I don't own Harry Potter
Two
The fanged geraniums were snapping again. Gran must have forgotten to water them. Like last time.
Neville huffed.
If she would only allow him into this part of their greenhouses, they'd be fine!
But no, because this part was too dangerous- not even because the geraniums tried to bite it they weren't properly cared for. There was a venomous Tentacula in the corner and some foxglove and Baneberry, which were all dangerous in some way and so his Gran thought(wrongly!) that he'd get himself killed.
As Neville was the boy-who-lived, there were plenty of people out to kill him, so he'd been trained up a bit in minor things since he was eight, but if there was one thing he was really good at, it was Herbology.
He knew that he was clumsy so Gran's reasoning that he'd trip and somehow find himself in the range of the Tentacula wasn't completely unfounded but-!
Neville could handle himself in a greenhouse.
He knew he could.
"Neville?"
Speaking of Gran…
"Neville, are you all packed? It's time to leave. And don't forget Trevor"
Neville sighed and stole one last glance at the fanged geraniums, "coming, Gran!" He called.
He looked around and, spotting Trevor in the shade of a dittany bush, lunged to grab him. Trevor wiggled in his grasp and Neville was just glad he hadn't toppled over, "I like you, Trevor" he told the toad as he made his way to the floo, "but sometimes I think you may be more trouble than your worth"
As he'd predicted, his Gran was by the fireplace, but so was his trunk.
Why would she ask if he was packed if his locked trunk was already there? He shrugged it off. He didn't even pretend to understand his Gran.
"Wand?" She asked stiffly, busy sitting her vulture hat neatly atop her silver hair. Neville tapped the holster on his right forearm which contained his wand.
Gran had wanted him to use his father's wand but Dumbledore, who had come over to tea one evening, had changed her mind. Neville felt rather grateful, though it did make him a bit guilty. He just thought he'd be able to be better at magic if he had a wand specifically fit for himself.
They'd gone to Diagon Alley a little over a month ago to get his supplies and wand. Neville had to admit that Ollivander was exceptionally weird and creepy but he was glad he went.
His wand was eleven inches, holly with a Phoenix feather core. His wand core was twin to Voldemort's which was...he didn't really know what to feel about it but despite everything he was proud of his wand.
Trevor squirmed again and Gran eyed him as if he'd escape any second. Neville sighed and put his toad in a little carrier before taking his trunk in his other hand.
Eyeing the floo warily, he awkwardly clambered in with all of his luggage.
Gran handed him some floo powder. Taking a deep breath to brace himself, Neville rearranged his grip, took the powder and threw it down while calling, "Platform nine and three quarters!"
The only thing that stopped Neville from falling flat on his face was his luggage, which blocked his fall. It wobbled precariously for a moment and he breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't topple.
Gran came through next, gracefully, and sighed exasperatedly at him.
"Neville" she reprimanded lightly while brushing the soot off him.
But Neville's attention was elsewhere.
Crowds of people dotted the platform. Families clustered around each other, young students bouncing and running. Some already in their school robes. There was a group just a little bit away laughing and shrieking, "go on, give us a look Lee!"
And then, his gaze settled on the centerpiece.
The Hogwarts express was gleaming in front of them, steam billowing in puffs and painted in great swaths of scarlet.
It was truly magnificent.
He must have been gaping because Gran rapped his chin with a, "close your mouth, Neville"
His jaw clicked shut audibly and he flushed, "sorry" he mumbled.
Gran fixed him a stern look, "I expect letters from you. No more than a month apart. Work hard in your classes and don't get into so much trouble- and don't be such a hazard to yourself!"
"Yes Gran"
She clicked her tongue and looked him over, "good. And don't lose Trevor"
Neville pinked again but nodded. With a great sigh, she patted him on the head fondly, "I'm sure you'll be fine, young man"
And she nudged him to the train.
Neville grinned back at her, "bye Gran!" He hollered before ducking into the crowd.
There was a lot of people and for once, Neville was glad he was on the shorter side. It was easier to slip through the small gaps in the crowd without anyone noticing- which, of course, was an especially good thing with Neville's status.
He finally got to the train and was just wondering how on earth he would manage to lift his trunk when two identical faces were right in front of him,
"Need any help?" The one to the left asked.
"Yes please" Neville said and the right one grinned,
"It must be our very lucky day, Gred. A second firstie already!"
"Right you are, Forge!" The other exclaimed, "let's have at it, then"
They grabbed each side of the trunk and hauled it up onto the train with little effort. Neville smiled thankfully and ran a hand through his sandy hair, "I- erm thanks"
"It's no problem, ickle firstie" the two chorused, "we're the Weasley Twins. Gryffindor, if you need any rule bending assistance!" They wiggled their eyebrows in sync and Neville laughed.
"What's that?" Said one of the Twins suddenly, pointing up at Neville's forehead.
"Blimey" the other looked wide eyed, "are you—"
"He is. Aren't you?"
"Er- I mean, I'm Neville Longbottom if that's what you mean" Neville said uncomfortably.
"Neville Longbottom" the two breathed.
"Brilliant mate" one laughed.
"Pranking old Voldy shorts already? Absolutely fantastic"
And then, much to Neville's relief, a voice came floating from further along the platform, "Fred? George? Are you there?"
"Coming mum" they called, and, with one last glance back, went off.
Neville turned back to the task of finding a decent compartment. He wandered down the aisle, trying to dodge a few other students running up and down it. Most were successful- some weren't. Trevor almost broke free of his carrier once.
At last, Neville found the perfect compartment. It was nice, and quiet and there was no one in it.
Feeling content, he quickly settled in and took out a book on Herbology. He thumbed through the pages until he got to the section about fanged geraniums. He really had to make a note to write to Gran to tell her how to properly care for them. Gran was good with a lot of plants but for some reason, fanged geraniums eluded her.
There was a click and the compartment door slid open.
Neville glanced up to see the most exotic looking boy he'd ever seen standing in the doorway. He was tiny and had bronzed skin and deep copper curls arranged messily on his head. He already wore his Hogwarts robes, though there was a bundle of gray under his right arm that told he'd just changed and there was a snowy owl perched on his shoulder. And he was staring at Neville with dark green eyes, gaze judgemental and assessing. Neville felt very unnerved and more inadequate than when Gran gave him a look.
The boy was silent for another long, few moments before he spoke, "may I sit here?"
The words seemed deeply sarcastic though his face didn't portray anything. His dark eyes glanced up and Neville followed them. Oh. Oops.
On the overhead storage space was a neat looking trunk with the letters HJP done on it in silver.
Neville flushed in embarrassment, "yes, of course. Sorry"
The boy entered silently and the door slid shut behind him.
"Harry Potter" the boy said after a moment, "nice to meet you"
Neville jumped, "oh, nice to meet you too. I'm Neville Longbottom"
Harry Potter looked suddenly more intrigued and Neville knew what was coming, "can you tell me what the You Know Who fellow's real name is? I can't find it anywhere"
Wait, what?
"Sorry?"
"You know who? I really don't know who"
"Voldemort?" Neville blurted.
"Oh, is that it?" Harry Potter sat back, "thanks"
And with that he sent a fleeting smile before taking out a book and beginning to read.
It took Neville a few seconds to process the conversation. How odd.
Neville looked out of the window to see the red head Twins again talking to what he assumed their mother and younger sister,
"-we'll send you loads of owls" one reassured.
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat" the other shouted.
"George" their mother gasped.
Neville snickered quietly and pulled back from the window as the train began to move.
He was going to Hogwarts.
For the second time, the door to the compartment slid open.
Neville glanced up, paranoid that he'd missed another trunk somehow but there was none. He did however see Harry Potter's helpless smirk behind the large tome he was reading from.
Another red head stood there hesitantly, though his skin was pale, eyes blue and hair more orange than Harry's. This boy resembled the twins a bit.
"Is there room for another?" He asked, "everywhere else is full"
Neville glanced at Harry before shaking his head and motioning to an empty spot, "go ahead"
The boy looked at Neville before glancing out the window, as if to pretend he hadn't. Neville noticed a black mark on his nose. Must have been dirt.
"Hey, Ron"
The twins were back.
"Listen. Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down the middle of the train so that's where we'll be"
"Right" Ron mumbled.
"Hello again Neville" said the other twin before turning to Harry Potter, "Harry"
Harry looked up.
"We didn't introduce ourselves. Fred and George Weasley"
Harry's lips tilted into a smile.
"Anyways, this is our brother, Ron. See you all later, then"
"Bye" Neville and Ron said and Harry merely gave a nod of farewell.
As the twins left, Ron blurted, "are you really Neville Longbottom?"
Neville nodded.
"Oh" Ron muttered, "well, I thought it could've been one of their jokes…have you really got the...y'know…"
Neville sighed and pulled his hair to the side to show the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. It was irritating that everyone seemed to think that the mark made up everything that he was. They probably had no idea that he was forgetful or clumsy or liked gardening or couldn't stay on a broom to save his life. They sure didn't know that his favorite flavor for ice cream was strawberry or that he really really wished he wasn't the boy-who-lived.
"So that's where- you know who, I mean-"
"Yes but I can't remember" Neville told him.
"Wow" Ron said and stared at him for far too long before looking away.
Neville was beginning to feel uncomfortable with how much the youngest Weasley was watching him ur of the corner of his eye when Harry- bless him- said without looking up from his book,
"While I'm sure Longbottom really appreciates you staring at him, some of us find it rather awkward"
Ron flushed and scowled at the other boy. Neville blinked incredulously, "like you can talk. You were the one staring at me when we first met"
"Well I had a reason" Harry told them with a frown.
"I have a reason too" Ron said.
"Yeah?" Neville asked Harry, who nodded, snapping his book shut,
"You took over my compartment"
Neville felt his cheeks heat, "that was an accident"
Harry shrugged, lips curling in a little smirk.
"I have a reason" Ron persisted, "he's the bloody boy who lived!"
"I don't think that's a very good reason" Harry rested a chin on his hand, and was looking like he found Ron very odd but amusing at the same time.
Ron scoffed.
Harry blinked at him before turning to Neville with a raised brow. Like they were sharing some sort of joke.
Neville laughed uncomfortably, "okay, erm-"
This seemed to prompt Ron's interrogation again, "so do you really remember nothing. Of that night, I mean..?"
Neville frowned, "not really. Just lots of green light"
"I remember a lot of red light, sometimes" Harry said. Ron ignored him and the other frowned deeply before going back to reading.
Neville gave Ron a reproachful look and tried to catch Harry's eye but the boy was stubbornly set on reading his book about basic Transfiguration.
"You have a big family, then? Three siblings?" Neville asked Ron curiously. He'd rarely had anyone around age to play with, being an only child with an overprotective grandmother.
"Five brothers and a sister" for some reason, Ron sounded gloomy. When Neville mentioned this, Ron explained about all of the achievements his older brothers had.
Neville shrugged this off, "people think me or want me to be great. But I'm really just an Herbologist"
This seemed to make Ron feel a bit better, "What about you? What's it like without siblings?"
"A bit boring" Neville told him, "and it gets a little lonely sometimes, I guess. What about you, Harry? Do you live with anyone?"
"I live with my cousin" Harry said shortly, "my muggle cousin and muggle aunt and muggle uncle"
"Oh" Neville said.
"What's it like, living with muggles" Ron asked.
There was a long moment of silence before Harry looked up with his big green eyes, "Loathsome"
And then he broke out into a brilliant smile but Neville couldn't shake the uneasiness at the obscure dark emotion lurking in the other boy's eyes, "well, not all of them, of course, just my relatives"
Fortunately, they were saved from more awkward silence by a clattering outside of the compartment. Neville jumped at the opportunity and slid their door open.
A smiling woman stood there, "anything off the cart, dear?"
Indeed there was a large cart that held all sorts of sweets. Droobles Gum and Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and Licorice Wands and Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes and Ice Mice.
Neville pulled out a couple of sickles to purchase a little of each for their compartment- well except for Licorice Wands because Neville hated Licorice Wands.
"Do they have Mars Bars?" Harry Potter's voice came from by his ear and Neville thought his heart beat out of his chest, "Harry!"
"Sorry Longbottom" he didn't sound very sorry at all.
Neville huffed, "yeah, I'm sure. What're Mars Bars Anyways?"
"Muggle sweet" the other told him, "I've never had any money to get them before"
"No, there aren't muggle sweets, there are our kind of sweets" Neville turned to see Harry blush.
"Bertie Botts every flavor beans really means every flavor so be careful with those" he handed the green eyed boy a box, "and I'm not getting any Licorice Wands because I hate them. Chocolate frogs aren't real frogs, don't worry too much but there are spells to make them hop around. They come with cards too. People like to collect them"
"Thanks"
Harry helped Neville bring the sweets back into the compartment and they dumped them onto an empty seat.
"Go on, Ron. Have some" Neville pushed a pumpkin pasty in his face.
Ron hesitated for a moment before taking it.
It was nice, sharing the compartment with the two, no matter how much Ron somehow smeared chocolate or how just...odd Harry was.
"This is Albus Dumbledore" came Harry Potter's incredulous voice as he stared at a card at arms length away, "he looks like a lunatic. Who wears that shade of purple with that color orange?"
Ron and Neville snorted.
The countryside zooming by the window was starting to change from neat little fields to dark woods, rivers and rolling hills.
The compartment door slammed open. Neville fell out of his seat.
There was a girl there with bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. She was wearing her Hogwarts robes like Harry was.
"Oh thank goodness. You know, people have been acting so childishly out in the aisle. I've almost been run into three times trying to get to the conductor. I was going to ask when we'd be there, you know?- but I expect soon, it's been awhile…" she sat down.
Ron looked taken aback.
"Erm, excuse me" Neville fiddled with his wand, flicking it out of his holster and sliding it back.
"Oh" the girl turned her gaze towards him, "are you doing magic? Let's see it, then"
Neville sputtered, feeling his cheeks darken in embarrassment.
"You're being rather rude" Harry Potter drawled dispassionately without looking up from examining an Every Flavor Bean, "you should introduce yourself before sitting down. Actually, you should ask first, or well, knock, but none of us did so I guess it doesn't apply to you either…" he trailed off with a frown and bit the end of the bean off.
The girl blinked as Harry tilted his head consideringly and swallowed without a word.
"Sorry" she muttered, ducking her head, "I'm Hermione Granger. None of my family's magic at all, so it was ever such a surprise when Professor McGonagall came with the letter, but, of course, I was ever so pleased. I've memorized the course books and I just hope it'll be enough- to make for not knowing about magic for very long, I mean-"
She said this all very fast.
"Are you breathing?" Ron blurted. Hermione looked confused.
Neville sighed, "don't mind Ron, Hermione. And no, I don't know when we'll arrive. I'm Neville Longbottom, by the way, and that's Harry Potter"
Hermione leaned forwards, "are you really? I've read all about you when I was doing a bit of background reading"
He grimaced, "yes, but I didn't fight a hoard of vampires when I was three and I certainly didn't tame a wild dragon for my pet when I was five"
Awkward.
Hermione cleared her throat, and switched the subject, "yes, well, what House do you think you'll be in? I've been asking around and Gryffindor sounds by far the best- I head Dumbledore was in it, though I suppose Ravenclaw doesn't sound too bad either"
Neville shrugged and she stood, "well I'm going to go ask how much longer but you should probably get in your robes"
As she left, Ron muttered, "Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it"
"Well I hope I'm in Gryffindor" Neville flopped back into his seat, "Gran wants me there too and my parents were in it"
"Mum and dad were in Gryffindor too" Ron said, "so are all my brothers. I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad though….but imagine if you got Slytherin" he made a face.
"Voldemort's house" Neville wrinkled his nose, "no thanks"
"Was Voldemort French?" Harry wondered aloud.
"You're Ravenclaw," said Ron.
Harry pierced him an unimpressed stare with a raised eyebrow. Ron squirmed in his seat and Neville rolled his eyes.
Harry Potter, he was beginning to find, found great amusement in making others supremely uncomfortable.
The rest of the train ride wasn't very noticeable. The sun steadily dipped lower in the sky until it was a thin strip of bright along the horizon before it began to darken. Neville got out an Exploding Snap game at one point to play. They had to improvise part of it since it was only he and Ron playing while Harry outright laughed at them from behind his book.
Neville won two of the three games they played so Ron challenged him to chess, in which he was soundly crushed.
Neville shared his plight about how he was afraid that his fanged geraniums would die without his advice, which the others didn't understand. Even with how many times he'd bemoaned about them.
Ron, it seemed, had an obsession with quidditch. He kept on and on and on about the Chudley Canons, a team that was not doing so well. Ron insisted they'd come back and someday win the league. Neville doubted it.
Harry was mostly silent for the rest of the train ride, not saying anything after a confrontation with Malfoy.
There was only a little bit of pink and orange left from sunset, the rest of the sky dark blue, when the compartment door had once again opened.
"They're all saying Neville Longbottom's on the train" Malfoy drawled, "so, it's you then?"
"Yes" Neville said. The Malfoys were one of the first families to come back from the Dark after Voldemort was defeated. The Malfoy Lord and Lady claimed they were under a mind control curse- the Imperius and so they weren't thrown into Azkaban.
Neville glanced at the two mean looking boys at Malfoys side.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle" Malfoy waved a hand dismissively, "and I'm-"
"Hello Draco Malfoy" Harry said blandly.
Malfoy blinked and then sneered, "do I know you?"
"Yes" Harry agreed, "we met at Madam Malkin's"
"I don't-"
Harry's thin smile widened to show teeth, "you thought me a Weasley"
Malfoy scowled but his cheeks dusted pink, "oh I remember you. Well, you looked like a Weasley. Red hair and second hand clothing"
"I'm Harry Potter" Harry Potter said without inflection but there seemed to be a detached sort of amusement in his eyes, "that's a Weasley" he nodded to Ron, "Arnold I think. But it may have been something else. It was Arnold right?"
"Ron" Ron muttered.
"Right. Ronald Weasley"
Malfoy's sneer grew and he turned away from them, "I'm sure you know that some Wizarding families are better than others, Longbottom. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there"
He stuck out a hand.
Neville raised his brows incredulously, "no, I think I can tell for myself, thanks though"
"I'd be careful Longbottom" Malfoy said slowly, a flush dusting his cheeks, "or you might end up the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either-"
But before Malfoy could finish insulting them and their families, a white snowy owl swooped down to dive bomb the young Malfoy, which had him and his goons fleeing the compartment.
"That's Hedwig" Harry Potter said, stroking her feathers, "she's my owl"
And he hadn't said a word since.
Neville changed into his robes, seeing the blackness outside the window and Ron quickly followed. Shortly after, a voice echoed through the train,
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train- it will be taken up separately"
A mixture of excitement and nerves bubbled through him.
Hogwarts.
Neville had been excited for years to go. Fearful he'd make an idiot of himself, of course, but excited nonetheless. And now he was on the train, just a few minutes away and he'd already made a friend in Ron. He didn't really know if he should count Harry but possibly two friends.
And there were lots of greenhouses at Hogwarts, which he was eager to explore and the castle itself!
It was supposedly gorgeous. There were going to be some perfectly brilliant adventures there, he just knew it.
The train began to slow and his heart lurched. Neville and his two compartment mates stood. Footsteps were already sounding outside the compartment signaling others were already preparing to exit. Neville smiled and breathed in deeply. Here I come, Hogwarts.