InsaneJournal

Till....
Date & Time: 5 December 2002
Post Type: RP
Status: Closed: Complete
Character(s): Neville Longbottom, Mandy Brocklehurst, Angelina Johnson, Cho Chang, Peter Malotti, Greta Svindle (NPC)
Location: Magnolia Manor
Summary: Neville spends a sickly but pleasant day home alone.
Warning: Character death


Neville hadn't slept well last night. It was more worry than illness, though, so he hadn't brought it up to Mandy that morning. He wasn't going to let this bloody disease change his mind about getting married, or Mandy moving in, or any of it...but he was completely terrified that Mandy and the baby were going to catch it now. He'd move to touch her, then hesitate, have to remind himself that she had really good charms in place already. He hadn't quite realised until today just how tiring it was.

She'd made him promise to rest today while she was at work, though, and he'd had a bit easier time resting when he was alone. He'd taken a nap after breakfast, curled up in front of a blazing fireplace. It was the one place in the flat that he wasn't so cold he could barely breath for shivering. There, or in a hot shower, but he still got too dizzy to stand up for long spurts without having trouble. The one he'd managed had been brilliant, though. He'd very nearly washed away all feeling of having been in the hospital.

After a meagre sort of lunch--he still found that he wasn't terribly hungry--Neville sat down at his desk with a few pieces of parchment and wrote some letters. His hands were a little shaky, but they were getting steadily better, too, like everything else about him. He knew it would take some time, but his friends who'd caught this illness seemed infinitely better from their first month, so he was hopeful that Christmas would still be a good time this year.

And soon after that, his wedding.

He wrote to Dean, Seamus, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and everyone else he could think of, suggesting they get together one evening to celebrate Christmas. Nothing fancy, of course, but he thought he'd like a small gathering of friends. Maybe they could even tell everyone about Prawn--he rolled his eyes at himself even thinking about the baby that way, but he no longer tried to fight it--then instead of waiting until after the wedding. He really wanted to tell everyone now.

Setting those aside for sending later, he pulled out another piece and stared at it for a long while. He didn't need to write Mandy a letter, but after all of the others, he wanted to. Their relationship had been conducted in large part by letters, for years, and while he definitely preferred having her in person, there was something nice about having words in such a concrete, permanent form. He was sure she felt the same way about it.

By the time he got to the end of the letter, it was getting late. Mandy would be home soon, likely with dinner, and he wanted to be clean and ready to spend the evening with her. He considered the parchment in front of him, then folded it up and moved carefully to his dresser, pausing once as a dizzy spell hit him. It wasn't as bad as some others he'd had, though, and for that he was thankful. When it had passed, Neville pulled out the little jewellery box where he stashed all important things and put the letter inside. When he was feeling better and able to go back to work, and they had a day apart, he'd leave it for her.

He didn't quite feel up to a shower, but he scrubbed off with a flannel and changed into clean clothes that were meant for something other than sleeping. A check of the clock confirmed that Mandy was getting off work. He felt restless, wanted to do something for her. She had to be exhausted after the stress of the last couple of weeks, even if she didn't actually want to tell him that. He wasn't able to do much, but surely there was something....

Then Neville smiled. There were those little tomatoes she liked so much, growing on the roof of the building. Hopefully the protection charms he had around them to allow them to grow out of season had held; usually he went up every day to check on his little garden, even if it didn't actually need daily maintenance. He was supposed to be relaxing, but that wasn't technically work, was it? It would only take a few minutes.

Slipping on his shoes, he headed out into the hallway, running one hand along the wall to make sure he stayed steady on his feet. It felt nice to be out on his own, without someone trailing after his every move, and he hummed some tune whose name he didn't know. It hadn't looked like it was raining out, and he smiled as he climbed the stairs, looking forward to a few minutes alone with his plants. They always had calmed him, even when times were trying.

The stairs hit a landing and then twisted upward again, and a fresh wave of dizziness hit him about halfway up the second portion. Neville gripped the railing and closed his eyes, willing it to pass. This was one of the worse ones, the ones had usually landed him back in bed, but he was determined. If he could just make it up to the roof, then he'd be able to lounge up there until he felt better.

He managed one step, then another. Then his foot slipped, and he flailed for purchase for a split second before tumbling to the landing below.