A Quest for Love: Chapter 4

There had to be some way that I could get Neville to love me. I had already used up all of my own ideas. But I couldn't just give up; a Slytherin never quits. Besides, I wanted him to be my boyfriend! Although he might not have been quite perfect, the more I got to know him, the more I felt that he was the closest thing that there was to Mr. Right.

I was getting desperate. I had already been thinking hard for two days, and nothing had come to me. In fact, I was so desperate that I decided to ask someone else for advice. And that someone just happened to be Pansy Parkinson.

We were sitting in a cosy little corner of the Slytherin common room. We were right next to the fire, which cast an erie greenish light about us. Just me and Pansy. She was telling me about Draco, for the millionth time. She seemed to forget that I knew him too.

"Oh my God, he is so wonderful!" she gushed. "I swear, he is the sweetest guy in the whole school. And he is so hot! Oh my God, with those gorgeous grey eyes, and that smile! He has the perfect body, too. I go weak at the knees every time that I see him! I feel so sorry for the girls that can't have a boyfriend just like Draco! Just think, if there were a thousand Draco's, how happy we would all be! Maybe we could find a way to clone him. But no, we couldn't do that! Becuase even if we did clone him, I'm sure that no clone could capture how truly wonderful he is! That would be beyond even magic. Millicent, every night, when I go to sleep, I think of him, and he smiles at me, and puts his arms around me, and it's just like heaven . . ." Good thing she trailed off. I was about ready to knock her out if she uttered one more sentence. And I still hadn't asked her for her advice.

Although Pansy Parkinson may be a total airhead, she knows everything about guys. If anyone has questions on the subject, she would be the one to go to.

"Pansy," I started out tentatively, "I need some help."

Right away, she jolted out of her daydream. Pansy loved helping her friends out. I think it made her feel superior.

"Yes?" she said eagerly. "What's the matter?"

I tried to state the problem without giving away the guy in question. "You see, if I liked this guy, how would I go about making him like me?"

"Ooh, Millicent, do you have a crush? Is it Vincent? You know, I never told you this, but I always thought that you two would look so adorable together!" She backed away quickly, out of harm's way.

I growled. I wanted to make a flying leap and kick her from midair, but I managed to restrain myself. I needed her help, and for that, she had to be kept conscious. "No, you stupid bitch, it is not Crabbe. Honestly, he has got to be the stupidest person that Hogwarts has ever seen! Why, he is even stupider than Nev-" I clapped my hand over my mouth.

Pansy peered at my curiously. "What is it, Millicent?"

I tried to recover my dignity. "I was going to say, he is even stupider that Goyle!"

"Oh, so you have a crush on Goyle, do you?" she asked.

I was about to say no, but it occured to me that she was bound to think it was someone, and better Goyle than Neville. So I just said, "Maybe, maybe not!" and smiled serenely.

"Ooh, Millicent, why didn't you tell me?"

I was starting to get impatient. "Listen, Pansy, just answer my question, will you?"

She looked confused. "What was your question?"

I almost screamed. "How do I make a freakin' guy like me?!"

"Oh, that! Do you mean to tell me that you really don't know?" She started to laugh.

I had had enough. I went over to Pansy, and pulled her up by the front of her robes. "Pansy, just answer the question. No other comments, okay?" I snarled.

"Okay!" she managed to squeak out, before I dropped her to the floor. She let out a sigh of relief at feeling the solid ground beneath her feet. "Well, you should just try to get to know him better. Find out his interests, talk to him. Oh, and make sure to look pretty whenever you see him. Smile, flirt a bit. You get the picture?" I nodded. I wasn't too sure about the flirting, but the part where I was supposed to find out his interests made perfect sense. That meant a midnight trip to the Gryffindor boy's bedroom.


That night, I was woken by my alarm promptly at twelve. I slipped quietly out of bed, and donned my black robes over my pastel pink nightgown. I put on my fluffy yellow ducky slippers, and quickly whispered a spell to make them as black as the rest of me. That way, I would blend in with the shadows.

I tiptoed into the common room. The golden-green embers were still glowing weakly, but they looked about ready to go out any minute.
I crept out of the portrait hole, and looked fearfully around me. Good; the corriders were deserted. I made my way up to the Gryffindor Tower.

I had eavesdropped on the Gryffindors earlier that day as they went into their common room, concealed behind a rickety old piece of armour. Gryffindors are so open and trusting about everything; finding out there password did not take much ingenuity.

When I arrived, the Fat Lady was asleep, snoring softly. I poked her in the cheek, and she awoke with a start. "Hello?"

"Shh," I whispered. "Pumpkin juice." That was the password.

The portrait creaked open lazily, and I climbed through as quietly as I could. It was the first time I had seen the Gryffindor common room. It was about the same size as ours, but somehow the crimson chairs looked more comfortable, and the coals burned red instead instead of a sickly green. Even in the darkness, I could distinguish the doorway that led to Neville's room, which he shared with the other Gryiffindor boys in our year.

I stole up the pitch black staircase, relying on my hands to keep me from bumping into the walls. I almost fell when I came to the top step; I had lifted my foot high, expecting the ascent to continue, but the ground was far below. Once I had regained my balance, I entered the boy's room. The window emitted a bit of light into the room, which allowed me to find Neville's bed. That was good, since I didn't want to run the risk of waking anyone up if I had had to create my own light.

Next to Neville's bed, there was a cabinet which contained a stack of papers and books. I quickly rifled through them. Unfortunately, the moonlight was not enough to permit me to make out the words. I would just have to randomly grab some papers and make away with them. I would slip them back in tomorrow night. Hopefully, Neville would never notice their absence. Besides, even if he did, he would probably just think that he had misplaced them. After all, he was rididculously forgetful.

I picked up an armful of his stuff, and quickly shut the door to the cabinet. I'm afraid that in my haste, I shut it a bit too loudly. In fact, I almost slammed it. I heard someone stirring in the darkness.

"Who is it?" a voice asked. Neville's voice. Great. I swore softly under my breath.

"Nobody. Go back to sleep," I commanded.

"Wait!" Neville sat up in bed. The light was full in his face, and away from mine. He looked adorable, with his tousled hair, and sleepy eyes. He was struggling to focus on me. Suddenly, he groaned. "It's Millicent, isn't it?" he asked softly.

I groaned too. He just had to recognize me. Couldn't any of my plans work out as they were supposed to? "Yes, it's me." I turned as if to go. Perhaps in the morning, he would think it was all a dream. I would just deny it all.

"Don't go yet!" Neville's voice interrupted me. "What are you carrying?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Neville's voice seemed a bit higher than usual. "Stop stalking me!" he said in a hysterical whisper.

"Neville, I am not stalking you. Now go back to sleep!"

"But what are you taking?" He seemed like he might start crying any minute.

I sighed. There was only one way that I could see out of this whole mess. I would have to use a Memory Charm. To my surprise, I felt slightly guilty. I had used Memory Charms tons of times before now, and it hadn't troubled my conscience at all. Why this time? But despite my reasoning, I somehow knew that doing this felt wrong. Neville was so helpless. It was the middle of the night, and he seemed so innocent, and so cute. He was even clutching an old teddy bear. It seemed a shame to do this to him.

'Stop this, Millicent!' I thought to myself. 'What kind of behavior is this for a Slytherin? Sltherins aren't supposed to have consciences!'

Before I could think it over any longer, I pointed my wand directly at Neville, screwed my eyes shut, and muttered, "Obliviate." There, it was done. I could already feel the pangs of guilt in my head. 'You shouldn't have done that, you know,' they told me. I ignored them to the best of my ability.

Neville was staring straight ahead, a dazed look on his face. Suddenly, he fell back into his pillows and gave a loud snore. I fled from the room, carrying the precious papers with me.



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