Disclaimer: The Universe and the people you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. The original characters belong to me.

A/N: This story is mostly canon. The main difference is that I've ignored the epilogue. Any canonical issues outside of that are likely mistakes but let's pretend they were intentional.

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Chapter 1: Compartment

Linor

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My Dad is going to die. Everyone thinks of their own mortality, and I have thought about how I will go out. It had never really registered though that my parents were just as mortal as I was. As I kiss him on the cheek, I wonder if I will see him again. It is enough of a shock that he was able to come see me off; that he has recovered that much, but the sickness may return. Will he live until Christmas? For the first time, I feel the pain of separation as I board the Hogwarts Express. Even two years ago, I found it easy to wave goodbye to my parents as they shrank into the horizon. Now it hurts, because my dad may have disappeared for good.

I walk from car to car trying to find an empty compartment. I pass acquaintances, classmates, but no friends. There aren't really any to pass. My brother takes a seat with the other 5th year boys in his house and I am alone. It isn't strange or frightening. It is simply the status quo. I enter a virtually empty car; only one compartment is filled. I slide into the opposite compartment and close the door to shut out the laughing and chatting from across the aisle. I feel like screaming, crying, and just curling up and going to sleep all at once. I don't know how James handled it. Doesn't he understand that this may be it? He claims it's all in my head, that Dad is cured. He is wrong. I can feel this truth eating me from the inside. Death is no less painful when you see it coming. In fact, it just carries on longer.

I think of Mom. What will she do if he relapses? I won't be there to keep her strong. I pull out a sheet of parchment and a quill to write David for the fifth time. This time I don't stop myself.

David,

I hope you've found what you're looking for in the great expanse of the world because I need you to come home. The disease will come back, and he'll need one of his children with him. I know it's selfish of me to place this burden on you, but James and I are at school. As much as I'd like to drop everything and run to his side, I can't….

A wet mark appears on the parchment. At some point I started crying. The fact that I can't help him ways heavily on me.

I know he's not your favorite person in the world, but he needs you, and Mom does, too. You have the strength and spirit to….

"This is my compartment," a voice announces from the door of the compartment. I look up and see Teddy Tonks, glaring me down. His hair, longer than it had been, but still black, begins to rise. His stare is powerful; eyes deep red like mine must be from crying. It takes me a moment to register what he had said.

"Your compartment?" I reply dumbfounded.

"I sit here every time!" he seethes, anger growing every moment.

"No one's stopping you," I reply gesturing to an empty seat. He looks at me as though I've insulted his mother. His dead mother, I have to remind myself. His parents are the only reason I know who he is, that and his discipline record. He has gotten into more fights then anyone in the last ten years. I wonder if I will become like this, angry because my dad is dead. I realize that I won't. I'll simply fade away.

"Ok," I say rising from my seat, "have your precious compartment." Is this pity that's letting him have his way? I brush past him to get out of the compartment. I feel him tense as I make contact.

"Hey!" he yells, "Don't Touch Me!" I turn in time for him to push me through the door of the compartment across the aisle and into the lap of Mark Lawrence. On any other day, finding my self in Mark Lawrence's lap would be great luck. He is incredibly attractive and the summer had made him even more so. He looks at me with his golden eyes and asks if I'm okay. In normal circumstances I would melt. Not that I have feelings for him, he's just gorgeous. Today, however, I have no opinion about his involvement in this scenario. He helps me to my feet, but I brush him off. I turn to Teddy and send daggers at him. No one pushes a Grayson and gets away with it, no one.

I'm aware as my fist connects with his jaw that this is probably just me taking out my pent up frustration, but I don't care. I throw my self into this fight with wild abandon. "Are you two really this stupid?" A voice inquires from behind me. Based on the sarcastic tone and the fact that Mark is there, it likely belongs to Jones Wilson, his best friend and fellow Chaser.

"Really guys," a boy announces as he tries to separate Teddy and me, "cool down." Teddy simply pushes the boy, whom I recognize as Alex Smith, away. I take advantage of his distraction from me to land a good hit which sends him to the floor. My brothers taught me to fight, like many younger sisters. Unlike most, though, my dad encouraged them. He wanted me to be able to defend myself when I need to. This thought hurts. His methods no longer imply supportive, fun dad. Now it seems he has been spending my entire life preparing me for life without him. That's really all parenting is. Preparing your child for your death.

Teddy is back on his feet in seconds. "We haven't even made it off the train and you're already in another fight, Teddy?" Jones unhelpfully adds from his position behind me.

Mark rises as Teddy springs on me. He waits for an opportunity to do so and then grabs Teddy lecturing, "Teddy, she didn't do anything, and it's not nice to hit a lady."

"Don't give me any of that sexist bullshit," I find myself replying, "I'll kick his bloody arse anyway." Teddy struggles against Mark's hold. He manages to break free, adrenaline overcoming Mark's superior strength, and charges me, pushing me into the compartment. I notice that Kathryn McNeil is also present. She hasn't seemed to look up from her book this whole time. She made Double Charms with the Ravenclaws even more frustrating. Of course, the Ravenclaws in turn had to endure Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors. She is already in her robes for some reason.

"Ok," Jones announces, "enough!" He pulls his wand from the pocket of his jeans. "Petrificus Totalus," he calls. It isn't until after these words are uttered that I realize his wand is pointed at me. My body straightens and locks, against my control, and I fall to the floor. I cannot see much through my curls, which have fallen over my eyes. "Petrificus Total…" I hear before Jones's wand spirals across my vision. Like a flash, Teddy is on top of me, throwing sloppy punches I cannot deflect. The pain dulls after a while before a particularly sharp pain comes from my nose. I feel the blood begin to pool and run down my face, hear the meaningless voices, indiscernible over the pounding in my ears, but I am helpless to do anything. I slowly black out.

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I am incredibly lucky to come from a family with money. Even though it's been years, some people are still trying to regain funds lost to them in the war. My family lives in a large mansion that's been in my family for generations. I have brand new books and expensive robes. My family has a vacation home in the country side. A three person permanent staff lives in my family home. My father has the best magical medics working on him. It should be known, however, that the loss of a home is devastating even if you have plenty of money to replace it.

I was seven. Daddy, David, and I had gone to the vacation home for a week during the summer. David and Mom never really got along but this was before he stopped getting along with Dad. Daddy, always one to avoid conflict, thought that a vacation would be good for him, and David and I were separable only by school at this point. It was Wednesday, and we had spent the day on the lake, swimming.

My family has enemies. It's a consequence of money, I suppose. In the middle of the night, one of these enemies lit the house on fire. There are some things that magic cannot stop. A raging fire is one of them. By the time Dad smelled the smoke, it was already too late.

David rushed out quickly, climbing out his ground floor window. Dad was able to apparate out. I, however, didn't smell the smoke for a long time, and when I awoke, the fire had made it outside of my bedroom door. I don't remember much. A lot of smoke, having to crouch low to breathe, Dad's face and the squeezing sensation as he apparated us out of the house.

As we stood on the hill near our home watching as the flames overcame our possessions, I began to cry. Dad clutched me with one arm and had his other around David. I felt this sense of helplessness. I could do nothing. I was seven. It's occurred to me over the years that Daddy must have felt even more helpless.

He told me this summer when it seemed like the end that he felt like he'd failed me so many times. I told him to hush, that he had never failed me. I wondered later if the fire was one of those times. I hope he knows that he did anything but fail me. He had saved me. I could never have made it this far without him. I wonder if I'll be able to make it after he's gone. I want to help him. I want to fix it, but I can't. There are some things that magic can't stop. Fire is one. Death is another.

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"Are you Okay?" a voice asks. The voice is familiar, but I can't place it. "Linor! Are you awake?" My eyes flutter open. Above me is Molly Hall, Head Girl from Gryffindor. Further back stand a concerned Mark and a scowling Teddy.

"Yeah," I croak out, "What's going on?"

She helps me sit up as she begins to speak. "Well apparently you were in some variety of brawl with Teddy."

"These guys were part of it, too!" Teddy barks. Tattle tales annoy me.

"We were trying to stop you," Jones says in his usual condescending way, "Molly we had nothing to do with it."

"Except for body binding me so that Teddy can wail on me," I say frustrated, "you basically held me while he punched."

"Oh come on!" Jones retorts, "I would have bound him too if he hadn't knocked my wand out of my hands."

"Well either way," Molly calls, reaffirming her control of the situation, "you shouldn't have been doing magic in the first place, Jones. What about the rest of you?"

"Well Mark and Alex tried to get into it," Teddy announces.

"Bull!" Jones yells. He always had been confrontational. "Mark and Alex tried to stop you."

"I can speak for myself," Mark says joining the conversation, "but yeah what Jones said."

"What's the point of speaking for yourself if I've already said what you were going to say?" Jones could be insufferable. He had a tendency to assume things about others.

"Jones, we've discussed this," Mark says remaining cool, "just because you think you know…"

"There's no think…" Jones interrupts

"There's no stopping him, Mark," I say over Jones, "he's always been like this."

"Nobody asked you," he barks.

"Well nobody asked you about Mark and Alex."

"I believe Molly's question was addressed to the group."

"Bloody Hell! Can you all stop fighting for two minutes?" Molly yells. I had never seen her this angry. She was normally quite level. She takes several breaths. "What about Kathryn?" At this, Kathryn's head finally rose from her book.

"I didn't do anything," she says calmly.

"She read the whole time," Teddy says.

"She doesn't bother with petty squabbles,' Jones follows.

"Or maybe she just knows to stay out of other people's business," I say back. This actually helps. Good old banter, no matter how annoying, is always helpful in relieving stress.

Molly thinks for a moment and then sighs. "Well at least there's something you all can agree on. Look, I'm going to have to report this to your heads of house," she pauses for a moment, "meaning all of them. Linor, you seem fine for now, but Madame Pomfrey will have to take a look at you when you get to the castle." It was a great mystery to Hogwarts students why the old nurse hadn't retired, but no one minded. She was one of the best. "You all need to stay in this car, but I want you to divide into compartments in such a manner that you won't argue." With that she leaves. Without hesitating Teddy crosses the aisle into "his" compartment and slams it shut.

I start to stand up and Mark comes to help me, this time I let him. I don't have the energy to do it on my own.

"Look," Jones says reluctance evident in his voice, "I'm sorry for the body bind, I should have gone for him first."

"Oh, now you're sorry," I bark back, knowing he didn't deserve it, "now that my nose is broken and I'm covered in bruises. Well thanks Jones." As I grab my stuff that has fallen in the aisle, I chastise myself for my harshness. I was being more aggressive than necessary, I knew it. But to be honest, except for the injuries, it felt good. I had gotten my mind off Daddy for a little at least. I slide into the rear compartment and shut my eyes.

"What's her problem?" I heard Jones say from his compartment.

"Don't be so hard on her," Mark responds, "weren't you friends." God, that was forever ago.

"What does it matter? I go to apologize, and she yells. Typical Linor."

"Don't worry about it, Jones" Kathryn says, "some people just have no manners." Well bugger her. Her lack of talking, as though you weren't even worthy of her using the energy to speak to you was infuriating.

"Guys come on!" from Alex this time, "didn't you hear what happened to her Dad? We should be nice to her." Great, pity.

Unable to stand this anymore I reach up and slide the door shut. My mind is back on my father. What would he think? I think a thought I've thought many times before. He claims to have failed me, but he's wrong. I'm the one who's failed him. My Dad is going to die. I can't stop it. Once again, I've failed him. Exhausted and hurting, I drift to sleep.