Crying in the Corridor ((Neville and Lavender))

[livinghope1986]

Mandi grabbed her Gryffindor red sweater and pulled it over her red blouse. It was getting rather chilly in Hogwarts and she didn’t want to wear a jacket so she grabbed her sweater she had received two years ago. She pulled it down to her dark blue jeans and tucked it into the pants. Stepping in front of her mirror she sighed. ‘This is as good as it’s going to get,’ Mandi sighed to herself. She held back the tears that were bursting to overflow. She had been like this for almost a month now. She was still hurting over what had happened to her aunt. So much had happened in the last few weeks. She pulled the letter out her aunt had sent her and held it close to her heart. She knew that if she just believed then things would get better. After all, Mandi was a nice person she should have good karma. She had never been mean to a living soul, except maybe Fiona, but she had deserved it. Beside it wasn’t like she had done something unforgivable. She had simply said some mean things in response. Mandi turned and walked toward the window near her bed. She looked out of it and saw the beautiful afternoon sun. The grounds were alive with students. She wanted to go outside, but at the same time she wished to stay exactly where she was and never leave.

Mandi stared out the window for what seemed hours, but in reality only a few minutes. She turned from the window and headed toward her dormitory door. She was tired of keeping herself locked up in the tower. She ventured down the stairs and entered the common room. It held only several students busy working on homework. Mandi sighed as she continued out of the portrait of the fat lady. “Honey, you all right?” the Fat Lady asked with concern as Mandi slumped away. “Better than ever,” Mandi mumbled in response as she raised in a hand to say goodbye. She slowly walked down the tower stairs. She still held the letter and she would never let it go. It was the last thing from her aunt that she had. It didn’t even make any sense. The handwriting was that of a toddler who didn’t know how to spell or really how to write. Mandi stopped halfway through the corridor and sat against the wall crying. She opened the letter from her aunt and read the words as best as she could.

drae nice
sis teld my 2 rite u how r u doeng i is fin get 2 go byby
wuv ant

The letter was short and hardly legible. It was written in large font with no punctuation and very little correct spelling. Mandi looked at the letter with sadness. Her aunt was in her thirties and yet she was acting like she was only 5 years old. Mandi held the letter close and continued to cry in the middle of the corridor floor. She had no will to move and no will to stop crying. Everything around her faded as she dwelled in her own self-pity.

[Professor Neville Longbottom]

Neville pulled on his cloak in the boy's dormitory and headed out the door. It was a nice day, but there was a chill in the air. November was here, and with it brought the cold weather that always accompanied the winter months. Neville loved cold weather even though many of his beloved plants died when it came. Currently, he was heading down to the green houses to help Professor Sprout tend to the plants. Many of them needed weeding and such, but it was hard for the Professor to do it all on her own. Neville walked silently through the common room, only waving at the occasional person who grabbed his attention or called his name.

The portrait of the Fat Lady was swinging closed as he approached. Pressing it open once more, he could hear faint sobbing in the hallway. Looking up the hallway, he saw a huddled mass against the wall that looked like another Gryffindor, Mandi Aspen.

Neville wasn't good at these types of situations. In fact, he was horrible at them. He always seemed to find the wrong thing to say or make the situation worse. Coming up to the girl, he bent down to her level and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. " Mandi, are you okay?" He saw her holding a letter. "Do you need something?" She kept sobbing. " Here. There is an empty classroom over here. Lets get you out of the corridor," Neville tried to help the girl stand and steered her out of the hallway.