Prompt: Neville/Harry + Rumination
Harry is not usually one for ruminations; he's bold and brash and a tad bit reckless, not a thinker or strategist – a Gryffindor through and through.
Neville is. Unlike Harry, he stops and thinks and ponders. He doesn't have Harry's luck or skills or whatever it is that has kept Harry alive through eight or so face-offs with Voldemort. He's just Neville, not the best and terribly unlucky. Frankly, it's a miracle he's made it this far in life, and surely if he didn't think, went with Harry's way of life, he wouldn't have made it this far.
Back all those years ago, when he was a cowering eleven-year-old with wide, frightened eyes and a quivering lip, the hat debated hard on his house. But of those houses it debated, it did not debate the 'weak' house (though he knows, at least now, that Hufflepuff isn't 'weak'). It debated Ravenclaw of Slytherin; it said he had a brilliant mind and knew how to use it, that it could get him his ambitions even if he wasn't the strongest magically. In the end, Gryffindor won out though; he was brave and chivalrous, just not brash and reckless.
It's probably a good thing that they are this way; who needs two thoughtless chumps running into things headfirst and mucking everything up? It's the same way with Harry's trio: Hermione is the thinker and Harry and Ron are the headlong fighters. Ron and Hermione are the sidekicks though, when it comes to the heroes Harry is the fighter and Neville is the thinker.
These are the ruminations of Neville's mind on May 2nd (or is it the 3rd now?), 1998, sitting in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, debris and bodies everywhere, nursing a cup of cocoa as everyone celebrates. Voldemort is dead, naught but the body of a desperate man who resembles more a snake than a man. Dean and Seamus sit huddled nearby – they are bleeding obvious in their feelings to anyone who isn't them. Ron and Hermione are holding hands, resting together – about time. Ginny is speaking with a Slytherin, Theodore Nott, who stayed and fought for the Light despite his family's allegiances – he wonders if this is a sign of something good. All of these a passing thoughts though, running from his head as his eyes land on Harry.
Harry looks listless, walking through the throngs of people, only half-heartedly responding to their congratulations. He is wan, out of place. In fact, he resembles a corpse in Neville's mind. Neville's heart hurts at this sight, the sight of a boy who has been groomed for a battle that is now over, facing a life he's never prepared for; the Chosen One no longer has anything to be Chosen for. Selfishly, Neville thinks he's glad that Voldemort went after the Potters' rather than his own family but he quickly chases those thoughts away and calls to Harry.
Surprise ignites in Harry's green eyes, the first emotion Neville has seen on the hero since he'd come down from the adrenaline rush of defeating Voldemort. Harry meanders over, his shoulders slumped and a tired smile on his lips. "Hullo Neville," he greets.
"Hiya Harry," Neville responds, patting the bench beside him. Harry slouches into the seat, his limbs limp like wet noodles. "It's over innit?" Neville asks, guessing at the thoughts running through Harry's head.
"Ya," he responds. His voice is as apathetic as his posture and expression. No, not apathetic – shock.
"That's a good thing," he assures. "But a bit unbelievable, neh?"
"Ya."
Neville knows that Harry's been through much; he's lost every parental figure in his life (his parents, Lupin, Sirius, Mad-Eye, Dumbledore, etc.), he's lost friends (Tonks, Fred, Cedric), and he's lost his childhood. He's lost it all to this war and now it's over. Harry's lost, not knowing where to go from here. It's sad. But Neville thinks that maybe, just maybe, he can show Harry where to go next.
He places a hand on the hero's back. "All will be well."