The next day, things were not much better. Neville and I sat together at the end of the Gryffindor table alone because no one would come near us. Harry wasn't talking to me and it seemed that the Weasley's were banding together acting like I was an attempted murderer. Nothing was any better until Thatcher told me we'd skip class and go drink tea by the Black Lake. I couldn't argue with that.
Gisborne joined us and I knew that he and Thatcher were very close. I smiled to myself and cupped my warm mug of tea as the still chilly spring air blew off the lake. With Gisborne on one side and Thatcher on the other, I was warm.
I explained what had happened to Gisborne. He huffed angrily.
"They are foolish thinking that you would betray them. Your father sounds like a good man who was framed." I nodded.
"He is." I filled my mug with some more mint tea and sighed.
"I don't know how I will ever earn anyone's trust back if they all think I tried to get Harry or Ron murdered by my father." I sipped my tea and shivered. "Even the twins aren't talking to me. You should have seen the look Fred gave me yesterday. Like I had threatened him with a knife."
"They will find out the truth and it will be okay."
"This year has had so many twists and turns and I'm tired of it."
I was sitting with Neville in a group of people at the table. Everyone was ignoring us but at least they didn't move when we sat down like we had the plague. Everyone was back to talking to Neville but very few people didn't look at me suspiciously. A scarlet envelope dropped in front of him and everyone stopped.
"Neville, run." Harry said but Neville was already off. I was on his heels and the Slytherin table burst out in laughter. I threw a handful of fireworks at them and they zoomed around scaring the whole table but not touching them.
Neville had made it outside the school but only just before his Gran's voice erupted with a mighty fury.
I held his hand as his grandmother called him a disgrace and berated him with the punishments he would get when he got home after the term. Finally the letter ripped itself up and I hugged him.
"You are kind, and smart, and important. You are not a disgrace. You just aren't as good at magic, but you're a right ringer in herbology. I bet you could even be a professor here someday. People are good at different things, Nev, don't let anyone tell you that you aren't useful." He nodded and I touched his cheek. "You good? I'm starving still."
I was sitting in Hagrid's hut with Harry and Ron. Ron acted cold towards me and Harry acted like he could barely stand me.
Hagrid looked at the icy atmosphere between the three of us.
"First you hurt Hermione's feelings when all she's done is try and help you two. Now you're acting like Nora's your enemy, what's going on?" I looked at my quilt and picked a loose thread.
"Sirius Black was in the Gryffindor house and Nora let him in." Ron said quietly.
I growled. "I did not. Why would I?"
"Because he's your dad and you'd do anything to help him." I looked up and glared at him.
"If I wanted you dead, Weasley, I wouldn't need my dad to do it." I stood up. "I did not let him in and Neville did not lose his passwords, they were stolen. Stop acting like I'm a bloody criminal. Tell your stupid brothers the same because I'm tired of them acting like I would hurt you." Hagrid frowned at me and I grabbed the door handle.
"Sirius would never hurt you, Harry. He's your godfather for a reason."
I shut the door and Andi landed on my shoulder. I heard a paw pounding the ground. I looked and Sirius's eyes shown in the darkness.
"What do you want? Haven't you messed enough up already? I've lost most of my friends because you had to be dramatic and threaten Ron with a knife, didn't you?" He whined. I stepped closer to him. "I'm so angry at you for taking Neville's passwords, because of you he can't go on the Hogsmead trips anymore. His gran is furious and he's a wreck." He bowed down as I moved closer. "I got in a fight the other day and Remus was the one to tell me I was out of order. I don't hate you, Sirius, but you're a bloody drama queen. Stay out of Hogwarts. If you need something, tell me, I'll get it." He looked up at me with those sad eyes and I sighed. He trotted away a few steps and looked back at me. I shook my head. He whined again and I growled. I transformed into my animagus and trotted after him. When we were far enough into woods my father and I transformed back into humans. I crossed my arms and he tried to smooth down his mad hair but was unsuccessful.
"I'm sorry, Nora, I never meant to muck things up as badly as I did, please, forgive me." He gave me a very sad look.
"You really royally screwed up. What were you even looking for?"
"Ron's rat, he's Peter Pettigrew." My jaw fell open and I shut it quickly.
"What?"
"He was always a coward, even when we were in school and he turned himself into a rat and hid away for thirteen years."
"I'm going to find him and after he clears your name, I'm going turn him over to the dementors."
"I thought for sure you'd say kill him."
"I'm not a killer." He hugged me.
"That's my girl."
I stepped out of one of the secret passages that let out close to the common room and I heard voices. I closed the portrait so I could still hear but not be seen.
"She probably ran away." George said angrily.
"I feel like a real git for being angry at her when we all knew she wouldn't do it." Fred was frustrated.
"I want to tell her sorry and now we can't find her. Everyone's been so horrible to her that she probably ran off to live with that centaur in the woods."
"Nora would never run away from Harry and Neville like that. She's too good to do that." Fred sat down on a bench and leaned back against the wall. I stepped out and readjusted my rucksack.
"NORA!" both of the twins yelled as they hugged me. I could have cried from relief because they weren't mad anymore.
"Bloody hell you two. Acting like a couple of witch hunters the past few days, you both know I would never hurt Ron." They squeezed me tighter.
"Bang out of order we were." George said.
"Never doubt you again," Fred added.
I was sitting in Remus's office because I could no longer go to Hogsmead with the rest of the students. At least not on the scheduled trips.
"I see you've been behaving yourself." I nodded.
"Most people finally believe that I wouldn't let an alleged murderer into my school house, so it's getting better." I sipped my tea and he sipped his wolfbane's potion. I had tried to patch things up with Severus and he consented for me to learn how to make the potion from him.
"I am still very confused about how Peter Pettigrew was the traitor. He was our friend in school, sure, but he would never be on Voldemort's radar of people to suspect." He looked pensive.
"Maybe that's exactly why, though, he was quiet and useless so no one would suspect him and from what I've learned, Tom Riddle was very smart and would have seen right through it."
"You think you know everything." He said with a crooked grin. "Should Hermione feel threatened?"
"I can't even be close to her level. It's burning her out taking all the classes she is." He nodded and flipped through a book.
"Lupin, I want a word!" Severus's face appeared in the fire and Lupin sighed. He stood up and offered me his hand. I took it and he pulled me into the fire. We spun and stepped out of the fire, brushing ash off of our robes.
"Nora?"
"Hello Harry." I moved around the desk and sat next to my friend. I saw the Marauder's Map in Snape's hands. I took a deep breath.
"I have found something wrought with dark magic and I thought it was your area of expertise." Snape said slickly.
"I hardly think a trick piece of parchment is 'wrought with dark magic'." Remus picked up the parchment and I smiled coyly. Harry looked at me like I was mad. I shook my head. "It's probably just a Zonko." Lupin laughed a little.
"I thought maybe he got it straight from the manufactures." Snape said pointedly. I leaned back in my chair.
"I don't believe he did." Lupin said with a small smile. Ron burst in saying that he had bought all of the stuff at Zonko's for Harry and I grinned. Snape couldn't hold him now.
"You two may leave. Mr. Potter," he sneered.
"Yes, professor?"
"If any part of you appears in Hogsmead without permission again, I will be sure to inform the headmaster." Harry nodded and Lupin walked us all out. He pulled Harry away to yell at him about having the map. I looped my arm around Ron's and pulled him away.
"Excited about the Quidditch final? I think we're a shoe-in with Harry's Firebolt and the team is the best it's been in years."
"Charlie was a good seeker but Harry's fantastic. We've got this in the bag. I'm sure Wood will be overcome with tears when he holds the cup." I nodded. Wood and I were on friendly terms and all he had been talking about was the Quidditch final and it was getting really annoying.
The morning of the Quidditch final I had to practically force some toast and pumpkin juice into Wood. He had been telling the rest of his team to eat up but touching nothing himself. Everyone was back to normal with me for the most part. By that I mean that they stopped calling me a traitor. Hagrid told me that I had been asked to sit up with the teachers for the match.
Cedric walked over. I winked at him and he did it back. "Good morning, Nora."
"'Morning, Ced." The twins were right behind me.
"Just came over to wish the team good luck today. And I'm glad to see that you got a new broom, Harry."
"Thanks." Harry smiled. Wood shook Cedric's hand like a proud father.
Ced walked away and the twins looped their arms through mine.
"What was that about, Nora Black?" I smirked.
"I help him with his potions homework, haven't I told you that?"
"No… This won't turn into another situation like the one you had with Wood, will it?" Fred asked. I punched him in the arm.
"Shove off, I need to go talk to Neville." George let go of me but Fred hesitated before dropping his hand from my arm. I tensed my jaw but it was hidden by my hair and walked away.
I was sitting next to Lee Jordan at the Quidditch match. I wasn't smiling. Buckbeak had been sentenced to death. The twins had tried to cheer me up but I only succeeded in fooling them into thinking I was okay. They accepted my fake smile with a cautious look but they had Quidditch to worry about.
I was not put in a better mood by the tactics of the scummy Slytherin team. I was yelling along with Jordan, and soon, Professor McGonagall.
After the slimiest playing on the Slytherin team's behalf, Gryffindor still won. I flooded the field with everyone else in scarlet and gold. I was thrust into the middle of the cheering crowd. Ron appeared beside me and we smiled at each other. He leaned in and kissed me full on the mouth but as soon as we realized what happened we moved away from each other. My face was hot and his ears were beet red.
We were never going to talk about that. The twins fought their way over to me. I was crushed in their excited hug and as soon as they let me go Wood came over, crying with joy, and squeezed me.
