Chapter 6:
Disclamer: I sadly do not own Harry Potter!
I'm trying not to think about you, can't you just let me be?
So long my luckless romance, my back is turned on you.
Should have known you'd bring me heartache; almost lovers always do.
-A Fine Frenzy.
The next morning everyone woke up with a terrible headache. After taking a shower and getting dressed, Nora headed back downstairs.
"Well hello there sunshine!" Erik said from one of the couches.
Nora groaned and sat down next to him. "I hate fire whiskey."
"Is Satan hungover?" He asked teasingly.
"Yes Satan is hungover." She said shaking her head.
"There's a first time for everything then!" He added.
"Only thing left to see is you in a committed relationship!" She added nudging him.
"In your dreams Satan!"
"Whatever you say Manwhore..." She answered laughing. "Let's get some breakfast!"
"Sure." He added getting up and heading towards the portrait hole. "So how does it feel being single for the first time?" He asked as they made their way down the staircase.
"Well I was dumped less then 24 hours ago so I haven't exactly had a chance to live the single lifestyle."
"You'll have all the time in the world to live the single life!" He said as he put his arm around her shoulders.
"I think I'm just going to be concentrating on my OWLs not boys."
"Where's the fun in that?" He asked as they entered the great hall.
"Everything isn't about fun...I actually want to have a career when I get out of Hogwarts! What are you planning on doing next year?" She asked as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"I'm not sure yet actually."
"You'll find something." She said smiling. "You can always open a whorehouse." She added jokingly.
"Thanks...I'll take that under advisement." He said as he took a bite of toast.
"At least you've got money to do pretty much anything you want." Fred said.
"I guess...Can we talk about something else? Nora's the one who was disowned and dumped all in one day!"
"Thanks for rubbing it in." She said glaring at him as she took a sip of pumpkin juice.
"How are you dealing with all of that?" Aveline asked.
"I'm good. My father's an ass...That's not news...As for Cedric, I'll deal." She asked attempting to smile.
"Of course you will! He's an idiot." Aveline said hugging Nora.
"Not to say we told you so...but we did." Erik said.
"I might be alright with all of this, but can you guys give me a few days before the I-told-you-so's?"
"Sure thing Satan!" Erik answered.
"Golden boy's staring at you... You don't mind us calling him Golden boy now?" George asked.
"No... I don't mind... And I don't care that he's staring." She answered coldly.
"He's an idiot. That's all there is to it." Nataleigh said.
"Right...I've gotta go talk to Megg and Neil." She said as she got up trying to escape the discussion of her break-up.
"Nora we didn't mean to..." Aveline called after her, but the young blond simply ignored her friend.
As Nora made her way pass the Hufflepuff table she caught Cedric looking at her. She shook her head and sighed as she made her way towards her younger siblings at the Ravenclaw table.
"Nora!" Megg said excitedly as she saw her older sister. Neil turned around and smiled to her.
"Hey you two." She said as she sat down between them . "How've you been?"
"Really good! Professor Lupin is great! I've never learnt so much in DADA and you were right! Ancient runes and arithmancy are fascinating! Care for magical creatures is alright, but ancient runes is the best! And homework isn't so bad, which is surprising because we've been learning so much!" Megg said without taking a breath.
Nora chuckled at her sister's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. What about you Neil?"
"What she said. Only I'm not as hyperactive." He answered jokingly.
"That's great." She said smiling at them. "I just have something to tell you two... I'd rather you hear it from me."
"Oh, is it about you and Cedric breaking up?" Megg asked casually.
"No..." Nora asked frowning. "How do you know about that? Forget it I don't even care." She added sighing. "What I wanted to say is that Father is disowning me. So I won't be going to the manor for Christmas...Or for anything else for that matter..."
"What? Why?" Megg asked as Neil looked uneasy.
"The usual reasons...I publicly disregard our family values and ruin our reputation. But don't worry about it! I just wanted you to hear this from me."
"But..." Megg tried to say.
"No buts. You will go home and enjoy it as much as you can. And I don't want you to feel bad for me. It's for the best."
"Alright..."They both answered.
"Good. I'll see you both soon." She said getting up and kissing the top of their heads.
Later that afternoon, Nora and Nataleigh made their way towards Professor Lupin's office for tea.
"So you told Neil and Megg about Father?" Nataleigh asked.
"Yeah. I thought they should hear it from me." Nora answered looking at her feet.
"That's nice. Did you tell them about Cedric?"
"I didn't have to. They already knew..."
"How?"
"I don't know and don't care." Nora answered as they arrived in front of Lupin's office and she knocked.
"Come in!"
Both girls entered the office and sat down on a couch across from their teacher.
"Well, I asked you both to come here to make sure you were alright after what happened yesterday in class. I'm sorry I did not intervene earlier."
"Oh it's alright. I was quite shaken up, but we talked it through and I'm better." Nataleigh answered.
"Good, good." Lupin said smiling. "Norabel?"
"Please call me Nora. And I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked defensively.
Lupin chuckled lightly at her reaction. "You're just like your mother."
"You know our mother?" Nora questioned.
"Very well." Lupin answered. "She was my best friend at Hogwarts. And I can tell that she would have reacted exactly the same way. She always said she was fine. Never showing any signs of weakness." He said with a nostalgic smile.
"Really?" Nataleigh asked intrigued. "Were you in Ravenclaw with her?"
"No. I was in Gryffindor like you both. But she spent a great deal of time in our common room being best friend with Lily and dating..." He stopped himself mid-sentence and his face fell. "Well, a Gryffindor."
"Mum dated a Gryffindor? But I thought our parents got married just after Hogwarts?" Nora asked.
"That's a complicated matter you'd better discuss with your mother." He said looking rather uncomfortable.
"How was she? She doesn't talk much of her time at Hogwarts." Nataleigh asked interested.
"She was great." Lupin said nostalgically. "She looked a lot like you Nora. She was very kind and compassionate, but she got mad very easily if you offended someone she cared about. She was driven and concentrated on her studies and being the first of class. She was also a slight bit neurotic and she tended to have mood swings when she was tired." He added lightheartedly.
"Trust me that hasn't changed." Nataleigh said.
All three of them laughed for a while. For the first time since yesterday, Nora found herself actually enjoying the moment and forgetting about her troubles.
"Did you know our father?" Nataleigh questioned.
"Well he was a few years older than us and we didn't quite get along...He and Lucius Malfoy we're quite a team if I remember correctly."
"That hasn't changed either." Nora added rather coldly.
"You see a lot of the Malfoys then?" Lupin asked.
"Well Lucius and our father are still best mates. And Narcissa and mum get along quite well, but Lucius doesn't like mum very much...So he doesn't come as often. Which is not a bad thing." Nataleigh added with a smirk.
"Not to disrespect anyone, but I do agree with you." He added with a chuckle.
After talking for almost forty minutes, both girls left Professor Lupin's office and headed towards the Quidditch pitch.
"That was nice. Mum never talks about Hogwarts. It's nice to know she was actually here." Nataleigh said.
"Yeah." Nora said absentmindedly.
"Are you even listening to me?" Nataleigh asked as she looked at her sister.
"What? Oh sorry Nat. I'm kind of distracted. I was just thinking about something Cedric said last night. Aren't you going back to the common room?"
"Nope, I'm coming to watch you guys practice. And I'm really sorry about Cedric. I know you really liked him." Nataleigh said sadly.
"Yeah. I did." Nora said sighing. "So are you coming for me or are you coming to watch a certain boy play Quidditch?"
Nataleigh blushed slightly. "If I say both will you hold it against me?" She asked biting her bottom lip.
"Just a little." Nora said teasingly as she nudged her twin.
Quidditch practice went by very quickly. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day for flying. A few clouds in the sky and a light breeze, but it wasn't cold. They went through a few of the usual Quidditch drills before heading towards the showers. As usual, Nora came out of the showers first, drying her hair with a towel. She slipped on her cream colored silk blouse, a pair of black tights and high-waisted shorts. She did a drying spell on her hair as Alicia came out of the showers.
"I really love those shorts." She said as she made her way towards her locker.
"Thanks Leesh." Nora said as she put on a navy blazer and matching flats. She folded her practice clothes, carefully put them in her bag and waited for her friend to finish getting ready.
They came out of the locker room a few minutes later and were greeted by Fred, George, Aveline and Erik.
"Well that was long! Even Erik is done." Fred teased.
"Blame Leesh! I've been ready for the past ten minutes." Nora said laughing.
"Yeah, yeah. Where's Nat." Alicia said as they started to walk.
"She left with Wood." Erik said.
"Did she now?" Nora said teasingly as Fred tried to suppress a laugh.
"She didn't seem too mad about it." Fred whispered jokingly.
Nora laughed as they fell slightly behind the rest of the group.
"So how was tea with Lupin?" Fred asked as he put his arm casually around her shoulders.
"Not bad. We mostly talked about mum. They used to be friends back at Hogwarts." She said as she leaned into him.
"Well that's nice. Did he reveal some dirty secrets about her?"
"Sadly no." She answered laughing. "He did say that she dated a Gryffindor. Which is weird because she married my father right after Hogwarts. But that's not important. What about you? Been up to mischief while I've been away?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe. I won't deny having been given detention by one of our dear teachers who has a secret crush on you." He said laughing.
"Why did Flitwick give you detention?" She asked jokingly.
"Very funny. You know I'm talking about Snape who has yet to prove that he owns a bottle of shampoo. Which might have something to do with the detention."
"What did you do?" She asked chuckling
"Well George and I thought we'd leave a basket of colorful shampoo next to Snape's office from a secret admirer. But let's just say that Snape saw us and wasn't too happy. And we're now stuck in detention for a week."
"That's quite funny actually." She said as she burst out laughing. He'd always found her laugh adorable although he knew she hated it. It almost sounded as if a child was laughing. It wasn't a fit of giggles like most girls, but it was light and almost airy. Whenever she would laugh he noticed that her face lit up and he could see a sparkle in her eye. He couldn't help, but laugh as well because he found her happiness contagious.
"You do know you laugh like a four year old?" He teased.
"I do not!" She said as she playfully hit his shoulder and chuckled.
"You kind of do. It's quite endearing." He added laughing.
"Hey! Stop laughing at me." She answered pouting.
"But then all the fun would be gone." He said ruffling her hair.
"No it wouldn't, I could embarrass you. That's always fun." Nora said nudging him.
"And how would you do that?" Fred asked.
"Easy Freddikins, how's that girl you fancy?" She said with a grin.
"Oh...That." He said blushing a light shade of red. "She's alright I guess."
"That's all I get? Who is she anyways?"
"I'm not answering that." He said as he started to rub the back of his neck.
"Well what year is she in?"
"Fifth..."
"And I've met this girl?" She said looking up at him.
"I'd say so..." He said as he shifted his gaze from hers.
"Is she in Gryffindor?"
"I'm not answering that either." He said blushing even more.
"Well at least I got a wee bit of information about this mystery woman." She said teasingly. "Do you really like her?"
"Y...yeah I really do." He said looking in her gray eyes.
After a few seconds she broke eye contact.
"Well don't forget about little old me then." She answered with a hint of sadness in her tone.
"I would never dream of it Freckles." He said pulling her closer to him.
"You better not." She added teasingly as they arrived at the entrance where a blond boy was waiting. "Oh crap." Nora said rolling her eyes.
"What does Golden Boy want?" Fred asked coldly.
"I have no bloody idea. Wait for me?" She asked as Cedric walked towards them.
"Sure."
"Nora, Weasley." Cedric greeted coldly. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked looking at Nora.
"I'm not interested." She said icily and walked away. Fred put a protective arm around her small frame while Cedric glared at them.
"Are you alright?" Fred said as they entered the castle.
"Not really." She said sighing. "Thanks for getting my mind off of things." She added with a smile.
"You're very welcome Freckles."
After studying for the rest of the afternoon, they all made their way towards the great hall for supper. The group sat down next to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"Hey children!" Fred greeted ruffling Ginny's hair.
"Oh shut it." Ron said turning a light shade of pink.
"Now, now Ronniekins! Language!" George teased.
"Will you ever leave your brother alone?" Nora asked laughing as she sat down between Fred and Ginny.
"No." They both answered with a grin.
"Just like I'll never stop bugging you Satan!" Nataleigh said sitting across from Nora.
"Thanks Slob." Nora said rolling her eyes as they all laughed.
"So how've you been?" Nora asked Ginny as they started to fill their plates.
"Not bad. I'm not getting possessed by You-Know-Who so that's good." She said sarcastically.
"True. Quite the improvement." Nora said teasingly as Ginny laughed. She had always been quite fond of Nora. She was like a sister she never had. Ginny felt like she could always talk to her and ask her for help whenever she needed it.
"But seriously things are going well. I'm having a hard time in potions though." She said frowning.
"I'll help if you want." Nora said with a warm smile.
"Thanks Nora. You're the best."
"Thank you, thank you." Nora said jokingly.
"Don't say than Gin, it'll go to her head." Fred said a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"It will not!" Nora said playfully hitting his shoulder.
"Sure..." He said sarcastically.
"Nora, Cedric's looking at you." Nataleigh said.
"And what do you want me to do about it?" Nora answered dryly.
"Oh...nothing... I was just saying."
"I know. But I really don't care. He left me. I'm done." Nora said.
"Alright then." Nataleigh said and they all went back to eating.
Nora, Fred and George were talking about Quidditch with Harry and Ron while Hermione was trying to talk about OWLs with Nataleigh and who did not seem invested in the conversation.
"Have you talked to Diggory since yesterday?" Lucy asked.
"No. I blew him off earlier."
"Why? Don't you want to try to work things out?" Lucy asked as everyone turned to hear Nora's answer.
"Let me make this clear. Cedric left me. He broke things off, not me. I will not go running after someone who does not want me!" She said dryly.
"Yeah, but you two seemed really happy!"
"Well I guess he wasn't!" She said as she started to get mad.
"What about the Quidditch match in a few weeks?" Fred said trying to change the subject seeing that Nora was fed up with the discussion of her failed relationship.
"Yeah..We're going to beat Slytherin for sure!" Erik said trying to diffuse the tension.
Not taking the hint Lucy continued to question Nora. "So you're really going to give up on Cedric? I mean the way he looks at you he really loves you!" She said.
"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT CEDRIC!" Nora yelled. The great hall went silent as everyone had turned their heads towards the Gryffindor table. Over at the Hufflepuff table Cedric looked mortified and blushed a dark shade of red.
"Oh screw this!" Nora said as she stormed out the great hall all eyes on her.
"You really had to push it?" Fred said coldly as he got up and went after her.
"I... I didn't mean..." Lucy said as everyone in the great hall started to talk amongst themselves.
"Come on Lucy! He dumped her. Try to be a little sensitive." Aveline said.
"I just don't want her to regret anything."
"You should just let her deal with it. She's hurting a lot more than she lets on." Nataleigh said sighing.
"Yeah...I should go apologize."
"Don't! Let Fred take care of her. I doubt she'll talk to anyone else right now." Nataleigh said with a hint of jealousy.
"I don't get why they don't just get together already!" Lucy said.
"Two minutes ago you want her to fight for Diggory and now you want her to get with Fred? Make up your mind!" Aveline said.
"He really likes her doesn't he?" Nataleigh asked George with a smile.
"Yeah. I think so. I just don't know if she'll ever notice." He answered.
"She's kind of clueless isn't she?" Aveline said with a chuckle.
"Only when it comes to Fred." Nataleigh said as they laughed.
"Nora wait!" Fred called after her.
"Just leave me alone Fred."
"You know that's not going to happen." He said as he caught up to her.
"What am I supposed to do Fred? It's never enough." She said looking up at him as tears brimmed her eyes.
"What do you mean?" He asked softly as he looked down at her.
"I'm never enough. I'm not smart enough, or pretty enough or good enough. Not for Cedric and not even for my own father." She said as she let out a soft sob.
"You're more than enough to me." He said as he pulled her into a hug.
"I...I can't..." She said between sobs.
"It's alright." He whispered softly as he stroked her hair. She sobbed into his chest for a few more minutes before her breathing slowed down.
"I'm s...so sorry. I'm such a mess." She said trying to chuckle as she wiped away her tears.
"You're not a mess Nora you're just going through a rough patch. And it's normal. You've probably seen me cry more times than I've seen you." He said with a smile.
"Maybe." She said chuckling slightly. "I couldn't ask for a better friend you know? You're always there for me."
"Right back at you Freckles." He said pushing a strand of hair from her face. "And I promise I'll always be there."
"Forever and always?" She asked with a smile.
"Forever and always." He repeted. "Are you feeling any better?"
"How could I not?" She said with a smile. "I'm really sorry I stormed off like that."
"Don't apologise to me. I quite enjoyed seeing Diggory's face when you did." He answered jokingly.
"It's just that I don't know how to feel about all of this. I thought everything was perfect and suddenly it just wasn't. And I can't help but feel like a failure."
"It isn't your fault."
"It actually kind of is." She said sighing.
He put his arms around her as she rested her head against his chest.
"Why does love have to be this hard?" She asked.
"I don't know Freckles. I really don't know." He said sighing as he rested his head on top of hers.
A/N : Here's another chapter! It's kind of a buffer between two...there isn't much going on but it's necessary! I hope you enjoyed it! Once more, thanks to BananaDaiquiriTimeLord, you seem to be the only person reading this. :P Please review! It only takes a second and it means the world to me! So if you have any comment or suggestion or question please, please, please review! I need the motivation! And I'm really wondering what you think about the OCs! Finally, I have pictures of the characters on my profile so PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE check them out and tell me what you think of them! I love you all and I'll try to upload the next chapter in the next three days because I go back to college on Monday and I won't have as much to update...Sorry for all the typos! I'll correct some things afterwards, my computer is in the shop and I'm on my boyfriend's old computer which is quite shity... Anyways, I'm rambling... Xoxo.