"Seamus! Dean! Wait for me!" I shout. I don't want to offend anyone by pushing my way through, so I try to walk around as carefully as possible. If this was last year, I wouldn't even have called out to them. I would have just walked on my own. A lot changes in a year I guess.
They wait for and I catch up to them. But once I do, Dean is already inching away from us.
"Sorry Neville. Got a date today," he says. He's staring off in the distance and smoothing his hair down, though he doesn't have much hair to begin with. Nervous habit, I suppose.
I look in the same direction as him to see who it is this time. Since the school year started he has been infinitely more interested in girls. He's been through ten of them to date. Well, technically eight. He was off and on again with Padma for a while. Or was it Parvati?
I finally notice Hannah Abbott waiting by the gate that leads out to Hogsmeade. She's looking around nervously, so I think she hasn't seen us yet. As Dean leaves, Seamus wraps his arm around my shoulder.
"Now why can't we get a date Neville?" He asks. Then he shouts "It's not like Dean's more attractive than us!" at Dean's back. Dean flips him off before greeting Hannah.
I shrug, but I can name a few reasons why girls won't date me. I'm a wimp, I dull people with my fascination with plants, my personality…
Seamus turns to me again. "I wouldn't even mind of the girl's ugly," he says. "I just want one that breathes."
Someone else comes up to my other side and wraps their arm around my shoulder too.
"Oi! I've got the perfect girl for you Seamus. Her name's Fluffy; perfect match for you. You can snog three heads for the price of one!" Ginny says at my right.
Seamus rolls his eyes. Ginny starts looking for Dean.
"Don't bother," I say.
She nods. "Who is it this time?"
"Hannah," I answer.
"Really? She's kind of quiet for him, don't you think?"
I shrug.
We leave Hogwarts, and Seamus and Ginny begin to sandwich me between their gossip, at least until the crowd thins. I don't want to listen, so I just drown out their words and listen to the students around us, at least for the time being. We slow down so others can pass us, until we're the only ones left on the road. Once alone, Ginny changes the subject.
"So what do you think of this week's lesson?" Ginny asks.
"It was amazing! And I can't wait to learn the Patronus charm next! I can already imagine the people I'll serve a can of whoop-ass too," Seamus says.
Ginny grins. "Who's on the hit list now?"
"Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle," Seamus starts.
"Pansy," Ginny adds.
"The entire Slytherin house!" Seamus shouts, throwing his arms wide for emphasis.
Ginny laughs.
"Umbridge," I say quietly. Just like usual, I've killed the mood. They both know what happened. Hell, Seamus was there!
After a moment of silence, Seamus speaks again, though more somberly than before.
"She'll be first on the hit list, I guarantee that," he lightly jokes.
I shrug. I doubt anyone will do anything about it.
"Neville, don't just shrug it off!" Ginny stops walking. "She is… a despicable… evil woman! She had no right to say that to you, and in the middle of class of all places…"
"It doesn't matter whether she had the right to or not, it's still true no matter who says it!" a say sharply. I don't want any sympathy.
I raise my voice.
"I'm an oaf and a coward, and everybody knows it! I couldn't even use stupefy correctly this week! You and Dean had to stay behind and make sure I regained consciousness! And now I'm expected to learn the Patronus charm? Not only am I too stupid to get it right, my life has been one great big joke from the start, so I can hardly expect to have a happy memory to use in the first place!"
I can hear the blood pounding in my ears. Ginny and Seamus are just standing there, slack-jawed and wide eyed. Their probably appalled at me.
"It's not like I'll be brave enough to ever use these spells outside the Room of Requirement anyways. I'm a disgrace of a Gryffindor."
I throw my hands up in defeat. "I'm just done." Done with School. Done with Dumbledore's Army. Done with life.