--------------------------------------------
Neville shivered as he held on tight to Dean. They were flying back to Hogsmeade after the rest of Voldemort's forces fled the camp. There was no sign of Bellatrix in the aftermath, much to the disappointment of both Harry and Neville. Neville was never the best of fliers among his friends, and to be honest, he was a bit afraid of the height. But right now, Neville had a lot more to worry about than flying. He looked to his right and saw Hermione riding with Harry on his broomstick. More than a flare of jealousy erupted in his chest, but he kept it down.
Control him. You can do it.
Neville shook his head, fighting the turmoil within his head. Voldemort was incredibly pleased - Neville could feel the emotions running through his body and reverted to his Occlumency in order to shut the madman out.
Clear your head. Shut off the taps.
Neville likened his emotions to water flowing out of a tap. Different taps contained different emotions and it was up to Neville to block off each area so Voldemort wouldn't be able to influence him so easily. Anger tore at him as he was reminded of his slight relapse which caused him to attack Hermione. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't angry with Hermione at the moment, but he would never do that to her. Never. What was it Moody always said? Constant vigilance.
Control.
Neville felt himself go calm as he finally settled within his head. It was akin to a numbing feeling that spread throughout your body. He touched the locket hanging around his neck. He had put it on right after he attacked Hermione. They wouldn't understand. Although the locket definitely impacted him negatively, it seemed to serve as some sort of barrier from Voldemort's intrusions. The locket dominated him his thoughts and kicked out Voldemort's own influence. To Neville, it was the lesser of two evils.
"We're touching down in a second," Dean yelled, "Hold on!"
Dean pitched the broom into a dive and Neville found himself in Hogsmeade not a minute later. Except it was not the Hogsmeade he remembered. It was reformed into a sort of military base camp with tents erected all over the place and soldiers wandering about. The rest of Harry's unit touched down a second later and disembarked from their brooms. Harry made a couple of hand signals and Neville felt Dean grab him by the arm.
"Can you come with me, Neville? We're going to have to debrief you," Dean ordered more than he asked.
"Yeah, sure," Neville quizzically looked at Ron and Hermione but neither met his eye. Neville's stomach sank just a bit more.
"Hey!" Neville yelled as Dean snatched his wand.
"Precaution," Dean apologized, "We'll give it back to you, don't worry. Just have to have Moody debrief you."
Hermione and Ron's wands were also taken and they were all a bit miffed at the rather formal treatment. These were their friends, why were so keen to follow protocol? Dean ushered them into a separate tent and left them with one guard. Neville looked him and down and found that this guard was carrying a gun for some reason.
"You're not a wizard," Hermione said from her seat.
"That would be correct," the man grunted.
"Why are you here then?" Hermione continued to quiz him.
"Classified."
Ron snorted disbelievingly. The Muggle man barely even reacted to Ron's rudeness. He simply spared a glance in his direction before reverting his eyes to an unfocused spot on the adjacent wall. Neville shifted uncomfortably as the silence grew heavier. He eventually spoke up, not knowing when he would get another chance to be alone with Hermione.
"Hermione, I'm so sor -"
"I don't want to talk about it," Hermione said in a severe tone, still not meeting his eye.
"But Hermione, you have to know that wasn't me," Neville pleaded.
"I know it wasn't," Hermione shakily replied, facing away from him, "Just - I don't feel like talking about it right now."
"Just -"
"Let it drop," Ron said in a warning tone, not willing to let the conversation go any further.
Neville opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by someone entering the tent. The recognizable stomp of General Mad-Eye Moody echoed against the stone floor as he surveyed the three teenagers. His magical whizzed over to the Muggle guard and looked at him queerly.
"Thorn, right?"
"Yes, sir," Thorn saluted him.
"No need for that," Moody said gruffly, "Stand guard outside. I need to have a word with these three."
"Yes, sir."
As soon as Thorn left the tent, Moody incanted various silencing and protection spells around the tent. With his back facing the trio, he spoke to Hermione.
"You can wipe the curious look off your face, Granger. Thorn seems to be a nice fella, but you can't go on trusting everyone," Moody was obviously watching them with his magical eye.
"Constant vigilance," Neville whispered.
"Something all of you could learn!" Moody rounded on them with a stormy expression.
"If Potter wasn't coming back from a routine patrol, he would have never found the ruckus the three of you created. How could just the three of you raise the heckles of a whole Death Eater camp? Not just any camp but Bellatrix LeStrange's camp! I don't know what Dumbledore has you doing, but strolling into one of Voldemort's most trusted advisor's camps can't possibly be it!" Moody steamed at them.
None of them had a retort for Moody's argument. The plan had been outrageous and foolish in the first place and only blind luck saved them from certain death at the hands of either the dragon or a Death Eater. Each of them owed their lives to Potter's unit.
"I'm not going to bother to ask what Dumbledore has you doing. I know the old man left you a mission before he died so I won't ask. I owe him that much. But I can't possibly let you three wander the countryside by yourself. You do what you set out to do but you do it with an escort. I'm sure I can find some unit to assign to you," Moody ordered them.
"But Moody -" Hermione interrupted.
"No BUTS!" Moody yelled, "It's already hectic enough out there with Voldemort's forces raiding Muggle town after Muggle town. I can't have you three on my conscience just fancying what you will. You will be assigned a unit and they will follow you wherever you need to go. Trust me, it's better for you that way."
"That's not how this works…" Neville growled.
"I don't care, sonny! You might be the Boy-Who-Lived, but I'm the General of this war and I won't be having the three of you get in a crossfire. This is final. You'll only get your wands back if you agree to this," Moody delivered the ultimatum.
"Can we please discuss this," Hermione said in a quiet voice.
Moody snorted, "Suit yourself, you have five minutes."
After Moody left to their own devices, the trio turned to each other with worried looks. It was Neville who spoke up first, not agreeing with Moody at all.
"We should just leave at the first opportunity. We can't tell anyone about the Horcruxes," Neville frantically whispered.
Ron was mum on what to do, but Neville recognized Hermione's pondering visage. She was considering her options.
"You can't possibly go along with this," Neville implored.
"It's not like we haven't found anything in five months," Hermione didn't meet his eye, "Maybe we can stand with some help."
"What about what Dumbledore said? No one can know! If someone knows then that just increases the possibility of Voldemort finding out! Have you not thought this through?"
"Don't ever ask me if I didn't think it through," Hermione's voice was dangerous as she continued, "We've had no success in five months and the second we even try to infiltrate a Death Eater camp, we're trapped by Bellatrix. It stands to reason that she knew what we were after. It'll only make it more difficult for just the three of us to go chasing after that one Horcrux. One."
Neville leaned back and crossed his arms. Though he could see Hermione's point clearly, he wasn't entirely convinced. Dumbledore told them to keep it a secret for a reason. Did they not care what the former Headmaster had to say? Did they not want to honor his sacrifice? But Neville was stuck between two very difficult places. He wanted to stay on the hunt alone, but he knew Hermione didn't trust him one bit after the…incident.
Control.
"Fine," Neville stood up and opened the flap of the tent. He signaled to Moody that they would go along with his suggestion. Retrieving his wand, Neville popped his head inside one more time, "I'm going for a walk."
Ron exhaled loudly as Neville left. He sagged in his chair and turned to Hermione, clearly exhausted.
"I'll go wherever you go," Ron said to her.
"Thanks," she replied, "We're not getting anywhere the way we're doing things now."
Ron wanted to hold his tongue but he couldn't help himself, "Are you going to tell Harry?"
Hermione didn't answer right away, clearly not giving it enough thought yet. After a moment though, she delivered the appropriate response, "No. Not yet."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"We can't possibly tell him right now. Harry would rip him into pieces."
"I don't know about that," Ron said skeptically.
"You don't know Harry like I do."
Hermione left it at that as she stood up and retrieved her wand as well. After Moody gave them strict instructions not to leave Hogsmeade, they wandered around and reconnected with their militarized friends. They've been radio silent, so to speak, for the past five months and only heard whispers of the Minister's Army. Seeing it up close was a general shock as all their friends looked older and battle-worn. They were certainly not the same students that left Hogwarts nineteen weeks ago.
Off in on the outskirts of town, Neville leaned on a fence and stared at the Shrieking Shack. How he longed for simpler times when he thought that Sirius Black was the one that betrayed Harry's parents. It seemed ages ago and yet, on a calendar, it was just a little over three years before. Neville sighed as he prepared his usual Occlumency treatment, not wanting Voldemort to get the better of him yet again.
Clear your mind.
He was only a few seconds into his breathing exercises when someone interrupted him. Out of the corner of his eye, Neville spotted a figure leaning against a tree. He turned and found the masked man who killed the dragon staring at him precociously. Or at least - as precocious as one could stare through a mask. The masked man didn't speak - he only stared at Neville in unnerving stillness.
"Can I help you?" Neville called out.
The masked man barely shook his head, a movement so imperceptible that Neville had to blink a couple of times to make sure he was even real.
"Can I at least get a name? Not to be rude, but you're a bit creepy."
The masked man's voice carried over the distance between him and Neville, "Archer."
Neville raised his eyebrows at the odd distortion of his voice, "Okay…Archer. Nice to meet you."
Neville turned around and continued to look at the Shrieking Shack, hopeful that Archer would receive the hint and leave him alone. Unfortunately for the Boy-Who-Lived, Archer remained leaning against the tree, his eyes never leaving Neville. Unable to concentrate, Neville whirled around and stomped through the twigs and branches until he was right in front of Archer.
"What the fuck is your problem? You get your jollies off staring at people behind that mask of yours? You think you can get away with that because no one can see your face? Fuck you and leave me alone," Neville spit at him.
Archer cocked his head and wiped the spittle off his mask, "Temper, temper, Longbottom. It'll get you in trouble one day."
Neville swore that the lips of Archer's mask turned upwards in a mocking smile as he slowly backed away. Archer eventually disappeared into the woods, presumably heading back to Hogsmeade. Indeed, Neville's temper got the better of him and he could feel the anger radiating off him yet again. It was as if he were some sort of moody antenna that practically broadcasted his feelings to the Dark Lord. Taking a few calming breathes, Neville resumed his breathing exercises, hopeful to keep Voldemort at bay.
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"Checkmate."
The crowd around the chess board groaned as Ron defeated yet another person. More Galleons and Sickles were thrown his direction as the betting continued. Ron was an unstoppable machine; he defeated seven opponents in a row and there seemed to be no end in sight. Still, the soldiers were used to gambling on anything and no such competition had arrived in quite some time when it came to chess.
"What say we up the ante?" Terry grinned as he sat down.
"Oh?" Ron smirked.
"Every time you lose a piece, you take a shot of this," Terry pulled out an old bottle of Firewhiskey, much to the crowd's ooh's and aah's.
The crowd waited with bated breath as Ron mulled over the decision.
"I'll do it."
There was a roar as the pieces reset themselves and more money was thrown around as Terry sat opposite of Ron and started the game. A couple of meters away, Hermione shook her head as she watched the spectacle. Not an hour had passed and Ron already fit in to the group of misfits.
"Deplorable," Hermione muttered.
"Amusing," a voice from behind her chimed in.
Hermione turned around to find the Muggle Thorn. He was grinning as Terry already took a shot of the burning whiskey for losing an early pawn.
"At least you have the decency not to partake in such activities," Hermione complimented him.
"Honestly, the fact that the pieces move gave me a bit of the willies. I backed out after that," Thorn admitted.
"It's certainly a shock," Hermione bemusedly grinned as she remembered her first chess game, "I know you said it's classified, but what are you really doing here? I can't imagine Moody would just let a soldier from the Majesty's army to join on a whim."
"I'm just a ride-along," Thorn said honestly, "Here to observe and report."
"For Muggles? You're reporting to the army, I suppose," Hermione probed.
"Something like that," Thorn evasively answered.
"Oh! I apologize, I don't mean to prod - I'm just curious is all."
"No offense taken. Really, I'm just here to observe and nothing else. Occasionally, I do like to prevent myself from getting killed though," Thorn wryly said.
"It's been getting worse," Hermione agreed.
There a cheer as Ron lost one of his rooks to Terry. Terry seemed to have the upper hand but you never knew with Ron. He could very well be baiting Terry by boasting the boy's confidence.
"Not to sound demeaning, but what were the three of you doing wandering around a Death Eater camp?" Thorn queried.
"Long story. Too long for this," Hermione sighed, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but where's the loo? I haven't found it and all the stores are in disarray."
Thorn pointed out a relatively empty and untouched store a few stones down, "That one has the loo."
"Thanks," Hermione left Thorn to watch the rest of the chess match by himself as she made her way to the women's loo.
As she splashed her face with some water, Hermione realized she looked terrible. There were nicks and cuts on her face as well as dirt smudged over her cheeks. Her hair was interminably frizzed beyond reasonable care and she realized that she was still wearing one of Ron's shirts. She pulled her hair back in a messy bun in an attempt to hide the dirtiness.
As she pulled it back, however, she suddenly saw marks on her neck that were definitely not from the battle with the dragon. Several hand-shaped bruises were on the sides of her neck. She pulled the shirt down further and found nail marks along the top of her collarbone where Neville had been ripping her shirt off. She shivered as she touched the bright, red line of skin.
Picking up a bar of soap, she tore off her shirt and started scrubbing vigorously. She rubbed the soap into the bruises and lines on her neck and chest, trying to wash the evidence away. She wasn't aware that tears were spilling from her eyes and that she was rubbing her skin raw. Only a knock on the door broke Hermione out of her deranged reverie.
"Hermione? It's Harry. I don't mean to interrupt but Thorn told me I could find you in here," Harry's voice carried through the door.
"Yeah, it's me!" Hermione fought to keep the sob out of her voice, "I'll be out in a second, just freshening up."
"Okay."
Hermione hastily rinsed the soap off her chest and neck as she inspected the aftermath. The thin nail marks could be disguised as nicks but there was no mistaking the finger-shaped bruises on her neck. She would need to hide that somehow. A part of her wanted to rage at Neville and let Harry have his way with him, but she knew that Harry would most likely harm the boy. Though she hated Neville at the moment, she didn't want any blood spilled on her account. Hermione put on Ron's shirt and ripped off a piece of the bottom to fabricate a makeshift scarf to wrap around her neck. Realizing the rest of her appearance was unsalvageable, Hermione opened the door to find Harry rocking back and forth on his feet as he waited for her.
"Hermione," Harry smiled at her.
Hermione couldn't help herself; she launched his body at him and hugged him around the midsection, relishing in his warmth. He smelled of dirt and polluted air, but she reveled in his arms nonetheless. It had been too long since she was held in Harry's arms. Harry buried his head in her hair, murmuring softly into the thick locks.
"I've missed you," Harry whispered.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you," Hermione whimpered.
"Are you okay?" Harry said in alarm as he felt warm tears pool against his shirt.
"I'm fine," Hermione laughed nervously as she wiped the tears out of her eyes, "I'm just glad to see you is all."
Harry kept looking at her with an imperceptible look. The guilt was already crawling through Hermione, begging for resolution and release as Harry continued to assess her reaction. Thankfully, he did not press. He leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips and amusedly pulled back when she wrinkled her noise at him.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't remember the last time I've taken a bath…" Hermione admitted.
Harry guffawed, chuckling at her preconceived worry that he would care. He kissed her one more time to prove that her state of cleanliness was the furthest thing from his mind.
"Don't worry, it happens to all of us."
Hermione snickered lightly but froze as she caught sight of something over Harry's shoulder. Harry felt her squeeze his arm tightly in raising alarm and curiously looked behind to see Neville approaching them. Hermione's hand was still squeezing his arm tightly and he could feel a shiver passing through her. He frowned in concern; what had Neville done? Turning around, Harry adopted his authoritative persona as he looked coolly upon the fellow Gryffindor.
"Harry, can I talk to you for a second?" Neville asked.
"Sure, what's up."
Neville halted, looking warily at Hermione, "In private?"
Harry raised an eyebrow at this request. He turned to Hermione and then back at Neville with a retort, "I'm sure anything that needs to be said can be in front of Hermione."
"No, Harry it's okay," Hermione detached herself and started walking to Ron's chess match. She didn't look back at either of them, which puzzled Harry to a great degree.
As she left earshot, Harry turned to Neville with an angry countenance, "What happened? There better be a good explanation for finding all of you in LeStrange's camp."
"We thought there was a Horcrux there," Neville answered.
It didn't surprise Harry that much. He was one of the few that knew about their hunt for the Horcruxes. He just didn't think they would place themselves in so much trouble without at least a hint of subtlety or stealth.
"Did you get it?" Harry asked.
"No," Neville said miserably, "It was a plant. There was nothing in the safe."
"So how many have you destroyed so far?"
"Just the locket and we can't even destroy it."
"Seriously?" Harry bewilderedly asked.
"It's not as easy as you think," Neville said through gritted teeth.
"Where's the locket?"
Neville reached into the top of his shirt and dragged the locket out. It glimmered even on the overcast day, catching Harry's attention immediately. Harry absent mindedly ran a hand over the pebble lying beneath his shirt, a stark contrast to the glimmering gold of Slytherin's locket.
"We've tried everything, but we can't destroy it. Short of finding another basilisk, we don't know how," Neville said as he held it out for Harry to see.
"I see," Harry murmured as he reached out to touch the locket.
Neville snatched it back and stuffed it in his shirt before Harry could touch it. Harry blinked furiously, snapping out of his daze as he saw Neville's precautionary reaction.
"It's a negative object. The more you're around it…the more…you know," Neville couldn't find the right words to describe the emotions.
"Doesn't make you the worse candidate for wearing it?" Harry pointed out.
"It's better than either Ron or Hermione wearing it."
Harry didn't quite agree with him but relented nonetheless. It was Neville's choice to make and he wasn't going to stop him out of his own accord.
"So you had something to talk about it besides the locket?"
"Yes," Neville straightened his back, a motion Harry recognized as someone preparing to deliver some sort of suggestion or speech, "Let me go alone. Moody doesn't want us to go off by yourself and frankly, I'm more of a danger to Hermione and Ron than any Death Eater possible. I can do this."
Harry considered the suggestion and immediately stamped it down, "No."
"What?!" Neville clearly though Harry would allow him to leave.
"No," Harry simply replied again, "You might think you can do it, but it's dangerous now. I don't know how much you've seen but there's constant raids by Death Eaters and Mixers. You stand a better chance of finding the Horcruxes and destroying them if we're with you."
"Harry, you don't understand -"
"Yes, I do. It'll also be better if we can keep an eye on you," Harry's eyes flicked towards Neville's scar and Neville immediately knew what Harry was referencing.
"I can take care of it," Neville began to grow frustrated, "Just let me go, it's better for everyone this way."
"Neville," Harry tiredly rubbed his forehead, already having made his decision, "Permission denied, okay? You're staying with us."
Harry started walking away from Neville, tired of the boy's antics and tactics. Neville was naïve to think he could possibly venture on a journey to destroy four Horcruxes on his own much less with Hermione and Ron's help. As Harry walked away, however, Neville called out to him.
"I'm leaving, Harry. You can't stop me."
Neville caught the attention of a few of the soldiers and caused them to stop the interaction. Harry was a couple of feet away from Neville because he started to walk away and as a result, he had to raise his voice to speak to him.
"Yes, I can. For the last time, you're staying with us," Harry said.
Neville felt the anger start bubbling within him, a precursor to troubling times ahead. He fought to keep it down, but Harry didn't understand. Neville's eyes flicked to Hermione, who was now listening intently to Harry and Neville's public conversation. Neville couldn't stay; he was a danger to everyone.
"Harry!" Neville shouted out, "I'm leaving. Now."
Neville turned and started to walk to the edge of Hogsmeade, a visible indication of his intentions. Harry narrowed his eyes and drew his wand, now catching the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
"Neville!" Harry yelled, "I will stop you."
"No you won't."
Harry flicked his wrist at Neville and sent a Body-Binding spell towards the other boy. Neville was ready for it and immediately countered with a shield. Prepared for Harry's instigation, Neville shot a spell back at him.
"Stupefy!"
Harry didn't even move to deflect the spell. He casually flicked his wand and re-directed the Stunner back at Neville. Neville ducked, surprised at the easiness in which Harry could defend himself. The anger was now clawing out of Neville, seeping through his Occlumency shields as it tried to break loose. Furious that Harry dare try to stop him, Neville let loose.
With an anguished cry, Neville stepped into a duel with Harry, "Flipendo!"
Again, Harry didn't even have to shift his feet to block the spell. By now, a crowd was gathering around the pair, entrapping them in a natural circle. Even Moody was watching with interest, not bothering to break up the duel. Hermione chewed worriedly on her lip, hopeful the confrontation wouldn't escalate.
Harry hit Neville with a light knock-back spell, flipping the boy over on his feet. Embarrassed, Neville scrambled forward and cast a vast array of Stunners and other minor curses to distract Harry. Harry waved his wand in a circle and caught all the spells in one magical net before dissipating them into nothingness.
"This - isn't - your - decision - to - make," Neville threw a spell in between each word as he attempted to force Harry into agreeing with him.
"No it's not. It's Moody's and he already made his decision. You're staying with us," Harry pointed his wand at Neville's feet and caused the ground to explode in front of him. Neville nimbly dodged the explosion but had to be quick on his feet to maneuver his way out of another explosion. Harry continued to pepper Neville with different Blasting hexes.
Though Ron still hated for Neville for what he did to Hermione, he didn't want to see him hurt in front of his eyes. He stepped forward but was yanked back by Seamus. Seamus shook his head at him.
"Don't worry, Harry won't hurt him."
"He's just playing with him," Archer was sitting on a chair, watching the lopsided duel.
Ron still held a worried look on his face as Neville started to tire from dodging all the hexes. Finally, one caught him off guard and threw him off his feet, sending him cart wheeling in the air. Groaning, he picked himself off the ground and threw a murderous glare at Harry.
"It's not Harry hurting him that I'm worried about…" Ron trailed off as he watched Neville grow more and more agitated.
Neville seemed to catch a second wind and ran at Harry, aiming different jinxes and curses at him. Harry neatly sidestepped away and swung his wand downwards. There was a loud snapping noise like the sound of a whip cracking. Neville was hurled off his feet and promptly fell on his ass, causing even further embarrassment.
"Enough!" Harry yelled at Neville, "The decision is final. You're staying."
Harry turned around and started to walk away, signaling that the duel was finished. Neville had other plans, however, and flicked a spell towards Harry. A red jet of light streaked to Harry's back, but Harry anticipated Neville would attack him while he was turned around. The embarrassment would be too great and the opportunity too easy. Harry whirled around, yanking his wand in the air and deflecting the red jet of light upwards. Taking careful aim, Harry made sure to hit Neville with a spell this time.
"Stupefy."
The spell was true and hit Neville square in the chest, rendering him unconscious. The crowd was quiet as they took sight of Harry stunning the Boy-Who-Lived. Moody was the one who broke up the affair and levitated Neville away.
Harry was in his private quarters, some time after the impromptu duel occurred. He was looking over an enchanted map of England, surveying the damage caused by the Dark Tower. Off to the side were several leafs of parchment. It was a collection of research papers that Harry scavenged in an effort to learn more about the Dark Tower. So far, most of it was an amalgam of mysteries that couldn't possibly be ratified. He heard someone enter the room and knew immediately who the presence was.
"Yes, Archer?" Harry asked without turning around.
Archer didn't respond, a favorite tactic of his, as he took a seat on one of the spare chairs lying around Harry's quarters. He leaned forward and picked up one of the leaflets concerning the tower. Harry allowed him his silence for he knew Archer would speak when he was ready.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"Done what?" Harry rhetorically asked, knowing full well what Archer was referencing.
"It wasn't right for you to embarrass him like that."
Harry scoffed disbelievingly, "You're going to tell me about what's right and what's wrong?"
"Embarrassing him in front of everyone is low for morale," Archer said in his garbled distortion, "You may be leagues stronger than him, but he is still the Boy-Who-Lived. He is the one prophesized to defeat Voldemort."
"Never thought I'd hear the day when you would back Neville."
"I'm not backing him," Archer countered, "You should have just silenced him and left Moody to handle him. What were you going to accomplish by toying with him in front of a crowd? Did you want to impress Granger?"
Harry was silent as Archer hit the crux of Harry's reasoning. Truthfully, Harry couldn't respond with a good counter-argument. It wasn't so much to impress Hermione but to knock Neville down a few pegs. Even if he did defeat Voldemort as a child, the war was bigger than him and his hunt for the Horcruxes. There were other things to consider…
"What's done is done," Harry continued to look over the enchanted map, "I'll make sure to take your advice into consideration next time I run into Neville."
Someone else entered Harry's tent and was startled to find Archer seated in a lone chair, "Oh, I'm sorry! If you two are discussing something…"
"No, we're not," Harry cut her off, "Archer was just leaving."
Archer nodded in agreement and fled the room without another word. Hermione looked curiously at where Archer was previously sitting and posed a question to Harry.
"Who is he?"
"Who? Archer? Just someone I picked up," Harry cryptically answered, "Is Neville okay?"
Hermione noted Harry's change of topic but answered him anyways, "I wouldn't know. I didn't check up on him."
Harry frowned. It wasn't Hermione to leave her friends without worrying or at least knowing their injuries.
"Is something wrong between you and Neville?" Harry asked.
"We just had a spat is all," Hermione didn't meet his eyes.
"About what?"
"Just…Horcruxes."
"I see," Harry said, not quite believing her. Still, it wasn't his place, despite his curiosity, to demand to know what she and Neville were on the outs about. She would tell him in time.
"So…what's going on?" Harry casually asked.
Hermione stepped to him and wrapped her arms around him. It was comforting for her to be in his arms. There was something about the solace and protection Harry provided, a reprieve from the tumultuous world that constantly attacked and ravaged her senses. Harry gingerly wrapped his arms around her as well, laying his cheek on the top of her head.
"I just wanted to do this," Hermione whispered.
"Me too," Harry whispered back.
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Neville glumly sat in his tent. Moody said to stay inside for precautionary measures and Neville was glad to be away from any contact from the outside world. The ease at which Harry defeated him was appallingly embarrassing. Had he really grown that much stronger in a span of a few months? Neville fought to hide the jealousy and envy of Harry's power. He took a few calming breathes and crossed his legs into an Indian-style sitting position as he resumed his Occlumency.
Control.
He was dangerously close to letting Voldemort influence him negatively during the duel with Harry. Neville had another spell in mind when Harry had his back turned but switched in at the last minute. The beast in his chest roared it's disapproval at the Stunner that Neville cast. It wanted something darker. It wanted something lethal…
Control.
He could feel his emotions finally washing away, the numbing feeling encompassing him yet again. But there just a tiny crack in his Occlumency; he could not stop the guilt from tearing at him. Neville heaved, a sob escaping his throat as flashes of his assault on Hermione replayed in his mind. He couldn't believe he was possibly capable of such an action. He couldn't believe he would attack Hermione. The guilt was starting to mix into his system and fuel something else. Something darker…
Control.
Neville regained his emotions and sat up, forcing his mind clear of everything around him. No matter what Harry thought, he was a danger to everyone. Though he tried his hardest, Neville knew he couldn't keep Voldemort out forever. It was truly for everyone's interest that Neville abandon the party and continue the search on his own. He resolved to find a way to escape Harry and Moody once the opportunity presented himself. Speak of the devil…
Harry entered the tent where Neville was meditating and placed a sealing charm on the flap. He also placed a couple of warding and silencing charms to make sure no one could hear the contents of this conversation. He turned to Neville, who was sitting calmly in the middle of his room.
"Hello, Harry," Neville calmly spoke.
"Neville," Harry nodded to him, "We need to talk."
"That we do."
Harry pulled up a chair next to Neville. Though it was a bit awkward since Neville was seated on the ground, Harry trudged on nonetheless.
"I'm sorry about what I had to do out there, but I can't allow you to leave."
"I have to leave," Neville said it as if it were a prophesized statement and not a request.
"Neville," Harry took off his glasses to rub his eyes, "I'm volunteering my unit to help you. I know about the Horcruxes, but I didn't tell Moody."
"Moody's not going to be happy that one of his best units is on a baby-sitting mission."
"Moody knows what you're doing is important," Harry paused, "And it's not a baby-sitting mission. Going after pieces of Voldemort's soul is anything but baby-sitting."
"I know it's dangerous, Harry, but that's not why I want to leave," Neville revealed.
"Oh?" Harry was curious.
Neville didn't know whether or not tell him, but if he couldn't tell Harry, who could he possibly trust now?
"I can't keep him out forever," Neville pointed at his scar, "Sooner or later, he's going to break free and I'm - I'm scared of what will happen."
Harry was a bit surprised to hear Neville's admission. He thought for sure that Neville would rebuke Harry's protection because of the danger of Horcruxes. It only briefly occurred to him that Neville thought of himself as a danger.
"You're stronger than that Neville."
"No I'm not," Neville hung his head, "When have I ever kept him out? I've attacked you several times, I've hurt people…"
Harry was too caught up in convincing Neville to stay to notice Neville's guilty appeal, "You can do it! We'll help you and if anything…I'll make sure to stop it."
"Harry…if anything should happen, don't hesitate. Please. Don't hesitate to stop me," Neville let the implicit plea hang in the air.
Harry gulped, "I won't."
"Thank you."
An agreement had been reached between the pair as they stewed in silence over their own thoughts. It was Harry who brought an end to their conversation.
"We fly out at first light tomorrow to find Bellatrix and the Horcrux you claim she has," Harry stood up to indicate he was leaving, "Make sure to get some rest."
As Harry was about to leave, Neville stopped him and said, "Harry. Thank you."
Harry nodded and with a hint of humor in his voice, "You know what they say - live together, die alone."
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