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.

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Prequel

Sage spent the entire afternoon in the library, frantically searching for answers to the questions Professor Snape had assigned her with. The sun hung low over the horizon when she finally decided to give herself a break from reading. A white piece of paper mockingly lay in front of her, not having been touched by her quill even once over the last few hours.

"How am I ever gonna finish this..?" Sage murmured.

The assignment was due tomorrow morning. Admittedly, the young witch had been procrastinating to start with her research but she couldn't have possible imagined that any information on the stinging nettle would be so unbelievably hard to find.

"Do you need help?" an unfamiliar voice asked carefully.

Abruptly ripped from her own thoughts, Sage flinched at the sudden noise behind her. She hesitantly turned around and was surprised to find an awkwardly grinning boy staring directly back at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Neville. Neville Longbottom!" he continued, as Sage had missed to answer his previously asked question.

"Oh, I think I've heard that name before!" she replied, only afterwards realising the context in which she had heard about it.

"Well, I think everyone here has at some point."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"You weren't, it's simply the truth," he reassured her with a faint smile on his lips, "Anyway, what's your name?"

"My name is Sage.. Selwyn."

"Sage? Like the-"

"-herb? Yes, my mother's a botanist. A rather passionate one, I guess."

"I think that's a great name! Sage's amongst my favourite herbs."

"Really? What are the others?" she inquired with genuine curiosity behind her words. There was something about the boy that she enjoyed. It might have been his infectious passion for herbology or the way he seemed to just brush off negativity like it were nothing but fine dust. Either way, she was eager to learn more about him.

"Well, I really like wormwood, or artemisa absinthium, as it is called amongst scholars. It's just such a versatile herb which can be used in all this different potions, even though it's really bitter," he blurted, sounding more and more excited with every word until he suddenly cut him self off, "I once- Sorry, you probably don't want to hear this."

"No, I'd actually love to hear more but unfortunately, I really need to finish this assignment before tomorrow," Sage replied, though reluctant to let the conversation come to an end this soon. However, she really needed to get back to researching.

"What's it about? Maybe I can help."

"The stinging nettle. I gathered all of this books but I can't find a single answer to these stupid questions Snape gave us. However, I don't think you can help me, since I am a year above you and-"

"-It's because you are looking at the wrong kind of species in the Urticaceae family."

"What?"

"The stinging nettle refers to the Urtica diocia, not the Urtica parviflora. That only grows in the Himalaya region."

Sage's stomach twisted into a tight knot as she realised that all the passed hours had been wasted for nothing. She could have finished hours ago if she had just realised a bit sooner! And now she had to rush before she would have to leave the library for today!

Neville had continued to ramble about the stinging nettle up until he had noticed the anger crawling up Sage's neck, ultimately settling in her face. She must have looked grimmer than the grim himself, as his voice slowly trailed of in horror.

"Oh my, you are such a nerd!" Sage suddenly laughed in relief, after registering his reaction.

"Takes one to know one!" he exclaimed cheerfully, as he took a seat beside her.

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Author's note: Hello lovely readers! This is the prequel to my story about the time at Hogwarts when the golden trio was on the hunt for horcruxes! I had always wished to learn more about what Neville and the rest of DA were up to at the time and eventually came up with my own little headcanon. I'd be very happy to read about your opinion on my work so far, so please review if you find the time! :-)