Chapter 3-The Deathly Hallows

Being Neville Longbottom was proving to be very, very difficult.

It's not like he meant to leave that list of passwords lying around. He knew it was rather stupid to have them written down in the first place, but they were so hard to remember, especially with that mental Sir Cadugan changing them several times a day.  He certainly wasn't trying to help Sirius Black break into the boy's dormitory.

That didn't stop Professor McGonnagal.

"What were you thinking?" she screeched. "Leaving those passwords around so ANYONE could find them! Why do you think we have passwords, Mr. Longbottom? Certainly not so that some forgetful, irresponsible little boy can just leave them lying around and jeopardizing everyone's safety! Mr. Ronald Weasley was attacked, boy! Do you realize that?"

"I know, ma'am," Neville responded in a quivering voice. He shifted around in Professor McGonnagals chair, nervously. He felt absolutely awful about Ron. "I didn't mean to lose the passwords. It was an accident. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, Neville." she sighed. "I know you would never do something bad on purpose, but honestly, you need to start being more careful."

"I know, ma'am."

She sighed again. "You're excused."

Neville got up and left as quickly as he could. As he walked down the corridor to the Gryffindor common room, people sneered and rolled their eyes at him. He looked down, his face bright red.

When he got to the common room, he had to wait outside for a half hour for someone to show up to give him the password. Finally, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and Amanda McDonald arrived.

"Well, gee," began Amanda, "I would tell you the password, but, oh, who knows, this time you might tell You-Know-Who himself." Lavender giggled, and Parvati, looking rather apologetic, couldn't help but laugh a little too.

"Oh, knock it off," said Hermione Granger, appearing almost out of nowhere with, as usual, several books tucked under her arm. "Neville, the password is "marmalade", and don't let these idiots bother you." Neville and Hermione walked in as Lavender, Amanda and Parvati stood there, looking shocked.

Hermione was obviously in a bad mood, as she had been for the past month or so. Her cat, Crookshanks, had eaten Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers, and the two of them had been fighting about it. Harry Potter had taken Ron's side, and Neville sometimes heard Hermione curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace in the common room in the middle of the night, crying, when he'd come down to retrieve his pet toad, Trevor, after one of his frequent escape attempts.

Hermione sat down in front of the fireplace and pulled out a piece of parchment and a her Ancient Runes textbook. She started writing, then looked down at her paper, then at her over-stuffed bag, and began to cry.

Neville wasn't sure what to do. "Um....Hermione....are...um..."

She continued crying. He walked over to her. "Are you okay?" he said, a little louder.

Hermione took a deep breath, paused and then wailed "NOOOO!", grabbed at Neville's robes, buried her head in them, and began to sob.

Neville sat down and began to pat her on the back, awkwardly "Um...."

"I'm NOT okay! R-Ron and Harry are m-mad at me and I miss them-m! I wa-was just tr-rying to keep H-harry safe when I turned in his st-stupid Firebolt! Aa-nd I kn-know Crookshanks ate Ron's stupid r-rat. I'm- I'm-I'm SORRYYY!" she wailed, and blew her nose into Neville's robes.

"Um..."

"And n-now Hargrid's hyppogriff Buckbeak is on tr-trial, be-because he attacked stupid Ma-malfoy, even it was his own fau-fault, a-and Ron and Harry and m-me were supposed to help w-with his defense, but now it's j-just me, and the hearing's co-coming up soon and I don't know what t-to do." She continued to sob as she pulled out her wand and mumbled a spell that removed her mucus from Neville's robes.

"A-and I too-took too m-many classes this year, be-because I thought I could handle it, b-but I ca-can't because I'm n-not per-per-PERFECT," she continued, letting out some post-cry hiccups. She wiped her eyes and turned to Neville. "You're the first person who's asked how I am."

Neville looked at her, bewildered. "Wow. You?"

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that... you're Hermione Granger. I never knew you ever felt like that. You're so... put together. And smart, and stuff."

"Yeah, well, I bit off more than I can chew this year. And I'm up to my ears in homework. And an innocent hyppogriff's life is in my hands. And my best friends hate me, and my cat is a vicious murderer who might turn on me any second." She giggled a little, and so did Neville.

"You know, Hermione, if you're behind in homework, maybe I could... well, I mean, you're always helping me in Potions... I know it's cheating, but maybe I could... help you?"

Hermione looked like he had suggested she ask Professor Snape out on a date "'Help' me? With homework?"

"Look, I think the teachers would much rather the smartest damn student in this school cheat a little on a couple of homework assignments than have a nervous breakdown because her 'best friends' are being a couple of pricks. Come on." He pulled a Transfiguration textbook out of her bag, along with a piece of parchment and a quill, and began to write Hermione's name on the parchment. "I'll just do the writing and busy work. You'll do all the actual thinking, I'm just here to help."

"Wow." Hermione's eyes widened. "This feels so wrong...". She then giggled wickedly. "Oh, screw it. Let's do this."

And so they did, for the next few hours. They just sat there, with Neville occasionally asking Hermione what to write and Hermione stopping every five minutes to either thank him or moan about how she was going to get expelled.

After a while, Neville asked "You know, Hermione, you're taking more classes than they are class periods a day. How does that work?"

Hermione turned bright red and gulped. "Well... oh my God, I'm REALLY not supposed to tell anyone this, but... I have a time-turner."

"A what?"

"It's this." She pulled a tiny hourglass on a string out from under the top of her shirt. "It lets me... turn back time a bit. I can be in two classes at once."

"Wow. And they let you have this just to get to class?"

"Yeah."

"So, let me get this straight: we have the capability for time travel, but instead of using it to go back in time, kidnap baby You-Know-Who, bring him here and raise him as an upstanding member of society, we're using it to help Hermione Granger overacheive."

This made Hermione laugh. "Yeah, well, that's the adults around her for you." Her face then turned into a scowl. "Oh, what am I doing? Here I am, cheating on homework and telling you about my time-turner. Who am I?"

Neville chuckled. "I know it's weird to hear me, of all people, saying this, but don't worry so much."

Hermione sighed, and then smiled. "Well, it looks like we're done. Thank you so much, Neville." She began stuffing books back into her bag.

"No problem."  

Right before Neville went to sleep that night, it occured to him that he hadn't thought about the password catastrophe since after he saw Hermione until just then.
~~~
The next morning, the password catastrophe was all too apparent. When he went down to the Great Hall for breakfast, he sat down across from Ron and Harry, who were still being nice to him.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Horrible." Neville answered honestly. Not wanting to sound sulky, he added "Actually, it's not that bad. McGonnagal wasn't to harsh on me."

"Well, that's goo-" Ron stopped mid-sentence, looking at something. Neville turned around and looked. Hermione, seeing Neville and waving, was walking over. She sat down next to Neville and faced Harry and Ron.

"What are you doing here?" Ron said, nastily.

"I'm sitting next to my friend, the only person who's bothered to talk to me in the past, oh, month."

"Yeah, well, maybe you'd have a few more friends if you didn't go around sicking that
mangy cat of yours on other people's pets."f

"Oh, honestly, Ron..."

Harry groaned silently, put his head on the table and gave Neville a "help me" look.
Neville looked back, sympathetically, when his owl swooped down in front of him, dropping a bright scarlet piece of paper on his plate.

Ron and Hermione stopped bickering to look down at what was unmistakably a Howler.

"Run, mate." Ron advised.

Neville didn't need telling twice. He got up and ran out of the Great Hall, just as the
paper burst to life. He heard the Slytherins roaring with laughter as he escaped the Great Hall. Standing in the corridor, he could still hear the letter, but he couldn't help but stay and listen. It was his grandmother's voice, screaming.

"NEVILLE FRANK LONGBOTTOM! I AM UNBELIEVABLY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. A DISGRACE! A DISGRACE TO OUR FAMILY! THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE! THERE I WAS, SITTING AT HOME, THINKING MY GRANDSON IS OFF AT HOGWARTS LEARNING MAGIC SO ONE DAY HE MIGHT PULL HIS GODDAMN HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS AND DO SO GODDAMN GOOD IN THIS WORLD, AND I GET A LETTER TELLING ME THAT YOU'VE LEFT THE PASSWORDS TO GRYFFINDOR TOWER LYING AROUND THE CASTLE! AND AS IF THAT WASN'T BAD ENOUGH, OH NO, SIRIUS BLACK FOUND THEM AND BROKE IN! A BOY WAS STABBED! IT COULD HAVE BEEN HARRY POTTER!"

Ron looked around indignantly, but no one payed him any attention.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, YOU IDIOT? YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN HARRY JAMES POTTER KILLED WITH YOUR FOOLISHNESS! NEVER BEFORE HAVE I SEEN SUCH A STUPID, FORGETFUL EXCUSE FOR A WIZARD IN MY LIFE! AND MY OWN GRANDSON! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO ASHAMED. IF YOUR PARENTS WERE STILL...STILL IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW THEY'D REACT. THE SON OF FRANK AND ALICE LONGBOTTOM, BEHAVING THAT WAY! NO ONE COULD HAVE IMAGINED THAT. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WERE BORN, NEVILLE, I HAD GREAT HOPES FOR YOU. HOPES THAT YOU MIGHT BE AS GOOD AS MY SON AND HIS WIFE. BUT AFTER THIRTEEN YEARS OF THIS PURE, UNRIVALED IDIOCY, I'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT YOU ARE SIMPLY A FAILURE, A FAILURE AND A DISGRACE.  I  HAVEN'T ANY IDEA HOW ANYONE AS PATHETIC AS YOU MADE IT INTO GRYFFINDOR, ANYWAY. YOU SHOULD BE SITTING OUT YOUR SCHOOL YEARS IN HUFFLEPUFF!!"'

This caused a lot of booing from the Hufflepuff table, and laughter from the Slytherins.

"YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME UPON THE LONGBOTTOM NAME, NEVILLE. YOU'VE DISGRACED OUR FAMILY! I'M EMBARRASSED TO CALL YOU MY GRANDSON!"

With that, the Slytherin table erupted into applause, and Neville felt sick. Dreading what he would see, he looked back into the Great Hall.

Hermione, looking  enraged, had pulled out her wand and was aiming it at the Howler. On the word "grandson", she yelled "Incendio!" and the letter burst into flames.

She wasn't the only one who looked upset: Harry and Ron looked disgusted, and Ginny Weasley looked across the room at him, and gave him a sympathetic look. Fred Weasley clapped when Hermione set the letter on fire, and George quickly put it out before any teachers noticed.

Neville took a few tentative steps back into the Great Hall, and the Gryffindors gestured that he come over. He sat down next to Hermione.

"I'm so sorry, Neville. That was awful." Hermione patted him on the arm.

"Yeah, mate," said Ron, vocally agreeing with Hermione for the first time in a month, which made Harry smile. "That was way worse than the one my mum sent me. I mean," he added hastily, "no offense to you Gran or anything, but that was...."

"Horrible?" offered Ginny, her twin brothers nodding in agreement.

Neville shrugged. "Gran's just like that."

"Adults shouldn't talk to kids that way," said Hermione, still looking enraged. "A failure and a disgrace, honestly, she makes it sound as if you wrote Sirius Black an invitation to come stab Harry. You just made a mistake."

"Thanks, Hermione." Neville was starting to feel better.

"You don't believe any of that, do you? That you're a failure? Because you're not. You belong in Gryffindor."

"She's right, Neville" said Ron, nodding, and Harry looked up and smiled, as though thanking the heavens for Ron and Hermione's cease-fire, however temporary.

Ron and Hermione continued to be pleasant for the rest of breakfast, and moods lifted considerably when Harry received a brand new broomstick. Later that day, he and Hermione went down to Hagrid's hut to help him work on Buckbeak's case. Neville wasn't as good at research as Hermione, but he helped her organize the notes she made and was happy to join in the discussion of what a git Malfoy was for getting Buckbeak in trouble in the first place. That night, Neville went to bed, happier than he had been in a long time.
~~~

A week later, Neville was studying in the library, when a very sad-looking Hermione walked up to him, holding a tear-stained piece of parchment.

"Oh, it's awful. Hagrid lost the case."

This made Neville very upset "But...after all the work you did... how could they...?"

"I know, it's tremendously unfair. But there's going to be an appeal, so we've got a second chance; I know I'm not going to give up.  And guess what?"

"What?"

"I've made up with Harry and Ron! I showed them the letter and mentioned the appeal, and Ron said that I wouldn't have to do all the work myself this time and I...well, I started crying, and hugged him, and I told him I was sorry about Scabbers, and he said it was alright... and, oh, Neville, I'm so happy I'm not fighting with them anymore!"

"Yeah. That's...great." Neville said in what he hoped was a supportive voice. It was great, wasn't it? Harry, Ron and Hermione were his friends, so he wanted them to be happy, but somehow this development made him rather sad. He'd miss being Hermione's best friend, even if it had only been for a week.

"By the way, we're still on for studying tonight, right?"

Neville should have known better. "Of course," he said, relieved. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I mean," he blushed, "because I really need help with that new Potions unit, is all."

Hermione smiled. "Good! I'll see you tonight then."
~~~

He waited for Hermione in the common room that night. "Hey," said Ginny Weasley, a nice, quiet second year girl. "Exploding Snap?"

"Sure," said Neville. He saw Ginny standing up for that weird Ravenclaw girl, Loony something, a few weeks ago, and had gained a new respect for her.

After a few rounds of Exploding Snap, Ginny spoke. "Neville, do you have a best friend?"

Neville frowned a little. "Well, not really... unless you count Trevor."

"Oh... it's just that last year, I had a best friend. And it didn't turn out very well. And now I have a best friend again, and I'm not sure how it will turn out. I'm... I'm scared. I poured my heart out to Tom- I mean, my best friend, and the same with this one, and I don't want her to betray me." She stopped, it was awkward baring her soul to Neville.

"Well, a while ago Hermione Granger opened up to me about something, and we're still friends. So, I don't think-"

Hermione stepped suddenly through the portrait hole. "Sorry I'm late. Some trouble with my Time-Tu-" she stopped when she saw Ginny. "Nothing. Let's get started."

~~~

"So. You reckon we should have a name?"

They were sitting in Luna's room, on her bed, with their usual stash of Chocolate frogs and young adult fiction. Ravenclaw security was a bit easier to get by than Gryffindor.

"Yes, I think so...." Luna stared off into space. "But what would it be?"

"And what's our mission?"

"Well," said Luna, "First, to figure out what's up with that symbol Daddy wears around his neck, and why it's important. Second, to learn all we can about the old magic, before it split between muggle and wizard. Third, since we might as well cover everything, to combat all nastiness, bullying, injustice, and whatever else bothers us, and stand up for what we believe in."

"Excellent," said Ginny. She pulled out a muggle notebook, and on the first page wrote Goals, and copied what Luna said. Then she flipped to the front and wrote "In loving memory of the great Elizabeth Lovegood, loving wife and mother, and brave and wise witch."

"It's perfect," Luna sighed contentedly. "All we need is a name."

"Hmm... Well, I'm sure we'll think of something. Anyway, I did a little research on Wizard symbols, and it turns out that that triange with the line down the middle and the circle that your dad wears is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows."

"That's great! But what are the Deathly Hallows?"

"Do you remember the Tales of Beetle the Bard?"

"Yeah, my mum read them to me when I was little. Our favorite was the Tale of the Three Brothers."

Ginny nodded excitedly "Yes! Exactly! The cloak, the stone, and the wand! They're the Deathly Hallows!"

Luna squeeled again, and Ginny giggled. "I know, it's very exciting. But I was thinking about that story, and the isn't the moral that you shouldn't try to cheat Death? It's almost like it's saying Death isn't that bad. And I was thinking about what you said about your mum..."

Luna nodded. "My dad taught me to think that way. He said that death was nothing to fear."

"Right. So that's important. Not fearing death."

"You know," Ginny began, tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear, "Ron told me that when Harry was in the hospital wing after facing Voldemort in his first year, Dumbledore was talking to him about Nicholas Flamel, and how he'd die without the stone, and he said something like... "To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." So maybe our name should have something to do with Dumbledore... Ron says they have to break the rules all the time with their adventures, so if we have to it might help our cause a bit to have a name that has to do with the headmaster. How about Dumbledore's Army? It has to do with Dumbledore, and it's kind of funny, cause there's only two of us, so it's not really an army."

"I love it," Luna smiled, and the two shared a chocolate frog.
~~~
Over the next few weeks, Ginny and Luna were vigilant for mentions of death and fear, and with the Dementors all about, it wasn't too difficult. Ginny found out from Ron that Harry's Boggart was a Dementor ("his biggest fear is unhappiness, not death!") and Luna attempted to comfort Lavender Brown when her rabbit was attacked by a fox, saying that death wasn't to be feared, which caused Lavender to look at her like she had seven heads and resume weeping. Overall, not much progress was made until a very unusual History of Magic Class.

Professor Binns was the only ghost who taught at Hogwarts. When he was still alive, he was generally regarded as a very dull old fellow who lived and breathed history. The story went that one day, when he was very, very old and frail, he was in the middle of a lesson, and he passed away right then and there. Then, moments later, he took on an eerie, transparent form and continued to teach. Most of the students were so bored with his lesson that they weren't paying enough attention to have noticed, but eventually it was figured out that a ghost was teaching at Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore, being a kind man, of course allowed him to stay, although he wasn't a particularly good teacher, he knew his history.

The Ravenclaws had History of Magic with the Gryffindors, so Luna and Ginny usually spent that class passing notes and generally paying no attention to Binns. Today, however, he was more interesting than usual.

"Today," he began as the students took their seats, "is my deathday. It has been fifty years since I walked the earth as a living man."

He paused, allowing the class to take this in. The students looked at each other, confused.  Professor Binns never talked about himself, and he certainly never made eye contact. He just droned on about history, almost as if to himself.

"Does anyone know how one becomes a ghost?"

The class was shocked. Never before had Professor Binns asked a question of them. After a few moments, Colin Creevey raised his hand slowly.

"Yes..." Binns looked down at his seating chart. "Colon?"

The class giggled at the mispronunciation. Colin rolled his eyes. "It's, um, Colin, and a person becomes a ghost when they overcome death. I figure you must be really strong, to become a ghost, then because it means you've beaten death. You've gotten out of dying. You keep on living, even after you're time. You won."

A few students nodded in agreement, and then took notice of Professor Binns. Never before had he shown any kind of emotion at all, but now he was shaking with what looked like a combination of fear and rage. "No," he said.

For the first time ever, he stepped away from behind his podium and floated  over to where Colin sat. "No." he repeated, staring harshly at Colin, who looked as though he might pass out. "Never, ever for one second believe that a ghost has won. Life is a wonderful gift, something you all must learn to appreciate. This?" he pointed to himself. "Is not life. It's a shell of what life was, a whispy memory. Do you want to know how a man really becomes a ghost?"

A trembling Colin nodded, and squeaked "mh-hm!" and seemed to relax a bit when Professor Binns floated away, back to his podium.

'When I died, it was after months of sickness. I knew it was coming. I chose to ignore it. I went on as though it was all as usual, because if I thought of death, fear consumed me. I couldn't stop living. I wouldn't."

Luna and Ginny looked at each other and nodded, exitedly.

"Fifty years ago exactly, I was standing at this very podium, talking about the goblin rebellions of the late fourteenth century, and suddenly, death struck me, right in the heart. I fell over at my podium, and than something strange happened."

"I was existing in a sort of in-between state. I was not alive, I was not yet dead. I had the sudden sensation of a choice- there were two options, right in front of me. Everything I had ever felt, deep in my heart of hearts, pulled me towards one. It was a bright light, and a feeling of a new beginning. But oh, I was afraid."

"The second choice felt wrong. It felt sick and fake and wrong, but my fear overcame me, and I chose. Seconds later I was back at my podium, talking about goblins." His voice shook, and he began to cry. Silvery, transparent tears fell to the floor and disappeared.

"I have had fifty years to think about my choice. And I will have fifty after this, and fifty more after that, and still fifty more after that. And I realized why Death scared me so- I had never really lived life. All my life was spent afraid, never letting anyone in, never doing anything that scared me."

"Go out, children and live your lives. Do not," he added "take this to mean do foolish things for the sake of bravery. There is a difference between accepting death and teasing it, and that would be the latter. Do meaningful things. Whatever it is that means to you, do it. Live your lives, and when death comes, accept it gracefully. Whatever you do, do not choose this. Never choose this."

The class sat there in stunned silence. A few students were crying quietly, a few had their brows furrowed in thought and confusion. Poor Colin Creevey looked terrified.

"I never knew that about ghosts! Oh, this is incredible... and who would have thought, boring old Professor Binns?" Ginny scribbled furiously in the notebook.

"I feel awful for him," Luna replied as they walked out of class. "He's trapped that way forever, Ginny, don't you realize?"

"I know, it's terrible." Ginny frowned, and, head leaning over to write, nearly bumped into a collum. "I wouldn't like to be immortal... I mean, it's not natural, is it? I guess that's what the Tale of the Three Brothers and your father and Dumbledore were all getting at..."

Still hunched over her notebook, she bumped straight into Nevile. "Hey. How're things going with your friend?" he asked.

Luna looked confused, and Ginny blushed. "Great," she said earnestly, and pulled Luna away from Neville and down the hall with her.