Author's Note: Just a cute little one-shot about Post-War Hogwarts. I always imagined what it would be like to have Neville as a professor. One would think he would have a lot of stories to tell. He'd also have the perfect leverage for misbehaving Potters/Weasleys.
Disclaimer: I don't own the HP universe.
"Have I ever told you how I learned the Patronus Charm? Your father taught me it back in my Fifth Year. Granted, I was one of the last to learn it, but it was magnificent nonetheless. Your mother tried to help me as well. My, how the years have gone by…"
James wanted to bash his head against the wall behind him. Detention with Professor Longbottom was the worst for the Potter-Weasley clan. Instead of having them do trivial, mundane things like water the plants or prune the Venomous Tentacula, the Herbology professor found it amusing to recant old stories that the Potter-Weasley clan already knew.
"...it's not a simple spell, you know. It takes great dedication to master it, but it helps to learn it at an early age…"
He was doing it again, reminiscing about his past life. James couldn't emit a groan without Professor Neville jumping into another spiel of something every Potter-Weasley clan member already knew.
"..now the same year I had that adventure within the Department of Mysteries. It's not really a mysterious department now, considering that our little group destroyed half of it…"
James looked over at the clock. He still had roughly half an hour left with the nostalgic professor.
"...when all of those Death Eaters appeared out of nowhere, let me just say that I nearly had a heart attack. Seeing Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange would give a grown man a heart attack. Now who else was there? Ah, yes! Macnair, Crabbe, and Goyle were there. I'm sure you heard all of these names already, James. It's just when you're fifteen years old, you don't want to be in the same country as that lot."
He wanted to die. He knew the entire story about the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. He was given the name of the poor man who died for Merlin's sake!
"Sirius Black was a very good man. It's unfortunate what happened to him, but I really mean everything that happened to him."
James told himself that he wouldn't get in trouble again. He would never ever upset Professor Flitwick in the Great Hall. Hell, he'd stop picking on his younger siblings and relatives to escape the boring wrath of Professor Neville Longbottom.
He wouldn't be able to do so, however.
"Nah, I'll just blame someone else. Fred's good at getting into trouble," he thought to himself.
Professor Longbottom, in his own mind, chuckled. "Ah, the glorious part of being a teacher: boring misbehaving children."
