A/N: After much debating, I've decided to edit my first chapter because it seem a little inconsistent with where the plot is going and with Neville's character. But it's just editing, no major changes.
A Toad's First Love
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Chapter 1: My Late Night Intruder
There is something about danger that makes things exciting. It's a drink of the strongest brew at the Leaky, the pit stomach feeling after diving straight down at 90mph on a broomstick, that rush of adrenaline. I hate it sometimes, but what's life without a good dose of chaos?
Thus, I Neville Longbottom, need to stupidly plant myself into danger. So what's the most dangerous place to be? Hogwarts. Disagree if you must, but my teenage years have shown me that behind the veil of security there are hundreds of adolescents just about ready to crack.
I really hope the students don't know how scared shitless we Professors are sometimes. They've yet to realized that the ratio of staff to students is 1: 30. I only hope my reputation would continue to precede me, if anything, at least I have the herbology to keep me sane.
Day one started out like this.
I walked into one of the green houses by the castle. I was feeling very confident. After all, five people had applied to that position, but it was I who got the parchment emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest with the 'we are delighted to offer you a position as a Apprentice to Professor Sprout,' in its signature emerald green ink.
The fact that I was chosen probably had lot to do with being Professor Sprout's most favorite student. After what I did in the war, my old Head of house now turned Headmistress; Professor McGonagall could not refuse to turn away a Gryffindor.
The funny thing was, during the interview, they didn't even ask me anything herbology related at all.
"Ahh Mr. Longbottom, I've always told your Grandmother you had it in you. No Gryffindor was placed in my house by accident! Except that one boy, he was a bit twitchy, Joe Fins I think," said Professor McGonagall.
Neville just nodded, but had no idea who Fins was at all.
"Yes, yes I remember catching him in one of green houses with a cat. I was ever so mad at him. Those doleful canis never bloomed the same after that. They hate felines you know," said Professor Sprout in a matter-of-fact way ticking off her fingers one by one. "Including birds, fish, and brand new shoes..."
Neville looked intrigued and McGonagall, well bored. She turned to look back at him eager to have the conversation steered back to her own interests.
"Yes, ever a true Gryffindor and slain the basilisk with a single blow, is that right?" McGonagall asked leaning forward on her over-sized desk. It was desk of intimidation, not of purpose though.
The was the previous applicants resume including his own lying their next to her wand. Neville wondered what McGonagall does exactly when no one is around. Stare at Dumbledore's portrait all day? Out of the corner of his eye, he swear he saw his own headmaster roll his eyes at him, while observing the proceeds with interest.
Can he read my mind or something? He wondered and that thought send a chill down his spine. Get a grip Longbottom; he's been dead for years now!
"- I was protecting some of the four years when that happen naturally. I could not believe some of the younger students stayed to battle. I suppose that expected from Gryffindors. You know what they say, half of courage is-"
"Stupidity?" suggested Sprout.
McGonagall glared back. "I was going to say, stubbornness..."
Neville snapped back to the present and smiled at his thoughts then stepped into his classroom, well green house to be exact.
Twelve students, sweating from the heat were gossiping and exchanging rumors nonstop. None of them bothered to look up at their herbology professor.
At the front, Neville made a very discreet 'Ah-hhheemm' to the class at large to no avail. What the hell am I thinking, that never works! Suddenly, he wished he had the presence of his former, and now dead, potions master, Professor Snape who could silence a room from a corridor away.
"Can I please have your attention? I am.. please," he said stupidly. "I am your new instructor for herbology, Professor Longbottom."
One of the giggling girls up at the front tapped her best friend on the shoulder and whispered something to her ear. Then they both looked at him and giggled. What's that all about, are my buttocks showing or what? Neville tried not blush and discreetly ran his hand behind himself and giving out a breathe of relief at finding and counting two normal size buttocks.
Once by one, the entire classroom seem to take noticed that he was present and silence fell, all eyes were on him.
"Right, let's get on with today's lesson. I've made a syllabus for each one you" He tapped his wand on a pile of papers and they made themselves into paper airplanes and flew to each student. Neville learn that from one of the mail boys at the Ministry and was excited to use this new spell. The 3rd years' class found it rather dull as they pulled it out of the air, but left the 1st years' class tickled with amusement.
"I expect you to read it at your own time. Realize that there will be deductions in house points if anyone is late for any reason whatsoever I do not care if you have show up in your underwear-"
At this, the younger students looked mortified at the idea of showing up for herbology digging in the dirt in their undies while the older students crack jokes.
Randolph Burns, a sixth year of advanced herbology shouted, "Did you heard that Lizzie? You can show up in your underwear!" Burns' friends whistled and yelled catcalls. Elizabeth Yu, just smiled serenely to her shocked friend then turned around to send a bat boogey hex to Burns who screamed liked a girl, before returning her gaze back to Neville.
Neville, for the most part, was strongly reminded of a certain red head.
And thus went by the first day of classes. Dinner was very pleasant and after being in the French Alps for a year living off every kind of nonpoisonous fungus he can find and several edible varieties of eastern tree bark (which to say very nutritious, but not most appetizing). The food at Hogwarts never tasted better in the seven years he had studied there and he ate vigorously.
"Professor at that rate, you will choke on your peas," said Professor Hubble, the astronomy professor.
She was tall woman with a clean face and always wore reddish green leaf, magically enlarged, over her bun hair. Neville faintly remembered seeing her back in school. She was a Slytherin and needless to say, Slytherins and Gryffindors do not talk much. Having only talked to her twice, this being the second time, Neville otherwise knew very little of her. One thing he did notice is how much she did not seem to fit the description as a Slytherin, which bother him.
"Right," said Neville, a large lump of food slide down his throat adding a wince as he swallowed.
"How was your first day of class?" she asked, swirling a goblet of red wine and with her head propped up against her other hand.
"No bad if you don't count how many times I had to perform a counter curse because the students were practically attacking each other behind every time I turn around. Seriously, I don't think we that bad when we at school."
"Well, to quote a muggle movie, 'times are changing' dear," she replied.
Neville almost choked on his peas now.
"You... you watch muggle movies?" This is a Slytherin!
"Yes"
"Really"
"Yes"
"But..." Neville started to say, but she answered for him.
"But what, you're a Slytherin and it is against your nature to even touch a refrigerator?"
If he hadn't visited Hermione and Ron's house, he would have never known what a refrigerator was.
"Hey Hermione, I think your magical closet has turn into some kind of food storage. How do I turn it back to a restroom?" said the lost Neville two years ago.
Ron came running down the stairs and laughed at his very confused friend a tapping his wand at the door of his refrigerator.
"Neville, that's a muggle appliance to keep food fresh," said Ron still reeling over.
Neville turned red. "Well that's stupid, you can just magick the cupboards," he said defensively.
"I know, we even have to pay for alackracity to keep this thing running. But Hermione like to keep some things normal for when her parents come around," said Ron, and steered him to the door by the refrigerator that lead to a normal looking toilet.
Something from 1st year from talking with Hermione clicked in his mind. "Don't you mean electricity?"
"No, that's some kind of box with moving pictures that the muggle government uses to brainwashing people into buying useless crap."
"That's terrible Ron," said Neville as he close the real bathroom door behind him.
"I know," he replied through the door, "Hermione's parents brought me a mop they saw on it and asked me if I can fly faster on that. Hermione didn't have the heart to say no and secretly enchanted it. I had to ride that stupid ugly thing the entire summer and it didn't even go faster than a Cleansweep two-sixty!"
Neville smiled and then turned to back to her. "Actually, well, yeah."
She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, can you be anymore stereotypical? Professor? Has it ever occurred to you that I am muggle born?"
He knew that Voldemort was half muggle according to Harry and the Daily Prophet. But he was also an heir of Salazar Slytherin so that obviously did not count. How can he say that to her? The Slytherins he knew when he was younger always remarked how he was too much of like a muggle to be pure blooded.
Suddenly cries and screams fill his ear. His eyes went fast to a close and images of blooded and dirt covered Colin Creevy crouching behind a fallen balustrade with him.
"I'll get that big bloke with the ugly teeth, can you cover me?" said Colin.
"You! What are you doing here!" said a younger Neville now even in a bigger panic than when half of the ceiling caved in, "you were suppose-"
"Too late for that now! Are you going to cover me?"
Those words. That face. He was too young to die...
A gaggle of giggling girls sitting at the Gryffindor table, who were also his students interrupted his thoughts. He looked over to them and gave curt nod, which was meet by only more giggles. Did someone spike my juice? Oh Gwad, please don't tell me I have pink hair!
"Professor Hubble, I don't look any though out of the ordinary?" Neville said in alarm and showing her his various profiles so she can inspect him.
"No, why?" she asked curiously.
"Just wondering that's all," and he consciously try to flatten his hair and sat up straighter.
After dinner, he decided to retire to his room. Since he was still an apprentice, he really didn't have much to do besides teaching classes and studying even more advance herbology to prepare for his professorship someday.
He bid the other Professors good night, who seemed to be annoyed that he didn't have to do night patrol. Passing by the corridor, two seventh year girls who pushed a younger brown hair boy towards him.
The boy seemed to be peeved to have to do the biding of others. And the girls only watched on with mirth and anticipation.
"Annie and Pauline says that you're..." his ears turn red. He then leaned in and whispered, "are you really the one who save us from you-know-who?"
Neville sighed a relief. So this is what's it all about? The fact that I killed a snake?
"Yes," said Neville with a smile. He really thought that a rumor was going around the school that his teaching and knowledge was inadequate. If the world only admire herbology as much as quidditch, they would know that he is the youngest person to be awarded The Green Wand of the Year award.
"But I played a small role, compared to my friends," he continued, "I'll tell you that story some other time okay? Your name is..."
" Seabolt, Jonathon Seablot, but everyone called me Johnny because its shorter you see. I'm a first year!" Johnny said proudly, bluffing out his chest and a brand-new Ravenclaw badge gleaming on his robes. "Pauline is my sister and Annie is her friend ... they think you're... uh.. Great!" He said a little too enthusiastically.
Neville beamed. "Well tell then thanks."
"Uh, okay bye." And off he went towards his sister and her friend and shouted at them "He says thanks!" and ran off to his own first year friends, leaving behind two very red faced girls.
He finally manage to weed his way out of more confused 1st years and had to direct a lot of the older female students who can't seem to find their way back to their own common rooms. He wonder what the heck the professors were teaching the female populations these days or worse, what are the male population do to their drinks. He resolve to take this up with the Professor McGonagall the next morning. He knew of two varieties of plants that is found in popular acne potion for wizards, but can be equivalent to a confounded charm if taken by a witch.
He opened the door to his room, wondering whether or not he had unpacked his toothbrush when he was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Hello Neville," came a woman's voice
Neville whipped out his wand on instinct and his other hand into his pocket where he keep a poisonous, but not deadly, plant in a vial. He could throw it the ground at his opponent, creating a black cloud and giving him time to stun them.
But he did not need to use it for he recognized his intruder, who also had her wand out in defense mode.
"My skills are far greater than yours Professor," she emphasized, "so unless you want to dance to your grave, lower your wand."
He did as he was told and she follow suit.
"Okay, now Ginny can you tell me why you broke in my room at this time of night? I mean it's nice to see you and all but its kinda late isn't it?"
Ginny gave him a very determined look and breathed.
"Neville I'm pregnant," she said simply before collapsing onto his bed.
"What?" said Neville. This can't be happening he thought. Impossible!
"Are.. sure?" he asked her. He just couldn't believe it.
"Ya," she said with much finality.
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What are you thinking? Huh? Huh?
I know what you're thinking and guess what?
I'm not what it seems.
Or is it?
oOo.
Find out on the next chapter!
Editing took forever! Hope you enjoy it. I would appreciate some feedback if possible too. Thanks!
Disclaimer: If I were JK I would have a chateau by now!