Neville's Journey

The morning dew clung to the long blades of grass as a lone figure made his way through the field. The fog itself seemed to emit an eeriness that upset many often chasing the residents of the little town indoors whenever they sighted the unusual mist. It was in fact the strange rumors the traveler had heard that had led him to the unusually misty glade. Despite the traveler's apparent youth or perhaps because of it the thick fog's eeriness did not seem to affect him. Though the fog masked several presences it was clear to the traveler that the dancing shadows were slowly circling him. Catching a glimpse of the shadowy figures the traveler smirked.

Gradually he slowed his pace to match the gliding figures as they closed the circle around him. Suddenly several shadows rushed him from each direction. In response the traveler quickly dropped to the ground and shouted, "Benaresu! Come out Touchoa!"

Unable to avoid the count-attack several Dementors were quickly ripped apart in the wake of the summoned lesser demon while the summoner nimbly dodged their now disrupted attack. Taking advantage of the confusion the lesser demon quickly dispatched the remaining Dementors.

"So these are Dementors," the traveler said to himself. "Guess they don't affect someone like me."

Gazing towards the sky the summoner's gaze peered through the thinning fog and the clouds in the sky the traveler felt the knots in his shoulders and back. Getting a good reading on the stars the traveler turned towards the sound of beating wings announced the approach of an Abyssinian owl. Holding out his left arm for the nocturnal messenger, he deftly accepted a scroll from the owl. Unrolling the parchment he glanced at the message and the picture that had been attached.

"Touchoa, return." Holding up his left hand he commanded the lesser demon to return. Quickly jotting down a message he tossed the scroll into the air as he continued on his way.

* * * * * * * *

Sitting in a kitchen many kilometers away from the field that the lone traveler stood in Neville Longbottom endured another long ranting lecture from his Grandmother. After nearly fifteen years of enduring such rants and lectures Neville had grown accustomed to such episodes. Still, the frequency of these experiences had increased in the past few weeks. Then again, with all attacks and increased activities of He-who-must-not-be-named and his loyal followers the Death Eaters, it didn't surprise him that his Gran was on edge. .

Looking back Neville was not surprised that things had gotten so bad. It was hard to believe that just over a year ago that the Ministry of Magic had officially accepted that the dark wizard known as Lord Voldemort had returned and that his followers were indeed active and roaming the land. He had thought the attacks that had occurred over the past year had been bad, but the month following Professor Dumbledore's death during the attack on Hogwarts made everything else seem mild in comparison.

Before the attack on Hogwarts all the real fighting had been between the Ministry of Magic officials and the dark witches and wizards with each side making publicized attacks against the other. Aurors and Ministry officials had frozen or seized the estates and accounts of all the known Death Eaters, capturing a few suspects and imprisoning even fewer. For the Death Eaters it was much simpler; they simply attacked noted Aurors and ministry officials or the close relatives of said individuals in their attempt to break the spirits of those who stood against them. While the Ministry was trying their best to apprehend any suspected Death Eaters, they also had to follow their own rules and regulations. Unfortunately the dark witches and wizards failed to follow the same rules as they killed anyone that they felt they needed to, though they often resorted to blackmail and threats first.

"At least they have the common sense to allow Hogwarts to remain open," he heard his Gran state as she continued her rant, this time against the short comings of the present Minister of Magic and his administration. Listening half-heartedly, Neville pondered his own future. Though Gran insisted that he return to Hogwarts, Neville had begun to have doubts. True, it would be a sign of faith and trust in the Ministry and the school's new Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, but something about going back to school and trying to live a "normal" life at school seemed wrong. Unfortunately Gran didn't accept that as a valid argument for not returning.

Despite the attack at the end of the last term, Hogwarts was still one of the safest places left in the magical world, especially for those who had yet to prove that they were capable of being able of surviving in the outside world. Gran wanted him to return not because Hogwarts was the safest place for him, but because she thought he wouldn't be able to deal with the war. True, Neville had not shown strong and true like several of his classmates had, but few had. Though he was not as tried and true as Harry Potter had been over the course of the same number of years, Neville had faced his fair share of adversity. Granted the broken nose and broken wand at the end of their fifth year, not to mention enduring being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange paled in comparison to Harry facing down Lord Voldemort. Simply being involved in and surviving the Death Eaters' attack on Hogwarts had only proven that he was not prepared to deal with an organized group of dark wizards, not by himself.

But that was the inherent problem, he was alone. Sure, he had been a part of something larger once, but even that had been whittled down to six courageous youths who had only managed to escape twice their number of Death Eaters mostly due to luck and to the fact that they underestimated the six youths. Then he had been a part of something, but now he was alone except for his Gran and Trevor, the sometimes loyal though mostly free-spirited toad. Harry, the leader of the golden trio and of the now dysfunctional D.A. (Dumbledore's Army), had decided that he wouldn't return to Hogwarts, thus leading to the foregone conclusion that Hermione and Ron, the remainder of the trio, would also not be returning to school.

Sighing to himself, Neville nodded as his Gran began to wind down, signaling that her rant was soon to end. Though he trusted and was trusted by each of the trio, Neville never did see himself as being more then just a house and classmate. Sure, Hermione had helped him a lot, and he had once had a crush on her; Harry had called him a friend once on the Hogwarts Express; and, well, Ron was Ron, but he never did belong with them aside from being in their shadows.

Catching the telltale signs that Gran was about to finish her rant Neville nodded again as he pushed his empty plate away from himself. Gran would either rant about the many missteps that the Ministry seemed to be making or she would grow deathly silent as she read of the most recent attack. Fortunately today's headlines were about the new measures that the Ministry was taking to prevent further attacks, unfortunately having said measures so publicized only encouraged the Death Eaters to come up with other ways to foil those measures or to come up with new ways to avoid those measures.

Then again, maybe Neville was just thinking about it too much. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind he tried to focus on the short list of things that he needed to do today.

"Neville, could you get the post?" Gran shouted from the pantry. Looking up Neville glanced out the window and spied several tawny owls approaching the house. But a single owl seemed to stand out from the others. It wasn't just because this lone owl was seemingly unburdened as his companions were- it was the appearance of the bird. Much like Hedwig or Pig, Harry and Ron's owls, who easily stood out among the other owls in the Great Hall, this particular owl not only had a different look, it also had a distinctive aura about it.

Gran apparently had noticed it as well. Suddenly appearing by the window she casually grabbed a jar of owl treats before filling a bowl with water for the fast approaching messengers.

Neville eyed the parliament of owls as they pasted the southern hedge - the marker for the owl wards - drawing ever closer to the kitchen window. He kept watching as they flew through the wards on the window and the tawny owls delivered their packages. The lone exception being the strange owl that flew straight to Neville. He knew that his Gran was watching him expectantly; he never got letters except from Hogwarts and even those went to his Gran first. Reaching out he exchanged a piece of his morning muffin for the scroll.

Neville Longbottom,

Despite the recent set backs and tragedies that the faculty and students have endured this past term I am pleased to inform you that the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Magic have agreed to allow Hogwarts to remain open. While I cannot hope to fill Professor Dumbledore's shoes, I hope that I can continue this great legacy as well as maintain the many proud Hogwarts traditions.

There are several matters that I would like to discuss with you and your Grandmother over the summer holidays that would be best discussed privately. Please owl me as to a convenient time for me to stop by.

Sincerely,

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall

While it was no surprise that Hogwarts would remain open, Neville couldn't help but feel a bit relieved at receiving word that the school would not be shutting its doors. Part of him just couldn't help but feel a bit unsettled. Though part of him wanted to return to Hogwarts, he couldn't help but wonder if he really belonged there.

"That settles it," Gran said, snapping Neville out of his thoughts and back to reality. "You're going back to Hogwarts."

Knowing that he couldn't refute her once she used that tone, Neville cleared his mind of any doubts and second thoughts he had on the subject.

He couldn't help but wonder who Professor McGonagall would find to replace her as the Transfiguration professor. With her new the duties as headmistress she wouldn't not have the time for a full load of classes. And who would she find to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?

"Well, with Minerva as Headmistress perhaps you'll be able to take N.E.W.T. Transfiguration," Gran stated as she handed a scroll and treats to an owl.

Neville suppressed a cringe. Gran still seemed intent on getting him to take transfiguration and potions, even though he had not gotten the O.W.L.'s required to take the N.E.W.T. level courses. Though Professor McGonagall had seemingly put her foot down on the matter last year, it seemed that Gran would try to push the matter again.

* * * * * * * *

It had been a long day for Neville. Between his tutoring sessions for potions and transfiguration with his Great-Uncle Marcus and tending his personal garden, Neville barely managed to clean himself up before Professor McGonagall's afternoon tea-time visit. Despite the multitude of tasks he had to undertake during the day Neville couldn't help but think about why Professor McGonagall felt the need to personally stop by and talk with him and his Gran.

Living on the outskirts of Dovetown had its benefits. With their cottage several hundred meters into the woods they were sheltered from the curious eyes of their Muggle neighbors without having to completely hide themselves as many wizarding families tended to do.

Hearing the wind chimes he knew that Professor McGonagall had arrived. Though they were in plain sight and appeared to be nothing more then your average wind chimes, they were in fact enchanted wards. Unlike the security wards on the hedges which kept out anything that could be considered a threat, the wind chimes would ring in a certain tone whenever someone Apparated into the woods or approached the cottage from the woods.

Already in the garden Neville waved to his Gran, "I'll show her in."

Too far away from the house, Neville couldn't make out his Gran's reply. Stepping beyond the threshold of the hedges he saw a lone traveler walking down the path through the woods. Realizing his mistake, Neville casually walked down the path as he took in the young man's clothes.

Though he wore a traveling cloak over his shoulders, the black haired man dressed more like a Muggle. With his ragged and worn jeans, a black t-shirt, a watch and a bandana tied over his forehead the young man, who looked no older then Neville, was probably just hiking through the woods and fields around Dovetown.

Stopping to feed several birds, Neville nodded at the hiker as he passed. Catching the sound of the chimes on the wind Neville watched as the hiker continued down the path and paid him no heed. Turning around Neville heard several loud cracks. Instinctively Neville ducked behind the twisted trunk of the tall oak tree as he reached into his pocket for his wand. Several red and green jets of light flew past him hitting the trees and bushes around him.

Red and green, Neville thought to himself as he recalled his Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. Red and green jets meant that the spells were high level hexes and curses. Counting the spells Neville guess that he was out numbered at least five to one, at most seven or eight to one.

Not daring to steal a glance around the tree trunk, Neville concentrated on the voices and the direction that the spells had come from. As a second volley of spells flew past him randomly, meaning that they probably didn't know where exactly he was. Making an educated guess, Neville quickly leapt out from behind the tree, "Stupefy!"

Observing just long enough to count the actual number of attackers - seven - and to see their reaction to one of their number being stunned, Neville turned and ran. Rather then sticking to the path and providing the Death Eaters with a clean shot at him, Neville took the most direct route back to the cottage through the woods. Hoping that the brush would give him adequate cover in the running fight back to the cottage Neville pointed his wand over his shoulder, shot off a body bind, and darted between the trees as he ran towards the cottage.

The sound of several loud cracks around him signaled that some of his attackers had Apparated. It was clear that the Death Eaters were trying to circle around him using. Fortunately for him the wards that protected the cottage kept anyone from apparating too close to the cottage, and apparating short distances around the cottage often lead to disastrous results.

A loud crack several feet to his left drew his attention as one of the Death Eaters appeared. Unfortunately for the masked attacker he had not known about the wards in the woods that disrupted short distance apparating.

"Aaaahhh!" the man shouted as he squelched with a knotted pine tree.

With a flick of his wrist Neville silenced the man's screams.

By now it was clear that the attackers had learned their lessons about not apparating in the woods. Aside from their unfamiliarity with the terrain, apparating beyond one's range of sight in a wooded area was simply stupid. Factor in the wards and even the best wizard or witch would squelch themselves with one of the trees or possibly with some woodland animal.

Judging from the cries around him Neville estimated that at least two others had squelched themselves in the process of trying to encircle him. That left at most three left, four if they had managed to revive their stunned companion.

"Not a bad plan," growled a feral voice from above. "Too bad we still outnumber you."

Instinctively diving onto his right side Neville rolled as he landed. Locking on to the crouching figure that descended on where he had been a moment before, Neville cast a stunner. Though wide of his mark, it had been enough to force the masked figure to leap further away, giving him the time needed to unload a leg-locker. Unable to control his legs, the Death Eater crashed into a pine tree, fumbling his wand as he tumbled through the branches to the ground.

Kicking the man's wand away Neville hurtled through the brush he weaved through the woods and came face to face with one of the man's companions. "Expelliarmus!" drew the woman's attention to him as she gracefully spun out of the path of the spell.

"Incendio!" she replied as she quickly zeroed in on Neville.

"Protego!" Though his shield held, the strength of the spell leveled him. The deflected spell sundered a tree off to Neville's side, uprooting it and sending a shower of dirt and gravel into the air. Crashing to the ground Neville grunted as his breath was knocked out of him. Straining for breath he tried to spot the Death Eater as he sat up and scanned the area.

"Crucio!" A surge of pain washed over him. When it finally subsided Neville found he had curled into a ball.

"I'm surprised that such a whelp like you would prove to be such a challenge," the woman sneered as she pointed her wand at Neville. "Fortunately for us you'll never be a threat to anyone ever again."

"It's not nice to point those at people," another voice cut in drawing both Neville and the Death Eater's attention. The young hiker that had been using the trail before appeared and casually walked towards the crawling figure of the Death Eater that had leapt at Neville before. "Bad guy, huh."

Kicking the man in the head, the hiker eyed the masked woman.

"Avada Kedavra!" she shouted.

Neville found he was unable to do anything as green jet of magical energy sped towards him. Suddenly a shadow fell over him, blocking out the murderous green light and then canceling it. The body of the hiker crumpled to the ground halfway between them.

Though stunned that the mysterious hiker had sacrificed himself for a total stranger, Neville slowly assessed the situation. Laughing shrilly, the woman focused her attention back on Neville. "To think that that stupid Muggle would try to interfere - and they said that Muggle hunting would be fun and challenging!"

Looking at the crumpled form of the hiker Neville detected a slight flicker of movement. Gripping a rock Neville tossed it at the crazed woman, cutting off her cacophonous laughter and forcing her to duck.

"No more tricks little boy!" she roared. "It ends now!"

"Benaresu! Come out Touchoa!" the hiker shouted as he slapped his hand against the ground.

Caught off guard, the masked woman stood motionless as a large creature emerged from the ground. Though it possessed a serpentine body, the legs appeared to be insect-like. Lashing out with one of those legs the creature slashed at the Death Eater, sweeping her off her feet and sending her flying. With a sickening thud she slammed into the uprooted tree.

"Touchoa, return," the hiker commanded as he slowly got to his feet. The strange lizard-like creature vanished into the ground as the summoner walked over to Neville. Extending his hand he smiled at Neville while keeping his eyes closed.

"Neville!"

Pulled out of his stupor Neville shook his head as he accepted the strange hiker's hand and got to his feet. Looking around he noticed has Gran, Great Uncle Marcus, and Professor McGonagall approaching from the cottage.

"Neville!" his Gran shouted again.

"We're over here," the hiker shouted. Letting go of Neville's hand he waved at the approaching trio.

"Thank goodness that you're alright," Gran said as she scanned Neville and the hiker. "I was afraid...."

Hearing the wind chimes Neville scanned the area as several more figures Apparated around them on the path. Several Aurors appeared, each with their wands drawn.

"Tonks!" Professor McGonagall shouted as she recognized one of the new figures.

"Professor, what happened?" the young Auror with violet hair asked as she rushed toward the group.

Slowly Neville explained the past few moments. What had seemed like an eternity had in fact been only a few scant seconds, though it had taken considerably longer to explain everything. As he explained the attack four of the Aurors paired off to search for the squelched Death Eaters. Arriving at the part where he encountered the female Death Eater Neville paused as he tried to figure out just what happened.

"She got me with the Cruciatus Curse" his Gran and great uncle shuddered "then she started taunting me. That's when he arrived," Neville explained as he pointed at the hiker.

"And you are?" Auror Tonks asked.

"Yakumo Fujii," the hiker announced with a smile.

"I was wondering when you'd arrive," Professor McGonagall stated. "Everyone, this is Yakumo Fujii, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."