Orb in the Arena

Classes ended early on the day of the first task. Neville was glad for it. He couldn't focus during Divination or Transfiguration, making it even harder to do the work than usual. He could hear people whispering, and every so often, one of the Hufflepuffs would snicker. A final glare from Professor McGonagall silenced them all just before the end of class.

"Mr. Longbottom, please meet me back here at 12:30 sharp," Professor McGonagall said as he was leaving. "I'll take you to where the champions are meeting for the first task."

Neville nodded to her, his mouth too dry to form words.

"How're you feeling?" Sally-Anne asked on their way out of class.

"Horrible," he croaked.

"Everything's going to be alright," she said soothingly. "In a few hours, it will all be over, and we can all relax. Just focus on that."

Neville forced a smile, but he couldn't stop thinking about the first task. He had no idea what it was; no one did.

"You're better than all of us put together," Hermione said. "And you've had Rose preparing you for weeks. Worse case scenario, she pulls you out before you die. She can fix anything short of that."

That cheered Neville up enough to get him through the next hour. His friends spent it talking, although he couldn't pay much attention. He just sat and stared into space as Sally-Anne, Hermione, and Ron talked. They didn't realize it was time to go until Harry returned from Arithmancy.

His friends wished him good luck, then he made his way back to Professor McGonagall's classroom. Fifth-year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were just leaving as he entered, which meant he had to endure a barrage of glares from the Hufflepuffs. He understood perfectly that the good things he'd done didn't matter. It didn't matter that he'd helped them escape during the quake, nor that he'd nearly died saving Professor Sprout. All that mattered was that his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire.

"Are you ready?" Professor McGonagall asked as they left her classroom.

"I don't know."

"Of course. If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Longbottom, I don't know what the task is either."

"I guess."

"Professor Dumbledore was adamant about no one knowing what it is, so you are likely just as prepared as the other champions."

"Still a fourth-year."

"That may be, but there are precautions in place if problems arise."

They walked in silence down five floors before encountering Professor Sprout. Neville tried smiling, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was about to be sick.

"There you are," she said. "I was hoping I'd find you before the task. I wanted to wish you good luck today."

"Thanks," Neville said, giving a weak smile.

"I also haven't gotten the chance to ask you if you got my letter over the summer."

"I did," Neville said.

"Did you try the oil?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't work long. I asked Hermione, and she thinks the goblin magic rejects the oil because it alters the metal."

"That makes sense," Professor McGonagall said. "Given that the sword Peta-Lorrum stole is goblin magic, which rejects anything that could damage the blade."

"Don't start on that again," Professor Sprout said. "Albus gave him permission to keep it as a reward for helping with the quake last year."

Neville smiled at the first real positive reinforcement he'd received.

"Well, this is where we part ways," Professor Sprout said when they reached the front gate. "Good luck, Neville. Even though Cedric is one of mine and I'll be rooting for him, I'll cheer just as loudly for you. I've watched you every day these past few weeks, and whatever it is that Rose won't tell us about, it's working."

Neville gave another smile, but this one felt more genuine than the others.

"Thank you, Professor."

"It's been my pleasure, Neville."

After a nod to McGonagall, Sprout followed the growing crowd of people going towards a large stadium that Neville hadn't noticed before. It wasn't far from the edge of the Forbidden Forest, so he was certain it wasn't there a week ago. It also wasn't where he and Professor McGonagall were going. She led him to a small tent attached to the stadium, outside of which stood Taltria and Alavel.

"Go on inside. There will be someone there to explain the rules and what you do. Madame Pomfrey should also be there on stand by, so there's no need to worry."

"Thank you."

He walked up to the tent, feeling better than he had when he'd met Professor McGonagall in her classroom. The Nimblewrights stopped him when he approached.

"Let him in," a comforting Scottish voice said.

Without saying a word, the Nimblewrights allowed him to pass into the tent. Inside, he found the other three champions: Fleur shot him a look of disgust, Krum didn't show any expression, and Cedric narrowed his eyes at Neville. Rose stood at the far end of the tent, quietly rocking back and forth on her feet. She paid them no attention, apart from apparently granting them access to the tent.

"Welcome, everyone, to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Bagman announced from outside the tent.

"That's my cue," Rose said. She motioned to the four champions. "Gather round, you lot!"

Neville looked at the other three, but no one moved.

"That means everyone!" Rose barked. "Now!"

After the four of them had gathered, Rose continued.

"Here's what's gonna happen. Behind this door, there's–"

"Vaht door?" Fleur demanded.

Rose waved her hand through the wall, revealing it to be an illusion.

"This door," she replied. "Behind it, there's an arena. You must fetch the orb in the middle of the arena and return it here to the tent. If you are unable, you will receive a score of zero for the event. More points are good, so try your best." She paused, then added, "Oh! And try not to die." After another pause, she said, "Oh! One more thing. Each of you are only allowed to take one tool with you onto the field. That includes your wand."

"Vy vould ve take anything else?" Fleur asked.

Rose shrugged. "I dunno, but you've got the option if you'd like to take it." She pointed at Fleur. "Delacour, you're up first. When you hear Bagman call your name, step through the door. Diggory, you're up next, then Krum, then Longbottom. When you step through, your chosen item should be in hand. Present it to me, then pass. Any questions?"

"Why are you telling us all this?" Cedric asked, showing Rose just as much disdain as he did Neville.

"Because Bagman's out there," Rose replied, turning to Madame Pomfrey. "Madame Pomfrey, ready?"

Neville glanced over to Madame Pomfrey, who nodded to Rose. She had an entire wall of the tent to herself, where she'd set up four tables.

"And now, our first champion!"

"What are you taking?" Rose asked.

"Vy–"

"Answer, or I hurl you through the other door. What are you taking?"

Fleur reached into her pocket and drew her wand. Rose stepped aside to allow Fleur to enter the arena.

"Ms. Fleur Delacour!"

With all the confidence in the world, Fleur stepped through the door and out of sight.

"What's out there?" Neville asked Rose.

"An orb," Rose replied. "Why would I tell you now?"

Neville blushed and berated himself for trying again.

"You haven't told him already?" Cedric scoffed.

"No, Diggory, I haven't," Rose replied with just as much hostility.

The ensuing silence gave Neville a moment to think about the task. It was just a fetch quest. The orb was no doubt guarded, trapped, or both. What was out there? Neville looked past Rose, not trying to see out of the tent, but just wondering what it was. Perhaps they'd rethought the tournament, and it was no longer life-threatening. Maybe the orb was guarded by some puzzle they had to solve, and they weren't told what it was ahead of time so they couldn't solve it beforehand.

The thought of it relaxed Neville. It wasn't dangerous at all, just challenging. Madame Pomfrey was just there to throw them off and make them think it was dangerous. Like Rose had said, it was just about thinking on his feet.

His hopes were crushed a minute later when Fleur returned to the tent. Burns and bruises covered most of her body, and her left arm hung limply at her side. She carried a blue orb under her good arm, and walked straight over to Madame Pomfrey.

"Diggory, what are you taking?" Rose asked.

"My wand," Cedric said, holding his wand up to Rose.

"Next up is our Hogwarts champion himself, Cedric Diggory!"

Cedric glanced at Fleur, then stepped out of the tent.

Neville looked at Fleur and Madame Pomfrey, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"I put doublespeak around her," Rose said. "Madame Pomfrey was concerned that she wouldn't be able to get anything meaningful out of people if they were worried about secrecy." She smiled at Neville. "Don't look so scared. She didn't know what was coming either, and she's fine."

"She's a seventh-year and I'm a fourth-year," Neville said. "It's different."

"Then you shouldn't put name in Goblet of Fire," Krum said, coming up behind them.

"Would it make a difference if I said I didn't?" Neville asked.

"I don't know what I should be believing," Krum said. He looked Neville up and down. "All I know is what I am seeing, and what other people say."

Neville didn't need to ask what other people said about him. Worthless, pathetic, loser. He'd heard them hundreds of times in the past few weeks alone.

"Some people think cheaters are hard to spot, but they make it easy. Cheater gets on broom, I see he cheating. You don't look like cheater."

"Thank you?" Neville said.

"If you are not cheater, why was name in goblet?" Krum asked.

Neville shrugged. "I wish I knew. Professor Moody thinks someone's trying to kill me."

"I remember." He looked at Neville again, then assessed Rose. "You look… odd."

"I get that a lot," Rose said. She frowned, then spun around in place. After staring in the direction of the arena for a moment, she slowly turned back to Neville and Krum.

"Something wrong?" Neville asked.

"Thought we had a situation," Rose replied. "Diggory's on his way in. Krum, what're you taking?"

"I will take wand like sane person," Krum said as Cedric walked into the tent.

Unlike Fleur, Cedric had nearly full use of his limbs, although his legs were banged up. He limped over to Madame Pomfrey, trying not to put too much weight on either leg for long.

"Are you alright?" Neville asked.

"Could use some help," Cedric replied.

Neville put Cedric's arm over his shoulders and helped him over to Madame Pomfrey's table.

"Now it's time for the Durmstrang Champion, Viktor Krum!" Bagman called from outside.

"Good luck, Krum," Neville called.

Krum nodded and walked out of the tent. Neville returned to Rose's side, although his attention remained on Madame Pomfrey's patients.

"Rose, you mentioned something about scores," Neville said.

"After each champion has finished, they'll reveal the scores. Each of the four judges already submit their scores after the champion is finished, but they figured it'd be easier to do them all at the end, since the task isn't finished until the champion is back here."

"But if you can't complete the task, you get a zero?"

"Oh good, you were paying attention."

"I always pay attention."

"Good," Rose said. "Then you can watch the others and remember that the whole point of this tournament was to encourage inter-school cooperation. It was supposed to bring us all together, but now everyone's so obsessed with winning the tournament they can't get along."

"Krum seems nice," Neville said.

"Think about the past month. Even Hogwarts doesn't like us."

"Like you said, they'll stop after today."

"Maybe," Rose replied. "I don't know, but I'm still trying to figure out who put your name in."

"Does it matter anymore?"

"Security was my responsibility, so yeah, it matters to me. If nothing else, I want to know what I missed."

"What do you mean?"

"I had it covered from every possible angle," Rose said. "I can list the names of everyone who got within five feet of the goblet."

"You'll figure it out." Neville smiled at Rose. "You're the best."

Rose smiled back at him.

"Thanks, Toad." She closed her eyes and scrunched her face. "Longbottom. Supposed to call you Longbottom around the other champions."

"Why?"

"Same reason I got Brain to send you a compass and watch. Same reason I got the house-elves to make you a belt. I'm not supposed to be around you, otherwise it looks like we're in on this together."

"But we're not."

"You think they care?" Rose asked, nodding to the other two champions in the tent.

Neville glanced at them. Cedric looked relieved that the task was over for him, while Fleur just looked bitter. Would they stop blaming him for what happened?

"What happens if I do better than them?" he asked.

"You're about to find out. Krum's finished." Rose extended her arm to him. "Pack and belt. Neither are allowed."

Neville slipped off his pack and handed it to Rose, then did the same with his belt.

"What about my watch?"

"If you want it to work later, I'd suggest leaving it behind."

Neville dropped his watch in his pack, then drew the Sword of Gryffindor.

"I'm taking the Sword of Gryffindor in place of my wand."

Krum entered the tent, looking worse than both Fleur and Cedric, but unlike either of them, he didn't seem aware that he was injured. Even with burns all over his skin, and half of his face black with what Neville thought was soot, Krum walked tall as he went to Madame Pomfrey.

Seconds after he stepped inside the tent, the curtain vanished, and Neville could see the arena clearly.

"Now for our final champion, Neville Longbottom!"

Neville took a deep breath, then left the tent. The crowd went quiet as Neville walked onto the field. There was no applause as there had been for the other champions, but instead a handful of "boos".

"You're seeing that correctly folks!" Bagman announced. "Instead of his wand, Longbottom has chosen to take a sword into the arena." He paused for a moment, then added, "To his credit, that is the one and only Sword of Gryffindor!"

Neville hid the sword, embarrassed that he'd done something different.

Focus, Toad, Rose's voice ordered, which Neville obeyed.

The arena wasn't anything special. It was mostly stone, with the crests of each school engraved in the center around a giant "T". A blue orb sat in the exact center of the insignia.

It can't be that easy, Neville thought, remembering how each champion had looked upon entering the tent. Still, without any other option, Neville approached the orb.

The moment he stepped inside the insignia of the three schools, the blue orb turned red, and the field came to life.

Red cracks bled out from the orb and slithered towards the outside of the insignia. They branched out around the crests, reaching past Neville, as the orb left the ground, followed not long after by the chunks of stone formed by the cracks.

As everything took to the air, it all spiraled and whirled around the orb. Even the platform beneath him flew around the orb, nearly throwing him off balance.

Neville stared at the flurry in disbelief. He couldn't begin to think about how to tackle the problem in front of him. Even if he had his wand, he couldn't do anything against the storm of boulders. Anything thrown into it would be thrown off by the boulders before it got within 20 feet of the orb.

Neville nearly fell off the platform upon which he stood when it lurched and changed direction. He struggled back to his feet, then saw something flying out of the storm at him.

Instinct kicked in, and he flicked the sword up, catching the bolt of lightning before it hit him.

"You all just saw that correctly, folks!" Bagman called. "I don't believe it either, but Neville Longbottom just blocked a bolt of lightning with a sword!"

Why didn't it deflect? Neville wondered. It's magic, isn't it?

He looked at the blood-red orb in the middle of the storm, but instead of coming up with another solution, he thought back to the crimson storm he'd found in the Forbidden Forest.

The only thing I've got that can get through that is me, he thought. He uncoiled a wiry vine from the hilt of the sword, and tied one end around his wrist. It's just like branch hopping, just with… moving branches. I can do this. I've done it hundreds of times.

Without another thought, Neville lept into the vortex of rock. He grabbed onto a stone, then fell onto another as it flew past. He jumped from rock to rock, staying focused on the orb.

"It looks like the boy's going straight for the orb!" Bagman called.

He watched for traps around the orb, but it wasn't until he was within two feet of it that he found one.

Neville made a dive for the orb, but as he got close, he slowed down, then something hurled him away from it.

"So close! Looks like he's–"

As the force field threw him back, he dug the sword into a rock and allowed the vine to stretch. He swung through the air, landing on another of the flying boulders.

Neville gave the vine a hard tug, pulling the sword loose from its resting place just as another rock flew towards his.

He dodged aside the rock, then pulled the sword back to his hand. He clung to his rock until it was upside down, then allowed himself to fall.

Neville landed on another rock, leaping off it the moment he landed. Once on his new rock, he looked over the field, getting his bearings as he jumped between the boulders.

Can't just jump into it. What do I do?

His eyes darted around the flurry of boulders, just as they'd done on his many retreats from the centaurs. He jumped onto another rock, only to find a flame geyser heading for him. He threw his sword at another rock and swung out of the way.

That's it!

"We all thought he was mad to leave his wand, but I think I speak for all of us when I say this: He's not half bad with that sword!"

Neville landed on another boulder, then lept across more to reach the top of the storm. He blocked lightning bolts on his way, and discovered a few acid traps, but he reached the top in moments. He hopped between rocks, always staying at the top, waiting for the right moment.

"I don't know what he's doing, but it might be hopscotch!"

That's exactly what I'm doing, Neville thought as he stabbed the sword into another stone. I hope this works!

As the sword went one way, he dove into the heart of the storm. He landed on another boulder not far from the orb, then kicked off towards his target. He pressed his arms to his side, increasing his momentum as he fell towards the orb. Just as Neville felt himself being pushed away from the orb, the vine tugged on his arm and drew him closer.

"I can't believe it!" Bagman exclaimed. "He might have it!"

Neville reached out his right arm as his left was pulled towards the sword, and thus the orb. As his fingertips grazed the orb, his arm was yanked away by the sword.

"Ah!"

"Oh! That must've hurt!" Bagman exclaimed a little more cheerfully than Neville would've liked.

"Grahk d'ka!" shouted someone that sounded an awful lot like Ginny.

The rock hurled Neville into a passing stone, ripping the vine free of his wrist. As it did, Neville heard a distinct pop.

I know that sound.

He grabbed onto another boulder with his right arm, then lept onto one of the slabs outside of the whirling storm of death. Once he landed, he climbed to his feet, watching for anything that might leap out at him, then began to inspect his shoulder. Staying low to the ground to keep his balance, he prodded his shoulder, wincing as he found the injury.

"Yup," he muttered. "That's dislocated. Definitely dislocated."

"I don't know what he's doing, but by the looks of things, I'd say he's dislocated his arm!" Bagman announced.

"Thanks, Bagman, I had no idea," Neville muttered. "I've done this loads of times before, so it shouldn't be so bad." He took hold of his arm. "One… Two… Three!"

The audience gasped as he forced his arm back into place. Neville grit his teeth as he moved his arm around, testing its new capabilities.

"Still working." He hunted down the sword with his eyes, grinning when he found it. "Now to get my sword back."

He took a few steps back, then lept back into the whirling vortex of pain.

For the first time since he'd stepped into the field, the audience applauded.

Neville lept between the rocks again, then dove at the vine when he drew close. He caught it, slipped it back over his wrist, then pulled the sword free.

"He's back! After resetting his own arm, Neville Longbottom is back in the game!"

Neville dove aside as a bolt of acid flew his way.

"Why'd it have to be acid?" Neville muttered, looking towards the top of the storm. "Hold on, acid, fire, and electricity. Where have I heard that before?"

He dug the sword into a rock and let it carry him up to the top. It wasn't until he reached the top that the rock began to glow orange.

"Crab apples!"

Neville pulled the sword out and held it between himself and the flame geyser just as it erupted.

The crowd gasped as the geyser singed his clothes, but he held most of the blast back with the Sword of Gryffindor. The geyser propelled him across the field, unfortunately missing the orb, but Neville stabbed the sword into another rock and hung on to the vine.

It stretched, then whiplashed him back into the storm, on a direct course for the orb.

Neville's hand was just out of reach from the orb when the field pushed him away. As he reached the edge of the force field, he grabbed a hold of the vine with both hands and allowed it to pull him back to the orb.

He was so focused on the orb that he didn't see the flame geyser that burned through the vine until it was too late, but he didn't care. What was left of the vine flung him at the orb. He opened his arms wide and grabbed it on his way past.

"He's done it!" Bagman shouted. "Ladies and gentlemen, Neville Longbottom has done it, all without so much as touching his wand!"

Neville grabbed onto another boulder, then lept towards the sword. He nearly reached it when another boulder fell onto him. He lept back, then looked at the field. All around him, the storm was collapsing. He tried to escape, but another falling rock knocked him onto his back. He climbed to his feet in an attempt to escape, but with the falling rocks, he couldn't get out in time. All he could do was grab the sword in one hand, and the orb in the other. He returned the sword to his glove and curled up around the orb.

Rocks collapsed onto him as he reached the ground. Neville had one last thought before losing consciousness.

Not again!

"He did it!" Ginny exclaimed as Neville grabbed the orb.

She hugged Hermione, who was decidedly less enthusiastic than Ginny, only because it wasn't possible to be more enthusiastic than Ginny.

"Woo!" Ginny cried. "Way to go, Toad!"

"I don't think I've ever been more stressed out than I am right now," Hermione said.

"Sorry?" Sally-Anne asked, cupping her hand around her ear. "I can't hear you over Ginny!"

Even Ginny's enthusiasm died when the field collapsed on top of Neville. They all watched helplessly as their friend was buried under rocks and rubble.

"That's right, it doesn't reset until he returns the orb," Hermione said, thinking back to the other three champions. She felt a sharp pain as Ginny squeezed her arm.

"Toad," Ginny breathed, her eyes wide with horror. She turned to Hermione. "Brain, what can we do? We–"

"We can't do anything," Sally-Anne said. "He's got to do this on his own."

"Believe in him," Harry added.

Ginny nodded, and squeezed Hermione's arm tighter.

"That was nice of you to say," Sally-Anne whispered to Harry, not taking her eyes off the pile of rocks.

"Rose said the same thing to me when you were poisoned," Harry said. "It made me feel better. Not much, but… a little."

Harry glanced over at Rose, who stood at the entrance to the champion's tent. Her face betrayed no emotion, but her gaze remained locked on the pile of rocks. Harry turned his own gaze to it, looking for any sign of movement. He tried training his ears, but all he heard was his own pounding heart and whispers from the audience.

If only I had…

Harry pulled off his pack and grabbed his Omnioculars. He zoomed them in as far as he could on the rocks until it was as if they were right in front of him.

"See anything?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Something," Harry said. "It might just be some of the rocks shifting. I…"

Something shifted around under the rocks. The rocks on top moved, just a little.

"I see him," Harry said. "He's moving under there."

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked.

Before Harry could answer, more rocks shifted around on top of the pile.

The crowd cheered when they saw rocks fall and Neville slowly climb out of the pile of boulders.

"Ha!" Ginny cried, nearly leaping out of her chair. "Woo!"

"I think Ginny's happy," Harry said to Sally-Anne.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Sally-Anne replied, laughing as she applauded.

Sally-Anne glanced over at Hermione, who looked morbid compared to the rest of them.

"Hermione?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Now the hard part," Hermione muttered.

"He's done it!" Ginny exclaimed. "Who cares?!"

"He hasn't done it yet," Hermione said. "He's got to return the orb to the tent, remember? You saw how hard it was for Cedric to get that far, and that when he was only grazed by the rocks when they fell."

Neville clung to the orb with his right arm as he shoved another piece of rock aside with his left. He tested each limb to see what worked. His right arm couldn't move, his right leg was broken and couldn't support his weight, his left arm hurt, but he could move it with little difficulty, and his left leg worked.

It's always falling rocks, isn't it? He looked to the tent. Come on, Toad. Only a bit further. Just keep going. He limped towards the tent where he saw Rose waiting for him. Rose is counting on you.

He dragged himself towards the tent, forcing himself not to give up. Every inch of his body screamed in pain, and it took everything he had not to quit.

If I quit now, then Rose will give up on me.

Every step was agony as he dragged his useless leg along. For once, he was thankful for the quiet audience.

Five more steps, he told himself. Five more steps, and I'm home free.

With two more steps to go, his left leg gave out. Neville collapsed mere feet from the tent.

"Come on," Rose whispered. "You've got this." She held out her arms, still inside the tent. "I believe in you."

Neville reached out his arm, more determined than he'd ever been in his life. He dragged himself another foot, then tried to move his right arm. When it didn't move, he took the orb in his left hand. With a buzzing in his ears and stars in his eyes, he reached out and thrust the orb into Rose's waiting hands.

Rose tossed the orb aside and hauled Neville to his feet. She supported him straight over to Madame Pomfrey as the crowd cheered.

"Everyone stand by for the judges to finish up the last of the scores!" Bagman announced as Neville laid down on the table.

"Reckless, foolish," Madame Pomfrey said as she checked him over. "These games are pointless and mad."

"Well?" Rose asked. "Will he ever go waltzing again?"

"I know how to poison you and make it look like natural causes, Peta-Lorrum."

"So does Professor Snape, but he'll actually try it. Threats don't work on me."

Madame Pomfrey growled something Neville couldn't make out.

"Your arms and legs are broken in 15 different places, you've got several cracked ribs, a punctured lung, and your leg gave out because some of the nerves are damaged. You've also got a concussion and fractured skull. I hope you're happy with yourself. I'm not letting you out of the Hospital Wing for at least a week."

"Just like old times," Neville said.

"I'll come visit you," Rose said.

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

"And you're bleeding internally!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed. "Wonderful!" She relaxed herself for a moment, then continued. "You're not to leave this bed until I say so."

"So he won't be able to go out with the others to learn his scores?" Rose asked.

"No, he won't!" Madame Pomfrey snapped.

"Not even if someone supported him?"

"I've stopped the bleeding, and he should be seeing straight now, but he shouldn't be limping around!"

"What if two people supported him?" Cedric asked, arising from his own examination table.

"I take one side, he take other," Krum said.

"Like Rose said, it's about cooperation," Cedric said. "All four of us should be out there."

Rose and Madame Pomfrey exchanged glances, then the latter reexamined Neville's right leg.

"The nerves will take a while to heal, so good luck with that one, but your right can support you with help." She glared at Krum and Cedric. "A lot of help."

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Bagman announced. "Let's have our four champions back out for the scores!"

With Krum and Cedric on either side of him, Neville joined them in the arena for the announcement of the scores.

"Let's have another round of applause for our champions!"

Neville looked out at the crowd as they applauded. They'd done it. He'd done it.

I can't wait to tell Mum and Dad about this, Neville thought. They'll be so proud.