The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

137. The Hogwarts Express

The following morning was very possibly the most chaotic morning Althea had ever experienced, even considering she often went to Hogwarts with the Weasleys, who are not the most organized of families. Fred and George accidentally hit Ginny down two flights of stairs, Mrs Weasley and Mrs Black screamed and screamed themselves hoarse, Sirius tried to insist on going with them as a dog, a ploy which Mrs Weasley only just agreed to while Amara, who only managed to get in a very hasty goodbye to Harry, stayed behind.

Althea got to travel with Remus along with Ginny, Fred, and George, the three of which thankfully entertained themselves enough that Remus and Althea could talk quietly to themselves for the entirety of the twenty-minute walk. When they had slipped into the station, however, they quickly found the rest of their group.

"Any trouble?" Moody asked as they approached.

"Yeah, those three," Althea replied.

Moody didn't smile.

"Nothing," Remus replied.

"I'll still be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore," Moody growled. "That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus."

"Well, look after yourselves," Remus said, shaking hands with everyone before turning to Althea.

With a warm smile, he embraced her. Althea returned the embrace, but as sad as she was to not be able to see him every day anymore, she was far too excited to be going back to be too terribly grieved.

As they pulled away, Moody growled, "Keep your heads down and your eyes peeled. And don't forget, all of you - careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."

"Bye!" Althea called, grabbing her luggage and disappearing into the train.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed in after her, but she quickly left them in search of Neville. At long last, she found him wandering through the train, looking for an empty compartment.

"Neville!" she cried, dropping her luggage and instantly embracing him.

"Althea!" he exclaimed, returning the embrace with a wide smile. "I've missed you!"

"I missed you too!" she said, pulling away from him to dig in her pockets. Gently tapping the toad in Neville's hand on the nose, she added, "Don't worry, Trevor, I missed you too."

Neville snorted, meeting her gaze with his own amused one.

Pulling out her notebook, Althea said, "Here it is, everything I would have written to you this summer."

Smiling widely, Neville pulled out a notebook of his own. Stifling laughter, they exchanged them.

"Are there no compartments?" Althea asked, tucking Neville's notebook under her arm as she took her luggage back up.

"Well, there's only one person in there, but...I didn't want to bother her," Neville explained shyly.

"Well, I don't know that there's really any other option," Althea said with a small chuckle. "Come on, it'll be fine."

Sliding open the compartment door, she asked, "Would it be all right if we sat here? Everywhere else is full."

The girl had waist-length blond hair, pale eyebrows, and an oddly permanently surprised look. She was reading a magazine upside down, her wand tucked behind her ear. She nodded.

"Thank you," Althea said kindly, beginning the usual struggle of lifting her trunk onto the rack.

"I've got it," Neville said, giving her an amused look.

"I am not weak," Althea insisted, holding back a laugh. "I'm just..."

"Weak," Neville supplied with a laugh.

"Oh, shut up," Althea retorted, although she too began to laugh as they sat down next to each other.

Curiously, Althea opened the notebook Neville had given her. He too had written his as a series of letters, but unlike hers, he had included sketches of the plants he told her about.

Before she could do more than glance at it, however, the compartment door opened to reveal Harry and Ginny.

"Hi," Ginny said, coming inside as Harry followed.

"Had a good summer, Luna?" Ginny asked after their trunks had been put up. Luna hadn't taken her wide, unblinking eyes off Harry.

"Yes," Luna replied dreamily. "Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. You're Harry Potter."

"I know I am," Harry replied.

Neville, who had been reading Althea's letters, suddenly began to laugh. Althea looked over his shoulder, reading what had made him laugh with a smile.

Luna looked over at them as she remarked, "I don't know who either of you are."

"I'm nobody," Neville said quickly.

"No you're not," Althea retorted sharply. "This is Neville Longbottom, Luna, and I'm Thea."

"Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw," Ginny explained.

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," Luna recited.

Harry and Neville exchanged amused looks as Ginny suppressed a giggle.

"Oh, guess what I got for my birthday?" Neville exclaimed suddenly. "It's in there, but you just have to see." Pulling out a grey, cactus-looking plant from his schoolbag, he explained, "It's called-"

"Mimbulus mimbletonia!" Althea exclaimed in awe. "Oh, Neville, it's brilliant!"

Harry and Ginny exchanged confused looks tinged with amusement as Althea gently took the pot from Neville to look at it closer.

"But these are supposed to be really, really rare," she gasped. "There isn't even one at Hogwarts, is there?"

"I don't think so," Neville said, beaming. "I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My great-uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

"Oh, please let me help," Althea pleaded excitedly.

"I was actually just about to ask," Neville admitted.

"Does it - er - do anything?" Harry asked awkwardly.

"Loads of stuff!" Neville said proudly. "It's got an amazing defensive mechanism. Harry, can you hold Trevor for me?" Once Harry had the toad in hand, Neville took a quill from his bag as he said, "Hold it steady, Althea."

Then, picking his spot, he jabbed the plant with the end of his quill. Instantly, a thick, stinking liquid of a dark green colour sprayed from every boil on the plant. Ginny just managed to cover her face while Luna was protected by her magazine. Neville, Althea, and Harry, however, all got a full face of it.

Althea instantly began laughing, shaking the stuff out of her eyes as Neville gasped, "S-sorry. I haven't tried that before...Didn't realize it would be so...Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous."

Althea was giggling so hard she was gasping for breath as the compartment door opened, revealing Cho Chang.

"Oh...hello, Harry," she said nervously, looking around the compartment uncertainly. "Uh...bad time?"

"Oh...hi," Harry said blankly, wiping the lenses of his glasses clean as he looked up at her.

"Um...Well...just thought I'd say hello...bye then."

And she was gone. Althea had finally stopped laughing, but as she shared a look with Neville, they both began laughing again as Harry leaned back in his seat and groaned.

"Never mind," Ginny said bracingly. "Look, we can get rid of all this easily. Scourgify!"

Instantly, it all vanished, leaving them and the compartment as clean as if it had never happened.

"Sorry," Neville said again, although he was still smiling.

"Probably best to put it away for now," Althea suggested.

"Yeah, probably," he agreed, stashing the pot back in his bag as Althea pulled out his notebook and began to read.