The Dark Mark (The Girl Who Lived part II)

Neville's Ending: If You Love Someone Let Them Go

"Settle Down". I tapped my wand on the podium to get the attention of the first year's in my class. "Let's begin. I am 

"I refuse to show favoritism. The grade you earn shall be the grade you receive". I answered curtly. "Now, can anyone tell me what........" As the classes finished up and I sat in the courtyard, my thoughts remained on the advice Mrs. Weasley had given to me. I wish she were here right now to help me keep these kids in line. I remembered one particular thing she had said to me after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Her words rung in my ears. "When you love someone, let them go-". My thoughts were interrupted by Neville, who took a seat next to me, taking my small hands into his. His face had been covered in dirt. I almost screamed, when I turned towards him. "What happened?" I had asked this, as I took a white handkerchief out of my pocket. Neville had become the herbology teacher, and I had known that with plants, there was dirt. But, I never expected this much dirt. I wiped his forehead, which had been caked with dirt. A majority of it transferred from his now black face, to the clean white handkerchief. "Herbology. Fred Weasley. Failed prank". Neville said, in fragment as if he'd been traumatized by the whole event. I finished wiping off his face for the most part, but his face was still tinted with the color of dirt. "Ready to go home?" He asked me. "Goodness, yes". I answered.

We had found ourselves a small home in Godric's hollow. It wasn't large, but it was enough for the two.....three of us. We entered the small house that consisted of two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. We'd been painting the bedroom we hadn't slept in. "I like this color. What about you?" I asked him, holding a swatch of yellow paint up to the wall. "I have to beg to differ. I like this blue". He held up a different swatch of paint. It was sort of a sky blue. We argued over the color of the room for hours and finally decided on a mix between the two.

A sort of a kiwi. I began to paint in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that I knew that I'd never wear in public again. I began painting the walls while Neville assembled the crib. When I had finished one wall, I looked over my shoulder at Neville, who was having quite a bit of trouble using the power tools to assemble it. "Neville. Are you sure that you don't need any help?" "I'm perfectly fine. Don't want you to hurt the baby". He had looked at me when he said this, not paying attention to his finger, which he would soon hammer. His finger had turned red and I bandaged it. I left for a few moments to check the mail. I reentered the room with the mail to find Neville with the crib fully built. "Wow, Neville. That looks really good". Neville stood, wiping the sweat off his brow. I honestly would've been able to complete the task faster and easier, but Neville looked so proud of himself. "Thank you. Now, I don't suppose you know where these screws go, do you?" He held up a small plastic bag filled with two screws. "Oh, well. The baby ought to have plenty of good night's rest in this. I built it myself". He ever so gently shook the crib to prove his point, which then collapsed into nothing more than a pile of wood and screws. He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. And as he picked up the pieces of the crib and began sulking about how the crib didn't stay together, I knew that life would never get any better than this.

But like all good things, they never last. As I flipped through the envelopes, I saw a letter . No envelope, just a letter. It must've been awful important to have had been delivered by hand. I unfolded the letter. The letter had been written in a hurry, according to the messy manuscript. "Dear Scarlet, the Ministry knows. As the last Death Eater not in Azkaban, they've all targeted you. There's a reward. A rather high one, at that. They're bent on sending you to Azkaban. Run". The letter was brief and recently written, as I found the ink smeared as I wiped my finger along the edges of the letter. Harry's signature was scrawled underneath the letter. The Dark Mark tingled underneath my metal bracelet, and then transformed into an intense burn. My world began to spin. Walls moving. Floors shaking, and rotating every way possible. "Scarlet?" Neville noticed my unease. He placed his hands over mine, that were clutching the letter, pulling me back down into this universe. "Neville. They know". "Who knows what?" "The Ministry knows". I removed my bracelet to reveal the Dark Mark that had remained there that I always concealed. His eyes widened."They're coming after me. There's a bounty". "We need to go. Pack everything that you'll need. We leave in five minutes". Neville ran out of the room. I followed him. He scurried from room to room with a duffle bag, shoving everything that we would need to survive into the bag. Food, clothes, and toiletries.

The idea of escaping was wonderful at first. But then I began to consider everything. A new place, meant a fresh start. But then again, there really is no such thing as a "successful escape". No matter where you go, or what you do, there's always something that'll haunt you. There's always, even if just a little, paranoia that latches onto you, like some sort of parasite. Except, this particular parasite never lets go and trails you around for the rest of your days. "Neville...Are you sure that running is our best option?" "It's not the "best" option. It's the only option. You'll be sent to Azkaban when you did nothing wrong. And we know that they won't listen to reason". He shoved down everything within the bag, zipped up the bag, and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's go". He said.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me along the halls of Hogwarts and into the Room of Requirement. He'd been walking so fast that I was unable to keep up with his long strides. "Neville.... Wait..". He didn't turn around, nor did he slow down. "We don't have time to wait. The Ministry is surely on our tails. We need to go, or else we'll have plenty of time to wait when you're imprisoned in Azkaban". Inside the room, was the Vanishing Cabinet. The fire years prior had nearly destroyed it. Bits of the cabinet had been singed from the fire, but it was still fully functional. Neville began shoving objects against the door, creating a sort of a barricade. Then, Neville headed straight for the cabinet without the slightest bit of hesitation. He swung open the cabinet, threw the duffel bag in, closed it, and opened it once more. He stood closest to the cabinet and turned to face me.

"All we need to do, is step into the cabinet, and then we're home free". I interlocked my hands around his neck and he placed his arms around my waist. We were so close, that I could feel his breath on my skin. He was panting. He was scared. Frightened, maybe. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" I asked him one more time. "We can't do that to our child. They can't be born in Azkaban. They can't have both parents in there". He answered. "Both parents? But what about you? You'd actually go with me to Azkaban if we got caught? You'd risk everything?" "There isn't a doubt in my mind. I would risk everything". As much as I, and several girls, want to hear these words, this wasn't what I wanted.

As he said these words, I felt my heart crumbling, breaking off piece by piece. We had said that we'd be together for better, and for worse. But, could I really drag him into this? Was it morally wrong for him to face the "worse" part if it this was how bad it would get? A life sentence in Azkaban was a heavy weight to hold. A burden. Neville's kind heart wouldn't be able to take it. "Scarlet. Everything's going to be all right". We joined our foreheads together. A tear strolled down my cheek. He wiped it away with his index finger. "It seems like I just admitted my feelings for you. I'm a bit selfish. I'm not ready to let you go yet". I could just fall into his eyes, and forget all my troubles. But I knew that there would always be something in the back of my mind, nagging at me. I also knew, that this sort of thing would have a worse effect on him, that it would, me. As much as it hurt, I cared for him way too much for me to be the cause of his suffering. The door began to shake. Pounding came from the other side of the door. The Ministry was here. "Neville, I love you. Never forget that". I said. "And I, you. But why does it sound more like a goodbye? Scarlet... What are you planning?" I put my lips onto his to shut him up, while the Ministry was slowly but surely, working away at the door. This warmth filled my face, and I soaked in his scent of home, and his warm touch.

Mustering all the force I could gather, I pushed him away from me and into the cabinet, attempting to shut the door. "Scarlet!" I had trouble closing the cabinet door, due to Neville using all his weight and strength to his advantage. I didn't have the strength to match, but I had the willpower. My hands became red, but I knew that he needed to go. I couldn't drag him down with me. He didn't deserve that. It broke my heart. And as much as I loved him, I'd rather he be away from me, than him be with me and suffer enough worth a thousand lifetimes. He yelled my names a few more times. Each time, he said this more hurt, than the one before. And everytime he uttered my name, was like a dagger in me. Each one more painful. "Goodbye, Neville". I had managed to say, before channeling my remaining strength into shoving closed the door to the cabinet. I finally was able to complete shut the door, even though Neville had been ramming himself into it. I kept my body pressed against the door, barely keeping it closed. I counted down the seconds. "3, 2, 1". The ramming had ceased. Neville was gone. I felt as if a piece of me were missing, but I swallowed my tears. And as the Ministry took me away, I thought of Mrs. Weasley's advice once more. "If you love someone, let them go". I'd done exactly that. "And if it's meant to be, they'll find their way back to you". I thought of Neville, and there was no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't.