This is a story starting a couple hours after the Battle of Hogwarts where everyone is still grieving and cleaning up around Hogwarts. It follows Neville, and eventually Luna as the figure out what to do with their lives from now on. It's friendship for now, romance later. Don't really know where it'll go yet, if you like it, I'll continue it. (WARNING: im slow at posting sometimes)
I do not own these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling to be used and loved by us.
Hours after the battle, Neville was still crowded by people coming to congratulate him and talk to him. He was longing for some peace and quite, but he could only manage a few feet before another tirade of people began to pester him about killing Nagini and his dueling in the battle. He was a hero, in their eyes. But all he did was do what he was needed to do. Anyone could have done it, right? He was no hero; he was just in the right place at the right time, able to do what Harry wanted. In the aftermath of the battle, it didn't even feel like a victory. So many people had died, friends and loved ones. He'd never see some of his classmates again because their lives were taken from them in a battle that never should have happened. Everywhere he looked he saw sad and grieving faces, and suddenly all he really wanted was to find his gran.
He had seen her in battle a couple of times. She was always dueling with some big, cloaked Death Eater that looked like he could easily crush her if he wanted to. This scared the hell out of him, and he did his best to get away.
"Neville, tell us how it felt to slice the snake's head off!"
"Is that really the sword of Gryffindor?"
"Neville, you're my hero!"
A little girl who looked no more than 12 had screamed that last one. She was covered in grime from the battle and had a few gashes across her cheek and arms that were bleeding pretty badly. He wondered how she got in here and if she had really tried to join the battle. His heart ached looking into her wide and trusting eyes, and he reached out and took her hand.
"Come on; let's go find someone who can clean you up."
He finally disengaged himself from his admirers and led the little girl away. He looked around for anyone who was healing injured people. Up by the Great Table he saw a group of people clustered around several people lying on the floor. He walked up to the table, still holding on to the girl's hand. He recognized Madame Pomfrey, slightly worse for wear, but okay. She looked tired at all the healing she was doing but the determination in her eyes was clear. She was going to save as many people as she could, no matter the cost on her own body.
She looked up from what she was doing as Neville approached her.
"Do you think you can take care of-", he broke off, not knowing what the little girl's name was. He looked down at her with a questioning look.
"Evanna", the little girl whispered, looking up at Neville and clutching his hand.
"Yes, could you take care of her injuries?" he said, looking back up at Madame Pomfrey.
"Of course, dear." She said.
She gave him a sympathetic smile, no doubt proud of his actions and his care for the little girl. He gave Evanna a smile and walked away. He went back to looking for his gran and slowly wandered around the little groups of people in the Great Hall. What he saw broke his heart. Families all over were grieving over lost parents, children and friends. There was hardly anyone who could be happy about this, even if they did win. When he saw the Weasley family all kneeling around their lost son Fred, he silently walked over. Ron wasn't with them at the moment. He was presumably with Harry and Hermione, discussing what had happened. Luna was with them, though, and she looked up when he came near.
She had tears in her eyes. This scared him, because Luna was always so strong, always smiling and unaffected by the things around her. Rarely anything would get her down, but the grief here was palpable. Ginny Weasley was her best friend, so of course she'd be sad that her best friend's brother had died. He moved toward Luna and took her hand in his. She looked surprised for a minute, but welcomed the contact of a friend. He remembered she didn't have anyone here either, so this must be hard for her too. Her father was still locked away, but Neville knew he'd probably be freed soon after order was restored. The Weasley's were probably some of her closest family and she would stay with them and grieve with them until they didn't need her.
They stayed like that for a long time. Eventually, Harry, Hermione and Ron joined them. All 3 were affected by the grief, too. Harry and Hermione were pretty much family with the Weasley's in all but blood. It was an intimate time for them and Neville started to feel a bit uncomfortable intruding on them. A squeeze from Luna's hand made him turn towards her and when he met her eyes, he knew she was telling him they should leave. They paid their last respect to the family and Fred, and quietly walked away. He kept Luna's hand in his her soft fingers warm against his own.
"How are you, Luna?" he asked her.
"I'm fine, I guess," she said, her voice slightly less dreamy and more focused due to the events of the night, "There's so much hurting around here, and nothing we can do. All we can do is wait and let time heal the wounds of grief, and give the world time to get back on its feet."
He looked down. He agreed with her, that there was so much to do, but nothing they could personally help with. He wished he could lessen the grief of all these people, but he couldn't. He knew they would all just have to wait and allow time to fix things.
"Where's your grandmother, Neville?" asked Luna.
"I don't know," he said, "I was looking for her when I saw you and the Weasleys."
"We should find her. Make sure she's all right." She gave him a light smile which he returned, and her eyes glanced down to their hands, which were still linked together. She didn't seem to mind so he held on, as if her hand was the only thing keeping him in this world.
He nodded his head, and in companionable silence, they started searching for his grandmother. He didn't really know where to start, so Luna took the lead. She suggested they go search the grounds. He knew she didn't say the rest of what she thought, though, which was that mostly anyone out on the grounds were the dead bodies strewn around the ground. There were a couple people out there, taking the bodies and bringing them into the Great Hall, and other healers going around trying to help those they could still save.
In the morning light, they walked around the perimeter of the castle, searching anywhere. They saw some people in the distance, crouching near clusters of bodies on the ground. As they came closer, Neville's stomach seemed to lighten. He saw her trying to heal a girl lying on the ground, her face and body marred by bloody claw marks. He came up next to her, relieved she was alive. He knew she was a fighter, but she was old, and anything could have happened in the battle.
She looked up for a second to see who it was, and when she saw Neville, he saw relief in her face, along with pride and love for him. It was gone in a second, though, as she turned back to the girl. Neville kneeled beside her to see if he could help, and couldn't help but look in horror as he noticed it was Lavender Brown. He heard Luna's tiny gasp and knew she too was horrified and shocked.
"Will she make it?" he whispered. Lavender was barely stirring under his gran's wand, which was attempting to close the wounds.
"I don't know…this looks pretty bad." said his gran.
They could tell what life was left inside of her was slowly bleeding out. Luna kneeled down beside her and took her hand. She started whispering words of comfort, and Neville could see Lavender began to relax. Luna's voice was soothing compared to the sounds of war they'd been listening to all night. They waited, knowing there was nothing to do but just stay and ease Lavender in her dying minutes.
Eventually, Lavender stiffened and then relaxed, breathing her last struggling breath. Luna reached over and closed her eyes, still holding onto her hands. Luna suggested they say some words about her, so they did. Luna talked about how she didn't really know her, but she was a brave, loyal person who fought for what she believed. Neville said similar things, choking on the words, pained by the death of another classmate. They all stood up, and then his gran asked,
"I should go heal some more people. Neville, can you carry her up to the Great Hall for me?"
Neville nodded and bent down to pick Lavender up, feeling how emaciated her body became from her final weeks at Hogwarts. Luna stood up too, and they started to walk towards the castle again, parting from Neville's grandmother with few words. What they'd just witnessed had been another reminder of how everything would change from this point on. Lavender's weight on his shoulder reminded him again of all the deaths he'd witnessed and been unable to prevent. Tears threatening to spill over, he looked over at Luna to see how she's reacting. She didn't look happy or dreamy as usual, but she didn't look like she was devastated by grief like everyone else. She caught him looking and said,
"You're wondering why I'm not affected by this like everyone else, aren't you?"
He nodded and she looked at the ground, pensive.
"I know this is a horrible time for our world, with all the pain and grief everywhere around us, but it's really a new beginning. Once we are able to get over all of this, everything will be different, everything will change. We've been plagued by Voldemort for so long, but now that threat is definitely gone. It's scary having to face the world after something like this, but it's beautiful in knowing there's now a whole new world of possibilities for us. We're free again, we don't have to live in fear, and all the people who were killed knew they would sacrifice their lives for a cause. They're all heroes and we need to honor them for that."
Neville didn't respond. Her words sparked a new enthusiasm in him. She was right. The wizarding world was at the brink of a new beginning. We've been given a second chance, freed from the oppression and dark days that are now in our past. We needed to be strong and honor those who died for us by not letting them die in vain. He thought of all the people he knew who died: Fred, Lupin and Tonks, and his classmates, like Lavender. They died during a great battle and it would be truly sad if their death was for nothing. They fought to bring a new dawn to the Dark Age, and we won because of them. We'd have to man up and do what must be done, now.
His thoughts turning towards a more optimistic feel, he picked up his pace. He needed to get Lavender's body into the Great Hall and help out with whatever else he could. As he walked up the grounds of the Castle, he saw others slowly picking up other bodies strewn upon the grass. He didn't stop to talk to any of them, but he gave them encouraging looks, grateful for the help they were giving. Once he got inside, he gently laid Lavender's body down with the others. He stopped and looked at her for a moment, truly sad that she was gone and giving her death a moment of silence, then he slowly walked away.
He didn't know what to do. Luna had disappeared from his side when he had walked past the crowds still gather in the Hall. He decided to walk up to Kingsley, the temporary minister of Magic, who was talking with Professor McGonagall at the moment. They both stopped talking as he approached, McGonagall looking sad and worn out, Kingsley looking determined and ready to dole out orders.
"Sir, I was wondering if there is anything I could help you with?" he asked.
Kingsley looked at him, and Neville was grateful for the several inches he had grown over the past few years so he could look him in the eye, but then Kingsley shook his head. "No, Mr. Longbottom. For now, there is nothing that we can do but respect the dead and let the living grieve. You did very well in the battle but there is nothing for you now. I'm sorry." said Kingsley.
Neville nodded, understanding, and turned to walk away when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. He glanced back and saw it was McGonagall, and she was looking at him with a look he rarely saw her use on anyone, especially him. She looked at him faith and pride and compassion. She was proud in him and what he had done and Neville was completely taken off guard by this. She was always the one that would reprimand him for everything he did wrong-from forgetting or losing everything he had or repeatedly botching up spells and everyday tasks. She had never seemed proud of him or happy with what he had accomplished.
His ears turned red but he was pleased. Earning her praise must really mean he had done well. McGonagall gave his shoulder a squeeze and then let go, so he turned around again and walked away. He felt better than he had since the battle was over. He wanted to go find his gran and talk to her, but knew she was doing her best to help those who needed it. He started to walk around the great hall.
Once again, he was hailed by admirers. There were fewer this time, though he still had trouble getting to a table. He wandered around for a while, talking to some people and offering condolences for those that were lost. He looked around and saw a blonde head walking away from Kingsley and heading towards the door and he figured it was Luna. He didn't have anywhere else to go so he followed her. He felt a couple more people clap him on the back and try to speak to him again, but he shrugged them off and hurried after Luna. She kept walking until they were at the ravaged steps that led to the halls that branched off into the different houses. He sat down next to her and looked around. The castle was horribly broken. There were chunks of stone everywhere, the staircases were torn up, and the walls had holes in them. He thought it sounded eerily quiet and he looked up. The staircases weren't moving, the people in the paintings were all gone, and any ghosts or moving suits of armor were long gone. The castle felt dead. He glanced over at Luna to see what she was thinking and noticed she was less cheerful than she was before. He gently put his hand on her shoulder, and asked,
"What's wrong, Luna?"
She didn't say anything for a minute, but, when she did, her voice was quiet and serious.
"They took my father."
He wondered who 'they' was but she kept talking before he could ask.
"The death eaters knew that Voldemort died the second he was killed. They knew hope for their dark plans was lost forever without him, but they wanted to go out with a bang. Those who were not in the battle fled, taking with them any prisoners they could find, even taking some right off the streets." She paused. "They took my father from the cell they had him locked up in inside of the ministry."
He didn't respond. He couldn't believe the Death Eaters still thought they could pull anything off. Their reign of terror was over and they would be taken down, most likely very quickly. Our world would want vengeance and they were the only people we could take it out on, so we would go to all lengths to track them down and kill them, or atleast send them to prison for life.
"Are you sure they took him?" he asked.
She nodded. "I just asked Kingsley if he knew if anything was happening and he told me…he said they'd send out people to look for them, but it may take a while. He said there was little hope for them." A tear rolled down her cheek.
Neville had the sudden urge to wipe away her tears, and he did. He gently reached up and wiped it away, looking deep into her eyes.
"Well, we'll just have to find him then."
She looked confused.
"If no-one else will look for him, then we will. We won't let the Death Eaters take him and the others without a fight. I won't let them hurt you again."
He thought about his relationship with her. She was such a great person and one of his few close friends. When they met in their 5th year for the D.A, she was nice to him and helped encourage him to do better. She didn't make fun of him or look down on him. She was always friendly, in her quirky, dreamy way. He always liked her because of this. He didn't have many friends and he was glad to have her as one. He was loyal to his friends and he knew he'd do whatever he could to keep them safe and happy. He didn't want to see Luna hurt again. He knew she was strong, but he could tell that her stay in Malfoy Manor had affected her. Who knows what they did to her in there? If her dad were murdered, she would have no-one and he couldn't bear that to happen to her.
She looked surprised but as she slowly thought about, her eyes turned from hurt to a powerful determination, almost crazy.
"You're right. I can't sit here and do nothing about it. No-one is going to go on a rescue mission right now and by the time they do, all those taken will be dead. I have to go. I have to save my father."
She stood up quickly and started to hurry away, and Neville realized she thought she was going to do this alone. It made him angry and he grasped her arms, making her face him.
"You're not going alone, Luna!" he said angrily.
"Why not? This is too dangerous, I can't lead anyone else into this too." She said in defense.
"You're right. It is too dangerous. If you go alone, you'll get killed. At least take me with you. Or take anyone else with you, just, please, please, don't go alone. I can't let you die."
Her eyes softened as her crazy determination faded and she saw the reason of what he was saying.
"I couldn't ask you to go with me…you'd get killed too and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you died because of me." She sounded close to tears.
"I would never let you go out there alone, not for anything."
Acting on a whim, he gently pulled her close and hugged her. She easily fit into the space right under his chin-he was a lot taller than her. He held onto her tight as she started to cry into his shoulder. He got the felling she didn't cry much, she was too strong, but the stress of the battle and knowing her father was being held captive was too much. He held her for a while, surprised at how warm and soft she was, and how nice she smelled even after the battle. He had never held a girl like this before.
At length, she stopped crying. Her eyes were puffy and red but she didn't care. She looked back up at Neville, searching for any doubt in his eyes.
"So you'll really come with me? No matter what?" she asked.
"I'll always stay with you, as long as you need me."