~Sequentia~ Harry Potter One-Shots [Long]

Lion's Courage [Neville Longbottom]

Neville Longbottom x Reader

[Theme: Student]

"Good morning, class." the respected McGonagall said as she came into the Transfiguration classroom. 

Her being our Head of House usually meant good things when she came in, but her tone was sullied somewhat. There was displeasure in her voice and the usual vibrant attitude was gone. Looks like our grades are back.

It was no secret that many members of our year dedicated their lives to get the best grades by studying... and many members were the exact opposite. I was in the middle of those two groups. I studied enough to do well but not nearly as much as others, like Hermione Granger. Then again, did anyone study nearly as much as her? 

McGonagall picked up a stack of papers on her desk and faced us. Her tied-up grey hair made her sour face more prevalent. That unnerved the timid boy Neville, who sat next to me, more. His leg was jittering under the table. 

"I have reviewed your essays." she continued and gently patted the papers against her other hand. "I must say, I am rather disappointed."

She walked down the left aisle as she spoke. Like Snape, her large robes made her more oppressive when she was displeased. "It is clear to me that some of you did not take this essay seriously," Her eyes glanced at Harry Potter over the top of her glasses, "and some of you did not try at all." and then to his companion, Ron Weasley.

"Nevertheless, there were a few in here that I was remarkably impressed with. You know who you are."

Hermione sat up tall with pride and had a chuffed smile on her face. I knew she meant me too but I didn't dare make my boasting so physically known. McGonagall promptly placed the essays down on the appropriate desks. When she placed mine, I happily saw a red 'O' printed at the top.

"Well done, Ms Y/N. A particularly insightful paper." she said with a smile. When she placed Neville's essay facing down, her smile became lesser but still present. "A good attempt, Mr Longbottom, but more work needs to be done."

Neville's fingers slowly reached for the paper and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. As he turned it over, his jaw dropped in sadness and his eyebrows went solemn. "Another 'Acceptable'... How do you do it, Y/N? You get 'Outstanding' in basically every class and I've never seen you study."

I leaned my elbow on the table and patted my fingers across its wooden top. "I do study. It's all about the application. You can know a million things but unless you can apply them properly, you can't do much more than someone who knows nothing. That's just theory though, there's a lot more for practical."

He nodded enthusiastically and scribbled something down on his parchment. I had barely given him any advice and he was taking it to heart... He was sweet like that. Neville's problem wasn't that he didn't try; it was the exact opposite. He tried too hard in all the wrong areas. The boy was smart, I gave him credit for that, but if you asked him a question, his nerves would get the better of him. 

"I don't know. I try my best but nothing seems to go my way." he said sadly. I patted his back fondly. It was difficult seeing him like this. It was made all the worse knowing the truth about how his grandmother treated him at times. His grandmother loved him sincerely, but she pushed him in ways he didn't need. Neville wasn't his parents, he was... well, he was Neville!

"Maybe not yet but I believe in you." His eyes seemed to sparkle at those words. I think he needed them more than he realised.

"You do?" he asked innocently.

"Always have, always will." I smiled.

Our conversation was finalised with the authoritative cough of McGonagall. Our heads snapped to face her with our attention.