Neville Longbottom and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 16: The Missing Room

Hannah wasn't much of a Quidditch fan which was confusing to Neville. He offered to explain it to her but she declined. She said it was fun to watch, she just didn't care for the whole "team spirit" thing. He was glad that she at least enjoyed watching, and Neville had to admit that he didn't exactly have a favorite team - other than Gryffindor.

The next Match was between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and Luna came prepared with her Raven Shoes. Hannah asked her about them, but she refused to demonstrate until Ravenclaw scored a goal. This had Hannah cheering for Ravenclaw, but the Hufflepuff Chasers were doing really well and had scored forty points before Ravenclaw scored their first.

Luna kicked her feet up and clicked her heels; Hannah couldn't stop laughing in delight when the shoes called out, "RAVENCLAW! RAVENCLAW!" This same thing happened with all four of Ravenclaw's goals - Luna clicked her heels, the shoes cried out, and they all laughed and laughed.

Neville was having so much fun just being with the two of them that he wasn't watching when Cho caught the Snitch. He realized that it must have been a rough Match for her - playing against her former boyfriend's team. But Ravenclaw won 190 to 70, despite Hufflepuff's strong performance.

A strange thing happened that next week. Neville was taking his short-cut route to Divination and he caught sight of Malfoy. He knew the Slytherin Common Room was in the Dungeon, so it was strange to see him in the Seventh Floor Corridor so early in the morning. He followed as best he could, trying not to be seen, and Malfoy lingered in the Corridor two corners away from the Gryffindor entrance. He watched Malfoy go through a doorway, and when he tried to follow the doorway vanished just before he got there.

He ran back to his Dorm and dug in his trunk for the Marauder's Map. He knew there wasn't time to check it before Divination Class, but he brought it all the same. He could check it after class, and hoped that Malfoy wouldn't leave before then.

He ended up being a little late for Divination, and Trelawney grabbed the opportunity to use him for her demonstration. She had been trying most of the year to coax him into revealing a dream - she obviously still remembered the end of last year when he fell asleep in her class and had a nightmare, but then left class early without telling her about it.

Sitting across from her with a short-legged table between them, she said, "Just relax, Mr. Longbottom. Tell me about the last dream that you can remember."

He couldn't lie, so Neville decided to tell her part of his last dream. "I was walking down a dark hallway toward a door at the other end."

"Why is the hallway dark," Trelawney asked, "are the lights off?"

"No, it's dark because the walls and floor are black," he said, "and the ceiling, too."

"Oh yes," Trelawney whispered and started swaying, "and do you reach the door?"

"Not most of the time," and he realized his mistake too late.

"This is a recurring dream," she said, trying not to sound excited. "Is it the dream you had in my class last year?"

"Um, no." He was glad that Ron was the only roommate in this class. He would surely recognize it as the dream he had before Christmas, but was not likely to reveal anything about it.

"And when you do open the door, what is on the other side?"

"Just a guy, and then I wake up." He stood up and took his seat before Trelawney could stop him, and she stared after him looking surprised. He hoped that she wouldn't ask him any more questions.

"Well, Mr. Longbottom, that was a very important dream," she began, trying to sound mysterious. "All dreams that repeat are. Hallways, like tunnels, are symbolic of a connection to your subconscious. Because the hallway is dark, this indicates that it is dangerous to attempt this connection - and so it is good that you don't usually open the door. Now, the doorway represents a new beginning or development in your life. But, this may not be a good thing to happen, and it may also mean that you must go through a very difficult journey before you can have this new beginning."