Reliability's Path
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor will I ever own Harry Potter. Those rights belong to the amazing J.K. Rowling.
A/N: This is my first Harry Potter based fanfiction that I have been happy enough to upload. I have written for the pairing Scorpius M./Rose W. but never liked where the story went, so never uploaded. Hopefully you will all enjoy this first chapter.
Summary: Being one of the youngest of the large Weasley-Potter clan, you become accustomed to being beside that one person who is always there, but when it is finally time to let go, what will happen to that other person...?
Chapter One:
The Weasley-Potter Clan
Being a part of a large family had always had its highs and lows, with a high being that you were never alone, and a low being that... well, you were never left alone. Especially if you were the youngest in a family like the Weasley-Potter's.
Lucy and Louis Weasley were the two youngest in a sea of red and dark haired wizards, the 'babies' of the family as they had been reminded plenty of times at family get-togethers, and also best friends. Much like their older cousins had bonded with each other, both Lucy and Louis bonded and found comfort in being the same age as well as the issues of being the two youngest of the family, and the two became fast friends after realizing their similarities.
To say that they were inseparable was an understatement.
But being the youngest of such a large family also had its consequences, such as being the last pair to go to Hogwarts since the last bunch. That had been four years ago, a gap that even their parents had commented was pretty wide, but both Lucy and Louis were positive that they would be fine because they had each other. They had spent four years' worth of school days without their older siblings (well, other than the graduated lot like Teddy and Victoire) and seemed to do fine without them, so how could this be any different? It was only school, after all...
"Louis... we're going to Hogwarts!" Whispered Lucy in the early hours of the morning, her eyes wide as she held onto Louis hand tightly. Louis looked back at his cousin as he drew in a deep breath and nodded slowly from where he lay beside her, and he squeezed her hand gently as she smiled.
Both Lucy and Louis had been too nervous to sleep that night, so had decided to share the bed like they usually did when either one was troubled, but it didn't help at all. They just talked all night about Hogwarts, their expectations, the excitement of it all and the fear, ad even if they did not manage to sleep, the two of them found it comforting that they were able to talk about it together.
"Lucy... what if I don't get into Gryffindor like Vic or Dom? I'm not confident or brave like they are." Louis whispered worryingly, his hand tightening around Lucy's as she stared back at her cousin and best friend. She smiled and shuffled closer to her cousin, her free arm curling around his small frame and bringing him into a hug. Their faces now closer to each other, Lucy sighed and closed her eyes.
"No matter what houses we get put in, we'll be alright Louis... mum and dad won't mind, and neither will Aunt Fleur or Uncle Bill. They'll just be happy that we're happy and in the houses right for us." She replied gently, opening her eyes again to look at Louis worried expression. No matter what she said, she knew he would worry; he always did.
And so did she... she just so happened to hide it better than others.
".. Lucy?" Louis still looked worried, though less so than before. Lucy nodded, staring back at him intently. "What if we aren't in the same house? What will we do then?" He whispered, his voice trembling slightly. Louis was so dependent on his cousin, he couldn't be without her.
"Then I'll visit you all the time, and we will eat lunch together no matter what. I won't leave my best friend behind Louis, I promise." She told him confidently, her smile brightening as Louis smiled back gently, his hand squeezing hers tighter than before.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Lucy whispered back, her eyes closing as she slowly drifted to sleep...
x-x-x-x
"Lucy! Louis! Get up, it's time to get ready! We have to leave soon!" The shrill voice of Audrey Weasley, Lucy's own dear mother, broke the peaceful slumber of the two cousins as they yawned and reluctantly opened their eyes. It felt like they hadn't even slept.
Then again, it was their own fault for talking for most of the night.
"Come on you two, breakfast is ready and everyone is waiting for you! You don't want to miss the train, do you? Now get up!" Audrey cried once again, this time popping her head around the door to peer in to see if they were up. Sitting in the bed were two tired looking cousins who were yawning, but still holding hands. Rolling her eyes, Audrey couldn't help but wonder when they would grow out of sharing the same bed when they were worried, but she smiled nonetheless; she knew how close they were and how dependent her nephew Louis was on her youngest daughter.
"Last warning, you two, or all the bacon will be gone! James and Fred are already at the table." Audrey warned as she watched with amusement the looks of horror on the two youngest Weasley's faces. Before she could say another word, both Lucy and Louis were rushing downstairs as fast as they could to get to the kitchen where, as always, the Weasley-Potter clan were gathering in their sleepy states and taking up every inch of the kitchen.
It was always busy at The Burrow.
"Ah, LuLou, glad you could joins us!" Grinned James Potter, who had positioned himself at the head of the table as the two youngest cousins glowered at him. Beside him was his best friend and their cousin, Fred Weasley, who was making what looked like an egg, bacon, sausage and hash brown sandwich, who then looked up at the sound of the dreaded nickname that the two had given Lucy and Louis when they first became friends.
"Ah, fresh meat." Fred grinned, and bit into his monstrous sandwich with glee as Lucy rolled her eyes and pulled Louis over to the table where they sat beside their cousins Lily and Hugo, who were now in their fourth year of Hogwarts. Lily smiled at Lucy and affectionately began to ruffle her hair.
"Don't listen to whatever they have to say, you two." She smiled, letting her hand drift away from Lucy as she began buttering herself some toast, "They will only try and turn you to the dark side."
"Now why would we do that, Lil?" James chuckled, his eyes twinkling gleefully as he turned his gaze towards Lucy and Louis, as he prepared himself a bacon butty. "We only want to corrupt them a little bit, you know? Show them the fun side of life and let them know that Hogwarts isn't all about studying." He explained in a delighted tone, only to get hit in the back of the head with what looked like a rolled up copy of The Daily Prophet that Lily had possibly bewitched for that purpose.
"And aren't you supposed to be studying for your N.E.W.T.S this year?" Huffed Lily as she bit down into her toast, earning a nasty look from both Fred and James, who were now in their final year of Hogwarts. Lucy and Louis exchanged smiles, thankful that they would be a little bit safer from the antics of their older cousins this year.
"Killjoy." Muttered Fred, only to quickly look back down at his giant sandwich once he saw the look of thunder on his younger cousins face. Lily shook her head and returned to her breakfast, though not before shooting a quick wink at her two youngest cousins who were extremely grateful for her help.
As Lucy and Louis started to dig into their own breakfast, the rest of their family started to enter; their uncle Harry and aunt Ginny came in with their son Albus, the younger brother of James and older brother of Lily, before uncle Ron and Hermione entered to join the table, soon followed by their oldest daughter and Hugo's sister, Rose. Lucy took note of the shiny badge pinned to Rose's shirt that she had received a year before; the prefect's badge, and watched as Rose sat beside her best friend from their family, Albus Potter. Those two were just as inseparable as both Lucy and Louis were.
The kitchen was soon filled with the hustle and bustle of the Weasley-Potter family once everyone was awake; parents were talking amongst each other, Grandma Weasley kept herself busy by cooking everyone extra food, and the older cousins were excitedly talking about meeting up with their friends that they hadn't seen over the holidays or, in the case of Lucy's older sister Molly and Louis' sister Dominique, showing off their shiny new Prefect and Head Girl badges to one another.
But for both Lucy and Louis, who both exchanged worried glances, the lively chitter-chatter and excitement of their family members that morning only made their nerves worsen, and so instead of eating, they simply held their hands together tightly beneath the table as they waited for time to pass quickly so that they could get to the Hogwarts Express, and get to Hogwarts as quickly as possible...
A/N: And that is the first chapter. I apologize if it is too short, but I think that it makes an okay-ish introduction... and also, thank you very much for reading! I hope that you all enjoyed it, if not, then there is better fanfiction out there!