InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Beware the pout of doom."

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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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