Hm. Some of you didn't like the fact that I've stuck with Dumbledore's Army as the name of the defense group. One of you even said that "EVERYONE keeps using it". Harry didn't give the group a name because he doesn't give a rat's ass about it. He's gaining nothing from this endeavor; hell, he's stunting his own growth because his pesky conscience won't let him ignore the students who will need to defend themselves in the near future.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2014
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Chapter 15: Earth Release

Neville Longbottom.

I checked the Marauder's Map, and the said boy's empty bed for the tenth time tonight. The map said he was near the greenhouses, though I had no idea what he could possibly be doing over there. What was he doing that was so secret that he left after midnight?

"He's not that into Herbology." I muttered to myself as Ron channeled the noise of a roaring engine into his snores. Dean and Seamus were somehow sound asleep through it all.

I thought back to when I first began looking at Neville in a new light, a few weeks ago.

It was during a meeting of the... Dumbledore's Army, was it? I wasn't really paying attention when they were coming up with the group's name. It could be called 'Dick Admirers' for all I knew. Anyway, it was after I pretty much humiliated Zacharias Smith so that he wouldn't challenge my authority again. I'm sure there were plenty of hard feelings, but he's not worth wasting time over.

The idiot had literally stood in place, shooting spells around. What if I was fighting back? Would he have dodged? I really doubted it.

So, there I was, instructing everyone on how to use Expelliarmus. Everyone was paired up except Neville. I figured we could practice on each other. I figured I'd see how fast he could react to sudden danger, and shot a quick Expelliarmus at the round faced boy. What followed was astounding.

The fellow Gryffindor was in the process of reacting to it, but stopped himself and let himself get hit. There was no other explanation. You didn't just go through the motion of dodging and stop yourself if you weren't aware of an attack coming. People who didn't see attacks coming usually ended up dead or injured.

Essentially, Neville somehow knew I was going to attack him, and let himself get hit in order to avoid suspicion. He didn't figure out that I'd noticed this deception, though.

I played it off as my attempt at testing him, and faked a look of slight disappointment at his 'failure', then had him practice disarming me for a few minutes. He pretty much fumbled his way through the spell, with it failing several times. When he finally managed to get it, I congratulated him, and set him up against a few others to practice.

After that particular night, I started stealthily watching the round faced boy during class and lunch times and came to a confusing realization.

He was holding himself back in every single subject except Herbology. I could tell by his facial expression shift. It was as if he didn't care about any of his subjects.

But why?

What was his angle? Was there even an angle?

Then I started noticing that he kept leaving the dorms every few nights. I figured it was no business of mine, but I was getting increasingly curious as time went on, and a little worried about the guy.

I pulled out some warm clothes, and my Cloak of Invisibility. I was going to confront Neville about it; if he wanted me to butt out, I would respect his wishes. Simple as that.

I put the Cloak on, and silently left the dorms, followed by the Common Room. The hallways of Hogwarts Castle were eerily silent. The moonlight gave the snowy backdrop an ethereal feel to it, like it came straight out of a fantasy novel or game. I admired the views as I made my way through the many corridors to get to the castle grounds. It took a little more time, but I finally reached the greenhouses. I checked my map again.

Neville Longbottom.

Okay, he was still here. Time to figure out what he was doing at this time of ni—

The ground shook as slabs of rock rose from my sides and closed in on me, pinning me in between them. There was no time to react. I grunted and attempted to push the walls off of me, but it was a futile gesture. If anything, the walls constricted me even further.

"Who are you?" A familiar voice said from behind me. I couldn't turn my head, due to being locked in place between the walls. It was Neville's voice, though he sounded uncharacteristically hostile.

"Neville, it's me!" I answered back quickly, though it came out as a strangled choking noise instead. It was getting hard to breathe.

"Oh, right." Neville chuckled and the pressure decreased slightly. "Now you can talk. Who are you?"

I took a deep breath and gulped.

"It's me, Harry." I said with some effort. "Can you release me, now? It's really hard to breathe."

"H-Harry?" The boy sounded a little shocked at this. The walls immediately sank into the ground, releasing me from that quite painful predicament. I fell unceremoniously in the thickening snow, clutching at my squished arms, massaging the muscles for relief.

"How did you not recognize me?" I bit out a little grumpily, water seeping into my shoes.

"...I can't even see you, Harry."

Can't even see me— oh! I realized I was still wearing the Cloak. Well, I felt stupid.

I got to my feet, before taking off the Cloak. I turned to see a slightly impressed, if mortified Neville gazing at me.

"An invisibility cloak? No wonder I didn't see you." Neville laughed in an attempt to dispel his discomfort.

"Fat lot of good that did." I scoffed, motioning to my sore arms and chest. "You got me anyway."

"Yes, well..." Neville looked uncomfortable. "I'm a little different from other people."

What a vague and mysterious statement!

"Different, huh?" I asked lightly. "Is that why you've been deliberately holding yourself back all the time?"

I saw the boy's face shift into shock, before he slowly backed away.

"How did you know..?" Neville demanded wearily.

"I paid attention." I answered honestly. "Remember the first DA meeting? You took my surprise Expelliarmus on purpose. You could've dodged it, but you stopped yourself."

Neville said nothing.

"Then I took the time to watch you during classes, and meal times." I took his silence as a good sign. "It's like you're constantly suppressing yourself, pretending to be a timid coward of a boy. And it had me fooled for four years. Hell, it had everyone fooled!"

Neville winced when I said that.

"Oh, don't worry." I grinned. "I'm not going to hold it against you. Well, unless you're secretly evil?"

Neville gave me a deadpan look.

"No? Some plans for world domination perhaps?" I kept going.

"Nothing like that." Neville flicked his hand absentmindedly, and two large throne-like chairs jutted out of the ground, as well as a large igloo-like dome which encircled us, blocking out the wind, except from the exit, an oval shaped hole to the side. He took a seat and motioned for me to join him.

"Well, that's... new." I sat down. The earthen chair felt remarkably solid, yet it also felt very soft, warm and comforting. We sat for a while, neither of us knowing what to say.

"I'm surprised you're not freaking out about me finding out." I broke the silence.

"I doubt you'll go blabbing to people, Harry." Neville countered. "So I do not see a reason to 'freak out', as you say."

"True." I conceded.

"And, even if you were to blab, there's not much I could do, is there?" Neville said ruefully. "Obliviate can't work since I'm not exactly skilled with a wand. They probably wouldn't believe your claim at all, actually, since they think I'm a complete weakling when holding a wand."

"The hell you are." I said immediately, motioning to the chairs we were sitting in.

"Well, note that I said 'when holding a wand'." Neville pointed out. "I created these chairs without a wand."

"Yeah, I saw that." My mind went into overdrive. I thought I was the only one capable of this level of magic. Then again, Professor Dumbledore wasn't really surprised to see me channel the lightning, as if he'd come across people with these kinds of abilities in the past. I had honestly thought that he had a good poker face, and just didn't let it look like it surprised him.

It made sense, in a way. How else would Professor Dumbledore have known to give me precise advice on how to refine my control over lightning? Something to think about, I supposed.

"I'm thinking it's some kind of Earth Magic?" I tried.

"You're taking this whole 'I can do wandless magic' thing pretty well." Neville observed with a hint of amusement. "I thought I would have to calm you down and explain it to you."

"I'll admit." I said honestly, extending my hand, palm facing up. "I would've probably been freaking out if I couldn't already do this."

The lightning erupted from my palm. It crackled loudly and filled the rock igloo we sat in with a bright, bluish white light. I let this go on for a few more seconds, before closing my fist abruptly, making a small shock wave erupt. I liked it when that happened.

I looked at Neville. His mouth was slightly open, before he shook his head in exasperation.

"Of course." He laughed. "Should've known. You're a Potter, after all."

"Huh?" I said intelligently?

"Your affinity with lightning!" The boy pointed out, looking a little confused. "It's your family's magic."

"My family's magic?" I repeated, disbelieving. "They could do this too?"

"...You mean, you don't know?"

"No. How the hell should I know?" I responded a little defensively.

"Then how did you learn?" Neville looked impressed, and a little concerned.

"Taught myself." I answered, starting to feel a little queasy. So it was my family's magic? Were they Lightning Dragon Slayers, too?

"So wait, you're saying my dad could do this?" I asked faintly. If he could channel lightning, then how the hell did he lose against Voldemort? It didn't make sense.

"I doubt it." Neville denied with a shake of his head and began explaining. "You would have to reach a certain level of power to be capable of using this magic. Most people don't even get close to the requirements. Even then, you could only learn the element you were attuned to."

So, what he was saying is that, if I didn't possess this lightning affinity, I would've been lying dead in the smallest bedroom of Number Four, with copper wires in my mouth, which were hooked up to batteries. That was a very scary thought. I didn't dare voice it out. He looked alarmed enough!

I took a deep breath.

"I see." I said slowly. "In any case, I mostly taught myself how to channel the lightning last summer. What about you? When did you start?"

"I've had this power since I was very little." Neville admitted wryly. "See, I always seemed to know where people were, even if I didn't see or hear them. As long as they were standing on stone, sand or earth, I knew where they were. I figured that was a normal thing..."

How could he have considered that to be remotely normal?

"I lived in a magical house, full of magical people who could do all sorts of things with a simple wave of their wands. Being able to tell where someone was seemed so mundane I figured everyone could do it." Neville said a little defensively, having correctly read my incredulous facial expression.

"Fair enough."

"Right." Neville took a breath. "Of course, as the years went by, I figured out that it was a sign of the Longbottom magic. Remember during our first feast in the Great Hall, when I told you guys about the time my Great Uncle Algie dropped me from the second floor to see if I had magic?"

I nodded. "What about it? That guy's a dick, by the way."

"Well, I only bounced off of the ground because my magic forced the ground to become bouncy." Neville admitted. "Otherwise I'd have been dead or gravely injured."

"Like I said, that guy's an asshole." I repeated.

"I know. Believe me." Neville frowned angrily. "I know. When I'm head of the family, I'm striking him off of our tapestry. That should teach him an important lesson."

"Why not just break his arms?" I suggested.

"He's not worth that much effort. Besides, an injury like that can get healed very quickly." Neville countered logically. "Plus he's really old, there's not much I can do to him that he hasn't already experienced, except being cast out from the family. That ought to do the trick." He gave a savage grin. It was a little unnerving to see Neville jump so quickly between emotions.

"Okay, then. That works, I guess." I said, wondering if my friend was all right.

"Anyway, I didn't really try to figure out just how I survived, seeing as I was eight years old at the time." Neville continued with a hollow laugh. "Everyone was happy, of course. Gran got me Trevor as a pet for my First Year. I came to Hogwarts, figuring all my troubles were over."

I snorted loudly.

"Indeed." Neville acknowledged. "It seemed that magic was incredibly hard for me. Aside from being good at Herbology, which I later learned was because I was willing the ground to be as fertile as it could be, I was pants at Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, no matter how hard I tried to get my wand to respond."

"Why, though?" I cut in. "I can do magic with a wand just fine. I find it hard to believe that Ollivander couldn't find you a proper match. There are tons of them in his shop."

"Well, that's because I never went to Ollivander's." Neville clarified, pulling out his wand. "This was my father's wand."

"No wonder." I said in realization.

"What do you mean?" The boy looked a little confused.

"Well it's probably not a good match for you, now is it?" I questioned. "Ollivander took ages to get me a good match. 'The wand chooses the wizard', he likes to say. Creepy guy, to be honest."

"If you say so." The boy shrugged.

"None of that." I stood up and pulled my holly and phoenix feather wand out. "I'll show you."

"Accio stone." I pointed my wand at the snow; a stone flew out of the snow and into my hand. I threw the stone back into the snow, and turned to Neville.

"That's it?"

"No, now give me your wand." I held my hand out expectantly. Neville gave me a wary look.

"I don't know.."

"What? It's not like I'm going to break it." I argued.

He eventually handed it over.

"Okay, watch. Accio same stone." The same stone wiggled in place for a few seconds before stopping.

"No doubt about it." I concluded, handing Neville his wand back and sat back down.

"What?" Neville asked, a little confused.

"I've essentially mastered the Summoning Charm last year." I explained. "My movements with your wand were beyond perfect, and yet it still failed. It's not a good match for me, and I doubt it's a good match for you, either."

I held out my wand to him. "Try with mine."

The moment Neville grabbed my wand— no homo— a few sparks came out of it.

"Wow, that was a pretty good reaction." I said, impressed. "Try using a spell you had trouble with in the past."

"Accio that stone." The said rock flew into his hand with ease. The boy looked beyond astonished at the ease with which he cast that spell.

"See?" I said, before taking back my wand. Neville was looking at his father's wand like it betrayed him, somehow. He started laughing hysterically, before stopping mid-laugh and sobbing instead. Shit, did I cause him to break down?

I put my hand on his shoulder, not really knowing how to deal with this.

"Aw, come on, man." I said and awkwardly gave his shoulder a squeeze. "It's not so bad."

"They all doubted me at every turn." The boy choked out, face stained with tears. "The failure! The loser. The squib student of Gryffindor! That's what they called me."

"You're no failure!" I said firmly. "You are no failure, Neville. You lasted over four years at Hogwarts with a wand that wasn't even a fucking match for you!"

"If that's a failure." I continued. "I'm scared to see what a genius looks like! You and I will go see McGonagall tomorrow, and we'll get you a new wand, all right?"

Neville looked at me for a while, before wiping at his face in embarrassment.

"I didn't want anyone to see me like this." His face was dry now, but he kept wiping at it.

"It's all right, Neville." I soothed. "I won't tell anyone. So, how about we talk about this earth magic of yours?"

It seemed to work, as the boy began to explain how his powers worked in great detail. We ended up talking well into the night, the biting cold not even affecting us.

The next day, as promised, I waited until after Transfiguration was done, before walking up to the teacher, with Neville trailing behind me.

"Can I help you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom?" Professor McGonagall eyed us.

"Well, I've been talking to Neville, and he told me that he never went to Ollivander's to get his wand; that he was using his father's wand instead." I simply stated.

"Indeed?" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I have a feeling I know what you are going to say, but let's hear it, anyway. Mr. Longbottom?"

"I tried Harry's wand yesterday." Neville spoke up. "It worked really well. I'd like to get my own wand, please."

The teacher started muttering about idiotic old crones and their stubbornness, making our eyes widen in slight surprise.

"Come along, Longbottom." She sighed, getting up. "I was hoping to spend the rest of the day in peace, but it seems I must have a conversation with your grandmother Augusta. Five points to Gryffindor for bringing me the issue, Mr. Potter. I shudder to think what Mr. Longbottom's O.W.L. results would have been, had he been using an ineffectual wand."

I watched the old woman lead Neville away, a contented smile on my face. I left the classroom feeling great. I was joined by Ron and Hermione.

"What was that about, mate?" Ron asked curiously. "You look like Christmas came early."

"It's nothing. I just feel really happy, that's all." I said, still smiling; they both smiled back.

"So are you coming to see the match today? It's Gryffindor vs Slytherin." Ron asked hopefully.

"No, I've got some extra training to do." I said after pretending to think about it.

"All right, then." Ron deflated. Hermione looked a little uncomfortable.

"I'll see you guys later." I gave Ron a pat on the back and nodded to Hermione before walking away.

That conversation was a little awkward, wasn't it? I guess Ron was trying hard to keep our friendship going, but I honestly didn't care about Quidditch any more. I preferred nice flying trips over the Forest with my Firebolt. Now those were fun; I felt free, in the sky. I felt like I could do anything.

I sighed pulled the Map out of my book bag, checking the same spot I'd been checking since the start of term. My eyes widened.

Rubeus Hagrid.

"He's back!" I blurted out, before taking off at a brisk pace. The afternoon sun shone on my back as Hagrid's Hut began appearing in the distance. Looks like he already had a fire going, judging from the smoke coming out of the chimney. I reached the door and knocked loudly. I heard Fang's frantic barking.

"Whozzair!" I heard Hagrid yell out, and I smiled.

"It's me!" I said loudly.

"Shoulda known!" I smirked at that.

I felt, more than heard, his footsteps as he walked to the door. The bolt drew back, and the door opened, revealing Hagrid. I stared at him in shock.

"All right, Harry?" The large man said, looking happy. Or was he in pain? I couldn't tell.

"...You look like shit, Hagrid." I finally said.

And indeed, he looked horrible. He was bruised, bloody and cut up all over. Hagrid looked like he went against meat grinder and lost horribly.

Hagrid's beard twitched at the crude statement.

"Get in, then." He said amiably.

I squeezed past the man, into his home, and watched him sit down in his chair with a difficulty, a sign of possible broken bones. Fang danced around me, happy to see me. I also sat down, and absentmindedly petted the cowardly dog, as Hagrid slapped a gigantic piece of green-tinged meat on the left side of his face. He sighed in relief.

"That's much better." Hagrid said, relaxing a little.

"That's.. Dragon meat, right?" I asked for confirmation. I'd read a ton of books about dragons, after I had my conversation with Dumbledore during one of my many 'detentions'. As the Headmaster had said, there were mentions of the ancient dragons that inhabited the world. They were all thought to be extinct, ever since a catastrophic event occurred in the third century. The book was vague on the details, stating that the 'Ancient Ones' simply disappeared off the face of the planet, leaving their weaker fire counterparts behind.

Hagrid tried to beam at me, but it came out as a wince instead. "Yer right, Harry."

"The giants really did a number on you, didn't they? You look like you couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag, right now." I said lightly. Hagrid merely stared at me in alarm with his visible eye, before shaking his head in exasperation, the slab of meat dripping everywhere.

"I'm not even gunna ask how yeh knew 'bout it." Hagrid grumbled good-naturedly.

"Oh, I guess you don't know yet." I said, a little surprised. "I'm part of the Order now."

Hagrid gaped.

"How'd you manage tha'?" The man asked incredulously.

"Well..." I explained exactly what happened, leaving nothing out.

I spoke of how I demanded to be allowed in the meetings, claiming that I would leave and proceed to maim and cripple every Death Eater that got in the way of my justice if I didn't get exactly what I wanted. I showed Hagrid a glimpse of my powers over the element of lightning, as well. Hagrid actually looked mightily impressed at the display.

"Always knew there was somethin' special about yeh, Harry." Hagrid said after witnessing my lightning. "Ever since I first laid eyes on yeh."

"I'm guessing you didn't know about all of this because you—"

"Didn' wan' owls followin' me all over the place, yeah." Hagrid confirmed.

"And I'm assuming from your injuries that the mission didn't pan out, huh?"

"Death Eaters were already there. We— Olympe an' me— tried givin' the Gurg— tha's the chief, see— offerings." Hagrid explained, enjoying the feeling of the cold meat on his bruised face for a moment, before continuing.

"Dumbledore had made a branch o' Gubraithian fire— everlasting fire, that is— as the first offering, which isn' somethin' any wizard could do. The Gurg— giant by the name of Karkus— seemed ter be really pleased by it. We ended up givin' him more offerings the next day— can't give them all at once, see, 'cause the giants'll just kill yeh." Hagrid went on to explaining how the giant's social system worked.

Hagrid took a breath. "That second night, a fight broke out. Olympe an' I saw it from the mouth of our cave. Went on fer hours, yeh wouldn' believe the noise. Next day, Karkus' head was lyin' at the bottom o' the lake, and there was a new Gurg— Golgomath, his name was— ter deal with. We later learned that Death Eaters were already allied with the new Gurg; so we tried ter reason with the giants that were against Golgomath. Most of 'em ended up dyin' 'cause of it."

Hagrid stared into the fire for a long moment.

"I see." I said, and looked at Hagrid. "I'm glad you're all right— well," I amended when I realized my wording was wrong. "Glad you're not dead, rather."

"Thanks, I s'pose." Hagrid didn't sound very thankful.

"Hey, Hagrid?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you bring with you?" I asked.

"How did you—"

"Your wounds are recent, and your mission barely lasted a few months, from the looks of it." I said logically, stopping whatever excuse he was going to come up with. "Makes sense, doesn't it?"

The half-giant looked like he was debating with himself for a moment, before nodding. "Yeh always know too much fer yer own good, Harry."

"So what is it?" I asked excitedly. "Another dragon?"

"Two things, actually." Hagrid began, and pointed off to a decent sized cage to the side of the hut. I got up and approached it.

"Careful now, don't get too close." Hagrid warned.

"What is it?" I asked, but when I got closer, I realized that I didn't need to. It was a black viper, curled up to the side of the cage which was closest to the fire. It raised up its head when it noticed my presence.

§Who are you? You're not the large one§ It hissed out at me curiously.

I was about to answer, before I heard continuous loud rapping on the door. I went and looked out the window.

Umbridge was here.

"Fucking bitch." I swore. Hagrid full out grinned, despite the pain it put him through.

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Omake: Lightning Dragon's Fart.

It'd been a long day of training at Number Four Privet Drive. My lightning seemed to like to cause trouble every time I tried to channel it. I sighed while sitting on the toilet, thinking of why it was such a difficult task to channel such energy.

I felt a sudden pressure in my gut, and let it loose. The resulting lightning blast made me fly straight up, smashing my head against the ceiling.

I fell to the floor, dazed and confused as to what happened.

Ok, let's recap.

I was sitting on the toilet.

I was about to fart while thinking of my lightning.

I flew upwards.

...Lightning came out of my butt.

Right.

"WHAT THE FUCK? WHY?"

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If you're wondering, I took a while to write this chapter because I've been playing loads of games like Shadow of Mordor, Mortal Kombat (2011), Borderlands (pre-sequel), League of Legends, etc. I got super immersed, hehe.

Let me know what you think. I plan to have the snake as Harry's pet. It should prove to be good fun.

Quick hint; there won't be some kind of magical bond, or parselmagic or whatever. The viper will simply be a pet.

Also, question: should I increase the rating to M?