The Light in the Dark | Neville Longbottom

Chapter 105: Family Affairs

*CW: Extreme Violence*

I could've been searching for five minutes or five hours... I didn't know anymore. Every corner I turned, every hallway I entered, I was attacked by swarms of deatheaters. There was even one time where an ogre followed me through the courtyard and threw bricks at me through the crevices that were once windows. But like all that attacked me, I got the best of them. After the fifth deatheater I encountered, my wand became more of an obstacle than anything, so I stopped using it. By tilting my head or flicking my finger, I was able to steer deatheaters and other beings in all sorts of directions while also focusing on my motive, which was finding the trio.

A small part of me regretted leaving Tonks and Remus, knowing that Tonks was pregnant and that most of Voldemort's forces were in the courtyard by now. They could've used the extra help. Another part of me wondered why I had listened to Remus's request in the first place. The trio loathed me. Even if they knew that I was the missing key in their chances of success, they would've died before letting me help. Remus and I both knew that. So, as I frolicked through the school looking for any signs of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the more and more I wished I had just stayed back.

Or maybe I shouldn't have done either options, and ran off to find Neville. That was the other thought that consumed my mind. Where had Neville gone and was he alive? Was he okay? Was he with other people? All of these were questions I didn't have the answers for because I didn't see where Neville had run off to. I just remembered him battling a deatheater, and then after that, he disappeared. Maybe I should've just ditched Remus's requests and went to find him, but with the amount of running I've done throughout the school already... It might've been too late to do that.

For the most part, I knew where the trio was heading. Hermione and Ron sought the Chamber of Secrets to destroy Hufflepuff's cup with the basilisk fangs down there since the venom could destroy horcruxes. On the other hand, Harry had run off with Luna Lovegood to find Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. All four have not been seen since. My initial thought would've told me to go after Harry, but he could've been anywhere. I knew where the Chamber of Secrets was; Hermione told me all about it my fifth year. And after figuring out that I was also a parselmouth, I knew that I could've entered it with ease.

So ultimately, that was where I was heading: the second-floor girl's lavatory. But getting there was quite difficult with deatheaters trying to kill you at every turn.

I turned another corner, heading to the stairs. At the end of the hall, there was a battle going on. My plan was to slip by without getting noticed by either party.

"DAWN-ALD, HEY!" a familiar voice shouted.

My descent to the stairs was quickly halted by the sound of Fred's voice in said battle. He must've noticed me in the crossfire. I examined the fight quickly. There were six deatheaters and only two order members, one of them being Fred and the other his brother, Percy. They were easily outnumbered and obviously needed my help.

I knew what I had just said... I didn't want to get involved in this fight. But it was also likely that Fred and Percy would've died if I didn't help... And I didn't want that either.

Quickly, I ran towards the two, intending on helping them. With the distance that separated me from the group, I pulled out my wand, considering my wordless magic wouldn't have been as accurate and I could've accidentally hurt Fred or Percy using it. I raised my wand, getting ready to cast a spell at one of the deatheaters with his back turned. But then suddenly, I was hit in the back with a jinx and thrown to the floor, nearly getting the wind knocked out of me.

Groaning slightly, I recollected myself and stood up. Thinking that the spell came from behind, I looked in that direction and saw nothing but an empty hallway. This spell had not just hit me by accident... There was no way that it could've. Quickly, I held my wand out in front of me to protect myself.