Stare Into The Abyss

Chapter 4: Neville

Neville

Chapter Text
"I'll admit, you are certainly a good actor. But not good enough."

Neville sat frozen in shock. He'd been made and thinking back on what he'd just said, it wasn't looking good for him.

"Where is Severus?" The words tumble out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

"It doesn't matter. And if I were you, it wouldn't be him that I would be worried about." The hate Neville can hear in his voice makes the hairs in his neck stand up straight.

Was Potter going to kill him?

"Up you get. I promised Dumbledore I'd deliver you if I was right." Potter says, with an ugly sneer on his face.

Neville rises to his feet while still holding his arms up.

"Give me your wand."

"I haven't got it on me." Neville lies.

"Hm," Potter looks unamused. "Then how did you disillusion yourself?"

Damn. Okay. How was he going to get out of this? "It's a bracelet, the charm is on there." He twists his wrist to show him a faded friendship bracelet he always wore. "I left my wand in the dorms."

His wand is up to his sleeve in his holster, but most 14-year-olds just keep them in their robes. Potter doesn't know this.

"If you try anything, I'll have to break the promise to bring you to the headmaster in one piece, do you understand?"

Neville pales a bit. "Yes sir." He could do this. He's fought death eaters before, one man isn't that scary. Even if he's afraid.

Potter moves towards him with caution. Neville keeps his hands raised and hopes that what he's about to do won't end up getting him killed.

Potter starts to pat his robes and lowers his attention from his wand for a split second.

In that split second, Neville flicks his wand out and yells, "Expelliarmus!"

As Potter is disarmed Neville makes a fist and punches him in the face as hard as he can. Potter stumbles backward and ends up on the floor scrambling for his wand.

When he gets it he wastes no time in sending a blasting spell at the boy, but Neville has already booked it around the corner.

Neville looks back to see Potter just coming out of Severus' quarters and ducks behind a painting, into one of the many secret passageways in the dungeons.

His heart is thumping so loudly he can feel it behind his eyes. He's running for his life, and he knows it. Potter ducks after him and Neville needs to think of something quick.

He's tearing through the corridors and up a flight of stairs. He ducks out of the way of a vibrant orange spell just in time and he hears Potter curse. "Sirius! I was right! Get him!"

Bullocks. If others were to join in on this 'manhunt' there would be no way that Neville survived. So, he did the one thing he could think of and jumped out of the window on the third story.

He heard a startled yell behind him and knew what they were thinking, but Neville had a plan. The castle had spells that prevented students from falling to their death after a suicide in 1100 something.

Just as he was hoping, the spells caught him and instead of splattering on the floor, he was put down. Not exactly softly in any way, but beggars can't be choosers.

Without looking behind he takes off into the forbidden forest. After so many nights in it, he knows it like the back of his hand, and he uses that along with the darkness to disappear.