Chapter 6: Yellow-Orange

-Press Room, British Ministry of Magic Headquarters, Whitehall, London, England

-January 3, 1976

"... to finish I just want to say that I am proud of what our young duelist has achieved, I hope this inspires all the other young wizards to follow in his footsteps. And personally I want to thank him for going as a great representative of the entire British wizarding community, it is a great achievement to see our younger generation of wizards have a great future ahead of them," Minister Minchum finally finished with a big smile as his hand shot out and grabbed Magnus' and shook it enthusiastically.

Immediately everyone present applauded in agreement with such a statement and the cameramen's flashing cameras went off to take a lot of pictures of that precise moment making the lights of the cameras illuminate both of them every few seconds.

Clearly, the Minister took the opportunity to smile at the cameras while Magnus just stood there quietly.

As the constant photos and lights continued, the Minister spoke to Magnus.

"Mr. Longbottom, if you would like to accept this small gift from me and the Ministry for your achievement"

Neville looked at the fancy wand in the Minister's hand, it was a silver wand with a gold handle... he considered it for a second until finally he just took the silver wand in his hand.

The headache Neville had been feeling was slowly getting to the point where it could no longer be ignored.

'Why was I doing this again,' Neville asked himself as he watched the Minister smirk and the press constantly taking pictures, so many that he felt that at any moment he was going to go blind from so many flashes.

'Right..., in order to keep a good relationship between the Ministry and the Longbottoms..., I just have to calm down, yes..., calm down and play your part, Neville'

"Thank you, Minister," Neville finally replied and thanked the Minister politely as the photographers continued to take pictures of them.

"Oh no thanks to you my boy, you performed very well, the British people are proud of your achievement," said Minister Minchum, smiling for the photographers at all times.

The photographers were taking pictures all the time.

Neville couldn't help but wonder if the man's cheeks didn't hurt from smiling so much or if it was some kind of spell...

Minister Harold Minchum looked away from Magnus and turned to the press.

"Are there any questions for our young dueling champion?"

When at least a dozen raised their hands and while other reporters began to ask questions incessantly, without waiting to be called on, it was chaos....

And Neville realised that even Snape's classes weren't as bad as this....

'At least the lessons with Professor Snape were calmer..., well, as long as I didn't make my cauldron explode' thought Neville, and instantly he remembered that Snape must be about his age now.

Eventually, the Minister managed to control the press and get them to ask questions in an orderly and slow manner so that Neville could answer.

The reporters settled into their seats, and naturally, it was Minchum who took it upon himself to choose the reporters who could ask questions, giving Magnus the sole task of having to answer.

First, he chose a nice-looking reporter with blonde hair slicked back and glasses.

It was then that the chosen reporter stood up to begin the interview.

"Gisela Modle, from The Hogsmeade Gazette, What are your plans for the future, will you be taking part in some future dueling competitions?"

"At the moment, I want to keep practising and improving my technique. I would love to participate in more competitions in the future, but for now, I'm just focused on continuing to improve. Maybe next year I will"

After a while, the Minister gave the floor to another journalist.

"Belinda Dapher from The Wizarding World News. Congratulations on winning the All-Europe Junior Wizarding Duelling Competition! How do you feel about it?"

"Thank you very much, Miss Dapher! I'm glad I won, although I still feel I have to keep improving to be able to participate in the competitions that don't include [Junior] in them"

"Oh, you will be 17 by the next summer holidays, does that mean you plan to participate in the All-Europe Wizarding Duelling Competition?" asked Belinda Dapher again.

"Yes, I will probably try, that kind of competition is really tough and there are very good duelists with a lot of experience, but I will work hard to do my best"

"Mr. Longbottom!" called another reporter, a man this time.

"Barnabas Cuffe, Daily Prophet How does it feel to know that in such a short time, you were able to gain quite a bit of interest throughout the entire British community?"

" It surprised me as much as anyone..., I guess it was a bit of my own fault for not coming out to speak earlier. And I apologise for that, I've had a lot to think about these days..."

After a while, Neville continued to answer various questions asked to him, such as, "Can you tell us about your dueling style and how you developed it?"

To which Neville answered in exactly the same way as the previous Magnus would have done:

"The truth is that my dueling style focuses on the offensive and anticipation. I always try to anticipate my opponent's moves and use the most optimal spell in each situation, this allows me to be in control of the duel from the start until the end. Of course, I also like to use unconventional spells and moves to surprise my opponent"

"Mr. Longbottom, your dueling style is known to be quite aggressive and dangerous, some would even say that it is rather unique since most prefer to adopt a more conventional style where one does not take so many physical risks. This leads me to wonder where did you learn to duel like this, perhaps you have a family member or friend who has taught you?"

"Yes, well, there is no risk if you anticipate correctly what your opponent will do, sure there can be mistakes but as long as they remain minimal I am confident of winning with this style. And to answer your question, no, nobody has taught me this style, I adopted it myself in my time at Hogwarts"

"Thomas Jones, from The Wizard's Voice. I understand that Hogwarts does not officially have a dueling club, so it is impressive and admirable that you have managed to win three competitions without any formal instruction. I would like to know what you think about this and whether you would like you and your fellow wizards at Hogwarts to be formally taught to duel?"

"Mr. Jones, forgive me for saying that it is incorrect to say that I had no formal training in dueling. My family, especially Lord Harold Longbottom, always placed great importance on teaching me in all branches, including dueling, so unlike others, I have had the privilege of being able to learn to duel at a young age"

"And regarding whether I would like to see Hogwarts teach dueling or not, well, that's a decision for the Headmaster and the Hogwarts Board, but I don't deny that I think it's a necessary teaching for any wizard..., if we are being taught Quidditch in the first year, why not dueling as well?"

"Gunther Schwarz from Die Silberne Fledermaus, what would you say to other young wizards who want to follow your footsteps?"

"I would tell them not to give up and to keep practising. Magic along with the ability to duel is something that improves with constant practice, and if they work hard, they can achieve anything they set their minds to"

"Wise words, can young Magnus give us a clue as to how you got to the level at which today you are?"

" Mostly hard work and the unwavering support of my family, especially Lord Harold from the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. Without it, I doubt I would have been able to achieve so much" replied Neville, and he had to applaud himself for a wonderful portrayal of the previous Magnus, he thought it was going to be much harder to achieve but it was easier than he thought it would be, everyone present seemed to be accepting his answers without a second thought.

After a few more questions and a few more dodges, it was finally over and Neville was very exhausted but also very pleased that he had succeeded.

The press seemed to be quite satisfied with his answers and left, but not before asking him to make a few pictures on camera, which was embarrassing, but as long as they left and stopped bothering him, he agreed.

Minchum shook hands with him again before leaving, and at the first opportunity Neville saw that he too could leave, he took advantage of it and returned to Longbottom Manor.

.....

.....

-Tonks house, Northamptonshire, England

-January 5, 1976

After the press conference that he had to go through two days ago with the Minister and several newspapers, Neville was able to relax more by just getting the matter out of the way.

The only annoyance for him was that he had been in all the papers, which was a bit embarrassing and uncomfortable as he was not used to receiving so much attention.

Every day Neville understood more and more the difficult situation Harry had to go through with his great fame throughout Britain.

Anyway, today it wasn't about any of this anymore...

At this precise moment, he was in front of Edward Tonks' house, where probably Andromeda was too.

Taking a deep breath, Neville stared at the door and finally knocked on it three times...

It was only a few moments before the door slowly opened and in front of him stood a small girl of approximately two years old who, upon seeing Neville, immediately changed her hair to a yellow-orange as she watched him curiously.