Fic: flamingnargle Other Character Challenge
This is my entry in the flamingnargle Other Character Challenge.
Title: Friend and Foe Alike
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Who: Neville What: Lumos
Summary: Neville Longbottom sits alone in the dark.
Author's Note: I really fell in love with the idea of writing true drabbles during the recent flamingnargle Serendipity Drabble Challenge. As a result I have written this piece as a series of drabbles. There are eleven sections, each exactly 100 words long. I don't know if I ever want to write without a word limit again!
Thanks to antoshevu for the lovely beta.
Friend and Foe Alike
Neville Longbottom sits alone in the dark; his only companion a tankard of mead charmed to refill itself - the house specialty.
He has taken a room at the Hog's Head Inn. It's the last place anyone will look for him. Going back to his own flat is out of the question. They would find him there and want to talk. They'd tell him how sorry they are for not confiding in him... for hurting his feelings.
They would assure him that they love him.
They would try to make it better.
He is not ready to have it made better.
*
He has never been sure if it is his own memory or one he has built from hearing the story told by his elders. They trust their memories completely, something Neville has never been able to do.
Perhaps this is because his earliest memory - horrid, crazy flashes - is so unbelievable. It is the only thought he has never doubted. If that memory is real, the simple, straightforward types seem less reliable.
Still, he remembers the rushing wind and thinking "No, Uncle Algie, no!" He can remember feeling the surge of power.
These are not things anyone has ever told him.
*
They were his friends. But there are levels of friendship. He was not part of their inner circle. Like everyone else, they underestimated him. Like everyone else they sometimes forgot he was there. When he overheard their plan he knew that he had to do something.
He waited in the dark, rehearsing his arguments. Would things have turned out differently if they had chosen to confide in him? Impossible to know. "I'll -- I'll fight you." All for naught. Dumbledore's show of points aside, he knew he had failed.
Not enough friend to be trusted. Not enough foe to matter.
*
Neville knew he was not clever or popular. He felt fortunate to have friends.
So, it had cut him to the quick when Ron suggested that no one would want to go with him to the Yule Ball - that Hermione would have lied about having a date rather than be seen with Neville.
Ginny explained that Ron's comment had nothing to do with Neville, but rather with his own inability to deal with his feelings for Hermione. She had gladly been his date.
Yes, she switched partners before the night was over.
But really, Michael was a much better dancer.
*
Neville will never be able to express the depth of his love for Harry.
Everything that allowed him to leave behind the stuttering, bumbling boy that he had been-he owes it all to Harry and Dumbledore's Army.
The night they mounted the Thestrals, flew to London and battled the Death Eaters - the night they used all their training - that night was a pivot point for Neville's life. So many things had gone wrong that night. Getting kicked in the face, dropping the prophecy.
Still.
He had faced his parents' tormenters and survived. He owed that moment to Harry Potter.
*
He had been better prepared the next time he faced Death Eaters.
He had also matured in other ways.
Watching Harry and Ginny together sixth year had been interesting, confusing. He was so happy for them.
As for his own longings... well, he still knew his place. Some things were beyond his reach. Advanced Transfiguration for one; the level that Harry and Ginny lived on for another. Still, they were his friends, their bond with him was strong, real.
Love.
The fact remained - it was he and Luna and no one else who checked their DA signal coins every day.
*
He saw Harry break-up with Ginny at Professor Dumbledore's funeral.
Harry walked away and left her staring across the lake. Neville thought he should go to her, but he was still moving slowly. Wounded. Instead Luna had moved from his to Ginny's side.
That was better. Better to have a girlfriend to talk with about boy troubles.
However, they were no longer boys and girls.
Days later Ginny asked him to be her escort for Bill and Fleur's wedding. They would be going as friends. She needed him so that people would not push her toward Harry.
His heart soared.
*
They worked together, found the Horcruxes, defeated Voldemort.
Three of them worked from Hogwarts, the other three from a secret location.
Ron and Hermione gazed into each other’s eyes. Harry and Ginny avoided each other’s eyes. Luna's eyes were a glassy mystery.
Ginny's eyes always seemed clear to Neville. He saw connection there, friendship.
They spent much of their free time together. He came to Christmas at the Burrow. At some point he realized that people thought that they were dating.
Maybe they were - he really had no experience to draw on.
Or had it just been easier to believe?
*
So much happened so quickly.
The war was over. Neville was finished with school. He took a flat near Diagon Alley.
He saw Ginny at least twice each week. They had never kissed, much less done anything more sexual. The war had been the priority.
Last week Harry had clasped his hand, thanked him for his work in their cause and told him that he knew how much he meant to Ginny.
Harry's own blessing. There was nothing standing in the way now.
Neville would go to her with flowers and wine.
He would take a risk and kiss her.
*
There must have been a silencing charm.
His first instinct at hearing the moans and whimpers had come from the war - his wand was in the air, "Lumos" roared from his mouth.
On the heels of that instinct, before the room was even touched by the light from his wand, the bright light of epiphany awoke in Neville's mind.
The blood seemed to stop flowing in his veins. "No! Ginny, no," He felt the surge of power, the light of his wand grew brighter - harsher. The tangle of limbs, the mess of hair - red, black, blonde - scrambled to hide itself.
*
Hog's Head Inn. Mead. Darkness.
Alone. In the end always alone.
No rehearsing of arguments. There is no argument to be made.
A knock will come at the door eventually. They will be the ones with the arguments made on their behalf and on his.
"We are so sorry. We thought you knew. It was easier to believe you knew. We love you. You are our friend."
Still not enough friend to be trusted. Still not enough foe to matter.
He will forgive them. They are his friends. They do love him.
Some hidden part of him must have known.
*
Fin
A/N:The title of this story is a snippet taken completely out of context from this John F. Kennedy quote.
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.
--John F. Kennedy
Title: Friend and Foe Alike
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Who: Neville What: Lumos
Summary: Neville Longbottom sits alone in the dark.
Author's Note: I really fell in love with the idea of writing true drabbles during the recent flamingnargle Serendipity Drabble Challenge. As a result I have written this piece as a series of drabbles. There are eleven sections, each exactly 100 words long. I don't know if I ever want to write without a word limit again!
Thanks to antoshevu for the lovely beta.
Friend and Foe Alike
Neville Longbottom sits alone in the dark; his only companion a tankard of mead charmed to refill itself - the house specialty.
He has taken a room at the Hog's Head Inn. It's the last place anyone will look for him. Going back to his own flat is out of the question. They would find him there and want to talk. They'd tell him how sorry they are for not confiding in him... for hurting his feelings.
They would assure him that they love him.
They would try to make it better.
He is not ready to have it made better.
*
He has never been sure if it is his own memory or one he has built from hearing the story told by his elders. They trust their memories completely, something Neville has never been able to do.
Perhaps this is because his earliest memory - horrid, crazy flashes - is so unbelievable. It is the only thought he has never doubted. If that memory is real, the simple, straightforward types seem less reliable.
Still, he remembers the rushing wind and thinking "No, Uncle Algie, no!" He can remember feeling the surge of power.
These are not things anyone has ever told him.
*
They were his friends. But there are levels of friendship. He was not part of their inner circle. Like everyone else, they underestimated him. Like everyone else they sometimes forgot he was there. When he overheard their plan he knew that he had to do something.
He waited in the dark, rehearsing his arguments. Would things have turned out differently if they had chosen to confide in him? Impossible to know. "I'll -- I'll fight you." All for naught. Dumbledore's show of points aside, he knew he had failed.
Not enough friend to be trusted. Not enough foe to matter.
*
Neville knew he was not clever or popular. He felt fortunate to have friends.
So, it had cut him to the quick when Ron suggested that no one would want to go with him to the Yule Ball - that Hermione would have lied about having a date rather than be seen with Neville.
Ginny explained that Ron's comment had nothing to do with Neville, but rather with his own inability to deal with his feelings for Hermione. She had gladly been his date.
Yes, she switched partners before the night was over.
But really, Michael was a much better dancer.
*
Neville will never be able to express the depth of his love for Harry.
Everything that allowed him to leave behind the stuttering, bumbling boy that he had been-he owes it all to Harry and Dumbledore's Army.
The night they mounted the Thestrals, flew to London and battled the Death Eaters - the night they used all their training - that night was a pivot point for Neville's life. So many things had gone wrong that night. Getting kicked in the face, dropping the prophecy.
Still.
He had faced his parents' tormenters and survived. He owed that moment to Harry Potter.
*
He had been better prepared the next time he faced Death Eaters.
He had also matured in other ways.
Watching Harry and Ginny together sixth year had been interesting, confusing. He was so happy for them.
As for his own longings... well, he still knew his place. Some things were beyond his reach. Advanced Transfiguration for one; the level that Harry and Ginny lived on for another. Still, they were his friends, their bond with him was strong, real.
Love.
The fact remained - it was he and Luna and no one else who checked their DA signal coins every day.
*
He saw Harry break-up with Ginny at Professor Dumbledore's funeral.
Harry walked away and left her staring across the lake. Neville thought he should go to her, but he was still moving slowly. Wounded. Instead Luna had moved from his to Ginny's side.
That was better. Better to have a girlfriend to talk with about boy troubles.
However, they were no longer boys and girls.
Days later Ginny asked him to be her escort for Bill and Fleur's wedding. They would be going as friends. She needed him so that people would not push her toward Harry.
His heart soared.
*
They worked together, found the Horcruxes, defeated Voldemort.
Three of them worked from Hogwarts, the other three from a secret location.
Ron and Hermione gazed into each other’s eyes. Harry and Ginny avoided each other’s eyes. Luna's eyes were a glassy mystery.
Ginny's eyes always seemed clear to Neville. He saw connection there, friendship.
They spent much of their free time together. He came to Christmas at the Burrow. At some point he realized that people thought that they were dating.
Maybe they were - he really had no experience to draw on.
Or had it just been easier to believe?
*
So much happened so quickly.
The war was over. Neville was finished with school. He took a flat near Diagon Alley.
He saw Ginny at least twice each week. They had never kissed, much less done anything more sexual. The war had been the priority.
Last week Harry had clasped his hand, thanked him for his work in their cause and told him that he knew how much he meant to Ginny.
Harry's own blessing. There was nothing standing in the way now.
Neville would go to her with flowers and wine.
He would take a risk and kiss her.
*
There must have been a silencing charm.
His first instinct at hearing the moans and whimpers had come from the war - his wand was in the air, "Lumos" roared from his mouth.
On the heels of that instinct, before the room was even touched by the light from his wand, the bright light of epiphany awoke in Neville's mind.
The blood seemed to stop flowing in his veins. "No! Ginny, no," He felt the surge of power, the light of his wand grew brighter - harsher. The tangle of limbs, the mess of hair - red, black, blonde - scrambled to hide itself.
*
Hog's Head Inn. Mead. Darkness.
Alone. In the end always alone.
No rehearsing of arguments. There is no argument to be made.
A knock will come at the door eventually. They will be the ones with the arguments made on their behalf and on his.
"We are so sorry. We thought you knew. It was easier to believe you knew. We love you. You are our friend."
Still not enough friend to be trusted. Still not enough foe to matter.
He will forgive them. They are his friends. They do love him.
Some hidden part of him must have known.
*
Fin
A/N:The title of this story is a snippet taken completely out of context from this John F. Kennedy quote.
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.
--John F. Kennedy