Petrificus Totalus

The perfect time to contemplate your place in the universe was when there was nothing else to do, or, in the case of first year Neville Longbottom, when you physically could not do anything else. A Full Body Bind, courtesy of Hermione Granger who he had considered his friend, left him completely immobilized and alone in the Gryffindor Common Room.

If there was one small consolation he could take from the whole mess, it was that there weren't any witnesses this time around. When Malfoy had chosen him on which to practice the Leg-Locker Curse, most of the Slytherin first years as well as countless upperclassmen had witnessed his attempts to free himself in the Great Hall. This time, the only witness, aside from Harry Potter and Ron Weasley whom had accompanied Hermione in her rule breaking, was Trevor, his toad, and Trevor wasn't likely to tell anyone.

On the negative side, Trevor also could not perform the counter-curse to free him. The Full Body Bind lasted six hours before wearing off. The late hour that had aided Harry, Ron and Hermione as they snuck out of Gryffindor Tower would prove to be Neville's downfall. No one would be likely to happen upon him to perform the counter-curse until one of those three returned or someone woke up. Neither was likely to happen for hours yet.

Neville watched in horror as Trevor hopped away again. This was all Trevor's fault. If he hadn't chosen tonight to attempt an escape, Neville would still be happily safe and secure and mobile in his four poster bed upstairs. That toad was always looking for freedom. Sometimes, after yet another successful re-capture, Neville had to wonder just what made Trevor yearn for anywhere but where he was. Was he truly a wanderer at heart, or did he just want to see what was out there? More than likely, Neville reasoned with what would have been a bitter smile if he could move, Trevor just didn't like him and wanted to get away. It wasn't necessarily that Trevor wanted to be free; he just didn't want to be stuck with an incompetent magician.

Professor Snape would certainly agree with that last thought, Neville realized, as his least favorite professor came to mind. Professor Snape always seemed to act like Neville was the worst student he'd ever taught in his entire career. And sometimes, when he was really down - like right now - he had to agree with the Professor. No one else had gotten hexed in their own common room and left alone and immobile. No one else would be dumb enough to get themselves in this situation.

Maybe this was what his parents felt like now. Fully functioning minds that were completely aware of everything, but bodies that simply could not follow through on the commands from the brain. Try as he might, he couldn't move, speak or do anything besides blink. His parents could walk, some, but they didn't try often. They could move around, and occasionally, his father made sounds from his throat. His mother focused on small tasks, like unwrapping gum and giving him the labels. According to Gran, she'd been giving him Drooble's gum wrappers ever since... well, ever since she'd been in St. Mungo's. Right now, he wasn't sure if he wanted their brains to be fully alert and their bodies the problem. What he was going through right now, immobilized and alone in the Common Room, had to be magnified a hundred fold for his parents ever since the attack.

A tear rolled down his cheek, soon followed by a few more. In his frozen state, he couldn't do anything to prevent them or even remove the evidence. Thinking about his mum and the gum wrappers always made him cry, no matter what Uncle Algie had ordered. Certain situations, and this was one of them, were allowable crying times. Even if he was almost twelve years old.

Thinking about Uncle Algie reminded him of Trevor. Where had his toad gone? Hopefully he had not gotten far, because it wouldn't be fun to find him again once the curse wore off. He'd come to the conclusion that he'd almost prefer to suffer the six long hours frozen and alone than have someone find him and perform the counter-curse. The other Gryffindors already disliked him for the fifty points he'd lost trying to warn Harry and Hermione about Malfoy. If this story ever got out, they'd pity him. The last thing he wanted or needed was their pity.

As for Harry, Hermione and Ron, good riddance. With friends like that, he didn't need enemies. Trying to be nice to them had made him a pariah. Trying to be good and stop them from sneaking out had got him cursed and immobile in the Common Room late at night after exams.

The school year was almost over. Once it started up again in September, it shouldn't be that hard to befriend a few of the new first years, or maybe some Hufflepuffs. The Hufflepuffs were treated by the rest of the Hogwarts like the Gryffindors treated him. Based on that alone, they should get along fine. Having Gryffindor friends was probably a chance long gone, but he could survive without them. After all, that was something his family excelled at. Survival.

If he hadn't been frozen, he would have smiled with resolve. Instead, he fell into an uneasy sleep there on the floor. Two hours later, a restless Professor McGonagall would find him in the middle of the Common Room with Trevor asleep on his chest.