Author's Note: I really do have a soft spot for Neville. This drabble is from his point-of-view.
Neville had often wondered if he was really a Squib. He was clumsy and forgetful. He was the cause of so many accidents. He was the one who broke into pieces whenever Professor Snape just gave him a slight glance. He was the one who couldn't seem to ever learn any of the spells, no matter how many times the professors repeated them to him.
Everyone laughed at him on a regular basis. Sometimes it was the members of his own house that were laughing at him. He was nothing more than a source of amusement for everyone.
Neville was the hopeless wizard. He was just worthless.
It didn't seem to matter that he was a Pureblood. Being a Pureblood never seemed to help him perform well in any of his classes, except for Herbology.
He had to be a Squib. He just had to be.
But despite the fact that he felt so worthless, Neville still tried to be brave. He was a Gryffindor, after all. The Sorting Hat may had taken a long time to decide on which house to place him in, but the hat had eventually placed him in Gryffindor.
And there were many that said that the Sorting House never did anything without a reason. There was always a reason behind which house a young wizard or witch was placed in.
The Sorting Hat, for instance, had placed Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger all in the same house. It was as if the hat had known that one day these three would be needed to serve a great and noble purpose.
Just like the Sorting House had also known that one day worthless Neville Longbottom would also serve a purpose, just as great and just as noble.
As mentioned above, Neville tried his best to be brave. He stood up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione in his first year. He was even willing to fight them, even though he had known that he was just being foolish.
Who was he kidding? Neville wasn't brave. He was just nothing more than a worthless fool.
But then in his fifth year, Bellatrix Lestrange escaped from Azkaban. She had been the leader of the group of Death Eaters that had tortured Neville's parents into insanity. And Neville was reminded of Bellatrix Lestrange each Christmas when he went to visit his parents at St. Mungo's.
Something truly changed in Neville the day he read of Bellatrix Lestrange's escape. He became a different person. He started to become better with spells.
A fire had been lit inside Neville Longbottom, and he no longer felt so worthless. He now had a purpose in his life besides just trying not to be the source of everyone's bullying. Neville now lived to avenge what had been done to his parents. He now lived to fight against Voldemort and all his Death Eaters.
And when Harry Potter was not at Hogwarts during their seventh year, Neville found himself taking charge. He had been inspired by Harry's teachings in their fifth year, and he was now determined to carry on Harry's legacy.
Harry wasn't at Hogwarts, but that didn't mean his spirit was gone. Neville became Harry's spirit. Neville became the one that everyone looked up to.
And like Harry, Neville refused to be afraid of Voldemort and his followers. No, like Harry, Neville was going to fight them. Like Harry, Neville was going to fight for his parents.
And Neville did indeed fight. And he did indeed serve a great and noble purpose.
Worthless Neville was the one who destroyed Voldemort's last Horcrux.
Worthless Neville wasn't as worthless as he had always made himself out to be. No, it turned out that he was worth something after all. In the end and when it truly counted the most, Neville proved that he really was as brave as he so often had tried to be in the past.
And Neville proved that he really was a true and worthy Gryffindor.