Chapter 14

"So... now what?" It was Tonks who finally posed the question, after a good ten minutes of silence.

Neither Remus nor Kingsley answered her, so Harry supposed it was sent towards to him. Turning around, he faced the three of them who were sitting rather awkwardly on the couch.

"First, we need to get out of here, we don't know for sure if they were spies or not. Then, I need to start training." Harry said in a matter-of-fact tone, not letting Kingsley argue with him about his friends' allegiances. It didn't take him much time to gather everything he owned; it came down to his wand, the map and the clothes that he had on himself. The teenager sniffed his sleeve before recoiling with a grimace. That was something he needed to work on as soon as possible.

When he turned around, the adults in the room were still sitting on the couch looking at him. He sighed in impatience, they couldn't be getting that old already.

"What are we waiting for? Merlin isn't going to visit today." Harry demanded with a hint of tiredness, he has technically only been awake for a couple of hours but he already felt drained. It was probably because of the sudden big amount of interaction with someone other than Herm- No.

He refused to think about them, it was not the time. Every second he'd spend in depression (which of course would happen), will cost more unnecessary death and destruction. Harry has let himself go for too long, he needed to get back into the game that he was never invited into.

"Where are we going to go?" Remus asked with clear hesitation.

Harry had a while to think about it while the adults tussled and ran around. The first place he thought of was the Shrieking Shack, but it was guarded by Death Eaters and Dementors. It was a possibility for later. If they could slip from the shack into the school, it would give them a chance to liberate it. Too early.

Then, the teenager considered any places that his family might've owned before the war. Their house at Godric's Hollow has been destroyed thanks to him, and he was unaware of any other houses they might've had. It might be worth asking Remus about it now, but there must be still people lurking around these places if they existed. He needed the news of his death to spread before attempting that. Which was why Harry decided that he wasn't going to reveal his survival quite yet, an attack from the grave was much more unexpected than the looming threat of a rebellion.

It wasn't a light decision. He felt the desire to rush in and announce his existence to the world pulsing in his veins, but it was suppressed. Perhaps some people will lose hope after hearing about the Chosen One's death, but he was planning to bring that hope back and include a dessert as well. For his plan to work, they needed a place that has been stricken from all the records, a place that no one would even want to come remotely close to.

They needed a dead man's home.

"Moody's house. It'll allow us to stay under the radar for at least a week." Harry replied. They looked at him with gaping faces. He wasn't sure what surprised them more: his answer or the muggle expression. After a few moments of silence, the young wizard started feeling self-conscious, it was a good plan!

It was Kingsley who broke the thousandth silence.

"I would expect his house to be monitored. Alastor was one of the few who could've actually challenged the new ministry."

"Which is why it's fitting that we'll start there," Harry insisted, "it's been months already. They don't have a reason to believe that someone will even visit the place, especially with the three of us 'dead'."

It was a good plan.

Seeing that the three of them still looked doubtful, Harry sighed in frustration. He started seeing why he felt reluctant to suggest any sort of plans before. They were always shot down before given the chance. Perhaps his instincts weren't always right, or rather time-accurate, but it didn't mean that it gave them the right to simply dismiss him. After all, they had the chance to win this war conventionally years ago, but now that there were less than five of them here, creativity had to come into play.

"Look, if you are having second thoughts about this, it's fine. You weren't exactly given the chance to decide if you're ready to wage war against Voldemort, and it's unfair for me to demand it." War was unfair. "It's alright, I understand. I'll find the house by myself. Just... keep safe, alright? This war already claimed too many good people." Harry gave them a sad smile before turning towards the hallway.

They couldn't see him biting his lip in anxiety, or the moving of his lips in a prayer, just like the relieved yet guilty smile that lit his face when they rushed after him in a matter of a few heart beats.

XXXXXXX

"Longbottom! Stay after class." The professor announced as the students waited for the end of the class.

Neville's face was a passive mask of politeness, but inside he groaned in dismay. His knees were still slightly shaking from DADA or rather simply the Dark Arts. Professor Carrow asked (demanded) him to stay as well after class, it almost seemed as if they were the same person.

The teenager smiled weakly at his attempt of a joke. How else was he going survive the two sibling terrors? It was bad enough with Ginny gone, some of Dumbledore's Army already started doubting the efficiency of their group, especially with the news about Harry. He frowned in thought as the remaining last students filed out of the room. No matter how many times he reviewed the story in the newspapers, something didn't sit right with him. Too many questions were left unanswered, and while it was enough for the others to proclaim Harry dead, Neville was unable to.

What happened to Ron and Hermione? Neville could count on one hand the amount of times that the green-eyed teenager went on an adventure without them.

Why would Harry go to his parents' house? It was an obvious place for an ambush, Harry was smart enough to realize that.

If Harry was really dead, Voldemort didn't have a reason to stay in hiding any more, but he hasn't officially announced his victory yet.

Harry was out there, either recovering or already planning his response, Neville was absolutely sure of that. And it was his duty to keep the morale here in Hogwarts, no matter what.

Any further thoughts were erased from his with Alecto's violent grab of his hair. She must've been incredibly angry, since it was only at these moments that she resorted to muggle methods.

"Do you want to die boy?" The witch demanded from him with venom, spittle flying all over his face. Ugh.

"And not see your pretty face every day? I don't think I'd be able to face that professor." Neville said with a wince, trying to ignore the spikes of pain coming from his head.

She slapped him hard while screaming at him. "Was the cut not enough? Are you ever going to learn respect you little brat?"

The gash on his cheek pulsed in a rapid beat, as if knowing it was mentioned, Neville knew that he was going to wear it with pride. It was one of his better moments, daring to question the possibility of his esteemed teacher's blood containing some muggle roots. Seeing the mad glint in her eyes, the teenager instinctively reached out towards his wand. She didn't seem to notice his movement, preferring to continue her angry tirade.

"When are you going to give up this lost cause? Potter is dead! Dumbledore is dead! Your little pathetic illusion of a muggle-loving world is long gone. You're the last loose knot." Alecto said with an odd throaty chuckle. Neville felt his stomach drop in a flicker of fear. He has pushed her too far.

He had just enough time to draw his wand and cast a shield around himself before it exploded in a colourful blast. The shockwave threw him across the classroom, crashing him through a rickety table with a mighty crash. Pain gripped him, but Neville refused to be stunned by it, creating a makeshift wall with the broken wood to block the witch's spells for a few heart beats. He needed some time to recover.

It was only at the moment in which he planned to come out and manifest his own counter attack that a sudden voice pierced through the spells' barrage.

"Alecto, that's enough." After seven years at Hogwarts, Neville developed a sixth sense when it came to his teachers' voices, but for once he hoped that he was wrong.

"What's wrong Snape? I am teaching the boy some discipline that he clearly lacks. Just because some of us don't have enough guts to do it doesn't mean that I won't." The madwoman answered him in a mocking snarl, sinking the boy's hopeful wishing. As if it wasn't enough for her to be attacking him, Snape had to get into the mess as well.

"I truly doubt that killing one of our students will prove to be appealing to the magical world," he almost sounded sincere there, "no matter how useless that student is." Well.

When Alecto didn't offer any other resistance, Snape called out towards him. "Longbottom, come with me."

For the slightest moment, Neville considered refusing the order, just to see if he could provoke Snape's ire, but it was pointless in the end of the day. With courage in his step that he didn't truly possess, the teenager made his way towards Snape. The greasy git wasn't any better than the batty woman, but right now, only one of them was angry enough to want to kill him. Alecto's glare slammed into Neville with the full extent of her hatred, causing him to unconsciously flinch towards Snape before catching himself.

Silence reigned as the two of them walked through the many corridors of the school. Any student that saw them gave Neville a pitying or sometimes frightened look, but no one stepped in.

That's why they needed Harry. He was the only one crazy enough to pull out the necessary stunts, Neville could only hope to imitate a part of that insanity.

It took him a few minutes to realize that they weren't actually walking in the direction of Snape's office, or even the Discipline chambers (cleverly nicknamed as the Snake Shindig), but rather to an abandoned hallway near the Gryffindor common room.

Neville looked questioningly at the professor who returned it with unsettling scrutiny.

"Directness isn't going to get you far Longbottom, much less the offensive kind. But, I suppose that is why you have chosen Gryffindor. Do not blame others when it's your own stupidity that gets you killed." Snape delivered in an uncaring manner, the typical bite missing from his voice.

In response, Neville looked mutely at the professor with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Snape seemed to be satisfied with that, turning around with a dramatic flare of his robes, departing with a final remark.

"I trust that you will share the horrors of my wrath with your classmates. I cannot promise to be as forgiving with the next cheeky brat."