𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | l. lovegood

xvii

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 was the mass breakout from Azkaban.

Dorothea put down that morning's Daily Prophet, her eyes meeting Draco's at the Slytherin table. Instead of looking away like he normally did, the blonde boy held up the paper and pointed to the picture of their aunt, slight worry on his face. They both knew what Bellatrix Lestrange was capable of.

Dorothea saw Neville leave the Great Hall. She drank the rest of her pumpkin juice and followed him. She had a feeling she knew what he was upset about.

She opened the door to the Room of Requirement. Neville was standing in front of a mirror, looking up at the photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix, which his parents had been a part of.

Dorothea cleared her throat softly to announce her presence as she walked up to him. "H-Hey, Neville...Are...Are you okay?"

That's a stupid question. Look at his face. Of course he's not okay.

"Fourteen years ago...a Death Eater named Bellatrix Lestrange used the Cruciatus Curse on my parents," Neville said, his eyes not once leaving his parents' smiling faces. "She tortured them for information, but...they never gave in."

Dorothea bit her tongue as tears threatened to pour out of her eyes. "Neville, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"I'm quite proud to be their son, but I'm not sure I'm ready for everyone to know just yet," he said as he turned to face her. He frowned when he saw a tear fall down her cheek. "Hey, are you okay? I know it's sad, but they're alive. They're in St. Mungo's, but they're okay...ish."

Dorothea used the sleeve of her robe to wipe her face. "Neville, I-I need to tell you something," she said quietly. She couldn't bear to look him in the eyes. "You know the Black family?"

Neville's brows furrowed a little, but he nodded slowly. "Yeah. They're one of the most ancient pureblood families."

"So, um...I-I don't know if you already know, but I want you to hear it from me before you hear it from someone else." Dorothea took a shaky breath. "Um, so, m-my mum...she's a Black. She's Sirius's cousin. Y-You know, Sirius Black? A-Anyway, um...she has two sisters...One of them is Draco's mum...a-and the other is Bellatrix."

She closed her eyes, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth as she waited for Neville to start shouting at her. He'd never be able to look at her the same knowing that she was related to a psychotic murderer that was responsible for his parents torture.

But instead, Neville hugged her.

"I know you, Thea," he said gently as she pressed her face into his shoulder. "You're not her. You're kind and a much better person than she is."

"It's not right." Dorothea shook her head. "It...It's not fair...None of it is fair. Sh-She ripped your family apart. That's all the Death Eaters do, a-and now the really dangerous ones have escaped, and—"

"And we'll be ready." Neville placed his hands gently on Dorothea's shoulders. "That's what Dumbledore's Army is all about: getting prepared to face what's out there. We can do this."

He held his fist up. Dorothea stared at it blankly for a moment before she realized that he was waiting for her to bump it with her own fist, which she did as the bell rang for their first class.

»--✩--«

They were learning how to cast patronuses during that afternoon's D.A. meeting. Harry said that the key to successfully casting a patronus was to concentrate, which Dorothea was having trouble doing due to how loud the Room of Requirement was as everyone shouted "Expecto Patronum!"

She clasped her hands tightly over her ears to muffle the noise and stuck close to Luna and Neville as they attempted to cast theirs. When the meeting was over, the three of them stayed back with Harry, Ron, and Hermione so that she could practice without any noises to distract her.

Dorothea thought of the happiest memory she could remember. She thought of how safe and accepted she felt when she became friends with Luna. She was the only person besides her sister who she felt she could be herself with. Luna didn't judge her for being different from their peers, and she understood Dorothea's sensory needs better than anyone else at Hogwarts.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Expecto Patronum!" she shouted.

A bright light erupted from the tip of her wand, and her patronus took the form of a hare, just like Luna's.

The door to the Room of Requirement opened, and Dobby came running in. He warned them that Professor Umbridge was coming.

"Run!" Harry told them. "Don't stick together!"

Dorothea rushed out of the room with Luna and Neville, the three of them parting their separate ways. She hurried through the corridor, down the stairs, and into the Hufflepuff common room. She arrived out of breath, her heart racing.

She reached into her robe pocket for the enchanted piece of parchment she used to communicate with her friends. There was already a message there from Luna: I guess this is the end of Dumbledore's Army.