Written for:
The Globetrotter Drabble Competition - Toronto, Canada
Brown, positive (write about someone protecting or even dying for someone else)
The Wand Wood Competition: Alder – write a story with no dialogue
Legendary Gods and Goddesses Competition – Susanoo no mikoto
The Gemstone Challenge/Competition - Diamond

As he felt the Carrows' curses rip into him again and again, all he could think about was his parents, and how they had suffered torture so much worse than this. Neville refused to end up like them, no matter what the Carrows did to him, and he would never betray the DA. It was with a bittersweet sense of satisfaction that he understood that the bumbling, forgetful boy he had once been was gone, and in his place stood a new Neville, someone braver and stronger and more admirable than his eleven-year old self.

Or maybe, he thought, this Neville had been there all along, just waiting for the right moment to emerge.

Dumbledore had seen it, when he'd awarded Neville those ten points that won the House Cup in his first year, and he might have been the only one to see it then, but now everyone would see Neville as someone different, worthy of that red and gold banner above his bed.

Groaning, he pushed himself until he was standing, leaning against the wall for support, and looked the Carrows in the eyes. He was afraid, but he wouldn't let his fear hold him back any longer.