Pairing: Harry/Neville.
Prompt: Surviving.
The war took its toll on everyone. Not one person was left completely untouched. Some people never recovered from the trauma they witnessed, or the pain they inflicted. Just because it was 'for the greater good' didn't mean someone would feel less guilty about causing pain or ending a life.
Neville Longbottom was one such person; there were some days he wasn't sure if he would ever feel whole again. The guilt of not being able to help everyone at Hogwarts ate away at him. He knew that it would have been impossible to be everywhere at once-but he would have gladly taken everyones' punishments. He would have gladly suffered in their stead. Neville dreamed every night of a different possible outcome; every night he saved someone.
Harry Potter was another person who would never be the same. He would spend each waking moment wondering what he could have done differently in order to save someone. He knew that no one blamed him for their loved ones' deaths, but he couldn't help but feel guilty that he survived and they did not.
Harry and Neville both felt guilty about surviving. They both felt pain. They thought that no one could understand what they were going through. But then they found each other; and eventually, they washed away each other's guilt. They had been surviving seperately, but together they were living.
