Chương 38: ITW,H - Chapter 38 - (1) Christmas Break

(Word Count: 1, 159) Travelling was much better when you had your own private compartment to hang out with your friends in. Despite having to spend nearly the entire day travelling, their time passed by quickly and soon enough, the Hogwarts Express was pulling into the King's Cross station. The platform was already crowded with parents waiting for their children, and soon it was a mess.

There was a huge crowd of students trying to lug their carry-ons through the throng, or trying to push their way to the luggage carriage to get their larger trunks. Luckily, Harry's trunk was always kept shrunken and on his person, so he didn't have to worry about that. He had also helped Neville shrink his trunks, and Hermione had been able to learn the spell herself and shrunk her own trunk.

The three of them pushed their way out of the crowd of students and began looking around in the crowd of waiting parents to find their ride home.

"Over there!" Harry pointed. Sirius Black was standing off to the side, where there were less people, together with Dan and Emma Granger, and an older woman wearing a large hat with some taxidermy bird standing on it. Madam Longbottom.

"Mom!" Hermione cheered.

"Wait, who's the lady with the dead bird on her head?"

"That's my grandma," Neville groaned. His grandmother had the oddest sense of fashion. It wasn't even an older fashion trend that had long since faded away. No, she just really liked taxidermy. Emma spotted them approaching first, and in a very similar fashion as Hermione just before, she cheered.

"Hermione!" She quickly made her way past several people to scoop up Hermione into a giant hug.

"Oh, how I missed you!" And she began showering her in a load of kisses. Behind this scene, Sirius, Dan, and Madam Longbottom slowly followed up. Harry gave Sirius a hug.

"Hey, kiddo!" Sirius smiled and ruffled his hair.

"It's good to have you back."

"Hello, Neville. Did you have a good trip?" Madam Longbottom asked somewhat stiffly.

"Hello, Gran," Neville replied nervously.

"Yes, I did." Madam Longbottom turned her eyes to Harry.

"You must be Harry Potter. I should thank you for being Neville's friend. He's told me a lot about you and how you've been helping him."

"Not at all, Madam Longbottom. Neville's been a great friend, and he's also been helping everyone in our study group loads with Herbology," Harry said.

"He's got a real gift for it." Madam Longbottom gave Neville a proud look.

"Yes, he's always been talented in Herbology. Still, he's struggled with spellwork, something you've been helping him with."

"It's nothing to do with his magic, madam. It's just his wand. If he gets his own wand, he would be able to cast without issue," Harry shrugged. Madam Longbottom's face turned frosty.

"There's nothing wrong with Neville's wand. It was his father's, so there should be nothing wrong with Neville using it." Harry raised his hands calmingly.

"I'm aware Neville wishes to use his father's wand. There's nothing wrong with the sentiment. I'm only pointing out the underlying cause of Neville's struggle. Wands choose the wizards, and unicorn wands are notorious for their loyalty. It chose Mr. Longbottom, not Neville. So to counter that, Neville needs to put a lot more effort than normal into casting. The wand barely works for him, almost to the point of just casting wandlessly."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Madam Longbottom frowned but said nothing.' Good. It looks like she's at least thinking about it.' Harry turned to Neville.

"Which, by the way, Neville, you should really look into learning. It won't be a major leap for you as it would others." Dan Granger stepped forward and clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Hello, Harry. It's good to see you again. Nothing too crazy happened while you were away, right?"

"No, sir. Not at all," Harry lied smoothly. Dan beamed and gave another shoulder smack.

"Well, it's best we be off! Madam Longbottom, it was a pleasure meeting you. Sirius, Harry, we'll be in touch," Dan gave them a nod, and looked to Emma. She nodded and they began making their way towards the portal. Hermione hugged Harry goodbye.

"Harry! Have a wonderful break. I'll call you." Harry hugged her back, "I'm sure we can arrange for a Christmas visit sometime over the break." She turned around and caught up to her parents. Harry could hear Dan say, "Wait, where's your trunk?" Emma soothed her husband, "Don't worry, dear, Hermione has it shrunk in her pocket."

"Huh. Magic is so useful," Dan said, and they disappeared beyond the portal.

"With that, we should be off as well," Sirius said.

"Madam Longbottom, I suppose I'll be seeing you next at the ball, won't I?"

"Yes, Mr. Black, Neville and I will both be attending," she said, placing a hand on Neville's shoulder.

"Until then." Harry gave Neville a smile.

"I'll see you later then, Neville." Neville smiled back, "Yeah. See you later." Sirius and Harry made their way out through the portal to the muggle side of King's Cross and out to the parking lot, where Sirius had his motorcycle.

"Hop on, Harry!" A short ride later, they arrived in front of Grimmauld Place. Normally, ever since it's been cleaned up properly, arriving here would bring a sense of peace and of "coming home." Today though, Harry was nervous. He was expecting a retaliation prank from both Sirius and Dora. He was safe enough at the station, they wouldn't do anything so publicly. No, they had definitely set something up here at the front door.

"Come on, Harry, don't be dragging your feet! In you go!" Sirius urged. They approached the door, Sirius was conspicuously behind him. Harry looked around. There was no one on the streets. He pulled out his mother's wand, to avoid the trace, and casted several detection charms. Nothing but the house's wards. Harry frowned. It was something inside then. Sirius rolled his eyes at Harry's antics, and ruffled his hair as he passed him, opened the door and stepped inside.

He turned around and gestured at Harry to say, "see?"

"No pranks here, Harry. Honest. I'm just glad to have you back for the break," Sirius smiled warmly.

"Oh? So the prank war's over?" Harry asked, putting the wand away.

"Yup! It's over. At least, until whenever the next one starts. Though, I can't promise anything on Nymphadora's behalf. I did hear about the prank you pulled on her. Nice one, by the way. No, from what I've heard, she opened it up right next to Moody. Moody ended up diving into the nearby bushes for cover," Sirius snickered.

"She had to run 10 laps around their training grounds as punishment." Harry laughed at the image of Moody diving into the bushes, but grimaced at Dora's punishment. She'd definitely seek revenge.

"She's not here right now, is she?" Sirius just smiled and walked into the house.