Of Broken Mirrors and Tea Leaves
For the Light and Darkness Competition-The Second Wizarding War
Prompts:
Neville Longbottom, "I'm sure I will visit your grave", the Trio's fifth year, Stupefy, emotion: satisfaction, color: honeydew, drinking tea, word: eternity.
The DA meeting was long over, but Neville Longbottom still stood in the Room of Requirement. He faced a mirror, trying to make his face as menacing as he could.
"My name is Neville Longbottom. You tortured my parents. Prepare to die."
He shook his head and his shoulders drooped back into their usual slumped position. That wasn't it. That wasn't it at all.
He wanted to be brave when he faced her, he wanted to fire off a snappy retort so that even if he fell to her, his parents would be avenged in some small form. It was a foolish dream, a child's dream, but he was a child, wasn't he?
"I'm sure I will visit your grave," he said, trying again.
It had sounded better in his head then it had out loud. He sighed and turned away from his reflection. He didn't have it in him. When he faced the woman that had stripped his parents from him, he would be a coward. He knew it.
In a sudden burst of anger, he turned his wand on his reflection.
"Stupefy!" he yelled.
The two jets of light, one from his wand and the other from his doppelganger's collided on the smooth surface of the mirror, sending shards blasting from the now-empty frame. He experienced a brief moment of satisfaction from the sight of the slivers of mirror scattered across the ground.
"Neville?"
He closed his eyes. He couldn't see anyone, not now. Especially not the girl behind him.
"Neville?" she repeated.
A hand touched his shoulder. He mustered all of his courage and pasted a smile on his face, turning to look at her.
"Hi, Luna," he managed.
She wasn't fooled, but then, she never was. Her pale, moon-like eyes darted over the scene as if trying to piece it together.
"You're scared of Bellatrix Lestrange," she said shrewdly.
It wasn't a question, or even a guess.
"I'm not scared of her!" Neville said. "I—"
"It's okay to be afraid, you know," Luna said in that unearthly voice of hers. "I'm afraid of spells going wrong."
"You are?" he asked quietly.
She nodded serenely, pulling at a chain around her throat.
"This was my mother's," Luna said, holding it out for him to see.
It was a beautiful little honeydew colored pendant in the shape of a teardrop. It was wacky, just like its wearer. It suited Luna perfectly.
"My father bought it for her and gave it to her the day she had me."
Luna took his hand and led him towards the door. Neville didn't question her. It was best not to when one was dealing with Luna. They left the Room of Requirement and headed down the Grand Staircase.
"Do you smell them, my sweet?"
Neville let out a low moan, and Luna tightened her grip on his hand. He turned the other way, and, dragging the dreamy girl behind him, darted up the steps like a rabbit.
There was nowhere to go but up, and nothing to do but hope that Filch wouldn't see or hear them. They finally reached the third floor and darted into the corridor. Neville skidded across the polished floor.
"Here!" Luna cried, tugging him into a small crevice behind a tapestry.
Neville's face heated up as they struggled into the tiny space together. The way they were positioned meant that Luna was practically sitting on his lap. In true Luna fashion, though, she didn't seem to mind.
"What are we going to do?" whimpered Neville.
Luna didn't answer because she heard the sound of footsteps from their right. Neville shut his eyes. He didn't want to get expelled!
"Sniff them out, sniff them out!" Filch called.
Mrs. Norris seemed to be utterly baffled by their disappearance. She batted at the wall beneath the tapestry, but Filch had already moved on, grumbling about unreliable partners. Neville shoved his fist in his mouth to stop himself from laughing from relief.
Filch and his awful cat left the area, and Luna slipped out from underneath the tapestry.
"Where are we going?" Neville asked.
"You'll see," Luna replied with a small smile.
Thankfully, the Grand Staircase was completely deserted this time. Neville even remembered to jump the vanishing step, something he'd never done before.
When they hit the ground floor, they kept going. Neville knew better to ask again. Luna would tell him when she was ready, or more likely, when they got there.
They finally stopped at a dead end with a painting of several fruits sitting in a basket.
"Luna, I don't—"
Luna leaned forward and tickled one of the fruits. It giggled and the portrait swung open, leaving Neville gaping at the open door.
"Come on," she said, pulling him in.
Neville felt like a giant compared to all the little beings darting around his feet. His Gran had mentioned them once or twice, and he'd tripped over one in the middle of the night once while going to get a glass of water in the middle of the night.
"House-elves?" he asked Luna.
She nodded.
"What would Miss Luny likes today?" asked the tallest of these house-elves.
"Just some tea, Niffly," she replied.
The bat-eared creature darted off in the direction of a stove, while another gestured for Neville and Luna to sit.
"Do you come down here often?" he asked her.
"Sometimes, when Ravenclaw wins a Quidditch match, I come down here to get some sweets for the rest of the House," she explained.
Neville's brow furrowed. As far as he could tell, the other Ravenclaws weren't very kind to their quirky classmate.
"Why?"
"They enjoy it," said Luna brightly.
Niffly appeared again before Neville could question her further, bearing a fancy pot and two teacups.
"For Miss Luny and hers friend," Niffly said, bowing in Neville's direction.
Unsure of what to do, he jerked his head awkwardly in her direction. Luna poured his cup and then handed it to him. Neville took a sip. Somehow, the little house-elf had known exactly how he liked his tea.
"I am scared," he admitted quietly. "I'm scared that she'll go after Gran when I can't protect her, or that she'll come in the summer when I can and I'll fail to save her."
"You're not scared for yourself, Neville."
He blinked, a little confused.
"That's why you're a Gryffindor, you know. If it were me, I'd be terrified that she'd come after Daddy, yes, but also horribly scared that she'd decide to come after me. You are brave, Neville, more than you ever think you are."
He smiled at her, and if he could have, he would have spent the rest of eternity in that one, glowing moment.
That's my first time putting together a load of prompts like that, so it probably seemed a little rough. Even so, I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review!
Princess Bride reference! Kudos to everyone who got that.