The Lion and the Eagle |Neville Longbottom|

05. The Rumor Mill Strikes

"Liam," I said.

"Yes."

"The cowards fled," I said bitterly. "They're still out there!"

"Easy, Jen," Dad said softly. "The Aurors will catch them."

"How'd Aurors become involved?" I asked dumbly.

"Apparently, it also got leaked that this group was once followers of You-Know-Who." He eyed me. "How come you or Neville didn't mention that last night?"

"I was afraid of how you would react," I said in a small voice. "In my defense, I didn't know they were Death Eaters until Neville showed me proof."

"I thought all the followers had gone into hiding or were captured and sent to Azkaban."

"Everyone did, Dad."

"Well, I doubt any who are still out want to go back to Hogsmeade after this," Dad said calmly.

"What about other places? Like Diagon Alley, or...here?"

"Sweetheart, I doubt those boys are stupid—"

"I don't."

"They'll want to keep hidden. They know what Aurors are capable of. Neville showed them last night."

"If Aurors happened to be chasing them, they'd go for the kill. They're Death Eaters, Dad. They allied with Voldemort—"

"Please don't say the name," he retorted lightly.

"He's dead," I reminded him carefully. I had feared the name during the Battle of Hogwarts. But now that Voldemort was dead, I saw no reason to anymore.

"Don't say it again. Please?"

"Fine. I asked Neville to keep us updated. I'm glad he happened to be in Hogsmeade last night. Honestly, I don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for him."

"It was very fortunate, yes," Dad agreed. "I think you should have someone you trust watch you Disapparate out of Hogsmeade. We don't want another incident."

"Agreed," I said, hopeful.

The rest of the afternoon gave me the idea to try and make some potions. I had bought the ingredients, I had to use them.

Mum got fussy with me when she saw me lugging out Dad's cauldron.

"I just cleaned this house!" she whined. "Why couldn't you have tried this earlier?"

"I was sleeping!" I retorted as I held the semi-heavy cauldron. Mum gave me a piercing stare. "If you want me to put this back, I will. How soon can I start making my potions?"

"When I feel at least a week of cleanliness has passed."

I frowned and put everything away. Sometimes my mother could be a killjoy, like today.

Now with absolutely nothing to do, I retreated to my room. I didn't see Nala anywhere, so I assumed she was somewhere else, probably sleeping. She wasn't the kind of cat to go stirring up trouble; she'd rather sleep her days away.

I picked my wand off my dresser, twirling it in my fingers. I guess Mum and Dad wouldn't mind if I did a few practices of magic. As long as I didn't cause any damage outside of my room, I doubt I'd get into trouble.

I tried a few spells on things I wouldn't miss. One spell went astray and almost hit Mum as she was passing my doorway. She gave me a nasty look and I apologized. I stopped practicing after that.

When dinnertime came, I wasn't worried, but I was anxious. There was still no news. Well, things don't just happen overnight. I need to relax. We'll hear something when we hear something.

After dinner, I told Mum I'd clean the dishes. She went out into the living room to relax with Dad while I made the dishes clean themselves with magic.

A loud boom rang outside the house. Mum yelped, and I heard Dad spring to his feet. Mum's yelp startled me, making the dishes I had control over fall. Some of them shattered. I cursed under my breath. Not wanting to clean the mess at the moment, I sauntered out of the kitchen.

"Did you hear that?" Mum whimpered.

"I did," I said. "Get behind us."

Mum scuttled behind Dad and me as we held our wands to the door.

There was a gentle knock. I lowered my guard a bit. Dad inched forward, wand still raised at the door. I stood close to Mum, ready to protect her. But what intruder would knock?

With a flick of his wand, Dad made the door fly open. My shoulders slumped. If Dad and I had fired on him, we'd probably have our spells thrown right back at us, and we'd probably get in trouble for attacking an Auror. Even if it was an accident, would we still get in trouble?

"Well, at least he knocked," I said carefully.

"Sorry about that," Neville said sheepishly.

"Dad, let him in."

Dad, now relaxed, let Neville make his way inside. "An update already?" he assumed.

"Sort of. We've gotten some tips," Neville said. "One is acting alone. Someone told us that he was sneaking around here."

I swallowed with difficulty. My heart thumped, panicking. Had they figured out where I lived, or were they just strolling around, looking for other prey?

"We would've known if one had been here," Dad said. "Someone would've alerted the rest of the town."

"Dad, that'd be stupid," I countered. "They did the right thing in tipping off the Aurors."

"A right thing indeed," Neville agreed.

"About the Death Eater..."

"If he was here, he's gone now. Someone might've just overreacted. We sometimes get false alarms like these, but we still take it seriously."

"Goodness!" Mum whimpered. "To think they were in Godric's Hollow!"

"Mum, we don't actually know if that's true," I reminded her. She looked unconvinced.

While I tried to assure Mum that it was a possible false alarm, Dad talked to Neville briefly before he headed out.

"Well, that was quite a scare," I admitted.

"Yes," Dad agreed. "The good thing is that nothing happened. We'll be alright."