Chapter 34

"How do you feel that Caden is gone?" asked James as he walked down the hallway with Nora beside him, his arm around her shoulder and a smile painting his lips.

"I feel good," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist, "I was surprised that Dumbledore was alright with the tree house, but we're building a new one anyway so it doesn't matter."

"I think it's best to build a new one," James mumbled, stopping in the isolated hallway, reaching for her two hands, "to give you a fresh start, a new beginning."

"I know," she smiled, reaching up to run her hand through his hair, "and it's not just mine, it's ours, and Adria's, and Aubrey's, and Lily's, and Remus', and Sirius', and Peters', and Finn's, and Milo's, and Blair's, and Isaac's, and Arden's-"

"I get it, Nora," James laughed, resting his forehead against hers whilst her laugh rang through the hallway.

"We should get to class," she sighed, pulling him closer and resting her head on his chest, her smile widening when he protested, "O.W.Ls are soon, James, if I don't go to class I won't pass!"

"Oh please," James scoffed, guiding her head to look at him, subtly pressing her against the wall of the hall, "you could pass in a heartbeat."

"Thank you," she whispered, her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him down to meet her lips, "not just for your lovely compliments, but for everything, James, you helped me through so much and you do it with no complaints-"

"Complaints?" he cut her off, his head titled as he pushed himself forward, closer to her - if that was even possible - a frown captured his lips as he gripped her waist tighter, "what complaints could I possibly have? you have nothing to thank me for, everything I've done is because you're amazing, and deserve it, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat, I'd do absolutely anything for you, Nora, anything."

She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, pulling him into a hug, "you're so bloody amazing, James."

"So are you, Nora," he mumbled against her cheek, "you have been through so much pain, and so much sadness, and hurt, and fear, and look at you, so strong, as if you are so happy, a month ago you were pushed out of a tree, a month ago Caden tried to hurt you so much, and you have come out on top, you aren't letting him win, merlin, you're so incredible."

"Can you believe Adria and Sirius think they're the cutest couple?" Nora smiled, a laugh falling from both hers and James' lips as he took a step back, reaching for her hand and pulling her down the hall. They would be late to their first class, Nora's being Defence Against the Dark Arts whilst James was in Potions, but neither of them cared much.

Over the time that Caden hurt Nora - something she was trying to forget about - she hadn't been herself, she smiled, and she laughed, and sometimes she was happy, but now, a month later, only a month later could she feel herself growing back into her own self, only this time she was stronger.

"We're so late for class we may as well not go," James shrugged, a smirk on his lips as Nora turned to him, rolling her eyes as she pushed him.

"Funny," she scoffed, "we're five minutes late, I think it's fine."

"Please," he pouted, reaching for her hands and pulling her into him, "apparently, we're still in the honeymoon stage of our relationship so we should be basking in it!"

"Oh please, we'll always be in the honeymoon stage," she giggled, rolling her eyes once more, "where did you even hear that term?"

"What? Honeymoon stage?" he asked, watching her nod with a raised eyebrow, "Adria, she was winding me up about it, so I asked her."

"She can't talk!" Nora exclaimed, a loud laugh erupting from her lips, "her and Sirius are the most loved up couple in the world!"

"Exactly what I said," James chuckled, throwing his arm around her and pulling her into him.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her head titled, "the only way to Transfigurations is down that hallway!"

"Yes, but as your wonderful boyfriend, I'm walking you to class," he grinned, pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek whilst she scrunched her nose up, "I'm great, I know, you don't have to tell me."

"Oh yes, and Humble too," she scoffed.

She bid him a goodbye as they reached her classroom, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him closer to her to kiss him, a smirk on her lips when he stumbled to regain his balance, slightly dazed as the smile attacked his lips, and soon did she leave him to enter the class.

"Sorry I'm late," she spoke, trying her best to ignore the multiple stares she got from students and hurried to her seat between Aubrey and Remus, "did I miss anything important?"

"Just the importance of O.W.Ls," Aubrey scoffed, rolling her eyes as she tapped her quill onto the parchment in front of her.

"Yes, like we don't already know it," Remus grumbled, his head on the desk as he tried to get rid of the headache pounding in his head, "no one bloody cares."

"You alright, Moony?" asked Nora, her head titled as she stared at her cousin, a frown on her lips as she patted his back.

"One of those days," he huffed, sending her a forced smile when he moved his head.

It didn't take long for Nora to realise what he meant by that, she was sure that the full moon was approaching and could faintly remember James and Adria telling her that Remus got slightly cranky leading up to it.

"Oh," Nora sighed, reaching for the parchment beside him, and pulling out her quill as well as her own parchment. As much as she wished she was friends with Adria, or had known Remus more before, specifically when they all became Animagus for him so that she could too, she hadn't, and so anyway that she could help she would.

For example, taking notes for him when he couldn't himself.

Listening to the professor drone on and on about O.W.Ls was not something Nora particularly enjoyed, especially since she started the lesson and a Ravenclaw decided to bring up another question about their exams, sending them into another discussion about them.

Nora was highly frustrated to say the least.

But what was particularly odd was when the door opened at least half way through the lesson, a young student, maybe second year, a little shy to say the least, hurrying to the front of the class. Nora watched with her head resting on Remus' back, almost asleep herself in the class.

"Miss Robinson," she frowned as the professor spoke her name, lifting her head from Remus who she was sure was sleeping, she eyed the professor, "professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office."

Her mouth parted to speak, wondering what he could possibly want, but instead of asking, she wasn't entirely complaining about getting out of class, so with a nod, she quickly packed up her things, grabbing her bag, she quietly nudged Remus so that he wouldn't get in trouble, bid a goodbye to Aubrey - whilst of course, promising to tell her why she was there - and took the note from the second year with the new password to the Professor's office.

She wondered what Dumbledore could possibly want, she couldn't deny that she wished everything just went back to normal, that she could go to the tree house with Aubrey and James this Thursday and just laugh with them, maybe worry about O.W.Ls.

"You wanted to see me, Professor-" she stopped suddenly as the door opened, the frown on her lips deepening as she caught sight of Isabelle Duncan, her eyes sad, her hair messy, and she was sure that the woman had never stepped foot out of the house in muggle sweatpants, and yet, here she was.

"Mrs Duncan," Nora whispered, seeing no sign of Dumbledore around, she took a step into the office, allowing the door to close behind her.

"Nora, please," Isabelle spoke, "call me Isabelle."

"Alright," Nora nodded, taking a seat beside her warily, sitting her school bag down beside her, she whispered, "are you okay, Isabelle?"

Isabelle couldn't help but laugh, "oh merlin, Nora, you have gone through so much and yet you worry about everyone else!"

"Isabel-"

"I'm sorry, Nora," Isabelle sighed, "the first time I came to this school, asked by Dumbledore, with my h-husband, I protested my son's innocence, when I shouldn't have, he was in the wrong, it was vile, and cruel what he did, and I am thankful that you pressed charges, I am, I just, I needed to talk to you."

"That is incredibly brave of you to say, Isabelle," Nora whispered, "to apologise, and to know that you were in the wrong, and he was in the wrong. He is your son, you raised him, and you did raise him well, Isabelle, he used to be a good person, please don't blame yourself for his actions."

"I suppose you haven't heard the news then," Isabelle choked back a sob, watching Nora's eyebrows furrow, "it seems as though my world has turned upside down, Nora, my husband was so obsessed with his reputation that it got him locked up in Azkaban."

"What?!"

"He killed Caden, Nora, he strangled him," Nora's eyes widened, a hand clasped over her mouth as she gasped.

"Oh merlin," she choked out, "oh Isabelle, I'm so sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry, Nora," Isabelle sighed, reaching for Isabelle's hand, "he hurt you so much, he hurt you and he hurt Lily, and that kind of hurt never fully heals no matter how happy you are. It is the painful truth that I wish someone of your age never had to go through. It terrified me when I heard the news so much to the point that I didn't want to believe it, didn't want to believe that my son was capable of something so vile."

"Why are you here, Isabelle? At Hogwarts, I mean?" asked Nora, pulling her legs into a basket, unable to keep the frown off of her lips. she couldn't believe that Caden was dead, the boy that she had spent most of her years at Hogwart's at.

She didn't know if she should cry or not, to cry over the boy he used to be, the kind, sweet, lovely boy that she had fallen in love with, had become friends with, had laughed with, even at the start of this year did they share some alright moments.

She was torn.

Because whilst she felt the sadness engulf her, even as far as the slight guilt that broke away in her mind, she couldn't help but feel relief, relief that he wouldn't be able to engulf her. He stole her thoughts for weeks, replacing them with images of that night, of the nightmare she went through, and now, that's all he would be, was a thought, a memory.

She was free.

"I needed to talk to someone, Nora," Isabelle sighed, "more specifically, most of all, I just wanted to apologise, for my actions, and the actions of my son. My husband was so obsessed with his reputation that he didn't care if he ruined my life, or Caden's, instead he ruined his own."

"I know what it's like to lose someone close to you," Nora mumbled, she was an emotional wreck after Elijah died, she wondered why Isabelle wasn't the same, but everyone handled things differently, and well, there was the added factor that Isabelle was drained, she could have been drained, cried so much, lost so much that her sadness was inside, hidden behind the emotions.

"I wanted to ask you something Nora, something crazy, and I understand if you won't," Isabelle spoke, straightening herself up.

"What is it, Isabelle?" asked Nora, leaning forward slightly, squeezing Isabelle's hand comfortingly.

"Will you speak at Caden's funeral?" she asked. Nora's grip loosened around Isabelle's hand, a frown on her lip that deepened.

Speak at his funeral? Really? Her? She thought it was shocking, a question she definitely wasn't expecting, it was simply crazy, but in a way, she understood why Isabelle asked, the woman was heartbroken, she had lost her son and her husband in the space of a week.

Nora didn't even think she would attend Caden's funeral in the first place.

But with a sigh, and a shaky breath, she looked Isabelle right in the eye, thinking over her answer that she knew that she would regret, and spoke, "yes."