Harry Potter And The Unexpected Friend

"Good luck, Harry" Cedric said as a good-bye and then walked off towards the part of the castle where Harry knew the Hufflepuff dorms were. Harry waved and began walking in the other direction. Suddenly the idea that he only had one more thing to do in the tournament before it was over struck him and Harry found himself quite happy with that. He was having fun in it so far and it had been good for him but he still hated how he was forced into it. Harry wondered if he would miss the tournament when it was over, but he doubted he would. Even if he won the tournament he knew "Winner of the Triwizard Tournament" would never be what people remembered him for. He still had to wait almost two months for the next task, he realized, so even though there was only one more it be a while before it was finished.

'I better start getting ready for it, I guess.' Harry thought as his mind drifted towards what he had planned for later in the day. If it went as he planned he would have three people instead of two training with him. Now he just had to find Neville…

...

"Wow Harry! What is this place?" Neville asked as Harry led him into the Room of Requirement later that day. It was currently set up to have one half resemble the Gryffindor common room and the other half to be a large training area. Hermione and Daphne were in the training area casting spells at a moving target when the two boys walked in. They both stopped what they were doing and waved as Harry led Neville over to the common room to explain what was going on.

"Neville, I'd like you to start training with us." Harry said. "We think this is going to be important soon."

"Why?" Neville asked curiously. He had noticed that Harry had been doing much better in school this year, although he just assumed it was because he was studying so hard for the Triwizard Tournament. The idea that it was for something else and that he would be a part of it had never crossed his mind.

"Sit down and I'll explain. It's a bit of a long story." Harry replied as he motioned for Neville to take a seat. For the next hour Harry told Neville everything that he thought the other boy needed to know. Harry began with retelling his adventures of the previous years. Neville knew most of what had happened and could guess at much of what he didn't know, but it was still nice to hear the story from the source. Harry then began to explain the events of this year and their suspicions that Voldemort would one day return and restart the war that everyone thought had ended so long ago.

"Blimey, Harry. You really think that's going to happen?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, I do. I wish I could say no but Voldemort's never going to stop trying to get his body back." Harry answered.

"I suppose not. I don't think I'll be much help to you though. You three have been doing this for months, plus I'm not that good to begin with." Neville said sadly.

"Quit putting yourself down, Neville." Harry commanded. "We're all going to help you and I'm sure you will be catching up to us in no time. You're my friend Neville, and I want to make sure that if something bad does happen you can defend yourself." Neville looked up at Harry in surprise. Harry not only considered him a friend but had confidence that he could learn and get stronger. He couldn't remember anyone ever thinking he would be a good wizard, not even his grandmother with her constant comparisons to his father.

"OK, Harry. I'll do my best." Neville said sincerely. Harry grinned and jumped up from his seat to head over to the training area as Neville rushed to follow. Daphne and Hermione had already stopped practicing and were talking when the other two approached them.

"Neville's in!" Harry announced excitedly. Hermione smiled while Daphne rolled her eyes at Harry's enthusiasm.

The group spent most of the rest of the night trying to help Neville learn the things they had already mastered. He was eager to learn but his magical abilities seemed very uneven to the others. Even when attempting to cast the same spell multiple times occasionally the spell would not work at all. Upon closer inspection Harry noticed that there was nothing wrong with his incantations or wand movements so it must be something else holding him back, although he had no idea what that was. Hermione and Daphne seemed to notice the same thing Harry did but neither of them could offer an explanation. Neville soon grew tired from the constant spell casting and decided to go to bed.

"I'll be back next time. I promise." Neville said as he walked out the door to head towards the Gryffindor dorms. Hermione and Daphne were also ready to stop but Harry knew he had to keep pushing himself to reach the point of magical exhaustion. He was about to start casting some of the more draining spells he knew when Hermione stopped him.

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