The first day of the new school year coincided with the Full Moon. That was hardly "good news" for children welcoming a Werewolf as their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, especially with Sirius Black having escaped from Azkaban. To hunt him down, the Ministry of Magic had dispatched Dementors, which had even "attacked" Harry Potter aboard the Hogwarts Express.
Her office door was shoved open with a bang.
"Come in," she said without looking up from the book in her hands.
"Where is Longbottom?" the enraged old bat snarled.
She glanced over the pages at him and realized he seemed genuinely furious. If he found Neville now, Neville would surely be torn to pieces.
"He hasn't come to see me today," she said calmly. "What happened?"
The old bat seemed not to believe her and entered the greenhouse without permission.
Just as he reached the innermost part of the greenhouse, Neville crouched low and slipped out through the open door under cover of the workbench. He looked terribly frightened. Though he had not fainted like Harry Potter, Malfoy had been telling everyone about that incident since the first day of term.
"What are you doing?" she whispered to Neville.
"I'll explain later," Neville said in a low voice. He took the teacup from her desk and inspected the tea stains at the bottom.
She was becoming more and more confused about what the boys were up to.
"Professor Trelawney said in Divination that something terrible would happen to my grandmother." Neville's round face crumpled miserably. "I think she was wrong."
"Longbottom!" Snape roared from inside the greenhouse.
In his panic, Neville tried to put the teacup back and take the opportunity to sneak away.
"Wait! Take it with you!" Pomona urged. "How am I supposed to explain why I'm