A/N: Ok, so this one picks up where the last left off, but only for a short time. I want to get the background of some other characters in so that everything can tie together nicely. So bear with me a little longer. I haven't updated in so long and I am sad to say that I haven't gotten any more reviews. Would it kill you to just drop one word? Honestly. So against my better judgment I am proceeding with another chapter. Hopefully I will get a review. =/

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They walked all night and for most of the next day. They stopped just as the sun was beginning to set. They found a clearing and dumped their bags on the ground. Sirius rummaged in his until he pulled out a hunting knife. Without a word to the girls, he walked into the woods. Cora gave Nora a questioning look to which Nora responded with a shrug. They spent the remainder of the day collecting small logs and twigs for a fire. Sirius returned with the last of daylight carrying three dead and skinned bunnies. Nora made a face but helped the other two cook their meals. They ate in silence, listening to the natural sounds of the woods surrounding them. When they finished eating, they sat around the fire warming their toes and fingers from the chilly night.

"We should probably set up a guard for the night." Nora pointed out. "In case anyone decides to look for us." The other two nodded their heads in agreement.

"I'll take the first watch." Sirius said. "I'm not very tired." The two girls nodded and lay down on the cold ground. Within minutes they were fast asleep.

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Sirius was carving a stick he found next to the fire into a spear when he heard one of the girls slashing around. He stuck his stick in the fire to create a torch. He held the burning log above Nora first, but she was lying there peacefully. He moved it over to Cora and saw a pained look on her face. She was thrashing around like she was trying to get away from someone. Sirius didn't know what to do so he just sat there watching her. Suddenly she let out a gasp and shot up into a sitting position. Her eyes frantically searched around for some unknown predator. Finally she rested them on Sirius. He could see the tears that were welled up in her eyes. Instinctively, he reached forward and enveloped her in a hug. He had done this countless times with Nora whenever she would have a bad dream.

In his warm and tight embrace, Cora felt safe. Suddenly she was crying freely. Sirius rubbed her back and told her quietly that everything would be alright. They stayed like that for a while. Sometime later, Cora calmed down. She pulled away from Sirius, who noticed the sudden cold surrounding him, and wiped her tears away. She let out a watery chuckle.

"I'm sorry for that. That's not like me." She said, looking at him.

"S'no problem." He told her. They sat there silently for a while, both of them watching the dying embers of the fire.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked her quietly.

She sighed. "It's really no big deal." She assured him. "It's just this reoccurring dream I have from time to time." She looked everywhere but at him. Silence followed. Finally she worked up enough courage to look at him. She saw him giving her a stare, one that said 'continue'. She took a deep breath.

"When I was 8 years old, my parents were murdered." She told him. Sirius looked up at her with sad eyes. All his life he was wishing his parents didn't exist and here was a girl who obviously wanted hers back more than anything in the world. For the first time in his life, Sirius felt guilty for his thoughts.

"It was really late, maybe almost midnight." She continued. "All I know is that it was still dark out. I was lying in my bed when suddenly I heard a crash from downstairs. I sat up in my bed and stared at the door. A few minutes later I heard my bedroom door open and my mother was walking in the room. She put her finger over her mouth, motioning for me to keep quiet. Before she shut the door, I saw my father walk down the stairs with a wooden stick in his hand. My mother told me that we were going to play a game of hide and seek. She flipped up the rug on my floor and pulled up the loose floorboard that was our secret hiding spot." The tears were once again flowing down her cheeks. Sirius reached his hand up and brushed them away. He then reached for her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"My mom put me there with my pygmy puff Mel. She told me to stay here and keep quiet no matter what. She kissed my forehead and replaced the floorboard. I heard her place the carpet back over top. Then she left the room. I sat there, listening to the muffled voices carrying up from under me. I could hear some men yelling and my father pleading. Then I heard a loud thump followed shortly after by another thump. At the time, I didn't know what it was. The house was quiet for a few minutes until I heard footsteps on the stairs. I thought it was my mother coming to get me. Then I heard the voices of the men who had been downstairs. I could hear them rummaging and banging and throwing things around. I was so scared. I guess they never found what they were looking for so they left. I waited there until morning. I could hear the voices of the soldiers in my house, but I didn't come out until I heard the voice of my brother." She let out a sniffle and Sirius took her into his arms.

"What happened then?" He asked her quietly, afraid of disturbing the peace around them.

"As I was taken out of the house I saw t-t-the blood everywhere. A-a-and my p-p-parents bodies lying on the floor." She stuttered the words out and Sirius just held onto her tighter.

"I had to go and live with my brother and his wife. I hated it there. My brother was okay but she hated me. So that's why I came with you and Nora. I love my brother, but I needed to get out of there as much as I need to get away from here." She said wistfully. They sat in front of the dying fire silently, just thinking. Cora rubbed the remainder of the tears from her face.

"Thanks for listening Sirius." She told him gently. She then leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek. When she pulled back, Sirius could feel his cheek burning. He looked over at Cora who was trying, and failing, to conceal her blush.

"You better get some sleep." She told him. "I'll take the next watch."

Sirius looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure you're going to be okay." Cora nodded silently. One look at her face and Sirius could tell she meant it. With a whispered goodnight, he lay down next to his cousin and was asleep in moments.

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They continued their journey for days and days, only stopping for short rests during the day and to sleep at night. None of them knew the correct way to Gryffindor, all they knew was that it lied in the east. So Sirius, using the position of the sun, led their small group to what he hoped was east.

It was on one of these long walks that Nora spotted something strange. They had stopped along the Perpetual River to rest their tired legs. Sirius was washing the sweat off his face at the rivers bank and Cornelia had settled herself on a log next to him, soaking her weary feet. Nora was standing at the edge of the wood, staring off into space.

"Don't you think it's strange," She told them, continuing to stare at the woods, "That no one has been trying to find us?" She looked briefly at the other two who were just staring at her, at a loss for words.

Nora turned back to the woods. "Well maybe they are trying to find us, but don't you think it's strange that we haven't seen anyone?" She shivered as she felt a chill run through her body. She heard splashing from the river bed and turned to see the other two rushing out of it. Curiously, she locked eyes with Cora who was hurriedly putting her socks and shoes back on. She could see an intense look in the other girls' eyes.

Sirius rushed to his bag and pulled out the sword he had been given during his knighthood training. He securely strapped it to his waist and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. Cora was right behind him, she reached down for her bag and secured it onto her shoulder.

"We should keep moving." Sirius told them quietly.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked him as they continued walking. Cora was walking next to Sirius, constantly scanning the forest around them.

"I didn't think about it until you mentioned it." Sirius began. "But maybe there's a reason we haven't seen anyone yet." Nora stared at him, not quite understanding.

"I think they might be following us." Sirius told her. "To see where we are going." Nora nodded her head knowingly. She reached for the knife that Narcissa had given her, checking that it was still there. When she felt the cool leather on her fingers, she let out a breath and ran to catch up with the other two.

"Maybe we should change direction for a while." Cora suggested. "To throw whoever might be following us off." Sirius nodded curtly, his eyes continuously scanning the forest around them.

They had been walking for a few hours with the sun slowly setting when they heard the first crunch of leaves. All three teenagers froze on the spot. Sirius' right hand was on the hilt of his sword, the other was in front of Cora's chest, stopping her from walking any further. Nora reached for her dagger, ready to pull it out and use it at a moments notice. They stood there frozen for a few minutes. They heard no more noises and decided to continue. Sirius' right hand remained on the hilt of his sword and Nora's hand remained at her side, ready to grab her knife. Cora led the group, once again changing their direction. They decided to walk through the night, thinking it not safe to rest. As the sun was rising over the treetops they reached another clearing, Cora was practically being carried by Sirius.

"I'm so tired." Cora said, leaning her head on Sirius' shoulder. Nora looked at the two curiously. They seemed to have grown closer during their time in the woods. Nora felt she was missing something. As they were sitting there, they saw two figures emerge from the woods in front of them. Cora, suddenly alert, stood up next to Sirius. Sensing danger, he positioned himself in front of the two girls to block them from harm. The two figures, dressed in the Slytherin kingdom's colors of silver and green stood face to face with Sirius. Both had their swords in their hands.

"Hello Sirius, Nora." The taller of the two said, his white blond hair shining with the morning sun. "Your families are worried sick." He told them with a sneer on his face.

"Lucius." Nora said stiffly.

"Why don't we make this easy and you come with us quietly." He said

"Fat chance." Nora told him through her teeth, shooting her best glare at her brother-in-law. Lucius chuckled deeply.

"We don't want to get rough with you." Lucius told them, gesturing to himself and the man standing behind him. For the first time Nora got a good look at him. He was a boy of about their age with a long, hooked nose and greasy black hair that rested at his shoulders. Sirius talked about this boy a lot. He was in his class for knighthood training and was always getting into fights with Sirius. Nora heard Sirius snicker.

"So this is who our noble king sends to round up a bunch of riffraff?" He tightened his grip on his sword as Lucius turned his glare toward him.

"What? Our lord couldn't find a more important task for his star knight to face? Either action is hard to come by in your kingdom or your dear lord does not see you and Snivellus fit for duty." Sirius told them with a sneer. Severus, with a glare of pure hatred at Sirius, stepped forward for a fight. Sirius, anticipating this, gripped his sword tighter, bracing himself. Lucius put a hand on Severus' shoulder. Nora saw the boy visibly calm.

"Your brother warned us against your, ah, sense of humor. You leave us no choice." Lucius brought his fingers to his lip and let a loud whistle ring through the air. All was silent in their small clearing for a while. Cora let out a small whimper at the same moment Nora saw ten more men enter the clearing from the forest in front of them. Nora, sensing a fight, quickly grabbed the knife strapped to her leg and held it in her hand, ready for the fight.

All was silent for a few minutes. Then suddenly, yells filled the air as the men in silver and green rushed forward at the three teenagers. Sirius yelled for Nora and Cora to run as he rushed forward and met his first opponent. Cora, defenseless, ran for the forest to their right. Nora watched her disappear into the trees. She then turned her attention back to her cousin and saw him fighting a new opponent, the first dead at his feet. She locked eyes with Lucius who was standing back with his squire, watching the fight. She turned around just in time to see a man running at her with his sword raised. She ducked and felt the wind from his swing on the back of her neck. She came up and thrust her knife into the mans abdomen. She watched as he slid to the ground where he lay motionless. She didn't have time to let the shock soak in before another man was running at her. After sliding her knife over the unsuspecting mans throat, she looked up at her cousin who was struggling against two men. She ran over to help him, burying her knife into the back of the man closest to her. Sirius quickly finished the other man off. This gave Nora time to count the men down, six. She saw the other four men plus Lucius and Severus charging at them. She saw Sirius step in front of her, his sword held tightly in his hands.

"Run!" He yelled back at her. "Catch up with Cora! I'll buy us some time and then meet up with you guys soon." He shoved her towards the forest and rushed at the oncoming men. Nora ran for the tree line. Once she was covered in the shadows, she looked back one last time at Sirius. She heard the clash of metal and saw Sirius take down someone. At this distance, she couldn't see who. As she was watching the fight, she didn't see the person sneaking up on her. Before she could do anything to react, strong arms tightly secured themselves around her and she couldn't move.

"Time to go home, pet." The man told her. Nora gagged as his breath reached her nostrils, he smelled heavily of spirits. Gritting her teeth, she slammed her heel down onto her captives' foot. With a howl, he let go of her and grabbed his injured toes. Nora tumbled to the ground. Before the man could react, she grabbed her dagger and, just as she had against her first opponent, thrust her knife into his stomach. He crumpled to the ground in a motionless heap. Nora, still gripping her knife, ran even further into the woods. She darted in and out of trees, constantly changing her direction, as Cora had suggested, trying to lose anyone else who might be following her.

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Nora ran, it seemed, for days. She finally stopped, out of breath and leaned her weary body against one of the many trees surrounding her. She was hoping to have found Cora by now, but for hours she had seen no one. Not Cora, not Sirius, not even one of the men that had been following them. She slid along the trunk of the tree and looked up into the sky. She could see thousands of stars dancing and twinkling in the night sky. She wished she knew where she was. Sirius had always been better than her with following the positions of the stars and the sun to determine where they were. Nora sighed and rested her head against the tree. She closed her eyes, and fell into a restless sleep.

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Man after man was falling at Sirius' feet. He could see the worried look on Lucius' face. When the last man fell and it was only the three of them left, Sirius turned as quickly as he could and ran for the trees. He could hear the pounding footsteps behind him, but he did not turn around to see where they were. After a few minutes of running, he chanced a glance behind him. He slowed down to a stop when he noticed that Lucius and Snivellus were gone. He placed his hand on the nearest tree and bent down to regain his breath. As he was standing there, he heard the crunch of broken leaves and twigs underfoot. Reacting instantly, he grabbed his sword and swung it in the direction of his enemy. His sword stopped just before it connected with the throat of the person standing in front of him. He cursed and dropped his sword when he saw the white face of Cornelia. They stared at each other for a few minutes then simultaneously dropped to the forest floor in exhaustion.

"Where's Nora?" Sirius asked her after a few minutes.

"Last I saw she was fighting those men with you."

"I told her to run and find you." Sirius said. He placed his face in his hands. He had lost his cousin. He would never forgive himself if she got hurt. Sirius looked up at the night sky and the stars dancing across it. He hoped that his cousin would find her way to them or meet them in Gryffindor.

"Let's keep moving." Sirius told Cora, helping her stand. "Maybe we'll meet up with Nora." He started walking, his eyes constantly looking around, hoping to see a flash of the silver white of his cousins' hair. Cora had to run to keep up with him. When they stopped a few hours later for a rest, Cora sat down next to Sirius.

"She knows where to go Sirius." She told him quietly. "Don't worry, we'll see her again." Sirius smiled up at her and thanked her for the comforting words. They stared into each others eyes, not focusing on anything else. Finally Cora broke their contact. She ducked her head down and tried to conceal her blush. Sirius smiled and once again stood up.

"If we keep moving, we should reach the first town by nightfall and the main town by tomorrow afternoon." Cora nodded silently and followed Sirius once more towards their new home.

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As day broke on her fifth day alone, Nora caught the first glimpse of a large tower. Smiling to herself, she picked up the pace, hoping to reach Gryffindor and her sister Andi's house soon. She sincerely hoped Sirius and Cora had made it there okay. She reached the gates leading into the city surrounding the palace well after the sun had set. She quickly noted all the differences from her old kingdom and how much brighter and happier this place seemed even though it was the middle of the night. She walked through the quiet streets, she didn't know where to go and wasn't sure which house was Andi's. As she rounded the nearest corner, she came face-to-face with a soldier. Acting on instinct, she pulled out her knife to protect herself.

"Whoa there." The man said, holding his hands in front of his face to show he wasn't armed. Slowly Nora put her knife away. The man looked at her blood stained clothes and weary face.

"I'm looking for my sister, Andromeda. She works here as a seamstress." She told the man, she noticed he was older, about her fathers' age. The man looked at her questioningly.

"I've been a soldier here for twenty years and know everyone in this town, but I don't know any Andromeda." He told her. Nora could feel the panic rising in her chest. Had her sister moved and not told anyone? Had something bad happened to her or her family? So many questions were running through her mind and she didn't know how to process them all. Before she could stop herself, hot tears were rolling down her face.

"Hey now, sweetheart." The man rushed forward and took Nora into his arms comfortingly. "It's okay. Everything will be okay. We'll find your sister." He stroked her hair gently as Nora sobbed into his shirt. They stood in the street like that for a while. Slowly, Nora's sobs subsided.

"Feel better now?" The man asked her. Nora chuckled and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"A bit." She told him. The man smiled at her. He looked her up and down.

"You look like you've been through hell." He told her frankly. "Pardon my language miss." He added. Nora chuckled. He seemed like a sweet man.

"It's fine sir. And something like that."

The man looked up and down the street. "You look like you could use a hot cup of tea." He told her. "I have an extra room if you need somewhere to stay until you find your sister."

Nora smiled up at him. "Thank you, um?"

The old man chuckled. "Where have my manners gone. I am Sir Dominick."

Nora smiled at him. "I'm Onora, but my friends call me Nora."

"Well hello Nora. Now how about some tea and biscuits?" Nora smiled at him.

"That would be lovely."

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The walk to Sir Dominick's house was not long. Once they got there, Sir Dominick set up a hot bath for Nora. When she was done, he led her to an extra room that looked as if it had once belonged to a little girl. He gave her some warm, dry clothes and took her back into the kitchen where he gave her some hot tea and biscuits. Before long, Nora was telling him her entire story. Sir Dominick was a great listener, he didn't interrupt and when she finished he pulled her into a tight hug.

"You poor dear." He told her gently.

"That's why I have to find my sister." She told him. "I have to make sure my cousin and friend are okay." The tears were once again welling in her eyes. Sir Dominick sighed heavily. Nora looked at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, sipping on her tea.

"My dear, I don't think you're going to find your cousin or your friend here. Nor your sister for that matter." Nora looked at him questioningly, placing her mug on the kitchen table. Sir Dominick placed his hand on her shoulder.

"This," He said, motioning around the room, "is the kingdom of Ravenclaw."

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A/N: Okay. So I thought that was an interesting place to stop. =P

Please! I am on my knees begging for some feedback. Please just leave me a review. I will try to post the next chapter soon, but I am only on break for the next couple days and I have tons of homework to do. But I will definitely start updating more once Winter Break starts up in three weeks. But in the meantime, tell me what you think. =)