Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Or any of the characters appearing in the books. However, everyone you don't recognize from the books was taken from my slightly less than sane mind.
Sins of Angels: Hello! Um, this is a weird little idea I have that messes up everything in the books, but sticks to the main ideas. It's not centered on Harry, but instead on an original character, Nora. It's a funny little story that smacked me on the head two hours before I posted this and told me to write it and post it, so I did. Anyway, please let me know what you think, be it review or otherwise. Enjoy!
Chapter 1 – New Guardian
Nora didn't know what to do. All her life, she had been shuffled from one person to another since the war started. She liked staying with the Potters the best, because their son was just her age. But when they placed her with the Malfoys, she ran. And now, four years later, they caught her.
"So, willing to tell us your name, sweetie?" an Auror asked kindly. She seemed nice enough, but Nora shook her head. "Willing to talk at all?"
At this, Nora replied. "Not really, no."
"How old are you? Eleven? Just the right age for Hogwarts, aren't you?"
Nora's eyes locked on hers. She grinned as she sensed that the woman probably hadn't ever heard of Occlumency. Tonks, then, wasn't it? Ah, she was still in training. Hogwarts. "I want to go to Hogwarts," she voiced firmly, taking her captor aback.
"What? You want to go where, exactly?"
"Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. I'm the right age, and the train leaves in a week. I have to go get my stuff now, so I'll be leaving."
"No you won't! You were brought here because you tried to steal. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes. And now I want to go to Hogwarts, where I'll see the error of my ways and not steal anymore on account of having too much homework. So I should go now."
"You need a guardian."
"What?" Nora asked, fear in her voice for the first time.
"A guardian. I assume you don't have one?"
"I don't. I never have."
"Come, now, dear, you must have had one, at least. You want to go to Hogwarts, don't you?"
"Oh, yes," Nora said, her eyes sparkling. "More than anything!"
"Then tell me who your last guardian was."
Nora shook her head hurriedly. "No, I won't."
"How about your name, then? See, I'm Tonks. And you are?"
Nora shook her head again. "If I give you my name, you'll bring me back. And all I want is to go to Hogwarts! Why can't we just do that?"
"Look, if you don't talk to me, you'll have to talk to someone much meaner."
"Miss Tonks, I'm sorry but I don't want to talk to anyone. Unless it's Albus Dumbledore. So can you please go and get him?"
"You want to talk to Dumbledore, little one? I'll need your name first."
"Please, can't I just talk to him?"
"Name first, I'm afraid. He'll want to know."
Nora felt the unfamiliar tears well up. It had been three years, she figured it was bound to happen sometime. She was going to cry.
"Look, all I want is a name and then I can help you. It's not hard, just give me one."
Nora considered her options. "Nora," she sobbed quietly.
"Nora," Tonks repeated, standing upright. "Do you have a last name?"
"No. Not that I remember."
"Fine. Dumbledore will be here soon, Nora."
The eleven year old wiped away her tears hurriedly. She cursed herself for crying, knowing it made her look so undeniably weak. She though of what weakness did to people, and resolved not to cry again for a long time. The last time she remembered was well deserved enough, and she wasn't eager to repeat something like that.
Four years ago, news reached her that Voldemort was dead. She became happy, until she realized who he took with him. The Potters were gone. Harry was left alive, a scar on his forehead. Voldemort, she had come to discover, disappeared. And Remus Lupin was thrown in Azkaban, with Sirius and Peter both testifying against him.
But Nora didn't quite see it. Remus, after all, wasn't their secret-keeper, something the rest of the world seemed to ignore. It was only Sirius who had his doubts about him, and Peter, well, Peter never was one to stand up by himself. Something had gone wrong four years ago, and Remus Lupin was in jail for it.
Harry, as far as she understood, was taken in by some relatives on Lily's side of the family, while Lupin's son, Zack, was taken in by Sirius. Why this happened was a mystery, but it did, and Nora didn't like it.
Then, one cold night in her poor excuse of a room in the Malfoy Manor, she cried and sobbed, her tears staining the pillow. She was caught by Draco, the one person in the house to treat her as a human being. Expecting one of his snide, insulting remarks, she got a surprise when he sat down next to her on the bed and sighed, seeing much older than seven. He was the one to give her the first suggestion of escape.
"Why do you stay here?" he had asked, his voice sounding curious. Nora stopped sobbing and sat up, looking at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why stay? You get treated worse than Dobby, and, well, I wouldn't. I'd leave. I'd run away to wherever you could, and I'd lay low for a while. No one really knows you, not after…well, not after you vanished from wherever you were before."
Nora had thought about it, realizing that the prospect of freedom hadn't crossed her mind. So, with a sudden joyful feeling surging through her, she had jumped from her bed and collected her things. They fit in the battered backpack she kept from her stay with the Potters and she looked alright, just a lost child, really. She smiled at Draco. "Thanks," she muttered. He shrugged and left for his room. She left for the back door, taking care to step over all the traps set for unlucky guests. And she had left, fled out to Diagon Alley, and had remained there for four years, making very unusual friends.
And now she was in the Ministry, with her only hope arriving, as the Auror put it, soon. She sighed. In some ways, she was so much older than eleven.
So when Albus Dumbledore came in, she was glad to see him smiling. In no time at all she had her school things, taking a loan from the school because she had been guaranteed a place in someone's house during the summer. The lady's name was Figg, and she had a lot of cats. The moment Nora set foot in her house, she loved it. She would be staying there for the week she had left before school.
The best part of her new guardian, she decided, was that Mrs. Figg found Nora's sarcasm and biting wit to be amusing. It was rather a relief, seeing as how Nora couldn't always control it. Four years of living by herself had taught her things. Not entirely nice things, but useful all the same.
So, after two days of living with Mrs. Figg, Nora decided it was time to see what the neighborhood was like. She put on the new clothes her guardian had taken great joy in purchasing and left. She found something she hadn't seen in a while. It was a park, and in the park was a row of swings. She laughed joyfully as she ran across the clearing to the swings. Sitting on one, she took in the world around her, smiling as she did so. This was as close to great as she'd been in seven years.
The morning of September first, as she gathered her trunk, she found out something surprising about their neighborhood when she glanced out the window and saw a boy with recognizably untidy black hair get into a car. She jumped down the stairs as she confirmed with Mrs. Figg that she really would be living next to Harry Potter, and that she might even get to play with him sometimes. The thought made her skip all the way to the Knight Bus, where she bid her new guardian goodbye.
"Will you write me, Nora?" Mrs. Figg asked as her trunk was put on the bus. Nora beamed at her.
"Of course I will, Mrs. Figg! Will you write back?"
Mrs. Figg laughed. "Of course, child! Now go, I can't see you off and I don't want you to be late. I'm sorry."
Nora shook her head. "For what? I'll be fine, I've been to the station before, and you have important things to do. And, Mrs. Figg?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for taking me in!" Nora said and hugged the woman, who smiled and hugged back, tears visible in her eyes. "Bye!" she said as she boarded the bus.
"Bye, Nora! And good luck!"
Nora waved to her until the bus took off, at which point she was thrown into her seat. She smiled to herself and took out her potions book. She had gotten through all the others already, and she was almost done with this one as well. Her new and very own wand was easily felt in her pocket, and she smiled to herself as she read. Her mind wandered off as she realized she still hadn't decided on a last name.
The argument carried with her through the station. Well, she had something to work with. Her name is Nora, and she just had to pick something to go well with that. Carefully, she weighed her options.
The first name was Potter, the first people to take her in and the earliest she remembered. They had given her the name Nora, after Remus Lupin's daughter, who died when she was an infant. Nora had tried her best to do the name justice. However, now she wouldn't be the only Potter, because Harry would be attending as well. And any mention of his parents would be too painful, even for her. No, as much as she hated it, Potter was out.
Her next guardians were the Malfoys. But she refused to adopt their name. The less she thought about them, the better.
Figg would have been nice, but it's too soon for her to adopt it. No, she didn't feel right using it yet.
Sirius Black she had met during her stay with the Potters, and he seemed nice enough. But he had a kid to worry about, she wouldn't feel right.
Remus Lupin. He had a kid, and he probably shared his surname. It would make sense, really.
"What a stupid little riddle I've got myself into," Nora said quietly to herself. She gasped.
Riddle. It was perfect, in every way. She didn't know of anyone by that name, and she was rather like a riddle herself. She smiled, and decided on it. Nora Riddle. She could always change it later.
Smiling, confident in her decision, she emerged on the magic platform. It was filled with new students, old students, and distraught parents. She carefully maneuvered around them.
That is, until someone called her out.
"Hey, you!" a boy called behind her. She turned and looked at him. He seemed only slightly more familiar than a complete stranger. "You have my lucky amulet!"
Nora gulped. The boy's parents didn't seem to be around. "What?"
"My amulet. I'd like it back now," the boy demanded. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and radiated pride.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Nora said and started off again. But the boy persisted.
"I saw you two weeks ago. I know you recognized me. Where is it?"
"Shut up," a voice ordered. "Leave her alone."
The boy glared at her before leaving. She turned to see none other than Draco staring at her.
"Thought you'd be here," he remarked coolly. She smiled. "Welcome aboard, I guess."
The mutual respect they shared only stretched so far. "Thanks. Are your parents here?"
"No, but they'll find out about you."
Nora shrugged. "Well, better stay away from proud ferrets like yourself."
Draco frowned. "Better than being a shameless orphan."
Nora only laughed. "Bye, Draco."
He returned it. "Bye, Nora."
She loaded her trunk and instantly became lost beyond hope. She didn't know anyone save Draco, with whom she'd rather not be too friendly with. It'd go against their insulting relationship, really.
Well, no, she knew Harry. She just didn't know where Harry was.
Or if he'd remember her. She hasn't spoken to him in so long. With this newfound purpose, she strode on the train. However, she didn't do much striding as she crashed into a boy she vaguely recognized as Zack, a grown up version of the kid she remembered.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said as he helped her up. "I was just walking and didn't see you."
"Don't worry about it. It was my fault, really."
"I know you, don't I?" Zack said, frowning. She grinned.
"Possibly. Need help, Zack?"
The boy grinned widely. "No, Nora, not at all!" he said and hugged her.
"Aren't I supposed to have cooties or something?" she asked, returning the hug.
"Oh, shut up. You're like a sister."
"Yeah, a sister you haven't seen in how long?"
"Pretty long. Would it hurt you to write?"
"Yes, actually. Anyway, have you found Harry yet?"
Zack suddenly avoided her eyes. "Well, I've sort of lost touch with him. He…his guardians weren't exactly welcoming wizards into their house."
Nora groaned. Living with Muggles? Especially ones that didn't sound too decent at all? Now she had to find him. "I'll keep looking, then."
"Me too," Zack agreed, and they split up.
It didn't take her long to find him at all. He was just two cars down. She knew Zack would come this way soon as well, so decided to just walk right in.
"So, I have a surprise for someone named Harry Potter?" she said mockingly. Harry turned his eyes away from the window, which showed a family saying their goodbyes. Nora suddenly didn't feel so cheerful.
"Hi," he said, confused. Then she smiled at him, and he began to laugh. "Nora?" he asked in between laughter. "Nora, you old goat, what are you doing here?"
Nora sat down. "Old goat? What are you, sixty? Harry, your vocabulary has gone down since I last saw you."
"I'm sorry. I wasn't aware you'd disapprove this much," he said, grinning.
"And I'm coming to Hogwarts, thank you very much. Zack is here too, I just lost him in my search for you."
"Yeah. So how have you been? I heard you disappeared shortly after Mum and Dad died. Well, I found this out a month ago, but still."
"Oh, I'm fine," Nora said, biting back tears at the mention of Lily and James. Harry, however, seemed unfazed. "I just wanted a change of scenery, you know?"
"And from the letters Zack sent me through Muggle post, you've been having quite a lot of that. I see they caught you."
"Yeah," Nora snorted. "Now they've got me going into school. Next thing you know, I'll be an upstanding citizen!"
Harry laughed at her scowl. "Don't worry, Nora, you'll never be an upstanding citizen."
Nora brightened. "Really? I'm saved!" she exclaimed and exhaled, as Harry sat across her and laughed. She suddenly sat up again. "Guess who adopted me!" she exclaimed excitedly. When Harry gave her an inquisitive look, she answered, "Mrs. Figg!"
"The one that lives on my street?" Harry asked excitedly. Nora sighed.
"No, the other Squib with ninety cats. Of course her!"
"This is great! The Dursleys wouldn't let me see any of my friends, saying about how they wouldn't even let me come to Hogwarts!"
"Then why are you here?" Nora asked, slightly baffled.
"Because Hagrid came in and had a talk with them. He gave my cousin a pig tail. That was worth waiting four years for!"
Nora laughed as a mental picture formed from Harry's enthusiastic description. By the time Zack opened the door and got in, she was laying on her seat in hysterics.
"Ah, I see you two waste no time," he said smoothly, sitting next to Harry, who grinned.
"Zack! So good to see you! Sorry about the Dursleys being such pricks and not letting me see you."
"You're sorry? Sirius threw a fit. He went back to Dumbledore and told him that he had to give you back to him, but the old man refused!"
"He has his reasons," Harry said, looking out the window absently. A whistle blew outside.
'We're off," Nora informed everyone as the train sprung into motion. "So, Harry, what have you been doing?"
They talked the whole way there, only being interrupted twice. Once was by a red-haired boy who glanced in and left hurriedly. The second time was by a girl their age who had asked about a toad. Other than that, the train ride was a chance for the three friends to catch up, a chance all three of them jumped on.
They got to the station, and smiled as the got called by Hagrid, getting a boat to themselves quickly. Talk continued during the long ride to the magnificent castle, and it was like the last four years hadn't happened between them.