Crucio

"Longbottom, you will find your place in this world or I will shove you into it!"

The following evening Neville walked into the empty classroom Alecto had said his detention would take place in. All the desks had been pushed up against the walls, leaving a wide empty space in the middle of the room.

As he had expected, Neville saw Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle listening intently to something Amycus was saying. "Now fiendfyre," he said, "is very temperamental and requires great concentration…"

It was Draco who first noticed Neville standing in the doorway. The little colour he had in his pale face seemed to drain away. "You said we weren't Cursing anyone tonight," he interrupted. "We're not using this fire on him, are we?"

"No," Amycus said, his empty gray eyes falling on Neville. "Alecto," he called over his shoulder, "he's here." He turned disinterestedly from Neville and continued his lecture.

Alecto stood at the far end of the room, looking out a window with her hands behind her back. A couple of students Neville vaguely recognized from the Great Hall stood nearby; two young Hufflepuffs, about third or fourth year – a boy and a girl.

Alecto turned from the window and faced Neville. "Get over here," she barked. Neville obeyed and as he came closer he was able to see the Hufflepuffs' faces more clearly. The boy had olive skin, dark hair and large brown eyes that now seemed to be rimmed with red. He was breathing hard, clenching and unclenching his fists. Beside him stood the girl. Her face was splashed with light freckles and her hair fell in thick, slightly messy ringlets over her shoulders. Her cheeks were streaked with tear marks and her eyes kept darting over to the door.

"What's happened?" Neville asked, completely ignoring Alecto and stopping in front of the students. "What are your names? What's going on?"

"She took our wands," the boy began. Neville could tell he was fighting to keep his cool.

The girl shut her eyes and lowered her head as two thick tears rolled down her face.

"There was nothing we could do," he boy went on – he sounded as if he were trying to explain himself, as if he were looking for some kind of forgiveness. "We –"

"This is Mary Alassendro and Nathan Waters," Alecto interrupted. "Their detention started an hour ago."

Neville didn't look at Alecto. "What did you do?" he asked the two of them.

"They tried to blind me," Alecto spat.

"We didn't!" cried the girl called Mary, now openly crying. "We only blindfolded you – it was a stupid prank, just a prank!"

"Of course they failed," Alecto went on, ignoring Mary. "A fine example of magically inept they are. Not surprising, considering."

"You could have killed her," Mary sobbed, "you could have killed her!" The boy, Nathan, squeezed Mary's shoulder and whispered something.

Neville felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "Killed who?"

Alecto looked from Mary to Neville. "Rhima Abed," she said coldly. "She was the one that cast the spell," she spat. "Blinded me and nearly sent my flying down a staircase!"

The name rang a bell for Neville, though for a moment he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. "She's on the Qudditich team, isn't she?" he said at last.

"Not anymore," Alecto grinned.

"Where is she?" Neville demanded.

"I finished with her early. I took care of it."

"Took care of it?" Nathan erupted. He turned to Neville, outraged. "The Cruciatus Curse! She used it for nearly half an hour! She took our wands – it wasn't a fair fight! Only a coward would take someone's wand before cursing them!"

Neville looked around the room, wondering how long he'd be able to hold onto his own wand. "But where is she?" he asked again.

"Hospital Wing," Alecto said, simply.

Neville scowled at her. "Why do you even bother sending us there if you're the one hurting us?"

"She has good blood. Don't want to waste it, do we?"

Neville opened his mouth to say something, but Alecto spoke first.

"I know blood is a sore spot with you," she said, "I remember our little discussion a few days ago. You remember it, don't you?"

Neville nodded.

"Well, that night I had the class come back and reread the chapters with me. But not you. You need… extra help. Nathan and Mary are going to help me get this lesson through your thick skull."

Neville forced himself to swallow, but his throat had gone so dry it was difficult. "How?"

"Longbottom, you're a pure blood – a whole wizard, something very rare nowadays. You're part of the next generation, the generation that will have risen to its full potential and taken hold of its destiny."

"You get that from your filthy textbook?" Neville asked, glaring at her.

"No, from this." Alecto handed him and pink pamphlet.

Neville glanced at the front of it. In thick gold letters it read: MUDBLOODS and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society. "I'm not going to read this," said he, crinkling it in his hand before dropping it.

"I didn't think you would."

Neville looked worriedly from the Hufflepuffs to Alecto. "What do you mean they're going to help with this lesson?" he asked. "Let them leave. Let them go see their friend, you made your point."

"Please," Mary pleaded. "Let us see her."

"We've got to make sure she's ok," Nathan said.

Again, Alecto ignored them. "I'll explain. Mary here is a half-blood. Your mother had to flee the village she lived in as a girl, didn't she? They found out she was a witch and thought she was evil. The Muggles drove her out, didn't they?"

Mary glared at Alecto, but didn't deny it.

"Filthy animals," Alecto spat. "But it gets worse! You'd think she would have learned her lesson, but your idiot of a mother –"

"My mother is not an idiot!"

" – married your beast of a father! A Muggle!"

"My father isn't a beast, he's brilliant," Mary insisted. "He's an artist, he –"

"Shut up." Alecto turned to Nathan, who drew himself up to his full height, nearly as tall as Alecto. Behind them, her brother droned on. "It's Nathan who's the real interesting on, isn't it?" She gave a horrible smile. "Nathan has a Muggle mother. His father claims to be a half-blood, but the Ministry of Magic has reason to believe he may be lying. There is no evidence of him anywhere; he didn't even attend Hogwarts. Sounds… fishy, doesn't it?"

"A lot of wizards go to school abroad," Neville said quietly, his throat very, very dry.

Alecto grinned at Neville. "It's a lie. I say we've got a Mudblood at Hogwarts!"

Behind him, Amycus and the Slytherins erupted into laughter that Neville tried to ignore. His mind raced – Rhima's blood was pure and worth saving, but what about Mary? What about Nathan? "What does this have to do with me?" he asked slowly, concentrating on keeping his voice from wavering.

"You're here to help me punish them. Longbottom, you're a pureblood and you're gutsy – an idiot – but gutsy. That will take you places, that will."

"No!" Neville cried. "No, never!"

"Longbottom, you will find your place in this world or I will shove you into it! One way or another, you will learn!"

"Y-you expect m-me to Curse them?"

"You've done it before," Alecto said in a low growl, her gray lips curling into something that resembled a smile. "And from what I heard, you did very well."

"No!" Neville cried again. His heart thudded wildly against his chest. Lavender had thought what to do, but Mary and Nathan weren't in Dumbledore's Army and didn't know to fake it. There was no way he could tell them to do it without Alecto overhearing.

If he was going to Cruse them, it would have to be real.

Clutching his wand so tightly it pressed painfully into his skin, he thought of refusing and fighting his way out. But Nathan and Mary didn't have wands, there was no way, unless…

He looked over his shoulder at the Slytherins and Aymcus, who had stopped his lesson to watch. Crabbe and Goyle grinned stupidly at him. Draco's face was blank and completely unmoved, but his eyes flicked briefly to meet Neville's. In that instant Neville knew what Draco wanted to say – see what it's like? See what it's like to have no choice?

They wouldn't be any help. Breathing hard, Neville looked back to Alecto. "I won't. Do what you want to me, but I'll never do it."

Alecto rolled her eyes. "All these heroics are getting old." She grabbed Nathan roughly by the collar and dragged him away from where Neville stood, now left facing Mary. "Curse her," Alecot ordered.

"No."

Alecto pressed her wand into Nathan's neck. "Crucio."

Nathan cried out and crumpled to the ground.

"No!" Mary screamed. She tried to run over to him, but Alecto had already turned her wand at her.

"Impedimenta."

Mary stumbled and fell backwards as if she'd run into a wall. "Nathan!" she screamed.

Nathan, raised himself up on an elbow, holding her head in his hand. "I'm fine," he said weakly. He gave her a brave smile. "Mary, I'm fine."

"Curse her," Alecto demanded again.

Neville did nothing. He was begging his mind to work faster, to come up with something – anything.

He couldn't attack Alecto; with Amycus and the Slytherins in the room there would be no hope for him, and an all out duel meant Mary and Nathan were likely to get caught in the crossfire. He couldn't bring himself to Curse Mary; she was still on the floor, sobbing, watching her friend as he struggled to sit up. But if he didn't, he knew Alecto would just Curse Nathan again. She wouldn't care how long it took, she thought Nathan was Muggle-born – he didn't matter.

"Now, Longbottom."

"I c-can't, I –"

"Curcio!"

Again, Nathan fell to the ground, crying out so painfully it was as though Neville was being hurt, too. He shut his eyes, trying to block it out. But Mary's screams were nearly more bone-chilling than Nathan's.

"Stop it, please!" she begged Alecto. "He didn't do it – it was all me! Please!" she sobbed, "please!"

"I won't ask again, Longbottom!" Alecto cried over Mary and Nathan. "Do it!"

Neville looked his wand, his hand shaking violently. How could he? This was worse then having to Curse Lavender. Though he didn't know her, somehow Mary stood for ever other kid trying to fight back and resist. It was then he realized that this was bigger than Harry Potter; this was bigger than Dumbledore's Army or the Order of the Phoenix – there were people everywhere fighting back, people he didn't know and would never know, doing what they could in there way. And getting hurt for it.

And Mary was just a kid. She hadn't known what she was getting into.

Alecto pointed her wand at Nathan again and he screamed, contorting unnaturally, his spine rigid, his fists clenched.

"Nathan! Nate, just hold on!" Mary got up and tried to run to him again, but was again knocked back. Behind them, Neville heard Amycus laugh.

He thought back to Luna, how he had been the one screaming her name, how he would have given anything to trade places with her.

Nathan fought wildly for breath, his chest rising and falling too quickly, too shallowly.

"Nathan! Enough – he's had enough, can't you see? Stop it, he can't breath!"

"Crucio!"

"You bloody monster! Stop it! Please!"

Nathan opened his mouth, trying to speak. "M-Mary… all r-right… you and R-Rhima…"

"Shut up, you thieving, disgusting Mudblood!" Alecto gave him a kick in the head before Cursing him again.

But Nathan didn't shut up. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, but when they did, he looked up at Alecto. "…weren't trying… t-to blind you…" he gasped. "We were…"

"No, Nathan!" Mary screamed, "don't, don't! It'll only make it worse!"

Nathan ignored her and continued. "We tried t-to kill you."

"Damn it, Nathan!" Mary cried. Again, she tried to make her way to him, but Alecto – infuriated beyond anything Neville had ever seen – turned her wand on Mary. Mary flew back and landed hard against the wall. Again, she Cursed Nathan, her voice shrill and psychotic. "Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!"

"Stop!" Neville screamed at her. "You're killing him! Stop!"

"Don't you see?" Alecto screeched at him. "Mudbloods are stinking, bloodthirsty monsters! Curse her, Longbottom! She isn't fit to be called a witch – Curse her or I swear I'll bleed this dog dry and we'll rid the world of his filthy blood!"

Mary, her eyes fluttering dazedly, clutched the back of her head. Neville wondered how badly she'd been hurt. "He bleeds like me," she muttered. "He bleeds like you."

"Enough! Crucio!"

Nathan screamed. His face and hair were slick with sweat and his entire body shook.

Neville screwed up his eyes tight. He knew what he had to do. This had to end. Tears he hardly noticed fell hot and fast down his face. He knew it was what Mary wanted because he had wanted it too, when it was his friend being Cursed. He raised his wand.

"Want it, Longbottom!" Alecto cried. "Really want it!" Another flick of her wand and Nathan's limp body jumped as if he's been shocked. But he didn't shout this time.

Am I already too late? Neville wondered, being to panic. What if he's gone? What if his mind – ?

"Nate! Nate!"

"Do it, Longbottom!"

Neville swallowed hard. Somehow, this felt like the end of something. "Crucio."

AN: I may go back and rewrite some of this chapter. I'm not sure if all of it works, I just really wanted to post it :S Any feedback would make you supermegafoxyawesomehot.
Also, thank you for the reviews! I just... gwarsh guys... shucks... thank you!