A/N : I love this guy. Enjoy!
Standing up
With Albus Dumbledore
After completing all his work for the day, he went to his bed. But sleep wouldn't come to him, no matter how much he tossed and turned, he couldn't sleep.
He always had trouble sleeping, this wasn't new to him. So he went to sit on one of his armchairs near the fireplace and just mull his thoughts over what had happened today.
He knew what everybody was thinking of the ten points he awarded to Neville. They must be thinking that he only gave him the points so that Gryffindor would come in the lead and win the house cup.
But no it wasn't like that. He meant it when he said that it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to enemies and just as much to stand up to your friends. He could testify to that.
He admired the Longbottom boy for what he did. Had he been in his place he couldn't do that.
Had he been? He had been in that place and he couldn't do it.
That is the reason he gave those ten points to him.
For years and years Albus remained at Gellert Grindlewald's side watching him become more and more corrupt and doing nothing to stop him. He turned a blind eye to all his wrong doings just because he was his friend.
Why? Just because he did not want to jeopardise their friendship. Even as an adult he had tried to avoid the confrontation, which was inevitable. And when he did it was too late to negotiate. Too late. He regretted it to this day.
He always thought that if only he'd been a better friend to him or maybe confronted him earlier, his friend wouldn't have turned into a dark wizard.
Well, everybody carried their regrets and so did he. This one regret was just added to his already long list of regrets. Most of which were about his sister Ariana and brother Aberforth.
He didn't give those ten points to him to make Gryffindor win the house cup. He gave those points to Neville because he realised that at age eleven Neville had been braver that Dumbledore at an age much bigger than his.
If only he'd been brave, like Neville was at his age.