84 Surviving and Living

When Neville woke up the next morning, he wasn't in his bed. He was on the ground, looking up at the night sky through a bunch of trees.

"Ah!"

Neville sat upright and looked around the forest. All he saw were trees, and even then he could only see a few feet away through the dark.

"What do I do?" he asked as he began to panic. "What do I do?!"

He felt around for his pack. Rose must've left it with him, otherwise he was defenceless. She'd know that.

His heart lept when his fingers closed around the strap, and he pulled it to him. The first thing Neville grabbed was his wand, and the second were his gloves.

"I think I can do this," he said, holding his wand. "Lumos!"

His wand sparked and emitted a dim light.

"Good enough," he said.

He put his wand between his knees so he could put on his gloves. Then he held it with his teeth so he could put on his shoes. When he was ready, he slung his pack over his shoulder.

"Now what?"

Even with the light, Neville still couldn't see more than ten feet through the trees, if that. He'd never been in the Forbidden Forest before, so how was he supposed to find his way out?

"If I just knew the way to the castle…"

He looked at the trees. Maybe he could climb one and get a better view. The castle would have lights on, so he could probably see it from there.

The only problem was that Neville had never climbed a tree in his life.

"I guess I'm supposed to be learning things today."

He tucked his wand behind his ear, just as he'd seen Luna do hundreds of times, then jumped onto the nearest tree.

The bark was rough under his hands, even with his gloves on, but it gave him a good grip on the tree. He brought one foot up, then the other. When he tried his second foot, his foot slipped, and he almost fell.

"Come on, Toad, you can do this," he groaned.

He repositioned his foot, then reached out his hand for one of the branches.

"Got it!" he exclaimed as he hauled himself up.

CRACK!

The branch snapped off, and he fell back to the ground. Neville landed hard on his back and laid on the ground for a minute.

"I can't do it," he said, tears running down his face. "I can't!"

Yes, you can! Rose's voice said. I wouldn't have put you here if I thought you couldn't do it!

"That's right," Neville said, grunting as he climbed to his feet. "Rose is counting on me to figure this out. She knows what she's doing, and I won't let her down."

Neville tried climbing the tree again, nearly falling a few more times. Every time he did, he hugged the tree as hard as he could.

His spirits lifted as he neared the top of the canopy.

"Almost there!"

He was soaking wet from the rain, but his gloves helped him keep his grip on the tree. The canopy was full of branches that Neville used to make it to the top of the tree. He balanced on a branch and stuck his head out of the canopy.

The rain was coming down in sheets, and the cold drops stung his skin when they touched it. It was dark, and hard to see anything through the rain, but he saw a light in the distance. It was above the treetops, so it couldn't be something in the forest.

"That must be the castle," Neville said. "How do I remember which direction that is when I climb down?"

After a moment, an idea struck him. He drew the Sword of Gryffindor from his glove, then marked the part of the tree facing the castle. He continued the marks as he climbed down the tree.

The climb down the tree turned out to be easier and faster than the climb up, but hurt a lot more when he found another weak branch.

After picking himself up, Neville spotted the marks he made and made one more at the base of the tree.

"Alright, Toad, let's start walking."

"I can't believe this!" Ron exclaimed at breakfast.

"You've said that already," Ginny said.

Harry glanced at Ron, then turned back to his food.

"Rose said she doesn't know what happened," Sally-Anne said. "Neither does Neville."

"Of course she does," Ron said. "Dumbledore probably made her say that or something. You know what I think happened?"

"If I say 'yes', will you shut up?" Ginny asked.

"I think Dumbledore let her enter Neville so Hogwarts got two champions," Ron said. "Probably made her promise to donate the money to Hogwarts or something."

"If Rose said–"

"Maybe he did," Harry said. "It's not like Rose cares what we think anyway."

"What?!" Ginny screeched.

"Harry, that's an awful thing to say," Sally-Anne said. "Rose would risk her life for us."

"Unless there's something better to do," Ron said. "If she cares so much, where is she?"

Sally-Anne glanced over her shoulder.

"She's not at the Ravenclaw table," Harry said. "I haven't seen her or Neville all morning."

"Probably off celebrating or something," Ron said.

"Would you two stop it?" Sally-Anne said. "We've got Herbology with the Hufflepuffs in a few minutes, which is going to be hard enough without you two squabbling like children."

Ginny snickered, but Sally-Anne silenced her with a quick glare.

"What's that mean?" Ron asked.

"Look behind us," Harry muttered.

He'd caught the looks the moment they'd walked inside the Great Hall.

Hufflepuffs were normally nice to them. They'd smile, talk amongst themselves, maybe stop by and say hello. Today, they were whispering to themselves, and if they looked at Gryffindor at all, it was all glares and scowls.

"What's their problem?" Ron asked.

"They think we did this," Harry said. "I guess we did, in a way."

Sally-Anne glared at him.

"She's the one that left Alavel with me," Harry said. "He ruins everything, but Rose won't get him to back off."

"Rose did that to protect you!"

"Then why does he always have to ruin everything?" Harry asked. "Sirius won't tell me anything, and every time he suggests doing something fun, Alavel tells him how dangerous it's going to be, and suddenly Sirius changes his mind."

Harry clenched his fists. The mere thought of Alavel made him angry. Why couldn't Taltria have gone with him? Why did Rose hate him so much? Did she just hate all of them except Luna, Neville, and Hermione?

"Calm down."

Harry glared at Sally-Anne, but she gave it right back to him. After a moment, he eased up and took a few breaths. Whatever Sally-Anne had to say, it was worth listening to her.

"Thank you," Sally-Anne said. "Now, why don't you practice Quidditch after Care for Magical Creatures? They only cancelled the matches, but you can probably still practice. I think it would help clear your head. We'll talk to Rose about Alavel during dinner. Once she hears that he's not working out, she'll come up with a better solution. She's not completely mad."

Harry liked the thought of flying again. The ground rushing away from him, the relaxing feeling of complete freedom. Once he got into the air, all his troubles would be over.

"I take it by that smile you approve?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, not realizing that he'd been smiling. "Thanks."

"Ronald," Sally-Anne said, turning to Ron.

She sat up straight, and even though Ron was taller than her, even sitting down, it looked like she towered over him. She glared at him with fire that would make Professor McGonagall proud, and carried herself as if she owned the whole world.

Did her mum teach her how to do that? Harry wondered, thinking back to a year ago when Mrs. Perks stared down Uncle Vernon with the same expression.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, going after your friends when they're not around to defend themselves."

"What? I–"

"Do you think Rose likes lying to us?"

Ron frowned, apparently caught off guard by Sally-Anne's sudden shift in tone.

"I guess not."

"If she didn't want Professor Dumbledore to put her in a position that forced her to lie to us, do you think he could?"

"She could probably just leave, I guess."

"Would Professor Dumbledore have given Rose, who is known for ignoring rules for fun, the ability to enter anyone she wanted without letting her know the exact consequences?"

Ron glanced over at Professor Dumbledore.

"Probably not?"

"He said people have died, so we know it's dangerous. Of all people, would Rose put her friends in danger like that, or allowed any of them to put themselves in danger?"

Ginny started to laugh at Ron, but Harry glared at her and mouthed "Let her finish."

"Oi!" Ron exclaimed, catching his sister.

"Don't pay attention to her, pay attention to me," Sally-Anne said. "Would Rose put her friends in danger?"

Ron shook his head.

"I'm glad we all agree then," Sally-Anne said.

Harry looked at Ron, who looked like he had no idea what just happened, then at Ginny, who looked like she wanted to marry Sally-Anne.

"Princess, you're the best!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Thank you, Ginny," Sally-Anne replied. She turned back to Ron and Harry. "We've got to stand together. The tournament's already divided the school, and unfortunately, we seem to be the only ones that accept what's happening. Rose had nothing to do with this, and Neville's just as shocked as everyone else. Let's all calm down and take this one step at a time. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Harry said.

"Agreed," Ron and Ginny added.

"Let's head to class," Sally-Anne said. "I'm afraid it's going to be a long day."

As his friends were enjoying breakfast, Neville was still trying to find his way back to Hogwarts. It hadn't looked that far when he'd seen it in the distance, but he felt as if he'd been walking for hours.

As the sun was rising in the east, he heard a noise in the trees near him. Neville ducked behind a tree and listened for the source of the sound.

Neville saw a pair of centaurs trotting through the woods. They were both much taller than he, and each had a bow and quiver slung over their shoulders.

"I know I heard something over here," one said.

"You're probably just hearing things again," the other said. "Remember last week?"

"I did hear something that time!" the first one protested.

"Sure, but you thought it was something dangerous," the second one said.

"It could've been!"

"Yes, the little blonde human girl was so terrifying."

Neville watched them argue for another minute, then tried to sneak away.

SNAP!

"Tried" being the operative word.

"What was that?"

"For once, I heard it too."

Neville turned around and sprinted straight into a third centaur.

"Well, what have we here?" the centaur asked. "A little human lost in centaur territory?"

"Told you!" the first centaur said.

"Quiet, you two," the third one said. "What are you doing out here, boy?"

"Trying to f-find my way b-back to Hogwarts," Neville said.

"Hogwarts is miles away. More likely that you're spying on us."

"I wasn't!"

"Let's take him to Magorian," the second one said. "He'll know what to do with him."

Neville looked at each of the centaurs. They had him surrounded, but he still had a chance to escape.

"Thinking of running?" one of them asked as he drew his bow and knocked an arrow. "Go ahead."

Neville looked at the arrow pointed at him and backed down.

"No," Neville said.

"Bag," another centaur said, holding out his hand.

Neville slipped off his pack and handed it to the centaur.

They shoved Neville ahead of them as they lead him into a large camp. There were centaurs walking all over. Wooden houses and tents littered the camp.

The centaurs brought Neville into one of the tents where a larger centaur was waiting.

"Magorian," one of the centaurs greeted him. "We found this human lurking in the woods in our territory. We believe him to be a spy."

"I'm not a spy!" Neville protested.

Magorian eyed Neville, scanning every detail of him.

"What's your name, human?"

"Neville Longbottom."

"What are you doing so far from Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom?" Magorian asked.

"My friend brought me here, so I could practice for the Triwizard Tournament."

Magorian approached Neville until he stood over him.

"Do you think me an idiot, human?"

"No."

"Then why do you give me this miserable excuse for a lie?!"

"It's not a lie!"

"Hold him!" Magorian ordered. "We'll keep him until I think of something to do with him."

The centaurs dragged Neville to a small hut. They bound his hands and feet, then tossed him on the ground.

Neville sat in the holding cell for hours, doing nothing more than staring at the ceiling.

He discovered that the guard changed every hour, something he learned by counting the seconds. Neville wondered if Hermione could teach him the Tempus Charm. Not that he could cast it if she did, but it'd still be something valuable to know.

Every time the guard changed the new one would take his place near Neville. They didn't watch him, but sat next to his bag, and Neville wasn't going to leave without it.

I can probably use the sword to cut myself free, Neville thought. Then what? Hope I can fight my way out? I won't last two seconds against them!

So Neville sat and waited. He waited for Rose to come save him, but as the hours dragged on, he lost hope that he'd ever see Hogwarts again. His stomach hurt, his mouth was dry, and his head ached. He felt dizzy and wanted nothing more than to go home.

Neville looked outside and saw the sun going down.

It'll be dark soon, Neville thought. Wait a minute!

Neville waited for the guard to change, then got to work. He shifted around on the floor until his back was to the wall. Without taking his eyes off the new guard, he drew the Sword of Gryffindor and jabbed it into the wall behind him. As subtly as he could he worked at his restraints until he could move his wrists again.

Neville pulled his sword out of the wall and turned to the guard. To his surprise, the guard handed him his pack.

"Hogwarts is south-southeast of the forest," the centaur said. "There's a path that runs through this camp. The centaurs use it to maneuver the Forbidden Forest. The path lets out near Hagrid's hut."

Neville took his pack and slid it back over his shoulder.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because even after the poison gas several moons ago, I don't believe that humans are evil," the centaur replied. "Go, Neville Longbottom. Quickly, before anyone hears."

"Who are you?" Neville asked.

"My name is Firenze."

"Thank you, Firenze," Neville said.

He poked his head out of the hut. The camp was still crawling with centaurs, but he clung to the edge of the hut and slipped back into the forest.

Neville ran down the path, not looking back for a second. He heard the thunder of hooves beating the dirt not far behind him and dove into the bushes. Neville watched from his hiding place as a group of centaurs ran past him.

Neville's plan to run into the setting sun seemed to be working. The centaurs hadn't been able to spot him with the sun in their eyes, so they didn't see him dive into the bushes.

Almost there, Toad.

Neville counted almost 30 minutes before the centaurs gave up and returned to their camp. He watched them leave, then ran as fast as he could along the path.

Harry watched the Hufflepuffs all day. Even if they never said it, it was obvious that they blamed Rose, and by extension Gryffindor, for what happened.

"Anyone else getting the feeling that the entire school's turned on us?" Sally-Anne asked as they walked to the Pitch.

"Herbology was awful," Ginny said. "Luna said she's been getting the same thing we are."

"Hufflepuff's angry at Rose," Harry said.

"Everyone else is probably upset it wasn't them," Sally-Anne said. "I'll be happy when Rose is around to defend herself."

"I'll be happy when I'm up in the air," Harry said. "Ginny, Ron, either of you want to fly?"

"We haven't got our own brooms," Ginny said.

"Right," Harry said. "Sorry."

"I'm sure they appreciate you offering," Sally-Anne said.

Harry's heart sank when they reached the Pitch.

"It's locked!" he exclaimed.

"What for?" Sally-Anne asked. "That seems odd that they'd actually lock us out. There must be a good reason for it."

"I've got an idea," Harry said, mounting his broom. "I'm gonna see if I can see what's going on."

"Be careful," Sally-Anne said.

Harry kicked off and watched the ground drift away as he flew higher and higher. He was free once again. Nothing to worry about, no teachers, no Alavel, no…

"Mr. Potter, get down here this instant!"

One teacher, then, he thought when he saw Professor McGonagall standing beside his friends.

He drifted down and landed next to Sally-Anne and Ron.

"Why can't I fly?" Harry asked as his feet touched the ground.

"You of all people should know that flying is forbidden outside of class, scheduled practices, and Quidditch matches," Professor McGonagall said. "No exceptions."

"Why?"

"Because we don't need children flying all over the grounds causing trouble," she said. Muttering, she added, "We've got Peta-Lorrum for that."

"What if Harry helped Madame Hooch?" Sally-Anne asked. "As her teaching assistant?"

Professor McGonagall turned back to them, eyeing Sally-Anne with a glare that could see straight through anyone.

"Is that even an option?" Harry asked.

"Impossible. The privilege of being a teaching assistant is only offered to sixth- and seventh-years, and few of them take it, if any."

"With all due respect, Professor, first-years aren't allowed to play Quidditch, second-years aren't allowed to take Arithmancy, third-years weren't allowed to go after Sirius Black, and fourth-years aren't allowed into the Triwizard Tournament."

"Potter may not be a teaching assistant."

"You've made exceptions for us before. What's one more? I think we can agree that the only student more qualified to help Madame Hooch is Cedric, and he's too busy being one of the Hogwarts champions."

"And that's my problem right there, Perks," Professor McGonagall snapped. "That girl has seen fit to ruin the Triwizard Tournament. It is the Headmaster's kindness that keeps her in this school and out of prison, so as far as I'm concerned, we've already made another exception."

"I'm sorry if what I'm about to say offends you, Professor, but you're wrong."

Professor McGonagall towered over Sally-Anne. The others took a step back, but Sally-Anne stood her ground.

"Oh really?"

"Rose knew about the Triwizard Tournament before we did. Neville told us that Professor Karkaroff wanted to leave, but Viktor Krum's got to stay here. Rose must've known that any student chosen for the Triwizard Tournament would be required to stay at Hogwarts for the entire tournament."

"And your point is…?"

"It's crossed Rose's mind that the Triwizard Tournament would've been the perfect way to force Hermione's parents to let her stay here. If Rose put a name in the Goblet of Fire, it would've been Hermione's, not Neville's. Hermione is Rose's best friend, and even if no one else can see it, I can: Rose misses Hermione a lot."

Harry looked from Sally-Anne to Professor McGonagall. He didn't know where Sally-Anne found the courage to stand up to her, but it might've been the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.

"We never told you this, but Rose matched the donations last year for Harry's broom," Sally-Anne continued. "She can conjure up real gold with her magic, not fake Leprechaun gold. She's already well-known for her work during the earthquake last year, so she's got no need for money or glory. Even if she wanted it, she'd enter herself, not one of us."

"Since you seem to know so much, Perks, answer me this: What if Peta-Lorrum did it for Longbottom, not for herself?"

"Because Neville, like Luna, blindly listens to Rose, who told us it was too dangerous. She refused to let the Twins enter, she refused to let Ron enter… she made no exceptions."

Professor McGonagall glared at Sally-Anne, then at Harry, then back at Sally-Anne.

"Tell me, Ms. Perks. What makes you think Potter would be a good teaching assistant?"

"Because he's the best Seeker Gryffindor's ever seen," Ron said.

"Professor McGonagall, you used to play Quidditch," Sally-Anne said. "In your opinion as a former star of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, who would you pick?"

"I won't deny that Potter performs well in a match, but his Quidditch skills don't count half as much as his teaching skills in this case. What makes you think he can teach?"

"I taught Ginny last year," Harry said.

Professor McGonagall turned her death glare at Ginny, who took on the appearance of a frightened mouse.

"Ms. Weasley, is this true?"

"Yes, Professor," Ginny replied. "He trained me as Gryffindor's reserve Seeker."

"And you felt he taught you well?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yeah."

"How so?"

"Erm… I mean… I guess I got what he was saying pretty quickly. He kept trying to catch me off guard, but I guess that was just to make sure the other team didn't. We worked pretty hard, but I thought that was just a Gryffindor Quidditch Team thing, since Wood was always worse."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. After a lifetime of everyone hating him, his friends were all standing up for him to Professor McGonagall. Last year they'd worked together to buy him his new broom, and this year they were working together to find a way for him to fly again.

Once again, Sally-Anne was at the forefront of it all. She always stood up for him, always listened to him. She was such a good friend.

Professor McGonagall glared at Sally-Anne, then at Harry. Harry wished he knew what she was thinking. Was she considering it? Was she thinking of a way to say "No"?

"The final decision rests with Madame Hooch," Professor McGonagall said. "I will talk to her and see what I can do. Mr. Potter, your friends make an excellent case for you, and I will convey this to her when I see her after dinner."

Harry opened his mouth, but Professor McGonagall held up her hand to indicate that she wasn't finished.

"I cannot guarantee that she will agree, although she is most familiar with your flying abilities. I also make no promises about how much flying you will do. If she agrees, then I expect you to present yourself with the upmost decency. Remember, Mr. Potter, I am vouching for you, which means if you make a mistake, it doesn't only reflect poorly on you, but on myself and all of Gryffindor."

Harry waited for a moment after Professor McGonagall stopped talking to make sure she wasn't about to start again.

"Thank you, Professor!" Harry exclaimed.

"I'm not the one you should be thanking." Professor McGonagall turned to Sally-Anne. "Ms. Perks, I will be taking your argument concerning Peta-Lorrum to Professor Dumbledore during dinner. We may also ask you to meet with the Triwizard Tournament Planning Committee in the next few days."

"I don't see a problem with that," Sally-Anne said. "Professor, might I ask why you came all the way out here?"

"Looking for Mr. Longbottom," Professor McGonagall replied. "Ms. Lovegood said she didn't know where he was, so I came out in search of you four to see if you knew."

"We haven't seen him all day," Sally-Anne said. "We've hardly seen Rose either, except in class."

"I know where she is, but she refuses to speak on Mr. Longbottom's whereabouts," Professor McGonagall said.

"She told us she's preparing him for the tournament," Sally-Anne said. "That's all we know."

Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes at Sally-Anne.

"Promise," Sally-Anne said.

It wasn't long before Neville realized his mistake.

The sun sets in the west, and I need to go south-southeast, he thought.

He turned away from the setting sun back towards the centaurs' camp.

"I can't go that way," he said. "I've just got to keep going this way and hope I'm right."

He ran down the path for 10 minutes before it turned away from the sun. After another few minutes, Neville came to a river. He looked down at it, but it was too dark to see the bottom.

"No bridge," Neville said, looking up and down the river. "Guess I'll have to swim and hope it's not dangerous."

Neville looked around and grabbed a stick from the ground. He lowered it into the water, and discovered that the water was only a foot deep.

"I can handle that."

He ran through the water, tripping when he was almost to the other side. Neville tried to stand up, but pain shot through his right foot when it touched the ground. He hopped to the other side of the river, then inspected his foot. After poking it, he figured he'd twisted his ankle.

"It's alright, Toad," he said. "Hogwarts can't be much farther."

Neville limped through the Forbidden Forest. He dragged his bad foot, not wanting to put more pressure on it than was necessary.

"Finally," he panted when he saw lights in the distance.

Neville had no idea where he was, but he guessed he had to be near Hagrid's hut.

He opened his mouth to call for the Groundskeeper, but a hand covered his mouth.

Neville grabbed the hand and tried to pull it off, fearing that it was another centaur, but stopped when he felt a familiar welding glove.

"Rose!" he exclaimed.

Before he knew what he was doing, he swept his friend up in a hug.

"I'm so glad to see you!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Toad," she said. "Let's get you fixed up."

Rose waved her wand over him and everything stopped hurting.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much. It was horrible! I thought the worst was over when I spotted the castle this morning, but then I ran into the centaurs, and they thought I was a spy, but one of them let me go, and I hid for nearly an hour, terrified that they'd find me, but I got away, and limped all the way here."

"How'd you find your way back after the centaurs?" Rose asked.

"Firenze told me to follow the path to Hogwarts," Neville explained. "That's how the centaurs navigate the forest. He also said that Hogwarts is south-southeast of the forest, so if I ever get lost, just start going that direction and I'll get out."

"Sounds like it'll be easy for you tomorrow then," Rose said.

"Can't I get a compass first?" Neville asked as they started back towards the castle.

"This way, you'll appreciate it so much more," Rose said. "That's why I don't just give you lot everything."

"I guess you're right," Neville said. "Thank you so much for helping me Rose."

Rose chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Neville asked.

"Survival training really helped me out when I was just starting," Rose said. "It helped me cope without Alice by my side. But my first time, she had to come and rescue me."

"I'm sorry," Neville said. "But why's that funny?"

"Because I didn't need to rescue you," Rose said. "You're doing a great job so far, Toad. I can't wait to see how good you are when it's time for the First Task."

"But I'm no good," Neville said. "I could hardly climb that tree, I thought I was gonna die in that centaur camp, I–"

"You can't expect to measure up to the best when you're just starting out," Rose said. "You start at level one, then you get to level two, and before you know it, you're level 10. Some days it'll feel like you didn't do anything, and others you'll want to quit, but you've got to keep moving forward, because that's the only way you'll ever get to where you're going."

"Do you really think I can do it?" Neville asked.

"No," Rose replied. "I know you can." She took his arm and led him away from the castle. "It's almost dinner time. We'll stop by Hagrid's so you can get cleaned up."

Neville looked down at his clothes. He was still in his pajamas, which were torn and covered in mud.

"Look at the bright side," Rose said.

"What?"

"You don't have to get blood stains out of your clothes!"

They vanished and reappeared back in the Forbidden Forest near Hagrid's hut.

"Where was I?" Neville asked.

"Just near the boundary wall, north of the castle," Rose said. She led him down a path to Hagrid's hut. "That's the path you were on. Follow that a ways, and you'll get back to the centaurs."

"I'll pass for today," Neville said as Rose knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came Hagrid's voice.

"Official Hogwarts business!" Rose replied.

Hagrid opened the door.

"Neville! What happened to you? Everyone's been looking all over for you today."

"I keep telling everyone, I'm preparing him for the Triwizard Tournament," Rose said. "As per Professor Dumbledore's orders."

"What're you doing out here?" Hagrid asked.

"Neville needs a place to get cleaned up before dinner," Rose replied. "He's too shy to change behind a tree."

Neville blushed, in part of the thought of changing so close to Rose, and in part because he never thought to try changing in the Forbidden Forest.

"Go right ahead," Hagrid said, stepping aside to let Neville enter.

"Thanks," Neville said.

He ducked into a back room and pulled off his ruined pajamas. He returned after changing into clean clothes, not that it mattered much.

When he got outside, Rose waved her wand over him, and he felt like he'd just been scrubbed clean.

"Much better," Rose said. "Thanks, Professor Hagrid!"

"You two shouldn't be wandering around in the dark," Hagrid told them.

"It's fine," Rose said. "It's only a few minute walk back to the castle, and we'll be just in time for dinner!"

Neville's stomach growled its approval.

"Sounds good to me," Neville said. "Thanks again, Hagrid!"

Neville walked to Hogwarts with Rose. He didn't know what would happen next, but he knew that with Rose next to him, he could handle anything.