"Why do you think we're being sent on a trip?" Ron whispered, breaking the eerie silence. Hermione sighed.
"It's to get us into safety. He obviously senses something's wrong and needs us out of here as soon as possible," she said wearily.
"Oh. So where do you think we're going?" Hermione sighed again.
"Well, we're not all going to one place at the same time, people would notice too much. Look, Dumbledore said: 'Groups have already been made and equipment will be given to each of you. Everything is arranged and you will receive instructions later today.' Can't you listen?" Ron looked offended but didn't try and argue. He wasn't in the mood to start a fight with Hermione. Everything seemed too gloomy and he didn't want to add to that.
"We'll just have to wait, then," he said. Hermione gave a slight nod. Harry and Nora hadn't said a single word since breakfast. Harry was wondering about the attack and his dream. It had something to do with each other, Draco had proved him right on that, but he still didn't know why those Death Eaters had attacked Hogwarts. Sure, they needed to find something for Voldemort, but if they couldn't find it the first time, then why the attack, and bring even more attention to them. It didn't make sense, unless the object was very powerful, which he highly doubted it was. The only thing that had had an immense power was the Philosopher's Stone, and that had been destroyed after his first year.
Harry looked around and his gaze fell upon Neville, who was sitting with Lisa. The attack on Neville sprang into his head once more. The Death Eater responsible had wanted to find something. Some kind of Amulet, but Neville hadn't recognized any of the names of Amulets from the list Harry and his friends had made. Maybe it didn't exist? He turned his head and looked at Hermione. He thought the glowing of her necklace had stopped, but he couldn't tell. Harry looked beside Hermione, at Nora. She was staring at the lake, hardly blinking at all.
Nora continued to stare at the lake, feeling utterly dead inside. She wasn't aware of anything or anyone around her, just the blue lake. She wasn't even thinking; her mind had gone numb. It wasn't until Hermione hit her hard on the arm that she tuned back into reality.
"Are you listening to me at all?" Hermione asked her friend, a worried look in her eyes. She hadn't acted that strange when her mother had died, had she? Or could she just not remember?
"No," Nora stated bluntly, gazing coldly at her friend. Hermione observed her for a few seconds before saying:
"Dumbledore is going to tell us about the trip now. Come." And with that she dragged Nora over to the Quidditch Pitch, where the other students were already seated. They took seats next to Harry and Ron, who had saved them a place near the bottom and were looking at the two girls questioningly, wondering why they were so late. Hermione shook her head and looked at Dumbledore who stood in the middle of the pitch, gazing at them, a slight proud smile showing through his weariness. He pointed his wand at himself muttered something and then turned back to the students.
"As I have said," he started, his voice magnificently amplified, "you will all be sent on different trips." He paused. "I have also told you that groups have been made, and I have done everything to make them as suitable for you all as possible. You will receive details about the trip, including your groups and the equipment needed, from your Head of House after this little meeting.
Every group will leave tomorrow around five to six p.m. arriving at their transportation, airplane, train, etc. by portkey. A sum of money will be given to every group along with instructions and a list of tasks that need to be done, while each traveling in one country.
I have also invited your families to attend to the large funeral that will be held here tomorrow at twelve o'clock, along with the relatives of those who have died during that tragic event." Dumbledore looked down and it was obvious he was trying to remain peaceful. He quickly said: "You may meet your Head of House now, for further instructions." Before muttering 'Quietus' and hurrying off of the pitch, back inside the castle, tears flowing silently from his weary eyes.
"Gryffindors, over here!" Professor McGonagall yelled out to the students. After fifteen minutes, when every Gryffindor was standing around her, she led them to the lake, where she ordered them to sit down. The students looked up at her, gloomily, but their expressions softened a little when they saw the look on McGonagall face: it was full of frustration and sadness.
"I know the upcoming days will be hard on all of us, but if we stick together and think positive this will all pass, with a little extra help from some of us." Harry saw her eyes flicker towards him, but nobody else noticed, except for his friends, who knew what she was talking about. "I have here," she held up a thick packet, "the lists with your groups and the equipment you will need, as well as the places you will travel to and the tasks you need to complete." McGonagall ripped open the packet and took out all of the pieces of parchment it contained. "If the different years could stand apart please? 1st years to my right, and 7th years to my left." Harry, Nora, Hermione and Ron got up and walked to the left, stopping to stand in between the fifth and seventh years along with Seamus, Neville, Parvati and Lavender.
"Good. You will each receive a piece of parchment that contains all of the information you need." McGonagall walked over to the first years and gave them their parchment, asking one of them to hand it out to the others. She did the same with all of the other years. As the eight Gryffindors received their information they immediately scanned the parchment for the groups, which were right at the top, and moaned. It seemed they were going to be split up.
Groups 6th year:
1a
Ravenclaw – Lisa Turpin
Hufflepuff – Ernie McMillan
Gryffindor – Neville Longbottom
Slytherin – Pansy Parkinson
1b
Ravenclaw – Terry Boot
Hufflepuff – Hannah Abbott
Gryffindor – Hermione Granger
Slytherin – Timothy Shift
2a
Ravenclaw – Padma Patil
Hufflepuff – Justin Finch-Fletchley
Gryffindor – Nora Glassyd
Slytherin – Draco Malfoy
2b
Ravenclaw – Morag McDougal
Hufflepuff – Susan Bones
Gryffindor – Seamus Finnigan
Slytherin – Blaise Zabini
3a
Ravenclaw – Mandy BrocklehurstHufflepuff – -
Gryffindor – Harry Potter, Parvati Patil
Slytherin – Vincent Crabbe
3b
Ravenclaw – -Hufflepuff – Crystal-Rose Conally
Gryffindor – Ron Weasly, Lavender Brown
Slytherin – Goyle
The list named even more groups, containing the others out of their year, but everyone, after having seen in which group they had been placed, skipped this and continued the rest of the letter:
The equipment you will need to pack in your trunk:
Clothing:
- Wizard robes,
- Muggle clothes,
- Nightclothes,
- Etc.
Bathroom accessories:
- Toothbrush,
- Hairbrush,
- Etc.
Shoes
Wand
Quill
Ink
Parchment
Small Personal Possessions
Equipment you will be given:
Muggle Money
Wizard Money
Large Tent
Food
List of tasks
Contact device
Your group will receive a letter, for which area they will leave next the day, before their departure. This note will include instructions on which traveling device they will use and a map of the new area.
Destinations for tomorrow evening:
1a – France – Train,
1b – France – Airplane,
2a – Australia – Airplane,
2b – Australia –Portkey,
3a – England – Portkey,
3b – England – Train.
Etc.
Groups 'a' and 'b' will be traveling to the same areas but need to work separately. Speaking to each other is allowed, however.
Take care.
Everyone finished their letters around the same time.
"All right. Now that everyone has finished reading, you will take this letter and start packing your trunks. When you are done you will go back down into the Entrance Hall to meet the rest of your group and discuss anything that is on your mind. You may leave," McGonagall said. Slowly everyone headed towards the castle, talking about the groups they'd been put in.
"It really is a shame that we won't be together," Hermione said, walking beside Ron.
"Yeah, but at least me and Harry are both group three, we'll be traveling to the same area's," replied Ron
"It's too bad we have to be with Slytherins too. I mean, not only are they mean and ugly, but I'm stuck with Crabbe. I won't be able to have any normal conversations with him," said Harry. Ron nodded.
"Yeah, or with Goyle. Good thing we're sent to the same places, then, isn't it?" he said. Harry nodded his head in agreement, grinning. "And we're in the same group as Parvati and Lavender, and Hermione's with Terry, and Nora's with… oh…" Ron's voice trailed off and Hermione shot him a nasty look before turning to see if her friend had heard. But when she looked to her left, Nora wasn't there. Hermione stood rooted on the spot and turned every which way, trying to see where she had gone.
"There she is," said Harry, pointing at the lake. Hermione and Ron spun around to see Nora walking, very slowly, a good distance behind them, gazing at the lake. "Should we wait for her?"
"I don't know," replied Ron.
"I don't think so. Let's leave her alone. When she wants to be around us again, she'll come," Hermione said, setting off towards the castle again. She didn't sound mad, maybe a little frustrated. Harry and Ron hurried to catch up with Hermione. The rest of their walk was spent in silence.
Nora walked away from McGonagall with her friends, the information letter clutched tightly in her hand. Together, the four headed towards the castle to pack their trunks for the trip that was waiting for them. She looked to her left, watching the thick layer of snow reflect sunlight in different angles. There was a slight breeze and she could hear the snow crunching beneath her feet.
Her mind was on the letter. She had been grouped with Draco, the one person she did not want to see after this disaster. Actually, she didn't want to see anyone. She wanted to be left alone, but then felt lonely when there was no one around. Nora continued to watch the frozen lake. It had a calmness that soothed her, though it didn't take away her problems. She saw the distance growing between her friends, who were walking faster than she was.
Out of the corner of her eyes Nora saw Hermione stop and look in every direction. Harry and Ron did the same thing, and after a few seconds Harry pointed. Nora guessed that they had been searching for her. She kept walking in her own pace, however, not bothering to catch up with them. After another few seconds Hermione turned around and headed for the castle again, Harry and Ron hurrying to keep up.
It didn't matter. It felt good to be alone. No one nagging at her head, asking stupid questions they knew the answer to, such as "How are you?" or "Are you feeling all right?" Of course not! Someone she loved had just been murdered with an unforgivable curse by one of those bloody Death Eaters. Nora knew, though, that tomorrow her family would come and all of those questions would be asked, and she would have to lie, and say "Yes, I'm all right, don't worry about me." Slowly that lonely feeling crept back in. She let herself fall on her knees in the snow, facing the ice covered lake, tears falling from her eyes onto the pearly white snow, feeling shattered. She had loved Dean with all her heart, and now he was gone. No longer would he soothe her when she felt depressed, no longer would he kiss her when she needed to be cheered up, no longer would he be there when she needed him. And it hurt so terribly! She had felt as if he was her other half. He had completed her. And without him, her heart was empty; she was empty.
When there were no more tears to cry Nora slowly got up, glared one last time at the beautiful winter scene around her and headed towards the castle, where a lot of packing awaited her. She entered the castle and walked up the marble staircase, her thoughts blank. She walked up flights of stairs, and turned into corridors by instinct. Finally she entered the common room that belonged to the Prefects and Heads. Most of her belongings were still there. She noticed, as she walked up the spiral staircase and entered her room, that Dumbledore had finally gotten to fixing the place up, after the mess Peeves had made.
She walked over to the foot of her bed and opened her trunk. It was completely empty, which was good, because now she didn't have to empty it first. Nora walked over to her closet, opened it and looking at her clothes. She pulled them all out and laid them on her bed, starting a careful screening process of which clothes to bring, and which to leave behind. What did the list say again? She gazed at the crumpled up piece of parchment and scanned the list of items to bring.
Clothing:
- Wizard robes,
- Muggle clothes,
- Nightclothes,
- Etc.
Bathroom accessories:
- Toothbrush,
- Hairbrush,
- Etc.
Shoes
Wand
Quill
Ink
Parchment Small Personal Possessions'Right, we'll start with Wizard clothes.' Nora looked at her robes. Somehow, now that she had something to do, she did not feel the need to cry as much and every thought left her mind. She picked up a beautiful dark blue dress robe and laid it apart, starting a pile for Wizard clothes. Then she picked up her plain black Hogwarts robes and one by one she took the Hogwarts crest off them, so they looked like normal everyday robes. Nora put them carefully on top of her dress robes so that her other clothes could fit in the trunk too and still leave some room for any other possessions.
She sighed. 'Next: Muggle clothes.' Nora rummaged through the heap on her bed and pulled out all of her jeans, going through them first. After having inspected all of them she threw aside two pairs that she absolutely hated and never wore, before folding up the rest and putting them in her trunk, beside her robes. She screened all of her clothes thoroughly taking more with her than leaving behind. After all of the clothes she wanted to take with her had been placed neatly in her trunk she exited her room heading for Gryffindor tower, where the rest of her things were. On her way out, though, she bumped into Hermione, and the two girls toppled over, crashing onto the floor. They both looked at each other, baffled, not bothering to get up.
"Sorry," Nora said, gazing emotionlessly at her friend.
"That's all right. I'm sorry too, didn't mean to get in the way. Now could you get off me? It's beginning to get hard to breathe," Hermione replied, smiling weakly.
"I wish I could, but my rear just hurts way too much, so I think I'll stay here on the floor." Hermione laughed a bit. There really wasn't anything that funny about them falling onto the floor and hurting themselves, but it took their minds off Death Eaters and Voldemort, and Dean, and they felt like best friends again. Just then, Terry's face blocked their view of the ceiling, looking confused.
"What are you two doing down there? You're supposed to be packing, remember?" he said, holding out both hands. The two girls each grabbed one and he pulled them up in a very swift manner.
"Thank you," said Nora quietly, not daring to look him straight in the eye, and instead brushing herself off. Hermione gave him a quick peck on the lips. Terry quickly muttered "No problem," before he and Hermione began snogging furiously, perhaps relieved that the other was unharmed.
It was in that short moment that the three of them forgot all of their problems, worries and fears, while Terry and Hermione were snogging and Nora watched them with a little hint of disgust, wondering how long they were going to keep at it. She then shifted her gaze, not wanting to watch any further, and looked at the door that led to Draco's room. Her stomach cringed at the thought that she would have to spend the rest of the year with him: the boy that had liked her since, well she didn't know for how long, but he still liked her, she was sure about that, and that she was 'Destined to be with him,' as Dean had told her, even though she wasn't sure if it really had been Dean, or if it was some sort of weird dream that everyone gets when their mind runs amok due to horrible events that had messed up their life and threatened to ruin it forever.
Nora cleared her throat. The two kept kissing. She cleared her throat again. Still Hermione and Terry remained in each other's arms. It wasn't until Nora had walked up to them and asked: "Mind if I join in?" that they had released each other and looked at her, blushing a deep red.
"That took you two long enough. Now if you don't mind, Terry, we have to get some stuff from Gryffindor tower."
"Oh! That's right, I still have some of my clothes and bathroom accessories there!" Hermione said, and she dragged Nora out of the hall, down the stairs and to Gryffindor Tower, after saying a quick "Good-bye," to Terry, who just stood there, goggling at his girlfriend.
"Don't let me in," Hermione said, as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. It immediately swung open and the two girls entered the Gryffindor common. Gryffindors of all years were hurrying around all over the common room and walking up the stairs to their dorms several times a minute.
"We'd better hurry," said Nora, somewhat fearfully, and they walked up the stairs on the left. As they reached the door to their dorm, they heard Parvati give out a frustrated yell. They both gulped, knowing that a mad Parvati was definitely not a pleasant thing to experience. Hermione opened the door, with one last glance at Nora. The two girls entered and saw Lavender cowering beside the door, and Parvati standing on her bed tearing her pillow apart.
"WHERE IS MY RED SWEATER!" She yelled, as feathers fell out of her pillow and drifted around her. "AND MY YELLOW SHIRT! IF I DON'T FIND THEM SOON, SOMEONE'LL GET HURT!" Parvati shouted, jumping up and down, causing more feathers to fall and the ones on the bed to fly up. She looked at the three girls by the door, who took this as a hint and started searching everywhere for Parvati's clothes.
"Found it!" Hermione yelled triumphantly, as she pulled a red sweater out from underneath one of the beds. Parvati looked at it, still standing on her bed.
"That's yours, Hermione," she said dryly. Hermione's face fell. She looked up at Parvati, quickly threw her sweater on the floor and began her search again, not wanting to be cursed into oblivion.
"Is this yours, Parvati?" Lavender asked, picking up a dark red sweater that was hanging out of the window.
"Oh, yes! You found it! Yes, that's mine!" Parvati squealed, running to the window. The windowpanes had been fixed, and the rocks that the Death Eaters had thrown inside were nowhere to be seen. "Now all I need to find is my yellow shirt." Parvati looked around and her gaze fell on her bed: something yellow was sticking out from underneath her trampled covers. "Accio," she said, pointing her wand at whatever the yellow thing was. Instantly it flew from her bed and straight into her outstretched hand. It was her shirt. "Good, now I can help you guys," Parvati said happily, folding up her sweater and t-shirt and putting them in her fully packed trunk.
Nora and Hermione set off to find their other clothes and anything else they had left here, putting it in a large messy pile on their beds. They would make neat piles back in their other rooms. Lavender and Parvati searched for one of Lavender's socks.
"We're going to go to the bathroom and bring everything that's in there back here, ok?" Hermione asked Parvati and Lavender, who were busy packing Lavender's trunk now that they had found her sock. The two nodded, and Nora and Hermione left the room and entered the one across from it, which was the bathroom. It was quiet large and only for the sixth year girls, the other years had their own bathrooms too. On the left side were four showers and on the right was a large counter with four sinks. Each sink, along with it's counter, was made out of marble and had a large mirror hanging above it. The floor was made out of marble too and had a large white fluffy carpet on it. Straight across from the door was a cabinet that contained the towels.
Nora and Hermione went over to the sinks and grabbed all of the things that stood there; checking the cabinets underneath and the shower stalls to make sure nothing was forgotten. Then they headed back to their dormitory, arms loaded.
"We've got everything, so grab what's yours," Hermione said, dumping everything in her arms on the floor. Parvati and Lavender straightened up having just finished packing Lavenders' clothes.
When Hermione and Nora had all of their possessions they brought them back to their rooms. Parvati and Lavender coming with them, as they had nothing else to do and had never seen the new common room. The trunks of Parvati and Lavender were floating behind them, since they weren't going back to Gryffindor tower until after dinner.
"It's beautiful," Lavender gasped as she entered the common room, Parvati nodded in agreement. Hermione pointed at the spiral staircase in front of her.
"Our rooms are up that staircase," she started, but before she had even finished the sentence Parvati and Lavender had cut off the levitation charm, causing their trunks to fall to the floor with a loud crash, and ran up the staircase. Hermione and Nora slowly followed them, not being able to run normally with their arms so full.
They found Parvati and Lavender standing in the hall, looking confused. There were six doors they could enter, but the two stood still, not wanting to barge in on Terry or Draco by mistake.
"In front of you are the two bathrooms, and here on the left are our bedrooms. Mine is closest, Nora's is beside that one. Across from Nora's is Draco's and the one left over belongs to Terry," Hermione explained. Parvati and Lavender each immediately entered one room on the left, and Hermione and Nora entered their own room.
"This is so comfortable," Parvati told Nora as she laid on the King sized bed. "I could just fall asleep right here right now," she said, closing her eyes. Nora gazed at her, a small sign of warmth in her eyes, and lay down all of the things in her arm beside Parvati. After she had made neat piles again, she carefully packed them into her trunk.
"All right," she muttered to herself, wiping away the tear that had been running down her cheek, "now for the small personal possessions." Nora walked to her nightstand and grabbed her magical alarm clock, three quills, two rolls of parchment, an inkbottle, her diary, which she only drew in, and two necklaces. When she looked in the small mirror on her wall she noticed the necklace Dean had given her for Christmas.
Nora gave a shuddering sigh. Dean. She looked around and her gaze fell on the desk by the window. On it was a picture of her and him. They were smiling happily and would give each other a peck on the lips every now and then, as snow fell around them. Colin Creevy had taken this picture while they had been in Hogsmeade, the day they had gotten back together. Tears sprang into her eyes as she looked at it. She picked the picture up, ran a finger across Dean's cheek and then laid it gently on top of everything else in her trunk while silently crying.
She walked back to her desk and picked up another picture, one of her and her family. She gazed at it, feeling both angry and scared as she thought about the funeral the next day.
Just as she was mournfully checking her room for anything else she wanted to take with her while drying her eyes and sniffing, Hermione entered, a sleepy looking Lavender standing behind her, rubbing her eyes.
"Are you done?" Hermione asked softly, looking over at Parvati
"She fell asleep," Nora explained, drying her eyes once more. Hermione nodded.
"This one too," she said, pointing at Lavender behind her. Nora smiled feebly and walked over to Parvati. She shook the sleeping girl very slightly, but it was enough. Parvati sat up straight, looking highly confused.
"Where am I? Oh, right… I want your bed," she stated, folding her arms. Nora had to chuckle at this, despite the way she felt inside.
"Come on, we have to go, or the rest will get mad at us for being late," Hermione said. Parvati got off Nora's bed, and Nora cast a levitating charm on her trunk, letting it hover behind her. The four girls and two floating trunks made their way down the spiral staircase and into the common room where Parvati and Lavender cast the charm on their trunks too, which were still lying there. Then they made their way slowly towards the Entrance Hall where most of the school was already standing, talking rapidly about the past events. Professor McGonagall stood at the foot of the stairs.
"Ah, Ms. Brown, Ms. Glassyd, Ms. Granger and Ms. Patil. How nice of you to join us," she said, ticking off their names on a piece of parchment as she said them. "Please put your trunks in that chamber where Professor Snape will mark it with your name." The four girls headed into a chamber to the side of the Entrance Hall. It was already filled with more than a hundred trunks.
"Put your trunks down here," said Snape, his voice cold. The four girls cut the levitation charm off and Snape muttered an unknown spell, causing their names to flash in the left hand corner of their trunks in an orange color. "You may leave," he said, watching them expressionlessly. They left and walked back into the Entrance Hall, searching for other members of their group. Nora spotted Draco immediately, due to his platinum blond hair that always stood out against dark colors. She walked over to him, slowly, feeling she couldn't do this. She couldn't do this at all. Justin was standing there too, but Padma was nowhere to be seen.
"Hi," Nora said quietly, standing beside Justin, feeling ready to burst into tears just at the sight of them. She could feel Draco's eyes on her, searching her.
"Hi," the two replied. Just then Padma joined them.
"Hi," she breathed. "I ran all the way down here, my trunk crashing into almost everything there was. I didn't want to make you three wait." She inhaled a large gulp of air.
"Hi," the other three said again.
"So, what are we supposed to discuss?" Justin asked.
"Er… well I think it was supposed to be more of a 'getting to know each other' kind of thing," Padma said. "But we already know each other pretty well, don't we?" Justin nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, well… except for… Mal- Draco," he said, looking down at his shoes awkwardly.
"Er…yeah," Padma said, gazing intently at the Grand Stairs. Nora cast a hasty glance at Draco but to her disappointment she saw that he didn't seem to care what the others thought of him. But what had she expected? Had she really thought Draco would want to get matey with the other houses now that he had escaped Death Eaters with them? She found it hard to stand up for him, especially after what had happened, but after a deep intake of breath she managed to say:
"He's nice. You'll get to know him easy enough, if you want to," she said, looking at the two, trying hard to get some emotion into her voice, since they clearly wouldn't believe her is she spoke distantly, which was the way she felt. Distant. Padma and Justin looked at her. They nodded. Justin held his hand out and Draco shook it, trying hard to look friendly, but feeling it was a waste of time. Just then Professor McGonagall spoke.
"Now that everyone is here, we can all eat. The idea is that you sit with your group at one of the tables." She then opened the doors to the Great Hall and entered, the students following. Draco, Justin, Nora and Padma made their way to one of the tables and sat down. When everyone was seated a hushed talk broke out over the students. The four picked up their menus and ordered what looked, and sounded, most appealing to them.
During their dinner, Nora talked with Padma, who sat across from her, about the oncoming trip and Draco talked with Justin, who across from him and next to Nora, about Quidditch.
The Great Hall had been put back in its natural condition. The windows had been replaced, the walls had been turned to their usual splendor and the magical ceiling still worked. It was quiet dull, though, instead of the beautiful stars that were usually in the sky, the ceiling was now fully gray. Not even a little open spot. It was all gray.
Dinner that evening had been somewhat pleasant and when she had finished, Nora had gone straight to bed, feeling too exhausted and dreadful to stay awake any longer and leaving a worried Hermione, Harry and Ron behind.
Nora woke up that morning at nine o'clock. She got out of bed, grabbed the clean clothes she had set apart for that day and headed for her bathroom. She filled the tub full with nice hot water and lots of different bubble bath foam. When the bath was finally full she undressed and got in. The hot bath soothed her somewhat, but still she sat there for what felt like hours just crying silently, sobbing into her hands, salty tears falling into the water. When she checked the magical clock on the wall she saw that it was ten o'clock (already) and quickly jumped out of the bathtub to dry off. She dressed hurriedly, quickly stepped into her sneakers and put her hair swiftly into a high ponytail. A few strands fell down from it and framed her face, but she tucked them behind her ears immediately, not feeling like being pretty today at all. Looking into the mirror she sighed and began crying silently again. Then, while not daring to believe how her life could have plummeted this low, she opened the door and nearly crashed into Draco.
"Well, that took you long enough," he said, drawling somewhat.
"I'm so sorry," she apologized, while quickly drying her eyes, completely thrown off track and nervous of being alone with him ever since the dream with Dean. "I kind of lost track of time." She could hear a shower working and assumed that Terry was in the other bathroom.
"Yeah, I'll bet. Hermione's waiting for you in the Great Hall, by the way," Draco told her, pitying her for crying again and feeling confused as to why Nora was acting so strange… almost as if she was bashful. He walked past her to take a quick shower. Nora entered her room to get the black robe that she'd be wearing for the funeral, before running down the stairs and down towards the Great Hall.
"You sure took your time," Hermione said worriedly, as Nora plopped down next to her, famished.
"Yes, I know. Draco already lectured me. I'm sorry. I lost track of time," she replied, not daring to look her friends in the eyes as she piled her plate full with delicious foods, feeling ravenous. Even though she had eaten a whole lot yesterday night, she was starving now. Harry, Hermione and Ron watched her nervously as she piled more and more food on her plate.
"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked. "You're eating more than Ron at this point and you had a large dinner yesterday… Are you feeling all right?" Nora shrugged, thinking it was a bloody stupid question of Hermione to ask, and quietly ate her breakfast.
After breakfast the four Gryffindors stood up. It was now eleven o'clock and they had decided to go for one last walk around the Hogwarts grounds. Clearly they weren't the only ones to do so, because almost everyone was outside, either sitting by that lake or strolling with friends, watching the snow covered scene.
"I'll miss Hogwarts," Ron said, absentmindedly. The others nodded.
"Yeah. It was like a home to me," said Harry.
"But at least we'll be able to travel around countries," Hermione told them. It had always been one of her dreams to travel, and it was even better now because she was with Terry.
"I can't wait to go to all of those cities. I hope we get free time though, and not just work on those tasks. I wonder what they are. They better be easy," Ron said darkly.
"Don't worry, you've got Mandy Brocklehurst in your group, she's in Ravenclaw and very bright, so she'll finish your task if you feel too stupid," said Hermione.
"Really? She's smart? Almost as smart as you? Are you sure?" asked Ron with a lot of hope in his voice. Hermione just rolled her eyes.
"Ron, you know you're going to have to do some of it yourself," Harry said, grinning.
"I know." Ron looked down at the floor. Hermione shook her head. Ron would probably do anything to get out of doing homework or any work at all.
"You're awfully quiet," she whispered to Nora, as they turned around to head back to the castle.
"I was just listening to the conversation very intently," Nora stated tersely, shaken out of her thoughts, and once more feeling the need to burst into tears.
"Right," Hermione muttered, but said nothing else. She knew what was on Nora's mind, she almost always knew.
Nora had been thinking about Dean, of course, and the funeral. Her parents were probably already here, waiting for her, and she was waiting for the moment they would bombard her with questions and expect a fully detailed answer. She wouldn't be able to do it, though. Sure, her mourning had lessened, though only by a tad, and she was still extremely unstable, even if she didn't show it on the outside. She would have to ask Hermione to help her.
"'Mione?" whispered Nora fearfully, while Harry and Ron were discussing Quidditch and how it was a shame they wouldn't be able to play it while they were on the trip.
"Hmmm?" Hermione replied.
"You have to help me. When my family is here," Nora said, still whispering.
"Of course I will. But you'll have to help me, too. I doubt my father will understand, if he comes," answered Hermione quietly. Nora nodded.
"Maybe I can take my broom with me, and then fly it at night when everyone's asleep," Ron said, thoughtfully.
"I doubt it," replied Harry gloomily. They turned a corner and saw Hogwarts castle towering above them. In front of it stood hundreds of witches and wizards. As soon as the four came into view of the families, a little girl ran over to them and knocked Nora off of her feet. After Harry had pulled her back up, Nora picked her little sister up in her arms.
"I'm sure you all remember Lily, don't you?" she asked her friends, who nodded and smiled at the little girl who had been so happy to see her older sister.
"Hi, Lily," Hermione said, stroking Lily's hair.
"Hi, Hermione," she replied. Harry looked at Lily. He remembered the first time when he had heard the name and asked Nora why she was called Lily. Nora had smiled, something she hadn't done for a while now, and said:
"My parents named her after your mother, they'd been good friends with your parents." Harry had been quiet taken aback.
"Hi, Harry!" Lily said, holding out her arms to him. Harry was pulled out of his thoughts. He walked over to Nora who handed Lily over to him. He held her in his arms.
"Hey, little one." Lily pouted.
"I am not little."
"You are to me," replied Harry, laughing. She had always been very dear to him and he loved it when she was with him. He felt they had a special bond. She was the little sister he never had.
"Hermione!" a voice called from their right. Hermione turned around and saw her father running over to her. He was hurrying quickly and when he had reached the group he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. The imperius curse had been lifted long ago.
"Hi, dad," Hermione said, a little shyly.
"I… I need to talk to you alone for a minute. If you don't mind," he said. Hermione looked at her friends, unsure of what to do. What if this wasn't her real father? Nora gave an ever so slight nod and Hermione followed her father off to the side. Harry, Nora, Ron and Lily watched, so that they would be able to come into action, if necessary.
"Honey," Mr. Granger started. Hermione looked at her feet. "I'm… I'm so very sorry. But you should know… that it wasn't me in person. Your headmaster explained it to me. He said I was under some kind of… Impius spell?"
"Imperius curse, daddy," Hermione corrected him. He nodded.
"Yes, that was it. He said I had been under the Imperius curse. I really didn't mean to hurt you, or your mother. But this little voice in my head kept telling me to do it and I did try to fight it, I really did, but I was too weak." Hermione's father looked at her. Hermione looked up at him. She saw his brown eyes that looked exactly like hers, full of tears. It really was her father.
"I believe you. Not many people can throw the Imperius curse off. Harry can," Hermione said, she pointed to Harry who was still holding Lily.
"He must be very strong, then. If even you can't do it." Hermione nodded.
"He is," she said. Her father looked back at her.
"Professor Dumbledore told me what happened yesterday morning. I understand that, well, one of you four has… lost someone?" He asked. Hermione nodded.
"Yes. Nora," she replied softly.
"Would she mind if I said my condolences?" Mr. Granger asked
"I don't think so. Just don't ask any questions about it," Hermione told him. He nodded and together they made their way back to Hermione's friends. Mr. Granger took a deep breath, put a hand on Nora's shoulder and said:
"I'm very sorry for your loss. I know how you must be feeling," Nora nodded.
"Thank you," she said quietly. He was the first one to give his condolences. Not even her friends had said it. But she didn't mind. She was more worried about Mr. Granger, actually. He must be feeling worse, as it was he who had killed Mrs. Granger, though not directly. She gave Mr. Granger a warm smile before turning to Lily, not wanting to show how weak she was at this moment.
"Lily? Do you want to stay with Harry?" Nora asked. Lily nodded. Everyone could see that those two had a special bond and they thought it was quiet sweet. Just then four more people came running up to them, eight more walking in a quick pace behind. When the four in the front came closer, they saw that they were Nora and Ron's parents.
"Oh, Ron! We were so worried about you and Ginny! I do hope you're all right! You are, aren't you?" Mrs. Weasly asked, flattening Ron with hugs and kisses. Harry sniggered but stopped as soon as Mrs. Weasly turned to him and gave him a big hug. Nora's parents were also fussing about, telling her how scared they had been and asking if she was all right. Nora nodded.
"And as for you, young lady," Mrs. Glassyd said, turning to Lily, who clung on to Harry. "We were dead with worry. You were standing right beside us, and next thing we know you were gone, you could at least have told us where you were going to." Lily nodded.
"Hi," said Ginny, announcing her arrival. The group turned around and saw her standing with Fred, George, Percy, Bill and Charlie. Next to them were Sean, Nora's older brother, and Kate, Dean's older sister. Kate looked very teary. Even though Dean's parents had been Muggles, their children were wizards or witches.
"Hi," they all replied. Sean stepped forward and gave his little sister, Nora, a big hug. It took her all of her strength to not burst out in tears right there and then. When he was done Kate gave Nora a quick hug. Percy, Bill and Charlie were all giving Ron a pat on the back. Fred and George on the other hand ruffled his hair and gave him such strong hugs that he almost suffocated if it hadn't been for Mrs. Weasly who pulled the three apart: Fred and George laughing and Ron gasping for air.
"Seriously, you two might kill him one of these days," Mrs. Weasly scoffed. The twins looked at her offended.
"And lose our favorite test-subject? Never!" said George, clapping Ron hard on the shoulder. Ron glared at him.
"Let's go back up to the castle, shall we?" Mr. Granger said. The castle had been charmed so that all the Muggles could see it too. The others nodded and the big group headed to the castle where Dumbledore stood. They waited a while for everyone else to arrive.
"Now that everyone is here the funeral can start. The coffins have been placed outside beside the Great Lake, as it would be shame to sit inside with this beautiful weather. If you would all follow me." He walked to the right and headed towards the lake, the large group of students and families following him. As they reached the Lake they saw the forty-eight coffins there, each having a photo of the person in front of it. Each coffin also had a single beautiful white rose on it. On one side stood a vase full of white roses. A few people walked over to it, took one rose and let it fall into the lake, watching it float on the clear blue water; the ice had melted overnight, now that the temperature was rising.
Nora walked over to the vase, took a white rose, kissed it and then let it fall into the softly moving water. She stood there for a few minutes, just watching it lie on the water, nothing disturbing it. Someone stopped and stood beside her. The person lifted the hand that held a rose and Nora saw Kate's golden wedding ring. Her hand opened and the rose was carried away by the wind, landing almost next to Nora's.
"At least he died in battle," Kate said softly. Nora nodded. Beside them more people were throwing the flower into the water.
"Yes," was all she could say. Kate took Nora's hand in hers, gave it a tight squeeze and then turned away. Nora stood there for a few more minutes, watching the white roses in the lake, and then turned around too. She walked along the coffins, looking for Dean's. His coffin was somewhere near the middle and the picture in front of it was the one Colin had made in Hogsmeade of Dean and Nora together. The one that she had in a smaller size and that currently lay on top of all her items in her trunk. Nora sat down on the snow in front of Dean's coffin. A few minutes later Harry joined her, Lily still in his arms.
"Lily wants to be with you now," Harry said quietly, kneeling down beside her and setting Lily on the ground next to Nora, who pulled her little sister in her lap.
"Thanks," she said to Harry. He smiled solemnly, gave her a comforting hug and then walked off to Ron.
"Is this Dean?" Lily asked, pointing at the picture. Nora nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Is that you, he's kissing?" Nora nodded again; a tear rolled slowly down her cheek. "He's handsome," Lily stated. Nora nodded yet again, sobbing into her hand, shaking as she wept. She hugged her little sister tightly, hoping she would never have to go through this.
Dumbledore stood up in front of everyone, ready to carry out his speech.
"Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust," he began. Everyone listened intently to Dumbledore who explained the events that had happened and then talked a little about professor Spring and the students who had lost their lives. His entire speech lasted an hour and when he was done he told them that there was food in the Great Hall, for those who were hungry.
"Come," Nora told Lily, quickly wiping her tears away. They had been sitting in front of Dean's coffin throughout the whole speech and she had cried the entire time. "Let's go have a bite to eat." Lily nodded and picked her up again.
"First we have to find Harry," Lily said. Nora sniffed and then laughed slightly.
"It's like you're in love with him," she said softly. Lily looked at her sister, with her round, inspecting eyes.
"I was." Nora stopped.
"What, you liked Harry? I never knew."
"Well I never told you. Now keep walking, I'm hungry."
"Yes, your majesty," Nora said sarcastically, picking up her pace. They entered the Entrance Hall and Lily's jaw dropped as Nora set her down.
"It's so huge," she said, looking around. Nora sighed and looked around, knowing she'd never be able to look at Hogwarts in the same way again.
"Wait until you see the Great Hall. You'll love the ceiling," she said, entering the Great Hall, taking Lily by the hand.
"Oooooooooooooh." Lily said in aw, looking up at the ceiling.
"Look there's Harry, sitting at the Gryffindor table. Beside that are the Ravenclaws, then the Hufflepuffs, and at that end are the Slytherins," Nora said, pointing at each house table as she called out the names.
"Is it just me, or are all of those Slytherins ugly and mean looking?" Nora smiled weakly and was about to reply when someone cut in.
"Who's the little one?" came Draco's voice. She turned to look at him.
"Draco, meet my little sister, Lily. She'll be attending Hogwarts next year."
"Nice to meet you," Draco said to Lily, and Nora saw a very pained expression in his eyes that she couldn't explain. She looked at Lily.
"Draco's in Slytherin, he's not so bad." Lily surveyed Draco critically.
"I see. Well, he certainly looks a lot better than the rest. Now can we go to Harry?" she asked impatiently. Nora sighed again.
"Would you stop nagging already? Bye Draco," she said quietly, and then turned around hearing Draco mutter: "Looks like Potter's got another fan," before he, too, left.
"Hi, Harry. She wouldn't stop nagging at my head that she wanted to see you. Please, please, please take her," said Nora threateningly. Harry laughed and Lily sat next to him. She was very astounded about Hogwarts. Of all the stories she had heard from her brother and sister she imagined it to be very wonderful, but it was even better. It already felt like a second home to her.
After Harry, Nora, Hermione, Ron and Lily had eaten, the four Gryffindors took Lily for a walk along the grounds. They wanted to show her as much as possible.
"Oh, can we also make a stop by Hagrid's? He asked me to come yesterday, but I didn't have time," Harry asked.
"Sure," the others answered and they turned their direction and headed towards Hagrid's instead.
"Who's there?" came Hagrid's gruff voice when they knocked on his door.
"It's us, Hagrid," Harry called out. Fang immediately began barking when he heard Harry's voice and they could hear Hagrid calling his dog back, before opening the door.
"'Ello, come on in, come on in. Oh, 'n' who's this?" He asked as he spotted Lily, who was holding Harry's hand and gazed at the half giant in aw, her jaw dropping open.
"This is my little sister, Lily," Nora told Hagrid. Lily seemed tiny compared to him.
"'Ello, Lily. Me name's Rubeus Hagrid and I'm the Keeper of the Keys and the Gamekeeper 'ere at Hogwarts. And the Care of Magical Creatures teacher." He held out his very large hand and Lily shook it with her small one. They all sat down in front of the fire, Fang drooling all over Harry's robes.
The meeting with Hagrid was very pleasant and before they knew it, it was four o'clock and they had to go back to the castle. Hagrid and Fang accompanied them.
"I hope everyone enjoyed this day and everyone have a safe trip home. The Hogwarts students will leave for their destination in about an hour," Dumbledore said. Every student said good-bye to their families and gave a lot of hugs. At a quarter to five all the relatives had left and the groups received a piece of parchment with instructions from their Head of House. Nora stood with Padma, Justin and Draco looking at it, feeling empty, lonely, shattered and confused as to why this had happened to her.
"So we leave Hogwarts at quarter past five by portkey and arrive at the airport," Nora said.
"Right," said Justin. "And then we take the plane at gate seven to Australia."
"And then we look for the Holiday Inn there," Padma said.
"And there we have to… draw a kangaroo? What kind of ridiculous task is that?" asked Draco, frowning.
"I don't know. But our trunks will be in the hotel when we arrive there. So all we do now is wait," Justin said.
A/N: That is the longest chapter I have written so far. It took me a while to write, but I hope you like it. And I have a beta reader now, Thespy, YAY!