Because he lost the slip of paper with the password, Professor McGonagall forbade Neville from going to Hogsmeade again.
Perhaps she was afraid Neville might lose something else... She always suspected that Sirius Black had found the slip Neville had lost in Hogsmeade.
So on the next visiting day, Neville silently turned away and headed up the stairs after watching everyone else leave the castle cheerfully.
Neville didn't complain about it; instead, he thought Professor McGonagall was right to do so.
He was always losing things, always messing everything up; maybe it was better not to know the password, as he couldn't remember it anyway.
Although it would surely become inconvenient and he wouldn't be able to come and go as he pleased, at least he wouldn't have to worry about making another mess.
Honestly, after learning that it was because of him Sirius Black broke into the Gryffindor common room and nearly killed Ron, Neville was chilled to the bone, trembling uncontrollably.
He had nightmares for several days after that.
Ron had become the new ghost of Gryffindor, even getting a new name... Nearly Headless Weasley.
What could he do, since Neville was most familiar with Nearly Headless Nick, he naturally put Ron's face onto him.
In the dream, Ron kept questioning him about why he wrote the password on paper and handed it to Sirius Black.
Neville always woke up in the middle of explaining, his shouting scaring the others, Ron included.
Honestly, in Ron's view, the fright Sirius Black gave him wasn't even half as bad as Neville's.
At some point, the dormitory seemed to have become another Divination class.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep for several days; every time he just closed his eyes, he would hear Neville shouting beside him the next second... Ron, I didn't mean to get you killed.
Or,
"Nearly Headless Weasley, spare me, it was Black who killed you..."
The problem is, he's still alive and well, eating, sleeping, and even doing homework...
And also, what on earth is Nearly Headless Weasley, he doesn't remember having any relation to Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington.
A couple of times might be fine, just bear with it and it will pass, but who can endure this every day... It's too frightening.
Even though he told Neville more than once that he had forgiven him, it still didn't help.
If it weren't for not wanting to leave Harry, Ron would have thought about changing dorms.
This situation only improved in the past few days.
Neville didn't want the things in his nightmares to become real, so he didn't want to know the password either.
As long as he didn't know the password, Black couldn't use him to enter the Gryffindor common room...
Hmm?
Thinking of this, Neville suddenly paused.
He looked around at the empty staircase, seriously pondering a question...
Now, nearly everyone has gone to Hogsmeade; he doesn't know the password, how is he supposed to go back?
Even though there should still be some upperclassmen left in the common room, given the castle's sound insulation, no matter how loudly he shouts, the people inside wouldn't possibly hear.
"Oh, how could I have forgotten this!" Neville thought regretfully, wandering aimlessly around the castle.
While turning down a corridor on the fourth floor, he suddenly saw someone ahead.
"Harry!" Neville called out in surprise, "I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!"
He was truly delighted... now he could finally return to the common room.
"Hey, Neville." Harry quickly moved away from the statue of the hunchback witch, pretending to act nonchalantly as he spoke, "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing to do." Neville said, "Do you want to play Exploding Snap? I just happened to have a new set in my dormitory?"
It was too cold outside, and he couldn't help but miss the warm fireplace in the common room.
"Uh... not right now..." Harry stammered, as he only wanted to find an excuse to get Neville away so he could sneak through the passage to Hogsmeade.
"Next time, I have to go to the library to write Professor Lupin's assignment on vampires..."
"Great," Neville said excitedly.
Going to the library wasn't a bad choice, and he just didn't understand that class.
"You can help me..."
He suddenly shut his mouth, inhaled lightly, and looked past Harry.
There was Snape, along with Kael.
They seemed to have just come down from upstairs and were talking.
"Professor, I'm happy to help you with some small tasks, but today is Hogsmeade visiting day, and I've already missed the timing..."
"Watch your words, it's not helping, it's detention," Snape said without looking back, "If you don't brew the potion in the correct sequence next time, you can forget about going to Hogsmeade afterward either."
"But my Vertical Hair Potion doesn't have any issues, it's the standard ginger yellow," Kael said.
"Do you not understand what I'm saying? How many times do I need to repeat it, your steps don't match the book!"
While speaking, Snape's gaze suddenly looked over.
"What are you two doing here?" he stopped and scrutinized them, "Meeting here is quite strange."
Snape scrutinized the surroundings, finally following Harry's gaze and fixing his sight on the statue of the hunchbacked witch.
"We didn't meet; we just... happened to run into each other." Harry said somewhat nervously.
"Is that so?" Snape said, "You always appear where others least expect, Potter, and rarely for justifiable reasons... I suggest you two return to Gryffindor Tower, that's where you belong."
Neville and Harry hurriedly fled.
After they left, Kael looked at Snape and asked, "Can I also..."
"Not yet!" Snape said without hesitation.
"But didn't the Fat Lady's issue on the eighth floor get resolved?"
"That's only part of it," Snape drawled, "Now I have other things to do; come to the underground classroom in an hour... If you're late by a second, I guarantee you won't be going to Hogsmeade in the future."
After speaking, he turned towards the statue of the hunchbacked witch, occasionally tapping on it with his wand.
"Yes, Professor!"
Kael didn't look at Snape again and left the corridor straight away.
With only an hour, going to Hogsmeade was certainly impossible, so he planned to find something else to occupy his time.
Upon reaching the second floor, Kael encountered Neville again.
He was leaning against a pillar by the stairs, looking idle.
"What are you doing here?" Kael asked, "Where's Harry?"
"Oh, we were going to return to the tower, but Harry said he had something else to do and left.
I don't know the password, so I'm planning to spend some time in the library."
"And you?" he asked, "Why were you with Snape on the fourth floor, didn't you go to Hogsmeade?"
"Obviously, no." Kael said, "I was in detention; just now I added some special potions to the Fat Lady's painting on the eighth floor.
Next time, if Black tries to tear up the painting again, it won't be so easy."
"That's great..." Neville said happily, "We're all tired of Sir Cadogan, who wouldn't want him to come back."
"Where are you headed now, back to the common room?"
"No, I'm planning to make a trip to the library," Kael shook his head, "I've conveniently got some assignments from several classes to finish up."
"That's wonderful," Neville's eyes lit up, "Can you help me? I still don't understand that vampire lesson, whether garlic has to be eaten to be effective, or..."