1.1 "Wand loaded at both ends."
A very short allegorical fic, by LitCrit.
1.1.1 Chapter 1
"Neville, calm down. It is not Filch." Ron shook his head and rolled his eyes, before turning back to the book. Neville chewed his fingernails.
Around them the shadows breathed across the Restricted Section, whispering fragments of words: "loooong" and "expeeeel" and "Fiiiiiiiilch." The skin on Neville's back crawled under the gaze of knowing tomes, each one just waiting to report to, to, well, just to report. That thought alone was terrifying enough.
But he just had to go.
He nudged Ron, "Hurry up!"
A page was turned, and the crackling of the ancient parchment sounded just like the creak of an ancient wooden hinge.
"Here," said Ron, moving the lamp. It clicked rhythmically as he half dragged it closer to the book. No footsteps would have been that quick, thought Neville, certainly not Filch's, anyway.
"Apparition," read Ron, "is achieved by the simultaneous Disapparition and re-Apparition, as complete corporal parts, at an accurately specified location. Although partial Apparitions, or splinches, and misaligned target Apparitions…"
"I know all that," interrupted Neville. "Hurry up and get to the bit where it tells you how to do it."
They leaned over the book together, Neville murmuring to himself, trying to memorise words.
Ron sat up and turned to Neville.
"Look, are you sure about this, Neville? Apparitions are really advanced magic. Dad always says…"
"And we should always listen to Mr Weasel, Neville. After all, he pays the bills. Oh no, silly me. Normal fathers do that. Still, it will be such a relief to the family coffers to see you expelled, Weasley."
"Malfoy!"
Draco was standing straight, arms folded, smirking at the pair as Neville and Ron stood up and turned to face him. He reached forward and took the invisibility cloak from Neville's limp grasp before suddenly twisting, throwing the cloak over his shoulders.
"And this time, Weasel, I'm not sharing the punishment."
Ron leapt forward, grasping at empty air. He was not fast enough.
"Malfoy!" he shouted, but there was nothing but laughter and receding footsteps.
"Run for it, Neville!" Ron grabbed Neville and dragged him out of the Restricted Section and towards the library door. Already, Malfoy's voice could be heard echoing down the dark halls of Hogwarts.
"Out of bounds! Students in the library!"
"No, no, no!" whimpered Neville, stumbling behind Ron as they clattered away from the library. Ron kicked a door open and they fell through, stumbling over Mrs Norris. Ron froze, seeking inspiration, wishing for that invisibility cloak. He found it – or rather, he heard it behind him.
"Only Malfoy sniggers like that," he said. "You can hear the sneer in it," he shouted as he dragged Neville towards the door, and the invisible obstacle in the way knocked them to the floor. There was another crash, and a leg appeared in front of them.
"Is that you, my sweet?" asked a distant voice.
"Let go, Weasley!" hissed Malfoy. "Give me that cloak!"
Ron leaned close into Malfoy's face, Draco's fringe swaying in Ron's breathless exhalations. He curled his lips.
"We stand or fall together, Malfoy."
For a long second the two lay together, facing each other, as the footsteps grew closer. The tension in the invisibility cloak made it quiver, neither of the two willing to let go of their clinch, until Neville broke the spell.
"Ron!"
The three were on their feet and under the cloak in a second. Just in time, as a bent figure entered the room. Without a word the three crept past him, and to the safety, for some, of Gryffindor Tower.
*****
"We can't stay out here!"
"Neville, neither you nor I are going to say the password in front of Malfoy."
The Slytherin Seeker was standing, apparently oblivious, but ears at the ready to catch the snitch should one of them drop it.
The Fat Lady smiled down at the three.
Deadlock. And more footsteps in the distance. Or was it Malfoy's foot tapping?
'What I really need now,' thought Ron, 'is for Fred to sneak out with Angelina.'
There was a click.
"Hello Ron. What are you doing here?" asked a cheerful voice. Ron breathed a sigh of relief. Fred looked round to see Neville blubbing, and Malfoy sneering up him. "And what is he doing here?"
"Filch is coming, Fred! Filch is after us!" Ron was already pushing past to get into the Gryffindor common room. Malfoy was holding Neville back as the distant sounds began to get louder.
"Don't you dare leave me out here, Weasley. Don't even think about it. The moment my father finds out what you have done, your whole family will regret it."
Fred grabbed hold of Neville and pulled him inside whilst Ron tried to push Malfoy out. It was never going to work. Three people struggling to pull two people in and keep one person out whilst the fourth just wouldn't stop blubbing.
There was a rip and a click, then silence.
"You tore my robe, Weasley. Just wait until my father's brief hears about this!"
Malfoy dusted himself off as he stood up, and held the sleeve of his robe open, examining the rent. He held it up for Fred and Ron to see, only then seeing Angelina, Ginny, Harry and Hermione standing round him.
"Ah," began Malfoy. Hermione rolled her eyes and tutted. Ginny stepped towards Harry and reached out her hand to him, flushing. Well, this is Gryffindor Tower, after all.
"Well," Malfoy continued. Ron and Fred stepped forward, closer to Malfoy, crowding him.
"Ummm," said Malfoy. Neville started to blub again.
"The portrait hole is that way, Malfoy," said Harry, pointing behind Draco's back.
Malfoy laughed.
"I can't go out there, Potter. Filch is out there. He knows that students are out, and he knows that they came from here."
"But they haven't, Malfoy. Filch will know they haven't when he finds a Slytherin out of bounds. Get out."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather Apparate. After all, that's what Longbottom and Weasley were reading about in the Restricted Section."
"Neville!" shouted Hermione and Ginny together. Neville's blubbing just became more uncontrollable.
"Now what was that spell again, Longbottom? It was so good of you to find out for me. Oh, and good luck getting rid of Filch."
Draco Malfoy was gone.
*****
"Neville, what have you done?" Hermione had taken Neville by the fire to calm him down and ask him questions.
"Thanks, Ron." Fred slapped Ron on the shoulder as he and Angelina stomped off in disgust. Ron shrugged, and then saw Harry. His shoulders fell again.
Harry just looked at Ron.
"I had to go with him, Harry, I had to. You know Neville hasn't slept since he got here. He's so worried about Trevor. He was threatening to ride home on your Firebolt."
"But Neville falls off."
"Of course. So I had to find another way to get him home."
"Ron, what makes you think that Neville can Apparate? I mean, has he ever managed anything else?"
"I had to do something to stop him from heading for the windows. At least the worst that can happen in the Restricted Section is…"
"Being expelled," interrupted Hermione. "Personally, I'd rather fall out of the window. You need to sort out your priorities, Ron."
Harry turned to see Neville curl up in a chair by the fire, as Ginny stepped closer to Harry in the Gryffindor Tower Common Room.
"Harry," she said, "when the Department of Magical Transportation finds out about Malfoy…"
"That's Malfoy's problem," said Hermione, placing her hand on Ron's shoulder as he took a parchment and picked up a sugar quill. "He's the one who Apparated, not us."
"Exactly, Hermione. He is," agreed Ron, patting her hand and winking at her. He started to write.
"Neville," said Ron, "there is only one safe thing to do. I'll send an owl."
*****
Ginny stretched and closed her book. It fell to the floor as she slowly dozed off. Her dream was about Remus Lupin, but for some strange reason he sounded like Malfoy. And Crabbe and Goyle were behind him. She opened her eyes and gazed at the window, listening to the voices coming from the common room. It was them. Slytherins.
She crept out, into the Fifth Year dormitory, and woke Hermione.
"Ginny. What is it?"
"Malfoy. And his cronies. In the common room."
Hermione sat upright, and froze, listening. There were footsteps, and then that sneer, recognisable even from two rooms away.
"The décor in here is just so tasteless. Red and gold. Ugh."
"Come on," whispered Hermione, and she took Ginny by the hand towards the Fifth Year boys' dormitory. Harry and Ron were already on their way out of the door.
"What is it?" called Neville from his bed.
"Shhh!"
The five of them tip-toed towards the common room, listening as Draco directed Crabbe and Goyle. Gentle thumps and scrapes traced their progress around the room.
Harry and Hermione reached the door first.
"Lumos!" said Hermione.
There was uproar. Crabbe and Goyle shrieked and ran towards Malfoy, who was already wielding his wand. Harry and Hermione stood together, arms and wands outstretched, as Ginny and Ron cast around themselves, reaching out for their friends.
Neville blubbed.
There was a swirling. A musical, resonant and terrifying harmonic that swept the walls and floor of the common room away. And then there was nothing.
A very short allegorical fic, by LitCrit.
1.1.1 Chapter 1
"Neville, calm down. It is not Filch." Ron shook his head and rolled his eyes, before turning back to the book. Neville chewed his fingernails.
Around them the shadows breathed across the Restricted Section, whispering fragments of words: "loooong" and "expeeeel" and "Fiiiiiiiilch." The skin on Neville's back crawled under the gaze of knowing tomes, each one just waiting to report to, to, well, just to report. That thought alone was terrifying enough.
But he just had to go.
He nudged Ron, "Hurry up!"
A page was turned, and the crackling of the ancient parchment sounded just like the creak of an ancient wooden hinge.
"Here," said Ron, moving the lamp. It clicked rhythmically as he half dragged it closer to the book. No footsteps would have been that quick, thought Neville, certainly not Filch's, anyway.
"Apparition," read Ron, "is achieved by the simultaneous Disapparition and re-Apparition, as complete corporal parts, at an accurately specified location. Although partial Apparitions, or splinches, and misaligned target Apparitions…"
"I know all that," interrupted Neville. "Hurry up and get to the bit where it tells you how to do it."
They leaned over the book together, Neville murmuring to himself, trying to memorise words.
Ron sat up and turned to Neville.
"Look, are you sure about this, Neville? Apparitions are really advanced magic. Dad always says…"
"And we should always listen to Mr Weasel, Neville. After all, he pays the bills. Oh no, silly me. Normal fathers do that. Still, it will be such a relief to the family coffers to see you expelled, Weasley."
"Malfoy!"
Draco was standing straight, arms folded, smirking at the pair as Neville and Ron stood up and turned to face him. He reached forward and took the invisibility cloak from Neville's limp grasp before suddenly twisting, throwing the cloak over his shoulders.
"And this time, Weasel, I'm not sharing the punishment."
Ron leapt forward, grasping at empty air. He was not fast enough.
"Malfoy!" he shouted, but there was nothing but laughter and receding footsteps.
"Run for it, Neville!" Ron grabbed Neville and dragged him out of the Restricted Section and towards the library door. Already, Malfoy's voice could be heard echoing down the dark halls of Hogwarts.
"Out of bounds! Students in the library!"
"No, no, no!" whimpered Neville, stumbling behind Ron as they clattered away from the library. Ron kicked a door open and they fell through, stumbling over Mrs Norris. Ron froze, seeking inspiration, wishing for that invisibility cloak. He found it – or rather, he heard it behind him.
"Only Malfoy sniggers like that," he said. "You can hear the sneer in it," he shouted as he dragged Neville towards the door, and the invisible obstacle in the way knocked them to the floor. There was another crash, and a leg appeared in front of them.
"Is that you, my sweet?" asked a distant voice.
"Let go, Weasley!" hissed Malfoy. "Give me that cloak!"
Ron leaned close into Malfoy's face, Draco's fringe swaying in Ron's breathless exhalations. He curled his lips.
"We stand or fall together, Malfoy."
For a long second the two lay together, facing each other, as the footsteps grew closer. The tension in the invisibility cloak made it quiver, neither of the two willing to let go of their clinch, until Neville broke the spell.
"Ron!"
The three were on their feet and under the cloak in a second. Just in time, as a bent figure entered the room. Without a word the three crept past him, and to the safety, for some, of Gryffindor Tower.
*****
"We can't stay out here!"
"Neville, neither you nor I are going to say the password in front of Malfoy."
The Slytherin Seeker was standing, apparently oblivious, but ears at the ready to catch the snitch should one of them drop it.
The Fat Lady smiled down at the three.
Deadlock. And more footsteps in the distance. Or was it Malfoy's foot tapping?
'What I really need now,' thought Ron, 'is for Fred to sneak out with Angelina.'
There was a click.
"Hello Ron. What are you doing here?" asked a cheerful voice. Ron breathed a sigh of relief. Fred looked round to see Neville blubbing, and Malfoy sneering up him. "And what is he doing here?"
"Filch is coming, Fred! Filch is after us!" Ron was already pushing past to get into the Gryffindor common room. Malfoy was holding Neville back as the distant sounds began to get louder.
"Don't you dare leave me out here, Weasley. Don't even think about it. The moment my father finds out what you have done, your whole family will regret it."
Fred grabbed hold of Neville and pulled him inside whilst Ron tried to push Malfoy out. It was never going to work. Three people struggling to pull two people in and keep one person out whilst the fourth just wouldn't stop blubbing.
There was a rip and a click, then silence.
"You tore my robe, Weasley. Just wait until my father's brief hears about this!"
Malfoy dusted himself off as he stood up, and held the sleeve of his robe open, examining the rent. He held it up for Fred and Ron to see, only then seeing Angelina, Ginny, Harry and Hermione standing round him.
"Ah," began Malfoy. Hermione rolled her eyes and tutted. Ginny stepped towards Harry and reached out her hand to him, flushing. Well, this is Gryffindor Tower, after all.
"Well," Malfoy continued. Ron and Fred stepped forward, closer to Malfoy, crowding him.
"Ummm," said Malfoy. Neville started to blub again.
"The portrait hole is that way, Malfoy," said Harry, pointing behind Draco's back.
Malfoy laughed.
"I can't go out there, Potter. Filch is out there. He knows that students are out, and he knows that they came from here."
"But they haven't, Malfoy. Filch will know they haven't when he finds a Slytherin out of bounds. Get out."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather Apparate. After all, that's what Longbottom and Weasley were reading about in the Restricted Section."
"Neville!" shouted Hermione and Ginny together. Neville's blubbing just became more uncontrollable.
"Now what was that spell again, Longbottom? It was so good of you to find out for me. Oh, and good luck getting rid of Filch."
Draco Malfoy was gone.
*****
"Neville, what have you done?" Hermione had taken Neville by the fire to calm him down and ask him questions.
"Thanks, Ron." Fred slapped Ron on the shoulder as he and Angelina stomped off in disgust. Ron shrugged, and then saw Harry. His shoulders fell again.
Harry just looked at Ron.
"I had to go with him, Harry, I had to. You know Neville hasn't slept since he got here. He's so worried about Trevor. He was threatening to ride home on your Firebolt."
"But Neville falls off."
"Of course. So I had to find another way to get him home."
"Ron, what makes you think that Neville can Apparate? I mean, has he ever managed anything else?"
"I had to do something to stop him from heading for the windows. At least the worst that can happen in the Restricted Section is…"
"Being expelled," interrupted Hermione. "Personally, I'd rather fall out of the window. You need to sort out your priorities, Ron."
Harry turned to see Neville curl up in a chair by the fire, as Ginny stepped closer to Harry in the Gryffindor Tower Common Room.
"Harry," she said, "when the Department of Magical Transportation finds out about Malfoy…"
"That's Malfoy's problem," said Hermione, placing her hand on Ron's shoulder as he took a parchment and picked up a sugar quill. "He's the one who Apparated, not us."
"Exactly, Hermione. He is," agreed Ron, patting her hand and winking at her. He started to write.
"Neville," said Ron, "there is only one safe thing to do. I'll send an owl."
*****
Ginny stretched and closed her book. It fell to the floor as she slowly dozed off. Her dream was about Remus Lupin, but for some strange reason he sounded like Malfoy. And Crabbe and Goyle were behind him. She opened her eyes and gazed at the window, listening to the voices coming from the common room. It was them. Slytherins.
She crept out, into the Fifth Year dormitory, and woke Hermione.
"Ginny. What is it?"
"Malfoy. And his cronies. In the common room."
Hermione sat upright, and froze, listening. There were footsteps, and then that sneer, recognisable even from two rooms away.
"The décor in here is just so tasteless. Red and gold. Ugh."
"Come on," whispered Hermione, and she took Ginny by the hand towards the Fifth Year boys' dormitory. Harry and Ron were already on their way out of the door.
"What is it?" called Neville from his bed.
"Shhh!"
The five of them tip-toed towards the common room, listening as Draco directed Crabbe and Goyle. Gentle thumps and scrapes traced their progress around the room.
Harry and Hermione reached the door first.
"Lumos!" said Hermione.
There was uproar. Crabbe and Goyle shrieked and ran towards Malfoy, who was already wielding his wand. Harry and Hermione stood together, arms and wands outstretched, as Ginny and Ron cast around themselves, reaching out for their friends.
Neville blubbed.
There was a swirling. A musical, resonant and terrifying harmonic that swept the walls and floor of the common room away. And then there was nothing.