Written for the fourth round of the Speed of Lightning Competition at the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum. The story had to have a happy ending. I hope I succeeded.

Eeep, I almost didn't have time to write this! Quick, quick, quick and not the best thing I've ever written, but I'm quite happy with it. I'm a proud Neville/Hannah shipper from now on :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Enjoy! Reviews make an author's day! :)

Brave

The first time they talked, it was the worst day of her life.

"I am sorry to say that your mother has been killed by Lord Voldemort, Miss Abbott."

The words seemed to echo everywhere, not letting her breathe, choking her...

Dead, dead...

Mum is dead...

She ran away from Albus Dumbledore's office, her eyes filled with tears, not really knowing nor caring where she was going. She just needed to breathe, to escape. It wasn't long before she tripped over her own feet and collapsed next to one of the Herbology greenhouses, sobbing uncontrollably.

Dead, dead...

She lost track of time, just lying there, curled into a ball. The tears stopped after a while, but the sobs didn't. Part of her knew that she should be stronger, braver, able to cope with the pain. It was what any Gryffindor would do.

But she was a Hufflepuff, and she didn't know what true courage was.

"Hannah?"

She jumped and quickly stood up, almost crashing into the person who had spoken. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was Neville Longbottom, the clumsy, shy Gryffindor boy that always got better marks than her in Herbology.

"What?" she asked, her voice cracking. She tried to hold back her tears.

Neville looked very uncomfortable. "I... I just wanted to see if you were alright..."

"Did Professor Sprout send you?" She was shaking slightly now. "Well, you can tell her that-"

"No, she didn't send me."

"Was it McGonagall, then? Or Dumbledore?" Her voice was getting louder. "Just leave me alone, I'm fi-"

"I wanted to talk to you."

That caught her off guard. "Why?" she asked blankly.

Neville took a deep breath. "Because I... I know how it feels to lose someone," he said quietly. "I lost my family when I was a kid, and it hurt. A lot. Right here," he said, putting a hand over his heart, his brown eyes locking onto her green ones.

Hannah nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek.

And a few moments later she was crying again, with Neville Longbottom at her side.

Then came a time when they both had to grow up and face their fears.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Hannah scowled at her feeble Patronus. Well, it didn't even deserve to be called a Patronus. It was just a bit of silvery smoke, nothing else. How pathetic.

"Are you okay, Hannah?" It was Neville. Again.

Since the school had been taken over by Snape and the Carrows, the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students had decided to stick together. Which meant that Hannah and Neville spent a lot of time together, whether they were studying, complaining about the new regime or just chatting. It was Neville who had taken the first step towards their friendship. When Hannah had returned to school at the beginning of the year, he'd immediately asked her if she felt better, and she was very grateful for it. She needed someone who understood, and Neville was that someone.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"I don't believe you," he said, raising an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just having some trouble with my Patronus. It's nothing, really. Go practice with Colin or Dennis, they need your help more than I do," she said, pursing her lips.

Because a small voice inside her head was telling her to shut the hell up and let Neville give her a hand.

Neville grinned. "Nah, they're doing alright. You're more fun to be around with, anyway."

Hannah blushed. She tried to think of something witty to say, but her mind had gone blank. Before she could tell herself to get a grip, however, a scream pierced the air.

"SEAMUS!"

Several gasps could be heard as the DA members saw Seamus Finnigan collapse on the floor, having just entered the Room of Requirement. His face was bruised, covered in blood, and there were several cuts all over his body.

"Seamus!" Lavender Brown ran up to her boyfriend, tears streaming down her cheeks. She took his hand, looking at her fellow students pleadingly.

"M'okay, Lav..." muttered Seamus before he fainted.

Hannah was frozen, her mind not quite processing what had just happened. She stared at the pool of blood that was steadily spreading on the floor, feeling sick and horrified. The Carrows had punished Seamus, but why? Could anyone be evil enough to hurt a defenseless boy, to torture him for no reason?"

"Hannah," Neville's voice made her jump. He'd put a hand on her shoulder and was looking at her with such intensity that her heart skipped a beat. "You're good at healing spells, right?"

She bit her lip. "I... I don't know... Maybe Madam Pomfrey..."

Neville shook his head. "The Carrows have forbidden her from healing anyone who's been... punished." He frowned at the last word. "You're the best at healing, Hannah."

She couldn't say no to him.

Minutes later, she was sitting on the floor next to Seamus, using every single healing spell she knew while trying to comfort a near-hysterical Lavender Brown. Slowly, color returned to Seamus' cheeks and his cuts stopped bleeding.

And when she finished, Neville's smile was filled with so much gratitude and admiration that she looked down at the floor, her cheeks burning. Because she'd tried to tell herself that she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it.

She just wished she could stop feeling those... those feelings.

There was one time she almost died to save his life.

'Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting.'

Hannah couldn't help feeling rather proud as she admired her handiwork. Neat letters, written with Non-Vanishing Ink. She knew she'd just broken practically every single school rule, but, for the first time in her life, she didn't care. It was thrilling, wandering the corridors at night. She felt strong.

She felt brave.

"Nice work, Hannah." She blushed at Neville's words.

"Er... Thank you. Should we... go?"

Smooth, Hannah. Smooth.

Neville nodded, looking around. "Yes, and fast. We don't want dear Alecto to find us, do we?" He took her hand and began walking.

He took her hand.

Hannah was so busy trying to not think about the fact that her palms were sweaty and her face was as red as a Weasley's hair, that she didn't notice the Death Eater until it was too late.

"Well, well, well... A Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff out for a night-time stroll. Headmaster Snape will be most pleased when he hears about this..."

It all happened so fast she barely had time to let out a frightened squeak. In one swift movement, Neville hid her from view and took out his wand, pointing it at Alecto Carrow's sneering face.

Alecto let out a shrill cackle. "Trying to protect your little girlfriend, are you, Longbottom?"

"Hannah," Neville muttered. "Get out of here."

"What? No! I'm not going to leave you here with her!" she hissed.

Alecto twirled her wand lazily in her hand. "Enough talking, blood traitors. CRUCI-"

"NO!"

Hannah didn't think, didn't care about what was going to happen. She shoved Neville out of the way and was hit in the chest by the Torture Curse.

Fire, fire that burned her skin, her muscles, everything. Thousands of knives twisting, cutting, adding to the agony. She thrashed, screaming, trying to get away from the pain. She could feel her mind slipping away, her sanity fading...

Make it... Make it stop...

"HANNAH, NO!"

And it was at that moment when she realized just how much she was willing to do for Neville Longbottom.

Then everything faded to black and she knew no more.

In the end, she got tired of waiting and showed that Hufflepuffs could be brave as well.

"Episkey, Vulnera Sanentur, Ferula..."

Hannah muttered spell after spell at an incredible speed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She caressed Neville's face, biting her lip. What if her magic wasn't enough? What if he...

What if he died?

He'd been knocked out by Lord Voldemort ten minutes ago, and he still hadn't woken up. Hannah's heart throbbed with pain at the thought that he might never wake up.

Because she'd tried to deny it, but she knew that she was in love with the once clumsy Gryffindor who had turned into a brave leader. She'd fallen in love with the shy boy who had comforted her when her mother died. She'd fallen in love with Neville Longbottom.

And there was no way in hell she was going to let him die.

When he twitched, his warm brown eyes blinking, she felt a rush of pure joy.

"Hannah..." he muttered. "Why're you crying?"

"Because I love you," she said simply, as if it was the most obvious and natural thing in the world. "I love you, Neville. And I always will."

He stared at her for a few moments. Brown and green. Green and brown.

And then he kissed her.