Party and Quidditch

Next morning when everyone in Hogwarts woke up, students were shocked to see Gryffindor points higher than Slytherin house and it was a huge lead. What happened in Halloween was not known to many, after all, Neville had no intention of spreading his rumors fighting a troll in some stupid way.

He knew once these kids will find out, the story will change into an adventure or horror novel by kids at the end of day. However, his plans failed at the breakfast table.

"Good morning students. Today as you may have noticed Gryffindor house cup points are in leading position. It is because one of the brave young lions, Mr Neville had an interesting duel with the loose troll yesterday night. This is to save a fellow student from Slytherin. A wonderful show of courage and companionship. Hence as the headmaster, I award 50 points to Gryffindor. Also, I must say a truly fascinating and creative use of herbology. Now, let's eat!"

When headmaster Dumbledore announced Neville fought a troll alone that too for a Slytherin student, the whole Hogwarts rumor mills went in overdrive. If that was not enough, once a roommate of Pansy confirmed that it was Pansy Parkinson who was the last to come in their common room yesterday night, well the story became adventure and romance saga.

After the whole day different versions of the story like – Neville's pink wand is dyed with the blood of Troll or Neville killing the troll by bare hands to save dying Pansy were thoroughly circulated in the whole Hogwarts.

"Apple Pie!"

In front of the Hogwarts lounge, Neville said the password of Gryffindor door and finally went inside. He spent most of the evening today in library. It has to be the worst day when you became center of attention of all young girls/boys and can hardly find any peace. The fat lady nodded and moved on a side revealing the passage.

The Gryffindor lounge was strangely covered in darkness and it is not even midnight. The fireplace was extinguished and all the lights were off. It felt creepy and Neville immediately used the magic perception.

"There were lot of students around. This felt like a trap. Are seniors jealous or something?" The thoughts were going inside Neville's mind and he tightly gripped his wand. Any sudden action and he was ready to blow all these bastards to pieces.

Just when Neville walked towards an empty area, the fireplace suddenly came alive. A golden flame started burning and various small fireworks in the lounge lit the whole common room. A red lion made of tiny sparks then formed in the sky and it rushed towards the flag of Gryffindor and then merged itself with it making the whole flag glow vividly.

The Weasley brothers and then all the seniors shouted together!

"Surprise!"

Then the twins hugged Neville whose mind stopped functioning looking at the whole scene. Grabbing one hand each, the twins dragged him to the center and made the opening speech,

"Welcome to our Gryffindor romantic hero!" - Fred

"The boy with the big heart!" - George

"And bigger guts to duel a troll alone and defeat it." - Fred

"Our own little wizard, Neville the brave lion!" – Twins together

Neville looked at all the laughing faces of all the students around him and his mind relaxed. It was Hermione who suddenly rushed to hug him then and then punched him.

"Fool! How can you be such a fool to go fight alone a Troll? Why didn't you ask professors for help?"

Before he could answer, Harry and Ron also hugged him one after another.

"Awesome mate! We can finally win the championship cup! Tell me did you really dyed your wand with the blood of Troll?" Ron asked stupidly.

Okay, many students know what is a rumor and what is a fact. Sadly Ron was not one of those. Harry just smiled and told him

"Awesome. Next time you should also invite me and Ron if you are going on some adventure."

"Sure, Sure." Neville said politely but inside his head was only thought "This old Gandalf ruined my peaceful life for 50 points. Is this his plan for me to join this troublesome trio? Fuc**** old bastard."

"Cheers for the return of our Gryffindor brave lion!" Fred yelled.

The little cubs of Gryffindor also shouted excitedly - "Brave lion Neville!"

The Gryffindor cubs kept partying till midnight. The twins definitely knew how to throw a party and their use of magic to make fireworks was also exceptional. Finally everyone returned to their respective dorms after thinking about the classes tomorrow.

Neville after the party felt some happiness and for the first time, he thought maybe the Hogwarts was not that bad.

Anyway, the biggest reveal came in next herbology class.

Professor Sprout praised Neville endlessly and then she was the one who explained the whole story clearly. After students found out that Neville killed the troll just using the seeds of Puffapods, many found a new interest in this herbology class.

Professor Sprout even told Neville that he can come and ask any questions he is not clear in the herbology class or he can spend his free time in the greenhouse if he wishes to. This was a clear favour for the student who somehow made the wizards aware about the power of plants that they all ignore.

Neville thought if Professor Sprout was at the Gryffindor party, she would have given him the nickname like "Herbal Hero" or "Prince of Plants".

Soon days passed and students were more focused on the coming event. Quidditch!

After entering November, the weather became very cold. The whole school will be covered in the fog whole day and even the lake was frozen around the school. But this does not dampen the mood of Hogwarts's students as November was the start of Quidditch season.

The first game was Slytherin vs. Gryffindor, and it was Harry Potter's first game.

Ever since Harry Potter became the seeker of Gryffindor, he was tortured or trained, endlessly by the quidditch team. He had recently found about his father and the legacy of Quidditch in his family and this little connection made this game more than just a game. He was determined to make his late parents proud.

Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch trophy for a long time. This had increased his pressure and he trained more like a madman. He will often come late back to the dorm and would sometimes even miss the dinner. Looking his thin body and this hard work, even Neville felt that movies did not justify him properly.

----Game day-----

There were lot of cheers in the stadium, and the entire stadium was surrounded by green and red flags and colorful banners. The professors also came and took their seats. After all this was the beginning of the entire quidditch season.

The referee is Mrs. Hooch. She stood in the middle of the court, holding her flying broomstick in her hand, waiting for the players from both sides.

With the cheers of the students, the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams entered the field one after another.

"Listen, I hope everyone will participate in the game fairly and honestly." She said as soon as the team members gathered around her.

"Please ride on the flying broomstick."

Madam Hooch blew her silver whistle vigorously and the game started.

Lee Jordan a senior Gryffindor and friend of the Weasley twin brothers was in the commentary box with the professor McGonagall. He kept making funny or rude comments about the game but Neville couldn't find himself enjoying this broom and ball game.

The Slytherin team will deliberately bump or use foul tactics in the game and Madam Hooch kept blowing the whistle on the ground for fouls. However, there is no punishment, no time-out and looking at Marcus Flint who kept fouling again and again destroyed any chance of enjoying this game.

Neville just left the Quidditch ground and went back to ROR (Room of Requirement). Today he can go back after few days and think about his recent work on the runes. Anyway it is much more important than wasting time here.