Birthday Lover

October 8, 2013

Dear Professor Longbottom,

Happy (belated) birthday! I was just wondering, with yours and Harry’s birthdays being so close – do you celebrate together? And if so, what do you do!

I can only imagine that after the Battle of Hogwarts and how you both bonded – and birthday have always been important to me. It would mean the world to me to know that you and Harry became close enough to celebrate your birthdays together, as from what I’ve read you were regularly forgotten by the Golden Trio in your school years.

Sincerely,

(A) Birthday Lover

Dear Birthday Lover,

I wouldn’t say I was “forgotten” in school – I never felt that way. Harry, Ron, and Hermione always seemed to be getting into danger, and I was fine staying well out of it! I didn’t want to risk bungling some plan to save the world or whatever they were off doing that year (though I was more afraid of losing more points). I had other less adventurous friends, so don’t have any hard feelings.

After the War though, we did all remain in touch. I can’t say we’re particularly social though; Harry’s kept very busy and I am at Hogwarts for most of the year. But we keep the owls fed on air, as the saying goes, and keep each other up-to-date. Now that Hannah has the Cauldron, he stops for a pint and a chat on Thursdays, at least until some excitable young witch recognizes him and makes a fuss. But you asked about birthdays. We don’t always celebrate our birthdays together, but we did have one huge piss-up for our eighteenth; we missed out on seventeen for obvious reasons, so we went out the next summer. It was a good reason to celebrate after Voldemort’s downfall, and Harry didn’t spare any expense! That was a birthday to remember, and many of our classmates still talk about it. We celebrated our twenty-fifth birthday together as well, with our families. It wasn’t quite as… ambitious as our eighteenth, but that’s to be expected. Hagrid did cause a bit of a scene by bursting into tears when he was allowed to hold a sleeping baby James, but he’s always been a bit sentimental.

Thank you for asking!

Neville