The Light in the Dark | Neville Longbottom

Chapter 53: The Gryffinwhore

*CW: Sexual Harassment (Slut-Shaming)*

Dear Dawn,

The first game of the season! That's exciting! Although it's unfortunate for Ms. Bell, at least you get to be on the team while she's in recovery! I know that chaser wasn't your preferred position, but again, you get to play!

Also, I am very sorry to hear about you and Neville and your interaction on Halloween (although, you could have just told me that you two fought. I didn't need to know about the other "details"). I'm here to tell you the truth, and you did mess up, but he's messed up as well. Breakups are messy, so it's not only your fault. The best advice I can give you is to leave it alone.

If it makes you feel better, I was single for fourteen years. My last partner and I broke up after a really nasty argument with one another, similar to the one you and Neville had. A couple weeks later, he went to prison, and then he was killed... So anyways, what I'm trying to say is that it COULD be worse!

To update you on order business, more of our alarms have gone off, and deatheaters have attacked more shops in Diagon Alley. Thanks to the alarms, we've been able to shoo them off before they've done too much damage. We still haven't found Bellatrix or Voldemort, we assume that they've gone completely off the maps. They have no reason to reappear while you lot are off at Hogwarts and Dumbledore is still Headmaster.

Also, don't expect a letter from me in December because I'm coming to visit the Weasleys on Christmas, so we'll talk then. Tonks is coming too, if you've forgotten, she's your cousin. Every order meeting she goes on and on about how excited she is to finally talk to you, so expect to have a one-on-one with her when we arrive.

And if you don't mind, on your next Hogsmeade trip could you purchase me a couple of chocolate frogs? I haven't had one in years, and I wanted to seize the opportunity while I could.

Thanks!

- Remus

『••✎••』

November 16th, 1996

I finished reading Remus's letter to myself as I slumped down onto my bed. That was the first time I've heard from him since September. After the events of Halloween, I wrote him a letter of distress because I ultimately had no one to talk to about it. Ginny and Dean got back together, making Harry and Ron emotionally unavailable for a couple of days, and Hermione was in no means comforting at all.

I had really messed up Halloween night, and news about what happened with Theo spread through the school like wildfire. I was getting called all sorts of names: slag, slut, minger; one person even called me a Gryffinwhore, which I had to admit was very clever. Thankfully, Neville didn't tell anyone about our interaction, but it didn't excuse the fact that he played into the rumors.

I started to avoid breakfast and lunch at the popular times because not only was I bombarded with snickering from all of the house tables, I had to endure Neville's glaring. The worst was a couple days after Halloween when Colin Creevey wanted to do an "interview" on all of my past relationships and my apparent "death". In short, I threatened to turn him and his brother into toads, and he hasn't spoken to me since.

Of course, Theo didn't get any negative backlash. People were congratulating him for his "conquest". Although, he did tell everyone that I had called him Neville that night, which was not a good look for me. Neville was one of the first to find out about it, and (from what I was told) he laughed. I found him hanging out with Hannah more often, considering that he had lost all of his respect for me; I didn't blame him though.