The Chronicles of the Forgotten Potter

Neville and Kat had begun to spend a lot more time together as the days passed by and the next trip to Hogsmeade drifted closer. So as not to draw attention to themselves, they decided to keep everything on the down low for fear of students, such as Draco, who would give them (namely Neville) a hard time. Kat had been completely taken by surprise when her friend had admitted his feelings for her, but something inside of her felt so good upon hearing all of those words that had spurted from his lips. Perhaps it was because he made her feel appreciated in a way that far surpassed Draco’s way of showing affection. Neville was genuine in his words and feelings and wasn’t afraid to express emotion, unlike Draco, who was often cold, emotionless, hard to read, and, of course, extremely egotistical.

She couldn’t help but notice how much Neville had changed and grown over the years that she had known him. He had become very handsome, growing out of his awkward stage, losing the chubbiness of his youth and gaining a taller, leaner build, his face maturing to a more masculine and angular appeal, further drawing her to him. There was a confident, brave young man under the nervous and uncertain exterior and Kat could see him beginning to peak out from the confines of his psyche.

She had earned two weeks detention with Umbridge for her “insolence” and the only thing that was managing to bring her through the strenuous torture sessions was thoughts of her upcoming date with Neville. She and Harry were serving detention together for the first week as his punishment for standing up for her after she had stormed out of the classroom. Their hands were tender from the brutal use of the quills, however the lines drawn from their blood were not the same. Harry was forced to write, “I must not defend a liar,” while Kat was forced to write, “I must not tell lies insulting the Ministry.” It was over these two weeks that Kat, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided that it was time to do something. That it was high time to act out against the newly appointed Hogwarts High Inquisitor and her ridiculous teaching methods.



“Alright, so what time do you want to meet back up again?” Kat asked her brother as she and the golden trio made their way down to the entrance courtyard. “Around three o’clock,” he replied, giving his sister a small smile as they neared the main double doors to the school. “Good,” she responded as she spotted Neville standing by the fountain, giving him a small wave and a warm smile, “I’ll see you lot later.” She walked off to meet him, giving him a small hug, their interactions slightly awkward yet genuine and adorable. Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn’t help but grin at the sweet pair who was now walking towards Hogsmeade. She had told them about her encounter/experience with Neville at the Black Lake seeing as she had returned to the Gryffindor Common Room in brighter spirits in comparison to her angered mood in which she had hastily left their defense against the dark arts class earlier that day.

The pair made their way through the streets of Hogsmeade, chatting about this and that, the awkward tension between the two receding rapidly. They meandered away from the crowds after spending a good amount of time making the rounds of the usual shops. Neville had insisted on buying the sweets Kat had intended to purchase at Honeydukes for her, despite her initial resistance. They avoided The Three Broomsticks for fear of drawing unwanted attention to themselves, instead, choosing to walk around and peruse the shops that peaked their interest. They found solace and quiet in the little bookshop by the Hogshead and browsed the many shelves packed with books of all different types.

At one point Neville suggested the jewelry shop that was located next to Madame Malkin’s. The two looked over the window display to see if anything really stood out. As they looked and commented on the lovely jewelry that occupied the space, when a particular piece caught Kat’s eye. It was a necklace with a simple, silver chain that blossomed into an intricate, vine-like design that wove around a circular, deep/dark red stone. The vine detail started thin from the chain on both sides and gradually increased to about a centimeter wide as it circled the stone. Neville noticed her reaction to the piece, taking a mental note to ask the shopkeeper about it at another time. After wandering around the little village for a short while longer, they decided to go to the look out point by the Shrieking Shack to have some time alone and away from their schoolmates.

The two stood at the fence overlooking the old building in silence. Their coats were drawn tightly around them as the cold, late November air hung around them. Neville looked down to Kat’s hand, his nerves beginning to hit him full force as he began to ponder holding it. She, however, didn’t seem to notice as she continued to study the outside of the structure in which she had reunited with her godfather only two years before.

She had only met him twice before, under Dumbledore’s supervision. Her visits had not been documented, but they were they only things that truly kept the poor man sane. Those and her occasional, secret letters that she sent via owl telling him all about her life at Hogwarts. Little did she know, that he had kept them and managed to smuggle them out with him when he had escaped from Azkaban. The night that Harry first met him in the Shrieking Shack was an especially hard night for the Potter twins, especially since Kat was not on Harry’s side, instead siding with the accused mass murderer who supposedly wanted them dead. She smiled softly as she remembered Sirius’ offer to have the two of them move in with him after his name was cleared.

She was brought from her memories by the feeling of a hand closing around hers. She looked down then up at Neville with a smile, a blush creeping onto her pale cheeks. The two stood wordlessly as they continued to look at the shack, her hand enclosed in his. Neville had clearly won the mental war that raged in his head and gained the courage to make a step in the right direction.

They soon realized that time had managed to escape them and that they had to head back to the village, to meet up with the golden trio in the Hogshead Inn. The pair walked back, hand-in-hand. Both disappointed that their date had come to an end, seeing as they had both enjoyed the time spent with each other.



“Look, the real world, it’s not… Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake you can just try again tomorrow, but out there, when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes... you don't know what that's like,” he said in an attempt to convince the others of the gravity of the situation, that this wasn’t easy, that they would be risking more than just a bad grade if they were to make a mistake. “That’s why we want you to teach us. Who better than you? You’ve had real experience and we’re clearly not learning anything with Umbridge,” countered Hermione, “We need someone who’s had first hand encounters with dark magic and dueling and actually using defensive spells.” The rest of the large group that had gathered secretly in the Hogshead Inn murmured unanimously in agreement. Harry looked a bit unsure as he scanned the faces of his friends and classmates who now surrounded him and were looking at him expectantly, hope clear in their eyes.

“Alright,” he said, trying to put on a confident façade, “But Kat should help teach too. She’s had the same amount of experience as I have and I reckon she knows a bit more than I do.” Her gaze darted to meet his as she was slightly caught off guard before she too scanned the faces of her hopeful classmates who were chattering in agreement, who better than the Potter twins to teach them the things that they were never going to learn so long as the “Hogwarts High Inquisitor” was their professor. Kat glanced at Neville who gave her a reassuring look before she quickly shifted her gaze to her brother who was looking at her with both a reassuring and expectant stare. “Alright,” she replied, mimicking Harry’s response.

The group seemed to let out a breath of relief and excitement soon took its place in the overall energy that they generated. Hermione had produced a piece of parchment, having them all sign their names and thereby initiating them into Dumbledore’s Army. She made it very clear that no one was to talk about this meeting once they left the Hogshead and that they would try to figure out a meeting place as soon as they possibly could and establish a meeting time.

Everyone began to filter out with the exception of the Potter twins, Ron, and Hermione. As the others were clearing out, Neville told Kat that he would meet her outside before following the group’s lead and going out in controlled, inconspicuous spurts. “That was more people than I expected,” Hermione piped up, the others nodding in agreement. The four of them were surprised by the amount of people who had come and expressed interest in learning real defense against the dark arts. Harry and Kat were no longer put off by their sudden election to teachers and leaders of the “club” and instead were excited for the events to come. The question of where to meet and how to communicate exclusively with the group would be addressed at another time.
The four of them waited a bit before deciding it to be safe to leave without drawing suspicion. They walked out of the old, dingy pub and into the crisp outdoor air. Neville was sitting on a bench nearby staring at his hands. As Kat and the golden trio approached him, his gaze darted up to see them, his face lighting up when his eyes landed on Kat. He quickly rose from the bench when he made eye contact with her, greeting all of them as they stopped in front of him. He seemed a bit wary of Harry, acting slightly more nervous around him than he usually did. “H-hi guys. Ready,” he cleared his throat, “ready to head back up to school?” Kat smiled reassuringly at her date as Harry and the others agreed, the five of them beginning to walk towards the castle. The new couple walked side by side, their fingertips brushing and stealing glances at one another. The golden trio was a few feet ahead of them, giving them space until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, the three of them heading in, while Kat and Neville lingered behind.

“I had a really good time today Nev,” she smiled. “So did I,” he replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two as he attempted to say something a few times before it finally came out, “Kat, I was wondering… well, I was wondering, if you wouldn’t mind, erm, if you would go out with me again some time?” He looked nervously at the pretty girl who stood before him, half expecting her to politely decline. “I would love to Neville,” she answered sweetly, not bothering to even attempt to mask any form of the happiness that clearly displayed itself in her voice, as if the growing grin on her lips wasn’t already a dead giveaway. “Oh, brilliant!” he exclaimed in surprise, his developing grin mirroring hers. She nodded contentedly before the two embraced in what, to the untrained eye, would seem to be a friendly hug. “Thank you for a fantastic date Neville, it’s the best I’ve ever had really,” she whispered in his ear before pulling away, giving him a peck on the cheek as she did. She quickly muttered the password to the Fat Lady and entered the Gryffindor common room to face the bombardment of questions that Hermione and the others were sure to unleash on her, leaving behind a somewhat dazed Neville with a relatively confused yet contented smile plastered on his face.