Neville's Miserable Life

Neville has been having a tough time lately. Just a few days ago, after he, Harry, and Ron helped Hagrid send Norbert away, they were discovered by Filch.

Oh, Norbert is Hagrid's pet Norwegian Ridgeback. Hagrid thinks it's both docile and adorable, but Neville doesn't think so at all. If he were alone, he certainly wouldn't dare approach Norbert.

Ron, the last one to believe Hagrid and try to touch Norbert, was bitten hard on the hand by Norbert, his hand swelled up to the size of his head, and he spent the whole day in the Hospital Wing, barely managing to get up on Saturday night.

However, Neville felt that Ron must have regretted for forcing himself to get up that night, despite the pain, to find him and Harry. Because that meant that instead of only losing 100 House Points, he ended up losing 150.

Neville knew he was clumsy, especially forgetful. So he always tried to be careful in everything he did. If he were expelled from Hogwarts for breaking the School Rules, his grandmother would definitely kill him. Therefore, he always tried his best to follow the School Rules; he didn't dare to go out at night or anything like that.

Yes, that was the case until that day.

That day, Harry and Ron found him, hoping to get his help.

"Neville, I hope you can do us a small favor," Harry said in a low voice as he pulled Neville aside to a secluded corner.

"W-What kind of help?"

"Before we tell you, can you promise us that you will never tell anyone else about this? Don't worry, I swear I won't let you do anything bad."

Neville thought about it. This was the first time someone had asked him for help; before, he had only ever made things worse. So, he was actually quite happy. And the person asking for his help was none other than the famous Harry Potter.

People say Harry is a great man, so Harry shouldn't be capable of doing anything bad, right? Besides, he just won't tell anyone. If he feels something is wrong after hearing the details, he can refuse and even try to stop Harry and his companion.

"Okay, I promise."

"Thank you, Neville. Actually, you know Hagrid, right? He's the Hogwarts Key Manager and game field guard, the one who's 3.5 meters tall and has a big beard."

Neville nodded.

"Hagrid got a dragon egg from someone, and now a baby dragon has hatched from it. We have to get rid of it before it burns down Hagrid's house, or Hagrid will be in big trouble! We've arranged to get rid of the Fire Dragon with Ron's Gege this Saturday night, but Ron's hand is injured, and I can't move the Fire Dragon by myself. We've thought about it for a long time, and only you can help us!"

"But we can't leave the common room at night," Neville said hesitantly, though he was touched by Harry's words.

"Time is of the essence! If Hagrid's possession of a Fire Dragon is exposed, he'll go to jail. We must help him!"

In the end, Neville agreed to help them. He had heard his grandmother say that wizards who broke the law would be imprisoned in a place called Azkaban, which was said to be extremely terrifying.

Kind-hearted Neville didn't want Hagrid to be locked up there. Although he wasn't familiar with Hagrid, both Harry and Ron said Hagrid was a good person.

Afterwards, Neville was taken by Harry and Ron to see Hagrid, and also met the Fire Dragon and learned its name— Norbert.

Norbert was a Norwegian Ridgeback. To be honest, Neville thought Norbert was very ugly, skinny, and had a terrible temper, always tearing at something. He simply couldn't understand why anyone would want to keep such an animal as a pet.

After confirming their plans with Hagrid, the three of them couldn't wait to escape.

On Saturday night, Neville and Harry put on Harry's Invisibility Cloak and left the common room.

The Invisibility Cloak is truly amazing; just by putting it on, one disappears completely. Neville felt his tension ease considerably; with the Invisibility Cloak, they no longer feared being caught.

Things went smoothly. Although they encountered Professor McGonagall and Malfoy along the way, they were not discovered thanks to the Invisibility Cloak.

They only waited a short while at the top of the tower before Ron's Gege's friends arrived. They greeted Neville and Harry warmly, then secured Norbert firmly to his Flying Broomstick.

Neville was overjoyed after Norbert the Fire Dragon was successfully sent away. He rarely succeeded in doing something, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment and made him a little carried away.

Neville and Harry left the tower chatting and laughing, but their smiles didn't last long. As soon as they stepped into the corridor, they saw Filch's face emerge from the darkness.

What followed was like a nightmare. They were taken to Professor McGonagall's office, where they unexpectedly discovered Ron, who should have been lying in the Hospital Wing.

It turned out that Ron was worried about them, so he secretly slipped out of the Hospital Wing to find them, but was caught by Professor McGonagall on the way.

Professor McGonagall deducted 50 points from each of the three people, for a total of 150 points!

The next morning, everyone was stunned to discover that Gryffindor's House Points were inexplicably reduced by about half! After learning what had happened, Neville, Harry, and Ron became the three most unpopular members of Gryffindor House. Nobody wanted to speak to them anymore.

Oh, no, it's not that there's no one there. The Slytherin students always greet them warmly whenever they see them.

"Hey, you're Neville Longbottom? Thank you, thanks to you all, the House Cup is Slytherin's again this year."

Whenever he heard this sentence, Neville wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

Neville was filled with regret! But he didn't regret going out at night. Even if he had to choose again, he probably would still agree.

Neville regretted his own arrogance. If he had remembered to put on the Invisibility Cloak on the way back that night, they wouldn't have been captured by Filch.

This regret reached its peak after meeting Hermione.

Neville first met Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. At that time, he thought Hermione was a very good person, especially compared to someone who had once deceived and scolded him.

Although that person later treated him to a big meal, it wasn't enough to erase the shadow in his heart. Oh, and there's also ' Trevor '.

After living and studying at Hogwarts for a while, he became even more grateful to Hermione. Hermione never looked down on him for his clumsiness, but patiently taught him how to do his homework again and again.

So when confronted by Hermione, Neville ultimately broke his promise to Harry and told Hermione everything. He didn't seek Hermione's forgiveness; he just wanted to make himself feel better.

Almost a week had passed since that Saturday night. After those initial days, Neville was surprised to find that, as long as he could ignore the Slytherin taunts, his life not only didn't get worse, but actually got much better than before!

In the past, no one wanted to be friends with Neville, except for Hermione, who would talk to him when she helped him with his homework; everyone else thought he was too stupid.

Now, perhaps because they are facing criticism together, his relationship with Harry and Ron has progressed rapidly, skipping the stage of ordinary friends and becoming close confidants.

Neville didn't know whether he should be happy. But he knew he would never forget this experience. He would always remember this lesson and would never be complacent again!