Some nights they would sneak out into corridors and spray paint the walls with their wands, writing things like We all hate the Carrows and Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting. They never got caught, but Snape had his suspicions; many of them would return to their common room or the Room of Requirement with a new cut or burn, but they were so used to it, it hardly mattered.
'The Carrows have taken another prisoner into the dungeons,' Neville was saying during one DA meeting in February. 'Patrick Baker, a Gryffindor first-year, for swearing in class when he dropped his wand and nearly trod on it –' He wrote the child's details on the blackboard as he continued to talk to the DA. 'We know that Crabbe and Goyle will torture him before tonight. I can't really go down there for a second time, they'll kill me; Seamus doesn't need any more danger today, Ernie's been attacked by Amycus already this morning.'
'I'll go, Nev,' chirped Michael, getting to his feet. 'I've got to see Slughorn anyway ... what time do Crabbe and Goyle go down there?'
'About ten o'clock, but it could easily be up to an hour earlier,' said Ginny, rummaging through the notes, 'we know the Carrows don't go down there anymore, they trust them. So if it comes to the worst, you'll have to hex them,' she finished with an apologetic grimace.
'No problem,' said Michael with a wry smile, but looked apprehensive all the same.
Unfortunately, that plan went pear-shaped: it was with terrible luck that Alecto caught Michael down there as he was breaking Patrick's chains and he was tortured badly, he recounted afterwards. Neville found that a couple of students, only the youngest, left the DA, especially after Michael's bearing of the Cruciatus Curse. And then they decided to uphold Ernie's suggestion at Christmas: to give the Carrows hell.
They did their best. They continued to graffiti the walls along every corridor. Seamus suspended a bucket of Thestral dung mixed with Dungbombs over the Slytherin common room portrait and the bucket tipped as Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini exited the portrait, Pansy's screams ringing through the whole school until she reached the nearest bathroom. Ernie hid a juvenile Mandrake in a cupboard in Alecto Carrow's office, which shrieked as soon as Carrow opened her door; she passed out in her office at the noise, but the Mandrake made no noise as her brother, spluttering and cursing, lifted her up and took her to the hospital wing. After no less than six trips to Madam Pomfrey, an angry, tired, jumpy Alecto Carrow found the source of her enemy and chucked it through her window and into the lake; the Giant Squid lapped it up in seconds.
During one Herbology lesson, Alecto burst into Greenhouse Five (wearing small earmuffs and glancing at the sleeping Mandrakes with a terrified expression) demanding a Snargaluff pod of Professor Sprout. In questioning, Alecto said it was an antidote needed for her brother, who had mysteriously sprouted sultana-like boils all over his face. Neville had prodded his mimbulus mimbletonia (which was perched on a shelf near the door) and rapidly leapt back with a false yell as Stinksap erupted from the cactus. The ears alone of Alecto's face remained protected and she departed the greenhouse and a straight-faced Sprout with her face coated in the green, sticky slime.
Snape didn't know where to turn. Neville expected he half-knew who was causing the havoc, but the Headmaster seemed intent on punishing only the guilty and since there were so many different students creating chaos, he could only do no more than warn the whole school during one morning at breakfast.
'If any of you detect a hint of mischief from another student,' Snape had said, 'fifty points will be awarded to your house if you bring that person to my attention. It is high time that each and every one of you keeps to my rules, or you will be punished if caught.'
If caught ... those were the words that made Neville smirk from then on because they had rode their luck on that score. He knew the Carrows suspected him, but they walked cautiously down the corridors instead of strutting, becoming more wary of every object in sight. During their lessons, however, they took no prisoners, and continued to slash at anyone who made snide comments or answered back. Alecto was determined, every lesson, to emphasis again and again how stupid, useless, dangerous, and pointless Muggles and Muggle-borns alike are, while Amycus took it to a new level and began teaching them the most horrific, dangerous breaches of Dark magic, including FiendFyre, to which Crabbe and Goyle took a great liking and even strange things called Horcruckses, whatever they were, which caused a number of students to cringe in dismay.
However, Michael's attempted rescue wasn't the only thing that failed. Hagrid decided to hold a "Support Harry Potter" party in his hut. Neville and various other Gryffindors took refuge - however, the Death Eaters that took watch on the grounds gate-crashed. The students somehow managed to hide round the back of the hut unnoticed, while they had watched Hagrid run into the Forest after taking swipes at Stan and Travers. They hadn't seen Hagrid since and an uncharacteristically nervous Professor Grubbly-Plank took up the post of Care of Magical Creatures temporarily.
The Easter holidays approached and Ginny, along with a handful of other younger students, boarded the Hogwarts train; Ginny had hinted that she might not return, so all the DA members gave her each a very warm farewell.
'Take care, Ginny,' said Neville, the last person, as they hugged. Ginny's sudden departure of the school had disconcerted Neville slightly; she had been a vital, brave member of the DA and had sustained as much as any of the boys had. It was sad to see her go.
'Don't worry, I will – you too,' she said with a smile, adding, 'Oh – message me if Harry comes to the school ... I'll see you then if he does!' before dragging her trunk onto the train. They all waved goodbye until the Hogwarts Express rounded the corner, leaving a trail of billowing steam behind.
However, Neville's mood was lifted as he received a message that evening from Luna. She had written so much that the miniscule writing covered the whole coin and Neville took five minutes trying to work out where the engravings started:
Neville had sighed with relief and slept very well that night, knowing that Luna was safe. And as he lay there in bed, his coin went hot again. His heart leapt with even more joy as he read: