Neville released his aching fingers from their grip on Luna's dress and shook the tension from his limbs. Luna, Ron, and Hermione looked profoundly relieved rather than surprised at Professor Adams' actions, as though this was a normal occurrence. A normal weekend it must be like for them, to witness their professor beat the crap out of a terrorist. Minion-ing was turning out to be bizarre. Terrifying, dangerous.
He supposed the whole Dark Arts bit had not been fully processed until now. Neville had been more thrilled about the making friends part, with a nebulous yearning for revenge. One with no real basis in reality - he had set those thoughts aside to be future, adult Neville's moral quandary. The murder of Death Eaters was great, the circumstances of how they were killed were unimportant. Until now, watching blood drain into thirsty soil. Yet, despite watching all of this, there was no question in Neville's mind. Missus Adams was terrifying and a necromancer and was willing to perform a number of illegal deeds - but, his eyes were focused on Harry.
The Death Eaters orphaned children.
The Death Eaters deserved this.
Hermione bolted from the group and ran over to Harry's side. Neville felt rooted to the ground, entirely overwhelmed and unable to move his legs.
Professor Adams shook the man, spitting with rage. "What is his plan!?"
The Death Eater gave a wide, manic grin - his teeth stained through with blood.
Professor Moody's traumatizing lecture sprung to Neville's mind once more. He had mentioned how certain people could thwart the Imperius with practice. The Death Eaters would have trained for that possibility. Despite her rage powering the spell, it was slipping.
"He will return!" The Death Eater's voice was low and hoarse. "He will return to full-flesh fueled by the corpse of your precious Harry Potter." Blood dribbled out his mouth and he spit it onto her face.
"Oh you think you're clever, don't you?" She did not flinch at his actions. A flash of green light erupted from her wand. The man fell dead to the ground in a heap of blood and limbs.
Neville couldn't help the started gasp that fled from his mouth. Dead! He'd just witnessed a murder! The professor turned towards him. She looked confused at their presence, focused solely on the Death Eater such that everything else had fallen away. With a steadying breath, she wiped the blood from her face as she moved over to Harry.
"Didn't notice you lot. All good, children? No injuries?" She said mildly to them, as though none of that had just happened, and in a complete one-eighty from how she'd been yelling at the Death Eater. Tremors bounced up and down her arms, and there was a deep frown etched into her face.
Neville let out some sort of squeaking noise. Professor Adams gently pushed Hermione to the side and pressed her hand against Harry's forehead. She turned to look them over, sparing them all a normal, less murderous smile, although it was forced and settled quickly back into a frown. "Don't you all look dapper in your fancy outfits. How cute."
Her deadpan voice cracked. Neville figured the Death Eater was very lucky to be dead.
Her wand waved over Harry. Kneeling beside him, she waved her wand in a complex pattern. Another shadow burst from the dark and tossed a potion bottle into the air. She forced it down Harry's throat. "He'll be sore for ages, but he'll be fine." She assured. A gentle brush of her knuckles over Harry's sweaty forehead betrayed her calm persona. Bloodshot green eyes blinked open, and Harry gasped, clutching at the hem of her robe.
Neville released a breath and they swarmed Harry. Neville grasped a wrist and felt his friend's steady pulse beating underneath. Hermione sniffled.
"Sirius was right behind me, we'll get you back up to the castle and tucked into bed, love." Professor Adams said. "Let me take manage this corpse before the professors show up." Harry nodded and urged them to help him up. His knees wobbled, but he stood on his own, coughing up a mess of mucus.
While Harry gathered his wits, Missus Adams returned to the corpse. Slashing into it with a knife reminiscent of how they dissected frogs in her class, she pulled out his heart and said a long incantation. Neville squeaked again as the heart began to beat. She shoved it back inside the body and the Death Eater's eyes popped open, now colored the same toxic green as the necromancer's.
The children watched this unfold with curiosity from the others and horror from Neville. Harry picked the leaves from his robes without concern.
"Get up, Rookwood." She ordered.
If not for the grey tinge to his flesh he was identical to any living person. Neville knew very little about inferi, but there had been some illustrations in their third-year DADA textbooks that had given him nightmares. They were skeletal, inhuman. This looked like a living person, but uncanny in a way that tugged at Neville's fear response.
"Harry!" There was shouting in the distance. Faintly illuminated by their wandlight, a few Professors - Neville was fairly certain the one in dark green robes was Professor McGonagall - were rushing toward their direction. Rookwood started to walk into the forest just like Harry had, mindless and steady-paced. Neville watched him go with wide eyes.
He jolted out of his skin when Professor Adams laid her hand on his shoulder. Her grip was firm but not crushing.
"Be good and keep all this between us, got it? We will not tell anyone about the Death Eater. I need to question him."
"Y-yes, Professor," Neville said.