Stole

Neville Longbottom walked into potions class, tripping over his robes every now and then, his ragged book bag slung over his shoulder. Sniggers followed him as he sat down in the only seat left in the dungeon - next to Hermione Granger. She smiled at him as he started to take his books out; at least she would give him the time of day.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your tardiness, Longbottom." Professor Snape sneered at him. Neville stared down at the desk.

He didn't have an easy life, did Neville. His parents were in St. Mungos', barely remembering who he was, and he was living with his grandmother. He only scraped through his exams every year, and he was getting sick to death with all the bullying he got.

Hermione felt sorry for him. She'd noticed how he never fit in anywhere, and he was good kid, but good doesn't make you cool. She hadn't known what to say when he had asked her to the Yule Ball the previous year, and it broke her heart to see the poor kid pushed about by the slytherins, and even teased by his own house-mates.

When the bell rang, Hermione was about to make an effort to include him in her, Ron and Harry's conversation, but he only walked off towards the boys bathroom, no doubt to sulk in the corner - she had been there before, except, of course, in the girls bathroom.

At lunch, he sat at one end of the Gryffindor table, eating alone. Draco and his cronies were laughing and pointing at him, and a few parchment airplanes hit his head. He stormed out of the great hall, accidentally tipping a bowl of cornflakes over with his elbow as he went; more howls of laughter at this.

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Later on in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione noticed how she hadn't seen Neville since lunch, so she went to look for him, just to check he wasn't being cornered by bullies. As she walked along the third-floor corridor, she heard crying coming from the other end. As she got closer, she heard a sickening scream. She ran down the corridor to where it had come from - the boys bathroom. As she went in, she saw a trickle of blood coming from the shower area. She turned a corner and he eyes widened as she took in what was there.

Neville was lying on the floor, his throat slit, and a knife in his hand. He had committed suicide. Hermione let out a scream louder than the one Neville had given, and ran out of the bathroom, still screaming.

"Hermione, dear, what on earth are you screaming for?" Professor Mc Gonagall asked as she ran into Hermione on the way back from dinner. All Hermione could do for a few minuets was stutter, while Professor Mc Gonagall led her into her office.

"Sit down, and tell me what's happened." She said, with a kind tone in her voice. Hermione explained everything that had happened from Lunch to when she left the common room.

"And as I reached the third floor, I, I heard crying coming from the boys bathroom. So I walked along a bit, to see who was crying, then I heard a scream, so, so I walked into the room and-" Professor Mc Gonagall's eyes almost popped out with shock when Hermione finished her sentence.

"Go back to the Gryffindor common room at once, I will get Professor Dumbledore." She got up and ran out of her office, still shaking a bit.

****** ****** ******

The next week, the whole school was gathered around the Hogwarts graveyard. It was Neville's funeral. All the Gryffindor's, Hufflepuff's and a lot of Ravenclaw's were in tears, especially Hermione, who was getting therapy - she was still in deep shock and suffering from insomnia after what she had seen. Neville's grandma laid a red rose on top of the coffin just before the earth was put on top.

When everyone had gone, Hermione saw Draco whisper 'I'm sorry' to Neville's grave as she walked away.

A mural with 'In loving memory' at the top was painted on the back wall of Hogwarts, which each student had contributed to, writing their own message and painting their own little picture on the wall. Hermione's message was:

'Think Before You Act - R.I.P. Neville.'