Professor Neville Longbottom (A Harry Potter FanFic)

Chapter Nine - The Meeting

MOST OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK ARE THE WORK OF J.K.ROWLING, NOT MY OWN.

Chapter Nine - The Meeting

Snape paced the floor of his office, his breath coming in angry ragged gasps. He had heard voices from outside the window last night, and when he looked he saw Neville and Rosalind kissing. KISSING! When I told her to keep an eye on him, he thought, I didn't mean that close.

"Longbottom  is seriously stepping out of line. First was the outrageous use of magic on a student, and now he is in an inapropriate infactuation with another teacher. Not just any teacher, but my daughter!" Snape muttered darkly before giving a frustrated sigh. He sank down in his chair and rested his head on the desk. His eyes were dark with rage and his brow was furrowed, he banged his fist on the wooden surface which splintered under impact. He decided not to approach Longbottom about this immediatley, but he knew that the time would come soon enough.

Weak autumn sunlight filtered through a gap in the curtains and rested on Nevilles sleeping form. The sudden change in light aroused him from his sleep and he realised that he had slept in his clothes. His hand groped across the bedside table for his wand. Wand in hand, he swung himself upright so that his legs dangled off the edge of the bed. He slowly pushed himself upwards and reached for his wardrobe doorhandle.

He wrenched the door open and grabbed the clothes he had arranged to wear yesterday. After pulling on the white shirt and black suit trousers, he lowered the green waiscoat over his head. It was bedecked with green beads that formed a delicate leaf pattern which laced the whole piece of fabric. He grabbed his black boots and cast his wand over them, instantly they were polished and shining.

Neville headed to the sink and splashed his face with cold water. Looking into the mirror he realised that he had dark bags under his eyes, and his stubble was thick and dark. After shaving he combed his hair and rushed out of the room, but had to run back in to grab his cape.

As he walked towards the hall he flung the cape over his shoulders where it settled and sat comfortably. He heard the sound of approaching footsteps and glanced behind him to see Snape quickly advancing. Neville stopped walking and turned around to face the professor.

"You. My office. Now." Snape snapped before turning on his heel and storming towards his office. Neville followed in quick pursuit and a lump formed in his throat as he realised what he was in for now. It was the meeting with Draco Malfoy.

Snape flung the office door open and Neville quickly stepped inside. He was greeted with two pairs of hostile eyes, one belonge to Falco, the other to his father. Snape glided round his desk and sank into his chair. He beckoned for Neville to sit in the one directly to his right. Once seated, Neville looked infront of him at the malevolent faces of the Malfoys. He swallowed but his throat was dry and he only managed to make a scared gulping noise. It seemed to please the Malfoys to see him so uncomortable, and they looked at eachother with evil grins.

"I believe you know why we are here today Mr Longbottom?" Quizzed Snape, his tone was harsh and blunt. He didn't give Neville time to answer and instead started his first line of attack.

"You are accused of innapropriately using magic on a student, TWICE, which could have resulted in the harm or serious injury of the child. Is this true?"

"Well, You see, Umm..." Began Neville, but was interupted by Snape.

"Is this True Mr Longbottom?" Snape snarled

"Yes, but..." Before Neville could finish he was once again interupted. This time by Draco Malfoy.

"You stupid idiot of a man!" he roared "How dare you! How dare you treat a Malfoy like that?" He glowered at Neville who tugged at the collar of his shirt nervously. Stupid Malfoy, he always thought of his family to be better than others because he was a pureblood, thought Neville angrily.

"Your malicious child was cruel to another student! He is horrific to teach and is cruel and sadistic. I don't regret any of what I have done and  if you want to place blame you should look a little closer to home. It is not my fault that child is a monster, it's yours!" Neville glared at Draco, he was sweating and his palms were slick and clammy.

Draco went white, which was difficult as his skin was already very pale. A vein in his temple throbbed violently and he clenched his jaw.

"WHAT?" He screeched "This is OUTRAGEOUS! Severus, I order you to fire this manipulative liar of a teacher. My son is NO monster, do you hear me? NO MONSTER!"

Snape glanced cooly at Draco before answering "Your son is being suspended from Hogwarts for a week."

"WHAT? WHY?" Dracos fists were clenched and as he stood up in anger his chair clattered noisily on the floor. His eyes threw daggers at Neville who was looking at Snape in disbelief.

"Your son is an insolent child. He is distracting and rude, he is cruel to other students and deserves to be punished."

"But..."

"The matter is closed Mr Malfoy. Now please leave my office and take your son with you."

And with that Draco stormed from the room, pulling Falco by the ear, uttering loud curses. Neville looked at Snape and grinned, but his smile was met by a frosty look and a finger pointed to the open door.

"Leave now." Hissed Snape.