Nala had never been one to hate anybody (her brother was, of course, an exception) but after a week of her new school, she had realised that there were so many people she hated more than Dudley Dursley. It was mainly the Slytherins but there were a few from other houses. One Ravenclaw girl in particular, Holly Prince was a constant nuisance. Nala despised her more than anyone. Luckily, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs only shared Potions so Nala didn't have much to do with the girl. Or at least, she didn't until she she and her friends spotted a notice pinned up. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday, and Hufflepuff and Slytherin were to learn together.
"Brilliant, sport and Holly! Just what I wanted," Nala said darkly. She hated sport more than anyTHING else.
"I thought flying sounded exciting," Susan said with a confused expression on her face.
"Nala hates sports though, remember?" Hannah said. Often Susan was rather slow.
"Oh. Yeah that rings a bell."
Nala and Hermione met up on the Gryfindor table that lunch time. They'd both taken time in the library before, fretting about flying. They'd read every book they could think of that might help but they did nothing to quell the girl's fears. To make matters worse, they didn't even have it together.
"And if..." Nala was cut short by the arrival of the post. Nala's parents sent her daily letters and attached to each was always a bag of muggle sweets. Today was no exception. She opened the letter and looked at her package of mars bars and jelly babies. She could feel Harry's glare in the back of her head. She'd have happily shared it with him. In fact, her first time she'd even offered but Harry had just turned his nose up at her. Nala wished and wished they could be friends. She didn't understand what she'd done wrong. She'd never been horrible to Harry, so why did he treat her so cruelly?
"Hannah?" she asked her friend. "Do you think it's a good idea to confront Harry?"
"Yes."
"That was quick," Nala arched her eyebrow.
"You don't know how much this is eating you alive, do you?" Hannah asked. Nala furrowed her brows. "A blind man could see. You're in pain Nals. You're hurting."
"I'm fine!" Nala snapped. "I just...I just need to sort a few things out."
Hannah and Susan shared looks conspiritally. Nala stormed off in her cousin's direction.
"Harry, can I speak to you?"
"What do you want?" Harry snapped.
"To talk about exactly that?"
"And what is that exactly?" Harry's voice was dangerously low.
"Oh, I don't know!" Nala screamed the words at him. A hush fell upon the Great Hall and the teachers up at their table were watching the scene, mildly interested. Tears were beginning to gather up in Nala's eyes. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve. Harry looked at his cousin, horrified. She'd always been so strong, he'd never seen her break down like this, never thought it was possible. "Maybe the fact you're horrible to me and I've done nothing wrong? Maybe the fact you treat me like dirt on your shoe? Maybe the fact you're as bad as Dudley?! But I don't know."
The hall's hush had become silent. Harry noticed and hissed at his cousin, "Shut up, you're causing a scene!"
"Look Harry, just... just think about it. Who's the only person you've ever received a decent birthday or Christmas present from? Me! Who saves up for months just so you can come to the fair and go on rides? Me! Who used to make up excuses for your magic? Me! Who'd always try to take on chores to help you out? Me! And who, who, did Harry James Potter never in his life think to appreciate? Me, Nala Lily Dursley," she finished in a soft voice that showed her sorrow.
"Lily?" Harry asked.
"Wow! Just wow! That's all you took from that! Yes, Mummy wanted me to carry your mum's name, Harry Potter!"
"I don't believe you."
Harry's expression had become stony again. The tears clung desperately to Nala's eyelashes but there were too many, too heavy, they fell, falling onto Nala's feet.
"Thanks!" she yelled as she sprinted as far away from the room as she could get. She'd got to what had to have been the sixth or seventh floor of Hogwarts when she saw a door appear out of nowhere.
Curiosity killed the cat, Nala told herself. Still, curiosity got the better of her and she opened up the door. Inside was a beautiful library. It was not the magnificent Hogwarts library or the one from Beauty and the Beast. Instead it was small and cramped with books. Nala wished there was a beanbag and to her immense surprise, one appeared. She ran her hand along the shelf into she felt a book that felt inviting. She then plonked herself on a beanbag, eyes still wet and began to read.
About halfway through, she read the sentence "the two cousins were destined to be enemies forever" and broke down into tears. What was this room anyway? Suddenly, a book appeared and replaced the one she was reading. This room seemed rather bizarre. Anyway, she looked at the title:
The room of requirement.
AN- Hiya! Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been busy with school and stuff and then (lucky me) managed to get a cold. Thank you so much to everyone who reads this, forty reads, I've got! Eek! Thank you!