Disclaimer: Harry Potter, and his world belong to the fabulous JK Rowling, and her publishers. Warner Brothers has a stake in their too. But believe me, if I owned Neville, I'd give him a hug.
Letter Two- Neville Longbottom to Severus Snape.
Dear Professor Snape,
I am writing this because I have to learn to stick up for myself. Everyone says so. My Gran says it. Harry and Ron and Hermione and Dean and Seamus and Lavender and Parvati have all said it at one time or another. The nurses at the hospital said it. Madam Pomfrey said it. Even Professor McGonagall said so once. So here I am sticking up for myself.
It's not fair the way you treat me. It's not fair the way you treat any of us. I know I'm not very clever. My gran used to think I was a Squib. Sometimes I wish I was. Perhaps it would be better than hanging on to the edge of this world, never quite good enough however hard I study. I know you don't think I'm good enough to be here but I do try so hard to catch up with the others and be a proper wizard. It's just every time I make an achievement or get a little further you sneer at me and everything turns to dust. When I sleep sometimes I hear your voice in my ears telling me how hopeless I am and then it's gran's voice, and Professor McGonagall's voice and Malfoy's…
I'm tired of sitting there and listening to you sneer. If you're so clever and we're so stupid why do you have to make us feel small? If it's so impossible that we will ever do anything right why do you even bother to teach us? And why don't you leave Harry alone? He's far cleverer than me and he hardly ever does anything really bad. Perhaps I deserve to be treated the way you treat me, but Harry doesn't. He's one of the bravest, cleverest, best people I know. Ron Weasley says you're just a bitter twisted git and when I see you hissing insults at Harry I think he must be right. You're horrible.
But then, perhaps you can't help being horrible. Perhaps it's something you're born with, like being stupid. Everyone says I should be more confident, less clumsy, less stupid… but no one tells me how. Is that what it's like being horrible? I can't tell. Perhaps you ought to talk to Hermione. She's always very good at telling people how to do things- like make potions or walk past a crowd of Slytherins who are all laughing at you. Only I'm not very good at carrying out her instructions. I always start off all right, not looking at them and sticking my chin out. Then I trip over something and it's worse than ever.
Perhaps we are the same in that. We both try to be different from what we are but we keep going wrong. I try to be brave but I keep stumbling. You try not to be mean but you can't hold your tongue.
Somehow that makes me feel better.
Neville