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Neville's seventh year at Hogwarts was always going to be different, always going to be difficult.
The death of the Headmaster, a man who was such a fundamental part of the school itself was a huge wound in Hogwart's heart. The shadow of his murder laid over them all but it was a trauma that none of them were going to have the time to process.
The war has progressed to the point where Hogwarts is being run by the enemy and there are hundreds of children who have no option but to attend or risk their family's safety... their very lives.
Neville could have ran.
So many of the upper year students with family abroad had. There was more than one House missing entire years worth of muggleborn students.
Dean Thomas' bed was conspicuously empty in the seventh year boy's dormitory alongside Ron and Harry's. It had only been Seamus and Neville in there this year. At least that had been the case until the cruelty of the Death Eater staff had truly begun in earnest, the the whole house had camped in the common room for safety ever since. They'd been afraid of someone being taken in the middle of the night. Afraid the younger ones didn't fully comprehend just how dangerous things truly were and would try to sneak out and go on adventures like they had when they were first and second years.
It was too dangerous for that now. Entirely too dangerous.
Despite everything Amicus Carrow was still a teacher and had the same permissions every other teacher in the school had. Which meant he knew the passwords for all of the common rooms...
The first raid on the Gryffindor dormitory had been terrifying.
Everyone had, had their trunks confiscated and upturned as Carrow personally searched for any offending material contained within. Any chance that they were plotting against him or evidence that they were in contact with Harry, Ron and Hermione was heavily scrutinised.
When he left, the whole common room and all the dorm rooms were a mess of thrown around belongings, spilled ink and torn books. Neville and Ginny did their best to comfort the kids that were scared and get everything back into some semblance of order but it was obvious that even the common rooms were no longer safe.
The problem was finding somewhere to hide that wouldn't immediately be found. This time if the Carrows found them, the violence and cruelty would be even worse than before. Neville wouldn't be able to protect them all if that happened.
It was late at night the next day when he made the decision. They were going to have to get to the Room of Requirement somehow.
If they are going to hide, it's going to have to be slowly and they can't go alone. It's not as if they can walk the entirety of Gryffindor House down to the fifth floor unnoticed. The other houses can't be left behind either.
Ginny agrees. Luna is in Ravenclaw tower trapped just as much as they are.
The only solace is the coins that had once been part of being in the DA. Ginny and Luna had managed to amend their coins to be able to pass larger amounts of text between them. Hermione's original spell work had allowed them to transmit dates and times for meetings but the girls had managed to code longer messages.
With this, they knew that Ravenclaw House's dorm was currrently safe. The Carrow's were too stupid to answer the riddles that protected it.
Luna was offering them shelter.
Neville sent back his idea. A quick answer returned. A date and time. The three of them were going to try and figure out the best thing to ask the castle for.
The fifth floor corridor was comforting in it's familiarity. It's one of the lowest traffic areas of the school along with the dungeons and the astronomy tower. Something that will give them the precious few minutes the trio need to make it to the right point in the wall ask their question/make their demand and enter without being seen.
Ginny is the one that asks. Neville is too on edge to think properly as he looks up and down the corridor to ensure that no-one is following them human, ghost or painting. Luna... Luna's carrying items they need to get rid of and they're all worried that she might accidentally open the room Draco had last year.
That room was definitely unsafe. Going there would get them killed.
The thing they asked the castle for had to be appropriate for the purpose they needed but also specific enough that what they were asking for couldn't be guessed by someone that was on the wrong side. Once they found it, the three of them would be the only ones to know.
That way they'd be safer.
Ginny's request left them opening a door into a vast room filled with bunkbeds, house elves, a library, and various other things that would be helpful. Like a full potions lab and a very large public bathroom.
Luna's bag sat prominently on a low table as they assessed the room. It was good. Luna began to pull out the items and placing them away in drawers. This was it then.
THE ROOM.
All they needed to do now was get everyone here without anyone noticing and without the secret being disclosed to anyone that would endanger them. The number one priority was the first years and anyone on the Death Eaters shit list.
All of those who were in danger. All of those students scared and least able to fight back.
Once that was done, they'd have to get word to the Hufflepuffs. Something Ginny took upon herself to do. She'd dated a guy in Hufflepuff before, they were still on good terms. Ginny would do her best to get their message of escape out to them because she knew where the Hufflepuff dormitory entrance was and how to get in.
The problem was Slytherin.
Despite the reputation of Slytherin House and the preferential treatment of those who had family members in the Death Eater ranks, there were still plenty of students that were suffering under the new regime. Not everyone was following the party line. They needed to be evacuated too but it would have to be on a person by person basis.
"We are going to have to bring them in ones and twos." Ginny said. "Maximum threes, or we'll be noticed."
"Large groups will definitely draw too much attention to us." Neville agreed. "I don't want us to move in large groups unless there is literally no other option."
"They are going to notice at some point. They are going to notice and want answers. We need to prepare for everything they are going to use against the remaining." Luna said, head and shoulders into a wardrobe. The sound of her voice echoed off of the wooden sides.
Both Neville and Ginny agreed. The staff had threatened torture for anyone withholding information on those who made escape attempts. The students were scared. That fear had prevented much fighting back so far but being pushed much further would likely crack that.
Fear can only control the oppressed for so long.
Luna eventually emerged from the wardrobe with armfuls of small bags. She dumped them out onto the floor infront of the other two. "How good are you at undetectable extension charms?" She asked untangling three bags from the pile and throwing one to each of them.
Neville looked at her in confusion.
"The kids aren't going to want to leave their stuff behind and we can't afford to let them go back for stuff they've forgotten either. If everyone has a bag with an extension charm. We won't have to lug trunks with us."
Ginny clapped happily. "I had been worried about that too. We should put a featherweight charm on them as well." She'd seen Hermione do all that to her bag, the one she'd taken with her to save the world. If Hermione could do that, Ginny could help the eleven year olds keep hold of what was left of their lives.
The revolution would start with no teddy bear left behind.
All three of them stood at the door's threshold one step away from enacting the plan.
Neville is the first to take it. He held out his hands for the girls. "Are you with me?" He asked.
Both girls confidently stepped forward. Ginny took his left hand Luna the right.
Together they are going to get as many of the students out of this alive as they can.