Anna Banana's EEFDs - Sa13+

Dare #1:

# 24:
{} Gran Longbottom takes a liking to spinach.
{} Every character in the story must love shiny objects.
{} Every character in the story must have a pet.

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Neville's Howler

For a moment, I was far too distracted by the shiny, gold seal on the outside of the envelope to realize what was really happening. I think Ginny, complete with that Pygmy Puff perched on her shoulder, may have noticed it before me, because she was nudging me in the side and muttering, "Erm, Neville, you may want to…" Everything else was just a blur as I managed to look past the gold emblem and lay eyes on the howler that awaited me. My owl, who was smart enough to be flying out of sight, had delivered it only seconds prior.

I sank down a few inches in my seat, but there was no escaping Gran’s howler. "I haven’t even done anything wrong!" I wanted to cry, but it was no use. Gran had been in a rather poor mood ever since her spinach garden was ruined by gnomes over the summer holidays. She’d taken a liking to the vegetable, for some reason, and she still hadn’t gotten over the fact that all that hard work had gone to waste after a midnight gnome party. Since the incident, she’d gotten a kneazle in hopes that the creature would drive the poor gnomes far, far away from her precious spinach.

"Neville Franklin Longbottom!" Howler Gran yelled, and I swear I could hear a pin drop throughout the Great Hall. I glanced across the table and spotted Dean Thomas, who was taking a break from showing off his new ferret to playfully laugh at me, showing me his mouth full of teeth. Had they always been so shiny and white, or was I just extra observant in an attempt to distract myself from my embarrassment? Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Actually, Harry tells me the whole ordeal only lasted maybe a minute. Either way, it was the single most embarrassing moment of my entire life.

That evening in the Common Room, I tried to explain to my friends what had happened and why Gran was so mad at me. "It was just so shiny! And silver!" I exclaimed, turning to Harry to try and give him my most convincing face. "So your Gran is upset because you bought it with all the money she’d given you for school supplies?" Harry asked, shaking his head. I nodded in reply as I watched him tie a letter of his own to the talons of his owl. I could have sworn I heard a few people in the back of the room laughing at me, forcing me to squirm nervously in my seat.

…but that was when I felt it. It was still right where I’d stashed it, and I smiled as I pictured how nice and shiny it’d look in the light of the Common Room. I stood proudly…and bravely…and pulled the shiny, silver object out of my pocket for all to see. "Ooohhh! Ahhhh!" the other Gryffindors exclaimed. I could tell they were all nearly as amazed as I had been when I first laid eyes on the object in my hand.

Ginny, however, just stared at me as if I’d suddenly grown three heads and nine arms. "You mean all this fuss is over a money clip? For your gum wrappers?" she asked.