"I can't say that? Ha, fine. You and your little…"
Malfoy bit back the names. Lately he couldn't read his godfather Snape at all, but that didn't stop him from sneering at the Gryffindor coward in front of him.
"Help me test this spell, Longbottom! Locomotor Mortis!"
His wand flicked. Neville's eyes went wide; his legs snapped together and he crashed to the floor with a thud.
Malfoy's lip curled. He raised an eyebrow at the two behind him. Goyle and Crabbe burst out laughing.
The corridor was dim. In the next room, a black cat that had been shoving its head through the door crack yanked it back.
It tilted its head, whiskers twitching, and locked eyes on the corridor.
When the black cat looked up, it met the striped tabby whose whiskers were quivering just as hard. The tabby's eyes burned with human fury. Without a word, she slipped past Sean and out the door.
The fight in the corridor wasn't over. Neville, shaking, grabbed his wand.
"Finite!"
He cast it on instinct and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, the Leg-Locker Curse was gone.
I… I did it. Just like Sean said…
He stared at his wand, a tiny smile flickering, then used the wall to pull himself upright.
But when he looked up, a furious Malfoy was charging with Goyle and Crabbe in tow.
"Grab his arms!"
Neville froze as the two closed in. His mind went blank, then Justin's voice flashed through it, from the yard when he, Ron, and Malfoy's gang had scrapped:
"Nice one, Neville. My dad says, for people with no morals or manners, fists work great."
The second Goyle seized his left arm, Neville swung. His fist smashed into Crabbe's face.
"AHH!"
Crab |be hadn't expected a fight back. He yelped and hit the ground.
Neville gaped at his own knuckles. Did I just do that?
"S-sorry…"
He stammered out of habit.
"Hold him! Teach him a lesson!"
Malfoy roared.
At the end of the corridor, little wizards' voices echoed. Two shadows, one black, one tabby, vanished in a blink.
The black cat reached the corner just in time to see Malfoy's trio backing Neville into a wall, wands raised, muttering nasty little hexes.
The black cat's ink-dark fur puffed up; its white-tipped ears flattened and disappeared.
The tabby froze for a second. First time he's fluffed up like that?
Ahead, Neville had nowhere left to go.
"Fine. I only wanted you to test one spell, but now you're helping with a few more!"
Malfoy yanked out his wand.
"Rictusempra!"
"Finite!"
Neville's hand moved faster than his brain. Sean's private lesson paid off; the Tickling Charm fizzled.
But he knew he was done for. Resisting would only make Malfoy madder. I'm dead.
Sure enough, a voice snarled through gritted teeth:
"Want to duel me, Longbottom?! Bring it!"
Malfoy fired off petty hexes nonstop. Neville countered fast, canceling most with Finite.
He almost let himself feel proud, until Crabbe and Goyle rushed in and knocked his wand away in one brutal swipe.
The corridor went dark without spell-light.
Neville stared at his new wand clattering across the stone. His throat felt slow, his body stiff, his heart pounding. The courage drained out with the wand.
Silence for a few seconds. Then Malfoy laughed.
"Locomotor Mortis!"
Neville's legs locked again; he slumped against the wall.
"Looks like you only learned one spell from that Sean Green. You should see your face. A big dumb oaf. A coward."
He threw his head back and laughed.
"I'm not a coward…"
Neville was surrounded. They toyed with his wand, his new wand, right in front of him.
His eyes stung. Must be tears. How else can't I see my own wand?
"I'm not a coward…"
His voice shrank. He thought of Hope Cottage, everyone's encouraging eyes…
Sean, who'd said more in one day than in a whole week before…
His heart wasn't stone. How could it not feel?
"Neville, there's only one kind of hero in this world: the one who's scared and fights anyway.
Neville Longbottom, you're not less than anyone."
Someone was speaking. He looked up and saw a black cat streaking toward him like lightning.
Sean?
In his weakest moment, that name came first.
"…Sean said I'm not less than anyone…"
A second wand, sleek and sharp, shot from his waistband into his hand.
Neville gripped it. Under Malfoy's stunned stare, he roared:
"FLIPENDO!"
"AHHH!"
Goyle flew backward and landed hard on his rear.
Crabbe lunged to grab him, but a fist zoomed in.
"AHHH!"
Crabbe crumpled.
Neville couldn't believe it. He looked at his fist. That strong?
Then at the wand that had just appeared. Tears definitely fell this time.
Malfoy stood frozen on the stone floor. Goyle and Crabbe were sprawled.
Neville's burst even stopped Sean mid-pounce. He quietly shifted back in the corner and saw Professor McGonagall, also human again, give a small nod.
In the corridor, Neville picked up his new wand and tucked his father's wand back at his waist.
Then, still trembling, he walked away.
From the shadows, Sean watched that wand. He knew: a lifeless wand had been given life by a father.