"Anyone else get no sleep last night?" Ginny asked with a yawn as she spoke over the hustle of nervous first and second years in the Common Room the next morning.
Lavender, Parvati, and Seamus all half-heartedly raised their hands, emitting groans as they did so. Neville merely nodded as he rubbed at the purple rings clearly present under his eyes. He shot a nervous look at Ginny but she either didn't notice or chose to not acknowledge it.
McGonagall walked into the bustling room and immediately a silence swept over the students. "Good morning, pupils, I hope you slept well." She was met with dull eyes and yawns, which she chose to ignore. "There have been many changes implemented this year, which I expect you all to follow. This includes mealtime and hallway etiquette. We will walk in formation to every meal as a house, there are no exceptions. If you are not ready at the time we're leaving then you must stay in the Common Room. There will be no students roaming the halls unsupervised, is that clear? Good. Now if the prefects could please join me…"
"This is ridiculous," Ginny muttered under her breath as Parvati and the other prefects surged forward to assist Professor McGonagall.
"Yeah, why did Neville get the prefect badge over me?" Seamus grumbled as he cracked his back.
"For the same reason Parvati was chosen and I wasn't," Lavender said. Seamus gave her a questioning look and she said, "Because you and I are unreliable and bad role models."
Seamus thought about it for a second and shrugged before high-fiving Lavender. "Can't argue with the facts, cheers to that." Lavender smirked.
"This is ridiculous," Ginny announced a second time as Neville took her by her shoulders and steered her over to the rest of the sixth years. "First they take away Quidditch and clubs now they're threatening to starve us if we're not on time? Who do they think they are?"
"Completely unfair." Neville agreed, glad Ginny was still talking to him after their brief argument the night before. He hadn't expected her to even acknowledge him, much less talk to him. She merely sighed and took her place beside Demelza Robins, who gave her a smile and squeezed her hand.
The Gryffindors exited the Common Room and marched through the hallway and down the staircase with McGonagall at the head of the orderly pack. Neville, from the tail-end of the formation, couldn't help but scoff under his breath at how bizarre the new rules were. He caught Parvati's eye and rolled his eyes. She returned the expression.
Snape watched from his throne-like perch as the unit of Gryffindors entered the Great Hall and swarmed around their assigned tables. His lip curled in disdain but had no reason to reprimand them, and perhaps that was the reason his expression was so sour. He made eye contact with Neville and his scowl deepened. Neville returned the intense gaze to the best of his abilities as he sat down and loaded his plate with breakfast. He began to sweat, however and had to look away. He instead busied himself with the pumpkin juice jug as McGonagall began passing out their timetables for the year.
"Professor?" Lavender tentatively raised her hand after receiving her sheet of parchment.
"Yes, Miss Brown?" McGonagall turned around from where she was enchanting schedules to fly to their owners.
"I don't remember signing up for a Dark Arts class," Lavender said, tracing a line of her schedule with her index finger. "There must have been a mistake."
McGonagall stiffened. Her eyes drifted towards the staff table, where Amycus Carrow was greedily tearing a bite of sausage off his fork with his teeth. Her gaze then wandered to the stoic headmaster. She scowled. "Our headmaster believes that Defense Against the Dark Arts is such an important class that all students have been required to take it."
"Then why is it just the Dark Arts?" Neville asked, having found the class on his own schedule. The words "Dark Arts" glared ominously up at him from the parchment.
McGonagall's jaw clenched. "Our headmaster," she repeated, "brought in a new teacher who hasn't quite…agreed with the curriculum. With some changes approved by the Ministry, we have replaced Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Dark Arts. Lord knows why," she muttered the last part under her breath. "Professor Carrow is perfectly…equipped to lead the class and his new teaching style has been…anticipated by the rest of the teachers."
"So we're going to learn how to use the dark arts instead of avoiding them?" Neville asked, shocked as his friends immediately began to protest around him. Learning dark magic had never part of the curriculum, for many reasons.
McGonagall gave a terse nod. "Both Dark Arts and Muggle Studies have turned into required classes that every student must take." In a lower voice, she then said, "I expect you all to stay out of trouble instead of looking for it. I want you to be good role models for the younger children."
Snape was watching them from his seat at the head table through narrowed eyes. He began to stand, still looking at the clump of older Gryffindors and their Head of House. McGonagall quickly moved away from them and continued to pass out schedules with her eyes adverts from Snape. Neville watched as the satisfied headmaster sat down.
"We aren't even going to learn how to defend ourselves in a class meant specifically for defense," Ginny whispered furiously to Neville. "Nev, you know that this means. If we start up the DA again then we can-"
Neville pointed his fork at her. "Ginny, I've already told you no. It's too dangerous."
Ginny gave a small snort and Neville felt any tentative solidarity crumble. She excused herself with a rude harrumph and slid off the bench to go talk to Luna at the Ravenclaw table.
Parvati looked at Neville with sad eyes as she sipped her morning tea. "We'll have to keep an eye on her, Neville. You know Ginny, she's going to go looking for trouble."
Neville sighed and let his head drop into his hands. "I know."
"Hello students," Professor Sprout greeted her class with a weary smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "My, we have a small class this year."
Neville looked around the small greenhouse, surprised to see only Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Susan Bones present. His heart was heavy as he made a mental list of the muggleborn students not present that would've been in that Advanced Herbology class. Hermione was one of them, of course. He tried to stop thinking about it and instead put his focus on the excitement of the first day of school. He had decided that he was going to be optimistic, despite the dismal situation of his school.
Professor Sprout instructed them to take out their textbooks and put on their gloves. In the midst of people searching through their bags for their equipment, a red-faced Hannah Abbott stumbled into the greenhouse. To his right, Neville could hear Susan Bones let out a choked sigh of relief. Hannah's face became redder as she noticed that everyone was staring at her. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Professor," she said embarrassedly.
"It's fine, Miss Abbott. Just don't be late again," Professor Sprout said with a wave of her hand, though Neville could see suspicion growing on her face.
Hannah nodded and ducked her head. "I'm sorry, I was held back in class. Professor Carrow wouldn't let me leave."
Sprout looked up sharply, her suspicion suddenly replaced with anger. "Which Carrow was it?"
"The brother," Hannah hung her head shamefully, twisting her fingers. All four students, Neville included, pretended to prepare their workspaces as they craned their necks to listen in on the conversation at the front of the room.
Sprout took Hannah's arm and turned her away from the other students. "What did he do?" The concerned professor hissed. "Did he do anything? I swear if he touched-"
"Oh no, Professor!" Hannah's eyes went wide and she shook her head furiously. "No, no, nothing of the sort. He didn't do anything."
Professor Sprout relaxed a bit. "Good. Stay safe, Hannah." Then in a louder voice, "Please take the seat between Miss Bones and Mister Longbottom." Hannah gave a small nod and scurried down the aisle and plopped herself down in between Susan and Neville. From the table across from them, Terry and Anthony looked at each other and broke out into hurried whispers after the exchange between Professor Sprout and the blonde Hufflepuff.
"What did Carrow want, Hannah?" Susan Bones whispered fiercely to Hannah as the blonde busied herself with rummaging through her bag. "Were you telling the truth to Professor Sprout? Did he do anything to you? My Auntie told me about him years ago. He has a terrible reputation, you should hear the things he has done to women-"
"Nothing happened, Susan," Hannah replied, clearly flustered. "He questioned me further about my blood status," Hannah said, attempting to busy herself with her flower pot, a look of disgust on her face. "He was pleased. Gave me compliments for it. Praise, even. It was disgusting. He also advised me to stay away from half-bloods"
"We need to be careful this year," Susan muttered under her breath, turning back to her own workspace as she traced her gloved-finger through a small pile of soil.
Hannah turned and, as if just noticing him, smiled at Neville. "Hello, Neville. Have a good summer?"
"Hm? Oh me? Yes? I mean, yeah, I did," Neville spluttered. He tried acting as if he hadn't been listening in on her conversations for the past five minutes but it was obvious. "You?"
As Hannah started talking about her summer, Neville took the chance to study her. Her pigtails were gone and her blonde hair now tumbled over her shoulders, held back with a black headband. She looked more mature, not just physically, but also in the way she held herself and spoke to people. She gave off an air of confidence that Neville had never seen her exude before. It was as if she had suddenly become an adult over the summer. He was suddenly struck with guilt about the way he was making assumptions about her. Hannah was one of the only girls that would talk to him because she wanted to, not just to be polite. They had been Herbology partners for years, both having a special knack for the subject.
"Neville?"
Neville snapped out of his thoughts to see both Susan and Hannah looking at him expectantly. "Huh?"
"Boys," Susan muttered, rolling her eyes.
"We were just wondering when the next DA meeting is," Hannah said, choosing to ignore her friend's comment.
"Oh, uh," Neville was stuck. "We, um, we don't know yet." He could see that Terry and Anthony had begun to listen in at the mention of the DA.
Hannah and Susan looked disappointed. "Okay, well let us know," Hannah said with a smile as she tried to hide her disappointment with a cheerful voice.
"Class! Be sure to handle those Alihotsy leaves gently. I don't want a bunch of bumbling students spouting nonsense," Professor Sprout shouted suddenly and the students quickly went back to work.
By the time Neville had made it through a rather depressing hour of Divination in which Professor Trelawney was reduced to tears twice, his spirits had deflated exponentially. He exited the class, rather relieved that it was over, and caught up to Lavender and Parvati who were walking up ahead of him. The girls hooked their arms through his and the trio sullenly trudged down the hall to their next class. All around, students moved in clusters, scared of being alone. Their heads were bowed and the hall was near silent. Neville couldn't remember the last time he had heard the halls so quiet.
"There's bad energy everywhere," Lavender whispered sadly, studying all the solemn faces. "And to think this is all because of that war. These are children! They shouldn't have to be worrying about that."
"Neither should we, I suppose," Parvati said stiffly. "Like it or not, most of us are still technically kids, though it doesn't really feel like that nowadays."
"Everybody's growing up too quickly," Neville supplied as they rounded a corner. They found Seamus and their huddle went from three to four as they made their way to the class that everyone had been dreading.
The Gryffindors entered the classroom cautiously, crossing their fingers that they wouldn't be with the Slytherins. To their relief, they saw a small knot of Ravenclaws looking equally nervous until they saw the Gryffindors. Terry Boot and Michael Corner broke away from their group, beckoning the other seventh years over. As Neville and the other Gryffindors crossed the room, he felt a pair of eyes following them. He looked towards the front of the room and saw Carrow watching them from his desk. He shuddered slightly
"Carrow's mad, absolutely mad," Anthony Goldstein noted as soon as the circle was complete. "Did you hear what happened with the fourth years? They're all scared to death."
Neville took a good look around the circle. Parvati had her arms linked with Lavender and Padma, all three of them fidgeting anxiously. Seamus was settled next to them with his arms crossed, looking incomplete without Dean by his side. Terry and Michael stood close together along with Anthony, who kept glancing at the door to see if anyone else would be joining them. Two other Ravenclaw girls, Neville was nearly sure their names were Su Li and Morag MacDougal, were huddled together, looking as if they were ready to burst into tears at any moment. There were ten of them. Ten seventh year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students. Neville felt his heart drop.
"This all of the Ravenclaws?" Seamus asked, having a line of thought similar to Neville's.
Anthony frowned slightly as he looked around and his housemates. "Yeah. Mandy's parents wouldn't let her come back this year."
"Neither would Stephen's," Michael said with a snort. "And he's a pureblood, that lucky bastard. Heard he transferred to Beauxbatons."
"Kevin is on the run," Anthony continued, then hesitated. "And we don't know where Lisa is." At that, the Ravenclaws looked down. Morag choked back a sob.
"Dean's on the run," Seamus supplied, breaking the sudden silence. "So is Hermione, I suppose. Harry's off doing something to save us all and Ron is sick."
"Spattergroit," Neville said quietly, offering up the lie that Ginny had told him.
A small cough came from the front of the room. The group jumped and turned to see Amycus Carrow standing fifteen feet away from them, tapping his foot on the hardwood floor. His scowl made his ugly face look even uglier. "What's all of this? Class has started. If you aren't in your seats in ten seconds," his face broke out into a devious smile, "detention for all of you." In a mad rush, the small crowd quickly threw themselves into the empty desks. Neville found himself next to Anthony Goldstein with Michael and Seamus sitting behind them. Padma and Lavender sat one seat in front and Terry and Parvati sat one seat behind with Morag and Su across the aisle from them. All of them were breathing heavily.
"Pity," Carrow's lip curled as he turned around and walked back to the front of the room "It seems that you're better behaved than the fourth years."
Neville heard Seamus give a small snort and willed his friend to stay quiet.
It seemed that Amycus had heard and he spun back around gleefully. "Oh? Am I wrong?"
"No sir," Seamus said quickly after Neville kicked his chair and Michael had nudged him.
"We'll see," Carrow responded lowly. "I'm Professor Carrow." He spread his arms out wide, gesturing to the room. "And welcome to the Dark Arts."
Neville took a chance to study the room completely. It was dark, thick curtains blanketing all of the windows. Shelves were covered in dangerous-looking trinkets, similar to those in Borgin and Burkes. There were jars and containers of bugs and animals floating in discolored water, some alive and some long dead. The few books that were in the room had dark covers and violent titles. Neville felt his heart clench when his eyes landed on a cup of quills, not so different from the ones Umbridge had her students use, sitting on the professor's desk.
"The Ministry has given me free rein of this class so you should anticipate an interactive and rigorous curriculum. You will quickly learn that Dark Magic is the most useful and powerful type of magic. I expect nothing but perfection and cooperation, I hope you all will understand that." Carrow began walking towards the nervous group of students. He stopped in front of Padma and Lavender and looked them up and down greedily. Neville tensed, remembering the tone in Hannah's voice when she had talked about Carrow. "Introductions, now. Name?" He barked at the girls, spittle flying through the air. Lavender flinched.
"Lavender Brown." She stuttered. Her hands instinctively drifted up towards her hair and she began twirling a curl nervously around her finger.
"Blood status?"
"Pureblood."
Carrow nodded approvingly and his eyes seemed to linger further on her. Neville heard Seamus emit a low growl as Carrow moved on to Padma.
"Name and blood status?"
"Padma Patil, pureblood."
The room was thick with tension as each person stated their name and status. It was silent aside from Carrow and his questioning. The professor gave a small snort of disgust when Michael had said that he was half-blood and Neville was nearly positive that he had laughed when Neville had said his own name. Once Carrow had finished with Michael, he rounded on Seamus.
"Name and blood status?"
"Why are you doing this?" Seamus asked rigidly, leaning back in his seat. Neville bit back a groan and silently prayed that Seamus would be complicit.
"Name and blood status?"
"This isn't the Ministry, is it? You have no right to ask me about this," Seamus proclaimed. He stared into Carrow's eyes unflinchingly.
"Name. Blood status." Carrow's patience was wearing thin. His eyebrows were close to meeting in the middle as he frowned down his nose at the Gryffindor.
"Why are we talking about blood status? This isn't Muggle Studies, right? Oh wait, that's taught by your bitch of a sister."
Carrow jerked his wand so suddenly that half of the room jumped. Seamus flinched as the side of his cheek tore open in a long cut. From beside him, Michael gasped as blood began to trickle down the side of the Gryffindor's face. The professor moved closer to Seamus, wand up, and pointed at him.
"What is your name?" He breathed out, barely above a whisper.
"Seamus Finnigan," Seamus growled, his hand moving up to the fresh wound on his face. His hand came back with blood on it and he stared at it in shock.
"And what is your blood status?"
"Half-blood."
Professor Carrow's lip curled in disgust. He leaned forward and watched as a drop of blood fell from the cut and onto the desk. He looked Seamus straight in the eyes. "Filth. Your blood is tainted with filth."
Seamus glowered at him, then spat at his feet. "Piss off."
Carrow's hand whipped out to slap Seamus across the face but he stopped himself. He retracted his hand and took a deep breath. "Detention, Mister Finnegan. Tonight at seven, my office. Don't be late or I'll extend your punishment for the week."
"You can't do that," Terry Boot slammed his hand down on his desk as he spoke up for the first time in class that day. "It's the first day of school and he didn't do-"
"How dare you speak out of turn to a professor like that!" Carrow spun around with lightning speed, wand now pointed directly at Terry. Terry recoiled, slowly lifting his hands up. Neville was shocked by his bravery, and so was Michael, it seemed, for Neville could hear him swearing under his breath.
"I meant no disrespect, Professor," the Ravenclaw said calmly, hands still held up in the air. "It was meant to be an observation, not a snide remark. I apologize."
"And who are you?" Carrow asked as he passed by Neville, a look of curiosity on his face.
"Terry Boot, half-blood."
"Another one, I see," Carrow said with mild distaste. "Are you able to tell me, Mister Boot, why you Ravenclaws are all spawns of Muggles?" He asked in mock curiosity, peering down menacingly at Terry.
The Ravenclaw raised his chin. "We tend to be more open-minded and accepting of people. Something I'm sure that you wouldn't understand."
"I've always hated Ravenclaws," Carrow contemplated as his face contorted into an antipathetic expression. "Detention, Mister Boot, for speaking out of turn. You'll be joining Mister Finnegan in my office tonight."
Terry clenched his jaw but said nothing. Carrow made his way back to the front of the room and spun around. A taut and insincere smile was spread on his face. "I think I've had enough introductions from you lot, I know exactly the kind of people I'm dealing with here. Now, on with the lesson. Who can name five curses that inflict pain upon the recipient?"
Neville could see the discomfort radiating off of his classmates as Carrow began to lecture. He saw it in the way that Parvati twisted the rings on her fingers, how Lavender was hunched in her seat and Seamus shifted back and forth in his chair, how Michael and Terry kept sending nervous glances back and forth.
When class had finally ended, the seventh-years quickly gathered their things and exited the classroom as soon as possible, leaving behind pieces of parchment and loose quills. Once they had escaped into the hall, Morag and Su immediately excused themselves and hurried off.
"I'll see you tonight, Boot and Finnegan," Amycus called from inside the room in a sing-songy voice as the door swung shut.
Seamus gritted his teeth. "That man is pure evil," he spat, glaring at the door. "He's just as bad as everyone's been saying. Sorry to drag you into this, mate." He addressed Terry, turning his head to the side so Parvati could fix up his cheek with her wand.
"You didn't deserve that detention," Terry stated matter-of-factly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Those Carrows are bad news," Padma sighed and turned to look at her sister. "Our father went to school with them and he warned us to be careful around them. We almost weren't allowed back when he heard that they would be teaching us."
"You," Neville pointed an accusing finger at Seamus, "will need to learn how to keep your mouth shut."
"I know." Seamus frowned and looked away. "But the way he talks about blood purity, it makes me sick."
Michael tugged at the strap on his book bag. "Yeah, well Terry and I have his sister in five minutes, which I'm sure is going to be a right treat."
"Stay safe," Parvati supplied as the two boys turned to go. The rest nodded in agreement.
"You too," Terry said with a grim smile.
As everybody parted ways, Michael caught Neville's arm. "Let us know when DA is starting up again." Neville nodded dumbly, unsure of how to reply. Parvati tugged him in the other direction, guiding him down the hall with the other Gryffindors towards the Great Hall.
Neville ran into Ginny as he was heading into the Great Hall. Literally. Ginny was flying down the hallway, looking over her shoulder. When she finally was facing forward, she ran right into Neville, causing her to topple over.
"Jesus Ginny," Neville clutched his chest. "You scared me half to death. What's the rush?" He motioned for Parvati, Seamus and Lavender to head into lunch, which they did. Once they were gone, he dragged Ginny to her feet by her elbow.
Ginny pushed her ginger hair out of her eyes, panting as her heartbeat slowly began to go down. "Running away from some Slytherins," she said with a casual shrug.
Neville crossed his arms and squinted his eyes. "And what did you do that caused them to chase you?"
"Crabbe and Goyle were bullying some first years," Ginny responded, not quite answering the question that was posed to her.
"And what did you do?" Neville repeated suspiciously.
"I gave Goyle a bunch of boils in a rather unfortunate place if you know what I mean." Ginny nudged Neville playfully, wiggling her eyebrows. She rolled her eyes when he didn't laugh. "They'll be pretty painful when they pop."
"Ginny," Neville sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told both you and Luna to stay out of trouble. These people are dangerous and getting on their bad side the first week of school is the last thing we want to do."
Ginny frowned. "I know you're concerned, Nev, but I couldn't just pass by." She got a sudden glint in her eyes. "I hope you'll reconsider your decision, I really want to start up DA again."
"Ginny, it's too dangerous." Neville groaned, thinking about the consequences of his last class.
"Please Neville." Ginny clasped her hands together over her chest. "Luna and I are on board but we can't do it without you. Haven't you had people asking you when the next meeting is?"
Neville thought of Michael and Hannah, the eager looks in their eyes as they asked about the status of the DA. "Yeah, I have," he sighed, rubbing the hem of his robe in between his fingers as he pondered the situation. "Give me a while to think about it, I'm not saying yes quite yet."
Ginny grinned and punched him in the shoulder. "That's the spirit, Longbottom, I'm glad you've reconsidered," she said cheerfully, looking down at his watch. "Damn, I'm going to be late to Defense."
"It's not actually called Defense anymore. Just the Dark Arts." Neville's eyes then widened. "Go, don't be late!" He gently pushed her in the right direction. "You'll get in trouble if you're late. Seamus and Terry already have detention tonight, I don't want anyone else getting in trouble with Carrow."
"Boot has detention?" Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"He was defending Seamus."
"No kidding," Ginny looked crestfallen as Neville had felt as he witnessed the Ravenclaw receiving detention.
Neville pushed Ginny further down the hall. "Stop thinking about that and go to class! Hurry!" He shouted as she took off running. "And I haven't said yes yet." He added as an afterthought.
At dinner, Neville was relieved to see Ginny all in one piece, sawing at a piece of roast beef with her knife. From the way Parvati and Lavender were eyeing her from down the table, they felt the same way. Feeling all the attention on her, Ginny set down her fork and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you all my mother now?" The three of them quickly muttered 'no's' and tore their gazes away from her as they attempted to busy themselves with dinner. "Good. Because I'm not a child."
"That's debatable," Neville muttered, causing her to glare at him.
Lavender leaned against Seamus, who was sitting to her left. "You doing okay, Seamus? You've been awfully quiet tonight."
Seamus gripped his napkin and nodded as he stared down at his untouched soup. "I've had better days but yeah, I'm fine. I'd rather not have my arse beaten by that bastard on the first day, but that's just how it is I guess."
"Your fault for opening your mouth," Ginny said with a shrug as she shoveled potatoes into her mouth. Lavender shot her a glare as she rubbed Seamus's arm soothingly. "Oh don't give me that look, Lavender, he knows what he did. He doesn't need to be babied."
"Nah, she's right," Seamus said as Lavender opened her mouth to retort. "It's my fault that Terry's in the doghouse, too. Surprised you managed to keep quiet, though, Weasley. What with that big mouth of yours."
Ginny shrugged and gave him a cocky smile. "My self-control can be quite impressive at times. It was unbearable, though, trust me. That man belongs in a jail cell. Luna helped me keep my cool."
Neville turned around and shot a grateful look towards the Ravenclaw table. Luna gave him a peaceful smile when he caught her eye.
Snape rose from his chair, indicating that dinner was over. Everybody in the Great Hall rose and were led out by the prefects. Seamus muttered a solemn goodbye as he hung back to wait for Terry to catch up so they could walk to detention together. Parvati, Lavender, Neville, and Ginny left with the rest of the Gryffindors and went to the Common Room. They found an empty couch and cluster of chairs and claimed that spot to sit and do homework. The minutes crept by freakishly slow and at some point, the homework was forgotten as they all sat anxiously waiting for their friend's return. Soon it had gotten so late that they were the only ones left in the Common Room.
"What if something bad happened to them?" Lavender, who had been on her feet for the past hour, was pacing back and forth, weaving around the chairs and tables scattered around the Common Room. She stopped in front of Neville and grabbed his arm, looking at the watch on his wrist, then dropped it and continued her migration.
"Lavender, sit down," Parvati sighed and pulled Lavender down onto the couch as she passed by. She put her hands on her friend's arm. "They'll be back soon," she said reassuringly.
"Carrow can't be too hard on them, can he?" Lavender asked hopefully as she tapped her fingers against Parvati's hand. "It's only the first day of school, after all."
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Neville said as he and Ginny waved away some second years who were peeking around the staircase. They grumbled as they climbed back up the stairs to go to bed.
"I just hope he doesn't say anything stupid enough to get him into further trouble," Ginny frowned as she stared into the fire.
The group sat in worried silence. Neville rested his elbows on his knees, thinking about how if Dean were there, Seamus wouldn't be in trouble. He missed Dean's calming nature. It had been nearly half an hour before the portrait hole finally swung open. Immediately, everyone had jumped to their feet and crowded the entrance. They were surprised to see two figures instead of one.
Seamus was leaning heavily on Terry Boot with one arm around the Ravenclaw's neck, who appeared to be supporting him by his waist. Seamus's tie was hastily wrapped around Terry's neck, obscuring the blue tie from sight. The Ravenclaw grimaced as he heaved Seamus up and into the Common Room.
"Oh my gosh!" Parvati and Ginny pulled Seamus off of Terry and led him straight to the couch where they sat him down.
"So this is what the Gryffindor common room looks like," Terry looked around in wonder as he rubbed his shoulder, clearly relieved to be rid of the extra weight. "Mike and Tony will be so jealous to know I got to come here."
Lavender was immediately at Seamus's side, inspecting his body for any signs of injury. "Bloody hell, are you okay?"
"Carrow's crazy," Seamus panted as he tried to sit up, only to be simultaneously pushed back by Ginny and Lavender. "wasted no time in blasting me out of my chair and into a wall when I didn't obey."
"He had those blood quills like Umbridge did," Terry said as he made his way over to the couch everyone was crowded around. "Had us write lines for thirty minutes." He held up his hand and Neville could see rivers of dried blood on his tan skin.
"Why did you have to be so difficult," Lavender slapped Seamus's shoulder angrily.
"You know me, Love," Seamus grimaced. "And I think you'd better understand if you had heard what he said."
"The Hospital Wing was too far away for me to bring him to," Terry piped up. Plus all the Slytherin prefects were on patrol tonight. They were eager to start a fight. Couldn't even get close to the Ravenclaw Tower. So I brought him here," he said apologetically.
"This is ludicrous," Ginny whispered furiously as she studied the two boys and their injuries. Neville did the same. They were better off than they could have been, but the word 'filth' bleeding on both of their hands made him furious. It was very reminiscent of their time under the Umbridge regime.
"Thanks, mate," Terry handed the crimson and gold tie back to Seamus. He looked at the rest of the Gryffindors. "Is it alright if I stay here tonight? As Seamus said, the Slytherins are crawling the halls like hungry animals."
"Of course," Neville and Parvati said immediately and the rest nodded.
"I should be the one thanking you," Seamus said, gasping slightly as Parvati accidentally jabbed his ankle with her wand as she uttered a healing spell.
"Sorry," she winced slightly. "I don't think it's broken but it'll hurt for a little while, Seamus. We'll get you to the Hospital Wing at some point tomorrow. For now, we should get you upstairs and into bed.
Neville and Terry stepped forward and helped Seamus up off the couch. Parvati gently pushed Neville aside, taking his place under Seamus's arm. "I've got it," she reassured Neville as he began to protest. "I've got some pain-relieving potions somewhere up in my room that I'm gonna find for him." The three made their way towards the stairs slowly and began to climb, Lavender trailing behind them.
"Oi! Why isn't the staircase turning into a slide right now!" Neville heard Seamus exclaim angrily, referring to the fact that the staircase would do so if a boy attempted to enter the girls' dormitories. "That is such a double standard!"
"I would slap you right now if you weren't injured," Lavender's annoyed voice drifted down the staircase. Neville rolled his eyes.
"We have to start the DA up again," Ginny burst out once the others had made it to the seventh year boys dormitory and the door clicked shut. She was practically blowing smoke from her ears, and Neville fleetingly wondered if he was about to face the wrath of a redhead he had heard so much about from Dean and Harry.
"Ginny-"
"Did you see what that pig did to our friends?"
"I know and-"
"We can't just sit here doing nothing! Resistance is better than accepting what is-"
"Ginny!" She stopped talking and stared at Neville expectantly. He looked hesitant but then nodded. "Okay."
Ginny looked at him, dumbstruck as her jaw dropped open. "What?"
"I said okay. Let's do it. Let's bring back the DA."
Ginny squealed and surprised Neville with the strong hug she gave him. "This is amazing, Nev! You won't regret your decision."
"I sure hope so," he muttered under his breath.
She tugged at his elbow, guiding him over to the staircase. "Come on! We need to go tell the others right away!" She dragged him up the stairs and into his dormitory where everybody was currently residing.
Their friends were ecstatic to hear the news.
"We're just what this school needs," Seamus said as he rubbed his hands together. "Oh man, I've been waiting for this!"
"It seems like you've managed to make him reconsider, Gin," Parvati said playfully. She turned towards Neville and she suddenly turned serious. "Are you sure about this, Neville? Is it really such a good idea after what happened tonight?" She asked in a low voice.
"I think we need Dumbledore's Army now more than ever," he replied, using the same words that Ginny previously used, ignoring the sliver of doubt that was bouncing around his head. "Terry, it'd be great if you could replicate Hermione's Protean charm on the galleons now that the leading coin is gone. We'll need to get the word out."
"Absolutely," Terry beamed. "Anthony and Padma can help me."
"We'll spread the news tomorrow, let the Hufflepuffs and the rest of the Ravenclaws know," Neville said and the rest nodded, their eyes shining.
"I think it's time for us to go to bed," Parvati said suddenly, standing up. Lavender got up as well and the two of them pulled up a slightly less willing Ginny, who looked eager to discuss DA plans. "Come on, Baby Red." Ginny let out a noise of protest at the nickname as Parvati turned to Neville and Seamus. "We'll see you boys in the morning."