Little Phoenix (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

48. Midnight

As they headed down to dinner, Nic sighed, "Do you think he's going to say anything?"

"I think so, if he's calmed down," Sirius replied. "He wouldn't try to hurt you. He looked guilty earlier." They came down the stairs to the kitchen and found dinner was long underway. At the sight of her, Harry looked up, looking like he wanted to say something. To her surprise, Nic found she don't want to talk to him about it all of the sudden. Shaking it off, Nic tucked a strand of her currently midnight-blue hair behind her ear and sat down. Her eyes were still burning and very red.

She sat down between Fred and George and began to try and eat. Much to her dismay, Harry got up and sat across from her. "Nic-" he began.

"Not now, Harry," Nic snapped, not looking at him.

"Nicki, please," he begged as Fred and George became quite awkward.

"Not now," she hissed, shooting him a very hurt glare.

"Nic-" Harry began before he was cut off by Sirius.

"You know, I'm surprised at you, Harry," he said. "I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

"I did!" Harry retorted, sitting back. "I asked Ron, Hermione, and Nic but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so-"

"And you hurt your sister in the process," Sirius said reproachfully.

"I tried to apologize," Harry defended, "but she wouldn't listen to me!"

"Because you were being an ass!" Nic shouted, glaring at him. "Y-You c-can just mention h-him and think I won't be bothered!"

"Nic," Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to set you off."

"What, you thought my boyfriend's death wouldn't effect me?" Nic shouted. The twins were both on their feet by now, glaring at each other. "Harry, I can't even say his name! I have to take sleep potions every night just so I can sleep! I have to take anxiety potions to get through the day!" Instantly she paled. She hadn't told anyone about that, not even Sirius.

"And I thought our fights were bad," Fred whispered to George.

"You two don't fight," Ron retorted. Thankfully the conversation moved on and Nic sat back down. With a sigh, she began to play with her food weakly. She was vaguely aware of voices talking but didn't bother to listen.

"Not so fast," Sirius called as Harry tried to leave with the others. "Harry, Nic, I want to talk to you two. Can you all give us a minute?" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded in understanding and left. "Sit down." Harry sat down next to Nic, causing her to roll her eyes. Seeing this, Sirius said, "You need to work out whatever this is between you. Because I know this is more than just about what happened at the beginning of the summer. So both are you are staying down here still you figure it out."

"What?" Harry snapped.

"Seriously?" Nic groaned at the same time.

"No complaining," Sirius replied, smirking slightly as he headed up the stairs. Once there, he shut and locked the door. Rolling her eyes, Nic moved away form Harry.

"Look, maybe Sirius is right," Harry sighed. "You and I haven't really talked since..."

"First year," Nic said quietly. "Or, more accurately, since I was petrified."

"And you started lying to me," Harry snapped coldly.

"What?" Nic sighed, irritated. "When did I ever lie to you?"

"Oh, I don't know," he scoffed coldly. "Maybe when you lied about Sirius!" Silence fell over the room. "I came to you, told you about what I learned about Sirius and you just stood there! You got to know him for a year!"

"Harry," Nic said softly, getting to her feet. "I didn't tell you because there was so much rage inside of you. Ask yourself, would you have actually listened to me?!"

With a sigh, Harry sat down and admitted, "No, probably not."

Sitting down next to him, Nic chuckled, "Harry, what are we even arguing about?"

"I don't know," Harry laughed, chuckling dryly. "I'm sorry. This summer I've just...I was so alone that it seemed like I was the only one bothered by it."

"Harry, of course I'm bothered by it," Nic replied as if stating the obvious. "You weren't here before. I was sobbing for weeks. Until I tried using the different potions, I...I was a mess. If I wasn't still taking them, then I would still be a mess."

"I didn't know you were struggling that much," Harry admitted. "Your letters seemed..."

"I didn't write them," Nic admitted. "I asked Sirius to write for me until I could handle it."

"I'm sorry Nic," Harry replied, wrapping an arm around her.

"It's okay, Harry," Nic replied, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Look, we need to stick together this year," Harry said. "Other than Sirius, you're all I have left."

"Look at us," Nic said quietly with a small chuckle. "Two orphans sticking together in a harsh, cruel world. We should be made into a movie." Harry chuckled. "You think Siri will let us out now?"

"Would it be the worst thing if he didn't?" Harry asked. "We haven't seen each other in over a month."

"Yeah but I'm tired," Nicki whined.

Chuckling, Harry groaned, "You're so childish."

"Well you just throw yourself pity parties," Nic countered.

"I do not!" Harry defended. At Nic's playful glare, he sighed, "I'm not that bad."

"Okay, well, I'm getting sleep," Nic said. Standing, she walked to the door and shouted, "Siri, let us out or I swear I will cut off your precious hair while you sleep."

Opening the door, Sirius retorted, "Geez, woman, leave my hair alone." Nic and Harry both burst out laughing. Harry high-fived Nic causing Sirius to smile at the encounter. "All right, you two, you should get to bed. I put some more of your potion in your room, Nic."

"Thanks, Siri," Nic replied, giving him a hug.

"Anything for you, little phoenix," he replied. "Now off you get."