Chapter 9:
And we know it's never simple, never easy
Never a clean break, no one here to save me
You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand
And I can't breathe
Without you, but I have to.
-Taylor Swift
As the front doors came into view, Nora and George spotted Fred and Angelina further in front of them hand in hand.
"Well I guess their date went well." Nora said without any hint of emotion.
"And does that bother you?" George asked with a grin.
"Of course not." She stated.
"Not even a little bit?" He asked.
"Not really." Nora said shrugging her shoulders.
"Does that mean the wedding is off? Mum will be devastated!" George teased as he nudged her.
"Shut it!" She said rolling her eyes. "My only issue here is that Angelina isn't exactly my favourite person in the world."
"Which is your politically-correct way of saying you hate her." George rectified.
"I do not hate her! I simply don't think she's good enough for Fred." Nora said.
"Now this is interesting." He added his grin growing.
"What's interesting?" She asked rolling her eyes at George's insinuations.
"Who do you think is good enough for him them?" George asked ignoring her last question.
"I don't know...Not Angelina."
"Would you react like this if I was the one who went out on a date with her?" He asked.
"What?" Nora asked taken by surprise.
"You heard me! And I believe the answer you're looking for is no." He said laughing.
"That's not true. You deserve everything Fred does and Angelina isn't good enough for either of you so don't get any ideas. And I don't think our dear Freddykins would appreciate it if you asked her out. And by the way I told you so." She said looking up at him.
"Don't worry I'm not interested. And what did you tell me so?" He asked.
"The girl Fred fancies is Angelina."
George snorted. "Trust me it isn't. For once in your life Freckles you're actually wrong."
"How can you be so sure? He did ask her out!" Nora asked raising an eyebrow.
"Correction Freckles, she asked him out. And trust me she isn't the one Fred fancies."
"Once more, how can you be so sure?" Nora questioned.
"Because I know my brother. Fred goes on dates once in a while but he's fancied the same girl since...pretty much forever." George answered laughing.
"Fine..."Nora said.
"You really don't know do you?" He asked looking at her gray eyes.
"No...Should I?" She asked seeming confused.
"Wow. Nataleigh's right. You really are clueless!" He said teasingly.
"George Fabian Weasley take that back!" Nora yelled jokingly as George sprinted towards the castle.
They arrived at the castle out of breath and panting for air. As they tried to catch their breath Fred walked towards them.
"Where's your other half?" George teased.
"She's right here." He answered jokingly as he put his arms around Nora shoulders while she attempted to get her breathing under control. George tried to hide a fit of laughter with a cough as Fred sent him a dark glare.
"Try not to let Angelina hear that she already hate's me enough." Nora joked.
"Don't worry she left with Katie." Fred said laughing. "So how about supper?"
"I'll find you guys later. I've got some catching up to do."
"On Halloween? You're going to miss the feast and the ghosts making fun of Peeves for studying?" Fred asked.
"As much as I love making fun of Peeves, I'm really behind on my homework. I'll come down towards the end of the feast." She said smiling.
"Fine. Go be a bookworm. But don't forget to get some food later." He said as she left.
"I won't Mum!" She teased waving at them as she turned a corner.
"You do realize you called her your other half...What's next? Soul mate? " George asked with a grin as they made their way towards the Gryffindor table.
"Shut it...It wasn't like that." Fred said blushing a light shade of pink.
"To her maybe. But to you it is." He said causing Fred's face to turn as red as his hair.
"What's going on here?" Nataleigh asked as the twins sat down.
"Fred referred to Nora as his other half." George said with a large grin.
Fred rolled his eyes and shook his head while Nataleigh and Aveline choked on their pumpkin juice and the others laughed.
"To her face?" Nataleigh asked chuckling while trying to regain some composure.
"Oh yes." George said as he patted Fred's back mockingly.
"Is this why she isn't here? You made her run off?" Erik asked.
"She's studying!" Fred said getting annoyed. "And it wasn't like that!" He insisted as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Not like what?" Nataleigh said trying to sound serious. "Not like you've fancied her for years and you want to marry her and live happily ever after with her?" She added trying to suppress a large grin.
"You're bloody mental." He said concentrating on his glass of pumpkin juice.
"Actually my dear twin is. You've called her your other half, to her face, and she doesn't even realize that you're in love with her." Nataleigh simply stated.
"It wasn't like that!" Fred said as he buried his face in his hands. "Can we please change the subject?"
"Does that mean you're done denying you love Nora?" Aveline asked with a smirk.
"I'm telling you it wasn't like that!" He repeated.
"Maybe so...But you're still not denying the fact that you love her." George said laughing.
"We're friends! And that's it." He said sighing and hoping they'd drop the subject.
"That's funny, that's exactly what she said last night." Aveline said as she took another sip of pumpkin juice.
"What did she say?" Fred asked suddenly seeming fully interested and invested in the conversation.
"Now I've got your attention." Aveline teased. "I'm not saying anything else. Girl Code!"
"Fine." Fred sighed. "Can we change the subject now? Please."
"Sure. We can talk about your everlasting love for my sister some other time." Nataleigh teased.
As the feast ended everyone headed back towards their common rooms. The food had been excellent, Dumbledore had given one of his usual speeches and the ghosts had put on quite an impressive show. The only down side for the group of Gryffindors was that Nora had never joined them.
"Nora really missed a good one!" Nataleigh said as they went up the stairs.
"True. The ghost really outdid themselves this year." Aveline said.
"Do you think she's alright?" Fred asked.
"Of course Freddy! Don't worry your other half is quite the control freak and gets caught up in her studying. Don't fret so much." Nataleigh said nudging him.
Fred simply rolled his eyes as they were stopped by a group of Gryffindors stuck in front of the portrait.
"Why isn't anyone going in?" Ron asked from behind them.
"If we knew Ronnikins we'd tell you." Fred said condescendingly.
"Don't mind him, he's lost his other half." George teased.
"Shut it George!" Fred said as he peered over the other students trying to find out was going on.
"Make way! Let me through I'm head boy!" Yelled Percy's voice.
The group followed Percy to the portrait to see what the holdup was.
"Somebody get Professor Dumbledore now!" Percy ordered in a sharp voice.
"Oh my..." Nataleigh said as they saw the portrait.
The Fat Lady was gone and there were stripes of the canvas lying on the floor. The portrait was full of deep claw marks.
"Can I fret now?" Fred whispered icily to Nataleigh as Dumbledore arrived.
Dumbledore quickly looked at the portrait before turning to McGonagall and Filch.
"Gather the ghost, we need to find her." He said as a cackling sound was heard.
"You won't find her Professorhead." Peeves said as he zoomed by the students.
"What happened Peeves?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"She's quite ashamed. A mess really, she keeps crying and hiding on the fourth flour rambling your Headship sir."
"Peeves, did she say who did this?" Professor Dumbledore asked patiently.
"He got mad when she wouldn't let him in without the password. He's always had quite a temper that Sirius Black." Peeves said as he zoomed away.
"Sirius Black?" The crowd whispered.
"Prefects and heads of houses are to gather their students and guard the great hall while teachers will come with me." Dumbledore said calmly as everyone started to rush down the staircase.
"Where the hell is she?" Fred asked as they made their way towards the great hall.
"I don't know." Nataleigh said a hint of fear in her voice.
"What's going on?" A voice asked from behind them.
"Nora!" They all yelled as they hugged her.
"I'm glad to see you guys too." She said chuckling. "But what's going on?"
"Where were you?" Fred asked
"In the kitchens. I like studying there and I can get food at the same time." She said.
"Thank Merlin." Nataleigh said hugging her sister again.
"Is anybody going to tell me what's going on?" Nora asked confused.
"Sirius Black was, or is, in the castle and he tore the Fat Lady apart. So everyone is staying here tonight." George said.
"Oh crap!" Nora said.
"Yeah...Oh crap is definitely the right response." Aveline said with a chuckle.
"Norabel! Good! I need you to help me get everything ready before all the other houses arrive." Percy said.
"Of course Perce! I'll see you lot later!"
Professor Dumbledore made the four tables vanish and conjured hundreds of sleeping bags and pillows before leaving to search the castle. Percy, Nora and the other Gryffindor prefects guided everyone inside as the other houses arrived and the teachers left to join the search. When everyone was finally in the great hall, all prefects gathered in the front.
"We're all going to take turns patrolling the great hall in groups of two and one group will be patrolling in front of the doors." Percy said. "Gryffindor and Hufflepuff prefects will go first. After three hours we switch. Does everyone understand?" He asked looking at Penelope for approval.
"Yes!" They all answered.
"Everyone in his or her sleeping bag! Lights out in fifteen minutes! No more talking!" Percy yelled. "Nora would you patrol outside? I know you can take care of yourself if something goes wrong." Percy added.
"Of course Percy." She said with a smile.
"I'm going with her." Cedric said.
"Sure. Ask for help and send a ghost to Dumbledore if there's a problem." He said as he closed the doors behind them.
"You didn't have to do that." Nora said as she started pacing around the corridor.
"I wanted to." He answered shrugging his shoulders. "What happened? All I heard was Sirius Black and Gryffindor." He said trying to keep the conversation flowing.
"Sirius Black slashed our portrait because she wouldn't let him into the Gryffindor tower. And Dumbledore thinks that he might still be in the castle." Nora said.
"Oh crap." He said.
Nora chuckled at his reaction.
"What's so funny?" He asked with a smile. It had been a while since he had seen her smiling.
"That's exactly what I said when I found out." She said with a smile.
"You weren't there?" He questionned sounding relieved.
"No I was in the kitchens. I had to study."
"You missed the feast?"
"Please don't lecture me on it. All of my friends have already done it." She said a slight bit impatient.
A cold silence fell between them for two long, painful, and awkward hours before either of them decided to speak up.
"Nora, I just wanted to say..." Cedric said as he stopped in front of her.
"You don't have to say anything Ced." She interrupted coldly.
"But I need to Nora. About a lot of things." He said passing his fingers through his hair.
"Well we're stuck together for another hour so I guess it's now or never." She said looking at her feet and sucking her bottom lip nervously.
"Alright." He said taking a deep breath as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Well about yesterday..."
Nora snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Just hear me out?" Cedric practically pleaded.
"It's not like I have much of a choice." She said crossing her arms over her chest.
"Fine. I deserve that." He said looking at her while she still looked at her feet. "What I wanted to say is that I didn't tell people that you slept with Fred. That night, when I went back to the common room I talked to Keagan and he assumed that was what happened. And I didn't set him straight. I was just really hurt and confused and I was an ass. And then he told pretty much all of Hufflepuff and it escalated from there."
"You were hurt? How do you think I felt? I thought we were happy and suddenly it was over. I decided to drown my sorrows in firewhiskey and I got a terrible hangover the next day. But I didn't go to my friends and let them spread rumours about you! " She said harshly.
"I know. And I'm really sorry. I told him and all of my friends the truth Nora I swear. I just want to stop fighting with you. I couldn't stand the way you looked at me yesterday." He said full of guilt.
Nora stayed silent for a moment before walking away from him. After taking a few steps, she took a deep breath and turned around.
"I might regret this but how about a truce?" She asked finally looking up at him. "I can't stand the fighting either."
"Really?" He asked.
"Just say yes before I change my mind." She teased.
"Truce then!" He said with a smile. "But I'm not finished."
"More speeches?" She asked jokingly.
"Kind of." He said with a chuckle. "Niko came to see me earlier today."
"Oh...Sorry about that." Nora said frowning.
"Don't be. He told me you were disowned. And if I recall correctly that you deserve better than a Hufflepuff version of himself and that I'm an ass for leaving you because you were disowned."
"Oh..." She repeated. "Who knew Niko actually had a heart?" Nora tried to joke.
"When did this happen?" Cedric asked as he stepped closer to her.
"The morning of your birthday, at breakfast." She said looking away from him.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked taking a step forward.
"Because it was your birthday! And it's embarrassing!" Nora said not feeling at ease with the proximity.
"So that's what you were hiding that morning." He said feeling guilty.
"Yeah." Nora simply stated.
"I'm really sorry." He said softly.
"For what? Me being disowned? Or accusing me of cheating? Or leaving me?" She asked looking at her feet.
"All of it I guess. I wouldn't have..." He said shaking his head. "If I had known, I wouldn't..."
"Don't... It's done. It wasn't your fault. Let's just try and move on." Nora said while pulling on a loose thread from her dress.
"Is that what you want?" He asked pushing a strand of hair from her face.
"Isn't that our only option?" She asked looking up at him.
"Not if you don't want to."
She looked into his gray eyes; eyes that she knew too well as he gently took her hand in his own. Nora took a deep breath and sighed.
"I think it's for the best." She said with a hint of regret.
"Oh." He said surprised. "Alright then." He added sadly.
"Yeah..." She said not looking away from him. "I'm sorry." She said brushing the back of his hand with her thumb.
"I am too." He said looking at her and sighing. "So you got drunk?" He asked trying to change the subject.
Nora laughed and smiled as they started to walk again. "I actually did. Erik had a bottle of firewhiskey...I couldn't stop laughing and the hang-over was dreadful." She said frowning at the memory.
"Mine was too." He said chuckling.
"What? You got drunk?" She asked laughing.
"Yeah. On my birthday."
"Wow. Golden boy got drunk?" Nora teased.
"Golden boy?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. My friends call you that." She said.
"Really?" He asked laughing.
"It's quite pathetic isn't it?" She said laughing as well.
"Kind of." He answered.
"It's nice that we can be civil." She said smiling.
"I missed spending time with you." He said.
"Well I had so many things to do I didn't even notice you weren't there." She teased.
"Like that would ever happen." He retorted lightheartedly.
They heard the doors of the great hall open and Percy gestured for them to come.
"Good job the both of you." Percy said. "You can get some sleep now, I'll wake you up in three hours."
"Great!" Nora said sarcastically as they entered the great hall. "Oh and Percy! Nice Job." She whispered before finding a sleeping bag next to the other prefects.
A/N: Another chapter! I'm so proud two in a week-end. I'll probably keep updating once or even twice a week because I'm on medical leave for two to six weeks...Which is pathetic... Once more, I have pictures of the character on my profile so give them a look and tell me what you think. Sorry for typos and all, I'm still on a crappy computer but I should have mine back by the end of the week. I'll go over the chapters soon enough :) Finally thank you to everyone who's favorited this story and put it on alert. It means everything :) Also, if you have a second please review it'll make me really happy! I love you all! Xoxo.
P.S. This story is over 30 000 Words! Yay! :)
To BananaDaiquiriTimeLord: Thank you very much for the concern and I'm glad you're still enjoying the story! I actually enjoy writing because other than that all I can do is pretty much sleep, do paperwork and watch bad Tv...I'm going crazy being stuck in my apartment only being able to see one person (even though he is quite amazing) so this is my "fun and creative" part of the day :P Anyways, I'm rambling so I hope you keep enjoying the story! Whooping cough will not stop me from updating once in a while :P