Ohh, wicked cliffie to end on and 'twill be quite an interesting start for the next chapter. I do love how Neville is helping his friends and it should be interesting to see where/when they return the favor. Meanwhile, I wonder what the Old Bat will think when he realizes that Harry is going to be studying occlumency? That's not going to set well with either him or Dumbles but I can't see how they can legally prevent it, though I suspect that won't stop them from trying. Too, I wonder if Dumbles is going to try and push Harry and Ron together as he did in canon and what the reaction will be if Harry digs in his heals and resists.
Author's response
Thanks; and Harry and Hermione will be picking up more of the weight as time goes on.
I'm only going to address one thing about Dumbledore here; he's not going to try and push Harry and Ron together, because he sees that Harry and Neville are very close friends, and the Longbottoms are just as firmly on the Light Side; as well as being more respected than the Weasleys (because of their relative poverty).
red