The Other Boy

I am Neville Longbottom, The-Boy-Who-Lived. The truth is, I'm not actually. Harry Potter is, but he was sorted into Slytherin. It came as a shock to everyone. After all, most of them turn out Dark. You-Know-Who is a perfect example of that, almost all of his Death Eaters were Slytherins. I don't think being Slytherin makes people Dark, I think Dark wizards just tend to end up in Slytherin. There are plenty of good ones, in fact, Merlin himself was a Slytherin. Professor Snape as well. Although he scares me, I can't say that he's malevolent. Even so, there's still a stigma around Slytherin.

For all his views about equality and doing things for "the greater good", Dumbledore's pretty prejudiced. When the Sorting Hat called out 'SLYTHERIN' he looked like he wanted to strangle the hat. He came to me and said that a mistake had been made, that I was the real Boy-Who-Lived.

He even had the audacity to say, and I quote, "It's unfortunate that you're a Hufflepuff, being a Gryffindor would have been much more ideal."

As if I would want to be a bloody Gryffindor! They're so reckless and impulsive.

When I asked him why he thought there was a mistake, he told me that the saviour could not be in Slytherin. I managed to convince him that Harry could be like Merlin. He would take down You-Know-Who anyways. When I told him that, he looked so appalled by the idea that anyone from Slytherin could be Light, but he grudgingly agreed.

I was curious about Harry, he always seemed so quiet and reserved. We had herbology together, so that was a chance to get closer to him. He excelled in almost every subject except this, and Herbology happened to be the something I was good at. We made pairs and I went with Harry. We made a deal, as long as I helped him in Herbology, he would help me with Transfiguration and DADA. I agreed of course, willing to help another student and my marks would go up too.

Later when we met up to do a bit of studying, I noticed he seemed troubled. I asked him what was wrong, but he just brushed it off. After reading in silence for a few minutes, he spoke.

"Dumbledore wants you to be the Boy-Who-Lived, doesn't he?"

I hesitated a second before nodding. "He thinks you'll turn Dark because you're in Slytherin."

Seeming to change the subject, he said, "Your parents were tortured by Voldemort. Were they able to raise you?"

I blanched a bit at the name, then slowly answered, if a bit sharply.

"No. Tortured to insanity, they don't even recognize me, their own son," I told him. "My grandmother was the one who raised me. She's stern and demanding sometimes, but I know she cares."

"Then you at least know what it feels like to be loved, even if your parents were absent," Harry said, his voice turning bitter. "Do you know what the meddling old fool did to me? He left me with my aunt and uncle! Muggles that hate magic! He could have put me with anyone else, even being on the streets would have been better than with the Dursleys. Dumbledore never even went to check on me!"

"What did they do?" I softly asked, not sure if I wanted to know.

"My bedroom was the closet under the stairs. I was made to do all the chores, from cooking to cleaning to gardening. I was six! I got scraps of food maybe once a day if I was lucky. Dudley and his friends beat me up daily. Do you understand why we crave the power the Dark gives us? Most of us have been abused, we look at the Light that never did anything for us, and turn to the Dark," he said.

Abruptly, he slammed his textbooks on the table.

"What essays do you have?" he asked, signalling the conversation was over.

I wanted to find out more but knew not to push it. As we worked together, I only half-listened to him speaking, thinking over what he'd told me.

Later that evening, I contemplated more about what he had told me. I think he considered us acquaintances, or even friends considering the nature of what he told me. But it sounded like more than just a backstory, almost like a warning, no, an explanation. I may not be a Ravenclaw, but I'm not stupid either, contrary to what's believed of Hufflepuffs.