Light in the Darkness

Chapter 18: A Present From Sirius

Neville found Luna Lovegood in the library three days after the D.A. was discovered. She was staring out the window, dreamily looking at the sky. The last three days had been the worst Neville ever had in Hogwarts. He didn't believe Dumbledore would be gone for long. He'd be back and Umbridge would be gone. It had to be. Hogwarts couldn't stay this dark place.

Neville glanced down at Luna's hand. With the D.A. being found out, Umbridge had placed anyone associated with the D.A. in detention. Neville was nervous about it. He had heard a rumor of what detention with her entailed. She forced them all to sit in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room and write 'I must not break rules' until it sunk in.

The first night had been horrific. Neville was the first one to start bleeding, the scar looking grossly red. The second night, Fred and George had made a game out of it. The first one to have the scar sink in would win. They judged it based on the amount of blood oozing from the wound. It was a pitiful attempt to raise everyone's spirits, but it did work. And detention did go faster.

"I think I'm going to miss the D.A.," Luna said, not looking away from the window. She didn't sound sad or mad, instead, she spoke with her usual thoughtful voice. "It was almost like having real friends."

"You do have real friends, Luna," he told her. "I'm your friend."

"That's lovely, Neville," she replied. She took a deep breath and sat down at a table. She pulled out her Transfiguration homework. He sat down beside her. "Have you noticed Professor McGonagall has been assigning less homework since we've all received detention?"

"No," Neville answered honestly. "She keeps giving us work to prepare us for the O.W.L.s."

"Are you nervous about them, Neville?" Luna wanted to know.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I don't think I'm going to get many."

"Well, you'll definitely get Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology. Harry did a good job preparing us." Neville could only nod. He was going to miss the D.A. meetings.

-----

Fred and Hermione were sitting closely together in the Common Room after dinner. Harry was away at his lessons with Snape, Ron and Ginny were at Quidditch practice. George had gone with them, mostly to watch and flirt with Angelina.

Hermione was staring at her textbook, working as hard as she could. She was nervous about the O.W.L.s, Fred knew. He didn't understand her worry, she was the brightest witch he knew. She could pass the exams blindfolded. He twirled strands of her hair around his fingers affectionately. He loved her mane of hair. "You're distracting me," she informed him.

"Good," he told her, smirking. He had been avoiding telling Hermione that he and George would be leaving soon. That he was going to break as many school rules as possible before disappearing with his brother. He knew exactly how she'd react, too. She would tell him that he needed to stay for his N.E.W.T.s. But he couldn't. He wasn't like her. He didn't care for school the way she did.

She glanced over at him. "Fred, stop distracting me."

"Never," he promised. He took a deep breath. "I need to talk to you about something." Noticing his sudden seriousness, she put down her quill.

"What is it?"

"George and me are leaving," he stated.

"What are you talking about?" he looked away from her for a moment.

"We always said that we'd go out with a bang. Something loud and destructive. We'll be leaving soon."

"But-but your N.E.W.T.s-"