This was originally chapter 6/7 or so but I've reconstructed the story a bit so I moved it here, sorry for any confusion!
The next Dumbledore's Army meeting had perfect attendance, not one of the thirty-some members was missing. Though the Room of Requirement was large and forgiving with its space, it seemed as if everyone was constantly knocking against each other as they squished together in the front of the room. Neville felt jittery as he clutched an important piece of parchment in his hand. He fidgeted in his spot at the front of the room, wondering if the plan he had come up with was actually a good idea or not. But he convinced himself that it was as his eyes found the fresh cuts on a fair amount of the attendees' arms and the growing bruises on their faces. As the crowd began to quiet, Neville handed the parchment to Luna and stood up to address the group.
"Glad to see we haven't lost anyone yet," he said with a wry smile as the tittering voices died down. "Especially with the way you lot have been acting, it's a miracle the Carrows haven't killed us yet." That elicited a smattering of chuckles, including Seamus, Ginny, and Ritchie, who had dealt with Carrows' crude violence firsthand. "What we're about to discuss might change your mind about being part of this group, but we hope it'll only make you want to be in Dumbledore's Army more." He glanced back at Susan and Terry, who gave him encouraging smiles, and Ginny, who nodded firmly. "We're beginning to realize how dangerous our mission to teach and protect is, and we're also realizing that our mission is changing a bit. Not only are we here to learn, but we're also here to stand up for ourselves and protect our school. It's dangerous defying the Carrows and Snape but honestly, everything is dangerous these days. Rebellion is needed in times like these," Neville repeated McGonagall's words once again and was met with a flood of cheers, causing him to grin. Some of the members that had walked out on him the previous night, including Jack Sloper, nodded at him out of respect. He returned the gesture.
"Standing up for our beliefs, however, has become a dangerous mission. The Slytherins and Carrows are out to get us and they're out for blood. Last month, me and two other Gryffindors ran into some Slytherins on our way back to our house from a meeting. Our little graffiti stunt in the first weeks back nearly led to us getting caught by Carrows. And I know that many of you have been taking actions in your own ways this week that have led to injuries and detention. It's honestly inevitable that we'll be punished, but we want to expel at least a little bit of that danger if we can."
"Hence our introduction of house partnerships," Susan stepped in, joining Neville at his side. "Each of you will receive a partner from another house. This is someone who you will learn to trust with your life and will become your brother or sister in battle."
"Trust with your life?" Nigel Wolpert repeated.
"In battle?" Su Li gasped, a shocked expression on her face.
"Whether you know it or not, Harry will be back. We don't know when and we don't know how, but he's not gonna leave us here. And when he does come, there's a high chance that he'll bring whatever evil he's running from with him." Susan elbowed Neville and gave him a warning look.
"I thought Hogwarts was supposed to be safe from the war," a small Hufflepuff Neville recognized as Penny Sutton whimpered.
Neville's face softened as he suddenly began to regret the harshness of his words. "Hogwarts is safe, but only to an extent. But war leaves no stones unturned, trust me," he muttered the last part as his thoughts briefly drifted to his parents, locked away in St. Mungo's. He shook his head and continued to speak. "So yes, the war will probably reach Hogwarts at some point, which is why we need to be ready for it. We're going to train long and hard so we can protect our school."
"And speaking of protecting our school," Terry said as he joined the other two house leaders at the front of the room. "That's our main objective right now. Only we aren't talking about protecting it from outside forces, we're talking about the Carrows, the Slytherins, and Snape."
"Our objective is dangerous, there are so many places where things could go wrong. Which is why we're asking this of you. These house partnerships will create meaningful alliances that will get us through the school year and will do well to help us when the war reaches us."
"But what does that mean?" Sally-Anne Perks groaned. "This house partnership blarmy, what is it?"
"Any guesses?" Neville asked the group, looking down at the members expectantly. The room was silent as people stared back at him, some with thoughtful expressions and others with blank ones.
Finally, Stewart Ackerley, a fourth-year Ravenclaw, raised his hand timidly. "You aren't talking about an Unbreakable Vow, are you?" He asked, his voice cracking slightly.
Neville nodded curtly. "That's exactly what we're talking about."
Excited whispers broke out amongst the large crowd. Some students looked uneasy while others appeared to be intrigued as they leaned forward, eager for more information.
"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" Romilda Vane asked loudly, always one to make sure her voice was heard. She was sitting on the windowsill, arms crossed and looking skeptical. "We're not soldiers, we're just kids." Several voices rose in agreement.
"No, I don't." Neville shook his head coolly. "In my fifth year, Hermione Granger had the members sign a piece of parchment, kind of like a contract. And as some of you may remember, Marietta Edgecomb, a sixth year Ravenclaw at the time, broke the promise that came along with signing that contract. Needless to say, her skin has never been the same." A few seventh years snickered, remembering the SNEAK branded witch. "But that was back when we were all a bunch of kids who wanted to learn about new spells. This year, it's serious. We're fighting for our lives here, and we aren't kids anymore. There is a war out there, and it's going to reach Hogwarts sooner or later. We aren't safe here and we sure as hell aren't safe out there."
"An Unbreakable Vow is a promise to stay loyal, it's not a death contract unless you make it one," Terry added in his placid voice.
"Dumbledore's Army isn't a club of teenagers who simply covers their school with graffiti, we are fighting for our rights and are standing up for what we believe in. So anyone who isn't ready for this kind of commitment," Neville gestured to the door, "I ask you to please leave."
His heart swelled with pride when not a single student made any movement to leave. "We're not asking you to jump into this Unbreakable Vow right away, but we also can't have you waiting until you're best friends. Maybe you two hit it off right away, maybe you realize that you're opposites. I don't care, I'm looking for confidence, not compatibility. A vow like this comes with the responsibility of trust. When you and your partner are ready for that commitment, come to me, Susan, or Terry. We'll bond you when the time is right." He gestured to himself and the other house leaders. "Your partner might be an acquaintance, or it could be someone you don't know. Hell, this might be the first time you've ever heard their name. But we want coalition and we want you to learn to trust. Are you ready for this?" He asked and was met with a chorus of "yeses". Neville looked to Luna, who immediately stepped forward. She accepted the piece of parchment he offered to her and began to read.
"Andrew Kirke, Wayne Hopkins. Penny Sutton, Orla Quirke. Seamus Finnegan, Terry Boot. Hannah Abbott, Demelza Robins. Sally-Anne Perks, Lavender Brown. Anthony Goldstein, Ritchie Coote. Emilia Insley, Morag MacDougal. Stewart Ackerley, Nigel Wolpert. Padma Patil, Lydia Cooden..."
Ginny came to stand in between Susan and Neville and the trio looked on in admiration, watching the room rearrange as people went to find their partners.
Ginny smiled and squeezed his arm. "You did great, Neville." She then excused herself to go find Megan Jones. The tall black girl greeted her with an eager smile.
"It's a brilliant idea, really," Susan said with a nod as she complimented him. "I don't know how you ever thought of it, but it was brilliant. Hannah was right, you're the perfect replacement for Harry." Su Li waved at her from the other side of the room and she waved back. "That's my cue to leave," she said, stepping off the raised platform. Neville watched her go, smiling slightly at the compliment she had relayed from Hannah. He searched through the crowd for the blonde Hufflepuff and found her shaking Demelza's hand as she introduced herself.
Neville felt a tap on his shoulder. He tore his eyes away from Hannah and turned around to see Ernie Macmillan standing behind him. "It looks like we're partners," the blonde boy stated.
Neville smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I heard. That's great."
Ernie hesitantly returned the smile. "I know that I have a pretty big track record of questioning you Gryffindors on...everything, but I just wanted you to know that I have no doubts about where my loyalty lies with the DA."
"I don't need convincing Ernie, you've proven your loyalty on several occasions," Neville said with a chuckle. "But I'm still glad to hear you say it." Neville extended his hand and Ernie shook it gratefully.
"I must say you made a convincing speech up there a little bit ago." The Hufflepuff cocked his head to the side. "I myself was pretty skeptical about the Unbreakable Vow idea but I'm already sold on it."
"It's a big commitment," Neville admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "But it's really more a pact of loyalty than a vow."
"Well put. Now, as for our own Unbreakable Vow-" Ernie began.
"Let's wait," Neville spoke up quickly, cutting the Hufflepuff off. "At least for a little bit. I want to get to know you better," he said honestly.
"Chap," Ernie clapped his shoulder, "I was thinking the exact same thing."
Neville smiled and returned the gesture. He then turned his attention back to the room and raised his voice. "Alright, you lot, listen up!" The chattering slowly died down as people turned their attention back to him. "We want to use these partnerships to the best of our ability. If you're out late at night trying to avoid some Slytherins, if you're running away from the Carrows, if your dormitory is too far away and you need to be somewhere safe, if you can't make it to the Hospital Wing, you and your partner should go to the closest common room of the two that you can. I know that the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw common room locations are pretty spread out. I don't want any of you walking to your room alone, not when it's the Slytherins that are on patrol. So use whatever means you can to be safe and communicate with your house leader on your galleons, which you all should have received at this point. Use invisibility cloaks, charms, I don't care, just stay safe. We've learned in the past that you can get into another house's common room if a person of that house lets you in willingly."
"So you're saying that we get to use other houses' dormitories and common rooms?" Romilda asked hopefully from her spot next to a Ravenclaw named Magdalene Bernard.
"If necessary, yes," Neville replied, nodding. "This strategy got Terry and Seamus out of trouble a couple of weeks ago."
"Wicked," Romilda grinned cunningly, her teeth glinting in the candlelight as she looked at Magdalene. "I always wanted to see the other dormitories."
Neville allowed himself to grin. "Only if necessary, Romilda, don't abuse this power. I've going to talk with McGonagall and see if she, Flitwick, and Sprout are willing to cover for us as best they can. After all, we're all on the same side."
Everyone looked slightly shocked at the news of the other professors helping them. Then Padma began to clap suddenly, a bright twinkle evident in her eyes. Anthony and Terry joined her, as did the rest of the Ravenclaws. The whole room had broken into applause, causing Neville to grin. He shouted over the applause that the meeting was dismissed. He felt a sort of joy seeing the light in people's eyes as they passed by him and out the door. Terry and Seamus came up to him and pulled him to the side away from the stream of people.
"Bond us, will you, mate?" Seamus asked as he and Terry rolled up their sleeves.
"Of course," Neville nodded. He looked at Ernie. "I'll catch you later, mate." Ernie nodded and ran off to join up with Susan and Hannah. Neville let his eyes drift to Hannah's swaying blonde hair for a moment. He had found himself doing that a lot lately, perhaps just because it was such a nice color of golden yellow. He shook his head before turning back to his friends. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
"Do your magic." Seamus nodded towards Neville's wand.