Neville Longbottom took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It had taken several hours, of soul searching but he had finally come to his decision. Sure, there were probably easier, safer, ways of doing this but he had dismissed those. He was breaking a vow, going back on his word he had made years prior. He would suffer the consequences of his actions, whatever they may be.
He only prayed that his parents would not suffer as well.
"Excuse me, Harry?"
"Hello Neville, is everything alright?"
"Actually… no it isn't. I need to speak with you."
"Of course, do you wish this to be in private or…"
"No, it is better to do it now in front of everyone."
The raven-haired boy nodded, before gesturing for his friend to continue. "Harry I… I can't do this anymore. I know I swore an oath to you but… I cannot follow you any further."
"Wh-what!? Neville what the bloody hell!?" Draco cried out from nearby, his tone a mix of surprise and anger.
"I can't stand by and let innocent people die. I can't justify it to myself, I am sorry. I tried to, I really did. I made excuse after excuse on why it would be necessary, on the fact that it could be making the world a better place but… no matter what I just keep seeing their terrified expressions, the horror in their eyes as they realized no one was coming to save them."
Harry nodded, "I understand, you must choose your own path Neville, I knew this from the very start. I always figured that you would leave my side one day."
"I am sorry, I know how much you have done for me, for my family…"
"YOU OWE HIM YOU BASTARD!" the blonde Slytherin roared out, "HE SAVED YOU, HE BROUGHT YOUR PARENTS BACK HE…"
"Draco, enough. I will not force anyone to go against their conscience. Your mark will vanish when you leave the room Neville, so I suggest you avoid Dementors until you are able to learn the Patronus spell."
"I understand, what else?"
The emerald-eyed boy cocked his head to the side, "What else?"
"My punishment? I have abandoned you, I just ask that you leave my parents be. I will bear any retaliation that you see fit."
"There will be no punishment."
"B-but my Lord…" one of the nearby, older, Slytherin's began to protest.
The boy-who-lived's expression darkened, along with the room. "Have I not made myself clear? Did I stutter or mislead you all somehow? I have told Neville that there will be no punishment… that includes all of you. No one is to harm him or his."
The Slytherins, and few members of other Houses, nodded in understanding.
"Go now Neville, seek your greatness through your own path. I hope that we may still remain cordial towards each other, but I understand if you feel the need to talk to the Headmaster or your parents about…"
"No, no I won't do that. I will not betray your confidence in such a way." The Gryffindor swore.
"Very well, take care of yourself Neville, I will see you in Potions class I am sure."
The blonde nodded, bowed, and departed, giving a few nods towards those he had grown close to as he left the Slytherin common room for the last time.
...
Barely twenty-four hours passed before the Minister of Magic was onsite at Hogwarts, making his speech before a large group of members from the press. Behind him stood the full Wizengamot, to show their support. To one side sat the entire student body of Hogwarts, along with the staff, and across from that the families of the victims.
"As many of you have heard yesterday an incident occurred in which several young lives were lost. There is much speculation as to the cause of this, but I assure you that…"
"Excuse me Minister, but is it not true that the victims have signs of Dementor exposure?"
"Well yes but this is hardly conclusive and a full investigation…"
"The Dementors," another reporter interrupted, "were placed at the school on your orders, in hopes of catching Sirius Black correct?"
"They were but the man is dangerous and is a clear and present threat…"
"Minister is it not also true that several Aurors have also been placed at the school, and that not one sign of the killer has been seen for over a month?"
Fudge gulped, before wishing he had his hat to fiddle with, and glanced around for any sort of support. Unfortunately for him, Dumbledore merely stared back in contempt, no longer showing any signs of pity for the man. Amelia Bones, along with the rest of the staff, chose to follow his example.
"Uh well you see the Dementors were never supposed to attack any children of course and…"
"Is it not true that the monsters also attacked well over a hundred students during a Quidditch game, nearly resulting in even more deaths if not for… 'the timely intervention of several faculty members and students'?" another reporter called out.
"Um no, I mean yes, I mean well that is true, but they are under Ministry control you see and…"
"Ministry control?" Rita Skeeter suddenly chimed, causing the man to pale even further. "Are you going on record as to say that the Ministry has control over Dementors at all times?"
"Well uhm…"
"Because if you are then it implies you had some hand in ordering these attacks…"
"Of course not! The Dementors clearly ignored orders and…"
"So, you put these demons amongst our children without proper protections in place!?" One of the, thus far silent, parents of the victims roared out in anger and shock. This promptly signaled the furious writing from nearly every journalist present.
"No! I mean, they usually follow our directions and…"
"What about the incident on the train!? My daughter told me that she and several other girls were nearly attacked there as well!" It was the Lord Greengrass who spoke up this time, earning even more furious whispers as several of the Wizengamot members nodded along with their brethren.
"I-I-I…" the flustered man hastily looked around to locate his biggest supporter, Lucius Malfoy, for aid. The blonde gave a curt nod before standing and striding towards the podium, which was easily given to him by the Minister.
.....
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