A/N: For the Houses Competition
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Short
Prompt: The lights are on but nobody's home
Word count: 535
Neville doesn't remember his parents, not as they used to be. He's been told how brave they were, how strong and loyal and happy. He knows none of that. All Neville sees when he looks at his parents are the shells of the people they used to be. He sees what they could have been, and what they are not. And yet.
He is proud.
He is proud to have parents who faced the Dark Lord. Parents who kept the secrets of the Order, and whose will did not break when their minds did. They were brave and fearless and Neville is glad that he is their son. He hopes that one day he might live to be as good as they were. He hopes that, no matter how distant they seem, they're proud of him too.
Most people don't speak of his parents - not to his face, at least. Truth be told, Neville's not sure he wants them to; what they do say is bad enough.
'The lights are on but nobody's home,' they say. Neville hates that phrase. He thinks it's too soft, too kind to describe what really happened. It dances around the truth, quietly suggesting, but never outright saying what they mean.
He also hates the thought of the lights always being on in his parents' minds. That's not what they deserve, to have their spirits constantly locked inside themselves, never allowed to finally be at peace.
Sometimes he wishes that he could see them as they used to be, with thoughts and feelings and emotions sparkling behind those lights that remain ever constant in their eyes. And other times… well, he's just glad that he can see them at all. Not like Harry, who never knew how much his parents loved him. At least Neville has stories of them, and at least he's able to speak to them. Well. Speak at them.
He keeps the gum wrappers that his mother gives him in a little box under his bed. His grandmother would normally throw them out if she was given the chance, but she respects his privacy, however grudgingly. Besides, he likes them. They're one of the only things he has of his parents, besides photos, so he treasures them as though they're made of solid gold.
Augusta Longbottom is many things, but she is not cruel. Neville isn't sure, but he thinks that, privately, she covets them, too. Any sign that her son and daughter-in-law are not yet gone - even if it is something as trivial as Alice gifting her son with a piece of rubbish - is welcome. Neville would agree, if he didn't think it is not a life that they have, but an existence.
His parents' story is not one that is well known but Neville is grateful it. He thinks that he could never live up people's expectations if they knew. They were heroes, but he knows that they would not want their names to be worshipped or held above others. But Neville will always remember. He will carry their names with him in his heart and remember that light in their eyes always, even if there is nobody behind it.
He thinks that is enough.
A/N: Thank you guys for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review if you have a moment. Bye!