The Seventh Year

New Members

Neville and the rest of the D.A. continued to paint messages around the school. It drove the Carrows and Snape mad when they were unable to catch them in the act. All three knew they were responsible, but none of them had ever been caught.

The risk of detection made it all the more fun. The rush of adrenaline that flowed through them as they crept around the near-empty corridors and getting caught red-handed was exciting. Taunting Snape and the Carrows had heightened everyone's spirits.

Some nights, when he was in detention, Ginny or Luna took over for him. The Curciatus Curse had never gotten less painful. Still, his fear of the curse was diminishing every time Crabbe, Goyle, or Pansy—she joined them mid-October, delighted to practice on Neville or Ginny—uttered "Crucio" while pointing their wands at him. The boys had improved considerably; their time had jumped from an average of a mere four seconds to ten.

After every detention, Neville either limped to the Gryffindor Tower with his face beaten beyond recognition, or he was too weak to make it past the portrait. Ginny was similar; only she had come back with large hand marks on her neck, shoulders, and wrists. One could only assume Alecto Carrow presumed squeezing her would be torture. Ginny was cunning, though, and acted as it did terrify her, for her punishment would be less severe. Amycus wasn't as "soft" as his sister. Crabbe and Goyle were allowed to punish those in detention however they saw fit. Because they were bullies, they preferred to beat on the younger years. Ginny and Neville soon realized how cowardly they truly. They refused to practice the Cruciatus Curse on the pair unless ordered to do so by Amycus.

Luna was one of the few that hadn't experienced the torment of the curse. She wound up in detention, but Snape was always the one to discipline her. The worst punishment she had was going with Hagrid to the Forbidden Forest. It must have been luck that kept her out of the Carrows' detentions because, by November, half the school had been chastised by the cruel Death Eaters.

Neville's bravery inspired Seamus; he found himself standing up for himself and other housemates, which frequently landed him in detention. One time, Alecto called him dirty for being half-blood. For her remark, he threw a book at her head, breaking her nose and cracking one of her rotting teeth. The class rejoiced, but he was sent to detention for the rest of the month. He was too headstrong to accept an easier punishment. Giving the Carrows the satisfaction of believing they had won wasn't in his nature.

After so many of the older students rebelled, first-years started receiving detentions for so much as looking at a Deputy Head the wrong way. These detentions were served in the dungeons, where they would be chained to the wall; this left them cold and weak by sunrise.

Several of the older-years began to insult the Carrows and cause disturbances because of the cruel new punishment. It amazed Neville that they could cause such a commotion.

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Neville kept his promise to Elias Michaels and a few other first-years about teaching them actual defensive spells. He found how Hermione forged the galleons and made ones for each of them. Explaining how they worked, the group was fascinated.

The next meeting was when Neville showed them the best way to sneak out of the tower undetected. They remained silent the entire journey up to the seventh floor; if Filch, Snape, or the Carrows caught them, they didn't fancy having the Cruciatus Curse performed on them. They relied on the older-years to act out and rebel in lessons.

When the door to the Room of Requirement appeared, they had to hold their breaths, fearing their excitement would burst out and draw unwanted attention. After they made it inside, Neville was bombarded with questions. He patiently answered them all as best he could and started the meeting.