Chapter Text
The wooden carriage rattled over the uneven path to Hogwarts. Neville sat beside Harry, while Hermione was next to Harry. Ron sat in the opposite direction beside a dirty blonde-haired girl that seemed to read a magazine called The Quibbler upside down. Her pale eyebrows and her wide silvery-grey eyes give her a permanent shocked face. She wore a radish-shaped earring and a necklace made out of Butterbeer corks.
Hermione broke the silence. "Everyone, this is Loony—" she paused for a quick silence. "Luna Lovegood," she corrected herself. Neville waited, confused. Why didn't the blonde-haired girl, Luna Lovegood, look offended or flinch? "Hungry, hope there's pudding." Lovegood softly said after a long pause, glancing at Neville and Harry.
The ride to Hogwarts was an awkward silence. Neville shifted his plant a little bit. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt as though Luna Lovegood could see something he couldn’t. Like the nargle she talked about earlier, he had never heard that word even once in his life. She also muttered about other things like Crumple-Horned Snorkack and Wrackspurts, if that's what they're called. He doesn't know if 'weird' is the right word to describe her; she seemed fine, just a little too gullible, but unbothered.
He felt oddly relieved when he saw that they're almost at Hogwarts.
The great hall was as busy and noisy as it always is. Candles floating overhead near the ceiling. Neville was tired; the sorting ceremony couldn't go any faster. It felt like he couldn't wait any longer. He put his hand on his cheek and watched as the first year got into their house; the first-year Gryffindor looked nervous but pleased. Nearly Headless Nick appeared drifting through the table; Fred and George seemed to whisper to each other about something; Neville didn't care much about it.
Neville was admiring the warm candle overhead at the ceiling when he noticed a new face sitting at the teacher table, a small-looking woman with her perfectly looking pink dress and her curled hair. Across the great hall, Neville felt her dark, scrunched eyes staring at him. He straightened up his clothes and fixed his crooked tie; maybe that's why she's staring at him, or at least that's what he felt.
Not long after, Dumbledore stood up and got into his usual place, coughing a bit. "To our new students, welcome. To our old students, welcome back." He paused. "Now, we have two changes in staffing. This year, we're pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking care of magical creatures while Professor Hagrid is on temporary leave." Dumbledore paused and looked in the direction of Professor Grubbly-Plank; after that, he tilted his head a little at the small-looking woman. "We also wish to welcome our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge. Now, as usual, Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you—" Dumbledore's speech was cut off by Umbridge, who suddenly stood up and walked in front of Dumbledore, smiling oddly.
"Thank you, headmaster, for your kind words." She said. "Welcome, and how lovely to see all your happy faces smiling at me. "Sure, we are all going to be very good friends!" She paused. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school. " Umbridge looked at Dumbledore, smiling. "Progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved. Perfect, but what can be perfected? and prune practices that ought to be prohibited." She laughed and smiled and then walked back to her seat. Neville gulped; he had a bad feeling about her.
Dinner finally appeared; a bunch of variations of food appeared. Neville piled his plate with roasted chicken and some sausages, though he wasn't sure if he was really hungry. He finished his meal with some pumpkin juice and got back to the common room with Ginny. The moving staircase behaved well when they used it. "Password?" asked the Fat Lady, looking a little bit more cheerful than usual. "Mimbulus Mimbletonia," Ginny muttered the password. The Fat Lady portrait swung forward and revealed a cosy common room in the top of Gryffindor Tower. The walls are covered with scarlet and gold, with squashy maroon armchairs and sofas arranged around the big fireplace. There are some big windows you can sit on and a notice board with some announcements pinned on it.
"Night!" Ginny said, waving her hand as she walked to the girls' dormitories staircase; her red hair was illuminated by the moonlight. "Bye, Ginny! Good night." Neville replied, and he made his way to the boy's dormitories' staircase and walked to his dorm. Seamus and Dean were there, although he's not quite sure where Harry and Ron are. Probably going on an adventure again; for the past 5 years, their bed has often been empty.
Neville opened his suitcase, searching for his pyjamas. Neville quickly put it on when he found it. He wore light blue pyjamas with white vertical stripes on them. He was tired and sleepy. Before he knew it, he was already tucked in bed and closed his eyes.
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The last few weeks have been horrible for Neville. Umbridge, in Neville's opinion, was the worst Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher! But, earlier, Hermione told him to go to Hogs Head this Hogsmeade weekend. He wondered why.
"Neville!" a voice, which probably belonged to a girl, called him. Neville turned his head around and saw a red-headed girl, Ginny, out of breath, panting. "What is it?" Neville replied, "Okay, so... I was wondering, did Hermione also invite you to Hogs Head for this Hogsmeade weekend? Because if you do, I was wondering maybe we could go together!" She paused. "Only if you want to, though. I already asked Luna too, and she said yes!"
Neville paused for a bit after hearing "Luna", he still wasn't that familiar with her name, and he still wasn't used to saying it. It's like a memory that hasn't been stored completely. Everyone else called her that so easily, but to him it still felt strange. Like a word he hadn't quite learned to pronounce. He also wasn't sure if he deserved to call her that, because they're not that close.
"Neville? "Hello?" A familiar voice broke his thought. "Ah—Lovegood, I mean—yes, of course—why not?" Neville replied, his words getting out of his throat so quickly Ginny almost couldn't catch them. "Well… I guess I'll see you there, bye!" Ginny said goodbye, waved at him and walked to the east.
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A week has passed; it's the end of the week, students are now allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Brown-coloured leaves had begun falling across the village. Neville made his way to Ginny and Lovegood. He wore a loose black cardigan with a grey vest and a white t-shirt underneath; his bangs are grouped on the left side of his forehead.
Along the pathway, he could faintly see a red-haired girl with a blonde-haired girl beside her. Neville was sure it was Ginny and Lovegood. He approached them with a smile, almost running.
"For Merlin's sake, you're on time actually! I thought you'd be late. Let's go." Ginny commented, and Neville nodded and walked alongside Lovegood. "Hello, Neville." Lovegood paused, observing around. "The wind looks louder today," she said, tilting her head, as if there's something she wanted to see with Neville being on the way. "Oh—of course. I mean—hello, and yes." Neville responded; Lovegood just smiled at him respectfully.
The Hog’s Head Inn felt dark, shabby, and secretive. Unlike the bright and cheerful Three Broomsticks, this place was dusty and smelt a bit like goats. The windows were so dirty that barely any light came in, making everything look shadowy. The wooden tables were rough and scratched, and the air felt tense. Some students were already there, wondering what to do next. Neville, Ginny, and Lovegood went in, followed by a few coughs.
"Are we in the right place?" Neville asked, confused. "I'm pretty sure we are; look! There's Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We must be" Ginny replied, slightly pointing at a group of young people talking.
It wasn't long until people arrived and sat in a seat. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to the front and muttered something.
Neville shifted slightly in his chair as the room filled with whispers. Everyone seemed to be staring at Harry. He supposed that made sense. Harry always seemed to know what to do in situations like this. Neville usually felt like he was just trying not to mess things up.
Near him, Lovegood was watching the crowd with mild curiosity, as if secret meetings in dusty pubs were perfectly ordinary.
Hermione suddenly stood up.
"Um, hi. So, you all know why we're here. We need a teacher. A proper teacher. One who's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts." Hermione gulped; Neville could sense a nervous feeling hidden in her words.
"Why?" someone in the back said.
"Why? Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot." Ron replied with a hint of annoyance.
"So he says?" the voice argued again.
"So Dumbledore says," Hermione corrected him.
"If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed..." Another voice muttered after a long silence.
"I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's why you're here, you might as well clear out now. Come on, Hermione, let's go. They're just here because they all think I'm some sort of freak." Harry's brows furrowed as he stood up, half-yelling, half-talking.
"Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?" a dreamy voice said. Neville turned his head around and found Lovegood talking.
"Yes!" Hermione turned her head to Harry and then to the group of people. "I've seen it."
"Blimey, Harry, I didn't know you could do that." A familiar voice beside Neville appeared; Dean was talking with his fascinated face.
"And he killed a basilisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office. " Neville added he could feel a smile on his face. "It's true!" commented Ginny.
"In third year, he fought off about 100 dementors at once." Ron said, "And last year, he really did fight off You-Know-Who in the flesh," Hermione added.
The Hogs Head Inn was noisy, filled with students muttering about actions Harry did.
"Wait. Look, it all sounds great when you say it like that, but the truth is, most of that was just luck. "I didn't know what I was doing half the time. I nearly always had help," Harry stated. Hogs Head Inn became silent. "He's just being modest." Hermione said, breaking the silence.
"No, Hermione, I'm not." Harry paused. "Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you can just try again tomorrow, but out there when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes... you don't know what that's like." Harry clarified as he sat down.
"You're right, Harry, we don't. That's why we need your help. "Because if we're going to have any chance of beating…" Hermione paused before forcing herself to say it, "Voldemort..." Her voice sounds as nervous as her face looks. she sounds unsure and uncomfortable saying You-Know-Who's name. Neville understood why, he probably would have struggled to say the name too.
"He's really back?" a voice in the back said as the sound slowly faded.
Harry nodded. Not long after, the group of young people is starting to form a line as they write their names on a piece of parchment.
Luna stepped forward calmly and signed her name in large, loopy letters.
Neville wrote his name, trying to make it as neat as he can. He felt his hearbeat for a flash, is it really worth it signing up? then, he step up after Lovegood.
“Do you think this will work?” he asked quietly, after stepping aside.
“Oh yes,” Lovegood said dreamily. “Secret groups usually do.”
"Um, I was wondering… do you want to go to Honeydukes?" Neville asked, he was quite nervous. Although it was only Luna Lovegood, Neville has always been, well, not quite talented with talking to women. Neville wasn't sure if he'd said the right thing; maybe he sounded stupid, maybe Lovegood would think Neville is too awkward or trying too hard to be close.
"Oh, yes." Lovegood's eyes widen. "Let's go, Neville. I'm hungry," she said, smiling.
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It was a few days after the Hogs Head meeting. Neville wondered when they would meet again. But he doesn't have the courage to ask he is scared that his question will bother Harry, Ron, and Hermione and make them more stressed than ever. Although, Ginny said, it will be as soon as possible. If they had already found the right place, Umbridge wouldn't have found it. There was no class today. He, Neville, was searching for a quiet place.
The Hogwarts courtyard was quiet and peaceful. Neville walked over to a big tree and sat in front of it, opening his book.
"Hello, Neville Longbottom," a soft yet dreamy voice called. Neville wondered where the source of the voice was coming from because he was not that familiar with that sound. But he's sure that he had heard it a few times. "I'm up here," the voice spoke again. Neville turned his head upward and saw a girl, a girl with long, dirty-blonde hair. One radish plum earring dangled from her ear, while her wand was tucked absentmindedly behind the other. In her hand she held a copy of The Quibbler upside down, though she didn’t seem to mind.
She wore a chunky blue knitted jumper that looked handmade, along with long trousers and mismatched wool socks, and fur-lined boots kept her warm against the winter cold.
"Oh…! "Hello, Lovegood... I didn't see you there." Neville paused. "Isn't it cold up there?"
"Not really," Lovegood answered. "At least, at this height, the Nargles won't find me anytime soon." "Lovegood continued, her voice became a whisper the longer she talked, checking her surroundings. "Nargles live in mistletoe, you know."
"Nargles…?" Neville muttered to himself in confusion, his brows furrowed softly, "Oh, Nargles are terribly mischievous little things. You usually don’t see them, of course; they’re quite shy, but they like hiding in mistletoe and floating near people’s heads. They have a habit of stealing things, especially shiny or important ones. If your things go missing, it’s very likely Nargles. " Lovegood explained, "That's why my earring is missing its one pair. I believe it's the Nargles." She smiled.
"Oh. "Hope you find it soon then," Neville replied. Neville wasn’t sure he believed in Nargles. But Lovegood seemed so certain about them that it felt wrong to argue. People in school always call her 'Loony Lovegood', which, Neville thinks, is cruel and heartless.
He saw Lovegood reading her magazine again, holding it so high, at the same level as her chin, upside down. "You… know that's upside down, right?" He answered his concern with "Oh, yes." She answered, "It's because of page seventeen. There are ancient runes. According to the magazine, if you turned the runes on their heads, they revealed a spell to make your enemy's ears turn into kumquats." She explained.
Neville looked at her as she explained. Luna Lovegood was actually very sweet, unlike the rumours other students made about her. He thinks if people gave her a chance, she would be known as the sweet and cheerful girl. He decided he quite liked talking to her.
Somehow, he had the feeling this year he's going to be good friends with her.