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Hermione Granger ([info]trustingnature) wrote in [info]beyondthepages,
@ 2010-05-18 22:43:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!complete, 2023 10, alice longbottom, neville longbottom

RP: Reaction
Characters: Neville, poking Alice
Time/Date: After classes, October 18, after this
Location: The Leaky
Warnings/Rating: PGish
Summary: Neville panics.
Status: Complete



It would be an understatement to say that he was freaking out. He was pretty sure that he'd long left that in the dust, and was fast gaining speed on losing his mind. It had taken just about everything he had not to ditch his classes for the afternoon after receiving the letter shortly after lunch. Just about everything he had.

He knew he didn't have a right to show up unexpectedly like this, not after the way he'd handled her sudden return. He had tried to owl, he really had, but he hadn't been able to. He'd justified it by saying that she'd understand his hesitation, she'd be able to piece it together, she'd forgive him, but he knew that he was being a right ass and had not right to show up unexpectedly and put her through a similar emotional turmoil.

But he couldn't... he couldn't sit by. If something happened to her... he'd never forgive himself.

He knew - well, he thought - that it was an empty threat, that Bella was just sending a flurry of owls to a series of people to garner exactly this kind of reaction, and he was playing right into her hands, but he couldn't help it. This was his mom.

It was interesting, he thought absently as he stepped into the Leaky, planning on asking the barkeep what room he should go knock on if he couldn't find her in the actual bar, that it was a letter from a psychopath that was what ended up helping him to get his priorities straight.


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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-19 03:09 am UTC (link)
Alice was down in the pub itself. Her room was ... well, depressing. A lot about being back was depressing, not the least of all being the absence of Frank. She was a little upset she hadn't heard from her son, and thought she'd have to owl him. Maybe whatever owl the Ministry had sent had gotten lost or ... something.

She'd done a bit of poking around to see who she knew that was still around, and there were sadly few people. Some she knew that were older - the age she should be - and a few that were returned.

She'd heard about James and Sirius and Remus in school. Heard a few war stories. Heard about what had happened to her. To Frank. It made her sick to know she'd spent years in a state like that. That he had. She must have been going mad, with her mind destroyed and trapped and ... useless.

Alice swirled her glass, listening to the ice clink against the sides of it. She bit at her lower lip, and shook her head slightly. Maybe tonight she'd write to her wayward son, at least ... open up the lines of communication or something.

Setting the glass down, she leaned back slightly in her chair, letting her eyes roam over the others in the pub. Her gaze lingered on the bloke who'd just stepped in, and she thought he looked strangely familiar. Not like she'd seen him somewhere before, but ...

... well, no, a little like she'd seen him before.

Her eyes narrowed contemplatively before she turned her gaze away so she wasn't staring.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-19 03:44 am UTC (link)
He wasn't certain exactly what had drawn his gaze to the part of the bar she was sitting in, whether it was her eyes on him or if it was just some sort of... bond that they shared, even now, but he found himself looking over in her direction.

He... almost didn't recognize her. In fact, if he hadn't seen pictures of her in the Order - studied pictures, of her in the Order - he probably wouldn't have. But as it was, his eyes were drawn to her and... well. He wasn't nearly as good at not staring, simply because she looked so... different than any assosications he had with his mother.

Of course, now that he had found her, he discovered that that was the extent of his plan. Get to the Leaky and find Alice. He... wasn't exactly sure what to do next.

So he stood there, awkwardly, for a moment, shifting his weight before he decided that he had come this far, and backing away now wasn't an option. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath and walked over to her table, clearing his throat somewhat awkwardly as he reached it.

It took him a moment to remember that he knew how to speak.

"You... are you..." it took him a further moment to remember how to construct sentences. "Are you Alice Longbottom?" he managed finally.

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-19 04:15 am UTC (link)
When the sort-of-familiar bloke wandered over to her, Alice offered him a slight smile as he just ... cleared his throat and stood there. When he spoke, she nodded slightly.

Her hand dropped toward her new wand (acquired just that morning) out of reflex more than anything else. Sure, Voldemort was gone, but his Death Eaters were still hunting. Had been. She had to keep reminding herself it wasn't the same time anymore, that she wasn't specifically a target.

Though she had been, and they'd caught up with her, destroyed her life. Taken her from her son.

"I am," she said quietly as she studied his face. He looked ... like her. Like Frank. Was this finally her son? Her lips parted slightly before she lifted her hand, resting it back on the bar. "I ... ah. Are you ... Neville?"

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-20 07:03 am UTC (link)
It was so weird. So familiar and so foreign and so... he didn't hear her talk much, even when he came down to visit her. He'd been told in the past that she sometimes had trouble stringing words together, so to hear her speak a whole sentence was... and a coherent one at that. He wasn't sure he was going to make it through this without breaking down and crying like a child, and he hoped they got out of the main lounge part before he did that.

"I... yeah," he said finally, rubbing at the back of his head a bit awkwardly. "I'm... I'm sorry I... I didn't make it out... sooner." He wanted to give an explanation, but he wasn't sure he had one, and maybe she didn't need one.

He hadn't forgotten his reason for coming - far from it, Bellatrix Lestrange was unfortunately forefront in his mind right now - but it didn't seem the thing to launch right in to. And really, he didn't want to launch right into it. Not now that he was here, and had seen her.

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-20 02:05 pm UTC (link)
Alice nodded slightly as she watched him. "It must have been a lot to deal with," she said gently. "And the last you knew of me, I was some mindless shell, trapped in a room in St Mungo's." There was the tiniest edge of bitterness to her words. How could they have let her - and Frank - stay like that? Why hadn't his mother let them be mercifully released? Death would have been better than ... than not knowing who she was. Who her husband, her son were.

Maybe she'd tell Neville that if anything like that ever happened to her again, that he should let her go. Just ... let her go.

"But you're here now, and that's the important part, right?" Alice smiled softly. "Do you want to go upstairs and talk? It's quieter up there."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-21 06:08 am UTC (link)
"You weren't..." he started to say, swallowing heavily. He wasn't sure what he was trying to say, but... the mindless shell that she was talking about was the closest thing he'd had to the people that his parents had been, and he felt the strangest need to defend that woman that he'd known, even when he'd been frustrated himself with the fact that she hadn't been able to...

"You weren't as... as mindless as..." he swallowed again. "There were... bits and pieces..." he had to look away and blink a few times. Floods of memories were hitting him hard and he was pretty sure he'd find a bubblegum wrapper if he reached into his pocket right now. He nodded his head quickly to her suggestion. "Upstairs, yeah, would... probably be better. I'm going to end up making a right ass of myself in front of all these people if we stay down here too long."

He managed a smile that pretty much broke through the nerves, swallowing again before he said, "It... it's good to see you, Mom." His eyes widened in sudden horror. "It's... okay if I call you that, right? It's not... weird, or... or anything?"

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-21 06:19 am UTC (link)
"Makes me feel old, but otherwise I don't see anything wrong with it." She smiled for him as she stood up and gestured for him to follow her. She glanced up to him when they were both standing, and she decided he'd definitely gotten Frank's height. Which stood to reason; everyone ran tall on his side of the family.

She pushed away thoughts of Frank to be dealt with later as she started to lead her son upstairs to her room. Her borrowed room. Whichever it was. Where she was staying until she got her life back on track.

Alice tried not to think about 'bits and pieces' because that was somehow worse. Like she was almost there enough that she was aware of her condition but helpless in it.

Once they reached her room, she keyed open the door and gestured around. "Ta-da. My very own rented room," she teased before gesturing for him to have a seat.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-22 02:41 am UTC (link)
He smiled a little, and while he thought it might be appropriate to make some sort of comment about how she certainly didn't look old, but... well, part of him thought that was obvious, and part of him wasn't sure that he could say something like that without coming off as more insulting, so he simply... watched her, as she moved, trying not to stare. Everything seemed so similar and different at the same time.

He knew this was his mother. And yet, at the same time, it didn't feel like the mother he'd known. He wondered how that worked, how that sorted out in his head, and... he wondered if he might talk to Harry about it, the next time he saw him. Ask him if he went through a similar feeling when Lily came back. It wasn't the same situation, of course, but... it was close.

"It's... it's very nice," he said looking around. While he saw some evidence that it was where she was staying, it didn't feel very... homey to him. He wondered if she liked staying here, and hesitated briefly before entering and taking a seat. "I... I wish I had somewhere else I could offer you, but I usually just rent a cottage for the summer months."

He'd always felt the most at home at Hogwarts during his youth - it had made sense to him when that had transferred into his adult life as well.

"But if there's anything I can do, I would..." trailing off again, he kind of smirked at himself. "Besides, apparently finishing a sentence."

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-22 05:33 am UTC (link)
Alice chuckled softly. "It's ... just a stop. Something until I figure out where to go, what to do." She waved off his offer and shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't fall to you. I've spoken to people in the Ministry about legalities and wills and ... seeing if there's a chance I can get our house back. Or something."

She sighed and studied him. "So, tell me. Tell me about yourself. About ... about the years since the war. How you've been. Married? Children?" She watched him, spotting little similarities between him and herself and Frank. "I heard you were teaching at the school. Impressive," she said with a smile.

Alice supposed part of her had assumed he'd be an Auror, but... only because she and Frank were.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-22 06:29 am UTC (link)
He smiled a bit, nodding, and wondered if that were possible, or if he could help with that. Had it been left to him, maybe? He'd swear it over to her in a heartbeat. Maybe it had been left to his Grandmother... he honestly didn't have any idea. He hadn't really ever thought to look into finding the house where he spent the first year or so of his life.

"About me?" he asked, mildly surprised at first, but he supposed that was a question that any mother would ask. "Well... I..." he shook his head a bit. "No... no children. There was a girl at the Ministry..." he trailed off. He didn't like to think about Hannah too much, and the long painful road that had been. "... And there's a woman at Hogwarts who I..." he flushed. "Well, I don't think we'll be having kids any time soon, but... I'm happy, anyway."

He paused. "I... after school, I followed Harry - Potter," he clarified somewhat belatedly, "and Ron Weasley on the Auror track but," he shrugged kind of sheepishly. "It wasn't the right place for me, not really. I always sort of felt like I belonged at Hogwarts. So I came back, apprenticed under Professor Sprout for a while, and took over the Herbology position after she retired."

The owl from Bellatrix was firmly clutched in his hand (though not sticking out through his fingers) and though he was painfully aware of it, he still wasn't sure how to bring it up. By the way, I came here because Bellatrix threatened you didn't seem like a great way to start a conversation.

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-22 06:43 am UTC (link)
She nodded. "Lily's son. We were pregnant together, but I suppose you could've figured that one out on your own." That reminded her she needed to get in touch with Lily, say hello, see how she was. "I'm glad," she said quietly as she watched him. "Glad you're happy. You should be."

Alice tried very hard not to think about Frank, about the fact he wasn't here. She'd ... figure out a new way to be happy, and just ... wait for him.

The fact that he'd been an Auror and it hadn't worked for him ... well, she couldn't be surprised. She didn't know Neville, and given that he was raised under Augusta's heavier hand likely had something to do with that.

"As long as you're happy," Alice murmured. "Professor's a good profession," she agreed. Nothing she would have pursued, but ... she was very much an out doors, in the field sort of person.

She wondered if she could get back into it.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-22 06:57 am UTC (link)
He gave a wry smirk. "Herbology isn't for everyone," he said with a shrug - his students reminded him of that often enough. "It was one of the... few subjects I excelled at in school. I got overwhelmed easily enough in classes, and..." he shrugged. "Plants took a lot more patience and understanding and if you did something wrong - especially in the early years - it wasn't immediately evident for people to judge. Not like potions." He shuddered - he was still no good at potions. "I don't know that I ever truly started gaining confidence in my skills as a wizard, and certainly didn't come to terms with myself until at least 7th year, assuming I ever did."

He shrugged again. He'd never been the most secure of individuals, anyway. He knew that well enough about himself. He'd carry around a bundle of insecurities wherever he went.

"I actually..." he started to say, and then hesitated. Was this a good time? "I got... I got an owl today, that..." he reached up, unrolling the crumpled scrap of parchment so that she could read it. "It's unsigned but..." his gaze turned steely. "There's only one person I can imagine it would be from. Only one person deranged enough to send it."

He wondered how many stories she'd heard, if she'd be able to fill in the blanks. He doubted she'd be able to recognize the writing.

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-22 02:39 pm UTC (link)
Alice frowned a little, but supposed that was Augusta's influence. Frank's mother always was a little ... gruff. She often wondered if the woman lacked empathy or if that was simply 'how things were done' in her days, and that was how she'd raised Neville.

She wondered if he would have been different if she and Frank had gotten to raise him properly. With love and support, not vicious criticisms and grudging praise.

Of course he would have, and she felt vaguely guilty for ... what? Not being strong enough to resist insanity at their hands? At not being able to endure the torture, the curses, and come through it intact? She didn't remember being tortured - obviously - though given the timeline she'd been presented, she must have come back just days prior to that event.

She looked at the letter, and she shook her head. "I ... heard. Not about this, specifically, but that she was back." She wasn't really surprised she was getting death threats already, in a manner of speaking. "Why ... why is she sending threats to you, love?"

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-22 10:14 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, me and Bellatrix, we go way back," he said, his lips cirling upwards in a disgusted expression. It wasn't exactly true, but it was close enough to explain why she'd be sending him letters. "It's surely to get a reaction, I can't see any other reason why she'd send it, but I just..." he ran his fingers through his hair. "It's not like she doesn't mean it. Behind all that madness there's still a powerful witch who's capable of..." he looked away. "Anyway, I... I thought it was important for you to know, you know, in case you already didn't know that she might... that she was insane. Or that you might be a target, I..." he swallowed. "I'd hate for you to... I'd hate for something to happen, when you'd just gotten a second chance at a normal life."

Well, that was not all, but that was obvious.

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-22 11:05 pm UTC (link)
Alice nodded slightly. So she was back from the dead and the witch who'd tortured her to begin with was ... after her again. Why? Because she was back? To get to Neville?

"I'll be careful," she promised him, a smile on her lips. Granted, if Bellatrix had gotten her once, she could surely get her again, and ... maybe being careful wasn't going to help anything.

She wasn't sure if she was supposed to thank him for the warning, or if she felt ... hurt that it had taken a letter from Bellatrix to prompt him to come find her.

Time though, he just had needed time. To adjust to her being back, just like she needed time to adjust to not having Frank. To not having a real home.

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-23 04:43 am UTC (link)
"Me too," he said quietly, staring at the words on the page as they blurred together. What kind of response could she hope to be looking for? Did she want him to write back, to challenge her, to track her down to wherever she was living and kill her himself? Unlikely. She probably was content enough in her correct determinations that she was causing him a ridiculous amount of panic.

He glanced up, offering her a small smile, "For what it's worth, I'd take the return of all of the Dark Lord's crazed followers, and even the Dark Lord himself if it means that people like you get a second chance too." He meant it, too. He would gladly launch into a third war with the Death Eaters if it meant people like his mother, like Harry's parents, like the other Order members who'd given their lives in the war, would get a second chance to live again.

Even if it meant they had a second chance to die again.

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-23 04:51 am UTC (link)
"Well, if they're all going to come back, there needs to be someone here to combat them, right?" Alice smiled and half-closed her eyes. Frank. Frank needed to be here, because what was she supposed to do without him?

She reached out for her son's hand, taking it and squeezing it gently. "I'm glad you came by," she said softly. It had been later than she'd anticipated, later than she'd hoped, but better late than never.

Scooting back to get comfortable, Alice smiled at him. "So, catch me up. Unless you've got something to rush back to."

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[info]trustingnature
2010-05-23 07:56 am UTC (link)
Neville nodded, a small little smile on his face. "I like to think that even though they caught us off guard, we've still got the upper hand this time around. At least the right people are running the departments this time around, so there shouldn't be any trouble there."

He nodded his head, squeezing her hand back. "I am too. I'm... not sure what held me back, but it shouldn't have. This is not nearly as unnerving as I seem to have thought it would be."

He smiled when she told him to catch her up, and shook his head. "Nothing that can't wait. Where... did you want me to start?" he asked, laughing slightly as he thought about all the things that had happened since her time, and what she might want or not want to know.

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[info]happily_alice
2010-05-23 07:59 am UTC (link)
She settled down comfortably and gestured. "Well, start with what you want and ramble along. I promise to interrupt with questions when I need to."

Really, she'd be content enough to just let him talk however long he wanted to. "Tell me about you, your friends. Your time in school. Whatever comes to mind. I just ... want to get to know you. To hear you talk."

She poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the nightstand; she had a feeling he might need it. She had a lot of time to hear about, after all.

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