Green Eyed Flame

Green Eyed Flame - Loz Brown, 2003. Rating: G

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, his friends, his pet Owl, Hogwarts, or anything else that you read in the Harry Potter books. That all belongs to JK Rowling (and Warner Brothers). I also don't own Nalini, she decides what to say and how to act herself (I'm a mere scribe).

This is my second fic - well, technically my first 'story', but still my second fic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Direct all feedback here (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7991).

Chapter one – Beginnings. Middles. And Ends.

Nalini danced around her room like a maniac, ELO’s “Do Ya” blasting through her loud speakers. She had just finished a rather vigorous turn when she tripped over a book on the floor and found herself face down in the plush carpet, her legs twisted together. Unfortunately she figured out pretty quickly that her reddish-brown hair was underneath her hand as when she tried to get up with one push a great tugging came from her head and she banged her forehead to the ground once more.

“Oh unholy mother of satan!” she mumbled as she attempted to extricate herself from her uncomfortable position. She got up, and as she did so her bright green eyes caught sight of the time on her watch.

“Oh no! I’m going to be late!” she then exclaimed to thin air as she rushed about her one roomed apartment, brushing her hair and making sure she had everything. She took her satchel off the peg of her door and ran down the stairs.

At the station she looked about platform nine with a look of deep concern on her face. She had no idea when the train was coming, they should have arrived by now. Nalini had moved to London from her sleepy town of Hornsea, Yorkshire to attend drama school. She had stayed in London these holidays because of her part time job at the small community theatre down the street. She was looking forward to seeing her parents again. Nalini spoke to them once every two days on the telephone, but it wasn’t the same. You can’t give a hug over the phone, no matter how hard you try. She absent-mindedly brushed her hand through her hair and walked slowly up and down the platform. She saw an awful lot of other teenagers there, but no parents. She sighed, and impatiently set her Satchel down. She was by the barricade separating platforms 9 and 10. She was getting tired of standing so she leant against it.

The pain was excruciating. She had once more somehow managed to fall, this time onto the cemented floor. The back of her head was throbbing. She winced as she opened her eyes.

“That’s not right” she said curiously as she looked up at the partition.

‘How on earth can I have fallen backwards and still be looking at the barrier?” She slowly sat up, and got up. She turned around only to see two young men her age running towards her.

“Are you okay?” the first asked, his red hair reflecting the sun.

“Uhhhm, yeah” Nalini replied squinting at him.

“Are… are you a first year?” the second boy asked. He had black untidy hair and green eyes that rivalled her own in their brilliance.

“A first year what?” Nalini asked.

“Quick, Harry, the train leaves in a few seconds!” The first boy said before turning to Nalini “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine with us.”

With that they grabbed Nalini and pushed her onto the train.

“Stop, stop. This is kidnap” she squeaked. They looked at her strangely as they let go and showed her into a compartment where another girl was sitting. She had wild, frizzy hair and a curious expression on her face. Nalini looked out of the window aghast. The train was on its way.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The black haired boy asked before extending his hand. “I’m Harry, by the way.” Nalini took his hand “This is Ron…” Harry gestured to the redhead. “And this is Hermione!” He said then, nodding his head in the girl’s direction. “Uhmm… what’s your name?”

“Nalini” she replied, looking once again out of the window with a vacant expression on her face.

“Nalini? That’s an odd name” Hermione asked “Are… are you an exchange student of some sort? At Hogwarts?”

“No… my parents were hippies” Nalini replied looking back at the three strangers. “And I think you’ve made a terrible mistake. I’m, I’m not a student. Not at any kind of boarding school anyway. Is there some kind of way we can stop the train?”

Harry and Ron looked at each other questioningly. Hermione tutted.

“No. You can’t stop the train – the only stop is Hogwarts.” She then looked up at Nalini and a thought appeared to dawn upon her as her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. “You have no idea what’s going on, do you?” she asked. She looked at Harry and Ron urgently. “What have you boys done?” she asked. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “She has no idea who we are. No idea about witchcraft or wizardry, can’t you see? She’s a muggle. You’ve brought a muggle onto the train.”

Harry and Ron stared at Hermione astonished and then looked at Nalini.

“Harry, I think we’re going to get in trouble for this” Ron said, his voice louder, and an octave higher than usual. “Big Trouble”

Chapter 2 – Covering

Nalini had not been looking at Hermione, Harry and Ron, but she had heard every word they whispered. She turned to them now.

“Look, you’re all obviously deranged and on your way to some kind of Lunatic Asylum, so don’t mind me, I’m just about to go and speak to the Train Warden to get me off this train.”

“No, Nalini, please. Sit back down.” Harry said moving towards the door and blocking her exit.

“Oh. For goodness sake. This is just my luck. I had to get helped up by raving psychomaniacs.” Nalini muttered.

“We’re not… psychomaniacs” Ron said, finding it slightly hard not to giggle at Nalini’s expressive expressions.

“We’re Wizards and Witches. Like you heard.” Hermione finished for him. Harry and Ron looked at her as if to say “shut up” but Hermione just shook her head and frowned. “Look, she already knows. She overheard us, can’t you tell?”

Nalini looked at Hermione with a searching expression. She was trying to figure out if the girl was joking, or merely a complete fruitcake. She realised Harry wasn’t going to move so she sat down on the seat opposite Hermione. She had always prided herself on keeping an open mind, and whilst she didn’t believe Hermione, she wanted to hear what she had to say anyway.

The black haired boy spoke again. As Nalini looked up at him she saw a lightning shaped scar upon his forehead. As he spoke, her mind pondered how he could have got such an interesting scar. He was too young to have been in a gang, so maybe it was some kind of accident? But then… how did it get in that exact shape?

“When we saw you at the platform, what had happened Nalini?” Harry asked. Nalini shrugged.

“I’m not entirely sure. One minute I was waiting for my parents, the next I’d fallen over and you guys had shoved me onto the train. The only weird thing was that, well, this is going to sound crazy.” She stopped, could she sound half as crazy as they did? “Well, I fell backwards, but somehow managed to be facing the barrier I had leant against. It was really strange”

Ron looked at Hermione and nodded. They seemed to have a secret language.

“Nalini. Do you mind if we just leave you here for a little while?” Ron asked. Nalini nodded casually and Harry, Hermione and Ron went out of the compartment.

“She fell through the gateway.” Harry stated the obvious.

“Yes, but how? Muggles aren’t supposed to be able to go through the gateway, are they?” Hermione returned.

“What are we going to do? Help us, Hermione” Ron begged urgently.

“This was your mistake, not mine! What on earth were you thinking, bringing a complete stranger onto the train. Couldn’t you tell she had fallen through the gateway? Are you completely mad?” Hermione hissed. Ron screwed his face up at her and Harry interjected.

“Yes, it was all our fault, Ron. We have to fix it.”

Hermione shook her head. “And how are we going to make sure that happens?”

“Right, well, as soon as we get to Hogwarts we will go up and tell Dumbledore, he’ll put some kind of memory charm on her and send her back on her merry way. Dumbledore’ll understand. The main problem is getting through this train trip. Could you lend her one of your Uniforms? You look around the same size.”

They went back into the compartment to see Nalini staring up at the ceiling and humming.

“Right. What have you decided you’re going to do with me? Put me under some kind of spell?” She asked mockingly.

“Not as such” Hermione said. She had been rummaging around in her case. “Here, take this uniform into the lavatory and put it on, it should be the same size. I’ll wait outside for you” When Nalini came out she looked just like any other Hogwarts student.

“Excellent!” Hermione said. They went back to the compartment and the boys smiled.

“You look like one of us now.” Ron said.

“Oh great. Just what I always wanted.” Nalini replied.

Harry asked Nalini to sit down again and as she didn’t have much choice in the matter she did. He took out a stick and showed it to her.

“This is my wand. This is what I can do with it.” He said as if speaking to a small child. He took a small sweet out of his pocket. He placed it on his open palm. “Wingardium Leviosa” he said whilst waving his wand, and to Nalini’s shock, the sweet started to float in mid-air, slowly levitating higher and higher. Nalini reeled back in her chair with horror.

“It’s not real, it’s just a trick.” She gasped, her eyes fixed on the hard boiled sweet as it continued floating. Harry smiled at her reaction.

“It’s not” Ron said, “It’s magic.”

Chapter Three – Truth.

Harry, Ron and Hermione spent the next few hours of the train ride explaining the Wizarding world to Nalini. She didn’t believe them at first, still convinced that Harry had tied fishing line to the sweet or something of that nature, but after the three students showed her more spells she was finding it hard not to believe them. She gasped as they told her of their exploits, lessons, professors and others. Hermione suggested that they should come up with a cover story for Nalini. Harry and Ron had fun contributing to the madness, coming up with weird histories for Nalini to tell. Hermione set about writing a very convincing letter relating that Nalini had been a student of an American Wizarding School called “Santa Fonanta College” that had only just been secretly set up but that her parents had important work to do in England and hadn’t wanted to leave her there.

“You’ll have to do an American accent of course” she said matter of factly.

“That’s fine… what part of America though? What kind of accent.” Nalini asked immediately adopting a Californian drawl.

“Yeah, that one, that’s excellent. As soon as anyone’s around slip into it.” Ron said nodding and grinning. Harry smiled too, self consciously brushing his untidy hair out of his eyes.

“So tell us more about yourself, Nalini,” he said. “Your real self.”

“Yes, you said your parents are hipsters, isn’t that a kind of trouser or something?” Ron asked seriously, unaware of Harry’s fit of hysterical giggles. Hermione simply rolled her eyes.

Nalini replied quietly, her smile widening, “Not hipsters, hippies. Yaknow, believing in free love and all that. They named me Nalini because it means “Heaven’s Calm”. And I said they were hippies… they’re not anymore. Dad owns an antiques shop and Mum is a nurse. We live in Hornsea, this small town off the coast of East Yorkshire. Uhhmmm, but during the school year I attend drama school in London, I got a scholarship you see. My parents were just coming down for the week before I start lessons because I stayed in London this summer as an assistant caretaker at the Burrow.”

“The Burrow?” Ron asked.

“Yeah, this small theatre down the street from where I live. Really cool place. Amateur acting groups perform there. I loved working there so much. But I missed my Mum and Dad. Oh dear. They’re going to be so worried!”

“Don’t worry… we’ll sort this out.” Hermione said reassuringly. Throughout the ensuing minutes the four chatted happily. When Fred, George and Ginny popped in, Nalini spoke with her American accent and successfully convinced them she had just moved to London and was accepted into Hogwarts.

“Don’t know how I’m going to explain why I lied to them after you go back home.” Ron said quietly after they left.

The train ride was going well, they had eaten at least fifty chocolate frogs and Nalini had heard more stories about Hogwarts than anyone else. When the train stopped, however, the feeling of calm was replaced by utter panic. Now was the time they had to tell the truth. Now Harry and Ron could once again face expulsion.

“Don’t wanna think about it” Ron said as Hermione pointed this out.

“Dumbledore will understand, Hermione. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Just,… just an accident.” Harry said frowning.

As they got off the train, few students looked at Nalini, but if they did she smiled and said “Hey there” in the calmest way she could.

As they waited for the carriages, a very tall and large man that Nalini was led to believe had the name of Hagrid came up to them.

“Hullo you three. An’ who’s this?” He asked looking at Nalini closely.

“My name’s Nalini” she answered, her eyes widening. They had described him well, but that was nothing when you came face to face with him. Or rather, face to waist.

“Oh, righ’. Nice ter meet yeh. Harry can I have a word?”

“Sure Hagrid” Harry said and went off with him. They spoke for a few minutes and when Harry came back his face was as pale as a ghost and his expression vacant.

“What’s wrong Harry?” Ron asked, putting his hand on Harry’s shoulder and shaking him slightly.

“Dumbledore” Harry muttered.

“Oh no. Is he hurt? Is everything okay? He’s… he’s not…”

“He’s on holiday” Harry said.

“Holiday?” Ron asked “You’re joking? That’s not allowed is it? You are joking, aren’t you Harry? Headmasters can’t go on holiday. Not with You-Know-Who and everything. He can’t go on holiday!”

“According to Hagrid he can. He hasn’t had a holiday for twenty years, apparently. He’s gone on a three month world trip. And he’s made sure the Ministry has left Snape in charge.”

“- Oh no. We’re done for.”

“- Cooked.”

“- Worse than dead”

“Hurry up, you lot. You’ll never get there just by standing around.” Hagrid yelled. They all piled into a marvellous carriage. Nalini frowned, concerned. What were they going to do now? The three magic-folk had set all their hopes on Dumbledore, and he was no longer there to help them. By all accounts Snape was a viciously cruel, loathsome and sadistic professor. What on earth could they do?

“So you attend drama school?” Harry asked. “Do you consider yourself a good actor?”

Chapter 4 – Classes, Farces and Glasses.


Nalini saw the impending situation in two lights. On the one hand, she could fail miserably, have Harry and Ron expelled and spend the rest of her life under lock and key or she could succeed and experience a world no Muggle had been privy to before. The only problem was, well, how on earth was she going to succeed?

However, succeeding was realistically the least of her troubles. Of course, being only a teenager, not once did she think about the fact that she could be spending a year in the Wizarding world. That in that year her parents would be frantic with worry and a police investigation would be launched. She let herself be swept up with the magic of Hogwarts and the splendour of the people around her.

They went to the great hall in a kind of fevered fear. The sorting was about to commence, but for some reason none of the professors were at their table. Not even Hagrid. Hermione whispered that they would have to go see Snape soon with the letter.

“I just hope he doesn’t see through it.” She said, leaning over the table towards Harry and Ron. Nalini sat at her side. They were at the very end of the table, towards the open hall doors.

“He will, Hermione.” Ron hissed back. “But you don’t have to worry about that because it wasn’t your mistake, was it?”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Look Ron, Hermione’s trying to help. Just calm down. Snape will definitely suspect something if we all look stressed, won’t he?”

Just then a small wind appeared to whirl near the door and a black-cloaked figure appeared. The cloak billowed majestically. Professor Severus Snape was the scariest thing Nalini had ever seen in her life. Here was the man who held the power to crush her.

“He won’t crush me will he?” she asked, forgetting as usual that the other three weren’t privy to her thoughts.

“Crush you? No. Not you. But us. Yeah, we’re good as dead!” Ron whimpered.

Snape walked into the room, and had been about to make his way straight for the end table when Nalini obviously caught his eye. As he walked over to the three Gryffindors and stray Muggle, the other Professors walked into the hall as well. A great number of first years looked as petrified as Nalini felt.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here? You don’t look like a first year.” Snape said coming up to the table and looking down at Nalini with a mixture of intrigue and something unrecognisable.

“My name is Nalini, professor.” Nalini handed him the letter, she was trying her hardest to keep her voice even, “I really love Hogwarts, sir, it’s much better than Santa Fontana.”

Snape read the letter carefully, looked back at Nalini and gave her the letter back.

“Well, you have obviously already made… friends. I will keep a close watch on you, to make sure you are settling into your classes. You are already signed up for subjects aren’t you?” Nalini shook her head, Snape clawed a greasy black strand of hair out of his face, his impatience obvious. “After the feast, Miss McAuliffe you will go up to the professors of the classes you wish to take and enrol. Potter, Granger and Weasley will help you decide what is… best for you. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a ceremony to run.” Snape took off for the end table, his cloak once more billowing out behind him. Nalini could have sworn she heard him mutter something to the effect of “bloody Americans always keeping everything top secret” but didn’t worry about it. She grinned at the others and Harry, Hermione and Ron stared at Nalini with barely containable joy.

They spent the feast enjoying themselves. The sorting went terrifically and Gryffindor’s ranks were once again boosted with new blood. Many people asked Nalini questions about America and she gave them answers according to what she had seen on television. She even had the audacity to ask if they had Weekday Wizard Television there in Britain too, and the other students shook their heads with envy.

Dean Thomas took a bite of bread and mumbled “I wish they did, then maybe I could see how West Ham’s going in the premiership.”

Hermione, Harry and Ron then discussed what subjects Nalini could take. They described the classes. They figured out that Nalini could do Divination, Potions, Herbology, Muggle Studies and History of Magic hopefully without much trouble, it was only the compulsory subject of Transfiguration that was going to pose big problems.

“Plus you’re going to be alone in Muggle Studies, are you sure you’ll be alright?” Harry asked.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, Harry, don’t worry about Muggle studies. It’s transfiguration that you should be freaking about. I don’t have a wand!”

“Ron, do you still have your old wand?” Harry asked. Ron nodded.

“Yes, but it doesn’t work.”

“That doesn’t matter, it’s not going to work anyway. We’ll glue it together tonight and hope it at least looks the part. How does that sound Nalini?” Harry grinned.

“Great!”

“Miss McAuliffe, can I have a word with you please?” A scottish voice asked behind Nalini. Nalini turned around to face someone who must undoubtably be Professor McGonagall.

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked on with horror as Professor and ‘student’ had a ten minute conversation. They looked up at Nalini when she came back with a smile on her face.

“Just wanted to arrange a bed for me in Hermione’s dorm. She also took down what classes I want to take and will enrol me in them herself. She’s really nice!” Nalini said cheerfully as the other three sighed with relief.

It was soon time for them to go to their dorms. As they were going out of the great hall to the Gryffindor common room, Harry was shoved forwards. His glasses fell off and hit the ground with a thud. Hermione and Ron helped him up. Hermione started to get her wand out.

“Hello. What’s your name?” someone drawled to Nalini’s side. She turned around to see a fairly small boy her age with slicked white-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

“Nalini” she said facing him. “And yours?”

“Draco Malfoy.” He replied, obviously expecting to impress Nalini. She just stared back nonchalantly. “I’ll just give you a word of advice.” He continued “Be careful who you make friends with. People aren’t always as they seem.” Nalini scowled at his retreating back.

“What happened to you?” Ron asked as she came up to them.

“Oh, I just met another student. I believe you know him. Draco Malfoy.”

“Stay away from him, he’s trouble” Hermione stated. She had already stated this many times before, however, issuing examples and waving her hands about with anger.

Nalini followed alongside all the other Gryffindors and looked around her in amazement. The paintings moved! Hermione, Harry and Ron had told her all about the animated pictures, but she was still amazed. Everything was so wonderful, so magical. Someone said the password (Wigglety Pigglety) and they filed into the common room. Nalini let Hermione drag her up a staircase after saying goodnight to the boys. Nalini realised she didn’t have any pyjamas but Hermione gave her a pair. She slept soundly that night and woke up feeling full of life.

Chapter Five – Predictions.

Sun was streaming in through the window and Nalini got up and dressed in the Uniform Hermione gave her for the new day. Wide-awake and ready she walked down the stairs to the common room.

“I was just coming to get you!” Hermione squealed. Nalini stepped back in shock. Hermione was beaming from ear to ear. She was standing beside an end table and plush armchair. Piled on the table were pieces of parchment and quills and on the chair, several large, heavy looking books. Ron came walking up, followed closely by Harry. They looked at Nalini with anticipation.

Nalini started to feel a cold chill creep up from her stomach to her chest. They were expecting her to fit in. She had never fit in anywhere in her life. Nalini rarely spent much time with others, she was always on the outer edge looking in. She enjoyed it that way. However, now she was required to mix with other people. Not just other people, but Wizards and Witches. How was she ever going to do a good job? Ron smiled.

“You doing okay, Nalini?” Harry asked concernedly.

“Yeah, I’m doing just great” Nalini replied, not forgetting that she was supposed to be an American.

Ron passed Nalini something from underneath his robe. It was Ron’s old wand. She pocketed it and gave a strained but grateful smile.

“Okay, let’s get some breakfast and then get to class. We’ve got History of Magic first” Harry said. They went into the great hall. Nalini saw Draco scowling over at them as they made their way in. She smiled at him to see how he would react. He looked so surprised he almost fell off his chair. Hermione, Ron and Harry shook their heads at her and tried to pull her over. Ron muttered something like “What are you doing, you loony?”

The other three ate their breakfast happily, they obviously didn’t mind that Nalini had come to her reckoning. She found herself humming. She always hummed when she was nervous. She tapped on the table and hummed. Hermione noticed, but didn’t say anything.

They walked off to History of Magic, Hermione actually put her hand on Nalini’s shoulder and stated quietly but firmly that Nalini would be fine.

Professor Binns waited until all the students were seated and started on a long lecture about the great Uncivil Giant Wars of 1066. All the other students slipped into a catatonic state, but Nalini sat in absolute rapture. Yes, Binns’s monotone drawl made the lecture sound as interesting as upholstery but the information was so,… informative! She could even link what he was talking about with Muggle history. She copied down notes and listened with great interest.

“That class rocked” Nalini said. Even Hermione looked at Nalini with mock disgust.

“Okay, next we’ve got Divination. Hermione, you have Arithmancy, don’t you?” Harry said. They all said goodbye and Ron and Harry led the way to the tower.

“Trelawney is, for wont of a better word, a complete and utter psychomaniac” Ron said. “So don’t listen to a word she says.”

Nalini climbed the ladder after Ron and followed him to a pouffe situated near two others and a table. The room looked like it was set up for midnight seances.

Professor Trelawney was exactly as Nalini expected her to be from Harry and Ron’s description. Trelawney was obviously going for the ethereal look but didn’t quite get there and came off looking more deranged than anything else. She had wafted in from behind a curtain and placed herself in front of a larger pouffe at the front of the class.

“Today I will be having a private consultation with every single one of you. It is imperative that I read you before we continue with this class. When not with me, you will begin by reading chapter five in “Unfogging the Future”. The first person I wish to consult is,… Harry Potter.”

Harry rolled his eyes and got up. He went behind the curtain behind Trelawney, facing the class, tilting his head and bringing his finger across his neck as he did so. Ron giggled and shook his head in amusement. Nalini picked up her Divination book, borrowed from Hermione, and started to read. Ron started to make paper broomsticks from some spare parchment.

Harry came back after five minutes. He sat down with a thump.

“Dying again. A horrible, terrible death. An accident with poison apparently. Wouldn’t surprise me. We’ve got Snape this afternoon.” He said, his grin fading at that last realisation. Several minutes passed, several students had their consultations, and Nalini read excerpts out for Harry and Ron occasionally in an attempt to interest them. They laughed at the voice she adopted, but still didn’t pick up their books. Instead, they talked about Quidditch (something Harry and Ron had not failed to explain on the train, considering they were both on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team) and the House Cup.

Finally, Professor Trelawney came out and beckoned to Nalini.

“It is your time, Nilani.” Trelawney said. Ron snickered so hard he almost fell off his pouffe.

“Nalini” she corrected hastily, getting up.

Behind the curtain two pouffes were facing each other. Trelawney motioned to Nalini to sit down. She did, albeit awkwardly. She very rarely wore skirts and found the uniform rather annoying. She waited while Trelawney closed her eyes.

Trelawney eventually looked at her and placed her hands on Nalini’s. She then closed her eyes again. Despite desperately wanting to escape, Nalini turned her hands around so that their palms were touching. She was incredibly creeped out, but she also wanted to seem like every other student.

“You are not as you seem” Trelawney said after some time.

“Excuse me?” Nalini squeaked. Trelawney ignored her.

“Your time of reckoning will come. Your secrets and desires will be known by all. You will be… discovered.” Trelawney then said. She opened her eyes next and her gaze bored into Nalini’s shocked bright green eyes. “You need not fear what I have told you. Our time is up.”

Trelawney got up and walked her around the curtain. Nalini walked back to the boys, chilled even more than she had been in the morning. She sat down again but found it hard to speak.

Chapter Six. Emotions and Potions (oh you knew it was coming at some point :p)


The boys continued playing around. Ron’s future apparently entailed great loss. “Yeah, of me” Harry had joked. Nalini had got stuck into reading her book. Or at least, she pretended to. Every time Trelawney came out she would find herself burying her face deeper into the book but trying to turn her head to see the professor.

Finally the class ended and Nalini followed Ron and Harry to the great hall for lunch. Hermione was waiting at the door.

“Everything go okay? No troubles I hope.” she asked authoritatively.

“Yep. Fine. One of the most interesting classes actually” Ron said, leading the way into the hall. “Harry won the first game of paper broomstick quidditch, but I trounced him in the second.” Far from looking annoyed as Nalini had expected, Hermione grinned. Nalini had come to see Hermione as a rather prim and proper student, sure she had only known her for a day, but Hermione gave off the prim and proper vibe. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would find messing around in class amusing. However, here she was smiling. Harry noted Nalini’s surprise.

“Hermione hates Divination. She believes it’s all a bunch of… what did you call it Hermione?” Harry broke off.

“Balderdash” Hermione finished.

“That’s right, balderdash. I’m inclined to agree with her.”

“Then why don’t you take another class? You clearly hate it!” Nalini asked.

“What would you choose… paper broomstick quidditch or magical mathematics?” Ron asked, grinning broadly as the serving plates filled with food.

They spent the meal in chatter, but Nalini mostly listened, as was her wont, and ate very little. She was trying to keep her mind off Trelawney but it was incredibly hard.

“Potions next” Harry said, sounding like someone had just run over a baby owl.

They walked down to the dungeon, the Potions classroom. Nalini went into the room looking around at all the differently labeled jars. It looked like something she had read about. An alchemist’s, or Merlin’s tower.

They sat down at one of the front tables because all of the other places were taken. Nalini had to borrow a spare cauldron from the side of the classroom. She felt a nagging feeling tugging at her stomach. She opened her book.

Snape billowed into the room. He swept to the front of the class.

“All of you turn to page fifty-two in your books. Today we will be making Reductive Potions. This is a difficult procedure and you will need all of your concentration and wit about you.” He looked down at Neville Longbottom. “First of all, however, I would like to introduce the class to a new member. Miss McAuliffe, if you would please stand up.”

“Oh you have got to be kidding me” Nalini thought, as she slowly got up and joined Snape’s side. Hermione looked up at her with commiseration.

She stood out the front of the class for a full five minutes whilst Snape explained the lackadaisical nature of the American Wizarding Schooling system. She could feel her chin getting heavier. The horrible sensation that at any second she was going to be violently ill in her borrowed or someone else’s cauldron crept up on her. The Slytherins were all smirking at her, especially Draco. He had not forgotten that morning obviously. The Gryffindors, in contrast, all looked incredibily sorry. Finally Snape finished and directed Nalini to sit down.

“Now that we’ve had that nice little… introduction, we will all start on our potions. If I hear any talking there is no telling how many points I will take off. Begin.”

Nalini read through the recipe several times before she set to work. She got up and found the ingredients she needed. Unlike Neville she remembered it was pickled eye of newt and not sweetened. She cut the ingredients up exactly as it said, placed the ingredients in the cauldron when the recipe said and stirred it the whole time. Thirty minutes into the class her potion was looking very much like the illustration on the page, bright sizzling orange, thin and watery, with floating spots of electro-blue. Harry’s had turned brown, Hermione’s was the same colour as Nalini's but thick and gluggy, Ron’s had turned into a solid block and Neville’s had eaten into the cauldron and was steadily eating into the table. Snape spent the next ten minutes telling Neville off. Snape inspected everyone’s potion closely. He appeared to be most impressed with Nalini’s, stooping down and stirring it slightly. His gaze seemed to linger on Nalini’s Gryffindor tie momentarily but then he looked her in the eyes.

“Well, well, well. We’ll test your potion shall we? How about on an article of clothing? Your tie, perhaps?” Nalini started to take her tie off and carefully dropped three drops of her potion onto it. It shrank immediately, in perfect proportion. “five points to Gryffindor for Miss McAuliffe’s good work” Snape said. Every single head turned to the front in shock. Some of the Gryffindors looked like they were going to clap, but then Snape continued, “But fifteen points from Gryffindor for Longbottom’s disasterous attempt at anything resembling a Reductive potion.”

They all cleared away any mess they had made. Nalini felt a pride such as she had never experienced before. She felt considerably better. Walking out of class and up the stairs, Harry, Ron and Hermione all tapped Nalini on the back.

“Great job! Anyone would think you’d done that before.” Hermione said. She was obviously slightly annoyed that her own potion hadn’t been perfect.

“I played one of the witches in our class production of Macbeth” Nalini whispered back with a grin.

Chapter Seven – Mugglety Bugglety


Nalini’s next and final class for the day was Muggle Studies, whereas Harry, Ron and Hermione had Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione helped Nalini find her way to class before setting off for her own.

“Just don’t get too exasperated” Hermione said.

“What exactly do you mean by that, Hermione?” Nalini asked, sensing impending trouble.

“You’ll see!” And with that Hermione was gone.

In the class, Nalini recognised only a couple of the students. She didn’t mind this. She was used to it. She listened to the conversation going on between two Ravenclaws in front of her with wry humour creasing her forehead and lifting the corners of her lips.

“My grandmother thinks that eklecticity is a life-form. I still haven’t been able to convince her it’s nothing of the sort. Just the muggles’ way of showering.”

“Not showering, Martin, electricity is energy, remember. Energy for powering things like CD players. I showed you one when you came over in the first week of holidays. Muggles shower just like we do. With water. I should know, my Dad’s a muggle.”

“Oh yeah, right. It’s so easy to forget isn’t it? It’s been six weeks. I can’t be expected to remember everything!”

“No, that’s okay. I almost forgot about the Ghosts here at Hogwarts. When the Grey Lady sat next to me at breakfast this morning, I almost choked on my bacon.”

The professor walked in and Nalini’s attention was arrested by the lecture and discussion that ensued. It all revolved around communication techniques that Muggles developed and why they had to use them. The lecture was interesting, but many of the facts the professor presented seemed rather falsified in Nalini's view.

“So they made the fellytone in order to talk to other Muggles? I was there thinking it was some kind of transporting device. All it does is send your voice? That’s rubbish” the same Ravenclaw kid in front of Nalini exclaimed. If it hadn’t been so serious, Nalini would have laughed her head off. The ignorance astounded her. How was he ever to live in the real world without at least being able to say Telephone? But then it occurred to her. He didn’t have to. He had this world. Whilst some of these students obviously had very real ties to the Muggle world, this kid, Martin, didn’t. He could spend his life calling it a fellytone and no-one would care. It was a rather depressing thought.

“How come they developed the Telephone anyway?” Another student with an obviously better memory but identical query asked “Why didn’t they keep using the uhhh… Telegraph?”

The professor smiled and stated “They wanted to prove that they could, I suppose. They had already done that, why not go one step further.”

“That wasn’t it!” Nalini exclaimed, temporarily forgetting she was supposed to be American. She resumed her accent and continued, “I mean, it was ’cause they realised they needed more accurate means of sending information. With the Telegraph, you see, well, things could get messed up, yaknow? Like, uhhh, letters and stuff got mixed up – whole messages changed. They wanted the reliability of voice. Of actual sounded words. Being able to hear someone speaking the message. You can’t get the information mixed up as easily that way.” She was painfully aware of several sets of eyes on her. Nalini’s face started to grow slowly but surely pinker, and her mouth became oddly dry. Nalini had no problem speaking in front of crowds, but she had just corrected the teacher. The students with Muggle parents had obviously already learnt not to say anything out of turn. She sank lower in her chair. Slowly, the other students realised she wasn’t going to say any more and looked back towards the front.

“Well. Now that our American friend has imparted this useful information, I would like a one foot, two inch essay on Muggle communication devices to be handed up on Friday.” The professor said to the class in a slightly cool tone. “Dismissed.”

Nalini picked up her belongings and practically ran out of class. She could feel students glaring at her for having annoyed the allocator of homework. So far her day had been one of extremes. History had been facinating, Divination terrifying, Potions terrific, and Muggle Studies simply horrendous. Exasperating had been an understatement.

To Nalini’s abject horror, Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting for her at the end of the corridor. Her face was still tinged with pink.

“How’d it go?” Ron asked cheerfully.

“It went perfectly well, thankyou, Ron.” Nalini replied stiffly. Her tone had a note of finality in it. She was wishing she had never met the red haired teenager and his green eyed friend. Wishing she had never been so lazy as to lean against something without checking it was a magic gateway to a mysterious platform first.

“Was it really that bad?” Hermione asked, hearing through Nalini’s formality. “I quite enjoyed studying it a couple years ago, but then I always did find it rather trying when they would talk about Muggles as if they were another species entirely.”

“We are.” Nalini said bitterly. “Look. Snape. He really didn’t seem that bad. Are you sure we have to wait until Dumbledore gets back? Couldn’t we just tell Snape?”

“Believe me, Nalini. You do not want to find out.” Harry said, looking at Nalini intently. “We all have bad lessons occasionally. In fact, we did just then. Hagrid thought it would be fun for us to start looking after a particularly rare brand of Frill Necked Lizard that has razor sharp Frills and acid saliva.”

“Almost worst than the Skrewts” Ron added. “Almost, but not quite.”

“So don’t give up just yet. This was only your first day!” Hermione concluded.

“And Dumbledore might be back within the week” Harry amended, still gazing at Nalini closely. Nalini sighed resignedly. The day had perhaps not been quite as bad as it might have been. Tomorrow could reveal new horrors.

“Come on, we’ve only another two hours until dinner. We better start on a game plan for Transfiguration tomorrow.” Hermione stated, almost reading Nalini’s mind.

Chapter Eight – Wanderful


The four teenagers shut themselves up in an empty classroom and set to work. Nalini sat and watched as Harry, Hermione and Ron attempted to transfigure items surreptitiously. The problem with transfiguration was that in order to perform a spell, you needed a strong clear voice and needed to be pointing the wand directly at the item to be transformed. Nalini could point the wand, could say the words, but nothing would happen, especially with Ron’s old wand. The other three decided it would be best if she didn’t bother for the moment.

Nalini watched with interest. She was starting to forget about Muggle Studies and her discontent and was beginning to fill with wonderment and awe of the Magical world once more. How many people could say they had seen a piece of paper turn into a book in front of their very eyes? How many people could make a tie miniaturise temporarily with a simple liquid? Who else spoke to paintings and had them speak back?

She remembered Harry’s words. Dumbledore might be back within the week. Then what would happen? Would they really let a Muggle back into muggledom, or whatever they called it, with all this knowledge? Nalini hoped so. She wanted to remember everything she had seen, smelt and heard here at Hogwarts.

After an hour, it was actually starting to look like Nalini was transfiguring a piece of parchment in front of her into a book, when really it was Harry, Hermione or Ron.

“Now we should try and synchonise our efforts with Nalini’s.” Hermione practically ordered. The boys simply nodded. “But first, Nalini, just have a test run by yourself.”

Nalini held the wand in front of her. She brought it up slowly above the parchment and as she brought it down said the magic words, “Para Nova”. The wand started to vibrate quickly in her hand. In shock, Nalini screamed and let go as red sparks started shooting out from the tip of the wand. It span around quickly as it touched the ground, fizzing noises echoing around the room. Nalini’s hand was starting to burn slightly from the touch. Her green eyes filled with unshed tears brought by shock. She felt nauseous and scared.

“Well. That wasn’t supposed to happen.” Ron said, “What do you think, Hermione?”

“Very odd.” Hermione said, looking at Nalini in slight awe. “Very odd indeed. It never occurred to me that Nalini might make the wand do something. That a Muggle could produce any effect”

“A Muggle didn’t. I did.” Harry said, his voice oddly distant. He walked forward and put his hand on Nalini’s shoulder. His voice was stilted and unnatural. “I’m sorry Nalini. It wasn’t supposed to scare you. It was just a practical joke. I realise now it wasn’t very funny, but I was trying to make you forget about earlier.”

Now, Nalini’s parents may have called her “Heaven’s calm” but Nalini was far from it. “Devil’s fire” would have been a far more apt name. Her temper was extraordinarily quick and at that very moment Nalini was in the throes of a rage such as she had never experienced before.

“You horrible, detestable boy!” Nalini screamed in outrage, throwing Harry’s hand off violently. She looked as if she wanted to hit out at him, strike him, slap his face. “Not only do you disrupt my life by bringing me to this stupid place, against my wishes, but you torment and ridicule me for the sake of entertainment. Let’s all play magical jokes on the girl who can’t defend herself.” She swung around to face the other two and her voice reached an even higher pitch. “I thought you were all nice. Thought you were at least considerate. I was obviously treacherously wrong.” Harry walked in front of Nalini again, placing both his hands on her shoulders.

Her voice became deadly low as her eyes shone up at him with barely restrained fury. “Just leave me alone, you freak. I want nothing to do with you. Nothing!” And with that she wrenched free of his grip and shot out of the room at high speed. For the moment she didn’t know where she was going, didn’t know anything except that she wanted to get away from an idiot by the name of Harry Potter. She had begun to trust him more than the others, had seen him as being similar to her, same eyes, same personality. But he wasn’t. She would never do that to anyone, never! She ran outside and off towards the lake where she hoped she could calm down. As she came to the water’s edge, her body wracked with sobs.

Inside, Hermione and Ron were looking at Harry oddly.

“It was a horrible and cruel thing to do. Most unlike you. I’m going to go find Nalini. Don’t you see what you might have caused? Who knows who Nalini might run into? What she might say? What she might do!” Hermione yelled, running out of the room herself.

“Why did you do that, Harry?” Ron asked, “I don’t understand.”

Harry didn’t say anything. His eyes were devoid of any kind of emotion, his face completely blank. There was no remorse, no humour. It was as if he had no reaction to what had happened at all. As if he was thinking, perhaps. He stared at Ron for an indeterminate period of time and then walked out of the room himself.

Chapter Nine – After The Event


Nalini was sitting by the lakeside by the time Hermione found her. Half an hour had passed. She had wrapped her arms around her knees and was staring out at the lake. She had wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. Her nose was still quite red. Her hair was whipping against her face with the cool early autumn breeze. Nalini turned her head slightly at the sound of Hermione’s footsteps. She wanted to say something biting, but the words just wouldn’t come.

“He didn’t mean it, you know. He obviously wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t know. Boys. They’re so dense sometimes, aren’t they?” Hermione said as she sat down right next to Nalini. Hermione looked decidedly relieved that she had found Nalini. She was slightly out of breath, having ran and walked around the castle looking for the distraught girl. She nudged Nalini slightly. “If I had known he was planning on doing that, I would have punched him myself.”

Nalini choked on the chuckle that escaped at the thought of Hermione punching the 5 inch taller Harry. She turned to Hermione and finally managed to speak, “I over-reacted a little bit, didn’t I?”

“Just a bit. But that’s allowed.” Hermione returned. “Come on, it’s really quite cold out here. We should go back to the common room. I’m sure Harry will be up to a more convincing apology there.”

“I don’t want him to apologise. I should apologise, really.” Nalini said. For some reason she felt immensely better. As she got up she dusted her knees with her hands. Bringing her hand up she saw it in the moonlight. There was a raised red welt on her hand.

“Perhaps I will let him apologise” She said, realising how much her hand hurt. “Yes. I will.”

Nalini and Hermione made it into the common room to see Fred and George displaying a new product in their repertoire – Flavourful Deflating Fudge. Their best friend Lee Jordan had been nice enough to be their display model. He ate a big piece and fell to the floor as flat as a pancake. His squashed voice could be heard, “Urgh, tasted like brussel sprouts.”

“Excellent!” George exclaimed.

“Roll up, roll up, who would like to purchase some fantastic Flavourful Deflating Fudge – ten sickles a large piece. Use on your worst enemies.” Fred yelled. Several students came forward, holding out their money and grinning happily.

“I better be getting a cut” The same squashed voice of Lee Jordan said.

“Hermione, remind me never to accept any kind of confectionary from Fred, George, or Harry.” Nalini said, finding it hard not to smile at the enterprising twins.

Harry was not in the common room, but Ron was. He was smiling with amusement at his brothers when Hermione came up. His smile faded when he saw Nalini, however, and took on an expression of deep concern.

“Nalini. Are you alright?” He asked, his forehead creasing.

“I’m fine, Ron. Just fine.” Nalini said with a smile. “Where’s Harry?”

“I dunno. He left just after Hermione and I haven’t seen him since. He’s not in the library, great hall or dormitory.” Ron replied.

“Well. We’ll see him tomorrow. The great hall is closed now, isn’t it?” Hermione asked. Ron nodded. Hermione continued. “We could always go down and ask the house elves for some food, if you want to, Nalini?”

Nalini shook her head. “I’m not hungry. But you go ahead. I’ll just go up to the dormitory. I’m really tired.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow if not later tonight then. Goodnight.” Hermione said, still looking slightly concerned.

Up in the dormitory Nalini changed and got in between the sheets of her bed. Because she was a newcomer to the school she had the pleasure of having the bed closest to the door, and therefore a crisp draught. She was glad of the warmth of the duvet and closed her eyes. For the first time that night she started to reflect fully on what had happened that day. Had it really only been one day? It seemed like a week already. Why had Harry behaved so strangely? Why had she reacted so badly? Just as she was drifting off she heard something at the door. She looked up to see Harry’s head at the doorway.

“Just wanted to say sorry and goodnight but you’re sleeping so see you tomorrow.” Harry said, before popping his head back out of the door.

Nalini groaned slightly. She had wanted to have a proper talk with him. Wanted to apologise, to discuss, to sort things out.

“Just have to wait until tomorrow I suppose.” She thought drowsily before falling into a deep sleep.

Chapter Ten – Mimosa and Mice.


The next morning Nalini might have forgotten all about the previous day’s events if it hadn’t been for the stinging red mark on her hand. The day was to entail Herbology, Transfiguration and a double lesson of Potions. Hermione was still getting ready and told Nalini she would be down in a bit. As Nalini went downstairs she saw Harry in the middle of the common room, seemingly trying to escape from Fred and George. He did not look like he had had a very good sleep. His usually untidy hair was even more untidy than usual and his green eyes looked rather dull.

“Hello, Harry.” Nalini said, looking into Harry’s face. She wanted to catch his eye, but he was looking anywhere but into her watchful gaze.

“Hi, Nalini.” Harry replied. Fred and George were listening in to their conversation, looking from one to the other. Harry looked at them as if ordering them to go, and when they didn’t, took Nalini by the arm and dragged her near the fireplace. “Look. We have to talk. But not right now. At lunch, okay? I won’t be at breakfast, I have things to do.”

“Uhmm, okay.” Nalini said just before Harry stalked off.

Ron bounded down the boys’ stairs cheerfully. His lop-sided grin was unnaturally chipper. “How are you this morning, Nalini?”

“Great thanks, Ron.” Nalini replied. Hermione had come up from behind.

“That’s good. Time for breakfast. Seen Harry?” She asked.

“He said he has other things to do.” Nalini replied.

They ate their breakfast quickly and made the long trek to the Herbology glasshouses. Harry was already there at the end of the table.

“For the next few weeks we will be studying the Mimosa. Frightfully shy plant, and difficult to look after. They shrivel up when touched. You have to get your plant to trust you. Crabbe, stop tormenting your Mimosa! It may look defenceless but when pressed it with eject a venom at you which is powerful enough to knock you out for ten minutes.” Professor Sprout said. “Now class, simply take your Mimosa, give them a name and have a little chat and then come back and I will tell you how best to care for the plants.”

Nalini spent the next twenty minutes of class making idle chit-chat with the Mimosa, in response the plant would move its branches and leaves in various directions. She named her plant Tali, and she began to feel that Tali trusted her quite well. Crabbe, on the other hand, was already knocked out. Nalini couldn’t help but smile and as she did her eyes set upon Draco, who was scowling angrily. He kicked Crabbe and turned to Goyle “You better not be as stupid, you’re making a laughing stock out of me”.

Professor Sprout then spent the rest of the lesson explaining the foods the Mimosa ate. She also explained that the Mimosa liked plenty of water and that the Mimosa also liked a small walk around the grounds.

“Don’t ask for much, do they?” Ron whispered jokingly.

The lesson finished and Nalini, Ron and Hermione cleared up and set off after Harry, who had already left the Greenhouse.

“I don’t know what’s up with him, but he is acting very strangely” Ron said, shaking his head and looking over at Hermione, hoping she would be able to shed some light on the situation. Hermione simply shrugged. Nalini felt it had something to do with her, but she couldn’t figure out what Harry was so afraid of.

“Alright, we’re all ready aren’t we?” Hermione said. “I mean, we didn’t really get to practice, but we should be okay.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here” Ron said, he handed over not his old wand, but a fake wand. “One of Fred and George’s wands, I asked them to bewitch it to stop it from transforming into a rubber chicken or something. I couldn’t find my old one. I expect it’s still there, somewhere, but when I remembered that we had left it, it was nowhere to be seen. Don’t know why we didn’t think of this first, really. They’re dead realistic.”

Nalini took the fake wand gratefully and practiced swishing it and repeating the incantations Hermione said.

“Excellent. We’ll be fine.” Hermione said.

In the class, Harry was sitting at the back, just where they had agreed on sitting before the great disaster. Nalini sat next to him, Hermione next to her, and Ron on Harry’s other side. There was no time for talk as Professor McGonagall came into class.

“Today, class, we will be transfiguring mice into rats. Now some of you might think that this is simple, but let me assure you it is actually a lot more difficult than it would be to transfigure the mice into inanimate objects. This will take your full concentration. I suggest that you all take the time to read through the procedure with due care before trying to imitate my demonstration.”

Professor McGonagall walked around the class, placing small cages with mice in them in front of each of the students. She then resumed her spot at the front of the class and proceeded to demonstrate the spell.

“You must use all your concentration and use the correct pronunciation for the spell to work.” McGonagall said before placing her mouse on the table for all of the students to see. “Rodentis Modifica”. The mouse in front of her contorted, its nose started to lengthen and its fur went from white to dark brown. The creature in front of McGonagall now was most definitely a rat. “Right class. Remember. Read through the theory first.”

Most of the students set about finding the correct page in their books. Nalini, especially, was most intrigued about how to perform the spell and why it might be useful. The text explained that the spell could be used on a number of animals. If using the correct prefix, and if she had enough power and energy she could change a simple domestic cat into a tiger. She smiled as she imagined doing that to her own cat, Tuffles. But then, she would never be able to do that. Hermione could, Ron and Harry could. Even Crabbe could. But Nalini wouldn’t. She pushed the thought out of her mind.

“Maybe I better do this one.” Hermione whispered to Ron and Harry. Ron nodded his head, Harry didn’t say a thing. They practiced performing their spells. It didn’t work for Ron at first, he appeared to have an aversion to rats. It seemed to work after a time, though, and Hermione’s had been perfect from the start. She nodded imperceptibly and Nalini performed her spell. Hermione and she did everything at the exact same time, and it worked. The mouse in front of Nalini was now a rat and Professor McGonagall had not noticed that it was not Nalini’s doing. Harry had been paying too much attention to Nalini and Hermione and so his mouse was still a mouse by the end of lesson.

“Potter, Can I talk with you?” McGonagall asked, halting Harry in his stride. He had been about to grab hold of Nalini’s arm.

“But Professor, it’s Lunch.” Harry said.

“I know, but this is very important.” McGonagall said, pulling Harry back inside.

Nalini had said goodbye to Ron and Hermione and watched from the doorway. She waited for ten minutes, but could not wait any longer. She was hungry. Nalini walked off to the great hall and sat with Ron and Hermione.

Chapter Eleven – Questions, No Answers


Lunch was delicious. Nalini still hadn’t got used to Pumpkin Juice, but the rest of the meal was a delight. Hermione and Ron exchanged amusing and witty insults. Nalini guessed that these two were slightly more than friends. Nalini found herself distracted when George started trying to sell her a watch that makes the person wearing it late for every class. She contemplated borrowing money off of Hermione, buying it and giving it to Harry, but she decided against it. No, she’d just slip some fudge into his food at dinner. Nalini spent half of lunch wondering about what had caused Harry to play such a trick. Now she could see that she had definitely over-reacted, but she still couldn’t figure out what might be funny about causing the wand to emit sparks when she used it. Her hand was still stinging persistently. She wondered what Harry could be talking to Professor McGonagall about and decided to wait outside of Potions Class to speak to him. He had seemed so serious in the morning. Whatever he wanted to talk to her about must be quite important.

Outside the Potions dungeon, after five minutes, Harry came sweeping up. He didn’t even look at Nalini as he walked into class. Nalini scowled and walked in behind him. Snape raised his eyebrow at her in a slightly menacing way. She asked Ron and Hermione to move down a seat and sat next to Ron instead of in the spare seat they had left between Hermione and Harry. If Harry didn’t want to talk to her she wasn’t going to force him. Not yet, anyway. She couldn’t understand why he was behaving so strangely. He had been so adamant that they had to talk and now he was giving her the cold shoulder.

The class commenced much like the previous one, except this time they were making Expansive Potions. It was a simpler process than with the Reductive Potions, and the experience of having made its counterpart made it even easier. Nalini enjoying following the recipe, cutting up the unusual ingredients and testing the potion to see how it worked. She tested her potion on the small piece of material Snape had provided everyone with. It expanded immediately. This time everyone successfully created the potion, even Neville. She still felt a great sense of pride, however. It was great to think that she could actually make a potion that worked. After the practical Snape gave a lecture surrounding Reductive Potions, Expansive Potions and their uses, causes and effects. His deep voice, in contrast with Binn’s, was strangely hypnotic, and Nalini found the lecture very interesting and useful. She didn’t like how he would drop a book in front of anyone who wasn’t paying full attention, though. It was a cruel way of gaining attention. Seamus Finnagan almost got his hand squashed from a volatile awakening. After the class, Harry practically ran out of the classroom.

“Absolutely balmy!” Ron said, raising an eyebrow at his best friend’s retreating back. Hermione agreed.

“I’ve never seen him behave so strangely, not even when he was hearing voices.” She said matter-of-factly. “So how was your second day, Nalini?”

“Fine, thanks.” Nalini replied, and this time she meant it.

After a Harry-less dinner, the three students decided to go up to the common room for a little light leisure. In the common room the three had to step over a few flat students before they got to a set of chairs and table. Ron challenged Nalini to a game of Wizard’s Chess and she tentatively agreed once she had seen what the pieces could do. Hermione watched the match, not yet finding any work she could do in advance. Ron naturally won, but Nalini came close to making it an even game.

“These wizard games are way more fun than other games, but I should really start on my Muggle Studies homework.” Nalini said after playing a third game of Exploding Snap. She looked around the common room. What with Fred and George’s inventions flying around, and a couple dozen students, Nalini felt she would find it difficult to concentrate. “I’ll go do it in the library. No, don’t get up. I know the way.”

After gathering some parchment, a quill and her book, Nalini walked to the Library singing softly to herself. She couldn’t help it. Even though she had told Hermione and Ron she knew the way, she was still rather worried she might get lost. She sang to calm herself down, and it worked. Soon Nalini was at the door of the Library. She spied a table at the far end that looked secluded and comfortable. She sat down and started to pen a draft essay. She didn’t like writing with quills much. She missed ball-point pens and pencils. If you made a mistake with a quill it was a lot harder to undo. Or at least, it was for her. She grumbled softly as she thought about how Hermione might correct a mistake. It would probably take one swish of her wand. After half an hour Nalini had a good introduction, conclusion and dot point notes for the main body of her paper. She was just starting to write the proper essay when she heard a noise to her side. She turned to see Harry creeping down a perpendicular aisle with his shoulders hunched as if he hadn’t wanted Nalini to notice him.

“Hello Harry.” Nalini said.

“Oh, hi Nalini.” Harry said, turning around, his face showing obvious dismay at having been found out.

“Is there any reason you said you wanted to talk with me this morning and have spent the rest of the day avoiding me?”

“Uhmm. Well. Yes, actually.” Harry said as he broke into a strained sheepish grin. “The thing is. Uhhh. I’ve never really been very good at apologies and I really feel like I should apologise for last night, you know.” He brushed an errant strand of hair off his forehead and looked down at the ground. “So, sorry!”

Nalini narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Somehow Harry’s concession didn’t strike her as being the complete truth. Either way, she didn’t push the point. “You said sorry last night. I accept your apology. Now, come here, read this essay and tell me what you think”

Harry seemed to take the final note in Nalini’s voice as an order and immediately complied. “Very good.” He said after a while. “I like how you make it sound like a Witch wrote it.” He concluded awkwardly, and then sensing he’d said something wrong shook his head and got up. “Well, I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow.” Nalini watched him leaving with confusion and turned back to her essay writing. For some reason she found it increasingly difficult to concentrate.

Chapter Twelve – Before Your Eyes


The next day seemed to rush by at warp speed. As did Thursday and Friday. There’s something about school that makes time go by slowly when you want it to go fast and fast when you want it to go slow. Nalini literally felt like her time at Hogwarts was flashing before her eyes.

Divination had been rather scary. Nalini avoided looking at Professor Trelawney. They commenced their studies after Trelawney’s readings by examining Tarot Cards. Nalini had always thought they were complete gobbledegook, but it turned out they conveyed true portents. According to Trelawney, anyway. Ron and Harry actually did some work in the lessons, although Nalini almost wished they still just played around. She found Trelawney’s lecture incredibly boring in one way, and terrifying in another. Everything the woman said Nalini felt was directed at her.

History of Magic was still facinating Nalini, although she found the way the lecture was delivered increasingly annoying.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten her faux pas in Muggle Studies, and Nalini didn’t say anything more when she felt they weren’t exactly dealing with reality. She finished her essay with ease on Thursday. She had done all of the groundwork, the write up had been simple and Nalini handed it in on Friday with a good feeling.

Tali responded well to Nalini’s care and Nalini found herself chatting animatedly with the plant. Or rather, to the plant. Herbology had become something Nalini really looked forward to, she especially loved the double lesson they had on Friday.

Potions was the same, she had a real knack for defining certain ingredients and remembering quantities. This interested Nalini as she had never been particularly good at Science. She spent some time on Friday afternoon just reading up on various Potions.

Transfiguration was spent much like Divination. In constant fear. Harry was now behaving slightly less strangely, but he still got a strange look in his eye whenever he saw Nalini pretending to cast a spell in Transfiguration. It became difficult to wait for a time for Professor McGonagall and other students to not be paying attention. Nalini had to pretend she read incredibly slowly as McGonagall had taken up the habit of walking around the tables and stopping and asking her how she was enjoying Hogwarts as opposed to her old school. She answered, and then spent ten minutes pretending to read whilst McGonagall set off for the other side of the classroom.

All in all the week hadn’t really been so bad, it had certainly been one of experiences, and Nalini started to feel almost like she was a part of Hogwarts. She didn’t think about the classes she might be missing, or that there might be a police investigation on to locate her. Ron, Harry and Hermione were great fun to be around, even if Harry did occasionally act oddly. Ginny had taken to asking Nalini many questions about what life had been like in America, and Nalini thanked her years of watching American sit-coms for her answers. And her mother had said that too much television was bad for you.

On Saturday morning Nalini awoke early and went downstairs to find Harry dozing in an armchair. No-one else was in the room, it was just dawn, after all. Harry’s face was a lot paler than it had been when she first met him and she noticed bags under his eyes. He looked so sweet sitting there, though, his head lolling on his shoulder. Nalini decided she would do her best not to disturb his rest. She sat in the armchair opposite and picked up the newspaper that was lying on the table nearby. She spent most of her time looking over the newspaper at the sleeping boy, however. She was puzzling through his personality in contrast with his friends’. His bitter rivalry with Draco Malfoy also came into her mind. She had seen Malfoy act in a variety of disagreeable ways this past week and had decided Malfoy deserved all the contempt they showed for him.

After about half an hour there was the sound of footsteps on the boys set of stairs and a couple of first years appeared. This awoke Harry from his slumber and he sat up with a jolt. He looked at Nalini with shock. “Uhmmm, er. What are you doing here?” He stammered. Nalini raised her eyebrows.

“I thought all Gryffindors were allowed in the common room?” Nalini playfully asked. Harry looked like he was about to scowl but thought better of it. He looked at his watch, instead.

“Ron and me have quidditch practice this morning, do you want to come and have a look?” He asked.

“Yeah, that sounds great.” Nalini said with a smile. At that moment Ron came down from his dormitory with his Firebolt 2005. It was his pride and joy. Fred and George had bought it for him when they started to turn a profit.

“Heya, you two!” Ron said excitedly. “Harry, Angelina said that the meeting would start at quarter to eight. That means we’ve got twenty minutes for breakfast.” As he finished speaking Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione came down from their respected dormitories as well, surrounded by some second and third year students. The common room was once more abuzz. The group ate breakfast quickly and made it to the quidditch pitch with five minutes to spare.

“Hey, Nalini. Are you any good at quidditch.” Fred asked genuinely curious. “When we leave here we’re going to need some good players.”

“To be honest I’ve never played.” Nalini said. She was staring at Fred’s broomstick. She had never even flown, let alone played, she wanted to have a go on a broomstick desperately.

Fred seemed to figure out what she was thinking because the next moment he was handing Nalini his broomstick. “Here, you look like you haven’t flown for a while, give it a go!” Nalini took the stick but wasn’t sure what to do. Luckily for her, George was just getting set up himself.

“Up.” He yelled, and the broomstick came flying into his hand. He mounted and kicked off from the ground.

Hermione gave Ron a look of sheer terror as Nalini imitated George’s gesture. She yelled and it came into her hand, she mounted it and kicked off. It was a strange and scary sensation. Nalini had always been terrified of heights. As soon as she was a few feet off the ground she felt small spirals of panic, but she shrugged them off and soared higher. She could imagine herself as one of the players of Harry and Ron’s miniature game, flying with the quaffle, or searching for the snitch. After a minute, however, she found herself feeling intensely nauseous. She could feel her courage waning and before she knew it she was dipping to the side. Before she knew what was happening, someone was grabbing her by the waist and leading her down towards the ground. She looked up to see Harry’s green eyes staring at her. She didn’t say anything, just handed Fred’s broom back.

“It’s been years since I’ve been on a broomstick.” Nalini said dizzily to a bemused looking Fred. “I was diagnosed with Vertigo a few years ago. But I couldn’t resist when you handed me the broom, sorry.”

Fred grinned mischievously, took his broom and joined his brother in the air, calling behind “Never mind, I’ve seen worse. And our Quidditch team will be fine. We might have to repeat a year!”

“I never thought a broomstick would fly with a Muggle on it.” Ron said quietly as the other Gryffindor players kicked off.

“Well, it didn’t like her on it, did it?” Harry said, his voice taking on a distant and reserved tone again, “It tried to roll her off. If I hadn’t seen the way it was dipping, Nalini would have a couple broken bones by now. If not something… worse.” He kicked off as well, Ron followed and Hermione simply looked at Nalini with raised eyebrows.

“Strange!” Was all Hermione could say. Strange indeed.

Chapter Thirteen – Fear and Regret


Nalini loved watching Quidditch practice, and her excursion on a broomstick only made her admire the players even more. The way they dipped and twirled, caught the quaffle, blocked the quaffle. It was all amazing. Fred and George shot around hitting the bludgers away from the other players, Ron guarded the goal posts, Angelina, Katie and a third year boy called Rodney flew around passing the quaffle to each other, and Harry searched for the snitch. Nalini started to wish she could be up there again, flying. She hadn’t liked it though. She had wanted to like it. Wanted to be good at it. But she hadn’t, she wasn’t. She was different. She felt embarrased when she remembered how the broomstick had dipped to the side. She had seen the ground all that distance below her, felt the blood rushing around in her head and her only thought had been that she still hadn’t found out her mark for her Muggle Studies essay. Then Harry was there, leading her to the ground. Except she hadn’t known it was Harry then, had she? Not until she looked up into his eyes. Had seen fear and something else mingled in their depths.

When the players stopped practicing tactics and came down for lunch, they still chatted about the game. Nalini wanted to join in, but found it difficult. She sat back and listened, instead, laughing at the jokes Fred exchanged with Angelina. She laughed, but she felt hollow inside. Everyone seemed happy and light-hearted. Everyone except Nalini who was starting to feel like everyone around her knew something she didn’t. Something more than magic. It was starting to puzzle her. Why was she there? Why her and not some other muggle? Was there some reason for her to be there? What had Harry really wanted to talk to her about?

After lunch Nalini excused herself. She wanted to read more about potions. At least, that was her excuse. Really she just wanted to be away from the other Gryffindor students. They were still having conversations about their chances in the house cup and Nalini couldn’t really take part in that. She made her way to the now very familiar library but as she was walking down the final corridor she heard a cold, high, refined voice from behind her.

“They’re not to be trusted, you know. Gryffindors. They’re always saying one thing and… meaning another.”

Nalini turned around calmly, she recognised the voice to be that of a certain slick-haired Slytherin. His words unsettled her, though. She had just been thinking that.

“And Slytherins are any better?” Nalini asked, with genuine curiosity.

“Of course. We don’t pretend to be something we’re not. Why do you think people dislike us?” Draco returned coolly.

“Because you always look miserable and delight in others’ misery?”

“Believe that all you like. You weren’t sorted, were you? You know, you never look especially happy. You laughed as much as anyone when Longbottom’s cauldron eroded. And you’re awfully good at Potions.” He spoke with a slow condescending drawl and his eyes were ice cold. He was trying to get her on his side, though.

“Ahh, but alas, I’m not overly ambitious and I hear that that is the main Slytherin trait.” Nalini replied, imitating Draco’s condescending tone. She lied, however. Ambition had always been something which spurred Nalini on. She had always wanted to be a well known actress, had spent a lot of time perfecting her craft. She wanted to make her mark on the world. Success was the cornerstone of her existence. Draco’s words had hit a weak spot. Perhaps Nalini shouldn’t have trusted Harry, Ron and Hermione as she had. She turned back around and proceeded to walk down the corridor.

“You aren’t any different, you know. You’ll find that out soon enough.” Draco called to her retreating back.

In the library Nalini found herself falling asleep over a copy of “Powerful Potions and how to Perfect them.” She had awoken early and was incredibly tired. Nalini’s arms had collapsed onto the open book. Her head rested on her arms, her shiny red-brown hair covering her face.

Nalini was walking down a dark corridor that never seemed to end. There was deep merciless laughter in the background, and snarling and growling coming from somewhere. Nalini turned around but couldn’t see anything. She turned back. There was no light source but an eerie glow was flooding the corridor. She kept on walking forwards. The walls held torture contraptions, spikes and manacles. Nalini had to get away, had to get back to the common room. She started to run, faster and faster, but the end was still no closer than before. She was never going to escape, blood was oozing onto the floor and dripping down the spikes protruding from the walls. Nalini almost tripped, and continued on running. The end of the corridor was still there, yards away, still no closer than before. She was trapped. Suddenly there was a burst of light and Nalini found herself in a large room. There was water surrounding a wide path that ended at a giant face carved out of stone. Large stone snake’s heads boardered the path, glinting in a small amount of light. The face was daunting and menacing, shadows giving the illusion it was alive and moving. It made Nalini’s insides curl up and she felt like she had a heavy stone in the pit of her stomach. Nalini felt like screaming, but no sound came out. She tried and tried but all that happened was her mouth opened wider and tears rolled down her cheeks. “You aren’t any different, you know. The boy was right.” A male voice echoed throughout the room. The voice was higher and colder than Draco’s. It sounded like it was coming from far away.

Nalini awoke with a start only to find her face partially stuck to the book she had been reading with saliva. She wrenched her head up and found herself shivering. It had all been a horrible nightmare. She choked slightly and spent a few minutes recovering before she made the trek to the Gryffindor common room.

Chapter Fourteen – First Day of a New Week


Nalini spent the rest of the night surrounded by the other Gryffindors, watching them play around and chat. Hermione was chatting with Ron quietly in a corner, her eyes focussed solely on him. Nalini almost smiled as she saw how intently they both looked at each other. Harry was having a lively conversation with Fred and George about their joke shop. Nalini went over and sat with them. She chatted with Fred and George as well, avoiding Harry’s eyes and pretending everything was okay. She tried to forget the dream, attempted to blot out the fear that was now bubbling around in her stomach. Time seemed to be going at a snails pace. She helped Ginny with her homework and played a game of Exploding Snap with Neville. Finally it was a reasonable hour to be going to bed and Nalini practically ran up to her bed after making her excuses. Nalini heard all the others come in after a while. She slept fitfully, for a total of two hours that night, and in the small amount of sleep she had Nalini’s mind played tricks on her. Dreams held echoes of her previous nightmare. The giant face came back to her vividly. The voice sounded more persistent. It was beckoning her. “You’re no different.” The voice seemed to promise her something, was on the verge of telling her something, but every time she was about to find out, Nalini awoke in fits of perspiration.

The morning held History of Magic and Divination. Nalini got dressed and collected her things. She pushed any scared thoughts out of her mind, but she still felt fairly worried and apprehensive.

“Nalini, how are you this morning?” Hermione asked. She looked slightly concerned by the look in Nalini’s eye.

“I’m good. Just a bit tired from yesterday, you know.” Nalini replied simply. She wanted to tell Hermione about her dream, but found herself recoiling at the thought. She knew that Hermione would no doubt try and probe her and get all the relevant information, and Nalini wasn’t up to that round about now.

History of Magic was rather interesting. They had moved onto great Wizarding inventions and as Binns talked, it was hard not to think of Fred and George and all their inventions. So hard, in fact, that a few of the students decided to give their own demonstrations of what inventions had recently been created by the twins. It was incredibly funny to see Ernie MacMillan floating up to the rafters, and even Nalini in her stress heightened state couldn’t help but guffaw loudly. Binns, however was not impressed and took twenty points off of all houses. Everyone groaned and settled down after that.

Divination was not nearly as scary as Nalini’s nightmares had been so she actually found herself relaxing. The activity of History of Magic had kept Nalini’s mind off of her nasty nightmares and she found herself returning to her old faintly amused self. Professor Trelawney didn’t even look at Nalini throughout the lesson, and watching Ron and Harry try and predict each others’ futures was extremely funny. They kept misreading the cards and Nalini didn’t feel much like setting them straight.

“You do realise that card actually means the exact opposite of what you’re saying, you noober.” Nalini said through a fit of giggles to Ron.

“Hey, who are you calling a… a noober, you noobess!” Ron retorted, wrinkling his nose in Nalini’s direction and grinning. “If I want to say that Harry’s future brings a calm and relaxing event I can.”

“Alright you two, let’s just get on with it.” Harry interjected, without smiling. His humour from earlier had completely disappeared.

“Fine, Mr. Grump-a-lot.” Nalini sneered. It was the first time since the train that she had been sarcastic towards Harry and the way he stared at her was piercingly confronting. She stared back into his eyes defiantly this time, however, matching his angry glare with one of her own.

“As soon as you two have stopped making googley eyes at each other I’d like to predict the rest of Harry’s future if you don’t mind. I have a feeling there’s a new interest coming his way.” Ron interrupted, poking both Nalini and Harry. They turned their green eyed stares onto Ron and he actually recoiled backwards.

“Yeesh, you know you two are really scary looking like that.” Ron said, his voice rising a little.

“Hearing your tales, you’ve seen a lot worse.” Nalini retorted, sticking her tongue out at the red head. He practically growled. Lavendar hissed loudly at the three and they all got back to reading the Tarot cards.

Lunch seemed incredibly quick and before she knew it Nalini was lining up for Potions with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Snape decided to lecture again before they started on the new Malleability Potion that made anything or anyone exposed to it squishy and receptive to being moulded into any shape the user wanted. By the sounds of it, it wasn’t a particularly nice Potion to accidently spill on oneself.

After Potions Nalini made her way to Muggle Studies. In class she sat down and endured another ten minutes of Martin’s ramblings and rantings about the trouble he had with his essay. When Nalini got her essay back she drew a sharp intake of breath.

“You have got to be kidding me?” She asked angrily, only just remembering that she was supposed to be American. Her face was flushed, and she had stood up, looking the professor square in the eyes. “A ‘D’? A freaking ‘D’?” Nalini forgot all about any worries she may have been feeling over the past day and launched herself into fevered fury. “I spent hours on his essay. Hours of research about a device I used to use every single day and you give me,… give me a stupid, lousy…”

“D means Distinction, Ms. McAuliffe. It is the highest mark you can get. However, your attitude is making me wish I had given you something entirely different. Fifty points from Gryffindor for speaking to a professor so disobediantly and for your quick and ill temper, Detention. You will speak to Professor McGonagall as to when you will serve your detention immediately after class. Now sit back down.”

Nalini went from cowering to scowling. Whilst she was humbled by the fact she had made a terrible mistake, she was angry that she was now to be serving detention. There was nothing she could do or say so she simply sat back down and spent the rest of her lesson with her head down.

Chapter Fifteen – Detentions and Nightmares.


Nalini spoke to Professor McGonagall quietly about her detention. The professor talked to her for a long time before wrapping up. Nalini was to help Filch clean the ceiling of the Charms classroom on Friday evening. Apparently an awful lot of sticky substances managed to find their way up there.

“Leviosa… almost wonder why it exists sometimes.” McGonagall muttered to herself before looking at Nalini with a mixture of disapproval and disappointment, “Detention within only the second week is almost a school record. You’re lucky your friends Potter and Weasley got there before you. They managed to achieve detention first day in their second year! Hermione is the only one out of your group who hasn’t served detention now. I’m almost tempted to recommend you keep more suitable company. If it weren’t for knowing the other side to those three, I would. Alright, get to dinner.”

Nalini found herself smiling despite herself. Professor McGonagall pretended to be a stern tigress but really she was nothing more than a kitten.

“Yes, Professor.” She said, moving to the side. She went to dinner late. Hermione and Ron looked up at her. Harry was not there.

“We were wondering where you had got to!” Ron said, indicating the seat next to him. “Harry’ll be here soon, I expect. He went to find you.”

“Oh did he? He needn’t have bothered. Just talking to Professor McGonagall about my detention.”

“Detention? Oh that’s terrible, Nalini! What did you do?” Hermione exclaimed and accused, her feeling of horror at punishment obvious.

Nalini found herself snickering instead of fuming like she expected. “I, uhmm… behaved rather abominably when I thought I got a low mark for my essay. Turns out it was actually a good mark. Oops!”

“What did you do?” Ron asked, sounding impressed. “Did you do some kind of hex?” Nalini stared Ron intently in the eyes as if to ask him where his brain had gone, “Oh, right.” Ron said then, looking down to his left, his face burning bright red. Harry came up then, without saying a word about Nalini. He simply sat down and started to eat. They ate the rest of the meal fairly quietly.

That night Hermione started to explain to Nalini about certain aspects of the Wizarding world she hadn’t encountered before, including telling Nalini about what had happened to the trio in previous years. Nalini learnt of the Philosopher’s Stone, her eyes wide with Hermione’s descriptions of Professor Quirrel and You-Know-Who. The funny thing was that Nalini didn’t exactly know who You-Know-Who was. Nalini sat rapt with Hermione’s words. She had found herself merely accepting things since coming to Hogwarts, just accepting that things would be different in the Wizarding world. She had to contain her complete surprise at seeing Ghosts walking down corridors and chatting to students. Not to mention moving, intelligent plants like Tali, or staircases that decided to change direction. Keeping up the charade of going to a Wizarding school before meant that Nalini had to bind some of her wonderment and enthusiasm, but as Hermione told her about mythical creatures, dangerous adventures and interesting characters, Nalini found herself growing more excited.

In bed Nalini drifted straight to sleep. She did not have marshmallow filled dreams of light though. The corridor returned to haunt her dreams, blood oozing from the walls once more, glinting in the half-light. She was running again, down the corridor. This time she actually progressed and found herself at the end of the corridor, but instead of finding a t-junction, there was just a dead end. She screamed and started to kick. “This. Cannot. Be. Happening.” She ranted, pushing the wall and beating her fists against cold slimy stone. The walls around her then started to close in on her, the sharp spikes to her left and right came ever closer. She was backed into a small box, the darkness closing in. Nalini was a claustrophobe and was finding it hard to breathe. She bent down in the darkness, closing her eyes and pinching her arm to make herself wake up, to no avail. She stood up again but this time she couldn't see anything, she could just feel and hear it all. The spikes edged closer and closer and suddenly they were there, piercing sharply into her skin. She could feel them digging further and further, hot liquid starting to drip down her arms.

She screamed as she sat bolt upright, covered in perspiration. Hermione, Lavendar and Parvati all awoke and crowded around her.

“Nalini, are, are you alright? Did, did you hear something?” Lavendar asked fretfully. Nalini could only shake her head.

Chapter Sixteen – Suspicions


“Tell us what’s wrong, Nalini, maybe we can help you? What was your dream about?” Ron asked, concern creasing his forehead. Hermione had insisted they tell the boys about Nalini awaking screaming, but Harry was been nowhere to be found. Hermione had gone in search of a glass of water. Ron and Nalini were in the common room sitting in two plush armchairs.

“Nothing’s wrong, Ron. Just had another Frankenstein nightmare that’s all. Been having them occasionally ever since I read the book.”

“Frankenstein?”

“It’s about this doctor who creates a monster by reanimating flesh he found on cadavers. He basically pieces together a man from dead bodies but then revolts at what he’s done and just leaves the creature in his rooms. This creature is hideous, pale green tinged skin and loose socket yellow eyes. The monster disappears and Frankenstein searches after it. Hilarity ensues. Surely you’ve heard of it? There are tonnes of b-grade movies very loosely based on it.”

“Uhmm, nope. But it certainly sounds like something that would give me nightmares.” Ron returned, shuddering slightly.

“Read it. It’s a good book.”

“No, thanks. I’ll be fine. Plus I haven’t finished reading the ‘Tales of Merlin’ yet.”

“Oh, you have the myths of King Arthur too?”

“Myths? It’s a history book.”

Nalini smiled at this and when Hermione came up with the water took it gratefully and had a sip. She got up then, went to get ready and came back as good as new. The two friends looked at her strangely as she proceeded to act like nothing had happened but Nalini didn’t care.

In Herbology Nalini sat in a corner with Tali. Instead of speaking, Nalini sang softly. She didn’t care what she was singing, the simple action soothed her. Half way through “Ne me quitte pas”, which Nalini had learnt in french class, Tali was waving its branches from side to side in forlorn appreciation. She came to the end of the song and launched straight into “Angels” and as she did so she looked up. Harry was gazing at her earnestly. He looked down after a short while of her staring back at him.

“There’s something he knows.” She thought, “He wasn’t there this morning, just turned up a few minutes for class. He’s always off somewhere, doing things. Maybe he’s causing my nightmares? Maybe there’s some kind of spell that can project thoughts into someone’s mind? He doesn’t like me for some reason. That trick is proof of that. He’s dangerous. He doesn’t want to get in trouble but he doesn’t want me here. He’s pretending to be all nice only so no-one will find him out. I can’t trust him. I have to find out what he’s up to.”

Nalini resolved to start researching any kind of spell that could make him manipulate her dreams at lunch. First of all, though, Nalini had to go to Transfiguration. Never a barrel of laughs. She walked off before Hermione, Ron or Harry. Looking into the class from the doorway, Nalini could see piles of foot square white cardboard boxes at the back of the class on the floor. She saw them but when walking in she still managed to catch the corner of one of boxes with her shoe. Her feet didn’t stop moving in time. She lost her balance, swaying perlilously to the left. She toppled, her hands coming out to save herself, as she crashed and crushed a number of the boxes. Laughter followed immediately, a high, cold laugh loudest of all.

“For the love of… Gandalf.” Nalini growled, getting up with a bright red face and rearranged hair. She glared angrily at the students who had laughed, particularly Draco who had a snide smirk on his pale pointed face. “I’m sorry professor. I didn’t mean to. I just, lost my balance.” Nalini muttered embarrassedly.

“That’s fine. We’re learning how to turn cardboard into wood. I’m sure it doesn’t matter if the boxes are slightly… less boxlike.” Professor McGonagall said, her voice slightly stiff from trying not to laugh. Nalini smiled ruefully.

Luckily the fall made McGonagall less inclined to bother Nalini, and Ron transfigured her box successfully. Hermione commended Ron on his fine work after doing hers easily, as did Harry, who was now talking to his two friends normally again. He still spoke in disjointed sentences to Nalini, making sure he didn’t make eye contact. Just the day before he had been perfectly normal. Nalini found herself angrily wondering what his problem was again.

At lunch Nalini excused herself and went straight to the Library. Madam Pince looked at Nalini disgruntledly when she asked for help. Nalini wasn’t stupid enough to ask for what she wanted directly, she knew that she would never get any answers that way. She asked instead for information on interpeting dreams, hoping this would lead her close to a place in the library where information on dream manipulation might be. She searched the whole lunchtime but didn’t find much in way of what she wanted. She did, however, find several places where explanations for the contents of her dreams might be, but she skipped over them. She had given up the idea that she might just be subconsciously communicating her fears.

“Are you going to entertain us with your brilliant skills on unco-ordination in here too, Gryffindor?” Draco’s voice rang out as Nalini came down to the potions classroom.

“Well you’re certainly not going to entertain us with your few skills of potion making, so I suppose I may have to.” Nalini replied with an equally snide smirk gracing her usually sweet face.

Potions was a blast, although Snape for some reason was on a bit of a rampage. He practically yelled Parvati Patil’s ears off when she added too much arrowroot. Ron whispered that he was surprised Snape hadn’t started cursing them all by now. The Malleability Potion, however, was the coolest and most fun substance they had created so far. It had been difficult, but the rewards were in abundence. They squished their blocks of wood into all sorts of shapes and sizes.

“Easier than sculpting and whittling, eh? Could make a lot of money this way.” Nalini grinned at Hermione.

Hermione shook her head. “Weren’t you listening? It’s only temporary.”

“Yeah… I know.” Nalini replied with an evil grin. “Sell ‘em as quick as you can and move to another town!” Hermione grinned back despite looking like she would ordinarily had frowned or tutted.

After having something to eat, Nalini went off to the library again to continue her search. She had barely looked at or spoken to Harry the whole lesson. She resolved never to be off guard around him again. She wanted to convey her suspicions to Ron and Hermione too, who she was sure weren’t working with Harry, but she couldn’t quite tell them their friend had become unhinged.

She searched and searched, walking down aisle after aisle. She still didn’t find what she was looking for. She went up to her dormitory with a heavy heart. Everyone else was asleep.

She crawled into bed and squeezed her eyes shut, something she used to do as a kid. She pulled the covers over her head so the nightmares couldn’t get in.

She was in the room this time. The great cavernous room with stone snake’s heads and a massive face that took up one whole side. The pathway was dimly lit, the stone pavers gleaming. She stayed where she was, not moving or saying a thing.

The cold, high voice echoed around the room. “He’s manipulating you. I’m trying to help. I helped before, blocked him from continuing your nightmare. You want to know the truth. I can tell you all you want to know.”

She awoke with a start, not screaming, just streaming with perspiration and in desperate need of something to calm herself down. It was early morning again, even though it had only seemed like a minute before that Nalini had got to sleep. She couldn’t exactly remember what was in her dream. What had happened. All she knew was that she had to get to the bottom of what was affecting her. And soon.

Chapter Seventeen – Manipulation


That day was spent mostly in the Library and classes. In the morning Nalini told Hermione and Ron that she had a great big essay due in Muggle Studies. Harry was once again nowhere to be found outside of class, but in class he was quiet, occasionally staring at Nalini and then looking away abruptly.

“I think he’s got a girlfriend” Hermione quietly confided, her eyes sparkling. Nalini took this information to heart for a second, as it meant he wouldn’t be deliberately playing around with her head, but then quickly dismissed it. For some reason it didn’t seem very likely.

“That Muggle Studies professor really doesn’t like you, Nalini.” Ron commiserated at Dinner, stating the obvious. “Still… once it’s finished you can spend more time relaxing. We were thinking of going down and seeing Hagrid after this. Usually we’d have spent more time with him by now. We’re also going tomorrow morning, you can come if you want?” Nalini nodded, but had no intention of visiting Hagrid.

In the Library Nalini had found at last one book that looked interesting. It was an account of strange and horrible things Wizards and Witches had done under the influence of Magic.

“Imperio” Nalini muttered to herself. “He’s not using that. But if they can actually get people to do things against their will, they can definitely get into someone’s dreams, can’t they?”

Still searching Nalini found what she was looking for. She read the passage quietly to herself. “Fantasma Peratai is a spell that can be used to mediate or moderate a person’s dreams. Spellcasters can project a thought or whole dream into the intended recipient’s mind. Only Wizards and Witches of the highest order can perform this spell as it takes an extraordinary amount of concentration and skill. Telepathic powers are also requisite in creating a strong and effective fantasy. This spell has been used in the past to aid sufferers of deep trauma, but it can also be used to inflict trauma.”

Nalini wrote everything down and grinned triumphantly. She had finally found what she wanted. Looking at the clock in the Library, though, Nalini saw with horror that it was very late. The common room was deserted and Nalini went up to her Dormitory with a heavy heart. There was no point in looking for Harry now.

She had the corridor dream again, except this time it was worse. She felt the spikes digging into her, slowly, for a longer amount of time, her blood trickling down her arms and legs. She screamed and screamed, but no-one came to help. They plunged deeper and deeper.

She woke up in a state of utter panic. She got out of bed, got changed and ran down into the common room as fast as she could. It was morning now, later than usual, the sun beating in through the windows and several students were in the common room.

Nalini had two thoughts in her mind. Go up to the boys dorm, drag Harry out of bed and force him into explaining if he was doing this to her, or go and talk to someone else about what was going on. Nalini wanted to speak to Harry, wanted to question and quiz him to see if he was doing this. But she had a doubt now as to whether it was really Harry. The book had said it required a strong wizard, and was Harry really strong enough? She had conflicting views on the matter. Perhaps Harry was acting strangely for a different reason? Would he really do something that terrible? Those nightmares were… horrible. Nalini resolved to talk to someone else before confronting Harry. She had two professors in mind, but she didn’t know who could possibly give the information she needed without asking lengthy questions. She now knew what whoever this was could be was affecting her with, she now just needed to know how to stop it. She resolved finally upon Professor Trelawney. The divination professor would have to know more about the spell and why someone would perform it, surely? She started to make her way to the north tower. In the north tower, Nalini found Professor Trelawney sitting and meditating. She sat opposite Trelawney and lightly tapped the woman’s shoulder. The professor awoke from her reverie with a scared start.

“Nalini! What are you doing here?” Her voice had somehow lost its mistyness.

“I needed to talk to you, Professor. When I first came here, you said that… you said that I’m not as I seem. That I’ll be discovered.” Nalini started nervously.

“As I did.” Trelawney’s voice was once more airy.

“What exactly did you mean?”

“I cannot give you simple answers, my dear, it is for you to understand what I say. My inner eye merely shows me what happens, it is up to me to choose what it means, the same applies here.”

Nalini frowned. “Well, uhmm. Maybe you can help me with this? I’ve been having… nightmares. Recurring nightmares. At first I’m in a corridor that never ends, and I can’t get out. Then I’m in this large room, and this voice… it speaks to me. Well, then I had the corridor nightmare again but this time the walls started to close in on me and I think someone may be performing this spell on me, its…”

Trelawney cut Nalini off. “Ahhh… this nightmare. Yes. I have seen this so many times in people of your nature. Your dream was just a projection of your fear of being in this different world.”

“Different world?” Nalini interjected.

“England as opposed to America… it’s a big difference isn’t it?” Trelawney continued. “Your subconcious is telling you that you’re more scared and alone than you had previously led herself to believe.”

After she finished, Nalini considered her answer carefully. Too many horror movies and letting Draco work upon her suspicions had made Nalini temporarily insane? And the voice? The haunting mesmerising voice? Was just a figment of her imagination? As were the corridor and the room? All just manifestations of her terror? She had considered this before. She had decided it was a load of rubbish. She was certain that the spell was responsible, but looking into Sibyll Trelawney’s eyes she knew she wouldn’t get any help here.

Chapter Eighteen – The Forest

“Thankyou, professor. You really helped.” Nalini said, standing up somewhat awkwardly and not meaning a word she said. She climbed back down the ladder and made her way to the common room. Nalini was going to talk to Harry. She wouldn’t make it sound like she was accusing him, because she now felt it unlikely he was doing anything, she would just ask him if he had heard of this before. Or perhaps she would ask Hermione? But still, there had to be a reason Harry was so strange. Maybe he did have a girlfriend. But then, why did he avoid her at all costs? Maybe she was just convincing herself it was her he was avoiding. Or perhaps he still felt stupid about the wand debacle and had never been able to look her in the eye because of it. As she was walking she ruminated on what to do when a voice came from behind her. It sounded like it was coming through fog. It was the same voice she had heard in her dream.

“I can tell you anything you want to know.” Nalini convulsed in horror. She span around and tried to discern where the voice was coming from. She couldn’t see anything. The voice was so cold, so icy, so full of purpose. It could tell her anything she wanted to know. She was terrified, but in an odd way relieved. She wasn’t mad. She remembered the second part of her nightmare from the other night, now. Whilst she was in that strange room the voice had said something about her corridor nightmare. That it was separate from the room one. The voice, it had said in her dream that someone was manipulating her. Him. Who was this him? She wanted to find out who was speaking, wanted to find out who was manipulating her dreams, why it was happening to her.

“So tell me… where should I go?” Nalini asked to the thin air, her voice shaking as much as her body.

“Good girl.” The voice said. Nalini winced. “The information you seek is in the Forbidden forest.” The voice had changed position.

Nalini span around once more, she started walking forward, her hands outstretched. Just then Professor Snape rounded the corner.

“What, exactly, are you doing, Miss McAuliffe?” He asked, his black eyes boring into Nalini.

“Dancing.” She said quickly.

“Dancing?” Snape’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Yep. Dancing. La la la.” Nalini sang, spinning around on the spot, and doing a series of strange interpretive dance moves. Snape looked incredibly confused. He didn’t say a word but merely brushed by Nalini as he quickly walked away around the corner. She felt nauseous but she couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Snape’s disgust. She laughed raucously at the absurdity of the situation. Here she was with her life on the line, strange things going on, hearing voices and being told to go into some deep scary forest, and dancing stupidly so that a professor wouldn’t find out she was going slightly mad. She laughed so hard she started to cry, all her emotions taking over. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she collapsed onto her knees in the middle of the corridor. She took three minutes to recover, luckily no-one came.

Standing up finally, taking a deep breath, Nalini found the nearest exit to the outside world. If going to the forest meant she would get answers, than go to the forest she would. She had severe misgivings at first, it was called the Forbidden forest after all, but Nalini pushed them aside with all her other misgivings and set off. There was no time like the present, after all.

Moving across the grass, Nalini felt the nauseous feeling in her stomach rising, and hoped she wouldn’t be violently ill on the green blades before she made her way to the ominous looking wood. It took her twenty minutes to get to the edge of the forest, and all the while she made her way, Nalini looked back towards Hogwarts to make sure no-one was watching her. Other students would be in classes now, though, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Ron or Hermione, or maybe even Harry, were looking for her. Or perhaps they thought she had left for Muggle Studies early and didn’t worry about where she was?

As she approached the first tree she shook her head. It was ludicrous for her to go in there, she had no idea where she was going, nothing to defend herself with. Her curiosity spurred her on as she went into the forest. She didn’t know where she was heading, all she knew was she had to find out why she was there. The words “you’re no different” reverberated in her mind. But it was ridiculous, of course she was different from Draco and those other Slytherins, she wasn’t even a Witch!

The branches overhead creaked forebodingly. Nalini could hear creatures crawling and scrabbling around on every side. It became increasingly dark as she walked on blindly, and the noise of the forest was all encompassing. It was not so dark that she couldn’t see where she was going but not so light that she could feel comfortable in her surroundings. Minutes passed and she walked on, attempting to steady her breathing. Certain noises were beginning to really make her feel sick. To her left there was some kind of snarling creature. It was hopefully a long way away but the sound of it devouring its prey was enough to make Nalini head off more to her right. She continued on her journey, her mind running through everything she had gone through in the past two weeks, a traitorous little voice in her head uttering that now it could all be over. A giant spider dropping down in front of Nalini was the last straw. She retched and heaved as the vomit that had been suggesting it would be coming for a long time now finally found its way out. She bent over with her hand against a large tree trunk whilst her other clasped her hair off of her face. She spat disgustedly and made her way on. She felt better now, at least.

Suddenly there was a quick flash of light ahead of her and the voice sounded out. It seemed a lot nearer than it had done when she was in the school. “So you made it.”

Chapter Nineteen –Comic and Cryptic Conversations


“So, what can you tell me?” Nalini called into the darkness ahead. The moment of truth had come. She was both scared and curious.

“What do you want to know?” The voice asked ambiguously. It held a note of deep curiosity itself.

“I want to know what you want with me.” Nalini replied angrily. She could have gone on but decided she might get more answers if she refrained from insulting whomever it was she was chatting with.

“Ahh, yes. What do I want with you? The typical question I suppose. What makes you think I want anything with you?”

“You brought me here, didn’t you.”

“Actually I didn’t. You chose to come here, Nalini. You came here of your own volition. As for what I want with you… I don’t want anything except to help you.”

Whoever she was talking to must have been able to see Nalini because the look of disbelief she gave was met with an icy chuckle.

“You don’t believe me.” The voice stated rather than questioned.

“Would you believe a disembodied voice that contacted you through your nightmares?” Nalini asked.

“No. I suppose I would not. You are very intelligent, Nalini. You have hit the bull in the eye, so to speak. Tell me. What do you really want to know?” The voice sounded like it was hovering near Nalini’s ear. She couldn’t feel any bodily presence, she could just hear the high voice louder and clearer. A chill ran through her body. She did not like this at all.

“Why here? Why not just tell me what I want to know at the school?”

“I can’t keep a connection up for long, you understand, that takes great time and effort. No it was easier that you come and speak to me here. It is easier here. Plus, we are ensured absolute privacy, the only thing here that could interrupt us is some… growling beast.” Nalini shivered and looked around wildly at that, she spoke again after a short pause.

“The nightmares. What do they mean?” Nalini asked, her voice holding in her throat slightly.

“Scare tactics.” Was the reply.

Nalini shook her head. “But why?”

“You’re very powerful, Nalini. It is best to have you scared.”

“Powerful? I’m not powerful. I’m just… just a new student here. From America. I’m no more powerful than any of the other students.”

The voice laughed once again mirthlessly, cold and hollow, echoing and reverberating through the patch of forest Nalini was standing in.

“You may be a good actress, Miss McAuliffe, but I do not believe that. After all, where’s your American accent?” The voice was right, Nalini had neglected to adopt a californian accent.

“How do you know so much about me?” Nalini stammered next, grasping anything she could.

“I know a lot of things. I know, for instance, that you are not an American student. That you were not enrolled in Hogwarts at all. I know that the moment you ask what you really want to know, you will regret it. I know that right now you are very confused, scared and lonely. I know that you would rather be at home curled up with a good book and cup of cocoa.”

“Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.” Nalini muttered angrily. “Who are you?”

“Me? I am no-one important. You believe I am trying to hurt you, you perceive me as a foe. I am quite the opposite. I am trying to assist you against the real foe.”

“So who is this real foe, then, hey? What is it you’re trying to protect me against? If you won’t tell me who you really are, you could at least tell me that!” Nalini shouted, growing more and more impatient. She had not come to this dark and foreboding place to be joked around.

“I think that deep down you already know who your real foe is.”

“Yeah, myself” Nalini grumbled inwardly. “For being so stupid as to trust menacing voices in the dark.”

She was furious. She was getting nowhere. By now it could be lunch time, but Nalini had no real idea. It was too dark to see a watch, even if she had brought the one that was now sitting by her bed. Nalini turned around and ran. The voice did not follow after her. Nalini was glad, it was not being helpful. No, the best thing would be to tell Ron, Hermione and Harry all about what had been going on the past few days. They, at least, might be able to help her answer the questions in a constructive way.

She ran quickly, wanting to get out of the forest as fast as she could. She stumbled over a tree root and crashed into a tree. She could feel the blood trickling down her face from a gash in her forehead. It stang and Nalini clasped her hand to her forehead miserably, walking now. The darkness of the forest seemed to envelope her, the noises of creatures great and small around her rustling and scratching and calling to each other started to make Nalini feel very out of place. She started to hum quietly to herself as she walked on and after about an hour Nalini began to feel very sick. She started to wish she hadn’t fled the way she had, started to wish she had continued asking questions and had asked how she could get back to Hogwarts. She started to sing, then, her voice resonating amongst the trees. She did not appear to be getting to the edge of the forest. If anything she seemed deeper in.

Chapter Twenty – Deeper and Deeper.

Now, in the deep dark forest, Nalini was starting to feel assured of a deep dark death. She started to muse about what she would prefer, being wrapped up in silk and eaten by that spider she had encountered and several of his pals, or by the creature that had been making those terrible snarling noises. Or perhaps the critter that was making that shrill cooing sound to her right that sounded harmless until it was accompanied by a squeal and a bone crunching squelch. Nalini was beyond scared, she was petrified. Her legs were stiff and unforgiving and her forehead was itching and stinging at the same time.

She stumbled on through the trees in the dimness, constantly looking around her periphery to check if she was nearing the main grounds of Hogwarts soon. Her heart was beating loudly in the chest and she could feel the blood coursing through her veins, a dull roar. Hours went by in this way. She had spent some of the time running, some time walking, often finding herself collapsing against a tree. Nalini sat down eventually, leaning her back against the cool grey bark of a large tree. The roots beneath her made a cosy resting place. Nalini was resigning herself to her fate. She was horribly lost and she had no way of going back to Hogwarts. She had no way of going back home. She mumbled to herself inbetween singing every song she had ever heard.

“I’m sorry, voicey dude, whoever you are, were or might be. I shouldn’t have been so rude to you, I know. I really am sorry, come back. You wanted to help me, didn’t you? Come and help me out of this place, then. You’re really nasty by the way, leading a girl astray like this. You could, at least, have given me a map.” After another hour she was saying her last goodbyes. “Well, I’m sorry we couldn’t become better friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione. It was nice knowing you. And at least I got to experience a different reality, even if it was for only two weeks. Wow. Only two weeks. It seems more like two months. No regrets. Except maybe that I didn’t talk to you more, Harry. I guess I’ll never know what your problem is. It’s funny, all those times I wished you’d stop staring at me and now I would give anything to see your bright green eyes once more. Hermione, you were great… thanks so much for telling me about everything. You were really useful. Ron… you’re a great laugh and I hope you and your brothers and sister lead really happy lives. You take care of Hermione. Mum and Dad, I’m sorry you’ll never know what happened to me. Don’t mourn for long, I’ll miss you too, wherever I end up. Hey, maybe I’ll turn into a ghost and be able to visit you. Yeah, I’d give you a bit of a fright at first but…”

Suddenly there was a giant crunch behind her and she turned around, her hair flying wildly behind her. She stood up next, clutching onto the tree and peering into the dark.

“Hello?” Nalini whimpered.

“Hullo?” A deep voice returned. Nalini jumped in shock. The voice continued as a massive silhouette came into view from behind a large oak tree. “Who’s that then?”

Nalini didn’t know whether to run or stay where she was, but her legs decided for her. They had frozen to the spot and would not move no matter how hard she tried. The incredibly tall and bulky figure came forwards into the dim light and Nalini glimpsed a dark bushy beard.

“Nalini! What yeh doing, girl? This forest is forbidden, that’s why it’s called the Forbidden Forest. Are yeh completely mad?” Hagrid’s giant voice rang out through the forest. Nalini felt so relieved she literally jumped into Hagrid’s arms, a difficult feat considering his height in relation to hers.

“Hagrid. I’m so glad to see you.” Nalini said inbetween tears. “I got lost!”

“Lost. My word. What were yeh doing in ‘ere? Young ’Arry asked me if I’d seen yeh earlier, ’e was worried somethin’ might be up, an’ ’e was right, weren’t ’e? I’d never ’ave thought it. What on earth made you come in ’ere?”

“I don’t know. I was stupid. I was curious.” Nalini said. Even still she couldn’t bring herself to admit to hearing voices. “Do… do you know the way back to Hogwarts?”

“Course I do. Yeh follow me, yeh’ll be fine!”

“Thanks Hagrid. You’re a life saver!”

She held on tight to Hagrid’s hand. He led her through the trees. Several times it seemed like he was going to ask her something, but thought better of it and just continued the journey explaining that he had searched the grounds for Nalini at behest of the trio, but had to come and feed the Unicorns. Nalini listened with interest. She hadn’t seen any Unicorns. She had only seen that Spider, a thought that made her feel better, actually. At least she hadn’t seen anything truly hideous. No, she’d only heard it.

They had been walking for only forty-five minutes before, to Nalini’s horror, they came out into the open air.

“I was this close all the time.” Nalini said with dismay. “I can’t believe it.”

“Well that forest is just one giant maze. That’s why it’s forbidden. As well as some other reasons you don’t need to know about.” Hagrid replied looking down at the girl. “Nalini, if yeh don’t mind me askin’ – where’s your American accent gone?”

Nalini stopped in her tracks in horror. Her mind stopped working temporarily. “You mean… I’ve sounded English this whole time? Wow! Hanging around with Harry, Ron and Hermione all the time must have rubbed off on me more than I thought!” It was a lame excuse, but Hagrid seemed to accept it because he nodded his head and smiled benevolently.

“Now, we better look for ‘em. They’ll be relieved ter see yeh’re all in one piece.” They walked towards the castle, and as they neared Nalini found herself looking carefully to see if anyone was looking out of the windows. Suddenly running out from behind the corner, Ron yelled “Nalini! Thank God you’re alright. Harry, Hermione. She’s here! Hagrid’s found her!”

Hermione and Harry rounded the corner as well, they seemed out of breath but terribly relieved. Before she knew what was happening Hermione had her in a tight embrace. “Nalini, we were so worried. Where were you?”

“Well, now she’s safe. I think I’ll be off.” Hagrid interjected, giving a farewell salute and making his way across the grass again.

“Thanks Hagrid!” Ron said. “Nalini… where did you go?”

“I think I need somewhere to rest and something to eat and drink before I can fully explain, Ron. Hermione. Harry.” Nalini replied. Over Hermione’s shoulder Nalini looked into Harry’s staring bright green eyes. His gaze was reserved, all emotion clouded, but Nalini didn’t care. She was just grateful to be able to see him, Ron and Hermione again.

Chapter Twenty-One – Explanations

The three didn’t press Nalini as they made their way to the common room. Instead, Ron got Fred and George to bring up some food from the kitchens, Hermione secured a large portion of the common room just for them, and Harry stayed standing by Nalini. It was early evening. Nalini hadn’t even noticed how late it was until they were inside and all the candles were lit. She had been so relieved to be back within the Hogwarts school she hadn’t even considered the time. She had been in that forest all day, no wonder she had panicked so. Harry didn’t question, or even say anything, and Nalini was glad. She couldn’t face explaining just what she was right now. She felt incredibly stupid.

After a time, Hermione had secured a spot by the fire, and Nalini gratefully sat in one of the plush armchairs. It was a lot more comfortable than the tree had been. Fred and George came back from the kitchens with sandwiches, some small pies, cherry cupcakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and some bottled drink Nalini had not encountered before. Ron asked the twins to leave and knowing that Nalini had been missing all day they willingly agreed. George put his hand on Nalini’s shoulder reassuringly and Fred gave her a friendly smile. The four of them sat and ate in silence until Nalini ventured to ask if they had not eaten all day.

“Well, we had lunch.” Hermione said, deciding to answer for the three. “We didn’t actually know you were gone until then, Nalini. We knew you had double Muggle Studies, you know. It was only until I spoke with Martin Randall during lunch that I realised you hadn’t been in class either. ”

Nalini nodded her head. “Yes, I understand.”

“We took the afternoon lessons off. The professors were all worried about you as well, Nalini. They got Hagrid to search with us. He knows these grounds better than anyone else. The teachers would have searched themselves, but they had classes to teach. If we didn’t find you before nightfall they were going to try and do a locator spell, with everyone, students and everything searching. That would have been an amazing sight. I hope Hagrid has actually told them you’re back.” Ron said, biting into a cherry cupcake with vigour. Nalini started to feel decidedly guilty. She could feel her appetite waning as she imagined the fuss she could have caused. It made her feel sure they would have found her eventually, though. She had not needed to rant on for hours, after all.

Harry, who had not been eating much, leant over and put his hand up to Nalini’s forehead. Her eyes widened as he brushed a strand of her hair away. His fingers were smooth and soft as they gently brushed against her skin.

“That’s a nasty cut. You’ll need that seen to. I’m sure it will heal within minutes of Madam Pomfrey’s care and attention. Do you feel up to telling us how you got it yet?” His voice was so kindly and tender Nalini could hardly contain her surprise. She opened her mouth slightly and just gazed into his eyes. The two sandwiches she had just eaten appeared to be stuck in her throat and she was finding it difficult to think straight.

“Uhmm. Uhhhh.” She began, unable to think of anything more to say.

“That’s okay. In your own time.” Harry said, looking down and sitting back again.

Hermione seemed not to have noticed Nalini’s hesitation and Harry’s acceptance of it because she continued speaking on the matter. “We were even more distraught than before that Dumbledore was on Holiday because he took the Marauder’s Map with him last year and we could have used it to find out exactly where you were when we first noticed you missing. It would have saved a lot of time from just running about the school in a flurry.” Hermione didn’t seem angry, just practical, but Nalini still felt a deeper twinge of guilt.

“Marauder’s Map?” Nalini questioned, trying to keep her mind off of her escalating shame. It wasn’t the kind of term one hears everyday.

“A very useful tool that Harry’s dad with some of his friends made when he was younger. Shows where everyone is in the Hogwarts school grounds. There are these little dots with everyone’s names beneath them pinpointing people’s exact positions. Very cool.” Ron replied for Hermione. He noticed Nalini’s distracted nature. “Here… you look like you need a bit of this.” And with that he reached over and handed Nalini a bottle.

She gently lifted the bottle to her lips and took a swig. The liquid was like sweet ambrosia. Frothy and foamy, it tasted like butter caramel popcorn with a zing. It warmed her up inside and made her feel ten times better.

“This is really nice. What is it?”

“Butterbeer.”

“Is… is it… alcoholic?” Nalini asked, trying not to sound like an immature child, but slightly concerned as to what she was consuming.

“Only for House-Elves” Harry said with a very rare but very handsome smile. Nalini found herself smiling back but after a second couldn’t stand it anymore.

“I was… I was in the Forbidden Forest.” She blurted out, her voice louder than necessary. Ron gasped, his mouth opening in horror.

“The forest? But Nalini…” He seemed to find it hard to speak. “There are… great big… spiders in there. And their very scary cousins… acromantulas. If you think Spiders are bad. We almost got eaten by them.” He shuddered convulsively and had paled considerably.

“Well you wouldn’t have shown up on the map after all.” Hermione said. “Only a small amount of the forest appears on it.” Nalini simply took this in but found herself caring more about what Harry had to say upon the matter.

“Why did you go in there, Nalini?” Harry asked quietly.

Chapter Twenty-Two – New Determination.

“You might think I’m insane.” Nalini replied, looking into the empty fireplace, towards the carpet, anywhere but Harry, Hermione and Ron’s faces.

“I don’t know about the others, but I already think you’re insane.” Harry returned drily. “Just try us.”

Nalini took a deep breath. She didn’t know how to start, didn’t know the right words. “I’m really tired. I… I think I’ll just go up to bed, if you don’t mind.”

Harry’s care and consideration quickly changed into consternation. “Nalini…” He began forcefully, something like barely suppressed rage in his voice. He broke off and turned towards his two best friends. Hermione and Ron both looked at Nalini and then him confused. Ron even shook his head slightly.

Harry turned back towards Nalini. “Perhaps it is best if you go to bed. We can all talk about this in the morning.” He seemed to be doing his best to control himself. He stood up. Nalini looked up at him with slight awe. What a change of behaviour! Now he was cold and reserved once more. His eyes no longer held any warmth. If anything he looked like he was itching to be as far away from Nalini as possible. She sadly remembered the feel of his fingers on her forehead. It didn’t look like he would ever go near her again.

“Come on Nalini… as Harry said, let’s get to bed.” Hermione said, giving Harry a very pointed look as she put her hand on Nalini’s shoulderblades and escorted her towards the stairs.

Up in the dormitory the three other girls were asleep. After having sat on her bed Nalini broke down crying. “Oh Hermione…” She said, her voice low and shaking tremulously. “I thought I was going to die.”

“There, there.” Hermione returned with her arm around Nalini. Hermione looked like she didn’t quite know what she was doing. “You just cry as much as you want. It’ll help.”

Nalini sniffled, tears rolling down her cheeks and nodded her head lamely.

“I think I’m better now.” She whispered eventually. Hermione looked doubtful.

“Goodnight then, and sweet dreams. See you in the morning.” Hermione said.

For some reason Nalini didn’t have any nightmares that night. No haunting visions, no mysterious voice. Nothing. She awoke feeling positively happy until she remembered it was Friday and she had detention that evening. Climbing out of bed she noticed no-one else was in the dormitory. She had been so used to waking up early this surprised her. She got changed hurriedly and went down into the common room. The room was empty save for two people and the two were having such a heated conversation neither of them noticed the teenage girl.

“I’ve been telling you ever since the train, we should try and send him an owl.”

“Look… what if it gets intercepted?”

“We should send Sirius an owl then, he’d know what to do!”

“The same thing applies, Hermione. What if Snape or someone from the ministry manages to see it before Sirius?”

“Oh for goodness sake, it’s never happened before, has it? Not even the ministry was able to track Sirius. This is getting too much for her. She doesn’t fit in here, Ron. The best thing to do would be to find someone who can help us. Dumbledore can’t be too far away… he must be able to at least give us advice even if he doesn’t come straight back.”

“Oh yeah, Hermione? And what if that advice is ‘go to Snape’ eh? Then we’re done for.”

“All you ever think about is yourself, Ron. What about Nalini? She was terrified. She thought she was going to die! It would be safer for Nalini to go back to her own Wizard-free life and not go gallivanting about in Forbidden Forests.”

“Have you even thought about asking me what I think?” Nalini asked, her eyes widening in angry disbelief. “I’m not some defenseless, weak child, you know. I made a terrible mistake yesterday. That is all. I started exploring the grounds because I was curious. And believe it or not, I am still curious. I’d like to see what Hogwarts has to offer, Hermione. This is a whole new world for me. When else will I ever be able to do anything remotely like this? I am sure Dumbledore will be back soon. There is no use risking everything.” Nalini’s adventure from the previous day had terrified her, had confused and hurt her, but she was not going to let it go. She was going to find out exactly who was messing with her, if it was the last thing she would do and she couldn’t risk Dumbledore coming back and sending her packing before she got to the bottom of the mystery.

“Thankyou! A voice of reason!” Ron exclaimed. His smile was wide, it grew even wider at Hermione’s frown. He seemed to delight in proving his female friend wrong.

Hermione was about to say something else, but Nalini held up her hand. “I know you only want what’s best for me, Hermione. And in many ways you are right. But… I feel like… I feel like I have to stay here, for the time being at least. Let’s strike a deal. If Dumbledore isn’t back within three more weeks, we’ll send him, this Sirius fellow and anyone else you think might be able to help, ten owls, at least. What do you say?”

“Oh, alright. Whatever you say. I suppose you have a point.” Hermione acquiesced.

“Good. I’m glad you agree. Do either of you happen to know where our companion Harry is this morning?” Nalini asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Disappeared again.” Ron replied, forlornly. “He’s never around anymore. I tried to have a chat with him last night about our chances in Quidditch and he practically barked my head off. He’s always going places before and after classes without saying where as well.”

“How long till lesson starts?” Nalini asked rather insensitively. She had forgotten her watch by her bed again but also she didn’t want to hear Ron whining about the loss of his best friend.

“Half an hour. But we have to have breakfast.” Ron answered. As he did so his stomach gave an almighty rumble.

“You two go on without me.” Nalini dictated shortly.

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked, doubt about Nalini’s responsibility still obvious in her voice.

“Yes… I’ll be fine. This time I’ll stay within the school. I’ll go find Harry and have a chat with him and we’ll talk about everything during Herbology and Lunch time.” Nalini ordered, throwing a hand towards the door impatiently and practically forcing them to leave the room.

Chapter Twenty-Three – Morning Meanderings.

The others left and Nalini ran up and got her watch before setting off. She was going straight for the Library. As she came around the corner to the final corridor she stopped. Draco was there with his henchmen, smirking presumably at something he had himself said as the two lumbering oafs had looks of miscomprehension on their faces.

Draco! Suddenly something that had never even occurred to Nalini came to her with full force. She had been so preoccupied with Harry she had never even considered the blonde haired boy standing in front of her as a suspect and yet he was far more likely to do something this cruel than his slightly strange but probably harmless dark haired rival. After all, Harry had seemed genuinely concerned last night. Concerned and confused. He had no idea why she had gone into the forest. He wasn’t doing anything, surely? Also… the rivalry. Draco had tried to get Nalini on his side. Of course!

How could Nalini not have thought that the voice was also the one giving her nightmares? She had been thinking that when she thought she was going to die in the forest, but why hadn’t she thought of that before? How could she not have thought of the slick-haired Slytherin? She mentally kicked herself. Harry had certainly acted strangely. Had displayed some forms of ill will. Harry had never threatened her though, but Draco had. The voice which spoke to her was cold and high like Draco’s, only even more so and somehow older. Why hadn’t the thought immediately leapt to her? The voice had even mentioned Draco, had reiterated what he said. Then again, if it was this obvious surely that meant it was too obvious and she would find out? But no, she hadn’t had she? The voice had admitted it was scare tactics that gave her those nightmares, with lack of sleep she obviously wasn’t thinking straight, why would she immediately suspect Draco in his view? He must be very proud of himself.

“But does he have the power? That’s why I originally discounted Harry, after all.” Nalini asked herself, still peering around the corner. Draco, Goyle and Crabbe had now gone into the Library, however. “I’m sure with his money, Draco could pay someone else to give me nightmares and project his voice even if he couldn’t do it alone. Yes, he has the power in many ways. How happy will he be that I am perfectly sane and fine? Of course, he may not be behind this all. He may not. And there’s only one way to find out.” Nalini smirked as she formulated her plan. It did not involve visiting the forest.

After making sure of the time Nalini decided she was hungry after all. Giving up on looking for Harry, Nalini went to the Great Hall. He was sitting there anyway, alongside Hermione and Ron. He looked as tired as Nalini had felt the past week. She, on the other hand, felt invigorated. She had been given a fresh outlook, something to pursue.

“Was just looking for you!” Nalini said chirpily sitting down next to Harry.

“Ron and Hermione told me. I went for a walk. Sorry you wasted your time.” Harry replied simply, keeping his eyes on his breakfast of chipolatas, fried eggs and tomato.

“That’s fine. Hermione, pass that plate will you?”

“What’s changed your mood?” Hermione asked as she handed the plate of chipolatas over. Nalini took one with her fork and started chewing on the end thoughtfully.

“The short walk did me good, I suppose.” She replied after mock consideration.

“Seems to me there’s been too much walking and not enough meal eating around here lately.” Ron said, eating a large slice of bread. Even Harry had to smile at that.

For some reason Nalini’s eyes strayed to the top table and she could see all of the Professors either talking to each other, still eating, or looking down at the students. Was it just her imagination or had Professor Snape just been staring at her? He was now talking seriously with Professor Sinistra, however, so Nalini assumed she was imagining things.

“Even if I’m not, he has a reason to be concerned, doesn’t he? First of all he catches me dancing in the hallway and then I disappear for quite a few hours. Enough to make someone curious.” With that thought Professor McGonagall’s voice came from behind Nalini.

“I trust, despite your little adventure that Hagrid explained to us yesterday you are still alright for your Detention this evening, Miss McAuliffe?” She asked, looking down at Nalini from behind her glasses.

“Yes, Professor McGonagall. I want to apologise for causing so much fuss I…”

“It was with serious consideration that the faculty decided to let this pass, Miss McAuliffe. But if you keep finding yourself in sticky situations I simply don’t know what we will do. Never mind with apologies, however, Miss McAuliffe. Surprisingly enough you are not the first student to go meandering around the school. I believe a thankyou present would be in order for Hagrid and your friends here though, they spent precious study hours looking for you yesterday.” The stern teacher intercepted.

“Yes Professor.” Nalini said humbly. The guilt from the night before came back to swamp her. McGonagall smiled at her concerned look though.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you will be a top student from now on. You’re not in Gryffindor for no reason.” McGongall said and walked off to reprimand a Hufflepuff. Nalini turned back towards the others.

“So… thankyou presents. What do you guys want? How about some hand-made wooden sculptures?” She asked playfully. Ron chucked a slice of bread towards her, but she dodged it and stuck her tongue out.

Chapter Twenty-Four – Shades of Green

Within minutes Nalini, Ron, Harry and Hermione were trudging over to Herbology.

“Right, today we are going to feed, water and continue chatting with our plants. All of you find your own spot, either here or outside. Before long you will all find something surprising happening.” Professor Sprout said, bustling about. Not all of the students were in class yet, but she seemed highly distracted.

“Harry…” Nalini said turning to her left. She wanted to talk to him about the Forbidden Forest. She wasn’t going to tell him why she really went in there, just offer a similar explanation to that she gave to Hermione and Ron earlier, however Harry was already on the other side of the Greenhouse picking up his potplant and setting himself in a corner.

“Fine. You can wait, Mr. Potter.” Nalini thought, crinkling up her nose. She turned to talk to Hermione and Ron then, but they were chatting with each other about something. It was then that she saw Draco come through the front door. He was alone. Crabbe and Goyle had both been forced to do only written work for the Mimosa after both having been knocked out at least twice.

“If it isn’t Potty Potter and his Pet Potplant.” Draco’s voice rang out as he walked over to Harry. “You and your new love doing alright, Potter?” He had a threatening stance but Harry didn’t even look at him.

Nalini giggled loudly. Her laughter had a musical quality. Draco turned around in surprise. She smiled at him then, letting the smile linger on her lips as she walked over towards Tali. Harry had looked up sharply at her laugh and was now frowning. In the corner of her eye Nalini could see Hermione frowning disapprovingly as well.

She stroked Tali gently, the plant responding well to her caress. Draco came up to her.

“You found that funny, Gryffindor?” He asked quietly, unable to mask his surprise.

“Well yes, actually.” Nalini returned equally softly, looking towards Draco with a mischievous smile. “But don’t tell them… they’ll disapprove.” Nalini whispered. She was still aware of Harry’s gaze, but she could hear Hermione and Ron having a conversation with Professor Sprout. She walked with Tali out of the Greenhouse and into the sunny but slightly breezy day outside. She looked back at Draco as she had reached the door and tossed her head slightly. He had obviously interpreted the indication correctly as she could see his shadow and heard his cold voice in front of her as she sat down on the grass. It was easy to see into the greenhouse from where she sat, but it wouldn’t be so easy to see her.

Draco sat down next to her. She looked at him with a sly grin and tossed her hair to the side. He seemed at a loss for words.

“What’s your plant called then?” She asked, looking at his Mimosa as it appeared to be bending away from him.

“Insipid” He replied, looking curiously. “What’s yours?”

“I called it Tali. You called yours Insipid? That’s not a very nice name.”

“Well, it doesn’t know, does it?” Draco returned, dodging as ‘Insipid’ swung a branch at him. He scowled. “Why are you acting so strangely all of a sudden?” The question was directed at Nalini but she didn’t reply straight away.

“Boredom.” She replied after seemingly thinking about it for a while. “Don’t you ever get that way sometimes? You wish you could act slightly differently? Anyway… I’m not nearly as goody-too-shoes as I appear at first sight. You were right about me. That lot can be terrible bores.” She said, smiling coyly. Draco still looked incredibly confused, if not down right suspicious. He looked towards the Greenhouse with concentration. Draco raised an eyebrow after a time though and grinned.

“I thought there was something special about you.” He grinned, his face actually lighting up for a moment. Nalini was shocked at the change. He looked so friendly for a second. She started to doubt him as well. But his words came back to her. Special.

“You’re very smart.” She said, batting her eyelashes slightly. Suddenly she detected movement. She looked up to see Ron striding across the grass.

“You’re wanted inside, Malfoy.” Ron spat, his red hair aglow in the sunlight. Draco sneered.

“Oh yeah, who by Weasel?” He asked as he stood up. He was shorter than Ron by several inches but still managed to make it look like he was standing above Ron. Staring down at him.

“Professor Sprout.” Ron said, managing to make the name sound like a threat.

“Oh really?”

“Draco Malfoy!” Professor Sprout’s voice came across the dividing space. Draco snorted slightly and sounded extremely frustrated.

“Seeyou later Gryffindor.” He said, raising an eyebrow down at Nalini. As soon as he was gone Ron sat down.

“What on earth are you doing?” He asked, his voice a mixture of anger and exasperation. “Hermione is half frantic in there!”

“I’m trying to determine for myself if Draco is really all that bad. All I have is your testimony. As I said earlier. I’m curious.” Nalini replied. She was annoyed. She had been getting somewhere and now Ron had come and ruined her chances of having a lengthy conversation with Draco.

“Take it from me, Nalini, Malfoy is really all that bad. He is not to be trusted. Did you not hear Hermione at the beginning of term?”

“Yes. I heard.” Nalini said bitterly.

“Look, didn’t you hear him back their? Potty Potter and all that?”

“Yes I did, and frankly I thought it was amusing. Not particularly nice, but amusing.”

Ron looked at Nalini with horror, he appeared to be looking at her for the first time. He seemed to think for a second though and in a doubtful voice ventured. “Well I guess if Fred or George had said it…” But then he shook his head. “Nalini, you didn’t see Draco in earlier years, but he really isn’t a nice person and if he finds out the truth…”

“Oh give me some credit.” Nalini said, exasperated. “I’d hardly tell him anything like that.”

“Yeah well make sure you don’t.” Ron said. Hermione and Harry came across the grass then. Harry was walking some way back and holding onto his plant and Hermione was walking furiously with her plant. Nalini was slightly confused, Hermione looked neither frantic nor disturbed in any way, shape or form. In fact she was positively beaming. Harry, on the other hand, did look fairly serious.

“Wendelin just did the most extraordinary thing!” Hermione said in delight when she’d reached them. “It started spelling out letters and after a while it had spelt out ‘Hermione is the greatest!’ I’m so proud!”

“Hey that’s great. Well done, Wendelin!” Although she wanted to, Nalini didn’t have the courage to ask what Draco had been wanted for, especially since Harry was furiously regarding her.

Chapter Twenty-Five – Degrading Detention

The rest of the lesson was spent in Nalini and Ron trying to get Tali and Snitch to spell messages out as well. Finally Nalini suceeded and she knew now why Hermione had been in such rapture. Tali’s message was not only incredibly flattering, but intelligent and amusing as well.

“Je t’aime. Tu as une chanteuse belle. Why thankyou Tali. You’re so smart.” Nalini giggled after she had carefully copied down the letters. “Eye. Kay, En, Oh, Double-You. Haha! Nice one!” She stroked the plant affectionately and smiled.

Snitch didn’t appear to want to give Ron any messages, and Harry wasn’t even bothering to talk to his plant. He sat with a faraway expression in his eyes a small way away from the trio, his head bent low. Nalini hadn’t even been able to find out his plant’s name. Gratefully concluding the lesson and setting off for Lunch, (her stomach had been making some interesting noises), Nalini made sure the other three weren’t watching as she waved to Draco. He frowned and looked like he was still deciding whether or not to wave back when they were at their respective house tables. She smiled in satisfaction.

Nalini took a sip of Pumpkin Juice and stuck her tongue out in disgust. “I prefer butterbeer.”

“Don’t we all.” Argus Filch’s gravelly voice came from behind Nalini. She briefly wondered why everyone enjoyed sneaking up on her like that. “You have remembered that you are serving detention.” He asked next.

“Yes sir.” Nalini said. She wasn’t exactly sure how to address the caretaker.

“Good. If I were you I’d tie your pretty long hair back. Wouldn’t want it to get all… mucky.”

“No sir.” Nalini replied, feeling slightly disturbed. Filch was definitely as creepy as everyone said.

History of Magic was up next. Hermione and Nalini copied down Neville’s notes from the previous day. Ron tried to get Harry to talk to him to no avail. Harry pretended to be interested in his History work. Professor Binns lecturered on the great Wizarding alchemists and scientists.

“Of whom the most famous is most probably Merlin. I trust you have all been reading your text book on the matter.” Binns said in his familiar monotonous drawl. Ron grinned over at Nalini.

The last lesson for the day was Transfiguration but luckily it was just a lecture. Nalini wrote furiously, cursing having to use quills. She almost tore a hole in her parchment. She felt jealous when she saw Hermione make an ink blot disappear from her own parchment with her wand.

After class Nalini tried once again to have a conversation with Harry.

“I have a lot of homework I have to attend to.” Harry said shortly. He looked incredibly annoyed at the imposition.

“Oh yes? Well so do Ron and Hermione then. Just a few minutes, Harry.” Nalini said swiftly, backing him into a corner of the corridor.

“What is it you want to discuss?” Harry asked. He had been going to say something else, judging by his expression something not particularly pleasant but Nalini cut him off.

“I want to apologise for yesterday and… and last night. I didn’t answer your questions because I felt like an idiot, I should have trusted you, after all it’s nothing special. I went into the Forbidden Forest yesterday because I was curious. It sounds ridiculous I know, but I looked at it for a while and saw it as another unconquered part of Hogwarts. Naturally after a few minutes I got lost, and well… spent a few hours paying for my mistake. I’m sorry I couldn’t explain.”

“That’s fine. You’re safe and sound now, aren’t you? We all make mistakes.” Whilst his words were nice enough Harry’s expression hadn’t changed. “Alright. Enjoy detention, I’m off to read up on Fligglewoggles.” Nalini allowed to him to pass and went up and played a few games Battle Broomsticks with Ginny. She lost the game all three times they played but she didn’t mind, it had been fun.

Dinner was a hurried affair for Nalini as she had detention right at six o’ clock. She had asked Harry how his homework had gone and he had replied politely enough but without embellishment. Nalini reported for duty outside the Charms classroom.

Inside there was scaffolding set up. Nalini had tied her hair back and was wearing some old clothes Ron had let her borrow. The clothes were too loose on her, but perfectly suited for their purpose. Filch came out of the shadows.

“Good, my little helper has arrived. Here.” He said looking Nalini up and down. She cowered under his gaze. “Climb up the scaffolding and get to work. There’s a bucket and scrubbing brushes up there already. You are not to use any magic. Give me your wand.”

“I didn’t bring it.” Nalini said, staring at the scaffolding and platform with apprehension.

“No?” The caretaker asked disbelievingly, scrutinising Nalini once more.

“No, sir.” Nalini replied. She walked past him into the room and started to climb the scaffolding. Luckily it was a very secure structure and Nalini felt fine as she reached the top. There was just enough space to kneel on the top of the structure and scrub the ceiling. She dipped her hand into the bucket with one of the brushes and brought it back up towards the ceiling. McGonagall had been right, there was a great deal of sticky substances there. After one sweep the roof didn’t look any different. Nalini realised she would have to put some elbow grease into it. Filch had gone and Nalini grumbled to herself. “Help indeed. More like do it for him” She thought discontentedly.

Nalini found out the scaffolding rebuilt itself when she wanted to change position. After two hours her arms and back were killing her. Her arms were soaked from top to bottom, and she had all manner of substances covering her hands and legs. She had sucessfully scrubbed the whole of the ceiling and it was now looking spotless. Knowing it probably would have taken two minutes with a simple charm meant the accomplishment didn’t give Nalini any satisfaction, though.

Filch came back just as she had finished and gave what Nalini supposed was a snort of appreciation. He even gave something that Nalini felt was a compliment.

“Makes me hope you get in trouble again, Miss McAuliffe.” He said gruffly. Nalini didn’t say anything. She was vehemently wishing the opposite.

Chapter Twenty-Six – Good News and New Views


After having showered and got ready for bed, Nalini was fit for just sleeping standing but Hermione insisted she wait for her.

“Nalini, guess what?” Hermione asked once she had finished changing, practically squealing. Nalini stopped for a second, the thought that the news was that Dumbledore was back crossed her mind.

“The library is selling their old stock and you scored a copy of ‘Greatest Arithmancy Masters of the Seventeenth Century’?”

“No… although that would be good. Nalini… this weekend third year students and older are allowed to go to Hogsmeade! It’s completely short notice, but it’s great news don’t you think?”

Nalini stared blankly before recalling that Hogsmeade was the only purely Wizarding Town in Britain. Hermione had told her about it casually on the train that first day.

“That’s great!” She said enthusiastically. Hermione nodded.

“Ron, Harry and I are going to chip in to buy you some more clothes, you must get sick of wearing our cast offs all the time, and you can try some of the other sweets in Honeydukes, and you can see the Shrieking Shack and Ron and Harry will probably take you into Zonkos. Then there’s more butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. We’ll have tonnes of fun.” Hermione said excitedly. All of her misgivings seemed to have vanished. Nalini thought guiltily of them spending their money on her. She decided she would have to pay them back in any way possible. Hermione remembered something and went back down into the common room but Nalini went straight to sleep.

Nalini was pleased to have a deep pleasant sleep. She had strange dreams about new types of food that did all sorts of strange things, a dream she had been having since the age of seven. She didn’t quite understand it but it always gave her a contented happy feeling and butterflies in her stomach. If Draco had been the one causing her distress he had certain held off for a while. She smiled happily when she awoke. Her arms and back ached, however, and she found it arduous performing her ablutions and changing.

She shook Hermione awake after half an hour, and waited as the other girl got ready. Hermione handed Nalini a purse.

“Your money for today. No-one will raise questions this way” She said with a smile. Nalini took the money doubtfully. She still felt incredibly shameful. They went down to a bustling common room. It seemed the whole house was there. The first and second years were asking questions of the older students. Ginny came running up and linked her arms around Hermione and Nalini’s with a huge grin on her face.

“Hogsmeade!” She said happily. “I need some new out of school clothes, Mum sent me the money. You two don’t mind helping me look, do you?”

Nalini grinned. “Not a bit!” She said. Hermione nodded furiously.

“I saw something there last year that would really suit you Ginny. Hope it’s still there.”

Ron came up then, standing by Hermione with a grin. “We’re going to show you the best Britain has to offer, Nalini” He said with a twinkle. Professor McGonagall came in the room then, she frowned at the bustle of students and tried to elevate her voice over the noise.

“Right, as you are all aware Third Years and higher are permitted to go to Hogsmeade today. However, don’t forget you must have written permission in order to attend.” Hermione and Ron gasped in horror. McGonagall looked like she was going to walk over but was detained by Colin Creevey begging for her to allow Dennis to go with him.

“No, Colin. Now stop pestering me.” McGonagall’s voice came clearly across the room.

“Nalini, do you…” Ginny started but at that second went quiet as she saw Harry come up. He stood next to Nalini and surreptitiously slipped a bit of parchment into her hand with a nod.

Professor McGonagall finally extracted herself from Colin’s grasp and came to stand in front of Nalini. “Do you have permission, Miss McAuliffe?”

“Of course I do Professor!” Nalini said, smilingly handing the parchment over. McGonagall surveyed it and nodded.

“Good. I’m sure you’ll enjoy Hogsmeade.”

Hermione looked at Harry incredibly impressed and Ron playfully punched him when Ginny wasn’t looking. “Well done.” He whispered. Harry didn’t smile or say anything.

Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Nalini all set off walking in the group of excited Gryffindors. They were all to have breakfast at Hogsmeade. The scenery on the way was beautiful. The sun shone down on them, and cast the green terrain in glittering brilliance. Nalini kept her mind off her aches and pains by asking what various forms of plantlife were and how come she couldn’t easily see the area from Hogwarts since it was so close.

“I’m not entirely sure.” Hermione replied. “That’s always confused me as well.”

They reached Hogsmeade after a while. Ron grabbed Nalini’s hand. “Right, first stop, Zonkos. You have to see this, Nalini, some of the best wizarding inventions ever are in this store.”

“Oy, I heard that. What about us?” George called from in front of them, grinning back as he made his way down the street with some other Seventh years.

“Come on, Zonkos it is.” Ron reiterated, after sticking his tongue out at his brother.

“Hey, Ron! That’s not fair! Maybe Nalini wants to see Honeydukes first?” Hermione said, grabbing Nalini’s other hand. She grinned and laughed in delight as they pretended to push and pull her to go with them. They were playing Tug-of-war at the end of it. Ginny giggled but Harry just stared looking bored and faintly impatient.

“Enough! I want to go have breakfast in that café there!” Nalini said and pulled Hermione and Ron after her. She skipped merrily and managed to force the other two into doing the same. Ginny skipped along side them and held onto Hermione, but looking back Nalini saw Harry just walking slowly with a faraway look in his eyes.

“I don’t get him. He does this for me and doesn’t even relax and enjoy it.” Nalini thought to herself as she sat down.

“What does everyone feel like?” Hermione asked handing over the menus.

Chapter Twenty-Seven – Hanging About in Hogsmeade


They ate their breakfast enjoyably. Nalini had adventurously ordered the “Magical Mystery Meal” and had immense surprise and fun cutting into something that looked like carrot and having it squeak, “Please don’t eat me.”

“Sorry but I’m hungry.” She said before popping it in her mouth. Ron almost fell off his chair laughing. Nalini’s expression was one of complete disgust. “It tastes like apricot!” She exclaimed in horror. The plate looked like it had cheese, vegetable sticks and crackers but really everything the various foods represented tasted like something else entirely, accompanied by different magical effects. The crackers, for instance, tasted like ham and cheese sandwiches and made Nalini’s skin glow a different colour every ten seconds. The celery tasted like chocolate and popped and crackled sparks in Nalini’s mouth. The disgusting chalk tasting cheese made Nalini’s hair stand on end.

“Remind me not to order this again!” Nalini said inbetween fits of giggles. The other four had ordered ordinary breakfasts, fruit salad for Hermione, eggs and bacon for Ron, french toast for Ginny and Harry had ordered muesli.

“Seriously… where do you want to go, Nalini?” Ron asked after they had all finished.

“I think Harry should decide.” Nalini said, exacting diplomacy and trying to get Harry to join in the mirth.

He shook his head and hollowly said “This is your day. You decide.”

Nalini sighed deeply and after a while said “Well, how about you and Harry, Ron, go to Zonkos and Ginny, Hermione and I look at clothes? Then we can meet up in an hour and a half at Honeydukes and you can show me around Zonkos again if you like. I mean… I’m really interested in seeing all the items they have, but if you don’t want to go in there again, I’ll understand.” She repaired, seeing Ron’s downcast expression. He smiled at this though and Nalini felt better.

“That celery, chocolate, whatever it was is still popping and crackling in my stomach.” Nalini said dismayed as the three girls walked down the main street of Hogsmeade. There were a number of clothing stores just ahead, the shop windows displaying fashions suitable for both the Wizard and Muggle worlds. Other teenage girls were loitering about in the shop they chose. A tall blonde girl was looking at a pair of jeans that literally twinkled. As soon as Ginny saw them her eyes lit up, but upon looking at the price tag she shook her head sadly.

“The money I have has to get me more than one pair of jeans, unfortunately.”

The three girls had a fun time trying on tops, jeans, some outrageous clothes and robes and when they had finally finished Nalini had some nice new clothes and two sets of Gryffindor Uniforms all of her own. Ginny also had several pairs of jeans, two new skirts and some plain-coloured t-shirts. Nalini had specifically chosen one blouse for its deep maroon colour that accentuated the red in her hair and her bright green eyes. She changed into it immediately.

Walking down the main street with the girls again, Nalini grinned to herself. Everyone appeared to be having fun. Hermione and Ginny were carrying on a lively conversation about some such thing, but Nalini was too busy taking in her surroundings to participate. Turning to her head left, Nalini was slightly shocked to see Draco lurking outside a Quidditch supplies shop looking at her curiously. She smiled at him and to her utmost surprise he smiled back, but averted his eyes when Hermione turned towards Nalini and started talking to her in rapid tones about sweets to watch out for in Honeydukes. Nalini was slightly preoccupied in thinking how strange it was that Draco was responding so well to her attention to hear much of what Hermione was saying, however.

Outside Honeydukes Hermione said, “Okay, we’re off to The Three Broomsticks.”

“Wha?” Nalini asked, her eyes on the store. “You’re not coming in?”

“Nope… we’re thirsty, and there’s plenty of time to come here later.” Ginny replied.

“Okay, seeyou later then.” Nalini said with a grin. She went into the shop waving goodbye.

Inside Honeydukes Nalini well and truly came alive. Looking at the jars upon jars of sweets, chocolates and other confectionaries made Nalini light up in glee. There were your average sweets, humbugs and gobstoppers, chewing gum and mints, eclairs and toffees, lollipops and flying saucers, but there were also different kinds that Nalini had never seen before. The best thing was that you could sample various types of sweets before buying them. Making her way into the middle of the store, Nalini did just that. Nalini had learnt her lesson about being too adventurous so when she saw Blood Lollipops, she knew not to try them, but her tongue was assaulted by a variety of tasty, tangy and interesting tastes as she walked. She could see Ron and Harry at the counter, Ron handing over his money happily. Harry for once smiling was pointing to and chatting about giant lollipops on the wall. As she made her way to them she could hear Harry’s voice.

“Hagrid would like one, of those, don’t you think Ron?”

“This place is awesome!” Nalini said to them both, trying to get out of the way of a Third Year who was whizzing from wall to wall after having had one too many of the Fizz-A-Lot-Fruit-Tingles.

“I knew you’d like it. Come on, after you’ve got whatever it is you want, we’re off to Zonko’s again!” Ron replied. “You just have to see their new range of itching power… it’s great.”

Harry raised his eyebrow slightly, “Did you have fun shopping?” His eyes had quickly glanced over Nalini’s new top and for a second she thought he was going to say something else, but he didn’t.

“Yes, thankyou. We’re all decked out. Just let me purchase some of this lot and I’ll be with you in a moment.”

The two boys went out of the store and Nalini collected some bertie bott’s beans, flying saucers (that really flew) and different types of toffees. After having bought what sweets she wanted Nalini went out of the store. As soon as she was out she was dragged by the arm by Ron.

“Hey!” She giggled. “Where’d Harry go?” Nalini asked as she walked with Ron.

“The Three Broomsticks, which is where we’re going just after… this.” Ron said as they finally stopped at the front window of the Joke Shop.

“You know, with your brothers, anyone would think you’d be sick of practical jokes like this.” Nalini said, shaking her head in wonder.

“Are you kidding me? I have to get them back somehow!” Ron returned, leading the way in.

Chapter Twenty-Eight – Blinks and Drinks

In Zonkos Nalini was bemused. There were at least a hundred kids in the fairly small shop, each child yelling or testing the merchandise. If she had thought the after effects of Fred and George’s inventions were funny, it was nothing compared to some of the evil things that happened to those who had the misfortune of coming across a Zonkos invention. There was one fourth year child stuck to the ceiling (“Gravi-reverse tie. If he just took it off he’d be fine.” Ron whispered), several kids spinning around uncontrollably, a very horrible smell emanating from the corner, and shelves full of odds, ends, wigglefloggles and knick-nacks.

“Hey… I think I’m gonna get some more itching powder.” Ron said.

“You use it on me and you realise you’re going to be castrated.” Nalini said offhandly, staring at a statue that just blinked. It wasn’t a statue, it was a woman suffering from the effects of a Brick-brack.

She was frozen to the spot for another five seconds before she bellowed. “HAROLD!”

Nalini grinned in shock and turned around to tell Ron, but he was nowhere to be found. She called a couple times but someone had kindly let off several Filibuster Wet-start No heat Fireworks. The popping and sizzling drowned out her voice. She edged her way to the corner to try and see her red-headed companion but all she found was a small alcove empty save for one body.

“Not interested in practical jokes?” Draco drawled questioningly, raising an eyebrow. Nalini quickly quashed a shocked look to grin seductively. Draco was leaning within the alcove and Nalini placed herself in the archway, her back on the rest of Zonkos. Now was a good opportunity of talking with the blue-eyed menace.

“Not so much. I was dragged in here against my will, actually. How about you?”

Draco didn’t answer. He just smirked. “Like Hogsmeade so far?”

Nalini pondered her answer for a while before replying. “It’s okay. I don’t know. I expected more from the only completely Wizarding town in Britain. I mean, the street next to mine back home has more attractions.” She smiled at his reaction. Draco had nodded his head and curled his lip into a sneer similar to the one she had adopted.

“I know what you mean. Father sent me to France for part of the summer. You should have seen some of the Wizarding streets in Paris. The things you could get!” His eyes lit up with excitement thinking about it. “This place is tame in comparison.”

“Yeah. But still, you gotta make do, right? Where are your friends?” Nalini asked, she had been wondering ever since she saw him.

“Friends? Oh. You mean Crabbe and Goyle. They weren’t allowed to go to Hogsmeade because of causing disruptions in Herbology. I was asked to give witness accounts of their behaviour, but I was terribly busy with my school work. That is what Sprout had wanted to talk to me about, before, you know…”

“Yeah, I remember.” Nalini said, and there she had been thinking Harry had asked Sprout to reprimand the Slytherin. “Hey. I saw you outside the Quidditch supplies store before. Those broomsticks all looked really amazing. You play Quidditch?”

“I’m seeker on the Slytherin team. The most important role, of course.” Draco said proudly. “You’ll get to see me in action next Saturday. Against your house, unfortunately for you. We’re going to win. Gryffindor’s the worst in the school. You shouldn’t have joined them, you know. You, at least, had a choice.” Draco uncrossed his arms for a moment. His eyes glinted. There was something in his words that seemed to tell of something, though. Something Nalini couldn’t quite trace.

“Yeah, you’re right, Draco. I wish I hadn’t agreed to accompany them, but I didn’t know they were such a bunch of morons. If it isn’t one rule it’s another. Enough to make you sick. They fawn over me like the peasants they should be.” Nalini muttered leaning more against the archway. “I seem to have lost the red-head, so why don’t you show me the rest of Hogsmeade?” Nalini raised her eyebrow and leaned forward.

Draco grinned. “Alright. I’ll bet they haven’t taken you to see The Three Broomsticks yet.”

“Nope, they have not. And it sounds just like my kinda place.” Nalini said. She was slightly worried as she knew that the ‘they’ in question were there at this very moment, but she couldn’t think of any excuse not to go. She wanted to keep the conversation with Draco up as long as she could.

Walking out of Zonkos as stealthily as she could, Nalini still kept her eyes out for Ron. He had disappeared into thin air. She accompanied Draco down the main street with the same watchful stares.

Going into The Three Broomsticks Nalini was glad to see it was so dark and crowded it would be almost impossible to see anyone unless you ordered everyone out of the place. The only person Nalini could actually see properly was Hagrid standing by the bar, and he was unmissable in any situation. Draco led her to a corner.

“What will you have?” Draco asked as they sat down at the small round table, raising his hand for the barmaid.

“Butterbeer please.” Nalini said, still scanning the room for familiar faces. She didn’t understand it. They were all meant to be here, weren’t they? Surely this is where Ron had gone? Then where were they?

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Missing and Mistaking


The dark room was full of Hogwarts students and professors, Hogsmeade residents and others. There was no sign of a certain group of Gryffindors, however. Butterbeer effervesced in a glass in front of Nalini and she occasionally took small sips of the tasty liquid. After ten minutes of listening to Draco drone on and on about how brilliant he and the other Slytherins were, Nalini was not only faintly bored but confused. She fidgeted nervously with her glass. Where were Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny? What were they up to? Where had they gone? Why wasn’t she with them? As the minutes wore on Nalini grew more and more distracted and worried. Draco was rabbiting on about some such thing, she wasn’t sure what, her mind was solely occupied on Gryffindors.

“…so he ended up coughing up great big fat slugs, it was hilarious. One of the best things I’ve ever seen.” Draco concluded chuckling.

“Hmm? Draco, I’m sorry to leave you like this, but I just remembered something I have to do.” Nalini said distractedly standing up. Draco looked both quizzical and annoyed. He did not stand, but merely looked up at her with his light blue eyes.

“Right then. See you at school, Gryffindor.” His voice was cold and sterile. Nalini couldn’t leave him like this but she did have to leave him. She had to find the others.

“I’m sorry. We will see each other at school. I’ll make sure of it.” She said bending down and kissing Draco’s forehead. Draco was rigid with surprise. His mouth opened in shock and he had somehow managed to go even paler before a red hot blush started to creep across his cheeks. Nalini smiled her sweetest smile and virtually ran out of The Three Broomsticks.

Her first stop was Zonkos. Maybe Ron was still in there and the other three had gone off somewhere else. Ron would know how to search properly for his friends. She went into the store in hopes that it had calmed down but if anything it was more hectic than before. She found herself tempted to go onto the counter and call out his name as loudly as she could but she made do with calling with her feet on the floor. There was no reply and after another ten minutes squashing herself through hoards of kids, Nalini gave up. She thought then about the café. Maybe they were all hungry again? She was walking down the main street when she heard shouting down an alleyway. She crept up to the corner and peered around with eyes and ears wide open.

“…believe what is happening. You’ve known all along she was with him, haven’t you? That’s why you’ve been acting so strangely around her. Watching her all the time. Why didn’t you say anything Harry? That lying cow. I can’t believe I’ve been so friendly and helpful and all the while she was just passing information to that little twerp… I’m telling you, if I ever get find myself near her again I’ll just…” Ron’s voice echoed in anger.

“Ron… you have things wrong, I’m telling you, Nalini is not working with Draco.” Harry intercepted.

“Oh yeah? How do you know? Where’ve you been going these past two weeks? What is it you’re not telling me, Harry?” Ron asked, flailing his arm around wildly, his face flushed as red as his hair.

“Nothing, Ron. There is nothing I can tell you other than that I believe Nalini had never met Draco before we foolishly dragged her onto the train.” Harry said dejectedly. His energy appeared to be waning.

“Oh yeah? And don’t you think that’s a bit of a coincidence? She just miraculously turns up looking all lost and lonely and confused? A supposed muggle. How’d she get through the barrier then Harry? Tell me that.”

“I don’t know Ron, but Nalini isn’t involved in some kind of espionage conspiracy if that’s what you’re thinking.” Harry said sarcastically.

“Hah! You’re letting your emotions take over your logical thoughts. All those looks have nothing to do with suspicion. Just because you fancy her you’re willing to believe she’s all innocent and pure.”

“I’m not the one who’s letting their emotions get the better of them, Ron!” Harry yelled robustly, his hands clenched, his face flushed and his hair blowing wildly with the force of the movement of his head. “It’s just incredible to think that Draco would come up with something so complex. He doesn’t have the brain power. Or do you think it’s Crabbe and Goyle who forumlated the plan? And bringing up something you said earlier - why pretend to be a Muggle? You tell me that. Why not just pretend to be an exchange student?”

“I don’t know! But you didn’t hear her, did you? Laughing with the great white bouncing ferret.” Ron imitated Nalini with harsh accuracy, American accent and soft high tones. “‘Yeah, you’re right, Draco. I wish I hadn’t agreed to accompany them, but I didn’t know they were such a bunch of morons.’ You tell me… does that sound like the Nalini we’ve been led to know?”

“No. It doesn’t. Which is my point. You just did an American accent. That leads me to believe Nalini was putting one on when she was speaking. Why would she do that if she was speaking to someone she had known for a long time? She’s not American is she? She’s as English as you or me.”

“Uhhh…” Ron was stumped. After a few moments he ventured, “Maybe she really is American?”

“Oh yeah, and the English accent was fake. And Draco factored in that one of us would ask her to do an American accent. Remember Ron, that was Hermione’s idea – not Nalini’s. Face it, Ron. Nalini is not American.”

“Maybe Nalini was doing it because they were just worried someone might hear her speaking with an English accent?”

“And still say the things they were saying?” Harry asked, lifting his arm up and brushing his hand through his dark untidy hair.

“Okay… okay. So let’s say Nalini didn’t know Draco before.” Ron said after a few moments. He appeared to have seriously thought over everything Harry had said. “Let’s say she is just a muggle who fell through the barrier. Who was just dragged onto the train by us. Who has just been our friend for the past two weeks with nothing strange going on. Why is she cosying up to Draco? Draco of all people!”

“Something tells me that can only be answered by Nalini herself.” Harry said quietly, obviously satisfied that he had successfully convinced Ron of Nalini’s innocence in a Draco spy conspiracy but unable to answer any more questions himself.

Chapter Thirty – Uncovering Certain Truths.


Nalini moved back from the corner. How could she explain? After all this time, how could she tell Ron and Harry exactly why she was cosying up to Draco as Ron so aptly put it? She felt nauseous. How could Ron have thought of her like that? And why did Harry defend her so vehemently when he always acted so strangely around her? Her heart felt like it was pounding a hundred beats per second. The boys’ words started to echo around her mind, she tried to think about what they were saying, the implications of Ron’s suspicions. What should she do?

Her feet moved with a volition of their own. An overwhelming urge to clear her name spurred Nalini on. Before she knew it she was standing in full view of the boys. She blocked out part of the light flooding into the alley. Ron turned around swiftly, his eyes wide in surprise, his face going an even deeper shade of red as he put his hand on the back on his neck. He didn’t seem to know how to react. He looked both suspicious and guilty. Harry turned as well, surprise was evident in his movements but his expression was guarded.

“Nalini. How long you been standing there?” Ron mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at the ground.

“A couple minutes.” Nalini replied, her voice was high. “I think we need to talk, Ron. About Draco.”

Ron looked up, he was evidently extremely curious. Harry walked forward.

“I’ll leave you two to it then.” He said as he reached Nalini. She put her hand against his warm chest to stop him and looked up into his eyes.

“No. I didn’t just mean Ron. You have to hear this too, Harry.” Harry stopped but moved out of contact of Nalini’s hand. He rested his shoulder against the wall and looked down by Nalini’s feet. Nalini began quickly and stumbled over her words as she spoke. She decided in that moment whether she should tell them about the voice, about her suspicions of Harry, her new suspicions of Draco.

“In a way you were right, Ron. I am spying. But for you guys, not Draco. I noticed he was interested in me, and I thought it might help you if I kept him in close quarters. You see… I heard him talking with his friends in the library about this plan he did have for making you all look like fools and I thought I could get information from him for you. For some reason… well, I felt like I could get him to trust me. And I was right. It’s working. I just left him in The Three Broomsticks with a very bemused expression on his face.” She couldn’t tell the complete truth, not yet.

“So why on earth didn’t you tell us?” Ron asked.

“It was too early. And I felt if you knew you might not be able to conceal the knowledge and Draco would know, you know. Would figure it out.”

“Well he has to be pretty stupid to trust you anyway doesn’t he? You do hang around us all the time.” Harry said quietly, his eyebrow raised and his arms crossed. The two boys seemed to have reversed roles. Ron was now taking in Nalini’s every word and nodding in agreement but Harry looked skeptical.

“Oh, but Nalini’s very convincing.” Ron said with a grin. “She fooled me didn’t she?”

Harry didn’t say anything. He simply nodded his head once and seemed to be in his own little world.

Nalini smiled. “All forgiven?”

“Well… I really don’t have to forgive you for anything. I mean… I should be asking you if you forgive me. I heard one sentence and I immediately jumped to conclusions, and if it hadn’t been for Harry…well…” Ron said awkwardly holding onto his elbow and tilting his head to the side.

“A misunderstanding, that’s all.” Nalini said with the same small smile. “Where’s Hermione and Ginny?”

“They were all going to Honeydukes when I went up and grabbed Harry.” Ron said, “Ginny remembered she promised to get Dad some Sherbet Lemons. We’ve actually only got another hour to spend here in Hogsmeade and then it’s back to the school.”

“Oh okay. Should we make our way to Honeydukes then?” Nalini asked. “I’ve already seen The Three Broomsticks after all. And we should tell Hermione about what’s happening as quickly as possible, before there are more misunderstandings.”

They walked out into the main street again. Harry walked ahead of the other two for some reasons best known to himself. Ron started to ask Nalini about what she thought of Zonkos before he’d lost her. Nalini replied with enthusiasm, but her mind wandered on to other things. What was that Ron had said? If it hadn’t been for Harry. What was this now, the third time he’d saved her in some way? She stared at Harry’s back wishing he’d look back at her so she could judge what he was thinking. Maybe Ron had said something perilously close to the truth when attacking Harry for defending her. But then, he wasn’t acting as others would even if that was the case. Nalini breathed in the clear air with clouded emotions. She felt exhausted. And she still felt ill.

Chapter Thirty-One – Introspection


They made it to Honeydukes just as Hermione and Ginny were coming out.

“You found her!” Ginny said with a smile and beckoned to Nalini. “Here, look at what I bought and show me what you got.”

“Did you buy anything in Zonkos?” Hermione asked.

“No, nothing at Zonkos. I have no-one to play tricks on.” Nalini said, grinning at the brown-haired girl.

“You could always do something to Fred and George, they always appreciate a good joke.” Ginny said, an evil glint in her eyes and an equally evil grin gracing her features.

They spent the next hour just wandering around and meeting up with other classmates and then started the trip back to Hogwarts among the other students. Nalini was still thinking about what to do next. She wasn’t even sure if Draco was capable of doing what she suspected him of anymore. He seemed far more like a conceited but ultimately very lonely young man. Even the other Slytherins left Draco by himself, and with Crabbe and Goyle constantly being in trouble Nalini realised Draco spent most of his time alone. Even with Crabbe and Goyle Draco was alone. They seemed less like humans and more like inanimate objects. They had inferior brain power to their Mimosas for goodness sakes. She pondered his situation for a while. All the stories Hermione and Ron had told her about him painted a nasty character, and at first she had disliked him as well. He certainly wasn’t the most charming company to be around, was obviously socially inadequate and egotistical but that could all stem from one thing, couldn’t it? He came from a rich family, one that was considered well established. She had known people from families like that. His father was no doubt an oppressive bully who would rather send his son to France than spend the summer with him.

Draco had come to Hogwarts at a young age and had wanted to prove himself and make friends but didn’t know how to speak to people civilly. Had an enormous yet fragile ego. Didn’t have any common sense. Was used to bossing people around. His manners were taught by his father as well as the hired help after all. Consequently he had obviously been disliked by all, unable to change the situation and placed in what was reputed to be the worst house. “You, at least, had a choice.” he had said, seemingly suggesting he hadn’t, even if he had been trying to get her in Slytherin, he didn’t seem particularly overjoyed to be there himself. It was quite possible under all of the hang-ups, under all of the pretentions, Draco could be a civilised human being. It was possible, but was it probable? Despite having been brought up that way he still chose the act the way he did. At Hogwarts he must have seen the good example set by almost everyone else. Why hadn’t that affected him in some way? Why hadn’t he started to treat people as he saw others treat them?

Draco was certainly a puzzle, but a hundred times less complicated than Harry, who was walking alongside Ron with the same detached air Nalini had. “Maybe the real Harry was abducted by aliens shortly after arriving at Hogwarts? It’s possible.” Nalini thought jokingly. “Maybe, just maybe, the real Harry has had some kind of spell put on him and this Harry’s an imposter? Not only that – but not just any impostor - the missing Dumbledore?!” Amusing herself with wild thoughts like this Nalini walked on in silence with a faraway look in her eyes and a small smile. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were chatting about classes.

At Hogwarts Ron and Harry excused themselves and went off to practice Quidditch with their team members. Nalini spent a couple hours dressing up and trying on the new clothes with Ginny and Hermione and playing a couple games of cards with Neville. Nalini liked Neville but he had the horrible habit of asking Nalini about America and she was running out of things to tell him. After three hours Nalini went to Dinner with the rest, but she wasn’t hungry. Walking into the hall the first thing Nalini did was look for Draco. She saw him sitting at the end of the Slytherin table with his cronies and she smiled at him. He didn’t smile back but he nodded with a sort of appreciation for the gesture. [/I]“He can’t be all bad.”[/I] Nalini thought in that moment. His eyes were glinting with boredom and solitude. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Nalini, Hermione had seen the exchange. She pulled Nalini’s arm roughly and dragged her out of the hall.

“You’re not still doing that are you? You’re not still trying to befriend him? Don’t you ever listen? Can’t you see for yourself? He’s not worth the time and effort. He’s always done his best to make our lives miserable. He’s a haughty, condescending snobbish fascist. He hates Muggle-born Wizards and Witches, what do you think he’d think of a Muggle?” Hermione hissed, dragging Nalini along the hall and to the common room.

“Hermione, what about dinner?” Nalini asked hopelessly. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m not worrying about that. This is far more important.” Hermione said, calling the password and dragging Nalini into the common room. Ron and Harry were just about to come out. They had changed out of their Quidditch robes. Ron looked at Hermione dismayed and resignedly sat down.

“I guess we’re not having dinner then. What’s happened now?” He asked forlornly. Hermione ignored him and sat Nalini down on one of the couchs whilst taking her own position. Harry simply sat by Ron.

Chapter Thirty-Two – The Deal


“Hermione” Nalini began, looking at Ron and Harry for support. “There’s something you don’t know.” Hermione stopped her fussing. She stared at Nalini as if seeing her for the first time and opened and closed her mouth a couple times.

“The reason why you’re acting so strangely around Malfoy and being nice to him when he’s nothing but a vindictive little twerp?” Hermione asked eventually with vigour.

“Yes.” Nalini replied nodding. She was starting to resent the way she was being told who to like. It was her choice to get to know Draco wasn’t it? She didn’t say anything like that though. She explained to Hermione about hearing Draco discuss that whatever it was he was planning was going to be thoroughly enjoyable and that Harry, Hermione and Ron didn’t know what was coming to them. Nalini explained that she was trying to find out exactly what Draco’s plans really were. It was, of course, a complete fabrication. The same thing Nalini had told Harry and Ron. Nalini had never heard Draco say any such thing. But Hermione accepted what Nalini was saying completely.

Hermione settled back. “So you’re using your feminine wiles to get to the bottom of it. I like it. Something I’d do if Draco didn’t already know I was against him and everything he stands for.” Hermione said with something like evil glee. Ron coloured at this comment and coughed slightly. “Boys don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to the fairer sex. One look from a woman and they turn to mush.”

“Hey!” Ron exclaimed.

“Oh. Naturally I meant boys like Draco.” Hermione amended with a small cheeky smile.

“You’ve really changed over the summer haven’t you?” Ron asked with mock horror. For once Harry didn’t look intensely serious. His eyes met Nalini’s and they shared a small smile of amusement at the pair’s antics.

“So how are you planning on getting him to fully trust you?” Hermione asked once she had got her mind on track again.

“Well, see. Just go on like normal.” Nalini replied shrugging her shoulder.

“Hmm.” Hermione said doubtfully after several minutes. “That could work. I thought maybe we could go down to the Great Hall now, eat dinner, and at the end have a loud and obvious argument, resulting in me shouting at you, casting you out of the group and you seeking solace with Draco tomorrow. What do you say?”

Nalini raised her eyebrows in surprise. It seemed like a pretty good idea, why hadn’t she thought of it? This way she would get to spend as much time as she liked with Draco, find out the real truth behind the boy and she would be doing it in full knowledge of her friends.

“Good idea.” She said with a smile. Ron and Harry seemed to agree because they stood up and seemed ready to go. Ron especially was in a hurry. A brief thought about how Draco would react when Nalini had gone back to her Gryffindor friends worried Nalini for a moment. He would be alone again. Alone and betrayed. What if Draco was the one who had tormented her, though? What if he had caused her nightmares to get her to seek him out? Yes. The only way to truly find out would be to spend as much time with Draco as possible, and what better way than how Hermione had suggested?

“The only problem is making sure Draco doesn’t find out who you really are. You have to always be on your guard, Nalini.” Hermione said warningly.

They went to the great hall as quickly as possible. There was only another half an hour left. They sat down at the table and tucked into their meal. Well, the other three did, Nalini was still feeling nauseous and ate very little. Just as they were going to finish Hermione raised her eyebrows at Nalini as a signal and Nalini ‘accidentally’ knocked over Hermione’s flagon of pumpkin juice.

“Nalini!” Hermione yelled. “You stupid fool! Look at my skirt. It’s ruined. Completely soaked. You’re nothing but a clumsy fool.”

“A fool? Me? I’m not the fool. Day in, day out I have to listen to you go on and on about the most ridiculous things. No-one cares about anything you say. No-one cares that you’re so supposedly smart because they all know you’re an idiot. You’re a stuffed shirt know-it-all with nothing better to do than annoy everyone with your endless whining.”

“After all I’ve done for you, you talk to me like this? I’ve shown you around this school, I’ve befriended you. I let you hang around with us.” Hermione squealed. “Did either of you really want her spending time in our group?” Hermione asked, waving her arm at Harry and Ron.

“Uhmmm. Not really.” Ron mumbled, colouring. He didn’t like being on show. The whole of the school appeared to be watching them. Harry shook his head too convincingly for Nalini’s peace of mind, and took a sip of Pumpkin Juice.

“Oh no? Well fine then!” Nalini screamed. “I don’t want to hang around with idiots like you anyway. I’ve had just enough of the likes of you!”

Professors were coming towards them now, looking both confused and infuriated.

“Children…” Professor McGonagall began, but Nalini had ran out of the hall at top speed. As she ran Nalini caught a glimpse of someone following her. She had hoped it was Draco, but it was Neville’s voice that stopped Nalini in her tracks.

“Nalini, wait up, is there anything I can do?” He asked, distressed. His voice was shaky and he was taking deep breaths. “I’m sure they didn’t mean it.”

“I don’t care if they meant it or not. Just leave alone you stupid git.” Nalini said, forcing herself to sound harsh. She was finding it difficult, the look on Neville’s face was almost heartbreaking. At that moment she just wanted to hug the well-meaning boy. But she had to keep up a resolve.

“Oh. Fine then.” Neville said quietly and Nalini turned around again and stayed in the dorm reading. When the other girls came up to bed, Nalini pretended to be asleep. She heard them whispering in the dark after Hermione’s snores echoed quietly in the room.

“Didn’t see that coming.” Lavendar’s voice whispered.

“Didn’t you? I knew it was coming the whole time. Hermione can get pretty annoying sometimes, and I always thought Nalini wasn’t as nice as she seemed.” Parvati’s whisper came back.

“I wonder what’s going to happen now?” Lavendar asked. Nalini closed her mind off to the reply and forced herself into sleeping. Sleep came eventually and Nalini awoke to find the room empty. That was the second time that had happened. She got out of bed and decided a course of action for the day.

Chapter Thirty-Three – Commencement


She was unsurprisingly hungry, even though the nauseous feeling remained. Nalini was beginning to think her stomach ache was caused by psychological problems rather than the popping chocolate/celery from the day before. She stretched and got ready. Nalini chose a new black lace-up top and black trousers. She dried and brushed her hair so it fell about her shoulders in light waves. She winked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her appearance before going down to the common room and then the great hall.

Nalini guessed that Neville had told most of the Gryffindors about what she had said the night before because whilst they looked at her curiously they didn’t attempt to speak to her. Ginny looked at her with a frown, turning her head around swiftly. Not even the twins made a joke about what had happened or try to befriend Nalini in any way. Harry, Hermione and Ron were at the other end of the table, chatting. Nalini tried not to look at them but found her gaze lingering on Harry who appeared to be behaving normally again. He was laughing at something Ron was saying and looked for all the world like the boy she had known on the train. Nalini sat down right at the end of the table and ate her breakfast with a concentrated look of deep sorrow and loneliness.

Nalini had a feeling Draco wouldn’t say anything at breakfast and he didn’t. Coming out of the great hall and walking to the Library she could feel someone following her. She felt eyes looking at her. She continued walking but found herself unable to bear the suspense any more. Was her plan working? Was Draco following her in order to talk to her? Then why hadn’t he just said her name or something? She turned around to see Harry stop suddenly several yards away. He was standing by a door-opening and had appeared to try and look like he was doing something other than follow her.

“Harry!” Nalini whispered as she went towards Harry. “What on earth are you doing following me? If Draco sees us near each other he’s hardly going to believe we’re not working together is he?”

“I… wasn’t following you.” Harry said. He realised his plea wasn’t working so he rolled his eyes. “I was just coming to tell you, Nalini. Draco isn’t going to see us, the Slytherins have Quidditch Practice right now.”

“Oh.” Was all Nalini could say. “Okay then, thanks. I’ll have to wait a bit then. Or maybe I could go watch him?”

Harry shook his head. “The Slytherin team don’t even like Slytherins watching.”

“Right then. I’ll just go do some reading. I’m thinking this is going to take longer than a day anyway. What are Hermione and Ron up to?”

“Arguing over gender relations again.” Harry said, casting his gaze back again to check if anyone was watching them. He was slightly red tinted and looked dazed. “So uhhh… how long do you think this will take then? You know… you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I’m sure we could find another way. Or just let him do it and fail miserably like he probably would anyway.”

“No… I want to do it.” Nalini said with perhaps a little too much force.

“You really are interested in him, aren’t you.” Harry said, his eyes assessing Nalini’s expression and his body straightening up with something resembling anger.

“I’m more interested in making sure he doesn’t mess us around.” Nalini said with a touch of annoyance. “Look, if we spend any more time here talking we may get caught, so scoot.”

“Scoot?” Harry chuckled, his eyes lit up and his teeth glinted behind his curved lips. Nalini inwardly chuckled too but she assembled a frown on her face.

“Yep – scoot. Go. Now! I’m off to the Library and then I’m going to look for Draco. How long do you think the Quidditch will go for?”

“About an hour. Right, see you later then.” Harry said with one final strange glance before he left. Nalini turned around and shook her head whilst continuing on her journey.

Nalini spent the next hour in the library. She decided to do some extra research for History of Magic and found herself immersed in “The Seven Wonders of the World and How They Were Really Built”, an informative publication by Ironias Igglewham.

She was just going to go out of the library when Draco appeared in front of her. He startled her and she stepped back, eyes wide open.

“Draco!”

“Gryffindor.” Draco drawled lazily. His eyes travelled down her form and a small smirk appeared on his lips. “What are you up to?”

“I was just going for a walk.” Nalini replied, “I really have nothing else to do.”

“Maybe I could go with you?” Draco asked next, he seemed confident the answer would be yes.

“Uhmm, alright. I suppose some company would be good.”

“Especially after last night you mean.” Draco prompted.

“Yes. Especially after last night.” Nalini returned, her expression for all the world one of deep sorrow when inside she was jumping for joy.

Chapter Thirty-Four – Seeking Similarities


“Doesn’t really surprise me it happened.” Draco was saying as they walked past the lake. “You’re completely unsuited to them, I could tell the moment I saw you.” They had been walking for quite a while. They had talked about the giant squid and lessons. Most of the time in silence, however, but that seemed appropriate.

“But I am suited to you?” Nalini asked inquisitively. She did not sound sarcastic.

“In some ways, maybe.” Draco said next. “We might have some things in common.”

“Okay,… favourite movie?” Nalini asked, launching herself into it.

“Movie? I’ve never seen a movie in my life. Father says they’re made to keep the muggles inattentive and happy.” Draco replied with the raise of an eyebrow.

“But I heard Dean Thomas going on about the new Wizard’s movie, One Flew Over the Dragon’s Nest.” Nalini said then in surprise.

“Father would say muggles and imbecilic Wizards with no intelligence then. Besides, Thomas is a muggle-born.” Draco said as he cast his hand to the side seemingly in the hopes of casting the topic to the side.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“He is. Both his parents… completely devoid of magic.”

“No, that movies are necessarily for imbeciles. There have been some brilliant adaptations of books for the silver screen for example. What about the Tales of Merlin epic trilogy?” Nalini had heard Ron talk about his intentions on borrowing the trilogy instead of reading the book but Hermione had started to point out all the anachronisms and inaccurate details presented in the films.

“I wouldn’t know. As I said, I’ve never seen a movie in my life. Why… what’s your favourite?” Draco asked derisively.

“Escape from Azkaban.” Nalini said automatically. Well, if there was One Flew Over the Dragon’s Nest, why not? “How about music. You must listen to music.”

“I go to the opera occasionally. Incredibly boring if you ask me. All those fat people apparating onto the stage, singing, and then pretending to die.”

“The WWN?”

“What about it?” Draco asked confused.

“You ever listen to it?”

“No. They had some musical group come for the Yule Ball last year that I’ve heard are played often on the station. They were pretty good, but well…”

“Father doesn’t like modern music.” Nalini finished for him.

“No, he doesn’t.” Draco said caustically. Nalini couldn’t tell if he was angry at her or his father. He appeared to have intended the harsh tone for his father because the next second he had turned around and looked at her almost pleadingly. “Maybe you could introduce me to some groups which you like?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Nalini said with a smile. “Okay… so what do you like?”

“I like Quidditch.” Draco immediately responded. “And reading. Taunting others is pretty fun.” Nalini had to look at Draco to see if he was just joking. He smiled knowingly and raised an eyebrow. “You had to check then, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes… it does seem to be your favourite pastime.” Nalini replied.

“In a way… it is.” Draco said with a shrug. “It’s better than doing nothing. And people notice you that way, don’t they? It’s easier to remember someone you hate than someone you like.”

Nalini was surprised at how astute Draco seemed. He didn’t seem like the same person she had spoken to before. He was calmer but his guard was down. He was self-aware.

“You spend a lot of time alone, don’t you?” Nalini asked next, twirling her hair around her finger.

“Yes, I do.” Draco admitted. They had been walking slowly along the lake’s edge but now Draco sat down on the soft green grass. “Have you ever spent a great deal of time alone?”

“Yeah! Well, in America I had a small group of friends I hung around with, but there have been times when I’ve had to cope by myself, you know. This summer, in a new place, that was pretty desolate. I guess that’s why I let myself get caught up with you know who.”

“You know who.” Draco repeated with an odd smirk and shake of the head.

“Hermione and all that.” Nalini said with confusion.

“Potter.” Draco sneered.

“Yeah, but we didn’t talk much anyway. What’s the deal with you two? You sure do hate each other.”

“I offered Potter the hand of friendship back in first year. He took the hand and slapped me in the face with it. Figuratively of course.” Draco added, seeing the look of miscomprehension on Nalini’s face. “I wasn’t his kind of person. As it turns out, he was right. I don’t think I could have stood spending any longer than I had to with him. He’s such a ponce. Always going around being a little hero. Makes me sick.”

“No heroics this year.” Nalini said with a commiserating smile.

“No. But he did get to meet you first.” Draco said. “Just think… you could be a Slytherin at this very moment if he hadn’t.”

“Why are you so obsessed with making me a Slytherin?” Nalini asked incredulously.

“It’s what I am.” Draco said with a broad smile. “What, don’t you want to be? You’d look very striking in the green and grey.”

“Hmmm.” Nalini said. “And I don’t in the red and gold?”

“Well you do… but Granger, Potter and Weasel are in Gryffindor, aren’t they?” Draco conceded.

“Maybe we could make our own house. Dralini house.” Nalini said with dramatic flair.

“Or Nalico house.” Draco continued with a chuckle.

“You’re not all that bad.” Nalini mused then, looking out onto the lake.

“You’re not all that good.” Draco returned. “What was that you called Granger last night? A stuffed shirt know-it-all with nothing better to do than annoy everyone with her endless whining? Very nice.”

“Well, no, not really very nice.” Nalini said. “I can see why Hermione was angry. I had just spilled juice all over her.”

“And she yelled at you in front of the whole school and cast you out of the group.” Draco said derisively, contempt curling his lip. “You thinking of forgiving her?”

“No of course not. But would it really be so bad if I did?”

“Well, we wouldn’t be able to talk if you did.”

“Why not? Why couldn’t you try and get along with Hermione and other Gryffindors? They’re just different colours, that’s all.”

“She’s a mudblood. I can’t socialise with mudbloods.” Draco replied. Nalini knew the import of what Draco had just said. She recoiled from him in that moment. Every fibre of her being wanted to slap him senseless. How could he possibly think that that made any difference? How could he possibly think he was better because of it?

“And what if I told you my parents were non-magical? What then?” Nalini asked forcefully, she could feel her anger rising with every second. Draco gazed back surprised.

“Well, I…”

“Well you?”

“Well, I’m sorry then.” Draco concluded lamely. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No. You most certainly shouldn’t have.” Nalini agreed.

“I didn’t know.”

“And you think that’s an excuse?”

“All my life I’ve been told that Wizards and Witches with non-magical parents are inferior to people like me. Purebloods.” Draco said, a look of concentration on his face as he tried to explain. “Just like I’ve been told that movies and music are for inferior people. I suppose I don’t really know anything about the world. You are most certainly superior to anyone I’ve ever met before.”

Chapter Thirty-Five - Feelings


Nalini was surprised by this ardent admiration. She had known that Draco was interested in her but she had no idea he was that interested. He had completely renounced everything he seemed to stand for. And for what? He was gazing at her now as if he longed to kiss her. This was insane, the fair-haired boy barely knew her. Years of isolation had addled his brain, she was sure. Was he interested enough to go to extremes to know her? Part of Nalini wanted to quiz Draco and the other part didn’t know what to do. Her heartbeat was still racing and she could feel heat rushing to her skin, making her tinge a deep red. She stood up.

“I’m sorry.” Draco said standing also. “I’ve really offended you.”

“No.” Nalini said next. “No, Draco. It’s just that it’s lunch time. See?” She asked as she held her arm out. Draco grasped Nalini’s arm lightly and held the watch up to see it. Nalini drew away from the touch instinctively.

“Yes I see.” Draco said and started to walk again towards Hogwarts. He was silent and stern, barely glancing Nalini’s way. Nalini followed alongside him. She was feeling more and more nauseous and she couldn’t quite get her thoughts in order. In the great hall Nalini waved a silent farewell and sat at the end of Gryffindor table again. She ate with her eyes on her food but Nalini could feel two pairs of eyes boring into her. The fine hairs at the back of her neck were tingling and her ears were starting to burn bright red. She kept her eyes focussed on her plate the whole meal not daring to look up. When she had finished the small amount she could stomach she walked quickly out of the hall.

She spent the next few hours reading by herself in the library. She kept thinking about the trouble she was in and kept wishing she was back home. She went to the great hall again for dinner time, but she still wasn’t at all hungry. She did the same thing as before, but found herself looking up this time. Draco was staring at her unashamedly. Goyle was talking to him but he wasn’t listening. Nalini looked at her plate again but decided she couldn’t eat any more. She dashed out of the great hall and was just heading for the common room when she was stopped by two voices calling at the same time.

“Nalini!”

“Gryffindor!”

Nalini span around to see Harry and Draco turning to look at each other with flushed faces. Harry had swept hair off of his forehead with one frustrated hand movement and was staring at Draco with a frown. The Slytherin was standing there looking up at Harry with pursed lips and within a short space of time had raised his wand.

“Go away, Potter. Nalini doesn’t need you harassing her.” Draco said curtly.

“Me harassing her? When I saw Nalini this morning she was fine.” Harry shouted, his wand was now in his hand as well and was trained on the blonde-haired boy.

“What are you talking about Harry? When you saw me? When did you see me?” Nalini questioned furiously. It was taking all her power to keep the incredulity in her voice. Harry seemed to have realised the consequences of what he was saying because he started to go pale immediately and stammer incoherently.

“Uhh, erm, I uhhh, I meant down the table, you know.” He said, looking down at the ground. Nalini raised an eyebrow at him and then looked back towards Draco. Draco was smirking triumphantly. Nalini thought to herself what a good actor Harry was, but perhaps he was really embarrassed?

“Down the table. Well you can continue that practice if you wish. Whatever it is you wanted from me, Harry, you’re not getting it, sorry. I don’t talk to those who abhor my company.” She waved her hand in Harry’s direction. “Draco, you wanted me?” She asked fiercely, her green eyes flashing. Draco looked taken aback but then smiled.

“I’ll tell you, but not around Potter.” He drawled, his blue eyes glinting.

Nalini started to contemplate the situation. She hadn’t wanted to spend any more time with Draco, his company she found intensely unsettling, but now she had no choice but to go with him if she were to hold his trust. She mentally scowled at Harry who was now muttering something that sounded like goodbye and was going back into the great hall. He did have to make that blunder, didn’t he? Luckily Draco didn’t appear to think twice that Harry had only meant seeing from afar. He was wallowing in victory.

“Okay, Draco .” Nalini said. She waited for him to move and he did so slowly, looking back at the door with a faint smirk. When he returned his attention to Nalini, however, his expression was quite changed, there was purpose lingering in its depths.

“Why did you go so strange before, Nalini?” He asked, obviously attempting to sound tender but failing miserably. He sounded more like he was interrogating her.

“Nerves.” Nalini said shortly whilst walking quickly. Draco was doing his best to keep up. “No-one’s ever said anything like that about me before. I wasn’t the only one, though, you go all cold whenever I don’t respond the way you want me to. How can we be expected to be friends if you go all quiet for no good reason?”

“Sorry.” Draco said. Nalini wondered if she was the only one apart from his father that he had ever apologised to. The sound was unnatural when uttered by his lips.

“Draco.” Nalini started. They were sitting by the lake again, now. This time it was sunset and soft orange rays glinted off the water. Draco was sitting facing Nalini, his eyes gazing at her. Nalini was looking at the lake, however. What was it about this lake that Nalini found so appealing? Perhaps it was the calm blue colour, or the wind created ripples that lapped up to the shore? “You’ve been unhappy for a while, haven’t you?” Draco obviously hadn’t been expecting this question because he leant back and had to give it a moment’s thought.

“Yes.” He said after a while. “There are times when I hate my life and I just want it all to go away. I have a feeling you could make it better, though.”

Chapter Thirty-Six - When You’ve Got It…


Again! Would he never stop? Nalini had a sneaking suspicion Draco only had one thing on his mind, and it was not the desire for it to all go away, or to get better, it was a different desire entirely. She wanted to tell him to stop hitting on her, she wanted to say ‘can’t we just be friends?’, a treacherous part of her was wondering if she’d be this discomforted if it was Draco’s rival saying such things. She couldn’t do anything she wanted to, though.

“Me too.” She said with as much feeling as she could muster. Inside she felt tremulous. After sitting there a few more minutes, just taking the scenery in, Nalini nodded her head back towards Hogwarts and suggested they get back. Draco agreed and they parted at the front door. Nalini went up to the Gryffindor common room and played a game of exploding solitaire. Harry avoided her, and she avoided Harry. She made sure she was in bed and pretending to be asleep before Hermione could ask her any questions. Hermione had signalled to her several times during the evening that she wanted to talk, but Nalini shook her head. She left a note under Hermione’s quilt telling her they would talk after she had completed her mission.

The next day Nalini smiled and waved at Draco from her end of the table at breakfast. She had made sure to keep her hair loose and wear her uniform as gracefully as she could. The Gryffindors were still ignoring Nalini and Ginny even tripped Nalini up as she walked down the hall. This hurt Nalini’s feelings more than she could even admit to herself. She had never fit in anywhere, and now she didn’t even fit in here. She really liked Ginny and she found herself hoping the red-haired girl would go back to treating her like before when this was all over.

Nalini and Draco spent the lessons they had together on the Monday sitting next to each other, Nalini spent the lessons without him by herself. Divination and hearing Parvati go on about how she predicted a collision between friends was almost too much to bare. Nalini desperately wanted to tell the girl she was a few days late but she bit her tongue. Nalini was thankful to finish the lesson and at lunch and dinner she took her food outside and sat by the lake eating and talking with Draco. Nalini tried, once again, to acquaint Draco with the wonderful world of music, even deigning to sing a few songs for him, but he didn’t respond very enthusiastically.

“It’s better than opera I suppose.” He said with an air of disinterest.

Potions was an interesting class, not only because of the subject matter, but the strange way Snape looked at the Gryffindor and Slytherin sitting together. If Goyle and Crabbe were unhappy Draco was spending so much time with Nalini they didn’t show it. Snape announced they would be working on joint projects over the next week. Nalini and Draco paired up to do the potion Snape had set, together, much to Snape’s surprise.

Lessons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were particularly interesting because Nalini still had to sit next to Hermione and Ron in order to perform the transfiguration spells but also had to look like she hated them. This was not an easy task as Ron kept joking with Hermione and on a couple occasions Nalini found the corners of her lips rising ever so slightly. Harry’s watchful gazes were also incredibly distracting. He had persisted in keeping watch over her ever since their discussion on Sunday, it seemed. Nalini made sure she kept looking at Draco as often as possible, however, so that he didn’t ponder over why she hadn’t sat next to him. She had been purposely late for lesson each day and had pretended she hadn’t seen the space he had left for her. Potions was alright, though, their potion appeared to be coming along very well.

At lunch and dinner Nalini listened to Draco complain about his father. It seemed he had spent the past few years under Lucius’s shadow and didn’t enjoy it much. The domineering man expected a lot from his son, and when he hadn’t performed as well as that mudblood, sorry, muggle-born, Hermione Granger, Draco had been punished. Nalini listened to all of these family complaints and heard Draco talk about Paris as if he had lived there half his life.

“How long were you there?” She asked, trying to sound as interested as possible.

“Three weeks.” Draco said proudly. “So tell me, am I better company than Granger and that lot or what?”

She was still looking at the lake, not quite knowing how to respond. Frankly, he had not been better company. His company had been about as interesting as watching paint dry, but she couldn’t say that could she? There had been moments when she had enjoyed being with him, but these were moments only and were quickly displaced by Draco doing or saying something that Nalini didn’t especially like. There was more to dislike in Draco than to like.

There was something about Draco, she had been thinking all this time, that made her less and less inclined to believe he was smart enough to come up with using Fantasma Peratai. In fact, he not only seemed too foolish, he seemed too caught up in his own dreams and desires to want to interfere with anyone else’s. He seemed like he was too wrapped up in his own problems. There was only way to find out, though. Ask him. She didn’t want to spend the week as she had been previously intending, hanging around with Draco and finding out his deepest dark secrets. She had concluded he didn’t really like her for who she really was but that he was just infatuated with her because she was something new. She wanted to end this here and now.

She looked back at Draco only to find him leaning close to her. He swept a strand of her hair away from her face. “What are you thinking?” He muttered. “You looked so sad.”

Nalini did something against her rational and wise nature. She leaned close to Draco and kissed him softly on the lips.

Chapter Thirty-Seven – Never. Again.

Her heart was beating fast and she knew that she would never be able to live it down. Kissing a boy for information. Well, she was sixteen, not a child. She was using her feminine wiles, as Hermione had said. Still, the thought made her feel sick. Kissing to coddle, to muddle, to confuse. Wasn’t that something an arch-villainess would do? A femme fatale? Draco tried to kiss her deeply back but she put her hand to his shoulder and pushed him back.

“Why…” Draco was mumbling, but Nalini cut him off.

“Draco. I want you to tell me the truth. Have you ever heard of Fantasma Peratai?” Nalini asked insistently. She had to know then and there.

“Fantasma Peratai?” Draco repeated, he appeared to be in some kind of shock. He was most definitely not acting, he was clearly ignorant on the subject. “Uhmm, no. Should I have?”

“Have you performed any kind of spell to attract my attention?” Nalini asked now, more firmly. She had to make sure he hadn’t done something, at least, to disturb her peace of mind.

“No. What… you think the only way you’d be interested in me would be because I’ve enchanted you?” Draco asked now, his senses now appeared to have come back, bruised pride affecting him immediately. Nalini shook her head. “I don’t understand Gryffindor, what is it exactly you’re accusing me of?” He asked next, frowning.

“I’m accusing you of giving me nightmares.” Nalini said with a concentrated look and dry smile. The soft dusk light was even softer now, the sky turning slowly but steadily that odd blue hue prevalent in british twilight.

“Giving you nightmares?” Draco asked, squinting with misapprehension. “Are you alright in the head?” He appeared deeply confused. Nalini was not about to explain, however.

“Not exactly.” Nalini replied. “Well, you obviously don’t know what I’m talking about. I suspected as much. Thanks for answering my questions.” She said as she stood up briskly. Things had not gone as she had planned. She had hoped many days would be spent on her enquiries but her patience had run out. She just couldn’t stand any more time with the Slytherin and she was sure he had not been the one playing around with her mind. He was neither intelligent nor purposeful enough. He was, however, still quite dangerous. Looking at Draco’s expression Nalini realised she may have made an enemy for life.

“What’s going on Nalini? You’re not interested anymore?” Draco was now shouting harshly.

“No, Draco. Not in the way you’re interested in me.” Nalini said now quietly. She wanted to shout that she was just using him for information, but she felt that would probably be another unwise thing to do and she had performed enough unwise tasks for the day. “I do like you, but I just want to be friends.”

“Friends!” Draco said scornfully. “Oh and that kiss?” His face was screwed up with anger, and he was not the handsome young man he sometimes looked in her company. He was quite the opposite.

“Was just a kiss.” Nalini said, uncomfortably looking down at the ground. Her guilt was building up now, she still felt sorry for the Slytherin boy. She didn’t like him, the past few days had proven that to her, but she pitied him. He would probably never be able to function in the real world, but his money and contacts would allow him to go far anyway. He was horribly spoilt and abused at the same time, caught up in a family that invested more in a name than a person. Nalini wished she could change Draco, but that would never work. She would never want to be more than friends with him anyway, she realised there were other issues at work other than Draco’s undesirable behaviours that made this true.

“Draco, you have to understand… we could never be more than just friends. We don’t have anything in common.” Nalini said.

“Of course we do. You just aren’t smart enough to see exactly what.” Draco was saying now, eyes glinting angrily.

“That’s not a good way of making me believe you, is it? Insulting me?!” Nalini said annoyed.

“You just wanted to know if I was doing this stupid spell. You don’t care about me at all.” Draco was screaming now, clutching hold of Nalini’s arm.

“Yes I do.” She said, pulling her arm away. “As a friend, I do.” She was just turning away when she felt both her arms grasped tightly. His fingers dug into her flesh, making her eyes water in pain.

“You can’t just go like that. You can’t just toy with me like that.” Draco was growling through gritted teeth.

“Draco. Let go!” Nalini said, trying to wrench free of Draco’s grasp. “Look, we can’t be friends if we part like this.”

“Who said anything about parting? You owe me.” Draco yelled angrily, clasping hold of Nalini’s arms and drawing her closer to him. He was going to kiss her again but she resisted him fiercely, arching away from him as far as she could. She could feel a scream lodged in her throat. His tone changed then, along with his expression. “Come on Nalini, we could be good together.”

“No. We. Couldn’t.” Nalini screamed as she viciously loosened her arm from his grip. She slapped him hard across the face and ran straight for Hogwarts.

Chapter Thirty-Eight – Failure and Fallacy


She couldn’t tell if he followed her as she ran as fast as she could for the common room, when she got there she couldn’t remember the password. She had passed several students on the way and had managed to keep her cool, had managed not to cry, but as she was here, in the hall, so close to safety she couldn’t help it. She started to bang her hands against the cold stone wall in horror, tears started to flow down her cheeks, she was finding it hard to breath. How could she have ever thought he was alright? He was horrible, horrible! Draco was horrible, someone entirely different was trying to mess with her mind, and the only people she could talk about it with were in a room sealed by a password she couldn’t remember.

“Are you alright dear?” a voice asked. Nalini dimly realised it must be the portrait of the Fat Lady. She couldn’t respond, didn’t know what to do. Her breath came in wracking sobs and her mind was all confusion. Suddenly the painting swung open and two third years stepped out. Nalini grabbed her chance and ran in. She barrelled into George.

“Nalini… oh my gosh, are you okay?” He asked, so obviously worried he had forgotten she was the ‘enemy’.

Nalini shook her head and took another deep breath, from out of the corner Hermione came. Taking a quick glance around the room she was surprised to see no sign of Ron or Harry.

“She better come with me, George.” Hermione said with authority. She led Nalini up to the girl’s dorms and they sat on the bed for several minutes before Hermione attempted to speak. Nalini was starting to breath easier now, the english language was once more under her control.

“Where are the boys?” Nalini managed to ask between breaths.

“In the library studying for a change! They’re taking their studies more seriously than I would have thought. What happened Nalini?” Hermione asked.

“We made a terrible mistake, that’s what. He wasn’t planning anything after all. It had just been something he’d said for fun. I should never have done this. It was too risky. He was horrible. I…” She paused for a long time and when she spoke next her eyes were clouded over and her voice was steady and calm. “He tried to kiss me, and when I resisted, he got violent.” What had they been thinking anyway? Hang on… wasn’t this her idea in the first place? Spend more time with Draco. What had she been thinking? Nalini straighted up and wiped her face with her hands.

“I’m so sorry, Nalini. You’re right, this was a stupid idea.” Hermione said, but there was something in her voice that Nalini didn’t quite understand. Nalini looked searchingly at Hermione for a while. As she did so her eyes widened with shock and disgust and she stood up.

“You wanted this to happen!” She said, her voice going a slightly higher pitch in her angry and upset state.

“Not this.” Hermione said quickly. “But you had to see, you had to understand that Draco is no good.”

“I understood before!” Nalini spat back, fury etched in her face.

“No… you didn’t, not completely.” Hermione said, now, looking down at the ground with a sad expression. “I didn’t want him to hurt you. I didn’t want that. But you had to see that we were right about him. You had to know, for yourself, first hand, what he’s like.”

“Well I know now.” Nalini croaked. She was furious and yet, what had Hermione really done? Nothing that wouldn’t have happened in the first place. She had thought she had come up with the plan a little too quickly. “Believe me, I know. I’ll not be going near Draco Malfoy any time soon. He holds no sympathy with me.”

“Right, we better watch out for him. Who knows what kinds of hexes he’s going to try and put on you.” Hermione said matter-of-factly. We’ll do a protection spell on you… anything he tries to do will rebound back onto him.

“And what if he doesn’t bother with hexes?” Nalini asked.

“We’ll be on guard at all times.” Hermione replied. She was fiddling with the quilt with a frown. “You don’t hate me, do you, Nalini? I never expected he’d go that far. I just thought he’d say something that would make you realise he was the horrible person he is.” She said then, earnestly looking at Nalini with sympathetic concern.

“I’d have done it behind your back anyway, Hermione. Spent time with him, I mean.” Nalini said, surprising herself with how little ill will she felt towards Hermione. “All we did was do it in the open.”

Nalini felt better now, slightly better at least about what had happened with Draco, but another more important thing was pressing her. She expressed a wish to go to bed and Hermione didn’t argue, instead Hermione went downstairs to look for the boys. Nalini didn’t sleep well that night. She heard Hermione and the other girls come to bed, heard their whispers. Heard Hermione explaining that she and Nalini had just been acting stupidly and were friends again. For the first time she thought about her parents and how they must be feeling. She missed them. She had tried to stop herself thinking about them since coming to Hogwarts and it had been easy because of everything that was happening, but now… what was the point of continuing? Did it really matter? What had she really found out that she didn’t know before? That she was even more out of place in the Wizarding world than she had previously thought? It had come to a head.

After a few hours sleep Nalini got up the next morning and allowed herself a few minutes thinking time before deciding what she should do.

Chapter Thirty-Nine – Protection


Going down into the common room, Nalini knew straight away that many things had been said about what had happened last night. The other students stared at her and whispered quietly amongst themselves. She didn’t care. The time had come. Nalini had decided that she was going to ask Hermione, Ron and Harry if they could write to Dumbledore. Three weeks had passed, only three, and yet it felt like months had been spent at the castle. She had enjoyed some moments yes, but she didn’t belong there, and for the most part she had been tormented by a bodyless voice. Now was the time to go back and ask why.

Nalini went over to Hermione, Ron and Harry quietly. She wanted to get away quickly, but realised she had to talk to them first or they’d get suspicious. As she came up Ron immediately wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry about what they jerk did, Nalini. Don’t worry… we’ve got the spell all sorted.” Nalini stepped back slightly in shock but nodded her head and said thanks. Hermione frowned slightly but smiled and Harry merely looked at the encounter distractedly.

“Okay, let’s go to the girls toilets.” Hermione said chirpily.

“The girls toilets?” Nalini repeated slowly.

“Yes, that’s where we do all our illegal spellmaking.” Ron said matter-of-factly. Nalini stared up at him questioningly and he smiled and winked. “No-one else ever uses the toilets because they’re haunted.”

“Oh, but there are ghosts all around.” Nalini said.

“Ahh yes, but none so interesting as Myrtle.” Harry said quietly. They had reached the room and went in quickly before checking no-one else was around.

“Doesn’t look like I’ll be escaping any time soon.” Nalini thought, looking at a circle made of what appeared to be bay leaves and several jars on the floor.

“Harry! You’re here again! I’m so used to having to wait months I never dreamed I’d see you so often.” A ghostly girl with pigtails was saying as she floated over the top of one of the cubicles. Harry had gritted his teeth and was staring at Myrtle as if asking her to shut up. “And who are you?” Myrtle’s voice had changed into a harsh accusatory tone and she had rushed down to float just in front of Nalini.

“I’m Nalini.” She answered, not showing any fear or shock, even though inside she was feeling quite scared. “It’s nice to finally meet you Myrtle.”

“You don’t mean that. No-one’s ever pleased to meet me.” The ghost girl sobbed, and with that sank through the floor.

“I hope she’s not going to tell someone about us. It’d be just out luck to have Peeves turn up halfway through.” Hermione was saying. “Okay, all of us must sit outside the circle holding hands. Nalini, you sit in the middle there.

“How long have you been planning this Hermione?” Nalini found herself asking as she sat down.

“Ever since I started thinking about the plan of course.” Hermione replied. “I knew it was risky, messing with Malfoy, I had to make sure that if you got in danger there was a way to make sure you didn’t get hurt.”

“It didn’t exactly work did it?” Ron said, with a frown in Hermione’s direction. “I had no idea what she was up to.”

“Never mind now, we have to do this. I feel like a prat sitting here.” Nalini said. The three mages closed their eyes and concentrated.

“Repeat after me.” Hermione was saying. “Moste Protectis Guardia”

“Moste Protectis Guardia” The two boys repeated. Nalini was fairly sure Hermione had already made them practice the incantation as they sounded particularly bored saying it.

“Okay, now we have to do it together. On the count of three. One, two, three…”

“-Moste Protectis Guardia”

A white glow surrounded Nalini and she felt elalated for a second, as if nothing was wrong in the world. Then the glow stopped and she felt quite drained.

“Okay… I think that’s it!” Hermione said with a grin. “But we better check to make sure. What’s a fairly harmless jinx?” Ron looked at Hermione with his eyes wide, and even Harry raised his eyebrows. “Oh I know, the lesser version of the tickling spell! Titillandus Tempora” Hermione said then with her wand towards Nalini. A light blue light shot from her wand, but as soon as it reached Nalini turned around and hit Hermione. She giggled for a couple seconds. “Well, it worked. We’ll have to do this every morning of course, to ensure protection for the whole day.”

They walked out of the toilets as stealthily as they could and made their way off to Herbology. Sure enough Draco scowled at her as she walked in. He wanted to make her pay. Nalini tried to calm herself but was rather worried when Professor Sprout said that they must spend the next double lesson alone with their Mimosa as their time together was coming to a close. The worry evaporated when Nalini realised what this would mean.

“Professor, what will happen to the Mimosa?” Nalini asked, looking down at Tali, the only one she had found it easy to talk to these last few weeks.

“They’re to be planted in a special garden we’ve been setting up in green house number six.” Professor Sprout said. Nalini didn’t quite know what she had expected, that perhaps she would have been able to take Tali home with her, but she felt incredibly sad on hearing this. Hermione leaned in and whispered that she, Harry and Ron would be watching Nalini to check that she is okay and Nalini walked off to her favourite place with her plant.

“Tali. I’m going to miss you!” Nalini said quietly once they were seated. She was putting water into the pot and Tali was waving from side to side.

“You can visit.” The plant spelt out. Nalini stroked one of Tali’s branches as she scattered the fertiliser and organic food on to the soil that was already there.

“No, I can’t… I’m leaving soon.” She said, “I want you to know that I’ll never forget you. You’ve always been here for me and I appreciate that.”

“Don’t be sad.” Tali waved. “Sing for me.” Nalini did just that, she sang quietly, mostly sad, haunting ballads but it helped her.

“Okay, I won’t be sad.” Nalini said after a while. “I’ll just remember all the good times.”

“Good times, eh? What like last night?” Draco suddenly drawled close to Nalini’s ear. She jumped in shock and looked around for Hermione, Ron or Harry. She couldn’t see them, so did that mean they couldn’t see her?

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Nalini asked, trying to keep her voice steady. She saw that he had placed Insipid a few feet away, it appeared to be trying to get him, it’s branches extending towards the white-blond haired Slytherin.

“I want retribution.” Draco said with a leer. His cold eyes glinted menacingly.

“I never meant to hurt you.” Nalini said.

‘No? Well I mean to hurt you. Inferniata” A red beam shot towards Nalini but then rebounded back, stinging Draco’s hand. “How did you do that you…?” Draco was asking as he grabbed onto Nalini’s shoulder, before Nalini knew what was happening Draco was on the ground unconscious, a strange liquid on his face. Nalini looked towards Tali who was waving victoriously. Insipid was also doing the same, and Nalini was sure both plants had sprayed him.

“Thankyou Tali, and you Insipid you don’t mind if I leave you here for now do you?.” The plant waved in a way Nalini took to mean no and with tears in her eyes as she stood up, Nalini ran to the green house. She saw at once why Hermione, Ron and Harry hadn’t come. They were being lectured by Professor Sprout as both Crabbe and Goyle lay on the ground.

“Using hexes on your classmates, I ask you! Even if it was defence you should know not to do such things.” Sprout was saying. “You’re lucky I’m in a good mood. 10 points from Gryffindor each. And if I see you doing anything else like that, it will be detension.” Hermione gave an obvious sigh of relief and Ron was trying to keep his face straight, but Harry was staring at Nalini seemingly concerned. “Class is almost over.” She cast her gaze around the room. “Where’s Draco Malfoy?”

“I was just coming to get you Professor… his plant got him.”

“Got him?” Sprout said. Nalini nodded. “Oh, I see. Alright then, you can all go early as I take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing.” Several students cheered and packed up their things, waving to their Mimosa. Nalini gave Tali another stroke and placed the plant in the box with the others. She had decided that Saturday was probably the best day to put her plan into action after all.

Chapter Forty – Darkness Prevails

The rest of the day for Nalini was spent enjoying her lessons. Nalini made a concerned effort to enjoy them knowing that soon she would not be having lessons in Magic, but be home with her parents. Draco was still in the hospital wing, and so Nalini had to do the rest of the potion alone. Snape didn’t seem too concerned by this news, in fact he looked mildly curious. The evening was enjoyable, with games all around. Hermione and Ron were asking Nalini what she wanted to do for the weekend and next week, deciding they should start really showing her around. Nalini was trying to put her request into words.

The next day they performed the spell in the girls toilets again, this time Myrtle didn’t make an appearance. Ron and Harry announced that they were going to go to Quidditch practice. Nalini claimed she wanted to watch them, but Hermione was eager to start on some Arithmancy work.

“You need someone to be on guard, remember Nalini. You can help me with my research.” Hermione had said forcefully.

“Please let me go watch them, please please please?” Nalini had begged, purposely pouting and widening her eyes. “I’ll help you all tomorrow with your work!”

“Okay then. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if Malfoy is still knocked out.” Hermione conceded. Nalini was rather amused that Draco was still out cold. Madame Pomfrey insisted there was nothing serious with him, and that Tali and Insipid had just given him something similar to a powerful sleeping draught. Nalini trotted down the stairs happily and made her way to the Quidditch pitch, but when she was nearly there she changed direction and walked towards the Forbidden Forest instead.

It was taking all of Nalini’s courage to go into the dark Forest again, but she knew she had to do it. If she was to go back home, she had to know just who was invading her mind this way. She had come armed. She had her fake wand tucked into her jeans for show, several Blooming Bangs, which were a new firework made by Fred and George, a glow in the dark compass, and an exploding Potion that she had taught herself to make. She walked into the darkness steadily, memories of her previous experience here haunting her. It hadn’t really been all that bad had it? No… no it hadn’t. She’d just had a cut on her forehead that was all. Nalini convinced herself she would be fine. The echoing sounds of animals were prevalent and Nalini almost jumped for dear life when something small and furry dashed in front of her.

She found herself deep enough in for her purposes after about half an hour and started to shout. “Hey… I’m back! I’m back and I’m willing to listen to whatever it is you want to tell me. I promise not to sneer or be condescending. You just tell me whatever it is you want to tell me.” She stopped then, to catch her breath, but before she could continue again a voice interrupted her.

“Figured out who he is yet?”

“Who who is?” Nalini asked to the surrrounding area.

“Your foe?”

“No… I have to admit, I have not yet figured that out.” Nalini said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Then let me assist you by telling you your first suspicions should always be heeded.” Nalini put her hand into her pocket as casually as she could, attempting to extricate a Blooming Bang, she was going to blast the surrounding area, figuring that someone had to be fairly close in order to project their voice like this. He had said it was hard to keep the connection up in Hogwarts, but easier here, so therefore wasn’t this where he was? “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, he’s already in the forest and you don’t want to draw attention to yourself.”

“Oh come on” Nalini said then, exasperated. “Admit it, it’s you who has been giving me those nightmares and you who has been trying to hurt me. I just want to know who you are.”

“I am someone who is trying to help you, foolish girl. Still you have not figured out who you truly are, you blindly allow him to keep you under wraps, stupidly believe everything he has to tell you. Look down by your feet and tell me what you see.” The voice replied in fervour. Nalini looked down as commanded and to her surprise saw Ron’s old wand. She had been wondering where it had got to. She stooped down to pick it up. “Tell me, how does it feel having the wand in your hand?” The voice asked. Nalini looked around again, surely this person had to be able to see her.

Nalini shrugged, “It feels fine. I don’t understand what an old wand has to do with anything.”

“That’s when it started, can’t you see? That is when he realised what you could achieve.”

“I can’t achieve anything.” Nalini said tremulously, she didn’t like the way this was going. Her heart was beating faster and faster with every thought rushing around her mind.

“Yes, you can. Give the wand a flick and a swish and see.” Nalini did so, deciding it was best to play along for now and to her horror the wand tip glowed red for a second.

“No. You’re just teasing me. You’ve bewitched the wand!” Nalini said then quiveringly.

“I have not, my dear, and Potter knows it.”

“Potter? Harry you mean?” Nalini asked.

“Well who else? The moment he saw you perform magic with that wand he knew you were a witch.”

“But I’m not, surely… I can’t be a witch… I…” Nalini was starting to see how it made sense. “I fell through the barrier at platform nine and three quarters, I created gold and red sparks out of a wand, and I commanded a broomstick to come to me and managed to fly quite sucessfully for a few minutes, until the dizziness set in. Not to mention I’m especially good at Potions. I couldn’t have done any of this if I really were a Muggle… could I?” She said slowly, quietly. For a moment she felt elated but then the next she felt angry. “And you’re telling me Harry knew all this? What about Hermione and Ron?”

“I don’t think they knew…” The voice said quietly. “And even if they did, I doubt they’d react like he has.” Nalini remembered all the times Harry would simply stare at her, all the times he disappeared, the strange distant way he did things around her.

“Why? What do you mean by the way he has reacted? How has he reacted? Why are you telling me like this? Who are you?” Nalini asked again, feeling that now she had the truth about one thing she might as well have the whole truth.

“I don’t know why but he never wanted you to know you were a witch.” The voice replied. “He would do anything to stop you from finding out.”

Chapter Forty-One – Escaping the Madness

Just then Harry ran in, next to Nalini. She opened her eyes and in shock and rounded on him with Ron’s old wand raised. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, or whether the wand could conceivably work, but she knew she had to look protected somehow. Harry looked at Nalini confused before looking purposely at the wand.

“Nalini… you don’t know what’s going on. Just put the wand down.” He said, reaching his hand forward slowly. He was still wearing his Quidditch robes, and was covered in perspiration. In fact, Nalini felt sure that Harry must have come halfway through practice.

“I am not putting it down, Harry!” She said forcefully.

“Why not? We’re friends, Nalini, we’re good friends, remember?”

“Good Friends.” Nalini scoffed. “If we’re such good friends why didn’t you tell me I was a witch Harry? Was it because you were frightened of my power?” She was angry, frightened and self-righteous.

“Who have you been talking to?” Harry asked, his eyes wide in shock. “I’m not frightened of you in the least, Nalini. Now, just put the wand down.” Harry said, pulling his wand slowly out of his Quidditch robes. Nalini stepped back a bit, but held the wand firm. She was trying to remember spells she had seen the students perform. Her mind was a horrible blank. Nalini tried to remember the things she had learnt over the past few weeks but none of them seemed appropriate. She stared at Harry, who was looking up at the trees and then Nalini, but then he shouted. “You want a fight, eh?”

Nalini raised her wand in shock but Harry was too quick, a yellow light had shot from his wand, but had narrowly missed her, and shot off into the darkness to her left. Nalini stared at him.

“I will teach you to mess with me and my friends, whoever you are.” Harry yelled, his face flushed. He was standing strangely, like he wanted to make sure he was rooted to the spot. He kept looking above himself and then back at Nalini.

“You know who I am” Nalini shouted. “You knew better than I knew myself, right? All this time you’ve just been stringing me along. I don’t want to hurt you Harry. You put your wand down too and we’ll discuss this like civilised people.” Nalini was particularly frightened. Harry had a manic look in his eyes and was swinging his gaze around the trees. He didn’t look like the calm humourous boy she had met on the train, but like a lunatic in a horror movie. She knew she couldn’t trust him and watched him like a hawk.

“Revelianus!” Harry said then, pointing his wand at Nalini. She ducked just in time and ran as quickly as she could away from the mad boy towards the trees. Her heart was pounding fiercely and she wanted to scream for help, but thought that might aggrevate the boy even more. Still, she spoke to Harry, making her voice as loud as possible so that anyone nearby might be able to help. It was a fruitless hope, but a hope none the less.

“You really do want to harm me, don’t you? All this time I’ve trusted you and it’s been you who has been lying and making me think I was going insane. My first instincts about you were right, you’re nuts, completely nuts!” Nalini screamed looking behind herself as she ran but Harry didn’t look like he had heard a word she had spoken. She threw the fireworks behind her and they exploded on impact with the ground. Harry jumped out of the way, the angry and malicious glint still in his eyes as he began to advance.

Nalini turned her attention to where she was heading now and sped off as fast as she could. She could feel Harry following her. He was casting spells in her wake. Nalini started to feel intensely lucky Harry had a terrible aim but the coloured lights were getting closer and closer. She started to sob, she couldn’t believe she had trusted him. All this time he had been keeping the truth from her and now he was trying to attack her. She wished against wish that someone would turn up and help her. Harry couldn’t be insane, he just couldn’t be. Maybe he was posessed? Maybe he wasn’t really Harry? But the then voice had said it was. The voice… maybe if she asked for help?

She called into the darkness. “Can you help me? You told me about him, now help me please?” But Nalini got no reply. She ran quicker and occasionally would see a coloured light streak past her. Suddenly Nalini found herself face down in the dirt, she had tripped over a tree root. She was struggling to get up when Harry came above her.

“You’re not going to get away with this!” He yelled, wand high. Nalini struggled, calling spells and waving Ron’s old wand furiously. Nothing she did was working and Nalini was feeling frantic.

“Impedimenta!” Nalini screamed eventually, remembering Ginny talking about the spell that Harry had used in the Triwizard Tournament and thrusting Ron’s wand forward she concentrated with all her might. Suddenly every action Harry made was slowing down and she gasped in delight. She was a witch then, a real witch, with real magical powers. All this time Nalini had been jealous of everyone else having abilities beyond the norm, but she had them too. She thought back to how scared she was when the wand first sparked, she had been so afraid she had done something wrong. She could hardly believe she was as powerful as performing this spell proved she was. She couldn’t spend time thinking about that now, though, she had to get away before Harry could move properly, it may have been successful but for how long? She ran blindly, her compass didn’t appear to be working, tears were flowing down her face, she was smeared with dirt and getting awful de ja vu vibes from having run through the forest before. She hated this place, Harry, the voice, everything. After a few moments she ran into a clearing, her legs aching, and her chest heaving. Nalini found to her horror however that she had run into a solid being. Whatever she had ran into was soft, and definitely human. Nalini felt her fear escalate and when she finally stared into the person’s face gasped in shock.

Chapter Forty-Two - Not Always As They Seem


“Professor Snape!” Nalini exclaimed in joy. “Oh I’m so glad to see you. I need your help! Harry… he’s after me.” In the darkness Snape was a frightening figure, yet he was infinitely better than the boy who was trying to take away her life. Nalini felt better just to know that there was a teacher there ready to help her against the mad boy.

“My help?” Snape said, his cloak billowed slightly in the wind. “Harry’s after you?”

“Yes, he’s following me. The voice, he said, he’s trying to kill me… because, because I’m a witch!” Nalini said, a tear trickled down her cheek.

“My dear girl, Harry Potter is not trying to hurt you.” He said then, his voice oddly muffled. “He is trying to protect you.”

“Protect me? Oh no he is not. The voice… the voice, it said that Harry knew what I was, that he wants to take away my powers. And he’s running after me as we speak… don’t you get it? I’m a witch.”

“I know you’re a witch.” Snape said next, biting impatience mingled with mirth evident in his tones.

“No, no… you see, before, before I was just masquerading, pretending to be a witch. I thought I was a muggle, I never really went to a school… they found me on the platform, but it turns out I am a witch, I don’t know how, I don’t know… it’s just… please, take me with you… quickly.” She wrenched at Snape’s coat but he would not move. Tears were flowing thick and fast in her anguish.

“I know what you are.” Snape said again with deliberation. “I know exactly what you are talking about. I say again, Potter is not going to hurt you. We will stay right here until he arrives.”

“What? Harry… he… you… I don’t understand…” Nalini said, her voice trailing off in confusion, Snape now had a hold of her wrist.

“I really love Hogwarts, sir, it’s much better than Santa Fontana” He imitated with cruel relish. Nalini didn’t quite understand why. The voice that spoke next was not quite the same as before. His voice was high and cold, in fact. “The letter said Santa Fonanta, you stupid girl. Did you really think that the real Severus Snape would have let you enter the school under this glaring mistake?”

Nalini opened her eyes in shock. Her voice caught in her throat. “The real Severus Snape? You’re not Snape?” The man standing in front of Nalini smiled maliciously. She didn’t understand. If he wasn’t Snape, who was he? What was he doing here? Before she could ask anything, say anything else, Harry barrelled into the scene. He was panting deeply, had a cut across his left cheek and his reclaimed wand raised.

“Ahh, so you’ve arrived at last.” The man said with obvious glee. Harry looked as confused as Nalini felt. He was looking at the man claiming not to be Professor Severus Snape warily. “I was wondering when you’d come. Don’t you recognise me Potter?” His cold high voice was piercing, it was the very same voice that had spoken to her not minutes before, had assured her he was on her side. The man held onto Nalini’s arm tighter.

“Voldemort!” Harry said in horror before his tone took on a harsh timbre. “I should have known!”

“I don’t understand.” Nalini whimpered.

Voldemort laughed. “No, you wouldn’t, would you? All this time you’ve believed everything I’ve told you… you’ve been very useful these past three weeks, at keeping Potter at bay. I’ve been watching you make one foolish mistake after another, see you deny the obvious, been infuriated at how you kept it all inside and yet this has probably made my task all the easier.”

“Task?” Nalini asked quietly, feeling very sure now that if even if she didn’t know what was going on she was going to die anyway. In fact, things were starting to make horrible sense.

“Let her go. You don’t want her, you want me.” Harry said harshly, his wand still pointed in front of him.

“Yes, you are right… I do want you.” Voldemort said curiously staring at Harry, Nalini thought for a second that he was going to let her go but instead he drew her closer. “But I want the girl as well. Your time has come Potter.” He raised his wand and had just uttered “Cru…” when before Nalini knew what was happening there was a blinding flash of light. She was thrown to the side, her head hitting a tree, and when her eyes opened again she was amazed at what she saw. Harry was on the ground also, as was Voldemort, but in the centre of the clearing was a tall man with white flowing hair, bright blue robes with yellow stars, a Wizard’s hat and a wand trained at Voldemort.

“You will not harm Harry or his friend, Tom.” The old Wizard said, every word emitting a powerful sense of authority. “I’ve just been at the school, imagine how angry I was to find that Professor Snape was not in the building and that two students were missing. Naturally I knew something must be up.”

“Dumbledore!” Voldemort shrieked. He was starting to look less and less like Snape, the black lank hair was shortening, the mouth and eyes were widening, his eyes becoming bright red and Nalini looked on in horror at the transformation.

“I don’t understand.” Nalini was saying, her head throbbing with pain. Harry had crawled over. He was right by Nalini’s shoulder now, but instead of overwhelming fear like she would have felt just minutes before, Nalini was heartened by his presence. “Polyjuice.” Harry muttered. “That isn’t Snape, that’s Voldemort, remember how we told you about him? This psychotic Wizard who killed my parents? He wants to kill me. Come on, take this.” He said as he thrust Ron’s old wand into her hand. “You won’t be able to do much with it, but it’s best to be armed.”

“You didn’t tell me much about him” Nalini whispered.

“Believe me, you didn’t want to know.” Harry murmured back. He was watching the proceedings in front of them carefully. He didn’t look like he was up to a big fight himself, he looked very battered, bruised and lethargic.

Dumbledore must have performed a spell because an energy field was crackling in a circle around the enclosure now. The one called Voldemort looked terrified and livid at the same time.

“You can’t stop me Dumbledore.” He shrieked again. “I’m too close this time. The boy is going to die! And the little witch too!”

“Unfortunately for you, Voldemort, you are wrong. As long as I am here Harry and his friend are perfectly safe.”

“Oh no, Dumbledore? Crucio!” Voldemort said, his wand directed at Nalini. But instead of the pain she knew she should be feeling she felt nothing. Instead it was Voldemort who writhed in agony. He was still standing, but obviously in incredible pain. He lifted his hand again.

“Avada Kadavra”

“Expelliarmus!”

The two men screamed at the exact same time, their wands raised towards each other. Neither spell appeared to have worked. The two colours that were emitted by the wands had hit each other. The two lights shot off, hitting the electric field and cutting it off and bounding in amongst the trees like a fantastical fireworks display. Dumbledore was saying something else but before he could there was another blinding flash and when Nalini could see again, Voldemort had disappeared.

“Where’s he gone? He can’t have disapparated.” Harry screamed, rushing forward at first on hands and knees and then shakily stretching up. “Dumbledore? Where’s he gone?”

“I’m not sure, he couldn’t have got too far, but we can’t worry about that yet. We are not strong enough alone to take him on. It isn’t safe here. We have to be getting back to Hogwarts. We have someone who is in desperate need of medical attention.” It was then that Nalini could see the real Severus Snape lying unconscious at the base of a tree. He was painfully thin and his clothes were torn. He looked like he had gone through many torturous weeks. Dumbledore hoisted him to his feet and directed Harry and Nalini to help him. “You two will have to explain everything to me once we make sure Severus is alright.” Dumbledore said with a note of frustration in his voice. “Yes, we will all need explanations.”

Chapter Forty-Three - Those Green Eyes

“Now that you have both given me accounts of what has happened, and I have had a long talk with Severus, I want us all to talk together.” Dumbledore was saying.

It was several hours later in the day. Harry and Nalini stood in Dumbledore’s office, behind his desk. Dumbledore was sitting, looking at both Harry and Nalini closely. He was taking in their appearances, noting the similarity in the way they stood quite close to each other but appeared to be miles apart.

“You know, you both have extraordinarily bright green eyes.” Dumbledore said. Nalini’s eyes quickly flicked to the left where Harry was standing but she did not move her head. Harry didn’t move and his gaze never left Dumbledore’s face.

“Are you saying that we’re… we’re… ?” Nalini stuttered, her voice nothing more than a raspy whisper. Harry stood strong, although his gaze took on a defiant look.

“No, Miss. McAuliffe I am not trying to tell you that Harry is your long lost brother or vice versa. Or that you are both related in any way. Quite the contrary. I was just thinking that if you had children together they would all have extraordinarily bright green eyes.” Nalini swung around to look at her intended match with horror, Harry did the same. Harry’s face was a picture of fear and disgust, Nalini’s was not much better. The thought of even being friends was too much to bear, let alone anything more. Dumbledore had achieved his goal and chuckled “Well at least I managed to get you two to look at each other, something you have not been doing since I took you to Madame Pomfrey. You need to talk.”

Neither of the students moved or said anything and after waiting at least a minute Dumbledore sighed with frustration. “If you will not explain to each other, I will explain for you. Harry. You are deservedly angry at Nalini. She very nearly cost you your life.” Nalini made a movement as if to speak but Dumbledore raised his hand. “Nalini, your time for explication shall come.” He looked once more at Harry. “Would I be right in thinking you have spent the last few weeks having sleepless nights trying to figure out how best to tell Nalini the truth, Harry?” Harry nodded slightly. “And what is that truth?”

“She already knows.” Harry said gruffly, “She found out by herself. In a way that could have got us all killed.”

“I had no choice!” Nalini exclaimed, rounding on Harry with fury.

“I was going to tell you. I was waiting for the right time!” Harry turned as well, yelling. His black hair falling onto his forehead with the momentum of the movement.

“The right time? The right time? And when was the right time, Harry? How about when the wand shot out of my hand? You lied. You said it was you. But it was me all along. Why didn’t you just let us figure it out then?”

“Why? Why? You don’t know. You couldn’t see the look on your face, Nalini.” Harry said, his voice breaking slightly, as if he were trying to block all emotion but not quite succeeding. “The horror, the absolute terror in your expression. I’ll never forget it. I was the only one who saw it. Hermione and Ron were too busy looking at the stupid bloody wand. You were so scared. So vulnerable. And telling you, just having you figure it out then? It’s enough of a shock finding out you’re a Wizard or Witch under normal circumstances, but like that? The thoughts that would have gone through your mind. I’m a freak. But how can I be? I never got the letter. They never wanted me. I’m just like them. But no, now I’m different, and now I can’t be accepted back into the world I lived before. My parents, they’ll hate me, my friends won’t understand.” Harry’s voice had become rushed, he was looking to the floor, his hands in tight fists, but then he looked up, straight into Nalini’s eyes. “I did what I had to do. You couldn’t find out then, not like that. I had to protect you. I made a split second decision. The next day, I wanted to tell you, in a more,… controlled manner. I was going to, but then I couldn’t. I was worried. Scared of your reaction. I resolved to wait until a more suitable time. But the suitable time never came. The broomstick. I should have told you then, I know. I could never get the words out, never explain…”

Nalini couldn’t say anything, there was a lump in her throat. Dumbledore looked from one to the other. “And Nalini, you were suspicious. You felt that Harry knew something and it made you distrust him. You were afraid. You started to feel there was a conspiracy against you. And you were right, you just had the wrong person. You wanted to find the answers out yourself. Voldemort was intelligent, he found out your weakness. The weakness that is also your greatest strength, your self-reliance. Voldemort preyed upon it. He knew he could easily lead you down the wrong path. That is Voldemort’s great gift. You let him manipulate you simply by not talking about what was happening to you with your friends.”

“I was a fool.” Nalini said, her eyes filling with tears. “I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t know it was Voldemort. I should have guessed, should have known, but I didn’t. The voice, it was so persuading. I should have told someone. I was so consumed with finding out the truth I couldn’t see it when it was right in front of me. I didn’t think straight. It’s no excuse, but I… I… there’s nothing I can say to make it up to you, Harry. You almost died. I could have killed you.” Nalini was crying now, her hands covering her face and her body convulsing softly.

Harry flinched slightly, he moved towards Nalini as if to comfort her, but stopped himself. He was still furious.

Chapter Forty-Four - Questions with Answers

Dumbledore rose from his desk, came over and held Nalini in his arms. “There, there. Just let it all out. Your mistakes can hardly be blamed for everything that has happened these past few weeks. Harry’s mistakes are partly to blame as well. And let us not forget that Voldemort was acting as the headmaster of the school. ” The venerable mage said, his eyes twinkling at Harry over Nalini’s head. “How could you possibly be expected to know what to do? You are new to this world, after all. Your powers have come late in life. This is an odd occurrence, but has been known to happen. It is not your fault that you didn’t believe Harry, he did nothing to make you believe him. Voldemort managed to fool Wizards and Witches far older and wiser than yourself.” After a few minutes he went and sat down at his desk once more and both Harry and Nalini did the same.

“I made the same mistake.” Harry said after a while, looking at Dumbledore with full comprehension. “My self-reliance was my weakness as well. If I had just spoken to Snape I would have realised it wasn’t Snape I was speaking with. Voldemort would have been too impatient.” Dumbledore nodded. “But it was a pretty stupid plan of his, wasn’t it? Pose as Snape to get to me.” Harry sneered.

“Well yes, on the face of it it does seem like an incredibly stupid plan. However, Voldemort couldn’t rely on one of his Death Eaters to do it, every single time he relied on someone else to get to you, Harry, they failed and he was left to pick up the pieces. The thing is, if I hadn’t turned up, what’s to say the plan wouldn’t have suceeded Harry? You did believe Voldemort was Snape didn’t you?” Dumbledore asked, Harry nodded.

“He wasn’t behaving any differently. Except that… well, he wasn’t taking as many points away from Gryffindor. And he wasn’t constantly on my case. He generally just left us alone!”

“Once he found out Severus was on our side he didn’t realise our Potions master wasn’t quite as turned to the good side as one would think.” Dumbledore said with a twitch of his lips. “And of course, Severus would give no clues as to how he would really behave. Voldemort’s original plan of acting as Severus and merely waiting for the right time was completely thrown into disarray with the appearance of Nalini.” Dumbledore said carefully after a while.

“But why? I mean… I would have gone and spoken to him to tell him about Nalini being a muggle, maybe, and realised that it was strange that he wouldn’t have acted in getting Nalini out of the school… but why couldn’t he just pretend he was doing that and kill her or something? Why couldn’t he just kill me then and there?” Harry asked. Nalini looked at him with horror as he said these words with seemingly no emotion. She was still finding it difficult to breath.

“Because Voldemort realised something about Nalini that you hadn’t Harry.” Dumbledore replied, he appeared to be willing Harry to make the connection but the teenage boy looked as clueless as Nalini felt. “Your feelings for her. He could tell you cared deeply about her. He had a new weapon.”

“I’ve only known her three weeks!” Harry scoffed. He had gone slightly pink and was staring fixedly at the floor.

“And yet you risked everything keeping the truth from her.” Dumbledore said quietly, assessing Harry with a knowing look. “Voldemort may be rash, but he has the terrible gift of foresight. He underestimates you to be sure, but he estimates how you will act with awful accuracy. He realised that this new plan of luring you out of my protection field was far less risky.”

“Protection field? Like the protection spell Hermione, Ron and Harry put on me!” It was Nalini who spoke then, she looked at Dumbledore with reverance.

“Ahh yes, you didn’t really think I would leave Hogwarts without putting some… measures in place to ensure Harry’s safety?” Dumbledore asked with a slight smile. His twinkly blue eyes were a source of great comfort for Nalini.

“No.” Nalini replied with a knowing smile, “No, of course not.”

“Unfortunately there are certain aspects about the Forbidden Forest that make it impossible for me to do such a spell that would work sucessfully there. I should never have left after all. I’ll admit, I never thought Voldemort would try the same trick twice.”

“I understand now.” Harry said quietly. “Unfortunately, however, he got away.”

“We can worry about that another time. It is best that you two get to bed. Voldemort has been severely weakened, I made sure of that. He will not attempt an attack tonight. The protection spell is still in place. Tomorrow we will start to discuss measures we must take to keep you all safe.” Dumbledore said in a weary voice.

Harry and Nalini stood up. Nalini found it difficult looking at Harry, and was sure he was finding the same thing. “Professor. If you don’t mind me asking, where were you?” Harry asked having reached the door. Nalini stopped as well, she too was curious. Leaving the school was an odd thing to do if things were as critical as they appeared.

“I was trying to rally up the forces against Voldemort.” Dumbledore replied. “I visited many places, searching out the old crowd, trying to recruit a new group of Wizards and Witches who are strong and capable. I had thought Severus was strong enough to hold off an attack, but I was seriously mistaken. Voldemort knew things about him I did not.”

“Like what?” Harry asked.

“Like the torturous effect certain memories can have.” Dumbledore replied quietly. “Severus will need our help and support after this ordeal. Now, that is all. To bed.”

“Goodnight professor.” Harry said and went out. Nalini said goodnight quietly, and waited for a few moments for Harry to be far away before she made the journey to Gryffindor tower.

Chapter Forty-Five – New Beginnings. Middles. And Ends.


Nalini sat beside Hermione, Ron and Harry on the grass. A fairly short, bald rotund man walked alongside a tall auburn haired woman. Both were in their forties and were looking around in complete awe. The man stared at the castle with a large smile, and was saying something about the impressive gothic detailing on the structure. Nalini watched them with a smile on her face.

Mr and Mrs. McAuliffe had been so happy to see Nalini that they had run up and hugged her without asking questions. Many tears were shed all around at the reunion which occurred the morning after Dumbledore returned. The Police had found Nalini’s satchel at the station and there had been a nationwide search. Mr. and Mrs. McAuliffe had been so worried. Far from furious, however, Nalini’s parents were relieved to see their daughter was safe and sound. They were also awed at the news she was a Witch.

“A witch? As in wicca?” Mr. McAuliffe had asked with raised eyebrows.

“Uhhh, not quite, Dad.” Nalini had replied.

They had broken it to them quietly of course, making sure they were sitting down first. Dumbledore explained that this unnoticing of magical talent had happened only once before, and was due in part to a recent influx of magical power amongst muggles. They were now being given the grand tour, and Mr. McAuliffe’s eyes had sparkled upon seeing many of the items of furniture and decoration around Hogwarts. Nalini had to fondly remind him he couldn’t sell any of it in his antique shop, it was far too priceless, and most likely enchanted.

A week had passed since Nalini’s second adventure in the forest and several protective measures had been put in place. There was now, for instance, Dragons being carefully cared for by Charlie Weasley and several other Dragon-keepers. Ten Wizards and Witches had been added to staff. There were spells surrounding the school, and several statue guards put in place. Nalini was intensely worried about Voldemort, but knew that Dumbledore had gone overboard with security.

Dumbledore had agreed to accept Nalini into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she was even a fifth year Gryffindor like Hermione, Ron and Harry. Dumbledore had said that he hadn’t seen anyone more suited to the house before.

“Well, I’m certainly not Ravenclaw material.” Nalini had joked with Hermione.

Nalini would need remedial lessons, a lot of hard work, concentration and support. She was happy to take up this challenge, however. There was no-one she would miss at acting school, and anyway, she was planning to start a Drama club any day now. In fact, Nalini had many plans for her year at Hogwarts. She was determined to do the best she could. She felt she belonged at Hogwarts, could only surmise that the events that had unfolded were fate. Nalini supposed she would miss The Burrow, the theatre she had worked in all summer, but Ron assured her his family had a Burrow of its own that Nalini would love as well.

Nalini had spent the morning talking with Professor Severus Snape about her favourite Potions. The disagreeable man had not wanted her company, had told her time and time again to leave him alone and had even snarled, but Nalini forced herself upon him, and since he was too weak to get out of bed there wasn’t much he could do. Nalini wanted to get to know Snape well, having heard how brilliant at Potion-making he was. Nalini also spent a great deal of time talking with other professors, in part because she was interested in how she could catch up with her studies, and also in order to get to know them well enough to know if they were the real deal or imposters in the future. Professor McGonagall seemed almost impressed with Nalini’s acting skill, but had informed her she was going to have to work extraodinarily hard to get anywhere near as advanced as her friends. Professor Trelawney claimed to have known Nalini was a muggle the whole time.

“But I’m not a muggle!” Nalini exclaimed.

“Oh, but you thought you were, dear, it’s the same thing.” Trelawney had said in a wavery voice, and Nalini knew the old fraud had no idea what she was going on about.

Nalini had visited Tali in its enclosure. Tali had made great friends with Insipid, who shortened its name to Pid and expressed great delight when she said she would be able to visit after all. In fact, Nalini had told the plants exactly what had happened and had watched in awe as all the plants quaked as she got to the most terrifying parts of her story. Snitch and Wendelin asked Nalini to give messages to Ron and Hermione, and Harry’s plant, which signed it had been called Leany, asked Nalini to give him a hug.

Things between Harry and Nalini were still strained, mainly because the boy refused to look at her or speak to her unless absolutely necessary. He was still furious with her, and Nalini supposed she should still be furious with him too, however she couldn’t quite feel anger towards him. Hermione and Ron had been angry at Nalini for a short while after finding out what had happened in the Forbidden Forest, and the true reason she had acted so strangely the past three weeks, but thinking about what had happened they forgave her quickly. They had all had a hard time explaining to many people about why they had lied. Many students thought it was uproariously funny that she had thought she was a muggle and had been posing as a Witch for the past three weeks. Other students weren’t quite so lenient. Draco had recovered consciousness but upon hearing what had occurred didn’t do or say anything. He didn’t even glance in Nalini’s direction. He was clearly disgusted with himself for having not seen who she really was. Nalini didn’t really care how he felt.

“Do you think your Dad would want to go see a game of Quidditch?” Ron asked Nalini, breaking into her thoughts of her parents.

“Oh yes, I’m sure they’d love it!” Nalini replied.

“Right, I’ll go get my broomstick.” Ron said cheerfully getting up.

“Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to get my Arithmancy book!” Hermione exclaimed and got up as well. They walked off together and Nalini stared back at them with a knowing smirk. She stared at Harry then, and moved closer to him.

“Still not talking to me?” Nalini asked, still gazing at him with a slight smile. He may not have said anything or looked at her, but he had stayed by her side these past seven days regardless.

“Who said I wasn’t talking to you?” Harry asked seriously, still looking at Nalini’s parents who were just walking into the castle.

“No-one. It’s just a fact, that’s all.” Nalini said, still staring at Harry intently, willing him to look back. “Will we ever be friends, Harry Potter, sir?” She asked in a mock-serious tone with a mischievous smirk.

“Who said we weren’t friends now?” Harry asked back, his deep voice now holding humour. Nalini inwardly sighed in relief. She could well have imagined him exploding and telling her where to go if she wanted friends.

“So you won’t mind me chatting with you at the Halloween feast tonight?” Nalini asked.

“No, not as long as you don’t mind me being distracted with Pumpkin Pie.” Harry replied.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What had McGonagall wanted that day after the wand incident?” Nalini asked.

“She was just asking me about Quidditch!” Harry replied. “I desperately wanted to escape and talk to you about, well, you know… but alas that was not to be.”

“So you forgive me, then?” Nalini asked probingly.

“Nothing to forgive.” Harry said gruffly, still not looking at Nalini and Nalini could tell part of him was still highly annoyed. Whether at himself or her, she couldn’t tell. “Shouldn’t you be forgiving me? I’m a “horrible, detestable boy”, remember?” He asked then with a smile.

“Oh please don’t remind me. Was that really four weeks ago? Seems like four months.” Nalini said. “I was an idiot.”

“We were both idiots.” Harry contradicted wryly.

“Yes, firey idiots with bright green eyes.” Nalini said “Green eyed flames.”

“Green eyed flame.” Harry corrected, finally looking at Nalini with a mocking smile. “I can control my temper. I’m green eyed ice.”

The End

If you liked Nalini and this story then you might want to check out the sequel - Green Eyed Ice (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?p=515538&goto=postid). ;)

I want to thank everyone who's read this story. It's been a delight to write and I had a lot of fun with it. I hope you did too. All feedback can be directed here (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=7991) - it's definitely appreciated. Thanks!

~Loz

Green Fleeced Ewes -
What happens when Nalini encounters sheep and the Snuzzlebleep all at once?

*special* - A prequel to the official sequel, this is a parody. Do NOT take it seriously. It follows characters and situations in Green Eyed Flame and Green Eyed Ice and happens roughly inbetween both stories. It details a little adventure Nalini has. Don't forget to leave feedback (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=7991)

On with the story -

[Authors Note]: You may remember the Snuzzlebleep, it was never mentioned by name but it is a creature that resides in the Forbidden Forest. What? You don't rememeber it? Didn't you read this story? When Nalini was being a royal prat and going into the Forest by herself, she heard a shrill cooing noise that sounded perfectly harmless until followed by a bone crushing squelch. Remember now? No? Oh I give up.[/end of Authors Note]

Dear readers, we begin on a warm and balmy day, despite it being the middle of Autumn and Christmas looming up ahead. Warm and balmy days are just better don't you agree? Well, one week after having had that touching and sweet talk with Harry, where he revealed he really wasn't made of cardboard, and had a somewhat corny sense of humour reminiscent of the Author, Nalini was gazing out onto the Quidditch Pitch, as you do.

She was bored and lonely, the excitement surrounding her had worn off, she wasn't anyone special now, just another student. No-one cared that she had escaped the Dark Lord. Draco hadn't made any more advances on her, because the Author didn't know how to work him back into the story without making Green Eyed Ice an ongoing melodrama and most characters acted like nothing happened. Several characters popped up, but only because Loz was bored and needed someone else to talk about, not to mention she couldn't have a Draco love triangle and needed someone new to create sexual tension with. Anyway, as I was saying, as Nalini looked out she gasped in surprise. What was that? Over there? It was a sheep. A female sheep. A female sheep with green fleece. A Green Fleeced Ewe! Oh hang on, there was more than one. There were two. Two Green Fleeced Ewes. Miss. Heaven's Calm was astounded. How interesting!

Being the rampaging fool she was, Nalini decided not to wait for someone else to appear but to go and inspect what two bleating sheep were doing on the Quidditch pitch. She ran, the wind (which had just appeared because despite it being a warm, balmy day, wind is always good) whipping her dark chestnut brown hair across her face. Her green eyes were wide in apprehension as she came up to the sheep.

They stood there, bleating, not moving much. Nalini was entranced. She had never seen green sheep before. There were so many things about the Wizarding world that she didn't know. For a moment she felt like she didn't belong and felt temporarily sad. She had never had any friends in the real world, and there was no-one else about here. Just green fleeced ewes, and strange green fleeced ewes at that, magical ones that only proved that she was new to magic. Suddenly (it's always sudden) out of the corner of her eye she spotted movement.

She whisked around, worried. One of the sheep was trotting off happily towards the Forbidden Forest, which, despite being nowhere near the Quidditch Pitch usually had magically appeared close by. Nalini tried to get the sheep to stop, she didn't know why, but she knew she had to.

As she followed the green sheep, which was surprisingly hard, despite it being really very slow, Nalini gasped for breath. The ewe stopped at the entrance to the forest. Nalini saw this small fuzzy creature come up. She was astounded. What was this small thing with a long snout and little claws? It sort of looked like an echidna. Nalini wasn't sure how she knew what an echidna looked like as she'd never been to Australia in her life, but the Author did so she guessed that's why.

The little snouted creature started to make an odd snuzzling sound, snuzzle bleep, snuzzle bleep, as it inspected the sheep's legs. Nalini watched on in horror. It was quite a cute sight, but she was horrified anyway, perhaps Nalini is clairvoyent. Suddenly the creature started to coo terribly. Coo coo, coooo cooooo... The noise got louder and higher, cold and distant but still close and terrifying. Nalini had the sense to step backwards slightly.

The creature, something Nalini mused should be called a Snuzzlebleep, started to vibrate quickly. It jumped up a down faster and faster until it was nothing but a mass of fur. Then, it launched itself on the Green Fleeced Ewe. Nalini watched on in horror (always horror) as the Snuzzlebleep devoured the sheep. Squelching noises were heard as first the legs, then the head disappeared, and all that was left were small pieces of Green wool.

Nalini started to run, she wasn't sticking around to be eaten, she was the heroine of the story, that just wasn't right. She ran like the wind, her hair whipping about once more, her green eyes open in terror, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Unfortunately just as she came close to the first Green Fleeced Ewe she fell over...

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNNN (The author would usually stop right here and wait a day or even a week to post the next chapter, but she wanted it to only be one post so she'll just put dun dun dun and annoy you with this writing before you can continue on with the story, thereby creating much needed suspense and intrigue)

Nalini crawled along the floor in tears, she could hear the cooing noise getting closer and closer, her heartbeat raced with every second coo. She couldn't get up, she'd sprained her ankle somehow. She rolled over and looked up. Ahead of her she could see the Snuzzlebleep racing forward towards the first Green Fleeced Ewe. She knew she was next. Nalini heard an odd noise above her then, like a thin whistle. Before she knew it she was being snatched up off the ground. She sighed in relief, she was saved. The Snuzzlebleep wasn't going to get her afterall.

She held onto the masculine arms that held her tight. The masculine scent was heavenly ( :eyebrows: ). Nalini was never so grateful as she was now. Those poor Green Fleeced Ewes, though. Her breathing slowed down and Nalini looked up to see two green eyes staring back at her. Harry smiled a soft smile.

"You didn't think I'd let you get eaten by a Snuzzlebleep did you?" he asked, his black hair moving slightly in the breeze (the wind had died down and doesn't Harry look good when his hair ruffles slightly like that?).

"But how did you know?" Nalini asked, confused.

"I know everything. It's my job. I have to be the slightly aloof hero who saves the day. Oh, that and I set the Green Fleeced Ewes out as bait so that I could catch the Snuzzlebleep. Hagrid needed a new ferocious animal to scare the First Years with," Harry replied.

"So you murdered those two green sheep just for bait?" Nalini asked, shocked and outraged.

"Well, technically they weren't really sheep... more like transfigured Slytherins," Harry said then.

And with that they flew back to the castle so that another few months of hilarity and hijinks could ensue and the author could delight in getting much needed ego boosts every week.

Honestly, I promise...

It's over...