Longbottom's Long Tale
By Mushroom Cap
Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable in any of the stories I post on this site. They belong to J.K. Rowling. I do, however, own Crabbe's wicked right hook.
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"You know how I think they chose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got not money-you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains"
-Draco Malfoy Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone pg 223
Neville felt his face turn as scarlet as the Hogwarts Express at the comment. Was it sad that he was actually pleased that someone said he should be on the Gryffindor team, even if it was an insult? Probably.
What was it Harry had said to him earlier? After Hermione had taken Malfoy's leg-locker curse off of him? It had boosted what little confidence he had, and if Harry meant it…well, Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived, so it was worth double coming from him.
Right…he, Neville Glanmore Longbottom, needed to stand up for himself. He nodded and turned in his seat to face Malfoy.
I'm really going to let him have it; this is it, no more being a pushover.
He felt rather like a knight riding off to face a dragon, as he met Malfoy's eyes. Malfoy looked back at him with a smirk, one silvery blonde eyebrow arched upwards. Neville could already feel his resolve crumbling down around him. Quickly, before it completely fell into ruin, he squared his shoulders and leapt, or, rather, tumbled into battle (metaphorically of course).
"I'm worth…twelve of you, Malfoy!" The knight made a valiant effort, and the dragon roared with laughter.
"You tell him, Neville." His brother-in-arms cheered him on, though his eyes where on the quidditch match in front of them.
"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."
Aaaand the dragon flattened the knight with a single dismissive swipe of its claw, leaving the princess, or in this case, Neville's dignity, at its mercy.
Neville's eyes prickled. No, he was not going to cry, he wouldn't give Malfoy the satisfaction.
The dragon had grown bored of Neville, and turned its eyes to Ron, who, being made, obviously, of much sterner stuff then Neville, charged forward to meet him. Literally. Ron had leapt onto Malfoy, punching and hitting every bit of the blonde Slytherin he could get to.
The flattened knight struggled to his feet and watched the battle for several moments while internally debating. Then, his decision made, he dove in to help.
Crabbe had wrapped his sausage like fingers around Ron's neck and was trying to choke him, so Neville punched Crabbe's trollish face as hard as he could to try and get him off of Ron. Crabbe blinked and released Ron's neck as Neville inwardly cheered. His inner celebration was cut short with the sickening realization that Crabbe was looking at him murderously. He barely had time to gulp before Crabbe dove at him, his massive fists clenched.
Neville yelped and rolled sideways under a seat as Crabbe landed where Neville had been on the floor with a loud "Thump!" and slid forward.
"I'll get him!" grunted Goyle, and he leapt off his seat in the row behind them and….banged his head against the bench Neville was hiding beneath. Goyle jerked to his feet and howled in pain, pressing his hands against the forming bump on his forehead.
Neville seized his chance and darted forward, scuttling between Goyle's legs, his eyes on the stairs leading down from the stand.
Alas, it was not to be. He felt a hand seize his ankle and drag him back into the fray.
Neville tried to grab at the floor to keep himself from being pulled backwards, practically clawing the wood in desperation.
Another hand grabbed his hair and yanked his head up painfully before slamming it down onto the floor. He would've been badly hurt had he not yanked his arms towards him and tucked them under his head just in time to cushion the blow.
He arched his back and grabbed at the hand gripping his hair, digging his nails into the skin.
Goyle yelped and fell backwards and right on top of Neville's lower back, his legs on either side of him.
Neville grimaced, it felt like an elephant was sitting on him, not an eleven year old boy. He kicked his legs desperately and heard the satisfying sound of his trainer acquainting itself with Crabbe's face. The boy yelped and let go of Neville's ankle. Neville twisted about, practically rolling side to side to get Goyle off of him, but the boy was too heavy. He was going to be crushed if he didn't do something!
He dug his nails even deeper into Goyle's wrist, scraping at it, and the boy grunted in pain, yanking his hand back. Neville lunged forward and twisted around, intending to kick Goyle in the face but, once again, Crabbe, whose nose was bleeding from Neville kicking him, grabbed his ankle and dragged him back, yelping and throwing up an arm to block the attack launched by Neville's free leg.
Goyle loomed over him, practically growling. Neville caught sight of a meaty fist careening towards him, heard a sickening crunch, and everything went black.
……………
He's woken up two hours later in the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey looming over him with a bottle containing a noxious looking liquid inside.
"Good, you're awake." She said briskly, then, more kindly, she asked, "How do you feel?"
Neville looked up at her and the memory of what had landed him in the hospital wing came flowing back. He grinned broadly, ignoring the pain that caused to his obviously broken nose.
"I feel…fantastic!" he said, and then the brave knight promptly passed out.
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There we go, the first of many one-shots of Neville's POV of certain events in Harry Potter.
Forgive me, but I hope I will receive more reviews for this project then my others…Really, over 100 hits on my "I Believe In Harvey Dent" story and only 3 reviews, and "Becoming Himself"? Over 50 hits and only 2 reviews, and those were from two of the quads that I met at Hollins Summer camp so they were basically obligated to review…
Well, I suppose I should be grateful that I got any reviews at all. Before I started actually posting stories I rarely reviewed unless it was a really good story but now I realize how wonderful reviews are. The feeling you get when you log onto your email and find a little alert waiting for you…indescribable.
Just for fun…did anyone notice that I gave Neville a middle name? J.K. Rowling never mentioned his middle name anywhere in the books or in an interview so I gave him one…I wonder if anyone can guess at the meaning? I feel very clever for this, much like JKR must feel about all the secret meanings in her books.
I'd like people to guess, and I suppose, if no one gets it right, I will tell you in the next 'chapter'.
Oh, two more things! The 'chapters' (I am not quite sure what to call them) will be in no particular order. I could do a one-shot from the first book and then the next chapter could be from the 3rd, and then the 6th, and then back to the 2nd.
Last things, I am apologizing in advance for any incorrect grammar or spellings. If you have read my profile you will know that I moved to America from Germany when I was eight and I was already bad at grammar in my native tongue so…you can see how it will be not better in English. I know I should ask for a Beta but…it is a matter of pride!
