85 Fanning the Flames

Neville watched from his perch in the treetops as a small swarm of acromantulas approached him. He glanced behind him and lept to another branch when he didn't see a web on it.

It had been over two weeks since his first round in the Forbidden Forest. It was easy to navigate once he'd gotten the hang of it.

Neville looked at the watch Hermione had sent him a week ago. He flipped it open and checked the compass inside the clock.

"Alright, castle's that way," he said, pointing southeast of his location. "Or, roughly that way, at least."

He climbed above the treetops and peered into the distance. He could just barely make out a familiar cluster of lights far off in front of him.

"Yup, that way."

Rose dropped him in random places throughout the forest. That morning, he had awoken in the middle of an acromantula nest. As he had learned, their leader was called "Aragog" and had thousands of mouths to feed.

Neville jumped to another branch, then ducked behind a tree. He cupped his hands to his mouth and made a series of hissing noises.

As expected, the acromantulas stopped dead in their tracks. Neville rustled the leaves in his tree and the spiders backed away.

Neville threw some leaves in front of him to check for a spider web, then continued his journey through the treetops.

A few minutes later, something on the forest floor caught Neville's eye. It was a single rose with brilliant red petals, adding a splash of color to an otherwise gloomy surrounding. The light from his wand tucked behind his ear wasn't what revealed it; the flower's petals were glowing.

"It can't be."

Neville climbed down from the trees, something at which he'd become far more proficient in the past two weeks, and walked over to the rose. He looked up and saw a small break in the treetops through which rainwater reached the flower.

"It is," Neville whispered. "It's a crimson storm. I didn't realize they could grow around here."

Neville held the flower by its stem, then cut through it with his sword. He cradled it with one arm, and used the other to climb back into the treetops.

"Gotta keep it wet," he muttered as he climbed above the trees.

He looked back and saw movement behind him, giving him a location of more acromantulas.

He started moving across the treetops, keeping the flower in the rain. If he didn't, it would wither before he reached the castle.

"Sun doesn't come up until breakfast," Neville muttered. He glanced at his watch again. "It's just after six, so we've got time to kill."

He jumped to another tree, then fell through it straight into a spider web.

"Crab apples."

As he fell, he held the flower against his chest, which left his right arm free from the web. He carefully laid the flower on his stomach, then took his sword in his right hand, switching it back to his left after it was free.

Neville spotted the owner of the web crawling towards him and started cutting faster.

When the web came loose, he withdrew his sword and grabbed the web, swinging to another tree. He drew his sword and slashed the remainder of the web, then jumped ahead into the trees.

"They won't follow me forever," he said. He glanced down and saw a centaur patrol. "Actually, they won't follow me at all."

He'd learned a lot about the Forbidden Forest and its inhabitants during his time there. One of the first rules of the forest was "Stay out of centaur territory." The only creatures they didn't shoot on sight were unicorns, but only the most foul creatures harmed a unicorn.

He climbed above the trees, allowing the flower to soak in the rain while he surveyed his position.

"Looks like the camp's not far from here, so I'll need to go around that," Neville said. He glanced back and saw the acromantulas retreating.

Neville ducked down into the treetops, drawing the attention of the centaur patrol.

"Just passing through!" he shouted, drawing his sword.

He swung it around, deflecting the arrows they fired at him. Neville continued on his way, using the treetops for cover. With the flower in one hand, he had to alternate between fighting and moving with the other, but it wasn't long before he worked out a rhythm of fighting then moving.

Neville walked out of the Forbidden Forest as the sun was rising, and, as always, found Rose waiting for him.

"A little slow today," she said. "But no injuries. You're getting good at this."

"Aragog says 'Hi'," Neville said.

Rose's face lit up, which Neville found odd, considering Aragog's obvious dislike of Rose.

"I haven't seen him in a while. How is Aragog?"

"Still afraid of snakes," Neville replied. "And you, apparently. Wanna fill me in?"

"Not today, but another time," Rose said as they started towards the castle. She nodded at his arm. "What've you got?"

"Right," Neville said. He uncurled his arm, exposing the flower to the rising sun.

The moment the light touched it, the flower bloomed, shining deep crimson in the sunlight.

"It's called a crimson storm," Neville said, handing Rose the rose. "It can only bloom in the rain, and may die without it. If you pick it in the rain, and expose it to the sunlight in the same rain, it stays like that forever."

"That's beautiful," Rose said. "You got this for me?"

"Yeah," Neville said. "Do you like it?"

"It's a rose called 'crimson storm' that glows crimson," Rose said. "Of course I love it!"

She pulled Neville into a hug, picking him up and nearly crushing him in the process.

"I'm glad," Neville choked out as he attempted to return the hug.

Rose put him down after a moment, then tucked the flower in her hair. With her hair's natural crimson accented by the rose, and a huge grin on her face, she skipped alongside Neville as they walked together back to the castle.

"I can't remember the last time I had breakfast," Neville said.

"Get used to it. You're about done with survival training," Rose said.

"What comes after that?" Neville asked.

"I don't know yet. Probably combat training."

"Is there a lot of fighting in the tournament?" Neville asked, hoping to get some clue about the upcoming task.

"You know I'm not allowed to tell you that," Rose said.

Neville's face grew hot, despite the frigid rain beating down on it.

"Sorry I asked," he said.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Neville spent every one of them beating himself up about trying to get information about the tournament from Rose.

Now she's mad at me, he thought. That was so stupid! You're such an idiot, Stinkbottom!

"Beating yourself up's one thing," Rose said, "but don't call yourself that. Those badges are stupid."

Neville jolted out of his thoughts.

"W-what?"

"Ref said you just called yourself 'Stinkbottom'. Those badges calling you that that half the school wears are stupid, and you shouldn't be… Ref, what was that word… validating them."

Rose patted herself on the head, but stopped skipping and started walking normally.

"It does too count!" Rose exclaimed, glaring down at Reflectesalon. She jumped then turned back to Neville. "Anyway, don't call yourself that. You didn't ask for this, and come Thursday, everyone will know."

"I hope so," Neville muttered.

"Trust me, they will," Rose said.

Neville nodded.

"The acromantulas gave me an idea. I saw them swinging around and thought I could do that with my sword and a rope or something."

"You should look into that," Rose replied. "It's good."

"Thanks," Neville said. "F-for everything, really."

"You always say that," Rose said. "You're a lot better off than I was. If you just get sword magic, you'll do great!"

"I don't think I can," Neville said. "I keep trying, but I can't use the spells Hermione makes."

"Of course you can! Brain makes them special for you!"

"Alright," Neville conceded. "It's no use arguing with you, is it?"

"Nope!"

Neville paced back and forth in front of the Room of Requirement Saturday morning, as per Rose's instructions. He wasn't sure what to expect, but if it was like Friday night, he'd find Taltria and Alavel waiting for him inside.

He knew Rose knew what she was doing, but he'd hardly seen her since his last excursion into the Forbidden Forest the previous morning. She was at meals, but it felt as if she were avoiding him.

He slipped through the door when it appeared. Rose had given him the command for the room, so he wasn't sure what to expect, but he found a layer of fog inside the room. It was dark and quiet, which gave Neville a bad feeling.

He drew the Sword of Gryffindor and hunched down, ready for something to jump out of the fog and attack him. Stepping lightly, he made his way further into the room.

Rose had a habit of not telling him what his objective was, so it didn't bother him that he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He figured that there was something waiting for him inside the fog, and he needed to kill or incapacitate it. Fighting was more Rose's style than negotiating, but he kept his mind open in case she tried to throw him off balance.

Neville heard someone whisper from inside the fog, and a jet of flame shot out towards him. He swung his sword in a tight circle, counting on the magic-repellent herbs he'd rubbed into the sword to block it.

The fire singed him, but it wasn't bad enough that it needed his attention. Instead, he listened to light footsteps around the room, likely the source of the fire. It didn't sound like normal footsteps; they were spaced too far apart for that.

The footsteps stopped, and Neville heard someone whispering on the other side of the room. Neville spun around just as a red bolt streaked through the fog. He deflected the spell with his sword, just as he had the first one.

No sooner had he finished with the red bolt than a volley of fire balls flew through the air at him.

Neville dove to the side and started running, using the sword to deflect any strays that neared him. Another red bolt shot out, but he deflected it with his sword. He ran in an arc towards the source of the fire, staying low, diving away from any spells he saw. As he neared the source of the fire, he readied his sword for the final blow, but when he struck, he only hit air.

Another volley of fire came his way from his left. He felt the heat as he dove aside, scrambling to his feet before another spell could find him.

An unseen force knocked Neville off his feet, and he heard normal footsteps retreating from him.

Neville tumbled through the air, deflecting another red bolt sent his way.

Three distinct combatants, he reasoned. One uses fire, another uses stunners, and…

A volley of fire distracted him, but he blocked with just as much ease as the last several.

Hold on, Neville thought. That's Ginny and Harry. Why are Firecracker and Scarface attacking me?

Ginny sent another round of fire at him, and Harry followed up with another stunner. Ginny's footsteps sounded through the fog, just like last time.

Cohort must be moving them around.

Harry threw another stunner at him, but he tried to deflect it back towards Ginny's last location. It went wide, and he heard more footsteps.

Remember, Toad, Rose's voice said. Spells are faster than arrows.

I'll remember that, Neville thought. How can they see me?

He put some distance between himself and the others. Harry had blindsight out to 30 feet, so putting distance between himself and Harry might neutralize him.

Neville rolled out of the way of another blast of flame from Ginny.

Who else is in on this?

If Hermione or Luna were involved, there was no way he'd get out of range. Either of them would devise a solution that he'd never see coming.

He felt around him for runes on the ground. He didn't feel anything, but that didn't mean there was nothing to find. After a moment, he gave up and started running again, but only made it five feet before running into a wall that only covered a few feet.

There's Princess, he thought.

He heard whispering from all around him. The voices weren't saying anything distinct, but he figured they weren't supposed to.

Ginny and Harry each started unloading spells at him. Neville ran through the fog, unable to track either of them from their voices anymore. Using his sword as a walking cane, he avoided more of Sally-Anne's walls, but there was no way to avoid Ron's manipulation spells. The only thing he could do was to keep moving. Something had to be creating the voices, and he vaguely remembered Professor Flitwick saying that sound couldn't easily be thrown with magic.

Means they've probably got runes making that sound, he thought. Runes need power, right?

Neville thought back to what he'd learned about runes over the past few weeks.

They need to stay exposed, and the sounds must be coming from them, he reasoned. How much time did they have to set all this up?

He ran towards the source of the whispering, nearly running into a wall. He just reached it when Ron threw him back.

Must be getting close, he thought as he dove away from another attack.

They aren't going all out, which means the runes must be at risk, he thought. Not just the whispering, but the fog. If I make Ginny angry, she'll deal with them for me.

No, he argued. Winning's not worth it. Not Ginny.

Neville dodged attack after attack, using the Sword of Gryffindor to keep the damage he took to a minimum. He was starting to wear down when he realized two things: 1. Ginny hadn't let up for nearly a minute, and 2. More importantly, Ginny hadn't moved in nearly a minute.

Neville rushed her, keeping the others off him with his sword. He dodged around Sally-Anne's shields, which meant she had no energy to sustain them, and his constant motion made it harder for Harry to hit him.

To his surprise, Ginny didn't move away as he rushed her; she ran towards him.

When he reached her, he dodged under her fire and knocked her legs out from under her with the flat of his blade. In one fluid motion, he brought his fist down where Ginny had been a second earlier.

His fist hit stone, and Ginny screamed as she was pulled back by Ron.

She climbed to her feet in seconds, then screamed her next spell.

"Confringo!"

Crab Apples!

Neville dove to the ground and clapped his hands over his ears as the air above him exploded. He was on his feet before the smoke cleared, along with part of the fog.

Ginny hurled another fireball at him, but he avoided it and nicked her with the sword. She tried again, but he dodged to her right and cut her right arm.

He dodged aside a hastily thrown fireball, then hit her in the side of her head with the flat of his blade. He swung his sword, but Sally-Anne blocked with another of her shields as Ron pulled his sister back.

Harry threw a stunner at him from his left, but Neville ducked under it.

One down, three to go, he thought. If I can take out Ron, Harry should be easy.

He charged in the direction Ron pulled Ginny, then lept into the air once he reached the fog. He collided with someone, confirmed to be Ron by the sound he made.

I'm really glad that worked, he thought as he nailed Ron with the flat of his blade.

Neville sidestepped another stunner, then ran in an arc towards Harry.

Scarface fights using stealth. That means he'll have his invisibility cloak for good measure, keep me exactly 30 feet away, and walk quietly.

When he reached the wall, he slashed through it with his sword. After a few more slashes, the surrounding fog cleared away, and he spotted another cluster of runes. Taking out the cluster stopped part of the whispering.

"Scarface, Princess, I know you're still out there," Neville called. "Princess, you're getting tired, and Scarface, you can't hold me off forever. Cohort and Firecracker can't run interference anymore, so it's only a matter of time before I clear away the fog. You can't beat me head-on. I'm offering you a chance to surrender."

He stood ready for another attack, listening for Harry and Sally-Anne, but nothing happened.

"We surrender!" Sally-Anne called. "Luna, kill the fog!"

The whispers stopped as the fog cleared out. As it did, Neville saw Harry standing about 20 feet from him, and Sally-Anne not much farther than that. Ron and Ginny were on the ground, and Luna and Tutela were based in one of the far corners. Rune clusters were scattered around the room, and all had lines that led back to Luna.

"Well done, Neville," Sally-Anne said as she checked on Ron and Ginny. "Rose said you'd improved, but I'm impressed."

"What gave us away?" Harry asked.

"You and Ginny kept doing the same thing," Neville said. "That was a clue, but when Ron threw a Repulsion Charm, it all made sense."

"That's what Ron said when you started running away," Sally-Anne said. "He figured you were getting out of Harry's range, so he said I could go on the offensive."

"What happened?" Ron asked as he regained consciousness. "Did we win?"

"No, Ron," Sally-Anne said, collapsing on the ground. "How could we without our master strategist?"

"Of course," he said, rubbing his head. "We would've won, if someone hadn't gone rogue!"

"She's still coming to," Sally-Anne said. "Besides, it's not entirely Ginny's fault. Neville's just a lot better than we are now."

"Figures," Ron muttered.

"That's not what I meant," Sally-Anne said.

"I've woken up in the Forbidden Forest for the past few weeks," Neville said. "Rose pushes me hard."

"How'd you block Harry's spells?" Sally-Anne asked.

"There's a plant that repels magic," Neville said. "I rubbed some of the oil on the Sword of Gryffindor, so now it does too."

"Ah!" Ginny shouted when she woke up. She looked around, then grabbed her arm. "What'd you do?"

"Damaged the muscle in your arm so it's harder to move it," Neville said. "Can I take a look at it to make sure it's alright?"

"I'm fine!" Ginny grunted, still clutching her arm.

"Why'd you ignore the plan?" Ron snapped. "We had him!"

"Those blasts weren't doing anything!" Ginny shot back. "That explosion was the closest we got to hitting him!"

"Actually, you–" Neville started.

"It took out the fog runes!" Ron shouted. "And it let him see where I was!"

"It shouldn't–" Luna started.

"Because of you, Ginevra, we were both taken out!"

"Because of me?! Who was the one that tipped him off that it was us?!"

"Really, it's–" Neville tried again.

"Fine! Next time, I'll let him hit you!"

Ginny lifted her right arm, but winced and grabbed it.

"You wanna fight?" Ron asked, raising his own wand.

"I–"

They were both cut off by a screeching noise emanating from every wall. Everyone covered their ears until the sound died down.

"Sorry about that, but it was awfully noisy in here," Luna said, her wand held against one of the lines that connected the rune clusters.

"Agreed," Sally-Anne said. "I think we could all use a break."

"Fine," Ginny said. Still holding her arm, she stormed out of the room.

"I'll go after her," Neville said. "I've fixed my own wounds plenty of times, and I'm not comfortable with her leaving her arm like that."

Neville raced out of the Room of Requirement and looked around. He saw Ginny not far down the corridor.

"Ginny!"

"I'm fine!"

He sprinted after her, but she ran to get away from him.

He caught up to her before she reached the end of the corridor and grabbed her good shoulder.

"Stop it!" Ginny snapped. "Let go of me!"

"I'm sorry that I hurt you," Neville said.

"I don't need your help!"

Neville grabbed both her shoulders and held tight to her.

"Let me go!" she shouted.

"It's just me," he said.

"I know it's you! Go away!"

Neville had never seen Ginny so angry. She was always nice to him, so what was different?

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I don't need anyone's help!"

Neville thought fast. What would Rose do? That was no good; Rose would hold Ginny down and force her to cooperate.

What about Sally-Anne? She was great with people. What would she do?

"I don't want to help you, I want you to help me!"

"What?"

Ginny didn't stop struggling, but she eased up.

"Of course you don't need my help. You're Ginny Weasley. You're tough enough that you could probably live with your arm like that, but I'm soft. I can't stand to see it like that knowing that I did it."

Ginny stopped struggling, but didn't stop glaring at him.

"What?"

"I… I don't want anyone to see that I hurt you," Neville said. "That's all."

"It's not because I'm a girl?"

"Of course not! I'd do the same if it were Ron."

"He'd probably whine about it the whole time," Ginny said, smirking.

Neville smiled, even though he thought Ginny whined just as much as Ron.

"Let me see," he said, holding her arm. He inspected the wound on her arm.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, it's going to hurt a little," Neville said. He took a vial out of a pocket on his belt.

"What's that?" Ginny asked.

"Just some cream for cuts," Neville said. "Extracted from the Jabberwood plant that grows wild in the Forbidden Forest. I've done this tons of times."

"Really?"

"Sure," Neville said, rubbing the cream on her cut. "It doesn't fix much, but it makes it go faster. Last week, I had a run in with the centaurs again. Had to hide while I applied this to my arrow wounds. That's when I learned how to block projectiles like that."

"I guess that was alright," Ginny said.

Neville deposited the vial back in its pocket and took out some bandages.

"Where do you keep all these?"

"The house-elves made me a belt with a bunch of pockets," Neville said. "I think Rose asked them to."

"Why didn't she just do it?" Ginny asked, wincing as Neville tightened the bandage.

"She doesn't spend a lot of time with me," Neville said. "Princess says she's just trying to keep her distance or something. Something about keeping a good image?"

"What?"

"It didn't make sense to me either." He finished applying the bandage. "There. That should heal by curfew."

"Thanks, I guess," Ginny said. "How'd you know about that plant?"

"I'm good at Herbology, I guess," Neville replied. "It's so much easier than magic, and it's brilliant to look out into the Forbidden Forest and know that everything is so different. Every plant's got its own name, its own purpose, and they all fit together."

"I know who I'm asking next time I need help with it," Ginny said. "Not that I ever need help. If Ron can get it, so can I."

Neville was concerned for his friend, but hid it with a smile. He didn't want to say anything and risk angering her again.

"Did you get hurt too bad?" Ginny asked. "Back in the room, I mean."

Neville looked down at his scorched clothes.

"I'm fine," Neville said. "You almost had me with that explosion."

"I knew it!" Ginny shouted. "Take that, Ron!"

Neville looked at his friend. She was so confident, so sure of herself. Ginny was determined to make her own way, even if she got roughed up now and then, and she didn't care what anyone thought.

I wish I could be like her.

"Are you alright?" Neville asked.

"I'm always alright!" Ginny exclaimed. She glanced at her arm. "Thanks, I guess."

"It was nothing," Neville said.

He stumbled as he put away the bandages.

"Toad?"

"I'm gonna sit down for a moment," Neville said. He eased himself onto the stone floor. "I guess you wore me out more than I thought."

Ginny sat down next to him.

"Of course I did," Ginny said. "You're only a boy."

Neville and Ginny laughed, and for the first time in almost three weeks, he started to think he stood a chance in the Triwizard Tournament.