The Light in the Dark | Neville Longbottom

Chapter 26: Strawberries Without Chocolate

February 14th, 1996

"Oh... Hi, Dawn," Pansy said confusedly, taking a seat at the Slytherin table, "I didn't know that you'd be joining us this morning."

"Longbottom's missing" Blaise chuckled, "And we all know why she can't show her face at the Gryffindor table alone."

Blaise's comment was followed by laughter from Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Theo. I sighed annoyedly, digging into my nosh. Neville's been A.W.O.L. all morning, and I knew that there was nobody in Gryffindor who would've been willing to fetch me breakfast, so I resorted to my last option... sitting at the Slytherin table.

I mean... it wasn't all too horrible. Actually, that was a lie... it was really horrible. Blaise was tolerable, and Crabbe and Goyle never said anything of value, but Theo erased every redeeming quality that this friend group might've had. I avoided eye contact with him, keeping my eyes peeled to the floor so he didn't seek my attention.

"Well, Draco said that I could sit with you lot if I needed to..." I stammered.

"We know that," Theo scoffed, "Blaise was just messing with you."

Because I was still slightly terrified of him, I looked up and laughed awkwardly.

Truth be told, (besides Neville) Draco and his friends were really the only friends I had left... and even that was a stretch. After my plastered confrontation with Hermione and Harry in the common room, almost all of Gryffindor stopped associating themselves with me. I messed up really badly. I've tried apologizing to Hermione, but she didn't want to hear it.

So, I did the only reasonable thing and kept my distance from them. The only time I was forced to interact with Gryffindor was at dinner, but I just sat close to Neville and stayed quiet. I changed seats in all my classes, partnering with either Neville or Blaise for everything except Potions, where I partnered with Pansy.

Pansy scoffed, looking over her shoulder, "They replaced you quite quickly, didn't they?"

I turned around, facing the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione sat next to each other with Cho Chang by Harry's side. Neville told me that Harry and Cho got together right before the holiday; he walked in on them kissing after one of the D.A. meetings.

"Cho isn't a loudmouth," Blaise shrugged, "I'm not surprised that they replaced you with her."

"I thought it was because she punched Harry... like twice?" Pansy asked confusedly.

"Well... actually it was once," I scoffed, folding my arms, "And it was well deserved because he's an arse."

"I can agree with you there!" Theo chuckled.

I gulped, making eye contact with the boy, but unsure of how to respond because I didn't want to upset him and hated him all the while. Instead, I nodded slowly, breaking eye contact as quickly as possible.

"I was also plastered..." I muttered, picking up my fork and returning to my eggs.

"Oh, whatever," Pansy scoffed, "Do any of you know where Draco is?"

"Probably in a supply closet shagging a fourth-year..." I mocked underneath my breath.

Pansy cocked her head, "What?"

My eyes widened as my head shot up from my plate. I didn't mean for Pansy to hear that because it probably wasn't true. I just said it for my own amusement because I knew she liked him, and I hated her.

"Nothing," I said quickly, "I didn't say anything."

Pansy raised her eyebrows at me before shaking her head and returning to her breakfast. Usually, I stayed until the end of the breakfast, chatting with my friends. But since I was sitting at the Slytherin table, I ate quickly, leaving the Great Hall the second I finished.