The Forgotten 7th Year

Payback

I didn't know what to name this.

Ginny's POV

Neville looked briefly annoyed as I collected my winnings, but it was short lived as Hannah pulled him down into another kiss.

I felt a pant of something I couldn't quite place. Nope, I could definitely place it: loneliness.

We made our way into the Hospital Wing. I was momentarily surprised to see Alecto lying prone on the floor, but made sure to step on her all the same.

I might have jumped on her a little bit too, but who cares?

But my eyes alighted on Sally-Anne's cheek, and I nearly threw up when I saw the deep gash there. Madam Pomfrey was slowly healing it, but she seemed too drained for the sparkly green dust.

Despite all this, the new couple kept smiling. I tried not to hold it against them, but it was hard. A tiny voice in the back of my mind told me this sprung from jealousy.

I told it to shut up and mind it's own business.

When it didn't, I distracted myself by starting up a conversation with Lavender and Parvati that I only half payed attention to. It wasn't an unintelligent conversation per se, I was just uninterested.

Eventually, Sally-Anne was healed, and I was rescued from the conversation. When McGonagall revived her, and her hand instantly shot up to her face.

"What happened?" It took several minutes to calm her down. But once she saw Alecto lying there helpless, all the panic fell away.

"What are we going to do with her?" The question was as soft as breath, yet everyone heard it. Everyone had been silently asking it.

"Well, we've wiped her memory, so she remembers healing you and this won't happen again. Then... we let her go." My head whipped around so fast my neck hurt.

"What?" Dumbledore's Army seemed thunderstruck. They clamored in a desperate attempt to change the Professor's mind.

"We can't just let her go!"

"We finally have something!"

"Can't we like, hold her and demand they free the school?"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wouldn't care enough for it to make any sort of difference. He'd overwhelm the castle."

Sally-Anne nudged Ernie in the arm.

"Could I use your wand for a second?"

"Sure!" He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. I knew where this was going. But before I could stop her, and maybe I didn't want to, she'd pointed it at Alecto.

"Crucio!"

Professor Mcgonagall reacted with lightning speed. Her wand was out, and Ernie's spun across the floor before the spell even landed.

"Ms. Perks!" She sounded shocked. "What, what, made you, what are you doing?"

"I'm doing the thing you can't. Do you deny she deserves it?"

" I understand you feel justified, but she was unconscious on the ground! There is a time and a place for these curses, but this was clearly not it. When you use them willy-nilly like that, you risk becoming as bad as they are."

Sally-Anne nodded, but didn't look entirely repentant.

Neville's POV

After that little incident, we quickly dispersed to our separate Common Rooms. When I kissed Hannah, there was that little buzz of electricity that never seemed to fade. Well, it was hard to tell with just three kisses, but it hadn't faded yet.

Ginny, Seamus and I made our way to the Fat Lady, but before I could say the password, Rolf made Seamus and I jump by walking up behind us. He was smiling slightly, but trying to fight it down.

"Could I talk to Neville alone for a second?"

"Umm, sure." Ginny and Seamus seemed just as confused as I was. They said the password, and walked into the Gryffindor Common Room. The second the portrait swung closed, he asked.

"So what are your intentions with Hannah?"

"I, umm, what?"After a moment of thought, "This is payback, isn't it?"

"No!" Rolf gasped dramatically and put a hand on his chest. "I'm deeply offended. You were totally right questioning my chivalry with Luna, and you did it in a way that wasn't awkward at all! So there's no reason to have been waiting for this moment since she figured out you had feelings for each other."

"Mhm. Sure."

"Hannah's like a little sister to me."

"She's a year older then you!"

"Big sister then." I glared, and he smiled. "You've been dodging the question. Where do you see yourself in 20 years?"

"I don't know!"

"You continue to dodge the questions, now I'm worried."

I sighed, and resigned myself to this incredibly uncomfortable conversation.

Hey guys, I know it's short and late. But last night, I really didn't feel like writing, and so, yeah.