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Neville isn’t sure he likes Harry Potter. The boy is everything he is not: brave, confident, intelligent, handsome, athletic, good with people and probably a million other things. He should have been the Boy Who Lived, he thinks bitterly, from time to time. He would take on the role like a fish to the water. Then maybe Neville would be the one who lazes around the castle, doing anything and everything he wishes to, consequences be damned. But that’s not the case, and Neville is forced to watch Harry Potter shine like the star he is, while he himself is thrown from one danger to another.
Neville remembers the first time he saw the green-eyed boy. He was just refusing to shake Malfoy’s hand when Potter’s voice sounded over them: “Ah, this is just too much drama for the first day of school.” Neville hadn’t liked the interruption, and he had liked it even less when he realized that the new boy’s attention was wholly focused on Malfoy. Green and gray had locked in each other, and forgotten that Neville even existed.
From then on, it had continued like that.
They were both sorted into Gryffindor, but they hadn’t been the friends their parents had been. Potter didn’t even notice Neville, too busy being the school’s sweetheart and Malfoy’s rival. He excelled at everything he did. Just in his first year, he became the youngest seeker in the Hogwarts history, made Hermione cry in frustration because he surpassed her in classes, seemingly without even trying, and he drove Malfoy crazy simply by existing. Meanwhile Neville and his two friends tried to save the Philosopher’s Stone from Voldemort and failed spectacularly when at the end Neville couldn’t even stand on his two feet in front of Voldemort.
In their second year, Ginny, who had been starstruck with him since the beginning, ignores him for the sake of the dashing Harry Potter. But Potter isn’t the one who mourns over Ginny when she dies in the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore once again too late to come to Neville’s aid. But he is the one who again brings them the Quidditch Cup, and the House Cup. He is also the one whom Dumbledore looks with eyes so longing that it makes Neville simmer inside. Dumbledore also wishes Harry Potter were the Boy Who Lived, he knows. Potter doesn’t mind them, though, too busy turning Malfoy’s hair purple. Malfoy, who also acts like Neville doesn’t exist, puts a snake in Potter’s schoolbag and Potter befriends the small animal, even though he isn’t a Parselmouth. The snake hates Neville.
Their third year finally seems to be about Potter, because it’s his godfather who escapes from Azkaban. Neville kind of wishes him to be as troubled as he himself had been in the previous years; but Potter doesn’t seem to care. He inherits the Marauder’s Map from the twins -even though it’s Neville who has known them for his whole life and not him- and uses it to snuck out of the castle whenever he wants to. Once, he pranks Malfoy into the Shrieking Shack, but it turns out there was a werewolf there, and he has to rush in and get Malfoy out. The two of them don’t prank each other for a solid three months. School had never felt more dangerous. In the end, Sirius Black’s name is cleared when Potter catches Peter Pettigrew by his tail and throws him in front of the Aurors, and the man legally adopts Potter. Only Potter would find himself an adoptive father out of an Azkaban convict, Neville thinks.
Their fourth year starts with Potter being angry that there won’t be any Quidditch tournament that year. Even Viktor Krum’s overwhelming existence isn’t enough to placate him. He is even angrier as the Triwizard Tournament progresses, because, in his words “that is just so anti-climatic, I can’t believe we were deprived of Quidditch just for the so-called champions to swing their wands for a few minutes”. Then he shouts towards the benches that Dumbledore and the others sit “At least make them duel each other!” Malfoy seems pained to agree with him, but no-one is surprised to find out that two of them had created a side league for themselves. They were having an inter-school match near the Forbidden Forest when Cedric died and Neville stood against Voldemort.
The summer before their fifth year, Potter doesn’t let the Grimmauld Place become the headquarters of the Order of Phoenix. But he himself becomes the bane of Umbridge’s existence once the school starts, though she can never catch him on the act. He is downright cruel in his punishments; but no-one can or will stop him, not even Umbridge’s favorite student Malfoy. Neville sees them arguing over a prank made on the woman, but Malfoy never goes to Umbridge with the knowledge. Neville thinks it’s because Malfoy is just another victim of Potter. He’s always mysteriously silent whenever Potter smirks in his way. He would never guess that one day he would feel bad for the Malfoy heir. To no-one’s surprise, the year ends with Umbridge seriously maimed. Everyone and their grandma knows that Potter did it, but no-one says a word. If their life were a sky, Potter would be lazing on a cloud, untouched by anything while Neville endlessly falls down a storm.
Sixth year is the year Potter’s attention turns to Neville. Coincidentally, it’s also the year Neville’s attention slips from Potter to Malfoy. He is just sure that Malfoy is a Death Eater and is up to no good. So he glares at Malfoy, while Potter glares at him. That is also the year Potter and Malfoy destroy half of the Astronomy Tower and then the Owlery. They also burn the Quidditch Pitch because they attack each other in the middle of a match. Their fight is short but glamorous, definitely not near to the fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort from past year; but just in a few seconds, you can understand that they are going to be great in the near future. Dumbledore can also see this, if the way he takes a few minutes too long to interrupt their duel is anything to go by. He gives them detention, but he also gives Potter a look that says that everything could have been so different if his golden boy were the Boy Who lived. At least, this is what Neville sees. As the year goes on, people get hurt, and Potter and Malfoy continue arguing. While Neville learns about Tom Riddle and his horcruxes, Potter and Malfoy learn all the wrong ways to hurt each other. But it is Potter who runs to Malfoy, when Neville curses him in a bathroom. This is maybe the first time Neville manages to cast a spell at the first try, but this is also the first time he makes someone bleed. All he can see is red. Malfoy is red. Potter is hugging him, so Potter is also red. So Neville runs, Potter’s screams chasing him down the corridor. “You’re lucky,” Potter tells him that night. His voice is dangerous, not himself. “You’re lucky you’re you, and you’re lucky he’s him. Or else, you’d be rotting in Azkaban.” He’s right, Neville knows. But he’s still convinced that Malfoy is planning things.
The things turn out to be escaping the country with Potter. One day they are at school, arguing with each other as usual, the other day they are no more. No-one knows what happened to them until Sirius Black gets a letter from Potter that says: “I’m somewhere with Draco, happy and safe, no worries.” There is a photo attached, it is both of them, smiling at the camera. Malfoy turns his head just slightly and kisses Potter on the cheek, Potter’s smile grows.
Neville doesn’t like Harry Potter.
At all.