The Light in the Dark | Neville Longbottom

Chapter 1: Where My Story Begins

June 24th, 1995

For summer, it was cold. Not freezing cold, but cold enough to the point where the other wizards and I had to layer up. I wore my house sweater with a black turtleneck I brought from home. The sky was dark, and the air was foggy. This ambience made the task ahead a little more frightening. I, however, was sitting up in the stands watching it all go down from a far.

It was difficult choosing who I wanted to cheer for. Unlike the previous tournaments, there were two Hogwarts champions this year, and only one of them could win. I was secretly hoping one of them would have dropped out by now, so I wasn't expected to pick and choose who I was rooting for. It was hard considering Cedric Diggory was my boyfriend, and Harry Potter was one of my best friends.

"Do you reckon they'll get lost in there?" the voice beside me hesitated. I faced Hermione Granger as she leaned over the railing, looking at what lied inside of the maze.

"If they can fight a bloody dragon, they can get through a maze!" someone scoffed from the row behind us.

"But take a look inside the maze, Ron!" I replied, "It's miles long, and what's to say they didn't hide little dragons in there? It is in fact the final challenge, we have no idea what's going to happen!"

"You two need to stop worrying, they will both be fine!" Ron said, "But there can only be one winner, so who do you guys have your bets on?"

Hermione, still upset about what happened at the Yule Ball, answered first.

"I hope Krum wins." she spat, then whipping back around to face the maze.

Ron didn't expect this answer as his cheerful smile dropped, and his eyes shifted to his shoes.

"I hope Harry or Cedric win!" I beamed to loosen the now-awkward tension between us all.

"Don't pity them, Dawn, we both know you want Diggory to win!" an approaching voice scoffed, "Potter won't last five minutes in that maze!"

I looked over, and saw Draco Malfoy, my twin brother, walking towards me with a smug look on his face as him and his friends, Crabbe and Goyle, filled the empty spaces in the stands. He examined Hermione and Ron disgustingly, scoffing and whispering vulgar comments to himself as he did so. I despised that he did this, especially to my friends.

"That's exactly what you said last time, and the time before that," I scoffed, shaking my head, "You talk about Potter an awful lot. It's an unhealthy obsession, Draco, get over yourself."

I glared at Draco as he turned on his heel, scoffed, and left the stands, gesturing his friends to follow him. As he exited my row, he flipped me off, and then continued down the steps.

My family were pureblood supremacists. It's been that way since I was little. Both my father and mother were raised with that mindset, and so were Draco and I. I've always respected their wishes, but ever since my first year at Hogwarts, things have changed. And to make a long story short, I stopped agreeing with their old-fashioned ways.

This had an effect on my parents, but not one significant enough to make a severe difference. My father remained strict about pureblood friendships and relationships, being the reason we were no longer close. My mother was more lenient when it came to half-bloods. She tolerated them, more than my father ever would, but she still thought muggle-borns were filth. It was.... progress, to say the least.

{FLASHBACK}

September 1st, 1991

"Before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses." Minevra McGonagall stated, "There's Gryffindor... Hufflepuff... Ravenclaw.... and Slytherin."