#nison

"Neither do I! What were you thinking, keeping me in the dark like that?" 

"Well, it's like I said at the press conference," said Liesel. 

In death, she'd had her freedom. She and her family had peace. She was able to raise her children away from a firestorm of controversy. The media had hounded her to know why she'd pretended to be dead for so long, so she turned the mirror to them and told them, there's your answer. 

"Could have let your best friend in on the secret, though," said Tara indignantly--she did, at last, stop crushing Liesel's ribs, though, which was nice. 

"Sorry," Liesel said sheepishly. 

"Well, don't just stand there, come in! Have a glass of wine." 

"I can't stay long," said Liesel as she followed Tara into her house--well, her mansion, to be exact. "I'm making my rounds, doing all the catching up that needs to be done...then again, Camden's next on my list, and that isn't going to be an easy conversation to have..."

So maybe a glass of wine, or three, were in order. 

They were in the kitchen, Tara uncorking a bottle of the finest merlot in England, when a new voice joined the conversation. "How nice to see you again, Ms. Dolohov."

"Actually, it's Kutner now," she said automatically, before she even looked up--she'd been correcting people all week, and had even snapped at one reporter that she 'didn't answer to her slave name anymore'. 

When she looked into the man's eyes, she was temporarily stunned. 

At first, she didn't recognize him. But then, why would he have said it was nice to see her again? Then, it hit her. "Jason Kane?" 

She'd thought he'd died in the war. Then again, until recently, that was exactly what everyone had thought of her. 

"We're together now," said Tara. "Surprise! I would have told you earlier, but, you know, you were dead." The note of bitterness remained in her voice. Liesel didn't know how many ways she could say she was sorry. 

"Here, let me do that for you," said Jason, taking the bottle of wine from Tara so he could pour Liesel a glass. She just stared at him. "Is everything alright, Madam Kutner?"

"It's fine, I just...well, I can't seem to recall we were ever friends." She'd developed a grudging respect for him, and the feeling might've been mutual, but that was about as far as it went. 

"Nonsense!" he said with a big grin, "Any friend of Tara's is a friend of mine." 

Liesel blinked. 

That was not the cocksure American Saukerl who'd blown a hole in her common room floor. 

-

She was loitering in a corridor with her clique, just minding her own business, when he tapped her on the shoulder. "Come to thank me for the flowers?" she said, turning to face him--she'd sent along a little token of appreciation for taking the spotlight off of her at her start-of-the-year party. The commotion he'd stirred by picking a fight and tearing the common room apart certainly helped distract people from the mortifying secrets she'd spilled under the influence of Veritaserum. People were still gossiping, of course, and she was pretty sure she and Maire weren't friends anymore, but things weren't as bad as they could have been. 

"Actually," he said, "I heard you're a pretty good duellist. They're saying you could give the Head Boy a run for his money."

"You do know that Head and Prefect positions are given out based on behavioral record and not duelling ability, right?" 

"Sure, blondie, however it works, but let's just cut the chitchat and see what you've got, yeah?" 

And just like that, they were fighting. 

Liesel was used to having the upperhand, but he'd blasted her across the corridor before she could even draw. "Is this really Slytherin's undefeated duelling champion?" he mocked her.

Jaw clenched, she scrambled to her feet and hit him square in the face with a jet of water--her signature. It managed to slow him down for a bit, and for several minutes, they met each other blow for blow. For a while it looked like she would be holding on to her undefeated streak, but by the end of the fight, he had her on her knees, coughing up blood.

"Well, you're tough, Blondie, I'll give you that," he said,scooping her up in a swift motion.

"What are you doing?" she croaked weakly, struggling what little she could in his arms. "Put me down so we can have a rematch!"

"No way, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Bullshit," she spat, but the struggle was futile.

-

For a few weeks, Liesel was conflicted. She was happy for Tara, she really was. And yeah, Jason was acting pretty weird, but she of all people would know that men would go to some great lengths for the love of a woman. Still, though, she couldn't help but feel bad for Nina. The poor girl's heart had broken over him. When Liesel had gone to see her, she could clearly discern the sadness still weighing heavy in her heart. She wanted to tell her, but she wasn't sure it was her place to butt into Tara's business. 

Well, there was a right-in-the-middle solution here...

The next time she went over to Tara's (Sunday brunch with champagne and a fancy centerpiece), she said, "Jason, I think you ought to tell Nina you're alive. I know you're with Tara now, and I think you two make a lovely couple...but don't you think Nina deserves to know the truth? I mean, I went to see Camden...it wasn't easy, but I did it."

"Nina?" he repeated, his eyes glazed. Liesel frowned. 

"Yes, Nina Radke, your ex girlfriend..." 

He mouthed a word, and Liesel wouldn't have known what it was if she and Nina hadn't been so close. 

-

"He really is the worst kind of brute," Liesel was telling Nina one day. 

"I thought you liked him." 

"I tolerate him, there's a difference," said Liesel. "And you're a beautiful, multitalented girl--"

"Aww, shucks," said Nina, a flush rising in her cheeks.

"All I'm saying is, you could reel in much better." 

"He's so good to me," Nina protested. "He makes me smile...he calls me sunshine..." She fiddled with the hem of her sleeve and said, "So he isn't perfect, nobody's perfect...but he's perfect for me."

-

"That's right," Liesel nodded, "you called her--"

But before she could finish her sentence, Jason's expression contorted, and the next thing she knew, he'd lunged at her across the table, pinning her to the fancy marble floor by the throat. 

"Tara--help--" she choked out, unable to reach her wand while Jason's was pointed right between her eyes. 

"Jason, stop! Liesel's our friend!" said Tara. His grip loosened, and he looked embarrassed as Tara remanded him back to his seat. "Sorry about that, Lise..."

"N-no, I'm sorry...I must have touched a nerve," Liesel murmured. 

She sat back down, and for the rest of brunch, there was no more talk of Nina, but a pool of fear and disgust started to bubble up in the pit of her stomach. 

"Is the food alright? You're barely touching it," said Tara after a while. 

"It's great, I uh...I'm afraid I'm coming down with a bug." 

-

Liesel knocked vigorously at Nina's door. "Nina, open up, it's me. I swear, you're not under arrest, I just need to talk to you!" 

"Liesel?" Nina let her in, and Liesel hung her coat up on the rack, but not her scarf. 

"This could take a while," she said. "Have you got any wine?" 

"Well, sure...Lise, aren't you warm?" she said, eyeing the scarf. 

Liesel swallowed. 

Well, maybe it would be easier to explain if she just showed her. 

With trembling fingers, she pulled the scarf from around her neck, revealing fresh, angry, purple bruises. Nina gasped. 

"Lise, are you okay? What happened! Your husband didn't hurt you, did he?"

"What? No, he'd never!"

"Who, then? Did your father--?"

"It was Jason!" Liesel blurted. 

"Wh-what?"

"Jason Kane."

"How--? How--?" For a while, Nina just breathed, in and out. She looked like she was going to faint. "He's alive?" she squeaked out, finally.