Chapter 749: Look!!
"Here it comes!"
Hermione suddenly said.
Aberforth glanced at Darren, then pointed toward the passage.
"If you go in from here, you'll reach the school. Every other entrance is sealed. This is the only way left."
He snorted. "What you do after that is your problem. Just don't make me collect your bodies."
Before anyone could reply, footsteps echoed from inside.
A figure appeared—
Neville.
His face was covered in bruises, cuts across his cheek, clothes worn and stained—but he was grinning like nothing mattered.
"You're here!" he said, almost breathless. "Are you here to lead us to victory?"
He rushed forward and hugged Darren first, then Harry, then the others one by one.
"What happened to you?" Harry asked, frowning at the injuries.
Neville shrugged casually.
"It's nothing. Darren's worse than me."
Everyone froze.
"They don't leave marks on his face," Neville added, like it was normal. "They do it under his clothes instead… it's fine, we're used to it."
"What?!" Hermione stepped forward immediately. "Darren, why didn't you tell us?!"
She reached for his collar.
Darren reacted fast, grabbing her wrist.
"It's nothing, Hermione… really. It's been a long time."
He glanced around—too many people watching.
Hermione stopped, but her expression didn't ease at all.
Neville just laughed it off.
"You two really…" He shook his head, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh right! Two more people will come later. Let them in from here."
"What?" Aberforth snapped. "The whole village is under watch!"
"They'll apparate straight into your bar," Neville said, completely ignoring his tone. "You just need to let them through."
Then he turned and started pulling Darren and Harry forward.
"Come on, hurry! Everyone's waiting. They want to see you, hear what you've been doing!"
Harry let out a breath and gave a faint smile.
"You heard that?"
"Of course we did!" Neville said, walking backward now, still facing them.
"They said you broke out of Gringotts on a dragon! What did you even do?"
He looked between Harry and Darren, eyes shining.
"They kept saying you were just running away… but Darren told everyone you had a mission. Said it was something left behind… so how much have you done?"
Harry rubbed the back of his neck, a little awkward.
"Still not done yet…"
"What about you?" he asked. "How's it been at school?"
Neville's smile faded.
"It's not really a school anymore."
He exhaled slowly.
"Do you know the Carrows? Darren probably mentioned them."
Harry and the others shook their heads.
Darren rarely talked about what happened inside Hogwarts.
Neville wasn't surprised.
"They're Death Eaters. They teach… and they 'discipline.' And they enjoy it."
"Like Umbridge?" Harry asked instinctively.
Neville let out a short laugh.
"If it were just Umbridge, people wouldn't hate them this much. Compared to them, she looks kind."
"They punish anyone they want. In class, they force students to use curses on each other. If you refuse…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
"I didn't do it," Neville continued. "Darren didn't either. He couldn't even use the Cruciatus Curse."
"So they turned it on us instead. Especially him."
Everyone's eyes went straight to Darren.
He scratched his head a little, looking embarrassed.
"It's really nothing… I got used to it. It doesn't hurt that much."
[Ding, Father +100]
[Ding, Father +100]
[Ding, Father +100]
No one believed him.
Neville clenched his fists.
"But this time, now that you're back—it's different. We can fight back properly!"
His voice rose again, full of energy.
"Darren never gave up before. Even under pressure, he still found ways to leave messages—graffiti, signals, contact points…"
"Later, we restarted D.A. and gathered people again. Every time they tried to push him too far, he'd push back."
Neville grinned slightly.
"They were furious."
"Then after Easter, when Darren left to find you…" he glanced at Harry, "everything got worse."
"They couldn't control him anymore, so they came after me instead."
"They thought if they caught my gran, I'd give in."
He laughed quietly.
"But Darren already knew. He got her out first. She even left me a note…"
Neville's eyes brightened.
"She said she finally understood—my dad and I, we're the same. We're both fighters."
He took a breath, then continued walking.
"When they realized she was gone, they stopped holding back. They decided to break me completely."
"But Darren warned me. Told me to hide."
"He suggested the Order's headquarters… but I didn't go. I thought if you came back, you wouldn't find anything."
"So I hid in the Room of Requirement."
He chuckled.
"First two days, I thought I'd starve to death. Then this passage appeared… led me to the Hog's Head. Aberforth fed me."
"After that, more and more people got punished. So I told everyone to come here."
He spread his arms slightly.
"The place gives us everything—food, shelter… anything we need."
"We've just been waiting."
He looked at Harry and Darren, eyes shining again.
"Waiting for you."
They crossed one last doorway.
Neville pushed it open—
and shouted loudly,
"Look! I brought them back—Darren and Harry are here!"