Neville has always been someone who does not stand out much.
It was like that at home, like that at school, and this time following Ron and the others to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Harry was naturally the same.
He was just like the toad he kept called Trevor. As long as people were not paying attention, he would disappear.
Actually, he did this on purpose.
Because he knew very well that people did not really like him.
After all, he was fat, ugly, cried easily, and was timid.
Especially the crying.
That flaw ran through his not very long life.
In his memory, ever since his parents were tortured into madness, he had been crying all the time.
During that time his grandmother scolded him for not living up to expectations, relatives looked down on him, classmates laughed at him.
Even he himself hated being such a crybaby.
But he could never stop the urge to cry.
Just like right now.
Looking at the crazy woman not far away, Bellatrix, the one who tortured his parents into madness, being pressed to the ground.
Neville was not shouting excitedly like his classmates, not cheering loudly.
Instead, he secretly wiped away tears.
To keep his classmates from noticing, he even deliberately hid in a corner.
He was extremely afraid.
No one knew that in the years after his parents went insane, he had dreamed about Bellatrix countless times.
In those dreams, that woman turned into all kinds of terrifying monsters, hysterically torturing his parents.
He could even hear his parents' screams.
The same strange sounds his mother made every time he visited her at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
If Neville had ever seen the real Bellatrix before, then when Professor Lupin gave that class, the boggart probably would have turned into Bellatrix's twisted appearance.
And now, the dream had stepped into reality.
Bellatrix appeared in front of him for real in such a horrifying posture.
Neville had been ruled by nightmares for far too long. So when facing Bellatrix for the first time, what rose in his heart was not anger like everyone expected, but fear.
Almost by instinct, he hid in what he felt was a safe corner, covering his head and silently crying.
But just then, a large hand landed on his shoulder.
That sudden touch almost made Neville scream.
He stiffly raised his head, and what came into view was Link's slightly smiling handsome face.
Neville admired Link greatly.
Because Neville knew that Link's past situation was almost the same as his, maybe even worse.
Both of them were timid and slow.
Yet Link, like that, had grown step by step under Neville's gaze, until he became the towering tree who could now shield everyone from wind and rain.
Neville actually thought, like many Slytherins, that the house most suitable for Link was not Hufflepuff but Slytherin.
Because Link perfectly lived out one line from Hogwarts, 'A History, a motto from Salazar Slytherin, I come from the mud!'
Painful experiences and personal flaws are like mud, firmly trapping you in suffering.
Ordinary people simply do not have the ability to struggle out of that mud.
Even though they clearly know what they should do to improve themselves.
But knowing and doing as one is something only a very few people can achieve.
Like Neville himself.
He had heard similar life lessons for more than ten years, but how much had that improved his situation?
Link was different.
Link truly climbed out of the mud, stood on dry ground, and even reached out his clean hand, trying to save those still trapped in the mud.
Precisely because he had been bound by the mud for so long, Neville understood even better how remarkable someone like Link was.
The noble will eventually remain noble.
And Link was that truly noble person.
That was why, when he realized the one patting his shoulder was Link, Neville almost instinctively stopped crying, wiped away the remaining tears on his cheeks with effort, and said in a trembling voice, "Link, what is it?"
Seeing Neville's swollen red eyes, Link pressed his lips together and spoke as gently as possible, "Our executions are reaching the final stage. As one of the closing parts, I think there is a prisoner now who only you have the right to execute."
"M… me?" Neville was startled and instinctively refused. "No… I can't. I can't do it. I…"
Neville's words stopped halfway.
Because Link had already smiled and pointed slightly ahead of him.
Following the direction Link pointed, Neville clearly saw Bellatrix, who was still shouting curses wildly even while pinned to the ground.
"You mean… you want me to kill her?"
Neville slowed his voice, speaking almost like he was talking in a dream.
Link nodded, then shook his head and said, "I thought it over. You might be the most suitable person."
"After all, Bellatrix destroyed your parents' sanity with the Cruciatus Curse, and also ruined your life. If you can take revenge personally, maybe it will help your future life."
"Of course, that is only my own thought."
"I never make decisions for others on my own. So whether you do it, and how far you go, everything is up to you."
After saying that, Link removed his hand from Neville's shoulder.
With that action, Cedric, John, and the others stepped forward, helping clear a path for Neville through the crowded people.
Neville stood there blankly.
His eyes were sometimes confused, sometimes afraid, sometimes extremely angry.
But in the end, he still staggered onto the path Cedric and John made for him.
At this moment, the cheering crowd finally noticed something unusual about Neville and Link.
Quite a few people at Hogwarts knew about Neville's tragic background.
So just watching Neville slowly walking toward Bellatrix, many already understood what he was probably going to do.
For a moment, the noisy crowd suddenly fell silent, then erupted into even louder and more unified cheers than before.
"Go on, Neville! Teach her a lesson!"
"Neville! Don't make me look down on you!"
"Avenge your parents!"
———
Those words from classmates made Neville's face visibly turn pale.
Do not think Neville was stupid.
Actually, about human nature, Neville who experienced family tragedy too early saw things more clearly than most.
Were those classmates shouting really cheering him on?
Not necessarily.
Maybe some were, like Harry and Ron.
But many more just wanted to watch the excitement.
Neville understood them too well.
This kind of false encouragement did not give him strength. Instead, it was something he deeply feared.
Fortunately, Neville still had stronger support.
Taking a deep breath, Neville struggled to turn his head toward Link.
When he saw Link following not far behind him, smiling at him, Neville finally relaxed a little and continued forward.
Link was Neville's real source of courage.
Link's gentle gaze felt like warm hands pressed against his back, constantly giving him courage, making him feel warm all over.
Accompanied by Link and the others, Neville smoothly reached Bellatrix.
"Wait a moment."
After softly saying that to Neville, Link turned and walked away into the distance, leaving Neville alone staring blankly at Bellatrix.
At the same time, Hermione woke up under Harry and Ron's care.
She was clearly still shaken. The moment she woke, she instinctively looked around for Link.
Unfortunately, around her now were only Harry and the three Weasley brothers.
A flash of disappointment crossed her face.
"Hermione, you woke up just in time! We already won! All the Death Eaters have been captured, and even before you woke up, some were already executed!"
"Huh?"
Hearing Harry, Hermione looked confused.
She looked at the excited Harry and the others with some puzzlement, and her gaze finally landed on Neville standing at the front of the crowd.
"What is Neville going to do?"
Actually, that question was unnecessary.
Because right after asking it, Hermione saw Bellatrix being restrained in front of Neville.
Thinking of Bellatrix's grudge with the Longbottom family, plus the word execution Harry had just mentioned, a terrible possibility flashed through Hermione's mind.
"Nev… Neville is going to… kill Bellatrix?"
Hermione stammered.
"Of course. Bellatrix tortured Neville's parents into madness! She even tried to gouge out your eyes earlier!" Harry said excitedly.
"This was Link's idea too. Neville originally had no chance to do it himself, but Link asked his opinion and gave him this opportunity!"
As he spoke, a trace of envy flashed across Harry's face.
But Hermione became extremely frightened.
She jumped up from the ground and said, "How can you let Neville do it? He does not even dare kill a chicken! This will ruin him!"
"And why execute these Death Eaters privately here?"
"The British wizarding world has not used the death penalty for a long time! And even if it must be given, it should be decided by the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot!"
Hearing this, Harry, Ron, and the others all darkened their expressions.
Ron forced a smile and tried to persuade her, "This is actually the Ministry's decision. Look, that is Barty Crouch, the current head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"Percy can represent Fudge. They all agreed executing the Death Eaters on site was a good decision. Some charges were even announced on the spot by Mr. Crouch."
Harry reacted much more strongly. He pushed aside Ron, who tried to block him, and shouted at Hermione, "Why are you stopping Neville from avenging his parents? Don't you know how cruel those demons were?"
"This is a once in a lifetime chance for Neville! If it were me, I would want to tear Voldemort, who killed my parents, into pieces!"
"And you still want to hand those Death Eaters to the Ministry and the Wizengamot?"
"Hand them over for what?"
"So they can declare them innocent again?"
"Or throw them back into Azkaban and wait for Voldemort to rescue them?"
After saying that, Harry looked coldly at Hermione, shook off his hands, and pushed into the crowd.
Hermione instinctively reached out to stop him, but in the end she could not say anything.
She truly did not know what to say.
Because Harry was not wrong, yet she also felt she herself was not wrong.
At that moment, Link returned to Neville's side.
In Link's hand was the head of Rodolphus Lestrange.
The expression on that head had already lost vitality due to death for too long.
But his eyes were still stubbornly open, even bulging outward in an astonishing way, as if he wanted to offer them to Bellatrix as his final devotion.
Neville looked at the head and shrank his neck slightly in fear.
"Sorry, Neville. This man was also one of those who tortured your parents back then, but unfortunately I accidentally killed him," Link explained apologetically.
"The situation was urgent. If I had not acted, Hermione might have…"
Neville quickly shook his head, "It's alright, Link. Actually, I should thank you!"
Link nodded, placed the head beside Bellatrix, and said, "Then, Neville, I'll leave this to you."
Link left once again.
And Bellatrix, still firmly pinned to the ground, finally noticed the head beside her.
That discovery made her freeze completely.
"Rodolphus? Rodolphus…"
Bellatrix kept murmuring, while her hands scraped across the smooth floor, trying to pull her husband's head into her arms.
But that was obviously impossible.
The restraining spell the Aurors put on her was far too strong.
Even though she used all her strength.
Even her long fingernails were breaking one by one from scraping, she still could not move forward even a little.
During this process, people were surprised to see tears actually appearing in her eyes.
"That's really unexpected," Ron commented with a grin. "A demon like her actually crying!"
Harry also said, "Yeah. We just used her own methods on her, and she's crying already?"
People talked among themselves, but Neville still did not act.
He only quietly watched Bellatrix, his eyes still somewhat evasive and afraid.
But Link felt that Neville was probably enjoying this moment.
After all, revenge might bring emptiness afterward.
But that is after it is done.
At least at the moment of success, right now, Neville as the avenger should feel extremely satisfied.
The rest should be left for Neville to handle himself.
This was Neville's own feast. No matter what, Link should not disturb it.
Thinking this, Link smiled slightly and stepped back a few more steps.
Just then, Scrimgeour limped toward Link.