The World We Love Forever Gone.
Warnings: Violence. Gore. Rape. Character Death. Slash. Femslash. Het. AU (slightly), but DH compliant.
Chapter 1 'Start of Term'
Monday September 1, 1997
The gust of air around Neville as he crossed from the Muggle world into the Magical one served as a welcome comfort, cooling and calming him, even in the smallest of ways. He took a deep breath as he watched many families bustling about the platform, preparing to send their children off to school for another year.
To an outsider, it would seem chaotic, of course the platform always did seem that way, but it would just appear to be normal for the mothers to be worrying over their children's attire, fathers lifting trunks into the compartments, older siblings helping, students milling about, greeting each other after a long summer without seeing each other. But to those who knew, those who had been there when there was a large ruckus in the corridor in the middle of the night, when the Headmaster had been found, dead, when the Dark Mark had appeared over the tallest turrets in the castle that was their school, to those who had read even just the headlines of the newspaper over the summer, those who had listened in to evening shows on the wireless, to those who were insiders, the scene at Platform 9 ¾ was obviously anything but normal.
The mothers whispering hurried warnings and instructions to their children to stay out of harm's way and keep their heads down, fathers glancing surreptitiously around for any sign of people who liked to practice certain shady types of magic, older siblings worrying about how they'll protect the young ones this term, students bustling about, exchanging stories of horror from their summers. To an insider, all of this was noticeable, and Neville Longbottom was an insider, so when he caught sight of this scene on the beloved platform which once served, and should still, he thought viciously, as a gentle and thrilling reminder that they were off to another fantastic and educational year at school, when none of this was any longer applicable, it did nothing more than depress him slightly.
"Come on then, dear." Gran Longbottom scurried past her grandson once she was through the barrier, tugging the sleeve of his jumper as she approached the train.
Neville shook himself, and pushed his trolley over to a set of doors on the train. He stopped a few meters away from it, and turned solemnly to his grandmother. She gave him a small watery smile.
"Now, now." She started, adjusting the collar of his white button-up which peaked out from under his blue jumper. "Let's have a good year, shall we?"
Neville gave a small smile in turn, thinking that it was going to be anything but 'good'.
"We can't have the son of 'Frank and Alice Longbottom, top Aurors in their day', with such a sad, defeated look on his face, eh?" His gran asked, smiling wider now.
He nodded, his smile growing in return. She always liked to remind him that his parents hadn't given up, that they were brave to the very end, that they were relentless in their resistance of Voldemort, and that he should be as well, if he wanted to live up to his name. When he was younger, it didn't ever improve his mood, only serving as a reminder that he truly wasn't as powerful as either of his parents, seeing as he was practically a squib and all; but ever since the end of his fifth year, when he had fought alongside Harry and the others in the Ministry, trying to protect his godfather, and ending up dueling with Death Eaters, specifically one 'Crazy Insane Ass Bitch' who had been there, she had been so proud of him, telling him he truly was as brave as her son and his wife had been, and it always worked in stirring his heart and giving him hope. And to think that during the battle, when he had broken his father's wand he had thought she'd be nothing more than angry with him, when really she had flung her arms around him, proclaiming that she would waste no time buying a brand new one from Ollivander for him; he had earned it, after all.
"Right."
"Good then." She slid her hands up to cradle his face, and stared into his eyes for a moment. Then she sighed. "It won't be easy, it won't be fun, and it'll the most trying of times the world has ever come to see."
Way to ruin my mood, Gran, he thought.
"But you'll get through it, you're strong." She looked around the platform, as did he, out at the many innocent, frightened, and nervous faces. She snapped her attention back to her grandson, and he looked intently back to her.
"I'll protect them, Gran. I won't stand by and let things happen. I'll be the Gryffindor I am. With or without help."
He watched as her eyes filled with tears, and her hands squeezed his face gently, affectionately, proudly. "You truly are your parents' son, Neville." And with that a single tear traced its way down her right cheek. She shook her head slightly, and patted his face between her hands lightly. "There now." She stepped away, clearing her throat. "You'd better get on that train, mm?"
He nodded, smiling. For his Gran, sentimental moments had always been avoided like the plague. She thought herself too rough for things like that, though Neville knew better. So he knew she would get slightly upset about it, but hugged her tightly anyway.
"I love you, Gran." He whispered in her ear. "I'll make them proud." And with that he let her go, grabbed his trunk from the trolley, and jumped up and into the train. He walked down the corridor to an empty compartment, placed his trunk in the rack above his head quickly, then stuck his head out, and waved goodbye to his Gran, who was standing with wet eyes, smiling shakily at him, and waving as well. He smiled. Then, he saluted her like the soldier did in that American Muggle movie they had watched over the summer, 'Saving Soldier Something-or-Other'. They had both thought it silly, so when he did it, he saw her let out a small laugh. Then the train's horn sounded, and he ducked back into the compartment to the sound of the door opening. He looked up and saw Ginny and Luna there.
"Hey." Ginny said. She looked tired, bags under her eyes, obviously she hasn't been sleeping.
"Hey." He answered. He stepped forward, taking Luna's trunk from her.
"Thank you, Neville. That's very kind." She said, in her dreamy voice.
He smiled at her, and hoisted it into the rack. He knew had he tried to grab Ginny's, she'd have hexed him six ways to Sunday at such an obvious act committed from the idea that because she was a girl she couldn't have done it, and then proceeded to do it herself. So he didn't bother.
"Where's the Golden Trio, Gin?" Neville asked over his shoulder.
"Don't know to be honest." She huffed.
Neville spun around, and stared at her. "What happened?"
"They're safe, and on some mission. That's all I know."
"Oh."
When they were all seated, they stared at each other through thick silence. There wasn't much to be said. They were all thinking the same thing. It's going to be a long, and hard year.
!*!*!*!
Terry Boot stopped half way down the corridor to take a breath. His damn trunk was heavy! Of course, if he could just lighten it with a simple spell- wow. He lifted a hand and smacked himself on the forehead. For a Ravenclaw he was an idiot. He'd been in the magical world for thirty minutes now, and should have lightened it already! He quickly cast the spell, and experimentally tugged it. He smiled at its weightlessness, and continued on down the corridor.
A door to his right slid open, and he ran into whoever it was that was coming into the hall.
"Ouch. Oh, I'm sorr-" The person had stepped on his foot, but he had knocked them unbalance and sent them falling against the door, so he quickly went to apologize. That is, until he saw who it was.
"Mudblood." Draco Malfoy muttered, his nose in the air as he snarled down at Terry. "What are you doing on the train, Boot? Shouldn't you be in Azkaban for your filthy blood?"
Terry clenched his fist at his side. Malfoy was a real pain in the ass, but if he got him in trouble- no. He just had to stick to his story. To his plan. To his lie. He almost smiled, but thought better of it. "Piss off, Malfoy. I'm not a muggle-born." He moved to walk around him but was stopped when a pale arm extended out in front of him.
"Oh?" Malfoy asked, eyes narrowed and eyebrow arched. He was obviously unconvinced. "I don't think so-"
"Look, Malfoy." Terry shoved his arm out from in front of him, and took a few steps forward before turning around and continuing. "If the toad in charge of the Muggle Born Registration Committee can clear me, and proclaim the validity of my family tree, then you shouldn't have anything to challenge. Piss off."
"Yeah." Terry was startled as a friendly hand was placed on his shoulder, and he heard Anthony Goldstein's voice from behind him. "Piss off, Malfoy."
Malfoy gave them each looks of disgust before turning his back to them.
"Come on." Anthony grabbed Terry's trunk, and walked back the way Terry had been headed. "We're in a compartment down here."
"Thanks, Tony." Terry thanked his best friend, who sent him a dazzling smile over his shoulder.
"Stephen's in here with us." He commented.
Terry nearly stumbled over his feet. Anthony laughed.
"I-is he really?" he asked, mentally berating himself for the stutter.
"Oh yeah." Anthony said. "He even asked me for you."
Terry blushed. "You're a prat, you know that?"
Anthony just chuckled, sliding open a door to the right and walking in. Terry took a deep breath, collecting himself so as not to look dumb in front of the object of his affection for the past two years, before walking into the compartment.
"Hey guys." He said. He saw Mandy Brocklehurst first, who flashed him a large smile.
"Hey Terry."
Padma Patil waved at him from beside her, but his view of the other bench was obscured by Anthony and his trunk, which was being lifted to the rack above. When he finally got it in, he peered around his friend, and saw the beautiful boy, Stephen Cornfoot, his perfect dark hair falling in waves around his flawless face, his hazel eyes glinting with happiness, and yet his face looked tired, creases in his forehead, and small wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. Still, he looked as attractive as ever, his broad shoulders and muscled arms nearly begging for Terry to lay his hands on them. Only he wouldn't. Because he couldn't. Not because he didn't want to. Because, Merlin did he want to.
"Hey Terry." Stephen said as Anthony sat between the girls, leaving Terry to sit beside him.
"Hey." He said, sitting and exchanging a knowing look with his best friend, one with gratitude all over it.
Anthony chuckled, shaking his head at his friend. Terry caught eye contact with Padma, who was also amused, and smiled. She smiled back, as he was settling into the bench.
"So, what do you think?" Padma asked, all traces of a smile gone from her face.
There was no need to ask what she was asking about, and the mood in the room grew tense and sullen quickly.
"I'll kill Snape." Terry muttered.
"Terry, he's the headmaster now. He coul-"
"I don't care, Mandy." He interrupted. "Potter says Snape killed Dumbledore."
"How would Potter know?" she asked.
"He was battling the Death Eaters, obviously. Just like the other Gryffindors." He answered with some bitterness. His friends knew how much he wished he had gotten to fight alongside them at the Tower months before, how much he wished to have been able to help, instead of just calming the younger ones around them in a state of complete confusion and ignorance to the entire situation at the time.
Mandy just looked away. "Even still. I don't think we should plan an assassination on him."
"You're not up for it?" Anthony asked incredulously.
She looked slightly affronted. "What? Well- I mean-"
"Be realistic, Mandy. He'll do whatever he wants, He's a Death Eater. He'll make alterations not favorable for the students, most likely bring back ancient and medieval punishments, raise the standards for academia, not that that would be particularly horrible for us mind, but still. He'll make ridiculous rules, in essence, he'll run our school to the ground."
"Well it is their school now," she muttered.
"Not if we don't let them have it." Padma put in.
Terry smiled at her. Her sister may have rubbed off on her, her voice was so certain and unfaltering. She meant business. He turned curiously to Stephen.
"What do you think, Cornfoot?" Anthony asked.
Stephen looked from Anthony to Padma, then Terry before answering. "To be honest, I'm not sure whether the three of you are serious or not."
Terry smiled at him. "We are."
"Partially." Anthony put in. "I don't think I'm capable of murder, but I wouldn't mind binding the git to the wall of his Potions classroom and hexing him with a few rather interesting spells I read about over the summer." He finished wistfully.
Terry laughed. He looked over to see Stephen shaking his head.
"I don't think we should do that either. It's just like his classroom. As long as we do the work, and behave in a bearable fashion, then we shouldn't have any problems." He answered.
Anthony looked slightly put out. "I guess." He mumbled.
It was silent for a long while, that is until Stephen snapped his head up, and looked straight at Terry. Terry had been reading, and so was unaware of the look. The others however, had all seen, and were watching the two boys on the other bench with curiosity. Terry felt a small shift in the atmosphere in the compartment, and so peeked over the top of his book, to see Stephen's beautiful eyes staring at him critically.
"W-what?" he asked, slightly nervous.
"What are you doing here?" Stephen asked.
Terry was taken aback by the question. What?
"I've been here the whole time, you said 'hi' when I walked in, Stephen." He answered slowly, as though talking to a child, trying to explain something complex.
"No. I meant," he glanced out the window in the door to the compartment into the hall, then back at Terry and lowered his voice slightly. "Shouldn't you have been interrogated-"
"Oh!" Terry laughed. "Yeah I was." He went back to reading his book. It took him a moment to find where he had left off, and he read about two words before his book was pushed down by Stephen's hand.
"And? Why are you here when you're a-"
"A Half Blood." Terry answered.
Stephen looked confused. Terry glanced at his friends on the other bench, and noted with some satisfaction that they were all amused. They know me too well. They've already figured it out, and I didn't even have to say anything. He looked back at Stephen's confused face, and almost didn't want to say anything because he looked so incredibly adorable like that, his nose wrinkled in thought, his brows scrunched together. Then a look of understanding dawned on his friend's face.
"You're a Half Blood." Stephen repeated, nodding his head slowly. "A Half Blood with a family tree?"
Terry smiled and nodded. He figured it out too. Good. At least I didn't have to say out loud that I faked my family tree so I could come back, he thought happily. He went to return to his book when he noticed that Stephen still had his hand on the top of it. He smiled, then cleared his throat and eyed his friend pointedly.
"Huh?" Stephen looked at him, then followed Terry's eyes down to the book, and his hand, and pulled it back. "Sorry." He mumbled.
"It's ok." Terry said, before raising his book in front of his face and continuing to read.
!*!*!*!
Wayne Hopkins was walking along the corridor, peering into the many compartments, trying to find his friends. It had been an extremely long, and worrisome summer, and he was anxious to get to his housemates, nervous about who he would find not to be attending school this term due to recent laws and Registers. He clenched his jaw, just thinking about the absurd 'Muggle Born Registry' pissed him off. Justin probably wouldn't be here. His name appeared on the list of Muggle Borns who hadn't shown up for interrogation. He could just hope his friend was hiding away somewhere, out of the Magical World for a while, keeping himself safe.
His eye caught a few heads of blonde hair in the compartment to his left, and he peered in the window, sighing as he slid it open and relieved at finding some of his friends.
"Wayne!" he was suddenly being embraced, a head of red hair tickling his chin.
"Hey Susan." He patted her back affectionately.
"Finally you're here." She said, sounding as relieved as he was. She pulled away, and took her seat as Hannah Abbott came up and gave him a short hug as well.
"We've been wondering when we'd all be here." Hannah said when she retook her seat.
"Here, let me help you." Wayne looked over to see his best friend, Ernie Macmillan, standing and taking the other side of his trunk to push it into the rack above the seats. They exchanged smiles, and a handshake once the trunk was in place, and took seats, Wayne to the left of Susan, Ernie across from him, next to Hannah, both their blonde heads sparkling in the sunlight shining through the window.
Wayne surveyed the others in the compartment, and said hello to Megan Jones, on the other side of Susan, and Leanne Morgan at the window across from her.
"Wait, 'all of us'?" he turned to Hannah. "What do you mean?"
Hannah bit her lip, looking quite upset. "This is all of us from our year group." She said slowly.
His eyes snapped to Ernie, who was giving him a look that clearly said 'I was as surprised as you'. He looked around again, six. There's just six of us, he thought. He shook his head sadly.
"Are they all ok?" he asked.
"Zach and his family are hiding." Susan answered. Her boyfriend off and on of a year had owled her to say goodbye, and let her know that he would write her whenever he could, but that as Half Bloods with no real evidence of their genealogy, his family wasn't safe, and it was best they disappear for a while.
Wayne nodded, quite confident that the Smith family was more than capable of protecting themselves.
"Todd's been imprisoned." Ernie supplied through gritted teeth. "He went to that Muggle Born interrogation thing, and they bloody well ignored all of his arguments that he was truly a wizard and not some common thief, and threw him in Azkaban." He spat.
Wayne flinched. How could that be? Todd was a smart guy, a kind person, a helpful friend; he couldn't picture such a good-hearted young man in as harsh a place as prison, Azkaban.
"It's not fair." He muttered. "This world is such shite!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"What about the others? Justin and Eloise?" he asked, looking straight at his best friend, who bit his lip.
"I don't think anyone knows where Justin is." Hannah said.
Wayne kept eye contact with Ernie, who never looked away either. After a few moments more, during which the girls all watched on curiously, Ernie finally sighed.
"He didn't say anything to me-"
"But you saw him, right?" Wayne asked, eager to hear any news possible.
Ernie nodded. "Just once this summer. It was about two weeks ago, now. He didn't say much about this stuff though. Didn't make it sound like he was coming back-"
"But didn't make it sound like he wasn't." Wayne finished, dejectedly.
"Yeah." Ernie nodded. The girls all looked away.
Wayne shook his head, trying not to think about what Ernie must be feeling. He knew how much Ernie felt for Justin, whether his best friend ever said it aloud or not, he wasn't an idiot. He knew he liked the other boy, so he couldn't imagine what he was feeling at this moment, not knowing one small thing about his whereabouts.
He sighed audibly. "And Eloise?"
No one would meet his gaze, and Leanne had visible tear tracks running down her face. "Eloise is dead." She whispered.
"What?" he shouted.
All the Hufflepuffs startled at his shout, and Leanne let out a hard sob. Megan rushed to her side, holding her and cradling her, soothing her.
"She got a letter from Eloise about a week ago. She's a Half Blood, you know?" Susan started.
"In the letter," Hannah interrupted. "she said her family had been attacked in their home, and she and her little brother had gotten away, she told Leanne they were in hiding." She stopped, to wipe away a tear which was threatening to fall from her eyes.
"Their bodies were found last night in a forest in Southern Ireland." Ernie finished sadly. "The Dark Mark hovering over them."
Wayne couldn't believe it. Eloise was always a pleasant girl, funny and vibrant. He used to tease her about her pigtails, so blonde and neat, and the two had grown quite close during fifth year, studying for O.W.L.s together. He'd been offended for her, and stood up for her when others would make fun of her bad skin problem, and she was always so gracious. How could she be dead? How could this happen? How could the world have turned so dark, so quickly? How could every last bit of hope be torn away from them so harshly? He had a friend on the run, a friend in Azkaban, a friend dead, and a friend missing.
He shook his head, again trying to calm himself, and stop the tears which were now staining every single face in the compartment. He couldn't dwell on it. He had to deal with what was in front of him. His friends. In need of comfort as well as reassurance. Hogwarts. Under the reign of Death Eaters. He had to focus on how to keep his house safe, on how to protect those who were still here. Because he'd be damned if he let anything happen to any of them. He looked around the compartment at all of his sad friends, and vowed in that moment to do whatever he could to make sure no harm came to them, to make sure that none of them died, went missing, got locked up in prison, or had to disappear. He'd be their loyal and brave guardian, never mind that he wasn't a Gryffindor.
!*!*!*!
Theodore Nott closed his eyes, trying to drown out the annoying voice of the pug across from him. The train ride had been long, entirely too long, and now the feast was turning up the same way. Long, uneventful, and annoying. At his side, he could feel his best friend stiffening, his hold on his fork tightening, as the pug continued to piss him off. She was saying something about Malfoy. Of course. That's all she ever talks about. He wasn't sure what, specifically, she was saying, as his attempt to drown her out was turning out semi-productive.
"Pansy!" Blaise Zabini hissed, causing Theo's eyes to fly open so he could watch as she was told to shut the fuck up. "If you don't shut the bloody hell up, I'm going to take this fork, thrust it down your throat, and pick out all of your insides in a tedious manner. After that's done, I'll shove it up the other end, to work on your reproductive organs so you can't ever complete that twisted dream of yours to give birth to the Malfoy Heir."
Theo took a moment to marvel at his friend's creativity before casting a satisfied smirk toward the girl, whose eyes were narrowed and face was scrunched so she looked even more like a pug. "Fuck you, Zabini." She muttered angrily. Theo almost laughed out loud. Was that the best she could do?
Blaise snorted. "Nice to see that spending half your summer with American witches has expanded your vocabulary."
Then Theo did let out a snort of his own.
At that moment, he felt a light hand placed on his left shoulder, and he looked up to see Tracey Davis, with her other hand on Blaise's shoulder, leaning forward between them.
"Hey guys." She said.
"Hey." Theo and Blaise responded together, each leaning in and kissing her cheek.
She smiled, before they each slid over some and she took a seat between them. "So what's going on?" she asked.
"What's going on," Parkinson said, still angrily, "is your boyfriend threatening me, when I didn't do anything more than just talk to Millicent." Next to her, Millicent Bulstrode nodded dumbly.
Tracey eyed Parkinson for a moment, before turning to Blaise. "Is that true?"
Blaise was staring at the black haired girl across from him, his face a perfect emotionless mask. "Yes."
Tracey turned back to the girl. "I apologize for him. What were you saying?"
She looked satisfied. "I was telling Millicent that Draco and I-"
Tracey snorted. "Shut up Pansy." She then turned to her boyfriend and kissed him, as the pug's face turned confused and angry.
Theo smirked at her when she looked to him for some help, and she was made even angrier.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that, with your filthy blood, Davis."
At that, she had the attention of all Slytherins around them at the table. Parkinson looked smug, staring down Tracey who looked a tad bit surprised. Blaise, however, was fuming.
"How dare you, Parkinson-"
"No, Blaise. It's alright." Tracey said sweetly. "We've had this argument since first year, haven't we Pansy?"
Parkinson didn't make a move, her face didn't change, but Theo saw in her eyes that she was starting to worry; when Tracey Davis speaks in such a sweet voice, one should always be worried. But this just caused the smirk on his face to turn more sinister. He loved that his friends could always make the pug look and sound stupid in front of everyone. He found great amusement in it.
"And I've proven myself time and time again. I'm more Slytherin than you, Pansy. And we both know that makes me higher in The Chain of Command around here," she smiled widely now. "Even with my 'filthy blood'."
Parkinson was angry. "You're just a Half Blood!" she hissed. "You are not better than me, Davis. You never will be!"
Theo looked around to see that Crabbe, Goyle and Bulstrode were all looking menacing, almost ready to stand and hex Tracey if she said one wrong thing and the pug called for it. He slowly let his wand slide down his arm into the palm of his hand, taking firm grasp on it. He knew this moment would come, eventually. When the seventh year Slytherins would have it out due to differences in ideology. He just never thought it would happen in front of the entire Great Hall, for all other houses to see their weak divisions. No, it couldn't happen here, not now. Not so they could all see.
"What's going on?" Theo looked up to see Draco Malfoy approaching Pansy, coming to stand behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders.
Good. Malfoy won't let this happen here, either. He thinks the same way I do, Theo thought. But he didn't let his body relax, and he didn't loosen his hold on his Elm wand.
"Draco, I-" Parkinson had started out looking quite smug again, but when his hands squeezed her shoulders, her face fell.
"Not here." He said lowly, loud enough however that they all heard him. "Let it drop, Pansy. For now."
She didn't look happy about it, neither did Crabbe, Bulstrode or Goyle, but they always obeyed Malfoy, and so they stopped, Pansy sliding closer to Bulstrode so he could sit between her and Crabbe. Theo rolled his eyes, looking over to see that Blaise was also quite reluctant to just let it go. He saw Tracey whispering something in his best friend's ear, and then he nodded curtly, glaring one last dagger toward the pug, and then relaxing his shoulders. Tracey turned to Theo with a small smile. He gave her an expressionless face, before sliding his wand back up his sleeve, and turning to face the Head Table, where the new Headmaster had just stood.
"Students," Snape said, spreading his arms out, enhancing his bat-like image. The entire hall quieted at once, and Theo noticed all the Slytherins were paying firm attention to their Former Head of House. Glancing around, he saw that actually, everyone was paying strong attention. Interesting. "Welcome to another year here at Hogwarts. For the young first years, know that there were many who were down to start school this year, and only a select few were chosen and allowed. You should be proud of yourselves, for meeting our standards." Theo could have sworn he saw a slight grimace take place on Snape's face, but it was gone so quickly he could've imagined it. Standards. More like requirements. Blood Status requirements, Theo thought bitterly. He wasn't one to stand up for Muggle Borns, he had been raised to believe them below himself in the world, and he truly did believe that. But he thought they all needed to be schooled; when it came to education, Theo didn't believe in discrimination. Especially if it produced truly ignorant Witches and Wizards who would be participating in HIS society; for he did believe them to be just that: Witches and Wizards. Not thieves. He didn't believe that crap about them stealing magic. Muggles were much too stupid to be able to accomplish such a feat. "Now. There are some rules which you should be introduced to…"
Theo tuned out now, seeing as he knew the Forbidden Forest was in fact forbidden, as well as certain corridors in the Castle, and certain objects from certain…Traitorous Businesses. He looked around the Hall, noticing for the first time just how many of his year were missing.
Theo turned his attention back to the Headmaster when a general breath was taken in all around him. He looked up, and heard what had surprised everyone. "I understand that you all have chosen your timetables, have received O.W.L.s in areas which you are completely comfortable and knowledgeable. However, it is my opinion that you should all be educated in EVERY subject the school has to offer, and so you will ALL be taking EVERY CLASS available to students in your year."
Well that's disturbing. It's back to the fifth year schedules then. All his hard work in Herbology, Charms and Transfiguration to make certain he got O.W.L.s in them was useless. He'd end up with N.E.W.T.s from those classes anyway. If he'd have known that he certainly wouldn't have worked so hard. Especially in Charms and Transfiguration. Wasteful classes. Though he'd never admit it, Herbology was an interesting class for him, he quite enjoyed it. But he always used the excuse of needing the N.E.W.T. for his career as a Healer. Of course, Potions and Defense has always been easy for him, but he may not have worked so hard there either had he known. Oh well. It was just another one of those things that the damn 'Dark Lord' had ruined for him.
He took again to looking around the room, and his eyes fell upon the Gryffindor table. He thought it amusing that the Beloved Trio of Gryffindor thought themselves clever, that no one would notice them ALL gone this year. They were doing something, fighting somewhere, maybe? Or they could just be hiding. But somehow he didn't think so. They were Gryffindors after all, as well as having Harry 'The-Chosen-One' Potter in their triad; they were unlikely to not be doing something in attempt to throw off the powerful hold the Dark Lord now had over the Ministry and the School. And they'd probably succeed. Well, perhaps not. Theo was a realist, and so couldn't even pretend that was true. But he did like to have small hopes every now and then. And this was one. He hoped they'd succeed. He couldn't stand it if this world was permanently under control of such a Megalomaniac.
!*!*!*!
Ginny slammed the lid of her trunk down in irritation. None of her roommates were in the room, and so she felt herself slipping from the façade she had erected since leaving her house that morning. She couldn't believe everything. At the feast, Greasy Severus Snape had stood, and given what should have been Dumbledore's speech. Then he introduced The Carrows, as professors of the now compulsory Muggle Studies and 'Dark Arts' classes. It made her sick. She had battled with those two on that night when- She didn't want to think about it. If she thought about it, she'd break down. And she couldn't afford that at the moment.
She plopped down on her bed, her pillow being squeezed in her hands. She thought of Harry, Hermione and Ron. She hoped they were ok. Wherever they were, she hoped they were safe, and well on their way to completing their mission. She wanted Harry back in her arms. It was strange, since his birthday, when she had essentially kissed him goodbye, she felt numb and empty, instead of warm and happy. That's how it used to be when he kissed her, warm, fuzzy, girly unfortunately. But that time, it was as though they both knew what could happen, and had put as much as they could into that kiss, as a 'just in case'. But after it was done, after the brief warmth had dissipated, it left her wanting more, and knowing she couldn't have it. Knowing she may well never have it again. And that made her feel empty.
She had to keep her mind off of him, because if she didn't, she may well just die. So she tossed her pillow back to the head of her bed, and headed down to the Common Room. There she saw Neville and Seamus Finnigan sitting glumly by the fire. She went over, and plopped down on the floor in front of them, her legs crossed. They nodded in acknowledgement of her, but each sat there for a good five minutes in silence.
Ginny sighed. "What do we do?"
Neville looked from the flames he had been absently observing to his red headed friend, who sat with her elbow on her knee, her chin resting on her fist. "I don't know."
"We try our bes' ta actually learn, that's what." Seamus put in. "And if they try tellin' us horrible things, like I'm sure she will in Muggle Studies, then we correct 'em where they're wrong. Won' let 'em even think for a secon' they're really plantin' things in me head, I won't."
Neville and Ginny nodded in agreement. Silence again took over, until Seamus moved like he was going to get up.
"I'm goin' to bed." he said.
The other two nodded, and watched him climb the stairs. When he was gone, Ginny got up and took his spot on the couch next to Neville. She looked around and saw that there were a few third years in the corner, but other than that the Common Room was empty.
"What is it?" Neville asked.
She turned to him. "Neville, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?" he asked again.
She looked around again before speaking. "The Sword of Gryffindor."
Neville's eyes widened slightly. "The Sword. Yes, what about it?"
"It's Harry's."
"What?" He asked, surprised. "Gin, I don't think so-"
"It is. Dumbledore left it to him in his will."
Neville sat back in amazement. Ginny could only imagine what he was thinking, but she assumed he was impressed that Dumbledore could do such a thing. But then again, he was Albus Dumbledore, he could do just about anything, couldn't he?
"Wow."
"Yeah, well the thing is that the Ministry wouldn't let him have it."
"What do you mean?"
She took a deep breath. "Scrimgeour was being difficult. Just because he could be. And he claimed that the Sword wasn't Dumbledore's to give. So he didn't give it to Harry."
"Oh." Neville said, biting his lip. "So why are you telling me about this?"
Ginny shrugged. "I just thought, maybe we could get it for him." She tried to say it as nonchalant as possible, but Neville wasn't buying it.
"Ginny, are you talking about stealing The Sword of Gryffindor?" he asked incredulously.
She shrugged. "It belongs to Harry doesn't it?"
Neville snorted. "Do you even know where it is?"
She looked away. She didn't like being told something couldn't be done. "We'll figure it out." She muttered.
"Right." Neville said. He went back to staring at the dwindling fire.
After a short while, he stood and stretched. "I'm gonna get to sleep. It's late."
Ginny nodded absently. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she was startled by it. She looked up at his kind face. He gave her a small smile.
"Get some sleep, eh?"
She smiled back at him and nodded. He left for the stairs, and she followed him, going to her dorm. She had to admit she was slightly tired. And sleep would do her well. She needed to be completely ready for whatever would be thrown at her the next day. She wanted to be energetic enough, and prepared.
Chapter 2 'Warnings and Scum'
Tuesday September 2, 1997
At breakfast Wayne sat with his head in his hands, trying to rest his eyes some. He hadn't got one bit of sleep the night before. Instead he spent it tossing and turning, worrying about his classes today. He felt a hand clap his back, but just grunted in response.
"Come on, mate. You're getting egg on your robes."
Wayne swore and lifted his hand out of the egg bowl, dusting off the pieces of it from his sleeve, lint falling along into the bowl with it. Across from him Hannah giggled, and Susan rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm not eating that." Ernie said from next to him, filling his cup with Pumpkin Juice.
"Oh, ha ha." Wayne muttered, taking a deep breath.
"Did you not sleep?" Hannah asked.
"No. I couldn't. Not after that ominous speech last night," he glanced up at the Head Table where Snape sat quietly discussing something with the male Carrow.
"I know what you mean." She said, calling his attention back to her. "It's frightening, having him there. Hearing his voice when I'm so used to it having been friendly for the past six years. You know?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"Hey guys." They all looked up to see sixth year Adam Summerby, Quidditch Seeker and dubbed 'Hufflepuff House's Most Annoying Prat', take a seat next to Hannah, and begin to fill his plate with the eggs which had just been on Wayne's sleeves. He exchanged a look with Ernie in amusement, but noticed that neither of the girls said anything either.
"Summerby." Wayne decided to be semi-friendly. "How was your summer?"
"Oh, you know," he said around a mouthful of egg. Wayne couldn't help but wince slightly. "Full of doom and gloom like I'm sure all yours' was."
Wayne had to nod in acknowledgement of that. "It's the truth." He muttered.
He glanced around the Hall, which was slowly beginning to fill with students, and saw Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom walking in the aisle between their table and his. As they passed he nodded politely at them, and they shot him small smiles before moving on. He sighed wistfully. Oh to be a Brave Gryffindor. He had a feeling they would be starting up a resistance to the Death Eaters here, and he was fairly excited to see what they'd do. He hadn't heard anything about this, but he just knew them well enough that he could assume, and probably be correct.
He returned his attention to the conversation his friends were having, only to wish he hadn't.
"I'm not saying you're a queer, I'm just wonder-"Summerby was rushing to backtrack his last words, whatever they were, and was failing miserably.
"Summerby, if you know what's good for you, you'll just shut up." Ernie said through clenched teeth.
"Yeah." Susan said. "It's none of your business anyway, why Ernie's never had a girlfriend."
"Besides, for all you know he has and does, and YOU just don't know about it." Hannah said. They all looked at her curiously.
"You his girlfriend, Abbott?" Summerby asked.
Hannah shot him an annoyed look. "Yes." She said, surprising them all.
"Six months." Ernie muttered, sharing a smile with her.
Wayne wasn't sure whether this was just a ploy to show up Summerby, or if they were being serious now. Ernie was his best friend, but there were certain things the blonde never talked about, and his love life was one of them. Wayne had suspected strongly that Ernie had feelings for their friend, Justin, and he was still sure of it. So why then did Ernie look so wistful, now? Staring at Hannah?
"Well bugger me. I'm sorry." Summerby muttered.
Hannah shook her head and returned to her breakfast, Susan whispering frantically to her. Wayne looked over at his best friend, who just smiled and sipped at his Pumpkin juice. When Summerby finally decided to start up a conversation with some other sixth years nearby, Wayne rushed to clear things up, only for some peace of mind.
"You're not really with Hannah?" he whispered.
Ernie shot him a surprised look. "Don't you know me at all, Wayne?"
Wayne wasn't sure what he meant by that, so he just gave him a look to continue.
Ernie sighed. "Wayne, do you really think if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn't tell you? Especially for so long?"
Wayne had to smile. Of course not. Six months? That's too long anyway. Hannah had dated Todd briefly at the end of their sixth year, for about a month, and that's right in the middle of the time period. Summerby was just an idiot.
"No. Of course not. I'm sorry."
Ernie shook his head. "It's alright, mate."
Wayne thought about asking him about Justin, because now would be the perfect opportunity. Then he thought about the fact that they were at breakfast, in the middle of the Great Hall, with other friends around them, and didn't want to embarrass his friend. But he just had to know.
He leaned closer to him, and whispered "And Justin?"
Ernie was startled, looking at him with undisguised shock on his face.
"Wha-"
"Your schedules, boys." Wayne and Ernie were interrupted by Professor Sprout, as she was handing them papers with their schedules. Wayne took them quickly, trying to avoid his best friend's shock, and handed them out to the others near him.
"Charms first thing." He said. "With the Slytherins."
"Transfiguration with them too." Ernie groaned.
"We have Potions right before lunch!" Susan hissed. "How are we supposed to do well there when I haven't had it in a year?"
"At least we don't have 'Dark Arts' until tomorrow." Wayne put in helpfully.
"Muggle Studies with the Ravenclaws later." Hannah said, anxiously.
They all shared looks, anticipating what was sure to be an interesting day.
!*!*!*!
Theo sat staring at his class schedule, trying to decide if it was a good or a bad thing to be sharing Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws. And then there was Muggle Studies with the Gryffindors. They were sure to be amusing combinations. Death Eaters and brave Gryffindors, Death Eaters and intelligent Ravenclaws. Yes, this would serve to amuse him, if nothing else. He also had Charms with the Hufflepuffs, though that wasn't an interesting class to begin with, and it was pathetic Hufflepuffs, so certainly they wouldn't amuse him, at least not with misplaced antics of activism and heroism. Transfiguration would be shared with them as well, and it would be interesting to observe McGonagall throughout the course of the year. To watch as she grew anxious for the safety of her students.
Theo knew for certain that with Death Eaters in control, the students would be in danger of being cursed on a daily basis. He knew they wouldn't hold back anything, especially if faced with Half Bloods, or simply Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, who were a particular type of low.
"Should be interesting sharing Muggle Studies with the Gryffindors, eh?" Blaise asked.
"I assume so." He answered. He placed his schedule down in front of him, and poured himself some more Pumpkin Juice.
Blaise seemed to scoot closer to him, and so he did the same, knowing already this would lead to a hushed conversation of some importance. Had there been time the night before, and had they been given some alone time from their fellow Slytherins they would have been able to converse about things. But as it was they hadn't, and so over the last five years Theo and Blaise had taken to having important, private discussions in short, hushed tones at breakfast, when the population of the Slytherin Table was small, and there were not many in their immediate vicinity.
"Carrow." Blaise said, as he spread marmalade over his toast.
"Bitch." Muttered Theo.
"She'll make it all about provoking them, instead of actually trying to teach something, won't she?"
Theo gave a curt nod as he brought his cup to his lips, sipping the sweet juice. "She'll probably have a quota."
Blaise nodded in agreement. Theo knew he understood what he meant: a quota. A certain goal to reach by the end of the day; perhaps a goal on how many points deducted, how many detentions given, how many frustrated faces. Something told Theo though, that the quota may be something as simple as how many cursed students.
"Malfoy." Blaise then said.
"Another bitch." Theo responded.
From the corner of his eye he could see Blaise smirk. "Our move?"
Theo had to think for a moment. The potential open duel from the night before played over in his mind. Something he hadn't thought of then, but which he realized now was that had they went ahead and dueled with their housemates then and there, the Death Eaters at the Head Table would have rushed to stop it, rushed to aid their young, rushed to curse him and his friends. Standing against Malfoy and the others now would be a death sentence. To oppose them would make them as much targets as those with poor blood.
"We lie low." He finally decided.
"We lie low." Blaise repeated. "And while we're down there we let them walk all over us."
Theo chanced a brief glance at his friend. Blaise was upset with his decision. "What would you suggest?" he asked, turning to his own toast.
"Shoving that fork down Parkinson's throat and-"
"That, most unfortunately, is not an option."
Blaise remained silent in the face of his friend's disapproval.
Theo shook his head. "You are far too violent." He stated in amusement.
"I won't take this sitting down anymore. If I cannot openly combat them, then I'll do it in small actions."
"And now you sound like a Gryffindor." The comment was made to anger his friend. And it worked. Blaise was positively simmering.
"It isn't about being a noble fool. It's about my dignity; I still have it, and I'd like to keep it. If you don't feel the same then piss off."
With that Blaise gathered his things and left the table. Theo watched his friend's retreating back thoughtfully. Perhaps he's got it right. He's not being brave, he's being dignified. Well, Theo had to respect that.
!*!*!*!
"Please, settle down class. Settle down." From the front of the room, Professor McGonagall had her arms open before her, waiting patiently for the students to stop talking so she could begin class.
Neville was sitting beside Seamus, who was anxiously sitting up straight in his seat, his hand raised high in the air. Neville sighed. Their Head of House had explained the night before that they should be extremely careful in their classes this year, especially those with recent changes in the instructor. But she'd said nothing about how to behave in her class. He just hoped Seamus wasn't about to start the term off with an unbelievably irrelevant question, and an irritated Professor.
"Yes, Mr. Finnigan?" She asked once silence was reached.
Seamus rested his hand on his desk, and cleared his throat. "Ma'am. I was wonderin', what's bein' done about the –er… recent staff changes?"
He looked innocent enough with his question, but everyone around the room was slightly confused, which is saying something since it was the Ravenclaws on the other side of the aisle, including McGonagall herself.
"I'm sorry? What is it you mean?"
"Well, we're not really gon' have ta be taught by 'em, surely. You wouldn' allow it." After a moment of silence, Seamus continued, less sure of the situation. "R-right?"
McGonagall sighed. "I'm afraid there is nothing I, nor the other Professors, have been able to do. He- Headma- He-" McGonagall was looking put out. The title seemed too great to be placed before such a greasy name. "Snape." She finally went with. "Snape has stood resolute in his additions to our staff. As I cautioned last night to my house," here she turned her attention so the rest of the class, eyeing the Ravenclaws meaningfully. "I will caution you all. There is nothing to be done, not by you anyway. So do as told. Be students, pay attention in ALL of your classes, behave yourselves."
"They're Death Eaters." Neville peered around Seamus to see Padma Patil with a stern expression on her face as the rest of the class just stared at her. "They are, right Professor?"
Neville directed his attention back to McGonagall, whose lips were pursed in a familiar way. "Miss Patil, that is no-"
"If it's the truth, why deny it?" Padma asked.
Around her, many of the Ravenclaws were nodding in agreement, glancing between their housemate and the professor. Neville was quite surprised. The Ravenclaws never showed such audacity with their Professors, especially when dealing with the stern witch at the front of the room. Challenging questions and harsh accusations were completely different things, and it was strange to see this scene play out.
Finally, McGonagall sighed in defeat. "Death Eater or not, they're your new teachers. As Snape is your Headmaster, and so must be respected as such. I care not whether you believe what they teach you, or if you agree, or if you know it for a fact they are wrong. You must tread carefully around them." She looked around the classroom at all the pensive and intent faces of her students. "This is not like with Umbridge, where she simply would not teach you, and her disciplinary practices were questionable-"
"Questionable?" Neville peered around Seamus again to see a frustrated Anthony Goldstein. "Questionable? Forgive me Professor, but I've still got the scar on my hand that says 'I must not question authority'." For emphasis he raised his right hand, the ugly scarred skin causing most in the room to flinch. "Terry and Mike have got the same ones." Neville's eyes traveled to Boot who was rubbing the top of his left hand, and then to Michael Corner who sat in front of them, an impressive glare aimed at his desk, his dark hair hanging around his face.
McGonagall let out a long breath, nodding her head with a guilty expression. "Yes, and seeing as you remember just how horrible that was, you'll know then that now, with these… I must admit it to you, with these Death Eaters," she spat the words out of her mouth and in that moment Neville's stomach turned, and eyes widened at the ferociousness with which she spoke the rest of her sentence. "in the castle, with them being the ones to teach you, and punish you, as Snape said last night they are in charge of discipline, you must be careful! All the more! They will do things much worse, they will not stop to think too long about it!" She paused, chest heaving. She brought her hand and brought it to her mouth for a moment, then dropped it and looked around the room. "We do not want anything horrible to happen." She looked around with a nostalgic look now, a small smile. "You've all grown to be such incredible young people. You're the seventh years. You must set an example for those younger than you; you must do what you can to protect them. This year will not be an easy one. Not in the least. But you must do what you can to make it through this. I understand that Self-Preservation is usually viewed as a Slytherin Trait, but you would all do well to realize that is not absolute."
Looking around Neville saw the doubtful looks of most, but also noticed that most of them understood what she was telling them. He thought about it for a second. His Gran had wanted him to be careful, to make it through the year. But he knew she wouldn't have him abandoning his morals and knowledge just to do so. He'd behave. Because that's what a chivalrous Gryffindor should do: respect his superiors and be a well-behaved student. But if it came down to it, he knew he wouldn't stay silent if the occasion called for his thoughts to be voiced.
"Now, this is your final year, and your N.E.W.T.s are upon you…"
Neville tried his best to refocus on his Head of House, listening about the importance of this school year, but looking around the classroom he was slightly disheartened. This was supposed to be the best year at school, the most important one. But there were so many missing. Where Ron and Harry should be laughing at each other's lame attempts to transfigure the items in front of them, silence and a clean desk met his eyes. Where Hermione should be sitting at firm attention, hurriedly scribbling down notes which were sure to turn up on the exam, he was met with a lonely chair, slightly pushed out from the desk, Pavarti Patil's arm across the back of it. And where Dean should have been, his sketch pad in front of him, some impressive doodles strewn across the page, he was met with himself, sitting in the seat next to the Muggle Born's best friend, who was slumped in his own seat. Across the room, it was noticeable that Kevin Entwhistle was absent, as the boy's blonde mop was not visible beside Stephen Cornfoot, who really didn't look like he was paying complete attention to the lesson, surprisingly. And Li Su was also gone, Lisa Turpin pointedly looking anywhere but the empty seat beside her.
How could they be expected to last the year, with Death Eaters as instructors, and their best friends and dorm mates missing? It was insane for McGonagall to even think it would all turn out ok. There was no way this year was going to mean as much as it should. Not with the way things were.
!*!*!*!
Ginny didn't realize how tight she had been clenching her fist until the quill in her hand snapped. She looked down at it in shock, as it had made quite a loud noise, and the rest of the class all turned to see what had happened.
"Tsk. My, my. You should probably buy quills of better quality, so you don't snap them." Ginny looked up into the sneering face at the front of the room. She was anticipating it. She knew it was coming. Because she was a Weasley. These remarks were expected. "But then, judging by the color of your hair, and those disgusting defected spots across your skin, I realize your family must not be able to afford better quality. Tsk. What a shame. Who knew being Blood Traitors would render a family as poor as the Weasleys. Scum of the Earth, them!"
A great cackle exploded from those nasty lips, and Alecto Carrow clutched at her side as she enjoyed what Ginny assumed was supposed to be a joke. Of course. How unoriginal.
"Sorry?" Carrow looked up suddenly, glaring at Ginny.
It took her a moment to realize she had muttered her thoughts out loud. Oh well, if she heard she may as well go with it.
"I said, how unoriginal. Really if you want to insult me you'll have to come up with something not dealing with my family." She said, complete confidence in her voice. Out the corner of her eye she saw a few Slytherins watching intently, as her fellow Gryffindors held their breath, clearly a bit scared.
Carrow narrowed her eyes. "Well aren't you such a bwave wittle gwyffindowr."
Ginny raised her eyebrows at the baby talk. Seriously? What was wrong with this chick?
"It seems I'll have to give my first lesson on respect sooner than I thought. Come up here, Weasley."
Ginny remained in her seat. If she was going to be punished, it may as well be for something meaningful. "You're completely wrong."
"Excuse me?"
"Your lesson. What you were just saying about Muggles. That's not true." Vaguely, in the back of her mind, Ginny recalled her Head of House's words from the night before; a caution to behave in these classes and not step on any toes. But it didn't matter. She was already in trouble. And she didn't agree, she knew the dumb blonde was wrong, (all the random facts her father would spout out at dinners, and small tidbits of information she learned from Harry and Hermione over the years assured her of this) and she was going to make sure she knew it. Seamus' words from the night before played again in her head, and she took a deep breath before continuing. "Muggles don't live in huts, maybe some do, but they do it because they have a spiritual connection to the Earth, they live as basic as possible so as to be close and one with the Earth. But most Muggles live in houses, they have clothes, just like we do. They've invented technology, electricity, cars for getting around. They ARE civilized. They don't talk in some babble, they have many languages just like we do. They-"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Ginny stared at the raging blonde woman at the front of the classroom, her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head, her face was a bright red, and she was gripping her wand menacingly, her knuckles white. "How dare you. YOU are NOT the teacher! I AM! And I AM correct. YOU are wrong. Now, get up here Weas-"
The bell rang. Ginny released her breath. She quickly gathered her things, her friends helping, as the Gryffindors hurried out of the room. As she was passing into the hall she heard Carrow shouting for her to come back, that she'd get detention if she didn't. Really detention wasn't too bad. So she rushed out with her stuff in her arms, running down the corridor until she reached the Ancient Runes classroom. There her friends helped her arrange her things, and she thanked them sincerely.
"What do you think she was going to do?" Laura Collins asked, handing Ginny her notebook.
"I don't know. Curse me?" Ginny tried to catch her breath as she shoved her notebook in her bag. She stood straight, and saw Luna approaching.
"You seem flushed. Muggle Studies went well, then?" She asked in her serene voice.
Ginny snorted. "Well enough. I got away with my life."
"Yes. That seems a pleasant outcome." Luna answered.
Ginny smiled. Luna was always great at weird comments which may or may not have made sense. None the less, it was an interesting trait.
"Well come on," Laura began to enter the room. "You've got detention with her now."
"Great." Muttered Ginny. First she'd have to figure out when that was supposed to take place. Tonight? Tomorrow? She'd just avoid the Death Eater as long as she could so she didn't have a definite answer to that question.
!*!*!*!
Terry took a seat at the bench in front of him, setting his bag down and pulling out some parchment and a quill. He breathed in the scent of fresh green vegetation, glad to be outside for the first time that day. Transfiguration and Charms had gone over well enough, but he still felt semi-suffocated inside the walls of the castle. He liked it on the grounds, being able to breathe fresh air, and be hit with a cool breeze, even if he was inside the greenhouse. He was startled when someone noisily thumped their bag down on the bench next to him, and looked over to see a disgruntled Anthony pulling out his stool.
"What's wrong?" Terry asked his friend.
Anthony looked back at him. "Just nervous, I guess."
"About what?"
"Muggle Studies is next."
Terry's mouth formed a small 'o'.
"You heard about Ginny Weasley this morning?" Anthony asked.
"She was almost in trouble, Tony. ALMOST."
Anthony gave him a pointed look. "She's lucky she got away when she did. And she did get in trouble. She got a detention out of it. Carrow's already in a bad mood. What kind of class are we going to have?"
Terry shrugged. No one knew for sure what Carrow would have done to the Gryffindor, but everyone was speculating, rumors about nasty hexes and dark magic circulating through the corridors, and Terry had to do his best to bite his tongue and not snap at some annoying fourth year Hufflepuffs earlier.
"At least we have lunch first. That'll help."
"Yeah. And so will this, I think. Professor Sprout is pretty nice." Anthony agreed, opening his bag.
"Yeah." Terry replied absently, watching Stephen, who had just entered the greenhouse, as he was chewing his bottom lip listening to something Lavender Brown was saying, nodding his head. A smile broke out over Terry's face, he was so handsome, and all these little quirks of his were so-
"Terry…" Anthony waved a hand in front of his friend's face.
"What?"
Anthony gave him another pointed look. "You were staring at Cornfoot like he was a dainty gazelle, and you're the almighty lion about to pounce."
Terry blushed. "Sorry."
"When are you going to grow a pair and ask him out?"
Terry shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner. "It's not that easy."
"The hell it's not. Tell him you think he's hot, and you want him for his body."
Terry raised an eyebrow at his friend, who just laughed.
"Ok, so I'm not the best person to give advice on this. I only ever asked out a girl twice. And both times I got shot down…" Anthony trailed off, staring at Terry's foot.
"Tony-"
Anthony's head shot up, and he glared at Terry. "Whatever. That's beside the point."
"And what is the point?" Terry asked, amused, glad they didn't have to have this conversation again. Merlin knows how many times they'd had it over the past year, and how ineffectual Terry's side of the argument was.
"The point is, if you don't pounce SOON, another lion may just get to eat him up." Anthony grabbed Terry by the shoulders, and turned him so he could watch as Brown laughed at something Stephen had just said, placing her hand on his arm in an affectionate way. Stephen was smiling wide, satisfied with himself.
Stupid Gryffindor. Stupid bravery and daring. What was so great about that? Nothing. They're not even all that smart. She needs to take her hand off of him. If she were smart, she'd know that. "I'm not a lion." Terry mumbled.
"No. You're an intelligent Raven. Something tells me Stephen would rather a raven eat him than a lion."
Terry gave his friend a fake confused look. "I don't think he'd really want to be eaten at all."
Anthony rolled his eyes. "Stop being so literal, you know what I mean."
"Yeah." Terry laughed.
"I'm sure you on your knees in front of him, about to gobble him up is far more appeasing an image to him than Brown like that."
Terry blushed bright red at his friend's words.
"Tony! That's so vulgar!" Padma said from beside him.
Anthony just shrugged, Mandy laughing as she joined them.
"He has a point, Terry." Mandy winked. "You should get a move on."
Terry slumped his shoulders at the new tag-team tactic, groaning as he banged his head into the table.
"Whoa! You ok, Terry?"
Terry's head shot up as Stephen placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah. Just fine."
"You sure?" Concern was written across his face, and Terry found it so adorable.
"Oh he's fine." Anthony said. "We were just playing a game. Say, Cornfoot, would you rather be eaten alive by a lion or a raven?"
Terry's eyes bulged as Stephen looked to be pondering the question. Behind him he could hear Mandy and Anthony struggling not to laugh, as Padma had an admonishing look on her face.
"A raven I think." Stephen finally answered, and Anthony raised his eye brows at him.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. It'd last a lot longer, but at least the raven would be thorough. The lion would just have one, two bites? I could die happy knowing the raven at least enjoyed itself."
Terry's eyebrows disappeared in his hairline, as Stephen nodded confidently at his answer.
"Well then." Anthony's voice was strained, and Terry knew he was struggling not to laugh. Mandy however wasn't so controlled, and she burst into peals of laughter, Anthony and Terry following. Padma shook her head at them as Stephen asked what was so funny.
"Nothing." Terry answered, recovering quickly. "Anthony's stupid."
"Oh, er- right, then." Stephen shook his head as he pulled out his parchment, turning to talk to Michael who had just arrived, and Terry shot a glare at his best friend.
"Arse." He muttered.
"Yeah. I'm sure that's where the raven would start." Anthony quipped, laughing along with Mandy again.
Terry blanched. This was going to be a long class.
A/N: Review, please? :)