Brighter Days

This has been sitting in my head for weeks, sleeping until noon and drinking straight out of my milk carton, so I decided to kick it out and make it start to find its own way in the world.

It's more of an exercise for me, to see how many people I could stick my head into in one story before they melded together. After much writing and editing, I came to the conclusion that this, apparently, is how many.

A quiet moment of reflection, before and after the battle.

Neville

Hopeless.

It wasn't a word he liked to utter in from of the others. But it was how he felt every day in this hellhole. As much as his heart liked to see a light at the end of the tunnel, his mind only saw a light at the end of life. The war was over. Evil won, good was done. The only thing they were doing was waiting for death.

He wasn't very Gryffindor to think these things. Where was his bravery? Where was his courage? His nobility? Gone, just like the many friends who had already met their end. He was nothing if not a realist, even if he tried to keep it from everyone else. A leader had to be optimistic in front of the army, no matter how grim the situation.

But he had to keep up face. Those under him, those who looked to him for leadership, needed hope. It was one of the few things he could give, so he did. Even if it was a lie.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by the nudge of a painting.

Luna

She wasn't one to see reason. Even in the face of pure sanity, she managed to find that one bit of nonsense that set everything right. At Hogwarts, at her home, in the Malfoy cellar. Her bright personality was a beacon to others in a dark world. So what if she wasn't correct? It was better to be happy then to be sane, right?

Her true passion in life was exploration. Discovering new things, things no one had ever seen before, had been a dream since she was little. The war changed that. Instead of heading off into the world, young and full of promise, she was kept home, a caged bird, protecting those younger then her from harm. Given a choice, she would defend the weak, despite being quite weak herself.

Sometimes, she felt herself breaking. In those times, it was better to retreat deep into oneself then risk losing grasp on reality, as twisted as reality was. She would go silent, waiting for these moments to pass. It was better now that she was safe, away from those who did her harm in that dark, underground room. But it wasn't perfect. It could never be perfect.

On her necklace, her coin started to warm.

Collin

Even in the face of death, he wasn't one to flee. He'd come a great way from the small fanboy trailing the famous that he once was. No he was a soldier, protecting the innocent from harm. So when Neville came back with the Golden Trio, there was no question as to what he would do. When Harry left with Luna, he slipped out and headed off to Gryffindor, intending to watch over those who couldn't effectively watch over themselves.

Sometimes, however, he wondered what his life would be like if he'd never received that letter when he was eleven.

Ginny

She had never truly been alone in her whole life. From birth to age eleven, her whole family had been around her every waking moment. When she went off to school, the first horrible year had been a constant invasion of everything that she was. Her mind, her body, her soul, none were hers that whole year.

Every year after that, her family and friends made sure she never had to stand alone again. And even though at some times she acted annoyed, she was grateful that she could always count on someone to be with her. Until this year, that is.

All of the evils in the world seemed to concentrate on her school this year. She found herself having to stand alone for the first time in years. Others still stood by her, yes, but her convictions were shaken and strengthened alone. The horrible thing that happened screamed of no hope, no future, no happiness.

So when christmas rolled around and her entire family went into hiding, she was selfishly grateful that she wasn't fighting anymore. Before she left the school, cracks had begun to form in the facade she put up for the world. She wasn't fine. She was breaking. The months she had to recuperate had helped, and she was ready to go back. To join the forces of good in the battle against evil.

Right then, the coin in her hand burned hot.

Ginny

The world would never be right again. Scars from the war would never leave her. You could fix a broken castle, a broken house, but you could never make her family whole again. There would always be a gaping hole, a constant reminder of the sacrifice their freedom cost. The loss tore through her like a knife, and it hurt so bad she just wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

Harry wouldn't let her. He held her as she fell apart in his arms. She knew, without a doubt, that he would always be there for her. Nothing in the world meant more to her as she was wracked with grief, so she held on all the tighter to her rock in the storm and cried.

Collin

"Love will always, always conquer. 'The last enemy that shall be defeated is death.' Even when someone's last breath is drawn, love goes on forever. For always and always. You're a fool, Tom. You spent so much time trying to conquer death that you didn't realize that the one force in the entire world that can is the one thing that you shunned."

Luna

Done. It was all over. The battle was won, the fight was over, the caged bird was freed. She was no longer a soldier in a child's body. So why did she still feel so wrong?

Fairy lights danced around her in the breeze. Everyone else was celebrating. She had been, too, until she felt the need to remember. She quietly slipped out of the hall and into the Forest, ignoring the fact that it was night and dangerous creatures were afoot. None would harm her. Not tonight. The sounds of the wood seemed to quiet around her, respectful of her mournful presence.

Ahead of her was a soft glow. As she peeked around the trees, the sight of a unicorn stilled her breath, her heart beat quicken. It looked up, and when its eyes met hers it filled her soul with a feeling that had been missing for a long time. It was warm, and soright, that it brought tears to her eyes and made her heart clench.

Home.

And the world was right again.

Neville

Alone.

Everyone else had fallen asleep, still carrying the high of the victory against a tyrant. But he couldn't sleep, couldn't dream. Not when the faces of the haunted would follow him in his dreams, cursing him for failing them. In awareness, he was hailed as a hero. In sleep, a failure.

The stars twinkled down at him as he walked the grounds. He avoided the grounds with the most damage, walking in the dim light to the lake. Fish darted about in the cold water, oblivious to the victory torn from the hands of the tyrant that now lay in ashes among them. He sank down and rested on the bank, quietly listening to the sounds of the water.

Several hours later, the sun started to break the horizon. He squinted at the bright light, before lying down and closing his eyes, content.

Brighter days were ahead.

The quote is from Deadwoodpecker's story, "Backwards With a Purpose." I thought it fit perfectly.

~Wryder