Hi everyone! Thanks so much for reading! If you're here from my Rose Weasley series, this is going to be a little different but the style will be pretty much the same; I've been wanting to write Neville's story for a really long time now. If you haven't read my next gen series, all seven are finished and they're on my profile, the first one's called Rose Weasley and the New Order! Anyway, hope you like this, and please review! -Collin

The light glowing from Neville's wand was the only thing illuminating the front garden as he sat on the porch, reading the Prophet and growing increasingly agitated. Dumbledore's obituary had been getting to him, though he wasn't sure why; he hadn't really known him, not like Harry had at least, but the idea he was gone seemed more real now than it had even at the funeral. He thought about putting the light out and going inside to sleep, but he decided to stay out for a bit longer. He had only turned seventeen two days ago, and was enjoying his freedom to use magic anywhere he liked.

He'd only just put the newspaper down when he heard the telltale crack of Apparition from somewhere out in the fields and sprang to his feet, wand ready; Gran had drilled into him the need to be prepared to fight at all times, now that the rumors were flying around about where You-Know-Who could be- but it wasn't Death Eaters, as he quickly discovered when he heard Ginny Weasley's voice shouting, "Neville!" from somewhere in the darkness.

"Ginny?" he exclaimed, more than a little bewildered, and hurried out into the grass until his wand revealed not just her but her twin brothers as well, all dressed for a party and looking disheveled and disturbed. Fred and George were already casting their wands about in a circle, searching the fields for any hidden threat, and started to relax when he said, "It's just us, guys, me and Gran are the only ones for miles out here."

"Good, that," Fred (he thought) said, lowering his wand. "Nice job, Ginny."

"Well, neither of you were any help at all finding somewhere to go," she said; all three of them were panting as if they'd been running, and Neville was still waiting for an explanation. The adrenaline had already started pumping through him, though; this seemed like something real had happened, something big. Finally, his friend caught her breath and looked at him apologetically. "Sorry, I just- you were the first person I thought of who wasn't at the wedding."

"Oh, yeah, the wedding," Neville said. He'd only been a tiny bit hurt when she'd written him about it- he hadn't really had any reason to expect to be invited, but he'd gone weeks without seeing anyone from school and it was starting to get to him. "What happened?"

"Death Eaters," George said. The other Weasley twin looked different and Neville hadn't figured out why just yet, but it was unsettling him. "Loads of them, all at once, right after Kingsley sent us a warning… You-Know-Who, he's got the Ministry. Scrimgeour's dead."

"Bloody hell," Neville breathed, and once again the excitement along with the slight guilt about it flooded through him. "Well, you lot had better get inside. I'll explain to Gran in the morning."

"Thanks, mate, appreciate it," Fred said, and the four of them hurried into the house, where Neville went into the kitchen and tried not to be noticed eavesdropping on the three of them while they spoke in hushed voices in the sitting room to his left.

"Dad said he'd send a message when he's safe."

"Don't you think it should be here by now?"

"It's only been a few minutes, Freddie."

"Still-"

"Did you see where Harry went?"

Unable to help himself, Neville asked, "Is Harry alright?"

All three looked up, but Fred was the one to answer; George was looking uncomfortably at Ginny, who was staring intently at her shoes. "I think so. I saw him and Hermione making a run for it and I was pretty sure I heard them Disapparate with Ron."

Neville sighed in relief, but Ginny didn't seem reassured. Suddenly, he remembered the other friend he'd had on the guest list and asked anxiously, "What about Luna?"

"Dunno," George said. "She was with her dad, though, I bet they left together. She wouldn't be anyone they'd be looking for anyway."

"Right," he said, but he still worried. He thought about running up to his room and sending out a message with the DA coins, but it would reach too many people to be useful and he didn't want the Weasleys knowing how worried he was. He'd been writing back and forth with Luna quite a bit over the summer and he was starting to feel more than a bit fond of her. It was unnerving, honestly, considering how utterly awkward she'd made him feel before now. But he supposed in a time like this it was easy to start to need someone. Looking at Ginny now, though, he thought twice about it. Maybe that was just setting up more misery.

They sat in tense silence for a few more minutes before a Patronus burst through the wall, a silvery weasel that made all the Weasleys sit up straight-backed and nervous. Once it settled in front of them, it spoke tersely in Arthur's voice.

'All safe. Got message to Harry. Coming soon.'

The relief in the room was palpable, and Fred and George got up and went to the windows, watching the fields outside with their wands out again.

"Guys, come on," Ginny sighed. "It's just going to be Dad."

"Maybe," one of them said. "We won't know for sure though. You've got to get used to asking those security questions, Ginny." Neville had been reading about those; he wasn't sure how he felt about it, it seemed a little much and he didn't like how it made him feel. He realized he hadn't asked the Weasleys when they'd arrived and knew Gran would've been upset at that, but… they were just so them that it was hard to doubt.

"And plenty of Death Eaters could've followed Dad out, can't be too careful," the same twin continued.

"Yeah, maybe one of them's coming back for George's other ear."

Neville jolted up and stared at George, quickly gathering this was what was different about him. Where his right ear should be, there was nothing but a patched-up hole. George saw him looking and winked. "Handy for telling us apart, eh?"

"How'd…?" he started to ask.

"Got into a scrape with some Death Eaters trying to get Harry to the Burrow," he said. "I looked like him at the time so a few were coming after me. Must be difficult to be the Chosen One, people trying to blow your ear off all the time."

"You looked like Harry?" he asked, very interested now.

"Polyjuice Potion," Fred said. "Me too. Glad I wasn't on a broom, I had no depth perception, we were way shorter than we're used to. I can see what you see in him, though, Ginny, he's pretty fit, actually."

"Shut up," Ginny said, much more halfheartedly than usual. Neville was about to say something sympathetic, but another loud crack outside drew their attention to the windows.

"It's Dad," George said. "And- Lupin?"

Neville got to the door first and opened it for them, and Fred called out, "What kind of car did you fix up in 1990?"

"It was a blue Ford Anglia," a panting and windswept Mr. Weasley replied, "and my children stole it, twice."

"We stole it more than that," Fred mumbled.

"What?"

"Neville," Lupin said, holding out his hand to shake. His old professor was as gaunt and threadbare as ever, and he grinned and shook his hand as he said, "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask what your Boggart was."

"It was Snape," Neville said with a grimace, "and it seems like I was ahead of the curve."

Snape's name had hushed the Weasleys and Lupin stowed his wand as he said, "Sorry. Only thing I could remember to ask."

"You're all okay?" Mr. Weasley asked. "And Bill and Fleur got out alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine, Dad, where's Mum?" George asked.

"She's alright, but she went home with Tonks for the night. She's very upset." Mr. Weasley glanced at Lupin and said, "Remus came back once the Death Eaters were gone. We were the last to leave."

"Harry?" Ginny asked, sounding a bit like she was bursting, and couldn't take waiting anymore.

"He was gone before any of them got there," Mr. Weasley. "Ron and Hermione are with him. We sent him a message not to come back."

Ginny nodded, relieved, and said, "He won't."

"Right, well, I've got to get word to the Order," Lupin said. "If you want to stop home with me first, Arthur, I'm sure Dora's still up with Molly."

Neville saw an opportunity and took it, heart pounding in his chest as he exclaimed, "I want to come with you. I want to join."

Lupin looked at him, slightly aggrieved, as if he'd had this conversation several times before. Neville imagined if he'd spent any amount of time at the Burrow that he had. "Neville, that's very noble of you, but you should finish school first."

"That's rubbish, You-Know-Who's got the Ministry, who knows what Hogwarts will be like?" Neville protested. "Harry and them aren't going back, why should I? I'm of age, too."

"As of when?"

He tried not to go red, as he so often did, when he said, "Two days ago."

Lupin sighed. "Don't be in such a rush to put yourself in danger. Hogwarts will need people like you, especially if you're right about it changing. That's the best way you can help right now."

Disappointed, Neville nodded silently, trying not to openly sulk in front of Lupin. The professor turned to Arthur and said, "I'm ready if you are."

"Come home tomorrow," he told his children. "It'll be safe by then. I'll see you in the morning." The two men Disapparated then, and the four of them were alone.

The twins soon had stretched out on the sofas, quickly falling asleep in an easy way that Neville was envious of at the moment. But Ginny wasn't sleeping, either; she looked over at him once the silence confirmed the twins' sleep and said quietly, "Thank you."

He waved her off. "It's nothing. The least I can do." With a deep breath, he said, "I want to be doing more."

"I expect we'll all have to," Ginny replied, her face grim.

Neville wasn't sure how to ask tactfully, so he simply asked in the most neutral tone possible, "Do you know where the three of them are going?"

"No," she said, ruefully. "He'd never tell me. He thinks he's saving me, keeping me out of everything."

"Well, I'm sure he just doesn't want you to get hurt."

"There's a war on, Neville. He can't protect me and it's insulting for him to try," she said, fiercely in a way that was belied by the tears in her eyes. The anger and upset were gone almost as quickly though, and she mumbled, "It doesn't matter."

"I'm sorry, Ginny."

"It's fine," she said. "He's got bigger things to worry about."

"Do you know what they're doing, at least?"

She nodded, slowly. "Harry let it slip. He's going to kill him, Neville. Voldemort. I think he's the only one who can do it."

"Bloody hell," he said quietly. "Well, I guess they really aren't coming back then."

"No," Ginny said. "And you're right, with the Death Eaters in charge of the Ministry Hogwarts ought to be a total nightmare."

"We've got to do what we can there," Neville said, his resolve growing. "You and me. I think it's time to get the DA going again."

For the first time since they'd arrived, she smiled. "Yeah. Let's do it."

"Brilliant," he said, and with a small smile, he felt he should give her some space then. "I'm going to head to bed," he said, and she nodded. "I'll see you in the morning."

"See you," she said, and as she got comfortable in one of the sitting room chairs, Neville climbed up the stairwell to his bedroom, hoping to find a letter from Luna; maybe she'd realized he'd be worried about her. He didn't find anything, though, and just had to hope she was alright. He didn't like how that felt, but he supposed he'd get used to it. The Ministry had fallen; he knew nothing would ever be the same.