Soar
A Harry Potter fan fiction of Luna and Neville [The best couple ever (Even though JK disagrees.)]
Neville and Luna were preparing for war.
Luna's POV
We all were. I sat next to Neville. I was looking at the ceiling; sure the nargles up there would come after us. He was polishing his wand, pretending it was HIGHLY useful for those of them who didn't know it was nearly useless to him. The poor boy couldn't use a wand better than a first-year. He thought more of us thought he was decent then was true. Oh Neville…
A few kids were in the corner practising their patroni. Was it patroni? Or would it be patronises? I do believe it would be patroni. Patronus, patroni. The kids' heads were covered in wrackspurts. They wrackspurts were red. It looks quite American for a Scottish school. Red wrackspurts are above their heads and blue-silver patroni are coming from their wands. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. I'm in Ravenclaw, what boy is in Gryffindor? Other than Harry, for Ginny has a crush on Harry. I mustn't cross Ginny. It would also be peculiar if I dated Ronald or Dean. Seamus is much too uncreative. My father would not approve. That leaves many boys. Like Neville. Neville…
Neville, who I have had a crush on since first year. Neville, the gentle boy who wouldn't think to hurt a fly without good reason. The boy who was rumored to have fainted at the sight of a small mandrake. Neville is a beautiful option. In the end, the curtain will fall and I will end with Neville. I went back to polishing my wand before standing up and walking over to the patroni people. I got about halfway there before turning back to see Neville sitting. I sit back down next to him. He always needs practice.
"Do you want some patroni practice?"
"I-I don't think so….." He drifted off.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him up, making his eyes pull back to me, even as he towered half a foot above. "The wrackspurts must have taken control," I confirmed. "Now come and practice."
To his gentle protests and light pulls we ended up near the patroni kids. I focus on my mother's last experiment. The bunny appears quickly as a tear and a bead of sweat each roll down my face.
I turn to Neville and cut off my emotions like I do anytime I feel close to crying. I never tell anyone. That's how Cho and I became friends. I taught her how to cut her emotions off after Cedric died. Once in a while we would go into the astronomy tower and spend the night with wet faces. Sometimes she would swear she saw him when she was the first in the Room of Requirements. She would be in a room with one big glass bowl. It would show a million memories of him. On the other side there was a looking glass that showed him sparkling in the light and moving at the speed of sound.
I smooth my voice. "Your turn."
He takes a stance. His face drips with sweat and his brow furrowed. He gasped as the Patronus came out. Indeed, not the whole creature, but the shield. This was remarkable for him.
I clap. "Very good! You are very good."
He smiles. The wrackspurts are leaving his head alone. He begins walking closer. I close the distance and look up. I grab his hand. For a while we just stand there smiling at each other. Love songs like Adele swirl around my head like wrackspurts. I laugh. He laughs without knowing why.
We are cut off by an out of breath Ginny running in, red hair flying in all directions.
"They're here." She gasps. We have no questions, no words. We line up in our ranks, ready to charge off to battle. We exit the Room of Requirements, soldiers kissing each other for we can't trust we'll ever come back. As we are waiting to leave, two boys run to the front. Two nameless students: one Hufflepuff, one Gryffindor.
Then they start a craze. Revelations. They start it by saying that we might never come back, so there were some things everyone had to get out. They tell us not to tell anyone if they make it out of this alive. So I can't tell you what they say. They say in unison. 2 other students do the same exact confession. People mutter to each other, saying things that they had to tell. Those 4 students had not a single soul suspect them before they charged in front of the DA and told their revelations. When we finally exit the room, I am gazing longingly at Neville.
The frontrunners were quickly barraged by Death Eaters. That row peeled off. All the adults were staring in the Great Hall. Harry, Hermione, and Ronald were- well, none of us really knew…. But they were here. Neville was in charge of the DA for now. And the Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons, who had come a few days ago because it is easier to protect one school than three. Of course, there were the students who didn't know anything was wrong, or were fighting for the other side. Neville is a marvelous leader.
The frontrunners break off to deal with these infantile morons. That leaves the row Neville and I are in to the front. In a few minutes we'll break into smaller factions. I'll be with Ginny, Cho, Gabrielle Delacour, Katie Bell, and Lavender. Neville will be with Seamus, Dean, Michel Corner, Colin Creevey, and Justin Finch-Fletcher. We separate into our groups and Neville heaves a sword off the wall. He goes left as I go right. I don't pay attention to where the other groups go and I try not to hear the screams. We fight through throngs of people, good and evil. Within the first 800 meters, Katie and Lavender became locked in combat with one Death Eater. Another Death Eater charges and I am broken off to fight. The group keeps moving, always moving, and Katie and Lavender fly back up, catching up as I fight. Not literally, however. Katie got rid of her broom when Quiditch was banned. The Death Eater and I keep going with a steady back and forth, neither going anywhere. Somehow I get a sense he's teasing me, but it doesn't matter. We continue.
Without thinking, I utter the final curse.
"CRUCIO!" The man, not expecting it, falls to the ground, shocked even through his mask. I realize what I did suddenly. This man is dead. I caused it. I murdered him. My hand flies to my mouth, and I turn a new shade of pale. I can feel it. I have killed. There can no longer be a claim to my innocence. It doesn't matter Death Eater or not, this man is dead and I caused it. I am to blame by his family and friends. I am too ashamed to go back to the group and I carry on, alone.
I walk around a corner, another, and come to the Ravenclaw portrait. I must know what's going on in there.
I enunciate, "Hogwarts, a History."
The lady turns to me. "Oh dear, come in, come in, quickly!" She ushers me inside. "Is it bad? They're making quite a mess, are they not?"
They are, or he is. There is one giant with a sword in the center of the room. There is a girl in the corner. A first year with her eyes open and unblinking. Dead.
I advance slowly, slipping my wand from behind my ear. He lumbers around making a mess, until his eyes land on me. He stops, and I freeze. I stumble back and trip, my wand rolling out of my hand as I slam against the ground. Blue carpet. Good thing they didn't go with the silver tile in the recent remodeling. I reach across the floor as he lumbers towards me. Filling with terror, I scramble towards the wand, it just evading my grasp. The giant nears me, bringing his sword over his head. He starts his sword down as I utter a final 'Crucio.'
Whispered, it sounds deadlier. His sword is coming towards me and I can't evade it. He is falling towards me, a dead body. The sword will stab me, he will fall upon me, and I will die. The last thought in my mind as the sword comes down is 'Two.'