The war had been hard on everyone.
Muggleborns were being rounded up and having Merlin-knows-what done to them. Pure-bloods and half-bloods were being threatened into supporting the new regime. Adults and children alike were being affected.
And yet, Susan mused as she treated another of Seamus Finnigan's wounds, it was difficult to believe that life was as hard for anyone as it was for Hogwarts students. She knew that muggles and muggleborns were in more danger- all of the muggleborns had been removed from Hogwarts at the beginning of the year. But being in the middle of it, with Death Eaters teaching and students being tortured, it was hard to think that anywhere could be as bad as Hogwarts that year. She stood up.
'Right, Seamus, that should be fine now. You need to stop provoking them so much.' Seamus nodded, but she knew that he'd carry on just as he had been. She moved on to the next person. She wasn't surprised to find that it was Neville. Neville had always been deeply invested in the DA, even though when it had started in fifth year he hadn't been exactly the most accomplished. She sighed.
'What was it this time?' she asked, sitting on the chair opposite him to examine the new gash on his face. He looked down at his hands and mumbled something. She grinned. 'I didn't quite catch that, Neville.' He looked up at her.
'I Stupefied some Slytherins who were using the Cruciatus on first-years. For practice they said. Anyway, Carrow caught me, and...' he gestured towards his cheek. Susan shook her head as she cast a Cleansing Charm on his injury.
'You've got to start being more careful, you know. It's all very well and good saving people, in fact, it's marvellous, but if you carry on like this you're going to end up with an injury I can't heal. And you know we can't risk going to Madame Pomfrey.' Susan and a few other students had taken on roles as Healers for anybody who needed it. The Room of Requirement provided them with the equipment they needed, and with books on Healing, but some of the charms were just too complex to master unless you'd taken a proper Healing course at St. Mungo's. Neville grimaced apologetically.
'I know. It's just that the second we stop fighting, we'll have to admit that we might not win. And we can't do that, Susan. Even if we could, how could we take hope from everyone else? It doesn't matter how badly I get injured, not to me,because if by getting injured I'm helping people, it's worth it.' He stood up. 'Thanks Susan. I think it's brilliant what you're doing- maybe you should be a Healer after this.' He smiled at her and walked away. She stared at the table for a minute. Before the war, she'd never even considered being a Healer- it just hadn't occurred to her. Now, she basically was a Healer, at seventeen. She looked up and scanned the room in general.
So many people, forced to grow up too quickly. First years learning how to Stun, third years learning the Shield charm. She felt a sudden surge of pride as she watched them. Everybody in this room was under eighteen, and yet they all had an adult like determination to them. She thought about what Neville had said, about how if they stopped fighting, people would lose hope. She decided that she would never stop fighting, not until the war was won. She would fight until the end.
