She looked to Blaise as he spoke and her lips curled in disgust, she wanted to hate him so much. But she didn’t, and that frustrated her to know end, infuriated her! He was so up himself, more so than the normal Slytherin’s who walked around like their shit didn’t stink. Connie was sat as far away from him as the desk permitted, but being the other side of the world would have been too close for her liking. “Go screw yourself” She uttered back, not really giving a toss about anything or being caught. But her attention was quickly gained by Carrow as he called Neville up to the front, and she froze, dread filling her. What was he going to do to him? Nothing good or pleasant she knew that! He would humiliate poor Neville, the sick and twisted bastard! 

Indeed, the Cruciatus curse was threatened and Ally was called upon to administer it. Connie was disgusted! They were all children! She turned and looked as one of her best friends walked up to the front and faced Neville. The would-be lovers (if it wasn’t for their own shyness) faced one another, looking frightened yet admirably determined. Like true Gryffindor’s, they faced their quarry with brave heart. And Ally refused to use the curse or Neville, and Connie smiled. But her happiness was short lived. For Carrow turned on Ally himself. Connie reached for her wand and was about to silently cast a shield charm, but Blaise’s hand shot out and he grabbed a hold of her. Did he know her that well? She struggled against his grasp but he was strong, and she looked at him with pure loathing as her friends screams drummed into her ears.

When it stopped, she pulled herself from his grasp and turned to watch her friends return to the back, wanting to run to them and comfort them. She only looked back when Blaise spoke once again, about wanting to perform the curse correctly. Connie looked to him, shocked more than anything. An almost admirable quality about Blaise was that he was above all the other snake like qualities of the Slytherin students. He thought himself above the rest that was for sure. But he was not one to cast sneaky spells and pick on younger students, and she had never heard him act in a Death Eater way. But wanting to know how to correctly perform the torture curse? She shook her head, even more repulsed with the fact that she had this unyielding desire for him.

And then her name was said, and the pair of them was called from the front. Connie got up from her chair and walked to the front, and she kept her head high and despite knowing what was coming, she did not show fear or anxiety. Carrow talked to Blaise alone, instructing him and telling him to mean it. Connie glared, she would not sink so low as to return the curse. However, her shield charms were second to none. So when Blaise turned his wand on her she screamed “Protego Maxima” in her head and the shield was before her. The curse rebounded and shattered Carrow’s desk. She was going to pay dearly for that!

. . .

He watched as she walked to the front of the class and that knot tightening further inside his chest. Neville would rather suffer the curse than put Ally though it, and he did not want to put her through having to conjure it either. He swallowed hard and looked to the face that he had found so much comfort in, the girl he had been harbouring attractions too since day one of his first year. Carrow demanded she perform the curse and he readied himself, giving an Ally a look. He would not hold it against her and he would not think any less of her. It was not the first time he had been cursed or tortured, and not forgetting the small collection of scars he was collecting. But then she refused and Neville closed his eyes, she would now be punished for it. “No Ally, I…” He began but a flick of the wand and Carrow silenced him and he was now frozen still.

Carrow performed the curse on her and her screams filled the classroom. You could not fight the cruciatus curse, no matter how powerful a witch or wizard. It would take over you, the pain unbearable, searing through every nerve and inch of your being. He fought desperately against the invisible binds of his hold, and when Carrow laughed and the Slytherin students chorused too, Neville was released and he rushed to her side as she crumpled on the floor, his hands taking a hold of her. “Anyone else?” Demanded the teacher as Neville looked to Ally’s drained face. He tried to offer her a comforting smile, but rage was settling in. He glared at Carrow, wanting nothing more than to punch the son of a bitch, to smash his face to a bloodied pulp.

They had to act, they could not go on like this! Neville would not last much longer here, he knew that, but he wasn’t worried about himself. He cared so deeply for Ally, and that was what spurred his mind into thinking, about some form of rebellion. He scoped Ally up, and carried her to the back of the room. Seamus and Lavender pulled out the chair and Neville sat her down, as Pavati passed her a cup of water. Neville looked back to Carrow, glaring as Zabini spoke. And then another of his friends was called to the front, and Connie was now to face the horrors of the curse. He shook his head and he whispered low “We have to do something” 
“Like what?” Lavender asked in a terrified whisper as Connie stood opposite Blaise Zabini, scared of watching another of their friends tortured.
“Nothing we can do” Seamus replied, and the Irish lad gripped his wand so tight that red sparks burst from the tip. Seamus had harboured a long standing crush on Connie, so Neville knew how he felt now.
“Yes there is” Neville replied. “It’s time to resurrect the DA” He finished.