Kassandra Bauer and the Deathly Hallows. (Book 7)

Chapter 37: The Ravenclaw Diadem.

The more I kissed Neville, the more I realized how much he had been through. One of his eyes looked swollen, yellow and purple, there was a gouge marked on his face, and his general air of unkemptness suggested that he had been through so much. But nevertheless, his battered visage shined with happiness, as he also hugged Ron, Hermione, and Harry. "I knew you'd come! Kept telling everyone it was a matter of time! Especially you, Kassie." He turned to me. 

But I looked in horror at his face. "Oh, Nev. What did they- what did they do to you?" I asked horrified. 

"What? This?" Neville dismissed his injuries with shake of his head. "It's nothing."

"He got... hit a little harder than most." Ryan answered. "The fight took a toll on a lot of us." 

"Not as much as Seamus though, right, Pharoah?" Neville asked. "He's worse. Well, shall we get going? Oh." He turned to Aberforth. "Ab, there might be a couple more people on the way." 

"Couple more?" Aberforth repeated ominously. "What d'you mean, a couple more, Longbottom? There's curfew and Caterwauling Charm on the whole village!" 

"Oh, they'll be Apparating directly into the bar." Neville informed. "Just send them down the passage when they get here, will you? Thanks a lot." 

Neville held out his hand to me and helped me climb up onto the mantlepiece and into the tunnel; Ron, Ryan, and Hermione followed us. While Harry addressed Aberforth.

As we clambered up on the mantlepiece and through the hole behind Ariana's portrait. There were smooth stone steps on the other side: It looked as though the passageway had been here for years. Brass lamps hung from the walls, and the earthly floor was worn and smooth; as we walked, our shadows rippled, fan like across the wall. 

"Surprised you didn't come down and take them yourself, Ryan." Neville commented.

"I kept forgetting where it was." Ryan explained. 

"How long's this been here?" Ron asked as we set off. "It isn't on the Marauder's Map, is it? I thought there only seven passages in and out of the school." 

"They sealed them off." Ryan informed. "Right before the start of the year." 

"And there's no chance of getting through any of them now, not with curses over the entrances and Death Eaters waiting at the exits." He started walking backward, beaming, and leading us in. But mostly at me. "You still look as beautiful as ever, Kassie." He told me. "Maybe even more so."

"Thanks." I thanked. "And your battle scars make you look tough." 

"We've heard a lot of things. Did you break into Gringotts? Did you escape on a Dragon? Did you destroy Azkaban?" Neville asked us. 

"To answer your questions in order: Yes, Yes, and that was Ron." I answered. 

"And... I also heard you were thrown in Prison. Is that true?" Neville asked me nervously. 

Oh... I must've made him worry. I hated that. "It's true. And it was pure torture." I answered. "But luckily I managed to help the others escape." 

"I feared the worst." Neville said. "The Carrows bragged how you were in chains and I thought they-" 

"Neville had a rough time with that." Ryan explained. 

"The worst part was being locked up in that cell with Emily Tyler." I admitted. "And away from those I loved. They posted me on Wanted Posters and called Harry, Hermione and I criminals."

"You shared a Cell with Ryan's Older Sister?" Neville asked shocked. 

"Unfortunately." I answered.