The Light in the Dark | Neville Longbottom

Chapter 30: Sirius Black

April 14th, 1996

"Well, at least we have matching scars now..." Neville chuckled softly through his cries.

Because of the fight, Neville and I had to serve a week of detention with Umbridge. Like I expected, she made us write lines with the enchanted quills. We had to write "I will keep my hands to myself" over... and over... and over again until the message sank in. My scar had just started to fade, but it appeared after this. Except this time the messages overlapped one another, producing a very ugly scar on the back of my right hand.

And not only did Neville and I have this detention, but every D.A. member had to stay over the Easter holiday to do community service and write letters to the Minister. Our community service involved cleaning the school... and the most gruesome parts of it too. We had to clean the kitchens, the restricted corridors, and tending to the odd plants growing near the Forbidden Forest. Thankfully, my friends and I got stuck with the kitchens.

We were also required to install any of Umbridge's new additions to the school; this included hanging up every single decree again since the twin's fireworks had destroyed them. And to make it even worse... several more decrees were implemented just this past week.

Educational Decree Number One-Hundred and Nineteen instated Dolores Umbridge as the new Hogwarts Headmistress.

Educational Decree Number One-Hundred and Twenty gave the Headmistress authority over all student punishments. (This was probably because of me and my detention with Snape)

Educational Decree Number One-Hundred and Twenty-One imposed stricter restrictions on libraries and common rooms; all students were to be in their dorms from three o'clock to six, and then report back there immediately after dinner.

It was... hell.

"Do you still have the Dittany I gave you?" Neville asked, rubbing his scarred-hand.

I shrugged, sighing deeply, "I don't know... maybe..."

"I just feel so defeated..." Neville stammered, "I didn't think that it was going to hurt this bad."

"At least you knew that it was going to happen," I hesitated, "It was a lot worse the first time because I wasn't expecting it."

Neville stopped in the middle of the hallway, grabbing my hand. He wiped his pained tears, staring at my scar. I kept my head down the entire time, refusing to look up. I was in a lot of pain, but if I reacted to it, it wasn't going to go away.

"I'm sorry...." Neville stammered, rubbing the back of my hand.

"It's whatever." I sighed, still not looking up at him.

Neville grabbed onto the bottom of my chin, lifting my head up. He stared unsurely into my eyes, and I found myself getting lost in them. For some odd reason, this past week Neville has looked... different... or maybe it was just me.

"Scars or not..." Neville grinned, "You're still beautiful to me."

Neville quickly kissed my lips, and then grabbed my hand. I winced when he grabbed it, immediately snatching it away, since my hand was still in a lot of pain. Neville was confused when it happened, but when he saw me clutching my hand again, he understood.

"Sorry..." Neville hesitated, lowering his head.

In complete silence, the two of us returned to Gryffindor Tower. I knew that I had an attitude and probably seemed angry... but I wasn't upset with Neville, or really anyone in particular. Well... I was upset with Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad, but I had every reason to be.