(The Potters and the Prisoner of Azkaban, act three, chapter twelve)

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"Harry! Nora! There you two are." Professor Lupin quickly came walking out of one the doors in the room, when he heard a small, but patient knock, before the door opened, revealing the Potter twins, already feeling slightly better than they had been doing during Christmas break when they found the truth out about Sirius and how he impacted their lives from now on.

"Are you both sure about this? It is very advanced magic - well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level-."

"I'm sure." The twins replied at the same time, making a small smile appear on Lupin's lips, remembering Jasmine and James naturally. It still saddened him how they never got a real chance to get to know their parents, like he and Mary had done. An upsetting feeling always came to his stomach when he realised he and his friends had spent more time with the Potters and Lily then they're children would ever be able to.

"Well, everything's prepared. Professor MacDonald will join us in a minute. She had to discuss something with Professor McGonagall. The spells we're going to teach you is called the Patronus Charm. Have you ever heard of it?" Remus inquired as he walked off the stairs, over to the twins. Harry shook his head politely. He was very thankful that the two professors were spending their time on teaching him and Nora how to face their fear of the dementors.

"A Patronus is a positive force. For the wizard who conjures one... it works kind of like a shield, with the dementor feeding on it rather than her or him." Nora responded, remembering what she had read a couple of days ago when she was getting more informed about everything to do with dementors. She did not want to come face to face with them again without knowing a way of turning them away. How hard could it be?

But something was still troubling her. That day in class only Harry's biggest fear had been since by the Professor and their classmates. She hadn't even had the chance to figure out if the dementors were really her biggest fear. And for all she knew, something worse could come out of that box - where Professor Lupin was standing in front of - and she rather didn't have anyone knowing what it was if it wasn't a dementor. So the girl prayed that if she focused hard enough on wanting the Boggart to turn into a dementor, it would actually turn into one.

However she knew that it wouldn't be possible. A boggart turns into the shape of your biggest fear. So she figured it was probably best to convince herself that what her biggest fear was, wasn't actually her biggest fear, but the dementors were.

Or at least convince the boggart in the box.

"Very right, Nora!" Remus smiled down at the thirteen-year-old girl standing next to her brother, quickly answering the question without really thinking further. "But in order for it to work, you will need to think of a memory."

"Not just any memory, a very happy memory, a very powerful memory." Mary corrected her best friend as she walked into the room, announcing her presence as she put down a few pieces of paper before joining the three.

"Can you do this?" Remus asked and the twins nodded after throwing a sideway glance at each other. "Yes. Very well."

"Close your eyes." Mary spoke and the twins almost immediately did so. "Concentrate and explore your past. Any memory that makes you the most happy you could be, is a good one."

"Do you have a memory?" Lupin questioned and Harry nodded. But Nora stayed silent. The girl had no idea what memory to pick from. So many were flashing in front of her eyes, but none was like she knew what Harry's was going to be. She didn't have any memories of anyone in her family except for Harry.

"Do you find one, Nora?" Mary asked, leaning against the table as she worriedly looked at the frown on the youngest Potter's face.

"Yes, Professor." Nora nodded and a small smile graced her lips when she remembered Christmas first year.

"Great. Allow it to fill you up. Lose yourself within it. Then speak the incantation, Expecto Patronum." Remus spoke.

"Expecto Patronum." The twins repeated, both thinking about their own special happy memories.

"Very good." Mary nodded as the twins opened their eyes again. They saw Professor Lupin standing by the box, just waiting for them to open it.

"Shall we?" He asked and Nora stepped down a few steps, coming to a stop next to Mary as she allowed Harry to go first. "Wand at the ready." Lupin spoke and her twin brother quickly took his wand out of his pocket, eager to learn how to face his fear.

He raised his wand forwards as Lupin pulled back the lid of the box, allowing a black figure to fly out of it and raise upwards, making Harry's hand follow its lead. "Expecto Patronum!" The Potter boy called out, but it wasn't yet strong enough. The Dementor-shaped Boggart kept hanging above him and the only thing that went out were the candles on the desk not far away. "Expecto- Expecto- Expect-" The boy kept repeating but as the Boggart flew slightly close towards him, everything went black and the same thing that had happened on the train, happened again. And the last thing he heard was his sister, worriedly calling his name.

Fortunately, it didn't take Harry Potter long to become conscious again, getting helped up by Nora and Remus as he opened up his eyes, a frown on his face.

Remus let out a chuckle. "It's all right. We didn't expect you to do it the first time. That would have been remarkable." His hand retrieved in his cardigan pocket and before Harry knew, he was holding onto a piece of chocolate. "Here, eat this. You'll feel better."

"That's one nasty dementor." Harry spoke suddenly as he took a small bite out of the chocolate.

"Oh, no. That was a boggart, Harry. The real thing would be worse. Much, much worse." Mary also said, offering the young Potter boy a glass of water after he was done with his chocolate.

"As a matter of interest, what were you thinking? Which memory did you choose?" Remus asked him, backing away from the twins to light up the candles again.

"The first time I rode a broom." Harry replied with a faint smile as he remembered that time in first year, when he had chased after Malfoy with Nora to get back Neville's Remembrall.

"Oh, I thought you would've picked another one." Nora spoke surprised.

"That's not good enough, Harry. Not nearly good enough." Mary spoke to him.

"Take the one with your parents. You know the one where they were talking to you. Remember?" Nora asked her brother in a whisper voice and Harry let out a hmm when he thought back about that.

"Why don't you try, Nora? Let your brother rest for a bit?" Remus offered and Nora slowly nodded as she stood up and as Harry replaced her spot next to Mary.

"Okay." Nora whispered to herself, wiping off her hands on her skirt before picking up her wand that laid on the table behind her. "Okay."

"You ready?" Remus asked.

"Yeah." Nora nodded with a nervous nod.

"All right." Remus opened the lid of the box once more, and at first it didn't seem like a dementor was going to come out. The boggart's form looked more like it was trying to take the shape of a person, but couldn't decide which one, before eventually taking the shape of a dementor, just like it had done when Harry stood where she was standing.

Nora raised her wand up at the figure. "Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum!" The girl yelled out, and only a few blue sparks left her wand before she fell down, unconscious, just like her brother.

It took her a bit longer to recover from her fall, but when she became conscious again, the first thing she saw was chocolate hanging above her face.

"Very well done, Nora." Remus spoke and the girl smiled up at him as she sat up, but leaned against the wall for support, the chocolate in her hands as her brother asked her a question.

"What memory did you choose?" He asked, curiously.

"Christmas. First year." The girl answered, with a small grin.

Elijah had the faintest flicker of pride in his eyes. "She's remarkably composed." He murmured softly, though his jaw tightened slightly as Nora faltered. "The strength of her will is something to be admired. She'll only grow more resilient."

Sirius's expression shifted between pride and sadness as he watched. "That's my girl." He said, a grin breaking through despite his obvious concern when Nora collapsed. But when he saw a few sparks leave her wand he was prouder than ever.

Jasmine pressed a hand to her mouth, her heart aching at the sight of her daughter. "Oh, my little girl." She whispered, tears pooling in her eyes as she saw Nora struggle but persevere.

Lily's green eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "They're brilliant." She said, her voice choked with emotion. "And so determined. I just wish..." Her voice trailed off as she placed a hand on Sirius's arm. "I wish we could be there to guide them through this."

Rebekah tilted her head, a proud smile tugging at her lips. "She's a Mikaelson through and through," she said with a smirk. "Stubborn, brave, and always ready to stand her ground." But the way she fidgeted with her ring betrayed her worry.

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"Beautiful day." Hermione spoke as the four friends stepped outside of the castle into a cold breeze, leaves blowing through the air, brushing against their feet as they passed by.

"Gorgeous." Ron replied to her, in the same sour tone as she had been speaking. "Unless you've been ripped to pieces!" He continued, making Harry and Nora share a look with each other, knowing that their two friends were fighting once again. After three years it had become like a weekly activity for the both.

"Ripped to pieces? What are you talking about?" Harry inquired as he saw Ron glaring at the back of Hermione's head like she had just taken away his meals for an entire month.

"Ronald has lost his rat."

"I haven't lost anything! Your cat killed him!" Ron accused Hermione's cat of Scabbers death or more likely his disappearance.

"Rubbish." Hermione retorted.

"Harry, Nora, you've seen the way that bloodthirsty beast of hers is always lurking about. And Scabbers is gone!" Ron spoke, walking backwards to face the twins. "It's that stupid cat! Nora, you have to admit your cat never seems to want Scabbers death as much as that beast does!" Ron said, looking at Nora to encourage her to agree with him, but in fact whenever Ronald wasn't around, every time Belle saw Scabbers this year, the cat went after the rat like crazy.

"Well, maybe you should take better care of your pets!" Hermione snapped at Ron before Nora could even open her mouth.

"Your cat killed him!" Ron argued as they walked through the door, not noticing that Crookshanks jumped up one of the seats by the fountain.

"Did not!"

"Did!"

"Did not!" Hermione called back at him once more as the four made their way down the hill to get to Hagrid's hut.

"I'm betting you five galleons that these two will be together by the end of seventh year." Nora whispered to her brother and the two in front of them didn't even notice the whispering behind them because they were still too busy arguing with one another.

"No, I don't think they like each other like that."

"Harold, have you ever picked up a book willingly? Because they would totally be the friends who end up together!" Nora responded but the two quickly stopped talking when Hermione knocked on Hagrid's door, but the giant didn't open the door for them.

"Doesn't look like he's here." Harry spoke.

"He's probably down by the Black Lake." Nora spoke and they decided to just go looking for their giant friend over there. They really wanted to be sure that he was okay and what the committee had decided on Buckbeak's case.

And Nora was right, they found Hagrid skipping rocks into the lake, still wearing the same clothes from the hearing.

"How did it go, Hagrid? The hearing?" Hermione asked, surprising the giant, who thought he was alone here.

"Well, first off, the committee members took turns, talking about why we were there. I got up and did my piece. Said how Buckbeak... was a good hippogriff, always cleaned his feathers. And then Lucius Malfoy got up. Well, you can imagine. He said Buckbeak was a deadly and dangerous creature... who would kill you as soon as he saw you."

"And then?" Nora questioned.

"And then he asked for the worst, as did old Lucius." Hagrid replied, the sadness of the whole thing hearable in his voice.

"They're not sacking you!" Ron spoke with a gasp.

"No, I'm not sacked. Buckbeak's been sentenced to death!" Hagrid cried out, skipping another rock into the lake.

"Oh, my God." Nora whispered out, taking a seat next to Harry on the big rock he was sitting on. "I can't believe it."

"They can't just execute Buckbeak!" Caroline exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief and outrage. She shook her head, pacing a few steps before turning to face the others. "How is that fair? He didn't do anything wrong!"

Bonnie nodded, her arms crossed tightly. "Caroline's right. This is just... cruel. And all because Malfoy can't stand to see anyone challenge him." Her jaw tightened. "How does Nora stay so calm in the middle of all this?"

Elijah leaned against the back of a chair, his brow furrowed. "She's not calm." He said quietly. "You can see it in her eyes—she's just trying to hold it together. She's probably thinking about what she can do to help Hagrid."

"Seriously, this whole wizard court system is a joke. If I were there, Malfoy wouldn't have made it past his first snide comment." Damon rolled his eyes.

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"So, on a scale from one to ten, how mad was Lupin exactly?" Nora asked as they were all sitting in Professor Trelawney's classroom. Ron was bored to death, almost drifting off to sleep while Harry, Nora and Hermione discussed what had happened last night with Harry.

"I think he was more angry because he is worried?" Harry spoke, not even being sure of that himself.

"So, he really took the map?" Nora asked with a bit of disappointment. The twins and Lee used it for all their pranks, and now that wasn't an option anymore.

"Yeah, he said if Black could find the map by accident, it would lead him to us." Harry shrugged.

"Well, Professor Lupin is right!" Hermione cleared her throat. "That map was no good from the beginning!"

"Well, Black hasn't found it yet, Mione. And it was kind of good to know where everyone was. Because if we had to sneak out or go somewhere, we could be sure we wouldn't get caught by any professors or worse Filch and his stupid cat." Nora replied, but the conversation came to an end when Professor Trelawney came over towards their table. Nora shook Ron swiftly awake so that the professor wouldn't have noticed his boredom.

"Now, what do we have here?" Trelawney asked the four and Hermione was the first to speak when the professor sat down next to her.

"Oh, do you mind me trying?" The bushy haired girl asked and Trelawney nodded repeatedly.

Hermione didn't even look into the glass as she spoke her next words. "The Grim, possibly."

Trelawney took a hold of Hermione's hand and it was clear on the Granger girl's face that she wasn't exactly pleased by the gesture.

"My dear, from the first moment you stepped foot in my class, I sensed that you did not possess the proper spirit for the noble art of Divination. No, you see, there. You may be young in years, but the heart that beats beneath your bosom is as shrivelled as an old maid's, your soul as dry as the pages of the books to which you so desperately cleave." Trelawney spoke, in a calm voice and as soon as she was done talking, Hermione abruptly pulled back her hand, letting out a gasp as she heard the words of their Divination professor.

Hermione picked up her bag, knocked over the glass ball in the middle of their table, right onto the floor, before standing up and leaving the classroom with a rapid pace.

"Have I said something?" Trelawney asked, innocently, really not knowing that what she said was wrong, but Nora raised her eyebrow at the woman in front of her, who quickly stood up and left when Parvati and Lavander raised their hands.

"She's gone mental, Hermione has. Not that she wasn't always mental, but now it's in the open for everyone to see." Ron spoke as the three of them walked down the spiral stairs when Divination was finally over.

"Oh, that's not very nice, Ron." Nora spoke, defending her friend who wasn't there to do it herself. "Hermione had every right to walk away and besides you're telling me that you don't think that Trelawney is selling a lot of crap, because if I recall right, you were the one almost falling asleep.

"Hang on." Harry spoke, making the two stop. "We better take this back." He spoke, showing them the glass ball that Hermione had knocked off the table.

"I'm not going back!" Ronald almost immediately spoke.

"I'll go with you." Nora offered.

"Thanks, Nory. We'll see you later." Harry spoke to Ron as the redhead continued his way down the stairs, while they went back up to Trelawney's classroom, passing by some other Gryffindors.

The room was empty when they arrived back there and not a single soul was in sight..

"Let's just put it over there and go before Trelawney sees us." Nora spoke, pointing over towards the table at the centre of the classroom.

And Harry did so, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible just like Nora, but when he backed away from the ball, it lit up.

"Nora, come take a look at this." Harry quickly said, waving his sister over. It didn't take her long to see what Harry was talking about. As the two of them looked down in the glass, it was undeniable for either one of them that they were both seeing the same person, whispering their names like some sort of mantra.

While the twins were looking down on Sirius Black's face, Harry let out a gasp and Nora a yelp when they both felt a hand on their backs, turning them away from the ball.

"Professor Trelawney-" Harry started speaking, but was cut off by a gasp from their Professor. "He will return tonight." The woman spoke in a strange, not normal voice. It sounded raspy and it definitely didn't seem like it belonged to her.

"Sorry?" The twins asked but the professor didn't release the two kids from her grip.

"Tonight, he who betrayed his friends, whose heart rots with murder shall break free. Innocent blood shall be spilt and servant and master shall be reunited once more." The voice continued, but came to an end, making the poor woman in front of them let out a few coughs, like she had just swallowed a bug. "I'm so sorry, dear children. Did you say something?" She asked when she finally saw the shocked Potter twins in front of her.

"No. Nothing." Harry shook his head as Nora quickly made her way out of the room.

"Now even professors get possessed. What's going to be next, huh?" Klaus muttered as he tapped his feet on the floor.  "Because, a prophecy about betrayal, blood, and reunions doesn't exactly scream normal to me."

Kol exchanged a glance with Rebekah, and both of them shared a look of concern. "Klaus is right. This is much more than just a series of odd events. A prophecy, especially one like that, always has a deeper meaning. And of course, my niece and nephew... they're at the center of it again."

Meanwhile, Sirius wasn't really sure how to feel. On one hand, he would soon find out the reason why he had escaped Azkaban—the truth that had been buried for so long, the one that would clear his name. That thought brought him a sense of relief that he hadn't felt in years ever since seeing his daughter and god son again after twelve years. 

But on the other hand, seeing how Nora and Harry kept being dragged into things like this—things that shouldn't have had anything to do with them, yet they were constantly caught in the middle—made his heart ache. They were kids, barely old enough to carry the weight of the world, and yet every time something dangerous or magical happened, they were right in the center of it all.

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Hi guys, be sure to comment and vote if you want. I love reading them and your support keeps me so motivated! I am sorry for making you guys wait so long for an new chapter but I am getting back into writing. Thank you so much for your patient and I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!

Be sure to comment and vote if you want. I love reading comments and your support keeps me so motivated. Katherine xoxo

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WORDS: 3588

POSTED: SUNDAY 19/01/2025

WRITTEN: SUNDAY 19/01/2025