Disclaimer: Harry Potter is from the creative genius of J.K. Rowling. We are not her. This is merely a fan fiction to tide us over until book 6.
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Alaire woke up the next morning still a little drained. She couldn't keep her defenses up mentally while she slept and a few emotions from her surrounding students had seeped into her subconscious. There was anguish, fear, anger and apprehension. She had no idea what could have happened for so many people to be feeling this.
It was Saturday, which allowed her to lie in her room and concentrate on blocking out the emotions. But breakfast waits for no one. Heeding the call of her stomach, she stumbled down and out of the tower and into the Great Hall.
The first thing that caught her attention was how quiet it was, and then how eerie it seemed. It was like walking in on your own funeral. Gulping, Alaire scanned the hall to see if anything was amiss. Everyone seemed to be there with the exception of a few Slytherins, Professor Snape and Ginny Weasley.
She quietly took a seat next to Hermione and across from both Neville and Harry. No one really said anything or even looked up from their plates until the flutter of wings filled the air as the daily post came in.
"Here it comes," Hermione said in a detached way.
Alaire raised an eyebrow in question, but Hermione didn't elaborate. Instead the Daily Prophet fell into Alaire's lap. Unwinding the paper, the main headline jumped out from the page.
"DEATH EATERS ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN"
"Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix LeStrange, two convicted Death Eaters, escaped from Azkaban prison in a midnight raid on the isle last night. Eight wizards were killed during the attack on the island, which has previously been guarded by Dementors. It is believed a group of Death Eaters invaded the isle just after midnight, releasing two of their group.
The escapees are Lucius Malfoy, who was imprisoned following a break-in at the Ministry of Magic two years ago, and Bellatrix LeStrange, who was imprisoned following a battle at an undisclosed location last year. Both prisoners are known to be top lieutenants of he-who-should-not-be-named. They are both considered dangerous and Ministry officials and top Aurors are currently working to recapture the duo, said a release from the Ministry. Interestingly enough, both individuals were captured initially by a group of students from Hogwarts including the boy-who-lived, Harry Potter. Potter led the students, which included Ronald Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and others. Longbottom, as many readers may remember, is the son of Frank and Alice Longbottom who were the tragic victims of LeStrange, her husband and others following the first fall of he-who-shall-not-be-named.
Given this information and the knowledge that Potter has been a primary target in the past, one has to wonder if Hogwarts, where both boys still attend, is the next primary target for an attack. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the school, insists that the school is perfectly safe for students. Parents can only hope that is true.
Dementors previously guarded the prison isle, until two years ago.
It is not known why the Ministry decided to not use the creatures any more. In the entire time Dementors guarded the prison, only one person escape – Sirus Black. Black killed several muggles and wizard Peter Pettigrew after betraying Potter's parents to he-who-shall-not-be-named 17 years ago."
Alaire was shocked. She looked up at Harry and Neville. Harry's eyes were dark, and it looked as if there was nothing inside of him. She tried to sense his emotions but there was nothing there. Nothing at all. It was scary.
She then looked over at Neville. He was in this as much as Harry. Neville still looked down at his plate. The only thing giving away his feelings was how white his knuckles were where he was grabbing the table. But Alaire could feel his anguish was barely controlled. Harry had shut down completely while Neville was about to explode.
Alaire cleared her throat, "Uh, where's Ginny this morning, Ron?"
"She's probably with that son of a –"
"Ron, this is not the time," snapped Hermione.
"I should say not, and I would like a word with you, Ronald," came a stern voice from behind them. Alaire, Hermione and Ron all turned to look. Standing behind them, hands on her hips was a very blue Ginny Weasley.
"Ginny, you're glowing a bit," Alaire said.
"Why are you bloody blue?" Ron snapped.
"Security charms. Honestly Ron," snipped Hermione, before turning to Ginny. "But to be glowing you would have had to have a vast amount cast on you. At least 100."
"Thank you for that assessment, Hermione," growled Ginny. "I woke up like this after I fell asleep in the Prefect's lounge. My boyfriend is currently in the infirmary because of it. It seems he was trying to cast every bloody possible security charm he knew on me last night, but one backfired. Would you mind telling me DEAR brother, why I have a chastity charm on me?"
"Did that smarmy bugger –"
"Ron," Ginny hissed. "You can't put a chastity charm on someone who already has one on them. You know why? Because it backfires and the person who cast the second spell gets hit with whatever curse was put on the first one."
Ron visibly cringed.
"So DEAR brother perhaps you should tell me what EXACTLY that particular charm did and I will decide if you should fear me for the rest of your life or just for the next few years."
"I didn't put the spell on you," Ron said defensively.
"But you knew about it."
"It's for your own good Gin. We were going to lift it when you got married."
"Who is we?"
"Well, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George . . . and maybe me."
"I will have several howlers to send out after this. Good thing I know how to attach a bat-bogey to it," glared Ginny.
Confused Alaire turned to Ginny, wondering if it was possible for a steam to come out of a person's ears without pepper up potion. "Why was Draco putting a chastity charm on you?"
Ginny paled a bit and lowered her voice. "After what happened the last few times, he wanted to make sure if I was taken that no one could . . . that is if I was knocked out . . .. After the ministry when LeStrange and Lucius wanted to get me . . ."
Alaire's mouth hung open. Merlin, what had these people been through? Hermione paled, Ron was sheet white, and Harry closed his eyes as Ginny spoke. Neville began to shake and then jumped up from his seat and stormed out of the hall, leaving his wand on the table. It was quiet for a moment.
Shaking her head to gather her wits, Alaire grabbed Neville's wand and started toward the door. Ginny tugged on her arm to stop her.
"He might want to be alone," she said. "But I don't know if that's what he needs or not. He won't be in the common room."
"Where will he be?"
"Do you remember telling me Neville took you to a strange room after the dance?
"Yes."
"I'd look there first."
A few moments later, Alaire stood in front of a door. A vine peeked out from the bottom. She stood there for a moment, wondering what she should do. She knew Neville was in there. She opened her senses to him and felt him on the other side of the door.
"Neville? It's me Alaire. I need to come in," she said.
Silence.
"I know you're in there. Please don't ignore me."
Silence.
"Neville, I will stand out here as long as I have to!"
There was no response.
"Neville, I know you can hear me. I have your wand so you can't do a silencing spell."
Silence.
"Come on, Neville. It's freezing out here! You wouldn't want me to catch a cold, would you?"
She sneezed rather unconvincingly then added a cough for good measure. The door popped open. Neville glared at her.
"Come in."
The room was stiflingly hot and humid. "Good lord, Neville. It feels like New Orleans in the middle of August in here. And," she paused to sniff a small plant, "it smells like low tide on a bad day."
Neville mumbled something.
"Excuse me?"
"You're the one that said you were freezing, and I said the smell's the fertilizer. I get used to it. Here, give me my wand." He quickly did a sanitizing spell and the smell went away.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Neville turned his back to her and began to poke at a plant near the window. "Neville?"
Silence.
"Listen, I know this is hard to talk about but-but I read the article. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you do want to talk about it. That's all."
Neville remained silent so Alaire began to walk back to the beat-up couch on the opposite wall.
"I thought it was over," he paused. "I thought we had finally put them away for good. They were supposed to receive the Dementor's Kiss. She was supposed to be in a state just like my parents!" Neville pounded the table as tears began to fall. "Why couldn't she just die and give us some peace?"
Alaire cautiously put her arms around Neville expecting him to turn away but instead he wrapped his arms around her and began to sob. "Why can't it all go away? I just want a-a normal life. All I've ever wanted were my parents back and now . . ."
Alaire let Neville's torment flow through her. She wished she could stop it but he needed to let the grief and anger out. She braced herself and slowly began to block it out until it was manageable. After his sobs died out, she guided him over to the couch then went to the small bathroom.
"Here." She handed him a small damp towel.
"Thanks." They sat silently for a few minutes just holding each other.
"You must think I'm such a-a . . ."
"Great guy?" Alaire interrupted.
Neville smiled weakly. "Not quite what I had in mind."
After a few more quiet moments, Alaire prodded Neville. "Neville, do you want to talk about it?"
He pulled out of her grasp and leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees so he could stare at the floor.
"Back in the first war, my parents were aurors. They fought against Volde- . . . against You-Know-Who. One night when I was just fifteen months old, Bellatrix Lestrange and some other Death-Eaters attacked our home. They used Cruciatus on my parents. They tortured them until they went . . . crazy, I guess."
"Where were you during all this?"
"I-I'm not sure. No one has ever told me the details of that night." He sighed. "I only know that since that night I've lived with my Gran. The only people who know the truth are my parents and they can't or won't communicate with anyone." Alaire leaned over and placed her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sure you're tired of hearing it, but I'm sorry. . . . Where are your parent's now?"
"St. Mungo's. They have a special room and everything. I-I go to see them as much as I can." He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Sometimes I wish that I had been like Harry."
"Why?"
"Well, his parents are gone. Dead. He can't bring them back. My parents are there, but they're not, you know. It's almost like a dementor got a hold of them, but not quite. My parents. . . I feel like I should be doing something. And don't tell me there's nothing that I can do, I AM tired of hearing that."
"Is that what you're doing here? Working on a solution?"
"Sort of. I'm experimenting with a few plants that are used in memory potions. Kind of ironic, isn't it? A guy with bad short-term memory growing plants to help with memory potions."
"Well, then, you are doing something."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Neville? You aren't going to go after LeStrange are you? I know what she did but . . ."
Neville stood up and began to pace the small study. "I don't know, Alaire. I can't make any promises. If I came face-to-face with her, maybe. No, definitely. I would try to take her out or die trying." He looked at Alaire's stricken face. "But I'm not going to go looking for her, at least for now."
He looked down for a moment then grinned. "It seems that I have more important things to deal with here at school to run around chasing a madwoman." Alaire felt her heart jump as Neville began to walk towards her.
"And what would that be, Mr. Longbottom?" she asked with a trace of nervousness. Any answer he was going to give her was drowned out by the sound of a bell signaling the change of classes.
"Gotta go," she said with a sigh.
"Yeah."
"Walk with me?"
"Yeah."
"Neville? Can I do something?" He simply nodded and waited. Alaire took out her wand and whispered a quick spell. "There. It's a quick glamour spell. It'll hide your red eyes for a few hours. It's a trick all girls know."
"Thanks. I've always wanted longer eyelashes." He teased as tried to flutter them. "What would I do without you, Alaire Goodnight?"
"Let's hope you never have to find out."