Neve Longbottom || Draco Malfoy

8 - The Other Prince

"Fair point," I shrugged.

Things escalated when Hagrid got sent to Azkaban for opening the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore got sacked for having monsters roaming the castle on his watch, and Hermione ended up becoming the latest victim in these series of mysterious attacks.

Yet somehow, the school still remained opened.

I was too upset about Trevor to feel scared. Without my toad, I had nothing left to live for anyway.

When it transpired that Ron's little sister, had been kidnapped and taken into the Chamber, Professor McGonagall reluctantly agreed that maybe it was time to finally send us all home.

"But what about my sister?" Ron asked, when she came into the common room to tell us all to pack our things ready for the next morning.

"Professor Lockhart is on it." She said brusquely. "Now don't you worry, I'm sure he'll have your sister's body out of there in no time."

My ears pricked up. Perhaps my prince really was the hero I had dreamed about, after all.

So when Harry and Ron decided to go along and get a piece of the action themselves, I decided to go to bed knowing they'd tell me all about it in the morning.

*****

"What do you mean he's gone?"

I looked from Harry to Ron, my mouth hanging open.

It was the following morning at breakfast. Apparently Harry saved the day again and thanks to him, school could continue on as normal until the end of term.

But with one difference.

"It means Defence Against the Dark Arts is now a free period. Good ey?" Ron said cheerfully.

"What did you do to him?" I breathed, panic hardening my chest.

"Nothing!" Harry roared. "That idiot did it to himself. Serves the git right!"

"HE WAS MY TREVOR!" I cried, not caring who could hear.

"Don't be daft, Neve," Ron chuckled nervously. "He was Gilderoy Lockhart: world's biggest prat."

"Neve," Hermione said gently, patting my arm. "He wasn't Trevor. I know you somehow think he was but he couldn't have been. Harry, Ron and I saw Lockhart doing a book signing just before we started back at school. So you see, he couldn't have possibly been Trevor."

"B-but if it wasn't him," I sniffed, "then where is he? Where is my Trevor?"

"Ummm... I think I may know the answer to that," Seamus said quietly beckoning towards the Slytherin table where the whole table were in gales of laughter about something.

Standing on top of the table was Pansy Parkinson, shushing the surrounding occupants for attention.

"Oh, if only my prince would one day come along!" She said loudly and theatrically, as the whole Hall suddenly grew quiet to listen. "Maybe if I find a disgusting warty old toad, and kiss it everyday, I might finally find someone who wants to be my friend!"

I felt my heart thud dangerously as she held up a picture of a toad which looked remarkably like Trevor. She made a big show of pressing her lips to the picture, causing the Slytherins to erupt in a series of wolf whistles and cat calls.

Draco now stood up and gave his wand a flick towards the doors. "Accio Trevor the toad!"

A mixture of screams and laughter rose up as moments later, something came flying through the air towards the Slytherin table.

It was Trevor, dressed in a blonde wig and wearing a gold crown.

"Professor Lockhart!" Pansy mockingly squealed loudly to her audience. "My Prince Charming has arrived at last! From now on I will no longer be known as Neve Longbottom - the sad, bumbling, fat loser; but will henceforth be known as Princess Toadface - lover of teachers and kisser of all things warty!"

The whole Hall erupted into fits of laughter; the loudest coming from the Slytherin table where Trevor was unceremoniously dumped, his wig and crown askew so that he couldn't see properly.

Without thinking, not caring how much more humiliated I could get, I ran over to the table and whipped up Trevor in my hands.

"You- you stole him from me!" I wept, turning shakily towards Draco. "You planned this all didn't you?"

"You should have seen your face!" He exclaimed through his tears of laughter as he pointed at me. "All year long you've been thinking Lockhart was your Frog Prince!"

"Why would you do that?" I cried, utterly baffled at the lengths he had gone to for a wind up.

"I couldn't resist," he shrugged, wiping the tears off his face. "I followed you up to that classroom on the first day back and saw you call Lockhart Trevor. So when I eventually found your toad hopping about, I decided to keep him in the dungeons."

A mixture of fury at Draco, hurt from the humiliation, and relief at being reunited with my Trevor filled me; and I didn't quite know what to do with it all.

"I HATE YOU DRACO MALFOY!" I screamed, ripping off the wig and crown from Trevor's head and throwing it as hard as I could at Draco's face.

Wheeling on the spot, I stormed out of the Hall, my face streaked with tears.

This whole year had been nothing but a humiliating waste of my life.

But at least I got my toad back.

*****