Chapter 51: Lightning Has Struck

"Neville! Ha! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

It was only Neville's eyes that were making him believe that the rugged youth standing before him was really none other than Harry Potter. But how changed! The boy he had once known as the littlest in their year, the punching bag of bullies, appeared to have grown at least an inch or two…. even if that still made him one of the shorter boys Neville had ever encountered, at only 5'8". Harry's glasses were askew, one of the lenses sporting a crack, while the other looked close to popping out of its frame.

"Harry…..?!"

But Harry was now noticing Ron and Hermione, and, with shouts of joy, was hugging them too. Gentlemanly taking Hermione by the hand, he eagerly started helping her up onto the mantelpiece of Aberforth's pub. Behind her, Ron rather gallingly placed his hands on Hermione's hips and arse to steady her; though a potent flush flooded her cheeks, Hermione didn't seem to mind her boyfriend touching her in such a way, even in the interest of acting as a kind of spotter to ensure she didn't fall.

"Come on!" Harry was babbling. "Everyone will be waiting!"

Nodding gratefully to Aberforth, Neville and Ron hauled themselves up onto the hearth and through the portrait hole, emerging into a tunnel. His wand lighted by Lumos, Harry's face had now settled into a grim expression that made the lad seem far older, indeed much more like a man. Acting as the Trio's guide through the passageway, the bespectacled boy talked in animated, rapid-fire, providing a status report on how Hogwarts castle had fared over the past year.

"It's felt more bearable for me personally, to have Mum here, even if the Carrows are just dying to hex her! But Snape won't let them, for some reason…" He nibbled on his bottom lip in thought. "I know now that they were once friends, but…. I think he's protecting her, for some reason."

Ron snorted. "Why would he do that?" Nevile shrugged, listening as Ron changed the subject slightly. "Is it true the slimy git is Headmaster?"

"Yes, he is, but now that Dumbledore is back…"

"Dumbledore is here?!" Hermione squeaked. "In the castle?!"

Harry nodded, hazel eyes gleaming. "When he and Dean came through the portrait hole three nights ago, Ginny was already to order the DA to march on Snape's office, which of course, really belongs to Dumbledore. Seamus had to stop her."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "Is the Headmaster gaining his strength back?"

"Every day. That's what we're waiting for! When Dumbledore is strong enough, we intend to march on the Headmaster's office and hopefully drive him out! Then the Carrows will be next! We fire abuse at them as well as hexes. That's how I got this: a scar of my own!" And Harry pointed to a rather angry scar across his cheek. "I was merely asking for informational purposes how much mud Alecto and his sister have in their veins. Oh, and if it's true they're really the love children of orangutans!" Neville and Hermione were holding their sides from roaring with laughter; Ron looked impressed.

"Merlin's pants, Potter! There's a time and a place for a smart mouth!"

"Tell that to Gin – she'd hex your bollocks off!"

"A mouth that's smart as well as dirty!" Hermione's lips quirked, amused. "I do wonder what Ginevra thinks about little Harry all grown up….?" There seemed to be a teasing, deeper meaning to her voice, but when Ron sent his girlfriend a bemused frown demanding explanation, she coyly shrugged him off.

The passageway was now sloping upwards into an incline. Harry led the way until he pushed back the heavy rear of another door corresponding to this tunnel's endpoint. Shadowed in darkness behind him, the Trio looked out onto what clearly was a tented village in the Room of Requirement below them.

"Oi! What's up, you lot? Got a surprise for you!"

"Bloody hell, Potter – not more of Aberforth's cooking!"

Harry just smirked as if to say, You'll See and stood aside. The minute Neville and his friend appeared, gasps, cheers and applause went up.

"Blimey…..! Neville!"

"RON! Hermione!"

Neville dropped to the ground, sensing how Ron followed and then turned to gentlemanly take Hermione by her waist and lower her to the floor. There was suddenly a blur of red and then Ginny was mowing down her brother in a hug, followed by a quick hug for Harry. Harry, who had somehow over the course of a year reinvented himself into a leader stepped into the beautiful Weasley daughter, speaking in low tones:

"Get the word out to Kingsley and the others that Neville's back!"

Neville scanned the sea of eager DA faces. In one corner, he spotted Albus Dumbledore, a tired smile on the old codger's face, as the Army carrying his name itched to do battle.

"Nev? Does this mean we're gonna fight?!"

"Do they want us now? The Order?!"

"…. Lightning has struck! I repeat: lightning has struck!" Neville spotted Ginny in another corner, a headset over her ears as she called into a microphone.

The Boy Who Lived held up a hand for silence.

"There's…. something we need to find. Something that's hidden here, in the Castle."

"Great!" Harry smiled, clapping his hands together with relish, smelling adventure. "What is it?"

"We don't know."

A beat. "OK… Where is it?"

"We don't know that either."

The pause, the silence, now became more loaded, awkward. Neville winced. "I realize that's not much to go on…."

"That's nothing to go on!" Seamus bawled out in his thick, Irish brogue.

Suddenly, several DA members parted like the Red Sea, allowing a statuesque girl with golden hair into their midst, and Neville froze as he and Luna locked eyes from across the room.

"Neville…." Luna's speaking of his name was almost breathless, her smile one of relief.

Frozen where he stood, Neville could do nothing but wave awkwardly. "Hi, there."

The beautiful Ravenclaw glanced from one tired face to another, sensing the dispiritedness and confusion in the group. "Nev is looking for something, then?"

"Something lost – we don't know where it is, never mind what!" Harry grumbled. "Only that it's probably very valuable, and may relate to one of the Founders."

Neville thought it rather cute how Luna nibbled on her bottom lip. "Well…. there's always Ravenclaw's lost diadem."

"Oh, bloody hell, and here we go…" Ron breathed.

At blank looks from most everyone not in Ravenclaw, and even then the Ravenclaws appeared discouraged, Luna blinked. "Ravenclaw's diadem? Hasn't anyone heard of it? It's quite famous…."

Neville's heart sank when he spotted the hopelessness in Cho Chang's face. "Yes, but Luna, it's lost – for centuries now! There's not a person alive who's seen it!"

It was rare to see Hermione openly frustrated, particularly when confronted with what appeared like dead ends in research. Now, however, the pretty brunette threw up her hands. "So we're at square one! Great! Just great…"

"What's a diadem?" Neville asked.

"It's kind of like a crown," Cho explained. "You know, like a tiara?"

Neville tuned her out to take in the sight of his bright Ravenclaw girl. He watched Luna's pretty little mouth quirk as she weakly smiled back. In that moment, she seemed to lose all resistance to which she had been holding herself. Dashing down the pathway the others had made for her, Luna sighed happily as she threw her arms around his neck. Several people around them let tension out of their body, and others looked strangely disappointed. Stepping back out of the embrace, Luna remained at rest in Neville's arms, her hands gripping his biceps.

"You took a terrible risk, coming here…. It may not exactly show, but we're grateful…" Smiling, she leaned herself against him, her head on his chest and with a content smile on his face. Neville grinned down at her, then noticed how much of the room, including Ron and Hermione was staring at him, at them, with amusement. Blushing, he disentangled himself from Luna's warmth and cleared his throat. "Don't thank me – thank Ron and Hermione: without their help, I would have never found my way here!"

Luna beamed up at him, her hands finding purchase along his forearms again and sliding up to drape about his shoulders. Her eyelids drooped heavily. Neville felt himself drawn towards her and his large hands were just moving to unconsciously encircle her back when –

The castle began to quake violently, causing most everyone to huddle with cries and screams to the floor. A frontal assault on Hogwarts itself had begun.

"Battle stations, everyone! This is NOT a drill!" Ginny leapt into action, shouting like a taskmaster drill sergeant. "Come on, everyone – you know your job! Go, GO, GO!"

In a flash, Luna was out of his arms and gone, dashing to take her place at the head of a battalion of fifth-years from her House. "Ravenclaws, Company A, to me!" she cried, and as Neville watched in terror, the most beautiful woman he had ever known led the advance, the first wave, in a surge towards the door of the Room of Requirement. Just before she slipped through the doorway, Luna turned back to bestow him a beaming smile carrying emotion he was only just beginning to name…

And then, she was gone, ducking through the Room of Requirement's door.