This was dreadful. I just wasn't fitting in.

For a start, due to my awkward dumpy figure, I needed a leg up every time I wanted to get through the portrait hole. It was so humiliating; I just didn't seem to have the same agility as everyone else.

And then there was Professor Snape; the Potions Master.

I felt sick with fear every time I entered his classroom in the dungeons.

In one lesson I had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, causing the potion to seep across the stone floor, burning holes in everyone's shoes. I got drenched in the stuff, and I cried in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over my arms and legs.

"Idiot girl!" Snape had snarled as he cleaned the spilt potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

I whimpered as boils started to pop up all over my nose, trying to ignore the howls of laughter erupting from the Slytherins.

Harry and Ron, who were sat at the desk next to me, gave me looks of sympathy but nobody attempted to step in to ask if I was okay.

In the end, when Snape had felt I had had a sufficient amount of humiliation, he ordered Seamus to accompany me to the hospital wing.

"They always say that owners end up looking like their pets!" Pansy screeched with cruel laughter; as Draco started to lead the rest of the Slytherins in an enthusiastic rendition of the Frog Song.

"Cheer up, Neve," Seamus squeaked kindly, as I wept all the way to the hospital wing, "Your face doesn't look that bad if you squint hard enough."

And if things weren't bad enough, I found out that we were having flying lessons. With the Slytherins.

"But I've never even been on a broomstick before!" I wailed in despair as I read the notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room.

"But didn't you grow up in a wizarding family?" Harry asked, frowning at me in confusion.

"Gran never let me near one," I shrugged morosely, "she says I have enough accidents even with both feet on the ground."

Harry just gave me a look as if to say he couldn't agree more.

Hermione was just as nervous as me, and on the morning of our first flying lesson, she read out loud flying tips from a book she had gotten out of the library over breakfast.

Everyone else moaned at her, telling her to shut up; but I hung on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help me not to fall off my broomstick later.

It was at that moment when the owl post arrived, dropping a small round package into my cereal bowl, causing cornflakes to splatter all over my face and hair.

I was not having a good life.

It turned out Gran had sent me a Remembrall, which was glowing bright red in my hands. Fat lot of good this was, because I couldn't remember what it was that I had forgotten.

Suddenly, the Remembrall was snatched out of my hand and I looked up to see a smirking Draco Malfoy tossing it in the air and catching it.

"Hey-"

Harry and Ron both jumped to their feet, rounding on Draco who just continued to smirk down at me.

"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall barked from across the Hall, striding over to our table at once.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor," I said at once as Harry and Ron reluctantly sat back down in their seats.

Draco scowled down at me, quickly dropping the Remembrall back on the table.

"Just looking," he said, before sloping away with Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him.

*****

As predicted, I was crap at flying.

So crap that I humiliated myself in front of everyone, fell off my broomstick and broke my wrist.

Tears streaked down my face as I hobbled off, escorted by Madam Hooch.

Before we reached the castle, I heard Draco Malfoy laughing cruelly amongst the other Slytherins.

"Did you see her face, the great lump?"

"Shut up, Malfoy," I heard Seamus squeak.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy tittered. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry babies, Seamus."

"Ignore them," Madam Hooch said kindly to me as I gave a huge shuddering sniffle. "Remember; sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me."

"That's a stupid rhyme," I muttered bitterly.

Madam Hooch just sighed heavily. And she didn't argue with me; probably because she could clearly see that the cruel jibes from Draco and the Slytherins were hurting me a hell of a lot more than my broken wrist.

*****

I was eventually released out of the hospital much later that night.

But when I returned to the portrait, I realised two things which made me weep in despair. One - there was no one there to help me clamber through, and two - I had forgotten the password anyway.

Feeling exhausted, and not knowing what else to do, I curled up on the floor and sobbed myself to sleep.

I don't how long I had been there when I was woken by the sound of approaching footsteps.

It was Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Thank goodness you found me!" I cried with relief. "I was afraid I'd have to sleep here all night. I couldn't remember the new password to get into bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neve." Ron shushed me. "The password's Pig snout but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

I felt my lower lip wobble. I just couldn't catch a break in this place.

"How's your arm?" Harry asked gently, giving me a sympathetic look.

"It's all fixed now," I whispered. "I heard you saved my Remembrall from Malfoy. Thank you."

"Hey, no worries," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, it got me a place on the Quidditch team."

"Really?" I gushed, staring at Harry in wide eyed awe. "Wow!"

"Yep, you're looking at our new Seeker," Ron said, clapping a hand down proudly on Harry's shoulder. "And it's all thanks to you, Neve."

I felt my cheeks flush as I beamed up at them. Finally, something was going right.

"Uh- well, look, Neve," Harry said awkwardly. "We've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later-"

"Don't leave me!" I wailed, scrambling to my feet in panic. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

I noticed Ron looking at his watch before glaring furiously at Hermione and then me.

"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learnt that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about and used it on you."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned us all forward.

It turned out Harry and Ron were off to meet Draco and Crabbe for a midnight duel before being intercepted first by Hermione, and then me.

They were both furious at having us tagging along.

And I kind of wished that I'd just stayed curled up in the corridor when it turned out Draco had set them up and we found ourselves running from that creepy caretaker and his scary looking cat.

Things just got worse when we ended up in a room with a three headed dog.

"I want my Gran," I wailed, curling up into a tight ball as I trembled on the sofa back in the safety of the common room.

The other three just ignored me however as they chatted excitedly about what could possibly be under the trapdoor that that monster was guarding.

What was wrong with them? I wondered incredulously. Was the concept of nearly being killed completely and utterly lost on those three?

Anyone would think they were immortal.

*****