Chapter 5: Detention With Snape

Harry walked into the dungeon to find Neville leaning against the wall, staring off into space with a blank stare. Harry scanned the vicinity and there was no sign of Snape. Yet.

"How long have you been here?" Harry asked walking up to Neville.

Only Neville didn't notice Harry.

"Neville?" Harry laid a hand on Neville's shoulder and gently gave him a shake which caused Neville to jump.

"Oh, Harry…hi."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Dunno, a few minutes maybe?"

"Has Snape been in yet?"

"No."

They both stood in silence until Harry cleared his throat.

"So…we missed you at dinner. Where were you?"

"Oh, I fell asleep…wasn't hungry anyways." Neville replied simply.

"Look Neville, if you're still upset about what happened earlier…"

"What are you talking about Harry?"

"Well, you know…what happened in potions and then what happened with Dean and Seamus earlier? And I mean the look on your face as they were pummeling each other…you just looked like you were going to be sick."

"Oh, well I just- I was taken by surprise, that's all. No big deal."

"Well, then what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Neville began a little too huffily. "I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping very well lately and detention with Snape is certainly not helping..."

"Oh," replied Harry. "Anything else bothering you then?"

"Errr- what do you mean?"

"I don't know…do you have anything else you need to get off your chest?"

"No…not really."

"Just out of curiosity…" started Harry, sneaking a quick side glance at the brunette, "and feel free to tell me off and that it's none of my business if I'm out of line in asking this but…what exactly was that all about with Dean earlier…when he told you to stay away from Ginny?"

Neville sighed.

"Look, Neville you don't have to tell me if you don't want…I was just curious because he seemed quite upset…"

"I just- he seems to have gotten the wrong idea about me and Ginny…you see, she came to me about a month ago wanting help with Herbology once a week and one thing lead to another and soon that turned into me tutoring her three to four times a week for a couple of hours and…but- nothing is going on between us. It's just a friend helping out another friend…"

"Do you like her though…?" Harry asked quietly.

Neville blushed.

"I-I have fancied her…but she has a boyfriend now. She's dating Dean…I would never…"

Harry felt an unexpected pang of jealousy thrust deep down inside of his very core; soon followed by a crushing flood of bitterness which erupted throughout his entire body. He couldn't shake this feeling, he had no idea where it had come from but all he knew was that it wasn't going to go away.

Ginny's beautiful face and fiery red hair suddenly appeared in Harry's mind. She threw her head back in laughter as her and Neville shared a private joke on the way to their spot, a tree they had been studying under. Her brown eyes were sparkling and fixed on Neville as they sat down and leaned against the large elm tree.

Harry could feel something moving inside of him, an impulsive force that sought to break free and seize Neville by the throat and strangle him.

Harry tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. He continued to nod as Neville spoke, although he had no idea what he was saying. Harry could hear nothing except for the low growl of the beast he felt inside of him.

Harry had suspected Neville may have liked Ginny, ever since he took her to the Yule ball in their fourth year. Also, the way he was so protective of her all the time, the way he stood up for her when members of Umbridge's Inquisitorial squad captured members of the D.A. Neville had fought to keep them from taking Ginny.

And at the Department of Mysteries he was always close by, keeping a steady eye on her and ever since then, whenever Ginny wasn't with Dean, she and Neville had almost been inseparable.

With recent rumors flying around Hogwarts that Dean and Ginny may be on the verge of breaking up, Harry was beginning to grow more increasingly worried that he wouldn't be able to make a move fast enough. Plus, now he also grew increasingly wary of the competition he now faced.

Harry's heart sank. Just the thought of Neville and Ginny…together…as a couple made Harry feel so angry. He wanted to just step right up to Neville now and lay a punch right in the middle of his face, maybe even causing his nose to break again, like it had in the Department of Mysteries.

Although deep down Harry knew that he would never really hurt Neville, nor did he want to. This was the beast's doing. The beast was making him think and feel things that he normally never would and this worried Harry. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to keep these horrible feelings at bay or how long he would be able to keep this wild beast restrained.

"Look Harry…I just want you to know how sorry I am for all of this…I feel really awful…I mean if I could I'd serve detention double if it would get you out of this but I don't think Snape would go for that…"

"Just never mind it," replied Harry, trying his best to force a grin.

Neville sighed.

"Neville, it's okay, really."

"No Harry, it isn't. I'm going to make it up to you. Somehow I will."

'Yeah, I've got a way you can make it up to me…don't go after Ginny when her and Dean break up…' thought Harry scornfully.

"Potter, Longbottom, grab a cauldron and get to work. Instructions on what you need to brew this potion is on this parchment. You will remain in here working promptly and silently. When you have completed the potion you will take the contents of the potion and pour it into these containers. Then you will go into the supply room and give all of the equipment a thorough cleaning, without magic. Then after you finish with that you are to report to me for further instructions. There is to be no talking, no snagging, and no leaving this room at any time for any reason- have I made myself clear?"

"Yes sir," replied Harry through gritted teeth.

"And you, Longbottom?"

"Yes Professor." Neville gulped.

Harry and Neville both grabbed a cauldron and walked back to their table.

"Now, I suggest you get started because you will not be leaving until every single task has been completed to the highest of your abilities...which with you Longbottom should take quite a while and fall quite short…"

Neville blushed and allowed his cauldron to drop onto the table with a loud clunk.

"Careful with that Longbottom, it's expensive!" hissed Snape.

Harry glared at Snape. True, only a few seconds ago he had been feeling less than charitable towards Neville but he really didn't deserve to be treated like this.

The next thing they knew Snape had snatched both of their wands from their unsuspecting hands and quickly turned and treaded out of the dungeons, the heavy doors crashing shut behind him.

The whole mood of the dungeon was brought down, if at all possible even more than usual. An instant chill began to settle over everything and a feeling of discomfort came over both Harry and Neville.

"I hate that stupid, greasy git…" muttered Harry.

"Me too." Neville agreed.

"You know, Neville…you really shouldn't allow him to talk to you like that…despite what you may think, you don't deserve it…"

Neville looked up at Harry.

"What am I supposed to do about it Harry? Snape hates me, he always has and he always will. Nothing I say or do is ever going to change that…so I just figure I might as well put up with it until…well, neither of us will have to put up with him much longer. Just one more year and then hopefully we'll never have to see him again…"

Harry couldn't help but smile at his forgetful and clumsy dorm mate. When it came to enemies, Neville didn't seem to hold any type of hate or resentment towards them like Harry did, and in a way, Harry respected that about Neville.

Also, no matter what kinds of bad things continued to happen to Neville, he always managed to stay so… composed. In fact, Harry couldn't even think of one instance in all of the time that he had known Neville where he had ever lost his temper or raised his voice to anyone.

If it were Harry instead of Neville that Snape was saying all of these unpleasant things to, he would probably be sitting in Azkaban right now for attempted murder or the intent to cause severe bodily harm.

"Well, I guess we'd better get started then," said Harry miserably.

Harry and Neville both began gathering their ingredients and wasted no time getting started on their potions.

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Neville reached up and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. When he and Harry began their detention it had been rather cold but now since they had been put to work they were beginning to sweat.

"Finally…I thought we'd never finish!" exclaimed Harry as he finished polishing the last cauldron and fell back onto the floor.

About three hours and forty five minutes had passed since they first began their detention and they were already feeling dead. It hadn't taken them nearly as long as they had predicted it would to clean all of the equipment but the fact that they had to do it without magic just made it that much harder and more frustrating on them.

"Neville, murder me…please," groaned Harry. "I don't think I can take a whole 'nother week of this!"

"I'm sorry, Harry…this is all entirely my fault."

"Neville, stop. You've got to quit blaming yourself for everything…it's my own fault for being here by not paying close enough attention in potions…basically, it's every man for himself in there. So, I am taking responsibility for my own actions."

"S-sorry…" mumbled Neville.

"Potter! Longbottom!"

"Oh great…he's back," moaned Harry.

Harry and Neville stood up and walked back into the dungeon.

"I specifically said to report to me when you were finished, did I not?"

"Yes Professor but-" began Harry.

"Instead I come in here to find that the dungeon has been turned into a disaster area, which with you present Longbottom I don't find this all that surprising."

Neville felt his face grow hot.

Harry bit down on his tongue, hard.

"Professor, we were just about to come get you. We literally just finished cleaning all of your equipment in the supply room, like you told us to do. Seeing as we were without magic the process kind of took a little longer than we would have liked."

"Don't give me any more lip Potter or your week's worth of detention will double," barked Snape as he walked over to the supply room and stuck his head inside to scrutinize their work.

He turned around and walked back to his desk and began to inspect the potions they had made. Snape began drumming his fingers on his desk and continued to stare at their potions; both were dull and copper colored.

"Well, well, well, it looks as though you both followed my directions to the very last drop," Snape replied quietly and without enthusiasm. His delivery of their success was simple yet he still had a scowl on his face, almost as though he was greatly disturbed and disappointed by the fact that they had both not failed in messing up the potion.

"Professor, what exactly is that potion that you had us make?"

"Do not ask questions Potter. Do not speak unless spoken to. Now, I want both of you to clean up this mess, put everything back the way it was and then leave. You will come here immediately after dinner for the rest of the week to finish serving out your detentions. I will be keeping your wands with me until tomorrow morning so you won't be tempted to cheat your way through this detention. You can come retrieve them from me after breakfast…oh and don't forget, your essays are to be in my hands tomorrow night precisely at eight o'clock sharp."

And without another word Snape scowled at them one last time and quickly turned and walked out of the dungeon.

"I really hate him," growled Harry under his breath.

Neville walked over to the supply room and returned with a bunch of towels. He and Harry began cleaning up their mess by hand. Finally after about twenty or thirty minutes they were finished.

"I can't believe he is keeping our wands until tomorrow morning…he could just keep them until we are finished with everything and then give them back…" began Neville. "I mean, what if we ended up needing them?"

"Snape doesn't give a shit," answered Harry.

They both stood back and admired their work. They were finally finished.

"Wow, I don't know about you but I'm beat. I don't even want to know what he has in store for us tomorrow," Harry replied through a yawn. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

Although the dungeons were now so spotless that you could see your reflection staring back at you from practically any corner of the room, one minor detail remained unattended.

"Whoa!" Neville cried out as he slipped and fell hard, landing on his back.

"Yeah…I guess we could have spent a little more time on drying the floors…" replied Harry with a chuckle. He made his way over to Neville, being extra careful to step over the wet spots and held out his hand for Neville to grab. Harry pulled him up, only this caused Neville's sleeve to shift revealing a slightly bloodied and bandaged arm.

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Authors Note: Dun Dun Dun!!! Don't you just love cliff hangers? I don't! Muhahahaw! Yeah I figured I might as well go ahead and put up this chapter as well since I have no idea if and when I'll update again. I suppose the more reviews I get the more likely I will be to remember about this fic! lol. So yeah, poor Neville. :( Read and Review please :)