I'm Only Paying My Respects

A HariPo oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. This pairing was discovered by me, so please gimme a little mention if you write them! Thanks! It is one of many of Mew and Mor's Weird Pairings, most of which you may find in the M&MWP forum. Check out and join the forum FUN! Read, review, and enjoy! *Note: This is part of my Maydayverse (see profile for details).

- ^-^3

The hardest month is May.

Well, it's more like the rest of May.

Nigel doesn't know what to do. He's never really known what to do. He came to Hogwarts almost five years ago now, but he's never taken charge. No, that'd be his best mate, Dennis. Dennis is the younger of two brothers…no, was the younger of two brothers…and yet he was always better suited to lead.

A few times, these past several months, Nigel had felt that he and Luca and Alice could've all used the leadership of their friend, or at least his encouragement. But Dennis is Muggle-born, so he only joined the final battle, and he only joined because Colin was going to fight no matter what.

But Colin's dead now. Just another friend on the casualty list. And Nigel's not sure how to take that.

Leaving Hogwarts after the mess is hard to do. Part of him doesn't want to abandon the ground where so many heroes fell. Another part of him just doesn't know where to go. Home? Where's that? Isn't home supposed to be safe? Is there really any part of the world that's safe anymore?

Nigel thinks about what it means to be safe. Safe is having love and staying warm and knowing where your friends and family are at all times.

He thinks of a small scene he witnessed in the Great Hall long after Harry's defeat of Voldemort. Nigel had looked past the bodies on the ground, searching for something—but what?—in the faces of the survivors. And he saw something that amazed him.

Fay Dunbar, one of the older Gryffindor girls, had slapped her good friend, Sally-Anne Perks, hard. She'd said, "You stupid—you're Muggle-born! You should've stayed in hiding!" And then, and then—Fay had broken into tears and swallowed Sally-Anne in her arms, crying that she was glad they were both safe and sound.

Nigel didn't have anything like that. After working alongside Dennis to protect some younger students, he'd returned to the sounds of sobs and the sight of Dennis wailing over his older brother's body, and Romilda weeping over her best friend's body. And Nigel…Nigel hadn't cried.

He hadn't known what to do.

And he still doesn't.

- ^-^3

The summer does not feel like summer to Sally-Anne. There are too many faces that are gone.

Sometimes she lazes about the house, not knowing what to do. In those times, in those June days, she thinks of May. She thinks of May and darkness and, and—of relief.

She hadn't been able to message Fay in time, to let her know that she was going to fight in the final battle. So she'd appeared the night before and prepared for battle, much to Fay's surprise. Sally-Anne stills feels a bit bad about that, because she knew Fay would've liked the head's up…but she also kind of hadn't wanted Fay to chastise her…

Well, that had happened anyway. But never had it felt so good to be slapped.

Why?

Because, Sally-Anne feels even now, a slap reminds you that you're alive.

So she sits and contemplates and wonders about the future. There's nothing much awaiting her in her new adult life, so she thinks that maybe it's not yet time to grow up. Maybe she can cheer up and be a child for just a while longer. Take an eighth year. Aren't several of her classmates going to do that?

Sally-Anne wonders if she has a right to enjoy life for a little longer. She knows of all those who lost their lives last month. Perhaps one of the freshest faces in her memory is someone everyone in Gryffindor House knew: Colin Creevey. Is it right to try to be a kid for a little longer when Colin's brother and friends cried over him?

No, that wasn't quite right. Sally-Anne kind of recalls one of his friends…being unable to cry over him. And somehow, that makes it all the worse.

- ^-^3

In July, Dennis seems to be better. Well, he's as best as one can get after losing one's sibling.

"What do you think?" Dennis asks Nigel as they relax at the Creevey house, which still has some enchantments left on it during this, the dregs of the war's aftermath.

Nigel takes what Dennis passes him and scrutinizes it. He finds it in him to smile. "It's lovely, Dennis."

Dennis takes the photo back. "No, it's not. It's shite, Nige."

The strawberry blonde wizard doesn't know whether to laugh, and he can't even join Dennis when Dennis finally does. Nigel fidgets beside him as they sit in front of the lake near Dennis' home, a lake he'd visited before with both Creevey brothers, because they'd both been his friends.

Dennis sighs and runs a hand through his hair. It's grown. It needs a trim. Dennis isn't Dennis unless his hair is trimmed and prim and proper. He also isn't Dennis with that camera around his neck. "What am I trying to do?" the Creevey thinks aloud.

"You're trying to preserve a memory. Lots of memories," Nigel tells him.

"I'm rubbish at it."

"Isn't it the thought that counts?"

Dennis gives him a good, long look, brown eyes searching blue. A halfhearted yet genuine smile breaks free on his lips. "You always see the good in me. Thanks, mate."

Nigel shrugs. "It's hard not to find the good in the Creevey brothers."

The words spill out before Nigel can snatch them back. Dennis' body tenses, and the rest of the day is quiet, just as the rest of July is. All Nigel can do is sigh. He really doesn't know how to do anything.

- ^-^3

"Take a look," Fay says, sliding a paper across the table as the three of them grab a bite at the reopened Florean's. Florean may be gone, but Marcus Belby's family took Marcus' love for food to the extremes…but at least they've done something with it and have brought back a favorite venue of the Wizarding world.

Sally-Anne picks up the paper as Andrew wraps an arm around Fay. The two have been inseparable since Sally-Anne and Fay's sixth year—Andrew's fifth—and they have yet to show signs of stopping. It also helps that Fay has been Andrew's anchor, since his best mate, Jack, died in the war, but Sally-Anne won't bring that up. Besides, she thinks the two of them are cute, and then there's the paper before her to consider. "'Application for the Acquiremente of Auror Skilles,'" Sally-Anne reads aloud. She's not very surprised. "Wow."

Fay beams, although she looks a bit pale as she does so. "Yeah. I've got it now."

"It's blank," the ginger-haired girl remarks, returning the form to her friend.

"Well, of course it's blank."

"But you've always wanted to be an Auror."

"I know…" Fay's smile trembles just the slightest, and Sally-Anne notices that and notices that Andrew notices it, too, and she thinks that he really is suited for Fay, if he knows her just as well as Sally-Anne does. "But it's a start."

"It took all of her courage to walk in and just get the form," Andrew supplies kindly, pecking Fay's temple.

Sally-Anne sighs happily. She envies them, but she's not looking for romance, either. She doesn't know what she's going to do, not quite.

"You're doing your eighth year, yeah?" Fay prompts.

"I was thinking about it. Not sure what I'll get out of it…" Sally-Anne cups her cheek in her palm. "Maybe I'll at least sort my thoughts out."

"Well, I'll be back for my seventh year, so let's ace our N.E.W.T.s together, yeah?" Andrew says, giving her a thumb's up.

She snorts and laughs. He's priceless. He and Fay go perfectly together. "Yeah, all right," Sally-Anne says, giving him a high-five. She hasn't felt this good in weeks.

Maybe the future does look a little bleak. But at least school will give her structure. Fay might not be returning with her, choosing instead to spend some time debating about starting her Auror training early, but Sally-Anne feels as though comfort is returning…little by little.

- ^-^3

August feels weird. It's just not the same, going in to Diagon Alley after all that's happened there in the past two years. A few shops are still boarded up. Ollivander looks more than twice his age, and it's weird to see Florean's run by anyone other than Florean.

"Do you have everything on your list?" Luca asks him. The Caruso and Tolipan families joined the Wolperts to get the shopping done faster and so that Luca, Alice, and Nigel might catch up sooner rather than later. Nigel's only seen Dennis the one time, and he hasn't seen Luca or Alice at all. Though he's not really surprised—kind of like a few others, Luca and Alice finally lost themselves in one another after the battle.

"Almost. I need a new set of robes." Nigel blushes. "I think mine got lost somewhere in the castle when, ah…"

Alice raises her eyebrows. "When we were in the Room of Requirement?" she asks lowly.

Nigel nods. "Yeah."

"It's okay," the dark-eyed witch states. "We all lost something in the chaos there. I'm still stunned the room could accommodate us all."

"I'm glad we didn't lose too much, though," Luca mumbles, and Nigel and Alice both snicker, for Luca absentmindedly reaches for Alice's hair, where her trademark pink ribbon is plaited through her dirty blonde locks. Merlin knows what would've happened if Alice had lost her girlish accessory that Luca loved so much!

"Did Dennis already go shopping?" Alice asks as they head for Madam Malkin's.

Nigel looks through a clothes' rack, frowning. "Yeah, I think so. I told him that the three of us were coming today, but I never heard back from him."

"You don't think he's dropped out of school…do you?" Luca's clear eyes are sharp and wide as the trio exchanges a wary look.

"No…that'd be stupid of him," Nigel replies with a laugh. But his voice is shaky. He doesn't know what to do anymore, but now he realizes he doesn't even know what to think. He never thought before that Dennis would take photos, because that was Colin's thing. But not finishing school? That's not like Dennis at all.

"Hey." Alice rubs his back, and she feels like an older sister to Nigel, even though she's both younger and shorter than him. Still, Alice Vanessa Tolipan has a lot of presence. "It'll be fine. Dennis… He might not be all right, right now, but he'll get better."

Nigel can't bother to retort, so he glumly nods and waits for Malkin to be free as their parents catch up to them. Ahead of him in line is an older girl with plaited ginger pigtails. She looks familiar, but Nigel can't quite place her. He almost asks for her name, but he ends up watching her instead.

She waits for Malkin only for a little while. At last, her gaze drops to the robes in her arms and she sighs heavily and audibly. She flips one pigtail over her shoulder and regretfully returns the cloak to the rack. Then she leaves.

For some reason, it disheartens him. And then he feels the urge to get two cloaks, just because.

- ^-^3

Sally-Anne packs up for the following week. August has been nothing but a time of preparation. Get the school supplies. Pack the clothes. Get all appropriate forms signed (as if she really needs permission any longer to go to Hogsmeade).

She kind of regrets not getting a new Gryffindor cloak. She knows she needs one and technically should have one, but she just couldn't be bothered. McGonagall can yell at her, for all she cares. Sally-Anne just wants to learn and do something with that learning.

As the next few nights come and go, Sally-Anne gets to thinking about what she wants.

Well, she definitely wants as many N.E.W.T.s as she can get.

She wants a room to herself, too, though that's unlikely to happen.

She wants to visit Hogsmeade whenever she pleases.

She wants to have fun with her friends and enjoy life a little more.

She wants to graduate and have prospects and—

Sally-Anne muses for a while on that last thought. "Prospects" imply both the occupational and romantic kinds. Does she want both?

The witch thinks back to Fay and Andrew. She's sure Fay will be his Mrs. Kirke someday. But what does Sally-Anne want? It'd be easier to figure out if she had Fay to talk with at this very moment, but Fay's probably with Andrew.

Ah. Sally-Anne would just appreciate some companionship.

- ^-^3

Hogwarts looks as it once did.

The towers aren't missing any parts. The Great Hall has been repaired. It is almost as if nothing ever happened.

But that's not the case, and the older students know that best. McGonagall took them aside, those in their fifth year and up (Slytherins excluded) and asked for the information about the Room of Requirement not to spread. Now there's no need for the room except to cause trouble, and no one needs trouble in this, the first year of peace. The older students agree with her.

There is a Sorting. It's strange to see Flitwick administer it, since he's now deputy headmaster. It's just as strange to see students get Sorted at all, but there are some families that still believe in the school and its institution.

Nigel flinches whenever the Sorting Hat calls, "SLYTHERIN!" but what can be done? He tries to turn his attention from the Sorting, and he sees two things.

First, Dennis is at the Gryffindor Table a little further up the bench. He sees Nigel and waves. The camera is still around his neck, but his being here gives Nigel hope that their friendship will be all right.

Second, Nigel finally realizes why he recognized that girl in Malkin's. It was that older student, Sally-Anne Perks. She sits across from Hermione, and both witches are dressed in plain Muggle clothing. In fact, seeing them not in uniform prompts Nigel to take a look around at the other tables. Three students each at the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin tables aren't in uniform, meaning they must be returning for an eighth year, as well. But where were they going to go? Could the castle accommodate all of them?

Sally-Anne lets her attention wander from McGonagall's speech, and she catches Nigel staring. She gives him a sweet smile, and Nigel feels his face grow warm. He looks away first and happily digs in to the feast that appears.

His fifth year really is going to be different, isn't it?

And it's not just for returning to peaceful times or having to go through his O.W.L.s. It's taking Defense Against the Dark Arts with McGonagall and sometimes Harry, because the class has been split between McGonagall, Slughorn, and Flitwick, and interspersed with guest lectures from the Boy-Who-Won. It's understanding that anyone who wanted to take Muggle Studies can't, because the teaching position has yet to be filled. It's trying just to have an academic and a social life and yet understand that the little things like free periods are more closely monitored now and Quidditch has been cancelled for the second year in a row. "Maybe next year" is what the teachers say.

- ^-^3

Taking the carriage to school is scarier these days. Sally-Anne doesn't see them, but Hermione told her about the thestrals that drag them.

"How can you see them?" Sally-Anne asks after dinner. The two witches are joined by nine others: Padma Patil, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson. They're waiting for McGonagall and Hagrid and the other Heads of House to join them for a small meeting in the Entrance Hall.

Hermione purses her lips. "You know that Lavender was attacked by Fenrir Greyback, right?"

Sally-Anne nods. "She's still in St. Mungo's, last I heard from Parvati."

"She died for a moment, though she was able to come back with Madam Pomfrey's expertise." Hermione shivers. "I know Lavender and I didn't always get along…but I did like you lot." She gives Sally-Anne a sincere look. "I didn't like the thought of losing any of my roommates…any of my friends."

It's a touching remark, considering that Hermione was always with Harry and Ron throughout their years. She'd never quite fit in with Sally-Anne and the other three. But there'd been moments. And the moments are good enough for Sally-Anne. She gives Hermione a one-armed hug. "Same," she states, and then the dull chatter in the room grows quiet as McGonagall appears.

Minerva McGonagall has aged about ten years in just a few months. Still, she commands respect, even when she talks to them with kind familiarity. "As you eleven have chosen, you are back for a final year of schooling. I do not mind the lack of school robes," she remarks, glancing at Pansy and Daphne, who stand to her right with Blaise, "but please be mindful of Hogwarts' rules, as you are still governed by them to a certain extent.

"Uniforms are not required for you, but please dress appropriately. As we have our steady flow of students coming in, the school does not have extra amenities. We have made arrangements with Aberforth Dumbledore, owner of the Hog's Head, to take you in for the duration of your studies. This means that you will be living in Hogsmeade and therefore do not need the usual permission to come and go from there. However, it is expected that you will leave as a group each morning for classes, and return there as a group each night after supper. If someone misses the evening departure, Hagrid here will escort that person into the village, as we continue not to take chances at nighttime. Apparition to and from the school is discouraged, as Hogsmeade's residents are still paranoid from the past year's happenings. While at the Hog's Head, your behavior will reflect on the school as always, and I have given Aberforth the authority to deduct House points as he sees fit.

"While at the Hog's Head, we ask that you share five rooms between you, but we shall allow you to divide into groups. Surely you are capable of that?" the older witch inquires, but it's not really a question.

No one answers her. Instead, Michael shifts from one foot to the other. So the headmistress continues.

"All of the teachers understand your special dispensation. Regarding the academic year, please note the following changes: We currently have no Muggle Studies professor, and Defense Against the Dark Arts is not what it used to be." McGonagall sighs—out of weariness or exasperation, Sally-Anne's not sure. "We have yet to find a Muggle Studies professor, you see. As for Defense, the classes have been split between Professor Slughorn, Professor Flitwick, and myself. Your classes and the sixth years' will be taught by Professor Slughorn and, from time to time as the Auror Office allows him, Harry Potter will guest lecture."

Sally-Anne scans the room for a reaction. Hermione has no reaction; she probably knew about that part. The others in general seem happy or curious about that idea, but Sally-Anne gives Pansy credit for not hissing. They all know how much she dislikes Harry. But, if there's any hope left in the world, maybe Pansy is growing out of her nasty self.

McGonagall continues to inform them that there is no Quidditch this year and that they are not allowed to bring any of the younger students into Hogsmeade except on the designated weekends. Without further ado, Hagrid leads the group outside, just as a formality.

He takes a slight head start so that they might confer about lodging arrangements.

"Sally-Anne," Padma asks, "do you want to share…?"

"Sure," the short witch replies. She smiles. "I must admit, without your Ravenclaw robes, you look exactly like Parvati."

Padma gives her a sad smile. "Not anymore. I have a limp that's gotten a little better but refuses to go away and…" She bites her lower lip. "Parvati's nose was broken and started healing before it properly set. She's all right now, but you can tell us apart these days."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Padma says, and as they chat about the classes they'll be taking, Sally-Anne feels it was right to room with the other Patil twin.

In the end, Terry and Michael have paired off, as well, and Justin and Wayne graciously said they'd room with Blaise, who doesn't seem to be all that bad a bloke, even if he'd once been a confidant of Draco's. Daphne and Pansy stand at odds and Susan refuses to share a living space with the brunette snake either. Hermione sighs and says she'll share with Pansy. Sally-Anne admires her for that. Hermione is just one of those rare people able to rise above prejudice.

Staying at the Hog's Head is uneventful and oddly freeing. They get to live like regular denizens of the Wizarding village and yet they enjoy the meals and lessons of Hogwarts. Yes, Sally-Anne thinks, they can enjoy this.

- ^-^3

He's thought before that he doesn't know what to do. In fact, he knows one thing, and that's school.

He's not the best at it—no, that'd be people like Luca and Alice—but it's something he knows how to do.

He knows, too, that it's important not to get distracted, either. O.W.L.s are this year, so Nigel must throw himself into his work as though he were an eagle and not a lion.

But it's easy to get distracted in the library, of all places. He can't help it; it's just too strange to see those eleven older students wandering about the castle in normal clothes. Jimmy says they've earned it, and Nigel's inclined to agree. But still…!

Alice and Luca exchange a look that Nigel misses, because his eyes are elsewhere. Then Alice says, "Well? Are you going to talk to her or not?"

Nigel blinks and finally looks at his friends. "Huh? What?"

Luca rolls his eyes. It feels as though he's swapped personalities with Dennis since he's become the more vocal one and Dennis has drawn into himself, even if he has been studying and eating with them. "That witch over there. Ah, what's her name?"

"Sally-Anne Perks," Alice supplies. Her smile is subtle but there.

Something clicks—audibly—and Nigel turns to see Dennis grinning. It's the first time in a long while that he's done that, so Nigel doesn't hate having his picture taken; Colin used to do the same thing.

"What'd you do that for?" Nigel whines, hiding his face.

"Priceless," Dennis answers. Colin, too, had always thought Nigel made the most interesting expressions.

"Anyway, I'm not going to bother her." He points to her. "See? She's completely surrounded by books. She's studying." He tries to get back into his own homework. "It's rude to interrupt someone when they're studying."

"Whatever you say," Alice comments.

Of course, it's the right thing to say, because it becomes impossible to focus on anything else. Still, Nigel perseveres, and he focuses on nothing but school for the next several days and weeks.

Of course, something's got to give.

- ^-^3

September passes easily, and Sally-Anne breathes a sigh of relief. When not joined by Hermione and Padma, or by Andrew and his friends Ritchie and Demelza, Sally-Anne relaxes on her own.

With all of them staying in Hogsmeade, she knows that the best place to study is in the library. There, Madam Pince won't tolerate any noise whatsoever, so Sally-Anne isn't bothered.

She asks all of those in her year what they plan to do. Hermione isn't conflicted at all. "There's a lot of change to do in the Ministry," the genius witch says.

Padma is of a similar opinion. "I want to see what I can do…" She looks at Sally-Anne and elaborates. "I spoke with Kingsley—I mean, Minister Shacklebolt back in May. I felt I could've done more for the fighting, but I'm more of a strategist. He was kind enough to listen to me." A gentle smile graces her caramel features. "I'm hoping to work for him someday. It'd be nice."

"Healer" is all Terry answers. He doesn't even look up from his Charms work.

"No clue," Michael tells her. "But I'll either be in the Ministry with Padma or in St. Mungo's with Terry." He looks nostalgic. "We've got to stick together, you know?"

Sally-Anne knows. The Ravenclaws were hit the worst; those three are the last ones left.

"I enjoy Ancient Runes," Blaise murmurs. Then he loses himself in his texts, and Sally-Anne wonders if he'd like to teach the subject.

Daphne's frazzled, which is interesting. She's never shown much expression before, not that any outside of her House have seen before, so it's nice to think that Daphne's just as human as the rest of them. "Potions or Portkeys—I can't decide!"

"Why not both?" Sally-Anne suggests.

Daphne's bowled over. That had never occurred to her.

"Muggle Studies professor" is Justin's reply. It is solemn and sincere at once. He could easily do it. In fact, out of all the Muggle-borns, Sally-Anne rather wants him to get that position.

"Dunno," Wayne says, his attention pulled outside. He's always watching the owls come and go, and she once heard that Wayne's often in the Owlery. Perhaps he'll work the Post Office someday? If that's the case, then maybe he doesn't need to take an eighth year…especially when he looks out the window as if waiting for someone to return to him.

Susan doesn't answer her. She shrugs, but she appears scared to confirm an interest in the Ministry of Magic. She probably doesn't want to suffer the same fate as her late aunt, Sally-Anne considers. She doesn't pester the kind Hufflepuff.

Pansy is unpleasant. "Defense," she says.

"Pardon?" Sally-Anne asks, blinking in disbelief.

The pureblood witch doesn't even glance at her. "Defense, I said. Or didn't you hear me?"

Sally-Anne frowns, ready to walk away. Luckily, Blaise is sitting nearby. He gives Sally-Anne an apologetic look and then nudges Pansy. The two have a silent battle with a lot of raised eyebrows from him and a lot of glares from Pansy. At last, Pansy groans and gives in to his demand that she be nice.

"I mean," Pansy begins, an uncharacteristic and therefore scary sweet smile on her face, "Defense! Like, deffo!"

Blaise clears his throat and Pansy snarls.

The girl sighs and deflates. "Look, I'm thinking of doing something with Defense Against the Dark Arts, all right?"

Sally-Anne blinks again. "Oh. Wow. Like…what?"

"I don't know," Pansy huffs. "But…I reckon if it had been taught with a firmer hand, things might've ended…differently." That almost makes it sound as though she wishes the Dark Lord had won…

"She means that maybe more of us could've fought had we known better," Blaise supplies, assuaging Sally-Anne's worries.

"Blaise!" the brunette hisses, but her usually pale cheeks are bright pink. Actually, it's a flattering color on the girl, and Sally-Anne chuckles quietly to herself. Pansy glances at her. "Well? What about you, Perks?"

Hmm. What about her? Sally-Anne cocks her head to one side. "I'm not terribly sure," she answers. "I'm just studying everything and anything." Her smile falters. "I guess I'm hoping for something to fall out of the sky and hit me."

"That can be arranged," Pansy states automatically, not realizing how bad it sounds. But it's so Pansy Parkinson that it's hard to hate her for that. Maybe, Sally-Anne reasons, if even Pansy Parkinson can move on, then things really will be all right.

All of their future plans in mind, Sally-Anne tries to make sense of her own studies. She does this often in the library, often stealing one of the tables in the middle of the room for herself. It's a bit of a relief, being able to spread textbooks all around her and spread out a length of parchment without having to worry about saving someone else space. Besides, this is a silent, lonely endeavor. No one can do her work or make her choices for her.

As she goes to return one particularly heavy tome to the shelf, Sally-Anne turns around and tries to recall from where she'd plucked the title. When she locates it, she reaches her arm up—and another hand takes it from her and returns it.

Behind her is one of the younger Gryffindor students, although he is a head taller than her, taller than Fay by a few inches and shorter than Andrew by about the same gap. She gives him a quick once-over, recognizing him from the Great Hall back in May. He was one of Colin Creevey's friends, the one who didn't cry. But she can't remember his name.

"Anything else I can take for you?" he offers.

It takes a moment for his question to register. She's a bit busy looking at his wavy, strawberry blonde locks and his bright blue eyes. "Oh, uh, no thanks." She giggles. "There's magic that returns books to higher up shelves, you know."

His blush makes his blonde hair look redder. "Ah, right, right… I just meant to be helpful."

"No harm done," Sally-Anne reassures him. She nods her head to him. "Well, thank you." Then she turns to leave.

"Wait!" he calls, a little too loudly.

Sally-Anne gives him a reproving look and shushes him. "Do you want to get Madam Pince angry at you?" she asks, coming back to him.

His cheeks darken even more, poor bloke. He realizes he's made a fool of himself. "Sorry…"

She scrutinizes him a little more as his gaze falls to the ground. She could probably stand for a distraction, for a break from schoolwork. She thinks he has a cherub-like face, and she rather quite likes that, but if he's going to pull her away from what she'd been doing, then he could at least lift his face and look at her. "What's your name?" she finally queries.

"Nigel. Nigel Wolpert."

"Nice to meet you, Nigel. I'm—"

"Sally-Anne Perks. I know." He chuckles nervously. "I mean, I just—I remember you."

It's flattering to hear. Before, she'd never dream of anyone noticing or even remembering her outside of her own House or really out of her own year or dorm. Then she glimpses the maroon of his cloak. Ah, he's a fellow Gryffindor, of course. "May I help you, Nigel?" When in doubt, use kindness. It solves things quicker.

His mouth twists around as if he's not sure whether to smile or frown. "I, uh, no…" His shoulders sag.

"I'm sorry, Nigel, but I have to get back to what I was doing…"

"You're very pretty," he blurts, embarrassing both of them.

She doesn't know what to do. No one's ever said that before, besides her parents and Fay's parents, who treat her as their own, and parents are just so parental sometimes and so doting. "Um, thank you."

He fidgets but has nothing else to say.

Sally-Anne takes that as her cue to dart off. Good thing she does, too, because she bumps into Andrew and drags him to her self-study table.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he whisper-whines. "You're stretching my jumper!" Then he gets a good look at her. "Is everything all right, Sally-Anne?"

Her face feels on fire. But since Fay's not here, she has to rely on Andrew. "Andrew…what exactly does it mean when a boy tells a girl she's very pretty?"

Sally-Anne has never had a brother or siblings before. But if she did, she's pretty sure her brother would laugh at her obliviousness exactly as Andrew does.

- ^-^3

"Oh my Merlin! What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?!"

Nigel's embarrassment earns him the sympathy of his friends very easily. Even Jimmy, who usually hangs out with the older students because his best mate is Ritchie Coote, decides to stay in the dorm to throw Nigel a pity party.

"I don't think I can go to the library ever again," Nigel moans. "Hell, I don't think I can go to dinner ever again!"

"Oh, pish-posh," Alice chides him. "You told her a very flattering thing, Nigel."

"Shame I couldn't capture it," Dennis jokes, and he ducks when Nigel goes to shove him.

Luca snorts. "Still, that was brilliant, mate. Any other ways to embarrass a witch that you want to share?" He can't dodge Alice when she goes to shove him.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Jimmy says. "You did better than when I first asked out Rose." He stops and stares into space for a moment, and then he shoots Luca and Alice a glare. "Hey, wait a minute… How come you got in here? You're not even in Gryffindor!" he says to Alice.

Luca leans in front of her. "Because she's my girlfriend, you git."

"Then I should be allowed to sneak Rose up here, too!"

"Oh, no," Alice says, going all mother-hen when it comes to Rose Zeller. "She's my fellow Hufflepuff and a year younger than me, and my friend. I'm not letting her sneak into a dorm full of boys all on her own!"

"I meant in addition to you!" Jimmy makes an infuriated noise. "I don't get it—how come you get to be here, really?"

"Because she knows us," Dennis says, and that really does say it all, since Alice has been close to Luca, Nigel, and Dennis from day one.

"Guys, not helping," Nigel blubbers.

Dennis sighs and nudges him. "Stop fretting about it, Nige. Just be courteous the next time you see her and act as though nothing happened."

"Will that really do the trick?"

"Probably not, but neither will hiding your head in the stones of the castle." Dennis says it in a very friendly, very brotherly way, and Nigel kind of thinks that things are at last back to normal. The camera might be within arm's reach, but Dennis is Dennis again. Maybe all it took was seeing Nigel moving on and being just a regular teenager. Maybe they can be regular teenagers again, together.

Nigel sighs, half from this happiness. He tries to put it out of his mind that he's blundered. Perhaps he can make the best of it?

He gets to thinking that that's it, that's the way to go. If he's positive, then maybe making the best of it will come naturally, or something like that. Or, then again, he could just pretend it never happened and see how that goes. That could always work, couldn't it?

But it's hard to pretend it never happened when Nigel sees her everywhere. And he's confused. Why is she everywhere? Surely she can't be everywhere whenever he's traipsing the castle, right? Or, or, or—

No. He must be bloody insane. He's just seeing her everywhere. And he hates that. He barely knows her.

It'd be nice to get to know her, though.

Which is probably why it's brilliant that the first Hogsmeade trip arrives.

- ^-^3

Fay guffaws. She doesn't giggle or chuckle or laugh. She guffaws. "OH MY GODRIC!"

Sally-Anne Perks tries, for the first time in her life, to hide her head in her arms. Fay's not helping. In fact, Andrew's not helping, either. When Sally-Anne had first come to him, he'd laughed, too, amused by what had happened. Then he'd seriously listened to her problem and fretted, like any good brother would. Then…he'd messaged Fay.

Fay turned up. Now the three of them are grabbing a snack in the pub part of the Hog's Head, because Fay's decided to visit and Andrew can be here because it's the first Hogsmeade trip of the school year.

"You're terrible, you know that?" the ginger girl grouses.

Her best mate doesn't let up. "I'm sorry! But come on! You've never expressed an interest in boys before, and now you've been smacked by this!" She snorts and tries to calm down. She notices she's embarrassing even Andrew. "Sorry, sorry!"

Sally-Anne gets up and stretches her legs. "Look, if you were just going to listen to the story and not give me any advice, then you could've saved yourself the flight up. All I know is that I'm going to Honeydukes now, and you two are welcome to come along if you aren't heading to Puddifoot's."

Fay shuts up then and gives her the Evil Eye. But she stops. They exit the pub and make their way slowly to the candy store.

As expected, it's jam-packed. "Or maybe we should come back later," Sally-Anne says. She looks around and sees a tea shop that must've sprouted up over the summer. "We could go there."

"The Graces Three?" Fay's unsure. "Never heard of it. And now that you've mentioned candy, that's what I want."

"Oh, hey." Andrew nudges Sally-Anne. "Isn't that Nigel Wolpert? He's a roommate of Jimmy's. You know, Ritchie's best mate?"

Sally-Anne gapes. Now she can place Nigel better in her memory, because she and Fay used to hang out with Andrew's lot, so it makes sense to kind of know him if he was on the fringe of things. "Ah, now I get it."

"So?" The blonde wizard gestures to Nigel, who's with three of his friends since Jimmy leaves to catch up with Ritchie and Demelza. "Aren't you going to say hi?"

"What? No! Why should I?"

"Why not?" He shrugs. "He's a good kid. You could at least be friendly with him."

"And maybe you'll ask him out for the next Hogsmeade trip," Fay chirps, but Andrew smacks her arm and gives her a look to knock it off.

"Look," Andrew suggests, "you could say hello, make small talk…make him see that you're not weirded out."

"But I am weirded out!" Sally-Anne squeaks desperately. She furrows her brow.

"Yes, but you'll be the bigger person by making sure he doesn't feel guilty." Andrew raises his eyebrows, and his black eyes bore into her.

Sally-Anne clucks her tongue. "Agh, fine… But I'm only giving it one shot. And you two ought to each treat me to something from Honeydukes."

Andrew nods. "Sally-Anne, if you go heal a poor man's heart, I will buy you anything from the shop."

Fay whistles. "You've just signed your doom, Andrew."

In actuality, Sally-Anne approaches Nigel just to escape the couple. She doesn't make a beeline for him. She does wait until his friends stray from him a bit. The witch's conscience scolds her; waiting until he's alone isn't a very Gryffindor thing to do. Although, stalking her prey and separating him from the rest? That's actually exactly what lions do, isn't it? And isn't it that lionesses actually do the hunting?

She misses her chance to get the drop on him while she's busy analyzing the situation. He sees her before he enters Zonko's, and he gives her a tentative smile. "Hello," he says.

"Hello," she replies.

Nigel ducks his head again, just as he had before. "It's nice being in Hogsmeade, huh?" Immediately, he backtracks. "I mean, really visiting the shops. Since you must walk around whenever you can, since you guys are here all the time when not in school and…" The young boy's shoulders sag. "Oh, I give up."

His honesty is endearing. Sally-Anne smiles. "Hey, Nigel?"

"Yes?"

"Can we maybe…start over again?"

He brightens up. "I'd like that."

She nods. "Good." This wasn't such a bad idea after all. "So, you're going in?" she asks, pointing to the joke shop.

"Just to look around. I, uh, am not quite the joking type."

His eyes dart when he's honest, she notes. "Oh? Then what are you?"

He laughs. "The background type. The best friend. The, ah, supporting character." His eyes dart to her face and away and back and away again.

Nigel's different from her usual friends. It's refreshing, and she muses that it would be good to make a friend out of him.

"What type are you?"

She almost wants to tease him and say, "Well, the pretty type, according to someone," but that would undone the progress they've made in the past two, three minutes. And saying "the lonely type" is honest but rather pathetic. "I'm…the curious type. The unsettled type. The wondering-what-awaits-her type."

Nigel's smile is bright. It's the brightest thing she's ever seen. She wonders why that is. "Ah. Cool. Um, me, too."

"Really?" she raises one eyebrow.

"Really." His eyes are darting again, and it makes her relax. She can ease into a new friendship. That's not a bad thing. In fact, it's fun and exciting and good and—well, new.

And Sally-Anne is so delighted to try something new. She is delighted to feel like herself again.

- ^-^3

November fades into December, and real magic has happened. Like, real magic. Not the kind they'll be tested on at the end of the school year.

Sally-Anne, Nigel discovers, is a forgiving type of girl. There's no mention of his initial attempt at flattery, and they begin an easy friendship.

While he still thinks she's quite pretty, he does enjoy getting to know her better. And if time spent with Dennis, Luca, and Alice must be sacrificed in small increments, then that will just have to happen.

Alice tells him that she doesn't mind. It gives her more time to look after Luca and Dennis anyway. The reality is that it gives Dennis more time with Colin's camera and Alice more time with Luca, but Nigel thought it wise not to correct her on that.

Sally-Anne is very gentle with him. She never gets frustrated when he gets flustered around her, and she has no problem helping him with homework. She also doesn't find him a burden when they sit together in the library or at the dinner table, quietly reading or catching up on some scrap of school work.

She also makes him feel smarter. For instance, they had a serious conversation about Transfiguration, Animagus magic, and Apparition.

"Well, no one exactly knows what Apparition magic is, right?" he'd asked her, the topic coming up for his essay for McGonagall, who refused to stop teaching her class despite running the school.

"What do you mean?" Sally-Anne had asked.

"Well, I was just thinking, because of Animagus magic. You have to shift yourself, change yourself, and move every bit of yourself into something else. But isn't that kind of like Apparition?" He'd stroked his chin. "I've only ever Side-Along Apparated before with my parents, but I imagine it's exactly like that. So wouldn't that make Apparition a kind of transfiguration?"

She'd been stunned and she'd grinned. With that smile on her face, plaited pigtails looked anything but childish on her. "Wow! That's an amazing insight, Nigel!"

He'd blushed and glanced away from her. "It happens, sometimes."

She'd chuckled and cocked her head towards him. "I'm sure that's an understatement."

He'd been flustered in response. But how could he not be? There are moments like those when his mind wanders and he doesn't know anything but all he can think is, I'd like to kiss this girl.

But then he remembers how awkward they'd been at first. There's no hope for anything more than friendship for them.

Christmas sneaks up on them, and Nigel tries not to be too disappointed by the thought of lost time with Sally-Anne. It feels as though they've been given the break too soon. He doesn't know her well enough yet.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" she asks him at dinner. Their friends are all preoccupied, so she whispers it to him over a bite of plain cheese pizza, her comfort food.

"Yeah, you?"

"I think I have to. My parents get worried. It didn't help that I ran into danger last summer."

Nigel nods, playing it cool. "Ah, right, right. So, are you hoping for anything for Christmas? A new hairdryer perhaps?" he teases.

She makes a face at him. "Ha ha, Nigel. And no, I don't need a new hairdryer. But I'm impressed you remembered that. Sometimes I feel as though I talk about the most banal of things." Her cheeks flush this rosy pink that's rather cute…so of course he doesn't remark about it.

"You don't say anything boring."

"Thank you." She's genuinely surprised.

"I, uh, mean… Well, Dennis is Muggle-born. So I guess I've just learned more about that side of things."

Is it just the candles floating above their heads, or does her face fall a bit? "Ah, right." She chews her food a little more slowly. "What about you? What do you want for Christmas?"

Pushing all normal teenaged boy thoughts out of his mind, Nigel answers, "Sleep. I never thought O.W.L.s would kill me before I took them!"

Sally-Anne laughs, and everything feels right again.

Nigel's favorite part happens right before his least favorite part. They share a compartment with Luca and Alice on the train ride to London, and Sally-Anne feels totally enmeshed with all the other parts of his life. He wonders if that's strange, but he's comfortable with Sally-Anne fitting in to his life. Or maybe he's made his life fit her. Either way, it's great.

What's terrible is finally parting from her on the platform. They shake hands, but she hugs him briefly before catching up with Andrew and those two leave to find Fay, who was supposed to be on break from her Auror training to pick them up. Sally-Anne said that they'd meet with their families shortly after.

And Nigel? Well, he's not there yet. Sally-Anne might be fitting into his life, but he has yet to fit into hers. And that's not the best way to start your Christmas break.

- ^-^3

Fay and Andrew try not to be patronizing. "I'm proud of you," Fay tells Sally-Anne as they stroll through Muggle London for a short while before the Kirkes and Perkses come for Andrew and for Sally-Anne. Fay will just Apparate home after her day at the Ministry's over.

"Oh, really?" Sally-Anne rolls her eyes.

"No, really!" Fay looks to Andrew for back-up.

"Uh, what Fay means is…" Andrew scrambles for the right words. "Well, remember when Fay and I first met? You encouraged her to give me a shot."

"I'm not dating Nigel!" Sally-Anne interrupts.

"No," he recovers, "but you encouraged Fay to interact with me. All this time, we've never seen you interested in anyone. And, outside of Fay, you don't…" He bites his lower lip. "You don't seem to have many friends."

Sally-Anne isn't sure whether or not to be hurt by the comment. "I have friends. I'm friends with Parvati and Lavender. Padma, too—she and I are even rooming together. And I get along well with Hermione."

The couple exchanges a look. "But," Fay adds, "outside of me and even Andrew's circle of friends, you've never really been interested in others."

There's a tearing sound, or maybe it's just the sound of her heart breaking a little. Would it hurt as badly if a complete stranger were telling her this? Or does it hurt simply because the truth is cruel?

"Sal—" Fay starts.

"No, you're right." Sally-Anne swipes at her eyes—ah, they're wet—and she clutches the collar of her cloak at her neck. "I'm going to go look for my parents. They must be here by now. Happy Christmas, you two." She hugs Andrew and she hugs Fay and pecks her cheek and then she's off before Andrew can try to explain Fay to her again or before Fay can stick her other foot in her mouth.

Christmas feels ruined. But Sally-Anne considers it. Is it ruined because of what her two closest friends said? Or is it just ruined in general?

Thing is, as anyone gets older, your eyes become opened to the world going on around you. The magic of the holidays and of birthdays, too, and of love and life and friendship—it all disappears as you grow up and grow a mind and notice how nothing's perfect. Your bubble bursts, and Sally-Anne is certain that hers is bursting now.

The first day home is quiet and plain. The second is uncomfortable. The third is miserable, and Sally-Anne only feels worse when her parents ask what's wrong, she tells them, and they look just as sad as she does, because they all know that they can't help her.

But on the third night, there's a tap at her window. Her parents have gone to bed, and Sally-Anne rushes to her window, because if it's what she thinks it is, then she really doesn't want to wake her parents. Muggles will never get used to magical life, truth be told.

An owl flies in, drops a letter on her desk, and flies right back out. She's thankful for that so she doesn't have to worry about looking after the bird. But the note catches her attention.

It's addressed to her, but it's not Fay's handwriting, and she can't think that Andrew would write her, so who…? It becomes clear when she opens it up:

Hi, Sally-Anne!

How's your vacation so far? Mine's good. My parents and I had dinner with Dennis' family the other night, which was nice. Luca's invited me, Alice, and Dennis to his house for a dinner, too, and I think I'll go. Luca's family is "traditional Italian," according to him, so even though there are only a few of us, there's supposed to be a lot of food. But enough about me. Does your family have anything fun you're going to do?

Sincerely,

Nigel

P.S.—Don't be frightened about the suddenness of this. I got your address from Andrew before the break, who got it from Fay. Is that all right? Tell me if it's not all right. –N

Actually, it's more than all right. It's the best thing at the moment, and his thought is touching. Sally-Anne realizes that this new friendship is the best thing that's happened to her in a long, long time. Happily, she writes back:

Hello, Nigel—

I'm all right, thanks. Thank you so much for the letter. I suppose I was suffering a bit from the holiday blues, and your message was the perfect thing to cheer me up. My family doesn't really do anything on Christmas. We like to stay in from the cold and enjoy cocoa and old Christmas movies—ah, I told you what those were before, right? Anyway, I kind of look forward to returning to school. You?

Sincerely,

Sally-Anne

P.S.—It's more than fine for you to write me. –S

This goes on for the duration of the break. Sometimes the missives are short and succinct. Other times he manages to write a whole page for her, to which she kindly responds with another page. Still at other times, one or two lines are all that she needs, and she kind of likes those the best.

Sally-Anne—

Who ever thought that Pygmy Puffs would make for the best cat toys? Poor Barmy has become Birdie's favourite play thing.

—Nigel

She laughs, because only Nigel would get a Pygmy Puff, even if they are from the Weasley twins' WonderWitch line.

Nigel—

Don't let Birdie eat him! She'll get indigestion!

—Sally-Anne

Of course she expects another remark about his new pet or about his cat, who's a sweet thing really only to Nigel, though Sally-Anne can sometimes scratch her chin when Birdie's half-awake, but this comes instead:

Sally-Anne—

Meet you at the station tomorrow?

—Nigel

Without a single thought, she replies,

Nigel—

Of course! We should grab a compartment together with Luca and Alice. That was lovely at the start of the break.

—Sally-Anne

It doesn't occur to her how eager she sounds. She finds that it's very easy to be honest and be herself in her letters to him, but she also thinks of him more. Sally-Anne mostly attributes that to Fay and Andrew not being the best of friends at the moment, but…she does wonder.

Still, it's best to leave those thoughts for the future, isn't it? Because they're young and friends and have their whole lives ahead of them. Sally-Anne can't even decide what she wants to do for work after Hogwarts. Why should she even think of liking someone in that way?

- ^-^3

He grabs a compartment with Luca and Alice, but he can't find Sally-Anne in time for the ride back. That makes things a bit boring, but he has the chance to tell Luca and Alice all that happened with her.

But he doesn't tell them. Why should he? Sally-Anne opened up to him more via their letters. That was a very private thing to do. He can't help but think it would be mean to tell anyone else about her letters. Besides…he treasures them.

Nigel does see her at least in the carriages taking the students to the castle for dinner. He grabs the spot beside her, and she doesn't notice him until she turns. He scares her—oops.

"Nigel!" Sally-Anne's blue eyes are vibrant and alert. "Don't do that to me!" she adds, playfully shoving his arm.

Luca, Alice, Dennis, and Andrew Kirke are in the carriage with them, but he acts as if they're not there at all. "How was the end of the break for you?"

"Dreadful," she says, but it's hard to take her seriously when she giggles, too. "Ah, it's just Mum and Dad. They can never let me go these days."

"Understandable," he remarks. To avoid confusion, he adds, "My parents are the same way since last year."

She nods and they fall into a comfortable silence. After a while, she asks, "So, where's Barmy? Better yet, where's Birdie?"

Nigel pats his pocket. "The little fellow's asleep here. Birdie's staying at home for now, until she can learn that Barmy isn't food." He makes a face. "My parents made an awful choice, getting me a Pygmy Puff. He's been regurgitated I don't even know how many times."

Sally-Anne snickers. She points to his pocket. "May I see him?"

He shrugs. "Be my guest." He pulls out the blue Pygmy Puff and holds it out to her. She gently strokes his fur.

"Aw, he's so sweet. But I didn't know that they came in colors other than pink or purple."

Nigel blushes madly, and again his hair looks more ginger than blonde when he does that. He's always hated that. "I guess George Weasley thought to expand his business…?"

He lets Sally-Anne hold the Wizarding pet for the rest of the ride. He can't ever tell her that he'd like Barmy back; really, he can't tell her no. Even through dinner he contemplates this…as well as something else.

Should he or shouldn't he?

"Bedtime," she says as the dishes vanish to the kitchens below. Padma Patil and Hermione wait for her behind the other older students, so Sally-Anne has to leave immediately.

"Um, yeah…" Nigel fidgets. Should he or shouldn't he? "Uh, Sally-Anne?"

"Yes?" She looks at him over her shoulder. She seems expectant.

But Nigel doesn't do well with expectations. His shoulders sag. "Never mind. Goodnight, Sally-Anne."

He doesn't even look to see if her shoulders sag, too. But he can hear it in her voice. "Right. Goodnight, Nigel."

She leaves, and it sets the stage for a dreary January. It's kind of funny, since there's little snow and no rain. But that just worsens it. It's only bettered by dreams, where Nigel innocently chats and walks and gazes upon perhaps the most beautiful witch with the most sparkling personality that he's ever known.

- ^-^3

It's terrible. In Charms, of all things, Sally-Anne frets. And she lets Flitwick down.

"Miss Perks?" the tiny wizard squeaks.

When she snaps out of her thoughts, she foolishly notices that Flitwick's eyes are not the only ones on her. The eyes of everyone in class are. Padma looks concerned, Hermione looks curious—even Daphne and Michael look a little worried, and they're usually rather absorbed in themselves.

"Miss Perks?" Flitwick repeats.

"Ah, sorry, professor. What was the question?"

Flitwick doesn't bother her by forcing her to answer his question about Advanced Flight Charms, but Sally-Anne does feel some guilt. She tries her hardest to get through his class, and the rest of the day, and the rest of the week, and the rest of the month.

But that's all very hard to do when Nigel is barely talking to her.

If anything, she thinks he should be acting the complete opposite of that. Hadn't they grown closer through their dozens of letters? All the parchment all over her room had frightened her parents, for they'd never seen her get that much mail before.

Now it's as if none of that had ever even happened.

Sally-Anne still eats with him at meals. They still study together. She still offers tips and such when doing homework. But he's just not the way he used to be. He always looks at her as if he means to say something more, but he never finishes his thought. There's a lot of "Never mind" coming out of his mouth, and Sally-Anne hates it so much that she almost wishes he'd say nothing, if that's all he has to offer.

"You're really bothered by this, aren't you?" Andrew asks as Sally-Anne ducks behind his arm as they pass Nigel's group of friends in the corridor.

She can only nod.

Andrew puts a protective arm around her. "Did he do something? Like, really. I'll take care of it if I have to, Sally-Anne."

"No, it's—" She takes a deep breathe. She's on the verge of crying. Godric, it bothers her that much? "I'm confused. I think I might've done something wrong."

"Like what?"

"I don't know." She grimaces. "Do you think I shouldn't have been friendly with him now? I just… I mean, I don't want to see him hurt, but I'd like to talk to him again, as we used to."

"Maybe he's just a boy being a boy," Andrew offers. They've come to the mouth of the Potions classroom, where he must part with her. He gives her a timidly encouraging smile. "Hey. If that kid had the guts to say to you what he did when you first meant, then I can't imagine he won't eventually get the guts up to tell you what went wrong. But—"

"Yes?" Sally-Anne prompts.

"Consider this: It took some cajoling from Fay and me to make you even consider his friendship. Perhaps this is the chance to end something you never really wanted?" The blonde lion shrugs. "Just a thought. Later, Sally-Anne."

"Bye, Andrew…" She tries not to take Andrew's words too seriously, because then she really does feel at fault. Maybe she hadn't tried hard enough at their friendship? Maybe Nigel was finally giving up and was just thinking of a way to tell her to leave him alone?

That could happen. Nigel's a nice bloke. He's the type to wait a while to deliver bad news gently. She's never had bad news from him before, no, but she's sure this is what he'd do.

Sally-Anne struggles through her studies, her ponderings marred by her problems. She needs a new viewpoint on all of this.

At night, neither she nor Padma can sleep, so she informs her roommate and friend of her life's happenings. Padma listens earnestly and never makes fun of her. She's a bit like Andrew, but a witch. It's easier to talk to her about this.

"It sounds," Padma says, and her voice is so like Parvati's, though surer and slightly more business-like, "like quitting something cold turkey."

Sally-Anne blinks, staring up at the ceiling of their dark room. "You think?"

Padma "mm-hmm"s. "You grew very close to someone and suddenly they're very distant. It's hard to stop something that began so quickly."

The Gryffindor blushes under her covers. When Padma phrases it in that way, it makes it sound as though something else was started.

Still, it relieves her a bit. Sally-Anne feels surer in her academics, and she tells herself constantly that Nigel can't be her priority. She came for an eighth year to better herself, not to socialize. Although, it's funny, because the problem with Nigel makes her see what she'd like to do with her future.

She got her Apparition license years ago, when Hermione and some others did. Sally-Anne's only ever Apparated a few times, but that's beside the point.

She feels as though she's in two different places at once with the Nigel situation. She'd like things to return to normal between them, act as if nothing changed between them. They'd done that once—surely they could do that again, yes?

But she'd also like to step forward into the future. Isn't she supposed to be all about the future now? And, to think, excitement awaits in the future. Only excitement does, because there's nothing evil left in the world, not after what Harry did and what he's doing now, within the Auror Office.

But you can't be in two places at once. She knows this. It's why she'll become an instructor for the Apparition Test Centre, in the Department of Magical Transportation. She can focus on going from one place to the next, on putting one foot in front of the other and trying not to look back.

So she'll have to brave things and be the bigger person once again and demand to know what went wrong with her and Nigel. She can see him now, heading for Hogsmeade, on this, a weekend in…February. Ugh. What horrible timing!

- ^-^3

"You can't avoid her forever," Dennis told Nigel in January. He told Nigel this several times throughout the month, and Nigel learned to turn a deaf ear to unwanted advice.

He didn't have to explain anything to his friends. They could see plainly for themselves that something was changing with him and Sally-Anne, so there was nothing to explain. Sure, they didn't understand why Nigel had to be the one to change. Sally-Anne had seemed pretty sure that she didn't like the change coming over her and Nigel either, but all Nigel's friends could do was wait for him to stop being a thick idiot and come around and be a gentleman again towards the only witch he's ever fancied.

"Man up, mate," Luca tells him as the second month of 1999 arrives.

"You could always make up with her on Valentine's Day," Alice offers.

No! That's out of the question. Nigel feels lucky that that blasted day is on a Sunday and not on an actual Hogsmeade trip, but that means nothing. The trip will act like another Valentine's Day anyway, and that day and witches and Nigel just don't mix whatsoever.

That means, of course, that Nigel is roped into going anyway.

Alice drags him out, and Dennis and Luca don't stop her, because she's got a rare temper that's a force to be reckoned with. Only when they're all heading down to the Wizarding village does Alice let up and disappear with Luca, pulling him into Puddifoot's, poor bloke. Dennis gives Nigel an encouraging speech about enjoying life and not taking things for granted, and then he's off to photograph the light snow that's fallen.

Nigel runs through a couple of scenarios in his head. First, she could just out and out ignore him. It would serve him right. But…she's not the type of girl to do that.

Okay, then maybe she'll try to act as though nothing's wrong, but she'll be holding back her tears until they burst through and she runs off, giving him no chance to explain. He would definitely deserve the public humiliation, but Sally-Anne's not a crier. He's never seen her cry, not once. Even when she told him about her friend, Lavender, still being in the hospital after being mauled by Fenrir Greyback, her eyes got glassy, and nothing more.

Then maybe she could just ask that they talk it out like civil people. Yeah, that made sense. Sally-Anne is certainly going to do that, because she's not feisty or a yeller or—

"Nigel Wolpert!"

He jumps. It wasn't really a yell, but she'd said his name very sharply. And she's storming his way, too!

"Nigel…!" Her brow is drawn down angrily, and she does look ready to cry at the same time.

All Nigel does is gawk at her. He hadn't expected this, and never would in a million years. "Ah, uhm, uh, S-Sally-Anne…"

She storms right up until she's in his face…or as in his face as she can get. Her anger is disproportionate to her height. If he weren't so scared of her, he'd drown her in his arms, she's so cute right now. But he thinks that right up until she smacks his arms a couple of times.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he yelps. His conscience tells him, as Luca did, to man up. He deserves this, too. But it still hurts.

"It better hurt!" Sally-Anne yips, but she's all bark and no bite. Her temper quickly deflates, and she pouts at him. "I don't care what you have to do today or that you're trying to enjoy the trip or the holiday—you owe me an explanation." Her eyes are more watery than before.

Nigel bites his lower lip and nods. "I do."

Her mouth drops open, forming a lower-case "o." She shuts it. "Okay…then. Um, can… Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

He follows slightly behind her. He's almost right beside her, but he doesn't feel as though he really deserves to be there, by her side, considering the way he's been treating her. They walk up near the Stone Circle but don't enter it. Instead they stand beside one of the stones, and he waits for her to say something else. In his shutting up, she's shut up, too, and he misses her voice. Even if she only does use it to yell at him for now.

Sally-Anne takes a deep breathe. Then she glances at him. "Am I a bother?"

The question is worse than a punch to the gut. "No!" he rushes. "Of course not!"

"Then why did you change? You… You've been rather cruel, Nigel."

His chest aches, seeing her frown at him like that. "I—" Nigel stops. Should he or shouldn't he? Well, her appearance has made that decision for him, hasn't it?

"What is it? Did I do something?"

His face burns as he takes a handful of steps to close the short gap between them. He thrusts his hand into his pocket, takes it out, and drops something into her hand.

Sally-Anne stares at it. "Oh, um…thank you?"

Nigel wants to scream. He feels so useless sometimes! "Don't thank me. I meant to give it to you back at Christmas."

She's perplexed this time. "Then why are you giving her to me now?" she queries as she strokes the pink fur of the Pygmy Puff in her hands. Is the Puffskein really that big, or are Sally-Anne's hands really that small?

"Because I'm rubbish at being friends with a witch," he states.

"But you're fine with Alice."

"I know, but she's more like my sister, you know? But you're—" His heart pounds in his chest. He'd love to say, "But you're different; you're special," but he can't, he just can't.

Thankfully, she chuckles. "So we weren't speaking all over a Pygmy Puff? Oh, Nigel."

Merlin, he loves how sweetly she says his name.

She laughs and falls against him. She makes no sudden motion to move away from him, either. Instead, she holds on to him, an awkward kind of hug with him, her, and a pink Pygmy Puff.

He strokes the little fur ball, his fingers brushing Sally-Anne's. Huh. Her hands really are that tiny.

"I'm glad I hadn't offended you," the witch murmurs as they both stand strangely, just petting the Christmas present.

"Never," the wizard says. After an odd beat, he adds, "Happy belated birthday."

She looks up at him, her cheeks flooded with color perhaps not from the coldness of the outdoors. "How did you know?"

He chances rolling his eyes. "I asked Andrew for your address—you really think I wouldn't ask about your birthday?" He pauses. "Unless…you'd like it to be a Valentine's gift?"

"The tenth or the fourteenth—it doesn't matter," she says. She is at peace now, and they are closer than before. This little cold war has been resolved, and for the better. "Thank you, Nigel. Happy Valentine's."

Nigel wraps an arm around her shoulders, and they walk back to Hogsmeade like that. And everything's fine just the way it is. "Happy Valentine's, Sally."

- ^-^3

Everything is coming up roses for Sally-Anne in February.

Normally she'd avoid the clichéd holiday. Obviously her schoolmates don't realize that it was a holiday manufactured by the greeting card industry.

But she puts that opinion on the back burner this year. She has to, this time. She's enjoying the identity of February as the month of love too much.

She and Nigel are all good again. Their friendship is renewed and fresh and stronger than ever before. How can a girl not forgive a guy when his biggest secret was that he was hiding a present from her?

She names the Puffskein "Jelly" and will die before she tells Nigel that it's a play on his name. But, really, he's left an impression on her. He's the person dearest to her. It's nice to have someone put her first for once, and it's just as nice to want to do the same for that person.

Sally-Anne feels ridiculously girlish these days, but she tries not to mind it. In lieu of that, she holds on tightly to her relationship with Nigel, and they talk more now than ever.

"So why a Pygmy Puff?" she asks him. It's been a long while since she's been in Gryffindor Tower. None of those taking their eighth year visit the dorms much anymore because a) it's an unwritten and unspoken rule that they don't since they're not living in them and b) it's strange to do so when they only come to the castle for lessons and meals. But she likes sitting at the table by the window, her texts spread out before her, unread but awaiting her attention…a little bit like Nigel, she occasionally muses.

Nigel picks his head up. "Hmm?" His turquoise eyes are bleary since he's been reading lines from his History of Magic book. An especially curly lock of his hair sticks to his forehead. It's a tad distracting. The overall effect, however, is cute. …Sally-Anne mentally backs up and confirms that, no, it is not cute. …then she allows herself this one indulgence. She can think her friends are cute or pretty or good-looking, can't she? She thinks Fay's got handsome features, and Padma's got very nice hair. So…maybe she can think Nigel can be cute.

She clears her throat in the hopes of getting her mind to stop wandering. "I asked, why a Pygmy Puff? Of all the things to get me, you went with Jelly," Sally-Anne comments, rolling the Puffskein over as it crawls along her essay for McGonagall.

Nigel smiles, dreamily, as if he's woken up from studying. "Because, you looked so lonely when we couldn't hang out on some occasions. It's not a pitying gift," he asserts before she can interrupt. He gently pokes Jelly with his pinky finger. "And…you sounded lonely in your letters."

Her heart thumps in her chest, and she doesn't know why.

"Now you don't have to be lonely." He doesn't look at her as he confesses this, but his eyes dart from Jelly to his essay to the window.

The truth is more than satisfactory.

Sally-Anne dwells on the thought of his kindness. Nigel is a cut above the rest. He's easygoing and complacent but not to a fault. He's a good listener as well as a good talker. He's the type of boy that girls should fancy and hope to marry.

And Sally-Anne only truly considers that last bit as she begins to dream of him.

It's never anything terrible. It's everything under the sun that's tame. But that's what makes it so special, when Dream Nigel can just look at her, and her pulse quickens. Or when Dream Nigel laughs, and her belly flip-flops pleasantly. Or, or…when Dream Nigel rests his head against hers, and they watch a Dream sunset that never ends until Sally-Anne has to wake up.

See? She can't hate February because she's smiling all the time now, because of Nigel.

Not everyone appreciates her cheery disposition, though. Pansy, just as several of the others are, is getting anxious as March looms. Exams are not that far off, and Pansy is as irritable as ever. She's likely to snap at anything and everything. Such as—

"What are smiling about? Like some Confounded buffoon?" the snake lashes out in the library as Sally-Anne walks by.

Sally-Anne peeks around the corner, but Madam Pince isn't around to scold Pansy. Go figure.

"Well?" Pansy snarls.

The ginger girl turns around. It's obvious that Pansy's looking for a fight, but she doesn't know why.

Behind Pansy is Daphne. The blonde witch looks ashamed to know Pansy. She wears an expression that says, "This is why I've not been hanging out with you."

But Sally-Anne can't be beaten down. "I'm happy, Pansy."

To Sally-Anne's surprise, Pansy doesn't laugh at her or snarl again. She scoffs, but…if Sally-Anne had to bet a Galleon, she'd bet that Pansy was nervous.

"Is everything all right?" the lion inquires.

Daphne throws her hands up in the air. "Don't try to reason with her, Sally-Anne. Take my advice—just move on." Then she walks away.

Sally-Anne has come to learn in the past several months that, while only two of the Slytherins in her year died last year, socially things have been toughest for Pansy and for Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy is plain to see, since he actively fought on the Dark side for a while. Pansy, on the other hand, will be forever remembered as the scared girl who wanted to give Harry up when Voldemort offered to make a "deal" with everyone else. Sally-Anne is glad she wasn't there to see that happen, because she might've actually smacked some sense into the girl, and Sally-Anne prides herself on not being a physical person. …hitting Nigel lightly before is different.

Pansy glares daggers at Daphne's back and then she turns back to Sally-Anne. She says nothing more, and goes about returning books to shelves. Judging by the material, she really meant it when she said she wanted to teach Defense.

Sally-Anne decides not to say anything more, either, until Pansy is up for it. But then something catches her eye in the torchlight, and Sally-Anne almost drops the books in her arms as she rushes over to Pansy. "Oh my Merlin!" It's hard to use a hushed tone. "Is that really—?"

It is. On the third finger of Pansy's left hand is a gorgeous ring. It's silver, and diamond chips flag the sides of a black gem—onyx, if Sally-Anne knows her gems properly. Pansy's first reaction is to smirk, but then she stuffs her hand in her dress's pocket. Her face falters. Ah. She really does look anxious.

"Um…is everything all right?" Sally-Anne tries again. She hopes that, since Pansy has made great strides in sharing a room with a Muggle-born and talking before to Muggle-borns, that perhaps her prejudice has diminished.

Though it takes another minute of silence, Pansy finally shakes her head. "Sorry for snapping," she snaps quietly.

Sally-Anne takes it; it's rare, so it's silly to debate Pansy's tone. "It's fine. I'm just happy—sorry that I annoyed you."

"No…" Pansy deflates. A tiny smile flashes across her pale face. "I kind of know the feeling. It's just…a little overwhelming, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Being in love."

Sally-Anne forces herself not to say, "What do you mean, being in love?" She can analyze that later—because of course she isn't in love with Nigel, they're just friends—and she wants to hear what can make Pansy such an insecure person. A normal person.

"Blaise proposed, a few days ago," Pansy admits, her eyes on the bookshelves. "I mean, I thought it would happen, but maybe after school. I didn't expect it now."

"You're wearing the ring. Don't you love him?" the shorter witch asks.

"Of course I love him," Pansy replies curtly. "It's overwhelming, though, as I said…" Her body language shifts. She's a normal, insecure girl again. "But after all that's happened, I'm amazed and frightened."

Sally-Anne frowns. "By him?"

Pansy chuckles. "No. By how much you can love a person." At last her bronze eyes flit Sally-Anne's way. "That's why I yelled at you. I've seen the same goofy grin in the mirror. It just reminded me of…of how real everything feels right now. The war's over. We're safe. We can all lead normal lives now."

Sally-Anne nods. She can't bring herself to correct Pansy, that she's not in love. The two witches chat a little longer, wondering if Pansy and Blaise will be the first ones in their year to marry and wondering how the others in their class will live as they become full-fledged adults. Yet the more they chat, the more Sally-Anne is forced to consider her feelings for Nigel, and exactly what they are…

- ^-^3

Cloud Nine is not a place. It's a span of time.

Nigel's been enjoying Cloud Nine ever since he gave his present to Sally-Anne. She loves Jelly very much, and Nigel likes to think that maybe she'll look at him with the same affection she showers on the miniature Puffskein. Alas, that doesn't happen.

Or does it?

It's fairly bamboozling as March dances all around them. He and Sally-Anne are inseparable. At night, the separation is cruel. In the morning, the reuniting is the best part of the day.

Class is a time to let his fingers do the work while his mind wanders. He imagines her dutifully slaving over her potion, trying to make something more perfect than Hermione Granger can.

When they walk in the halls, he stands just this much more closer to her. He doesn't know why. He's seen a few of the seventh year boys and some of the sixth cast a glance her way, and he doesn't like that, but they always look away when he steps even closer to her. He's walked into her a few times that way, but she never yells at him for it. She laughs and they joke about him being clumsy, when in fact he's anything but.

At meals, things taste and smell funny whenever she leans in to him to tell him something humorous. It takes him a while to figure out that his nostrils have been full of her. So when he eats, he smells only her, tastes only her. Is that a bad thing? Really, what is it?

"What is it?" he asks Luca in Binns' class. The ghost is the same as ever, never paying attention to the students. So the students never pay any attention to him.

Luca leans back in his chair, ignoring the look he's getting from Orla Quirke, your stereotypical Ravenclaw who admonishes every sign of bad behavior. "What's what?"

"Sally and me," Nigel whispers. Stewart Ackerley, Orla's Housemate, is dozing beside Nigel, and Nigel's polite enough not to wake him.

Luca grins devilishly. "Lookit you, you sly beast. 'Sally,' is it?"

Nigel gives his mate a blank stare. "Huh? Don't you mean 'Sally-Anne'?"

"Don't you 'Don't you mean "Sally-Anne"' me!" The dark-haired boy turns around in his seat so that he fully faces Nigel. "Nigel, you just called her 'Sally.'"

"Because that's her name."

"No, her name is 'Sally-Anne,'" Luca corrects. He raises his eyebrows. "If you haven't noticed by now that you've been calling her 'Sally,' then she probably hasn't either." He snickers. "Just how close are you two anyway?"

Nigel shoots him a dirty look and tries to ignore him. "Never mind."

"Ah-ah-ah! You asked for my opinion, and I've got one."

He waits for it.

"You two have been flirting."

Huh?

Luca nods as if Nigel verbally protests this. "It's true. You two are worse than even Ali and me. Godric, I'm just waiting to round the corner and catch you two snogging."

Nigel wants to crawl into his desk, because Luca's gotten to be so loud where Dennis has gotten to be so quiet this year. Besides, Nigel can't believe what Luca says. Luca's your average hormonal teenager. Nigel is not.

"You're flirting," Alice confirms.

"Would you like a picture of it?" is Dennis' offering.

"Sorry—haven't noticed. It's been hard seeing Rosie this year," Jimmy says, doodling "Rose Z. Peakes" on his Divination notes.

Nigel refuses to believe it. He hasn't been flirting with Sally-Anne. Sure, after Luca pointed it out to him, he's noticed that he calls her "Sally" more often than not and that no one else gets away with that. But Sally-Anne made it very clear a long time ago that they'd be friends and nothing more.

But there are several nights when they finish supper early and take their time wandering in the Entrance Hall. Sometimes Sally-Anne stops and leans against the banister at the foot of the stairs, sighing, and he reaches out and nearly touches her hair—how soft it looks, he just wants to touch it once, then he can move on and put this flirting rubbish to rest—but she turns at the last moment, and he hides his hand.

Until he manages to seize one of those plaited pigtails. Her hair is as soft as it is shiny, and it smells wonderful, and he just wants to run his fingers through it and he doesn't understand why…

Sally-Anne turns her head, but his fingers have grasped the tie of the left-side pigtail, so when she turns, her hair comes undone. Her face falls and she exclaims, "Oh no!"

Nigel freezes. He's been caught, she'll hate him now, she'll think he's a creep, he can only manage: "Ah, sorry. A bug." Wow. Smooth.

She blinks and her cheeks pink. "Oh, thanks, then." She shakes her hair free of the plait, and it's gorgeous. It's not exactly curly, but it's untamed and wild and—

Now, he can't cover for this one. He reaches for her hair and does indeed run his fingers through it. But he cups her cheek, and the touch of her hair and her skin and her warmth—it's all too much.

Her voice is caught in her throat as she gazes up at him. She's frozen, too. She can't even ask why he's doing what he's doing. But…but…her eyes are watery.

Ah, good one, Nigel, he thinks. You've gone and done the wrong thing yet again. "Goodnight, Sally," he says.

She nods and smiles, and the glassiness of her eyes is gone.

He leaves her first. It's good timing as the others in her year come downstairs so that they can all head back to the Hog's Head. The whole time back to Gryffindor Tower, he thinks about what a git he is. The whole time back, he's hearing his friends' voices in his head, whispering that they've been flirting. The whole time back, Nigel repeats over and over like a chant, "I don't believe we're flirting."

- ^-^3"

"How can you NOT believe that's flirting?"

Sally-Anne dives under her blanket, but it's yanked away. She grabs her pillow and covers her head with it, but that's Blasted away. "Oh, for Merlin's sake—can't you leave my bed in peace?"

But it's her fault, really, for telling Padma anything more about Nigel. Hermione happened to overhear, Daphne walked by, and Pansy barged in. Even Susan has been sitting quietly in a corner of the room, a sly smile painted on her lips.

"I decree bedtime!" Sally-Anne declares. But that falls on deaf ears.

"No, you can't," Pansy says. At least she's not shouting as she had been a moment ago. "You are not allowed to sleep until you see some bloody sense!" She turns to Padma. "Oi, Padma! Tell her to see some sense!"

"Why me?" the twin asks, unwrapping a Chocolate Frog. Padma, to some extent, is more adventurous than her sister, having dashed to Honeydukes before closing to grab midnight snacks.

"Because you're the Ravenclaw."

Padma rolls her eyes. "Hermione's the smartest one in the room."

"Yes," Pansy dismisses, although Hermione appears flattered, "but even Granger isn't an expert at this."

"I'm not either!" Padma whines.

Pansy looks around at all of them. "Oh, good lord! Am I really in a room full of single people?"

Hermione protests. "I…have a boyfriend." She seems to choke on the words.

"You don't count!" Pansy huffs with a roll of her eyes. "Firstly, it's Weasley. Secondly, you two have been an item since first year, nearly. Thirdly, I bet you've only snogged him once."

"Have not!" Hermione growls, and she's as red as any Weasley.

For a few minutes, everyone's attention turns to Hermione and Ron, but Pansy eventually gets them back on topic. "May we at least clarify flirting for the poor girl?" Pansy begs, pointing to Sally-Anne.

"I'm not some ignorant child," Sally-Anne mumbles into the mattress, which only muffles her words.

"Fine," Daphne announces. "Is he capable of taking his eyes off you for five minutes?"

"Does he always know where to find you?" Susan prompts.

"When you're together, is he always within reach?" Pansy adds with a smirk.

Padma thinks for a moment. "Oh!" She points emphatically. "Does he let you get away with anything? I know Terry used to let Anthony…" Her words trail off, and there's a brief, silent pause as fallen loved ones surface in their minds.

Hermione clears her throat and gives Sally-Anne a very compassionate look. "Do you ever stop thinking about him for a second?"

"If," Pansy chirps haughtily, "you answered yes to any of these questions…"

"Oh, it's yes to all of them, all right?" Sally-Anne hisses, sitting up. To her horror, the other five witches all exchange a quiet, wide-eyed look. "What?" She panics. "What? What is it? Oh, Godric, please tell me. I'm so confused out of my mind!"

There's a knock on the wall behind Padma. "It means you're in love with him!" Terry calls through the wall.

Sally-Anne gapes at all of them.

"Now please let everyone else go to sleep!" Michael groans through the wall, as well.

Sally-Anne won't believe them. She can't trust them. She's never known them as long or as best as she knows Fay. So between stolen glances at Nigel's curly tresses and moments when she can admire his profile, Sally-Anne writes to Fay. And Fay writes back:

Listen to them. You're in love, luv. I'm the same with Andrew.

—Fay

"It's a load of hippogriff excrement," Sally-Anne grouses under her breath, tearing up the letter before Nigel joins her to leave for the Quidditch pitch.

As they walk to see Andrew, Ritchie, Demelza, Jimmy, and Ginny practice their skills since there's been no time for flying, Sally-Anne gets lost in her thoughts. She tries to focus more on being embarrassed that that many people listened to the story of her love-life; luckily Justin, Wayne, and Blaise are in the large room at the other end of the floor in the inn, so they probably hadn't heard. Still! That many people are convinced she's in love with Nigel? Nonsense!

"Ah, front row seats!" Nigel teases, and he grabs her hand and makes her run to the "perfect" seats in the stands, so they can get a good look at their friends.

Sally-Anne reminds herself that they're just here to watch and hang out with their (really, her) friends, even though Ritchie replaced Andrew on the team ages ago. But she can't bloody well think with her hand still clasped in Nigel's.

For an entire agonizing hour, they sit and cheer. Sally-Anne laughs, too, since Ginny and Demelza clobber the boys, and it's understandable why Ritchie and Jimmy replaced Andrew and Jack at the time. But her laugh is nervous and new and—

At the end, those fliers take a bow (that seems uncomfortable on brooms, though!) before they head to the showers. Then, Nigel and Sally-Anne are alone on the Quidditch pitch. And then…he realizes he's still got hold of her hand.

"Oh!" He gasps and withdraws it. "Um, sorry about that."

The walk back to the castle is a long one. Sally-Anne wishes to take his hand again—his hand is so big and warm, and it makes her feel safe even though there's nothing else scary left in the world—but it doesn't happen.

As badly as she wishes to hold his hand again, Sally-Anne just won't let her friends be right. She's not in love with him.

- ^-^3

April arrives. Nigel starts going through the stuff in his trunk and fishes out the stuff from under his bed. There's a reason for spring cleaning, and Nigel now gets why.

He finds a handful of Chocolate Frog cards, a Bertie Bott's bean that's been in the dorm since well before Harry Potter stayed in the fifth year dorm, probably, a sock that Nigel doesn't think is his, and a dusty and wrinkled shirt. He can't even tell what flavor the jellybean is, which horrifies him.

He empties out his trunk and sees what needs a wash, and he asks himself why he has another Gryffindor robe. He looks down at himself. No, he's already wearing one. Is it Dennis', maybe? Perhaps he'd taken Dennis' last summer, that time he and Luca spent the weekend at the Creeveys'. Then he remembers that that's not right, because they'd done that the year before, before Dennis and Colin had gone into hiding, before Colin's death, and before Dennis had grown distant. Nigel frowns at the memory of Colin, but while he misses him, he knows he can't mourn him forever. If he did that, then there'd be no point in life, and Nigel thinks there are many points to life.

Sally-Anne is the first thing that pops into his mind. Actually, things click then. He'd gotten the robe at Malkin's upon seeing her.

Nigel looks down at the cloak, everything else forgotten. He's worn it a few times and it's big, but he hopes she won't mind…

He dashes out of the dorm and through the halls, ignoring Peeves hollering, "STUDENT RUNNING IN THE CORRIDOR!"

Nigel has a gut feeling that she's leaving the library—she does that when she needs to take a break, and she'll go for a walk in the inner courtyard—so he makes a straight shot for the courtyard. Because it's his break, and hers, the grounds are fairly empty.

Of course, there she is, plaited pigtails bouncing behind her.

"Sally!" he calls breathlessly.

She spots him and smiles—Godric, she's beautiful, certainly when the spring sun hits her hair and makes it glimmer and all that—and laughs. "Why are you running?"

Nigel comes to a screeching halt before her. He holds up a hand, a finger, needing a moment. Merlin, getting oxygen into his lungs has never burned so much nor ever felt so good! "I—gave—this—you—" In the end, he feebly holds up the cloak.

Sally-Anne takes it. "Um, thanks? Why are you giving me this?"

He straightens up and takes one last deep breath. "Spare cloak," he splutters.

"I can see that, Nigel."

He purses his lips and takes the cloth from her. While she is befuddled by his actions, he takes the opportunity to open the cloak. He leans in to her—wow, she's so tiny compared to him, or maybe he's just grown a lot since his fifteenth birthday last summer—and drapes the cloak around her shoulders.

"Nigel, what are you doing?" Yes, she may be utterly baffled by this strange occurrence, but he can't help himself.

He grins madly, not wanting to ruin the moment by explaining it to her. He muses that wizard robes make a witch look cute and dainty. He loves seeing her swallowed up by his cloak. And…he knows.

He knows he loves Sally-Anne Perks.

- ^-^3

She tries to rub it off as a belated April Fool's joke. But she knows she's being dishonest with herself, thinking that way. She doesn't want to think of it like that.

Andrew asks her where she got the cloak, since she hasn't worn one this whole school year. She doesn't tell him, and she hides it away so that the others don't see. Mentally, she apologizes to Andrew and the rest, but she doesn't want to ruin the magic of the gift by telling everyone about it.

Is it true? Could that be it? Is it really…?

Sally-Anne shakes her head, but she isn't saying "no" anymore.

At dinners, Nigel's hand often remains on the bench now. Sally-Anne's hand often remains on the bench now. Their hands often brush now. They don't often flinch away now. They sometimes rest one atop the other now. Their fingers sometimes intertwine now.

Sally-Anne shakes her head sometimes when she's by herself, but she doesn't say "no" anymore.

She takes the cloak out when she's by herself. She slips her arms into the sleeves. She laughs at how absurdly tall he is and at how oddly lengthy his limbs are. She sniffs the cloak and pictures a clear spring, summer day, like the ones from her dreams, the dreams that have continued ever since she began having them months ago. She smiles and thinks and imagines. She quite likes having something of his. She wonders how someone can smell like spring sunshine.

Sally-Anne doesn't even shake her head anymore. She knows. She now says yes, even if only to herself.

She knows she loves Nigel Wolpert.

- ^-^3

But happiness and love are not enough to numb the pain of May 2nd, 1999.

On that day, familiar and alien faces gather on the school grounds. There will be no classes tomorrow, which is a Monday, and today will conclude with a commemorative feast.

Students are expected to stick together. Gryffindor goes first, then Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Don't march in your lines, but please be respectful of the decorum required today. Please be silent and respectful of your elders. Even one toe out of line will see detention from now until the end of the term.

Nigel and Dennis band together, and Luca and Alice lag behind. Thing is, Nigel and Dennis can't quite be touched right now, because everything else that's been going on is out of their minds as they think about today—rather, a year ago, today.

Since the teachers have only separated them by House and not by year, the boys find Romilda, and the three of them sit together. Close friend, best friend, and brother: Colin is missed by them the most.

Beside the students and faculty, families gather in clumps. Aside from friends and family who work in the Ministry, the Ministry of Magic is thankfully absent from today's events, although Kingsley Shacklebolt does make a fleeting appearance. But no one wants the Ministry here today, even if it has changed under Minister Shacklebolt's leadership.

First, respects are paid to Dumbledore, whose grave lay in the distance. Second, Harry stands in front of everyone. He speaks confidently about the days following the war. Ron stands beside him, and Hermione has joined them. Neville, Ginny, and Luna are off to the side. Third, Professor McGonagall reads from a list. She reads a dozen names of those who've fallen. Professor Sprout reads some more. Professor Flitwick follows her, and Professor Slughorn follows him. With each name read, a white rose is conjured and placed in the water.

The water is undisturbed. If Nigel could, he'd joke with Dennis, who fell into the Black Lake years ago, that even the Giant Squid was calm today, that the squid knew to be respectful today. But today's not a day for joking when, with each bud placed, the blossoming flowers drift across the lake surface until it seems covered, the names seeming unending… Nigel recognizes several.

"Goldstein, Anthony."

"Sloper, Jack."

"Jones, Megan."

"Entwhistle, Kevin."

"McDonald, Natalie."

"Abercrombie, Euan."

"Warrington, Cassius."

"Lupin, Nymphadora."

"Lupin, Remus."

"Weasley, Fred."

"Snape, Severus."

"Runcorn, Emma."

"Brocklehurst, Mandy."

"Moon, Leanne."

"Rivers, Oliver."

"Harper, Roy."

"Creevey, Colin."

There are so many names. There are so many names. There are so many names.

After a while, Nigel turns his mind off. It's not that he doesn't care. He cares too much. It hurts too much. And everyone feels the same way. So he closes his eyes and thinks of the good things that happened before the war, even if Sally-Anne is not there with him in those times.

- ^-^3

May is defined by the first anniversary.

Sally-Anne wishes she didn't have to go, to be honest. It just reopens wounds that haven't yet fully healed. In her opinion, she thinks that she should've been allowed to stay in Hogsmeade or something.

She stands with Andrew and Fay, the boy between the two witches. The reading of the names is hardest. When Jack's name is read, Andrew shudders, trying to fight back his tears.

Sally-Anne doesn't blame him. Even in today's society, tears aren't manly. But there's no reason to be manly on a day like today.

She and Fay hug him from either side, as if wrapping him in a comforting cocoon. Andrew sobs quietly.

The names go on and on and on.

Sally-Anne closes her eyes. At least the names that no one wants to hear aren't read. Such as "Crabbe, Vincent" and "Lestrange, Bellatrix" and—most definitely—"Riddle, Tom," a name well-known in the post-Voldemort world. Yes, his history has been exposed for all to scrutinize, though few still dare to say the name that made him famous.

By the time the ceremony proper is done, it is dusk. Non-student entities are given permission to enter the castle for the feast, but it is a silent affair.

Sally-Anne doesn't understand why they bother. She has no appetite right now.

At one end of the cluttered Gryffindor table, she sees the Weasleys. They are okay tonight, but they laugh as if they are one second away from breaking down into tears. She can't blame them.

She and Fay are abandoned for a moment as Andrew goes to find Ritchie. After all, Jack and Colin had been their roommates, their friends. So Sally-Anne and Fay eat in silence.

By the time the night ends, Sally-Anne is tired. She's so tired. She's terribly tired. She's deathly tired.

Fay walks her to the Hog's Head. The two girls, like sisters, hug, and Fay doesn't want to let her go. But she releases her and Sally-Anne waves goodbye and then it's just another night gone, kind of like May in general.

She sleeps that night, and she does not feel guilty for not having dreams of Nigel. She does not feel guilty for not having dreams at all.

- ^-^3

Everything is business from there on out. Nigel and his friends are like those things Dennis mentioned, ah, um…ah, robots! They are like robots, doing everything automatically and tuning out the world.

Homework is passed in.

Detention is served.

Meals are forgotten.

Nothing is said.

Before he knows it, May has gone and exams are behind them. Nigel feels relieved, even if he doesn't have his marks back yet. Only after O.W.L.s does he feel human again.

"I reckon I got at least 'Acceptable' in everything," Luca says glumly as they pack up on the last day of their fifth year.

Dennis laughs—a real, loud, large, genuine laugh. "Come on!" he says. "You're a guy who thinks he's 'barely passed' when in fact you've done brilliantly!"

Luca throws a shoe at his friend. "Git! Alice is the smartest one out of all of us. And she doesn't even worry about schoolwork."

Nigel grins, but he doesn't chime in. He feels drained.

Luca and Dennis look his way. "How about you?"

Nigel shrugs.

"Going to see Sally-Anne?" Dennis asks gently.

The strawberry blonde wizard's grin fades. "I dunno."

"I thought you fancied her."

"I more than fancy her."

Dennis and Luca exchange a look. "…wow," Dennis says.

"But that doesn't matter. Since the service, things have been strained between us. We put everything else first, understandably."

Luca scoffs. "'Understandably'? In what way is that understandable?"

"Look, just trust me on this, okay?"

The boys pack in silence for a good twenty minutes, until the dorm almost looks as though it's never been lived in. It's swept and tucked and cleaned and looks great.

Dennis clears his throat. "Nige…you're not going to let a good thing get away from you."

"No, I don't think I will—"

"Nigel." His tone forces Nigel to look at him. "That wasn't a question, mate. That was an order." He raises his eyebrows.

For all Dennis seemed stuck in the past, Nigel finally wonders if Dennis has grown the most out of all of them. So Nigel nods. Though how he'll achieve that…he has no clue.

Ah. It's just like the start of the year again. He doesn't know what to do.

That aside, he can't wait to get to Hogsmeade and board the train. He'd like to see her, even if it's for the last time in a long while.

She waits for him at one of the doors. She's ready and looking for him. Even though he has doubts about what's to come and he doesn't know what to do—all the cards are in her hands—he is doing one thing already, and he will learn to do it well:

He is waiting for her.

- ^-^3

"McGonagall already let me know," she tells him, leaning in towards him. She hesitates and then rests her head on his shoulder. He relaxes at that, she can feel it, and she's glad that they have the compartment to themselves. They've been distant for a month, so it's pure bliss to be so close to him once again.

"Oh?" he prompts.

She smiles against his arm. She loves leaning against him and feeling the thrum of his voice. "Yes. I've aced my N.E.W.T.s. She's going to put in a good word for me with Wilkie Twycross, one of the Apparition Test Centre instructors." She sighs, content. "I'll probably have a job after the summer."

"After the summer, eh?"

"Yeah."

"A whole summer, to yourself."

Sally-Anne fights a smile. "Yes, one entirely to myself—now let's move on, please." She pokes his side. "How about you?"

"I'm probably fine to move on to the next year. So I'll have a summer to myself, too."

"I'm proud of you, Nigel."

He looks down at her, utterly stunned. "What? Why?"

"For doing so well this year," she replies. She reaches up and pats his cheek.

Suddenly, it's as though they're back to that night in March. He reaches for her cheek and he frees her hair from one of her pigtails, and her hair falls freely and flies wildly. He cups her cheek and rubs his thumb over her skin—his fingers are smooth like hers, not like Andrew's, so she concludes that he has soft, girly hands—and he leans down. His forehead rests against hers and their noses touch. Sally-Anne can't even tell where her breath ends and his begins and he goes to kiss her and—

She stops him. It's too soon, simply too soon. She gives him an apologetic look and kisses his nose. But she doesn't back away, at any rate. "We've both got things to do before this can happen, yeah?" she whispers.

Nigel reluctantly agrees with a grunt.

Sally-Anne tries to pry herself away, content only to hold his hand, but he doesn't let her go, so she must settle in his arms, half on his lap.

His body language and her few words confirm for them both that they've acknowledged there's something there, something between them. But she's the older one here, and she knows that this can't happen—not yet.

"Summertime," he says as they wait to arrive in London.

Sally-Anne nods. She thinks of the good they'll do, both of them (he'd be good on the wireless, she thinks, since he can talk smoothly to her like that). Yes, they'll do a wealth of good. Perhaps, someday, they'll do some good together.

- ^-^3

*dies* Cuteness overload on a tired mind. 8D Which means I'll keep my A/N short, because this is almost 18K words. o.o Firstly, M&MWPs: Nigel-Anne, of course, but also Fay/Andrew, Luca/Alice, and one implied one (or was that 3?) at least (can you find it ;) ?)—sorry if I missed any. Um, there were spoilers in here for three of my oneshots, "if you fall at midnight," "A Life-Well Lived," and definitely "Zugzwang." Also, NO OCs were used in the making of this fic! XD Well, except the two Pygmy Puffs and Nigel's cat. ;P I gave first names to a couple of characters, but they otherwise exist (thank you, minor charries and the Original 40!). I wanted this fic to be more about the delicate time following the final battle, and also about how delicate relationships—both platonic and romantic—were afterwards. It alone is great that Pansy has made some steps in the right direction (really, thank Blaise for that ;P), though it's sad to see that Daphne doesn't want much to do with her anymore. And there was a Trio cameo, since they're canon. XP Man… I'm just gonna let this story sink in… Note: Sally-Anne I assume is the ginger-haired girl always with Fay in the third movie; so she exists, though maybe Sally-Anne Perks isn't her name, but I believe Sal to be her. *babble, babble* Yeah, I'm done now. OH! Lastly—I have another Nigel-Anne fic planned, of course! :3 So be on the lookout for more of them from me! THEY WILL KISS ONE DAY, I PROMISE! XDDD

Thank you VERY much for reading, and please don't favorite this without reviewing!

-mew-tsubaki :'}