A/N:
Written for Round 8 of QLFC
Mucho love to Ginny and Liza for beta'ing (for once I've remembered to put credits in my A/N)
Team: Montrose Magpies
Position: Beater 2 – What would the world be like two years after Voldemort rises to power
Prompts: (Word) Allegiance, (Word) Revolution, (Word) Cruel
Word Count: 1433
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
Neville cautiously looked over his shoulder as he approached the secret headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix, knowing that in this day and age you couldn't be too careful. There were traitors and spies everywhere, and it was a lesson that had hit close to home very recently for every member of the resistance.
The 'new world' that they lived in was horrendous, and it was one that had spread like wildfire throughout Europe: Muggles were tortured and killed in the streets for fun, witches and wizards wandered around like mindless zombies, Hogwarts had become a breeding ground for Death Eaters, and the NEWTs had replaced with a Death Eater training programme; not to mention the Ministry of Magic had succumbed to further corruption – gone was the Statute of Secrecy, Aurors actively hunted Muggles and Muggle-borns, and hate crimes were actively encouraged.
It was a world that Neville, and the rest of the Order, were fighting against. It was a fight that he was sad to say they were losing, despite the small victories that they managed to achieve.
The wizard withdrew his wand from his cloak, and prepared to cast the charm at the secret tunnel's entrance when he saw the projection screen pop out of nowhere.
Neville knew what this meant.
It had become common practice over the last two years, ever since the rise of You-Know-Who, for the screens to appear for 'Ministry announcements' as well as the public execution of so called traitors, and Muggle-borns.
The adaptation of a Muggle technology had been an unprecedented move on their part, but Neville couldn't deny that it had been effective. It had instilled terror in the wizard population, and made recruiting others to their cause incredibly difficult.
"Hem—hem. Coming live from the Ministry: the execution of the blood traitor and spy, Narcissa Malfoy," the girlish voice, that was easily identifiable as belonging to Dolores Umbridge, announced.
Neville stared blankly at the screen as they brought up footage of Narcissa on her knees, and her sister towering over her.
"Narcissa Malfoy, you have been found guilty of working against the Dark Lord. It is a most heinous crime, and the punishment is death. Do you have any last words before you die?"
Neville watched on as Narcissa raised her head and looked her sister directly in the eye.
The scene was one that he had seen frequently, but it never got any easier. More often than not, especially in the cases of the few pure-blood executions, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or his puppet Minister for Magic, would ensure that it was carried out by a blood relative. In this case it surprised Neville to see that it was Bellatrix carrying out the deed rather than Draco.
"No," she answered in a confident voice.
"Very well then," Bellatrix sneered, raising her wand so it was pointing directly at Narcissa's chest. "Avada Kedavra!"
Narcissa's body slumped to the ground, and Neville felt a pang in his heart. This was his fault. He should never allowed her to place her life at risk; he should have protested more when she had insisted on spying for them, but she had made a very compelling argument, and Narcissa Malfoy was as stubborn and strong-willed as they come.
"That is all for today. Remember, if you don't want to end up like the traitor, then conform and keep in line. No harm will come to you as long as you obey."
And with that the large pop up screen vanished from sight.
Neville took a few moments to compose himself before casting the charm and entering the secret tunnel that led to the headquarters.
As he walked through the tunnel, Neville found himself thinking about all the shocking events that had transpired in the last two weeks alone and in particular the betrayal of one of their own. Every member of the resistance suspected everyone else, and no one was sure of anyone's allegiance anymore; it was causing their already fragile group to fight amongst themselves instead of against their common enemy.
This, along with the information that Narcissa had managed to relay to him shortly before her death, was the reason he had called a meeting of the Order.
As Neville approached the hidden room, he heard the sounds of raised voices, and not for the first time he wanted to bang his head against a brick wall.
The divisions within their group were becoming astronomical, and the mistrust between even the closest of friends proved just how much everyone had been shaken to the core by the ultimate betrayal.
One of their own had gone over to the dark side, and in the process had caused their numbers to be decimated, personally killing some of them himself including the man he often referred to as his 'brother from another mother'.
Enough was enough though, and Neville knew that it was down to him to remind everyone of their common foe and unite them in their mission.
Neville tapped his wand against the door frame and muttered an incantation, before entering the room to find those he considered friends either at each other's throats, or eyeing people with suspicion.
"Sonorous," he said, pointing his wand at his throat.
"That is enough," Neville's voice boomed, immediately gaining everyone's attention.
"I know Seamus' betrayal has hit all of us hard. We don't know why he did what he did, and we may never find out, but we cannot allow this to make us turn on each other, and forget why we are here. If anything, the events of two weeks ago should bring us closer together rather than drive us apart."
Neville took a moment to make eye contact with each and every one of The Order. His eyes rested a moment longer on his former head of house, Professor McGonagall, who had a look of pride on her face as she gave him a small smile.
"Our enemy is gaining more and more power by the day, and my source has reliably informed me that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has turned his attention to North America. He has plans to further infiltrate the White House, as well as gain a foothold in Ilvermorny. It is our job to ensure this doesn't happen, otherwise I fear that all could be lost. My source has also informed me that You-Know-Who intends to carry this out personally, with several of his most trusted lieutenants, and this could be our best chance to take him out. Already, I have two of our most trusted members forming a resistance group there to help us fight. Let us avenge the deaths of our own, and restore the wizarding world to its former glory. Now, who's with me?"
The group of witches and wizards gathered in the room erupted into cheers, and for the first time in weeks Neville felt as though they were united in their mission.
6 Months Later
"Hem—Hem! This is a special Ministry announcement."
The entire wizarding world stopped what they were doing.
"The rebels and traitors, part of an organisation working against our leader, have been defeated. All surviving members are currently imprisoned and awaiting execution. Today, we are bringing you the execution of their ringleader. Let this serve as a warning to all those with rebellious thoughts. If you act against our leader, you act against us all, and you will be punished in the most severe way regardless of your blood purity."
The eyes of every witch and wizard all over the world turned to the large pop up screens which showed live footage of Neville Longbottom being guided up onto a raised platform.
They watched on as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself raised his wand and pointed it directly at the young leader of the resistance.
As he uttered the words, "Avada Kedavra," every witch and wizard felt the last beacon of hope disappear.
Neville Longbottom was dead.
The resistance was finished.
There was no one left who was brave enough to stand up and fight against their benevolent leader.
In short, in that moment every witch and wizard realised that it would be futile to consider resisting the new order, and that the only way they would be able to survive was to conform and act in a way that was expected of them.
It was a cruel world they now lived in, but it was one that the wizarding community felt they had no other choice than to accept it, no matter how much they wanted to resist.
The revolution was over before it ever had a chance to truly begin.