ALULA (VOL. 3)
Time to put things into perspective- into order.
When a war has begun there's no waiting for children to group up. Alula Nova Black knows this too well. The last thing needed is a government who are corrupt in thinking everything is o...
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rita & the lack of a valentine
{1996}
Gryffindor Common Room
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
What Alula was really looking forward to were the DA meetings. Alula was pleased to see that all of them, even Zacharias Smith, had been spurred on to work harder than ever by the news that ten more Death Eaters were now on the loose, but in nobody was this improvement more pronounced than in Neville. The news of his parents' attackers' escape had wrought a strange and even slightly alarming change in him. He had not once mentioned his meeting with Harry, Ron, Alula and Hermione on the closed ward in St Mungo's and, taking their lead from him, they had kept quiet about it too. Nor had he said anything on the subject of Bellatrix and her fellow torturers' escape. In fact, Neville barely spoke during the DA meetings any more but worked relentlessly on every new jinx and counter-curse Harry taught them, his plump face screwed up in concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents and working harder than anyone else in the room. He was improving so fast it was quite unnerving and when Harry taught them, the Shield Charm - a means of deflecting minor jinxes so that they rebounded upon the attacker - only Hermione and Alula mastered the charm faster than Neville.
It wasn't until late one afternoon when the common room was almost empty that the matter of family came into the conversation.
"Alula."
Alula looked up from her tattered copy of The Taming of the Shrew to see Neville standing in front of her.
"Nev, is everything okay?" Alula asked as the boy sat down.
"Um... yeah... I just wanted to-"
"You can say it."
"I know you're not like her: your aunt, Bellatrix," Neville said, a hint of courage in his tone.
"Nev-"
"You're my friend and you've given me no reason to think otherwise. I don't think I care that you're related to her." Neville explained.
"Thank... you," Alula whispered, surprised. Out of everyone making comments about her aunt, Neville (the only one directly impacted by Bellatrix) didn't care.
"The DA is really helping." Neville smiled.
"I know." Alula laughed. "If you get any better, you'll out do me and Hermione!"
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Harry would have given a great deal to be making as much progress at Occlumency as Neville was making during the DA meetings. Harry's sessions with Snape, which had started badly enough, were not improving. On the contrary, Harry told the trio that he felt he was getting worse with every lesson.
