chapter eighteen.
Can I not get a break?
The school contacted Gran again, about the trolley incident.
Needless to say, another Howler came for me.
'NEVILLE VIVIAN LONGBOTTOM' It started. I could feel my stomach sink to the floor. Vivian. 'WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THAT TOAD OVER BREAK, AND MANY TIMES BEFORE? YOU'D BETTER KEEP A BETTER EYE ON HIM. I WILL TAKE YOU BACK HERE, MARK MY WORDS, NEVILLE. I HAD TO PAY THE TRAIN FIFTEEN GALLEONS, THANKS TO YOUR TOAD JUMPING ALL OVER THE FOOD. YOU'RE LUCKY NO ONE WAS HURT, YOU FOOLISH BOY. YOU GET THAT TOAD, AND YOU LOCK HIM UP IN THAT CAGE.'
And then there was silence.
For about five seconds.
And then there was laughter.
I dashed out into the Entrance Hall as fast as I could, though that wasn't very fast.
'VIVIAN?' Someone burst out laughing behind me, following that, two more people started laughing. I turned around, groaning.
'Bite me,' I said, in complete disbelief as I heard the words come out of my mouth. Malfoy and his gang looked at me, their cruel smiles turning into more of a look of confusion. 'Er…uh…unless you're a vampire,' I said in a small voice.
They burst out laughing again.
The Howler had people falling over in laughter all day. I tried to keep to myself, and to actually finding Trevor (I really, really hope he got off the train), but it wasn't easy.
'Vivian is a family name!' I tried to convince Dean later in the dormitory.
'From your mother's side?!' He asked, not trying to hide his laughter for my benefit.
'Well, n-no!'
'Sure, mate,' He said, still laughing.
The rest of the guys in my dormitory teased me all night, so I escaped a few hours after dinner to the Common Room. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I think my heart might just have skipped a beat. Hermione. Sitting on the couch. Smiling at me.
I haven't talked to her at all since the embarrassment of being locked in the Potions cupboard, but having her smile at me actually made me blush. Maybe the Howler wasn't so bad after all.