Through All the Pain // N. Longbottom

Fifth Year // Chapter 2

I ran and ran until I found myself up in the Astronomy Tower. I walked over to the edge and sat down, wrapping my hands around the railing and letting my feet dangle over the edge. I just sat there and sobbed.

"Lori? Lori, you up here?" Neville's voice called from the stairs. I heard him walking over and felt his arm wrap around my shoulders. "It's okay, Lori. It's okay."

"Not it's not, Neville!" I said looking into his eyes. "Seamus has been my friend since DAY ONE! You all have been! Ever since our first day, it's been the four of us."

"I know. I know." he tightens his hug around me, as I placed my head onto his shoulder. 

"I was right ..." I murmured after a few moments.

"Huh?" Neville asked.

"After the Quidditch World Cup last year ... I had a feeling everything was gonna change ... I was right ..."

"Lori ..."

"I mean, everything is going to keep changing ... and ... and the thought of losing anyone else ... just-just breaks me, Nevy." I started sobbing harder, and Neville pulled me into his chest. We sat up there for about twenty minutes. I was crying into his chest while he rubbed my back.

"Hey, let's head back to bed and just enjoy this year as much as we can," Neville suggested slowly starting to pull me up. "Besides you want to be well-rested Ms 'Top of the Class'." I laughed.

"Hermione is at the top of the class, not me," I said as we walked over to the stairs.

"Maybe, but your definitely second." 

***

The next morning I was up before everyone (even Hermione) and got ready. After a shower and getting into my uniform, I walked down the stairs to the common room and waited for Neville. As I sat there, waiting for him to walk down, I noticed Fred and George were pinning up an announcement on the bulletin board.

"You know, Hermione's a prefect now. She can and will give you detention." I said walking over. "I heard that she told you guys not to hang these up in the Common Room."

"Well, she won't," Fred said cockily.

"Yeah, she won't," George said as he patted the top of my head before they walked out of the room and down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I slowly walked back over to the sofa, waiting for Neville as Seamus and Dean sprinted through the common room. Seamus looked at me, opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but decided against it and rushed out.

I flung myself back onto the sofa and grabbed a pillow. I clutched it close to my chest, my chin laid on top of the pillow and I stared up at the ceiling. I must've been zoning out while looking up at the ceiling because the next thing I knew, someone shook my foot. 

"AAH!" I rolled off the front of the sofa, crashing onto the floor in a pile. I sat up blew some hair out of my eyes, and saw Neville gaping down at me.

"I'm so sorry, Lori!" Neville clambered over the sofa and started to help me up, "If I had known you would've flung off I would've never!"

"It's fine, Nevy." I placed the pillow back on the sofa and smiled at him. "It's not like I fell off the back of the sofa, I rolled down the front of the sofa." 

"Still! You could've hit your head!" Neville wrapped his hand around the back of my head and looked into my eyes. "I would hate to be responsible for you getting hurt."

"Well, I didn't. Now let's go get some breakfast, I'm starved!" I grabbed Neville's hand and we rushed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. While sitting there, we got our schedules and had our own little fits about them. Fred and George picked on Ron for saying he wished their snack boxes were done, which caused Hermione to scold them about posting their advertisement in the common room.