Hogwarts: Neville's Insert Chapter 45
"And then there's Ron." Harry shook his head. "I don't know if I should trust him or not. Is he in on it? I'm pretty sure he knew who I was before we met in the compartment. He walked in and said the other compartments were full—but back then, I didn't question it. Now that I think about it… he came in as soon as the train left. Meaning, he already knew who I was and was looking for me."
Harry sighed again, rubbing his face before running a hand through his hair again. "And at school, it felt like he was always making sure I didn't become friends with anyone else. Every time you or Hermione tried to talk to me after classes, he'd always pull me away, saying, 'Come on, Harry, let's go do something else.'"
Neville grimaced. "I think that might have just been Ron's personality, mate."
Harry let out another deep sigh. "I don't know what to do anymore."
Neville stared down at his cup of hot chocolate, feeling a twinge of guilt about separating Harry from Ron. But at the same time, he knew that nothing was ever a coincidence when Dumbledore was involved.
He took one last sip of his drink, then set the cup down and stood up. "Well, I'm going to take a bath and then do some studying," he said, stretching his arms. "You should probably get some rest, Harry."
…
August 14th, 1992
Neville stepped out of the shower, towel draped over his head as he rubbed it against his damp hair. His muscles ached slightly from the morning workout, but it was a satisfying kind of ache—the kind that let him know he was making progress. Dressed in a plain t-shirt and sweatpants, he made his way back to his room, still toweling his hair dry.
It had been two to three weeks since Hermione's first visit to Longbottom Manor with her parents. They had arrived via Floo from Diagon Alley, stepping into the grand sitting room with wide eyes, her parents looking both fascinated and slightly overwhelmed.
The day had been spent at the manor, with Hermione eagerly showing her parents everything she had learned during her first year at Hogwarts. For Mr. and Mrs. Granger, it was their first real glimpse into the magical world their daughter was now a part of, and they had been incredibly proud to see how much she had grown.
After Hermione finished her demonstrations—levitating objects, simple transfigurations, and a few basic spells—the three of them had left the adults to talk. Augusta had taken the time to explain more about the wizarding world, answering any doubts or concerns the Grangers had about their daughter's education and future in magic.
Meanwhile, Neville had led Hermione and Harry to the Longbottom family library—after asking Augusta's permission first, of course. She had agreed, though she had warned him not to let Hermione run wild in there.
That warning had proved wise.
The moment they stepped into the vast library, Hermione had launched into a barrage of questions, firing them off one after another, barely giving either of them time to answer.
Neville, unable to keep up, reached out and gently clamped a hand over Hermione's mouth. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hermione, calm down," he said, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have to go all rapid-fire on us, you know."
Hermione froze, blinking rapidly before her face turned pink. She nodded, and Neville slowly removed his hand.
Harry, who had been watching with an amused expression, shook his head. "Honestly, Hermione, it's not like we're going to disappear."
Neville smirked. "Yeah, we've got time. Just ask your questions one at a time."
Hermione sighed, rubbing her arm. "Sorry about that, guys," she said sheepishly. "I was just excited."
Harry waved her off. "It's fine. We're used to it by now—ow!" He winced as Neville elbowed him in the side.
Neville grinned as Harry rubbed his ribs. "What was that for?" Harry muttered.
Hermione huffed, crossing her arms. "Well, I just wanted to know what you two have been up to. You've been practically glued together all summer." She narrowed her eyes at them. "So? What did you guys learn?"
Neville leaned back against one of the bookshelves, arms crossed. "Nothing much," he said casually. "We were just exercising, and I was teaching Harry the spells we learned last year."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, it's mostly been Neville helping me get better at spellwork." He grinned. "Oh, and he's been making me run every morning."
Hermione nodded, then frowned slightly as she remembered something. "By the way, you still haven't told me why the letters I sent to Harry weren't received before I came here. All Neville said in his letter was that you weren't able to get any letters, and he'd explain when I arrived."
Harry sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah… that was all Dobby's doing."
Hermione blinked. "Dobby?" she repeated, confused.
Before Harry could answer, Neville cut in. "Before that, Hermione, how's your Occlumency coming along?" He looked at her with interest.
Hermione's puzzled expression shifted as she registered the question. "Oh! Right, I've been practicing all summer," she said, nodding. "But I'm not really sure how good I am. The book said the better you can recall memories, the better your Occlumency is, but is there a way to actually test how well we've improved?"
She reached into her backpack, rummaging for a moment before pulling out the Occlumency book Neville had lent her. Handing it to him, she said, "Here, I've read through it. It's quite interesting, but it doesn't say anything about testing our shields."
Neville took the book and flipped through a few pages before closing it with a nod. "From what I know, if you can recall all your memories clearly and in detail, it's a sign that your Occlumency is improving. There isn't really another way to test it unless we had someone use Legilimency on us, but since none of us know how to do that, we just have to rely on memory recall."
Hermione hummed in thought before nodding. "Well, I did notice that my memories are a lot easier to recall than before. It's really helpful for memorizing things." She then leaned forward slightly, her curiosity returning. "Now… tell me—who is this Dobby?"
Neville and Harry exchanged a look before Neville spoke. "Dobby is a house-elf. We don't know who he belongs to."
Hermione's brow furrowed. "Belongs to?" she asked, her voice tinged with confusion.
Neville nodded. "Yeah. They form magical contracts with wizards in exchange for magic. According to Gran, while house-elves are born magical, they can't generate magic on their own. They rely on the magic around them, so they bond themselves to wizarding families. In exchange, they work for them, and in return, they get access to the family's magic. Without magic, they die."
He paused, remembering that in the movies, Hermione had been strongly against house-elf enslavement and had even tried to free them. Knowing how she was, he figured it was best to explain things to her properly.
Hermione looked even more confused. "So… they're magical creatures that work for wizards in exchange for magic?" she asked, trying to process the concept.
Neville nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. But I wouldn't call them 'creatures'—they're closer to humans than creatures. From what I know, they can bind themselves to places with a lot of ambient magic or to wizarding households. Hogwarts has an army of them, and there are two working here at Longbottom Manor."
Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "Wait—Hogwarts has house-elves?" she exclaimed.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, apparently, that's how Hogwarts stays so clean and how they manage to cook for that many people."
Hermione looked utterly bewildered. "But if they're in Hogwarts, how come I've never seen them in the entire year we were there?"
Neville shrugged. "They usually keep away from wizards while working. Most of the time, they stay invisible so they don't disturb anyone."
Neville waved a hand. "We're getting off-topic. Anyway, this house-elf—Dobby—has been stealing Harry's mail all summer. He didn't want Harry to go back to Hogwarts because, according to him, Harry's in mortal danger if he does."
Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And Dobby was adamant that I'm not safe going to Hogwarts."
Hermione frowned deeply, her worry growing. "But why? What exactly did he say?"
Neville crossed his arms. "Not much, really. Just that something terrible is going to happen at Hogwarts this year and that Harry's in the middle of it. But he couldn't tell us who's behind it—whenever he tried, he started hurting himself."
Hermione's eyes widened further, and she looked between them before leaning in. "Could it be Dumbledore?" she whispered.
Neville shook his head. "No, it's not Dumbledore. Dobby confirmed that when he was caught by Clinky and Tinky."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, and Dobby couldn't say who was after me, but we know that whoever owns Dobby is behind whatever's going to happen at Hogwarts this year."
Hermione chewed on her nail anxiously, glancing between the two of them. "Shouldn't we tell someone?" she asked, her voice quiet but urgent. "You know… an adult?"
Neville sighed and shook his head. "And tell them what, Hermione? That a house-elf with no proof warned us about something bad happening at Hogwarts? They'd just see it as the ramblings of a deranged house-elf. No one would take it seriously."
Hermione frowned. "Can't we tell your Gran, Neville? You said she was part of the Hogwarts school board."
Neville nodded but hesitated. "Yeah, but I don't want to stress her out. She's already got enough on her plate." He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "Besides, even if I did tell her, without any proof, there's nothing she could do either."
Hermione looked between Harry and Neville, a determined expression on her face. "Then how about we transfer schools?" she suggested. "I know there's one in France—Beauxbatons. It's supposed to be a really good school. When I was in France, I heard people saying they have excellent academics."
Harry immediately shook his head. "I'm not running away, Hermione," he said firmly.
Hermione opened her mouth, ready to argue, but before she could get a word out, Neville cut in. "We can't, Hermione. Even if we wanted to, Harry can't transfer." He folded his arms and sighed. "Dumbledore wouldn't let his pawn slip out of his grasp that easily. Plus, we'd need permission from him since he's Harry's magical guardian."
Harry scowled at that but didn't argue.
Neville continued, "I'm pretty sure he's already planning to make sure Harry doesn't stay here next summer. He's got everything mapped out—we're just playing pieces in his little chess game."
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and bit her lip, her worry evident.
Seeing her so stressed, Neville reached out and patted her on the head. "Don't worry," he said dramatically, puffing out his chest and putting on an exaggerated refined accent. "As your knight in shining armor, I shall protect you from the evil that lurks in Hogwarts."
Hermione flushed a deep red and swatted his hand away. "You prat!" she huffed, crossing her arms.
Neville grinned and swiftly moved out of her reach before she could hit him again, laughing to himself. Don't worry, Hermione. I have no intention of fighting a basilisk. I'm getting the diary from Ginny as soon as we're back at Hogwarts.
After that day, Hermione started visiting Longbottom Manor at least every two days. However, it soon became clear that all the traveling was a hassle. She had to have her parents take her to Diagon Alley, then Floo to Longbottom Manor every time.
Seeing how inconvenient it was for the young witch, Augusta had offered Hermione a simple solution—she could stay at Longbottom Manor for as long as she wanted. It would be easier than traveling back and forth every other day.
After talking it over with her parents, Hermione agreed, and for the rest of the summer, she stayed over during the weekdays and only returned home on weekends.
On the 30th of July, Neville and Harry celebrated their birthdays together. Even though Harry's actual birthday was a day after, they decided to celebrate them on the same day to make things easier.
For their birthday outing, Augusta had arranged for them to visit Thorpe Park, a well-known theme park. It was an entirely new experience for Harry, who had never been to a theme park before, and he absolutely loved it. They spent the whole day riding roller coasters, eating junk food, and laughing at each other's reactions to the rides.
The next day, on Harry's actual birthday, they continued the celebration by going to watch Batman Returns, which was running in theaters. The three of them—Neville, Harry, and Hermione—were completely engrossed in the film.
Later that day, Neville had also stopped by a bookstore and picked up a bunch of manga—mainly Dragon Ball Z, which was currently in the Cell Saga. Both Harry and Neville quickly became invested in the story, spending hours reading and debating over what would happen next
…
Neville walked over to his work desk, pulling the towel from his head and draping it over the back of his chair. He let out a small sigh as his eyes landed on his open notepad. Picking it up, he scanned through the notes he had scribbled down the night before.
"Huh… what should I do next?" he mused, flipping through the pages. "How do I isolate the effect of the potion to that part of the brain?" He tapped his fingers against the desk, deep in thought.
Before he could think further, a knock sounded at his door.
"Come in," he called, setting the notepad back down.
The door cracked open, and Hermione poked her head in. "Hey, Neville. Harry and I are heading to breakfast—want to come?"
Neville nodded. "Yeah, give me one minute." He placed the notepad back on his desk, grabbed his wand, and turned towards them.
As Hermione and Harry stepped fully into the room, Hermione's gaze landed on his desk. She walked over, eyes scanning the papers before picking up one of his notes.
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to make the Game Boy work with magic?"
Neville nodded, scratching his head. "Yeah. Entertainment in the magical world is really dull. So, I'm trying to figure out a way to shield it from magical interference. That way, magic won't affect it without having to redesign the whole thing to accept magic."
Hermione's eyes widened in excitement. "That's brilliant, Neville!" she said enthusiastically, looking up at him. "If you can do that, we could get all sorts of electronics to work in magical households!"
Harry, who had been quiet up until now, picked up the Game Boy from Neville's desk and turned it over in his hands. "So, did you manage to do it?" he asked curiously.
Neville sighed, shaking his head. "Not yet," he admitted. "But I have a few ideas… I just need to test them."
Hermione placed the notes back on the table and gave him a determined look. "I'll help you if you don't mind," she offered. "This could be really useful."
Neville smiled. "Yeah, I'd appreciate that, Hermione. If possible, I'd like to find a solution before we head back to Hogwarts."
Harry grinned. "Well, if you do figure it out, I wouldn't mind being the first to test it."
Neville smirked. "You'll have to fight me for that, Harry."
With that, the three of them exited the room and made their way downstairs toward the dining hall.
As they stepped into the dining hall, they found Augusta Longbottom already seated at the table, waiting for them.
Augusta Longbottom sat at the head of the dining table, flipping through the pages of her morning newspaper. The rustling of parchment barely masked the sound of the dining room door opening, followed by the familiar voices of her grandson and his friends.
"Morning, Gran," Neville greeted as he took a seat beside her.
"Good morning, Gran," Harry added, sitting across from him.
Hermione, always a touch more formal, gave a slight bow. "Good morning, Mrs. Longbottom."
Augusta nodded at them, setting the newspaper aside. "Morning, you three. So, what's on the agenda for today?"
Hermione swallowed a bite of toast before answering. "We plan on practicing Charms, ma'am."
Augusta gave them all a scrutinizing look before shaking her head with an amused huff. "You three are the oddest twelve-year-olds I've ever met. Most kids your age would be spending their summer playing outside, getting into harmless trouble, or simply lazing about. Yet here you are, talking about practicing spells over breakfast."
Neville scoffed, placing a hand over his chest in mock offense. "Hey, I take offense to that, Gran! We do play and mess around. But we also like to practice magic. It's fun for us! It's not like we're reading books all day long."
Augusta smirked but didn't comment further.
Just then, a small pop echoed beside Augusta as Tinky, one of the Longbottom family's house-elves, appeared. The little elf bowed deeply. "Mistress, we's deliver mail," Tinky said, holding out a small stack of letters.
Augusta took the sealed envelopes with a nod. "Thank you, Tinky."
The elf bowed again and disappeared with another soft pop.
Augusta glanced at the writing on one of the letters and raised an eyebrow. "Well, it seems your school supply lists from Hogwarts have arrived," she said, handing them each an envelope.
Neville took his and immediately tore it open, skimming over the required items for second-year students. Across the table, Harry had done the same.
"Why do we need a whole set of books for Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Harry asked, frowning at the parchment in his hands.
Neville looked down at his own list and read aloud, "For Defense Against the Dark Arts, you are required to buy the following:
Magical Me (autobiography)
Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests
Break with a Banshee
Gadding with Ghouls
Holidays with Hags
Travels with Trolls
Voyages with Vampires
Wanderings with Werewolves
The Travel Trilogy (collection of Holidays with Hags, Voyages with Vampires, and Wanderings with Werewolves)
Marauding with Monsters
Who Am I?
Neville's eye twitched. All books by Gilderoy Lockhart... Great.
He internally groaned. I really hope we don't have to meet him. I saw in the Prophet that he's going to be at Flourish and Blotts on the 19th. If we go that day, we'll definitely run into the Weasleys… and I'd rather not deal with that circus.
Before he could dwell on it any longer, Hermione's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "So, when do you guys want to go?" she asked excitedly, practically bouncing in her seat. "I can't wait to read next year's materials!"
Neville shook his head with a chuckle before turning to his grandmother. "Gran, are you free today?"
Augusta, who had just taken a sip of her tea, set her cup down and raised an eyebrow at him. "You want to go get your supplies today?"
Neville nodded. "Yeah, it would be the least packed day since we only just got the list. It's better to get all the shopping done early rather than rushing at the last minute."
Augusta hummed thoughtfully before nodding. "That is true. It's always best to do shopping ahead of time rather than scrambling at the last moment. And I am free today, so sure, why not?"
Before Neville could respond, Hermione suddenly perked up. "Wait—you want to go today?" she asked, looking concerned. "But Neville, I don't have any money with me right now!"
Neville blinked, rubbing his chin. "Huh… I didn't think of that."
Augusta, however, waved her hand dismissively. "It's alright, dear. I'll buy your supplies for you."
Hermione looked at Augusta in shock. "But ma'am, I can't let you do that! You're already letting me stay here for free," she said, shaking her head.
Augusta gave her a pointed look. "Hush, child. I don't mind buying your supplies. You're my grandson's friend, and I'm more than happy to help."
Neville, noticing Hermione's hesitation, quickly added, "If it makes you feel uncomfortable, you can just pay it back later when you have the money."
Hermione bit her lip, looking between them, before finally nodding. "Alright… thank you, Mrs. Longbottom," she said sincerely.
Augusta sighed but gave a small nod in return, accepting the compromise. "Alright, then. Finish up your breakfast, and we'll leave shortly."
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