The rest of the train ride flew by in a whirlwind of names as Neville, Ginny and Luna went through the list of DA members. The number of those who would be returning to Hogwarts that year was dismally small, less than half of the original membership.
“Hannah Abbot lost her mother,” Neville said thoughtfully, “and Amelia Bones was Susan’s aunt. Do you think they’re more likely to want revenge, or to be too afraid?”
“Ernie would know,” Luna said immediately. “I think we can trust him. He seemed to like the DA a lot.”
Neville nodded his agreement with Luna’s assessment. Ernie had been one of those who had believed Harry’s story right from the start, and Neville remembered how enthusiastic he had been about the DA. “I can speak to him in Herbology.”
He hated the questions of trust that kept cropping up, hated the circumstances that made suspicion so necessary. He kept reminding himself that this wasn’t like fighting Umbridge, where expulsion and detention were the only consequence that really had to be feared. The stakes in this game were far higher. He remembered Ginny’s laughter as she spoke of the ghoul that would be posing as Ron if anyone from the Ministry bothered to check up on him. It seemed sinister, now, because it showed exactly what was at stake: the safety of their families and everyone else they loved. He Who Must Not Be Named and those who were working for him would have no compunctions about mistreating the families of those who openly supported Harry Potter or the resistance.
His heart was heavy with such thoughts when they finally reached their destination and disembarked from the Hogwarts Express onto the dirt path where the carriages were waiting to take them to the castle. The autumn night was warm; the sky was clear, and the stars twinkled merrily down upon the students as they unknowingly passed by the Thestrals and climbed into the carriages. The bony creatures seemed more menacing than ever before, despite the fact that Neville knew firsthand of their relative gentleness. They were a reminder that danger lurked around every corner and that a single misstep could bring death to yourself or to those you loved and cared about.
“Daddy always wanted a Thestral,” Luna said brightly as she joined him. “He’s thinking of trying to lure one to our house.”
“Not the most attractive creatures, are they?” Ginny asked lightly as she patted the nearest one on the nose. Neville looked at her in confusion until memories of the battle that had taken place at Hogwarts the year before burst through his mind: a Death Eater had died, then, and must have done so within her sight, allowing her to see the creatures that had previously been invisible to her.
As he climbed into one of the carriages behind Ginny and Luna, he found himself wondering how many more of his classmates would be able to see the Thestrals before this war was over.
*
The ceiling of the Great Hall mimicked the calm night outside, but the tension in the air reminded Neville of a storm waiting to break. He noticed immediately that Snape was at the head table, sitting in the chair that had always been Dumbledore’s. The looks of forced neutrality on the faces of McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout left no doubt as to how they felt about their colleague’s new appointment.
“At least we won’t have to take classes with him anymore,” Ginny murmured as they made their way over to the Gryffindor table. Luna veered off to join her fellow Ravenclaws. “Though I suppose they won’t be much better.” She nodded towards a man and a woman who were sitting on either side of Snape at the head table and he recognized Amycus Carrow, a lumpy man whom Ginny had battled last year, and his sister Alecto, a short and stocky woman.
As Neville murmured his agreement, he and Ginny headed over to where Seamus was already seated with Lavender and Parvati. As they drew nearer, Seamus looked up quickly and enthusiastically motioned them over “Neville, Ginny!”
“Hi, Seamus,” he greeted his roommate. “Hi Parvati, Lavender.” He sat down next to Seamus and across from the two girls before blurting out, “How’s Dean?” The question had been bothering him off and on throughout the day. He already knew that Harry, Ron and Hermione were as safe as could be expected, and he hoped that Dean was as well.
Seamus glanced around the room to make sure that no one was listening too closely. “He took off,” he replied in a low voice. “I heard from him a few days ago. He decided he wasn’t going to risk being questioned, since he doesn’t know if his father was a wizard or a Muggle and he isn’t about to wait around to see firsthand what they do to Muggle-borns. I don’t know where he’s hiding, but he seems to think he’s safe enough for now.”
Neville let out a little sigh of relief, and he heard Ginny do the same. She had dated Dean during the previous year, he remembered suddenly. The question of his safety must have been bothering her as well.
Parvati leaned across the table towards them. “What about Hermione? And where’s Ron? What about Harry? I heard that he’s hiding from the Ministry. I can’t believe they suspect him of murdering Dumbledore!” Her voice sounded slightly outraged. Lavender and Seamus listened closely to hear Neville’s response.
“Hermione’s with her parents,” Ginny replied matter-of-factly before Neville could say anything. “Ron has spattergroit. And no one knows where Harry is.” The look she gave Neville clearly said that they could tell the others everything once they were in a more secure location “ namely, at one of the DA meetings.
Before anyone could ask any more questions, or express surprise at Ron’s condition or their hopes that Harry and Hermione would be all right, there was a movement at the front of the Great Hall as the Sorting began. Neville only half listened to the Sorting Hat’s song “ it was more of the same stuff it had been saying for the past two years, that the houses had to band together and that danger was upon them. As they finally began to eat, Neville barely tasted anything on his plate. His mind was already racing ahead to what Snape would say during his start-of-the-term speech to the students.
When Snape finally stood to his feet, silence fell heavily over the entire room. It was not the same respectful silence that usually greeted Dumbledore when he stood to address them, but was rather a wary, distrustful silence among all but the Slytherins. Neville forced himself to stare straight into the face of this man he had been afraid of for so long. He refused to let himself do anything less: if he could fight Death Eaters and survive, surely he could meet the eyes of this traitorous coward.
“Welcome,” Snape said with a greasy smile, “to another year. I am your new Headmaster; as such, it is my privilege to inform you of a number of…changes…that will be taking place in the administration of this school.” The way he said the word “changes” made it clear that he thought that these changes were great improvements.
“Until now, students above the second year, and especially above the fifth year, have been given too much choice in their class schedules. I mean to rectify this. Defence Against the Dark Arts is now to be taken by all NEWT students, regardless of what grades you received on your OWLS. If you have been prevented by your own incompetence from continuing in your studies, you will make up for it on your own time. You’re new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Carrow, will see to that, I assure you.” The look on his face was dark and ominous, and Neville felt a shiver run down his spine. The leer on Amycus Carrow’s face was distinctly unpleasant, and Neville had no doubt that he would thoroughly enjoy fulfilling Snape’s orders.
“In addition to this, Muggle Studies, previously considered only an elective, is now a required class for all students.” Murmurs arose among the listening students at this news, and Neville, with his mouth hanging open, stared at Snape in shock that bordered on disbelief. “It is crucial that, in times such as these, we all know the truth about our non-magical…friends. Professor Carrow,” he gestured towards the stocky woman, “is something of an expert on the matter.”
“Yeah, I’m sure she’s studied all the ways to demean, torture and murder Muggles,” Ginny muttered under her breath.
“And, lastly, I will tell you once, and only once: disobedience will not be tolerated. Rule-breakers will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. You will find, I am sure, that our new professors are even less tolerant of such students than I am.” His eyes swept the Great Hall, and he seemed to take their silence as comprehension and acceptance. “You will now go to your common rooms. You will go quickly and quietly. That is all.”
*
McGonagall addressed all of the Gryffindors in their common room that evening.
“You are not to give the Carrows any reason to look at you twice,” she told them sternly, her gaze piercing and direct. Despite her calm countenance, Neville could tell that she was more than merely concerned; the very fact that she felt the need to address them spoke loudly of her worry. “You are to concentrate on your studies, follow the rules and, above all, you are to stay as safe as possible.” She turned her head from one side to the other as if counting the number of faces before her. Finally satisfied, she nodded her head firmly before turning and striding from the room.
Mulling over her words, Neville slowly began to ascend the stairs to his dormitory. He could imagine Flitwick, Sprout and even Slughorn giving the same speech to their students at this very moment. They were all in a difficult position: they had to defend their students against three Death Eaters, one of whom had murdered his predecessor and another of whom had been shooting Cruciatus curses at a student just months before.
As he reached his room and opened the door, he glanced briefly at the sign that read “seventh years.” This was not how he had imagined spending his last year at Hogwarts. He had expected his NEWTS to be the most of his worries, not to be taking part in a resistance against the Headmaster of the school and He Who Must Not Be Named.
The room looked the same as it did at the beginning of every new year. The high windows looked out upon the grounds of Hogwarts, and Neville’s eyes slowly travelled over the five beds with their red hangings. Only two of these beds would be occupied this year.
This dorm room held so many memories. He remembered entering it as a first year, wondering fearfully if he would be able to get on with his roommates, knowing that the friendships that he did “ or didn’t “ form here could set the tone of his entire seven-year stay in this room. He remembered a completely different entrance in his second year, as he and Dean and Seamus burst through the door with grins on their faces, eager to hear more about Harry and Ron’s adventure with the Whomping Willow. Each year, he had grown here, had lived and laughed and learned here.
He heard the door slowly open and turned to watch as Seamus entered. The room seemed so empty with just the two of them standing there, and for a moment Neville almost expected Harry, Ron and Dean to come flying up the stairs, laughing and shouting about their summer. With every second that passed without their appearance, the room seemed to grow larger and darker all at once
“You’re planning something,” Seamus said suddenly.
“What?”
“You and Ginny. You’re planning something. I’m not stupid, I saw the look she gave you.”
Neville was silent for a moment as he began to unpack his things. It wasn’t a question of trust; he knew that if he could not trust this boy with whom he had shared a room for six years, this boy who had been brave enough to admit publicly to Harry that he had been wrong about You-Know-Who’s return, then he couldn’t trust any of his classmates. Rather, he struggled to find the right words to take advantage of the excellent opening with which Seamus had just provided him.
“Yeah, we do have some plans,” he finally said. “We’ve decided “ Ginny and Luna and I “ to reform the DA so we can undermine Snape and the Carrows. We fought against them, you know. Amycus Carrow was throwing Cruciatus curses at Ginny. Seemed to really enjoy it. That’s the kind of person they have teaching us now, and his sister and Snape are no better. By standing up to them, we stand up to You-Know-Who. Even better, whatever we can do now will help Harry when he comes back.” His voice turned fierce. “Because he’s going to come back, and he’s going to face Snape, and he’s going to face You-Know-Who. We’re going to be ready.”
“I’d like to help.” Seamus’ voice was strong, and he had not hesitated even a second before beginning to speak. “I know I only ever went to one meeting of the DA; I didn’t believe what Harry and Dumbledore were saying at first. I wasn’t like you and Ginny and Luna, who believed them from the start. But I believe them now, and I want to help. You can trust me. I won’t let you all down.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Seamus. You don’t have to prove anything. That was a hard time for everyone.”
“I know. This isn’t about proving anything. I just want you to understand.” His gaze was steady, and he looked Neville directly in the eye. “My best friend is Muggle-born, Neville. They won’t let him come back to Hogwarts because of who he was born to, because of something he doesn’t have any control over. That’s evil, to punish him for it. And in their eyes, me dad is even worse, a full Muggle with no magic at all, and me mam almost as bad for marrying him. How long will it be before it isn’t safe for them to leave the house? How long will it be before it isn’t safe for them anywhere?” He paused for a moment, and when he continued, there was a resolved look on his face. “I take it back. This is about proving something. Me, I mean to prove that they can’t do this, not without people standing up to them. I’ll do it alone, if I have to.”
“You won’t be alone,” Neville said quietly. “We’re all in this together. I’ve learned that everything is so much easier when you have others with you. It’s easier to be brave, it’s easier to stand up to your enemies.”
“You don’t seem to need much help with that anymore, Neville,” Seamus replied, his voice serious. “You’ve fought Death Eaters twice now. You’ve come a long way since first year.”
“We all have,” Neville replied quietly. “And I think we’re going to be forced quite a ways further still.”