"Nev— I mean, Professor Longbottom?"
Neville looked up from his re-potting to see Albus Potter peering carefully around the greenhouse door.
"Albus! Come in, come in!" he threw off his gloves and waved him in. Albus stepped in warily and jumped as a Venomous Tentacula touched his shoulder. Neville stepped over and gave the plant a whack. "So, how are you finding Hogwarts?"
"Umm, alright. Transfiguration's kind of hard. And I melted a cauldron today in Potions." Albus admitted sheepishly.
Neville chuckled, "Gosh, you sound just like me!"
"Really?"
"I was only ever any good at Herbology. At least you're not afraid of your teachers." Neville said comfortingly.
"Who were you afraid of?" Albus asked eagerly, taking no notice of the Venomous Tentacula approaching feeler.
"McGonagall." Neville slapped the Venomous Tentacula while Albus nodded in agreement. "Moody, when he was a teacher. Oh, and I was terrified of Snape. He was my Boggart, you know."
"Snape? As in Severus Snape?" Albus was thrown.
Neville laughed. "I'm not saying he wasn't a great man, just… as a teacher he was… intimidating, to say the least. He used to pick on everyone that wasn't a Slytherin so I'm sure I'm not the only one who was a little scared of him."
"He doesn't sound like a great man." Albus muttered and before Neville could quickly reassure him that yes, he really was great, Albus continued. "I hate being named after someone else."
Neville had to admit he wasn't all that surprised, but he played along, "Really? Why do you say that?"
Albus began to pace, speaking quickly, "You know, it's like you have something to live up to. Like, whenever people hear my name, they'll think of Albus Dumbledore and all the great things he did. They'll either completely ignore me or they'll think that, just because I have the same name as him, I'll be as great as he was. And being named after Severus Snape isn't exactly a walk in the park, either, but that's for really different reasons. I think Mum and Dad were off in the clouds when they named me."
Neville smiled sympathetically. "Yes, I can see where you're coming from. Unfortunately, your brother and sister and your cousins all have that problem. But it's only because we want to honour those who fought so that we could all live in peace."
"And we couldn't honour them and have our own names? I don't mean to be disrespectful just that… seeing people twitch whenever you introduce yourself doesn't make you feel great."
"Maybe that's because you're a Potter." Neville joked and Albus cracked a smile.
"Maybe."
"Look, you have all the potential in the world to be as great as Albus Dumbledore or Severus Snape or your father. Just because you aren't there now doesn't mean you won't be there eventually. If I gave up on my first day, I wouldn't be here now. And neither your father nor Uncle Ron nor I would be here now without your Aunt Hermione either." he snickered before beckoning Albus closer.
"I'll give you some tips, Albus. First, a smart girl who'll look over your homework and help you in class is a precious comrade."
A sly grin spread across Albus' face. "Thanks, Professor."
"And about melting cauldrons, you should…"