House: Gryffindor

Position: Prefect

Category: Additional #1

Prompt: Temporary Amnesia

Word Count: 695 words, excluding header, author notes, and title.

Beta: CK and Tiggs

A/N: This was written for The Houses Competition, Y3R3

All a Lie

Neville woke up with a start. His head was pounding and his vision was blurry. He could see figures scrambling around and hear the methodical beeping of machines, but he had no idea where he was. He inhaled sharply as a piercing pain radiated from his side. He let out a low groan and Madam Pomfrey rushed to his side. Madam Pomfrey quickly examined him and asked a couple of questions, none of which Neville knew the answers to. He didn't know the date, he didn't know what happened, and he certainly didn't know why he was in the hospital wing.

"What is your name?" Madame Pomfrey probed.

Neville gave a nervous grin. "Neville."

"Thank Godric!" Madame Pomfrey cried. "Neville, you were badly injured in the Battle."

He scrunched his face at the word battle and Madam Pomfrey immediately reassured him. "It's okay dear, you've been through a lot. You must have hit your head harder than we first expected, but I think you will begin to regain your memories soon."

"Battle?" He questioned again, "I don't understand. What happened?"

"I think it would be best if you rested now. Everything will come back to you with time."

Neville was released a week after he initially woke up from his coma. His memories still hadn't returned, so Madame Pomfrey had given him a generalized summary of events about the Battle of Hogwarts.

He slowly walked up to the Great Hall and worked up the courage to open the doors. Who would be in there? Who wouldn't be in there?

He slowly shouldered the doors open and felt the hall grow quiet. His face reddened in embarrassment and he quickly shuffled to where Luna and Ginny were seated. He sat down and stared down at his plate in front of him, aware of the stares that pierced his back.

He heard McGonagall clear her throat. "We have suffered a great deal of losses over the last two weeks, but today we are graced with the presence of someone that has rescued so many. Please join me in celebrating Neville's recovery and his brave actions."

The room exploded with applause and Neville's cheeks reddened even deeper. He had no idea what McGonagall was talking about, but based off of the enthusiasm in the room, everyone agreed with her.

Everywhere that Neville went he was congratulated and told what a great hero he was and that he had saved them all. He slowly began to believe it. He must have been brave for all these people to be acting this way towards him. People that used to ignore him were coming up and clapping him on the back and congratulating him.

He had heard little snippets from others around the school and knew he had played a big part in winning the war. For the first time, he could ever remember, he began to feel proud of himself. He walked into every room with his head held high and a smile on his face. He greeted every person he saw with a confidence that he had never had before.

He was strutting through the hall before making his way out through the courtyard when he stopped dead in his tracks. This was the first time he had been out there since the Battle, and the memories instantly came flooding back.

Ginny found him crouched in a corner crying an hour later. She quickly got Madame Pomfrey and sat by his side while he was examined. He didn't seem to acknowledge her but he rambled anyway, "It's all a lie. I'm not a hero. I only did it out of fear; fear of what would happen if he won. I'm no hero, just a scared coward, like I've always been."

After that, Neville didn't walk tall or strut through the hallways. He knew the truth. He wasn't the hero that others claimed him to be. He may have had a hand in winning the war, but it was purely done out of fear, not bravery like everyone else had thought. He was the same scared kid he had always been. The stories about him were all a lie.