BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

63

The next set of interviews isn't supposed to happen until the afternoon. I manage to convince Terry to help me practice duelling in the morning. He is a much better sparring partner than Harry, although I prove less skilled. He doesn't treat me delicately. I am thrown around, head aching and body sore. Every time I feel too weak to continue, he gives me a potion which eases the pain and then I am on my feet again.

"You're doing better than I had expected," Terry points out. He wipes sweat off his forehead.

"I've been told I've improved," I said. "It's some sort of wand magic. Although, I'm not much of a match for you."

"Yes, well, you weren't involved in the war," Terry points out. "I'm lucky that I don't have any scarring. A bunch of people are pretty disfigured to this day. The worst of which is Seamus Finnegan and Neville Longbottom. They're the two that are coming around today."

I nod. Seamus is a close friend of the other witches and wizards I've met. It was his housewarming party which resulted in Luna discovering my whereabouts. I think I've heard someone talk about Neville once before, but the details are fuzzy. His name is inescapable in the newspapers that Terry has collected for research. It seems he was the ringleader of the rebellion of students within Hogwarts.

We continue to spar. I'm hoping I won't need to learn any other magic before my memory is returned. At least, I'd rather focus on things that are essential now than things that might be helpful later.

Soon, it is the afternoon, and I am hiding once again while eavesdropping on the conversations. It is Neville who arrives first. I listen as he talks about reading Terry's book, and how important it is to show the wizarding world the stories of the children at Hogwarts.

"You should work on a book about the muggle-born hiding ring after this upcoming one," Neville says. "Well, not details, but one about their experiences of them during that time. I'm sure there would be a couple wizards or witches who would be willing to talk about it."

"Well, I suppose the people I'd like to hear from most are gone now," Terry says.

Neville is quiet for a moment, "I wish I had tried to help more over Easter. I was more focused on trying to communicate with Luna and Ginny. We still didn't know Luna was taken, and Ginny had just gone into hiding with all of the other Weasleys. If I had realized so many people would slip through the cracks, I don't know if I would have gone back to Hogwarts. I might have just gone on the run to fight Death Eaters."

"You did good work at Hogwarts," Terry says. "The war would not have ended when it did if you had not killed that snake and mobilized so many students."

"Now that I'm a bit older, I think about how awful it is that there were so many students at the battle," Neville says. "I remember carrying bodies back. Colin Creevey's body was so heavy even though he was small. I felt tired, but the adults were easier to carry than him. Every year, I imagine I will resent more and more how children needed to fight. I suppose someone had to do it, but why couldn't more people who weren't members of the Order or the DA have come?"

Terry is quiet for a second too, "I suppose it was all about helping those who were less fortunate. Michael Corner saved that first year at quite a substantial personal cost."

"I was more afraid of torture back then than I am back now," Neville points out. "All I can think, even knowing how awful the Cruciatus Curse is... well I wonder how long they did it to my parents to drive them insane. If I hadn't gotten to the Room of Requirements on time, the Carrows might have done that to me, and that thought scared me more than the torture itself."