Confinement

Because Neville lost the note with the password written on it, Professor McGonagall forbade Neville from going to Hogsmeade again.

Perhaps she was afraid Neville might lose something else... She had always suspected that Sirius Black found the note Neville dropped in Hogsmeade.

So when the next visiting day arrived, Neville watched as everyone else left the castle happily, then silently turned and went up the stairs.

Neville didn't complain at all; on the contrary, he felt that Professor McGonagall was right to do so.

He always loses things and messes everything up. It might be better if he didn't know the password anyway, since he couldn't remember it anyway.

Although this will definitely make things more inconvenient and he won't be able to come and go from the dormitory as he pleases, at least he won't have to worry about causing any more trouble.

Honestly, Neville's blood ran cold after learning that Sirius Black had broken into the Gryffindor Common Room and nearly killed Ron because of him, and he was trembling uncontrollably.

He had nightmares for several days after that.

Ron became Gryffindor's new ghost, and he even got a new name... the nearly headless Weasley.

There was no other way; Neville was most familiar with Nearly Headless Nick, so he naturally put Ron's face on it.

In the dream, Ron kept questioning him about why he wrote the password on a piece of paper and gave it to Sirius Black.

Neville was always jolted awake by the explanations, his shouting startling everyone, including Ron.

Honestly, in Ron's opinion, Sirius Black's fright was less than half that of Neville's.

I don't know when it started, but the dormitory seems to have turned into another Divination Classroom.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. Every time he closed his eyes, he would hear Neville yelling beside him... "Ron, I didn't mean to kill you."

Or,

"You nearly headless Weasley, spare me! Black killed you..."

The thing is, he's still alive and well, eating and sleeping well, and even able to do his homework...

And what's this almost headless Weasley? He doesn't remember having any relation to Sir Popington.

Once or twice is fine, you can just bear it and it will pass, but who can stand it if this happens every day... It's terrifying.

Even though he had told Neville more than once that he forgave him, it was still no use.

If it weren't for his reluctance to part with Harry, Ron would have wanted to change dorms.

The situation only started to improve in the last few days.

Neville didn't want his dream to become reality, so he didn't want to know the password.

As long as Black doesn't know the password, he won't be able to use him to enter the Gryffindor Common Room...

Um?

Thinking of this, Neville suddenly paused for a moment.

He turned to look at the empty staircase around him and began to ponder a question seriously...

Almost everyone has gone to Hogsmeade now, and he doesn't know the password. How is he going to get back?

Although there were certainly some older students still in the common room, given the castle's soundproofing, no matter how loudly he shouted, they wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Oh, how could I forget that!" Neville thought regretfully as he wandered aimlessly through the castle.

As he turned down a corridor on the fourth floor, he suddenly noticed that there was another person in front of him.

"Harry!" Neville exclaimed in surprise, "I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!"

He was genuinely happy... finally he could go back to the common room.

"Hey, Neville," Harry said casually, quickly moving away from the statue of the hunchbacked witch. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing to do," Neville said. "Want to play Exploding Snap? I happen to have a new deck in my dorm."

It was so cold outside; he was now longing for the warm fireplace in the common room.

"Um... not now..." Harry stammered, his only thought now was to find an excuse to get Neville out of the way so he could get to Hogsmeade through the secret passage.

"Next time, I need to go to the library to work on the paper about vampires that Professor Lupin assigned..."

"That's great!" Neville exclaimed with delight.

Going to the library is also a good option, especially since he didn't understand that lesson anyway.

"Can you help me...?"

He suddenly shut his mouth, took a soft breath, and looked behind Harry.

It's Snape, and Kyle too.

They seemed to have just come downstairs and were talking.

"Professor, I would be happy to help you with something, but today is Hogsmeade visiting day, and I've already missed my turn..."

"Watch your words, it's not 'help,' it's 'confinement,'" Snape said without turning his head. "If you don't brew Potions in the correct order next time, you'll never be going to Hogsmeade again."

"But there's nothing wrong with my Hair-Raising Potion; it's a standard turmeric color," Kyle said.

"Can't you understand what I'm saying? How many times do I have to repeat myself? Your steps are wrong, not in the book!"

As they were speaking, Snape suddenly looked over.

"What are you two doing here?" He stopped and looked them over. "It's strange that we met here."

Snape looked around, and finally followed Harry's gaze to the hunchbacked witch statue.

"We didn't meet, we just... bumped into each other," Harry said nervously.

"Is that so?" Snape said. "You always seem to show up in unexpected places, Harry Potter, and rarely with a good reason... I suggest you two go back to the Gryffindor Tower; that's where you belong."

Neville and Harry quickly ran away.

After they left, Kyle looked at Snape and asked, "Then I'll..."

"You're not ready yet!" Snape said without hesitation.

"But wasn't the matter with the Fat Lady on the Seventh Floor already resolved?"

"That's only part of it," Snape drawled. "I have other things to do now. Come to the underground classroom in an hour... If you dare to be a second late, I guarantee you'll never be able to go to Hogsmeade again."

After saying that, he turned around and looked at the hunchbacked witch statue, occasionally tapping it with his wand.

"Yes, Professor!"

Kyle didn't look at Snape again and walked straight out of the corridor.

With only an hour left, going to Hogsmeade was definitely out of the question, so he decided to find something else to do to pass the time.

When Kyle went up to the second floor, he ran into Neville again.

He leaned against a pillar by the stairs, looking completely idle.

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked. "Where's Harry?"

"Oh, we were planning to go back to the tower, but Harry said he had some other things to do and left."

I don't know the password, so I'm going to go to the library for a while."

"And you?" he asked. "Why are you on the fourth floor with Snape? Didn't you go to Hogsmeade?"

"Obviously not," Kyle said. "I was put in solitary confinement. I was just on the Seventh Floor adding some special Potions to the portrait of the Fat Lady."

"If Black tries to tear up the portrait again next time, it won't be so easy."

"That's wonderful..." Neville said happily. "We've all had enough of that Sir Cadogan, and who wouldn't want him back?"

"Where are you going now, back to the common room?"

"No, I'm going to the library," Kyle said, shaking his head. "I still have a few assignments to finish."

"That's great!" Neville's eyes lit up. "Can you help me? I still don't understand that vampire lesson. Does the garlic have to be eaten to work, or...?"