Through All the Pain // N. Longbottom

Fifth Year // Chapter 1

The rest of summer was a complete bore! The only exciting things were that, Harry didn't get expelled, and that Ron and Hermione got Perfect badges! I had never seen Mum so proud of Ron before. I mean, she even went out of her way to make a cake for both him and Hermione.

Now we were heading off to King's Cross. I was in the group with Ginny, Fred, and George, so luckily I didn't have to deal with Dad until we arrived at the station. 

Once we were there, I said goodbye to Lupin, Tonks, and a few others who helped escort us to King's Cross, before getting to my parents. I hugged and kissed Mum, and nodded towards Dad. He quickly reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Lori, I'm sorry! I swear! I could never -"

"But you did, Dad!" I said. "You raised your wand and nearly stunned me! I can't forgive you so quickly, for something that could have done so much worse."

"Lorrinda, please." Dad pleaded. I yanked my hand out of his grasp and stared into his eyes.

"I hate you!" I growled before turning and rushing towards the train. As I stepped up onto the train, I saw a familiar haircut standing out in the corridors.

"Nevy!" I shouted running over.

"LORI!!" He shouted as he ran as well, crashing into me and spinning me around in a bone-crushing hug. "I've missed you more than I care to admit."

"Same here, Nevy. Same here." I muttered into his shoulder as he set me down on the ground. "Now let's go find, Deanie and Shaboom!" We started walking towards our normal car but saw Dean standing outside. 

"Seamus is ... off. I don't think he's wanting to sit with the group this trip." Dean spoke sadly. 

"Well, that's okay. Nevy and I can go sit with Ginny, Harry, and Luna. Hermione and Ron made Prefects so they won't be there right away. Neville agreed and with a quick hug to Dean, we both headed off to find Ginny, Harry, and Luna. When we found them, Luna was reading The Quibbler upside down, while Ginny and Harry were just awkwardly sitting there. 

"Ooooh!" I said opening the sliding door, "You can cut the tension in here with a knife!" Harry coughed, while Ginny glared over at me. I snickered as I sat down beside Ginny, while Neville took an empty seat beside Harry. We all talked about this upcoming year, what we think will happen once we get to school, but mainly about something that appeared on our book list for the year. 

"The new Dark Arts book is barely acceptable for first years!" Ginny spat. "I mean, did any of you actually read through it?"

"I didn't," Neville said. "I was too busy working to look at any of the texts. I just did my summer homework and that's it." 

"I was so busy with Ron, Hermione, and Harry to pay attention to the texts," I said looking over at Harry, who flashed a weak smile. "Everything will be okay, Harry." 

"I sure hope, so." He muttered before turning to the window and watching the countryside go by. Eventually, Ron and Hermione were able to join us before having to go off and help the exiting of the train. Harry stayed back while Luna, Neville, and I walked ahead towards the carriages.

We all got loaded up into one carriage and rode up to the castle. Harry kept going on about something pulling the carriage, but the only person who really seemed to back him up was Luna. Suddenly the huge castle appeared, and we all stared at the glorious stone walls. 

"It's good to be back." I heard Harry mutter as we all climbed out of the carriage and walked into the Entrance Hall and towards the Great Hall for the feast. 

***

"I beg a few moments of your time, as I have a few start-of-term announcements," Dumbledore spoke once the sorting was complete. I was sitting between Neville and Ron because Seamus and Dean were for some reason sitting farther away than normal.