* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART TWO

Last Call for Sin

Chapter 1: I Want to Stand Up

A/N: This is PREQUEL to 'The 8th Year' which has been retitled 'The Eighth Year' and I will be re-uploading that story as part of this series but it has been entirely rewritten so while the main pairings remain the same, much of the content has changed and there is also a LOT of new content.

The story has been split into six parts, four of which are complete and one of which is still in progress and I am working my way through uploading them all on here for anyone interested :)

~ Part One: Just Another Thing (Oneshot with insight into sixth year from Theo's POV)

~ Part Two: Last Call for Sin (20 chapters. Seventh year from the POV of those in Hogwarts)

~ Part Three: The Eighth Year (65 chapters. As the majority of students return to Hogwarts, house divides are torn down by new relationships and friendships)

~ Part Four: Brave New World (95 chapters. After surviving their final year at Hogwarts, the students whose relationships and friendships are explored in 'The Eighth Year' venture out into the world with big plans to change it)

~ Part Five: Blame it on Hate (In progress, estimated to be around 110 chapters when finished. Eight years after the war everyone has settled down and started a family when a new threat rises that pushes everyone to their limits)

~ Part Six: Love Wins (Not written yet. In 2021, the war seems like a distant memory for most. But as the next generation of our gangs kids begin to embark on life's great adventure, it becomes apparent that the threat still remains).

NOTE: The pairings in this section of the story are not representative of the overall story. The endgame pairings are Harry x Daphne, Draco x Hermione, Sadie x Theo and Neville x Lilly. Just so that nobody gets invested in a pairing at the moment that won't be engame.

Also - We bounce around a lot in this story which is why most scenes have a location at the beginning of them. The story title and the title of every chapter derives from the song "All These Things That I Have Done" by The Killers because it was the theme tune of this section of the story. It's the song that I listened to on repeat while I wrote it! I also made a trailer for this story with that song which you can find on my youtube channel (Holly9364).

*** WARNINGS ***

Rated M for violent torture scenes, sex scenes, mentions of past abuse, implied threat of sexual abuse, unplanned teenage pregnancy and death.

ALSO, features a kiss between two boys and a kiss between two girls so if that puts you off, please be aware that there are bisexual characters, gay characters etc in later parts of the story too.

* ~ KINGS CROSS STATION, LONDON ~ *

Kings Cross Station was as busy and bustling as ever. Muggle businessmen pushed their way through the crowds to get onto trains, and tourists with huge cameras hanging from their necks stopped and stared in the middle of the platforms. There was nothing to suggest that anything untoward was happening in the world: no dark fog, no unseasonal chilliness, no creepy men in cloaks and masks.

Neville glanced around warily. He had come to the station alone today. His grandmother may have been strong-willed and very capable once upon a time, but she was an older woman now, and he had no idea what to expect. After all, it had been made the law for all witches and wizards of Hogwarts age to return to school, as long as they had magical blood that was.

He sighed, no Death Eaters were lurking on this side of the secret wall, but that wasn't to say that things on his side of that wall would be so hospitable.

"Hey, stranger."

Neville jumped and spun around. He recognised the voice, but it was the last one he had expected to hear at Kings Cross on the 1st of September.

All the same, there she was. She was sitting on a wall absentmindedly, her denim-clad legs swinging as she peered at him through her thick-rimmed glasses. There was no mistaking her with that jet black hair pulled up into a bun and those piercing blue eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Neville asked his old friend, Lilly Moon, in disbelief.

"Seeing you off?" Lilly asked. She raised an eyebrow at him, "Bon voyage and all that?"

"You had better not be thinking about getting on that train," Neville said firmly.

"I have been thinking about it, all summer. I have also decided that I don't want to get murdered by the neo-Nazi Death Eater party, so no, I'm not going to get on the train," Lilly said matter of factly, "But I live near the station, so I figured why not come and say goodbye to my good friend Nev?"

Neville looked at her for a long moment, "I'd love to believe that was the truth, but we've not been that close for a while, Lilly. I mean, yeah, we had some fun in the DA in fifth year, but last year…you were doing your thing, and I was doing mine. We barely talked."

"And then there was a big battle that you nearly died in," Lilly said. She caught his eye, "And now you're getting on that train to…well to God knows what."

"So?"

"So maybe I just wanted to say goodbye," Lilly said with a shrug.

Neville's expression softened, "It won't be that bad, Lilly. It's still a school at the end of the day."

"I'm sure that's what the Jews thought when they were sent to concentration camps," Lilly said, looking at him pointedly.

Neville sighed, "I'll be fine. But you, on the other hand, you won't be if you go anywhere near our world. You need to stay the hell away from Hogwarts until this is all over."

Lilly rolled her eyes, "So you get to go and save the world because you're friends with Harry Potter? But I have to sit on my feet and wait like a good girl?"

"No, Lilly," Neville said irritably, "You need to stay away because you are a Muggle-born who they will kill if they find. You likened this to World War 2 just there, and you're right. They aren't going to give you a bloody caution. They will give you the Dementors kiss because of your blood status, and then they will turn your corpse, your soul-less body, into a weapon. Is that what you want? To be one of You-Know-Who's soul-less zombies?"

Lilly grimaced, "Well, when you put it like that, no, it's not high on my list of priorities."

"Just look after yourself," Neville said.

Lilly jumped off of the wall, "Look after yourself," she echoed.

Neville smiled at her, "I doubt we'll be able to write."

Lilly shook her head, "He will cut off all communication between the school and the outside world. It's going down just like the Muggle war did, Nev."

"I'll be careful," Neville promised, his eyes flicking towards the clock above her.

Lilly smiled and hugged the taller man. She pushed herself onto her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, "See ya on the flipside, Nev," she said.

Neville's smile was more genuine as she walked away with a grin. He shook his head in amusement and grabbed his trunk, dashing through the secret wall onto the platform. He and Lilly had been friends since they were kids, he had spent summers with her, and she had introduced him to Muggle music and this brilliant thing called the cinema. They had started to drift apart after their fourth year though, and they had barely spoken last year. All the same, Neville hoped that Lilly would take his advice and stay put. For a Ravenclaw, she was as headstrong and stubborn as half the Gryffindors that he knew.

Neville braced himself and made sure that his wand was within grabbing distance as he dashed through the wall onto Platform 9 ¾. The moment he opened his eyes, he came face to face with two suspicious looking Ministry officials in black cloaks.

One of them gripped his shoulder and steered him to the side roughly.

"Name," He said gruffly.

Neville looked up at the dark-haired middle-aged man. He didn't recognise him as a Death Eater, but that wasn't to say that he wasn't just an ordinary Ministry official who had been put under the imperius curse.

"Name," He said again, his hand gripping Neville's shoulder more tightly than before.

"Neville Longbottom."

"Blood status?"

"Pureblood."

"Year?"

"Seventh."

"House?"

"Gryffindor."

The Ministry official let go of his shoulder, "Get on the train," he said gruffly.

Neville swallowed and walked straight ahead towards the train. The usually crowded platform was half empty. It seemed like the 'Ministry' were frog-marching kids onto the train then sending parents away without letting them say goodbye. He was glad that he had told his grandmother to stay home.

Neville kept his head down until he reached the train. He hauled his trunk up and immediately met another two 'Ministry' officials. This time it was clear that they were Death Eaters, mainly because Neville recognised one of them as MacNair.

"Grab him," MacNair instructed the other man.

The other Death Eater, whose name Neville didn't know, grabbed him and pulled him into an empty carriage.

"Where is Potter?" The Death Eater asked.

"I don't know," Neville replied honestly.

The Death Eater rolled his eyes, "Crucio," he said lazily.

Neville fell to his knees and cried out in pain.

"Is Potter coming back to school?"

"Not unless he's an idiot," Neville ground out, crying out in pain once more.

"Did he give you any indication as to where he was going?"

"No," Neville gasped.

"Has he communicated with you in any way?"

"No," Neville replied breathily.

The Death Eater ended the curse then slashed at his face with a cutting curse.

Neville hissed in pain and pushed himself to his feet shakily. The Death Eater threw him out of the carriage and told MacNair, "He doesn't know anything."

MacNair nodded, "Get a move on, Longbottom. The front carriages are reserved for Slytherins."

Neville grabbed his trunk wordlessly and walked up the middle of the train. He kept his head down and didn't look into any of the compartments; it just wasn't worth it. He made his way through the first two carriages, which were the first-class ones usually reserved for the Head Boy and Girl, Prefect's, etc.

When he reached the third carriage, Neville started looking into compartments hoping that he would find somebody he knew. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her, sitting with her legs pulled up underneath her, looking out onto the fog-filled platform.

"Gin."

Ginny turned around and smiled weakly at him, "You got the welcome treatment too, huh?"

Neville nodded. Ginny's face was marred with cuts as he imagined that his was, "They wanted to know where Harry was."

"Yeah, they asked me the same question," Ginny said as Neville threw his trunk into the luggage compartment and sat down opposite her.

Neville sighed, "Where's Ron?"

"Where do you think?" Ginny asked, looking pointedly at him.

"And Harry?"

Ginny nodded.

"And Hermione is with them," Neville said with a nod.

"Yep," Ginny agreed, "So it's just us this year."

"And me."

Neville and Ginny turned to the voice and smiled.

"Luna," Neville said, hugging her the moment she stepped into the compartment.

Ginny hugged her friend too, as Neville put Luna's trunk in the luggage compartment for her.

"Are you okay, Luna?" Ginny asked, touching one of the cuts on Luna's face.

"Oh, I'm fine," Luna said quietly. She sat down next to Ginny and looked out of the window, "They just wanted to know where Harry was, but I didn't know."

"No, neither did we," Ginny said, putting her arm around her friend.

"Do you really not know where he is?" Neville asked, his eyes meeting Ginny's, "He's your boyfriend."

"No, Neville," Ginny said curtly, "He isn't. Harry broke up with me before the summer, then we had great but sad goodbye sex before my brother's wedding, and now he's on the run without me. So no, he is not my boyfriend."

Neville grabbed her hand across the table.

Ginny let out a breath, "He is just a guy, a very brave guy who is probably going to save us all. He's doing what he has to do, and he is noble and…not my boyfriend, not anymore."

"It's okay to admit that it hurts Ginny," Luna said, leaning into her friend, "It's just us."

Neville nodded, "And he was your first love."

Ginny shook her head and looked out of the window, "No, I can't afford to think like that. Harry is off doing whatever he is doing, and from the welcome we got when we boarded the train, I think we are going to have a fight on our hands too."

"Yeah," Neville agreed with a sigh, "It does look that way…"

"We were attacked the minute we got on the train just because we are known associates of Harry's," Ginny said quietly, "Everything we say, every move we make at school…we'll be watched."

"So we need to watch what we say, who we say it to and where we say it," Neville said in an undertone, "Starting now."

Ginny nodded and cleared her throat, "Fancy a game of Wizards Chess then?"

Draco swallowed hard as he looked at the wall in front of him.

"We can't go through with you this year, darling."

Lucius scoffed, "He doesn't need us to go through with him, Narcissa. He is a man now."

Narcissa's eyes darkened, "Not yet, Lucius."

Lucius rolled his eyes, "Remember what the Dark Lord told you, Draco."

"I will, Father."

Narcissa stepped forward and embraced her son, "My love, everything you see and everything you do will be scrutinised when he calls you back. Do not tell the people that you love anything; keep them at a distance to keep them safe."

She drew back and smiled tearfully at him, "Be safe."

Draco nodded, "Goodbye, Mother."

He turned to his steely-eyed father, "Goodbye, Father."

Lucius simply bowed his head.

Draco turned and stepped through the wall. He knew it would not be as simple as just walking onto the train, so he was unsurprised when two men in black cloaks immediately stopped him.

"Name?"

"Draco Malfoy," Draco said carefully.

"Blood status?"

Draco scoffed, "Pureblood, you must know that."

"Got to ask all of the kids the same questions," One of the cloaked men said gruffly.

"Year?"

"Seventh."

"House?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Slytherin, obviously."

One of the men nodded curtly, "Get on the train."

Draco nodded and walked straight onto the train.

"Draco," MacNair said, bowing his head to him.

"Walden," Draco returned. He looked to the man at his side, "Avery."

"Malfoy," Avery returned.

"Take a seat somewhere, Draco," MacNair said, "This carriage is reserved for Slytherins."

Draco nodded and walked along the carriage, glancing into compartments until he found one with a friendly face. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. She got to her feet and hugged him tightly the moment he walked into the compartment.

"Draco," She breathed.

"Pansy," Draco said quietly. He extracted himself from her embrace and put his luggage up on the rack.

"I didn't know if you would come back. I was scared," Pansy admitted as she looked at him carefully.

"I didn't really have a choice," Draco said bitterly, "What with them making it illegal not to come to school and all."

Pansy narrowed her eyes at him, "Draco. Are you, you?"

"I'm not under the imperius curse," Draco replied. He sat down across from her and looked out at the platform.

"What did they do to you over the summer?" Pansy asked as she reached up and traced a deep cut on his face.

"Nothing good," Draco murmured, focusing on the foggy platform, "And now they are here and…I'm scared about what they will do to the people that I love. People like you."

Pansy met his eye and leaned across the table to kiss him. Draco was surprised and about to pull away because he had to keep his distance from her this year, and he didn't want to give her mixed signals. However, before he could, a scoff sounded from the doorway.

They broke apart, and Draco grimaced when he looked up and saw a beautiful blonde girl standing before them.

"Wow," She said coldly, "That didn't take long."

"Daphne," Draco began.

"Don't," Daphne said. She held up her hand and glared at Pansy, "But you are welcome to him, Pansy. Personally, murdering Death Eaters don't do it for me."

Draco opened his mouth again to defend himself, but she turned to two girls behind her before he could. One of them had dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes that were hidden behind thick-rimmed circular glasses. The other had coffee-coloured skin, brown eyes and sleek dark hair.

"Come on, girls, let's find our own compartment," Daphne said. She flipped her hair back and stalked off; the two girls followed her without looking into the compartment.

"She'll cool down, Draco," A new voice said as a tall, skinny boy with shoulder-length brown hair slipped into the compartment, "Just give her time."

Draco sighed, "Hey, Theo."

"Hey man. Those guys are a total buzzkill, right?" he asked as he threw his luggage up carelessly, then flung himself into a seat next to Draco, "Can you believe our Dads are friends with them?"

Draco just sighed in response and looked back to the window silently, "I don't know why I expected Daphne to be nice to me."

"I don't know why you did either," Theo admitted, "You broke her heart, and she holds grudges for a long time. She's still pissed off at me for something I did to her in third year."

"Oh, for Salazar's sake Theo," Pansy said, she glared at him, "You aren't helping."

"Sorry, but the truth hurts," Theo said stubbornly, "And you two were snogging when she walked by. I'd be pissed if I was your ex too."

"That was my fault," Pansy admitted. She glanced over at Draco, but he was still looking out of the window, "I'm sorry," she added as she reached out to grab his hand.

Draco flinched and pulled it away upon her touch.

"Draco," Theo said, a frown forming on his face, "What happened to you this summer?"

"He doesn't want to talk about it," Pansy murmured.

Draco didn't look away from the window, "Nothing that I can tell either of you about anyway. You would do well to distance yourself from me this year. I'm a weapon, and they will use me against you."

"Draco," Pansy said softly, "You are not a weapon. You're our friend."

Draco shook his head, "Everything I see, everything I hear…he will hear it and see it too. I'm a good Occlumens Pansy but not as good as him. You can't tell me anything, do you understand?"

Pansy swallowed but nodded, "I understand."

"And you, Theo?" Draco asked, turning his grey eyes towards his best friend.

Theo nodded, "Yeah, I get it, Draco. You're just trying to protect us," he said, but his concern was shining in his eyes.

Pansy opened her mouth to try and shift the topic of conversation away from Draco, but before she could, he said, "I just want to read my book in peace, okay?"

Theo opened his mouth to object, but Pansy shook her head at him, and the compartment fell silent.

"Do you think you might have been too harsh?"

Daphne glared at her best friend, "Too harsh? Really, Tracey?"

"It's been months since you broke up," Tracey pointed out, "And you broke up with him-"

"Because he was a Death Eater!" Daphne exclaimed in an irritated hiss.

"Shh," Sadie hushed her, "Be careful what you say. There are Death Eaters in this carriage, and it is full of people who think like them."

"There are spies everywhere," Tracey agreed in an undertone, "Don't let your hatred of Draco get you in trouble."

"I mean, the reason you had for breaking up with him was valid," Sadie continued, "But it was months ago now, so you really shouldn't be so jealous about the fact he kissed Pansy."

Daphne sighed and leant back in her seat, "I was petty, wasn't I?"

"You were a little bit petty, yeah," Tracey admitted honestly.

"Sorry," Sadie said with a shrug.

"No, that's what I need you guys for," Daphne said. She frowned out at the platform, "And it's not the most important thing in the world right now. Does it matter who he's dating if we all die in a horrible fiery battle between good and evil?"

"Wow, you're feeling optimistic today," Tracey said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Daphne opened her mouth to defend herself, but a figure stopped in the doorway before she could.

Sadie looked up and smiled weakly, "Hey Vinnie. Draco is in the compartment two doors down."

Vincent Crabbe nodded, "Thanks, Sadie."

Daphne made a face, "I don't know why you're so nice to him; he thinks he has a chance with you."

Sadie grimaced, "No, I just don't want to be horrible to him. I know he isn't the smartest, but he's got a good heart."

"He's an idiot who follows anyone who is nice to him," Daphne muttered.

Tracey nodded her agreement. Another figure appeared in the doorway, "Hey Greg. You just missed Vinnie; he was looking for Draco too."

"He's two compartments down," Daphne added.

"Thanks," Gregory Goyle said, walking away without another word.

"Ah, hiding from your ex?"

Daphne rolled her eyes and looked up at the dark-skinned, handsome boy who was hovering in the doorway, "We wouldn't all fit in one compartment anyway, Blaise."

"And it would be awkward considering that when we walked past, he was snogging Pansy," Tracey added in her friend's defence.

Blaise scoffed, "And? Let her have him. You're better than him anyway, Daph."

Daphne smiled at him, "Thank you, darling. You can stay."

Blaise smiled and stepped into the compartment, "Well, aren't I the lucky one? Usually, Theo gets all the luck with the ladies."

Daphne snorted, "Not with these ladies."

Sadie's cheeks flushed, and Daphne shot her friend a knowing look.

"Well, maybe with one of us," Tracey said, smirking at her friend.

Sadie shook her head, "Theo and I are just friends."

"Yeah, and Daphne isn't at all bitter about the fact Draco wants to snog Pansy," Blaise said with a light laugh, "You can do better than Theo, Sadie. Daphne, you can do better than Draco and Tracey…well, you're not picky, let's be honest."

"Oh!" Daphne said, trying to hide her amusement as Tracey hit Blaise as hard as she could around the back of the head.

"Hey, watch it! Any more abuse, and I'll spend the rest of the journey listening to Theo going on and on about how in love with Sinistra he is while Pansy strokes Draco's ego and Crabbe and Goyle eat cakes," Blaise joked, pulling a book out of his bag.

Daphne chuckled and lay down on the bench seat, resting her head in Blaise's lap, "No, you won't. You love us too much."

Blaise rested his hand on her shoulder, "Do I?"

"You do," Daphne said matter of factly.

Tracey looked to the girl at her side and shook her head, "How long is she going to keep stringing that poor boy along for?" she murmured.

"If she doesn't make a move soon, it's just mean," Sadie whispered back.

"What are you two gossiping about?" Daphne asked, opening one eye to look at her friends suspiciously.

"Nothing," The girls chorused.

* ~ HOGSMEADE STATION ~ *

"Who are those two creeps?" Ginny asked in a whisper.

"Just another two Death Eaters," Neville said, eyeing the two Death Eaters in question. They were standing on the platform, checking out every student. They had let the Slytherins go first, and now they were allowing the rest of the students to leave the train.

They asked every student for their name then checked a box on a scroll of parchment before them. They then carted them off to the school in carriages. It was all rigorous and controlled. It didn't bode well for what was to come when they reached Hogwarts.

"Name?"

"Neville Longbottom," Neville replied, looking at the red-headed woman warily.

"Get in the carriage," She said, turning her icy gaze on him.

Neville did as he was told. A few minutes later, Ginny joined him, then Luna followed and finally, Seamus stepped into the carriage.

"Hey man," Seamus said quietly.

"Where's Dean?" Neville asked.

"On the run," Seamus replied.

"He's a Muggle-born," Ginny added.

"Right," Neville remembered, "Do you reckon he'll be okay?"

"He's a smart guy," Seamus said, although they could tell that he was concerned, "He'll look after himself."

Ginny nodded and looked out into the night, "This might be one of the only chances we get to talk freely, so what is our plan?"

"I think we need to see how bad things are before we can answer that," Neville said honestly.

"Things are going to be bad, Neville," Ginny said, looking at him in disbelief.

Luna nodded her agreement, "I think Ginny is right."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Neville asked, tearing his gaze away from hers, "We're kids, and they are Death Eaters. We've just got to keep our heads down until Harry finishes this."

"Harry could take years to finish this," Ginny said quietly, "Or worse, Harry could fail."

Seamus frowned, "No, he's Harry, though, isn't he? He survives everything."

"He can't keep surviving everything forever," Ginny said as the carriage neared the school, "If he dies out there, then we are on our own here. We need to do something."

"Let's just see what the lay of the land is first," Neville said. A firmness in his voice made the others listen to him. Although for Ginny, it was reluctantly.

"Alright, Nev."

Luna took Neville's hand but said nothing.

The carriage came to a stop, and they got out, looking up at the school nervously. It looked much the same, apart from the sinister grey fog surrounding the Astronomy tower.

"Do you reckon that's for atmospheric effect?" Seamus asked jokingly.

"No, Seamus, I think that's a sign of terrible things to come," Ginny answered.

She took a step forward, and the other three followed her into the entrance hall. They were shepherded into the great hall, which was silent.

Luna let go of Neville's hand and walked over to the Ravenclaw table. Neville put his hand on Ginny's back, gently steering her towards the Gryffindor table.

"I'm not a china doll Neville," She murmured.

"Harry asked me to look after you," Neville returned simply.

Seamus was oblivious to the exchange between the two friends. The three of them sat down at the Gryffindor table and looked around the hall for people they knew. Neville smiled encouragingly down the table at Lavender and Parvati, who both seemed very apprehensive. Apart from them, he didn't see anyone else from their year at the Gryffindor table.

A glance at the Slytherin table told him what he had expected; virtually all of the Slytherins from their year were back except for Millicent Bulstrode. That, of course, meant that they would be massively outnumbered in classes unless a significant amount of Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws had returned.

Neville cast his eyes towards the Hufflepuff table and was relieved when he immediately saw two girls that he knew well. Susan Bones, who had dark red hair and green eyes, smiled weakly at him and waved across the hall; she had a gash on her face like he did, so the Death Eaters must have questioned her when she got on the train too. Next to her was her best friend Hannah Abbott; she was a pretty, unassuming girl with dark blonde hair. Sitting close to them was Ernie MacMillan, who looked a little lost without his best friend. Neville expected that Justin Finch-Fletchley was on the run because he was a Muggle-born. A little further down the table, two other Hufflepuffs that he knew were talking in whispers. One of them was called Leanne Fox, and the other was called Wayne Hopkins. They were both in his year, and he had talked to them at the Herbology club.

"Great," Ginny muttered, "Smith is back."

"I doubt he'll bother us," Neville whispered, his eyes on Zacharias Smith, who sat a little further down the table from the other Hufflepuff's. With him was a short girl with messy blonde hair who went by the name of Megan. Neville wasn't sure of her surname because he had never really interacted with her, but he was reasonably sure she had been in the DA.

"He'll probably be too far up Snape's arse," Ginny said distastefully; she had inherited her brother's dislike of the Hufflepuff boy.

Neville didn't disagree as he looked over at the Ravenclaw table. Although he knew she wasn't there, he still looked for Lilly on autopilot. There were a few returning Ravenclaws which made sense because there tended to be almost as many purebloods in Ravenclaw as there were in Slytherin. Neville caught the eye of Anthony Goldstein for a moment. Anthony smiled weakly at him and turned to the boy at his side. That boy was handsome and totally arrogant about it, Michael Corner. It looked odd to see them without the third member of their trio, but Terry was a Muggle-born, so he couldn't have returned to school.

Neville's eyes lingered on Michael for a moment longer than they should have done. He knew that Michael and Lilly had been dating at the end of their sixth year. He wasn't sure if their relationship had lasted the summer, but he didn't seem like a guy who was sad because his Muggle-born girlfriend was in danger. Michael looked up and caught Neville's eye. He smiled at him, then looked down quickly as if he was hiding something. Neville frowned but cast his eyes further along the table where he saw Padma sitting with a curly-haired girl called Mandy Brocklehurst. They were joined by Stephen Cornfoot, a pureblooded boy that Neville knew Lilly was friends with.

Having seen how many likely allies had returned, Neville cast his gaze towards the head table. Snape was sitting in the Headmasters chair surveying the hall carefully, and Neville made a point not to catch his eye. Instead, he looked along the table and was relieved to see that the staff had remained much the same. The only notable absences were Hagrid, who Neville had assumed was in hiding due to his half-breed status and Charity Burbage, who had taught Muggle Studies.

"Where is Professor Burbage?" Ginny asked in a whisper.

"According to the Prophet, she resigned," Neville muttered, "But I don't buy it."

"Neither do I," Ginny said as she looked at the empty seat.

"No Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher yet either," Neville pointed out quietly.

"I noticed," Ginny admitted.

At that point, Snape rose to his feet and called for silence. The hall fell eerily silent and remained that way until the first years were led into the hall by the two creepy Death Eaters from the platform.

"What are they doing here?" Ginny whispered irritably.

"There are still two empty seats up there," Neville said darkly, his eyes on the red-haired female Death Eater. They both looked wicked, but she seemed genuinely evil.

Ginny didn't say anything, and they remained silent throughout the sorting. Once it was over, Snape rose to his feet, his robes billowing dramatically behind him.

"Silence!"

He surveyed the hall, like a King looking down on his subjects, "You should all be aware that this school will be run properly from now on. There will be no chit-chat, no foolish wand-waving, and no soft touch Headmaster to protect you. If any of you step out of line, you shall be punished."

Ginny glared at the new Headmaster.

Neville grabbed her hand under the table.

"As you can see, there are two new Professors this year," Snape continued, "Professor Alecto Carrow will teach Muggle Studies, and her brother, Professor Amycus Carrow, will teach Defence against the Dark Arts."

The two Death Eaters smiled slyly. Neville could tell that they were going to be trouble.

"That is all," Snape said.

He sat back down, and food appeared on the tables. It was the same food that appeared at the feast every year, but it didn't taste the same when it had to be consumed in nervous silence. They forced their way through their meal anyway, and once it was over, they all left to go to their house common rooms.

When they reached the entrance hall, Luna rejoined them and hooked her arm through Ginny's.

"Keep to your own house!" A rough voice barked.

Luna jumped and turned around. The voice belonged to one of the Carrows, Alecto. She stepped forward and pointed her wand at Luna.

"Go, Luna," Ginny said, nudging her friend away.

Luna stepped away and walked in line with the other Ravenclaws. Ginny's jaw set as she struggled to conceal her rage. Neville grabbed her hand, and she squeezed it in return.

"Moved on from Potter quickly, Weaslette!" Theo shouted across the hall.

Ginny yanked her hand out of Neville's and turned around.

"Don't," Neville said, grabbing her shoulder, "Don't rise to it because you'll be the one that gets punished."

Alecto Carrow narrowed her eyes at them, "No dawdling, get to your common rooms!"

Ginny shot a vicious glare over her shoulder at Theo but headed up the grand staircase all the same. Neville didn't try and touch her again because he thought she might punch him if he did. They made sure to keep their mouths shut until Neville was convinced that they were far enough away from the Carrows.

"You're going to have to ignore idiots like Nott," Neville said quietly, "If you rise to it, one of those new Death Eater teachers will use it as an excuse to punish you."

"I can take them," Ginny said hotly.

"Nobody can take prolonged use of the cruciatus curse," Neville said, his eyes meeting hers, "Trust me."

Ginny knew about what had happened to Neville's parents, so she didn't argue. But the remainder of the walk to the common room was in silence. Once they got there, they headed to their respective dormitories.

Neville sat down on his bed and sighed as he looked around the empty room.

Seamus walked in and kicked his trunk open, then sat down on his bed. He looked up at Neville and caught his eye, "Just the two of us this year, mate."

Neville nodded, "Yeah," he sighed as his thoughts went to Harry, Ron and Dean, not for the first time. He found himself wondering where they were right now and what they were doing.

* ~ TBC ~ *