A/N This pretty much the story of what happened during Neville's seventh year at Hogwarts. How he, Luna, and Ginny led Dumbledore's Army against the Death Eaters, Snape, and in turn Voldemort. Mostly told from Neville's point of view, it's just filling in the blanks of Hogwarts' darkest year. Enjoy!
Neville's Seventh Year
Chapter One
Even Platform 9 3/4 had changed. It seemed duller. Darker. But then, everything was darker since Voldemort had taken over. Neville stood, his trunk in his hand, searching for a face. It couldn't be here. He knew that, but maybe, just maybe Harry would show up.
About a dozen Death Eaters roamed The Platform. Most keeping students and parents in line. others stood by the barrier, taking peoples' names, making sure that all the students showed up. Every now and then, a muggle-born would come. Neville looked away as he thought of the children who had been dragged off by dememtors. luckily, most of them had the sense not to show up. Usually it was ones returning from their first year. Tweleve year-olds, who had barely been in the magical world a year. There's nothing you can do. He told himself harshly, but he knew it wasn't true; he could try to stop them. Thankfully, a voice called out to distract him from these thoughts.
"Neville!" It rang through the muddy silence loud as a church bell.
Neville turned even though he knew who it was. He saw a girl dressed in one of the most ridiculous muggle outfits he had ever seen. (Which was saying something, considering how his Gran dressed) The girl had hair so blond, it looked as though it would jump up and flutter away in the breeze. She was also wearing radish earrings. "Luna!" He cried, and ran to hug her.
Neville had barely heard from any of his friends over the summer. Obviously, Harry had gone on the run. It was stupid of Neville to think that he might show up here. No, Harry was smarter than that. Also, with Hermione with him (as Neville assumed she was) he doubted Harry would be doing anything stupid. Ron of course, would also have gone, so none of them could write him for fear it would fall into Death Eater's hands. Neville knew this, he accepted it as a fact, but despite himself he was a little hurt that they hadn't shared their plans with him. Or bothered to write him at all for that matter. Ginny hadn't written him for the same reasons, but Neville hoped that once he got a chance to speak with her face to face, she might be able to shed some light on what was going on with Harry. Luna was the only one who written him at all, and even that was brief and not personal. After what happened at Bill and Fleur's wedding (For that was one thing Neville had heard about through Gran) Luna and her father had been afraid that death eaters were going through their mail. Neville wished he could disregard that as their usual paranoia, but with death eaters involved, anything could happen.
All of that was forgotten as he scooped Luna into a hug.
Luna laughed, and hugged him back. "How have you been?" She asked in her calm voice.
Neville smiled. "I've been great. How 'bout you? Is your dad still writing good things about Harry in the Quibbler?" He lowered his voice as he asked her, looking hurriedly around then to make sure that no Death Eaters or Slytherins who would surly report them to the Death Eaters were listening in on their conversation.
Luna nodded, and Neville could see a fierce pride in her father for standing up to Voldemort shining in her face.
"You two!" Someone cried.
They both turned to see Ginny Weasly hurrying towards them. Her flaming hair was flowing behind her.
"Ginny!" Luna and Neville cried together. The group hugged.
"Do you know anything about-" Neville started to ask once they broke apart, but Ginny cut him off.
"Some, but it's not safe to talk about it here. C'mon, let's go and get a compartment before they're all taken. The Hogwarts Express still leaves at eleven o' clock. At least there's one thing the Voldemort didn't change." She added the last part in a muttered whisper.
Luna and Neville smirked and followed her quickly. As they were about to board the train, Neville's grandmother came running up to him.
"You guys go on, I'll catch you in a sec." Neville said. Both girls nodded, and hurried off onto the train.
"Neville, sorry I almost didn't catch you," Neville's Gran started, straightening a button on his jacket. "Those bastards wouldn't let me through." She gestured to the line of Death Eaters guarding the train.
"Gran," Neville said, and pulled her into a hug, squashing her vulture hat.
"Neville, be careful!" She cried, trying to fix the damage to her ridiculous head gear. She faced her grandson again. "I hope you haven't forgotten anything this year, for I won't be sending something to you. You're seventeen, if you still don't have enough sense to pack everything you need in that trunk of yours..."
Neville nodded. The both stared awkwardly around for a few seconds. Then his Gran looked straight into his eyes then. "Don't you let them push you around. Never stop fighting. You're Frank and Alice Longbottom's son, and you're a Gryffindor. I know you'll do what's right." She broke off then, a sob falling from her lips like fine china crashing to the ground.
Neville was shocked. His grandmother was like a stone. She did not cry. She was the steady one, the one that could could always be counted on. He tried to ignore it, but it kept pushing to the front of his mind, refusing to be forgotten. It hung like an omen, if Augusta Longbottom was crying...
"Neville, I love you. Be safe." She reached up and brushed his cheek, then she was gone. Neville stood there for a second, but soon he followed Luna and Ginny onto the train.
"Are you alright?" Ginny asked when Neville closed the door behind him.
"Yeah," he muttered gruffly as he quickly wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
Luna sat watching them both with her huge eyes. She turned to face Ginny. "We're alone. Do you know where Harry is?" She asked quietly.
Ginny looked around, despite the fact that they were indeed quite alone. She then motioned for them to lean close. "I don't know exactly where he is, but he went on the run with Hermione and my brother."
Neville and Luna both nodded; they had expected this.
"When death eaters raided Bill and Fleur's wedding, well you remember," she said to Luna.
Luna nodded, her eyes were wide. "That boy with the red hair, who you said was a cousin, that was Harry wasn't it?" She asked mildly.
Ginny nodded. "He had to be in disguise. How did you know it was him?" She asked, her eyes narrowing.
"He was with Ron and Hermione," Luna answered simply.
Neville snorted, but Ginny looked solemn. "If they're that bad at hiding, they'll be caught in no time!" She cried, biting her lip in worry.
Luna looked at her, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "Don't worry," she said comfortingly. "They know me. I would never betray them, there was no need to hide his identity from me."
Ginny nodded again, still biting her lip. "I know. Of course they would have trusted you. It's just that Ron's my brother, Hermione's like the older sister I never had, and Harry's-" She stopped as a blush bustled into her cheeks, matching her hair perfectly.
Neville snorted again, and Ginny threw her jumper at him, laughing, but her face soon grew serious again. "Back to Harry. During the wedding, many people fled. Harry, Ron, and Hermione did as well. I haven't seen them since, but Lupin found them, at Grimould Place." Ginny looked at her friend's confused expressions, and quickly clarified. "Grimould place is the house that Sirius used to own before... Well you know." With all the things going on lately, it seemed bad luck to speak of death.
Neville nodded. Unlike Luna, he had had trouble getting over the fact that Sirius Black wasn't a murdering traitor. Luna had accepted it like it was something that she had always known. But then, Luna believed in Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.
"As far as I know they're still there. You mustn't tell anybody! I think that Dumbledore told them to do something... I heard dad and mum yelling about it, but I don't know what it is, or how it could tie into killing Voldemort."
It was less than what Neville had hoped for, but at least it was something.
The three of them were silent for a moment, until Ginny started to speak. "How bad do you think Hogwarts is going to be?" She asked quietly.
The compartment hung suspended in time for a moment, as none of them answered the question. It was easy to pretend that everything was normal when they were leaving for the same castle, on the same day, in the same train, and at the same time they had been every year for the last five, (or six in Neville's case) but they had to face the facts. Death Eaters controlled Hogwarts. Though on the outside it may have appeared normal, who knew what was waiting for them on the inside.
"Maybe it won't be so bad..." Luna put forward.
"Maybe..." Ginny agreed hesitantly, but Neville shook his head.
"We can't lie to ourselves. We all know that it will be horrible. With Snape as headmaster, how could it not?"
Both girls sighed, but consented to the facts that Neville put forth.
"Well, what do you think we should do about it?" Ginny asked.
Neville's face broke into it's first true grin for months. I think it's time we got the D. A. back together."
A/N So what did you think? I know that this wasn't the best chapter, but please keep reading! (You know, once I've updated) Did you like it? Did you hate it? Please please please tell me; i'm dying to know. Review! Review! Review!