Chapter 32: Reunion

The Great Hall went absolutely silent as three people entered. In the lead was Augusta Longbottom, looking happier and more relaxed than almost anyone in the Hall could remember, ut it was the other two people who grabbed everyone's attention.

At the Teacher's table, several of the staff dropped their cutlery in shock, as did a certain Ravenclaw.

"Albus." Augusta said into the silence. "I'm afraid that my grandson's going to be missing the rest of the day. I hope you understand."

"Of… of course…" Albus managed as Neville finally overcame the shock that had held him immobile and rose slowly from his seat.

"…mum …dad?"

"Hello, Neville." Frank smiled, tears leaking from his eyes. "You've grown."

Neville stumbled forwards and an instant later, he was embracing both his parents as strongly as he could. Augusta watched them for a long moment, then she turned back to face the silent watchers.

"Neville will be back by Monday, we all have a great deal of catching-up to do. However, I do have an announcement. Lord Potter, the House of Longbottom intends to swear Oath of Alliance on this day for the actions of your House, although the formal announcement will have to wait. From this day forth, though, we will be there when you need aid."

Harry stood up and bowed.

"On behalf of House Potter, I accept the Oath of Alliance with gratitude and shall strive to be worthy of it."

Augusta nodded to him in a way that evoked a formal bow, then turned to where her son and daughter-in-law were still hugging her grandson. Gliding over to them, she spoke quietly to them and then they withdrew from the hall, leaving the watchers to ask each other what had happened.

"So." Harry said to Hermione, who was smiling broadly while dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. "Neville will need notes on Transfiguration and Astronomy."

Hermione nodded. "I'll copy them for him tomorrow."

.

"Those were the Longbottoms." Draco stated, far more calmly than he felt. "The ones my aunt Bellatrix tortured into insanity."

"How in Merlin's name are they healed?" Millicent muttered almost to herself and Draco stroked his chin in thought.

"Potter." He finally decided. "He must have more than just that wandless magic as part of his Family Magic. Some sort of Mind-healing ability as well, perhaps. However, that leads to a new problem, just when did he do that? My aunt spent several hours torturing them with the Cruciatus and other spells, even if the physical damage was healed, it should have taken a while to fix their minds…"

"Perhaps it was done by someone that Potter knows?" Blaize Zabini offered diffidently. "He's inherited that odd wandless magic, what if his family made contact with other unWanded magic-users?"

Draco opened his mouth to refute the idea, then paused.

"You… could be right." He finally admitted. "But who? I wouldn't even know where to start looking… I'll write to my father. With his resources, he'll have a good chance of finding out who it is… and maybe bringing them onto our side…"

Draco picked up his fork and scooped up some of the potato on his plate.

He would send the letter off later.

Once he had worked out what to say, of course.

.

.

Longbottoms Cured!

By Melanie Flitterwicket

.

Yes, my wonderful readers, the headline is indeed true. The

Longbottoms, the two final victims of that terrible war which

threatened to sunder our magnificent civilization apart,once

more walk among us!

We all remember how the fugitive Bellatrix Lestrange was

the one who tortured them using the Cruciatus Curse only a

few days after the demise of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,

inflicting pain upon them until they were driven insane and

imprisoned within their own minds, unreachable by even the

most skilled Legilimens and not responding to any treatment

that the professional Healers at St. Mungo's could devise for

them.

However, this tearjerking situation was dramatically shown to

no longer be the case when Frank and Alice Longbottom, along

with Dame (and now former Regent) Augusta Longbottom, let

everyone know of their healing by walking into Hogwarts and

leaving again after a tearful reunion with their son, Neville.

The family then departed, together once more, as the students

and teachers of Hogwarts watched in amazement…

.

.

The howl of fury and rage echoed through the Riddle Manor and Voldemort looked up from his own copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Peter, perhaps you should make yourself scarce." He suggested and Peter nodded before transforming into his animal form and vanishing through a small hole in the skirting board. Even as his tail vanished, the doors were slammed open and Bellatrix charged through, he wand emitting sparks and the occasional flame as she gripped it in a white-knuckled hand.

"How could they be healed?" She screeched, her eyes wild and glinting with a mixture of rage and insanity. "I crucio'd them to within an inch of their lives, then I scrambled their brains with Confundo's and Obliviate's! How could they have recovered? How?!"

"Bellatrix! Control yourself!" Voldemort barked and Bellatrix instantly went from wrathful rage to quiet submissiveness.

"Yes, My Master." She whispered and Voldemort motioned to one of the chairs at the table, a chair which had been taken from Grimnauld Place prior to its destruction.

"Be seated." He ordered as he folded up his paper, placing it in front of him. When he looked up, Bellatrix was sat quietly, her eyes lowered.

"My dear, I understand your anger." He said soothingly and Bellatrix looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I understand just how truly aggravating it is when someone undoes one of your greatest feats and makes it look easy. When the time comes, I shall have the Longbottoms, all four of them, captured and placed in the dungeons for you to use as you wish."

Bellatrix brightened up and Voldemort held up a warning hand.

"Before you can do that, though, we need to attain our rightful position, at the apex of society. For that, my dear, I need you to be at the top of your game, ready to carry out my orders without fear or hesitation. Can you put aside your anger at the Longbottoms for now, so that it will not interfere with the tasks which must be completed to shape the future as we desire?"

"Yes, My Master!" Bellatrix nodded.

"Excellent, my dear." Voldemort almost purred, reaching out to cup her face with one hand. "You are my dagger, my dear, and I wish for you to be as sharp as possible, so that when I wield you, all will fall before you."

"Yes, My Master!" Bellatrix breathed eagerly. "As you wish!"

.

"My Lord…" Lucius said nervously after Bellatrix had almost floated past him as he entered the dining hall. "The plans you are setting in place, how long before we actually act?"

"Soon, Lucius, soon." Voldemort stated. "The death of Potter shall be the signal for our forces to rise and he will die on the day of his final Quidditch match. After all, I see no reason not to let him exhaust himself before we pounce. Now that I have the cabinet I needed repaired, a cabinet that will allow us to bypass Hogwart's Wards without the need to let them know that we can collapse their defenses at any time we wish. Our allies will force those who would act against us to retreat to Hogwarts where they will believe themselves to be safe, whereas they will be placing themselves in a trap we can spring at the time of our choosing."

"That's brilliant, My Lord!" Lucius said admiringly and Voldemort nodded.

"I know, Lucius. I know."

.

.

Neville almost bounced as he entered Hogwarts to find Harry and Hermione waiting for him.

"Welcome back, Nev." Harry grinned. "Good timing, you've got just enough time to grab a snack if you need one and dump your things in our room, then it's time for Potions."

"A snack would be good, but I don't need to drop anything off." Neville replied as Harry and Hermione flanked him, letting him lead them towards the kitchens.

"From the smile, I assume the weekend went well?" Harry probed and Neville nodded, then paused to grab Harry and hug him.

"Thank you!" He whispered.

"Your welcome, but… air?"

Neville let go and Harry took several deep breaths, prompting Hermione to roll her eyes, then they resumed their interrupted journey.

"How are your parents adjusting?" Hermione asked. "I mean, they did miss an entire decade. From their viewpoint, you went from being a baby to how you are now almost overnight… or so…"

"They had quite an argument with my great-uncle." Neville smirked. "They also told my gran off for trying to hobble me with an unmatched wand… thanks again for that, Harry, by the way."

"Anything for a friend." Harry waved it off and Neville looked at him for a moment before continuing.

"Anyway, dad's going to reclaim his seat at the next Wizengamot meeting and gran's happy about that, she doesn't like the constant political backstabbing there. Mum's contacting all her old friends, but neither of them are going to return to being Aurors. I'm not really sure what they're planning, at the moment they're just happy to be back."

"And how are you coping?" Hermione asked. "You've just got your parents back."

"I know and… I just don't know." Neville shook his head in an attempt to force his thoughts into order. "They're back, they're no longer just sat motionless in St Mungo's but… but…"

"You had an image of what they would be like, and they're not?" Hermione's question was gentle and Neville gave her a thankful look.

"That's right. All I really had to go on were Gran's occasional stories and how she described them doesn't seem to be how they are! Dad… Dad likes to brew potions. He's nowhere near Potions Master levels, but he's fairly good, but I had no clue that he did things like that and mum… mum likes to knit. Not using magic, just… just knit. She says it helps with wand control."

"I can see that." Hermione agreed.

"But… but gran never mentioned it!" Neville complained. "They're my parents and I love them, but at the same time it's like a pair of complete strangers have come into my life and… and I just have no idea how I should react."

The trio continued in silence for a while as they walked down towards the kitchens, then Harry spoke.

"Nev, did you tell them about your wardrobe?"

"What?" Neville asked. "Um, why?"

"Just after Sirius and Remus got your parents to safety, Sirius' house was attacked. The attackers must have known exactly what wards were set up since they got through in a matter of minutes and those were top-of-the-line wards, augmented with several that the Blacks created. If the people who attacked my godfather decide to attack your parents…"

Harry trailed off and Neville stared at him.

"Do… do you think that'll happen?"

"Do you think it can't?" Harry countered. "Nev, at least tell your parents… in fact, call your gran and have her bring your parents into the conversation so you can tell them all at once. A secure exit is one of the best tactical assets you can have if you're going to be attacked and with Bellatrix on the loose…"

"Crap!" Neville cursed. "You're right, Harry. I'll call them during lunchtime… I may need to take it at the kitchens since my gran might be irritated with me for not telling her about the wardrobe earlier."

.

Theodore Nott looked around, then pulled a small object out of his pocket. Placing it just beside the disused Broom Lockers, he tapped it with his wand, causing it to expand, revealing it to be a cabinet made of dark wood. Opening it, he put a matching pair of Exploding Snap cards into it and closed it. After counting off a full minute, he opened the cupboard again and extracted a small bag that hadn't been there before. Glancing into it, he grinned.

"Easiest twenty Galleons I ever made." He smirked before leaving the corridor, heading for his next lesson. Behind him, the cabinet remained in the shadowed nook, easy to miss by all but the most astute observers.