Nine Lives and Bad Luck

30

      So I am not dead, and this is only really, kind of, sort of late, but it is within a month of the last time this story was updated so... victory..? Anyways, enjoy.

      - T.A.L.A.

     The next day dawned and the group quickly set about getting ready, Neville and he were usually the first ones up, which made it easy to use the bathroom, which closely resembled the dorm bathroom, and change first. With a frustrated sigh, already his mind reminding him of all the things he would have to tolerate today, he began his dueling exercises. Neville didn't join him today, although sometimes he did in order to improve his casting.

    They had herbology today, meaning that what once had been Neville's favorite class and something of a sanctuary to them both, but Neville especially as Professor Sprout's star student, had been turned into hell.  Instead Neville went into the corner where they had set his personal plants, some had been brought as clippings from home, smuggled carefully to avoid being taken, others had been removed from the Forbidden Forest or cut from Hogwarts grounds. A sunlight allowed varying degrees of light through to them and Neville knelt to carefully tend to each one.

       Harry preferred the more aggressive approach of casting his anger out, a simple reflection ward which he'd frequently have to stop to reset sent his spells back towards him to give him practice dodging as well.

      "A menace to society" Skeeter had called him, and despite all the people who threw doubt in her credibility when he had first read the Daily Prophet as well as all the people who scoffed at it here at Hogwarts, they all ate it up. As if it wasn't so much what she said, but a chance to turn against him, that they wanted.

    He growled, casting faster, his school robes turned a vivid orange from one color changer that hit the hem of them and he hissed angrily as a stinging hex hit his arm. The girls were already up by the time he stopped casting, breathing heavily.

     He felt a little ashamed, angry and out of breath he stood there though, gasping for air. Was it so bad that he wanted to go to a normal school and learn normal magic and make friends? He had been homeschooled, and Silk tried to keep him socialized, but most of the time it felt like she didn't quite understand the meaning of the word. He met famous duelers left and right, even some quidditch players and important political figures, that most people could only dream of knowing, but they weren't his age. And while the Thompson children were adorable and treated him like their very own big brother, they were just kids who didn't have their first toy wand yet. Augustus was still learning to read!

      Going to Hogwarts, even knowing he would be stuck relearning some of the spells, even having to sit through boring history lessons, was a dream come true... or rather it was supposed to be.

     But here he was, scorned by most of the school, seemingly alienating his friends too who were feeling pressure put on by their families who sent letters telling them to create some distance from him and tactfully suggesting they 'make some more connections and broaden their friend groups'.

      Here he was, hiding in some weird classroom for fear that one of their teachers would take advantage of the lackluster wards against professors and sneak into their dorms and kill them in their sleep.

       Here he was, having to fight trolls because the teachers left all the responsibilities in getting to safety to the students, who in the end were just students with no training in this, as they rushed out to search a massive castle.

      It wasn't fair. He knew life wasn't supposed to be, but things had finally just gotten better, and he'd gotten the chance to go to Hogwarts of all places!

      His eyes watered and he fought against it, not wanting to cry in front of his friends.  He was supposed to be strong, he was a duelist, an animagus.  He was supposed to protect them.

      How had everything gone to pieces so quickly?

      "Asp..." he turned to see Hermione looking at him sympathetically, the other's stuff her side.

     "It's going to be okay Asphodel," Lavender stated firmly, "We're going to stick together and get through this no matter how many bitchy reporters or evil professors come our way. We're friends."

       Parvati nodded unhesitating agreement, Neville and Hermione beamed and he almost felt worse at how bright their automatic smiles at hearing that word refer to them, because he might not have spent tons of time around his age group, but he had people supporting him and he'd gotten somewhat close with some of the duelers who were only a few years older than him. Neville and Hermione though, they... they had had very lonely childhoods from what he could tell and what he had heard. Neville trapped in a crumbling manor with only his Gran, stuck in the past and forced to conform to what his father once might have been. Hermione hiding in the library because she hadn't thought three times before she spoke and had been too blunt with her words to an older girl on the playground.

"Thanks," he smiled back at them all the same, he would try to be stronger from here on, for them, and not let his anger and frustration get the best of him. Silk never let her emotions control her when dueling, it was all carefully placed aside to make room for swift, deadly focus. He wanted to make her proud and not run to her for every little problem. "I think I needed to hear that."

"You really did." Lavender scoffed, her smile warm.

Hermione gasped, "We're going to be late!"

They all startled, glancing to the small clock which sat in the room only to see they still had plenty of time to get down to the greenhouses. Neville rushed to get his pre-packed back instead.

"We don't have herbology until nine." Parvati frowned.

"Well we've got to eat breakfast first, and I know Lav didn't eat anything more than a few bites of salad for lunch yesterday and we didn't have supper, so it's not like we can get away with just grabbing some muffins like we usually do."

"And you just didn't decide to inform the rest of us of this schedule change?" Lavender huffed.

"Well I didn't think it would be such an issue since we're normally early anyway."

The rest of the group groaned and rolled their eyes as the two struck up another argument and Parvati shepherded the group out the door, falling into easy conversation with Asphodel and Neville about scents and perfume as they walked, the other two, once they got tired of bickering would join in with their own take soon enough.