Chapter 13

"Did you know," Nora whispered, popping a chocoballs into her mouth as she sat at the back of the Defence Against the Dark Arts class with Aubrey beside her, "that some weird guy put a curse on this class."

"No way," Aubrey shook her head, scoffing as she reached for the bag of chocoballs that Nora had placed on the table.

"I'm serious," she nodded, her voice as quiet as possible as she eyed the professor at the front of the class, talking about O.W.L revision. It wasn't as though Nora chose not to pay attention, well, technically, she did, but in a way, but if one more teacher told her how much she needed to study, then she'd throw them off the astronomy tower.

Class had just started moments ago, which didn't make it much of a surprise when a frantic Remus Lupin burst through the class, furiously muttering, "sorry, sorry, I'm late!" whilst looking for a seat he could sit at.

"Remus!" Nora spoke, trying her best not to disrupt the lesson more than he had, and soon did he turn to her, watching her pat the empty seat beside her, and watching as his shoulders slumped in relief, throwing her a grateful smile as he fell onto the seat beside her.

"James thought it would be a good idea to go back to the dormitory," Remus grumbled, "I bet everyone thinks his hair is just naturally messy, I bet, but no, the bloody twat carries about a comb, it's a look, he says, more like a failure."

Nora couldn't help but giggle, clasping her hand over her mouth at the thought of James Potter carrying about a comb in a best attempt to perfect the messy look, she had to rest her head on the desk solely for the fact that the image just kept popping into her head.

"Obviously, I had to get dragged along with him," Remus grumbled, "he's away skipping class now, said something about going to the forest for something, bloody idiot, who goes to the forest in winter?!"

"He better not be stealing my chocolate milk," Nora grumbled under her breath, too low for Remus to hear, and soon she turned to him with an amused smile plastered on her lips, shaking her head with a laugh, she spoke, "he's an idiot."

"That reminds me," Remus spoke, pointing at her with the pen in his hand, an efficient replacement for a quill, Nora thought, "what's going on with you two?"

"With who two?" asked Nora, her head titled to the side as her eyebrows furrowed together, wondering what on earth Remus was talking about.

"Oh please, don't act all oblivious, Nora," Remus smirked, quickly writing down some of the notes from the chalkboard that the levitating piece of chalk had wrote, "you and James."

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," Nora sang quietly, giggling when Remus turned to glare at her, nudging her ever so slightly as the smirk merely widened.

"Do you fancy-"

"Miss Robinson, Mr Lupin, I assume you have something you wish to share with the class if you are so set on disrupting it with your conversation?" the professor asked, giving the two a pointed look, Remus was going to answer with a polite apology, as any good Prefect would, when Nora bet him to it.

"Oh sorry, Professor!" Nora grinned, ignoring the students that had turned to stare at her, "Remus here was just asking me if I fancied James Potter."

Remus ducked his head to stop the smirk from shining through, hearing giggles erupt from students around them, he wondered why Nora wasn't dying of embarrassment.

"Well, Miss Robinson, do you?" asked the teacher, her eyebrow raised as she looked at the bright Hufflepuff.

Nora's grin widened as she clasped her hands together, shrugging ever so slightly, she spoke, "No comment, professor."

"She was going to kill you!" Remus exclaimed, wide eyed as he watched Nora packing up her things just after the Professor had dismissed them. Aubrey had left to talk to one of her friends in Ravenclaw, and with a grin on her lips, Nora turned to Remus with a laugh tumbling from her lips, pulling the strap of her bag further up her shoulder.

"Oh, it was just a joke," she giggled, waving him off, "she wasn't going to give me detention for telling the truth, and plus we weren't even talking loudly, she can just hear better, can't wait til next year, if I'm honest."

"Why?"

"Well the curse, obviously," Nora scoffed, "some weird guy, some say it's the creepy guy trying to kill people, but yes, some guy put a curse on the defence against the dark arts position because he wanted the job and didn't get it, so now Hogwarts has to find a new teacher every year!"

"There is no way that's true!" Remus laughed loudly, throwing his head back as he shakes his head, "that's mental, Nora!"

"Is it, though?" she asked, her eyebrow raised as she pulled him along, "think about it, every single year since we came to Hogwarts, there has been a new teacher each year, I mean, I'm sure Dumbledore didn't fire all of them!"

"But how could this weird guy do it?" asked Remus, his eyebrow raised as he turned to look at her, "I mean, what weirdo can't handle one job rejection so much to the point that he curses the full job!"

"Well, that's it, isn't it? he's a weirdo, apparently, he went to Hogwarts, but that might just be a part of the rumour, who really knows what's real these days, rumours are treated like fact!" Nora laughed, shaking her head, "well, I'll see you later, Remus, have a good day!"

"You too, Nora," Remus laughed, turning left only to come face to face with his three friends, one of which was too busy staring at the girl he had exited with to even greet him.

"Oi Nora!" James shouted, watching her turn around, her eyebrows furrowed completely confused until she spotted him, a grin falling onto her lips as she turned fully, making her way towards the boys.

"Oh, hey James, I didn't even see you!" she exclaimed, laughing as he pulled her closer, throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"Shocking, really, don't even see your best friend who was so clearly waiting on you," James tutted, watching Nora roll her eyes as she reached up for his glasses, taking them from his face and putting them on hers, "oi!"

"Oh look, I'm James, I'm a bloody liar," she giggled as she walked with him, Remus at the other side of her as he and the other two watched them with knowing smirks taking over their features, "do I suit them?"

"You suit anything," James chuckles, reaching for his glasses and blinking ever so slightly, "so how was class?"

"Alright, Remus and I just debated about the best films," she shrugged, pushing herself closer to James, she whispered, "you better not have drunk my chocolate milk."

"I would never," he gasps, watching the glare deepen on her features.

"Nora," Sirius spoke suddenly, his voice laced with concern as she turned to him, a frown on her lips as he pushed himself between her and Remus, "have you noticed a difference in Addy lately?"

"Yes, actually, I have," she frowns, nodding suddenly at the girl who seemed more than distant lately, Nora was sure that she was on the right track, but it seemed as though the girl had fallen back into a state of sadness, "I thought she was mad at me, if I'm honest, I really hope that she's alright."

"Me too, Sirius mumbles, shaking his head, "I just she would talk to me, it's clearly obvious that something is going on, and she's been so distant, I've barely seen her, I just wish I knew what so that I could help her, she was on the right track, but now it's as though nothing has changed, and worryingly, I don't think this has anything to do with her mum."

Nora sighed, patting Sirius' arm comfortingly, "she loves you, Sirius, so much, at some point she's going to come to you, and confide in you, and all you can do is be there, but for her, that is more than enough, she's just not feeling herself at the moment, but at some point, she'll feel better."

"Thanks," Sirius nods, offering her a smile which she returned with her own.

"So, Remus!" Nora grins, wiggling her eyebrows as she turned to the boy, "a little birdy tells me that you fancy my friend!"

"Oh merlin, who told you that?"

"Well, actually, it was Adria that told me a while ago, but then I noticed one day in the library that Blair wouldn't stop staring at you, so y'know," she clasped both of her hands together as though she was merging two and two together, "I caught on."

"I don't fancy her," Remus grumbled.

"Yeah, and I don't love Thea!" Peter exclaimed, earning a loud laugh from Nora who moved to high five him.

"What about you, huh Nora?" asked Remus, the smirk on his lips as he patted her head, wiggling his eyebrows all the same, "you fancying anyone?"

"Well as far as I know, I'm still trying to get over twatty mctwat face," she shrugged, watching the three boys turn to her with confused looks on their features.

"Caden," James pipes in, chuckling as he tightened his grip on her, pulling her into him.

"Oh yes," Remus nodded, chuckling as he done so, "it seems as though James is helping you, though," he sang, earning a look from James when he turned around.

"He is," Nora agreed, turning to James with a smile etched across her lips.

"Oh, I wanted to ask, are you staying here fo-" James cut himself off when he almost stumbled into someone, frowning he turned his head, only to see a rather large crowd in front of him, he couldn't help but admit that he was rather confused.

He shared a look with Nora, and soon the small girl was ducking between everyone's arms, pushing them ever so slightly in a best attempt to get through, and soon, with her hand tightly clutched in James' did she get them to the front, her eyes widening as she watched Adria, her eyes dark, nothing like Nora had ever seen her like.

She was furious, by the looks of things, filled with built up anger, rage, sadness, rolled into fury, her sister, Alina, who Nora had met a few times - and had to admit that she was lovely - was on the floor, wide eyed, and a few cuts littering her skin here and there.

A frown fell onto Nora's lips as she pulled her hand from James' grip, pushing herself forward, stumbling into view of the large crowd, and soon did she meet Adria, whose eyes softened at the sight of the girl she had ignored, been mean to, but the smile Nora gave her, filled with happiness that Adria had lost, was enough for Adria to know that Nora wasn't mad at her, they were still friends, and that thought alone was enough for Adria to carry on, watching for a moment as Nora moved to help Alina, supporting the girl so that she could stand, whilst ultimately making sure that she was alright.

Adria dealt with the three girls, and what Nora took from it, those girls had been making Adria's life a living hell. It was at that moment, when Nora turned to Adria, allowing Alina to lean on her, did she see the cuts, the bruises that littered Adria's skin, shining through make up she had painted on herself.

She felt guilty that she hadn't realised, Adria was getting bullied, she had been getting bullied and none of her friends knew about it, and only when the bullies chose a new victim, that victim being her sister, did Adria plan to attack.

Adria Hopkins was strong as hell, and Nora had finally realised why.

Her eyes met James' from across the crowd, a smile falling onto his lips, partly because his best friend in the whole world was finally sticking up for herself, and partly because of how incredibly kind Nora was, he couldn't help the smile that decorated his lips as he stared at her, her arm around Alina as she comforted her.

Nora Robinson was going to kill him, in the best possible way, and he was more than alright with it.