Writing Club

Character Appreciation - 17. Going through a hard time

Book Club - Ria Wolf: (setting) sporting event, (word) awkward, (object) bed

Showtime - Funny Honey - (dialogue) "He doesn't care."

Days of the Month - Get Over It Day - Write about a character getting over something.

CYB: (word) encouragement, (song) "Dying to Live" by Scott Stapp

Other Challenges

Creativity Month - Muggle!AUs - Disability!AU

Crafty Cooking - Vodka - (character) Neville Longbottom, (AU) Amnesia

Quilting Appreciation Day - NevilleTheo

Insane House - 103. NevilleTheo

Jewel Challenge - Iolite Bracelet - Write about someone with amnesia

Disability!AU

I. The End

The last things Neville remembers is the squeal of tires, a deafening crash, and then the smell of smoke. He can taste the metallic tang on blood in his mouth, feel a blinding pain in his head, and then, blackness.

II. The Dreams

Visions dance through his head. He dreams of his mother's scrumptious lemon meringue pie, his father's delicious barbecued steak, of his friends' smiling faces. He doesn't want to leave this realm, this heaven he's in.

His fantasies are ephemeral. He feels himself drifting towards the surface, but something always drags him away.

He fights it.

III. The Awakening

Neville wakes up with the sensation of someone pounding hammers against his skull. He blinks, disoriented, and then his eyes focus.

The first thing he's aware of is the emptiness. The room is excessively white, but vacant. He doesn't know why. The white hurts his eyes and he shuts them.

He searches his brain for any recollections of his arrival here. He can't find any. All he can feel is the throbbing in his head and the soft, cottony sheets of his bed.

There's a knock somewhere to his right at that precise moment. He turns his head in the direction of it and his mouth moves. "Yes?"

"Oh good, you've woken up." A person dressed in the same white as the room enters and Neville has to squint to discern them.

It's a man, judging by the blurred features of his face. He has a slanted nose and cropped brown hair and his eyes are a delicate shade of cerulean.

And that's when Neville truly awakens.

IV. The Recovery

Dr. Nott puts a name to the blankness of his brain. It's called amnesia.

Amnesia is your worst enemy at the moment, he says. It's hard to beat, nearly impossible, but it has and can be done.

He may never get his memories back, or at least, not all of them. It's a good thing, in a way, because there are certain things he would like to never recall again.

After twelve months of rehab, Neville has made a lot of progress, enough that he can go outside and socially interact. It's a huge leap, but he is more than prepared.

Dr. Nott escorts him. He dresses in a smart blue shirt that matches his eyes and he looks dapper. Neville, who is quite awkward even with memory loss, stumbles as he sees him. His doctor smiles at him and Neville feels warmth spread through his chest.

They visit a football game between Liverpool and Manchester City. There is a short intermission in which they invite members of the crowd to participate. Neville, who alone knows that Dr. Nott jogs in the morning, encourages him to join.

He doesn't win, but Neville is still proud of him.

V. The Confession

Another four months go by. Neville feels a blooming sensation every time Dr. Nott walks into the room, a smile on his face.

This is the man who helped him recover. This is the one person apart from his family and friends who stuck by him. And now, he means so much more to him than ever before.

He loves this man with all of his heart.

VI. The Beginning

Neville is finally released. He doesn't want to leave. There's someone who he's going to lose if he does.

His feelings are so passionate that he wrenches away from Harry the moment he walks out of those doors. He's vaguely aware of where he's headed.

(Ginny tries to call him back, but Harry tells her, "He doesn't care, let him go.")

Dr. Nott starts as Neville bursts into his room, out of breath.

"Neville, what are you—"

"I love you," he interrupts breathlessly. "I love you so much. I want to date you, marry you, and everything else. You're the only one for me."

Dr. Nott's expression is unreadable. Neville catches his breath.

"I love you too," he murmurs huskily.

And as Neville briskly crosses the room and kisses the daylights out of Dr. Nott - Theo - he's happier than ever.

(Later, after they have a heart-to-heart, Neville puts a name to the feeling—bliss.)

698 words