Nora

June 1976

Nora left her Divination OWL feeling more conflicted then anything else. She knew she would get flying colors for her work, but it was more of what she saw in the crystal ball that had bothered her. The image of her brothers fighting had been so clear. She didn't know where they were, but they had been shouting words she couldn't make out. She didn't know if she had ever seen Mikael as upset in her entire life. As soon as she had seen the image she could feel something shift. It scared her beyond belief.

She tired to push the image from her head as she found Noelle waiting for her in the courtyard.

"Evan has been badgering me more than usual." She said irritably. Nora just frowned in response. Evan hadn't spoken to her since New Year's but had made a point of catching her eye whenever possible and questioning Noelle about her. "I told Avery I'm going to dump him is he doesn't make him stop. He thought I was joking."

Nora rolled her eyes, "Avery is in love with you."

"Love is overrated." Noelle adjusted her bag, "Speaking of badgers, how is your little pet?"

"Ava isn't a pet-she's my friend." Nora said.

"You just feel guilty about what Mulciber did to her because Evan was there and didn't stop it." Noelle said.

"I did and she knows that." Nora sighed. "You'd like her. She's a lot like you."

Noelle snorted in the most lady-like way. "In what, possible way, is she anything like me?"

"She's loyal, good, trustworthy…and I care about her." Nora gave her a pointed look.

"She's a Hufflepuff." Noelle said.

"Noelle," she said. "I trust her."

Noelle sighed, again, irritably. "Alright."

"Come on, let's get lunch before our Defense exam." Nora said and the two made their way to the Great Hall.

The exam had been easy enough. Nora had finished rather early and had just been glancing around when she made eye contact with Sirius Black. He was leaning back in his chair, looking very too-cool-for-school. His expression didn't give anything away but he maintained the eye contact longer than just a passing glance. When he finally turned his eyes forward, Nora kept hers on him. She frowned and then closed her eyes. There was a slight ache in her temple. She could still see the scene of her brothers playing in her mind. There had to be more. She took a slow breath and steadied her hands on the desk in front of her. She focused on her breathing, letting her mind clear. The image of Mikael and Nicholas arguing flashed again but it shifted quickly to something even more confusing. It was Sirius, his arms supporting a girl. Her hands were clutching his shoulders, face pressed against his chest, but her legs seemed to have given out. The pair sunk to the ground. On of his hands was on her back, the other was behind her neck. There was something about the pair that didn't make any sense, and it wasn't the emotions. The girl's hair was a chocolate brown, waving in random spots- the same as Nora's.

Nora's eyes flew open and it took her a moment to realize that she was still in the Great Hall, sitting an OWL exam. "Five more minutes!" Professor Flitwick chirped, weaving between desks. Nora felt a shiver run down her back as she glanced at Sirius. He didn't see her that time. Once the exam was finished, she rushed to Noelle's side.

"I need some air." She said. Noelle furrowed her brow but obliged, following her from the hall and out onto the grounds.

The pair headed a bit of a ways down from a group of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls. Ava was among them and she waved cheerily at Nora, who just forced a smile. Nora found a shady spot and sat down, taking a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Noelle asked, lounging back.

"Nothing really." Nora said, her eyes on the lake. Noelle didn't say anything. She believed that Nora had the Sight, but it made her uncomfortable to think about the future whether it was her own or not. There was something that held her back from sharing what she had seen anyways. She needed to figure out what it meant.

xxx

Nora found Nicholas sitting in a compartment alone, writing thoughtfully in a diary. He glanced up as she entered but otherwise didn't say anything.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sitting opposite him.

"Planning," He said, scratching his chin.

She rolled her eyes, "Planning what?"

"Can't say."

"Why not?"

He let of an impatient huff, closed the book, and looked up at her. "Nora, it's a secret."

She blinked slowly. "You don't trust me?"

"No! I mean, no that's not it. I do trust you…" He hesitated, glancing at the open compartment door. He jumped up and shut it quickly, before pulling the blinds down the block anyone from seeing in.

"What is going on?" Nora looked at him curiously. He was definitely acting strange. He sat down opposite of her again and took a deep breath.

"You know how I'm going traveling in a few weeks?

"Yeah. Mum still doesn't want you to go." She shrugged. "So?"

"I'm not coming back."

"You mean at the end of the holiday?"

"I mean ever." He looked at his hands. "I can't be like Mikael. I can't be apart of this war. I can't kill anyone but if I don't become a Death Eater they'll kill me for being a blood traitor. That doesn't exactly give me a lot of options. So I have to leave. I have to disappear because of Mikael and Mum and Dad and this war."

"So you're running?" Nora kept her eyes on him, her heart racing. "You would do that?"

He nodded his head, his eyes still glued to his hands.

"You…you would leave me?" She asked. He finally looked up at her.

"They could still kill me, if they found me." Nicholas said. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"They could kill me too. For staying." Nora rubbed her face. "I want to come with you."

"You do?"

"Of course I do. You're my brother!" Nora exclaimed.

"Mikael is your brother too."

"Mikael made his choice, just as you have. Now it's my turn. I don't want to be apart of this anymore than you do." Nora nodded to herself. "Besides, I don't know if you're smart enough to make it without me."

He laughed, finally breaking his serious façade. "You're probably right."

"So. What's the plan?" Nora.

"Well," Nicholas leaned back. "While I was traveling I was going to set things up-empty my vault at Gringotts, find somewhere to live where no one would think to look, stuff like that. I'd write home until the very last moment so I don't raise any suspicions."

"Okay, so how can I come with?"

"I'll need to figure that out. It's going to take a while to take care of the finer details." Nicholas shrugged.

Nora nodded, "Okay."

"You can't tell anyone- not even Noelle." He said as he opened his journal and started scribbling. Nora's chest felt tight. What if their parents found out? She had always know Nicholas was nothing like Mikael. Mikael was very much like their father. He was distant, manipulative, and could be especially cruel when it suited him. He felt passionately about what the Dark Lord was doing and had joined the ranks as soon as he could. There were a number of times Nora had read about Muggle deaths and wondered if her oldest brother was responsible.

There was a sharp knock on the compartment door that broke Nora's focus. She peaked through the blinds and with a sigh opened the door. Evan Rosier was waiting outside.

"Noelle said you went to find your brother." He said, peering inside the compartment as if to make sure it was true. "I was wondering if we could have a word."

"I suppose." She sighed and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if we could see each other over the holiday." Evan said. Nora raised her eyebrows.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am." He frowned.

"Why would we do that? We've barely talked in months."

"You told me you needed space." Evan reached out and took her hand is hers. "I miss you."

Nora sighed, her eyes falling to their hands. "I don't know, Evan."

"Please… would you at least think about it?" He squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, alright." She looked up at him. They met each other's eyes and after a moment he leaned in to lightly kissed her.

"I'll see you later?" He smiled at her quickly before letting her hand go, and walking off.

As if she needed something else to worry about.

xxx

The plan ended up as such: Nicholas would leave for his "travels" with a significant amount of money. His inheritance would be moved to his vault in July, after he was already gone. He left his key with Nora, who would move the money into her vault, and over the summer and next year, would withdraw as much money as she could. While he was traveling, Nicholas would be setting up where they would "disappear" to. Nora would return to school in the fall and carry on as normal. By the end of her sixth year she would be of age. Nicholas would supposedly be on his way home to begin his job (arranged by their parents) at the Ministry of Magic. Instead of returning home, Nicholas would fetch her from the train station and the two would go visit their Great Aunt Ora for several months. It was the perfect meeting place to establish the final parts of their plan. Aunt Ora despised their mother so it was highly unlikely that their parents would at any point check up on them. A week before their scheduled return home, they would leave their Aunt Ora's and that's when they'd make their move.

Initially, Nora had been extremely hesitant to agree to it. There were so many parts that could be easily derailed. It was the day before Nicholas was planning to leave when Nora was reading in the Daily Prophet about a family that had been found dead with the Dark Mark above their home. The Death Eaters had even killed the two children. The oldest would have been going to Hogwarts in September for their first year. Why had they been killed? Nora recognized the family's name- Rowle. They were purebloods. The Dark Lord praised purebloods, making it clear they were the only people worth living. It was also known that anyone who didn't support him was at risk. Had the Rowles spoke against the Dark Lord?

No one was safe. It was then that Nora decided that potential failure or not, the plan was worth trying. If they failed, she had no doubt that their mother would find a way to sweep it under the rug. If they succeeded, well, they'd be free.

Since she'd returned home she hadn't had anymore visions. She hadn't actively tried to have any, but normally they'd just flash across her eyes at random. Nora wasn't bothered by this either way. She had always seen her ability with Divination as a blessing and a curse. That's why when she was finally unpacking her trunk after two weeks of being home, she was surprised to realize that she hadn't had any visions. She had pulled out her tarot cards and randomly flipped through the cards until she dropped one. She picked it up and looked at it- Death. Normally the death card didn't bother her. It was about an end, closure. It wasn't necessarily anything sinister, but once she saw the card her arms broke out in goosebumps and she was filled with a sense of dread.

A knock on her door pulled her out of thought. Before she could say anything the door swung open and her mother walked in. Nora carefully put away the cards back into her trunk and closed it.

"I'll have a house elf come and take care of that for you." She said.

"It's fine, I like unpacking."

"If you liked it you would have done it by now." She pursed her lips. "Polly!"

There was a loud crack and small elf appeared. She looked around quickly, and bowed once to Mrs. Lockwood and once to Nora. "Miss Nora, Miss Louisa!"

"Unpack Nora's school trunk immediately and then get back to work." Mrs. Lockwood snapped. The elf let out a squeak and hurriedly began unloading the trunk onto Nora's bed. Nora took a step back to give Polly more room.

"Now, Nora, there is something we need to discuss." Mrs. Lockwood, brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I expect you downstairs in five minutes. Your father and I will be waiting." With that she turned and left the room. Nora strode over to the door and pulled it shut.

"Polly you really don't need to do that for me." Nora turned to look at the elf who was busy tidying all of Nora's school books into the bottom drawer of her desk. The elf didn't stop working. Clearly she was more afraid of her mother. Nora just sighed and let Polly carry on. She was moving faster than Nora had been at any rate.

After a few minutes Nora begrudgingly headed for the main sitting room downstairs. He parents were waiting for her. Her mother was sitting in a high-backed chair with her hands clasped on her lab, and her ankles crossed. Her pale blonde hair was neatly curled and twisted into a low bun. Nora never thought she resembled her mother. They both had blue eyes but Nora's were darker and her mother's were an icy blue. Nora's features were a lot softer. Nora's hair was also much darker. She supposed she resembled her father more but still it wasn't quite a match. Where Mrs. Lockwood was fair, blonde, blue-eyed, Nathan Lockwood's hair and eyes were nearly black, and his skin was a warm honey color. Mikael looked very much like their father, all dark as well. Nicholas was a perfect blend of the two with his dark hair and the same icy blue eyes.

Nora glanced at her father who was sitting in an armchair flipping through the Daily Prophet.

"Why don't you take a seat?" He mother gestured to the chair across from her. Nora obliged and waited until she finally spoke again. "We need to talk about your future. You've had your OWLs and it's time to start planning. We've had these conversations with your brothers in the past. I think first and foremost, you need to sort out what you want to do for a living, if anything. Now, you know your inheritance will support you for your entire life should you choose not to work. Your father and I think that whoever you end up marrying, you do not combine your accounts. You can never be too safe."

"Okay?"

"Second, in thinking about your career I think you should drop Divination regardless of your grade." She paused. "It is not a useful subject."

"I don't want to drop it." Nora said without hesitation. "I enjoy it."

"I don't care."

"It is useful. It teaches you to think critically about what you see."

"It's not up for debate."

"You can't force me to drop it. It isn't up to you." Nora said, sitting up straighter. "The courses I take are up to me."

Her mother's jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed, but before she could retort, Mr. Lockwood cut it. "It hardly matters what she takes, Louisa."

She let out an impatient huff before squaring her shoulders. "Very well. Moving on. As you know, the people you associate with matter greatly. Which is why your father and I are working to find you a suitable husband."

"What?" Nora blinked.

"The person you marry is very important. We had always planned on you marrying Sirius Black but given everything, it is out of the question. I think Walburga was hoping you'd be able to bring him to his senses, but we can't risk it. She wants us to consider Regulus given his track record. We will but we are exploring all our options."

"I don't want to marry Regulus."

"Well you might not have to, is my point."

"I'm only sixteen."

"Yes but it's important to plan ahead." Mrs. Lockwood said, smiling. "Now we were thinking about Evan Rosier. I believe he is in your year and your father and his have been good friends for many years."

"What?! Don't I get a say in this?"

"Of course you do, we are simply weeding out the…duds, so to speak." She smiled again.

Nora looked between her mother and father in confusion. "Are you serious?"

"Nora," Her father closed the paper and looked at her pointedly.

"You have to let us take care of you. You're our only daughter." Her mother said. Nora and her father were still looking at each other. She was searching for an explanation in his eyes but there was none. She shouldn't have been surprised really, but for some reason she was.

"Now, Mikael will be home for dinner and he is bringing some people with him. You'll need to be presentable." Her mother stood up from her seat and looked down at Nora. "Be ready by sixty thirty."

xxx

They stood in an unfamiliar room, each on opposite ends. The first man, dark haired and eyed, kept his expression emotionless but his eyes were full of fury. The other, also dark haired but with piercing blue eyes was crying.

"You don't have to do this." He said.

The first let out growl, "It's your fault."

"Mikael, please. You're my brother."

Mikael said nothing, his face tightened with anger or sadness, it was hard to tell. "You are a traitor! A coward, who has embarrassed us all."

The blue eyed boy closed his eyes for a moment. "It's okay. You have to do it."

Mikael stared at him, his hand tightly wrapped around his wand shook.

The pair stared at each other before Mikael raised his wand, illuminating the room with vivid green light-

Nora sat up quickly, exhaling a sharp breath. The dream had felt so real. She felt her chest restricting as panic set in. She placed a hand to her necklace, the cool stone pressing into her skin as she tried to catch her breath. Was this simply a nightmare or possibly more? Nora had never experienced a vision in her dreams, so there was no real reason for the dread building in her stomach. But, it had felt so horrifically real.

"Nicholas, where are you?" She breathed, clutching at the necklace he had given her.