Warning! Death, murder, war, bloodshed, diversion from canon.
Neville was four when the swan first showed up.
It was at his birthday party which consisted of himself, his grandmother, and three of his grandmother's friends (Florence, Marjorie and Joan). They had arranged a wonderful afternoon tea for him and, after that excitement, were now taking a small rest in the garden room as Neville was ordered to play outside and get rid of his excess energy.
He had been wandering around, not quite sure how he was supposed to get rid of his energy, when one moment he had been upright and the next he was backwards on the floor trying to shove something off of him. When he finally managed to shove whatever was on him off, he jumped up quickly, backing up a few paces.
"Hey!" He shouted. There in front of him was a swan, chewing on one of the sandwiches which had previously been in his pocket for safekeeping to eat later. "That was rude!"
He continued to shout, but his cries were silenced when the swan turned its long neck towards him. Its beady black eyes stared into his soul, judging him.
Neville didn't feel very confident when all the swan did was honk before returning to pecking at the sandwich.
He stared at it a little while longer before remembering what Grandmother had said, "Your parents are Gryffindors, just like you will be, courageous and strong." With those thoughts in mind, he gathered up what little courage he had and strode over to the swan.
"Grandmother says it's polite to share. But I only share with my friends. So if you want the sandwich, you'll have to be my friend."
The swan gathered up its long neck and gazed once more at Neville.
They stood in silence; Neville dared not to breathe in fear of interrupting. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the swan honked once more and moved forward to the sandwich still lying on the floor.
Neville cheered; he had made his first real friend without Grandmother there to help him. "I'm so happy we're friends now! What's your name? Do you have one? Is it Delilah? Anne-Marie? Joyce? Or maybe you're a boy! John?"
With the first utterance of a maculine name, the swan turned around and honked quite angrily at him.
"Okay! Not a boy! And none of those earlier names… how about… Gertrude?"
Neville stared at the swan. The swan stared at him.
The swan honked once and nodded.
"Great!" Neville paused for a moment, rummaging through his pockets before triumphantly pulling out another slightly squashed sandwich. "Here you go! Because friends always share everything." He carefully deposited the sandwich onto the ground just in front of Gertrude and waited to see if his new friend would take it. He watched with barely contained glee as Gertrude waddled forward and took a peck out of it. He thought it was the start of what would be an amazing friendship
Grandmother is going to be so proud of me.
Neville waited anxiously at the breakfast table for the morning owls; he had been up half the night nervously tossing and turning, hoping that the letter would show up like Grandmother had promised it would.
He was going into yet another thought spiral when Gertrude yet again pecked him sharply. "Hey!" Neveille jumped but after seeing the glare directed at him from her, yet again, he apologised. "Sorry, Gertrude. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all." Underneath the table, he wrung his hands together as he continued to glance back and forth between the window and the clock.
"Honk!"
Neville jumped before spinning to face her head on as his Grandmother spoke up from her chair at the head of the table. "Gertrude, it is impolite to use that language. Please refrain from doing so."
"Honk."
"Thank you."
Any more of the conversation between them was drowned out by the excited cries from Neville as the owls came in and soon excited honks and congratulations filled the room as the letter was officially opened.
"Honk!"
"Okay! I got it, no beetle eyes! You don't need to keep squawking at me, you know? You could be a bit more useful and actually help me!"
Snape watched on, debating how much he hated children and ineptitude and as to whether this job was actually worth it as a child and a swan argued about the steps for making a sleeping draught.
Maybe he was having a stroke?
Neville huffed in anger as Draco held his Remembeball that Grandmother had sent him as a well done gift for getting into Gryffindor.
Hooch was gone — Dean had taken a plunge off his broom after lifting off too early and had broken his wrist — meaning no teachers were around to rein in Draco.
He went to move, confront him, shout, run away? He did not know. He never got a chance to act as a beak grabbed the back of his top and stopped him from moving with a sharp jerk.
It turned out it was all for the better that Gertrude had stopped him, for as soon as Draco had lifted off the ground did McGonagall appear and she was not happy.
He made sure to sneak her some extra lettuce that he knew she especially liked at dinner time, as a thank you.
"Gertrude! Oh, Merlin! What is that in your feathers? Is that blood?! Are you okay? Where have you been? Once we have seen Madame Pomfrey, we are going to have a long, detailed, talk about this."
Neville later found out from Harry —thanking him profusely— that Gertrude had been the one to peck the eyes out of the Basilisk and save them from certain doom. It was only with that detailed knowledge and a stern talk with Gertrude that he didn't tell Grandmother about her escapades.
Sirius Black never stood a chance of getting into the Gryffindor common room.
Gertrude had taken it upon herself to not only protect Neville from the dangerous man, but to protect all of Gryffindor from him.
With her guarding the door, Sirius had a better chance of survival facing the dementors.
Neville was fourteen when he realised that girls could be, well… girls.
The Yule Ball had been arranged and for once, he had actually been looking forward to attending and dancing. It was to be spectacular.
He had worried for a bit about who to invite; he had rambled on and on about it to Gertrude until finally, when he was next in the common room, she had pecked him sharply and looked at Ginny. It had clicked after another sharp nick and suddenly, he had a date and everything was sorted.
Seeing Ginny had been an epiphany of some type. He had never actually seen her for her, but at that ball he realised that girls were girls.
But nevertheless, Neville had had to put his new found romantic side away for the time being when Brian showed up.
It had caused him lots of panic when he had been on his way to the hall for dinner and Gertrude was nowhere to be seen.
And where had he found her? Off gallivanting with him!
He had the absolute horror of seeing Gertrude making lovey dovey eyes at some hyped up pigeon! Making a show of all his preened feathers and strong beak. It was basically public indecency!
It had taken yet another long conversation for them both to discuss these new developments in their lives and what they meant. Then, after a few shovel talks here and there (Brian knew what was coming for him if he hurt her), they were all good once more.
Gertrude did not like Umbridge. She made that very clear with so much honking that Umbridge never even made it through her opening speech.
Neville couldn't hide the sniggers when each and every one of the educational decrees that she tried to hang up never got anywhere near the wall as Filch was already well aware of how much it could hurt to go near an angry Gertrude.
Neville was not impressed.
Brian seemed to now be a regular character in their lives no matter how much Neville tried to shoo him away. The poncy French swan sashayed all over the castle like he owned the place and even worse was that he had kept taking Gertrude out for fancy sunset flights and moonlit swims.
It was an absolutely disgusting affair and Neville was even more offended when Gertrude seemed to appreciate the advances.
It appeared that Brian was now a regular occurrence in their lives no matter how much he would wish otherwise.
"Honk!"
Neville watched as Getrude flew down and smashed into a Death Eater currently facing him. He heard the loud crack that had quickly been drowned out the ensuing screams from them.
He'd already managed to take down three other Death Eaters, but now that the battle was in full swing, he was lucky he had Gertrude to have his back.
He fired off some spells quickly at the oncoming wave of people, seeing a few people dropping down no longer storming forwards. He was focused on the many people attacking from the front when he suddenly turned around at hearing a honk of pain.
"Gertrude!" Neville screamed as he saw Gertrude plummeting down from where she had been so gracefully avoiding hits. He left his position, sprinting across the field, jumping over people strewn about the field, his attention solely on getting to Getrude.
He was still running as he shouted out the spell that had saved them two years ago at the ministry, "Arresto Momentum!"
He watched on to see the steady decline in speed, but he screamed in anguish when he saw that it wasn't slowing her down at all. If anything Gertrude only sped up towards the cold, hard ground.
He ran, but he could see he was still too far off.
Someone was screaming — he couldn't tell if it was himself or one of the many others trapped in a field of devastation.
He tripped.
The world around him tumbled as he fell.
Gertrude disappeared from his line of vision as his head smashed into the ground.
A moment passed.
He couldn't bear to look up and see the broken and mangled body of his beloved friend.
"Honk!"
Neville's head shot up, he knew that honk! It wasn't Gertrude, but Brian. But maybe, just maybe?
He pushed himself up off the ground, shaking off the mud and wiping his hand across his eyes.
He squinted up, looking at the sky. It was Brian! He watched in awe as Brian led a formation of seven swans, and on his back, Neville could see the limp form of Gertrude.
He let out what could only be described as a roar. Gertrude would be fine; Brian would keep her safe through any means possible.
With that knowledge in mind, he jumped back into the fight, taking down anything and everything that stood in his way on his path to victory.
The sounds around him all blurred together: honks before loud screams could be heard echoing around, cheers from students as they defeated yet another Death Eater together, screams of anguish as another friend was hurt.
It felt like days but for all Neville knew, seconds could have passed since he had been outside on the grounds, fighting to where he was now just outside the entrance where everyone had congregated to.
Neville could see the two sides had formed, and Voldemort was spewing on about how the darkside had won and how Harry was dead. He watched the body of his friend lying limp in Hagrid's arms. It reminded him of how limp and fragile Gertrude had looked.
I hope she isn't dead.
He watched on in silence as Voldemort rambled and laughed like a crazed man.
The world appeared hazy; Neville felt disjointed. He didn't remember picking up the sword. He didn't recall rushing forward towards Nagini. He didn't think about swinging the sword in a mighty arc as it lunged forward towards him.
If asked later on, all he remembered was thinking about Gertrude. Seeing her once beautiful white feathers tarnished black with rivets of bright red blood still running down her wings from open wounds.
If asked, he would say that he did it all for her.
He didn't remember the rest of the battle. His body went through the motions of the fight, but his mind was too occupied to concentrate on anything other than the basic survival instinct.
But it had finally ended. Hours upon hours of fighting, but he had survived, and all he wanted to do was see Gertrude and Brian and be with his family.
He shuffled away from the masses, the aches and pains of the day making themselves known now that he finally had a chance to rest. But he couldn't, not until he'd seen them.
He made his way slowly over to the owlery where he knew they would have hidden away. He felt like the walk over took forever, stopping to help any wounded he saw lying on the ground, yet he knew it couldn't have taken any more than ten minutes.
A cacophony of honks sounded as he pushed open the door until at last he heard Brian's louder honk over the other's, obviously quieting them and letting his friends know Neville was safe to enter.
But Neville couldn't move. He was frozen to the spot. Staring at where Brian was on the ground with Gertrude nestled in front of him. He could see her laboured breathing as her chest rose and fell unevenly, hitching every so often before a tense moment to wait and see if her breathing would continue.
"Oh, Gertrude," Neville whispered, not wanting to disturb her and cause her any more upset. He shuffled in quietly, closing the door shut softly behind him, not wanting a draft to upset her. He limped closer before collapsing onto the floor alongside her. His hands reached out of their own accord before he stopped abruptly, not knowing where he could touch, if he could touch.
Tears fell from his eyes as he heard her honk softly. Her once shiny eyes were now dull from the pain, but they still stared into his soul no matter how old he was.
"Gertrude, please. Just hold on a little while longer, I'll get help, we can fix this. It'll be okay," he repeated the mantra even as she honked once more, her honks falling on deaf ears as he prayed for the impossible.
"Honk."
It was Brian. Neville turned his attention towards him but still torn not wanting to miss any signs from Gertrude. He watched as Brian shuffled slightly, Gertrude shifting alongside him. Just as Neville was about to reach out and stop the shuffling, afraid it was hurting Gertrude, he saw what they wanted him to notice.
An egg.
He gazed at it even as his vision turned watery with more tears.
"Honk."
"Of course. I'll help Brian with her. But you should too, please, just hold on, just a little bit longer. Just—"
"Honk."
With that final statement from Gertrude, Neville let his emotions overwhelm him as he wailed with Brian and his friends. United in shared grief and sorrow, their tune of honking and wails turned into a melancholy tune that none wished to hear but echoed the anguish that all around the ruined castle were feeling.
Gertrude was gone, but her family would live on for her.
The funeral was a sombre affair.
Only Brian, Grandmother and Neville himself were present. It was a cruel reality of the time that no more than a few minutes could be spared to mourn the loss of his dearest friend before they had to move on to the next dearly beloved they had lost, for hundreds had died at the battle and funerals were scheduled back to back.
But after the trialling day filled with sorrow, they retired to the ancestral home where they could mourn in private. His grandmother spoke of how Neville had truly come out of his shell when he had first befriended Gertrude, how seeing him so happy had made her day. Neville cried as he spoke of his first true friend. Brian honked melancholy throughout the eulogy; he had been looking worse for wear without his soulmate. His feathers were pulled and skewed, no longer perfectly preened. His once bright and annoying personality was fading more and more with each passing day.
Neville hoped he could hold on for the hatching of his chick.
His hope had been in vain.
Brian passed away four weeks after Gertrude. His egg had been due to hatch within the next three days.
Once Neville had set eyes on the egg, it had set off a research frenzy that could have rivalled Hermione. He soon learnt that eggs needed a constant temperature of 38 to 41 degrees, needed to remain stable without too much handling to ensure that the chick was stable, and the standard incubation period was 35 to 41 days. But the most important thing they needed was their parents' love and affection.
Brian died on day 36. The egg did not hatch on day 37, nor 38, nor any of the following days.
Neville waited; the days passed. Byday 45 — there had been no movement from the egg, no sounds, no shuffling.
He removed the warming spell he had on the egg.
He set it down on the table.
He cracked it.
And had it fried, in a sandwich.
It was delicious.
THC/The Houses Competition.
Round 7 - Standard
House - Gryffindor
Class - HoH
Prompt(s) chosen -
[Animal] Swan
2963 words (wordcounter .net)