When All Else Fails, Follow Your Heart... (Book 2)

Trial Interlude One

A/N

Okay, this is either going to be longer or shorter than normal. Welp, this'll be fun.

Anyway, on with the story.

September 29th, 1988. Room of Requirement, Hogwarts Castle. 4:00 PM.

Four second years sat around in a circle. They all had their noses buried in a book, giving each other silent comfort, they knew what each other needed and they were exactly what the others needed.

They all looked to the door when it opened to reveal their fourth-year sister who threw herself at them. They accepted her into their circle, which condensed to allow for their limbs to be thrown over each other and physical contact to be freely given. The five siblings, or nearly siblings, sat there for nearly forty minutes, in silence with only their books to distract them.

At four forty in the afternoon, the five (nearly) siblings left the RoR and went down to the Great Hall for dinner. The five sat at the Hufflepuff table, the Badgers being the only table to not ostracize the three non-House mate members of the table. The five siblings sadly pushed the food around on their plates before pushing their plates away to just lean on each other.

After dinner, the five siblings walked out onto the grounds, they didn't know what to do and so they just wandered. They had wandered so far, out past Hagrid's hut but not quite in the Forbidden Forest, that they started to see creatures. The girls stopped to pet a Unicorn or two, while the boys continued in, trying to see what else there was to see.

It was at the very edge of Forbidden Forest, with all three boys in a line when they saw something they never would have thought they'd see.

It looked very much like a Unicorn but where one would expect to see flesh was only bones. The three boys stood very still and let the magical horse-like creatures approach. It was only the polite thing to do of course. It wasn't long before the three boys each had a hand on the snout of one of the horse-like creatures.

The three brothers in all but blood shared a look, they couldn't believe what was happening.

September 29th, 1988. Hogwarts Castle. 8:00 PM.

The five siblings walked back into the castle and took their time walking Hermione back to her House's tower. With a brief smile and a promise to be back at eleven-thirty to walk with her to Astrology from Neville, the four-some walked to the Hufflepuff common room entrance, or rather close to it as Neville and Nymphadora had promised to never reveal its location, to drop off the two badgers. After a quick wave, the two snakes took every shortcut they knew back to their common room so they could go retreat to their dorm room for the night.

The five siblings slept uneasily, knowing this was going to be a long year, despite the fact that it had barely started. The year would be made especially long by the Headmaster, who saw it as his sworn oath to crush any sign of house unity not made by the Gryffindors.

A/N

This is rather short, (being only a measly little over five hundred words total). But after this will be the rapid-fire trials for the boys. You have been warned.

Ta-ta for now,

MrsDiablousRiddle.