Yule Balls and Old Foes

Chapter 9

A/N: Final stretch in guessing who "Nick" is! Also, introducing Nicholas Carrow who's probably gonna be the new "bully" so to speak. Norah reveals her backstory to Ominis then Sebastian. Gryffindor party chapter is coming next!

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Norah paced back and forth in the Slytherin girls' dormitory the next day. It was officially the last day of Professor Ronen's homework of secret summoning. She laid out all the letters "Nick" had given her, alongside her cluttered rolls of parchment after she just finished her Transfiguration essay, with another homework on ancient runes. Norah quickly closed her ink bottles before she slid off her bed.

Nerida watched her with an amused expression. "I don't know who that 'Nick' is, but my bet is on Sebastian," She said, almost nonchalantly before flipping through the pages of Witch Weekly.

"Possibly, but also possibly not," Norah said. "It could be Garreth, for all we know, or maybe even Leander."

"Or Ominis," Nerida pointed out with a knowing look. "You know, I saw him tell off Nicholas Carrow the other day."

"Carrow? What's he done?"

Nerida put the magazine down, a serious expression on her face. "Carrow's been going around telling people that you're a-" She looked quite pained, scrunching her face in disgust. "Mudblood. Ugh, I hate that word. And the worst thing is he's got some Ravenclaws agreeing. And that boy you've told off for sneaking a kneazle whisker last year."

"What did Ominis say?"

Just then, Imelda went in, having overheard their conversation in time. "Ominis threatened to tell Black, and when Carrow pointed out that Black shares a similar belief against muggle-borns, Ominis threatened to make up something," She said. "Don't think it got through to Carrow as much. Pureblood against pureblood or something like that."

Norah nodded. She realized that she hadn't told anyone much about where she came from. While she appreciated that Ominis defended her, she knew she had yet to tell any of them about her family. "Do you stand for it, Imelda?" She asked curiously.

"Merlin, I would never, it's a disgusting belief," Imelda scoffed. "It's a waste of time, when I could've used that time to practice my turns. If I want to get scouted by the Holyhead Harpies, I had better stay as focused as I can and I intend to."

"Understood," Norah stopped in front of the letters.

"You're surprisingly calm about this," Imelda pointed out.

"Well, it's a shame Carrow's like that. I don't really care about him, but if he goes after people I know, it's going to be a different story," She said.

Imelda and Nerida chuckled, exchanging knowing looks. "That's our Hogwarts heroine," The quidditch team captain grinned. "Besides, Carrow better think twice about his words before uttering mudblood around a lot of us. He probably shouldn't forget how you took down a troll and a goblin warlord. He's easy bait."

The three girls snickered. "And the fact that you could take down groups of Ashwinders without blinking. I'd like to see him try doing what you did in fifth year," Nerida frowned. "We may be under Slytherin house, but we know to knock our own down a peg if needed."

"Too bad Ranrok's dead then," Norah joked.

Her owl suddenly swooped in, carrying yet another letter. "Ooh, speak of the devil, another letter from 'Nick'?" Grace grinned as she went inside. "This might be the last one before the party tomorrow night."

"Probably. Maybe I can reply to Nick directly this time," Norah shrugged, taking the envelope from Starlight's leg and giving her a treat. The owl gave an affectionate nip at her finger and settled herself on her perch.