Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Or any of the characters appearing in the books. However, everyone you don't recognize from the books was taken from my slightly less than sane mind.
Sins of Angels: Well, thanks to all readers! Reviews are very welcome and encouraged! And to all Draco Malfoy fans...um, don't kill me. Please? Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 2 – Prior IncantatoThe three shut up as McGonagall explained the sorting to them. She left, giving them a chance to look over everyone there.
Zack smiled and hurried over to Neville. "Hi, Neville! Long time no see!"
Neville smiled as well. "Hi, Zack. I heard Harry's here, but I haven't seen him yet."
"He's right there," Zack said, pointing to him. "And Nora is…well, she was right there too, but not anymore. How are your parents?"
Neville groaned. "Horrible! Do you know, they're both teachers now? I mean, I understand hiding and all, but they're just going to be a nightmare!"
Zack laughed. "Well, don't worry about that. What do they teach?"
Neville frowned. "Subjects we can't take until third year anyway. From the look of the homework, I wouldn't want to."
"Well, then, you're safe, aren't you?"
"Hello," Nora said. The two boys jumped as they realized she had been next to them the whole time. Harry appeared on their other side.
"Don't do that!" Zack scolded.
"Sorry if I scared you," Nora said, grinning. Neville laughed at her.
"Oh, sure you are! Look at yourself, Nora! It's obvious you meant to do that!"
Someone tapped Harry on his shoulder. He turned, and Nora frowned as she realized who it was.
"Harry Potter!" Draco Malfoy exclaimed happily. "You are in our year, I see!"
Harry looked at him, frowning. "You're Malfoy's son, aren't you?"
Draco swelled. "You've heard of me, then? Well, it's to be expected, given who my father is."
"Ah, yes, your good for nothing Death Eater father. Get away from me, scum," Harry said, not troubling to keep his voice down. Draco paled.
"What did you say?" he asked menacingly. Harry just smiled.
"Go away. I'm talking to my friends."
Draco looked over at Zack, Neville and Nora. "Friends? You have low standards."
"At least they have brains," Harry pointed out, indicating Crabbe and Goyle.
"Oh, yes. One orphan, one whose father's in Azkaban, and one whose parents couldn't even help yours. Friends indeed."
"Don't talk that way about Mr. Lupin!" Nora yelled out.
"Lupin? Stupid werewolf sold out your parents, didn't he? And now your friends are defending him."
"Shut up, Malfoy!" a boy in the crowd called. Nora turned to see the same red haired boy who had looked at them on the train and then sped off.
"Ha! Weasley telling me what to do? Shouldn't you be worried about what your parents will do for their next meal?"
Nora took out her wand and pointed it at Draco. "Another word, Draco, and you'll regret it."
"Don't make me laugh, Nora," Draco sneered. "You don't know any spells! Why not put that shabby wand away, who knows what you had to do to get it!"
Nora smiled and flicked it as Draco turned upside down and hung by his ankles. There was appreciative clapping from most of the students.
"Put him down!" came the voice of the girl who had asked about a toad on the train. "You haven't even been sorted yet, and you're going to be expelled! Not to mention all the trouble we'd get in!"
Nora sighed. She was right, of course. With another flick, Draco fell to the ground. The others laughed at him, and Harry gave her a thumbs-up. She grinned.
"My father will hear about this!" Draco threatened.
"Draco, do you expect me to believe you're going to admit to your father that I, of all people, was able to do better than you in a fight?"
At this, Draco just frowned and turned around, going back to the other side of the stairs.
"That was brilliant!" Harry said happily to Nora. The girl and the red haired boy came up to her.
"That was bloody brilliant!" the boy exclaimed. "I'm Ron," he said, shaking Nora's hand.
"I'm Nora, and that's Zack, Neville and Harry," Nora introduced, indicating them. The other girl frowned.
"I'm Hermione Granger, and I'd be more careful, if I were you. What if a professor had seen you?"
Nora shrugged. "I still don't know the rule about no dueling in the halls, do I?"
Harry laughed again, while Zack applauded her and Neville chuckled. Even Hermione smiled slightly. "Well, all rule breaking aside, I didn't hear an incantation."
"There wasn't one," Nora said, shrugging.
"Nonverbal spells? But…that's not until sixth year, at least!"
Nora just shrugged again. "I've learned a few things. I haven't always been at home."
"Yeah, she sort of disappeared for four years," Zack informed the girl helpfully.
"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione frowned at him.
"Honestly, is that the only word you know?" she asked irritably and turned back to Nora. "Well, I should be going. McGonagall should be back any moment now."
She turned on her heel and strode off, Ron following her and whispering furiously about the extent of his vocabulary before he bid them goodbye.
"What an odd pair," Zack remarked.
"Well, that girl seems to be…competitive, to say the least."
"Competitive?" Nora exclaimed as McGonagall advanced. "She'd bite my head off if I did another spell! Ever!"
The three boys stifled their laughter as the stern professor led them through the Great Hall. Nora looked up at the ceiling with awe as she slowly started to count all the stars she could before she got to the Sorting Hat. She continued on as the hat sang, and even as the others were being sorted. She stopped only long enough to hear that her three friends had been sorted into Gryffindor.
She tore her eyes away from the sky as someone stomped on her foot. She looked up at McGonagall, who was staring straight at her.
"Miss Riddle, it's your turn," she said sternly as Nora tried to blush, for the sake of things. She walked up to the stool and gladly rammed the hat on her head, as it fell not only over her eyes but came to rest on her shoulders.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" it said in her ear. Nora frowned.
"A puppy," she replied irritably, to which the hat chuckled.
"Hmmm…let's see…you've got brains, enough to make any Ravenclaw proud. And then you have cunning and a sensible outlook on life, which would suit Slytherin well. You're loyal when you want to be, to such lengths that Hufflepuff herself would be impressed. And you're brave. No fearless, but brave. That's something Gryffindor would understand."
"Are you telling me I belong in all four?" Nora yelled. She heard gasps from behind her as well as in front of her.
"Now, no need to fret, some are just tricky."
"Well, hurry it up then, I haven't got all day!"
The hat was silent for a moment. Then it gasped.
"What?"
"Relax, Nora, I'm just looking to find your best fit."
Nora settled down again, but she had the distinct feeling that the hat was reading her mind in a way she couldn't prevent. "You're reading my mind, aren't you?"
"Just a bit of needed prying, don't want you to go to the wrong place…"
Nora frowned. She hadn't learned Occlumency for the first magical object to get past it. She hadn't learned Legilimency to have this done to her.
"Relax, child, I'm almost done," the hat complained. Nora felt it leave her memories as it muttered to itself.
"Just sort me already!" she snapped.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled, and she thankfully put it on the stool and left. The applause was scattered as she took her seat at the table, next to a very eagerly clapping Harry, Zack, and Neville. Nora smiled and went back to counting the stars.
By the end of the night, all four were convinced that Dumbledore was just a tad bit bonkers. They'd never admit to it, but they all thought it all the same.
After Percy the Prefect had led them to their Common Room and explained to them where their dorms are, Nora went up to her room and checked all her things. Then she went up the stairs to the boys' dorm and entered, without so much as a knock.
"Nora!" Neville yelled and hid behind his curtain. "I'm changing, you wench!"
"Now, Neville, I don't think your mother would tolerate that sort of talk!" Nora said tauntingly. Neville paled.
"You won't tell her, will you? She'll have my head for sure!"
Harry and Zack laughed. Neville threw a pillow at each of them.
Nora strode across the room and sat down on Harry's bed. She looked around her.
"Anyone asleep?" she asked, grinning.
"What?" Harry asked, noticing the grin.
"Just answer me. No sense why we shouldn't start the year off with a harmless little prank."
Zack pointed to Ron. The other two beds in the room were empty. However, soft snores were heard by his.
"Right. Hand me your glass," Nora said to Zack, who did so. Very carefully she moved the cup next to the sleeping boy's hand. Taking out her wand, she tapped the glass lightly and slid the seemingly solid object through his hand until it was obvious his fingers were immersed in water. Tapping the glass again, it solidified.
"What's that supposed to do?" Neville asked, reemerging from behind his curtains. Nora smiled.
"You'll see in the morning. Try not to move him or wake him, too. And, um…be ready to open up some windows…"
"What?" Zack asked, puzzled. Harry, however, seemed to know this one and was laughing silently on his bed.
"Well, goodnight. We'll talk more at breakfast," Nora said and left, carefully shutting the door. Compared to her dorm, which only had four beds, the six bed one was huge. But, then again, she did have a dresser.
She fell back on her bed and smiled to herself. If everything goes right, there's going to be a lot of laughs this year…
Waking up was never Nora's favorite thing to do. So she grumbled, made a fuss, and went into the bathroom at seven in the morning. She came out at eight, to meet three very disgruntled girls.
"Um…sorry?" she said feebly. One of them (Hermione, if she remembered correctly) just sighed and strode in right past her. She smiled at the two other girls, who glared at her until she got her books and went out.
"Nora!" Harry called from the Common Room couch. "It worked," he whispered to her when she got to them. Zack was smiling, and Neville was checking his bag.
"No, duh. I knew it would work. Anyway, something I forgot to ask you. Do either of you know where the Marauder's Map is?" she asked Zack and Harry.
"Yeah, Filch has it. Sirius said he took it their seventh year, towards the end."
"You know what this means, right?" Nora asked, grinning. Harry groaned.
"Nora, I do not want to get thrown out!"
"Just a harmless little prank, Harry," Nora pleaded. "Please? You get to pick the target."
"Um…"
"And I don't intend on getting caught, just in enough trouble to make it to Filch's office…"
"Nora, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Neville asked. Nora nodded hurriedly as they set off to breakfast.
"Oh, it's a classic trick. The best part is that it's far too advanced for it to be me. People refuse to believe that eleven year olds can do so much. Works to my advantage."
Draco strolled past them along with his two guards, glaring at them. Harry smiled. "Okay, Nora. Him. Do whatever prank you want to him."
Nora smiled. "Gladly," she said and strolled ahead of them.
"Draco," she said as she tapped him on the shoulder. Her wand was just barely in her hand, but it worked.
"What, Nora?" Draco asked her, staring. "Go away, will you? You'll ruin my reputation."
Nora shrugged. "Never mind, then. By all means, go protect your precious image."
She fell back, waiting until the other three joined her.
"What did you do?" Neville asked, frowning.
"Just give it time. It'll start soon."
"What will?" Zack asked cautiously.
"Don't worry. Just sit at the Gryffindor table and mind your own business, we'll hear when it starts."
The three boys gave her a puzzled look, but Nora just led the way into the Great Hall and managed to talk two fourth-years into moving before they realized she was a first year. After which, of course, she refused to move and threatened to duel them if they asked her to. Slightly confused, the two fourth years went off to a different spot.
No sooner had they left when Nora suddenly sprouted two red haired boys from her sides. They were twins, and they introduced each other in turn, pointing to the other and then arguing about their real name ("He's Fred." "I'm not Fred! I'm Bartholomew!" "Well, shut up then, Bartholomew, and introduce me!")
"We saw what you did, dear," Fred said, smiling at her. She grinned.
"You liked it?"
"Liked it? It was genius! And you didn't even have to use magic to fool them!"
"People are easy to fool," Nora said as she tried to see Draco. She smiled as she noticed it was working. "Hang on," she said softly to the twins and pointed her wand at Draco and his table. Their voices became slightly louder than the rest, though they didn't notice.
"What was that?" Fred, or Bartholomew, asked.
"An incomplete Sonorus charm," she said softly. The voices were clearly heard as the talk died down slightly when people began to hear what they were talking about.
"Are your eyelashes getting longer?"
"What are you talking about, Pansy?"
"Draco, your hair is growing."
"Use your brain! Hair doesn't just spontaneously grow a foot!"
"Tell that to your head."
"Shut up, Nott! My hair is...perfectly…fine…"
"Noticed, have you?"
"That's not possible!"
"Again, your presence seems to prove it wrong."
"Look, Nott, I wouldn't upset me if I were you!"
"Bloody hell! What are those!"
Draco looked down at his shirt, where his chest was expanding, forming two spheres that definitely shouldn't have belonged to him. Or, as evidence was rapidly amounting, her.
"What's going on here?" Snape asked, advancing. He looked down at Draco, then at his chest, and he paled.
Really, it was all Nora could do not to start rolling on the floor.
Those around her, however, had no problem at all in pointing and laughing at the famous Draco Malfoy. Even his henchmen stole in a chuckle while he looked at his long hair and what had to be called "boobs" in disgust.
"Do something!" he scowled at the potions master, who could only look at him in pity, and then transfer his gaze lower, where it became disgust.
"Malfoy! You look so much better as a girl!" Zack called. This sparked laughter from everyone except the boy himself and Snape, who merely glared.
"Five points from Gryffindor, Lupin!" Snape called. "For your taunting of another student."
'Will someone finally help me?" Draco called. Dumbledore sighed, stood up and pointed his wand at him. As soon as the jet of light hit him, Draco's chest went back to normal, his hair became shorter, and he regained his usual appearance.
"What? Just like that?" Neville whispered to Nora. She smiled.
"Of course not, Neville. It's Nora. Do you really believe that's it?" Zack said, grinning.
"Oh, no, the best part is just around the corner."
"Thanks Professor," Draco said. Only, suddenly, it didn't sound like Draco at all. It sounded like a little girl, about three, who hadn't quite learned the difference between the letters "r" and "w". This inspired a new fit of laughter, and even received some very hasty and hidden smiled from the faculty. Nora grinned.
"That's my plan!" Nora said smugly, while Draco held his throat in horror.
"What happened?" he squeaked. Snape frowned.
"It appears that whoever charmed you did so with the foresight that the curse would not be allowed to run its course. As such, they provided a little…insurance for their amusement, no doubt. It should wear off by the end of the day."
"You can't do anything?"
"No. Now shut up and deal with it. I'll find out who's responsible."
Nora carefully lifted her glass and then dropped it. It shattered on the ground.
"Reparo!" she said softly, and the cup mended itself. Snape turned to look at her.
"Did you just cast a spell, Miss Riddle?" he asked icily. Nora looked up at him guiltily.
"Well, yes. My glass broke."
"How…convenient," was all he said before he swept away. Draco turned and looked at her, puzzled.
"Seems like it worked," Nora said. Snape talked to Filch for a minute before he turned back around.
"Miss Riddle? Come with us," he commanded. Nora got up, winked at her friends, and left, putting on her best I'm-not-in-trouble face.