Growing - Chapter Thirteen
Nov. 17th, 2006 11:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meddowGrowing (13/18)
Chapter Thirteen – Saving the World
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Chapter Summary: The Order meeting continues on into the night and Neville learns what Bellatrix Lestrange has been up to. And Harry, Ron and Neville sit their apparition test.
Author’s Notes: Thanks, as always, to Nathaniel, my beta. Also thank you to all of you that have been reviewing lately. It’s been very encouraging to know people are reading.
Previous Chapter
~*~*~*~
Next on the agenda seemed to be what Neville had noticed Tonks working on during her stay at her parents'. She stood up and produced the large piece of parchment that had once looked like nothing had been written on it, but now Neville could see a map of Britain with multicoloured dots on it.
Tonks seemed a little nervous as she began to talk. “As many of you probably know, Remus, Mad-Eye, Kingsley and myself have been spending our spare time correlating Ministry data in the hope of finding out where the Death Eaters are located…And after much deliberation, we concluded that we just don’t know. The attacks are random in that they don’t seem to radiate from anywhere.”
“I showed a copy to Muggle specialists and they agree,” added Kingsley.
Tonks nodded.
“Does the Ministry know this?” the woman who had been talking about potions asked.
“I’ve offered it to them,” Mad-Eye announced.
“So we know nothing?” the woman asked again.
“It wasn’t a waste of time, every Death Eater has their own, um, style,” Tonks added. “We know what individual Death Eaters are doing, just not where they are operating from.”
“How about Snape then?” Ron asked.
“Snape we don’t know about, he’s a potions expert so he’s probably brewing potions and he’s only been active for a few months,” Tonks replied.
“Then what about Draco Malfoy?” asked Harry.
“We have the same problem with Draco. He’s not been active enough and we have no eye witness accounts of his involvement.”
“Fenrir Greyback,” came a woman’s voice from the other side of the room. It was Fleur but she sounded far more bitter than usual.
Tonks glanced at Lupin and then to Neville and then tapped the map with her wand. Many of the dots disappeared leaving only a few and Neville noticed one of them as sitting in Lancashire where his home was. That was him, that red spot.
“Our fears about the use of wolfsbane potion have so far not come true. However, that does not mean that they will not,” Remus added from his spot in the circle.
“’Ow could the potion make him worse?” asked Fleur. Neville wondered about that too, wolfsbane was supposed to make werewolves less dangerous.
“It’d make him smarter,” replied Tonks.
“But we know he’s working for Voldemort at the moment, not alongside Voldemort since he has been attacking adult targets and not children,” Remus added.
Like me, thought Neville.
“Anyone else we want to discuss?” Tonks asked.
Neville took a long look at the map and the dot over his home, near to where his parent’s cottage had been. “Bellatrix Lestrange,” he mumbled.
Tonks glanced at him and tapped the map again, only six dots showed up scattered in the Northern part of the England.
Neville felt Hermione’s eyes on him before she put her hand up. “What does that mean?”
“We think Bellatrix Lestrange is keeping low and is targeting a specific group,” Tonks said quietly.
“Who?” Neville asked.
“Middle-aged married couples who keep to themselves. So far they have all been Muggles,” Tonks replied, looking directly at him. Neville realised he knew a middle-aged married couple who kept to themselves.
“The data will be available to everyone if you ask,” Tonks quickly added before sitting down.
The rest of the meeting continued on a debate of where the Death Eaters could be hiding, and then the twins led a discussion on the Order's finances that most people were not interested in. It dragged on for a while and Neville was starting to fall asleep towards the end. Eventually Professor McGonagall closed the meeting, despite mentioning that they had not covered all she wished to discuss.
Neville, Ron, Harry and Hermione all headed to the Gryffindor dormitory without saying a word. Neville climbed into bed and was so tired he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow
~*~*~*~
Tonks looked miserable at breakfast. Nobody else was around, just her and him. Neville had become an early riser out of habit and Tonks seemed to be the same. Still, Harry and Ron were gone when Neville did wake, which lead Neville to wonder if Harry slept at all these days.
“I’m sorry for saying you’ll be a good teacher,” Neville said as he sat down next to her, hoping that it wasn’t his actions the night before that had made her miserable again.
“It’s not that,” Tonks replied, pouring herself another glass of pumpkin juice. “Nothing was achieved last night, was it?”
Neville couldn’t think of anything other than Tonks being Defence teacher that had been. “No,” he replied.
“I just feel like one of those storms is bearing down on us all and all we’re doing to stop it is throwing sticks.”
“It’s not that bad, is it?” Neville questioned.
“Dumbledore’s gone, the Order’s getting nowhere, we’ve got nobody on the inside. We don’t have a clue what You-Know-Who is up to, do we? All we can do is speculate. Snape’s really done a number on us,” she added bitterly.
Neville thought about this for a while. “Well, when you put it that way, it is like throwing sticks, isn’t it?”
They sat there for a moment before Neville turned the conversation to what she had said the night before.
“Is Bellatrix Lestrange hunting your parents?”
“Don’t worry about it,” she replied.
Bellatrix Lestrange was not somebody Neville was not going to worry about and he was about to tell Tonks that when she continued. “It’s the Demeter Willows thing. According to all records Demeter is an old Muggle woman who lives alone.”
“Okay,” Neville replied, unsure.
“I would have them out of that house in a heartbeat if I thought they were any more at risk then the rest of the population, Neville. Trust me,” she said earnestly.
“Okay,” Neville replied with more confidence.
Tonks opened her mouth to say something else, when Ginny sat down across from them. “Where’s Lupin?” she asked.
“Gone off in search of Harry,” Tonks replied.
“Oh, he’ll be in the library. Hermione said that having the wedding at Hogwarts meant they could get a ton of work done,” Ginny replied.
“You don’t know what Harry’s up to, do you?” Tonks asked curiously.
Ginny shock her head. “He doesn’t talk to me these days. Only to Ron and Hermione and he’s sworn them to secrecy,” she said miserably.
They all sat in silence for a while eating breakfast, before Charlie Weasley sat down next to Ginny. “Cheer up, you lot! And that’s a threat, I’ll set Fred on George on you if I don’t see all three of you smile in the next minute.”
Neville forced a smile, followed by Ginny and Tonks. “Harry and Ron are going to get their apparition licence today. You going to go?” Charlie questioned.
Neville hadn’t given any thought to getting his apparation licence. Charlie happily questioning had just placed quite a bit of pressure on him. “I haven’t practiced,” Neville replied. He hadn’t given much thought to the fact that he had turned seventeen. There had been so little fanfare he had actually managed to forget that he was an adult. It suddenly occurred to him that he could use magic whenever he wanted to.
“You seemed pretty good at it to me,” Tonks replied.
“That was one of the few times I made it work,” Neville replied. “I’m really no good.”
Tonks smiled. “Once you can do it under pressure, you can do it anywhere. You’ll be fine,” she replied, really smiling for the first time that morning.
Neville had not told anyone about his mother helping him and so kept quiet.
“It doesn’t matter if you fail first time. Charlie did,” Ginny said, looking cheekily at her older brother.
“I wouldn’t criticise until you’ve got yours. And it was all her fault,” Charlie pointed at Tonks. “She was pulling faces from behind the examiner,” he replied with a tone of mock bitterness.
Tonks started laughing. “I forgot about that. And it was all your fault. You started it.”
Tonks ended up telling the story, much to Ginny’s delight, since apparently Charlie had not revealed this to her. Neville wasn’t really listening. He was focusing too much on getting his apparation licence. It would be helpful and he would be able to travel around much easier.
“I think I’ll give it a try,” he finally concluded, which fell on deaf ears since Charlie and Tonks were now arguing over a Quidditch match.
“…That move was legal, and it wasn’t as if I could hit you, you’re a bloody tank,” Tonks was protesting.
“Hello Neville, hello Ginny,” Lupin’s voice came from behind Neville.
Neville saw Tonks stand up and give Lupin a kiss on the cheek. “Did you find Harry?” she asked.
Neville got up and headed to the dormitory. He didn’t know what to think anymore. He got out of the dining hall doorway and walked straight into Ron. Neville fell backwards onto the floor.
“Whoa, watch it mate!” Ron put out a hand and helped pull Neville off the floor. Hermione and Harry were standing behind him, Hermione with a look of concern on her face. “You coming to get your apparation licence?” Ron asked.
“Yeah,” Neville replied.
“Good, we’re leaving in half an hour.”
~*~*~*~
Neville met Harry, Hermione and Ron in the entrance hall some minutes later. Bill, Mad-Eye, Mr. Weasley and Hagrid were also there. They walked outside, where carriages were waiting, and spent the rest of the journey with neither Harry nor Neville speaking a word. Neville was tired and worried and did not feel much like talking, and Harry seemed to be content staring out of the window.
They arrived in Hogsmeade, which was emptier than Neville remembered it. The attacks and the storms must have had everyone scared to go out on the streets. They stopped outside the Hog's Head tavern and followed Arthur Weasley upstairs into a small room. Hagrid and Bill, however, did not. They headed for a room down the hall where the small man, who Neville remembered had taught them how to apparate in at Hogwarts so long ago, was waiting for them.
“I have to say it is highly unusual and against procedure to have a test closed to the general public. I do understand given the people involved, but I have to warn you all that I might not be able to repeat these circumstances.” Neville felt queasy, that meant that they had one chance to do this without failing.
“Now follow me,” the examiner continued. They all marched down the hallway and had a look at their destination. There was a big white circle on the floor, similar to the cross in the other room. After two minutes of looking around, they all headed back, leaving Hermione behind to watch.
“Mr. Weasley, since this is your second time, you may show them what procedure is followed and go first.” Ron looked pale, his freckles shining out more than usual; he stepped forward to the white cross marking the floor.
“Would you please apparate into the room down the hall,” the tester said.
Ron looked at Harry and then Neville and waived his wand in the air. He vanished. Neville looked at the ground where Ron had been standing, it did not seem like he had left any part of him behind.
“If you would please wait here, Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom.” The tester left the room. Mr. Weasley kept on looking out the door to see when he was coming back, but Harry, Neville and Mad-Eye stood in silence. Neville could feel his heart beat in his chest.
The tester returned. “Mr. Longbottom, would you please do the same.”
“Wait,” Mr Weasley interrupted. “Are you going to tell us how Ron did.”
“He passed,” the tester replied. Mr. Weasley smiled. Neville was grateful for the quick moment when attention was not on him.
Neville stepped onto the white cross and felt his heart beating even more violently. You can do this, he told himself. He thought back to the hallway, the Dementor placing its mouth closer and closer to his and then he looked around the room, to a safe place surrounded by people he knew and he felt calmer. If he could do it then, he really could do it anywhere.
Destination. Determination. Deliberation. Neville pictured the small room with the white circle. Neville closed his eyes and raised his wand.
Neville felt like he was being dragged through a tube too small for his body, but the sensation did not last long. He opened his eyes and there were Ron, Bill, Hermione and Hagrid, looking on.
“Am I all in one piece?” Neville asked. He could not see himself, but he felt whole.
Bill nodded. “From what I can see. Well done.”
Neville felt incredibly relieved. The examiner arrived quickly and gave Neville a looking over.
“Good, though try not to close your eyes. Your licence will be in the mail this afternoon,” the examiner announced and left the room.
“How are you so good at apparating?” Ron asked astounded. “I mean, you escaped Dementors that way and everything.”
Neville shrugged. “I think my mum was good at it,” he replied moving off the circle out of Harry's way.
Harry managed reasonably well, allowing all three boys to legally apparte anywhere in the world if they ever wanted to. That was except the place they came from, Hogwarts, and all found themselves cramped in a carriage on the way back. Neville suddenly felt very tired, the late night meeting was catching up with him.
They all climbed out, and while Ron told the news to his mum and the crowd of his family that had been waiting for him, both Neville and Harry ended up heading to the Gryffindor corridor.
The Fat Lady let them in without a password, she had been letting anyone wander in and out, saying it wasn’t her job since it was holidays. Neville clambered into bed and got some much needed sleep.
~*~*~*~
Neville awoke and Harry was gone. Putting his good clothes on, he headed downstairs to find that activity was once again taking place in the dining hall. Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Fred and George were decorating the hallway, Bill and Charlie were over in a corner talking, and Ginny, Gabrielle, Michele, Antoinette and Clair were all crowded around Tonks who was putting on a show for them, smiling and laughing, she seemed much happier then he had ever previously seen her.
“Hey, just a sec, I have to talk to Nev,” Neville heard Tonks say.
He turned around and Tonks had a very long pointed noise with long nostrils that made her look like she had a beak. Ginny was standing besides her smiling.
“How do I look?” she asked, putting her hands behind her head and sticking a pose.
“You look ridiculous,” Neville replied, he didn’t laugh but he was forced to smile at her.
“I’ve been doing my impression of Pinocchio,” she replied cracking out in a big smile. “Anyway, congrats on your apparation licence. Though I never had any doubts.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around him giving him a hug, accidentally poking him in the ear with her noise in the process.
“Thanks,” Neville replied.
She pulled her arms off him, “I’d better get back to my public. Hey, if I don’t make as a Auror, at least I’ll always have a career as a circus performer to fall back on.” She headed off towards the crowd of girls
“Well done,” Ginny said, giving Neville a hug before following Tonks.
Neville found himself blushing. He did wonder how Harry could break it off with Ginny since Neville had always though she was wonderful. Deciding not to dwell on the romantic entanglements of his friends, Neville headed off towards Hermione.
Neville spent the rest of the afternoon hanging white wedding decorations. Eventually, everyone gathered again and a gigantic birthday spread was served, with a big chocolate cake that had 'Happy Birthday, Harry!' written all over it.
Harry himself didn’t seem too happy with the festivities. He smiled and thanked everyone when they received gifts. Still, he seemed so old to Neville.
Neville did not really know the Weasley family too well and Harry, Ron and Hermione had closed in on themselves again, so Neville found he didn’t have anyone to talk to. He decided to head back to the common room. As he stepped out of the dining hall, he came across Tonks and the woman discussing something in the hallway.
“…his work is brilliant, Tonks, you have to talk him into working for the Ministry,” the woman was saying.
“That’s not really…” Tonks suddenly noticed Neville, and she gave him a look with her eyes pleading for him to come over. “…Dad’s thing anymore.” Neville began to wander over.
“Yes, but we need skills, how on earth do you expect us to make any progress against the Imperius curse if half the wizarding world refuse to work on the problem,” the woman replied.
“Well, I told you, Dad doesn’t work with the Unforgivables…Ah! Neville! Have you meet Victoria, she’s an Unspeakable with the Department of Mysteries,” Tonks grabbed Neville by the arm and pulled him over. “I owe you,” she whispered in his ear as she did so.
“Hi,” Neville said, putting out his hand.
“Hello,” Victoria replied.
“Kingsley!” Tonks suddenly cried. “I’m sorry, I have an important matter to discuss with Kingsley,” she said rushing off.
Neville ended up having to spend a very uncomfortable two minutes not really saying anything to Victoria, who turned out to be a potions expert for the Ministry. They mutually wandered away from each other and eventually Neville found himself alone in the Gryffindor common room.
Neville settled down in front of the fireplace and started writing a letter to Luna, detailing the apparition licence exam. He didn’t think he could really tell her anything else.
Soon the portrait hole swung open and Harry walked in.
“Hello,” Neville said, not moving from his comfy spot on the floor.
Harry sat down on the chair next to him. “Who are you writing to?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Luna. She’s been writing to me every day this summer,” Neville replied, happy that Harry was talking to him like he would have done years ago and that Harry was talking at all.
“I couldn’t invite Luna,” Harry said regretfully. “I wanted too, but only people invited to the wedding and members of the Order were allowed to come.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Neville replied. “I don’t think she minded, I mean it’s Luna.” Neville knew Luna would be a little bothered, not that she would let anyone notice this, but he did not want Harry to feel guilty.
“Yeah,” Harry replied half-heartedly.
“Look, Neville, there’s something I should tell you,” Harry suddenly said.
Neville looked up at Harry, he looked tired and was staring at the fire. “What?” Neville asked. Harry had been so secretive lately, Neville really had no idea what it could possibly be, but he was very curious to know.
Harry paused. He seemed to be thinking how he should say it. The portrait hole opened and Ginny stepped in. “Hi Neville. Hi Harry,” she said. They both replied with a greeting before Ginny headed up to the girls' dormitory. Harry watched her sadly the entire time, longing in his eyes.
“It’s not that important,” Harry finally said once Ginny had left. “It doesn’t matter,” he jumped out of his chair and headed to the boys' dormitory.
“Okay,” Neville replied. Harry’s behaviour perplexed Neville. He grabbed the quill he was using and told Luna that Harry was doing as well as he could under the circumstances.
Next Chapter
Chapter Thirteen – Saving the World
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Chapter Summary: The Order meeting continues on into the night and Neville learns what Bellatrix Lestrange has been up to. And Harry, Ron and Neville sit their apparition test.
Author’s Notes: Thanks, as always, to Nathaniel, my beta. Also thank you to all of you that have been reviewing lately. It’s been very encouraging to know people are reading.
Previous Chapter
Next on the agenda seemed to be what Neville had noticed Tonks working on during her stay at her parents'. She stood up and produced the large piece of parchment that had once looked like nothing had been written on it, but now Neville could see a map of Britain with multicoloured dots on it.
Tonks seemed a little nervous as she began to talk. “As many of you probably know, Remus, Mad-Eye, Kingsley and myself have been spending our spare time correlating Ministry data in the hope of finding out where the Death Eaters are located…And after much deliberation, we concluded that we just don’t know. The attacks are random in that they don’t seem to radiate from anywhere.”
“I showed a copy to Muggle specialists and they agree,” added Kingsley.
Tonks nodded.
“Does the Ministry know this?” the woman who had been talking about potions asked.
“I’ve offered it to them,” Mad-Eye announced.
“So we know nothing?” the woman asked again.
“It wasn’t a waste of time, every Death Eater has their own, um, style,” Tonks added. “We know what individual Death Eaters are doing, just not where they are operating from.”
“How about Snape then?” Ron asked.
“Snape we don’t know about, he’s a potions expert so he’s probably brewing potions and he’s only been active for a few months,” Tonks replied.
“Then what about Draco Malfoy?” asked Harry.
“We have the same problem with Draco. He’s not been active enough and we have no eye witness accounts of his involvement.”
“Fenrir Greyback,” came a woman’s voice from the other side of the room. It was Fleur but she sounded far more bitter than usual.
Tonks glanced at Lupin and then to Neville and then tapped the map with her wand. Many of the dots disappeared leaving only a few and Neville noticed one of them as sitting in Lancashire where his home was. That was him, that red spot.
“Our fears about the use of wolfsbane potion have so far not come true. However, that does not mean that they will not,” Remus added from his spot in the circle.
“’Ow could the potion make him worse?” asked Fleur. Neville wondered about that too, wolfsbane was supposed to make werewolves less dangerous.
“It’d make him smarter,” replied Tonks.
“But we know he’s working for Voldemort at the moment, not alongside Voldemort since he has been attacking adult targets and not children,” Remus added.
Like me, thought Neville.
“Anyone else we want to discuss?” Tonks asked.
Neville took a long look at the map and the dot over his home, near to where his parent’s cottage had been. “Bellatrix Lestrange,” he mumbled.
Tonks glanced at him and tapped the map again, only six dots showed up scattered in the Northern part of the England.
Neville felt Hermione’s eyes on him before she put her hand up. “What does that mean?”
“We think Bellatrix Lestrange is keeping low and is targeting a specific group,” Tonks said quietly.
“Who?” Neville asked.
“Middle-aged married couples who keep to themselves. So far they have all been Muggles,” Tonks replied, looking directly at him. Neville realised he knew a middle-aged married couple who kept to themselves.
“The data will be available to everyone if you ask,” Tonks quickly added before sitting down.
The rest of the meeting continued on a debate of where the Death Eaters could be hiding, and then the twins led a discussion on the Order's finances that most people were not interested in. It dragged on for a while and Neville was starting to fall asleep towards the end. Eventually Professor McGonagall closed the meeting, despite mentioning that they had not covered all she wished to discuss.
Neville, Ron, Harry and Hermione all headed to the Gryffindor dormitory without saying a word. Neville climbed into bed and was so tired he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow
Tonks looked miserable at breakfast. Nobody else was around, just her and him. Neville had become an early riser out of habit and Tonks seemed to be the same. Still, Harry and Ron were gone when Neville did wake, which lead Neville to wonder if Harry slept at all these days.
“I’m sorry for saying you’ll be a good teacher,” Neville said as he sat down next to her, hoping that it wasn’t his actions the night before that had made her miserable again.
“It’s not that,” Tonks replied, pouring herself another glass of pumpkin juice. “Nothing was achieved last night, was it?”
Neville couldn’t think of anything other than Tonks being Defence teacher that had been. “No,” he replied.
“I just feel like one of those storms is bearing down on us all and all we’re doing to stop it is throwing sticks.”
“It’s not that bad, is it?” Neville questioned.
“Dumbledore’s gone, the Order’s getting nowhere, we’ve got nobody on the inside. We don’t have a clue what You-Know-Who is up to, do we? All we can do is speculate. Snape’s really done a number on us,” she added bitterly.
Neville thought about this for a while. “Well, when you put it that way, it is like throwing sticks, isn’t it?”
They sat there for a moment before Neville turned the conversation to what she had said the night before.
“Is Bellatrix Lestrange hunting your parents?”
“Don’t worry about it,” she replied.
Bellatrix Lestrange was not somebody Neville was not going to worry about and he was about to tell Tonks that when she continued. “It’s the Demeter Willows thing. According to all records Demeter is an old Muggle woman who lives alone.”
“Okay,” Neville replied, unsure.
“I would have them out of that house in a heartbeat if I thought they were any more at risk then the rest of the population, Neville. Trust me,” she said earnestly.
“Okay,” Neville replied with more confidence.
Tonks opened her mouth to say something else, when Ginny sat down across from them. “Where’s Lupin?” she asked.
“Gone off in search of Harry,” Tonks replied.
“Oh, he’ll be in the library. Hermione said that having the wedding at Hogwarts meant they could get a ton of work done,” Ginny replied.
“You don’t know what Harry’s up to, do you?” Tonks asked curiously.
Ginny shock her head. “He doesn’t talk to me these days. Only to Ron and Hermione and he’s sworn them to secrecy,” she said miserably.
They all sat in silence for a while eating breakfast, before Charlie Weasley sat down next to Ginny. “Cheer up, you lot! And that’s a threat, I’ll set Fred on George on you if I don’t see all three of you smile in the next minute.”
Neville forced a smile, followed by Ginny and Tonks. “Harry and Ron are going to get their apparition licence today. You going to go?” Charlie questioned.
Neville hadn’t given any thought to getting his apparation licence. Charlie happily questioning had just placed quite a bit of pressure on him. “I haven’t practiced,” Neville replied. He hadn’t given much thought to the fact that he had turned seventeen. There had been so little fanfare he had actually managed to forget that he was an adult. It suddenly occurred to him that he could use magic whenever he wanted to.
“You seemed pretty good at it to me,” Tonks replied.
“That was one of the few times I made it work,” Neville replied. “I’m really no good.”
Tonks smiled. “Once you can do it under pressure, you can do it anywhere. You’ll be fine,” she replied, really smiling for the first time that morning.
Neville had not told anyone about his mother helping him and so kept quiet.
“It doesn’t matter if you fail first time. Charlie did,” Ginny said, looking cheekily at her older brother.
“I wouldn’t criticise until you’ve got yours. And it was all her fault,” Charlie pointed at Tonks. “She was pulling faces from behind the examiner,” he replied with a tone of mock bitterness.
Tonks started laughing. “I forgot about that. And it was all your fault. You started it.”
Tonks ended up telling the story, much to Ginny’s delight, since apparently Charlie had not revealed this to her. Neville wasn’t really listening. He was focusing too much on getting his apparation licence. It would be helpful and he would be able to travel around much easier.
“I think I’ll give it a try,” he finally concluded, which fell on deaf ears since Charlie and Tonks were now arguing over a Quidditch match.
“…That move was legal, and it wasn’t as if I could hit you, you’re a bloody tank,” Tonks was protesting.
“Hello Neville, hello Ginny,” Lupin’s voice came from behind Neville.
Neville saw Tonks stand up and give Lupin a kiss on the cheek. “Did you find Harry?” she asked.
Neville got up and headed to the dormitory. He didn’t know what to think anymore. He got out of the dining hall doorway and walked straight into Ron. Neville fell backwards onto the floor.
“Whoa, watch it mate!” Ron put out a hand and helped pull Neville off the floor. Hermione and Harry were standing behind him, Hermione with a look of concern on her face. “You coming to get your apparation licence?” Ron asked.
“Yeah,” Neville replied.
“Good, we’re leaving in half an hour.”
Neville met Harry, Hermione and Ron in the entrance hall some minutes later. Bill, Mad-Eye, Mr. Weasley and Hagrid were also there. They walked outside, where carriages were waiting, and spent the rest of the journey with neither Harry nor Neville speaking a word. Neville was tired and worried and did not feel much like talking, and Harry seemed to be content staring out of the window.
They arrived in Hogsmeade, which was emptier than Neville remembered it. The attacks and the storms must have had everyone scared to go out on the streets. They stopped outside the Hog's Head tavern and followed Arthur Weasley upstairs into a small room. Hagrid and Bill, however, did not. They headed for a room down the hall where the small man, who Neville remembered had taught them how to apparate in at Hogwarts so long ago, was waiting for them.
“I have to say it is highly unusual and against procedure to have a test closed to the general public. I do understand given the people involved, but I have to warn you all that I might not be able to repeat these circumstances.” Neville felt queasy, that meant that they had one chance to do this without failing.
“Now follow me,” the examiner continued. They all marched down the hallway and had a look at their destination. There was a big white circle on the floor, similar to the cross in the other room. After two minutes of looking around, they all headed back, leaving Hermione behind to watch.
“Mr. Weasley, since this is your second time, you may show them what procedure is followed and go first.” Ron looked pale, his freckles shining out more than usual; he stepped forward to the white cross marking the floor.
“Would you please apparate into the room down the hall,” the tester said.
Ron looked at Harry and then Neville and waived his wand in the air. He vanished. Neville looked at the ground where Ron had been standing, it did not seem like he had left any part of him behind.
“If you would please wait here, Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom.” The tester left the room. Mr. Weasley kept on looking out the door to see when he was coming back, but Harry, Neville and Mad-Eye stood in silence. Neville could feel his heart beat in his chest.
The tester returned. “Mr. Longbottom, would you please do the same.”
“Wait,” Mr Weasley interrupted. “Are you going to tell us how Ron did.”
“He passed,” the tester replied. Mr. Weasley smiled. Neville was grateful for the quick moment when attention was not on him.
Neville stepped onto the white cross and felt his heart beating even more violently. You can do this, he told himself. He thought back to the hallway, the Dementor placing its mouth closer and closer to his and then he looked around the room, to a safe place surrounded by people he knew and he felt calmer. If he could do it then, he really could do it anywhere.
Destination. Determination. Deliberation. Neville pictured the small room with the white circle. Neville closed his eyes and raised his wand.
Neville felt like he was being dragged through a tube too small for his body, but the sensation did not last long. He opened his eyes and there were Ron, Bill, Hermione and Hagrid, looking on.
“Am I all in one piece?” Neville asked. He could not see himself, but he felt whole.
Bill nodded. “From what I can see. Well done.”
Neville felt incredibly relieved. The examiner arrived quickly and gave Neville a looking over.
“Good, though try not to close your eyes. Your licence will be in the mail this afternoon,” the examiner announced and left the room.
“How are you so good at apparating?” Ron asked astounded. “I mean, you escaped Dementors that way and everything.”
Neville shrugged. “I think my mum was good at it,” he replied moving off the circle out of Harry's way.
Harry managed reasonably well, allowing all three boys to legally apparte anywhere in the world if they ever wanted to. That was except the place they came from, Hogwarts, and all found themselves cramped in a carriage on the way back. Neville suddenly felt very tired, the late night meeting was catching up with him.
They all climbed out, and while Ron told the news to his mum and the crowd of his family that had been waiting for him, both Neville and Harry ended up heading to the Gryffindor corridor.
The Fat Lady let them in without a password, she had been letting anyone wander in and out, saying it wasn’t her job since it was holidays. Neville clambered into bed and got some much needed sleep.
Neville awoke and Harry was gone. Putting his good clothes on, he headed downstairs to find that activity was once again taking place in the dining hall. Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Fred and George were decorating the hallway, Bill and Charlie were over in a corner talking, and Ginny, Gabrielle, Michele, Antoinette and Clair were all crowded around Tonks who was putting on a show for them, smiling and laughing, she seemed much happier then he had ever previously seen her.
“Hey, just a sec, I have to talk to Nev,” Neville heard Tonks say.
He turned around and Tonks had a very long pointed noise with long nostrils that made her look like she had a beak. Ginny was standing besides her smiling.
“How do I look?” she asked, putting her hands behind her head and sticking a pose.
“You look ridiculous,” Neville replied, he didn’t laugh but he was forced to smile at her.
“I’ve been doing my impression of Pinocchio,” she replied cracking out in a big smile. “Anyway, congrats on your apparation licence. Though I never had any doubts.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around him giving him a hug, accidentally poking him in the ear with her noise in the process.
“Thanks,” Neville replied.
She pulled her arms off him, “I’d better get back to my public. Hey, if I don’t make as a Auror, at least I’ll always have a career as a circus performer to fall back on.” She headed off towards the crowd of girls
“Well done,” Ginny said, giving Neville a hug before following Tonks.
Neville found himself blushing. He did wonder how Harry could break it off with Ginny since Neville had always though she was wonderful. Deciding not to dwell on the romantic entanglements of his friends, Neville headed off towards Hermione.
Neville spent the rest of the afternoon hanging white wedding decorations. Eventually, everyone gathered again and a gigantic birthday spread was served, with a big chocolate cake that had 'Happy Birthday, Harry!' written all over it.
Harry himself didn’t seem too happy with the festivities. He smiled and thanked everyone when they received gifts. Still, he seemed so old to Neville.
Neville did not really know the Weasley family too well and Harry, Ron and Hermione had closed in on themselves again, so Neville found he didn’t have anyone to talk to. He decided to head back to the common room. As he stepped out of the dining hall, he came across Tonks and the woman discussing something in the hallway.
“…his work is brilliant, Tonks, you have to talk him into working for the Ministry,” the woman was saying.
“That’s not really…” Tonks suddenly noticed Neville, and she gave him a look with her eyes pleading for him to come over. “…Dad’s thing anymore.” Neville began to wander over.
“Yes, but we need skills, how on earth do you expect us to make any progress against the Imperius curse if half the wizarding world refuse to work on the problem,” the woman replied.
“Well, I told you, Dad doesn’t work with the Unforgivables…Ah! Neville! Have you meet Victoria, she’s an Unspeakable with the Department of Mysteries,” Tonks grabbed Neville by the arm and pulled him over. “I owe you,” she whispered in his ear as she did so.
“Hi,” Neville said, putting out his hand.
“Hello,” Victoria replied.
“Kingsley!” Tonks suddenly cried. “I’m sorry, I have an important matter to discuss with Kingsley,” she said rushing off.
Neville ended up having to spend a very uncomfortable two minutes not really saying anything to Victoria, who turned out to be a potions expert for the Ministry. They mutually wandered away from each other and eventually Neville found himself alone in the Gryffindor common room.
Neville settled down in front of the fireplace and started writing a letter to Luna, detailing the apparition licence exam. He didn’t think he could really tell her anything else.
Soon the portrait hole swung open and Harry walked in.
“Hello,” Neville said, not moving from his comfy spot on the floor.
Harry sat down on the chair next to him. “Who are you writing to?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Luna. She’s been writing to me every day this summer,” Neville replied, happy that Harry was talking to him like he would have done years ago and that Harry was talking at all.
“I couldn’t invite Luna,” Harry said regretfully. “I wanted too, but only people invited to the wedding and members of the Order were allowed to come.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Neville replied. “I don’t think she minded, I mean it’s Luna.” Neville knew Luna would be a little bothered, not that she would let anyone notice this, but he did not want Harry to feel guilty.
“Yeah,” Harry replied half-heartedly.
“Look, Neville, there’s something I should tell you,” Harry suddenly said.
Neville looked up at Harry, he looked tired and was staring at the fire. “What?” Neville asked. Harry had been so secretive lately, Neville really had no idea what it could possibly be, but he was very curious to know.
Harry paused. He seemed to be thinking how he should say it. The portrait hole opened and Ginny stepped in. “Hi Neville. Hi Harry,” she said. They both replied with a greeting before Ginny headed up to the girls' dormitory. Harry watched her sadly the entire time, longing in his eyes.
“It’s not that important,” Harry finally said once Ginny had left. “It doesn’t matter,” he jumped out of his chair and headed to the boys' dormitory.
“Okay,” Neville replied. Harry’s behaviour perplexed Neville. He grabbed the quill he was using and told Luna that Harry was doing as well as he could under the circumstances.
Next Chapter
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Date: 2006-11-17 06:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-18 12:16 am (UTC)