Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and settings from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Harry Potter and will not receive any money or other financial profit for presenting the work on this site. The story I tell here as well as certain original characters are my own invention, and are not purported or believed to be part of J.K. Rowling's story canon.

・゚: *・゚*・゚: *・゚*・゚: *・゚:

Chapter 54

"Nev?" Sage whispered into the silence, sure that she just had heard his voice.. somewhere around here.

There was no answer, however.

"Neville? Where are you?" she called out once again, just a little louder.

Silence. Thick and heavy. Until- Was that his bloody laugh? Was he actually mocking her? After how much of a bad day she had been forced to suffer through today?

"I'm not in the mood to play games, Nev. Just tell me where you are, will you?" she demanded, certainly not caring to whisper any longer.

"Now come on, Sage, where is the fun in that?" he teased, still nowhere to be seen.

"I'm not exactly having fun right now," she groaned, searching her surroundings for his face.

The light coming from the tip of her wand touched every door, every wall, every step and every dark corner throughout the entire hallway but still.. no trace of one Neville Longbottom.

"I'm sure that will change once you arrive here," he reassured her, the big grin he must have had on his lips echoing through every single word he said.

No matter how annoyed Sage was at the moment, she couldn't resist a grin herself , once the picture of his had formed inside her mind. Ugh. Since when had she become so cheesy?

"Well, how am I supposed to do that if you won't tell me where you are?"

"Guess you just gotta come find me."

"I hate you."

"And don't I know it."

Sage sighed, making her way across the meadow in front of the castle. It was impossible to tell where his voice had come from, seemingly originating from every imaginable direction at once. She needed to apply logic here. Where would he hide? Or rather.. where would he want her to find him?

"You're at the greenhouses, aren't you?" she asked after having pondered over it for a while.

Yet again, no response. Of course he was there.

Annoyed, yet intrigued, Sage made her way outside, walking across the grounds of Hogwarts, heading straight for the greenhouses. She didn't even waste a single thought on the fact that she was out of bed way past curfew, on the best way to not only earn herself detention, but also loose points for her house. What did it matter, though, when Neville was promising a surprise for her?

・゚: *・゚*・゚: *・゚*・゚: *・゚:

Author's note: Hello everyone! I hope you are all feeling well! No proper chapter today, only a little teaser for what is to come, but I wanted to give you a little update. Unfortunately, life has proven to be much busier than I anticipated, so for now I can tell you little else but to promise that I'll try to update as often as possible. But I can't promise any regurlarity, sadly. I'm very sorry to provide you with such little content for now, but I hope things will get better soon enough. Rest assured though that I certainly won't put this story on hiatus. I want to finish this. Properly. Even if it takes much longer now.

Wishing you all the very best! Thank you so so so much for your continued support and interested in this story, I'll be back soon!