(I've not written HP fic in ages, so...this was inspired heavily by that one little bit from DH: Part 1 that Neville is actually in. Y'all know the one.)
He needs nothing other than to see her face upon boarding to know that they will be the undisputed leaders in their house this year. They have scarcely left King’s Cross before he feels the weight settle onto his shoulders—he, who at age eleven had been scared of his own shadow. Gran’s proud words linger in his mind. You are your parent’s son, my boy, and I could not be more proud of you.
He sits across from her on the train, putting forth his false bravado when the scum arrive to conduct their futile search. When the intruders leave, they both resume staring out the window, wondering. He imagines what Harry and Ron would have told him if he’d had the chance to do so, wondering if it would have included watching over her—not that he needed to be told in the first place.
He had always watched over her, even when she had no idea. And he would keep on watching over her, for as long as he drew breath.
She had always been his weakness, unknowingly. He might have asked Hermione to the Yule Ball first, but the result had become both his fondest memory as well as his greatest nightmare.
“Neville?”
“Yeah?” He could never not hear her, even when response was impossible.
“I wish I knew what to expect from this year.” Her wistful tone breaks his heart, but he can’t lie to her, so he is his unfailingly honest self.
“I wish I could tell you I knew, Gin.” I wish I could tell you everything will be all right, but I can’t.
He knows she understands. He looks at her, and she is looking back at him. He is unused to the uncertainty and doubt that lingers in her brown gaze, and knows that for all of her outward bravery, she too will need someone to be her rock during these trying times.
He stands, and her face falls.
“Neville, what are you doing?”
He moves the miniscule distance from where he stood and sits back down, only this time he is sitting beside her, and there is very little distance remaining between them. In this moment, there is no one else in his and her car aboard the Hogwarts Express.
“When we get to Hogwarts, after the Welcoming Feast, we need to talk. There is much to be planned for this year—“
“We have to cover all of our bases,” she finished his thought seamlessly, her eyes lightening with the promise of ideas to keep the coming year from being a complete disaster.
“Yes. All of our bases,” he confirmed, nodding once emphatically. She has no way of knowing, though, that his bases also include making sure she is safe, and happy, and most of all—loved.
She has no way of knowing that if he is truly brave, that it is because she inspires him to be so, that his bravery all starts with her—even if he is a coward to how she makes him feel.
Neville/Ginny - False Bravado, PG
He needs nothing other than to see her face upon boarding to know that they will be the undisputed leaders in their house this year. They have scarcely left King’s Cross before he feels the weight settle onto his shoulders—he, who at age eleven had been scared of his own shadow. Gran’s proud words linger in his mind. You are your parent’s son, my boy, and I could not be more proud of you.
He sits across from her on the train, putting forth his false bravado when the scum arrive to conduct their futile search. When the intruders leave, they both resume staring out the window, wondering. He imagines what Harry and Ron would have told him if he’d had the chance to do so, wondering if it would have included watching over her—not that he needed to be told in the first place.
He had always watched over her, even when she had no idea. And he would keep on watching over her, for as long as he drew breath.
She had always been his weakness, unknowingly. He might have asked Hermione to the Yule Ball first, but the result had become both his fondest memory as well as his greatest nightmare.
“Neville?”
“Yeah?” He could never not hear her, even when response was impossible.
“I wish I knew what to expect from this year.” Her wistful tone breaks his heart, but he can’t lie to her, so he is his unfailingly honest self.
“I wish I could tell you I knew, Gin.” I wish I could tell you everything will be all right, but I can’t.
He knows she understands. He looks at her, and she is looking back at him. He is unused to the uncertainty and doubt that lingers in her brown gaze, and knows that for all of her outward bravery, she too will need someone to be her rock during these trying times.
He stands, and her face falls.
“Neville, what are you doing?”
He moves the miniscule distance from where he stood and sits back down, only this time he is sitting beside her, and there is very little distance remaining between them. In this moment, there is no one else in his and her car aboard the Hogwarts Express.
“When we get to Hogwarts, after the Welcoming Feast, we need to talk. There is much to be planned for this year—“
“We have to cover all of our bases,” she finished his thought seamlessly, her eyes lightening with the promise of ideas to keep the coming year from being a complete disaster.
“Yes. All of our bases,” he confirmed, nodding once emphatically. She has no way of knowing, though, that his bases also include making sure she is safe, and happy, and most of all—loved.
She has no way of knowing that if he is truly brave, that it is because she inspires him to be so, that his bravery all starts with her—even if he is a coward to how she makes him feel.