Neville Longbottom and the True Rumors
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Summary: Everyone knows what happened to Harry in Deathly Hallows, but not much is known about the occurrences at Hogwarts. What really went down at Hogwarts while Harry was off Horcrux hunting?
A/n: Thanks for the reviews! I am probably going to try and update every other day rather than every day, that was just getting a bit… hard on my brain.
My idea for the beast comes from James Rollins, an amazing author… go read his stuff.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. If it was Fred Weasley would NOT have died.
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Chapter 11: Run Away!
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Neville didn't get much sleep though. He was so exhausted, but when he woke up it was only two hours since he fell asleep. He could see the sky above him lightening as the sun began to peek over the horizons.
He shifted slightly against the tree, and then his heart started beating faster as he realized that he actually had fallen asleep, no matter how hard he had tried the previous night to stay awake. Exhaustion had gotten the better of him. He was so disappointed in himself as he looked down at Luna. They both seemed to be okay, but how in the world could he let himself fall asleep like that? Something could have come and attacked them while they slept.
"Neville!"
His eyes darted around the forest as he heard someone call his name, or at least he thought he did. He continued looking around, but didn't see anything.
"Neville!"
That time it seemed louder. A lot louder. It sounded like Hagrid.
"HAGRID!" he called out.
That woke Luna up. She yawned slowly and looked up at Neville. A slight blush tinged her cheeks and she moved a bit away from Neville.
"Good morning Neville," she said with a small smile. "We're you awake all night?"
He shook his head. "I think I fell asleep."
"Oh," she said softly.
"Neville!" Ginny's voice came through the forest.
"GINNY!!! HAGRID!!!" Neville shouted.
He heard a cracking behind him and turned around, hoping to see Hagrid coming through the forest to get them out of here. But Neville couldn't be more wrong.
"Luna! Neville!" It was Ginny again.
A loud roar came from the forest causing Neville to jump up, pulling his wand out of his pocket. He pulled Luna to her feet. The roar came from their right while the voices were coming from their left. "Run," he whispered as he started running, pulling Luna along. The last thing he wanted was to meet was that… thing. Neville wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was terrifying. Besides, even with the horrible circumstances, Neville wanted to stay alive, and whatever that thing was… it was following them.
"Neville, look…" Luna had stopped and Neville kept pulling her. "Neville… tracelneg eggs!" She was looking at what looked like a gigantic bird nest on the ground with huge eggs in it.
"Luna…" Neville sighed, pulling her along. His heart was pounding in his chest as he ran. Okay, his New Year's Resolution this year was definitely going to get into better shape. He hadn't even been running that long and he was totally exhausted. But he forced himself to keep going even if he was exhausted.
But the thing was getting closer. And he hadn't run into Hagrid or Ginny. Actually, he hadn't heard them, but how could he? All Neville could concentrate on was his own heart pounding in his chest and the sounds of the creature following them, stalking its prey.
His hands were sweating, making it difficult to keep his wand in his tight grip. His lungs were on fire from how fast he was breathing. He was sure he wasn't getting any oxygen as he inhaled.
"Neville…" Luna whispered, almost as breathless as Neville was.
Neville didn't say anything, he just kept going. He needed to get her to safety. He wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay. He got her into this; he had to get her out of it.
It all happened in a flash. Neville tripped on a tree root and at the same time a deafening roar broke through the forest as the beast leaped towards Neville. Neville flipped himself around and came face to face with it.
"NEVILLE!" Luna shouted.
Neville held his wand out, pointed right at the ugly beast. It looked like it was half bear and half hyena. Drool dripped from its bared fangs as it advanced on Neville. His hand started shaking as he looked into the creature's dark eyes. What was this thing? A strange type of chimera? He learned about them in third year with Professor Lupin.
The chimera roared again causing Neville to grow even more scared.
"NEVILLE!" Luna shouted again.
Neville was almost in shock. He couldn't move, he couldn't think. He barely even heard Luna shouting his name. His eyes were locked on the creature, this thing he had never seen before. His heart pounded, his mind frozen in time.
He blinked slowly and immediately sent a curse at it: "St-tupefy!" Nothing. It didn't faze the creature. It continued advancing on its prey, almost taunting Neville. It could probably smell the Gryffindor's fear. Because let's face it, Neville was scared out of his mind.
"Run Luna…" he whispered. Whether she ran or not, Neville wasn't sure, because the next thing he realized he was on his feet again and running away from the beast and Luna, but the bear-hyenalike chimera was chasing him rather than Luna. Obviously it liked the chase.
So this was how he was going to die then? Chased by a wild animal in the Forbidden Forest. Probably torn to shreds by those razor sharp teeth. The creature was still chasing him.
But Neville didn't want to die. Who did? He knew the creature was catching up with him, and he couldn't outrun it for much longer. The only chance he had at survival was to outsmart it, and right now, Neville couldn't think of anything except how this thing was going to tear him limb from limb.
Neville wasn't sure how long it was until he finally lost. He collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, in a small grove of plants that he didn't have the energy to think about what they were. He just couldn't run anymore. His legs were burning, his heart felt like it was a few sizes too big and beating so fast that it was preventing his lungs from expanding. All he could think about was this was where he was going to die; in the heart of the Forbidden Forest. Hopefully there would be something left of him to send back to his Gran.
His vision was blurring, but he could hear the creature coming closer until a low growl told him it was right on top of him. Neville was looking right into its eyes, his vision focusing on the creature. He was so tired. He could just make out the drool forming on its jaw, all those sharp teeth… those dark eyes…
He never thought this was how he was going to go. He was always figured that something would happen with one of his dangerous plants. Even if he was extremely cautious around everything to keep from harming himself, there was just going to be that one day when he wasn't going to be careful enough.
But that… that wasn't going to happen. He was never going to see Luna again. Never hear her talk about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Nargles. His Gran would never yell at him for not making his bed or for spending too much time in the garden and missing lunch. He'd never see Harry finally defeat Voldemort and Snape and the Carrows getting exactly what they'd deserve. He'd never get his revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange.
As Neville's eyes began drifting shut, the creature left out a bone chilling howl. Neville's wand lay discarded somewhere in the forest, having fallen out of his hand while he was running. He was defenseless, nothing he could do to stop his impending doom.
The last thing Neville Longbottom remembered was the creature pouncing on top of him, its hot breath on his face, and then everything fell into darkness.
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A/n: Oh noes!
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