Chapter 344: Neville, the Dragon Slayer
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 344: Neville, the Dragon Slayer
"N-Neville Longbottom killed the dragon!" Mister Crouch yelled into the voice amplification artifact. His eyes were wide with shock, his hand trembling with excitement.
"This has to be a jest...that boy?" Madam Maxine could not believe it.
Igor Karkarof stared at the arena with worry. This could make things difficult for his champion.
Madam Umbridge tried her best to avoid showing her emotions, but the mixture of anger and concern was clear on her face.
"This boy is a freak too?..." She had been ordered to keep an eye on the Boy Who Lived, but she had never been too concerned about it. The rumors about Longbottom had all appeared to be false for what she had the chance to observe.
But now...she was worried that those rumors talking about Longbottom's hidden magical abilities could be true after all.
Mister Crouch stared at Neville in complete disbelief. "I never thought I would say something like this… but wait! That wasn't our dragon, was it?" He stood up from his chair, pointing at the one still chained to the ground. "Our dragon is right there! What are the handlers doing?" He could only assume this was some mistake by those in charge of the creatures.
However, Charlie and the other dragon handlers were just as confused as everyone else. They had only brought one Horntail dragon and a few of her eggs. No one knew where the second dragon had come from, and it made no sense to them—there were no wild dragons in Britain.
"Wow, that was amazing! Did Neville really do that?" Lyra exclaimed.
"Since when can Neville do magic like that?" Ginny looked perplexed.
"That looked like… Harry," Astoria managed to say.
"Of course it does. That is Harry, after all," Luna commented casually.
Lyra turned to 'Harry' and shook his shoulder. "Harry, have you been teaching Neville weird stuff?"
"Eh? What do you...uh, I mean... no?" The boy wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He just hoped Harry hadn't killed a dragon while using his face. Now, everyone was going to get the wrong idea.
"Lyra, I don't think that...wait… what did Luna just say?" Ginny glanced at the blonde girl. "I must have misheard…"
"I said," Luna pointed at Neville, who was still standing in the arena staring at the dead dragon, "the one over there is Harry, and…" she pointed at 'Harry' sitting beside them, looking pale, "that's Neville."
"What?! What are you talking about?" Lyra asked.
"That makes sense," Astoria nodded.
"No, it doesn't!" Lyra retorted.
"Wait… that can't be true…" Ginny looked at 'Harry.' "Is it?"
"Ehm… well, I…" 'Harry' looked incredibly troubled.
'Come on, Nev. Think of something. What would Harry say in this situation? Right!' He turned to look directly at Lyra and Ginny with the most serious expression he could muster. "I don't care!."
Then, he quickly looked away.
The girls stared at him in disbelief.
"Luna, how can you be so sure?" Ginny asked, clearly feeling something was off.
"Neville is always surrounded by at least a dozen Nargles, six Blibbering Humdingers, and one Gulping Plimpy. It's impossible not to recognize him," Luna explained.
"That many?" 'Harry' wasn't sure what those things were, but it sounded like a lot.
"Today, you have more Nargles than usual, though," Luna added. "Also, the real Harry is easy to recognize because the only creatures that get close to him are a few dark ones. They look very... wrong, but Harry told me not to worry about it."
"So, you knew who everyone was from the beginning? Why didn't you say anything?!" Ginny asked.
"I thought you all knew too. I mean, it was so obvious." Luna shrugged.
"Luna… we can't see the creatures you do. Only you have that ability," Daphne reminded her.
Luna made a surprised expression. "Oh right! I forgot."
"So…" Ginny glanced at the terrified 'Harry,' who kept mumbling something about failing.
Meanwhile, the 'Neville' in the arena turned his attention to the remaining dragon.
"This isn't how I wanted to do things, but... it is what it is, I suppose. The Headmaster will have to understand." His eyes sharpened as he looked at the Horntail. "Now, how do I deal with you?"
The dragon couldn't understand his words, but it was intelligent enough to recognize that this human was dangerous. It could kill her, just as it had killed the other dragon. The beast took several steps back, trying to distance itself, but was quickly reminded of the chains binding her. She began pulling at them in desperation, attempting to escape.
"Is the dragon trying to run away?" Lyra stared at the bizarre scene, looking completely baffled.
"Poor thing… it looks so scared," Ginny said, starting to feel sorry for the creature.
"Please, don't kill that one too," 'Harry' begged. He did not want to be remembered as the 'Dragon Killer' for the rest of his Hogwarts years.
Lyra's eyes moved from the 'Harry' beside her to the 'Neville' in the arena. She might not have Luna's ability to see magical creatures, but the situation had become painfully clear.
"Even the bloody dragon is scared of him. Yep, that's my brother, alright…"
The realization hit her all at once.
"By Merlin's Balls! I kissed my brother!"
Ginny gasped in shock. "You totally did!"
"Oh no! What have I done?" Lyra brought her hands to her head.
"Apparently, something illegal," Luna said, matter-of-factly.
"Lyra! Too loud!" Astoria noticed people nearby had started staring at them.
"Why didn't anyone stop me?!" Lyra cried.
"We didn't know you were going to kiss your brother," Luna reminded her.
"Yeah, you can be very unpredictable sometimes," Ginny agreed.
"That was not the plan!" Lyra yelled. She then turned to 'Harry.' "You…"
"Eh?... me?" The boy began to sweat nervously.
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