I awaken abruptly to a flash of green light. Blinded momentarily, for a moment I think I've dreamt of my mother dying again. No, not Harry! I close my eyes and will the sound and sight from my head. Then I hear Ron scream.

I shoot up in bed, grabbing my glasses and looking around wildly. Neville is standing next to Seamus' bed. He whips around at the sound of Ron's scream, shouting "Silencio!" at him.

"Make another sound and you're dead," he grinds out.

My mouth is gaping as I sleep clears from my mind and all of a sudden I realize how fiercely and determinately my heart is pounding.

"Is…did you…is Seamus…?"

Seamus is still. Pale. Squinting, I can't see his chest rising and falling. I can't believe it; I can't swallow the truth. If all is what it seems, Neville just killed Seamus in his sleep.

Neville stares at me, looks me in the eye, his blue eyes haunted. Tears are swimming in his eyes but he looks determined. His mouth is moving, and I realize that he just answered my question: yes, he killed Seamus.

Ron is frantic, silenced by magic but his mouth moving a mile a minute. He's moving around, waving his arms when Neville turns to him and yells, "Pertrificus totalus!" and now Ron is both silent and still.

I see Dean on the other side of the room. He looks shocked, but angry and determined. Our eyes lock and Dean nods at me and then at Neville's back. I realize he wants me to distract Neville.

I'm shaking and sweating and I'm pretty sure I can't feel my hands. I stare at the boy who I thought was my friend and just say, "Why?"

He looks crazy at my question, eyes deranged and hands waving wildly. I notice now that he's changed from his pajamas into his regular school robes – he even looks more powerful than us at this moment. He stalks around the room, eyes on me, ranting, "Why? Why have I never been good enough? Well, I'll show them. I'm good enough now! I'm not powerful enough for you, Grandma? Well, I have the power to end people!"

"Neville, please, no one thinks you're-"

In the middle of my reply, he spins faster than I thought possible and with a flash of green light, Dean falls to the ground. Dean had been leaning over to get his wand from his bedside table. With the odd, leaning balance his body fell face first to the wooden floor with a disturbing crunch.

Neville turns back towards me like nothing just happened and takes an angry step in my direction. He spits, "No one what, Harry? No one thinks I'm stupid? No one thinks I'm fat? You saw Malfoy take my remembrall. You saw them laughing."

I'm gaping at what just happened. He just killed Dean like it was nothing. I stutter, "B-but Seamus didn't take your remembrall! And neither did Ron or Dean! I got your remembrall back!" I cried, tears stinging my eyes.

"Oh, don't play the hero card with me, Harry," he slams his hand onto my trunk, the crash making me jump. "Perfect Potter, always doing the right thing. I don't want to hear about you. This isn't about you, anyway. Or Ron, or Seamus, or Dean. This is about me showing people that I am strong."

I'm staring at him, my face burning. "Please," I whisper, "Please don't hurt us."

He gets a wicked grin on his face. He stands up and with a laugh in his tone says, "Don't hurt you?" He hums. "Sorry, no can do."

Before I know what's happening, he whirls around and points his wand at Ron's still form. The only way I know Ron is still alive are his eyes moving rapidly and his mouth moving a mile a minute, though no sound comes out.

"Crucio," Neville grinds out. I yell, "No!" and Ron's mouth is open in a silent scream.

"Neville, what do you want?" I yelled, realizing there are tears on my cheeks and my eyes are wet. "Killing us isn't going change anything or make you feel better."

As soon as I say it and see the manic look in his eyes, I know I said the wrong thing. I immediately jump out of bed but I'm too late. The flash of green hits Ron as my feet hit the floor. My first friend is dead. I said the wrong thing. I hate myself. I hate Neville. I hate that green light.

"On the contrary," Neville says, twirling his wand as I stand frozen in place, "I do think I feel a little better."

I realize that my chest is heaving with sobs. Everything sounds like it's coming from so far away. I'm terrified, but now I feel…defeated. Empty. I know I'm not leaving Gryffindor tower alive.

"Why?" I sob. "Why would you kill my first friend? You think your life is bad? Ron was the first friend I ever had!" I'm screaming now. He runs over and bodily slams me against the wall, his palm covering my mouth. His wand is pointed at me and I close my eyes.

"Don't say another word!" he whispers fiercely in my ear. I keep crying into his hand. I don't know how to handle my emotions, even though my life depends on it. I feel like a dead man walking.

"Stop crying!" He hit my head against the wall he's holding me up to. I feel blood trickling down my neck, to my pajamas. "What are you crying for, boy-who-lived? Do you know what it was like to grow up without your parents because they were tortured to insanity? To never feel like you're good enough? To have people doubting your magic?"

The hollowness that was within me seems to fill, in that moment, with rage. Neville has no idea who I am, no idea what my life has been like, yet he's ready to end it. My body feels like it's filled to the brim with red, a burning light flowing from me. The room starts to shake, feeding off of my fury.

I put my hands on his chest and push him away. He stumbles, and I start to roar. "You think you know me? You think my life is the best thing ever? Have you forgotten I don't have any parents either? I grew in a cupboard. You're mad because your Grandma makes you feel bad? My uncle wouldn't feed me and would lock me in my cupboardif I didn't do my chores fast enough!"

My chest is heaving as I stare at him. He's staring at me. He looks ready to pounce and I am ready to fight. People must have heard my shouting, people have to be coming for us by now.

I think he is going to yell back, or hit me, or kill me. But he just says quietly, "I thought I told you to be quiet. Crucio."

I don't know what I expected the cruciatus curse to be like, but the pain was 100 times worse than I thought was possible. If people did not here me hollering, I'm certain they can hear my screams. I am being stabbed by thousands of burning knives. Death would be a blessing.

In one fluid motion, he drops the curse and pulls me to my knees. That's when I simultaneously realize that death is imminent and that there are feet on the stairs.

There are feet on the stairs!

Neville is behind me; I can feel his hand in my hair, which he's holding to keep me in place on my knees. I'm shaking, from fear or the curse I am not sure. There's a ringing in my ears. The feet and voices on the stairs are getting closer, and I allow the tiniest bit of hope to grow in my heart. I hear Professor McGonagall saying, "Hurry!" to someone.

Then I hear him whisper the words that will end my life, "Avada Kedavra!" All is green and

Fin.