A is for Asphodel.
The first time I saw her she was a shy, blond, eleven year old witch with a wicked cute smile. Well, we were all somewhat shy; It was our first day at Hogwarts, and unsure of what the future there held. All my life, I had wanted to be in Gryffindor. My whole family was in Gryffindor, and that was all I had heard from my gran. Wouldn't want to disappoint her. But when the Sorting Hat placed this girl, man, I'd never wanted to be in Hufflepuff more.
Her name was Hannah Abbott. I had learned that much at the Sorting Ceremony, but I wanted to learn so much more about her. Yes, I was only eleven years old at the time, but there was something about this girl that had my mind reeling. I knew that gran would be mad if I were to spend all of my time focusing on a girl unaware of my existence, so I pushed all thoughts of Hannah out of my mind. It was a hard thing to do, but something that needed to be done, if I wanted to live long enough to eventually have a chance with her. Luckily for me, my immediate love for Herbology is what brought us together.
"Hi, Neville.. Um, would you mind being my partner? I need someone who actually pays attention." I was in a Herbology-fueled-daze at the time, but her sweet voice made my head snap up. She was there, smiling her beautiful smile, her brown eyes sparkling. My stupid voice didn't want to work, so all that I could do was nod. You'd think that I had turned into a bobble-head figurine, like the ones they sell at Muggle ball games. Hannah giggled and sat down beside me. I could smell her shampoo as she leaned in close to me, studying the plant in front of us.
We were supposed to learn about Asphodel that lesson, and how to go about turning it into a powder for potions, but all that I learned was that Hannah Abbott was a kind, caring person. She made sure that she wasn't hogging the utensils, she volunteered to hand out gloves- and gave me the best pair, I might add- and she let everyone have a turn to answer Professor Sprout's questions, even though she clearly knew all of the answers.
"Longbottom, what alternative name does Asphodel go by?" Professor Sprout rounded on me. Whoops, so much for having a partner who paid attentions.
"Uh, well that would be..." I racked my brain, trying to remember what I had just read earlier in the lesson, before Hannah came up to me. Then, like angels singing, I heard her quiet voice, whispering the answer to me.
"Royal Staff, correct, Professor?" I bit my lip, hoping that Professor Sprout hadn't heard Hannah's whisper because he didn't want her to get into trouble. The professor beamed, and scribbled something onto her parchment paper, most likely keeping track of House Points that she would award at the end of the lesson.
"You take after your father, Longbottom. I'm so happy to see that." Professor Sprout said, so that only I, hopefully, could hear her. She walked back to the front of the class, and began packing up.
"Thanks for that. My head wasn't here today, sorry." I said, giving Hannah a sideways glance. Hopefully my absentmindedness wouldn't keep her away next lesson. He had to prove to her that he could, indeed, be the Herbology partner she was looking for.
"Not a problem, Neville..That's what friends are for." Hannah packed up our station, and walked out of the Herbology room. I smiled, happy to have my first friend.