A Light In The Dark

Chapter 3

My leg starts to bounce as I sit in a carriage on my way to Hogwarts castle. When I first saw the thestrals pulling the carriages the sharp pain in my chest came back. The pain was because I'd lost my pack. The pack bonds had snapped and I still felt the dull throb where they used to be.

When we all got to the castle I was whisked away by Professor McGonagall to get sorted. I was nervous but I knew I'd be fine. I patiently waited for Professor McGonagall to finish with the first years before coming and collecting me for my sorting.

"We have a transfer this year. She has come to us from Ilvermorny and I expect you all to be welcoming." Dumbledore says as McGonagall leads me to the stool with the sorting hat. "Please welcome Allison Marshall. She'll be joining the coming fifth years."

'I see. You were in Wampus in Ilvermorny. The house of the soldiers. Oh a werewolf as well? Oh what a horrible thing to have witnessed at such a young age. You're father is who? You would do well in Ravenclaw but I believe after what you've experienced it best be...' "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouts.

The table where James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Lily were sat erupts in cheers. I make my way down and slide in next to James.

"You ok?" He whispers as Dumbledore gives his welcoming speech. I shake my head minutely as I grab my chest as the pain of the shattered bonds surfaces. "Same as normal?"

"Yeah just.. give me a minute." I mumble as I lean slightly into him. After a few deep breaths the pain subsides to be tolerable. By then the food had appeared and I started eating.

At the end of the feast the boys lead me up to the Gryffindor common room. We sit down in front of the fire and chat. A couple minutes in, Lunar comes running down the stairs that lead to the girls dorms. She jumps up into my lap and tries to lick my face.

"Yeah, yeah I missed you too midget." I say fondly rolling my eyes.

"I've never seen such an intelligent puppy." Remus says from beside me. He reaches out and Lunar jumps up to bump her head against his hand.

"She's different but she's mine. She's spoilt as well." I say with a small laugh as she flips onto her back so I can rub her belly.

We chat until we call it a night. I head up to my dorm and bite my lip as I stare at the bed. I decide to take my time getting ready for bed so I'd spend as little time asleep as possible. When it was time for me to inevitably go to bed I end up laying there for an hour before giving up.

I leave Lunar curled up on the pillow and make my way back down to the common room. I sit on the couch and draw my legs up to my chest. I rest my chin on my knees as I stare at the still blazing fire in front of me. I turn when I hear footsteps behind me.

"Ally? What are you doing up?" James asks as he rubs his eyes. He comes and sits next to me.

"Couldn't sleep. What about you?" I ask as I place my head on his shoulder.

"I was making sure you weren't down here because of nightmares." He mutters. He stands up and pulls me with him. "C'mon, you're coming with me."

I furrow my brows but follow after him anyways. We get up to his dorm and find Peter, Sirius and Remus sat talking. They stop when we enter and I start to nervously wring my hands.

"What's going on?" Sirius asks looking at me weirdly.

"It's nothing." I say and take a step back to leave when James catches my arm in a light grip.

"You know you won't get any sleep if you leave." James whispers to me.

"It's fine. I'll talk to the nurse or Professor McGonagall about it and I'll probably get a sleeping draught tomorrow." I say biting my lip.

"Classes start tomorrow." James reminds me and I bite down harder on my lip. Not enough to split skin but enough to keep me grounded.

"I'll survive. I've survived worse." I try reassuring him.

"Nope not happening." He says determined. He picks me up and throws me over his shoulder making me gasp in surprise. He walks a bit before throwing me down onto a bed. "You are staying."

"I don't get a choice do I?" I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Fine but you're explaining." I say as I start to tie my hair up into a messy bun.

"What just happened?" Peter asks glancing at me. I repress a shiver at the off feeling he gives me. I ignore it for now because he was James' friend, but I'd remind myself to keep an eye on him.

"Allison gets nightmares because of the same traumatic experience which lead to her missing a year. She finds it easier to sleep when someone's with her." James says briefly. I bite the inside of my cheek when the boys look at me.

"Lunar's gonna be pissed when she finds me gone in the morning." I comment suddenly. We all blink at my abrupt comment before Sirius starts laughing. "Sorry sometimes there's no brain to mouth filter." I apologise with a shrug.

"It's fine." Remus waves off my apology.

"I can tell we're going to be great friends." Sirius says grinning, making me raise an eyebrow at him.

"We'll see." I say simply before James decides he wants attention again. He jumps on me knocking me onto my back. We wrestle around for a bit before I pin him down.

"When are you going to learn that that won't work?" I ask him as he groans.

"I'll never give up!" He says dramatically before looking over my shoulder. I go to turn when someone suddenly picks me up. I let out a noise of surprise and see Sirius pulling me off of James.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" He asks me as James gets up.

Without saying anything I twist out of his grasp and pull his arms around to his back. I give a light shove and his momentum shoves him into James.

"Beating both of you apparently." I say as I stand up straight. I brush of the imaginary dust as both of the boys groan. I hear quiet laughing and turn to see Remus and Peter with their hands over their mouths trying not to laugh.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Sirius asks as he sits up.

"My family was well known and people often attacked them. Everyone was taught to defend themselves if the time came." I shrug.

"That was awesome." Peter says and I give a nod of thanks. We mess around for a while longer before heading to bed.