Cold Toes
Harry and Ginny… Ron and Hermione… Luna and Dean… Lavender and Seamus… Pavarti and that Roger Davies bloke from three years above… Padma and Terry Boot… Hannah and Ernie… Susan and Michael Corner…
So where does that leave me? I have nobody. Who would want me anyway? I'm just stupid, fat Neville Longbottom.
Harry, Hermione and Dean are aurors; Luna, Padma and Pavarti are healers; Ron's head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports; Ginny's captain of the Holyhead Harpies; Lavender owns a shop full of love potions, books and charms in Diagon Alley and one in Hogsmeade; Seamus is a curse-breaker for Gringotts; Terry and Michael work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Susan and Hannah are running a pet AND a book store in Diagon alley and Ernie is one of the editors of the Daily Prophet.
And what am I? The stinking herbology professor. So much for being a true Gryffindor. All I am is dumb worthless Neville Longbottom.
I live in a grubby little flat in West London – alone. At Hogwarts, in the evenings I enjoy strolls around the lake – alone. And at night I snuggle into bed with a nice book – alone.
This is what it's like 3 ½ years after the war, 2 years after we all did/redid our 7th year at Hogwarts. Gran died in March, it's now December… December the 24th. I'll be spending Christmas in the castle – alone. All my friends seem to have forgotten me. Hermione, Harry and Dean are always busy and whenever they're free they want to spend the time with their 'partners'. God! I just wish they'd come and visit every once in a while. But, no, they've all moved on. I've just been left behind.
I'm the last bird to fly from the nest, but I have no wings. I'm the lion to conquer the pack, but I cannot rawr. I'm the last brown leave to fall from the tree in the winter, but I don't know why.
I'm just alone. All I have for company here is Hagrid, but Hagrid means Grawp, and to be perfectly honest, I'm scared of Grawp.
Yes, I know, I should've been in Hufflepuff.
Then I'd be Neville Longbottom – fat, dumb, stupid, friendless, lonely unloved 21 year old Hufflepuff loser/failure, who is right now sitting in a tree next to the black lake, unsuccessfully trying to change the colour of my shoes. Now my toes are just very cold.
I shouldn't even be a teacher.
Unlike Eve.
Eve… what a beautiful name, just like her. It means life giver, and believe you me she certainly gives me life. If it wasn't for her I might as well curse myself into oblivion. But every time she smiles at me it's like my whole confidence is renewed and I find myself smiling back and strutting around and then I do something stupid like bang it the wall or something. Eve McKinnon. 20, stunning, intelligent, shy, talented, gorgeous muggle born charms teacher, fresh out of Hogwarts. She redid her 6th year whilst I redid my 7th. As Eve's a muggleborn she spent most of her time in hiding, and I was in the room of requirement. She was in the same year and house as Luna, but Luna didn't have many friends in her year and house. Apparently Eve was friendless too, always scared to open up to people.
But now it's December 2001; I'm sitting in a tree, with cold toes, wearing a bottle-green cloak, and the charms teacher is sitting below me, unaware of the man in the branches above.
Here's where it begins.
