The Three Brothers: The Cure

Rumours

12th November 1992

"Excuse me, sorry, excuse me —"

Neville tried to bustle his way through the sea of students in front of him as he made his way towards the entrance hall. Professor Sprout had asked him to assist her with the weekly trimming of the Mandrakes today, and that was where he was headed; greenhouse number two.

As he kept pushing through the crowd, Neville wondered just what these people were doing in the corridor. This wasn't usually a busy passage like the Charms corridor, nor was it particularly popular with loitering kids. So, what exactly were all these students doing here now? Before he could think anymore about the question, a voice broke in from further up the corridor.

"Gather 'round, gather 'round —" Drawn to the attention-grabbing words, Neville pushed through some of the taller kids in front of him.

"What in the —" Neville muttered as he took in the peculiar sight in front of him. An older Ravenclaw student—a sixth year named Trumper, if Neville remembered correctly—was standing on one side of the corridor and inviting everyone around to come near. In front of him was a small table covered with a plain white cloth, and on it was a bizarre collection of items put up on display. As Neville's gaze scanned the table, he noticed a modest selection of talismans, bracelets and different sorts of protective artefacts. On one side were small vials of colourful powders and one the other a small stack of greenish roots. As Neville stared dumbly at the table and its contents, Trumper began to speak to the gathered crowd in front of him

"Come here, folks. These are some of the best defences you can buy to ward off evil. Look at this. Genuine Egyptian ankh. Will protect you from any monsters that are lurking nearby, eh. And this. The bracelet of Cliodne. Keeps away pesky spirits who try and interfere. Here—take a look at this—you'll need this if you're a muggleborn mate. The Heir will be after you. Even you Wiggins. I don't remember old Slytherin being too friendly with the half-bloods either —"

Trumper's words had an immediate effect as whispers broke out in the crowd. The rumours regarding the Chamber had been swirling around amongst the student body ever since that ominous message had appeared on Halloween two weeks ago. As there had been no attack since, a wave of calm had just begun to settle in when someone pointed out the astronomical significance of Halloween; everyone immediately started working out the next significant astronomical event on which the attack might happen.

Having lived in the wizarding world all his life, Neville knew better than to be dismissive towards protective magic and the supposed 'ignorant superstitions.' From the many stories that his Gran and great uncle Algie had told him, Neville knew that magic worked in all sorts of mysterious ways. As the students around him began whispering about the seriousness of the threat looming over them, Neville found himself wondering about the same question as them. Were they really safe?

Even though the other purebloods like him weren't bothered by the message on Halloween, Neville had a niggling doubt in the back of his mind. After all, before coming here to Hogwarts, Neville had been considered a near squib by his family, hadn't he? Would that not be something the Heir would take into account? Squibs were considered the lowliest by the blood supremacists—after all, the first attack had been on Mr Filch's cat. There was a good chance that he might be targeted.

And even if he was safe, what about his friends? The Weasleys were well-known blood traitors, while Mark was a muggleborn. What would happen if the Heir attacked him? After all, Mark hadn't exactly kept his head down over the past year whenever Malfoy had tried instigating any quarrels.

If there was one thing that Neville was sure of, it was that Mark would never buy any of this protective stuff. If he wanted his friend to be safe, Neville would have to buy something himself and then find some way to stick it inside Mark's bag. Finalising on this course of action, Neville stepped forward and began to examine the stuff that Trumper had displayed on the table in front of him.