The Seventh Year

Running Away

Neville stared in disbelief at the fake Galleon: 411 9006. 

"LUNA'S ALRIGHT! LUNA'S ALRIGHT!" he celebrated, rushing out of his dorm to find Ginny. He found her sitting in front of the fire finishing her charms homework. 

She sprang to her feet and demanded, "How do you know?" Neville showed her the coin, but her face contorted with confusion. "What do the numbers mean?"

"They represent letters. The number four, for example, looks like the uppercase letter 'A'" Ginny struggled to decode the message.

"Would it say... all good? If you flip the six, it looks like a 'd'." she asked. Neville nodded, and Ginny hugged him until he thought his lungs would explode. "We have to tell the others!" 

The news spread through the whole house like wildfire. The pair did their best to contain it before Snape or the Carrows heard, but it was a near-impossible task.

"Longbottom! Get over here!" Alecto yelled as Neville passed by his classroom the next morning. 

"Yes, sir?" he asked innocently, knowing exactly what he was about to ask. 

"I heard a rumor that you managed to keep in contact with your friend, Lovegood." Neville slowly nodded. "I'm curious... how did you do it?" He repressed an aggressive tone as he tried to extract the information from Neville.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, sir," Neville firmly replied. "I should be getting to breakfast." He walked out of the room as Alecto bellowed for him to come back. He found Seamus and Ginny sitting in their usual spot at the table. 

"Hey!" he heard Seamus exclaim. "We've got actual food for breakfast! Look, there's Treacle Tart! " He enthusiastically dug into the pastry.

"Slow down!" Ginny laughed. "You'll choke if you don't!" The cheerfulness brought comfort to Neville after his run-in with Alecto Carrow. 

"'Aye, Ne'ille's here!" Seamus said, his mouth stuffed with the tart. 

"So, Alecto is onto us again," Neville told them quietly. "I acted innocent, but he knows something's up."

"Well, let's not worry about that," Ginny said, grabbing a clean plate from beside her. She cut a slice of the Treacle Tart and handed it to Neville. "Let's all be happy for once! We need as much joy as we can get." Neville nodded in agreement and took a small bite from his tart. 

His eyes delightedly rolled into the back of his head. "Holy- this is amazing!"

The whole student body remained in the Great Hall for the entirety of breakfast. When the food disappeared, signaling for students to head to class, groans echoed. 

The day felt like it would never end after the delicious breakfast. The Carrows were grumpier than usual, making their classes especially unpleasant for the first-years. 

Neville helped three times as many younger students stealthily make their way to Madam Pomfrey throughout the lunch period—she had modestly been treating students, asking no questions when Neville first asked for her to aid him.

Avoiding Snape on his way back to the common room, Neville detoured through several less-traveled corridors. He briefly stopped to talk with several paintings to chat about how miserable the school year had been. 

Eventually, he made it back to Gryffindor Tower and recited the new password, "Beatus Pascha." 

"Come in, darling," the Fat Lady cooed, revealing the common room behind her. "Hurry along, now!"

Neville found Ginny on the stairs, staring at a letter. Her face was a mixture of disappointment and excitement.

"Hey, Gin, who's that from?" Neville asked.