Neville's Story

Nearly a week had passed without anything happening to him. Having spent the weekend alone in the hospital wing with only infrequent visits by Dean, Seamus and Hermione, Neville was relieved to return to the dorms Sunday afternoon.

Though Dumbledore had a house-elf bringing him trays of food during the meals, Neville had missed the companionship of eating at the house table with the other Gryffindors. Though the twins teased him occasionally, their jokes and pranks were never performed or said out of sheer malice or distain as the Slytherins (Malfoy's in particular) were.

Returning to the dorm after Sunday dinner, Neville walked in on Ron and Dean as they argued the merits of their sports. Not quite grasping the excitement of Muggle sports, Ron kept rolling his eyes as Dean tried to explain it to him. For the rest of the week Ron could be seen prodding Dean's poster of the West Ham soccer team whenever Dean wasn't around, trying to get the players to move about the poster.

With the approach of the end of the week came Gryffindor's first flying lesson. Neville had never ridden a broom before, so he was very nervous. Listening to Seamus' and Ron's stories of riding their siblings' and relatives' brooms around the countryside, he could only imagine the wonderful sensation of flying through the air while riding a broom. Even Lisa and several other Ravenclaws shared their stories of riding around on brooms while Professor Binns droned on about something or other in History of Magic.

"Gah!" Dean said as he looked at the bulletin board where the schedule for broom riding classes was posted. "We've got to wait the nearly the entire week. Even worse then hearing Lisa or Justin and the others telling us how their class went, we have to have it with those blokes from Slytherin."

Heading down to breakfast, Dean and Neville listened to Hermione's flying tips (which she had acquired from reading Quidditch Through the Ages).

Sitting at the table, Neville noticed that Harry was eying Malfoy as the stupid git was opening the package brought to him by an eagle owl. Understanding Harry's feelings, Neville smiled sympathetically at him as he opened the package that was dropped in front of him. Extracting it, he held a large marble that appeared to be filled with white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained to Harry and Dean. "Gran knows I forget things - this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh...." he said as the smoke turned red, "... you've forgotten something...." Neville's face went as red as the Remembrall as he tried to recall what it was that he'd forgotten.

Chuckling at Neville's situation, the Gryffindors seated around him failed to notice Draco Malfoy and his goons passing by the table. Snatching the Remembrall from Neville's palm, Draco sneered.

As Neville turned around to face Draco, he saw Harry, Ron, Dean and Seamus all standing up, ready to pounce on the Slytherins to retrieve Neville's Remembrall. Before anything could happen, Professor McGonagall, who arguably had the best eye for spotting trouble, arrived at the table.

"What's going on?" she asked, eying them all.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor," he explained as he kept his eyes on Malfoy.

Keeping his cool, Malfoy scowled as he dropped the Remembrall onto the table. "Just looking," he said coolly before heading towards the Slytherin table with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.

As the day progressed Neville forgot about Malfoy and the incident at breakfast. Focusing on his classes, he and Dean endured Lisa's stories about the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's flying lessons. Listening to Lisa and several other Hufflepuffs, Neville managed to stay awake for the entire lesson, though he took no notes regarding Binns' lecture.

Things were barely better after lunch even though Neville was in his favorite class; Herbology with Professor Sprout. Herbology with the Hufflepuffs meant that the Gryffindors were exposed to another group that had already had flying lessons. Hearing Justin Finch-Fletchley and the other Hufflepuffs telling stories similar to the Ravenclaws' stories of their flying lessons, many of the Gryffindors took to throwing pieces of sod at the Hufflepuffs to keep them quiet. Unfortunately several Gryffindors were caught, resulting in Gryffindor losing a total of 10 points.

Finally, as three-thirty rolled around, Neville, Dean, Seamus and the other Gryffindor first years headed down onto the grounds for their first flying lessons. As they left the Gryffindor common room en mass, several of the older Gryffindors, Fred and George in particular, jokingly said that they would visit them in the hospital wing after dinner.

"Ah, perfect day for flying," Seamus said as he spread his arms as if to embrace the clear sky. Though breezy, it was only enough to ripple the grass and rustle the leaves.

Marching down towards the forbidden forest, Seamus' bright demeanor quickly soured as he spotted the Slytherins. Having gotten there ahead of the Gryffindors, they all appeared to be wearing the same smug smile that Draco had as they watched the Gryffindors approaching them.

Neville could feel the tension building as he and several other Gryffindors recalled the incident over breakfast. Looking at Draco and his goons, Neville knew that they remembered it too.

As the two houses eyed each other, standing with the brooms between them, Madam Hooch arrived. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked as she marched between the two rows of brooms. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up!"

Each house claimed the brooms closest to their side. Draco seemingly purposely stood opposite Harry with Crabbe and Goyle flanking him. Ron and Hermione flanked Harry, with Neville on the end by Hermione and Seamus and Dean on the other.

"Stick your right hand over your broom," Madam Hooch instructed as she marched between the two houses and the brooms, "and say, 'Up!'"

"Up!" everyone shouted at their brooms.

Fairly nervous, Neville watched as his broom just lay there while Hermione's rolled on the ground beside her. Harry somehow managed to have his broom fly into his hand on the first try. Neville was sure that it was fairly obvious that he was nervous as he tried to command the broom to fly into his hand. Eventually, he managed to coax it, though he was probably the last one to do so.

With everyone holding their brooms in their right hands, Madam Hooch showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the ends by mounting her own broom. As the first years slowly mounted their brooms, she walked around and watched, explaining and occasionally pointing out what they were to do and who was doing it wrong. To Neville's relief, Madam Hooch appeared to be spending more time with several of the Slytherin girls rather then using him as an example of what not to do. Even Malfoy, whose claims of having ridden a broom for years, was not exempt from Madam Hooch's scrutiny as she remarked that if he had been riding, then he had been riding wrong and was lucky to have escaped with no injuries. Listening to Madam Hooch point out what the Slytherins were doing wrong, Neville adjusted his grip and posture so that when Madam Hooch finally made it over towards him he only had a few adjustments to make.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground hard," she explained once everyone had mounted their brooms properly. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - one, two -"

Nervous, Neville anticipated the count wrong and kicked off early. He surprised himself by actually lifting off the ground as he had been afraid that he wouldn't get off the ground. Now that he was actually in the air, he wished that he hadn't left the ground.

Focusing on what Madam Hooch had told them about leaning forwards slightly, Neville failed to hear what she was shouting at him as he fought to maintain his balance on the thin broom. Eyes widening as he lifted further and further off the ground, Neville's hand became sweaty, causing his grip on the slender piece of wood to loosen. Suddenly, he felt himself falling as his grip failed and he slid off the broom.

Feeling a sudden pain in his wrist and along his entire side, he barely realized that he was making another trip to the hospital wing. Quaffing the potion that Madam Pomfrey gave him, Neville quickly felt a cool sensation passing through his arm and wrist before he closed his eyes and dozed off.

Waking up sometime after dinner, Neville sighed as he felt a soothing coolness in his wrist. Though he still had a wrap on his wrist, he could easily flex his fingers and wrist. True to their word, Fred and George visited him shortly after he woke. Returning his Remembrall to him, they also had a few bottles of butterbeer and several bags of treats for him.

"What's all this for?" he asked as he eyed the twins.

"It's a gift," Fred explained.

"Kind of a 'Thank you,' and an apology," George added. "We probably shouldn't have told you all that we'd stop here expecting someone to get hurt."

Nodding, he felt that they were holding back on him. "And the 'Thank you' bit?"

Clearing his throat, Fred opened a bottle of butterbeer and handed it to Neville. "You'll see when you come our first Quidditch match."

"Sorry we can't stay any longer," George added as he stood up. "Since we emptied our stash for you, we need to restock our supplies before the weekend."

"Enjoy, and thanks again," Fred added as he followed his twin.

Grateful that the twins had visited and returned his Remembrall to him, Neville enjoyed the small feast that they had left with him. Dozing off again after finishing the last of the butterbeer, Neville woke well after dark. Feeling nothing from his arm that was unusual, he flexed his fingers and tested it. Seeing that nothing was wrong, he hopped out of bed, checked with Madam Pomfrey, and began to walk back to the Gryffindor dorm. Having been a frequent visitor/occupant of the hospital wing, he knew the way back quite well.

Alone, he walked the corridors, not surprised that he saw no one else as he assumed it was fairly late. Though he spotted a few ghosts, he was grateful that he had not run across Peeves. Peering around the corner, he checked to make sure that Peeves wasn't around before he entered the corridor leading to the Gryffindor common room. Nodding to himself as he saw that the way was clear, he walked to the end of the corridor.

"Password?" the fat lady asked as she yawned. "You know, it's well past curfew, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I was in the hospital wing the entire evening," Neville replied as he tried to recall what the password was. "Um, Pig's feet?"

Sighing, the fat lady rolled her eyes.

Had they changed the password, or had he simply forgotten it? Neville wasn't sure, but he kept trying. Finally he gave up after an hour or so of guessing incorrectly and spotting the Bloody Baron as the ghost glided by. Finding a hiding spot nearby, he curled up and fell asleep on the floor.

Sleeping lightly, he heard the Baron passing by again. Not wanting to be spotted by the Slytherin ghost, he remained hidden until the ghost had passed. Dozing off again, he stirred when he heard some one whispering nearby.

"Mrs. Norris?" he heard Ron say. Turning to face Ron, Neville spotted Harry and Hermione as they crept down the corridor towards him.

"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours," he explained, glad to no longer be alone in the dark corridor. "I couldn't remember the password to get into bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neville," Ron replied as he scanned the corridor. "The password's 'Pig's Snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" Harry asked as he turned his attention to Neville.

"Fine, Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later-"

"Don't leave me!" he nearly screamed as he scrambled to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron was obviously upset as he glared at Neville and Hermione. "If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."

Neville nodded as Harry hissed at Hermione. Clearly Hermione was against whatever it was that Ron and Harry were so set on doing, and yet she was here, tagging along with them.

Shrugging his shoulders, Neville followed the others as they made their way through the castle with only the moonlight to guide them. Fortunately they did not run into Mrs. Norris or Filch as they silently crept through the corridors. Faintly realizing where they were, Neville wondered just what Ron and Harry were up to.

Reaching the trophy room, the two were clearly waiting for someone. Who where they waiting for? Why did they have to meet up after curfew? What else were they doing wrong? Thinking back, Neville recalled how intently Hermione had been watching the pair.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," he heard Ron whisper.

He? Was it that they had set Hermione up on a blind date? No, Hermione had tagged along because she was locked out, right? Neville was confused as he considered the various possibilities.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner," Neville heard. Seeing the others react, he knew that they had heard Filch as well.

Waving at the others to follow him, Harry led them out of the trophy room. Neville, the least athletic of the quartet, trailed behind the others and barely made it out of the trophy room as he heard Filch entering the trophy room.

Creeping down a side corridor full of suits of armor, Neville heard Filch and Mrs. Norris slowly gaining on them. Panicking, he broke into a run as he tried to put more ground between himself and the groundskeeper. Unfortunately, he was also the most uncoordinated of the four and tripped as he passed Ron, grabbing the taller boy about the waist as he fell, causing them both to topple into one of the many suits of armor.

Stumbling to his feet amid bits of armor and with the taller Ron tied up with him; Neville didn't hear Harry shout "Run!" though he knew well the consequences of not running.

Trailing behind the others, he surprised himself in that he was able to keep up with them fairly well as he felt the adrenaline pumping through him. Catching up to them in a corridor near the Charms classroom, Neville failed to hear what they were saying as he was too focused on trying to breath and could barely hear past the pounding of his heart in his chest and his own wheezing breath.

Before he was ready, he saw the others heading down the corridor. Taking a deep breath, Neville nearly screamed as one of the doors before them burst open and something came shooting out.

Looking at the object, Neville realized that it was Peeves. Squealing in delight, the poltergeist cackled as Hermione stated the obvious. Looking past the poltergeist, Neville hoped that the corridor lead back to somewhere safe.

Ignoring Peeve's taunts, Neville trembled as he imagined the consequences of being caught out of bed past curfew.

"Get out of the way!" Ron snapped as he swiped at Peeves. Neville sighed as he readied to duck under Peeves and run. Never try to bully a poltergeist, he thought to himself as he started running.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Neville tried to run even harder and faster. "STUDETNS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" he heard Peeves shout, even louder then before, as he followed the others down the corridor and into another.

Running from Peeves, Neville was thankful that Peeves wasn't following them as he continued to shout for Filch and Mrs. Norris. At least Peeves hadn't identified them, though the poltergeist probably hadn't had time to get to know their faces yet since it was still relatively early in the term.

"This is it!" Ron said as he tried to force the door before him open. "We're done for! This is the end!"

Hermione still had a cool head as she snatched Harry's wand and unlocked the door as she whispered, "Alohomora!"

The door clicked and then swung open. Quickly the four of them piled into the room and closed the door.

Neville was apparently the only one who spotted the huge three headed dog as it slowly stirred at the sounds of the others talking. Tugging on someone's sleeve, Neville focused on the three gigantic heads of the huge creature as three sets of eyes examined them. Slowly, each of the heads opened its mouth as Neville felt the others turning around.

Seeing a large drop of saliva hit the floor as the middle head sniffed at them, Neville was out the door, not even sure how he got there as he was focusing on not being killed. Slamming the door shut behind him, Neville threw a quick glance over his shoulder and saw that the others had closed the door. Not sure that the door would hold, Neville ran all the way back up to the seventh floor and stopped only when he was in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

Too winded to say anything, he realized that he had gotten there before the others. Wheezing heavily, he was still trying to catch his breath when the others arrived. Seeing the portrait swinging open, he scrambled into the common room along with the others.

Still trying to catch his breath, Neville barely listened to what the others were saying.

Seeing Hermione storm off to the girls' dorms, Neville looked back at Ron and Harry before heading up to their room for some well deserved sleep. "No wonder we're not allowed in that corridor," Neville squeaked as he slowly went up to the dormitory, "just think if that thing was loose on the grounds."