Chapter 6: Departures and Conundrums. Part 1

The couple of days leading up to the end of the school year saw a very distracted Neville. Ever since his introduction to mind magic, he has been thoroughly distracted by The Hat's revelations. Harry caught him staring off into space ever so often and would often brush away any inquiries from Hermione or Harry. The trio were having breakfast on the day before their departure when Harry forced the issue.

"Neville, walk with me. Hermione, we will see you later"

Hermione gave him a hesitant nod and walked off in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. Neville narrowed his eyes and stood still. Harry met his gaze and calmly stated, "Lets head down to the Black Lake."

Neville did not respond for several seconds. He nodded jerkily, and Harry led them out of the castle. It was a beautiful Scottish summer day with a light breeze creating gentle ripples across the Black Lake. The skies were a clear blue, nary a cloud in the sky. A rarity for these lands.

They could see the Great Squid playfully splashing around the lake and several students enjoying the spectacle put on by the giant monster. The duo was silent until they reached a comfortable spot near the Black Lake, away from anyone else.

Neville raised an eyebrow. "The room seemed better for privacy."

Harry replied, "But it is a wonderful day, seems a bit of a waste to stay inside."

His only reply was an uncertain nod and more silence. Neville turned away from Harry and towards the lake. Harry followed suit and entertained himself with the antics of the Great Squid. The two sat in companionable silence.

Neville suddenly started, "Do you ever think of what it is like to have parents?"

Harry quirked an eyebrow, "Hmm?"

Neville's ears turned red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I just want to know if you think of your life with your parents. Mine aren't really there for me anymore and you are the only one I can talk to this stuff about."

Harry smiled, "I do. I think of how my mother would yell at me for pulling 'stupid stunts' on a broom and how my father would try to rescue me. I think of all the stories my father would tell of his time here with his friends. I think of having a younger sibling and how annoying they would be."

Neville chuckled, "I would think about the times both me and my dad would get into trouble with Gran. Mum loves herbology, so I would think about how I would sit down and listen to stories about every plant. Milly, our house-elf tells me mum has a story for each plant in our greenhouse, and Milly would try her best to tell me some of those stories, if she remembered them. That is why I love herbology, it's a connection to my mother."

Harry looked up at the clear skies above and added, "I would think of how proud my dad would be at being the Gryffindor Seeker. I would picture my mum conflicted about whether to be proud of her son or exasperated by his latest stunt to get the position."

Neville grinned, "Your mum would probably have a heart attack every time she hears of your latest stunt update."

Harry shoved him his shoulder playfully and retorted, "Shove off, it's not like your mum won't roll her eyes at how you managed to ruin your latest pair of gloves."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed. They laughed in place of tears for their families. Laughed despite the lives they lost to a cruel war. They slowly gathered themselves and once again turned to observe the lake. The Giant Squid waved one of his huge tentacles in their direction and the two friends enthusiastically waved back.

Neville hesitated slightly before he spoke. "Did you know what your mother was my godmother and mine was yours?"

Harry shook his head. I feel bad about lying to Neville, especially right now. But I can't let any indication that I am from the future out, not when I am not prepared to tell anyone. Hell, I don't even know if I want to tell anyone. "I never knew much about my parents until I found out that I was about attended Hogwarts."

Neville's eyes darkened and Harry sighed, "Let's just say my relatives were neither fond of me nor magic and leave it at that."

Neville perked up, "Maybe we can convince Gran to take you in?"

Harry shook his head, "Take a guess at who placed me there."

Neville visibly deflated. He whispered, "Dumbledore."

Harry remained silent, but Neville did not need any confirmation from him. Harry smiled, "Thank you for your concern, but I got Dobby this time to help me out. Between the two of us, this would be a piece of cake for us."

Neville nodded uncertainly. Silence settled between the two friends again. Neville slowly spoke, "My parents were tortured just days after you-know-who fell. They have been in St. Mungos ever since. They cannot even recognize me, though I think mum can sometimes. She keeps all the candy wrappers of the candy I give her. I thought that I will never have a chance to see them whole again"

Harry grasped Neville shoulder, and Neville directed his attention towards Harry. He saw the unshed tears in his friend's eyes. Harry smiled, "You heard The Hat, we can reverse what was done to your parents. I might not be ever able to see my parents ever again, but I will do my best to make sure you get to finally get all the love you deserve."

Neville suddenly pulled Harry to a hug and he choked out, "Thank you."

"That's what friends are for Neville."

The two friends spent the rest of their time mostly in silence. Sometimes, they would laugh at the antics of the Great Squid, who seemed insistent on waving at them. As lunchtime approached, Neville and Harry headed back into the castle and into the Great Hall. Hermione and Luna were situated together at the Gryffindor table. Gryffindors gave them weird looks when they first had Luna sit with them, but one irritated look from Harry Potter silenced any detractors.

Harry gave a passing glance at the Head table. His eyes narrowed when both McGonagall and Flitwick averted their gaze from him. Madame Pomfrey gave slight nod and little smile. Snape wore his perpetual sneer and Dumbledore wore his grandfatherly mask. But Harry noted the slight calculative look that the old headmaster gave him. Speaks to volumes that I missed the first time around.

They sat down and had an enjoyable lunch, the addition of Luna brought much joy, smiles and exasperation to the group dynamic. They had taken her to the Room of Requirement and introduced her to the wonders of mind magic the day after she was discharged from the Hospital Wing. Her stories of various magical theories and animals drove Hermione spare and Neville and Harry weaponized that. The two boys of the group went along with Luna's theories, much her delight and less to Hermione's sanity. Nonetheless, it was for them just the right mix of oddities.

Harry would notice glares from the Ravenclaw table, and he would nudge Neville to glance over. Ravenclaw students flinched whenever they met Neville's disinterested gaze and hurriedly looked at anywhere but the Gryffindor table.

Once they were done with their lunch, Harry pulled them aside to an empty classroom. The other three students were puzzled as why Harry pulled them aside this time. With a pop, Dobby appeared with a Hogwarts student trunk.

Luna's eyes widened. "That's my trunk! I thought I lost it forever, the nargles were really mad at me that day."

Harry closed his eyes and counted to five. When he opened his eyes, he saw traces of anger in all his other friends. Neville balled his fists tightly and Hermione thinned her lips and narrowed her eyes. Dobby was the most visceral, mutters filled with promises of possible dismemberments. No surprises there, with how he was treated before. However, I don't think I want to see arms and legs of bullies decorating the Great Hall on one fine future morning.

He let out a deep breath, "Well Dobby here found your stuff. As I said, he is the best there ever is. Open your trunk, we got a few more surprises for you."

Luna excitedly opened the trunk. Tears of joy pooled in her eyes. "M-mummy's locket, m-my a-album with daddy and mummy. Everything I lost is here."

The poor girl fell to her knees and sobbed, hard. Hermione ran over and wrapped her in a hug. Harry walked, knelt next to Luna and joined the hug. He waved to Neville and Dobby to join them. They walked over and stiffly joined the rest of the group.

They slowly parted away, with Luna holding on to Hermione for dear life. Still with tears dripping down her face, she beamed, "Thank you, thank you so much. I do not have much to remember her by and this is greatest thing you can do for me."

Harry shook his head. He looked towards Dobby, who was red with embarrassment. "Dobby did all the work; he is the one who did all the hard work."

Dobby shook his head, "Ms. Luna, it is nothing much for Dobby."

Her smile didn't falter. She said, "Thank you."

Harry nodded, "Just to let you know, Dobby charmed your stuff so that only you can now open your trunk and take your stuff. Once you get back to Hogwarts, he can place wards around your bed to keep away any, shall we say, insidious individuals."

Luna mutely nodded. He turned to the rest of his friends. "If you want the same protection on your belongings, ask Dobby."

Hermione and Neville bobbed their heads in affirmation. The group waited till Luna was ready to set out. Dobby charmed her trunk to a small package so that Luna would be easily able to carry it. A tap of her wand would enlarge it back to its original size and two taps would shrink it into the package. Dobby popped away as soon as the classroom door closed. Harry, Hermione, and Neville accompanied Luna to her tower, her trunk safely in her hand. On their way to the tower, they noticed many Ravenclaws giving them a wide birth. After they walked Luna to her destination, the trio returned to the Gryffindor tower.

Harry joined the quidditch team who were huddled together, chattering away about the next season. Hermione and Neville went up to their dorms, the latter returned downstairs holding a big herbology book.

That night, after what seemed to be a long week, the end-of-term feast took place that night. Gryffindor won the house cup for two consecutive years in a row, like the previous timeline. Their celebration was no less subdued this time, the fact that an ancient monster nearly eradicated a good portion of their student population was lost on them. He found little joy in celebrating the victory. How easily do people forget tragedy? Is ignorance more appealing than being slightly introspective about everything that went through?

Later that night, Hermione and Harry were sitting together in front of the fireplace in the common room. Hermione turned to Harry with a light smile. "I don't think I thanked you for believing in me."

Harry shook his head and replied, "There is nothing to thank me for, I only did what was right."

Hermione flicked away a stray strand of hair and she rolled her eyes. "Mr. Potter sometimes you are way too noble for your own good."

Harry stuck his nose up in the air. He exclaimed, "Praise me more, for I am the Gryffindor of all Gryffindors."

Hermione swatted his shoulder and laughed, "Humility suits you better."

Harry smiled and nodded. Hermione bit her lip and frowned, "Though I don't like that you had to put yourself in danger like that."

"Thought that Lockhart bloke could do a thing or two."

Hermione snorted, "Weren't you the one who always complained ad nauseum about how much of a fraud he was?"

Harry tilted his head to the side. "What is an ad nauseum?"

Hermione huffed, "Repeating something so often that it becomes annoying, and it is an adverb. Honestly Harry, read a bit more will you?"