A/N: This is for the Tutshill Tornados, and we were supposed to write a romance fic about two characters. And, for the first time, I did not have the opportunity to write the Marauders, so forgive me if the characterizations are slightly off. I gave it my best effort. This is a Neville/Hannah story (but you knew that already, right, right?) that starts by taking place in Second Year and my prompts were the following: (word) aptitude, (restricton) no letter 'w', and (word) blissfully. And wish my team luck in getting into the finals!
DISCLAIMER: The quotes taken from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are not written by me. Anything you recognize is more than likely not my writing but in fact JK Rowling. Unless you see the word 'the' or the letter 'e'. Then that is definitely my writing XD Oh and some quotes were adjusted to get rid of the letter 'w'.
I WISH I WERE WISER
Hannah Abbott is sitting at the Hufflepuff library alongside her best friend, Ernie MacMillan.
"Hannah, he's a Parselmouth. Everyone realizes that's the mark of Dark Magic, have you ever heard of a decent magic that involved someone that could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself, Serpent-tongue," Ernie says, sounding quite confident in this.
"Harry seems so nice though, and after all he is the one that made the Dark Guy disappear," Hannah responds, not quite buying Ernie's reasoning. He only talked about one thing these days, and that had been 'Harry Potter is the heir of Slytherin'. Although Ernie understood the topic he talked about, she'd like to talk about something else for a change.
"That's probably the reason the Darkest Person of our time tried to kill him in the first place!"
Hannah actually feels like that makes loads of sense, and then, as if he could pick no better moment, Harry Potter feels the desperate need to amble over to them. Hannah felt herself zoning out of paying attention to Harry – Ernie'd give her the information after in any case – and finds herself focusing once again on her assignments.
Much to her delight, Harry finally leaves, only after threatening them (according to Ernie). As far as she is concerned, it sounds more like Harry had been shouting that he didn't care about anyone's blood type, but hey, he could be lying. Ernie said that.
Hannah understands that eventually she has to marry Ernie. She's going to have to believe everything that Ernie says, and try to understand his very confusing logic. He sounds so confident all the time, though, that it is hard not to believe everything that comes out of his mouth.
But sometimes, this highly messed up form of logic meant that she's left not understanding her assignments at all. If Justin helps, at least he says, "I cannot understand this", but Ernie seemed to understand…he just explained things in a manner that she had trouble understanding. Perhaps she is just stupid.
For example, after Harry left, she pulls out her Herbology book and tries to complete an essay on Mandrakes. All she got from the lesson is the fact that Mandrakes can kill you. She thinks about pulling a Mandrake near Harry and believes that the Mandrake has the capability to kill the Heir of Slytherin. Of course, she does not say this to Ernie; he may think that she is stupid for even thinking of this.
"I can't do this, Ernie," she finally says, exasperated. "I need help."
Ernie rolls his eyes as if she has just asked the dumbest question in the universe. It isn't her fault that Herbology doesn't come as easy to her as it does to other people. All they did in class is pulling Mandrakes out of pots a couple days ago; it does not help her respond to the prompt: Explain the reasons that Mandrakes are harmful to humans. All she is at the moment is confused.
"It's obvious, Hannah," Ernie says. "There are chemicals inside the mouth of Mandrakes and they affect the soil of the plant, and that's the reason they are harmful to humans. As they get older, Mandrakes become more and more dangerous because they release more of the chemical."
For some reason, the reasons that Ernie lists seem to make no sense.
She sighs, "I still don't get it, Ernie. Please, can you explain it as if you are explaining this to a toddler?"
Ernie raises his hands up in the air, looking utterly frustrated. Hannah understands that he has a reason for feeling exasperated, she is really dumb. Hannah just doesn't understand basic concepts that come easy to other people. She supposes that's the reason she's a Hufflepuff, she's just not smart enough for the other Houses.
"Ask someone else, Hannah, go get extra help, I can't do this. You don't get anything I say, even if I explain it in the easiest possible manner!" Ernie finally says, quite loudly; it attracts attention from all the students in the library (also a "Shh" from Madam Pince).
Hannah stands up, the only thing on her mind is going to Professor Sprout. The Professor'll probably think of her as dumb too, but really, does she have any other choice? She goes out of the library, mentally preparing herself for the long journey she has to the greenhouses.
That's the only thing that makes her smile during these dark times. Thinking even the most common things are difficult and deserving tasks. By thinking of the path to Herbology as a journey, Hannah finds herself feeling vindicated once she is done. It's the only time she feels vindicated, Ernie and Justin continue to remind her that they're ten times smarter than her, and deep inside, it's true. If everyone says something, it has to be true, doesn't it? Everyone doesn't lie about the exact same thing, do they?
She doesn't even realize that she's caused some to fall on their face. Heck, she didn't even realize she had the strength to knock someone over. Hannah decides that she should probably run for the Quidditch team, she's sure she's strong enough.
Of course, in the midst of her thoughts, she once again doesn't realize that she knocked the same person over again.
The person on the ground groans.
"Oh my Merlin, I am so sorry!" Hannah says, reaching her hand out to the boy on the ground. "I am such a klutz, I didn't notice at you! It's been a rough day."
The boy gladly accepts her hand and pulls himself up.
"No, it's okay, I've fallen on this path about a million times, most of the time no one knocks me over."
He's blushing like crazy.
"Neville?" Hannah says, looking surprised. "Are you going to the greenhouses?"
"Yeah, Hermione says that I should get caught up on the lesson there. Seamus and her are not much help," Neville says, straightening his robes and dusting them off.
"Really? Last time I got extra help from Professor Sprout, she told me you have a real aptitude for Herbology. I think that's really cool. I don't get it at all."
Neville turns an even brighter shade of red.
"She said that? Just, out of the blue?"
"Yeah, she adores you," Hannah continues, hoping that Neville doesn't change his mind about going to the greenhouses.
"That's funny, really," Neville says. "Professors never say I'm good at anything."
"But you are good at Herbology," Hannah says, kicking a stone off the path. "I'm not good at anything, though. I don't have a favourite class. Justin and Ernie are both amazing at everything in school."
Neville grins. Perhaps he's finding Hannah's problems amusing, she isn't sure. Or perhaps he's just proud to not be the dumbest student the entire year. Hannah could take that honour. She half hopes that this Magical School offers a prize to the dumbest student; at least then she could be good at something.
"Are you coming or not?" Neville asks as he starts to continue to the greenhouses.
"Of course I'm coming, I need help on this essay, don't I?" Hannah says, trying to make it sound as if Neville's question is stupid.
Neville takes a deep breath and doesn't respond. Hannah hopes she hasn't upset him, Neville is shy enough as it is.
Finally, finally, Neville speaks, "Do I need to go see Professor Sprout?"
Hannah is shocked by this. Has she managed to make Neville feel uninvited to his favourite class?
"The topic is Mandrakes," Hannah says, sounding much colder than she needs to. "Unless you already read about Mandrakes…"
Neville stops and looks at Hannah, "Yeah, Mandrakes are actually really fascinating. My grandmother plants them, so yeah, I'm familiar."
Hannah does her best not to be disappointed. It's her fault Neville changed his mind about going to the greenhouses.
Neville, on the other hand, appears to be attempting to muster the courage to ask something important. Hannah thinks that maybe he's just trying to find something to say that's mean to her. She doesn't blame him. She has not been very nice to him.
"Can I help you? I mean, if you didn't understand it in the manner that Professor Sprout explained it, maybe I can," Neville says at last. Then he adds hastily. "Only if you think it'll be better."
Hannah finds herself blushing. Neville's exceeded her expectations already.
"I'd like to learn it from you, you'd make it easy, probably," Hannah says. "Just – you can't gloat about being smarter than me all the time, I get that I'm dumb. You don't need to point it out every ten seconds."
Neville looks confused. "You have very mean friends, if that's your expectation. I'm not planning to call you dumb."
"The Professors say so."
Neville shrugs. "That's not very nice. You need to stand up for yourself, then they'll stop."
Hannah puts her hands on her hips. "Do I look like a Gryffindor to you? The Hat put me in Hufflepuff, for Merlin's sake! I don't have your courage!"
Neville puts his hands up, seeming a little surprised at the outburst. Hannah supposes that Neville is hoping to teach Herbology blissfully, and perhaps to talk about something besides the fact that Harry Potter is the Heir of Slytherin. She doesn't blame him, if that's the case.
"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Neville says. "You don't have to take my advice if you don't think it's good."
Hannah can't understand the reason she's being so mean to Neville. He hasn't done anything. She's just angry at Ernie, and it's hard to remember that Neville is completely oblivious to Ernie's meanness.
"It is good, Neville, sorry, I appreciate the offer," Hannah replies. "Let's go to the Beech tree and, uh, do Herbology!"
She recognizes that she probably sounds too happy to be sane.
"Er, yeah, let's, er, let's do that essay!" Neville says, trying to mimic Hannah's fake excitement. It isn't really getting the job done, but Hannah appreciates the effort.
Together, they sit by the beech tree, Neville eating the tip of his quill thoughtfully. Hannah is, more or less, staring into the lake, deciding that the lake looks really pretty. She thinks about bringing her mother to the lake – her mum loves nature – but she realizes that Dumbledore probably doesn't let Muggles onto the grounds. Her mother probably can't see this place in any manner.
"It's an easy question," Neville says at last, brushing his hand accidentally against Hannah's; she feels herself shiver at Neville's touch. Hannah thinks curiously if Neville felt the same connection. She doesn't ask, though, because that might come across as creepy.
"That's exactly the same thing Ernie said," Hannah says, instead of revealing her true thoughts. She's sure that this sentence could have sounded smarter if she put more time into it.
Neville laughs. "Maybe because it is. Mandrakes' screams happen at a certain frequency. Humans cannot hear all frequencies of sound – frequencies basically mean the pitch. And because of the very high frequency of the Mandrakes' scream, it causes the ear to hurt and the brain to not process this. As the Mandrake gets older, its scream gets louder. The thing is, the brain keeps trying to block out this sound, but the Mandrake keeps doing it, so it tires the brain out, and that causes the passing out, and the eventual death."
For some reason, Neville's explanation makes a hell of a lot more sense than Ernie's.
"But Ernie said that Mandrakes release a chemical into the soil," Hannah says, looking straight at Neville.
Neville looks as if he thought Hannah'd say something different, but he replies to her nonetheless. "Ernie's being an idiot, Mandrakes don't release any chemicals nor does the soil matter to human ears. You actually believed that? He might've been trying to make you make a mistake up on purpose."
Hannah shrugs it off. "That doesn't sound like Ernie. He's really nice once you talk to him a lot."
Neville stands up and puts his book on the ground. "I hope that helped, I'm gonna go see Hermione."
For some reason, Hannah doesn't seem to like hearing this. But that's not right, Neville talks to Hermione a lot, and she never has a problem.
"Hermione? Really?"
"Yeah," Neville says, not quite making eye contact. Hannah is confused at this. "I need help on my Transfiguration."
"I'd help you," Hannah says, and covers her mouth instantly. She'd only make Neville fail his course.
Neville laughs. "No, I think I'll get Hermione's help."
And then he just leaves.
Hannah can't help but pray that she gets smarter so that she could return the favour to Neville, and perhaps demonstrate to him that she isn't mean all the time. She's just in a bad mood.
She opens her essay and dips her quill into the ink. It's only once she's sit to do the essay does she realize Neville's tips are actually really helpful. He seemed genuine, and maybe – just maybe – she might end up getting a higher grade than Ernie. Neville's tips are better than his, and make a lot more sense.
She thinks that maybe thanking Neville might've been a good idea. She doesn't think she's going to talk to him, though, not if Ernie's around. Sometimes he gets very possessive, and Hannah doesn't think upsetting him is very nice, especially considering she and Ernie have a future together, not her and Neville.
"I can help," Hannah says, entering the Leaky Cauldron. "I can help clean and serve butterbeer. If you pay me for it, of course," she adds.
Rosmerta seems to find this entrance rather amusing. Hannah is dead serious though.
"I'll go get the papers you need to fill out, then," Rosmerta says, leaving the room.
To her surprise, she sees Neville sitting at a table all alone. She sits on the chair opposite to him during the time it takes for Rosmerta to go get the necessary stuff she'll need to fill to get a job here.
"Makes you sometimes fancy having the DA again, right?" Hannah asks, trying to start a conversation.
Neville looks up. "Hey, Hannah."
Hannah smiles slightly as she looks at Neville.
"You doing okay?" she asks.
"Yeah, 'm fine," Neville says, taking a deep breath. "I'm, uh, I've got a job at the School."
"Really?! Neville, that's great! I'm so surprised to see you here so soon, I thought you'd go home or still be talking to Dumbledore," Hannah says, realizing she's blabbering and probably making no sense at all.
It's been six months since Neville and her married, and still Hannah gets nervous around him. It drives her crazy sometimes.
Neville smiles, "No, I got the job, and, I kind of, I kind of hoped you could help me plan my lessons."
"Me?" Hannah looks surprised. "I couldn't help! I'm not very good at Herbology, that's your area," Hannah pauses, remembering her one lesson in Herbology that Neville taught her. "I'm happy you're going to be a Professor, the students'll perform so much better on their examinations."
Neville laughs, "You still didn't tell me if you'd help me plan the lessons."
Hannah shrugs, "I guess I still have to give you something for that lesson, don't I?"
"Yeah," Neville says. "You do. You definitely do."
Hannah looks at the table. "I don't think I'd be much help though. Ernie said that–"
"—Ernie's gone, Hannah," Neville says. "You have to accept that. It's just you and me. And I think…"
"I think I have to be smarter in order to help you. If I could be smart, I could get a proper job, as opposed to begging for a job at the bar."
"Hannah, stop," Neville says. "I think you're perfect."
Hannah pauses to look at Neville.
"Trust me, Hannah, I couldn't take you if you're any different."
"Just makes you raise your esteem," Hannah replies, a humourless smile forming on her face.
"No, I'm serious, Hannah. And if you think you can be smarter, you're gonna have to remember to pay off debts."
Hannah looks skeptical at Neville's attempt to link this conversation back to helping him on his lessons.
"Are you serious?"
"Shut up," Neville replies playfully. "You're gonna have to help me plan these stupid lessons."
Hannah grins, "Fine. You do realize I'd do it just to make you happy, right?"
"Didn't sound like that."
"Shut up."
"Sure, but you still need to help me," Neville says, leaning back in his chair.
Hannah laughs. Neville's the only person that can make her laugh. Ernie couldn't, no matter the effort he put in. And Neville, Neville's the only person that can make her feel smart. He's absolutely perfect.
It probably is the perfect time for a kiss, but Neville seems to think that he's bad at kissing. Hannah thinks it's okay though. She thinks Neville feels the same.
She loves being able to read Neville's mind.
Neville leaned closer to Hannah and together, they shared a long, passionate kiss.
Okay, maybe she's not smart enough to read Neville's mind all the time. But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that she has Neville, and he has her. No one cares about if Hannah got an 'O' in Potions or not. Because she has Neville, and he has her.
THE END
A/N: Did you like it? Review please! XD, you don't realize how much you use the letter 'w' until you try to write a fic without any of them. You can't even write You-Know-Who, nor can you write in past voice, or...XD I hope you enjoyed my "creative" attempts at getting rid of the 'w'.