THE ROOM GOES MORE CROWDED day by day, as students leave the castle that they once called home. Whether they are on the run from the Carrows, or simply want to escape the hell the school has become – the Room welcomes them all. It has become larger than it could even be imagined, and numerous hammocks take up the empty spaces. Large shelves line one wall, while over the opposite wall hang three large banners representing each house except for Slytherin. The portrait that covers one end of the room – the portrait of a young girl – leads to the Hog's Head, and has appeared only recently. It was an important change the Room has brought, for, if not for the barman of the pub who supplies them with food, they would all be starving now.

Life in hiding has both its blessings and curses, and Neville has faced both. He doesn't have to be subjected to the Carrow's torture anymore, nor does he have to face younger students being tortured by sixth or seventh year Slytherins, though wounded victims are still being brought to the Room to be healed. Food from the Hog's Head is far better in quality than what the Carrows allowed the house elves to make for them, although it had to be rationed due to the sheer number who have taken up refuge here.

Yet, Neville goes through periods of frustration, when he feels that he isn't good enough. He feels lonely, and wishes he had a friend who would listen to everything he wants to say. An irrational jealousy creeps through him when Dean arrives and Seamus no longer feels the need to stay by his side, though he is quick to shut the feeling down.

He sees his father and mother everywhere, chiding him for being a coward, telling him that he shouldn't be hiding in the safety of the Room, saying that Augusta and Algie have been right all along, that he would never be like his father, he never was meant to be.

During times like these, Neville is forced to conceal himself behind a smile, as fake as the promises the Dark Lord makes to his followers, and talk to everyone in the Room, listen to them and give words of inspiration that he, often, doesn't believe. He cannot keep the scary thoughts from invading him, from rotting away his mind, and when darkness falls and the curtains are drawn to let the moonlight bless the Room, he hides – again – in a corner where the light doesn't reach, wipes the smile from his face and waits patiently for the nightmares that are sure to come.

Hannah finds him one day, but she doesn't say anything. She locks their hands and sits down beside him, their legs stretched out in front of them and their shoulders touching. Her hair tickles the side of his face as he leans in toward her, hoping for some comfort that usually associates her presence.

But it doesn't come. Like a flower, her petals have fallen, her scent has faded, and she is now nothing but a remnant of something once beautiful, destroyed by the ugliness of the world.

"My mum never liked the idea of houses," she speaks when eons seem to have passed between them. "She was a muggleborn, so she didn't have any initial excitement about which house she'd be in, or about which house is the best. She thought it creates a rift between the students, and believed that coed is a better way to bring unity."

"What do you believe?" Neville asks, not knowing what else to say.

"I believe that houses are all in good fun," she answers promptly, as though she already knew Neville would ask this and has prepared her response. "It creates a friendly competition, and it is foolish to judge a person based entirely on their house." She lowers her head and begins to draw circles over his palm. "A person is so much more than brave and kind and wise and ambitious. It's unfair to divide everyone among these four labels." She finally looks at him. "You are brave, Neville. And you don't need to be a Gryffindor to show that."

"I don't feel very brave though."

She sighs and kisses him lightly on his lips. "It will pass."