The carriages on the train rocked slightly. Not a student noticed though, as they were all busy whether it was chatting away about their summer, reading the latest news from the Daily Prophet, or just simply waiting excitedly for the train to pull up into it's destination. A trail of smoke followed Hogsmeade-bound Hogwarts Express
Lori sat in a carriage with five other people. To her left was her best friend in the whole world, Irene, and to her right was her boyfriend, Michael. Across from her were Sheldon, Jesse, and Jordan. Lori and Irene were in Gryffindor, Sheldon and Jordan in Hufflepuff, Michael in Ravenclaw, and Jesse in Slytherin
Lori had red curly hair that looked brown in the shade, but glowed a bright red in light. Her eyes were a warm chocolate. She had a small nose and she was a bit on the overweight side. Lori looked out of the window. She wasn't really doing anything in particular, just staring out of the window, with no thought running around in her mind. She stayed like this until she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Michael tapping on her shoulder
"Do you want anything from the trolley?" he asked her. Michael had dark brown hair, brown eyes, freckles on his short, thin nose and cheeks, and glasses that covered most of his face
"I'll take a few cauldron cakes, a bottle of pumpkin juice, two chocolate frogs and a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans," she ordered. After charging Lori 3 galleons, 12 sickles, and 5 knuts, Lori had started lunch./p
"How about we share these beans?" Lori suggested. The small group of friends murmured in agreement.
"I'll go first," Jesse volunteered. Jesse had a black flat-top, chocolate skin, and blue-green eyes. He took a bean from the box and popped it into his mouth."Mm, strawberry," he said with a smile on his face
"Me next," Irene said. She was like a little elf, she had bright red hair that was always either braided or in a ponytail, and she had matching green eyes. She took a jelly bean and cringed. "Ah! Since when were mashed potatoes suppose to be sweet?"
Sheldon had wide hazel eyes, almost no hair, and a broad back and shoulders. He slowly took one, as if it were poison, and put it in his mouth. He shivered in disgust. " Broccoli flavoured," he commented.
"You're turn, Jordan," Lori said. Jordon had long black hair, slanted grey eyes, and rosy cheeks. Jordan took a jelly bean and ate it. "Taste like chicken wings," she said
"I'll go next," Michael said. He took two of them. "The pink one taste like Bubblegum, the green one has to be Booger," he said.
"My turn," Lori said, taking a orange and red jelly bean and putting it in her mouth. She hoped it would taste like peach or something, but it was terrible. She immediately spit it out and gagged. It tasted like expired Sprite. She grabbed her bottle of pumpkin juice and chugged it down. The terrible taste would not get out of her mouth. She took one of her cauldron cakes and bit into it. The other 7th years looked at her. As soon as the taste died down, she finally said," It was vomit flavored." The group burst out laughing. Michael wrapped an arm around her girlfriend and kissed her forehead. "Unlucky, love, vomit is rare," he said with a cheeky grin
"I'm done with this game," Lori said, lying her head on her boyfriend's shoulder and taking another bite of the cauldron cake. Lori watched everyone else play the game, laughing when Sheldon got a raw pork flavored bean and feeling envious when Jesse got a RedVine flavored , they all changed into their school uniforms and they pulled up into Hogsmeade's train platform.
"Everybody off the train. First years yer' with me!" Hagrid, a really large half giant with a scrawny beard and a pink face, called over the chattering crowd. Lori and the rest of the group went to the carriages and rode them to Hogwarts. As they jumped out of the carriages and climbed the stone steps that lead into the castle, Lori couldn't help but think of her awful summer. Her sister had twins that were little devils, her parents were released from Azkaban, and wizards were mysteriously disappearing-No! Don't even think about your summer, Lori! Lori thought, silently scolding herself for thinking about it. She and Irene walked to their spots at the Gryffindor table.
Lori sneaked a quick glance at the Slytherin table. She saw Lucius Malfoy, her worst enemy ever, sitting with his friends surrounding him. She scowled and turned around to stare at the platter that would soon be filled with dinner. The whole hall clapped as Headmaster Dumbledore walked up to the podium.
Finally, Lori thought, Home at Last!
The Great Hall was like a majestic church. There was a perfect pattern of stone on the walls, the windows went from the tile floor to the ceiling, which was charmed to match the sky outside, five long, wooden tables (one for Gryffindor,another for Hufflepuff, another for Ravenclaw, another for Slytherin, and another for the staff),four glass tubes against the wall used for representing how many points each house currently have, and a big throne-like chair for the Headmaster in the center of the staff table
"Now, before our first years come in, I must ask you to remain silent during the Sorting Ceremony. We have a new group of students coming to Hogwarts, and some come from terrible backgrounds. Therefore, if you see one with greasy hair, or bruises and scars, or battered robes, I must ask you to not laugh," he said. "Thank you, you may all resume your conversations."Lori and Irene started to talk with their fellow house members about their plans for their last year at Hogwarts.
"I'll be a better prefect than I was last year," Head Girl Molly Prewett said determinedly.
"I'll finally learn the use of a Rubber Duck," Arthur Weasley said with a beaming smile.
"That muggle toy?" one of the Gryffindors asked.
"Yeah," Arthur said. Lori smiled and giggled a bit. "I'm going to be the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain," Irene said excitedly. She stood up and shouted across the hall, "SLYTHERIN IS GOING DOWN THIS SEASON!", earning a bunch of noises of disagreement from the Slytherin table, and eventually Gryffindors- Lori and Irene included- started to yell across the hall until Dumbledore had told them to settle down.
"I'm going to pass the N.E.W.T's with nothing but O's," Amelia Brice proudly said.
"I'm going to try out for the house team," Lori said with a shrug.
"So you're finally giving into my requests, eh?" Irene teased with a grin. Lori slapped her shoulder, earning a laugh from the redhead.
The doors to the Great Hall opened, and all the students and professors fell silent. Professor McGonagall walked up to the front of the hall with a group of first years, where a stool with a battered old hat on top of it stood. The battered old hat opened it's brim and began to sing a song:
From the new first years
To the Graduating seventh years
We stand as united wizards
Our hearts beat as one
You may belong to Gryffindor,
the house of Gold and Red
The home to those who seek Adventure
Those who bravely face danger or fear
Or perhaps Hufflepuff,
the yellow and black house
Where the loyal students live
Those who are misunderstood but still carry on
Maybe you'll fit into Ravenclaw,
where you may quench your thirst for knowledge,
where the wise ones sleep,
in their Blue and Bronze house
But you could find your place in Slytherin,
Where you could find those ambitious wizards,
the house of Green and Silver
the house of power
The sorting hat fell silent, and Professor McGonagall spoke up." When I call your name, you will sit on this stool. I shall place the sorting hat onto your head. You shall be sorted into your houses and you will sit with them. Samantha Alcoy," she said.
The first year walked onto the stool and sat down. The professor put the hat onto her head. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
And that's how the sorting went.
"Sirius Black!"
"Another black, eh? We'll put you in SLY- oh, you don't want to be in Slytherin? What a shame. GRYFFINDOR!"
"Lily Evans!"
"HUFFLE-GRYFFINDOR!"
"Remus Lupin!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Peter Pettigrew!"
"SLYTH-GRYFFINDOR!"
"James Potter"
"A troublemaker? GRYFFINDOR!"
"Severus Snape!"
"You have the brain of a Ravenclaw. However, your past is just screaming to be in SLYTHERIN!"
After a while, the Sorting ceremony ended. Lori looked at Lily Evans, who was sitting next to her. "I'm Lori," she introduced herself.
"I'm Lily," Lily said, looking down slightly. "Nice to meet you, Lily," Lori said, holding her hand out. Lily looked up and shook her hand. Lori smiled at her, and Lily returned the smile.
She seems so nice. Too bad I only have one year to hang out with her. Lori thought. She talked to Lily throughout dinner, occasionally interrupted by one of Irene's stupid comments. She learned that Lily was a muggle-born and that she had a sister who bullied her for being magical.
"She always calls me a freak when I do something. When I wash dishes, she comes up to me and says that she doesn't want my freak powers all over her food. When I help Mum with laundry, she'll take all the clothes that I just washed and wash them again to scrub away the 'freak germs'. It make me feel like I'm not a good person," Lily admitted.
Lori frowned. She could definitely relate to Lily, thanks to her abusive parents. She gently pulled Lily in for a hug. "I know how you feel. My parents always called me 'the freak child' and always favored my younger sister, even though we were identical. They'd lock me up in the dark, cold attic full of spiders while my sister got to play with the other kids. Both my older and younger sister would always try to include me, even though they would get a smack for trying. But just because people will treat us like freaks doesn't make us freaks. You're special in your own way. You could do anything you want in this world, your only limit is your soul. But hey, what do I know? I'm just another student, like you," I spoke, soft enough to were only she could hear.
"Severus told me that she's just jealous because she couldn't do what I could," she sighed.
"Well, Severus was right. She feels unimportant compared to you, so she is trying to feel better by making you feel unimportant. But don't listen to her," I responded.
We sat in our embrace for a silent moment. An embrace full of all the pain and misery and sadness we felt because of our loved ones. After an eternity, we separated. "Thank you, Lori," Lily whispered.
"Anytime, kiddo," I replied.
After the feast, I met the rest of the 7th year students at the Black Lake. There was a table with about 50 mugs of butterbeer and 50 candles over a golden tablecloth. The prefects of each house and the Head Boy Girl stood in front of the table, wearing sashes that said "Magical Class of 1971." I found my friends and stood with them, Irene and Sheldon on either side of me.
"It feels like its been a day since we were first years," Lori mused,"I can't believe this is our last year at Hogwarts."
"It went by quickly," Sheldon agreed, "Way too quick."
"And now, we're gonna be adults. We'll have responsibilities and jobs and families. No more quidditch or homework or pranks or amazing feasts every night. I'm gonna miss this place," Irene frowned.
"This was our home for 7 years. You guys have been my family for 17 years. I don't know what I'll do without you two," Sheldon sniffed.
"Awe, Sheldon. You're gonna make me cry. I'm gonna miss you two so much," Lori cried as she hugged Sheldon.
Irene joined in on the hug. "You two are the greatest friends anyone could ever have. I don't want to leave you guys," Irene bawled. The three hugged and cried together.
Michael approached the lake and notice the cluster of two sobbing females and a wailing Sheldon. He saw Sheldon's arm around Lori's waist and Lori's face buried in his chest. He got angry and jealous- he hated it when other guys touched Lori. However, Sheldon was Lori's childhood best friend, so he tried to cool down. But what he heard next made him snap.
"I love you, Sheldon-"He didn't even hear the rest. He stormed off to the portrait of the Fat Lady, where he would wait for Lori to return before confronting her.
Meanwhile, the rest of the squad joined the trio and waited for the student leaders to start the ceremony. At about 9 pm, Molly Prewett tapped one of the glasses with her wand, catching everyone's attention.
"Good evening. Tonight is about us. Tonight, we celebrate the past six years and the year to come. Take a glass and a candle and head to shore," she instructed.
Lori and her friends joined the line at the table. They each grabbed a mug and the candle with their name on it and walked to the shore of the enchanted lake. The 7th years formed a line along the beach with their candles in hand in complete, comfortable silence. As soon as the last person joined the formation, the leaders stepped forward and lifted their candles into the starry night. The group followed, raising their sticks of wax and letting them fly into the sky. The sky lit up like a bunch of stars, shining light on the lake and on the group of young witches and wizards.
Every seventh year at the lake raised their mugs. "To us," Molly Prewett stated.
"To us," everyone repeated as they sipped their delicious drinks.
"To a good, final year."
A/N: So this chapter is edited. I added some dialogue and the ceremony at the end and I combined chapters 1 2. Next Chapter will be up later tonight(this doesn't matter if you're reading this in the future). Please review this story and leave some feedback! I'd appreciate it! Until the next chapter, bye bye for now