It was a cold morning in late October when Hogwarts awoke to chaos. The main corridors leading up from the Slytherin common room to the ground floor had all been blocked by an unbearable stench. At one point along each corridor a haze hung in the air that gave off such a hideous odour that no Slytherin was prepared to pass through it. Even obscure back routes had been cut off. With the Slytherins all trapped in the dungeons and no one able to reach them, the usual routine of the castle collapsed into uproar.
They had all missed breakfast and classes were beginning without them when eventually Snape, who had been shut down there himself, was able to produce a potion to dispel the noxious vapours. The Slytherins all stormed out of the dungeons and spent the rest of the day in foul moods, not helped by the obvious amusement the other three houses had gained from the situation.
It was virtually all the Gryffindor table would talk about over supper that evening. Neville was sitting next to Hermione, along with Dean, Seamus and Ginny nearby discussing who might have been responsible for the prank. Speculation naturally fell on Fred and George as the most likely suspects, although they had not claimed responsibility for it to anyone yet. The twins’ prank pulling schemes and knowledge of the castle were legendary. Neville looked down the table to where they were sitting with Harry and Ron. They were laughing and joking, but that was as always and they didn’t seem to be acting in any way out of the ordinary.
The only other person, at least in Gryffindor, that anyone could suggest with the nerve to pull off such a stunt was Harry. That was Seamus’ idea, but it was considered unlikely by everyone else, except Ginny who didn’t offer an opinion. Although, Neville thought, Harry did have quite an animosity towards Slytherin, and he thought of the map of Hogwarts Harry had shown him at the end of the previous year. He would certainly know all the ins and outs of the school.
The discussion however eventually drifted away from the subject and on to the upcoming Hogsmeade visit taking place that Saturday. The reminder caused Neville to temporarily panic as he couldn’t remember whether Gran had signed his permission slip and if so, where he’d put it. He at last recalled that it was signed, and stuffed in the pocket of one of his trousers. He’d put it there on the day he and Gran had found out about Remus Lupin. If his Hogwarts letter had arrived a day later, Neville considered, his paranoid Gran might not have agreed to let him go to Hogsmeade. He only hoped Gran hadn’t written directly to the school, rescinding her permission.
“It’s the only all-wizarding village in Britain,” Hermione was saying. “I’m looking forward to visiting the Three Broomsticks, and the Shrieking Shack is supposedly the most haunted building in the country.”
“So long as I get to visit Zonko’s and Honeydukes, I’ll be happy,” said Seamus.
After supper the Gryffindors mostly all headed back towards the common room. But when they got to the foot of the main staircase, they found McGonagall there ahead of them. She had a very severe look on her face. “Ronald Weasley?” she said. There was a murmur through the group. “Ronald Weasley, would you come with me please?” Looking very trepid, Ron emerged from the crowd and slumped off after McGonagall, in the direction of her office. “The rest of you can go,” she called to the remaining students, still hanging about in shock. Slowly they filed off up the stairs. As Neville went to go however, he saw Harry hesitate, then run off after Ron and McGonagall.
Up in the common room, Neville waited for Ron and Harry to return. The talk in the room was mainly of astonishment that Ron might have been responsible. No one thought he had it in him. Indeed a great many people were suggesting McGonagall was talking to Ron about something completely different. Neville doubted that, though. He had seen the guilty look on Ron’s face.
Others in the know were talking about Ron’s ordeal of the previous year: his possession by Tom Riddle. The less charitable were suggesting that maybe he had gone off the rails after his experience and had got a taste for causing trouble. Kinder souls supposed that this was his way of getting back at Slytherin. Neville, who thought he was beginning to know and understand Ron Weasley, could only listen to these ideas and smile at their absurdity.
At long last the portrait entrance to the common room swung open and Ron entered, closely followed by Harry. Ron looked glum and depressed and went straight on up to the dormitory. Harry let him go and, seeing Neville, settled into a chair next to him. “So what happened?” Neville asked.
“Ron got caught,” replied Harry. “Someone saw him lurking around the dungeons yesterday evening, so they just put two and two together. I couldn’t let him take the fall alone, so I confessed it was both of us who did it together.”
“But did you really do it?”
Harry leaned closer. “You can’t tell anyone, but actually it was the four of us: Fred, George, Ron and me. It was a prank that kind of got out of hand. We never expected to be so successful.” Harry grinned. “Still, it was great fun, and I’d do it again. We used this putty-like substance based on a Dungbomb that Fred came up with. Smear it on a wall and it slowly releases an unbelievable stink. We set it up last night.”
“I never knew you were involved in Fred and George’s pranks,” said Neville, surprised.
“Ah,” said Harry, tapping the side of his nose. “We’ve got up to a few. It’s just that we don’t usually get caught.”
“So what punishment did you get?”
“Detention for the rest of the week and banned from going on Saturday’s Hogsmeade trip. But actually I’ve got a plan for that one.” He smiled to himself.
“Won’t your godfather be angry when he finds out?”
“Sirius? Nah. He’ll have enjoyed it as much as we did, I’ll bet. He’ll probably give me a pat on the back for embarrassing the Slytherins. Did you know all his family were Slytherins and he rebelled and went into Gryffindor? He’s quite proud of it. I told you he was great. So long as he knows where I am, he’ll let me get away with almost anything.”
Harry leaned back in his chair and for a moment Neville saw just how like Sirius Black Harry really was. Not physically, there was very little similarity between the two other than their mops of dark hair, but in their manner. They shared the same laid-back style and devil-may-care attitude. Neville wondered just how much of his personality Harry had inherited and how much he had picked up from Black.
* * *
Saturday morning came, and it was bright and dry, if a little chilly. The students of Hogwarts, all wrapped up warm, gathered on the lawn outside the main entrance to the castle, ready to make their way to Hogsmeade. Permission slips had been checked and numbers counted. Neville had said goodbye to Harry and Ron in the dormitory. Surprisingly, they hadn’t looked too down about missing out on the trip.
Neville walked alongside Hermione as they headed off along the path to the front gates of Hogwarts, a little way beyond which lay the first houses of Hogsmeade. “Honestly, I thought those two had grown up a bit by now,” Hermione was saying.
“Who?” replied Neville, who hadn’t been paying attention.
“Harry and Ron, of course. You remember what they were like in our first year, constantly causing trouble and acting all crazy. I’d thought after last year they’d matured a bit. Now I’m not so sure.”
Neville smiled inwardly. Hermione was exaggerating a little, he knew. He remembered how she couldn’t stand Ron and Harry in their first year, and how the feeling was largely mutual. Now, after all they had been through, they were good friends, if not as close as Harry and Ron were with each other. Her comments were now more the irritation of an embarrassed friend than the venom of an antagonist. A lot had happened in two years.
As they approached the gates of Hogwarts, Neville began to feel even colder, and his head felt strangely dizzy. His legs seemed like lead and it became harder to walk. Slowly his dulled brain became aware of what he was feeling. It was the sensation he felt when close to a Dementor. Worried, he looked around, but there was no sign of cloaked figures. The Dementors guarding the gate had in fact been ordered aside to allow the students to pass, but anywhere that Dementors linger for a length of time retains the atmosphere of their presence. It took a great effort by Neville, aided by Hermione, just to pass through the mist-enshrouded gates and on to the clean air beyond.
Once they entered Hogsmeade however, Neville felt better almost immediately. The village was a delight, filled with quaint thatched cottages and bright, inviting shops. Neville and Hermione walked up and down the High Street together, dropping into each of the shops in turn. Honeydukes Sweetshop proved a particular favourite of Neville’s, their excellent chocolate perking up his spirits, though doing little for his ample waistline, as Hermione thought it necessary to point out.
Eventually they squeezed into a packed Three Broomsticks for lunch. The place seemed to have been almost overrun with Hogwarts students, but the atmosphere was warm and friendly. They sat in a quiet corner together and chatted about all they had seen and how great it would be to live in a place like Hogsmeade. When they left the pub and returned out into the fresh air, Hermione told Neville she wanted to pop back to Scrivenshaft’s for a few supplies. “I won’t be long,” she assured him. “Why don’t I meet you down by the Shrieking Shack? We haven’t been there yet. See you soon.” She hurried off.
Neville slowly wandered further down the High Street, peering in shop windows. Then, as he was passing a tea shop called Madam Puddifoot’s, he saw two people emerge. To his surprise, they were Professor Black and Professor Burbage. They were talking and laughing together. Black then planted a gentle kiss on Burbage’s cheek and she walked off, smiling broadly.
Embarrassed, Neville tried to look the other way, but Black spotted him and called, “Hello, Neville!” He too, Neville saw, had a big grin on his face as he walked over. “How are you? Fine day, isn’t it?”
“Er, yes sir,” stammered Neville.
“Sirius, Neville, call me Sirius. No matter how many times I tell you kids, it’s always ‘sir’ or ‘Professor Black’. I can’t cope with it. It’s not… well, it’s not me.”
“Sorry, er, Sirius,” replied Neville.
“That’s better.” He put an arm on Neville’s shoulder. “Look Neville, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention to Harry about seeing Ch-…Professor Burbage and I together. For now, I just like to keep this discreet. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks. Are you on your way somewhere specific?”
“The Shrieking Shack,” answered Neville. “I’m meeting Hermione there.”
Black raised an eyebrow. “Still a popular place to visit, is it? Never understood the attraction myself. It’s just a boarded-up old building, after all. Yeah, they say it’s haunted, but Hogwarts isn’t exactly short of ghosts itself, is it? I reckon the attraction is only because nobody can get into the place. Well, see you in class, Neville.” He smiled and sauntered off, whistling to himself.
Neville turned and followed the well-trodden path to the edge of village where lay the Shrieking Shack. As Black had described it, it was indeed a battered old building. All the windows were smashed and crudely boarded-up with wooden planks. The whole place looked half on the verge of collapse, although being a wizarding building it was unlikely to do that. Neville wondered what kept anyone from entering.
Hermione wasn’t there yet, so Neville sat down on a rock to wait. He listened nervously for any sounds coming from the building, but it was completely silent. Neville had never been completely comfortable around ghosts, though over two years at Hogwarts had naturally gone a long way to easing that discomfort. He was hoping he wasn’t going to encounter any now.
Suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder and he turned around, expecting to see Hermione. But there was no one there. He got to his feet, looking around for anyone, but he was alone. Then there was a tap on his other shoulder. He stared wildly in every direction, but still no one. Frightened, he half imagined he could now hear the sound of laughter, and he backed away down the path, getting ready to run if anything should appear.
The laughter grew, and Neville realised it wasn’t imaginary. All of a sudden in front of him, Harry and Ron appeared out of nowhere. They were giggling furiously. A cloak fell from their shoulders to the ground. Harry picked it up and carefully folded it away.
“Bloody hell, guys,” said Neville, not usually given to swearing. “You nearly scared me half to death. What are you doing here? That’s your invisibility cloak, isn’t it Harry?” He sat down on the grass and took in deep gulps of air.
“Yeah,” Harry grinned. “I told you we’d make it to Hogsmeade anyway. Sorry about the trick, Neville, we couldn’t resist.”
Neville’s brow furrowed. “You haven’t been following me all day, have you?”
“No, we only just got here,” answered Ron.
“But how? And how did you get past the Dementors? I thought invisibility cloaks didn’t stop them.”
“We didn’t go past the Dementors, we went under them,” said Harry. “Remember that map I showed you at the end of last year, when we were looking for Ron? It shows more than just the castle. It’s got several secret passageways marked on it which lead directly to Hogsmeade. We’ve just come down one.”
“We figured we could tell you, since you know about the map already and it would have been boring if it had just been us going round under the cloak all day,” added Ron, “but you can’t tell anyone else. It’s a big secret, all right?”
“But you’ll get into massive trouble if they catch you,” worried Neville. “I’ve just seen your godfather, Harry. Who knows who else might be around?”
“Don’t worry,” said Harry. “Provided we stay off the High Street and use the cloak where necessary, we’ll be fine. We can just sneak back through the secret passage later and as far as anyone knows, we’ve been in the castle all day.”
Neville was doubtful, but there was nothing he could do about it. “Hermione’s turning up here in a minute. She’ll go nuts if she sees you. Are you going to tell her?” he asked.
Harry and Ron looked at each other. “Probably best if we don’t,” Ron said eventually.
Harry nodded. “I agree. I guess we’ll have to leave you, Neville.” He turned to Ron. “Let’s go see if we can find the others. Bye, Neville. See you later. Though you may not see us.” With that, he took out the cloak again, slipped it around himself and Ron, and they vanished.
When Hermione arrived five minutes later, Neville told her nothing of his encounter with Harry and Ron. After a short while wandering around the Shrieking Shack, and finding it rather boring in the end, they walked back into the village.
* * *
At the end of a long and enjoyable day, everyone at last returned to Hogwarts. Stepping through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room once more, Neville found Harry and Ron standing there. Though Neville hadn’t seen them since their meeting by the Shrieking Shack, they had evidently managed to successfully return to the castle and evade detection. Neville had expected them to look happy and cocky at their success, but their faces were worried and stern.
Harry walked up to Neville and handed him a copy of the day’s Evening Prophet, pointing to the front page. “Lupin’s been sighted near here,” he said gravely. “They think he’s coming to Hogwarts.”
Neville Longbottom and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Sonorus
Chapter Notes: In which a prank brings turmoil to Hogwarts and Neville visits Hogsmeade for the first time.