Disclaimer: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter does not belong to LittleTee, (who shall henceforth be referred to as "The Author.") While the plot of this fanfiction, (henceforth to be referred to as the "Story,") is of The Author's creation, neither the characters nor the locations therein belong to The Author, as they belong to JK Rowling, with the exception of any characters or locations within this Story which have no representation in cannon-these original characters and locations are the property of The Author. This is a work of fiction produced for the single purpose of entertaining fans of Harry Potter, and no Copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: It is not easy to stand up against your friends. Neville learned that the hard way at the end of his first year at Hogwarts. Writting for HSWW DADA assignment 5.
Author's Note: A quick one shot focusing around Neville's thoughts before, during and after being put under the Total Body-Bind. Do note that whenever the dialogue is italicized it is quoted text from the first book, HP and the PS/SS by JK Rowling. Something I don't usually do but I felt I had too, to correctly convey Neville's thoughts during the incident.
Written for: HSWW DADA assignment 5: The Full Body-Bind.
Alternative task: Write about Neville Longbottom and his emotions before, during and after his confrontation with the Golden Trio in First Year when he encountered this spell.
Extra Prompts Used:
Draco Malfoy
A classroom
"Are you ... okay?"
Gryffindor
Petrficus Totalus (5 bonus points)
Word count: 1,413.
ooo000ooo
Neville studied the fire as he sat and held his toad Trevor. The school year was over as of that afternoon but he didn't feel like celebrating. No one in Gryffindor really felt like partying. They had gotten so close to claiming that elusive House Cup. Apparently, for the first time in seven years they had gotten this close to both the Quidditch and House Cups. Close enough that everyone had tasted it. Until he, Harry and Hermione had cost Gryffindor a hundred and fifty points. A hundred fifty points! The most Neville ever earned was seven points. Seven. Not ten. Seven. Then in one span of a night he had helped cost his house the House Cup, and contributed to him being more of an outcast then he was before.
Neville glanced over to where Hermione sat alongside Harry and Ron. He was surprised that Ron had continued to talk and interact with Harry and Hermione. Not with everyone else in the whole school shunning them. Hannah had even ignored him. Refusing to return his, "Good morning" after that morning's feast before they had entered a classroom to begin taking the last of their final exams. He was envious of both Harry and Hermione. He hated himself for it, but it was the truth. He had no one while they had each other and Ron.
He frowned when he overheard Ron telling Harry to, "Better get the Cloak."
Cloak? They weren't going to sneak out again were they? It was bad enough to lose to Slytherin by 150 some odd points. He didn't want them to widen the point divide even more.
Draco Malfoy. It was all his fault, Neville knew as he saw Harry run back down to the common room from their dorm with an elaborate cloak in hand. He had to stop them. It was for their own good and for the good of their house.
"We'd better put the Cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us - if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own -"
They were going to do it. Unbelievable! They were going to do it!
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing, Neville, nothing."
"You're going out again." Neville could see that Harry was lying. The guilt-ridden faces before him testified to that.
"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"
"You can't go out. You'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble." Neville pushed the disappointment that Hermione, someone he had considered a friend, would out right lie to him and dismiss him so easily. Go to bed Neville, indeed! Was he that much beneath her new friends that she didn't need him anymore?
"You don't understand. This is important."
Important? The school rules were important and not getting expelled were important. Not losing more points from Gryffindor was important. He ignored the pang of lost that now he was the only voice of reason. That where once Hermione would argue for what was right and according to the rules and laws of Hogwarts she now was mute. Her over zealous stance relaxing bit by bit after the Halloween Feast. After the troll.
"I won't let you do it. I'll - I'll fight you!" He had amazed himself for carrying out his decision and not caving under peer pressure. Maybe the Sorting Hat had been right about him...
"Neville, get away from that hole and don't be an idiot -"
"Don't you call me an idiot!" Ron's words reminding Neville too much of Malfoy's taunts. Ron was acting the hypocrite. It had been him that told Neville to stand up to people. Obviously, Ron, Harry and Hermione were the expectations to that. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"
"Yes, but not to us. Neville, you don't know what you're doing."
Not to them? Didn't know what he was doing, did he?
He hadn't thought it would come to this. That he would have to physically restrain them. He had been in his fair share of fights. Mostly that year and opposite Malfoy. He took a step closer and allowed Trevor to hop away out of the line of fire.
"Go on then, try and hit me! I'm ready!" Neville knew the odds weren't in his favor but he fists rose and he assumed a stance Gran had shown him during Yule. He could do this, he told himself again.
"Do something."
Neville stared at Harry. Did he hear correctly? Harry was asking Hermione to fight him?
His stance faulted some as he saw Hermione step closer. A part of his mind screaming to stand down. To back away. Allow them to do whatever they thought was so important. Hermione was his friend, or had been. She had helped searched for Trevor. . . No. He wasn't going to back down. He was going to be a Gryffindor. At least this once.
"Neville I'm really, really sorry about this."
Neville's eyes widened in astonishment and shock. He was staring down the tip of Hermione's wand. His wand was back over where he had been sitting, not that it would have helped him much.
Hermione's words rang out clear, sharp and fast: "Petrificus Totalus!"
Neville lost all motor control as he felt his arms forcefully snap to his sides and his legs sprang together. He was completely petrified. Was this how fainting felt? No. He hadn't passed out. He was wide awake and aware as he fall forward and hit the floor face first. The pain washed over him. His nose was probably broken, but what hurt most was that he had failed. He had stood up for himself and his house and lost.
He was surprised when he felt Hermione gentle touch before being turned over. He was now lying supine on the floor of the Gryffindor common room. He couldn't speak. He could move his eyes somewhat. Whether that was more a curse or a blessing he didn't know.
"What've you done to him?" Someone whispered. Harry maybe? Sounds were oddly muffled. Distorted.
"It's the full Body-Bind. Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry." Neville wanted to blink as he saw the guilt and concern written all over Hermione's face. Her brown eyes pleading silently for him to forgive her.
"We had to, Neville, no time to explain." Another voice pipped in. Harry?
"You'll understand later, Neville." Ron?
Neville looked on helpless as he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione put on the Cloak and vanished from sight. The portrait opening and closing behind them.
Harry Potter had an Invisibility Cloak! That made a lot of sense actually. Maybe. Just maybe they wouldn't cost more points for Gryffindor. He doubted it though. Not if Malfoy was involved.
o00o
"Are you ... okay?"
Neville looked up from his glass of pumpkin juice. Hermione's brown eyes watching him. Waiting for his answer.
Professor Dumbledore had just revealed, that with the added points that Gryffindor had earned, that the winner of the House Cup was Gryffindor not Slytherin. It had been a few days from when she had cast a full body bind on him. She had filled him in, somewhat, on why and what had happened after they had left him behind. He could tell she was omitting a few things, but with what all she had said he didn't really want to hear everything.
He had forgiven them after hearing Hermione's account of events. How could he not? He would have
suspected Professor Snape too, and would have tried to stop him as well.
"Yes," and he was, "just next time when you have to save the world could you not bind me? It is not the best feeling to be paralyzed."
"I don't think we'll be saving the world again. At least anytime soon," Hermione replied thoughtfully as she tapped her chin with her finger absently thinking about it everything, "I mean, what would be the odds if something like this happened again during the next six years."
Neville opened his mouth to add something but quickly closed it when he noticed that Harry had gotten her attention. Asking her a question about something. He prayed the nagging feeling in the pit of his soul was wrong and Hermione was correct. After all, this was Hogwarts.
fini