Chapter Seven – Unexpected

"We shouldn't have stayed out so late," Neville fretted.

"Shh," Luna said softly, squeezing his hand. "If we get caught, we're in loads of trouble."

"I'll walk you back to Ravenclaw," Neville said quietly.

"You don't have to, honestly," Luna murmured. "Then you'll have twice the risk of getting caught."

Neville stopped and wrapped his arms around Luna. They had taken a walk outside, and ended up by lagoon, just talking and kissing. Neither one of them bothered looking at their watches, which is why they were trying to sneak back into Hogwarts well after midnight.

Luna shivered. "You're cold," Neville said quickly.

"I'm fine," Luna said, stroking his cheek. "I forget how cold it can get at night."

Neville bent his head down and gave Luna a kiss. But then she broke away. "We really need to get back inside," she said apologetically.

"I know," Neville smiled. "Let's go."

Hand in hand, they walked as fast as they could towards the West Tower. As long as no ghosts or paintings noticed them, they'd be fine.

What seemed like an hour, but was really only five minutes, they walked up the stairs to the Ravenclaw dorm.

The old man in the painting guarding the Ravenclaw common room looked at them both suspiciously. "It's almost one o'clock in the morning," he said, wheezing a bit. Neville was surprised that the painting had a French accent.

"I know, Monsieur Verde," Luna said softly. "It won't happy again. I promise."

"It better not, Mademoiselle," the old man said. "Come inside now. Password?"

"Gorgon," Luna said. Before the door was completely open, Luna gave Neville a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

"Good night," Neville said.

"Try not to get caught," Luna warned.

"I'll try," Neville said, nodding his head. The door closed behind Luna, leaving him on his own. "Don't get caught. Right."

Neville walked down the stairs, trying to listen if he heard footsteps. For a brief moment, he wondered if it'd be possible to make a map that showed where everyone was at Hogwarts at all times. Then he wouldn't have to worry about be caught sneaking in late.

He couldn't quite believe his luck, but he made it all the way to the Fat Lady, and wasn't caught. She had some choice words for him, being out so late, but Neville simply gave her the password, and she let him inside.

To his surprise, the common room still had some people inside. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in their favorite chairs. Ginny was sitting on a side table next to Harry.

Ron smirked when Neville went to join them. "Getting back awfully late, aren't you?"

"Oh, shut it, Ron," Neville said, trying unsuccessfully not to blush.

Neville looked at the books piled up on the table in front of them. "Studying?"

"We were trying to," Hermione said. "But it's too late now."

"We have to get up in six hours," Ginny lamented. "That's it. I'm going to bed."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Neville stood up, and just then, a headache hit him. This headache was different though. It was longer than a few seconds. Neville sat down in pain, and clutched his forehead, only to realize that Harry was doing the exact same thing.

"Harry? Neville?" Ron asked frantically. "What's wrong?"

"Something's happening," Harry panted, rubbing his forehead.

"He's happy," Neville said, and then stopped. How in the world did he know that somewhere, out there, Lord Voldemort was happy? But there wasn't an ounce of doubt in Neville's mind that something good for the Death Eaters was happening at this very moment.

"Did you see anything?" Harry asked softly.

"Nothing," Neville told him. "I just got the headache."

"Occlumency?"

"We're the only ones left in the common room," Hermione said softly.

Neville stood up and handed Ron his wand. He couldn't try to block Harry in anyway.

"We're right here," Ginny said worriedly. "In case something happens."

"Thanks, Gin," Harry said meekly, standing up himself.

Neville waited for the words that would allow Harry access to his mind. Harry said them, and Neville closed his eyes and waited, hoping to see what was happening.

Flashes of Neville's past flew before his eyes. He had gotten over his initial embarrassment long ago about what Harry had seen. Now that Neville was to be trained in Legilimency, he was sure he'd see embarrassing things about Harry.

Harry stayed in Neville's mind for almost ten minutes, but there was nothing useful. Neville was ready to break the connection when a vision, most definitely not in Neville's past surfaced.

There was a large caravan, with Aurors guarding it. People in dirty, tattered robes were running around wildly. The Aurors were casting spells frantically, trying to contain the wizards…

"Those are Azkaban prisoners," Harry said, holding his side. Neville woke out of the trance, as Harry broke the connection. "Those were the same robes that Sirius wore."

"What's happened?" Ron asked.

"They were near a forest," Neville said. He rubbed his forehead a bit, as there still was some lingering pain. "But Azkaban is surrounded by water."

"We need to tell someone," Harry said. Neville nodded, and they started walking towards the door.

"Harry?" Ginny asked.

Harry turned and looked at their friends. "You can wait up if you'd like."

"Okay, mate," Ron said, his arm wrapped around Hermione, who looked extremely worried.

Neville and Harry ran down the hallways toward Professor Dumbledore's office. Finally, they were in front of the gargoyle statue. Harry quickly said the password, but nothing happened.

"Damnit!" Harry yelled. They had been given the password to Professor Dumbledore's office, but were also told that they would have access when the Headmaster was there. Since the door wouldn't open, Professor Dumbledore wasn't there.

"Come on," Neville said, tugging Harry's arm. "Let's get Professor McGonagall."

Neville led the way to Professor McGonagall's bedchambers, which he had found by accident his second year. He had gotten hopelessly lost one time, and stopped just a few doors down from her bedchamber. He vowed not to move until he knew where he was going. And he didn't. It was three hours before Professor McGonagall walked down the hallway and then led him to the Gryffindor common room.

When they got there, Harry banged on the door. "Professor McGonagall!" he said softly.

Harry knocked for five minutes. No one came to the door. "Professor Snape?" Neville asked.

"I don't have a bloody clue where his bedchamber is," Harry spat. "You know what this means?"

"What?" Neville asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"They're probably all there fighting already," Harry answered.

"Then at least they know," Neville said quickly.

Neville and Harry shared a dark look. They both knew there was nothing to do but go to bed.

They all woke up early the next morning, anxious to read Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet. Neville was exhausted. He had gotten less than three hours of sleep last night.

Neville sat down at the Gryffindor table and glanced over at the Ravenclaw table. Luna and Draco weren't there yet. He still couldn't quite understand why Luna insisted on eating breakfast with Draco every morning. Even worse was that she asked Neville to eat lunch with the two of them. Luckily, it wasn't every meal, though. Luna sat at the Gryffindor table for every evening meal.

"Of course today's the one day the bloody paper's late," Harry muttered. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement.

But then Ron turned to Hermione. "Why didn't you tell him not to swear?" he asked.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"If I said that, you'd yell at me," Ron protested. "Why didn't you yell at Harry?"

Luna sat down next to Neville suddenly. "Someone was talking to Draco," she said, giving Neville a kiss on the cheek. "So here I am."

"Here's the mail!" Ginny said, looking up. Just a minute later, the paper was dropped into Hermione's lap.

She quickly unrolled and scanned the headline. She put her hand over her mouth. "Oh my goodness," she muttered. She then proceeded to read them the headline.

Lucius Malfoy Killed!

During a scuffle with prisoners of Azkaban, Auror Nymphadora Tonks killed known Death Eater Lucius Malfoy. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge will be presenting Tonks one of the highest awards a wizard can receive, First Class, Order of Merlin. The date of the award ceremony will be named later.

"Tonks killed Lucius Malfoy?" Harry asked, his jaw dropped.

"If that's what we saw last night, that was more than a scuffle," Neville said. "That was a battle scene."

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Tonks…I think I remember her. She was in the Ravenclaw common room this morning. I saw her talking to Draco."

"She kills his dad, and then tells him about it?" Ron asked.

"They are cousins," Harry said. "Maybe she thought it would be better coming from her."

"Poor Draco," Hermione said.

"I can't believe you just said poor Draco," Ron muttered.

"He lost his father, Ronald," Luna said fiercely. "Maybe if you had lost a parent you'd understand."

"Sorry," Ron said softly, looking down into his cereal. "I didn't mean…"

"It's okay, Ronald. Just be more sensitive. I've lost a parent. Harry's lost his parents, and Neville's basically lost his," Luna said.

"My parents are alive," Neville said quickly, feeling his cheeks flush. "They're not dead."

Luna gently placed her hand on his cheek. Neville saw that she looked upset. "I know, Neville. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."

Neville nodded and put his arm around Luna. "It's okay," he whispered into her hair.

They all started eating breakfast in silence. A great number of students subscribed to the Daily Prophet, and many of them kept turning towards Draco's spot, wondering if he would come down for breakfast.

He didn't, and the bell rang, signaling time for classes. Neville glanced up at the Head Table and saw the professors standing up. Maybe he imagined it, but he thought he saw Professor Dumbledore stumble slightly. But Neville shook it off. Professor Dumbledore almost seemed to glide when he walked, he would never stumble.

The morning passed slowly, due to The History of Magic. Then it was lunch time. Neville walked into the Great Hall, his stomach rumbling; he hadn't eaten much at breakfast.

He stopped for a moment before he decided where to sit. Most of his lunches had been spent at the Ravenclaw table. But Luna or Draco were no where to be seen. Finally he decided to sit with Harry and the group.

Harry gave Neville a dark look when he sat down. "I spoke to Professor Dumbledore about what happened," Harry told him. "He wants us to meet with Professor Snape after our last class."

"Lovely," Neville sighed. He had wanted to spend some time in the Greenhouse working with his plants.

Just then, Luna walked into the Great Hall, followed by Draco. Almost every single student turned their head to look at him. Neville couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He told himself not to stare.

After five minutes, Neville felt guilty. He had almost gotten into a routine, eating lunch at the Ravenclaw table. Shaking his head, he stood up and brought his plate over to the Ravenclaw table without a word.

Silently, he sat down next to Luna, who then gave his knee a squeeze. For at least five minutes, not a word was spoken at the table.

Finally, Neville cleared his throat. "I just wanted to say, Malfoy…"

Draco lifted his head and looked right at him. Neville saw that Draco's eyes were red.

"What?" Draco said, his chin raised in defiance.

"I'm sorry about your father," Neville said timidly. Neville wasn't going to lie, say things like, 'I'm sure he was a good man,' when he knew Lucius Malfoy had been the exact opposite. Neville tried not to shiver as he remembered hearing Lucius Malfoy's voice underneath a black hood, taunting them in the Department of Mysteries.

Draco nodded. "Thank you," he said curtly. And then a silence washed over the table again.

Lunch never seemed like it would end, but end it finally did. Before Neville knew it, he was standing across from Harry in the Dungeon with Professor Snape.

"You say you do nothing different when you experience a vision together?" Professor Snape barked.

"Nothing, sir. I open my mind, and Harry uses Legilimency," Neville answered.

"And you don't try to block him at all?" Professor Snape asked.

"No, sir," Neville answered.

"Potter, have you done anything different?" the professor asked.

"No, sir…" Harry trailed off.

"What are you holding back, Potter?" Snape said.

"Well, sir," Harry said sarcastically. "I've been practicing Legilimency for almost a year now. I think I'm just getting more powerful."

"I see," Professor Snape, interlacing his fingers. "Potter, use Legilimency now. Longbottom, I want you to use Occlumency. Block him from your mind. I want to see what happens."

The first try was a disaster. Neville ended up using his wand and caused nasty red welts to appear on Harry's face. Luckily, Professor Snape said the counter-curse quickly, leaving no damage.

"I'm really sorry," Neville said sheepishly.

"It's okay," Harry said, rubbing his cheek.

"Don't waste time apologizing," Professor Snape said quickly. "Again."

Neville sighed, and held his wand at his side, waiting for Harry to strike. Again, Neville repelled Harry's mental attack straight away, but with his wand instead of his mind.

"Stop!" Professor Snape yelled. "Give me your wand."

Neville looked at his wand. "Sir?"

"You need to repel him with your mind. No wands. That means you too, Potter," Professor Snape snapped.

Neville and Harry both reluctantly gave Professor Snape their wands. "Now face each other and begin," Professor Snape ordered.

Neville closed his eyes and waited. He felt Harry creep into his mind. Memories from his past flashed before his eyes. But then there was a vision of something he didn't recognize. He was in Herbology, holding Goyle's arm, which was blistering at an alarming rate.

Using every ounce of concentration, Neville forced Harry out of his mind. Panting, Neville asked, "Did you see that last vision?"

Harry nodded. "When did that happen?"

"I've never touched Goyle in my life," Neville said adamantly.

"Would either one of you care to illuminate me on what you are talking about?" Professor Snape said slowly.

"There was a memory…but it wasn't a memory. It had never happened," Neville said.

"You saw something you don't recognize?" Snape asked.

"Yes, sir," Neville said. "I don't understand."

"Could it be a repressed memory?" Snape asked.

"I don't think so," Neville said, thinking quickly. "I saw a repressed memory last year. But this was a mundane thing. I was simply helping Goyle. Nothing traumatic."

"I see," Professor Snape said. His wand suddenly made a soft popping noise. "I will discuss this with the Headmaster. You are both free to leave."

Neville and Harry left the dungeons as quickly as they could. But there was one thought lingering in Neville's mind. What had he seen?