Disclaimer: Yes I own the Harry Potter series because J. K. Rowling has been killing us with the delay over book 5. I will return the series to her when the book comes out.

Bad Author Notes: If Neville seems out of character…. :P Personally I think Neville has a lot of backbone. Hell I would be scared of Snape too if he glared at me. Well maybe not ;)

Neville's Conspiracy Theory

By Lady FoxFire

Nov 9, 2002

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Seamus as he dropped his books and scrolls on the table next to Neville.

"It's almost time." Neville replied cryptically as he glanced to the door.

"Time for what?" Seamus asked as opened up his tomes.

"It's time for Neville's conspiracy theory." Dean replied in a spooky tone.

"Conspiracy theory?" Seamus asked as he looked back and forth between Neville and Dean in confusion.

Neville looked back and forth between Seamus and Dean then around the room, looking for someone listening in. "Can I trust you?" he asked, his voice so quiet that only the other two boys could hear him.

Both boys nodded their heads as they edged closer to Neville. "You know it, Neville." Seamus replied.

"Ok, I'm trusting you with this." Neville looked around once again. "Tell me, how many points have you lost from Gryffindor, Seamus?" he asked.

Seamus stared at Neville in confusion before answering with a shrug. "Ten. I sneezed in a potion. Twice."

"And you, Dean?" Neville asked as he turned his attention to the other boy

Dean started to turn red. "Twenty. Snape..." He mumbled.

Neville leaned back slightly and crossed his arms. "And how many detentions have you both received?"

"One." Dean replied. "Snape caught me pulling a prank on Malfoy. That’s how I lost the points."

"None." Seamus said as shrugged in confusion. "What's your point Neville? That Snape is an ass? We all know that."

"How many detentions have Ron and Hermione had?"

Dean and Seamus shrugged. "I don't know, maybe half a dozen or so," Seamus said.

"It seems like they're having detention almost every other day," Dean chimed in.

"And how many points have they lost."

"Well they…" Seamus's voice trailed off as his brows furrowed in thought.

Dean and Seamus remained in silence as they thought while Neville looked on with a smug expression. "Not one point." Neville finally answered his question confidently.

"That can't be right!" Seamus exclaimed. "I mean they… all the detentions…"

"I've checked with same of Ginny's classmates and the same thing is going on with her. They seem to cycle through detentions. Tonight it's Ron; tomorrow will be Ginny and then Hermione. And then it will start over again. The teachers are assigning them detentions for almost anything but they're not losing points.'

"So they're getting a lot of detentions, without losing points. What's your point? The professors may be taking it easy on them due to Harry being missing."

"Ok then. Tell me, where are they serving their detentions?" Neville asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Cleaning something awful for Snape in the dungeons, scrubbing all the awards for Filch in the trophy room, or heading into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid," Dean stated. "How should I know?"

"They're not. I've checked with the other people who've been serving detention at the same time and they told me that none of them have show up for their detentions even once!"

"Ok, so where are they? What are they doing?"

"That's the question." Neville stated. "I've tried to follow them but the professors are running interference for them."

The boys sat in silence as Seamus and Dean digested what Neville had just explained to them. "Have you asked them what was going on? What they were doing?" Seamus finally asked.

"Yep. Detention."

"Damn. What is going on?"

Neville shook his head. "All I know is that in about five minutes Ron will walk in through the portrait and then sit down over there." Neville stated as he pointed over to the fireplace where Ginny and Hermione sat in together.

"Does anyone else know about your theory? Does anyone else suspect?" Seamus whispered as if some how what they were talking about could endanger their friends.

"No." Neville said looking down at table before looking once again at his friends. "Just the three of us. Swear to me that you won't tell anyone what I just told to you. Swear on your wands."

At that moment, the Fat Lady swung open and in shuffled a wearily looking Ron. The three boys watched as Ron walked over to were Hermione and his sister sat. With a shake of his head, he collapsed onto the couch next to Hermione.

"So what do we do know?" Dean asked.

~*~

"Anything?" Hermione asked anxiously as she rested her head on Ron's shoulder.

Ron shook his head ‘no’ as he stared into the fire. "I finished the Origin of Quidditch today. I don't know what to read to him next." He replied in a dead, hopeless voice. "I don't know if he'll ever wake up."

"He will, Ron." Ginny stated confidently as she reached out and squeezed his hand. "We can't ever give up hope on him. He'll come out of it. I know he will." Tears ran down Ginny's face as she tried to make Ron believe.

"She's right Ron. We just have to have faith in Harry." Hermione agreed as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "He just has to realize that no one out here will hurt him. That he's safe."

"But how long will it take?" Ron whispered. "How long?"

"As long as it takes." Ginny answered as she left he seat and sat down next to Ron and leaned into him. "I'll wait for him… We'll wait for him as long as it takes."

Ron wrapped his arms around the women of his life and pulled them closer. "You right, Ginny. As long as it takes." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head before resting his head against Hermione. "And we’ll be there when he wakes up."

They sat together, drawing strength and support from each other as everyone else in the room went on with their business.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione squealed when the cat jumped on her lap. "Are you trying to cheer me up." Hermione cooed as she hugged the cat towards her.

"Shoo, SHOO!!" Ron cried angrily as he swatted the ginger feline away, causing it to hiss at him madly.

Hermione glared at the red head with distain before her expression softened to one of deep thought.

"By Merlin's beard!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed snapping her fingers. "That's it! That's it!" she exclaimed as she ran out the door, Crookshanks in hand.

~*~

"Come on." Dean whispered as he threw his books into his bag. "Let's follow them."

Following Dean's lead, the other boys gathered their homework. "We'll have to watch out for the professors. They'll watch for people following them." Neville explained as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

"Right." Dean said with a nod of his head. "I'm glad you found that book on Hobart the Invincible in library. I was going crazy trying to find it for class." He said loud enough so his fellow Gryffindor assumed the trio was going to the library.

"It was in between Himalayan Creatures and Invisibility Beasts. I have no clue why a book on Goblin Wars was in the section on magical creatures." Neville explained as he caught onto Dean's cover story.

Seamus snorted. "Have you seen a picture of Hobart the Invincible?" He asked as the three boys slipped out through portrait.

The boys quickly shoved their book bags behind a suit of armor. "Ok, which way?"

"This way." Neville said as he headed towards tower in which the Arithmancy classes were held. "I've been able to track them this far, before I run into a teacher."

"So we'll have to be careful." Dean replied. "Let’s stick to the shadows."

The boys ran down the halls, listening the whole time for Ron, Hermione and Ginny or a teacher.

"Hermione, tell us!" Ron's peeved voice echoed down the halls.

"Be patient, Ron. We're almost there." Hermione's calm voice replied.

Neville motioned Dean and Seamus for silence. "Around here, I normally run into someone; most of the time it’s Snape."

A dark, bat-like shadow appeared behind the boys suddenly, "I assume you have a good reason of being in this area after hours?"

The boys turned to face the Potion Master with dread. Severus Snape sneered menacingly at the boys. "Well? I'm waiting."

"I want to know what you and the other professors are covering up." Longbottom suddenly said, finding the strength to face his teacher.

"And what am I covering up, Mr. Longbottom?" Snape asked sardonically, never missing a beat.

"Ron, Ginny, and Hermione always receive tons of detentions while never losing points. They're claiming to go to detentions, yet they have never been seen there." Neville stated, as like a shark he smelled the blood in the water. "Tell me, Professor Snape, where did Ron serve his detention tonight?"

"I told you someone would become suspicious." Snape said as he glanced up and looked past the young boys.

"Yes, yes. You were quite right, Severus." Albus Dumbledore suddenly appeared behind the boys. "I'm curious, which one of you figured it out?"

"I did, sir." Neville replied as he turned to face the headmaster. "Am I correct in assuming that this has to do with Harry?"

"Who else knows?" Snape snapped suddenly, a dangerous glint his sinister eyes.

"Severus, calm yourself. We all knew that it was a only a matter of time before someone would find out." Dumbledore said with a trace of pride for his young students. "Now, why don't we find out what has Miss Granger so excited?" With that, the headmaster turned and walked down the hall.

~*~

"She was nothing but rubbish, just like her sister and that brat child of hers!" Marge snarled like one of her bulldogs. "And cleaning out your bank accounts! She's a harlot! I can't see what you ever saw in such a… woman!"

Sitting down at the dinner table, Marge began to load her plate full of mounds of fried chicken, ham, steamed potatoes, and baked beans, all dripping with grease. "Luckily OUR family's genes are stronger than anything that woman passed along to my Dudders." She boomed as she glanced over where Dudley sat shoveling forkfuls of oily food down his throat.

"Marge…" Vernon tried to get a word in as his sister continues to talk non-stop.

"Just you watch, when she runs out of money she'll run back on her hands and knees to you, begging you to take her back!" Marge announced with pride.

"Marge—"

"And of course, you won't take her back." She went on, never hearing her brother as she puffed her chest out. "No self-respecting Dursley would ever take such horrible a woman back! She would be a bad influence on our poor Dudley."

"MARGE!" Vernon practically had to shout at this his sister to get through to her.

"Yes, Vernon? You wanted to say something?" Marge asked bemusedly as she poured the steaming black coffee. "You know you really don't have to shout, I can hear you quite well."

"Marge…" Vernon said pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Marge, something has come up at work and I'm going to have to go for a while."

"Oh!" She replied in surprise. "I'm sure my Dudders won't mind staying with me, won’t you, my dear?" Marge said turning to Dudley as the filled his plate once again.

"Of course not, Aunt Marge. It would be a pleasure to stay with you." Dudley replied innocently as he tried to charm his enormous aunt. "I'll be able to spend some quality time with Ripper. He's such a wonderful bulldog. I would love to learn how you trained him. Do you think you can teach me?"

Marge swelled with pride. "Oh course I can! Before you know it, the name of Dudley Dursley will be on everyone's lips as the best trainer of pure breeds in Great Britain. Someday you could be the winner of Best of Show at the Winchester Dog Show."

"Thank you Marge. I don't know what I would have done without you." Vernon said with barely restrained irritation as he pushed his chair away from the table. "I'm sorry to have to eat and run, but you know the saying, ‘time is money.’"

In no time, Vernon was pulling the front door shut leaving his sister and son behind. "That’s strange." Dudley said with a confused look on his face.

"What is, Dudley?" Marge replied as she fed her ferocious bulldog some ham from the table.

"When did dad get a job?" he mused to himself. "Grunnings went out of business in the beginning of August."

~*~

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!!" Petunia screamed as she was pushed into a stately den. "MY HUSBAND IS A VERY IMPORTANT MAN!!! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!!"

A masked man stepped up to her and backhanded her across the face, knocking her off her feet. "Shut up, wench." The man snarled icily at her.

"Lucius, that is hardly necessary." A deep voice said from a figure wrapped in shadow that was sitting in a high back chair.

"I'm sorry, Master." Lucius replied as he bowed to the figure in the chair.

"And who is this… creature?" the figure asked as Petunia wiped the blood from her mouth.

"I am Petunia Evans," Petunia stated vehemently with as she angrily flung her hair over her shoulder, "and I demand to be released."

"She's Potter's aunt, my Lord." Lucius explained. "I found her in Paris, hiding."

The room was completely silent as those inside waited for their Master to speak. "Mrs. Dursley, did you really get sexual excited when you beat and tortured your own flesh and blood?"

"No, NO! That's a lie!" Petunia said in a panic as she struggled to her feet. "Did Harry tell you that?!? That boy hates us. He faked it all and ran away!"

"July 23rd. Ok, Aunt Petunia is scarier and meaner than Vernon is. I’ll skip the details, too tired to care. Today it was Aunt Petunia’s turn to beat me and she enjoyed it. After she was finished she dragged Vernon off to bed." The figure read aloud. "Did you know your nephew was keeping a journal? It's all in here—All the abuse, the torture, the hatred." He explained as he waved papers around.

"My husband! My husband made me do it." She pleaded as she backed away from them until her back was pressed against the wall.

"Did you know that when a witch or wizard writes in blood they can not lie?" The man leaned forward; he leaned into the light.

Petunia gasped at the sight. Her eyes widened with horror as she stared at the serpentine man with cruel crimson eyes shining with hatred and evil. "Who…WHAT are you!?!"

"I? I am Lord Voldemort." He said with a thin-lipped smile as he rose out of the chair and stalked around Petunia. "I am the one who killed your sister and her husband. I am the one that caused your nephew to scream out at night from his nightmares. I am the one who holds your puny life in my hands."

Voldemort from her and walked back to the fireplace. "Tell me, Mrs. Dursley, where is your nephew now?" He asked as he stared into the crackling fire.

"I-I don't know. He was gone when we woke." Petunia managed to stutter out with tangible fear in her eyes "Maybe his teachers know were he is… the two teachers that came to the house, yes, maybe they know."

"His teachers came to your home?"

Petunia nodded her head nervously. "They destroyed the front door and turned us into animals. It was a-a woman and a man. I don't remember their names."

"What did they look like?" Lucius suddenly asked.

"Umm…. Th-the woman…she had long, salt-and-pepper hair. Her name was… umm…. Mina… Merna…" She stuttered as she tried to remember. "His Godfather!!! The man said he had seen the boy. That his godfather had him."

"Black, Sirius Black. So that means Potter is in Dumbledore's hands." Voldemort snarled in frustration. "The man, what did the man look like?"

"He... he was…" Petunia closed her eyes as she tried to remember. "Tall, dark hair, Very pale"

"Severus." Lucius said. "I told you he couldn't be trusted."

The Dark Lord turned towards Malfoy. "Crucio." Voldemort said in a calm deadly voice. Lucius collapsed to the floor screaming, clawing at his flesh.

Petunia let out a small squeaked as she saw what this monster was capable of doing. Suddenly, she ran for the door, trying to escape these fiends.

"Where do you think you're going?" Voldemort asked as turned from Lucius as he thrashed on the floor. "I didn't give you permission to leave."

Petunia suddenly flew into the air. "Please, please let me go!" She begged as she floated in the air.

"Wormtail."

"Yes Master." Short balding man said as he steps out from the shadows.

"Take this… woman down to a cell. I'll decide her fate later." Voldemort then turned his attention once more to Malfoy. With a wave of his hand, his punishment of Lucius ended. "Remember next time, Malfoy, not to question my decisions."

Malfoy shakily raised to his hands and feet. "Y-yes M-master."

"Oh, and Malfoy. I still want Potter found."