After Divination, we all headed to lunch. I took my spot between the twins and Andi flew in, landing on my shoulder to beg for scraps. Everyone enjoyed tossing food into the air for her to swoop and catch.
I had to leave early to help Hagrid set up for his first Care of Magical Creatures class. Andi rode on my shoulder as I cantered down the hill, still eating my hot corned beef sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes squishing out of the sides. Hagrid was eagerly awaiting me to show me his lesson. My phoenix went to go play in the Forbidden Forest while I was taken to a paddock filled with Hippogriffs. Buckbeak cantered over to me and bowed. I bowed back. I had raised him, even ground up his meat and fed it to him and he respected me for that. Andi didn't like it when I flew him though so it didn't happen very often.
"They're beautiful, Hagrid, it'll go over great." I smiled at him. I heard the bells ring and we made our way back to the hut so we could lead everyone down to the paddock. I moved to stand with Neville. He seemed absolutely frightened by his growling book that he had bound with a couple of belts. I pulled out mine and stroked the spine. It purred and opened with ease.
"Open your books to page ten," Hagrid boomed when he went to pull the rest of the hippogriffs over."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Draco sneered. I barred my teeth at him and snapped.
"Stroke the spine of course!" Neville shrieked and his book attacked him. I tried to grab it, but the book was viciously ripping his robes. I pounced on the book and rolled with it. I stroked the spine and it calmed down. I helped Neville up and he dusted himself off. I smiled at him.
"Thanks." A Hufflepuff girl gave him a little look over and I smirked and pulled out my wand.
I waved it and Neville's robes stitched themselves back together like new.
"That girl was totally checking you out, Neville." I bumped against his shoulder with mine. He turned scarlet and mumbled that it wasn't true. I sat on one of the boulders so I could watch the class's reactions to the hippogriffs. Harry walked up to Buckbeak and bowed. After a tense few seconds, the hippogriff bowed back. Hagrid was pleased but I kept my eyes on Draco.
I had heard him complaining about Hagrid teaching and how he was going to get him fired so I was keeping a close tab on him.
"Go Harry!" I cheered. Buckbeak soared off while the others swarmed to the rest of the animals.
I was helping Neville with his rather finicky hippogriff when I heard a shrill scream and turned to see Malfoy rolling on the ground clutching his arm. I walked over to him briskly and got down on my knees, acting like I was helping.
"What happened, Malfoy? Buckbeak not appreciate that snarky mouth of yours?" I pushed up his blood stained sleeve and looked at the cut as the others ran over. I squeezed his arm and he wailed. "Maybe you should watch what you say next time, weasel." Hagrid picked him up and hurried with him to the school. The rest of the class followed after him. I stayed to take the hippogriffs back to their barn. I saw I had a little bit of Draco's blood on my hands and I was terrified by the fact that it made me feel… not happy exactly… but excited. I wiped it off the best I could and turned back to the animals.
"Come along, kids, fun is over for the day." Buckbeak came over and nuzzled my hand. I scratched his head. "It's not your fault, baby bird." He pranced off with the others to eat dead ferrets and roll around in the straw.
Hagrid was so upset. He was blubbering and I had finally gotten him down to his hut and he was having a drink, well, he was having an entire barrel of mead. I was sitting on my bed steaming because of Malfoy's stupid behavior. There was a knock on the door and it was Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"I'm going back to the castle, stay out of trouble, you three." I told them as I brushed past out the door. I didn't know what to do when Hagrid cried.
I was walking past the Whomping Willow and I heard a soft groan. The figure of a man stumbling towards the tree. I ran over and helped Professor Lupin.
"Nora," he said softly, like he was exhausted. "You should not be out at this time of the night." He started to shake.
"What's wrong, Professor."
"I need to get to the passage under the willow." I froze the tree and helped him to the base, he stepped on a knot and a hole opened wide enough for us to slip through. "Stay back, you'll…" he was rocked with a wave of tremors. "…get hurt."
"What do you mean?" I followed him through the passage and we came out in the Shrieking Shack.
"Go back, please, I don't want to hurt you." He growled and started to transform, his limbs twisted and I backed up against the wall. I was standing in front of a wolf.
I held up my hands when he looked up at me with his sad, still human eyes. He made to move towards me and then the big black dog from Diagon Alley jumped between us but I was already transformed. I had been working on being an unregistered animagi all summer because it seemed like a good thing to be able to do. My form was a big Irish wolf hound with silky black fur. My shackles raised and I moved next to the dark dog who looked at me, but then we both circled around Lupin. He whimpered and the stray dog pushed him farther into the shack and into a large room with broken furniture and a collapsed bed. The wolf circled around the bed once and slowly climbed onto it, going to sleep. I sat down on my haunches and cocked my head towards the door when the other dog looked at me telling him to leave. He looked at me with these somber eyes and sat next to me.
As the night drug on, I got lower to the ground and finally I had curled up with my tail over my eyes. I was still very deeply asleep when Professor Lupin touched my shoulder and I jolted awake in my human form. I had learned how to enchant my clothes to transform with me so I wouldn't ever be in an embarrassing state of undress.
"Nora, you should not have stayed here, it was much too dangerous." I yawned and shook my head.
"I wouldn't leave you alone professor. I won't tell anyone either." He helped me up from the floor.
"You are so much like your parents." I laughed a little as we walked down the steps.
"So you aren't my father?" He paused for a moment too long before saying.
"I knew them both very well." We walked through the earthen passage to the Whomping Willow.
"I know how you got all those cuts and scars now." I pulled myself out of the passage.
"I am curious as to how you got yours, though." He gestured to my cheek.
"I got bit by a vampire last year trying to find out about the Basilisk."
"You need to stop making a habit of putting yourself in such life threatening situations." He said it with fatherly concern. I grabbed my backpack from where I had dropped it and swung it over my shoulders.
"People keep telling me that and yet I never listen. Take care, professor, I'm pretty sure there are a pair of red-headed troublemakers searching high and low for me." He gave me a little wave and I ran off to the castle.
As I had thought, the Weasley twins were borderline manic when I got to breakfast. They glared at me as I sat down between Seamus and Neville and they wedged their way in between them to get on either side of me. I sighed and filled a bowl with my usual breakfast concoction.
"Where were you last night?" George asked.
"I was out."
"Out where?" George insisted. Fred looked like he was about to explode.
"I can't tell you that, it's a secret." I wasn't being as cheeky as I could have been given the situation.
That set Fred off. "You never used to have secrets from us, Renora! Now all you ever do is talk to Dumbledore or go off and not tell people where you are or snogging scum that hangs out at the Leaky Cauldron!" Fred slammed his hands on the table, making the plates rattle and everyone looked down at us. He stood up and walked off briskly.
George ran after him yelling, "Freddie! Calm down!"
I lost my appetite.
Fred was still angry when I found him in the common room. He was simmering in a chair facing the fire place.
"Freddie?" I asked quietly. He wouldn't look up at me. "Please don't be mad." I walked around to face him. He looked down. "Honestly, the secrets I have are important. It is pertinent that I keep them until such time that they are no longer sensitive." He scoffed.
"What are you, some sort of secret agent for Dumbledore?" I didn't answer him and then he looked up at me and the dark humor slid from his eyes. He stood up. "Bloody hell. You are! That's why you go out in the Forbidden Forest so much by yourself and how you got bit by the vampire!" I sighed and Freddie stood up, towering over me. "Is that where you were last night? Doing something for the headmaster?" I shrugged and he crushed me in a hug. "My little sister is a secret agent, oh what a happy day." I pulled away.
"Why do you keep bringing up Sawyer and me kissing? You know we're not a thing and yet you insist on talking about it all the time."
He ushered me towards the exit. "My dear sweet Renora Black, someday you will develop a taste for wizards better suited to yourself." I furrowed my brow and he and I walked back down to go to our classes.
I was walking down the hallway when Lupin appeared, opening the door to the staffroom. "Ah, Nora, would you mind assisting me for a moment, I need your help in securing a boggart for class today." I stepped into the staffroom.
"Cutting it a little close, aren't we professor?" I heard a faint rattle. It seemed to be coming from a wardrobe. I walked closer and it pounded against the walls inside the wooden closet. "It's in here, why did you need my help finding something that was already locked in a wardrobe?"
"I admit that was a less than cunning ruse to speak with you in private." I crossed my arms and looked at the teacher. "What you did last night, was very brave, but also very stupid. You should have just left me to my own devices." I shook my head.
"I couldn't leave you alone like that, you were very scared and very alone. You wouldn't have hurt me."
"Your animagus form is very impressive, it takes a lot for someone to be able to transform like that." I curtsied.
"Thank you, I thought it might come in handy, and it did." The boggart rattled the wardrobe more viciously. "We should be getting to class." After the rest of the class had come into the room, we were all marched right back to the staffroom for class after the Professor and I showed up late. Lining up, Lupin taught us how to take care of a boggart. As we lined up, I got behind Neville to reassure him after Snape made a biting remark towards him being bad at everything. I glowered at the teacher, he was in a foul mood.
Lupin explained to us the spell we would need to use to confuse the boggart, Riddikulus, but also that we needed to laugh.
"You can do it Neville." I squeezed his shoulder and stepped back to give him room.
"Neville, what frightens you most in the world?" Lupin said softly.
He murmured something that no one could hear.
"Come again?"
"Professor Snape!" He said quickly. Everyone laughed.
"You also live with your grandmother, correct?" Neville nodded.
"But I don't want that boggart to change into her either!" We all laughed again. Lupin smiled and said something quietly to him. "Ready, Neville?" He nodded and held his wand out in front of him.
Neville looked at the boggart and it turned into Snape. "Riddikulus!" He had a lacey dress, red handbag, and hat festooned with a vulture. I doubled over with laughter. Most of the class got to face the boggart but when Harry and I got up Lupin jumped in front of us and the Boggart turned into a full moon. It quickly deflated and was driven back into the wardrobe.
"And that will conclude the lesson for today." Everyone filed out of the room, buzzing about the boggart. I stayed back and looked at Lupin.
"I know why you kept Harry from facing the boggart, it could turn into all sorts of bad things but why me?" I blocked the door so he had to answer me.
"Nora, I think we both know why I wouldn't let you face the boggart." I stepped aside and let him walk past me, he stopped, "But the room will be empty for a while, if you're still curious." He shut the door. I pulled out my wand and flicked my wrist, the wardrobe opened slowly and I waited… I waited for the boggart to come out. There was nothing. I stood there, wanting to see what my greatest fear was but the Boggart didn't transform. The door to the staffroom opened and Snape walked in.
"What are you doing in here alone, Black?" I slipped my wand into my pocket.
"I thought I was going to deal with a boggart, but it must have been taken care of after my class." I went to walk out and Snape put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"I wouldn't put too much stock in boggarts." I walked out but I swore I heard the wardrobe rattle.
I was out in the Black Lake tromping around trying to get a kappa to grab my ankles or hands so I could catch it. Lupin watched from the shore and Gisborne watched from a hidden area in the woods.
"Did you know my father?" I asked, standing up to stretch my back.
"Yes."
"Was he… a good man?"
"I thought so."
"What happened to him?"
"He changed."
"How?" I was yanked quickly into the murky water and was disoriented. The kappa was reaching for my neck and I grabbed its hands and struggled to the surface. The writhing monkey like creature screeched and tried to bite me. I couldn't grab my wand because I had to hold onto it with both hands. Lupin immobilized it and put it in a bag. I was soaking wet and the breeze off the water wasn't helping me. I was shivering but wasn't going to say anything. "How did my father change?"
"That's not a conversation you should be having with me, Nora." I dried myself off using my wand and sighed. I gave a discreet wave to Gisborne to tell him I was done.
It was the beginning of October and that meant Quidditch would be starting up soon and everyone was in high spirits. Hagrid was sadly stuck doing very boring lessons for Care of Magical Creatures since he was being watched closely after the Malfoy incident. Everyone except the sticks in the mud Slytherins enjoyed Lupin's class. I was exchanging my services catching different beasts for his class in exchange for details about my mother and very rarely, my father.
But right now I was sitting with Wood on the love seat in the common room. He had his arm stretched along the back of the seat and was re-reading my mom's old notes and plays from her Quidditch days. I was leaning on his arm working on my transfiguration homework while the rest of the students quietly did their work. Do not misunderstand what was going on here. Wood and I were friends and he saw me as a friend and I didn't have nearly the crush on him I did before. This was his last year at Hogwarts.
"Nora, I'm going to move my arm because it sounds like your two personal body guards are about to come in and cause mayhem." As he said that, the portrait swung open and the twins came in, big grins on their face but when they saw me sitting next to Wood they made a bee line to me. Fred and George towered over me and I smiled at them.
"Good evening." I stood up and Wood handed me my books.
"Dear Nora, we have a few plans we would very much like to go over with you." The twins escorted me to a different part of the common room.
I could have been imagining it but I could swear that Fred kept shooting Wood daggers as they talked about more of their products they wanted to add to their mail-order gag company.
After Quidditch practice started, I hardly saw Fred, George, Harry, or Wood so I spent most of my time rounding up creatures for Lupin and having Gisborne help me with my astronomy homework. Everyone seemed to have dropped the fact that Sirius Black was loose and that I was very likely his daughter.
My birthday rolled around and the twins accosted me as soon as I had walked down the steps with a hug. "Happy Birthday Nora Black!" They cheered and I groaned.
"It's too early in the morning for this, guys." They quickly marched me down to breakfast.
"Hurry up and eat, we're going to Hogsmead today." I shook my head.
"No can do, I have to go catch a grindylow today."
"But it's your birthday." George whined.
"Nora!" Someone yelled from the end of the Great Hall. I looked and Seamus came running towards me full speed. He came to a sliding stop in front of me and I turned to face him.
"Where's the fire, Finnegan?" He blushed and held out a package for me.
"Happy Birthday." He said and waited for me to open it. I pulled the string and pulled off the paper to reveal a small stack of records of popular muggle music. I jumped up and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me and we both blushed. Lately, Seamus had been acting like he liked me as more than a friend and it hadn't been completely unreciprocated.
"What in bloody hell are these?" Fred held them up. I grabbed them out of his hands and whistled. Andi materialized on the table, still eating a chocolate cake Hagrid had sent up last night. I held out the records and I swear the phoenix sighed at having to fly them up to my hideout.
"Go on you bloody bird, it's my birthday, be nice." She finished her cake and grabbed the albums and took off.
"Are you going down to Hogsmead?" Seamus gave me a crooked grin and I shrugged.
"I have to take care of something this morning but how about I meet you at The Three Broomsticks at one for a butterbeer?" The twins scoffed and I could feel them brooding.
"That sounds like fun." He looked at the twins and then walked away, face still red.
I turned around and grabbed one of both twin's ears. "I swear if you boys do anything to him, I will turn you into ginger slugs." They frowned and Fred's ears were turning red but he didn't say anything.
"I'll even spend some time running around with you two sods when I get done with the water monster hunting. Even though we've been down there hundreds of times before." They wrapped their arms around me.
"We knew you'd come around, we have to get your birthday present anyway." I heard a horrible screech and Errol came flying in with the rest of the mail owls and he slid along the table knocking off plates and food as he went with the big lumpy package he was carrying. I opened it and inside was a letter from Molly wishing me a happy birthday along with a lilac sweater that had a pattern of feathers knitted in varying shades of purple.
"You know she only sends you those because you said you liked them."
"I do like them, very much." I pulled it on to replace my jacket. "It's not my fault you only get the letters of your first names."
I went back to eating but then Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville sat down across from us. Hermione smiled and held out a package.
"This is from Ron and me, since he forgot all about your birthday." He stuck his tongue out at her and blushed.
I opened the box and inside was a set of small colorfully bound books.
I wasn't surprised Hermione got me books but when I pulled one out I was ecstatic.
"Is this the entire set of 'Know-everything' books?" They were a set of books that were honestly jammed full of every that you would need to know practically. Survival, first aid, edible plants, things like that.
"It is." She beamed at me and I smiled from ear to ear. The twins looked even glummer.
"Thank you, Hermione, and Ron."
"Here you go, Nora." Neville handed me a heavy box and I was wary.
I opened it to find a little cauldron. Inside was a thin ashy powder. "Did you get me floo powder?" He nodded and grinned.
"I thought you shouldn't have to use Andi to get everywhere and you never know when it can come in handy." Harry handed me a brown paper-wrapped soft bundle.
"Not regifting one of mum's sweaters are we Harry?" George teased.
"No, I hope you like them. I had to have Hagrid pick it up since I'm not allowed to go to Hogsmead." Inside was a pair of enchanted tights that showed the Irish Quidditch team flying around throwing a quaffle to each other. I climbed over the table and hugged my friends. Everyone was so wonderful. I'd never had a better birthday.
The twins frowned and ate their food. I went to take my things up to my room when I ran into Professor Lupin.
"What do you have there, Nora?" He asked, taking a bite out of a chocolate bar.
"Birthday gifts from my friends." He smiled lazily.
"I didn't know today was your birthday."
"I don't think it actually is, sir, it was just the day I was dropped off at the orphanage. I didn't have much in the way of information on my past, just a note pinned to my wrap that said my name was Nora Black." I shrugged when he gave me a sad look. "It's not a big deal, I keep waiting for you or Snape or Dumbledore to confirm that Sirius Black is my father or not. I just want to know what happened." I smiled and told him I'd be back down to get the grindylow.
The giant squid had helped me catch the water demon but now I had to get it up to the castle without it strangling me. Gisborne carried the tank on his back to the grounds and then I helped Andi keep it steady as we made our way to the doors. Remus met me and took the tank.
"Thank you for that, Nora, now if I heard the Weasley twins grumbling earlier, you have a very important appointment at The Three Broomsticks."
I blushed, "Thanks." I hurried past him to the One-Eyed Witch Passage. Andi appeared and sat on my shoulder.
I slipped down the passage and ran to Honeyduke's cellar. I slipped up the stairs and out without anyone seeing me. The Three Broomsticks was at the end of the street and I stopped when I saw the big black dog watching me from the shadows. I stepped into the narrow space between two buildings.
"What are you doing here?" I had been very confused when he showed up at the Shrieking Shack but hadn't thought much of it.
He sat down and gave me a look that made him seem more human. He had gained a little weight or maybe it was fur for the winter. I petted his head and scratched him behind his ears. Andi nipped my ear and gave the dog a mistrusting look.
"I have to go meet a boy at The Three Broomsticks, but you need to stay out of trouble, okay?" I walked to the pub and found Seamus sitting in one of the corner booths that hid us from the rest of the pub. I slid in next to him and he pulled his frothy butter beer away from his mouth, leaving a line of foam on his upper lip. I smiled at him and rubbed the end of my sleeve over his mouth to wipe it away.
"Thanks." He blushed and slid mine over. I sipped it and grinned.
"This is really good." He nodded and we drank a little more.
After a comfortable silence Seamus looked over at me. "I like you. I mean I like you as more than just a friend." I nodded.
"I think I like you more, too, Seamus." He smiled.
"Honest?" I nodded.
"I mean, I don't know exactly what I feel, but I know I enjoy spending time with you."
"Me too." I heard a rustle by the door. There were two flashes of bright orange hair and one twin drug the other out the door kicking and hitting. I sighed.
"I think that the twins won't be too happy."
"They can sod off, both of them, especially Fred, need to stop being so protective of you, it's really annoying." I looked at him.
"No it isn't, they're my friends and they look out for me." I went to get out of the booth and Seamus touched my arm.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to sound as bad as it did."
I sat back down and looked at him.
We talked a little more and I drank down my butterbeer. Dean Thomas came over and I excused myself. I had to go find the twins.
I walked into Zonko's and smiled. This was one of my favorite places. All of the jokes and pranks called my name. I saw George and Fred arguing in the back of the store. I snuck around and listened to them.
"…have to stop trying to sabotaging all of her dates."
"But he's just a right foul git, always blowing stuff up."
"You know that isn't true. Well he does blow stuff up, but he isn't a git and you just won't admit you like her as more than your best friend." Fred scoffed.
"I don't! I just think that she picks bad guys to like."
"Whatever, Freddie, I bet she's done now let's go find her." I waited for them to walk away so they didn't know I had been listening. I now knew why Fred had been such a pain lately. I just wanted to believe it was because he truly didn't like the guys I liked.
I walked up behind the towering ginger twins and slipped my arms through one crook of their arms.
"Hello, lovely weather we're having this evening."
"Quite smashing, yes, quite smashing, dear." We all stuck our noses in air and kept a haughty tone while we walked out of the store.
"My father shall hear about this weather." I sniffed like Malfoy.
"He will never read the letters. He's much too busy brushing his ponytail." We cracked up and found our way to the Shrieking Shack. We sat there and looked at the dilapidated old house for a while and shared a box of Bertie Bopp's.
"I don't think I'm going to date Seamus." I finally said.
"Why?" George said with amusement.
"He doesn't understand why I spend so much time with you two weirdos."
Fred smirked. "We don't either."
"But Oliver though…" I sighed forlornly. Fred slapped his hand over my mouth and his ears turned red.
"Don't be serious. Mum would have a coronary if she heard about you being with a seventh year." George nodded.
"Every letter she sends us has some part about taking care for you."
"Why?" Even though I knew why, it was still nice to hear it.
"She has adopted you and Harry as honorary dark haired Weasleys at this point."
"Never shuts up about you when we're there, 'now you stop getting Nora into so much trouble' or 'keep Nora out of trouble' my personal favorite being 'she must get it all from being around you two so much!'." Fred said with a laugh. We stood up and I ran towards the Shrieking Shack after I jumped the fence.
"Let's prove her wrong! I'm just as much as a mischief maker as you two!"
They ran after me and chased me through the empty house howling like banshees. I stopped when I got up to the bedroom. I looked at the walls. There were huge scratches and slashes in the wallpaper. I walked to the window and looked up at where we had been sitting. A group of Hogwarts students were gathered around but they weren't looking at the house. There was a flurry of activity and I realized that someone was getting beat up. I grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked. They were all Slytherins and I saw that one of them was kicking Thatcher. I growled and dropped my backpack. I ran out of the room and past my friends. "Watch my stuff, I have some arse to kick." I growled again and turned into my massive wolf hound form and bounded out of the house towards the group of kids. I got to the edge and snarled. All the kids looked at me in fear and most of them, the smart ones anyway, ran off. I growled at the remaining three boys. Surprisingly, it wasn't Malfoy and his goons, these were three sixth years who I hadn't met. I made like I was going to attack them and they finally ran off. I looked down at Thatcher and whined. I transformed back into a human and kneeled next to him. He was bleeding and I frowned.
"Bloody hell, Nora."
"Why were they hitting you?" I said, still fuming.
"They don't think it's awfully funny that I don't particularly fancy the fairer sex. Let's get back to the fact that you were just a big bloody dog."
"That isn't what matters. Why didn't you fight back?" I pulled him up into a sitting position.
"Because if I fought back, they'd just hit harder."
"You need to hit back."
"Renora Lily Black!" The twins yelled at me, running from the house.
I helped up Thatcher and cringed when the twins got to me.
"Why didn't you tell me you were a bloody animagus?" I sighed.
"Because it never came up in conversation."
"You need to tell us what's going on. Now." I sat back down on the ground.
"I got bored over the summer so I decided that I should try and be an animagus. You don't particularly get to pick the animal you turn into. Mine's a bloody big black dog. Don't call me the Grim or I'll hex you for a year."
"That's bloody amazing." I nodded and Thatcher sat next to me putting his handkerchief to his bleeding lip.
"Thanks." I rubbed my neck. It still was really exhausting to transform but I had read that it would get easier with practice. I heard the bells ringing signaling we needed to get back to the school. I rode on Fred's back to the Shrieking Shack. "Now Thatcher, I'm keeping you on your honor you won't tell anyone about this secret passage because if you do, I'll never speak to you again." He nodded.
"Cross my heart." Fred grumbled something about sharing all our secret tricks but I just rolled my eyes and pointed to the little trapdoor that led to under the Whomping Willow.
