Summary: Trevor knew he would be worthy of someone special, and he knew that someone was a boy named Neville.
Rated: K
Genre: Friendship, General
How I Met Neville
I awoke with a start to another long and boring day. Something had made a crashing sound from behind and it felt like it rocked the stand my house was placed on. The few other toads that were stored in their own homes near me exchanged quiet croaks while I sat on my mossy bed and looked out at the other creatures that lived in the shop. They were always the ones to go first. People rarely noticed us tucked away in the back sitting in glass boxes on a shelf. Maybe it was done on purpose because we weren't the most desired pet on people's list. Some of us would croak gleefully at a child who wandered over to look at us and tap on the glass to get a reaction—it really bothered me when they did that. But others had given up finding a new home and family, deciding to hide in their hollow logs so they wouldn't be noticed, but I was biding my time. I was a patient toad, I knew the right person would come to me eventually. It made me feel a little special knowing this, that I was only worthy for the best witch or wizard. I knew there would be a perfect little kid out there who would need a friend like myself to boost his or her confidence. I was willing to offer the adventure that they would need to grow and explore.
This particular day held an unexpected plan for me. It wasn't long before the store had opened and the customers slowly came and went did I see a young boy enter with an older witch and wizard. The young lad looked completely uncomfortable being around so many cats, I personally didn't like them myself, but he was almost ghostly white as the small group moved past them and toward the owls after one of them let out a menacing hiss. I felt a shudder myself from the hostility of the cats threatening tone.
I could hear them talking, but human language was difficult for me to understand at times when the speaker wasn't close enough. I watched them anyway, curious to see if the boy shared the same reaction to the other pets they shuffled over to. He appeared a little less tense, but owls can be just as snooty as a cat, and the sudden squawk startled me a little bit that I partially burrowed deeper into my mossy bed.
The nip of one barn owl didn't look dangerous to me, but I prefer to not have any sort of snapping beak near me, friendly or otherwise. This gesture seemed to have the child shy away from the feathered friends, the older witch was exasperated with him and pulled him out of my view while the wizard moved toward our section of the store. A couple of my friends had burrowed into their moss beds and logs in an attempt to hide from him, but their beady little eyes shifting about gave them away.
It didn't take long for the boy to be at the wizards side, peering intently at each toad that scrunched their bodies deeper into the moss before he looked into my glass box. I had shifted out of my bed to see him better. Tilting my head upwards some, I decided to make low, quiet, throaty croaks at him. The wizard started speaking, and I strained my hearing to register what was said.
"...Look, seems this one quite likes ya already. He's not hiding, and he's saying hello!"
I wasn't actually saying 'hello', but I was trying to ask him how he was. I figured I could at least say what the man thought I was saying, so I gave a louder croak and shifted by body some more to get closer to the glass.
The boy had smiled, he didn't look as terrified with me as he was with the cats and owls, this made me happy. I didn't want to think that people would be scared away by me. I put one of my webbed feet up against the glass, pushing against it some as the boy drew closer. I filled my voice sac with a big gulp of air and let out another loud croak. I quite like this boy, he seemed to find me amusing and not remotely afraid of my appearance. This one needed a friend, and I wanted to be that friend. I felt like we already had a special connection forming, and I could only hope he felt it, too.
"What do you think, Neville? Do you like him?"
I knew I could grow used to being with this child named Neville, but before I could give another croak of approval to the young lad, the owner of the store came and swept me up with his hand and offered it to the kid.
"Yer one of the few who seem drawn to these toads. They're easy enough to care for, at least."
I nestled in on the kids clammy hands. This child was mine now, and I couldn't wait to get to know him.
"What're you gonna name him, dear nephew?" the wizard beside my new owner asked as they took me and exited the shop.
"I think he looks like a Trevor, don't you think, Great Uncle Algie?"
My boy didn't seem confident in this Trevor name he offered, but I didn't mind it that much. I gave a little croak of approval and gamboled up and down in place to let him know that I liked it. He gave me a quick pat on the head and nodded. His voice wavered slightly as he rested his hand on my back. I guess he thought my hopping indicated I wanted to escape. This wasn't the case at all.
"O-okay there, Trevor. Settle down."
I wasn't wrong in knowing Neville needed a friend, and he took to me like I took to the murky environment I was to call home at his gran's house—fondly. He would sit by my glass box and talk to me for ages, and I would happily sit there in the marsh-like surroundings and listen. I felt even more special learning that I was a birthday present from his Great Uncle, and that he was always ridiculed by his family for being a Squib until he finally showed accidental magic. It made me sad that he had to find a best friend in a toad like myself, but I was also glad that he had someone to call a best friend as the rest of summer crept on by.
I tried to croak my affection to him, to tell him, "No matter where you are, I am always with you."
But if course he couldn't understand toad language, so I would express my care for him by cuddling and staying close to him. He took me everywhere, I insisted on it by hopping on his shoulder.
I learned a lot about Neville, but I couldn't stand the thought that he was going to be attending school and not have any human friends to be with while there. I knew he was going to be taking me along, so I started to think of ways on helping my nervous yet kind owner seek out a friend or two that would stick with him and understand him like I did. I didn't want to see him alone like he was now—or was before I came along, anyway.
The day he took me on the train for the new school was the perfect time for me to make my plan work. Kind people that Neville should befriend would help him find me, right? I quickly hopped along the long, narrow corridors, ignoring the screams of the other students upon spotting me as I moved past. I needed to find a good hiding spot, but not too good, I didn't want to give him the idea that I hated him and deliberately wanted to stay away. I will make it up to him later, but for now I can endure not being allowed riding on his shoulder like I am fond of doing while he roamed the house.
Finding a quiet compartment where there was good sun—I was quite cold for some reason—I hopped up onto the seat to sunbathe in the rays that stretched across it. This will do, and it was quiet. Now to sit and wait for my Neville to find me, and hopefully make a friend in the meantime. That's what best friends did for each other, right? Help them make new friends?
Originally Written For:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)
Monthly Challenges for All
The Houses Competition
Word Count: 1,442
Originally Written: July 2018