There suddenly was an ungraceful THUMP! from the floor above just as Neville stuttered his answer, "Well, I think it best-THUMP-,"
Kingsley jumped up, wand in hand, to race up the stairs to where the bump had occurred, Neville right behind him. Ripping open the door to the room above Neville's, he stowed his wand away as he saw who it was.
"Gerroff me, Harry!"
"You first! Hermione, keep your foot away from my face!"
"I'm trying, Ron won't move!"
"That's because Harry's arm is around my waist! Really mate, I already have a girlfriend-"
"Oh, as if I'd want to date a moron like you! Off!"
Neville raced over to the mingled mass of what he called friends, "Guys, I can't believe it's you!"
"Neville, if you don't mind right now, we're in a bit of a pinch," Hermione replied calmly, shoving away from the other two and standing up. Ron and Harry saw that they could now pull free, and obliged to do so quite hastily.
"What are you three doing here?" Kingsley whispered angrily.
"What? Can't we drop in-" Ron began.
"-quite in the literal sense-," Harry quipped.
"-to see our favorite Auror?" Ron finished. Hermione rolled her eyes, and Neville had never felt so happy to see it.
"You three, do you know what Molly's going to say?" Kingsley continued.
"She'll pinch Harry's cheeks, hug Hermione, squish me like a bug and say, 'Why, you are all too skinny! Let me go fatten you up!' " Ron guessed. Harry and Hermione nodded, it was the classic Mrs. Weasley.
"No, she's never going to let you three leave. You have to go, don't you see? If you stay, how will you ever overcome Lord Voldemort?" Kingsley explained, his voice on the edge and his eyes resting on Harry.
The trio exchanged looks, all knowing that this was also true. But when Harry thought of coming here, he had felt so...at home, at ease. He didn't want to leave.
Hermione answered for them, "Well, that's the thing, we've been lead here," she gave a quick look at Neville, and then looked away. But Kingsley saw it.
"What does this have to do with Neville?" he asked.
Neville started, his smile fading, "What?"
Hermione sighed, but it was Harry who answered. "Uh, Mr. Shaklebolt, we interrogated someone, and they said that Neville has one of the...clues."
Neville looked absolutely stricken. The look on his face was worse than when Hermione had spelled the Full Body-Bind.
Is this what they really think of me? That I would just throw away everything, act like a friend, but secretly backstab them? "Guys, you know me better, why would I work behind your back?" Neville demanded in a quivering voice.
Hermione tried to be nice about it, "Neville, it's just that, well, you've been really...attentive on our whereabouts."
"And Death Eaters showed up at the hotel we were at," Ron added.
Neville was fuming before he knew it, "SO YOU JUST ASSUMED I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH OF, OF A SPINE TO CARE ABOUT YOU ALL? THAT I HAD TO HAVE SOME OTHER MOTIVE TO, TO BE TRUSTED?"
Hermione and Ron both looked shocked, no one had heard Neville actually yell like this before. Harry, on the other hand, knew exactly how Neville felt.
"Neville, no. We didn't. We're sorry." Hermione gave Harry a look, but he waved it away and continued, "But right now, we have another problem on our hands."
"What?" Kingsley asked.
"Percy," Harry said, and Ron snarled beneath his breath.
"No. No, it can't be," whimpered Mrs. Weasley as she entered the room.