2, 1' Nikki thought, counting down until her Mom busted through the door. 'Bingo.'

"I told you to stop!" Her Mother yelled.

"Yeah, but I didn't listen," Nikki said.

"That's it Nikole! I love you, I really do, but you are out of control!"

"What the hell's that suppose to mean!" she yelled angrily.

"That. Exactly that! You yell at me for no reason! When I just try and talk to you!"

"And...?"

Her Mother shut her eyes for a few seconds, and then opened them. "I've had enough. Sirius... your Father, has been badgering me to let you come live with him now that his names cleared. I've told him no... I've told him he wouldn't want to deal with you... but he insists. So that's it. You're going to England. Pack your bags!"

"Mom... I don't... I don't... want to ... I ... wanna stay..."

"Pack your bags Nikole. You're leaving tomorrow after breakfast," and with that her Mom left the room, shutting the door loudly behind her.

Nikki stared at the closed door in front of her for around three minutes, before she realized what her Mom just said. Was she really that bad? A few piercing... a little black heart tattoo... sure she got into trouble... but was she that bad? What sixteen year old girl didn't get into a little trouble here and there? Okay... she got into a lot of trouble. She'd been kicked out of Madam Rosalyn's Witchcraft School for all girls. She'd been brought home by the cops twice. Hell, she'd stolen from her Mother's purse before... but she'd never thought she'd get thrown out of the house. Now she had to go live with some stranger she hadn't seen since she was a baby. Yeah, he was her Dad, but she hadn't seen him since the night he got sent to Azkaban, and now she was going to go live with him. He didn't know the first thing about her... 'One thing he knows...' she thought miserably to herself as she packed her clothes into a suitcase, 'that I was caught shoplifting. Fun stuff...' she sighed and zipped the zipper on the suitcase; she grabbed her school bag from the corner of her room, and dumped the contents on the bed. Nothing exciting there. Hairbrush, eyeliner, bracelet, rings, black nail polish, purple nail polish... Nothing she really wanted to bring to England. She put the hairbrush, eyeliner, and both nail polishes back in the bag, and went around her room putting random items in it. She opened her top drawer, where a small envelope layed. She opened it, and took out the money... Muggle money; she counted out 150 dollars, and layed it on her pillow. It was about the amount she stole from her Mom... she was going to pay her back this time though. The rest of the money in the envelope was put into the smallest compartment on the bag. She'd transfer it to gold when she got there.

After about an hour of writing a letter to Tyler, saying how much of an asshole he was, she crawled into bed, placing the money on the desk, and fell asleep within minutes