𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸, harry potter

˗ˋ 118

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED
AND EIGHTEEN
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-: fifth year :-

── IN WHICH THEY MEET 
NEVILLE'S GRANDMOTHER

. . .

Two visitors were making their way back down the aisle between the two beds. A formidable looking old witch wearing a long green dress, a moth-eaten fox fur and a pointed hat decorated with a stuffed vulture - an outfit they had all seen during that lesson in third year with Lupin and the boggart. Beside the witch, looking thoroughly depressed, was Neville. 

Aviana looked even paler than she had before and Harry, shocked with the sudden rush of understanding, looked wildly around the ward for some means of distracting the others. Aviana had already seen, but there was no doubt in his mind that she would rather not address Neville in the slightest, but the others... the others needed distracting, so Neville could leave the ward unnoticed and unquestioned. 

But it was too late, Ron had looked up at the sound of the name being called by the Healer and grinned. "Neville!" He said, and Neville jumped and cowered as though a bullet had narrowly missed him. "It's us, Neville." Ron said brightly, getting to his feet. "Have you seen? Lockhart's here! Who've you been visiting?" 

"Friends of yours, Neville, dear?" Augusta Longbottom asked graciously, bearing down upon them all. 

Poor Neville beside her looked as though he would rather be anywhere else in the universe but right there at that moment, a dull purple flush creeping up his face and a refusal to make eye contact with any of them evident. 

"Ah, yes." His grandmother continued despite his lack of response, and she stuck out a leather-gloved hand for Harry to shake. "Yes, yes, I know who you are, of course. Neville speaks most highly of you." 

"Er... thanks." Harry shook the hand awkwardly. Neville remained staring at his own face, flush getting even brighter, clearly wanting to sink into the floor. 

"And you two are clearly Weasleys." Mrs Longbottom offered her hand to both Ron and Ginny in turn, in a manner most regal. "Yes, I know your parents - not well, of course - but fine people, fine people... and you must be Hermione Granger?" Hermione looked startled at Mrs Longbottom knew her name, but shook hands all the same, nodding. "Ah, I don't know you." 

"Aviana." The girl replied. 

"Well, don't just stand there." Mrs Longbottom smiled, proffering her hand towards the girl, who made her way back to the group to shake it. "Aviana? I can't say I've heard that name before."

"I'm in Slytherin." Aviana told her. "His girlfriend." She glanced over at Harry, fleetingly, and he knew full well that she was aware of the fact that he had been staring at her, confused at her behaviour. 

"I see, a lucky boy, then." Augusta nodded, and turned back to Hermione. "Well, Neville's certainly told me all about you. Helped him out of a few sticky spots, haven't you?" Hermione nodded slowly, as Augusta cast a sternly appraising look down her rather bony nose at Neville. "He's a good boy, but he hasn't got his father's talent, I'm afraid to say." And she jerked her head in the direction of the two beds at the end of the ward, the stuffed vulture on her hat trembling alarmingly.  

"What?" Ron looked amazed, as he tried to peer over shoulders to see the beds "Is that your dad down the end, Neville?" 

"What's this?" Mrs Longbottom asked sharply. "Haven't you told your friends about your parents, Neville?" 

Neville took a deep breath, and looked up to the ceiling, shaking his head. 

"Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of!" Mrs Longbottom said angrily. "You should be proud, Neville, proud! They didn't five their health and their sanity so their only son would be ashamed of them, you know!" 

"I'm not ashamed." Neville replied, very faintly, still devoted to looking anywhere but the group of his school mates. Ron was still wobbling on his tiptoes to try and look over at the inhabitants of the two beds, and Hermione appeared as though she was trying to figure out a way to discreetly elbow him, as Harry fought the urge to stamp on his foot to stop him. 

"Well, you've got a very funny way of showing it!" Mrs Longbottom shook her head. "My son and wife," she said, turning haughtily towards Aviana, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, "were tortured into insanity by You-Know-Who's followers."

Hermione and Ginny both clapped their hands over their mouths. Aviana too, although she had turned faintly green at this point. Ron stopped craning his neck to catch a glimpse of Neville's parents and looked mortified.

"They were Aurors, you know, and very well respected within the Wizarding community." Mrs Longbottom went on. "Highly gifted, the pair of them. I - yes, Alice dear, what is it?" Neville's mother had come edging down the ward in her nightdress. She no longer had the plump, happy face that Harry seen in Moody's old photograph of the Original Order of the Phoenix, now her face was thin and worn, her eyes overlarge in their sockets and her hair, which had turned white, was wispy and dead-looking. She did not seem to want to speak, but made timid motions towards Neville, holding something in her outstretched hand. 

"Again?" Mrs Longbottom sounded weary. "Very well, Alice dear, very well - Neville, take it, whatever it is..."

Neville had already stretched out his hand, into which his mother dropped an empty Droobles Blowing Gum wrapper. 

"Very nice, dear." Neville's grandmother said in a falsely cheery voice, patting his mother on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Mum." Neville said quietly, as his mother tottered away, back up the ward, humming to herself. Neville finally looked around at the others, his expression defiant, as though daring them to laugh. Harry didn't think he had ever found anything less funny. 

 "Well, we'd better get back," sighed Mrs Longbottom. "Very nice to have met you all, Neville, put that wrapper in the bin, she must have given you enough of them to paper your bedroom by now." They made to leave, and Neville slipped the wrapper into his pocket. 

The door closed behind them. 

"I never knew." Hermione said, who looked tearful.

"Nor did I," Ron agreed, rather hoarsely. 

"Nor me," Ginny whispered. 

"I did." Harry said glumly, when they looked at him. "Dumbledore told me but I promised I wouldn't mention it... that's what Bellatrix got sent to Azkaban for, using the Cruciatus Curse on Neville's parents until they lost their minds." 

Their eyes flickered over to Aviana, who still had a hand clapped over her mouth. "I'm going to the bathroom." She murmured, and left the ward with much more urgency. 

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