Harry Potter and all associated characters and situations are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no claim to ownership.

Sorry about the delay in posting. Small family emergency.

CHAPTER 12: Halloween 1991 (Pt. 2)

Neville didn't show up at lunch, but Hermione sat next to him during Charms, which the Gryffindors shared with the Hufflepuffs. His hour spent revising helped a little – he was able to perform most of the very basic charms that the class had learned in September, although clearly not at the same level of power or control that his classmates had. Problems started when Professor Flitwick introduced the new charm of the day – the Levitation Charm. The incantation was "Wingardium Leviosa," which Neville got after a single whispered correction from Hermione, and she assured him that his wand movements were correct. Despite all that, however, the feather sitting on his desk resolutely refused to move.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione was the first to achieve a proper result – her feather floated up gracefully and then danced around the ceiling in response to her wand movements. The small gaggle of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls (for whom Hermione had become a role model) all clapped, and Flitwick awarded Gryffindor three points. Across the room, Jim and Ron rolled their eyes. Then, Flitwick turned to Neville, who swallowed and then looked down at his feather as if it were a poisonous snake. He raised his wand cast the spell – perfectly, as far as Hermione could tell – and focused all of his will upon the feather. Nothing happened.

But Neville didn't release the spell. Instead, without taking his wand off the feather, he concentrated harder and poured more and more of his magical power into the spell he'd cast. He gritted his teeth painfully, and a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. The feather shook slightly. His face contorted into a mask of concentration and even pain, causing both Hermione and Flitwick to become alarmed. Neville paid them no mind. All of his attention was bent towards the feather, which had started to rock slightly as if striving to become airborne. When Hermione called out his name rather loudly, he ignored her. He also ignored the tickling sensation just below his nose and the strange coppery taste on his lips. Finally, as his vision began to blur, the feather slowly began to rise off the table – one inch, two inches, three – before it suddenly burst into flame, causing him to lose the spell. He sat back in his chair, exhausted and shaking. Instinctively, he rubbed his hand over his mouth and was startled to realize that his nose was bleeding. Then, he looked up and saw the whole class was staring at him, including a visibly shaken Flitwick.

"Are you quite alright, my boy?" he asked gently.

Neville swallowed deeply and wiped his nose again. "I'm ... I'm not feeling very well, Professor. May I be excused for a bit?"

Flitwick hesitated and then nodded. "Take as much time as you need. And if you don't feel better quite soon, I want you to go to the Infirmary. Understood?"

Neville nodded, snatched up his bookbag, and fairly fled the classroom. Just before he walked out, though, he turned back to look at his classmates. Jim Potter was looking right at him, smirking. And then, the Boy-Who-Lived mouthed a single word that Neville didn't need to hear to understand. "Squib." Neville walked out the door and did not return to class that day.

Hours later, Theo Nott stepped into a restroom to wash his hands before dinner and was surprised to find Neville sitting on the floor in the corner staring vacantly at his wand. His face was clean from his earlier nosebleed but it was obvious he'd been crying. Theo looked around to make sure no one else was in the room before he tentatively spoke. "Are ... are you alright?"

Neville didn't even look up. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone."

Theo started to leave but then hesitated and turned back towards other boy. "I, uh, noticed your Rememberall this morning, after Herbology. It was ... red. Very red. And also pulsing."

"Yeah," Neville laughed bitterly. "Apparently, I'm very forgetful."

Theo bit his lip anxiously. Then, he moved a bit closer and knelt down to the floor so he could make eye contact. "Longbottom ... Neville ... has anyone ... ever explained to you what a Rememberall is actually for?"

Neville just stared at him without comprehension. "Oh dear," Theo thought to himself.

At dinner that evening, Harry was digging into some cottage pie when Malfoy nudged him slightly. "Your Mudblood friend is making a spectacle of herself trying to get your attention."

Harry glared at him. "I don't appreciate the use of that word, Malfoy."

Draco glared back. "I don't appreciate house mates who have greater loyalty to Gryffindors than Slytherins. And yet here we are."

"It's interesting that you're so concerned for my loyalty to the house when you've worked so hard to isolate me within it, Malfoy."

Before Malfoy could respond, a paper airplane landed on the table between the two of them, narrowly missing the gravy bowl. The words "To Harry! From Hermione!" were written on it. The two boys looked up from the airplane's direction to see Hermione waving at him.

"That's it," said Malfoy with a sneer. "Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy. We're moving. It's getting a bit too ... muddy around here." The four Slytherins relocated to the far end of the table. On the other side, all the other First Year Slytherins save Theo moved as far away from Harry as was possible. Harry frowned. He had hoped to lay low within Slytherin House for a while longer and continue learning the house's secrets before he made any sort of power play. Unfortunately, Malfoy seemed bent on forcing the issue, so a confrontation would likely happen quite soon. It was ... annoying.

Harry turned his attention to Hermione's airplane which he unfolded to reveal a blank page. To his surprise, words in Hermione's elegant script faded into view.

"Harry, do you know where Neville is? I'm very worried about him. Tap the parchment three times and whisper your response and then tap the parchment twice more to send it back to me."

Harry eyebrows shot up in surprise, and then he replied.

"I haven't seen him since Herbology. How are you doing this?"

"A modified Switching Spell linking your parchment to the one I'm writing on. It's out of the Third Year curriculum, though I think this adaptation is from Fifth Year."

Harry chuckled. How these idiot Purebloods could even pretend to be superior while Muggleborn prodigies like Hermione stalked the school was a mystery to him.

"What is that?" asked Theo.

"Oh, just Hermione, once again proving that everything Draco thinks about blood purity is bollocks. By the way, have you by any chance seen Neville recently?"

Theo coughed nervously. "I saw him about an hour ago. He was in the first floor boys' bathroom. He was very upset."

"Yeah. I heard something happened in Charms and he had to leave class, but I haven't gotten any details."

Theo chewed his lip again. "It was more than that. Harry, do you know what a Rememberall is for? Because Longbottom didn't until I told him earlier. I ... I realized he didn't and thought he ought to know. I hope I didn't make a mistake by telling him."

Harry was confused but also suddenly concerned. "Neville told me that a Rememberall lets you know when you've forgotten something important."

"Yes, but it's more than that." Theo looked around conspiratorially. "In the mid-1700's, a spell came into widespread usage called the Memory Charm, followed soon after by its close relative, the False Memory Charm. The former creates a targeted amnesia in someone. The later replaces the erased memories with new ones of the spellcaster's choice. They caused a lot of problems at first, until the Ministry passed laws heavily regulating them. In fact, they were nearly declared Unforgivables, but they were deemed too valuable for use on Muggles in preserving the Statute of Secrecy to ban so completely. They aren't taught at Hogwarts and you're supposed to get licensed by the Ministry to learn and use them, but there are plenty of old families which have preserved them in grimoires so they're still available to learn illegally if you have the right contacts."

"And the Rememberall protects against them?"

"Not exactly – it just lets you know when you've been hit by one. It's kind of a tradition in wealthy old Pureblood families, especially the paranoid ones, to gift them to children starting at Hogwarts. Only the rich ones, though, because they're pretty expensive. It's to hopefully prevent children from being mentally manipulated until they're old enough to develop psychic defenses. They turn a pale red if you've forgotten something naturally, a dark red if you've had memories erased or altered through magic," Theo swallowed, "and a very dark red if you've had lots of memories affected that way."

Harry paled. "Like Neville's did earlier today. Can these memory alterations be reversed?"

"That's another thing Rememberalls do. If you carry one with you at all times, it can gradually reconstruct memories that have been erased or altered by magic. It may take a long time depending on how extensive the alterations are and how powerful the wizard was that cast the spell. That's what the glow meant this afternoon. Longbottom's Rememberall has finally reconstructed his true memories and is ready to restore them."

Harry inhaled sharply. "Did you tell Neville how to do that?"

Theo grimaced. "Yes. For what it's worth, I did tell him that he should probably have someone with him when he restored his memories in case they were traumatic, but he insisted on doing it alone. I guess I should have come and told you anyway, but it seemed kind of ... personal to him."

"Maybe so, but you still should have come and told me."

"Well, I'm sorry," said Theo hotly. "I'm not used to all this ... kindness stuff. I wasn't raised for it."

Harry smiled. "I don't know, Theo. I think you might just have a knack for it." Then, he turned back to the parchment, tapped it, and whispered another message.

"Neville is in the first floor boy's toilets. He's very upset. I'll explain why on the way. We'll go as soon as the Feast is over." But just as Harry sent the message, the doors to the Great Hall flew open, and Professor Quirrel entered in a panic.

"TROOOOLLLL! IN THE DUNGEON! ... Thought you ought to know." And then the silly man fainted.

Harry exhaled loudly. "Bugger."

There was a brief moment of school-wide panic which the Headmaster shut down before commanding the students to return to their dorms. Harry tapped the parchment again.

"Strike that. We go now. Slip away from the other Gryffs and meet me outside the Great Hall doorway."

Hermione nodded at him from across the room and then rose to leave with her house. Harry also rose, but then Rodney Montague, the Seventh Year Slytherin prefect, called out to his house. "Slytherins, sit back down. Our illustrious Headmaster in his ... haste has apparently forgotten that our dorms, like the Hufflepuffs, are in the dungeons. Ergo, we shall remain here in the Great Hall and once the Lions and Eagles have left, the prefects will seal the doors and ward them. No one, whether human or troll, will get in or out until the crisis is over. Understood?"

The Slytherins all sat down. "Double Bugger," spat Harry ruefully. He closed his eyes and started muttering to himself as he rubbed his temples. "Need a distraction. Need a distraction. Think!"

Theo leaned in and put a hand to his shoulder. "Seriously?!" he whispered urgently. "Are you seriously considering sneaking out of here, defying the prefects, and running off to find Longbottom when there's a troll on the loose?!"

Harry opened his eyes and looked at Theo. "Neville is my friend, and he's in trouble. So I'm there for him. Just like you're my friend, and if you're ever in trouble, I'm there for you." Harry had said it matter-of-factly and without thinking, so he was surprised when Theo jerked back, his eyes widening in surprise. Then, with a twinge of sadness, Harry realized the other boy had probably never had anyone offer him that degree of friendship before. Theo looked around and then put his hands under the table so no one could see as he removed the silver ring he always wore. He handed it stealthily to Harry.

"Put it on the third finger of your left hand. Then, when you're ready, take a deep breath and give it a half-twist. And then, move! It will only last while you hold your breath, and then it will have to recharge for a while. And when you next take a breath, everyone here will immediately notice you're gone. Now go!"

Surprised, Harry put the ring on his finger, took the deepest breath he could, and twisted the ring. Nothing happened. He looked around and no one was paying him any mind. Slowly, he stood. No one turned in his direction. Carefully he stepped over the bench and moved towards the door. When it was clear that everyone was ignoring him completely, he ran, slipping through the gap just as the Slytherin and Hufflepuff prefects were closing the doors. As he ducked out, he noticed that Professor Quirrel was no longer laying on the floor where he'd fainted. Harry continued to hold his breath until he caught up with Hermione, who was hiding behind a suit of armor watching the receding troupe of Gryffindors as they headed towards their tower. Then, when his lungs were burning and he could hold it no longer, he let go with a gasp, and the girl jumped with a small "eek!"

"Harry! How did you do that?! Surely invisibility spells are too powerful to cast at our age!"

"Let's just say," said Harry between gasps of air, "that it was through the power of friendship and leave it there for now. Come on, we have to get to Neville."

On the way the restroom, Harry filled Hermione in on what Theo had said about Neville's Rememberall.

"So someone has been tampering with Neville's memories on a repeated basis? I wonder if that's why his memory is so poor generally."

"Probably," Harry said grimly. Suddenly, the two were stopped by a noxious stench that almost made them both gag. From around the corner, they could hear a growl, the sound of smashing stonework ... and Neville Longbottom yelling of absolute terror. Harry muttered bitterly under his breath. "'Troll in the dungeon. Thought you ought to know.'"

The next update is scheduled for May 22 between 4pm and 6pm CST.