Author's Note: Because Amber made me
Burning
498 words
The dungeons seem abnormally quiet as Neville works his way towards the Slytherin common room. There's rubble and debris all over the floor from the walls that have been smashed and blown up during the battle, but footprints in the dust tell him he's going the right way.
The common room's portrait has been left open. Daphne stands in the center of the room, dark hair up in a messy ponytail as she systematically sets fire to every chair in sight.
"Having fun?" he asks to draw her attention. She turns her head and smiles.
"Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
It's true. He's seen her steal from professors' desks and break noses. Still, demolishing her own common room doesn't seem like Daphne's thing.
He watches as she pockets her wand and pulls out a cigarette, lighting it on a flaming armchair. He thinks to reprimand her but doesn't see the point. Daphne doesn't take kindly to orders or directions.
"What's all this for?"
She lets out a puff of smoke and shrugs. "I hate this house. I hate what it's become."
"So you thought burning it down would help?"
"Better it burns than they shove a new bunch of kids in here and pretend like everything's okay." She takes a long pull from the cigarette. "Maybe now they'll have time to rethink the system. Fix things."
Smoke from the cigarette and fire mix, filling the room quickly. Neville covers his mouth and extinguishes the flames.
"You're no fun," Daphne tells him, plopping down on the floor. Neville sits next to her.
"Are you okay?"
"Admittedly, I've been better. What about you? You look like hell."
"I feel like it, but I'm far from the worst out there."
Daphne grimaces and flicks her cigarette into the empty fireplace. "You need a holiday. Pack a bag and travel the world. Get away from all the bloodshed."
"Is that what you're doing?" Neville asks. He can't help but feel upset at the prospect of Daphne leaving. He can picture it clearly in his mind, the raven-haired beauty backpacking through Europe or Asia. But he's grown used to her company in the months she's been assisting the DA, as unlikely as their partnership seems from the outside.
"Tori wants me to stay. I know it's the right thing to do. Stay, help her and Dad, be a productive member of society or something."
"But you don't?"
"Not really." She rests her head against the cold stone wall and sighs. "What should I do, Nev?"
"Go." It hurts him to say it, but he knows it's the right thing to do.
"Will you come with me?"
"I can't. I need to see this through, to make things better."
Daphne smiles and takes his hand. "You're a good person, Neville. I'm glad I got to know you, even while the world was falling apart."
He returns the smile. "I'll still be here, whenever you come back."