I Am Lacerta - Reposted for the Watty Awards 2011

I Am Lacerta Chapter 19

I Am Lacerta Chapter 19

That was the first time that I had properly thought about Neville Longbottom and his parents. My parents had tortured them to insanity and I felt incredibly guilty. If they hadn't done that so many people would have been in a better place. The Longbottoms could be a proper family, Barty Crouch Jr. and his parents would be alive, my parents wouldn't be in Azkaban - they could have brought me up... we could have been a proper family. And all for nothing, they didn't even get any information. 

As today was my day off, I headed down to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I knew I had to apologise for the damage my family had created for their family. 

All the way to the magical hospital, I was thinking about what I could possibly say to these people. My nother ruined their lives and now I was just going to pop in for a little chat! What was I thinking? But no matter how many times I thought this, I just kept heading towards the hospital, like I was in a trance. I had hardly even realised I had arrived when a nasal voice said: 

"Hello, welcome to St. Mungo's. How can I help you?", her bored tone bringing me back to my senses immediately.

"Um, yeah.. do you know where I can find a patient who is kept here permanently?" I asked the pretty young receptionist at the desk. Her name tag said her name was Diana and she was looking up at me with bored violet eyes, her hazlenut hair cut short just above her shoulders. This is a disguise I could use, I thought to myself but I came back to the real world when she said:

"Not sure about that one.. best bet is the fourth floor - Spell Damage." 

"Thanks." I said quickly and walked upstairs to the fourth floor. There were several different wards so I walked to the first door I saw and tried to open it. It was locked. I cursed under my breath, but just at that moment a middle-aged healer walked out of another ward across the hall.

"Can I help you, dear?" she asked. 

"Um, yes please, I'm here to visit the Longbottoms."

"Oh isn't that nice! Are you a friend of theirs?" 

"My mother knew them-" I said - techinically that wasn't a lie - "but she can't visit them at the moment and I promised her I'd pop in and say 'hi'." 

"That's nice of you. Follow me, hon." she said cheerily and let me into the ward. She shouted,

"Frank! Alice! You have a visitor!" 

Two heads peered around their curtain when their names were called. Both Frank and Alice looked very pale, and I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. As soon as they caught sight of me, they both screeched and scrambled to back away from me. I didn't understand why they were doing this until it clicked - I was the spitting image of my mother.

I backed away to give them some space, but they seemed to think I was going to charge at them. The nurse looked over and saw how confused I looked and said,

"Oh, don't worry honey. They don't recognise you - that's all! Just head over there .. they'll get over the initial shock in a minute.

So I walked over to them and put my hands up in a surrender and dropped my wand. They didn't seem convinced by this, my mother was probably skilled at wandless magic aswell, although Alice did scamper forward and grab my wand before quickly backing away again.

She clearly kind of knew what she was doing.. she must have remembered this from a former experience, if she has my wand she has the upper hand. I then looked around at my surroundings and saw their beds were covered in little sweet wrappers and pieces of parchment. 

I looked at them and saw them looking a little confused at me, which made me realise that I had been looking bewildered around their little 'den'. So I broke the silence and said,

"I'm so sorry for what my family did to you. I only found out a couple of weeks ago and I still feel really guilty..." I trailed off slowly. I looked at them and now saw they were the ones who looked bewildered, confused at why their torturer was talking so quietly.. no shouting or screaming.

So I explained, "I'm not Bellatrix Lestrange.. I'm not my mother! I'm her daughter, her child." Alice's eyes flashed to a photograph on the side-table and I looked and saw a picture of Neville. They thought I was threatening their child.

"No, no, no! Not your child. I'm Bellatrix Lestrange's child! Don't worry!" I said quickly, wishing I had talked to him before.. apologised..

A voice from behind me shouted, "Mum! Dad! I've come to vis- what the hell are you doing here.. you're in Azkaban.. how did you get ou-" 

"I'm not my mother! Neville, I'm Lacerta Lestrange - her daughter!" I spat the word daughter out - pretending to be ashamed of my great heritage. His eyes softened slightly.

"How do you know my nam- well yeah... what are you doing here?" he asked frustrated.

"Your name? Neville, I was in the year below you for three years.. Snape talks of you often. And I'm here to apologise for my parents-" I was cut off by Neville saying:

"You don't have to apologise for them - you did nothing! It's not even remotely your fault! Thanks for coming down here - they don't get so many guests any more. And it's nice to meet you, by the way."

"I know I didn't do it but I still feel really guilty. It's nice to meet you too."

We chatted for a bit, when I realised how late it had gotten. I said quickly:

"Thanks so much - it was good talking to you. I'll pay you back, when you get your school books, go to Flourish and Blotts, I work there so I'll give you a discount. Bye Frank, bye Alice." 

I left the hospital quietly and walked out onto the street in silence. I heard a growl nearby, and walked quicker to a safe place where I could morph into a bird and fly home.

I heard a voice behind me say, "Going somewhere?" so I quickly flew away, praying to myself that it wasn't a death eater that had seen me leave St. Mungo's...