Traitor
Disclaimer: All of this is based upon the lovely J.K. Rowling's work.
"…": dialogue
(…): Random Thoughts
It's hard to believe that we had a traitor in our midst … and one so easily overlooked.
You asked if I know him … he-who-is-unnamed … Voldemort's biggest supporter.
Maybe … I thought I did, but who ever really knows someone else. Knows how they feel, what they think, who they really are.
Sure he's a pureblood, but that doesn't mean anything. Look at the Weasleys, purebloods the lot of them … but then they are considered blood traitors.
Our little traitor never was. Personally, I don't believe that he was ever thought of enough to earn such a title.
…But I guess it doesn't truly matter now. We all know where his true loyalties lie.
And we all overlooked him. Well, not all of us. There was something about him … I could always tell. For the most part I just wasn't sure what it meant … and when I finally realized, it was far too late for him.
But as for everyone else … they barely even noticed that he existed. Even his own family never really noticed him … and when they did … it was only too berate him … to constantly compare him to others … to his other relatives. He was always the weird one, the useless one.
Hell, even Voldemort overlooked him … in favor of another…
And look at him now. All those that were too busy, too good, too smart … all those that were better than him … look at them now. They cower and shriek if you even mention his name. All (well, almost all) fear to speak his name. He is right up there with Voldemort, and all that you-know-who rubbish.
But I don't fear it (his name) and I don't fear him. I was there almost from the beginning … I could see the evil form and spread within. But try as I might, I could not stop it. I could only watch … and pray.
And in the end all my prayers went unanswered. All that was left of that young boy I knew so long ago was a monster within a man.
Poor little boy: overlooked, underappreciated, never good-enough…
And look how he turned out… a liar, a betrayer, a murderer, a monster… a scared little boy who is surrounded by people yet all alone.
You asked if I know him. Yes, once upon a time I did (after all, I did share a dorm with him for six years)… but not now. I knew him as he was: a boy, a wizard, a Gryffindor, a friend…
I knew him as who he used to be (before the entire he-who-is-unnamed bit) … I knew him when he was still himself. When he was still…
Neville Longbottom.
AN: I know this is a rather odd format (telling a story through a series of brief remembrances and random thoughts), but I just wanted to experiment. Most likely the rest of the story will be told in similar fashion. Most of it (like all of the chapters thus far) will be told from Harry's point of view. However, occasionally it will be in the words of other characters … just not the ones you would normally suspect.
ReginaLucifer: Drifting apart from my friends and family is one of my greatest fears (along with losing them in any fashion). I imagine with Harry's upbringing he would greatly fear this as well. Further, I suspect that now (starting with the sixth book) his boggart is quite different than what it was earlier in the series.
Nightwisp, Shadowface: Thanks!
Ever Hopeful,
T.S.T