Coming back to school was hard. Dom's first class was Transfiguration. She finally decided she would return to class. She entered the class and all eyes were on her. She knew that a lot of stares concerned her new hair, and it comforted to know that they weren't staring at her just because Aberforth had died. Professor McGonagall was taken aback not only by her hair but also just seeing her in the class. Dom made it through the class and was able to talk to Professor McGonagall about catching up on work. Dom was doing well with help from Angus and her brother, until she made her way to Aberforth's office one day. She entered and the walls were bare. All signs that Aberforth had lived were gone. Dom ran from the room into the Forbidden Forest. She ran so deep that she could not tell where she was. She realized her reaction had been rash, but she needed to be away from the castle in a place where she no memories of Aberforth. She wandered the forest. She thought she found her way out until she heard a soft noise. She turned and followed it until she found a small clearing. In the middle was a baby griffin with a cord around its wings. Dom hurried over to it and carefully reached out. It was afraid, but she moved slowly, and eventually it allowed her to touch it. She carefully freed its wings and stepped back. It shook itself free and stretched its wings out. It then turned and stared straight at Dom. She backed up again, but it followed her this time. She knelt down and it approached her.
"I can't keep you. You have to go," she said to it. However, her voice only caused it to move closer. It crawled up onto her legs and leaned its head toward her. She leaned her head to touch his. Monty. His name was Monty. He belonged to her, and she belonged to him. She understood that they needed each other. When their heads separated, Dom's eyes widened. She was completely confused by what had happened, but Monty just cuddled up against her. She felt attached to him by more than just affection for his cuteness. She felt a responsibility to him. "Alright," she said to him, "I'll come see you out here, but you have to stay in the forest, especially once you get bigger. You can't come to the castle." She looked into his eyes and knew he understood. Dom spent the rest of the day playing with Monty in the Forbidden Forest. She left him and promised to see him the next day. She brought Angus to meet him, and he was enchanted with the small creature. Dom fell into a routine of classes, Angus, and time with Monty. She started to feel like she had balance in her life again.
As the school year drew to a close, Dom grew nervous about the summer. She planned to live in Aberforth's house and run the bar over the summer. She was nervous to be on her own, but she had resolutely decided that she was going to do it. She was spending time with her friends and family as much as she could before they left. A large group of them was walking back from the courtyard. Dom was half in Angus's embrace as they walked. The rest of the group was in front of them being lead by Louis. Suddenly, Dom saw a hole rip through the arch above them.
"Louis!" she shouted as the structure collapsed on top of her brother. They all rushed forward and began lifting the rubble off of Louis. As they did, Dom noticed a dark mass moving into the Forbidden Forest. She didn't have time to worry about it, because once the rubble had been moved she found Louis was unconscious and bleeding from his head. They quickly summoned the matron who moved him up to the hospital wing. When they arrived, the children were told to wait outside while she attended to Louis. Shortly after, Victoire came rushing down the hall. She blew past her cousins to the door, but Dom stopped her.
"Vic you can't go in. She doesn't want anybody in there," Dom told her as she put a hand on her sister's shoulder.
"How could you have let this happen?" Victoire said rounding on Dom.
"A-" Dom's voice was caught in her throat. "I couldn't."
"He is your little brother," Victoire interrupted, "and you let him almost die."
"I wouldn't… I couldn't do anything. It happened too fast," Dom said.
"Oh a crumbling building happened too fast," Victoire scoffed, "it's not like the wall attacked him Dom. You should have been paying attention."
"Victoire it wasn't just the wall. Something brought it down. I saw it go into the Forbidden Forest," Dom defended herself. Victoire's eyes shot to the window and she ran down the stairs. Dom shouted and ran after her sister. She followed her out and into the forest. "Vic stop!" Dom yelled, "where are you going?" Victoire stopped short.
"I'm going to stop whatever almost murdered my brother, something you couldn't do. You don't care enough about your family to really protect them," Victoire spat.
"What do you mean? Of course I care about my family."
"If you cared you wouldn't have left. Do you realize how incredibly immature it was of you to abandon your family over an argument with dad?" Victoire argued.
"What? Vic, I didn't leave because of one argument. I left because all my life I've been treated like the spare, like I'm worth nothing compared to you. I can't keep expecting a mother's love, when all I get is a fond smile and a pat on the back. I can't keep hoping to be loved, when my family is too busy wondering what Victoire eats for breakfast every morning! My family doesn't know me, because they don't care. You never cared," Dom shouted.
"Of course I cared. You're just jealous, because you can't do all the things I can do. You don't have to be me Dom," Victoire responded.
"I'm not jealous. I don't want to be you. I want people to stop expecting me to be you. I knew I'd never be like you when you abandoned me first year," Dom said with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I never did anything to you," Victoire said.
"When I was sorted into Ravenclaw and you couldn't even look at me. You were ashamed of the sister who broke the Weasley tradition. You didn't speak to me my entire first year. We were best friends Vic, and you ignored me," Dom cried. Victoire's confidence faltered for the first time.
"I spoke to you," she asserted, though she was unsure of her conviction.
"At school, in the castle, do you ever remember speaking to me? You didn't. It was my first year. You were supposed to protect me when I was afraid of a new school and new people. Don't you dare yell at me for things out of my control when you made the decision to ignore me when you had the chance to be my sister." Dom spun on her heel and walked deeper into the forest, but Victoire followed.
"Dom we were in different houses. What was I supposed to do?" Victoire asked. Dom stopped.
"Don't you dare. Two of my best friends are in Hufflepuff and Slytherin. My boyfriend is in Gryffindor. Your boyfriend doesn't even go to this school. Don't you act like communication between houses is impossible," Dom spat.
"I was twelve," Victoire sighed.
"And I was eleven," Dom retorted. Victoire was at a loss for words.
"I'm still going to find out what tried to kill Louis," she said as she headed back into the trees. Dom followed to make sure Victoire was okay. Victoire stopped suddenly, and Dom looked past her to see a little girl standing in the middle of the trees.
"Who are you?" Victoire asked sweetly.
"I'm dangerous," the girl whispered. Victoire looked at her confused.
"I don't understand. What could you do?" Victoire asked lightly. The girl looked straight at Dom.
"I hurt the boy," the girl replied. Dom's eyes widened as she realized that this girl had caused the wall to collapse.
"How?" she breathed.
"I don't know. I tried not to," the girl said, beginning to cry.
"Sweety, you can always avoid hurting people," Victoire said, finally understanding the situation, "even young children can choose what they use their magic for. You just have to know what is right and wrong."
"Victoire," Dom warned as she noticed the girl forming an aura around herself. Victoire ignored her warning.
"Why did you hurt my brother?" Victoire asked.
"I… I was upset. People making fun of me," the girl stuttered.
"Just because people have hurt you doesn't mean you have to hurt others. Do you want others to feel the way you feel when that happens?" Victoire said still in her sickeningly sweet voice.
"No!" the girl screamed. She was consumed by the aura and burst into a black ooze of magic. It moved erratically and suddenly, destroying the nearby trees. Dom shoved Victoire out of the way of a falling tree. The sisters both cast protection spells, but the girl, which Dom had now gathered was an obscurial, violently attacked the shields. They knew they couldn't hold up forever.
"Go get help. I'll hold her off," Dom yelled.
"No, I'm more experienced. I can take care of it. You go," Victoire replied.
"Victoire, I know you're older, but I know how to deal with this. She's more angry at you right now. You're in more danger. For once in your life, please, trust me," Dom pleaded. Victoire looked into her sister's eyes and nodded quickly. Dom cast a new protection spell as Victoire darted away to safety. Dom focused on the obscurial in front of her. She tried to remember the girl's face. She knew that face. She finally got it. "Maggie," she called, "that's your name isn't it. Maggie. You're in my house. You're a Ravenclaw. Maggie, I know you don't want this. I know you didn't want to hurt anyone. Please Maggie, it's not your fault." The black mass stopped moving and slowly began to collect. "Maggie, you're safe here," Dom soothed. Soon the little girl was standing before her.
"Hi Maggie," Dom smiled, "I'm Dominique." The little girl nodded but would not take her hand. "I know that you didn't want to hurt my brother, but it made you didn't it?" Maggie nodded.
"It hurts me. Like they did," Maggie cried.
"Who hurt you Maggie?" Dom asked.
"Daddy… his friends… boys," Maggie said shakily, "I'm not normal. I'm a monster. I don't belong." Maggie began to flicker as she had before.
"Maggie, Maggie no. Your Daddy was wrong. You are perfect. You were made special, and that does not make you a monster. The men were wrong, because you do belong. You belong here, with people who are like you. We can all do what you can do," Dom said. Maggie had calmed a bit, but she was still uneasy.
"But I hurt them. I hurt the blonde boy. I hurt the older kids when they fell. I hurt the professor," Maggie stuttered. She looked to Dom for reassurance, but Dom was dumbstruck.
"You killed him," she said under her breath. Suddenly, Dom looked right at Maggie. "How? How did he die?" she asked. Maggie shrunk back.
"It was breaking the room. I think he heard. He came in, and I couldn't stop. I didn't stop when he saw it. He… He was there… and then he wasn't. It didn't stop," Maggie said, losing control. Dom could not respond. She tried to catch her breath, but each intake of air hurt. Her lungs ached with the urge to sob. She wanted to scream. She saw Maggie losing control, and she knew what she had to do.
"Anima fascinatio," she cried. The figure burst from her wand as before, though this time it did not take the form of a mother. The form was that of a baby. It rested in Maggie's arms. The girl stopped crying and stared at the magical infant. It reached up and out of its hand grew a flower. Maggie took it and tucked it in her hair. She smiled. Then the baby transformed into a father, but instead of running away, Maggie embraced the father and he embraced her in return. He then took Maggie's hand and reached into her palm. He pulled out her hostile magic as if he were pulling a splinter. He then pulled it apart and released it bit by bit. Each bit floated lightly back to Maggie. Maggie smiled until it was done, and a burst of magic erupted in the area. Dom collapsed, the spell having drained her energy. She could swear she heard someone call her name, but did not have the energy to find out. She looked over and Maggie lay on the ground. She noted that the girl had a content smile on her face. Dom just laid there looking up at the stars. Suddenly, there was a blurry face above hers.
"Dom! Dom, are you alright? Speak to me Dom, please," her father's voice begged her. She squinted to look, and found that she was staring at her father's face. That wasn't right. He wasn't here. Even if he was here, he wouldn't be with her. He should be with Louis. Louis had been hurt. She looked at him again, but the face was still her father's. "Dom, please, speak to me," he begged.
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly.
"Looking for you," he said, "Victoire said that you were fighting an obscurial alone. Why wouldn't I come?"
"Louis is hurt," Dom responded.
"Louis has Madam Pomfrey. You needed me more," Bill said, "Can you move?"
"I don't know," Dom responded honestly. Bill lifted her to her feet. She stood shakily, but she was standing. She glanced at Maggie. Bill picked the girl up with one arm, while supporting Dom on the other side. He led them out of the Forbidden Forest. At the tree line, Dom heard a cry from her mother. Before she could react, she was in her mother's embrace.
"Dominique, you're alright," her mother wept. Dom fell a bit as her mother stepped back. Both parents quickly caught her.
"Let's take them up to Madam Pomfrey," Bill said as he let Fleur support Dom as he carried Maggie. Dom slept for a whole day. When she awoke, her mother was holding her hand and Victoire stood at the end of her bed. She glanced to her left and saw Louis, awake, in the bed next to her, with Bill on the opposite side of his bed.
"Louis," Dom said sitting up, "you're ok."
"Yeah, I think we were all more worried about you," he smiled.
"I'm fine… just tired," she replied, "how's Maggie?"
"She's fine," Victoire answered, "she's two beds down." Dom looked to see the young girl asleep in a hospital bed beyond her mother. "You were right," Victoire said, "you knew what you were doing." Dom smiled at her sister.
"I do from time to time," she said. They all chuckled quietly. "So where does this leave us?" Dom had asked the question they had all been thinking. Bill spoke first.
"Dom I'm sorry for everything. I never meant to make you feel like you were not loved. I just forgot. You were so quiet that I never noticed things. Maybe if you came home and told us when we were ignoring you," he said.
"I shouldn't have to remind my parents that I exist," Dom spat.
"No," Fleur responded immediately, "you shouldn't but please, come 'ome. I meess you. We all do. No matter 'ow far you go or 'ow often I see you, you weell always be my daughter. I weell always love you." Fleur hugged her daughter, and Dom tried awkwardly to hug her back. Affection from her family was not something she was used to, but it was a start.
"Come home," Victoire said, "I miss my sister. The one that needed me six years ago. Let me be there for her now." Dom looked around the room. Her eyes settled on Louis.
"What? You know what I think. I've told you every week for the past five months. Come home," he said. Dom looked at the ceiling. She knew it wasn't fixed, but she also knew that she had wanted her family to accept her for so long that she thought it would never happen. This was it. This was her chance to get her family back. She looked back at all their faces.
"Ok."
Dom had to tell the Headmistress what had happened in the forest. She had to tell the whole story, and as such revealed to everyone the spell she had created. The Headmistress informed her that her spell had gotten rid of the obscurus within the girl. She informed Dom that her spell would be made public knowledge in the hope that it could help others with the same condition. She also informed Dom that she had already been offered a position at St. Mungos for the treatment of obscurials. Dom immediately declined. She was then forced to explain to her parents that she wanted to be an artist. Given the circumstances, they took it rather well. However, they argued that if she didn't help many more children would die of obscurus'. Dom reasoned that she would teach others to use her spell, but it was too dangerous to ask one person to constantly feel the emotions necessary for the spell to work. This appeased the Headmistress, if not her parents. Dom made arrangements with the barkeep to run the Hog's Head over the summer, while Dom lived at home and sent the supplies to keep him stocked. He in return would send her the profit and was given permission to live in Aberforth's house behind the Hog's Head. Dom collected Aberforth's personal effects to bring home with her. She introduced her parents and siblings to Monty, who took a liking to all but Bill. They agreed he could come home with her. When Dom had finished settling all the details she was exhausted. Before she could settle down and rest, Angus came rushing to see her. He asked her all about what had happened and whether or not she was alright. She shushed him and promised him answers, but right now she needed rest. He conceded, and took her into his arms. He carried her to the Room of Requirement, where there was one bed sitting in the middle of the room. He crawled into the bed and let her lay curled up against him. Before she fell asleep Angus asked her one question.
"Are you going to be ok Nicky?" Dom thought about it. The semester would be over in two days. Her exams had been cancelled. Her family had accepted her and invited her back into her home. She had saved a little girl from a cruel death. Her sister wanted to be the big sister she had always hoped for. She was going to be an artist. She had Monty waiting for her in the forest. And finally, she had a boy who was ready to do anything for her. A boy who loved her more than anyone ever had.
"Yes," she responded with a sigh, "I am going to be just fine." Her eyes closed into the most peaceful sleep she'd had all year.