Disclaimer: Anything relating to the Harry Potter stories belongs to J. K. Rowling. She can have my characters and ideas as well.

CHAPTER 13

It was the last night before the Holidays, and Nora found herself doing her last Prefect round with Remus before most students were to go home the next morning.

"You seem a little down today." Remus said as he and Nora made their way down to their designated watch area.

"Yeah, I dunno why." Nora sighed. "Just feel a little depressed for some reason."

"I thought you'd still be gloating from yesterday's game." said Remus, referring to the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff that they had easily won.

"Well, I was happy yesterday, but I don't know why, today I just feel…blah." Nora said sullenly as they walked down a dark hallway.

"You thinking about your friend maybe?" Remus suggested.

"Yeah, maybe. It just feels like something is missing, you know?" Nora explained. "I'm going to visit him over the break."

"Oh, that's good. That'll probably make you feel better." Remus said encouragingly.

"I guess so." said Nora, but she didn't sound very convinced. The truth was that she didn't really know why she was feeling so down. It was more than just missing Bert. Ever since she had to give Yolk back to their Professor for their evaluations, she was feeling down. Why am I so depressed over a silly egg?

"So what are you doing over the break?" Nora asked, trying to change the subject; thinking about Yolk was not going to help her feel better.

"I'm going home." Remus answered. "I'll probably meet up with Sirius and James sometime over the break as well."

"Oh, yeah. Sirius will be at James's place." Nora said and then added, "You know, I live really close to James. Maybe I should invite Lily over one day and then accidentally bump into him."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that." Remus said with a wry smile.

"You know, I didn't even get a chance to talk to Lily yet." said Nora. "I promised James I'd find out if she'd consider going out with him or something."

"Oh." Remus looked surprised for a moment and then asked Nora intently, "Do you think she would?"

"I don't see why not." Nora said confidently.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Remus sighed. As they finished their rounds, Nora noticed that Remus became a little more quiet than usual and thought that maybe now he looked a little depressed instead of her.


"Oi, Nora!" James waved to her from the platform as she got off the train at Kings Cross Station and walked towards him, Sirius and Remus.

"How'd you guys get off the train so fast?" Nora asked breathlessly as she dragged her trunk behind her.

"So did you talk to her? Where is she?" James asked her anxiously looking around the station, ignoring her question.

"Oh, right…Lily's still inside talking to someone, but okay, see, the thing is…" Nora started to say with a hint of regret, "I didn't really get a chance to talk about that in particular." James's once hopeful face now looked utterly depressed.

"It wasn't my fault!" Nora defended herself quickly as she felt guilt involuntarily rise in her. "I was about to ask her when these girls just came into our compartment. So I didn't get a chance…"

"Good one, Four-eyes." Sirius said, shaking his head.

"You be quiet." Nora said to Sirius with a frown and then turned back to James. "Look, I'll try my best to see if I can somehow tell her over the break, but I think she's going away somewhere. But then for sure, I'll find out after the break."

"Hmm." James looked at Nora skeptically. "Fine, then, I'll just have to wait. I guess it's better anyways. My holiday won't be ruined now in case she rejected me."

"Exactly!" Nora said with an encouraging smile. Most of the students were now off the train and heading to the meeting area. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you guys after the break then."

"Yeah, have a good holiday." James said as he came towards her and gave her a light hug.

"You too." Nora replied and she suddenly felt really awkward. Shit, why did James hug me? Now I don't know if I am supposed to hug Remus or not… Nora didn't have enough time to over-think the situation because before she knew it, Remus came up to her with a warm smile and pulled her into a light hug as well. It was just as friendly as James's, but Nora could feel her heart hammering in her chest as she breathed him in and relished the moment.

"Take care of yourself." Remus said as he let go of her. "And say hi to Bert for me when you see him."

"Okay, sure." Nora said, her cheeks glowing a little. She finally turned to Sirius who was eyeing her suspiciously again. She knew what he was thinking, and gave him a fake scowl.

"Well," he said coolly, pulling out his hand for her to shake, "I guess I'll be seeing you later then."

"What?" Nora said taking his hand but feeling a offended, "We were married the whole semester, and all you're gonna do is shake my hand?" Of the three boys, she actually felt much closer to Sirius and would've gladly given him a hug good-bye. She was a little taken aback when he didn't hug her himself, as she would have expected from him.

Sirius noticed her disappointment so he quickly pulled her into a hug. It wasn't the same kind of hug that Remus and James had given her; it was such a tight hug that Nora could feel his heart beat…and it was a little fast.

"There you go." he said as he let go of her, and she found herself feeling oddly flustered. "Happy now?" he asked with a smile that Nora could tell wasn't genuine. Nora didn't say anything else to him; she felt too weird. She was relieved when the boys went on their way and she spotted her father waving at her from afar so she could finally leave to go home.


It was about a week into the holidays when Remus came to visit James and Sirius at the Potter's. The three of them had just stepped out of the house and were walking outside, on their way to Diagon Alley.

"Hey is that Nora over there?" James asked, gazing up ahead.

"Where?" Sirius peered over in front of them, trying to see her. He had been trying not to think about her ever since they left the train station, but was failing miserably. He was worried about how he had behaved that day after he hugged her and was afraid she would suspect something wasn't quite right.

"Yeah, that's her." Remus confirmed as they kept walking. "Looks like she's with someone."

"Whoa." Sirius said as Nora and her companion came into full view. "Whoever she's with is really hot." She was about Nora's height and weight, but she had long, straight black hair and big golden colored eyes.

"Maybe it's her sister." Remus suggested.

"I don't think she has a sister." James said. "Must be a friend."

"Oh, look!" Nora said quietly to her companion as the boys came into her view. "Those are the guys from school I was telling you about." She saw James, Remus and Sirius walk up to them. Nora noticed that they all looked very trendy, not being in their usual school robes. She also noticed that Remus was looking a little pale again and she felt a strange flutter go through her, like she was nervous, but she couldn't pin point the exact reason why.

"Hey Nora!" James called out to her when they were directly across each other. "What're you doing out here?"

"We were just taking a walk." Nora said with a smile like she was genuinely glad to see them. "How're things?"

"Hi, I'm Sirius." Sirius suddenly stuck his hand out to the beautiful mystery woman with what Nora was sure he thought was an extremely charming smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, hello Sirius." she said smiling and taking his hand. She had a slight Mediterranean accent. "I'm Layla. It's nice to meet you too."

"Layla." he repeated. "That's a very beautiful name."

"Thank you." She smiled at him, clearly flattered and then turned to Nora and said, "Is this the same Sirius you were telling me about?"

"Oh, she told you about me?" Sirius asked, looking at Nora with a smirk.

"Yes." Layla nodded her head. "She said that you always try to hit her when you play Quidditch."

"Oh." Sirius said disappointingly and this time it was Nora's chance to smirk at him.

"But she didn't tell me you were so handsome and charming. You boys are all so handsome!" Layla gushed and Nora cleared her throat.

"Yeah." Nora said a little sarcastically and then introduced the other guys. "This is James. And Remus."

"Oh!" Layla laid her hand on her chest and continued gushing. "I wish the boys were so handsome when I was in school!"

"You mean you're out of school?" James asked her.

Layla laughed out loud and said with a smile, "Yes, it's been a while."

"Yeah, try twenty years." Nora said, rolling her eyes. "Guys, this is my mother." The boys stood there for a moment, dumbstruck with their mouths slightly open.

Much to Nora's happiness, Remus was the first one to come out of the revelation and said very politely, "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Sammy."

Nora's heart swelled with pride as she looked at her mother for her approval of the well-mannered boy, until Sirius, in his charming voice said, "Are you sure you're Nora's mother? You look more like her sister."

"Oh!" Mrs. Sammy's attention was diverted from Remus back to Sirius and Nora didn't like it.

"Sirius, don't compliment my mother so much." she said with a slight frown. "She gets too giddy."

"La!" Nora's mother playfully hit her daughter on the arm.

Sirius turned to Nora and said with pity, "I can see that you must've taken completely after your father. That's too bad."

Nora scowled at him and said to the others, "So where are you guys headed?"

"We were just going to Diagon Alley." Remus answered.

"Oh cool." Nora said and then remembered to ask, "Hey did you guys watch the game last night?"

"Yeah it was brilliant!" James said excitedly. "The Arrows got completely mashed."

"You were rooting for the Wasps?" Nora asked him.

"Yeah of course, they are the top of the division." James said without hesitation.

"Frontrunners." Nora said disapprovingly, shaking her head.

"Well don't tell me you were going for the Arrows." Sirius said defensively.

"Of course I was." Nora said.

"But they stink!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I know," Nora said, "but I always go for the underdog. I can't help it."

"Yes, Norie this is right." Her mother said to her. Sirius caught her mother's nickname for her and smiled to himself. Hmm. Norie. That's kinda cute…

She turned to the boys and said, "Nora always goes for the team that is less popular. I think she does this with more than sports though. She has too much pity and empathy."

"What?" Nora said incredulously. "That's not true."

"Oh yes it is." Layla said discrediting Nora. "I remember when you were little and you wanted a cat. We took you to the store and there were so many very beautiful cats all playing around with each other. You saw the one that was sitting alone in the back of the cage, and you took him."

"Well I felt sorry for him. He didn't have any friends." Nora explained with a frown.

"He was a very ugly cat." Nora's mother said, shaking her head with a smile.

Hmm. Sirius thought to himself. Is that why she's friends with Ernie?

"So have you visited Bert yet?" Remus asked Nora.

"I'm going day after tomorrow. Are you guys going to be busy? You wanna meet me there or something?" Nora said, eyeing them hopefully. The boys looked at each other a little uncomfortably.

"Er…the day after tomorrow…" James stood there contemplating.

"Why don't you go the day after that?" Sirius suggested.

"I can't. It's the only day I have free." Nora said.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it." Remus said a little awkwardly.

"I can try," James said doubtfully, "but it might be hard for me."

"Oh." Nora sounded disappointed. She really didn't feel like going to St. Mungo's by herself, and she was really hoping that Remus would be able to go with her.

Sirius caught the disappointment in her voice and quickly said, "Don't worry, Four-eyes, I'll go with you."

Nora eyed Sirius skeptically and said, "No, it's okay. You don't have to come if you're busy." Hmm. Is he just trying to look like a nice guy in front of my mother?

"No, I'm not busy. I'll come. I wanna see Ernie too anyways." Sirius said with a grin.

Nora gave him a half-smile and said, "Okay if you really want to." Well, I guess it's better than going alone. I really wish I could've gone with Remus though. They decided to meet in the same spot on that day and then the boys headed down towards Diagon Alley, leaving Nora and her mother alone again.

"So those were the boys, eh?" Mrs. Sammy said with a smile.

"Yep." Nora replied.

"Remus seems like a very nice and polite boy." she said.

"He is." Nora agreed with her.

"They are all very handsome. Especially Sirius. Ooh! So charming too!" Mrs. Sammy gushed again.

"Yeah, a little too charming." Nora said shaking her head. "I can't believe he was flirting with my mother."

"I'm sure most of the girls in the school like Sirius and James, right?" she asked her.

"Yep. Too many." Nora answered and then added, "Well, I know some girls who like Remus, too."

"Yes, but not as much as the other two. This is why you like Remus more." she said to Nora knowingly.

"What? No it isn't!" Nora said indignantly.

"But you know," Mrs. Sammy said thoughtfully, ignoring her daughter's protests, "I think this Sirius boy likes you more."

"What are you talking about?" Nora said with a grimace, but feeling a little surprised.

"I can tell by the way he was looking and talking to you. Remus I think…his mind is somewhere else." she said slowly.

"What are you a Seer or something now?" Nora asked, feeling irritated. Nora knew that her mother was very observant and that unfortunately for Nora, was usually right about people.

"No, no. I'm just saying what I observe." Mrs. Sammy said casually and then added with a smile, "But I am not going to say anything else about Sirius. It will just make you like Remus more."


A/N: Alright...I just added a couple of things to this chapter...tell me what you thought!