The Lion and the Eagle |Neville Longbottom|

10. Sheltered

I didn't remember falling asleep after Neville dropped me on Hermione Granger's doorstep. I didn't remember sleeping on the sofa, either.

I certainly didn't remember a redhead in the cottage at any point in time last night. He was here now, wand pointed right at my sleepy face.

"Who are you?" he demanded in a deathly calm tone. The man looked like he'd gotten into a scuffle, or he was in need of a serious week long nap. I knew who he was, but then I remembered I was just a stranger to Ron Weasley. "Answer me!"

"Please get your wand out of my face." I wrinkled my nose in disgust. My mind went to a very dirty place, way too dirty for just waking up to be threatened by an Auror.

"Don't make me ask again."

"Ron!" came Hermione's panicked screech.

"I thought unless we invited someone into our home, they couldn't get in?" Ron glanced towards his fiancée. "How is she here?"

"I invited her." Hermione whacked Ron upside his head. "Didn't you see Neville at any point before you left work?"

"No. Why?"

"He came by last night with her." Hermione pointed in my direction. "She's the girl who got ambushed in Hogsmeade by Death Eaters. Neville dropped her off here for a bit until he can find a new location for them to move to."

Ron's face tinted pink with embarrassment. He tucked his wand away. "Sorry about that."

"N-no worries," I said, sitting up on the sofa. "Jenelle Murphy. No need to introduce yourself, you and your fiancée are pretty famous. We went to school together, but you all were a level above me. Bollocks, I'm babbling. I'll stop now."

"I'm assuming since you didn't see Neville that there's no news?" Hermione asked her redheaded husband-to-be.

"Unless I hear about some later, no," Ron reported. "I only got bits and pieces, mostly about the first attack in Hogsmeade. Locked one bloke up, the others got away."

"I'm not exactly open to Show and Tell right now," I said, yawning.

"Are you hungry?" Hermione asked me. "I can make whatever you want, within reason."

"Normally I'd stay up, but it's been a long night," Ron mumbled. His body slumped, he gave Hermione a lazy kiss on the cheek before stumbling off down the hall.

Hermione and I remained quiet as she made food. She batted away all offers of helping that I threw her way.

"I hope Neville finds a new place soon, I don't want to overstay my welcome," I told Hermione.

"This isn't the first time we've dealt with a dangerous ordeal."

"I bet it is with hiding someone in your home. Gosh, with all the things you've been through, you finally got some peace, and then I come along and shatter that." My head went into my hands. "I'm really sorry Neville pulled you into this. I hadn't known he was going to drop me off here. We'd just been in an abandoned house—at least, we thought it had been abandoned."

"Was it Death Eaters?"

"Technically yes, but just one." I swallowed. "Draco Malfoy."

Hermione stopped her current task to look at me with wide doe eyes. "Malfoy?"

"It seemed like he was running from the same thing we are. Death Eaters surrounded the house, he...he helped us escape."

"That's strange behavior for him."

I shrugged. "I suppose you'd know better than I would."

We continued to make light conversation, even after Hermione finished cooking. I'd mentioned the ring on her left hand and got her to talk about future wedding plans. She was handling it all apparently, Ron would go with whatever she wanted. Depending on how quickly things were going would dictate when they would get married. Hearing something light and happy lifted my spirits.

I was glad for Neville bringing me to Hermione and Ron, though I felt like I was putting them at risk. If the Death Eaters traced me here...I didn't want them to get caught in the middle. Granted, being an Auror was Ron's profession, but even still.

"I'd hoped the Death Eaters died off after Voldemort's death," I sighed heavily.

"Just because their leader died doesn't mean that they decided to not continue believing in his ideals, no matter how twisted they were," said Hermione darkly. "But the Aurors are on this."

My leg bounced. Not knowing my parents' fates made my stomach tumble anxiously. "I just want to know my family is okay."

"I'm sure they are."

"If Dad got hurt or worse...Mum would be left defenseless."

"Muggle?"

I nodded. "No amount of sharp knives or frying pans could stop magic from taking her down."

"How about we focus on something a little more cheerful, yeah?"

"Like what?"

"I've only skimmed wedding details. Would you like to see what ideas we're going with?"

"We just met last night. We're barely acquaintances."

"Though that's the case, it'll give us a nice distraction."

While Ron slept through the morning, Hermione quietly showed me the details that were solid and those that were still undecided. She had yet to go shopping for "the dress", but it was on her To Do List. The ceremony and reception was to all take place here at their home, in their backyard. They had the ample space to do so, so it seemed like a no brainer.

"I hope everything falls in place how you want it," I told her sincerely. I just hope I don't overstay my welcome and destroy any hopes of you having your big day.

I hadn't noticed before, but a beautiful, fluffy orange Persian cat meowed to make their presence known. It made me want Nala with me all the more. If the Death Eaters were truly soulless and hurt my cat...

"Finally saying hello, are you, Crookshanks?" Hermione cooed to the orange cat. "She's a guest."

I held out my hand for Crookshanks to sniff. Once he butted the hand, I knew I had made a friend.

"You can pick him up, he likes being held," said Hermione.

I had to laugh at his smushed face. Like Hermione said, he didn't immediately jump out of my arms and make himself scarce. I found myself hugging Crookshanks a little tighter than I probably should have. He made no complaints.