it's like bringing a knife to a gun fight -- neville

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@superluigi64

well this was it. oddly enough he was excited. thrilled at the chance to be walking into the leaky cauldron on this day, in this hour and in this minute. neville had taken his sisters from him and he wasn't going to let that stand. his sisters had kept him sane. if he'd been given the chance he'd have kept his father from hurting his sister anymore, although neville was keeping to the reputation he had. sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted. so he walked right into the bar, taking in a deep breath as he smelled the air around him and he smirked slightly when it went quiet around him. most of them knew him, a lot of them knew who he was and what his last name was and he was used to it scaring people. he couldn't say he hated it though. he had been enjoying it less and less since meeting addie but he wasn't ever going to stop finding it amusing. he walked right up to the bar and raised a brow at the bartender. he grabbed a bowl of nuts someone was reaching for and he jumped up onto the counter, sitting there popping nuts into his mouth. "i'd like to speak to the owner of this ... fine establishment." he said as he turned his head to the bartender. "ergo .. not you. so shoo" he said, tossing another nut into his mouth as he waited for someone to do something other than stare.

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The noise in the bar had gone up again, as those who had noticed the intruder began to whisper among themselves about him.

Watching him from the second floor, Neville couldn’t believe how idiotic Nikolaj Lestrange really was.

He moved down the stairs calmly, cold fury radiating from every inch of his body, as the boy decided to test his luck. A single glance was enough to stop the bartender from pulling his wand. No, this one was going to get the deluxe eviction from the Leaky Cauldron into the streets of London.

At his appearance, the entire bar fell silent. It was more than seeing him. Everyone in the room could feel him, feel his controlled fury as he stalked toward the bar. And those nearest quickly backed away, afraid to get caught in the backlash.

Neville stepped right up to Nikolaj, coming face to face with him. It was rare that he used his size as part of his intimidation—his very earned reputation was usually enough—but he had three inches and a lot of muscle over the Lestrange, and Neville wanted him to be acutely aware of it. “I knew you were overconfident in yourself. I didn’t think you were stupid.” The words were quiet, calm, but in the deathly silent bar, everyone heard them.

“Now I’m going to give you exactly one chance to turn and walk out the door without incident. Open that mouth—speak just one more word—and you’re still going out that door. You just won’t be able to do it without someone carrying you.”

@nikolaj

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@superluigi64

“I knew you were overconfident in yourself. I didn’t think you were stupid.” if neville thought he could use his size to intimidate nik he had another thing coming. if there was one thing nik didn't feel it was fear. he'd face off against anything bigger than him and didn't let size bother him much. so if neville thought he was going to make nik cower back he didn't know much about the lestrange sitting before him. he straightened while sitting on the bar, his eyes coming to be level with neville's and he leaned forward just slightly. “Now I’m going to give you exactly one chance to turn and walk out the door without incident. Open that mouth—speak just one more word—and you’re still going out that door. You just won’t be able to do it without someone carrying you.” nik let the corners of his mouth turn up into a slight smirk and he leaned his hand back on the bar, making certain to neville that he didn't plan on going anywhere for at least the next few minutes.

"you want to risk putting natalia off side? and i thought she meant so much to you. they said you were smarter than this neville." he said as he looked at the headmaster of hogwarts. he hadn't been the headmaster while nik had been at school, which he couldn't say bothered hm either way, only the herbology teacher and nik hadn't taken to that class. he had been caught destroying baby mandrake pots with some of his fellow slytherins in his first year and it had earned him a ban from the greenhouses. the ultimate goal of him and his friends actually.

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Neville was doing well at controlling himself. He didn't, after all, have PROOF that Nikolaj was a Purifier. He just had enough information to be pretty damning. He knew if he killed this kid without real proof, he would cause many problems. Two of his daughters would be affected horribly by it. And Hermione would never let him get away with something like that—as well she shouldn't, because he could be wrong.

And then, Nikolaj had do go and open his mouth.

Bad enough that Neville had already told him not to speak. That alone was grounds for taking the kid by his ear and throwing him out of the Cauldron, rather than let him walk out himself. But he had to bring Natalia into this.

Neville stared at him for three seconds after he finished speaking.

Then he slammed a fist into the Lestrange's stomach like a mine hammer.

Neville reached out with both hands to grip Nikolaj by his robes and lifted; though he didn't pull the kid off his feet, it was obvious Neville was holding up more of Niko's weight than Niko himself. “I care about Nat enough that I will bear her hatred, and willingly, if I must, to do the right thing. Because how she feels about me comes second to her safety and happiness. And if you ever try to use one of my children to threaten me again, I'll kill you then and there, do you understand?”

He turned, still holding Nikolaj by the robe, fully intending to physically hurl him out into Diagon Alley.

@nikolaj

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@superluigi64

as the wind rushed out of his lungs at the force of the punch neville had thrown into his stomach it took everything in him not to turn that breathe into a laugh. he didn't do anything when neville dragged him from the stool. he knew better than to try and fight the man before him on his own turf. not right away anyway. he didn't want to put nat offside either, andy would probably hate the fact he was here but nat wouldn't. “I care about Nat enough that I will bear her hatred, and willingly, if I must, to do the right thing. Because how she feels about me comes second to her safety and happiness. And if you ever try to use one of my children to threaten me again, I'll kill you then and there, do you understand?” her safety? nik wrenched himself from neville's hold and managed to keep himself on his own too feet as his clothes became free from the longbottoms hands. the punch had been a good one, he'd admit that. but it wasn't enough to completely incapacitate him. "don't you dare stand there and make the assumption that i don't care about them" it was probably the most honest nik had ever sounded in his life. he coughed to draw some more air back into his lungs and he subconsciously rested his hand above the spot neville had punched him. "you have no idea what i-" he cut off and decided to address neville accusing him of threatening his children. "if i wanted to hurt your family .. i wouldn't threaten" he didn't take the time to threaten, he just did it. he narrowed his eyes at neville. "i doubt you can keep them safe .. after all your own son was almost beaten to death under your watch .. students were kidnapped .. one was killed .. actually three have died haven't they? it's not a very good track record now is it?" probably not the best time to poke at neville but he did like to live dangerously and it was the truth. how much had happened since neville had become headmaster? too much.

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Nikolja thrasedh and twisted to get free of the headlock. Neville considered clamping it down more tightly—he was certainly physically strong enough to do so—but opted against it, letting the boy tear free of his grasp. Nikolaj ranted about Neville daring to question his feelings toward his sisters. He snapped at the boy. “If you really cared for them, you would never assume you know better than they do what they want! Caring about people means letting them choose, even if they choose a life without you! If your feelings have conditions, if you need them to side with you because you care, then your feelings aren't real! Get your head on straight, boy!”

But Nikolaj was on a roll now, and he was swiftly rolling himself into an early grave. Neville's eyes burned brighter and more furiously, even as his breathing and heartbeat slowed to a crawl as the boy continued on with his words. After he was done, there was three full seconds of ringing silence in the bar.

Neville raised his wand, and the pressure in the room spiked alarmingly quickly. Plants, furniture ,and even people flinched away from where Neville stood, as the raw magical energy seeping outward from him drew up into a single focal point: the tip of the wand he was raising up to point at the chest of the eldest Lestrange child. The cherry wood sang with the promise of destruction, nearly vibrating in his hand. No other wand wood could stand up to Neville's might when enraged, for no other wand wood was as capable of lethal force. And if there was one thing that everyone agreed about Neville Longbottom, whether they liked him or not, it was that he was lethal.

“Goodbye, Nikolaj.”

@nikolaj (Better hurry up to the point, he's going to start firing at the next smart remark that comes his way...)

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@superluigi64

whatever back and forth they had been doing was over now, nik realized so was their conversation, well what ever conversation they had been having when neville's wand raised to his chest. he could feel it pulsing through the air around them, noticed how people leaned away, the very world around them seemed to recoil except one thing. nik didn't move. he didn't flinch. there were very few things in the world that scared nikolak lestrange and neville longbottom was not one of them. “Goodbye, Nikolaj.” his brow raised slightly, his eyes moving back to the wand as he moved to tap his finger against the tip of neville's wand. "well i did hear you always had a flair for the dramatic" he said as he levelled his gaze at neville again. "but i'll get to the point. i love my sisters. regardless of what they do and what they think. granted i'm not always the best at showing it. i did let andy leave the three broom sticks unharmed after all." he said, thinking he wasn't making a good case for himself but he'd try. once. "and i am going to fix things with andy. i just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get in my way."

ooc -- he's not good at getting his point across -facepalm- i feel for neville having to deal with him i really do haha

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Andy had come to the Leaky and made a bee line for her room first. Well, for Phils room, actually. She spent most of her time in there, just laying on his bed and reading their letters. Finally, she had gotten hungry and decided to go downstairs.

That's when she saw him. Well, them. She didn't know what was going on, but Nevilles wand was at Nikolaj's chest. "Stop!" she called, running over to them, moving anything aside that was in her way. She lifted a hand and it hovered above Nevilles wrist, not touching it yet. She looked at him. Not at Nik, never at Nik. "Please, please. Just let him leave," she asked.

She couldn't dare to look at Nik. Not since... well, she just couldn't do it. Finally, her hand landed on Nevilles wrist gently, "please."

No one died, thankfully, but it was too close of a call for Andy's liking. She just hoped Nik wouldn't try coming back.

(The End.

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