It Wasn't The Nargles

It Wasn't The Nargles- Chapter 2

Sorry it took so long to get this one up! Like i mentioned in one of my comments, I experienced a lot of computer problems recently! Luckily everything is in order now and I've got some more of the story ready for you! I hope you enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The train ride was like it had been any other year, aside from three major points. One being that Harry, Ron and Hermione, amongst many other students were missing, and another being a generally less rowdy demeanor. The final and possibly most abnormal experience of the students on the train, were the Potter checks.

The trio had decided on sitting in an open compartment, with many of the other members of the DA. The conversations were all rather hushed and everyone seemed very apprehensive, and longing for the companionship of their missing friends.

Luna sat with Ginny across from her, Neville beside her and Lavender Brown on the diagonal. They were perhaps the most normally behaved group on the train, Luna telling the group all about her expedition with her father to find the crumple horned snorkack over the summer between Lavender's enquiries to Ginny about the state and whereabouts of Ron. All the while Neville remained quiet and seemed rather unnerved.

Although she could see where he was coming from with this behavior, Ginny found Neville's extremeness odd, and decided to ask him why he seemed so uptight. As she opened her mouth to speak, her question was very abruptly answered by the suddent halt of the trains momentum and the always too loud voice of Seamus Finnigan. "They're checking the train! They think Potter's decided to come back and they think he's here!"

The compartment immediately erupted with chatter.

"Harry's come back?"

"Is he blooming mad?"

"He's going to get himself killed!"

Slightly overwhelmed with this sudden burst of energy from all those around her, Luna sank back into her seat and tried to block them out. She knew that if Harry was back, he'd have a reason, even he didn't have enough wrackspurts in his brain to be that daft. Perhaps, she thought, he'd figured out how to stop them. Or maybe, the tiny voice inside her head said, he'd just given up.

The movement of his companion shying away from the excitement of the others caught Neville's attention quite fully, he closed his eyes for a brief moment trying to think of something he could say to make her feel better, when he opened them again, his plan to turn his head to face her was quite suddenly halted by the appearance of a sinister looking man dressed entirely in black, apperating into the compartment. Recognizing his face instantly from a wanted poster he had seen not a few months ago, Neville knew exactly who this man was and what he was doing here.

In the very same moment he watched as his classmates all hushed and tried to push themselves as far away from the man as possible. He noticed even the brave and incorrigible Ginny press herself firmly into the wall of the train. He knew now that this was exactly how it was supposed to be, they were meant to fear this man, and that they'd all have plenty of others to fear during their year at Hogwarts.

Neville found himself shrinking in his seat, he posture worsening, and he thought of how his Gran always told him off for the way he stood with his back arched so in a way that as she would say was "just as unnecessary as when his father did the same." He always felt proud at even this slight comparison to his father. At that moment he realized that there were other ways for him to be like his father, to do his parents proud, and in the brief instant that this all took, Neville Longbottom found himself, much to the surprise of the others and even to himself, on his feet and facing this terrible man.

"Hey losers!"

Both of the men turned to face him, and with a slight pause for realizing just how bold he was being, he continued.

"He isn't here."

A slight giggle escaped the lips of Luna as the men's faced contorted slightly in shock of the boldness of this awkward boy. More giggles could soon be heard throughout the compartment, adding to the anger of these already short tempered invaders.

"Think you're pretty funny, do you boy?" the taller man spoke as he quickly brought his wand up quickly so that it was pointing directly at Neville's head.

Neville's boldness and adrenaline had, by this point, completely drained from his body, having been replaced with logic and fear, and so, he began to stutter. "N..N..No S..sir... I...I.."

"CRUCIO!" And with that the both of the Death Eaters made their exit from the compartment, confident that Harry was not there.

For many of the students in the compartment this was the first time that they had ever heard the utterance of such an unforgivable curse and in the time it took them to realize what was happening their thoughts on what was supposed to be the result were interrupted by the screams and heavy breathing of Neville, who at this point had fallen to the ground.