Because he lost the slip of paper with the password, Professor McGonagall banned Neville from going to Hogsmeade again.
Maybe she was afraid Neville would lose something else... She had always suspected that Sirius Black had picked up the password Neville dropped in Hogsmeade.
So, when the next visiting day came around, Neville watched everyone else leave the castle excitedly, then quietly turned around and climbed the stairs.
Neville didn't complain about it at all, and actually thought that Professor McGonagall was right to do so.
He was always losing things, always messing everything up—maybe not knowing the password was better for him anyway, since he could never remember it in the first place.
Sure, it would be inconvenient and he couldn't come and go from the dorm whenever he wanted, but at least he didn't have to worry about causing more trouble.
To be honest, when he found out it was because of him that Sirius Black broke into the Gryffindor Common Room and nearly killed Ron, Neville went cold all over and started trembling uncontrollably.
He had nightmares for days after that.
Ron became Gryffindor's new ghost, and even got a new name... Nearly Headless Weasley.
Well, Neville was most familiar with Nearly Headless Nick, so naturally he just stuck Ron's face on him.
In the dream, Ron kept asking why Neville wrote the password on a piece of paper and handed it over to Sirius Black.
Every time, Neville woke up in the middle of explaining, and his shouting scared everyone else—not least Ron himself.
To be honest, to Ron, the fright from Sirius Black wasn't even half as bad as Neville's nightmares.
He didn't know when it started, but their dorm seemed to have turned into another Divination classroom.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. Every time he closed his eyes, he could hear Neville next to him yelling... Ron, I didn't mean to get you killed.
Or,
"Nearly Headless Weasley, let me go, it was Black who killed you..."
The problem was, he was still perfectly fine—eating, sleeping, still doing his homework...
And, what the heck was Nearly Headless Weasley anyway? He didn't remember being related to Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at all.
Once or twice was fine, you could bear with it, but every day? Who could stand that... It was terrifying.
Even though he'd told Neville more than once that he forgave him, it still didn't help.
If not for Harry, Ron would've changed dorms by now.
This went on until things finally started to get better these last few days.
Neville didn't want what happened in the dream to come true, so he didn't want to know the password at all.
As long as he didn't know the password, Black wouldn't be able to use him to get into the Gryffindor Common Room...
Hmm?
Suddenly, Neville froze at this thought.
He looked around at the empty stairway, seriously thinking about something...
Now that almost everyone had gone to Hogsmeade and he didn't know the password, how was he supposed to get back in?
Sure, there'd be some upper-year students in the Common Room, but with the castle's soundproofing, even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, no one inside would hear him.
"Oh, how could I forget that!" Neville thought to himself in frustration, wandering aimlessly through the castle.
Turning around a corridor on the fourth floor, he suddenly saw someone up ahead.
"Harry!" Neville called out in surprise, "I forgot you're not going to Hogsmeade either!"
He was genuinely happy—finally, he could get back to the Common Room.
"Hey, Neville." Harry quickly stepped away from the Hunchback Witch statue, trying to look casual. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing to do," Neville said. "Want to play Exploding Snap? I've got a new deck in my dorm."
It was way too cold outside, and he was really missing the warm fireplace in the Common Room.
"Uh... not right now..." Harry stammered. He just wanted to find a way to get rid of Neville so he could use the secret passage to Hogsmeade.
"Maybe next time. I need to go to the library and work on Professor Lupin's essay about vampires..."
"Great!" Neville said excitedly.
The library was a good choice too. Besides, he hadn't understood that class at all.
"You can help me..."
He abruptly shut his mouth, inhaling sharply as he stared behind Harry.
It was Snape—and Kael.
They seemed to have just come down from upstairs, chatting as they walked.
"Professor, I'd be happy to do you a small favor, but today's Hogsmeade visiting day. I've already missed my chance..."
"Watch your wording. It's not a favor, it's detention." Snape said without even turning his head. "If you brew your Magic Potions out of order again, you won't go to Hogsmeade ever again."
"But my Vertical Hair Potion was perfect—it was exactly the standard ginger color," Kael protested.
"Don't you understand what I'm saying? How many times do I need to repeat myself—your steps don't match the book!"
As he spoke, Snape's gaze suddenly shifted their way.
"What are you two doing here?" He stopped, looking the two of them over. "Quite the strange meeting spot."
Snape looked around, then followed Harry's gaze to the Hunchback Witch statue.
"We didn't plan to meet, we just... bumped into each other," Harry said nervously.
"Is that so?" Snape said. "You always turn up in the most unexpected places, Potter, and rarely for good reasons... I suggest you two head back to Gryffindor Tower. That's where you belong."
Neville and Harry ran off in a hurry.
After they left, Kael looked at Snape and asked, "So can I go too...?"
"Not yet!" Snape replied without hesitation.
"But the matter with the Fat Lady on the eighth floor is sorted out, isn't it?"
"That's only part of it," Snape drawled. "I have other things for you to do now—be in the dungeons in an hour. If you're a single second late, you'll never go to Hogsmeade again."
With that, he turned to look at the Hunchback Witch statue, occasionally tapping it with his wand.
"Yes, Professor!"
Kael didn't look at Snape again and just walked straight off down the corridor.
With only one hour left, there was no way he could go to Hogsmeade, so he decided to find something else to do.
When he got to the second floor, Kael bumped into Neville again.
Neville was leaning against a column by the stairs, looking bored.
"What are you doing here?" Kael asked. "Where's Harry?"
"Oh, we were about to go back to the Tower, but Harry said he had something else to do, so he left.
I don't know the password, so I figured I'd just hang out in the library for a while."
"What about you?" he asked. "Why were you with Snape on the fourth floor? Didn't you go to Hogsmeade?"
"Obviously not," Kael said. "I've got detention. I was helping put some special Magic Potion into the Fat Lady's portrait on the eighth floor.
Next time Black tries to tear her picture, it won't be so easy."
"That's great..." Neville said happily, "We've all had enough of Sir Cadogan—who wouldn't want the Fat Lady back?"
"You heading to the Common Room now?"
"No, I'm going to the library," Kael shook his head. "I've still got homework for a couple classes to finish."
"That's perfect." Neville's eyes lit up. "Can you help me? I never got the vampire lesson—does the garlic have to be eaten, or..."