A/N: I own nothing. Rated M for mature themes. Thanks to stella8h8chang for beta-reading the first half of this chapter, and for the help with the Latin. The second half has not been beta-read.


Chapter 31: The First Raid

Ginny kicked off her shoes and plopped her feet in front of the fireplace, blocking out the commotion of the Gryffindor common room that evening.

"I'm knackered!"

Neville and Seamus plopped down right next to her on the same couch.

"So're we."

"And all of us in You-Know-What thank you for taking one for the team! Going out into the Forbidden Forest and all." Lavender ran her hands down Seamus' arms and kissed him on his forehead. Ginny snickered as Seamus hummed at her touch and reached up with his head to peck her on her lips.

"Oh, Shay," Lavender wrinkled her nose and waved her hand in front of her face, "you smell like . . . like—"

"Nature?"

"I was going to say goblin fart." She winced. "You need to shower."

Seamus grabbed her hand and winked at her. "Wanna join me?"

"Gah!" Neville swatted at him with a cushion, trying to sound annoyed but chuckling. "Keep it contained, mate!"

"Oh right, Nev . . . don' tell me yeh wouldn't say the same thing if there was a little blonde Hufflepuff sittin' righ' 'ere!"

"Okay, that's it! You're dead meat!"

Seamus jumped and hollered out of his seat as Neville chased him around the common room, both boys jumping on every couch.

"Whoo! Go Shay!" Some boys screamed out loud. Lavender laughed.

"Neville — get him, get him, get him!" Several of the other younger Gryffindors, led by Andrew Kirke, Demelza Robins, and Jack Sloper, started clapping and hollering, cheering Neville on.

Ginny could hardly catch her breath she was laughing so hard. She clutched at her sides, hurting and cramping so much through the riotous hysterics.

"Nev!" Ginny hollered after she regained her composure. She grabbed his arm as he returned back to the couch panting, holding Seamus in a headlock. "So . . . is there a special 'Puff that you've been keeping from us, then?"

Instead of answering outright. Neville merely continued panting — but he blushed furiously.

"Neville!" Ginny sat up excited. "Come on! Don't hold out on us—"

He turned towards Seamus, who was sitting and holding Lavender in his lap. "I really hate you sometimes."

Seamus blew him a kiss and gave him a wink.

He faced Ginny again, and a resigned grin filled his face. "Fine. Do you want to know—?"

"YES!"

Parvati found them, after having gone to the girls' room to clean up. She fell into another chair. "What are you 'yes'-ing, Ginny?"

"Ginny—" Neville said warningly.

"Neville, please . . . prettyprettypretty—"

"For the love of," he fumed at her, "I had no idea you were so persistent."

Ginny snorted and gave him an incredulous look. "I'm a Weasley. I'm born red, loud and bloody stubborn as hell!"

He laughed and nodded. "Fair point."

"Um, either one of you," Parvati interrupted. "Do you mind letting me in on the little secret?"

Neville sighed and shot Seamus another glare. "Hannah Abbott."

Ginny squealed and jumped up out of her seat. "I – knew – it! I knew it, knew it, knew it!"

"What? How did you know? I never said a word to . . . Seamus?!"

Ginny shook her head as Seamus shook his own. "No, no. Daphne and I noticed that you two kept looking at each other during some of our meetings, and you kept blushing and she kept blushing—"

"Nev, you like Hannah? Well, speak up! Are the feelings mutual?" Parvati leaned forward.

He looked at both girls with a bashful smile. "Dunno. I haven't really talked to her about it."

Ginny crossed her arms and grinned mischievously at him. "I'll bet it is. I mean, I can tell, the way she kind of slyly looks at you, and she's always blushing too, whenever you speak to her—"

Neville lowered his head, but he still had a smile on his face.

"When did all this start?" Ginny asked, calming down enough so she didn't sound like a choir of banshees.

"Actually, we were communicating a lot last year. Um . . . I wrote her, after I found out about her mum."

"Oh," Ginny, Parvati and Lavender all breathed out in unison. Seamus patted Neville on the back.

"Well, I thought that she might want to talk to someone who's sort of in the same position, y'know?" He looked back up at his friends, wincing and shrugging, "My parents are still alive, but they're not . . . here, if you catch my meaning." His eyes fell back to the fireplace, and Ginny noticed the sadness that seemed to have taken root there. "I thought if she wanted to talk to someone who's experienced a loss like that, it'd be good for her, so she never felt alone." Neville smiled again, and this time, there was a calm happiness in his face. "She responded back, and we kept owling each other." He looked at the others. "She said she liked my notes. They made her happy and all . . ." His voice faded, but there was a spark in his eyes that Ginny had never seen before.

"So, you haven't told her yet? And you two haven't done anything?"

"Gin!" Neville exclaimed. "N-no! We haven't done—"

"I mean, even a little peck on the cheek. Or a hug, for heaven's sake! Boys and their brains . . ." Ginny smirked.

He gulped — audibly. "Um, she gave me a kiss. On – the – cheek!" Neville said, loudly and quickly, when the others threatened to jump out of their seats and yell in excitement. "After, er . . . that first meeting. On that first Saturday."

Parvati whistled and grinned cheekily at him. "Nev-ille . . . you total dog!"

Seamus slapped his knee and was about to take the Mickey out of his dorm-mate — when it happened.

"What the—?" Ginny smacked her pocket as she felt a surge of heat in her trousers. The others all jumped up and felt theirs.

"The Galleons?!" Lavender whispered.

Parvati was the first to pull hers out. "Godric! Guys . . . Snape, and the Carrows—"

"Shit!" Neville shot up off the couches. "Everybody!" He yelled out at the common room, "Snape and the Carrows are coming to search everything!"

Ginny jumped. She loved her brother dearly, but she never heard Ron speak with so much power during his time as a prefect.

Neville had just taken a hold of the reins and started steering the horse. With real authority.

"If you have anything questionable, anything Muggle-related, anything that might get you in trouble — anything! — bring it down here to the common room. Use the biggest trunks you have on each floor, and get as much stuff into them as possible. Bring them down here and stack them in the middle of the room. Well . . . go on!"

Chaos ensued. About three-fourths of the Gryffindors booked it up the stairs, nearly blocking the entrance to the dormitories. Parvati had managed to squeeze through the crowd and had opened the doors to the girls and boys side, managing the flow of students hastily running to their rooms to bring down any paraphernalia.

Ginny ran over to Neville, who was following Seamus up to the seventh year's boys' dormitory. "Neville . . . why have them bring everything down here?"

Neville grinned at her, while sending a message on his Galleon. "Well, how else will Dobby be able to take everything to the Room of Requirement and hide it for us?" He held up the coin to Ginny. "I'm making sure the others know what we're doing."

She stared at him with admiration. "You're quite scary sometimes, Neville. Y'know that?"

Neville grinned, but turned back to his Galleon to relay the message to the others.

Ginny went to her dormitory and collected the documents from the library, all the research that provided fodder for Daphne's pamphlets and refuted Healer Stallsworth, and held them as tightly as she could in her arms. She also made sure that the pamphlets that Daphne had written were all picked up.

"Ginny!" Cosima Ramsay exclaimed. "You missed one."

"Shit! Thanks, Cosi." Cosima held the trunk open for Ginny to stuff the papers inside. "Do you need help?"

"No, but what are we going to do with everything?" Cosi and Ginny's other dorm mates, Ursula Beckham and Susanne Lasenby gestured to their trunk. "We've stuffed it, but you know they're going to go through it—"

"Remember that house-elf, Dobby? The one who came to visit me in the dorms after Carrow sliced up my arm?"

All the girls nodded.

"Well, we're going to summon him and he'll take it to a special hiding place."

"He'll be able to do that?" Susanne asked. The girls started down the stairs, taking two at a time, all nervous, not knowing when the Death Eaters were going to get there.

Ginny smiled. "He knows a helluva lot more magic than any witch or wizard does."

The other girls looked at each other with doubtful, but hopeful, expressions.

They made it down the stairs, and Ginny found herself holding in a breath, doubting Dobby could hide their things in time. There were so many trunks, all placed next to each other, and the owners of them, a group mixed of first, second, third and fourth-year boys and girls flashed Ginny looks of worry, of growing apprehension.

"Well, here we are! We've got all of our stuff—"

"How did you guys all know what was about to happen?" a fourth-year, Glenda Davis, asked Ginny. She didn't like the suspicious sound of her voice.

"Well," Ginny began cautiously, but she was interrupted.

What does the prefect have in mind?" another boy, Robbie Sutton, asked.

She held up her hand to stall their interrogatories, when a voice sounded behind her.

"All right. Parvati's doing a final check of both dormitories. We want to make sure everyone's out."

Neville looked down at the pile on the floor and drew in a breath. "Well, I guess he'll have his work cut out for him," he chuckled softly and scratched his head. He then cast a glance at Ginny. "Ten minutes."

Ginny nodded, just as Parvati came flying down the stairs. "All set."

Neville grinned at both girls and kept his eyes planted on them, Seamus and Lavender. With a smile, he shouted as loud as he dared. "DOBBY!"

There was a pop, and several of the students jumped in shock. There, directly in front of Neville, stood Dobby the house-elf. He was dressed in the exact same garb as he was always dressed in whenever they saw him anymore.

Tea cozy? Check.

Socks? Check.

Weasley jumper? Ginny's heart thudded in her chest, once again, as she saw the little fellow wearing her mum's hand knitted creation even though it was several times bigger than him.

(Check.)

"Dobby is reporting for duty!" the house-elf saluted Neville. "Anything that the brave Master Longbottom wants, Dobby shall do!"

"Whoa! Okay, Dobby," Neville said, going down on one knee in front of the house-elf. "It's all right. We've got to find a place to hide all of this—"

"Oh yes! Dobby has already assisted the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws with their belongings that they do not want the Headmaster to see! And Dobby knows exactly where he can hide everyone's belongings. Dobby has the perfect spot!"

"Go ahead then," Neville grinned wide at him and gave him a nod.

Dobby held up his hand, and snapped his fingers—

Instantly, everything that the students had brought downstairs disappeared. Shocked gasps and disbelieving breaths — not to mention a couple of screams — echoed against the stone walls.

"What the effing hell?!"

"What did that thing do to our shit?"

"Oh no! Is it just gone?"

"Oh dear . . . did Dobby do a bad thing?"

Neville shook his head as the house-elf's ears drooped. "No Dobby, you did good." The students were still hollering for answers and Parvati with the help of the other prefects were trying to keep order.

"Dobby," Ginny kneeled besides Neville. "Where did you Vanish them to?"

"Dobby made sure everyone's things are safe in the Come and Go Room—"

Neville and Ginny looked at each other, confused and scared that maybe they didn't know where the belongings were.

"Otherwise known as the Room of Requirement."

Ginny and Neville breathed out in relief. "It's okay," Neville projected to the entire room. "We know where your things are, and we'll retrieve them for you after the raid is over."

"Should Dobby go before the Headmaster gets here? Miss Daffy is with him now, but they are being slowed by Kreacher and a couple of other house-elves."

"Er . . . who's Daff- . . . oh!" Neville chuckled, and looked at Ginny. "Daphne." They both nodded.

"You said a couple of house-elves are with Snape and Daphne?" he asked.

"Yes! Dobby asked them to see if the Headmaster wants or needs anything, and to keep asking him how he finds his room and whether he thinks we're doing a good job keeping the castle in order!" Dobby winked at them. "Only Kreacher knows why they're delaying them. Dobby told Kreacher that it was to help his Master Harry's friends! Kreacher is obeying wonderfully!"

"Excellent!" Neville patted Dobby on the back. "Seriously Dobby, come up to my dormitory after all this is over." He winked back at the house-elf. "I've got some socks that I think you'll like that I want you to have."

The house-elf's huge eyes shined and sparkled with tears and joy. "Oh, Dobby is so lucky! The day he met the great Harry Potter, he made the best—"

Dobby stopped talking and brought his hands to the side of his head in a quick motion. Ginny felt her Galleon grow hot. She held it up to show the new message from Daphne.

"We're here!"

"They're here! They are starting with Gryffindor and will go to Ravenclaw next! Dobby shall warn them and the other House too!"

With one final nod, Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared with a loud CRACK!

Which was none too soon, as Ginny heard the sound of a portrait giving way. All the students stood straight, stiff as boards. Neville and Parvati looked at each other and with two nods stepped out in front, both rubbing their prefect badges until they shone in the light of the common room. Seamus, Lavender, and Ginny all stood around them.

"—M-Master, please allow Kreacher to be of assistance. Kreacher can help with the search, with the raid." Kreacher emerged from the shadows of the entryway to the common room, walking backwards and talking to an as yet unidentified figure.

Snape swooped into the room, practically kicking the house-elf away. Ginny almost charged towards the Headmaster for his rudeness, but she restrained herself; after all, the house-elf was playing supplicant to the Headmaster and his Death Eater mates.

However, when she spied the Head Girl trailing behind him, Ginny's heart sank. Daphne, despite her defiant chin, was pale and obviously nervous. She looked at all the D.A. Gryffindors with her eyes wide and round, but quickly shook her head and narrowed them into slits, attempting to look somewhat dangerous and intimidating.

"Miss Weasley, I'm speaking to you! Where is your head, girl?"

Ginny snapped her head around to Snape. Looking at him, staring right into his beady eyes, she felt her anger rise. "Sorry, sir. Wasn't listening." Next to her, she could hear Neville and Seamus chuckle quietly.

"I asked if you have received any correspondence recently? From any family members?" The Headmaster cocked an eyebrow and waited for her to answer.

She shook her head, but never took her eyes off of him. "Only the normal letters from my mum."

"And how is your brother, Miss Weasley?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Which one? We have so many, sir. As you like to point out, us Weasleys seem to multiply like rabbits."

Snape's nostrils flared. "The sick one!" he spat back.

"Still sick. Sir."

"Is he?" Snape's lip curled. She steeled her eyes at him. Finally, he nodded. "If you say so. I should be grateful he isn't here, wreaking havoc upon the student body." He spun around before Ginny could snap back at him. His eyes glanced over the others and he curled his lip, regarding them with disgust.

Snapping his fingers, Snape beckoned Daphne to stand by him. "Kreacher, return to the kitchens." He glowered at the old house-elf. Kreacher bowed, retreated backwards, and Disapparated with a pop.

"Miss Greengrass," Snape drawled, never taking his eyes off of Ginny or Neville, "start with the girls' dormitories." He moved slowly over to stand in front of Parvati, Lavender, and Seamus. "I'll check – theboys." He punctuated his words with a sneer, aimed directly at Seamus and Neville. With a snap of his cloak, the Death Eater whipped around and flew up the stairs, flying away like a bat.

Daphne made to walk closer to the door, but she waited, making sure he was out of earshot.

"Godric's Balls! Did you get my messages?"

Neville nodded and laughed at her exclamation. "Great work, Daphne."

"Everything's hidden from the dormitories then? Snape won't find—"

Ginny grinned. "Dobby hid everything, all thanks to your warnings."

"Do you know if Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff got the signals too?" Daphne asked.

"Dobby hid their things first," Neville replied. "He did ours last."

Daphne nodded, clearly relieved. "Just be thankful Snape sent the Carrows back to the dungeons. Or not," she said with a shiver. "That means they're getting closer to removing all the charms sealing them up."

"The old dungeons?"

She looked at Neville solemnly. "The ones where they did the old punishments."

He met Ginny's eyes. They shared the same apprehensive expressions.

"But, for now, it's Snape and I checking your house and Ravenclaw. He sent Draco to search Hufflepuff."

"He's 'Draco' now?" Ginny looked at Daphne with an upturned eyebrow.

"No . . . er," Daphne shook her head. "I-I'm not friends with Dra- . . . I mean Malfoy, I just . . . crap!" She rubbed her forehead, frustrated that the words she wanted to say wouldn't come out. "Bugger, this spy shit's hard." She raised a finger in front of Ginny's face. "I've been making nice with Pansy, and realizing she's not a hag all the time, and I'm feeling sorry for Draco and the only Slytherins I can muster any hard-core hate for are Crabbe, Goyle, and . . ." she looked up at the staircase to the boys dormitory, "well, just them." Daphne raised her head to the ceiling. "I want this to be over. Everything." She hung her head and rubbed her eyes. "Just over . . ."

"Miss – Greengrass!"

Daphne jumped up and stood at attention. "Yes sir." Ginny watched as Daphne stood perfectly still, arms crossed in front of her and her wand pressed hard against her arm.

(Godric! She's standing like one of—)

"Finished with your inspection?"

Daphne nodded silently.

"Good." Snape swirled his robes around and pivoted towards the entryway back out into the halls outside the common room. "Ready for Ravenclaw?" It sounded more like an order than a question.

Ginny watched as Daphne kept her head down and followed Snape out. All the Gryffindors waited, and when they heard the retreating footsteps touch stone instead of carpet, and the final thud of the portrait shutting, all of the students whooped and hollered, expressing their relief with excited cheers.

"Bloody hell," Seamus breathed out. "That was, well . . ."

"Better than we thought it would be?" Neville suggested.

"Gin," Lavender and Parvati walked up to her. Ginny was still staring where Snape and Daphne had just left the room. "Are you okay? Hey . . . we didn't get caught—"

Ginny nodded absently. And although she knew she should've been more excited about not having been discovered, seeing Daphne look so drained and watching her follow Snape as if it were a habit only increased her dread.


If Daphne thought the first Gryffindor raid had been easy, nothing could've prepared her for Ravenclaw.

She stood in the middle of the circular common room, feeling dizzy. They were surrounded by Ravenclaws all staring at Snape as he tore into—

"Love-good," he said, menace thick in his voice, "I will not tolerate any more of your delusions! Tell me everything you know about this rag of your father's. Who works for him? Who is this 'Nonnie Mouse'?" He shook the paper furiously in Luna's face, glaring at her like he wanted to rip her apart with his own two hands.

Luna stared back at Snape, but she did not smile at him. "I've already said, Headmaster, that I cannot."

He gritted his teeth. "Why?" he asked, practically spitting.

"Because Father understands the importance of protecting his sources whenever they ask him to, and the charms he uses are practically unbreakable. I believe 'Miss Mouse' is a pseudonym—"

"OF COURSE IT IS, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape face twitched and he panted rapidly. "It might interest you to know that your father is breaking at least five Ministry decrees by continuing to publish articles friendly to Undesirable – Number – One! By supporting unsubstantiated, false, and ridiculous research, your father indulges in nothing but garbage and lies!"

"My father provides information to the public so they can decide whether or not to believe what is said." She, inexplicably, smiled at him. "After all, the motto of The Quibbler is 'Credere est cogitare, et cogitare est esse.' It means—"

"'To believe is to think, and to think is to be'. Lovegood, I am many things, but an idiot is not one of them."

Daphne saw Michael, Anthony and Terry feebly attempt to cover their own chuckling with forced coughs.

"Very – well. Since you persist in this obtuseness, disobeying me and the Ministry, I shall teach you a lesson about playing the fool!"

He raised his wand. Daphne's heart fell.

(No!)

(Not again! He . . . he wouldn't!)

(Stop him!)

"NO!" She flew towards him, grabbing his wand arm. "Please, sir. D-don't do it—"

He yanked his arm away from her. "Greengrass," he said in a vicious voice, "you do not give me orders! Besides," he straightened himself up, a grin spreading slowly across his face, "I would like you to be the one to dole out the punishment here."

Daphne gasped. Around her, the other Ravenclaws did as well. Michael watched her carefully, but Daphne could see him breathing rapidly and his eyes moving between her, Luna and Snape.

"S-sir, with all due respect, I-I can't! I couldn't do it before on Longbottom—" She sounded desperate, pleading. Snape sneered at her.

"Greengrass, there are about a hundred things that I, not to mention the Carrows, can do to Love-good." He paused. "To teach her a lesson. You, girl, are not so creative."

His voice was menacing in tone; it sent chills up Daphne's spine.

"But you are quite capable of punishing the wrongdoers yourself." Snape leaned in closer to Daphne, whispering in her ear. "You can make a choice. Here and now. Take matters into your own hands. Or give her over to me and the Carrows and we will make her feel as if her body is disintegrating."

Daphne stared at him, horrified.

"Your choice, Greengrass. A simple Cruciatus will do."

She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, her fear increasing with each breath. She felt herself nod and she pulled her wand out from her robes. Shaking, she readied herself.

Daphne watched Luna as she continued to smile in her wistful way, her silvery eyes large and round. She had no idea what to do; hurting Luna Lovegood was like hurting a litter of puppies, like cursing pygmy puffs as they played with kittens. Not to mention that Michael was watching her. His friends were watching. They hadn't been there in that Dark Arts lesson. They hadn't witnessed her performing an Unforgivable on Neville Longbottom, no matter that it was the most feeble of attempts.

The thought of Michael witnessing her do such a thing made Daphne feel beyond disgusted.

"I am waiting, Greengrass."

(Decision time.)

(Handle Luna yourself, or let Snape destroy her.)

Daphne swallowed and exhaled. She was still shaking even as she slowly brought her wand up, pointing it at Luna. She focused on her arm. Maybe if she aimed there, maybe if she acted like she was putting all of her magic into it, she could make it appear that she was striking Luna with all the force she was capable of.

Maybe.

Daphne met her eyes, trying to mentally convey how sorry she was that she had to do this. She blinked; she couldn't be for certain, but she could've sworn Luna winked at her.

She opened her mouth. "Crucio!"

An odd, cold tingle shot through her arm. It wasn't like anything she had felt when she first cast the same curse on Neville. Back then, she had only meant to sting him. This time, there was a little more power behind the spell.

And her spell had found its mark.

"AHHH!" Luna yelped. She seized and her legs folded under her body. She fell to the floor with her eyes shut and she rubbed her arm. The pain had already dissipated, and Luna looked back up at her, wincing. She gave Daphne a small smile.

The Slytherin squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't bear looking at anyone else after what she had just done. Behind her, to her right, she heard Snape approach—

"Unbelievable."

Her eyes flew open.

"EVERBERO!"

An invisible fist struck Daphne's body and she flew backwards. She howled in pain as she felt her back slam into a couch.

Snape stood above her, tall and imposing. A dark expression clouded his face.

"Pathetic!" he said, gritting his teeth. He rotated his wand in his hands, growing more and more angry as he looked at her. "That was no punishment!"

He raised his own wand at Daphne. She recoiled, ducking behind her hand. Behind Snape, she could barely make out Michael, shouting things at Snape that he merely ignored.

"Time."

Snape paced back and forth, his face cold and impassive — but his eyes sparked with fury. "Time is the key to effective use of the Cruciatus. Applied for less than a couple of seconds, the curse will provide only mere discomfort to its intended target. After five seconds, the target will be begging you to stop."

He spoke coolly, letting his voice carry throughout the now-quiet room and swirled his wand, causing red sparks to fly.

"More than ten seconds of uninterrupted casting, the target stops talking. Nerve functions become compromised." Snape stopped pacing and stared at her; she felt her blood freeze. "Thirty seconds, and the target experiences seizures as the influx of pain overwhelms the neurological system. The body loses control of its most basic functions and the victim risks choking due to airway constriction or," he paused, "by swallowing their own tongue."

Daphne gulped. She could hear small cries from the younger Ravenclaws behind the Headmaster.

"Can you guess then, Miss Greengrass, what happens next? Should the target be exposed to the Cruciatus for even longer than that? Let me ask this question to everyone in this room. After all," Snape smiled nastily at the others, "you are Ravenclaws, are you not? You're smart enough to know all - the - answers."

No one responded. A few in the back grinned and nodded, absorbing as much as they could of Snape's speech. Anthony, Padma, Michael and Terry, as well as a couple of older students, all surrounded Luna. They stared at Snape, their eyes filled with fury and disgust.

"One minute!" The Headmaster's voice echoed through the common room. "One minute of absorbing the Cruciatus without interruption, and the target's brain begins to cook inside their own skull."

The room remained silent.

"Hallucinations. Impaired speech. The first signs of dementia." Snape looked at the students. "All it takes is this curse to be cast for one minute. There is a chance," he drawled, "that the target's mind might be saved, but only if the caster lifts the curse immediately, and performs no further magic on the poor soul." His voice was laced with malice. "Past the threshold of one minute, without any respite from the Cruciatus, the target will lose all control over their mental faculties, and their mind, and what is left of it, will be reduced – to – mush."

He raised his eyebrow. "Just ask Longbottom if you want to know the effects of the Cruciatus on the brain of a witch or wizard. His parents certainly can't answer that question."

Snape strode towards Daphne, halting mere inches in front of her and spoke rapidly. "What I expect from you in terms of punishment for Lovegood is the application of the Cruciatus for no more than ten seconds twice, with a single interval of ten seconds in between."

Daphne shook her head frantically. "N-no . . . I c-can't!" Her voice squeaked.

"If you don't, I shall punish her myself. I guarantee that I will go far longer than ten seconds. And I am very capable of casting a curse on that girl that she will feel in her bones for years."

Daphne stared at him, frightened and confused. Her mind raced through every conceivable reason, excuse, anything! Anything at all to somehow avoid what was looking to be more and more inevitable.

Her eyes caught Luna's. Daphne's brown to Luna's silver. She watched as Luna smiled at her, at the same time whispering something to Michael, something Daphne could not make out.

Her breath caught in her chest as she saw Michael look at her. He nodded ever so subtly.

Slowly, still shaking, Daphne stood up, grasping the couch for support. Feeling her wand, she could not believe how large, how leaden it felt. She didn't want to use it, she felt sick thinking about it—

But given the circumstances, what else could she do?

(Let Snape — an actual Death Eater — tear her apart?)

Daphne breathed in.

(Luna and I are friends, right? We're both in the D.A.)

She breathed out.

She raised her wand, her eyes watering.

(It will be better if I do it.)

(Keep it short. Only twice.)

"Greengrass, get on with it! Or – I – will!"

Daphne's body stiffened. Almost automatically, she felt her mind emptying. She did not think about Michael Corner, who stood next to Luna, watching her intensely. She did not think about Luna Lovegood, regarding her with a soft, understanding expression.

She didn't think about Neville . . . the Weasleys . . . or Ginny or Harry or Hermione.

Or Ron.

(Two times. Less than ten. Break for ten.)

Daphne's hand tightened around her wand.

And she opened her mouth.

"Crucio!"