Godric… and the Peacock

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser Salah looked at his reflection in the mirror, studying it closely. He wanted to make a good impression on Alexa. Nasser was having feelings he had never had before, and here was the proof right before him. He had never bothered much about his looks, and had always convinced himself that it was the character within and not the outer appearance that was of importance. He still hadn't changed his opinion, but that didn't stop him from wanting to look good for Alexa. Nasser was going as Godric Gryffindor. Ironic as it was he had chosen the figure from his History book, the subject he enjoyed least, and decided to dress up as him. Nasser had always been impressed by the founder of his house, by his courage and brave deeds that made him so famous, and he often wondered whether he would ever be that brave.

Nasser had exchanged his glasses for contacts, which he had never worn before in his life, but today was a very special occasion. Contact lenses were a bother, they always needed cleaning and special care he couldn't be bothered about, but for just one night Nasser thought he would try them on. Godric of course didn't wear glasses and he felt it just didn't suit the costume. He had made a sword like Godric's, and the fake jewels he had stuck on its handle gleamed as the light from the candles in his room reflected on it. He had purchased a scarlet cloak from Hogsmeade last weekend, and had brushed his hair the same way Godric did, parted from the side and falling lazily into one eye. Nasser smoothed a non-existent crease from his robes, which were black with a dark red belt around his waist, and breathed in deeply. "OK, it's time I went and found Alexa. I wonder what she's going as," he thought. Alexa had refused to tell Nasser when he asked her, telling him it was a surprise, and she had just smiled enigmatically.

Nasser felt very lucky that Alexa had agreed to go with him. He just hoped she would enjoy the evening as much as thought he would, and as he walked down the stairs and into the Great Hall he vaguely registered the costumes everbody was wearing and who had everybody had chosen to go with, but it was just a hazy impression, his mind was elsewhere. Alexa was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was here too early? Or was he too late and Alexa had decided he was a total loser and had just forgotten about meeting him? "You’re being extremely stupid," he told himself. "Just relax and be yourself. She'll be here in a minute." Nevertheless Nasser couldn’t stop himself worrying. Where was she?

[angeleyes]

Alexa stood in her bathrobe, staring at her costume for tonight’s ball, her hair was dripping a little still and a few drops of water were running down her face. Alexa was going as a peacock to the ball, a costume she had come across in a shop in Hogsmeade whose name she did not recall she had just gone in on impulse. She bit her lip, not really sure she how she was going to look, she knew how things work; you like it in the store but when you get it home you hate it. She turned and wrapped a towel around her hair before taking off her robe and getting ready. She dried off the water from her face and put on some moisturiser, she then put on some perfume and then got up for her dress. Alexa slipped into the garments fine material easily and pulled it up around her, she then zipped up the back and pushed her feet in her shoes, blue slippers. Once she was sure she was ready, at least clothing wise, she went about doing her hair.

When Alexa was done she looked at herself in the mirror, a smile on her face, she could not believe how she looked. Her dress was a mix of blues and greens, and the design was like feathers, at the bottom were the yellow eye-like circles that adorn peacock feathers. The dress had thin, spaghetti straps and a matching shawl, a headpiece when with it that came over her forehead like a beak and had three small faux feathers coming from it. She was going to the ball with Nasser Salah as her date, and she was completely nervous about it. She had missed last years ball and before then she had been dating a Slytherin boy, but that had ended for the best. The match would never have worked out. As a last touch she put on some cherry lip-gloss and left the dorm.

Alexa walked down the stairs from the dorm, she existed the common room, her feet moving quickly against the floor, she did not want to be late and make a bad impression. Alexa did not know why, but she was feeling something for Nasser, a strange feeling that she could not explain, ever since they had gotten to talking that day in Hogsmeade. She had not told him what she was wearing, she wanted it to be surprise, and she hoped he liked it. As she descended the stairs she made out the figure of a boy dressed in black and immediately knew it was Nasser, she smiled, he looked very good. She walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, “Hey there,” she said with a smile.

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser started slightly as someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look and his red cloak spread out behind him. For a minute he said nothing. He stared at Alexa wordlessly, stunned by the beauty of her costume. Nasser had been taken by Alexa's oriental features from their first meeting, and today her beauty was nothing short of amazing. Or at least it was to Nasser. Her peacock costume was beautiful, and Nasser was once again surprised by Alexa's creativity. Not one person was wearing anything even remotely similar, and Nasser felt even luckier than he had at the beginning of the evening to have Alexa with him. She never failed to surprise him it seemed, he remembered how astonished he had been when he learned of her love of dragons and wish to work with them when she left Hogwarts.

Finally he smiled shyly and spoke up. "Hey. You look beautiful," he said. Nasser felt that he would have had the exact same opinion whatever Alexa had decided to wear, but certainly the vivid shades of green and blue accented her exquisite features. Nasser placed his sword into the sheath he had in his belt, and offered Alexa his arm. He led her into the hall, all the time conscious of their close proximity to each other, and then asked her, "Shall we dance? I'm not the world's greatest dancer," he admitted, "but I'd love to dance with you," he continued. "Stupid idiot," he thought to himself, "Of course she's going to dance with you, that's why she's came here in the first place. Now concentrate on not making a fool of yourself and stop blushing."

[angeleyes]

Alexa blushed as Nasser complimented her, “Thank you. You look great too,” she said taking his arm. Nasser was becoming a very fond part of Alexa’s life ever since they got to talk that day in the Menagerie, in Diagon Alley. Things had worked out strangely since then; they had ended up in the same classes and often found each other out without thinking about it. When Nasser asked her to the ball, Alexa, readily agreed, she was honoured that he had asked. “Shall we go Godric,” she said with a smile.

Nasser had pulled off the look of Godric Gryffindor, that house’s founder, perfectly; even down the cape and sword he wore. As they walked into the hall, Alexa was amazed at how it had been transformed into a virtual kaleidoscope of colour and activity. There were a lot of people and getting through them was a little difficult at times, and once or twice Alexa found herself being pulled away from him and then forced up against him, but finally they found a nice spot on the floor. She stood before him and smiled as he asked her to dance, “I’d love to,” she said and stepped towards him. She was nervous, she found she was feeling that way a lot these days, especially around Nasser, but she didn’t want to think of what that meant, at least not right now; she just wanted to enjoy the night.

[Nasser Salah G6]

It was a bit difficult to keep close to Alexa as they walked through the throngs of students and into the centre of the dancing floor. Often she was pulled away from him, and at other times, she was pushed against him, which made Nasser smile secretly to himself but even more nervous. Soon however they were at the centre of the floor and Nasser smiled as he looked at Alexa. The last song was just ending and a new one had just started. It was a dance with a quick tempo, and Nasser suddenly smiled as he heard the words. It was actually a famous song sung by a group called the Dragon Breeders, and Nasser thought it was a strange coincidence that that should be the first dance he and Alexa should dance together. He had learned of Alexa's wish to become a dragon breeder in their first meeting at Hogsmeade. Nasser was no great dancer himself, but he could keep up with the beat of the music, and somehow the little surprise made him loosen up a little as he looked at Alexa, and the amused expression on her face told him she remembered too. "Bet you liked that one," he said when the dance ended, his eyes dancing.

As he awaited her response the lights dimmed, and Nasser heard the other students gasp audibly and move slightly closer together. This time it was to be a slow dance, and Nasser felt the blood throbbing in a vein near his temple as he moved a little closer to Alexa and took her hand. He wanted to be sure she didn't mind dancing this dance with him. So far he was having fun, and his shyness had alleviated but now he could feel it again. It was a very new situation for him as he never danced such a dance with someone before, though he had practised it with one of his sisters once just for fun.

[angeleyes]

As the new song began Alexa recognized the group, it was the Dragon Breeders, a group she happened to love. Alexa was a pretty okay dancer, though no expert or anything like that. “I love that one,” she said smiling. She looked around as the lights lowered and then back at Nasser. The tone of the evening was changing, a slow tune was beginning to play and the other students were all getting closer together. Alexa looked at Nasser tentatively; she wasn’t sure what to do.

Nasser stepped closer to her and then took her hand, she blushed slightly, but with the dimmed lights no one could see. She took a few steps closer to him, “I guess we’re going to dance?” she said with a smile that lit up her face. She had been so nervous and she still was but not as much. Nasser was a great guy, kind, generous and caring, plus he was very smart and had imagination; his costume was evidence of that.

[Nasser Salah G6]

At Alexa's question and radiant smile Nasser smiled back and answered her. "Of course we are," he said, placing one hand on the small of her back and drawing her closer to him. Slowly Nasser attempted the few steps of the dance he knew, and then slowly just let himself go with the flow of the music, and soon Nasser was feeling extremely calm and peace with the world he could not remember when he had last felt so serene. Alexa was very light on her feet, and soon Nasser forgot about worrying about stepping over her feet, about her not enjoying the evening with him, in fact he was overwhelmed by this new found feeling of peace it was the only thing he thought about. Nasser found himself wishing the dance would never end, and felt a little disappointed when the entrancing melody ended.

"Alexa?" he asked, moving a bit away from her to look at her face. "Would you like to sit down and drink something?" he asked. Nasser wasn't tired of dancing, but he didn't want to dance again after that last dance for he was sure he would not enjoy any dance as much as that one and he wanted to remember their time dancing together ending with that dance. He also wanted to talk with Alexa, they hadn't talked much after their meeting in Hogsmeade and the other time they had helped the first-years in trouble.

[angeleyes]

Alexa swallowed as Nasser put his hand on her back and pulled her closer to him, and she went. She smiled at him, so they were going to dance, that could be very nice. Alexa followed Nasser as any good partner does; in dancing the man leads and woman simply followed nothing difficult there. They moved together effortlessly across the floor, Nasser taking her where he wanted and her letting him. She was completely at ease dancing with him, like they had been dancing together all the days of their lives. The music was intoxicating and Alexa was drunk with it, but sadly the sweet siren’s melody died away.

Alexa looked at Nasser when he called her name when the song was ended, “Yes?” she thought about it, “I drink sounds good,” she said and started off towards the tables and chairs. “So Nasser glad you came?” she asked as she weaved her way through the crowd to the tables. “Do you want me to find a seat or would you like help with the drinks?” she asked him.

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser did not let go of Alexa's hand as they left the dancing floor and walked towards the tables. He was having a bit of a difficult time keeping his eyes off her too. He tried to think of something intelligent to say instead of staring at her continuously and then Alexa asked him a question. "Glad?" said Nasser, almost wonderingly. There was a surprised note in his voice and then he smiled a bit shyly. "I can't remember ever having had so much fun dancing," he said seriously. "You're a lovely dancing partner, Alexa." Nasser had never thought dancing could fill one with such a feeling of utter serenity, and he was sincere when he told Alexa that he had enjoyed dancing with her very much.

Reluctant as he was to leave her, Nasser thought it would be more sensible for her to find a table while he went to get them some drinks. Already many of the students were beginning to tire of dancing and had begun to sit down with their partners and friends. "Yeah, you go find us somewhere to sit, I'll get us some butterbeer," he said. Nasser quickly went and got some butterbeer in two glasses for Alexa and him and then joined her at the table she had chosen. He smiled across the table at her, saying nothing for a minute. Then he was suddenly struck by his lack of knowledge abut Alexa's family. They had shared their dreams and aspirations already, and a little about their likes and hobbies, but had never talked of their life outside Hogwarts. "Hey you never told me about your family by the way," said Nasser, wanting to know everything he could about her. "I've never seen any other Lees in school, are you an only child?" he asked.

[angeleyes]

Alexa smiled, “Thank you Nasser, you are a great dancer yourself. I have been having a lot of fun. Thanks for inviting me.” Alexa was having an amazing time, even though they had one just arrived and danced once. Alexa felt really comfortable with Nasser, exceptionally comfortable. It was even different than her and Catalina, who was her best friend. Alexa shared everything with Cat; she was the only one who knew what had happened last year and why she had missed the better part of last year.

“All right I’ll find us a seat, somewhere over there,” she said pointing in the direction to her left. She gave him a smile and then turned to find a seat for them. The task she had opted for was more difficult than she had expected since everyone was finding seats or already had some occupied. Finally she found a seat and waited for Nasser to join her. She didn’t wait long, maybe five or six minutes, before he appeared, “Nasser over here,” she called to him and waved.

Alexa took her butterbeer, “Thanks,” she said and took a sip; it was very good. Alexa looked at Nasser tentatively when he asked her about her family. Her family, and her was a long story. “I am now,” she said. “I had a brother, Po, he was a few years older than me. He died just after I went in my second year. He was two years older than me.” She quickly changed to the other members of her family. Alexa and Po had been very close; the protective big brother. He had sparked her interest in muggles. “My mum is Jo and my dad is Ping. I live with my grandmother Ling. I named after her…Alexa Ling Lee.” She said with a smile. “I live between my grandmother’s home in Bath and my parents in Romania; and of course here.” She sipped her butterbeer, “How about your family? You an only child?”

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser smiled in disbelief when Alexa told him he was a great dancer but didn't say anything. Their conversation was now about their families, as Nasser wished to learn about this girl he had had such pleasure dancing with. Nasser was moved deeply by the unexpected story of Po, Alexa's brother, death. It seemed to him that all the people he was close to always had firsthand experience with the ordeal of mourning for the death of a family member; Perseus' mother had died when was very young, and now he had just learned about Alexa's brother's death; and there was Sethia, who had lost her whole family. As Sethia's best friend it always pained Nasser to see the sadness in Sethia's kind light green eyes, the tragic demise of her family had taken place when she was still a child, and though Sethia didn’t talk about it much and had in many ways managed to cope with it, there were times when Nasser would know she missed them dearly, especially during the holidays when everybody talked about their families. He reached out and out one hand over Alexa's, his dark green eyes filled with compassion.

Nasser noticed the swiftness with which Alexa changed the topic, and respected her wish not to talk about it. He couldn’t help but chuckle when Alexa asked if he was an only child, and he hoped that would lighten her mood after she had just told him about the tragic death of her older brother. "Far from it," he said, "we're actually seven. When anybody sees my family they think my father and mother are a couple with children from different marriages, but suddenly they start looking closer and I can almost see them taking in our ages and realising we just might all have the same biological parents. It's strange how I'm the only one of them who can do magic, it's one of those cases where lightning never struck twice," he mused with a little shrug. Nasser's thought went to his six brothers and sisters, and he smiled a bit to himself. He looked back at Alexa. "We're a team, me and them. I sometimes feel a little isolated because I'm the only one who's part of this world and also the muggle world, and there are things I can’t talk to them about, but they I know they try their best and make me forget about that," he said. "And anyway, I love being part of this world, and feel blessed to have been the only one of them to become a wizard," he confided. "I can't believe I told you all that about me," he said surprised at himself. "So, back to your grandmother, what brought her to Britain? Was your Grandfather from around here and then he met her abroad? If she's as beautiful as you are I can understand his wanting to marry her and bring her here," said Nasser, a mischievous glint in his eyes covering the slight shyness he felt. Telling Alexa she was beautiful wasn't as easy as telling Sethia, for Nasser was so used to her he always joked with her about the male population at Hogwarts all falling for her, but with Alexa it wasn't a joke. He had been taken by her angelic smile and delicate features from their first meeting, and though he was feeling very comfortable her he knew his feeling for her was very different than the one he had for Sethia.

[angeleyes]

Alexa looked at Nasser’s hand over hers, and then looked back at him with a weak smile. She didn’t want pity, but she felt that Nasser did not pity her. She loved her brother very much and missed him most around his birthday and Christmas. She tried her best not to think about him, but it never worked; it was partly because of him that she was who she was. Her fascination and curiosity with dragons was due to her love of life and her lack of fear of death; her admiration and interest in muggles was her brother’s doing, he had intended to work in the Ministry in the Muggle Artefacts Department. Alexa wanted to work in the Ministry someday after she had worked with dragons.

Sethia smiled as Nasser divulged that he was not an only child; Alexa knew nothing of big families, her family was rather small, though wealthy but you would never know it. “There are seven of you? Does that include your parents?” she asked surprised, “Wow.” She laughed as he described how people reacted when they saw his family. “With me you can tell I am my parents’ child without a doubt. My father is Chinese, so is grandmother. My mother is Caucasian, born here in England. I was born here, a little while after mum and dad went back to Romania and left me with grandmother. She raised me from when I was small. Don’t misunderstand my parents loved me, but they had work to do. They see dragons like I do and there was a lot going on back then in the dragon world and they had to be there.”

Alexa nodded, “I know what you mean somewhat. Everyone in my family does magic, but I’m alone. When Po was there I never felt that way. He’d chase me around the house or teach me about muggles and read to me about dragons. Even when I was young I loved them. My grandmother says it’s genetic; my love of dragons.” She smiled, “Nasser you can talk to me about this world. I am from it through and through, but I don’t know as much as you must about the muggle world. We could share with each other.” As Nasser began to ask her more about her family she laughed. “Remind me to give you my number at home so you can call me. We have a phone to make us look normal when my grandmother’s muggle friends come over, though it never gets used really.”<br>
“My grandparents, my dad’s mum and dad came here when he worked for the ministry. Grandmamma had three children including my father; they are all in china. My mum was born here and they met in school, here at Hogwarts. Mum says it was love at first sight for her.” She blushed, “My grandmother’s beautiful, always has been. Thanks” Alexa knew things were developing between her and Nasser, but she was not entirely sure what. She had a boyfriend once, a match that was entirely not to be believed and would never have worked in the first place, but she cared about him. Alexa was acutely aware that her feelings for Nasser was far beyond what she had felt for Cedric and more likely to work, but she could not presume anything. Alexa had once wondered about Nasser and Sethia, but that had been cleared up by Sethia a while ago. Many students at Hogwarts thought that Nasser and Sethia were involved since they spent a lot of time together; such was how the minds of children worked.

“Where are you from Nasser? You weren’t born in England were you?”

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser grinned at Alexa and raised his eyebrows. "No. We are seven brothers and sisters, four boys and three girls. I'm the third child," he added. Nasser listened to Alexa as she recounted to him the tale of how her grandmother had come to England and then been brought up by her grandmother. "Yeah, I know, sometimes you have commitments you just can't leave. It's hard when that happens, I remember my mother having to leave us once and my father having to take care of me and my siblings. It was hilarious, he didn't know half the things he had to do, and my younger brothers and sisters kept trying to get away with things they couldn't do when Mum was around," said Nasser chuckling as he remembered the time. "It was just one week, but let me tell you it's a good thing Mum came back after that. I'm not too sure my father would have survived if she hadn't," he continued.

Once again Nasser felt a pang of pain as he heard the wistful note in Alexa's voice as she told him of how her brother would always chase her around and tell her about dragons and muggles. "You must have been very close," he said, careful not to sound as if he pitied Alexa. He didn't her to feel he was trying to be nice to her because he was sorry for the pain she had been through, he wanted his true feelings to reach her, the ones he wasn't too sure what to call but also knew he might be afraid to announce to her in case she should reject him or no longer feel comfortable around him. Nasser was very close to all his family members and could no even begin to imagine what it must be like to have to learn to cope with living without one of them.

Nasser looked at Alexa and then said," I'd like that very much. There's a lot about the muggle world that's interesting, and also I would like to talk to you about the magical world. My only really close friends are Sethia and Perseus, and I'd love to have you to talk to also. I find it difficult to confide in a lot of people and tell them about how I feel, but that's not how it is with you Alexa," he said. He dropped his eyes from hers and then took a sip of his butterbeer after that last confession. "Thank you, you can expect a lot of calls from now on," he said looking back at her.

Nasser leaned across the table, and then with the air of one announcing something exotic and profoundly intriguing he said, "No, I was not. I'm originally from Egypt, the Land of the Pyramids," he said proudly, and then laughed as he finished the sentence. "Mom and Dad moved here just after they got married, Mum is a university professor and so is Dad. Universities are like schools for adults which you have to attend if you want to pursue a proper career, like becoming a doctor which is the muggle equivalent of a Healer. Anyway, they always visited Egypt during the summer, and during one of those summer vacations I was born. Have you ever been to the Middle East at all? Or to your homeland, China?" he asked. As he asked that last question Nasser noticed people were beginning to leave the hall. "Tell you what Alexa, let me walk you to the dormitories, it's getting a little late. Do you mind if we take the long way so we can continue our conversation?" he said, hoping she would say she didn't.

[angeleyes]

“So there are nine of you in all!” Alexa’s eyes opened wide. “Yeah there are things you must take care of that are very important.” Alexa smiled as Nasser told her of his experiences when his mother had to leave them for a while and their father was left to take care of them. “Mothers are more in charge than fathers. I can understand what that must be like, your poor dad. He must have been at a complete loss.” Alexa remembered a similar circumstance when she was with her dad in Romania, “My dad was like that too, but lucky for him there was only me and Po to contend with. Though, we were a handful. We ran all over the place like madmen, and it’s a little more dangerous when there are carnivorous creatures that breathe fire lurking about,” she said with a small laugh.

“We were,” Alexa said softly as Nasser said that she and Po must have been close. “We were as close as close could be. Nothing got between me and Po.” Nasser was being really sweet to her and Alexa appreciated it. Usually she felt weird talking about Po to people, but he made it so easy to talk to him, like he really understood and cared about her. He was lucky to have all of his family with him; Alexa only had her grandmother with her here since her grandfather died years ago. There was something there, she could feel it but putting a name to it was difficult for her to do. Alexa was not used to feeling this way or being treated like she was when she was with Nasser.

She smiled, “I’m sure there is. You can show me everything and we can talk about magic. Well I have Catalina. You know Cat? She’s my best friend in the world and I tell her everything, and now there’s you.” Alexa listened to Nasser; things were exactly the same for the two of them. She often felt that she couldn’t share how she felt. Alexa’s grandmother was over protective ever since Alexa was small and became ill, but no one knew about that; well almost no one. Alexa was very happy and flattered to have Nasser feel he could share with her, “I feel the same about you. You make things very easy to talk about.” She sipped her butterbeer and gave him a smile, “I expect nothing less Nasser,” she replied to his comment about calling her.

Alexa sat still as Nasser leaned forward and told her his origins. “Egypt?” she said astonished. Nasser’s exotics looks were appealing and now she knew why. “I have always wanted to see Egypt, to explore a pyramid or to see a real mummy. There are some rare dragons from there did you know? There aren’t that many now, if any at all, most were relocated for safety.” Alexa laughed, “I can’t seem to go one conversation without bringing up dragons can I?” Alexa listened with interest as Nasser told her about his parents’ jobs; she wanted to know about him. She was interested. “Oh, I understand, like going to wrangler school or a Healing institute if you want to pursue those professions.” Alexa smiled, “I’ve never been to the middle east, though I have been to china. I speak Chinese fluently, and Romanian for when I visit my parents.”

Alexa noticed the others leaving too, “How about we take a walk down to the lake and then back to the dorms. I’m not really tired yet? Do you mind?” she said with an innocent look on her face, like a child asking for a sweet.