AN: I decided that I might as well post this story here too! I hope for some reviews :)
Neville looked down at the black, skeletal pegasus he was riding. It was disturbing to him, the fact that just hours ago he couldn't see the stallion, and now he could. Thestrals could only be seen by those who had witnessed death, and Neville would've liked to go on in life without having witnessed that. Unfortunately, Bellatrix Lestrange had ruined his life once more by taking the life of her own cousin, Sirius Black. He still couldn't believe it had happened, it was all so sudden. Harry was currently having a meltdown over it. He wouldn't speak to anyone. All the half-blood could think about was his godfather's demise. All Neville could think about was his newfound ability to see everyone's steeds.
Minutes that felt like hours were spent in the air in complete silence before the first word was spoken. It was Luna who spoke first, in her normal dainty tone which Neville liked and respected more than anyone else there.
"I'm sorry about-"
"I don't want to talk about it right now." Harry quickly interrupted, holding his arm up to halt her speaking.
Neville was the furthest back, and he couldn't see Harry's face whatsoever, but he could tell it wasn't very happy.
"Sorry." Luna apologized to the boy in front, looking at the boy in the back with a somber expression. He returned the look.
The ride back to Hogwarts was full of silence, again. Dumbledore was waiting for them as they landed. His moon-rimmed spectacles sparkled sadly. His expression was blue. The students dismounted their Threstrals with the same solemn mood. No matter how grave Dumbledore looked, he never cried. Not when the muggle-borns became frozen by the basilisk, not when Cedric Diggory had died at the hands of Voldemort, and not when he had to watch as Professor Trelawny became fired by ex-Professor Umbridge. But now, at the death of Sirius Black, a prized student in his time, he allowed himself to cry two tears in his memory.
Harry looked down and cried silently. Ron and Hermione attempted to console him. Ginny and Luna stood by their Thestrals glumly. Neville hugged his Thestral melancholily.
Then, Dumbledore spoke. "Harry, Neville, I need to see you."
Neville had never entered Dumbledore's office. It was very interesting. It had pictures of the previous headmasters in every corner. Phineas Nigellus, the previous one, hung right above his seat behind his desk. Next to his desk was a birdcage. It held Fawkes the Phoenix, a bright, flaming falcon. There were two seats in front of the desk, one for Harry, and one for Neville. They took their seats side-by-side. The two wizards looked at each other, neither knowing why either was called there.
"I can tell by your puzzled expressions that neither of you know why you're here." Dumbledore commented. Harry shuffled in his seat.
"It's not about Sirius, is it?" Harry asked.
"No," Dumbledore replied. "It's about the prophecy. The one Voldemort was searching for. You see, Harry, the prophecy involves you..." he looked from Harry to Neville. " and Neville."
Neville just burst out laughing. The taller boy stood up and walked away, absolutely laughing his head off. No, Professor Dumbledore could not have been serious. There was no way in hell Neville Longbottom was the chosen one of any prophecy, even if he had to share the chosen-ness with a million other people. The only thing Neville was good at was gardening. He couldn't preform magic well at all. Sure he had a tragic enough past, but he didn't have the talent to uphold it. He could not be a chosen one. Harry Potter though? Sure, he could list a gazillion(was that even a number, he had no clue) reasons Harry could be a chosen one.
"No way." Neville chuckled. "Absolutely no way."
"Mr. Longbottom, please don't doubt yourself. A prophecy foretold by a seer will inevitably come true." Dumbledore tried to calm the teenager down.
"Oh? Which seer? Professor Trelawny?" he mocked her hand wringing.
"Yes, actually." Dumbledore smiled. Neville's mouth dropped. "Come, let us go back to when I hired her in the first place."
Dumbledore walked slowly towards the pensieve way in the back of the room. He motioned for the boys to follow him. Using his wand, he drew out a silver, glowing strand of hair. He dropped it in the pensieve, and they were all sucked into a memory.
It was a pub. It appeared to be the Hog's Head. There were only two people in the pub. They were Professor Dumbledore and Professor Trelawny. Dumbledore was cloaked and smiling, and Professor Trelawny appeared extremely buzzed. Neville suspected nothing to go wrong though, after all, Dumbledore would never do anything to Trelawny.
"Watch." Professor Dumbledore commanded them.
There was a knock at the door. Not like a knocking, but just someone knocked up against the door. What was surprising was that only Neville noticed and Harry and Dumbledore had not. Usually it was the opposite, much to his embarrassment. It didn't matter, though. Neville went on to investigate and paused at the door. He couldn't interact with it at all since he was in a memory, so he attempted to find other ways to look out through it. He found a peephole. What he saw next chilled him to the bone. It was Severus Snape listening in on the conversation.
Now everyone already knew Professor Snape was a Death Eater in the past, and apparently how long he lasted. Neville was completely unaware of the fact that it continued on through the recruitment of Professor Trelawny as a Divination teacher. It was rather startling to find Snape listening in on a prophecy. That meant he likely set it up himself, by accident or not. Harry would have freaked out if he saw this. Godfather death plus mortal enemy potentially dooming you wasn't a very good combination.
"Now Sibyll, can you tell me the prophecy of Voldemort?" the past Dumbledore asked Trelawny. She and Neville flinched at the name. You weren't supposed to say it.
"Yes, I believe so. There is quartering at Hogwarts, yes?" she asked, looking worried. So Trelawny was homeless before now? Neville thought. He wanted to ask Dumbledore if this was the truth, but he didn't want to draw attention to where he was, and, he needed to keep an eye on Snape.
"I assure you there will be boarding." the old Dumbledore nodded.
"Okay. Here goes." she muttered nervously, wringing her hands. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark one as his equal, but they will have powers the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives." she said in a spaced out manner, looking nowhere in particular. She gasped and came back into the real world.
Snape sneered and ran off. He knew it was Harry. That prophecy meant Harry. Neville knew it had to mean Harry. Neville was born July 30th.
Harry was born 31st, there was no way it was him. It said as the seventh month dies, by the time his birthday came around, the month hadn't only just begun to die he supposed. Also, he was sure He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named didn't mark him as his equal. Harry had a mark right on his forehead. The closest Neville got was a birthmark on his thigh.
But Neville didn't have long to think about it, as they came back to Hogwarts in less than two seconds. Harry was stunned, but Neville felt like he did coming into the office. He wasn't even disappointed, he knew it was going to be Harry, and it wouldn't involve him at all. So what was he there for? Emotional support? It all seemed like a joke.
"That prophecy, I am sure, meant the both of you. I was unsure of Neville at first-" of course. "but I have finally pieced it all together." Dumbledore spoke. "The both of you were born at the end of the seventh month. Neville, you were born on the thirtieth. Harry you were born at midnight on the thirty-first. Both of your parents fought Voldemort three times, and the both of you were marked as his equal." Dumbledore sensed Neville's suspicion and chuckled. "Yes, both of you. Voldemort may have personally come to kill you, Harry, but he sent Bellatrix to kill you, too, Neville. However, your hiding place was protected by a better secret-keeper."
"Sirius didn't mean to-" Harry grumbled quickly.
"I know. At any rate, Bellatrix had tortured your parents into insanity trying to get your location. That created an emotional scar, while Lily Potter's sacrifice made a physical one. I'll discuss that with you further tomorrow, Harry. However, I will address the powers the both of you have, that Voldemort does not. Harry, you have the ability to love. That is something he simply cannot find in him to do. Neville, my sincerest apologies, but I do not know what your ability is that he does not have." Dumbledore sighed. "That is all for now. I will begin training the both of you for your journey in taking down Voldemort once and for all. Thank you for your time. You are dismissed."
Harry and Neville sat across from each other in the boys' Gryffindor fifth year dormitory in deafening silence. The other boys were in the Great Hall eating dinner. They could have went, but Harry just wouldn't go, upset about falling into Voldemort's trap and unknowingly ending he wanted to save so badly, and Neville wouldn't leave Harry.
"Harry, you have to eat, come on." Neville pleaded with the boy sitting across from him just minutes ago. Harry just shook his head, looking down in anguish. He wouldn't budge, and if Harry wouldn't leave, Neville wouldn't either. So they both went to bed hungry.
For the whole night Neville was in bed, he couldn't believe what all had taken place. They had tried to save Sirius, but it was all a horrible mind trick, and they ended up setting him up for his demise. A demise at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. Neville hated that woman. He really hated that woman. There was no-one except for her that he actually would use the word "hate" for, not even Professor Umbridge. Hate was a strong word, but it was warranted when the person you hate tortured your parents to the point where they don't even know your name and give you gum wrappers for Christmas. At least Harry had parents who remembered him in the afterlife. Neville's parents knew him as "the sweet little boy who gives them nice presents on Christmas."
Now that he thought about it, perhaps he did deserve the prophecy more. But then, it was a shock that he was foretold to be a chosen one. With Harry Potter at that. He always did feel a tinge of jealousy for the chosen one; it was actually amplified by his grandmother who wanted him to be better than Harry. He couldn't be jealous anymore though, they were equals now more than ever. God, it was going to be a wild ride from here.