Lionhearts | hp. ✓

Year 5| Dream A Better Dream

          "What's wrong, Neville?"

          He snapped out of his trance and looked at her, "Oh, I'm fine."

          "When I feel lost or alone, I find myself looking into flames and getting lost in them. It's odd, I know, but it grounds me." She confided, "I know that look in your eyes, Neville. I've felt it before. So I will ask again...it's alright if you don't wish to talk about it, but know that I'm here."

          He frowned, "You're a good friend to me, Lily. You always have been."

          "Despite my madness." she chuckled.

          He managed a wry chuckle, "Yes." After a moment's pause, "I can't help but think I'm disappointing my parents' memory, you know?...I can't ever do anything right. I might as well be a Squib."

           "Don't say that."

           "It's true. I'm an idiotic coward." He looked at her and  was surpass to see she had become angry. No one was in the room, anymore.

          "Take out your wand, Neville." She backed away and drew her own wand from her back pocket. "Take it out."

          Confusedly, Neville produced his wand from  his pant pocket and held it uneasily, watching her back away. When she was a good distance away, she spoke again, her green eyes seemingly ablaze.

          "Raise your wand in a defensive position." 

          He did as she instructed, but as soon as he had, she began casting silent spells as him, over and over, faster and faster. The first one he Neville in the stomach, but he quickly composed himself and began to block her hexes and spells; one, two, thre, four...he had blocked several and was still going.

           "You're not a coward, Neville Longbottom." She said in between spells, "I've only ever known one coward in my life and you are not him. You will never be anything like him."

           "How do you know that?" He blocked another spell and leapt out of the way as another came his way. She was not slowing down.

          "I knew it from the moment I first met you. It's the one who stands out that ends up being one of the good ones."

          "My grandmother thinks otherwise." he lowered his guard and was hit by another one of her spells. He doubled over and she let him take a breather. She approached him and sat down on the floor. Taking that as a signal for a break, he sat down across from her and sighed.

          "You and I need to stop listening to what others say we have to be. It's quite tiring to live up to standards that can't fit our eccentricity."

          "We should make our own standards, then."

          "You mean like rules?" she asked. He nodded and slowly, her head began to the nod and a grin bloomed onto her face, "I like that."

          They sat there in silence for a moment, the crackling flames in the fireplace being the only source of noise within the grand room. Lily rose to her feet and Neville followed, ready for another round. But what she said next caught his off guard entirely.

          "Attack me."

          "W-What!?"

          "Now!" In the spur of the moment, Neville casted a Stunning charm just like Harry had taught them and Lily deflected it. Again and again he casted it, becoming comfortable with his wand. Then he casted an explosive charm, a bewitching charm, a Disarming spell --and although Lily deflected every single one, he had exceeded his own expectations.