Neville Longbottom had always admired Harry Potter.

Until the day he sided with the Dark Lord.

Harry was nice enough, for a Slytherin. A Slytherin that had violent tendencies and no friends in his own house. A Slytherin who defeated Voldemort (something that Neville himself should have done). But it all went pear-shaped that fateful day.

It was the 14th of May 1995. A terrible night in general, but it was the day the Light lost Harry Potter to the Dark.

They had been battling in the Department of Mysteries. Harry had been firing spells at Death Eaters to his heart's content. They all were. They were fighting for their friends, family and freedom. But then Sirius Black died.

No one could help it.

It happened before anyone knew what was happening. He had been battling Bellatrix when one of her curses hit him. The sheer force of it caused him to fall through a mysterious veil. Harry screamed out in terror, and fired a curse at Bellatrix. She, too, fell into the veil. Dead. Harry went on a furious rampage and cursed everything and everyone in sight.

"I can see your anger, boy." It was Voldemort's cold, sharp voice, reverberating through the room. Harry stopped. "Join me. We can make an excellent team. Your anger, your past, your pureblood father, can't you see? You must join me."

Voldemort strode into the room, wand out, as if daring anyone to contradict him. He looked around satisfied, and went to Harry.

"Harry Potter." he sneered. "You defeated me, when I had no physical form. Why? Because you wanted to help that idiot Longbottom. You have a strong desire to help your friends. That is very useful in a Death Eater."

Neville spoke up. "He killed one of your precious Death Eaters, and you want him to replace her?"

"Shut up boy." he said. "Of course. That's what happens."

Neville felt sick. One of the only people that actually like him could turn to the Dark Side. "Harry, don't!" Harry looked at him and smiled almost like he was already planning someone's death.

"I can do what I want, and I can tell who the winning side will be in this war." Harry stepped forward. "What do I need to do, Lord?"

Hermione whimpered. "Harry, don't-"

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. Hermione took a step back. "I CAN DO WHAT I BLOODY WANT!" He stunned Hermione and turned to Ron, who was moving towards her. Ron spotted him.

"Mate-"

"Don't mate me."

"-do you know what you're doing? You'll get yourself killed!"

"Doing the right thing!" Harry spat at Ron.

"The right thing?" Ron picked up Hermione's body and holding his wand, muttered a few words. A second later Dumbledore appeared.

"Ronald, take Miss Granger back to the castle with Fawkes." He did so and they were gone. "Now, Harry," he started, "you're a good man. A good wizard, great at that. Smart. So why Voldemort?" Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed his eye, then called for Fawkes. The phoenix appeared in front of him.

"Remus, Kingsley, Tonks, take the others back to Hogwarts." Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, if you want to side with Voldemort, then I will respect your wishes. But you cannot, and will not, come back to Hogwarts."

Harry looked at Dumbledore. "Fine." he spat. Harry eyed his former friends then stood next to You-Know-Who.

Dumbledore looked at Neville. "Are you going back or not?"

Neville didn't want to leave Harry, but it was Harry or his own life. Neville grabbed Fawkes along with the rest of the group and went back to Hogwarts.

---

The next year passed without any disturbance from Harry. Neville had become the "hero" and had to defeat giant spiders, stray flying cars and a random Death Eater. He was starting to live up to his "The Boy Who Lived" title. Harry's great deeds were almost forgotten by most of Hogwarts.

But, a few still cherished some of his earlier achievements, including Ron and Hermione.

Neville was still pretty good friends with them, but there was a very obvious divide between them. They still did things together, and the pair of them help him with the Death Eater.

"Neville," asked Hermione, "if Harry came back, would you still-"

"Be friends? No. Hermione, I wouldn't be able to forgive him for siding with You-... Voldemort. But if he turned on Voldemort... I dunno, Hermione. Would you?"

Hermione nodded. "He and Ron were the first people here that accepted me as a friend. I couldn't turn my back on him."

Neville sighed. "I guess. But we were never close friends, only a Gryffindor and a Slytherin with mutual respect."

Hermione, who was also Gryffindor, nodded. "If you want to think that."

His conversation with Hermione gave him a burning passion to turn Harry back to the light side. He was about to put his plan into action but a week or so before he did, Voldemort attacked.

Everyone saw it. The Dark Mark. High above the Astronomy Tower. Neville had only come back from a Horcrux mission moments ago and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Questions circled through his mind. Is Harry here? Voldemort? Is someone in the castle involved? He ran up the front steps two at a time with Dumbledore on his tail.

Finding the D.A. coin in the bottom of his robe pocket, he rubbed it and prayed that the D.A. would help him. Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Luna and a few others sprinted in front of him, as did two or three Death Eaters.

"I already put a call out!" yelled Hermione, who was firing curses at a stocky Death Eater Neville believed to be Dolohov. Neville joined in the fight and shot curses everywhere.

That's when they saw Harry. He strode in like he owned the place. Behind him came Voldemort. They both stepped over a body on the ground with red hair and moved towards the Astronomy Tower. Neville followed them to the bottom of the stairs and heard fighting.

Fearing what was up there, Neville sprinted up the stairs and hid a level down from to top. He saw many middle-aged men, Draco Malfoy and Harry.

It took all his strength to not sprint up the rest of the stairs and try to reason with Harry. He had almost lost control when he saw a jet of green light hit Dumbledore in the chest. Dumbledore, already dead, fell back off the tower into the grounds below.

Neville almost let out a scream, keeping it in to save his life, and ran down the stairs. Professor

McGonagall was waiting for him there.

"Dumbledore's dead." said Neville quickly.

McGonagall sobbed but ran off to rejoin the fight. Neville did too, cursing every Death Eater he could see out of grief for his mentor.

---

The next time Neville saw Harry was the worst day of many people's lives.

2nd May 1998.

The Battle of Hogwarts.

Neville was a rallying point for the Light Side. He, Ron and Hermione had been on a quest for the Horcruxes, having destroyed all but three: The cup, Ravenclaw's thing and Nagini. Ron and Hermione had gone to the Chamber of Secrets to bring back Basilisk fangs for the Cup.

Once they found the cup, they went to try and find Nagini, Harry and Voldemort.

They found Nagini first, but couldn't kill her with the fangs. They needed a longer weapon, like the sword. Neville told his plan to the other two and pulled it out of his bag. He kept it in his hand for the rest of the battle.

Then Neville, and everyone, heard Voldemort's voice.

"Neville Longbottom." said the chilling voice. "Come to me, boy. Join me or die. I expect you no later than midnight."

Neville gulped, and checked his watch. It was 11:00pm. He could make it.

"Neville, don't." said Hermione.

"I have to. Otherwise more people will die."

Hermione and Ron looked at him. "Be careful mate." said Ron.

Neville nodded and headed out to his death. He walked into the forest with his Invisibility Cloak on, and stayed on the lookout for Death Eaters. He heard them before he saw them.

"No sign of him my Lord." said a rough, masculine voice.

"Pathetic." said Voldemort. "You said he would come."

"Well he was right." Neville stepped out of the shadows and pulled the cloak off.

"Ah, Neville Longbottom." said Voldemort. "Come to die."

The Death Eaters all laughed in unison, as if they had planned this.

Voldemort continued. "No defence? I may as well kill you then! Avada Kedavra!"

The green jet of light came at him, and Neville blacked out. When he opened his eyes, he was in a very clean King's Cross. With Dumbledore.

"Professor?" he said. "How?"

"I'm not alive, this is not Earth." he said.

"But- am I alive? Or dead?"

"It's your choice. Neville, what do you see? Where are we?"

"Um... King's Cross. But cleaner. And whiter."

"Well, to answer your question, I could board a train. It would take me on and on."

Neville nodded. "And if I didn't take the train?"

"You go back."

Neville heard a squeak come from a seat behind him. He looked under and saw a baby-type thing covered in blood that kind of resembled Voldemort.

"What's that?"

"The part of Voldemort that was inside you."

Neville nodded. "Can I go back now?"

"Anytime." Said Dumbledore, and the next time Neville opened his eyes, he was back in the forest.

"Is he dead?" he heard Voldemort say. "You, check."

Neville felt a cold hand on his back and chest, noting that he was alive. Then he heard their voice. "Is Draco alive?"

"Yes." He breathed.

"Dead." He heard the voice say. The Death Eaters cheered, and took him up to the castle.

"Neville Longbottom is dead!" Voldemort screamed.

"No!" yelled many voices.

"Yes! You will all become my-" Voldemort's monologue stopped when Neville jumped out of Hagrid's arms.

"What?" yelled Voldemort.

Neville looked at Harry. "Harry, stop killing, please."

Harry looked at him and smirked. "This is who I am now. I am loyal to the Dark Lord and all who follow him."

Voldemort sneered. "See? He is mine, and always will be."

Neville had had enough. He pointed his wand at Voldemort and yelled "Expelliarmus!" at the same time Voldemort said "Avada Kedavra!"

The jets of light met in the middle. Neville's red light pushed against Voldemort's green one, pushing it back onto its caster.

Voldemort fell onto the ground. Dead. Harry looked at Neville.

"See?" said Neville. "I beat him. I can beat you."

Harry looked at the body of his former mentor, and looked back at Neville. There was something about his eyes.

"Why would I side with Voldemort?"

That's when it hit Neville. "Harry, you've been under the Imperius Curse."

Harry looked sick. "This whole time? And now I've got a bloody Dark Mark." He looked at everyone with an expression that said "sorry."

He turned around to face the Death Eaters. "Now for you." He shot heaps of curses into their midst, killing a few and injuring many more. Everyone else followed his example and shot curses at them. Neville moved over to Harry.

"I'm sorry mate, I really am." said Harry. "I'd never do that."

"It's fine mate. Friends again?"

Harry shook his hand. "Friends."

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