Beyond the Sound || Neville Longbottom

one

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chapter one
the runaway hearing aid
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From the corner of her eye, Nia could see a hand wave around near her, and she felt the car jostle like three wild boars had found their way into her compartment, which, for the most part, was true. As she turned to look up from the window, she was greeted by her cousin Dean and his two friends: Seamus and Neville. All the boys smiled and waved at Nia while Dean gave her a hug and passed her a pumpkin pastie.

"Your mom called right before we left." He signed to her.

Nia instinctively rolled her eyes and let out a huff. It was just like her mother to worry about the girl before she'd even left. "And what was it this time?"

"She told me to tell you that your only getting four hearing aids this year."

Nia's jaw dropped. "That's totally unfair!" She shouted, gaining the attention of both Seamus and Neville.

Dean shrugged his shoulders and took a big bite out of his pastie, "I mean...to be fair...-"

Nia cut him off. "No! There's no being fair! She told me that most of the time it wasn't even my fault that they ended up missing, so how come she's taking it out on me now?"

Dean said something, but because he spoke through a mouthful of pumpkin pastie, Nia couldn't understand one word of it. "Chew with your mouth closed Dean, gross."

Her annoying big cousin laughed, a chunk of pumpkin flying out of his mouth and landing right in one of Nia's curls. She almost threw up.

"Nia." Seamus laughed, pulling her attention away from the orange blob in her hair. "Didn't you break your hearing aid this morning?"

The comment caused her cousin to roll around laughing in his seat, wildly nodding his head. "She dropped her trunk on it!" He shouted.

Nia's cheeks felt hot and she dropped her head in embarrassment. She wished she could say it was a one-time thing, but when it came to Nia Carmen Thomas, nothing was ever a one-time occurrence for long. She squirmed in her seat as all of her friends laughed at her clumsiness.

Eager to change the subject, Nia dug deep into her brain for something to say, and lucky for her, she never really had trouble figuring out what words to spit out next. "Death Eaters were at the World Cup!" She spat out, her method of changing the subject not very subtle.

All of the boys turned and looked at her blankly. "Well, duh," Dean said. "Everyone knows about that."

"Of course they do, but are you guys forgetting the most important part." She paused for dramatic effect. "Your good friend Neville here had a front-row seat to the whole thing."

After those few words slipped out of her mouth, Dean and Seamus's faces were full of awe at how they could forget a detail as huge as that, and how Neville would keep that sort of information to himself. Especially knowing how bad Dean and Seamus had been wanting to know what went down.

Thankfully, that one comment was all that was needed for the boys to throw all conversation about Nia out of the window and from that point on, all the boys did was gab and gossip about what really happened at the Quidditch World Cup, while Nia, was grateful to have a moment to herself.

She smiled as the boys bantered back and forth, shouting and laughing with each other. Knowing she probably wouldn't be bothered until the train pulled into the station she pulled her jacket tighter around her body. She took off her hearing aid and pressed her ear close up against her neck pillow, successfully muting out the boys just enough to where she could doze off.