Disclaimer: I don't own the world of Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.
Written for the FF Quidditch League Round 3
Topic: Establishing a Democracy
Prompts: (word) blushing
(song) "Someday" - Nickelback
(word) springtime
I want to mention this story is inspired by the German movie "Wie Feuer und Flamme" / "Nevermind the Wall".
It's honestly nothing like what I have written I swear, this just stemmed from watching it.
Which for those who aren't familiar with it, it is a modern Romeo and Juliet based in Berlin during the late eighties. A girl (Nele) from the West goes to her grandmother's funeral in the East and meets a Punk named Captain. They fall in love, and then they are torn apart by their countries. She hears that he is dead, runs away to America and after the unification comes back to Germany to find out how he died. There is more to it but I won't give away all the good bits. :) Highly recommend, though not for little munchkins as there is a sex scene.
Story Word Count: 1,828
How the hell did we wind up like this?
Why weren't we able, to see the signs that we missed
And try turn the tables
The more that Andreas heard the song he couldn't help but remember her and wonder what she was doing. He hadn't seen her since that horrible fight in the courtyard of her flats in East Berlin. That was springtime in 1989. Now it was 2003. He had being meaning to find her since the reunification and make it up to her but life took him in another direction. He had left Berlin not long after, had a decent job as an auror in Austria, got married and had a child. Though his life had changed again, he was 33, divorced, married (to his work).
I wish you'd unclench your fists, and unpack your suitcase
Lately there's been too much of this
But don't think it's too late
Listening to that song brought the memories flooding back like he was living it again. He was still dating his ex-wife, they had met at "Das Zauberakademie" a school for witches and wizards in West Germany. He had just finished his auror training and was celebrating when he got the call. His uncle had been killed, his aunt was beside herself with grief and his mum needed him to go over and visit her.
Before Andreas had been born, his mum and dad had escaped the East. The rest of their family who weren't wizards had remained. The East wasn't a place to live if you had magic. The Stasi (the secret police) and their collaborators kept an eye on all those who had magic, often moving them into the one area. They had closed and re-opened the East wizarding school so many times. Each government couldn't decide if magic went with the communist ideal or not.
Nothing's wrong, just as long as
You know that someday I will
He was a good son and went to visit his aunt the next day, but upon reaching the East he had difficulty finding her flat. He walked around, asking people if they knew where the street was, he felt like he must have been walking past it. After a while he realised he was being followed. He snuck small glances behind and noticed it was a girl about his age. He disappeared down a side street and waited for her to catch up. He grabbed her and pinned her against the wall. Andreas noticed that she was beautiful but being the trained auror that he was knew that she could be as dangerous as anything.
Someday, somehow
I'm gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
It was a few days after that first encounter he met her again. It was the same day as his uncle's funeral. The only problem with the wall was to cross it you had to go via check points and they recorded how many times you crossed it. Like any country they got suspicious if you came and went too many times. So he had to limit how many times he would visit, other wise they may deny him entry. She was there at his uncle's funeral there to watch him again. When he had held her up against the wall she told him the truth about how she was to watch him because he was of interest to the stasi. Her name was Niki, and she lived in the same building as his aunt and uncle. She wouldn't have been going to the funeral if she wasn't told watch him. The Staasi probably knew that he knew she was watching him but he didn't care. They obviously wanted to watch him for something and as long as he could see that beautiful creature he didn't care.
After the funeral slowly but surely they became pen pals. He had an owl which he would send to her and she would reply back. He knew she was a muggle, because she was surprised that he had an owl for mail. Even the wizards in the East had owls. He had to tell her to still be careful because they can still easily intercept an owl. Every time he sent his barn owl out with a letter to her, he prayed that his owl would return safely and that they wouldn't shoot it by mistake.
Someday, somehow
I'm gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
Time passed too fast for them, they wanted it to slow down, it had been months since they met, but they had only met twice. Andreas knew it was time for another meeting. He was falling in love with her letters. He wanted to be sure that it was her and not his version of her that he had fallen for. They arranged a time to meet. He was so nervous and bought flowers for her. He tried to walk the same route he had taken months earlier but he got lost again and she ended up finding him. He was so nervous walking along with her, he was about to confess his love for her but was nervous of choking on the words and never saying it.
Well I'd hope that since we're here anyway
That we could end up saying
Things we've always needed to say
So we could end up staying
Well with a bit of luck he said it. He did choke, but only on a bug that flew into his mouth. He increased his visits to the East. That put more pressure on Niki to feed the government information. She did, little bits and pieces, but they weren't happy with what they were getting. Andreas felt like he was being watched when he was with Niki and it put a strain on their relationship.
Now the story's played out like this
Just like a paperback novel
Let's rewrite an ending that fits
Instead of a Hollywood horror
Andreas usually stops the flow of memories there. He never liked to remember what happened on his next trip. The pressure got too much for them and in the Spring of '89 they had their relationship ending fight. Some how she had found out about his girlfriend in the West and accused him of everything under the sun. He said some pretty nasty things for which he was ashamed. Any time that he replayed the scene in his head he always changed it to fix things and have everything he wanted – which was her.
Nothing's wrong, just as long as
You know that someday I will
November 8 of that year, Berliners were allowed to cross the wall. Andreas remembers that day as the day he tried. He tried to visit his aunt, she wasn't home, she was visiting her sister (Andreas' mother) in the West. He tried to see Niki and make it up to her, she didn't live there any more and the new tenants had no idea where she had moved to. He wanted to fix things with her because after that day, after that fight, he had ended it with his girlfriend for her. He said to her there was another and that was it. It was finished and now he wanted to prove it to her.
Someday, somehow
I'm gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
It was Andreas' wedding day. Not to Niki but his ex-girlfriend who became his fiancé once Andreas found out she was expecting his child. He kept hoping that he would find Niki again and leave before the day arrived. He kept finding excuses to delay the wedding but the day had arrived. He wished it never came but he was going to be a dutiful person and marry the mother of his child. He didn't want to leave his child, who was going to grow up in a unified Germany. The treaty had been signed a few days before his wedding in 1990.
Someday, somehow
I'm gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
A 20 year old should never commit to life changing decisions. After marrying his blushing bride the fighting started. They were only married five years before they both knew it was over. Andreas' went back to looking for Niki. While he had been married he tried to give up on her but it was hard to get certain images to leave. The way she laughed, that funny but cute face she made when she wanted something and he was being stubborn. It didn't help his marriage when they were making love that he would call out for Niki and not his wife. Of course after the first time he did that he had to explain who Niki was and when his wife suggested they leave Germany to start afresh. He did just that. He then found out she only suggested this because she was offered a job in Austria. That caused another fight. Through a colleague's recommendation landed a job in the Österreich Auror Department. They lived in Austria for four years before she came to him. Telling him she had taken a job in France and that he wasn't coming with her and their son.
He was determined to find her again and used all his contacts to find her, he became obsessed. Eventually the Austrian Aurors had to fire him for abusing his power. He didn't care, he became a private detective, specialising in located people after unification. A lot of people went missing, and those who were still missing, most had unhappy endings. They were either dead or didn't want to be found. Andreas was hoping and praying it was the latter for Niki.
How the hell did we wind up like this?
Why weren't we able, to see the signs that we missed
And try to turn the tables
Now the story's played out like this
Just like a paperback novel
Let's rewrite an ending that fits
Instead of a Hollywood horror
That night about 3 AM the phone rings. Its a informant with information about Niki. She went into hiding and escaped the East not long after their fight. The Stasi had criminal evidence on her and since she wasn't useful any more they were going to arrest her. She was in Munich using Andreas' last name.
He was there, standing at her front door. He was nervous about knocking or ringing the bell. What happens if it isn't his Niki that answers the door? What if something has happened to her? He shook his head. It wouldn't matter. He had spent so long looking for her, he needed the closure one way or another.