"Where's Trevor?" Gran asked when I went home for Christmas.
"He is needed more at school right now," I said carefully. I decided not to say anymore; I wasn't sure how she'd take my toad now being a handsome professor.
I did miss him though - so much. It just wasn't the same opening my presents without his little black beady eyes watching me.
I wondered if I'd ever get used to Trevor no longer being a toad. The thought made me feel inexplicably sad.
Seeing as students had started getting attacked by an unknown monster, I'd normally have begged Gran not to make me return to that hell hole. But I had to go back for Lockhart, and I knew, that as long as he was around, nothing could hurt me.
So I braved the rest of the year out.
However, Salazar's monster turned out to be the least of my worries.
I was at breakfast one morning, feeling a little glum whilst I morosely chewed my bacon.
"Missing your toad, Longbottom?"
I looked up warily towards the Slytherin table to see Draco Malfoy sat amongst a group of sniggering students, his grey eyes glinting directly at me and a wide smirk plastered across his face.
"I haven't seen you taking it for its morning walk in the grounds like you used to." He continued to shout loudly across the Hall to me. "Had a lovers tiff have you?"
"Ignore him." Seamus muttered in my ear as Draco and the rest of the Slytherins fell about in stomach clutching laughter.
My heart gave a little twist of sadness. It just reminded me that it was things like that that I missed. I mean, I really do appreciate Lockhart, but the idea of taking early morning walks with him seemed a little... well - awkward.
I couldn't help but glance up at the staff table just as Lockhart leant in to whisper something in Professor Trelawney's ear, causing her to let out a high pitched squeal of laughter.
My stomach knotted unpleasantly. This had been going on all breakfast.
This had obviously not gone unnoticed by Draco, either, who said loudly enough for me to hear; "Dear God. It's worse than seeing her moon over a slimy toad. Although saying that, isn't it strange how Prince Charming seems to be drawn to that warty old Trelawney?"
Tears pricked behind my eyes as the Slytherins practically fell to the floor in laughter. I suddenly felt utterly depressed, because what Draco said was true. My frog prince was turning out to be nothing but a huge disappointment, and I missed my Trevor.
It seemed that perhaps I wasn't ready for my prince to come, after all.
"Look, Longbottom's crying!" Pansy Parkinson screeched gleefully as I pushed my chair back and ran from the Hall with tears rolling freely down my cheeks.
I didn't stop running until I reached the safety of my dormitory, where I threw myself down on my bed and sobbed into my pillow.
Oh how I missed my Trevor.
*****
The golden trio were acting very mysterious this year.
"We're pretty sure Draco Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin." Ron announced when I enquired about it one evening in the common room.
"But I thought everyone thinks Harry is, because of his Parseltongue thing?" I frowned.
"I'm not being funny," Ron said conspiratorially, "Harry's my mate and all - but... really?!"
"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.
*****