Elysia

Chapter Fourteen ~ Shellshock

Suddenly the mirror made me recall something, something good for once. My book, my wand, my ghosts... my ring were with the mirror. Did I ever want that ring again? I couldn't be sure. Slipping on a pair of haggard sneakers I quickly jogged out of the room and to the room of lost things.

Traversing the columns easily I could see the high mirror hanging above the smaller objects in its way; I was close. Breathing a sigh of hesitant relief, I realised that my ghosts would be greater than last time. Turning the corner quickly, I saw him there.

His knees were drawn up to cover his face, his lanky frame opposite the magnificent mirror. Slowly hovering closer to him I saw his fingers turning an object over and over, his mumblings deep and raw. The ring caught the glint of the meek candles surrounding him, and my heart dropped.

"Nevvie?" I whispered, feeling fresh tears gather on my lids.

"No no no no..." he murmured, rubbing his face further into his limbs as he shook it from side to side.

"It's me, look." I continued, crouching down beside him.

His head raised from the crest of his knees, eyes bloodshot and waterlogged. Nev's hair was matted and untamed, his body shaking ever so slightly back and forth. Instantly I realised we shared this pain, this was ours and ours alone. Dropping to my knees I took him into my arms and held him as close as I could.

"I killed them, El, I killed them even though they begged and they..." he wept, digging his face into the crook of my neck.

"Shh, shhh." I whistled, rubbing my hands across his shoulders.

"I'm a murderer, just like Him."

"You aren't like him. It's not your fault." I said firmly, raising his head to look at me.

"It is, how can you of all people lie about this Elysia? How can you? You were screaming from your window as I killed Leon!" he bellowed, attempting to push me away.

Still, my arms held resolute around him, "It isn't your fault."

"Don't act like you can fix this! You can't heal this one, you can't heal it!" he screamed, losing the anger that he held earlier.

"It’s going to be okay, I promise.” I repeated, laying my lips against his between every word.

"Take it away, take it away... Take it all out of my head..." he moaned, beating his fists against his temples.

"What do you-"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" he cried, beating harder and harder.

Hesitantly I grasped my wand and tapped it against his temple, whispering 'Obliviate'. I pictured the events that took place, locating them in his mind and removing them. His face remained screwed up in pain, unable to remove that emotional residue, I left his mind.

His eyes remained dazed for a few minutes as he remained in my grip, over his shoulder I could see the ghosts standing in vigil around us. He would forget, but I would not. With that in mind I slipped the ring on my bony finger as I decided that this would not end anything.

Voldemort made people like this, he made seventeen year olds slaughter people barely older than them. He made ultimatums that would end childhoods that somehow had survived his tedious challenges. He had taken seven years out of Hogwarts life and filled it with fear.

"Will it end, my love?" I whispered into Neville's hair.

"Merlins beard, I hope so." he replied, pulling me in closer.

Closing my eyes I breathed in the smell of him in this musty room, both of us fitting in with the broken, forgotten things. Yet we wouldn't forget each other, so maybe it wasn't so bad after all. Neville began to rub his head, sore from the extraction, quiet and sobbing still.