Gryffindor's Thoughts by Lionclaw
Chapter Notes: I own only Dot, Luke, Finn, and Eli. Everything else belongs to JKR. This is also my first attempt at fanfiction.
A quick note to understanding the story: Voldemort fell a few weeks before this story takes place in the summer of 2020. Dot and the other three were there.
Dot Potter rummaged through her dresser, desperately searching for her old journal. True, she hadn’t written in it for three years but a close brush with death made a girl want to remember her past. Of course, part of her didn’t want to remember. There were times too painful to relive and the simple phrase ‘relive the pleasant, relive the pain,’ echoed through her system until she felt she had to find that journal, if only to prove herself wrong. Finally, success! She pulled the old scarlet covers gently, as though holding a sacred relic, until it was free of its underwear prison. She sighed with contentment, plopping onto her bed and greedily turning pages until she stopped on one.
Diary, September 1st, 2014
It’s only the first night at Hogwarts and already things are…unusual to say the least. I was Sorted into Gryffindor (What else did you expect?). Luke was Sorted into Ravenclaw, though no one’s too surprised since his nose is always in a book, and Eli was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Man, Sirius and Matthew are going to have FUN with that. I just hope they don’t go overboard. Anyways, Finn Lupin was the shock of the night. Can you guess where he was Sorted? Slytherin! Yep, my best friend is a Slytherin. Nobody could stop staring at him. That had to be embarrassing. My family’s the worst, though. They’ve known him as long as I have and they were still surprised and sending him dirty looks. I don’t get the bog deal. Finn’s always been a Slytherin, at least to me. He’s smart, cunning, and definitely a loner. I hope he’s ok. I’m going to talk to him first thing tomorrow.
Dot chuckled, remembering how…well that went.
Diary, September 3rd, 2014
I’m so mad at Finn I want to scream! He avoided me all yesterday and today, even though we have the same classes! The worst part is I could see his face all during class and, let me tell you, he looked like someone was torturing him. I mean, what’s wrong? Nothing’s happened to our families as far as I know, so that can’t be it. And it’s also not his dad because Uncle Remus, Professor Lupin in class, looked better than he has in a while. Maybe his mum’s death’s getting to him again? Argh, who knows? I need to find some way to get him to talk to me. Maybe Eli’ll help. She likes Finn a lot and, even if she didn’t, there’s still the matter of who rigged the bucket of maple syrup to fall on Aunt Fleur’s head at the party two weeks ago. Luke…nah, he wouldn’t want to get involved with anything involving emotions. Well, got homework. Talk later. Bye.
Dot remembered that period well. It was what brought her, Finn, Eli, and eventually Luke all together as friends. She remembered using Eli and Luke to force Finn into confessing his reason for keeping away from his best friend; that he was afraid she hated him for being in Slytherin. She also remembered what happened next.
Diary, September 13th, 2014
Whew, sorry it’s been a week but so much has happened I haven’t had a chance until now to update. As you know, Finn and I made up(finally!). What you don’t know is what my…git of brother and his posse did. Yesterday, after dinner, they started picking on Finn. And I don’t just mean taunting him. I mean flat out shoving his books to the ground and putting him under the Jelly-Legs Jinx. It was pure luck that I happened to walk by as they were messing with him. Boy, did I get mad! Mum says my temper could blow off someone’s head and that’s just what I wanted to do to Sirius. I stepped between them and let them have it, verbally, of course. Sirius did what he normally does, scoffing, telling me how stupid I am, (yeah, right) how I had no right to interfere, how Finn was fair game being a Slytherin, etc. Basically, the usual dragon dung. As I drew my wand, who should walk by but Eli and Luke? They also told Sirius and his gang off, though I think Luke did it more out of spite to Matthew than anger at the wrongness of the situation. When they saw it was an even fight, they grumbled and left. It’s the proudest moment of my life. It’s the first time I stood up to my brother and got what I wanted. So far, he’s left Finn alone but knowing him, it’s only a matter of time.
Dot smiled, reminded of the good times that followed. Her first year had been so blissful, especially considering subsequent ones. She absently turned several pages before stopping on an entry.
Diary, October 24th, 2017
Today’s Luke’s fifteenth birthday. Luckily for him, it was a Hogsmeade weekend. We, Eli, Finn, and myself, planned the entire day out for him. First, we stopped off at Honeydukes for an entire mountain of chocolate that I helped pay for with my money. (I know I complained about baby-sitting Victoria but seeing Luke’s face light up made it worth it.) Next, we whisked him off to The Three Broomsticks for lunch. We then wandered the village, stopping off at the various bookshops. Eli ordered him several volumes on the history of the Founders, since he’s so obsessed with them. Then, finally, we headed back up to Hogwarts where Finn presented Luke an Intruder Detector. He explained that it sprayed people with bright, purple ink if they aren’t the owner of a particular place. It was so thoughtful. For the last couple of years, people, probably Luke’s dorm mates, have been taking his notes from his trunk and selling them to students. Now, all he has to do is strap that thing to his trunk and, boom! We’ve caught the thieves. If Luke was anyone else, I think he might’ve hugged Finn until the poor boy suffocated. He was certainly grateful and surprised. Though we all hang out together and are friends, I don’t think it hit Luke until now just how much we care. Typical boy. When it comes to books, he’s the smartest there is but put him with emotions and he’s clueless. Oh, well. That’s why we love him. Got an essay to write. See ya.
Dot laughed outright. That was a good day. Luke later joked he couldn’t wait to see what they’d do for his seventeenth birthday. That entry had also been one of her last. With a sigh, the girl closed the diary’s pages as her father called her down to dinner. As she descended into the family chaos, she realized something. Pleasant times could be remembered without the pain. Until just this moment, she’d forgotten what she and her friends had gone through the past year, from losing relatives to tangling with dark foes. Dot set her jaw, determined to write again, if only to remember the pleasant times later.