Neville, Terry, and Susan attempted to keep the DA on a tight leash following the events of the Quidditch match that led to Ritchie Coote being shut up in the Hospital Wing for a full week. News of the Carrows' use of the Cruciatus Curse on him spread like wildfire throughout the school and everybody, even some Slytherins, were growing warier of the Carrows by the day. The rest of the Quidditch players plus Neville and Seamus went to their week's worth of detention and served their punishment, each night returning from Alecto Carrow's classroom with blood running down their arms and tears trickling down their cheeks. They visited Ritchie in the Hospital Wing but the sight of his bruised face and battered body made them sick to their stomachs.
Neville tried getting the kids to focus their attention on schoolwork but it was becoming more and more difficult. The news of Ritchie Coote's punishment caused Gryffindor house to explode. Despite their best efforts, Neville and the oldest Gryffindors could not keep the younger students from lashing out. On Monday, Jack Sloper and Milo Erickson set off a bonanza of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes fireworks in Alecto Carrow's classroom that the professor tried and failed to get rid of. Nigel Wolpert and Jimmy Peakes, just fourth-years, stood up to Amycus Carrow as they passed him in the hall on Tuesday, resulting in the professor screaming at them as they scampered away. They made use of the Gregory Smarmy secret passage and stayed there for nearly an hour, until they were sure that Carrow and the Slytherins weren't around, before sprinting off to the Room of Requirement. Romilda Vane snuck off Tuesday night with Lydia Cooden and the two of them added to the graffiti already decking the walls. They merely smiled at Neville when he had asked about the paint smears on their robes.
Susan told him that Mick McManus and Aggie Burton of Hufflepuff had both accused Amycus Carrow of child abuse in their respective Dark Arts classes, resulting in slaps to the face and detentions for both of them. Unlike Romilda and Lydia, who had managed to vandalize the school without getting caught, Owen Cauldwell was found late one night by the Slytherin patrol with spray paint in his hands. He was dragged off to detention and returned to the Hufflepuff Common Room with a bruising face. The Ravenclaws had remained fairly quiet, Terry reported, although he noted that several of the younger students had gotten detention for speaking out of turn in class and challenging Slytherin prefects.
It seemed as though Dumbledore's Army had turned from a defense group into one of rebellion in the span of a week. Neville wasn't quite sure how to feel about it, for the fact that younger students were putting themselves in harm's way worried him greatly. And attitudes were shifting even amongst the older students, he had noticed. Ginny and Seamus were more vocal than ever in the Carrows' classes and they spoke often of "teaching Snape a lesson". Their behavior only further added to Neville's stress.
Snape himself hadn't commented at all on the Carrows' cruel methods, despite the fact that the other Heads of House were horrified. Neville had heard that Sprout, McGonagall, and Flitwick had marched up to the Headmaster's office demanding that he stop the Carrows from harming students. Snape had, however, merely stated calmly that the Carrows were perfectly capable of handling detentions without his input. Hogwarts had most certainly turned into a madhouse in the span of several weeks. With Snape and the Carrows replacing Dumbledore and the Golden Trio, students were itching to start a rebellion. The graffiti didn't seem like enough, they wanted to make the Death Eaters pay.
Andrew Kirke's body was found in an empty corridor Wednesday night by Terry, Padma, and Luna, who were late to a DA meeting for the older students. They nearly tripped over the Korean boy, whose face was beaten practically beyond recognition. Instead of bringing him to the Hospital Wing, they brought him directly to the Room of Requirement. Parvati and Susan had set up a makeshift healing station in one corner of the room complete with a couch and a small shelf of potions due to the influx of minor injuries that week. Megan Jones was the one who had opened the door for them. She shrieked at the sight of a shaking Padma, an unconscious Andrew, and a panting Terry and Luna.
Her scream had caused the sixth and seventh years to drop what they were doing and turn their attention towards the doorway. Lavender and Mick McManus, who had been engaged in a mutual flirting war for the past two weeks, halted their conversation, their mouths dropping open at the sight in the doorway. The game of Exploding Snap that Michael had started up with Marcus, Milo, and Ernie was immediately forgotten as they craned their necks to see what the commotion was. Su, Susan, and Etta dropped their wands as their hands drifted to their mouths in horror.
"Oh, God," Hannah breathed out, her face going pale as the Ravenclaws tumbled through the door, Kirke supported between two of them.
"Bring him here," Parvati gasped, immediately leaping to her feet to guide her flustered twin towards the corner of the room decked out with healing supplies.
"We found him over by the Prefect's Bathroom," Luna choked out as she and Terry eased the injured Gryffindor onto the couch and stepped back as Parvati and Susan swarmed around him. "I thought that perhaps it could've been an attack by an Umgubular Slashkilter but the bruise patterns are more similar to ones created by human hands."
Morag, Lavender, and Hannah gasped at Luna's last comment and Seamus swore under his breath.
"We think it was the Slytherins," Terry told a shocked Ginny and Neville, his blue eyes burning with anger as Jack Sloper and Milo Erickson stumbled over to the couch to be by Kirke's side. "Goyle has been known to wear a skull ring."
"He didn't!" Ginny gasped furiously. She marched up to the couch and peered down at Kirke from over Susan and Parvati's shoulders as they worked quickly. Sure enough, a red skull imprint was visible under his smooth left cheekbone. "That's foul!"
"Teachers and students hurting children," Hannah muttered into her hands, peeking through her fingers to look at the injured Gryffindor. Her normally mellow face was contorted into a pained expression. "It's absurd."
"I'll kill Goyle," Seamus hissed threateningly, jumping to his feet as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll kill him!"
"Get in line," Jack growled, pushing himself up off the floor and striding across the room. He rolled up his sleeves as he walked, revealing his thick biceps.
Lavender held the two boys both back by their shirt collars as they moved towards the doorway. "Oh no you don't, we don't need any people getting beaten up by those monsters."
As if on cue, Sally-Anne Perks entered the Room of Requirement, wearing a bloodied lip and a scowl on her face. She attempted to hide her mouth with her sleeve but gave up when she noticed that all eyes were already on her. "Wotcher," she greeted in a lackluster voice, letting her arm drop to her side.
"What happened?" Megan gasped as she rushed forward to greet her friend. She tilted Sally-Anne's chin back to get a better look at the damage.
"Leave it alone, Meggie," the blonde muttered, swatting half-heartedly away at her friend's obtrusive hands. "I'm fine."
"What happened?" Megan repeated the question in a stern voice.
"Got yelled at by she-devil Carrow for wearing "muggle shoes"," Sally-Anne said, lifting up the hem of her robes to reveal a pair of sneakers. Neville recognized the white cap toe and laces, they indeed were muggle shoes. Covners, or something of the sort.
"So where'd the split lip come from, then?" Seamus asked, his previous anger suddenly forgotten as he stared curiously at the two girls.
"I told her that if she tried out muggle fashion then she might finally get some male attention, not that she deserved any," Sally-Anne said with a toss of her chin.
"Sally-Anne!" Hannah gasped at the same time Susan cried, "You didn't!" The pair of Hufflepuffs stared at their housemate in horror.
"No way," Anthony swore as Terry and Michael attempted to hide their snickers.
"Nice," Oliver Rivers, a Hufflepuff seventh year, grinned, reaching out to fistbump Sally-Anne. He was immediately elbowed by a scowling Megan.
"Don't encourage her," she chastised him angrily.
Seamus stared at Sally-Anne with newfound respect. "Badass," he complimented. Megan shot him a glare and he looked away guiltily.
Ernie came up beside Neville and let out a long sigh. "I can't see any more Hufflepuffs injured," he told Neville in a low voice, shaking his head. "I just can't, it feels so wrong. Sally-Anne can take care of herself, she's of age, but I draw the line when Owen comes back with a bruised face. He's a fourth-year."
"What do we do about this?" Susan whispered as she, Lavender, and Hannah joined Neville and Ernie. Su Li had offered to take her place at the healing station, which she had accepted gratefully. Her pale skin made the dark circles under her eyes even more prominent and Neville guessed that she, like Ernie, was practically worrying herself to death. "It's not their fault that they're rebelling, it's a natural response to such dire living conditions."
"This dictatorship needs to be overthrown," Michael Corner rubbed at his face wearily as he and Anthony walked over, Anthony looking quite apprehensive.
Neville looked around the room. Michael and Oliver Rivers both had growing black eyes. Ginny's cut lip wasn't all that different from the one Sally-Anne sported. Jack Sloper and Seamus both had their biceps exposed by their rolled-up sleeves, revealing deep cuts from the Carrows' detention on their arms. Susan, Padma, and Terry all looked ready to collapse from exhaustion at any moment. Not a single sixth or seventh year looked as if they had had a good night's sleep in weeks. "We can't keep going on like this," he muttered under his breath.
Ginny heard his comment and turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Like what?"
"Like this!" Neville gestured around the room at their weary friends. His gaze landed on Andrew Kirke, who had just begun to stir, and his frustration intensified. "We can't keep letting people get hurt like this, it's wrong!"
"I don't think any of us necessarily want this," Ginny said, pointing at her busted lip. "We don't exactly enjoy pain, you know."
"Then stop acting out! Stop making yourselves targets!"
"Neville mate," Michael mumbled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Let's not go around saying things we regret, yeah?"
"He's not wrong, though," Anthony muttered as Neville shrugged Michael's hand off angrily.
"We're standing up for what we believe in," Ginny said hotly. Her arms instinctively crossed over her chest, indicating that she was getting defensive. The move didn't go unnoticed by Neville and he wished for a fleeting moment that Demelza, who was probably with Ritchie in the Hospital Wing, was there to calm her down. But the moment was indeed fleeting, and his fury returned.
"You're being reckless!" He shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. The two of them were practically nose-to-nose, breathing heavily.
"No, we're not!" Ginny screeched, her red face practically matching her long hair.
"Yes you are!" Neville bellowed. "Reckless and stupid!"
"I hate to interrupt but I think we should take Andrew to the Hospital Wing," a soft voice suddenly spoke up. The fuming Gryffindors turned to look at Parvati and Su, who stared at them nervously. In fact, the whole room was gaping at the pair with shocked expressions. Several people looked at the Gryffindors with sad eyes while others looked torn.
Neville's face immediately softened as he turned his attention to Andrew and away from Ginny. "Is he-" he began to say.
"He's going to be fine," Parvati reassured him. "I just think that Madam Pomfrey's healing potion supply will do him some good. Terry and Mick are going to brew up some healing potions tomorrow but for now, he should go to the Hospital Wing."
"I'll take him," Ginny said with a huff, tossing her red hair. Her shoulder clipped Neville's roughly as she stormed over to the couch. Milo immediately leaped to his feet to assist her and the two of them gently eased Kirke off the couch and into a standing position, causing the fifth-year to whimper slightly. They guided him across the room and towards the door. Before they left, Ginny turned around and looked at Neville with angry eyes. "We're not being reckless, we're being brave. And maybe you don't see it that way because you're a coward." With that, she spun back around and marched out the door with Milo and Andrew.
The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Jack Sloper finally broke the silence. "I suppose you think Coote is a reckless idiot too, then?" He asked angrily, his cheeks flushed red with anger. He glared at Neville before running out the door to catch up with Ginny. Etta McKinnon and Marcus Fenwick quickly followed after Sloper, shaking their heads as they passed Neville.
Neville's face dropped. "No, I-" he began to say as he helplessly watched others leave.
"Screw that, I'm with the ginger," Sally-Anne muttered as made her way to the door with Oliver. Megan quietly trailed after them, more out of loyalty to Sally-Anne than anything. Mick McManus breezed past him, looking back over his shoulder at Lavender with a questioning look. Her lip trembled but she stood her ground and stayed by Neville.
"I hate when Mum and Dad fight," Neville could hear Seamus mutter, earning him jabs on either side from Lavender and Susan. The room was silent.
"That was uncalled for," Michael sighed, looking at Neville with disapproval.
"Don't blame me!" Neville choked out in a shocked voice. "She's the one who's wrong, not me!" He suddenly felt something on his chest and looked down to see a small but firm hand pressed against his chest. It belonged to Luna.
"That's enough, Neville," she said tightly. Her normally soft face suddenly seemed hard. "I think you've said enough tonight." He began to protest but she merely shook her head and made her way to the door.
"Luna," Neville began in a hurt voice as she passed him, but the blonde cut him off.
"I'm not taking sides, Neville, I'm going to bed," she said in a gentle voice. "And I think you should do the same."
Neville stared after her until her blonde head disappeared through the doorway. He turned around, still breathing heavily, to look at the remaining members. "Well?" He asked expectantly. Nobody could meet his eyes except for Hannah. Her eyes were full of sadness and something else. Disappointment.
And that made his heart break even more.