Dawn Rivera

The Lost Diadem

"Neville - what the - how - ?" Danny says.

But Neville has spotted Ron, Hermione and I, and with yells of delight he is hugging us too. The longer I look at Neville, the worse he appears: one of his eyes is swollen, yellow and purple, there are gouge marks on his face and his general air on unkemptness suggests that he has been living rough. Nevertheless, his battered visage shines with happiness as he lets go of me and says again, "I knew you'd come! Kept telling Seamus it was a matter of time!"

"Neville, what's happened to you?" Harry says.

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

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

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

Neville holds out a hand and helps me to climb up on to the mantelpiece and into the tunnel; Hermione then Ron follow, then Neville. Danny addresses Aberforth.

"I don't know how to thank you. You've saved our lives, twice."

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

Harry and Danny clamber on to the mantelpiece and through the hole behind Ariana's portrait. There are smooth stone steps on the other side: it looks as though the passageway has been here for years. Brass lamps hang from the walls and the earthy floor is worn and smooth; as we walk, our shadows ripple, fan-like, across the wall.

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

"The sealed off all of those before the start of the year," says Neville. "There's no chance of getting through any of them now, not with curses over the entrances and Death Eaters and Dementors waiting at the exists." He starts walking backwards, beaming, drinking us 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!"

"Yeah, it's true," says Harry.

Neville laughs gleefully.

"What did you do with the dragon?"

"We released it into the wild," says Ron. "Hermione and Dawn were all for keeping it as a pet - "

"Don't exaggerate, Ron - " I say.

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

"You're right," says Danny, "but tell us about Hogwarts, Neville, we haven't heard anything."

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

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

"They do more than teach," says Neville. "They're in charge of all discipline. They like punishment, the Carrows."

"Like Umbridge?" Danny says.

"Nah, they make her look tame. 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 his it's just the Dark Arts. We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions - "