Chapter 25 (Ava)
It had been a week since lessons had started up once again, and there had been a few small casualties, but nothing major. Several of the students seemed too afraid to act out against the Carrows for fear of being tortured, although that didn't stop Ginny, Neville, Seamus or Dean. Multiple times they had come into the Room with bruises or small cuts on their faces and arms.
I was sitting on the floor next to Seamus with my wand pressed against his cheek to heal the bloody gash from his cheekbone to his jawline. He didn't appear to be in pain. Instead, he was telling me just how he had got the cut.
"And then Alecto shoved me against the desk and threatened to use the Cruciatus curse on me. I laughed in her face and told her that she could try-"
"Seamus," I groaned as I rubbed a salve for scars onto his cheek, "Why do you provoke her?"
"This past week they've been relatively 'kind' to us- hardly been torturing anyone. It's putting me on edge- it seems like they've been told not to, but I can't imagine who from."
I shook my head with a laugh, "You do worry me, Seamus."
The doors to the Room opened and we both turned around as a second year girl came staggering through before promptly vomiting on the floor. She fell to the floor with a groan, and both Seamus and I were on our feet in a second.
"What happened?" I asked as I reached her, my hands wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her up into a sitting position.
"The- the Carrows made-" She winced and shook her head frantically.
A moment later, another second year came in with a grey face and shining eyes. Just behind him, his friend was clutching his ribs and clearly trying very hard not to cry.
My eyes met Seamus', and he rushed forwards to help them. He was trying to talk to them, but it was clearly too painful for them to respond.
"I am going to kill Pansy Parkinson!" A voice shouted from the doors, and a moment later Ginny stormed in with tear-filled eyes and clenched fists. Behind her, Neville was helping a student through the door quickly. I observed that Neville was wincing slightly, but he was trying not to show it.
"What happened?" I asked Ginny, as she led a few more students towards me.
She shook her head angrily, "The Carrows decided it would be fun to mix up the year groups and asked the older years to practise the Cruciatus curse on second years! And Pansy Parkinson just stepped forwards and did it like it wasn't an immoral thing to do! I'm going to ram my wand down her throat if I see her again-"
"You're lucky you missed it, Seamus," Neville murmured, "It was terrible."
"Neville, go and sit down," Ginny told him quietly, but he shook his head.
"Not now, Ginny. I need to help Ava." He replied quickly. I looked at him as he crouched down beside me to go into the potions cabinet.
"Neville-" I started to say, but he cut me off sharply.
"Seriously, I'm fine. We need to help the others."
He winced slightly as he stood up, and I immediately realised what had happened to him. The curse had clearly been used on him as well. But as he walked away with a clenched jaw, I knew that there would be no way to check if he was okay until the second years were alright.
Dean was the last in, closing the door behind him and leading another group of limping second years towards Seamus and I.
"How much potion for pain do we have?" I asked Seamus, and he counted through the bottles quickly.
"Enough for now. Ginny just told me that the curse was used for maximum ten minutes, nothing more. But either way, they're only young and it's their first experience with the curse. It's going to hurt like hell."
"It sure is," I muttered bitterly as I turned to the first girl that had appeared in the Room and gave her a small dose of potion. The moment she swallowed the potion, her body began to relax slightly. She nodded after a moment- without wincing- and murmured, "Thank you, Ava. That feels better already."
I told her to stay still and moved onto the next student. As I went through the line of groaning students, I observed that they were all dealing with it differently. Some of them simply had their eyes squeezed shut, while others were trying to talk to their friends to ignore the pain. Several of them were twitching slightly, causing their eyes to flash with pain.
It was so terrible that students this young had experienced such a painful curse, even if it had only been for ten minutes. There had been no reason for the spell to be cast upon them, apart from the pleasure of the Carrows.
"This is what the Carrows have been waiting for," Seamus muttered bitterly to me as we tended to a small group of boys, "I told you they were being relatively kind. They were waiting for this- I bet they've had it planned all week. They wanted us to let our guards down."
My gaze met Ginny's across the room, and I sighed, "I have a feeling this won't be the last time, either. The Carrows are ruthless- they don't care who they injure."
"You've met them before?" Seamus murmured under his breath, and I nodded.
"The night that Dumbledore died. They were..."
"There's no words to describe them," He finished for me, and I couldn't help but agree.
Soon all of the second year students had been tended to. Many of them had settled in the corner of the room and were drinking hot chocolate which Colin had gone to retrieve. Although they were smiling as they chatted to each other, there was something in their eyes that hadn't been there before.
As I placed the empty phials in the cabinet, my gaze fell on Neville, who was sitting on his own and staring into space. I approached him and sat down next to him silently. For a while I didn't say anything, and then I glanced at him.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," He muttered, not glancing up to look at me.
"Do you want some potion for the pain?" I asked, and his head snapped up sharply.
"No. Not at all. Why would you even ask that?"
My mouth slammed shut, and I was unsure of what to say. His voice had been more raised than he'd intended, and a few people had turned to look at us. Ginny stood up.
"We should all probably start making our way to our common rooms! We don't want to be caught in the corridors after hours!"
Ginny, Seamus, Colin and Dean each took a group of second years out into the corridor, a few minutes apart. Ginny was the last to leave, and she looked at me pointedly before she stepped through the door. The room was silent apart from the crackling of the fireplace. I looked back at Neville, whose shoulders were hunched slightly.
"There's no shame in taking a potion for the pain," I told him, "I did, when Bellatrix and the others used the spell on me. It's what helped me to get through."
"How could I just take it?" Neville shouted suddenly, "How could I take a potion for ten minutes worth of pain? When my parents didn't take a single drop? That would be an insult to them! An insult to what they did!"
I flinched and dropped my gaze, "That's not true."
"How can you say that?" he hissed, his tone scathing.
"I can say that because your parents wouldn't want you to be in pain. They did that they did because of their love for you, and they wouldn't want you to be in pain now. They'd want you to be safe and happy, don't you see?"
He didn't say anything, so I carried on.
"Your parents would be so proud of everything that you've achieved. You know..." I paused, "Sirius used to tell me about his days at school and when he was in the Order...and he often mentioned your parents. He told me how much they cared for you and he told me about the sacrifice that they made for you and for the War. And now, you're one of the leaders of Dumbledore's Army and you're fighting for the same cause that your parents fought for. They would be so proud of you because of what you're doing and what you've done. You refused to use the Cruciatus curse on a second year- just as your parents would have done. You are just like them, Neville. You're so brave and I don't think they would be disappointed in you in the slightest."
Neville reached out and took hold of my hand. When he raised his head, I saw that his eyes were shining with tears.
"Do you really think that?" He murmured, and I nodded.
"Of course I do! Neville, you're one of my best friends!"
He shook his head hesitantly, and then asked, "How bad did it get when you were at Malfoy Manor?"
I gulped as memories flashed across my vision, "It truly was terrible. They told me that I was a guest, but I was nowhere near that. They would torture me for hours at a time. One time... they brought Fred in and tortured me in front of him in order to get information from him. He didn't budge, because I begged him not to. By that point, I'd started to become numb to the pain. I didn't... feel anything. I didn't think I would feel anything ever again. But I escaped and I found refuge with those that I loved and the feelings came back."
The room was silent for a moment, and then Neville squeezed my hand.
"You're brave, Ava Potter. I still don't understand how you could possibly be a Slytherin."
My heart twisted as I thought of Draco telling me about the real reason I was in Slytherin. I sighed, "Yeah. It's... the Hat was bewitched. By Draco. That was the beginning of everything, I would say. The Death Eaters had been wanting me for longer than I thought."
"So you might still be in Gryffindor?" Neville's face lit up slightly, and I nodded.
"If this war ever ends and I decide I need a few more years of education, I'll ask to be re-sorted. Might be nice to finally hang out with Gryffindors in the common room."
He laughed lightly, and then paused again.
"Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to sleep alone."
I squeezed his hand, "Of course, Neville."
"Thank you," His voice was a murmur. A moment later he stood up and laid down in the hammock beside the one I usually used. I settled down beside him, our hands still linked between us. I had a feeling that he wouldn't want to let go, and to be honest- after what I had seen that day- I didn't want to either.