Resistance

Chapter 6 - The Way Home

It was a grey and rainy November morning, and the seventh year Herbology students were thoroughly damp. Neville had dark shadows under his eyes and was clumsier than usual, knocking over several umbrellas as he tried to remove his wet cloak. 'Watch it,' said Seamus, catching them and propping them up again.

'Are you all right, Neville?' asked Ernie Macmillan. 'We weren't sure if you'd... well, you know.'

'I'm fine, just tired. I was out all night in the Forest.' He smiled at Ernie. 'Honestly, it was all right - quite interesting actually. It could have been a lot worse.'

'Too bloody right!' commented Seamus, trying to dry his hair with his hands. 'After the stunt you three pulled we thought you'd be dead! Or at very least handed over to the Carrows.'

'Yeah, I still don't get it,' said Neville. 'Snape was really angry, we all thought he'd expel us for sure. Mind you, we've got a whole week of detention with Hagrid to go - I'll be lucky if I can stay awake by Friday at this rate.'

'Well, I'm really glad you're all right Neville, but I must say you're incredibly lucky. Unbelievably so.' Ernie bustled off to his desk.

'Hmmm, I'm still wondering where the catch is,' Neville admitted to Seamus as they took their places at the bench. 'Snape isn't stupid, he must have known Hagrid wouldn't make us do anything too awful.'

'It's 'cos you're purebloods, must be,' replied Seamus. 'Now they've eliminated all the Muggle-borns they gotta look after the few remaining purebloods. Bet they wouldn't have let a half-blood off so lightly. Just as well you never took me.'

Neville sighed. 'I said before, it was a spur of the moment thing. And we never went in intending to steal the sword. It just sort of snowballed.'

'Yeah, things have a tendency to snowball when that Ginny's around. You wanna watch her, mate. She's trouble that one.' Seamus began dead-heading the bush in front of them with unnecessary force.

Neville suppressed the urge to sigh again. The low-level feud between Seamus and Ginny was starting to get on his nerves. He knew that Seamus would never forgive Ginny for taking up so much of his best friend's time in what had turned out to be the last year they'd have together. Neville wished he knew what to say to Seamus. The absence of Dean and the others lurked between them but could never be discussed. Although the two boys had grown inevitably closer due to their isolation, Neville was under no illusion that he could replace Dean. He and Seamus were just too different. He tried to look interested when Seamus went on about Quidditch, but they both knew his heart wasn't in it.

Snape's leniency did bother Neville though. Ginny and Luna had been delighted, laughing at Snape's stupidity in thinking detention with Hagrid was a punishment to them. But Neville knew that of all the many bad things Snape was, stupid was rarely one of them. They'd come up with various theories - it was because they were purebloods, it was because he didn't want to do anything too public to make the incident any more talked about than it already was. But he had a nasty feeling that Snape must have an ulterior motive, and not a pleasant one.

At lunch time Ginny joined him and Seamus, holding a copy of the Quibbler. 'Hot off the press,' she said brightly, handing it over. 'Xeno's done himself proud!'

Neville turned to the page indicated, and opened it out between him and Seamus. The article was headed, 'Potter Saves Muggle-Borns from Registration Committee.'

News has reached the Quibbler of an audacious rescue by the Boy-Who-Lived of a group of Muggleborn witches and wizards being held at the Ministry for Magic. Whilst sources cannot be verified, many believe that the incident - in which around ten Muggleborns being held pending trial are thought to have escaped - was the work of Harry Potter and unknown associates.

The Ministry of Magic has refused to confirm how many escaped, but it is clear that an escape did occur. Ministry officials were seen sealing the exits to the Ministry in some panic and attempting to apprehend three individuals, who managed to evade capture. It is believed these individuals included Potter, under the influence of Polyjuice.

The incident raises further questions about the practice of 'trying' Muggle-borns and the fate of those found guilty of magical 'theft'. The body of Trevor Higgins, a Muggleborn sentenced to imprisonment in Azkaban following such a trial, was found washed up on the coast close to the Azkaban island. It is clear that those Muggleborns who appear before the Committee are in severe danger and this paper would urge any Muggleborns who remain in Britain to leave immediately.

An anonymous source close to the Ministry says, 'Anyone summoned to a Registration Hearing should not attend. They should take their family and only what belongings they can carry, and leave the country by whatever means possible. Apparition and the Floo network are not advised, due to Ministry monitoring. Owl post is also considered unsafe due to high risk of interception. The safest way to travel is by Muggle transport or broomstick. Avoid areas with a high wizard population and do not withdraw money from Gringotts. Avoid performing magic in any Muggle inhabited area. You may need Muggle documentation to travel by Muggle ferry boats or aeroplanes.'

Those fleeing the persecution of the Ministry need to take care, however. Two young witches found dead in Eastbourne this week are believed to have drowned whilst attempting to cross the Channel by rowing boat. Many Muggleborns are resorting to increasing desperate measures to leave the country. Reports from France of squalid conditions in refugee camps and attempts to repatriate British asylum seekers have started to filter through, although information about the fate of arrivals is still scarce. Ireland is not believed to be a safe destination for those escaping the Committee as the influence of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named now extends to parts of the Emerald Isle.

Since the daring rescue, there have been no confirmed sightings of Harry Potter, despite a nationwide appeal from the Ministry for information leading to his whereabouts. Reports suggest large numbers of Ministry officials, including an entire Auror squad, are dedicated to tracing the 17 year old. That Potter has not only evaded their attempts, but succeeded in infiltrating the very heart of the Ministry itself, bears testament to the astounding skill of this remarkable young wizard.

Neville finished the article ahead of Seamus and looked up at Ginny. 'Xeno really isn't holding back, is he? He ought to be careful.'

A cloud passed over Ginny's smiling face. 'They wouldn't go for Xeno would they?' she asked, shooting a quick look back at Luna on the Ravenclaw table. 'I mean, it's the Quibbler. No one takes the Quibbler that seriously. He'll get away with it.' Her voice had a pleading note.

Neville shrugged. 'I suppose you're right. Anyway, they do seem reluctant to go for purebloods at the moment.'

'Or they'd have finished off my family long ago,' finished Ginny, saying the words Neville never would have. 'Dad reckons it's because they think Harry will contact us sooner or later. If they've locked us up or whatever they won't have that opportunity.' She picked up her spoon and began to poke at her blancmange. 'Trouble is, I think he probably will try to get in touch eventually,' she added in a very low voice. 'And there's a part of me that hopes he will. I want to hear from him so much. But that's selfish, isn't it?'

'It's human,' he said gently, hoping she didn't start to cry. 'There's nothing wrong with wanting to hear from someone you love.'

She grinned at him sidelong, surprising him. 'You always say the right thing, Nev. Even with Hagrid. I really hope he doesn't spend all night tonight going on about Harry again.'

'I wouldn't like to bet on it,' Neville pushed away his empty plate. 'I'm going to try and grab some sleep before tonight. See you at eight.'

*****

As time went on and the DA continued to act as an irritant to the Headmaster, Snape reinstated some of Umbridge's Educational Decrees. A strict curfew was imposed of 7pm to 7am, and students were banned from gathering in groups of three or more outside of lessons and common rooms. Unofficial student societies were banned once more. Quidditch practice was allowed only under supervision of Madam Hooch.

Despite this, the DA managed to continue, although now they needed to use a lot of caution. Neville neglected his studies in favour of planning activities and minor acts of rebellion. They began producing a 'defensive spell of the week' newsletter, which was transfigured into small coloured beads that could be handed out like sweets. When the portrait flag-waving craze lost its novelty value they tried a night-time firework display that appeared on the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall one dinner time.

Having Luna and Ginny in the group opened up plenty of opportunities to defeat the restrictions placed on them. Lessons with Hagrid enabled them to wander the grounds far and wide quite legitimately, whilst Astronomy classes gave them the perfect opportunity to break curfew. The three ringleaders had to be careful though; on several occasions Neville found he was being followed, usually by a younger Slytherin.

Despite all the hardships, for a few weeks in November, Neville came to the guilty realisation he was often enjoying himself. He had forged a closer friendship with Luna and Ginny than he had ever experienced at school, and in the wake of Snape's lenient punishment and as time went by with nothing worse, he began to feel quite confident. The DA was succeeding in all three of its aims; improved defence skills, boosting Harry's support around the school, and destabilising Snape and the Carrows at every opportunity.

Neville couldn't ever feel fully content though. Thoughts of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dean nagged at the back of his mind like an itch that wouldn't quite go away. And closer to home, Seamus seemed increasingly isolated whilst Ginny had phases where she became lethargic with misery, sometimes barely getting out of bed in time for classes. If it hadn't been for Luna brightly waiting outside the portrait hole Neville suspected she would have stayed locked in her dorm all day on these occasions. But then on other days she would organise Quidditch practice and DA activities with a cheerful determination, and even joke and fool around to cheer the rest up.

But at the end of November an incident happened which reminded the DA of what they were dealing with. Ginny and Luna were in Muggle Studies and Carrow was in full flow delivering a lecture on how Muggle 'Sigh Fie Geeks' devoted all their time to trying to find out the secrets of the magic community, when Ginny released one of the twins' newest inventions. The Irritating Imitator began to repeat Carrow's words in a voice pitched perfectly for annoyance, just a beat behind the teacher.

A furious Carrow stormed around the room, making a beeline for Ginny, who was usually the source of any disruption. 'Where is that thing?' she demanded. 'at thing?' echoed the Imitator. She made a grab for Ginny's bag and tipped it out. Books, quills, lipsticks and sweets spilt across the floor. A bottle of bright green ink cracked and a puddle began to spread out under the desk. The Imitator managed a strangled yowl to echo Carrow's bellow of rage as she swept everything off the desk.

The rest of the class were backing away as far as possible in the already cramped classroom. 'Where is it?' screamed Carrow again, sounding demented. 'Where is it?' squealed the Imitator. Carrow kicked over Luna's bag and trampled on it until the contents jangled loosely. There was a pause where everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath. Carrow looked left and right, then slowly opened her mouth.

'That thing had better-' she broke off in a howl as the squeaky voice began again, a syllable behind. Before any of them could move, Carrow had grabbed Ginny by the neck of her robes and heaved her up, half standing, so they were face to face. 'Where?' she screamed, her face inches from Ginny's. Still the little voice blithely chirruped in echo. She shook Ginny hard, almost dropping her but catching her with her big hands clasped around Ginny's neck.

'Stop it!' cried Luna, on her feet too now, beside them. 'Stop it now!'

Carrow was squeezing hard, and Ginny's mouth opened helplessly as she tried to gasp for breath. 'Not so clever now are you?' screeched Carrow.

'Finite incantatem!' tried Luna, but the Imitator still mimicked Carrow even as Ginny began to go a mottled colour.

'Relashio!' A jet of sparks hit Carrow's hands and she dropped Ginny like a hot brick. Ginny missed her seat and fell into the narrow aisle between desks, cracking her head against the flagstones with a sickening thud. Luna fell to a crouch over her friend immediately, shielding her from Carrow.

Colin Creevey was standing two desks behind, his wand still pointing at Carrow and shaking slightly, staring at the tip of it as though he'd never cast a spell before. Slowly he raised his eyes to look Carrow in the face. In complete silence, Carrow stared back, her face rigid with hate. Then she upturned Ginny and Luna's desk with a crash, scattering students in both directions. The Imitator was stuck to the underside with chewing gum.

A jet of fire erupted from Carrow's wand and she held it to the Imitator for more than a minute before stepping back, breathless and sweating. 'That-' she paused to check for an echo. There was none. 'Ends today's lesson. The next one of you little bleeders that tries anything is going to wish they were never born, understand me? I ain't like McGonagall. I ain't like your Flitwick,' she spat the name with contempt. 'I don't piss about with detentions and lines and piddling stupid little house points. You mess with me, you pay the price.' She barged her way through the stunned students and left the room.

A wave of excited chatter rose up in her wake. Colin elbowed his way forward to where Luna was kneeling over Ginny, desperately shaking her friend. 'Luna! Is she OK?'

Luna looked up, her face wet with tears. 'She won't wake up, she must have hit her head when she fell.'

'Shall I try Ennervate on her?' asked Colin, twisting his wand between his hands anxiously.

Luna shook her head. 'It's not safe, you can fry peoples' brains if you do it hard. We'd better carry her to the hospital wing.'

Colin looked round their classmates. 'Come on, we need some help here,' he called. Many of the class backed off warily, apologetic expressions on their faces. 'Come on, we only need to get her to the hospital wing! I'm not asking you to lead the rebellion!' Their classmates were melting away like snow on a spring day. 'Freddie? Jack?' pleaded Colin.

The two Gryffindors stepped forward and together with Colin, manoeuvred Ginny's unconscious body slowly out of the door and along the corridor. At the top of the stairs they had to put her down for a break. 'Why can none of us do that feather light spell?' bemoaned Freddie.

'I could try,' Jack volunteered doubtfully.

'No,' said Luna firmly. 'No one is doing any kind of bewitching on Ginny, OK? She's already hurt, I'm not having you guys practice your charms on her!'

Freddie and Jack made themselves scarce as soon as Ginny was safely delivered to the hospital wing. 'Our year are rubbish,' Colin confided in Luna whilst Madam Pomfrey was busy with Ginny.

'They're just scared,' sighed Luna, picking at the edges of her nails. Her cuticles were already red and raw.

'She is going to be OK, isn't she Luna?' Colin leant in to try and catch her eye. 'I mean, she only bumped her head, didn't she? Just when she fell.' There was still no response. Colin continued, his voice getting higher in pitch. 'I thought I was doing the right thing - I thought Carrow was going to strangle her. I didn't want use Diffindo in case I cut her, I thought Relashio was best...'

'It wasn't your fault, Colin,' Luna cut him off suddenly. 'If you hadn't done what you did, she'd have ended up hurt just as bad.'

'Shit.' Colin put his head in his hands, his usual bubbling enthusiasm gone. Without it he looked a gawky, mousy adolescent. The cuffs of his robes were frayed. 'She fought actual Death Eaters twice, and survived... now, just from banging her head on the floor...'

Luna stood, suddenly, her usually soft face hard and her eyes bright with tears. 'No. You're forgetting, she was fighting an actual Death Eater this time. Carrow is a Death Eater. Her and her brother were two of the intruders we fought on the night Dumbledore died. She was trying to kill us then, why would she change now? It's no different, Colin, can't you see? We have to sit in classes and say 'yes, sir, no, miss' to these monsters that just a few months ago we were fighting for our lives against.

I know it seems safer and OK because it's Hogwarts, it's school, it's familiar. But it isn't. We mustn't forget that. These people are murderers. Actual murderers. Carrow is, and her brother is, and Snape is the biggest murderer of all. These people aren't just going to make rules that are unfair, that we don't like. Sooner or later, they are going to hurt us and they are going to kill us. We think the war is this big thing outside, pressing up against the walls. But it's here. It's right here, inside this castle. Now.'

Colin was staring at Luna as though she'd gone mad. The mood was broken by Madam Pomfrey. 'She's all right now, if you want to go and see her. We'll keep her in overnight but she should be all right for morning lessons tomorrow. Teachers attacking pupils! I swear I've never seen the like of it in my life.' She cast a nervous look around after the last remark and disappeared into her office.

The two sixth years hurried towards the bed where Ginny was propped up, her flame red hair spread across the pillow. 'Hi,' she said in a hoarse voice. Carrow's hands had left livid finger-shaped bruises around her neck. 'Thanks for getting me here.'

'You really frightened me!' said Luna, before throwing her arms around her friend.

'Sorry. I'm OK now, I promise. Hey Colin, thanks for hexing Carrow off me.'

'Any time,' replied Colin, hovering awkwardly. He didn't seem to know where to look.

'Why don't you go and find Neville, Colin, let him know what's happened and that I'm all right?' Ginny suggested.

'Yeah, OK, hope you feel better soon.' Colin sped away looking relieved.

Ginny sat up a bit, wincing, and wriggled over to make room for Luna next to her. 'What happened after I passed out?'

Luna described the events whilst Ginny was unconscious, and they moved on to a more general discussion about Alecto Carrow's many bad qualities as it got dark outside. 'It's nearly dinner time, you should go,' Ginny said regretfully.

'I'd rather stay, I don't want to leave you.' Luna cast a glance at the doors to the hospital wing. 'I don't want to go back out there, Gin. It's nice here, it feels safe.'

'Stay then. I bet Madam Pomfrey would let you. Tell her you're traumatised or something. Go on, it'll be fun.'

Luna jumped down from the bed and trotted off to Madam Pomfrey's office. Ginny allowed herself a wince and rub of her aching temples out of sight of her anxious friend. She sensed movement at the entrance and straightened up again. 'What did Pomfrey sa-' she broke off with a gasp.

Severus Snape was standing at the entrance to the hospital wing, glowering at Ginny. 'Weasley,' he said, his voice barely rising above a whisper. 'You foolish girl.' He paced slowly down the ward, never taking his eyes from the girl in the bed. 'Professor Carrow has informed me about your transgression. I would have hoped that after your failed attempt at theft, you might have seen sense and behaved more appropriately. But then I was of course forgetting that you are a Weasley.'

He finished his speech standing opposite her bed, some distance away, an expression of contempt on his face. Ginny took a deep breath. 'Aren't you going to do anything about the fact that Professor Carrow attacked me?'

Snape laughed, a slow, almost musical sound. 'Weasley, if Professor Carrow - in response to severe provocation - decided to mete out a punishment, then I fully support her. You have grown up in a lax, foolish establishment. Hogwarts had lost its way. I saw it every day for seventeen miserable years. Insolence. Disobedience. You and your ilk believe you can behave in whatever way you wish and get away with it. I pity you. The job of a school is to teach people how to behave. Because if you don't learn it here, believe me, you will learn it in the real world, and it will not be pleasant.'

'Less pleasant than being strangled?' Ginny managed to retort, suppressing a cough at the memory of those fingers crushing her windpipe.

In response Snape laughed again, his eyes remaining empty. 'Much less pleasant, Miss Weasley.' He stared at her. 'You never had a chance, growing up in that family. Cheek and excuses are all you know. A shame. You could have had potential.' He looked at her so intently that a shiver ran along her spine and she felt herself shrink back into her pillows. 'And where are your brothers now? Howling at the moon? Trying to sell jokes to people in a war zone? Sitting alone having disowned the rest of you? Or in bed with spattergroit? Very conveniently timed spattergroit.' His eyes were boring into her. 'Perhaps the spattergroit was brought on by the trauma of Mr Potter's departure, so closely did the two coincide.'

She felt his mind there, in hers, that horrible sensation of being x-rayed. She wanted to lower her eyes, but if she did it was good as an admission. Anger surged through her, and she fought back, she balled up her thoughts and she pushed.

Snape took a step back. 'Trying Occlumency, Weasley? Trying to protect the sanctity of your mind? I think it's rather too late for that, don't you? I can read you... like a book.' He gave a particularly nasty smile and a knot formed in Ginny's stomach as the meaning of his words hit home. 'In punishment for your intractably disobedient attitude, I am banning you from Hogsmeade visits. Permanently. Mr Filch has already removed your name from the list and taken great pleasure in burning your permission slip. Good evening.'

As Snape strode out of the room, Luna and Madam Pomfrey emerged hesitantly from the office. Pomfrey gave a nervous half curtsey as Snape swept past and received a haughty, 'Good day, Poppy,' for her pains.

'Banned from Hogsmeade,' said Luna, returning to Ginnys's bedside. 'That's because they've guessed where Fred and George are getting their Hogwarts material for Potterwatch from, I suppose. Are you all right?'

Ginny nodded, then wished she hadn't. Moving her head made the room spin. 'Something Snape said,' she muttered, wishing Luna was gone.

'About your family?' asked her friend, brows knotted.

'No.'

'About Harry then?' tried Luna.

'No. About... something that happened a long time ago. Luna, why don't you go and get your overnight things, if you're staying?'

*****

The hospital wing at dark was hushed and echoey, unlike the dormitories they were used to. They pushed two beds close together and lay back on their pillows, talking into the night. 'I hate my dorm,' Luna said conversationally at one point. 'I wish we could be like this every night. Being in houses is rubbish sometimes. Not being able to eat together, to hang out in the evenings. I love Ravenclaw, but a place can never be a true home without the people you love being there.'

'Well, you know what the other Gryff girls are like. They're not nasty to me any more, but we're never going to be friends. Laura and Jenny made my life miserable from day one. Little Ginny Weasley, with her red hair and her hand-me-down robes, textbooks falling to pieces. I'd only ever been around boys, I didn't know how to talk to girls. They all seemed so old, so knowing. I longed to come to Hogwarts, I was desperate to get here. For almost my whole life, I was waiting for that day, watching my brothers go one by one. Sometimes I thought I'd never be old enough.' She glanced sidelong at Luna, who was curled up watching her friend. 'But when I got here, it was awful. I couldn't believe that finally all my wishes had come true, and I was at Hogwarts - and I didn't like it. And then... I made a terrible mistake.'

She went quiet. After a moment, Luna asked, 'What?'

Ginny turned to face Luna. 'I've... I've never told anyone this before, Luna. I've never talked about it at all, even with the people that know. But I know I can trust you. D'you remember the first year - with the Chamber of Secrets?'

Luna nodded. 'Of course. Daddy and I had ever such a lot of interesting theories about what was causing the Chamber to open and what the monster was. We used to owl each other with them. I still think there might have been some truth in a connection to the Solar Bi-Sphere Theor...' She stopped, seeing Ginny's face. 'Sorry, carry on.'

'Well, you'll remember that at the end of the year, I got kidnapped and taken to the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry and Ron rescued me.' She paused and Luna nodded, her big eyes wide and avid. 'Except, that wasn't really what happened. The rescuing bit, that was real. But before that... I wasn't kidnapped.' She took a deep breath. 'It was me that was doing it. Me that was opening the Chamber and setting the monster on people.'

Luna gaped at her, blinking hard as she tried to compute this revelation. 'But... you're the heir of Slytherin? How come... how come none of your older brothers...'

'I was enchanted, possessed. By the real heir of Slytherin - Tom Riddle - I can see you know who that is,' she added, seeing Luna's face change again. 'It was all because of a diary, I found it in amongst my school books. I started writing in it, and it wrote back. I told it everything, and he - Tom - was nice to me, and kind. He listened, he gave me advice. He told me not to feel bad about being poor and having red hair and knowing nothing about hair potions or bras. He said all the right things. I loved it. I felt like I couldn't live without him.

Of course all the time, he got stronger, until he started to take over, make me do terrible things. I wouldn't remember anything, I'd just come to in some random place and not know how I'd got there. I'd be covered in paint or feathers or have bruises and I wouldn't understand why. So because of that I confided in Tom more, and got more reliant on him. I was in a daze most of the time. Everything in Hogwarts seemed less and less real and the people around me seemed more like shadows. Sometimes, on a bad day now, I feel like that. It's like when you're near a Dementor, that sort of feeling.

Eventually Tom decided to use me as bait to get at Harry, so he took me down to the Chamber and left me to die. He came out of the diary, like a ghost. Then I passed out and when I woke up he was gone and there was Harry with a sword, covered in blood and the diary was destroyed.' She spread her hands. 'And that was that except...'

'What?'

'Sometimes I think, what if You-Know-Who is still there, somewhere? Or what if he did something to me, changed me somehow? Would I know? I used to get this feeling sometimes, when I was with Harry last year. I'd start to wonder if You-Know-Who would somehow take over again and get me to kill Harry. Once I'd started to think it, I couldn't get it out of my head. It scared me, and I knew I should break up with him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It made me hate myself.'

Luna was watching her intently. 'But you didn't hurt Harry, not once in all that time. You have a good aura. I could tell, you know, if there was something wrong with you.'

Ginny moved to dismiss Luna, but then caught herself. 'Do you really think that?'

'I know it.' Luna looked at Ginny's pale, doubtful face and smiled. 'I know you think I'm crazy, Gin, but I'm right.' Her calm voice was full of complete certainty. 'Didn't you think Nargles were made-up once?'

'Well - that's diff-' Ginny began, then stopped. 'I really want to believe you, Luna. It was just when Snape said that...'

'Professor Snape is a very clever man. He sees people's weaknesses, their fears, and he uses them. You should never look into the eyes of someone like him. Mind magic. Him and Dumbledore, all the wizards in power, that's how they've got there. My Daddy says that mind magic is the truest evil. Looking into the thoughts of others, manipulating them, preying on them for your own gain. They should make Legilimency illegal - the Quibbler ran a campaign a while back -but they never will of course.'

'Snape was trying to use it on me earlier - I managed to push him out. Occlumency - like poor Harry never got the hang of.' She smiled suddenly. 'Actually, if I managed to push Snape out, that's good, isn't it? It means I'm maybe more in control than I thought.'

'You're in control, Gin. Now Harry... there has always been something strange about his aura. It's sort of... kinked. Like there's something there, beneath the surface, that makes it just slightly out of kilter. Like a splinter just under the skin. And Professor Snape, he has a very small aura, pulled in close to him, and dark. Very hard to read. Professor Dumbledore's aura was best of all, his was swirly, like mist. He was a very complicated man, Professor Dumbledore.'

The two lay back on their beds in silence for a while, contemplating. Eventually Luna wriggled round and hung upside down off the side of her bed, her long hair streaming down to the floor. Seeing the look on Ginny's face she explained, 'It's very good for the brain, you know, increases the blood flow. I often try to sleep like this. You should try it.'

'Perhaps not with my bad head,' said Ginny quickly.

The girls were quiet again until Luna said, 'I only really started to enjoy Hogwarts in the fourth year, when we started the DA and I got to know you and Neville and Harry. I loved being in the DA. It was like having friends. And now, you and me really are friends, it feels wonderful. Last summer, it was so exciting to wake up and think I could visit your house. Daddy was thrilled. I used to make up friends so he wouldn't feel worried, but it was much better to have a real one I could actually go and see.'

'Oh, Luna. I should have invited you over before. I never really thought. Home's always so busy, so many people about, what with all the boys, and usually Harry and Hermione too. When I think about how quiet and lonely it felt when it was just me and my parents...'

'It's OK,' said Luna, smiling. 'I don't mind being on my own a lot, I'm used to it. If I feel lonely, I just imagine someone is with me and I talk to them in my head, and then it feels all right. But I do like being with real people better,' she added hurriedly.

Ginny took advantage of the confessionary atmosphere to ask something that she'd wondered about several times but never liked to voice. 'Luna? Do you... like Neville?'

'Oh yes, of course. Neville is a very nice person, and he's my friend, he even said as much.' She frowned. 'I thought you liked him too?'

'I do, of course. I didn't mean do you like him, I meant... do you like him?'

Luna knitted her brows together in confusion, then burst out laughing. 'You're so funny Ginny! Neville's a Leo! Me and him would never be compatible - it would be like me dating Harry!' She laughed so hard she slipped down the bed and almost landed on her head.

'I only wondered,' said Ginny, a bit affronted. 'I think Colin's a bit sweet on you, you know.'

This set Luna off into more paroxysms of laughter, until she fell right out of bed and sat on the floor, tears of mirth streaming down her cheeks. 'Colin's gay!' she announced, before breaking down into giggles again.

Ginny was about to retort that Luna couldn't know that for sure, when suddenly she began to laugh too. Once she started, she couldn't stop. Every time one or the other girl began to compose herself, they would catch each other's eyes and start again. They laughed until they hurt, and finally went off to sleep lying next to each other, with smiles on their faces.

*****

The platform at Hogsmeade station was covered in a thick layer of snow, fast turning to dirty slush as 250 odd Hogwarts students, along with trunks, brooms and familiars, descended. Neville, Luna and Ginny walked close together. The fingerprints on Ginny's neck had finally faded, much to her relief. She hadn't relished explaining their presence to her parents.

There was a chill in the air that went beyond the usual cold of December day in the Scottish Highlands. You could tell by the way the students' smiles died more quickly, the way they kept together, the way they lowered voices as they discussed their plans for Christmas. It meant that Neville was in the unusual position of having a girl on each arm. Ginny in particular struggled when Dementors were in the vicinity, and even Luna's usually sunny disposition was dampened down.

Neville tried to force himself to think cheerful thoughts, but it was like pouring water into a sieve. All the positivity trickled away, and every good thought mutated into a negative. Thinking about his Gran and spending Christmas with his relatives reminded him of how disappointed they all were in his lack of power. Thinking of the progress Dumbledore's Army had made turned into guilt at the danger he could be getting them into.

'Are all the charms ready, Luna?' he asked, referring to the plan the DA had hatched up for the journey home.

'I think so,' she said, not sounding very sure. 'I don't feel like they're going to work though.' She looked back over her shoulder and shivered.

'That's the Dementors,' Neville reminded her, trying to sound hearty and confident. But he now felt like Luna did - that the spells couldn't possibly work, and that there was no point in trying in the first place.

'Let's get on the train,' said Ginny abruptly, locating her trunk amongst the many lined up at the platform edge under a red and gold lion shimmering in the air.

They found an empty compartment and Neville levitated their three trunks into the overhead rack. He fumbled the spell and dropped Ginny's trunk with thud and a yowl from Crookshanks, whose basket was tied to the top.

'Watch it, you clumsy idiot!' snapped Ginny. 'If any of my stuff is broken...'

'If it wasn't for Neville we'd be lifting them ourselves since we're not seventeen yet,' pointed out Luna, more sharply than normal.

'I wish I could do it myself, I'd do it right,' huffed Ginny, throwing herself onto the seat and drawing her knees up to her chest.

'Sorry Ginny,' said Neville, hefting the trunk up manually with an apologetic look at Crookshanks.

Luna stayed standing with Neville. 'It's not you who should apologise,' she said, with a meaningful look at Ginny.

'That's right, gang up on me!' exclaimed Ginny, her eyes welling with tears. 'I wish Harry and Ron and Hermione were here! Hogwarts is rubbish without them.'

Neville felt the words as a dull blow to the stomach, but Luna actually recoiled. She stared at her friend for a moment, and then silently sat down in the opposite corner, withdrew a copy of the Quibbler from her pocket and put it up in front of her face. Neville wasn't sure if the fact it was upside down meant Luna wasn't really reading it or if she was simply trying to solve the runes on the puzzle page.

The train pulled out of the station with all three sitting in silence. Neville was trying to read 'Defeating Darkness' but the atmosphere made it hard to concentrate. Luna hadn't lowered the Quibbler, and Ginny was snuffling quietly over a photograph of Harry, Ron and Hermione in the garden of the Burrow.

As the train sped over the moors the oppressive effect of the Dementors faded away, but the tension in the air between the leaders of the DA hung on, growing more awkward by the minute. Eventually Ginny said in a rather small voice, 'I'm sorry Nev. I shouldn't have said that.'

Relieved at a chance to make peace, Neville immediately replied, 'That's OK, Gin. It was the Dementors.'

Ginny shook her head. 'It's not an excuse, I shouldn't have been a cow. And it's really kind of you to help with the trunks.'

'Don't be daft, it's nothing. Don't think any more about it.' Their eyes strayed towards Luna.

'Lunes?' said Ginny cautiously. 'Um... I'm sorry. Please, don't be angry with me. I didn't mean it.'

The copy of the Quibbler didn't move. Luna's voice came from behind it, so quiet it was hard to hear over the sound of the train. 'You didn't mean to upset me. But you did mean what you said.'

Ginny's face showed Luna had hit on an uncomfortable truth. Neville looked between the two, dismayed. He's seen Luna put up with Ginny's moods all term without even seeming to notice. He wasn't sure if he was up to the role of peacemaker. Girls.

But before Neville could attempt an awkward intervention, Ginny got up and went over to Luna. She sat down beside her friend and put the photo on her lap. Hermione waved from the picture whilst Ron and Harry looked rather less enthusiastic. Ron whispered something to Harry and the two grinned. 'You're right, Luna. I do miss them. I can't deny that. And no, Hogwarts isn't the same without them. There's not a single day that doesn't go past that I don't think about them, that they aren't there in the back of my mind.

I wonder sometimes, have Ron and Hermione finally got their act together? Being out there - wherever 'there' is - together? You know, I really hope they have. And the thing that gets me every time is, I'll probably never know for sure. Because I don't know-' she broke off with a sob and took a deep breath before continuing - 'I really don't know if I'll ever see them again. And I know, I know you and Neville miss them too, but I've spent so much time with them over the last few years, in school and at home... I can't pretend that Hogwarts without them - not even knowing if they're still alive -- can ever be much fun for me.'

The Quibbler was drooping a bit and Luna was looking at the photo. Ginny continued, 'But if anything good has come out of this whole awful mess, it's that I've got to spend time with you. Without you - and Neville - Hogwarts wouldn't just be rubbish, it would be unbearable. And whatever happens in the future, I know the three of us will always be friends.'

There was a tense pause, and then Luna turned to smile at Ginny. 'Friends forever,' she said, rather tearily.

'Forever,' Ginny agreed.

Neville cleared his throat and sat down in the corner by the window, feeling heartily glad all the emotional stuff seemed to be coming to an end. He returned his attention to Defeating Darkness. Ginny borrowed Neville's copy of Creative Counter Hexes and sat beside Luna, who had now turned the Quibbler sideways.

The train was warm and the joggling motion made Neville start to feel sleepy. His eyelids dropped and he fought to keep his attention on the page. After reading the same sentence five times, he finally nodded off. In his dream, he saw the cave that he always imagined Harry, Ron and Hermione hiding out in. He wasn't sure why he had the idea of a cave, but it was where he always thought of them. The three were puzzling over some sort of map, whilst behind them a hooded Death Eater crept towards them. Neville kept trying to warn them, but no words came out and he realised he was invisible. The three friends continued to focus on the map even when Neville waved his arms with increasing anxiety...

He jerked awake and for a moment he wasn't sure where he was and looked around for Harry. Then he realised that the train had stopped. He peered out of the windows - a wet and windswept moor stretched damply out underneath a bleached grey sky. Ginny and Luna were also looking round, baffled. Ginny started to say, 'Do you think...'

Hooded figures appeared at the compartment windows. One pointed directly at Luna, who was still curled up on the seat holding the Quibbler, and said, 'That's the one.' Even as he spoke a second Death Eater was sliding open the door.

Neville reacted a second too late, shouting 'Colloportus!' His spell did nothing more than make the door stick slightly. Ginny meanwhile was on her feet, standing in front of Luna. As the Death Eaters stepped into the compartment, she sent a powerful Stunning spell their way, which the lead Death Eater ducked just in time. 'Luna go! Run!' screamed Ginny, as a third Death Eater loomed behind his colleagues. With a silent flick of his wand, all three students found their own wands jerked from their hands. Neville tried desperately to grip onto his, but there was no way to resist the power of the spell.

Ginny launched herself forwards at the three, hands tensed into claws. She barrelled into the first Death Eater, who was caught off guard by this. Neville jumped forwards as well, but was hit by a horribly familiar curse - Petrificus totalis. His body was stiffened into a rigid prison and he hit the ground like a statue. From his position on the floor, he saw the second Death Eater hit Ginny with a Stunning spell at close quarters. She instantly crumpled to the ground, eyes shut, and Neville felt a pang of horror. Close range Stunners could be as deadly as the Killing Curse.

Luna, who had run to the window but failed to open it, gave a cry at seeing Ginny fall. She turned back to her friend, falling to her knees beside her. But before she could even check Ginny's pulse, one of the Death Eaters had reached down and lifted her away, gripping her roughly across her neck and under her arms. Luna screamed and kicked, but his hand clamped across her mouth.

'Let's go,' said the third Death Eater, already backing out into the corridor.

It seemed to have happened in slow motion. The Death Eaters pulled back, hauling Luna with them. Neville lay on the floor, unable to move. His heart was racing inside the cage of his chest. He couldn't even speak. All he could do was stare hopelessly into Luna's wide grey eyes as she was carried out. He felt she was trying to communicate something to him, but he had no idea what. Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks, wetting the dirty hand of the Death Eater.

Every muscle strained against the invisible constraints of the body bind, but it was too strong for him. His vision blurred and he felt a sensation of heat in his nose as he cried without moving. In his head, he pleaded for the Death Eaters to take him instead, but his treacherous mouth would not move to obey.

So all he could do was lie and watch, holding Luna's eyes until she was pulled out of sight.