The Forgotten 7th Year

Jason's First Mission

Ginny's POV

Tonight we were graffitiing. It was Jason's first mission, and some members *cough* Padma *cough* still didn't think he was a good addition. She feared he'd make a mistake, and put us all at risk.

I was split on the issue, but Neville was decisive that he stayed, so he stayed. Perhaps, it was because Neville had been the weakest link in the DA; before he got a wand that had actually chosen him.

Sneaking had become a thing of the past, as I walked though the halls. This was such a simple prank, only Jason looked nervous.

"It'll be fine." Parvati tried to reassure him. Her sister shot her a look of utmost betrayal. "This is your first time doing anything like this. If they come, try to help in any way you can."

"If they come, I'll scream in an embarrassingly high pitch to warn you. And I might just faint to lull them into a false sense of security."

"Great, and leave the real fighting to us." Padma scowled. I felt a flash of annoyance at the unfairness of that comment, and Neville voiced my thoughts.

"Will you just lay off him for a second?" He demanded. "You met the guy yesterday! For all you know, he might be a master dueler."

"Offensive spells make me queasy." Jason added unhelpfully.

"Can we do this?" I asked. With six brothers, I was a very good mediator if I do say so myself. Now was not the time to fight.

Much to my relief, we began decorating. The wall was covered in so much paint, not a spot of gray stone remained. It looked forlorn without Luna's drawings, but the Carrows would get the message.

I think Rolf how desolate it was too, because he tried to draw a unicorn. At least, I think it was meant to be a unicorn... it might have been a sheep that had been speared though the head.

He winced, and quickly covered it up.

Jason had written a rather feeble, carrows are mean and acted like that was actually insulting.

Eventually, Lavender took pity, and helped him write something a little more threatening. HARRY POTTER WILL RETURN!

All in all, I'd say it went well. Jason screeched and jumped a good two feet in the air when he heard an owl outside. But, we finished the hallway without anything bad happening, and that's what counts.

Just as we were getting ready to leave, Jason bumped into a suit of armor. The resulting clatter was could probably have been heard at Durmstrang. There was a stunned moment of silence, then, without needing to be told, we scattered.

I thought I could hear footsteps sprinting to the hallway, but if we were lucky it's just my imagination.

Since when were we lucky?

I made it to the Fat Lady first, and paced anxiously as the Gryffindors arrived. My fingernails had been shredded from incessant gnawing by the time the last person walked though the door.

Many people seemed to have switched over to Padma's way of thinking. Even Neville seemed less sure that Jason should be a part of the team.

Luna's POV

I awoke feeling like my limbs were made of granite. I groaned and rolled over. My eyelids were heavy, but I forced them open.

I was lying on my back, looking up at a familiar stone ceiling. Ollivander was sleeping propped against the wall. It looked like he'd been trying to care for me, but had just been too exhausted.

He'd saved some food, however. The ham sandwiches were cold, but I wolfed down half anyways. I left the other portion, not knowing if he'd eaten yet.

With nothing else to do, my mind wandered.

Is the DA still active? I doubt it would have collapsed, but a tiny part of me hoped I'd done enough that it would at least be a struggle without me.

I wonder what Rolf was doing right now. I hope he's ok. Who knows what happened to him after Scabior took him.

No

I can't think like that. He's ok. He's with the others, he has to be.

Neville's POV

The Gryffindors were all accounted for, but I as I lay in my dorm, I couldn't sleep. In truth, it wasn't a Gryffindor that filled me with panic, it was a Hufflepuff.

Part of me longed for her to be safe, and didn't care who else was sacrificed in the process. But I pushed it down. I had to think about everyone as equally important.

How could I lead the DA objectively if I cared for her safety over others?

Although I had Ginny, and she'd be able to tell me when I was being an idiot. As demonstrated in that catastrophic meeting, it'd be impossible to run the DA without her.

But almost against my will, my mind drifted back to Hannah. Fretting won't fix anything, but my mind leapt though multiple scenarios in the time it took to blink.

I flipped my pillow to the cool side, and resolved myself for a sleepless night.