Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [7]

⚡️ Chapter 34 ⚡️

A tiny white dot reappeared at the end of the painted tunnel, and now Ariana was walking back toward them, growing bigger and bigger as she came. But there was somebody else with her now, someone taller than she was, who was limping along, looking excited. His hair was longer than Vega had ever seen. He appeared and torn.

Larger and larger the two figures grew, until only their heads and shoulders filled the portrait. Then the whole thing swung forward on the wall like a little door, and the entrance to a real tunnel was revealed. And out of it, his hair overgrown, his face cut, his robes ripped, clambered the real Neville Longbottom, who gave a roar of delight, leapt down from the mantelpiece and yelled,

"I knew you'd come! I knew it, Vega, Harry!"

"Neville – what the – how –?" Vega stammered as she felt him throw his arms around her to give her a hug, and then did the same with Harry behind her.

But Neville had spotted Ron and Hermione, and with yells of delight was hugging them too. The longer Vega looked at Neville, the worse he appeared – one of his eyes was swollen yellow and purple, there were gouge marks on his face, and his general air of unkemptness suggested that he had been living enough. That made Vega feel a bit sick.

Nevertheless, Neville's battered visage shone with happiness as he let go of Hermione and said again, "I knew you'd come! Kept telling Seamus it was a matter of time!"

"Neville, what's happened to you?" Vega asked, concerned.

"What? This?" Neville said as he dismissed his injuries with a shake of the head. "This is nothing, Vega, Seamus is worse. You'll see. Shall we get going then? Oh," he turned to Aberforth. "Ab, there might be a couple more people on the way,"

"Couple more?" Aberforth repeated ominously. "What do you mean, a couple more, Longbottom? There's a curfew and a Camwaulding Charm on the whole village!"

"I know, that's why they'll be Apparating directly into the bar," Neville said. "Just send them down the passage when they get here, will you? Thanks a lot,"

Neville held out his hand to Hermione and helped her to climb up onto the mantelpiece and into the tunnel; Ron followed, then Harry. Vega addressed Aberforth, "I don't know how to thank you. You've saved our lives twice,"

"Look after 'em, then," Aberforth responded gruffly. "I might not be able to save 'em a third time,"

"I will," Vega promised.

With that, she turned to follow her friends. Neville helped Vega into mantelpiece and grabbed her hand to let her through the hole behind Ariana's portrait. There were smooth stone steps on the other side: It looked as though the passageway had been there for years.

Brass lamps hung from the walls and the earthy floor was worn and smooth; as they walked, their shadows rippled, fan-like, across the wall. Vega looked around.

"How long's this been here?" Ron asked as they set off. "It isn't on the Marauder's Map, is it Harry? Vega? I thought there were only seven passages in and out of school?"

"They sealed off all of those before the start of the year," Neville answered. "There's no chance of getting through any of them now, not with the curses over the entrances and Death Eaters and dementors waiting at the exits,"

And Neville started walking backward, beaming, drinking them in, "Never mind that stuff ... is it true? Did you break into Gringotts? Did you escape on a dragon? It's everywhere, everyone's talking about it, Terry Boot got beaten up by Carrow for yelling about it in the Great Hall at dinner!"

"Yes, it's true, Neville," Vega confirmed, smiling slightly, and Neville laughed gleefully.

"What did you do with the dragon?" Neville asked.

"Released it into the wild," Ron said. "Vega and Hermione were all for keeping it as a pet,"

"Don't exaggerate, Ron –" Hermione started.

"But what have you been doing?" Neville asked. "People have been saying you've just been on the run, Vega, Harry, but I don't think so. I think you've been up to something,"

"You're right," Harry said. "But tell us about Hogwarts, Neville, we haven't heard anything,"

"It's been ... well, it's not really like Hogwarts anymore," Neville said, the smile fading from his face as he spoke. "Do you know about the Carrows?"

"Those two Death Eaters who teach here?" Harry said.

"They do more than teach," Neville said and Vega looked at him in concern. "They're in charge of all discipline. They like punishment, the Carrows,"

"Like Umbridge?" Vega asked.

"Nah, they make her look tame," Neville answered, looking toward her. "The other teachers are all supposed to refer us to the Carrows if we do anything wrong. They don't, though, if they can avoid it. You can tell they all hate them as much as we do. Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defence Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just the Dark Arts. We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions –"

"What?" echoed Vega, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's united voices up and down the passage.

"Yeah," Neville confirmed. "That's how I got this one," he pointed at a particularly deep gash in his cheek, "I refused to do it. Some people are into it, though; Crabbe and Goyle love it. First time they've ever been top in anything; I expect.

"Alecto, Amycus's sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone. We've all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drive wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being re-established. I got this one," He indicated another slash to his face. "For asking her how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got,"

"Blimey, Neville," Ron said. "There's a time and a place for getting a smart mouth,"

"You didn't see her," Neville said. "You wouldn't have stood it either. The thing is, it helps when people stand up to them, it gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Vega, Harry,"

"But they've used you as a knife sharpener," Ron said, winding slightly as they passed a lamp and Neville's injuries were thrown into even greater relief. Neville shrugged.

"Doesn't matter," Neville said. "They don't want to spill too much pure blood, so they'll torture us a bit if we're mouthy but they won't actually kill us,"

Vega did not know what was worse, the things that Neville was saying or the matter-of-fact tone in which he said them. She could only feel anger towards the Carrows.

"The only people in real danger are the ones whose friends and relatives on the outside are giving trouble," Neviille continued. "They get taken hostage. Old Xeno Lovegood was getting a bit too outspoken in The Quibbler, so they dragged Luna off the train on the way back for Christmas,"

"Neville, she's all right," Hermione said. "We've seen her –"

"Yeah, I know, she managed to get a message to me," Neville said.

From his pocket he pulled a golden coin. Vega recognised it as one of the fake Galleons that Dumbledore's Army had used to send one another messages. After all, she had been the one that made it with Hermione a few years ago.