IN RUINS- James Potter

chapter forty four

She felt like she was underwater, slowly falling to the bottom, everywhere she looked, there was someone, slowly sinking down with her, she tried to go closer, yelling at them, not understanding she was underwater, incapable of grabbing their attention. She was swimming; swimming into a lifeless body of water, wondering when the pain of being trapped would stop, all under a spell that would soon make her go crazy.

Nora stayed there, hearing a voice coming through her through the water, swimming around to know where it was coming from, she felt like their voice was so familiar, her name being shouted out, trying to get her attention.

"Nora!" It yelled. She almost felt like she was hearing things, turning around as a hand was coming towards her, grabbing her shoulder.

"Nora, are you alright?"

Nora felt like she was dreaming, her eyes wide open as she was talking to professor Slughorn with Atticus, turning to see the boys hand on her shoulder, getting her out of her trance.

Furrowing her eyebrows and looking back at her professor, apologized countless of times, the girl sat up, wondering what this trance could've been, never doing something like before.

"Are you alright Black?" Slughorn said with concern, giving her some of his lunch. Nora moved the strands of her hair back, Nora cleared her throat, blinking rapidly. "I'm fine— er, what we're we talking about?"

Looking to her right of Atticus, the boy was looking at her with concern, wondering what the hell had happened to her. Nora tried to brush it off, noticing her guard was being slipped. Now, everyone would be trying to read her emotions that she worked so hard to close everyone off, realizing she failed at that.

Another thing she's failed out.

"We were talking about your efforts outside the classroom, you and Mr.Bulstrode." Slughorn said, continuing the discussion. His leg was shaking, turning to see him holding down on his thumb, his eyes filled of worry.

"But I'm on the quidditch team, I have been since second year?" He questioned, wondering if that counts. "Shouldn't that least go towards something? That I'm consistent?"

"If that was the case, then some of those Gryffindor boys would be getting full marks with their pranks." Slughorn mocked back, laughing a little bit as he ate his apple.

Nora snorted, pressing her lips into a fine line, containing the laughter she said. "So if quidditch doesn't count, then what is Nora doing that is helping her?" Atticus asks, a little confused.

"You kids do nothing than study or play quidditch, quite frankly, do you ever leave the common room when it's not class or practise?" Slughorn asks, looking at their files.

The brunette wasn't understanding, furrowing her eyebrows, looking at Atticus who was already looking at her. Slughorn closed their files, grimacing a little with disappointment all over his face, frowning for a second.

"You two are my favourite students to teach, I am highly disappointed you two don't do much other than academics, so you even know the other kids in your year?" Slughorn asked, challenging then a little.

"Well there's my brother?"

"Not to mention your brothers friends."

"And his arch nemesis, which is Snape."

"And Snape was friends with that red head."

"And Evans has three friends, one of them being McDonald."

"Oh yeah, I'm going on a date with her."

Overlapping their conversation, the two were only able to say the names of the Gryffindors, seeing Slughorn be more disappointed in them. "Children! You two are my best students in Slytherin, however I do not need a headache first thing in the morning."