Neville Longbottom and the True Rumors

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Summary: Everyone knows what happened to Harry in Deathly Hallows, but not much is known about the occurrences at Hogwarts. What really went down at Hogwarts while Harry was off Horcrux hunting?

A/n: Thanks for the reviews! I apologize it took so long. Vacation and uber writers block.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. If it was Fred Weasley would NOT have died.

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Chapter 13: Brotherhood of Man

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Neville found himself in the Room of Requirement. He was looking at a whole bunch of faces. But it was the ones that weren't there that hurt the most. There was no Justin, there was no Dean, no Hermione, no Creevys… no Harry. Everyone was looking at him as if he was crazy. But they were all hopefull. He could see it in their eyes, written on their faces.

There was quiet talking, enough to make Ginny stand up and tell them to quiet down. Neville felt his stomach drop. He suddenly felt very nervous as all eyes turned on him. All attention was suddenly on him, and he had no idea what he was talking about. He had been convinced to do this. He knew the risks. Snape brutally told them of the risks at the beginning of the year. But something had to be done. Him and the Carrows were a menace. A menace!

Neville knew he could get expelled if he got caught, but anything was better than being here. If Harry won, Neville was almost certain that he would be unexpelled. And if Harry lost, well he was just screwed even if he did graduate. He sighed and waited for people to show up.

It took a few minutes, but a good amount of students came in. And Neville had the floor. Great. "Hey guys..." He was obviously nervous, but he knew this had to happen. "Before we get started... I want to make sure everyone knows the risks."

Immediate expulsion, no questions asked. He looked over everyone's faces. He wished he hadn't. He wasn't good at this kind of thing. What was he getting himself into? He was scared...

"I'm not making anyone stay... if you don't want to do this... you don't have to... but something... something has to be done..."

He took a deep breath. Why would anyone be here if they didn't want to be? But he was just covering his bases. He didn't want anyone getting in trouble who didn't know the risks involved with being in this secret organization that planned on overthrowing Snape and the Carrows.

"I know this is the second meeting, but I just want… I want to make sure that everyone wants to be here… before I go any further…"

Neville once again looked around the room. It was almost as if he was looking for people to get up and leave. No one did. He locked eyes with Susan and she flashed him a small but reassuring smile. Neville felt a little better. He took a deep breath, but he was interrupted by Parvati.

"What are we going to do about members… you know how Hermione had that parchment, are we going to do anything along those lines? To make sure no one snitches?"

Neville looked from Parvati around the room. He knew everyone here was hit hard by the new rules. So many students were not allowed back in school because of their bloodline. So many others had Death Eaters attack family. He slowly shook his head. "I'm sure that parchment is still enchanted from Hermione," he said slowly. With every word he was feeling a bit more confident in front of all those people. "But I don't want to… to keep a list, just in case something happens I don't want everyone getting in trouble. We'll just have to be as secretive as possible and not do dumb things…"

Parvati nodded, but her twin spoke up. "What about a Fidelius Charm?" Padma asked. "We could have one person be the Secret Keeper for the Room of Requirement. As long as they don't tell, no one will be able to find us…"

That was a great idea. But… "Who do we know that can perform one? That's really complex magic," Ginny interjected before Neville got a chance to say almost the same thing.

"Maybe Professor McGonagall, or Flitwick…"

He sighed. Well this was turning out interesting. "That is definitely an idea, thank you Padma," Neville said quickly, ending the debate before it really even started. "I will talk to Professor McGonagall tonight when I get back."

He looked around at the other people. "As for how we get word out about meetings… I'm no Hermione, I don't think the coin thing would work. Besides, the Carrows are not Umbridge. They are in a whole different league. They'll know about the coins. They'll figure it out. We'll just have to use word of mouth."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Ernie asked.

Neville quick turned to look at him. "Do you have any better ideas?"

His question got silence. He was making sense now. Maybe he wasn't Harry, but he was a good second.

"If anyone has any ideas I'm glad to hear them, I just… I don't want any proof that we exist except what we do. I don't want anyone getting in trouble if they didn't do anything but be associated with us."

A small murmur of agreement echoed through the room. He seemed to have everyone's complete attention. He actually found this quite likeable. He let things quiet down before continuing. "So any ideas on what we should do about the Carrows and Snape?"

There was silence for a few moments before a response to his question came from Terry Boot. "I don't think it would be a big idea to start big, just little things."

Neville nodded. "Like sticking up for each other in classes."

A smile formed on people's faces. Neville could see them getting excited. "Sticking up for anyone that they pick on," Susan chimed in.

"And we should still learn about Defense," Seamus added. That was more than Neville had heard him talk since Dean disappeared. His voice was still quiet. But he kept his eyes on Neville. "You know, just in case…"

Neville nodded. "Good idea."

Neville continued looking around at everyone. While the mood was still somber, he could feel the excitement buzzing around the room. The excitement about doing something about these horrible horrible people and what they were doing to them.

"So we'll start there… I don't want to draw too much attention to us at the beginning."

Another murmur of agreement spread through the room. "So our next meeting will be in a week."

"So that's it?" Ernie asked.

"We can't be missing for too long right now. Not on a night when classes are tomorrow. The Carrows do Common Room checks on a Sunday night. We'll have our next meeting in here… on Saturday. We'll first work on um… on Disillusionment Charms. They're important."

And that was what they were currently learning about in N.E.W.T. Level Charms. A nod of agreement.

He took a deep breath. "We'll stagger leaving, just in case."

He really wished that he had that map of Harry's. That was really helpful. "Go straight back to your common room, nowhere else."

He was answered with another set of nods and a murmur. "Until next Saturday… just keep strong."

And just like that the meeting was over. People left the Room of Requirement slowly. The Hufflepuffs went first since their Common Room was furthest away. Then the Ravenclaws. And soon it was just the "new trio" there.

"You did great Neville," Luna smiled as she hugged him. "Really great."

Neville slowly returned the hug. "Good. I was so nervous…"

"Really?" Ginny asked with a small smile. "We couldn't tell."

Neville laughed gently. "I tried." He took a deep breath. "I need to go talk to McGonagall…"

Ginny nodded. "Let's get out of here…"

Neville nodded and started leaving the Room of Requirement. The Gryffindor Common Room wasn't too far away. They were just about to part ways with Luna when a firm hand grabbed Neville's shoulder and turned him around. "And what do we have here?" a cold voice asked.

It sent shivers down Neville's spine. No. Please… no..

He turned around and came face to face with Headmaster Severus Snape.

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A/n: Another cliffie.

Heehee. I like them too much.

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