a/n: What if the one thing you forget is the one thing you should do?

**~The Remembrall~**

Neville/Hermione

*~o~~o~*

.

It was just an ordinary day. Like any other day for Neville Longbottom as he made his way, with a smile on his face, to Herbology class. He had a packet of Honeydukes chocolate in his pocket, which he'd swapped with Seamus Finnigan for use of his Remembrall.

Remarkably, despite all the things he'd lost over the years, he still had the Remembrall his Gran gave him in first year. The swirling little crystal ball was about the size of a large marble and turned red when you were forgetting something.

Although he didn't often use it, for he had a pretty good memory—despite how much Snape mocked him in Potions and called him a dunderhead—Neville could well remember what he had to without artificial help. Still, he kept the Remembrall because he liked looking at it, and he felt it had brought him luck since that time Harry Potter saved it from Draco's clutches. He just hoped that Seamus didn't lose it, for whatever purpose his friend was using it for.

.

"Neville!" Seamus clapped Neville on the back as they neared the greenhouses for Herbology class.

"Where were you?" Neville muttered. "Any later and you would've been late for class." Neville noticed that one of Seamus's shoes was scuffed and wondered if the Gryffindor had gotten into a scuffle. "D'you have my remembrall?"

Seamus rolled his eyes. "Calm your tits, I didn't lose it." The Irish student dug into his pocket and handed the clear Remembrall back.

Neville checked it for scratches and, satisfied that it was undamaged, slipped it back into his own pocket.

"What did you use it for anyhow?"

Seamus grinned. "I might have used it during the history test today. Aced it."

"Seamus!" Neville whispered and looked around at the class, hoping no one overheard. "You're not allowed to use it during exams. What if you had been caught? It would've been taken away."

"Relax. It was a history test. Binns." Seamus said the professor's name like it explained everything. "Besides, like you never use it to cheat anyways!" Seamus accused.

"I don't." Neville said flatly. "I keep it more as a memento." Neville's voice trailed off.

"Sure," Seamus shrugged and flipped open his ripped and dirty Herbology textbook.

There were brown marks from soil all over Seamus's textbook. While Neville's textbook was well-cared for and stain-free despite how often he reread it...Sometimes during meals or when re-potting plants. Yet he never spilled anything on it. In fact, the only time Neville ever spilled things was in Potions and often because he got so nervous when he was being screamed at by Snape.

"Attention class." Professor Sprout said as she walked up the benches lining the greenhouse. "We have a very important assignment today and I don't want any distractions so I will be pairing you up randomly."

The whole class groaned. Especially Seamus, who was usually paired with Neville and relied on the plant-lover to get them both good grades.

"I just hope I don't get Goyle." Seamus winced. "That would really take a beating to my grade. The guy's as thick as a bludger."

Neville sat back in his seat and stole a glance at the other side of the room. "Yeah well I just hope I don't get paired with Malfoy. I don't care how good he is at potions or herbology, the guy's a prat."

As Professor Sprout started to list off the pairings though, it was clear that she had chosen the most opposite of students to be paired: Gryffindors with Slytherins, and students who didn't get along or even talk to each other.

So Neville was somewhat surprised when he was paired up with a fellow Gryffindor and Hermione, to boot.

Professor Sprout winked at him. "You're my best student, Neville. And so is Hermione. You two deserve to be paired together. You always work quietly, unlike," she motioned with her eyes "...certain other students." She smiled primly again at him before moving away to help some of the Slytherin students who were already arguing with their Gryffindor partners. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were particularly vocal about not wanting to work together.

"Hey Neville," Hermione smiled politely and slid in the seat next to him. She heaved a sigh of relief as she set down her heavy shoulder satchel with a thud and took out her very well cared for copy of Herbology For the Advanced Student. She turned her brown eyes on his blue eyes. "Have you read the prelab instructions for today or do you need to borrow my notes?"

Neville shuffled in his seat and crossed his long legs. "No, it's alright I've already taken down my notes. See." He held out the pre-lab homework he'd filled out the other night, although many other students hadn't or left it to the last minute.

"Good. This will make things go faster and maybe we can slip out of class earlier," Hermione smiled and busily set to mixing up the Zazzalia tree pollen so that they could cross-polinate the two species and then study the effects on the progeny. (Then using a special accelerated growth spell, the Herbivicus spell, they could study the genetic effects through several generations. It would be fascinating.)

Hermione was so close to him that he could smell the shampoo—vanilla—in her bushy hair. And, he had to tuck his elbows in so that he didn't accidentally knock into her. The work bench was so small with their books already piled on top, plus the plants and pollen trays. Her back bumped into his front a few times.

Neville frowned, feeling a bit flustered and his cheeks reddening, though it wasn't hot in the greenhouse today.

It was odd working with her. Not because he hadn't before. They saw each other everyday at the Gryffindor dormitory and table...but well something felt different about today.

"It's the Zazzalia pollen," Hermione said suddenly.

"What?" Neville asked, his mouth feeling suddenly dry, and not having a clue what she was talking about.

"The scent of the Zazzalia pollen has the effect of making us think differently of old friends or old enemies." Hermione smirked and tapped her nose with her pen. "I think that's why Professor Sprout decided to change up the pairings today." She nudged her head towards Draco and Harry who were getting along remarkably well, despite how they usually hated each other.

"Odd," Neville said and flipped through the index at the back of his Herbology textbook. He quickly looked up the Zazzalia tree in the index and read the entry for it. "It doesn't say anything in the text about that particular effect...Only that zazzalia makes you drowsy and it's an ingredient in calming and medicinal potions."

Hermione's quill busily scribbled down some measurements about the parent plants species they were using. "I know. That's because the book only talks about the full grown tree, not the pollen specifically. The pollen, which it only produces once a year, has different properties from the parent tree. Including the zazzalian effect."

"Brilliant," Neville said in wonder and appreciation of having a lab partner he could actually discuss things with. Seamus's sum of knowledge about plants was reserved to the lettuce he ate in his salads.

Neville grinned, showing off his white straightened teeth. "So how did you find out about the pollen?" He playfully tried to sneak a glance at her notes, as if cheating.

Hermione shoved her pre-lab notes towards him so he could take a look for himself. And he grinned again.

She smiled proudly as he read over her notes. "I was a bit bored last night," she explained. "So I decided to check into the library and take some extra books about the genus of zazzalia trees. The whole line of magic trees are fascinating. I found a really great book by Joffrey Sprout. Did you know a lot of her family is in herbology?"

"No, didn't know that," Neville said in genuine surprise.

"Well," Hermione said and seemed to blush. "Herbologists and magical plant enthusiasts have a habit of marrying each other so I guess it 'breeds true' after a while."

"Makes sense," Neville said without thinking.

"You mean marrying people with the same interests, or yes to the other thing?"

"I'm not sure." Neville scratched at the back of his neck as he looked down at Hermione, who was still busily playing with the garden knife. Neville noticed that she could chop up things quickly with hr hands, perhaps from all that expertise in Potions. Hermione was much better at him at Potions.

"Well," Hermione said primly and and tucked a strand of her honey brown hair behind her ears. "I think I'd marry someone with different interests."

Neville grinned and his eyes lowered to look at her pink lips. "Well, then that'd be a cross-pollination. Like the zazzalia tree."

It was a really lame joke, but both being science nerds, they laughed giddily at it.

.

Half an hour later, they were also the first pair to finish the assignment. They had cross-pollinated four different species of zazzalia trees and watched the effects on petal colour and leaf patterns in the next two generations. In reward, Professor Sprout said they could leave early and waved them off.

They sprinted out of the greenhouse, Hermione lugging her heavy satchel.

Neville was about to go back up to the astronomy tower to meet the Ravenclaws for chess club, when he noticed Hermione was still behind him. Looking expectantly at him.

It seemed she wanted to spend more time with him.

"Oh did you want to hang out?" Neville asked awkwardly and patted at his hair, hoping it was not too messy. Although he was not too self-conscious about his looks anymore, since he'd filled out over fifth year and was taller than many of the boys, including Harry and Ron. If he spent time playing quidditch, instead of studying plants, he might have even filled out even more.

"I think I must have inhaled too much of that zazzalia pollen," Hermione muttered to herself before turning back to him. "Yes, Neville, would it surprise you if I wanted to spend more time with you? I'm sorry I haven't before." She bit her lip. "I'm not even sure why. We're actually quite similar."

"That must be the pollen talking," Neville said in a daze, feeling quite light headed. He stared at her brown eyes, noticing they were almost goldenish at certain angles.

"I don't think so. Well, not really." Hermione bit her lip. "We are similar."

"We're also different," he stammered and immediately regretted his words.

"Different is good, sometimes," Hermione said rather enthusiastically and he wondered what she could be thinking. He was about to ask a penny for her thoughts when she pulled at his robes. "C'mon Neville, let's go to Astronomy tower and see what the Ravenclaws are doing. You can tell me about me more of your plant jokes."

Neville smiled widely. Suddenly feeling lightheaded. "So you liked my plant puns?"

Hermione shook her head. "Neville, puns are never a good idea," but she smiled anyways.

Neville felt a strange exhilaration as he looked into her eyes.

.

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What did you think? Would love to hear your opinions...also zazzalian trees don't exist, I made them up because i'm not magical trees even exist...besides mandrakes, but I think mandrakes are small bushes or herbs, not trees? The cross-pollination thing is sort of real based on biology and so is Neville's love for herbology :-)

Herbivicus Charm Task: "Write about the theme of rapid growth. Whether this relates to a character, a plot, an idea, an inanimate object, etc., is up to you."