THE SHARP, MENACING WORDS ARE hurled in his direction like poison, but Neville stands straight, refusing to break eye contact with Alecto Carrow, whose face scrunches into a contemptuous sneer as she disarms him and catches his wand.

"When are you going to learn to keep your mouth shut, boy?" she says through gritted teeth, and the amount of frustration and maddening rage that is visible in her features as well as in her voice brings him immense relief. He is no longer afraid – of her, or of anyone else invading their school. The only thing that matters to him is that Hogwarts needs protection, and they, the students, are the only ones to give it.

Neville knows that the other students look up to him. With Harry Potter gone, he is the one to keep fighting, to encourage everyone else to do the same, to not let the Carrows get them down. Surprisingly enough for him, everyone listens. They see him as a leader – something he never would have described himself as.

He has never asked for the mantle. But if it fits so well on him, then he will gladly accept it.

Alecto swipes her wand harshly, and a stinging pain shoots through his face. Before long, he feels drops of blood trickling down his cheek, but it doesn't take him long to transform the pained expression on his face into a determined one, with no sign of suffering. This seems to anger the death eater more as she raises her hand once again to throw another curse, and Neville braces himself for it.

But Seamus rises to his feet and hurls a curse at her, effectively stopping her. Stunned, she wheels around to look at him, but he is already thrown to the ground by a Slytherin, and he writhes in pain as streams of light continue to bombard him.

"You coward!" Neville yells through gritted teeth. Alecto turns to look at him again. "You are fighting seventeen year olds, and yet you don't have the guts to fight them alone, you need to disarm them before –"

His voice is cut off as another curse is directed at him, right over his face. He feels blood pooling up inside his mouth.

He and Seamus both earn detentions.

If the Carrows think this is going to stop them, they are utterly and remarkably wrong. If anything, Neville finds himself losing his inhibitions more and more. He ceases caring about his grades, his stupid grades, and devotes his entire body and soul into fighting. He no longer feels the need to hide, carries out his actions in the open, and grabs every opportunity to jump into more dangerous situations.

The exact level of desperation felt by the Carrows is revealed when he receives a letter from Augusta one night. A letter, so unlike the ones he has received over the years that usually asked him to remember to do his homework. A letter so filled with pride that Neville can almost see it overflowing from the edges. A letter that does not tell him to be like his father because, as she has come to realise, he is his own person, and only when the shadow of his father has been removed from him, can he shine for who he is.

With Dawlish in St Mungo's and Augusta on the run, Neville decides that it is no longer safe for him to run freely through the Hogwarts castle. And thus, he conceals himself in the Room of Requirement. But he doesn't regret having to hide, for he knows the fire inside the castle will continue to burn, just like the war has continued even after Dumbledore's death.

Now, as he looks down at his cherry wand with unicorn hair, Neville feels his chest swelling with pride. This is who he is meant to be – a nervous, forgetful boy turning out to be a true Gryffindor that he has never thought he would be. Neville Longbottom. Not Frank and Alice's son, but a person himself. As much as he would love to be like his father, he knows they are different people, and it is only by being truly himself is how he can make his parents proud.

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wow look at me, finished this chapter in one and a half hour after ignoring the previous chapter for two days