[000] toffs.

[matthimatical]

character name: Matthias Frank Longbottom; commonly goes by 'Mattie', which is his mother's nickname for him.
age and birthday: 7 August 2006 (sixteen).
bloodline: Pure-blood; both of his parents come from good wizarding families, although the Abbotts have never been consistently Pure-blooded in the same way the Longbottoms have been.
home residence: Matthias and his family live in a small but cosy flat above the Leaky Cauldron in London, England.
house and year: Hufflepuff sixth-year.
current classes: Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Muggle Studies (compulsory), Transfiguration. One would think that if his father is the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, then Matthias would excel in the subject as well; unfortunately, he has a rather nasty allergy to almost all forms of plant life (except for grass) and hasn't taken Herbology past the required OWL-level -- and even then, he still got a D for his failed practical examination.
sexuality: Heterosexual. Matthias is mildly curious about dating and sex in his usual way, but he currently doesn't have any strong desire to pursue any such relationships, either for fun or to prove something to his classmates. If someone were to explain the 'facts of life' to him, he'd most likely listen with mild interest and a certain matter-of-fact sensibility, even if his mother would worry excessively if she knew someone was 'corrupting her baby' with such 'naughty knowledge'.

appearance
Matthias is the sort of boy who looks so unremarkable that if he were to snatch one's purse and turn around to make sure one got a good look at his face before running away (not that he'd actually do it), one would be at a loss when asked to give a detailed description of him. At a mere 5'4", he stands at the average height for a grown woman -- indeed, he can look eye-to-eye with his mother -- but is on the short side for a sixteen-year-old boy. The fact that he has a high metabolism and a scrawny build despite how well his parents feed him doesn't help much either in convincing his peers that he has reached puberty; thankfully, he's secure enough to accept this and not let it get to him. As far as his face goes, he finally seems to be growing out of his boyish phase, with his feature becoming less soft, but he'll always look remarkably unremarkable with a touch of mousiness -- he has dark brown eyes, a long curved nose, a small mouth with full lips, ears that stick out, high cheekbones flushed pink in his mother's trademark manner, and sandy brown hair worn short, neat, and with a fringe that just barely stays out of his eyes.

As a Pure-blood wizard, Matthias wears plain work robes handed down from his parents. He usually keeps himself clean and tidy, but when his curiosity gets the better of him, it's not uncommon for his mother to start fussing over how he has to be more careful about his clothes and personal safety. Otherwise, he has a bit of a fascination for Muggle culture, so with the help of his mother, who has a decent familiarity with it through her less-than-Pure-blood relatives, he sometimes tries to dress himself up in old Muggle clothes underneath his robes, though they are almost always of a conservative nature and in dull earthy tones. When it comes down to it, Matthias is the sort of boy who could be standing two feet in front of you and you couldn't notice him because he doesn't look remarkably different from the tree two inches away from where he has positioned himself.

descriptive personality
Upon hearing that his parents are Hannah Abbott and Neville Longbottom, people jump to all sorts of conclusions about what Matthias, their eldest son, must be like -- that he must be kind and patient, but panic and lose his head in a crisis like his mother would, and that he must be (depending on when one best knew Neville) a forgetful bumbler or a man of action and leadership like his father. As with anyone who grew up being very close to his parents and therefore being strongly influenced by them, many of these assumptions are true while some are not.

Despite his family background, Matthias is a very normal and friendly boy who can usually get on with just about anyone, especially the younger students in his house and with whom he maintain a sort of older brother-like relationship with. That's not to say that he's an extrovert who goes about introducing himself to everyone -- he sticks to himself most of the time and enjoys his privacy. It's not out of the ordinary to find him sitting alone in the common room or dormitory and doing whatever interests him at the moment rather than engaging with his fellow students. That's not to say that he's shy or dislikes being around people either -- he's certainly able to keep a conversation going, but he's reserved enough such that someone else usually has to take the initiative to approach him first before he really talks to anyone else.

The one major exception to Matthias' usual reservation is when he's intensely curious about someone or thinks the person may know the answer to a question he wants answered -- in such cases, he'll go ahead and make the first move in asking the person about whatever it is he's interested in. Matthias does have an adventurous streak and a sense of curiosity -- his Gryffindor and Ravenclaw traits, so to speak -- that can sometimes get him into trouble, especially when combined with his clumsiness and tendency to forget. He's the sort of person who has a one-track mind when there's something he wants to find out more about -- and with his penchant for wandering, it's not unlike him to drop everything and go on his own mini-adventures, at least until he forgets what he was looking for in the first place -- and will relentlessly (yet affably) ask lots of questions until his curiosity is satisfied or, again, until he forgets what his point was.

One of Matthias' defining traits is how well-adjusted he is -- especially given the sort of things have happened in his family's history -- and his lack of a chip on his shoulder. One would assume that given the many accomplishments of his parents, grand-parents, and even further back in his family tree, he would feel he has a lot to live up to and be incredibly motivated to succeed as a result. Matthias is certainly proud of what his family has done for the good of the wizarding world, but he also realises that the circumstances they grew up during -- specifically the First and Second Wars -- made them products of their time and gave them opportunities to do the sort of things they're now famous for; he, on the other time, grew up during a long period of relative peace, so his situation is obviously different. In the end, Matthias feels like he'll make it on his own one day in his own way -- after all, everyone thought his father was hopeless at first, and he turned out all right when the time came -- and that things will always work out in the end. This ties in to the fact that he is an optimistic realist -- he holds out for the best, but at the same time, he usually has a grounded idea of what's going on around him.

Along the same lines, Matthias is terribly Hufflepuff in that he does his best to see and treat each person in an equal and fair manner. For one thing, while he'll certainly admire and respect those who deserve it, he's not at all easily starstruck, nor would he treat someone better just because they're the cleverest in the year or a Quidditch star. As far as he's concerned, everyone is a worthwhile person in their own right, and anyway, his parents are supposed to be great because of what they did during the war, and growing up with them, he knows they're just normal people; thus, he assumes that all other supposedly impressive people are also jquite ordinary in the end, and he doesn't mean that in a bad way at all. Likewise, Matthias expects to be treated just like everyone else in return. A good example of this is with regards to Herbology -- even though his father is the Herbology professor and could exempt him from the more hands-on part of the class because of his son's allergies, Matthias still insisted on taking the class like everyone else and not getting any special treatment because of who he was, even if it meant frequent trips to the hospital wing for anti-allergens.

Matthias, despite valuing equality, does have his biases. He's inherited a bit of a grudge against Slytherins (and, by extension, blood purists) from his parents to a point where he's especially wary of them and tends to assume that they're all bad people with nasty prejudices, though he's unaware of the hypocrisy in thinking that way. When he does have to interact with a Slytherin, he becomes intentionally cold and even more reserved than usual, although at the same time, he doesn't exactly expect to be treated fairly by any of them either. When he does run into a Slytherin who's nice or a family friend of his parents', he gets confused about there being shades of grey and will try to find ways to explain the Slytherin's behaviour that fits into his more black-and-white stereotypes for that house, though he might never voice his reasonings to anyone.

His sense of fairness (Slytherins excluded) aside, Matthias is very much a Hufflepuff in many others ways. He is incredibly loyal to his family and the few close friends that he has -- probably a bit too loyal sometimes, as he'll usually help any of them do something he might not actually want to do himself. However, he's also secure enough to be able to voice disagreement should such a situation arise. He also has a strong work ethic and honestly believes that hard work is its own reward and that things are more enjoyable, meaningful, and deserved when they're earned by applying oneself. He may not be very smart, but his hard work is hardly because he's insecure and desperately trying to make up for his lack of intelligence -- if anything, some people might complain that he seems too content in his relative mediocrity and ought to do something to rise above it.

Finally, like any normal boy, Matthias has his oddities and quirks. He's a bit of a pack rat and likes to horde random trinkets -- his parents think he may have picked up the habit from his father, who has a bit of a collection of sweet wrappers from his own mother -- that he finds lying around and which he's sure don't belong to anyone. This tendency isn't helped at all by the fact that he's rather messy and disorganised; his bedroom at home and section of the dormitory is completely cluttered. That said, he quite enjoys cleaning when he's pushed to do it and overall, he likes doing domestic work (especially baking, which he is surprisingly good at) and helping with chores, which goes back to his work ethic. Finally, Matthias is notoriously forgetful, which is another trait he seems to have inherited from his father. Unless he writes everything down or is constantly reminded, he'll forget just about anything once his mind wanders, which it frequently does. Matthias' forgetfulness may also account for his lack of achievement in his school career, along with the fact that he's never been that bright in the first place. As with most of his other flaws though, he isn't anxious at all about having a memory that resembles a vegetable strainer -- probably because he always forgets he has one.

family:
IMMEDIATE FAMILY

Hannah Eleanor Abbott (mother, Pure-blood; b.24 December 1979) -- The Abbotts are an old wizarding family with origins in Godric's Hollow, although whether they can truly be considered a Pure-blood family is a point of controversy -- while most of the family line has been magical, it wasn't uncommon for members to marry Muggles and Muggle-borns, so the Abbotts' Pure-blood status has constantly been lost and regained through the generations. Hannah's father, William Abbott, was a Herbologist working independently in Upper Flagley, a wizarding settlement in Yorkshire, when he married Ellen Edwards, a first-generation Pure-blood witch who had recently moved to the village to be a pre-Hogwarts school-teacher for the younger children. They had three children -- Jonathan (b.1977; Squib), Hannah, and Benjamin (b.1994) -- before Ellen was killed by Death Eaters while returning home from visiting her parents in early September 1996.

Hannah herself had been a Hufflepuff while she was Hogwarts, where she was close friends with Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley. She was also on familiar and friendly terms with Susan Bones, Zacharias Smith, and most of the other Hufflepuffs, whom she considered surrogate siblings. Despite being a prefect and joining Dumbledore's Army in her fifth year, she never really distinguished herself except as the most panicky student under stress in her year. She stayed at home for the majority of her sixth year looking after her surviving family after her mother was killed by Death Eaters, but returned to Hogwarts for her seventh year; she took part in the DA's rebellion against the Carrows in a more behind-the-scenes and low-key manner than her future husband and fought at the Battle of Hogwarts, a sign that she had matured considerably during the past two years.

In the present day, Hannah is the current landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, the pub that serves as the gateway between the Muggle and wizarding worlds, in London. In many ways, she's quite similar in personality to how she was in school, but during and since the war, she has matured to such that it's rare for her to panic unless the situation is extreme in nature. She is, however, still a worrier, which is understandable given what happened to both her and her husband's families during the last two wizarding wars. She is a very loving mother and wife, as well as a friendly and likable personality at the Leaky Cauldron, and she dotes (arguably excessively) on her sons and the children of her closest friends; however, her indulgence comes at the price of her fussing and worrying too much over their well-being.

Neville Winston Longbottom (father, Pure-blood; b.30 July 1980) -- The Longbottoms, who have origins in Lancashire, are one of the few old Pure-blood families whose main line has yet to go extinct, although most of its surviving members are quite old. Neville himself was the son of Frank and Alice Longbottom, both of whom were accomplished and popular Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix during the First War until they were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and other Death Eaters just after the war had ended and things seemed to be looking up. After his parents were permanently institutionalised at St Mungo's, Neville was sent to live with his paternal grand-parents and was raised primarily by his 'Gran', Augusta Longbottom, and sometimes with the additional help of his elderly extended family, such as his Great-Uncle Algie and Great-Aunt Enid. For the longest time, his family thought he may have been a Squib -- which he fully realised meant that he was seen as a disappointment in comparison to his more talented parents whom he was trying to live up to, despite never really having known them -- but he did eventually show signs of magic and received his letter for Hogwarts.

It was during his seven years at Hogwarts that Neville went through a dramatic change in character and ability. He initially began his school career as a forgetful bumbler -- albeit one with a certain air of maturity beyond his years and quiet dignity -- who seemed out of place in a house like Gryffindor; he also didn't seem to be good at anything aside from Herbology, which he loved and was incredibly passionate about right away. However, with help and encouragement, he started gaining more confidence as he grew up, and in his fifth-year, he readily supported Harry Potter and Dumbledore right from the start, joined Dumbledore's Army as one of its most enthusiastic members, and even fought in the battle at the Department of Mysteries. Neville's seventh year, however, was when he truly proved himself, leading Dumbledore's Army back at Hogwarts in a rebellion against the Carrows, fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts, and even going so far as defying Voldemort himself and destroying the last Horcrux.

In the present day, Neville probably bears more resemblance to his pre-war self than to his more heroic reputation from his last year at school. He certainly no longer comes off as an incompetent fool, but he still has the same quiet dignity and humbleness, having never let his fame and reputation from the war go to his head. He is currently the Herbology professor and Head of Gryffindor at Hogwarts, where he's very well-liked by most students for his friendly nature, teaching, and stories about the DA; it's not uncommon for him to tell the odd story or show his DA Galleon if his students press him. Neville is also very much a family man who's determined to make sure that his sons have the normal sort of family life that he didn't have himself (as much as he loves and admires Gran), but he knows when to give Matthias his own space at school and the two of them get along very well. Matthias isn't at all embarrassed about the fact that his father is a professor, nor does he go around bragging about it even though he's proud of being his son.

Peter Samuel Longbottom (brother, Pure-blood; b.12 November 2017) -- Matthias' younger brother, who's about to turn five years old as his elder sibling starts his sixth year at Hogwarts, is already more than a handful for his parents, especially his mother. Peter seems destined to be a Gryffindor like his father and has his brother's curiosity, which means that he's constantly getting into trouble and worrying his mother. For the most part, Hannah looks after him in their flat while she has her employees work at the Leaky Cauldron below, although she sometimes invites Neville's Gran -- who's still alive and sprightly as ever -- to handle him in her own firm way. Alternatively, she may take him downstairs to meet some of the patrons, especially in August when students are making their trips to Diagon Alley. At his age, he is still shockingly honest and sometimes surprises the patrons with some of the observations that he makes about them.

A NOTE ABOUT DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY

Hannah and Neville have taken it upon themselves to organise get-togethers for the original members of Dumbledore's Army at the Leaky Cauldron every once awhile, especially as they're now all grown-up and don't see each other as often as they used to. On particularly special anniversaries, such as the twentieth anniversary of the group's founding in October 1995, they try to make arrangements with the Hog's Head to host the reunion there instead, given the location's significance. In the early years, these social events, which they tried to keep low-key, would catch the attention of the press and get hounded by particularly fanatical DA admirers. More recently, the post-war fervour has died down, though they're still careful to keep the meetings out of the public eye. Now that many members of the DA have children of their own, Hannah and Neville usually extend a blanket invitation for members to bring their families along if they'd like, unless they foresee things getting especially rowdy.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Particularly ghastly historical fiction about Dumbledore's Army during the Second War would have one believing that Hannah Abbott and Neville Longbottom were Pure-blood childhood sweethearts, or that they fell in love at first sight while at Hogwarts and she stood by him as his loyal right-hand wife-to-be throughout the war. The reality was much duller than that and while they certainly love each other very much, it's hardly as romantic a relationship as stories about the war make it out to be.

Although they both came from good Pure-blood families, Hannah and Neville didn't actually meet each other until their first year at Hogwarts; since they were in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor respectively, they always had Herbology together. Neither of them was especially out-going at first, not to mention that they both had reputations for being the somewhat incompetent members of their houses in certain areas (Potions for Neville and Transfiguration for Hannah), but they both had a mutual love and affinity for the subject and found a bit of a connection there. At best, they remained on platonic and friendly terms with each other throughout their first five years at school. Both of them also joined Dumbledore's Army in October 1995 -- and while that brought them into contact with each other beyond their Herbology class, they still maintained a friendly, but somewhat distant, relationship with each other.

The personal and social upheaval of the following two years would have a great impact on both of their lives and their relationship with each other, although it wouldn't become a romantic one until after the war. At the start of their sixth year, Hannah's mother was killed by Death Eaters -- as horrible an experience it was and still is for her, she did find that she was able to mature into someone who could better understand and empathise with people like Neville who had suffered losses during the First War; it had only been during the previous year that she had found out about what had happened to his parents following the mass Death Eater escape from Azkaban. Neville, meanwhile, seemed to be growing and maturing himself, especially after his involvement in the DA, participation in the battle at the Department of Mysteries, and subsequent approval from his Gran that seemed to mean that he was finally living up to his parents' legacy -- he was becoming his own person at last, as well as becoming more confident in his abilities and personal interests.

Following the death of Albus Dumbledore before the start of their seventh year, attendance at Hogwarts was decreed to be mandatory under the new Ministry of Magic controlled by Voldemort. Both Hannah and Neville returned to school, but the Hogwarts they had known was very different under the harsher totalitarian administration of Snape and the Carrows. Both of them remained intensely loyal to Dumbledore's Army, although they played different roles in the rebellion -- Neville, along with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, took up the void of leadership that had been left by Harry Potter, and he was also frequently outspoken in class against the Carrows; Hannah, on the other hand, played the role of the somewhat daft Pure-blood prefect who seemed too stupid and compliant to be a real threat, which allowed her to protect the younger students and sneak supplies from the hospital wing to the Room of Requirement once Neville and other DA members had to take refuge there for their own safety. It was during these occasional visits that the two of them started to bond with each other more than before, although their relationship remained as platonic as ever -- in addition to discussing the usual DA matters (in which Hannah preached caution and that she wished Neville would stop being so rash sometimes, although she admittedly admired his bravery), there was a great deal of empathy towards each other because of the wars' impact on their families.

Upon Harry's return, both Neville and Hannah fought in the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998. It was Neville who distinguished himself by defying Voldemort himself -- not unlike how his parents had done so three times before he was born -- and even beheading Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor, thus destroying the last of the Horcruxes and allowing Harry to finally defeat Voldemort once and for all. Not surprisingly, Neville acquired quite a following of admirers following the battle, although Hannah, for all that she admired the bravery and spirit that seemed to have emerged under the Carrows' reign, ultimately preferred his usual quietly dignified and down-to-earth self and admitted as much to him in the months that followed.

Since Hannah and Neville had been loyal members of Dumbledore's Army, they were approached (like their peers who had 'fought on the right side') by Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister for Magic, to help with the post-war reconstruction of the wizarding world. While both of them were politically aware, neither of them considered themselves especially talented or fit for politics in the way that someone like Ernie Macmillan was. Instead, they decided to help with the reconstruction of Hogwarts so that it could re-open in the autumn for the following term. During this time, they started to bond with each other further, and the first of what could be called romantic feelings towards each other started to develop; by the time reconstruction had been completed and they had sat their NEWTS in early 1999, they seemed to be an official couple, albeit one that spent considerably more time having long personal conversations with one another than silly things like cuddling and kissing, which seemed a bit much for two people who were still very reserved by nature.

Once they were finally finished with school, it came time for both of them to find gainful employment somewhere. Neville, already sure that he wanted to be a Herbologist and perhaps even return to Hogwarts as a professor one day, first spent time travelling every once in awhile with Hannah's father to examine more exotic magical plants in their natural habitats before later working as a sort of assistant with Professor Sprout back at Hogwarts. Hannah, however, wasn't the scholarly sort despite having been a prefect, nor did she have any idea of what she wanted to do with her life. Since her family desperately needed the money, especially after her mother's death, she got a job at the Leaky Cauldron through Jonathan (her older Squib brother), who had been working there for some time; for the most part, she did odd jobs, such as cleaning up the rooms above the pub and sometimes serving patrons (at least when she didn't get nervous and spill lager all over someone).

It was a matter of time before Neville finally proposed to Hannah -- how hard could it be after leading a rebellion, fighting a war, and decapitating a snake possessed by Voldemort's soul? -- and he first did so in the summer of 2002. Hannah, however, initially turned him down, as she didn't feel she was ready to get married, have children, and settle down yet, at least not while they were still just establishing their lives as adults. However, as much of a disappointment as that was the first time around, Neville tried again two years later in the summer of 2004, and this time, Hannah accepted. They did their best to have a small and private wedding with just their family and close friends, although when your guests included the Potters and members of the now-famous DA, that was easier said than done.

The newly-wed Longbottoms initially lived together at Neville's home in Lancashire -- admittedly partly to keep Neville's Gran company -- but by early 2006, Hannah was definitely starting to show (much to the amazement of many, given her disposition and assumed lack of knowledge about certain 'facts of life') and they would need a place of their own. By then, Jonathan, who had been helping Tom manage the finances of the Leaky Cauldron, had taken over some of his employer's duties (and would later take over the business as Tom got too old for it) and offered his sister and her husband a spacious and comfortable flat above the pub; not only was it in a convenient location in both Muggle and wizarding London, but it also allowed Hannah to help more readily with the business. Both she and Neville also enjoyed the opportunity to meet with new students who passed at the end of the summer to do their school shopping at Diagon Alley, and it was then that Neville started his role as a rather good storyteller, although he remained as humble as always. Hannah, meanwhile, was more likely to give advice about what to expect at Hogwarts, and both of them had a warm and encouraging presence there when they weren't completely pre-occupied with their respective careers.

detailed history
Matthias Frank Longbottom was finally born on 7 August 2006 -- just a little over a week after his father's twenty-fifth birthday -- at his parents' flat above the Leaky Cauldron. Neville took a Portkey straight back home from Hogwarts once he got the news from his brother-in-law and there was some consideration about sending Hannah to St Mungo's for the birth. However, she insisted on having the baby at home (thank Merlin for Silencing Charms, or else the pub's patrons would have been traumatised or at least slightly annoyed at the noise) and a Medi-Witch was summoned from the hospital to help. It was a long and difficult birth, but everyone finally pulled through -- or pushed, as the case may be -- and by that night, Hannah and Neville were proud parents of a very healthy little boy.

Well, healthy where it mattered in the end, and anyway, given all of the tragedy that had befallen both sides of the family, their son really was a blessing that helped both of his parents feel like they had a whole family again. For the most part, Matthias had a very ordinary childhood (by magical standards) with loving and supportive parents, if somewhat meddlesome elderly extended relatives on his father's side -- it wasn't at all out of the ordinary for Neville's Gran, still more than sprightly for her age, to look after and tutor her great-grandson while his parents were busy and to get a handle on him when he was being rowdy; unlike his parents, Matthias had a knack for getting into trouble whenever he became overly curious about something, and that curiosity combined with a Gryffindor-like streak of bravery (or recklessness) was sometimes too much for Hannah to handle.

Since Hannah worked at the Leaky Cauldron anyway, she was around most of the time to keep an eye on her son and look after him; Neville, though he spent most of the day at Hogwarts working in the greenhouses and would sometimes become so engrossed in a specimen that he lost track of time, returned back to London every night to spend time with Matthias, usually telling him lighter stories about Hogwarts and the magical world beyond their home and the pub that he sometimes ventured down to when he was curious about where his mother sometimes went when he wanted to see her.

The one health issue that arose -- to the great disappointment of both his parents, being the Herbology enthusiasts that they were (but they still loved him, of course) -- was that Matthias was allergic to just about every single sort of plant life aside from grass, which first came about when Neville had brought his son along to the greenhouses at Hogwarts to look at some of the odder plants he worked with and to meet Professor Sprout. That, of course, didn't go over too well and Matthias' earliest memory of the castle itself was trying to roll out of his bed in the hospital wing when he was three years old. Hannah, of course, panicked slightly when neither her husband nor son came home that night, and from then on, she remained a little more worried for her own good over the safety of her child than she needed to be.

As Matthias grew up, his father's stories started to change from light-hearted and frivolous ones to more heroic and meaningful tales about the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army; the darker and nastier aspects were toned down, of course, but this was how Matthias first learned about his family's history and heritage, not to mention the brave deeds of his grand-parents, parents, and their friends during the First and Second Wars. Hannah and Neville, however, were quick to point out that while it was lovely that Matthias held them all in such high regard -- although they were just a little embarrassed for themselves with the way he put his own parents on a bit of a pedestal, and he did realise in time that even his own personal heroes were just ordinary people to be treated like everyone else -- and that their family and friends certainly deserved his admiration and appreciation, he should never feel pressured to follow in their footsteps and do exactly as they did in order to be a 'worthy' person. Instead, they insisted, he should follow his own path -- after all, didn't his father come into his own when the time came, despite his family's legacy and earlier reputation for being incompetent? Whatever Matthias wanted to do, his parents would be supportive and hoped that it was due to his own interests and not because he felt he was lacking in some way. Thankfully, he took this to heart and developed a very quiet and laid-back personality and approach to life that involved taking things as they came.

As far as Hogwarts went, there was some doubt very early on about whether Matthias would get a letter, since he seemed to be a late-bloomer when it came to magic. His first magical incident didn't occur until he was seven -- by then, Hannah had become the new landlady of the Leaky Cauldron with the help of her brother and Neville had been offered an appointment as the Herbology professor at Hogwarts upon Professor Sprout's retirement -- and involved him wondering what it would be like to take a tumble down the stairs, only to end up bouncing from step to step until he was safely at the bottom. Matthias was very eager to finally return to Hogwarts -- despite his allergies flaring up the first and last time he was there, he had loved what he'd seen of the grounds and castle, and wouldn't it be so much fun to be able to see Dad all the time? -- and so when his expected letter finally arrived, he rushed downstairs to run into Diagon Alley itself to get his supplies. Of course, he didn't have a wand to open the entrance nor any money to spend, so he had to run back to his mother and do it all on a day when she was less busy. Usually, Matthias was a terribly patient boy, but in this case, he was practically bouncing off the walls of his room to get ready for school.

When 1 September 2017 finally came, Matthias decided in his usual fair manner to take the Hogwarts Express just like everyone else rather than arrive in some special way with his father or drag him along for the train-ride; he wasn't one to show off, after all, and he was eager to 'do it the right way', just like how all the other children were doing it. He spent most of the ride exploring the train, but keeping mostly to himself rather than trying to make friends with anyone (although he was polite to anyone who was friendly to him); after almost falling overboard because he thought he saw the Giant Squid in the lake and wanted a better look, he somehow arrived at Hogwarts itself in one piece. He was very curious about his Sorting, as he wasn't sure where he would be placed -- he figured his house would be Gryffindor like Dad's or Hufflepuff like Mum's, as he didn't think he was smart enough for Ravenclaw and he certainly did not want to be an awful Slytherin -- and it did take some time for the Sorting Hat to decide. Slytherin was ruled out immediately has he lacked ambition, and while he was certainly curious enough for Ravenclaw, it wasn't quite right for him. In the end, it came down to Gryffindor or Hufflepuff as he had expected -- he was certainly brave and a little reckless, but his stronger characteristics were his fairness, loyalty, and work ethic, and he was thus Sorted into Hufflepuff like his mother had been.

Matthias loved Hogwarts in just about every way possible, although Herbology was always somewhat problematic. The issue wasn't with his father, per se -- he loved the fact that he could see Dad so often, even if he was in a different house, and wasn't at all embarrassed by the fact that he was a teacher, although he was also never a braggart about it or used his connections for an unfair advantage. Instead, it was the fact that he was violently allergic to plants and that Herbology was one of the required classes that he would eventually have to sit the OWL examination for. Neville, being deeply concerned for his son's well-being (and possibly hoping that Hannah wouldn't have heart failure), tried to get his son to focus more on theory while avoiding the practical aspect of the subject; Matthias, however, absolutely insisted on not getting any special treatment and wanted to take his classes just like everyone else to be fair. He trooped on in Herbology, although he did have to spent quite a bit of time after each class in the hospital wing to take the various potions to control his allergic reactions. Not surprisingly, when he did sit his Herbology OWL examination, he scored a D for Dreadful and did not continue in the class for his NEWTs.

Slightly inconvenient allergies and having the popular Herbology professor and eventual Head of Gryffindor as his father aside, Matthias' school career was very ordinary by most standards, just as his childhood was. He was reserved as always, preferring to be independent and do things by himself, although he was perfectly social and amicable if anyone made the first move in approaching him in a friendly manner. His exception was with the younger students in his house as he got older -- after his baby brother, Peter, was born shortly after he started his first year, Matthias took his new older brother role to heart and took it upon himself to look after certain younger Hufflepuffs who had warmed up to him and to whom he had warmed up to in return; no doubt he was also influenced by the way his father got along with many of his own students.

Matthias was also never academically brilliant, performing at average at best -- he was dreadful at Herbololgy, of course, but he did take a decent enough liking to Charms and Transfiguration, found Muggle Studies to be interesting enough when he came from a Pure-blood background, and was especially fond of and had a knack for Care of Magical Creatures, which he eagerly shared with the Scamanders, who were family friends. He was undoubtedly a hard-worker and put in as much effort as he could into his classes despite not being especially clever and having a spotty memory, but always preferred exploring the castle and grounds to schoolwork.

It remains to be seen as to whether he'll make it through his sixth-year without being eaten by the Giant Squid or have some other comical tragedy befall him during his explorations. But whatever Matthias has to go through, he knows he'll always have the support of his family behind him and that he is his own person who ought not be burdened by the baggage of his family's past.

significant childhood memory
Matthias doesn't have the best memory -- an unfortunate trait he seems to have inherited from his father -- but an especially significant one for him that he does remember involved meeting the other members of Dumbledore's Army for the first time. He was five years old and his parents were hosting another one of their DA reunions at the Leaky Cauldron on a quiet Sunday night; it was already past his bed-time, but Hannah and Neville allowed him to stay up as a special treat for his good behaviour and because they thought that he was ready to start meeting the friends that Mum and Dad had talked so much and so well about before. Having heard so many romantic and exciting stories about the group's rebellion against the Carrows and exploits at the Battle of Hogwarts, he was very excited to meet everyone and had all sorts of imaginative expectations about what everyone would be like. When he did finally meet everyone -- or at least the members who came to the reunion -- he was pleasantly surprised to learn that all of these heroes he admired so much through his father's stories were really just ordinary people, not unlike his parents.

This experience and others like it had a profound impact on his personality -- not only did he realise that anyone had the potential to do something great with their life, but it also helped him maintain a down-to-earth disposition that wasn't easily influenced or swayed by people who put themselves up on pedestals for others to admire. He knows that past the image they set up for themselves, they're really just like him and everyone else deep down and that therefore, everyone should be treated with the same sort of respect they deserved. Of course, that's not to say that he doesn't have some biases that he's very stubborn about, namely against Slytherins.