Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
In Augusta's Mind
By: ChoCedric
Augusta Longbottom thinks her grandson has a lot of growing up to do. When she lived through the horrors of the First War, she was very no-nonsense about the whole thing, and always thought everyone should be on their guard. At the very end of the war, when everyone thought they were safe, her dear son Frank and daughter-in-law Alice got the shock of their lives. She can still see their petrified faces in St. Mungo's that first time, paralysed from the Cruciatus Curse that had been used on them so much. She remembers how their expressions were frozen in terror, how they just looked shell-shocked and were unresponsive.
It has taken her a while to realize that her intelligent, strong son and her vivacious, beautiful daughter-in-law will never be the same again. She doesn't think Neville grasps the severity of what happened to them, even though she sees his devastated countenance whenever they go to see them. Everyone tells her she's being too hard on the boy, but her parents always told her growing up that you have to keep a stiff upper lip and be strong through all things that happen in the world, no matter whether they're good or bad.
Above all else, she is extremely proud of Frank and Alice for standing up to You-Know-Who's supporters and not giving in to them. She's always telling Neville to feel that pride too, and she doesn't understand the embarrassment he displays. She's disgusted when she gets owls from Hogwarts informing her that Neville made this or that mistake. She once had someone tell her in an angry tone to accept her grandson just as he is, to not expect so much of him. But it's hard for her not to, because her parents always expected a lot of her. They always knew the correct words to say to get her to conform to their demands.
She just had the pleasure of meeting Harry Potter at St. Mungo's. Neville is now in his room, subdued and upset. She thinks he's embarrassed that now his friends know his secret about Frank and Alice. Augusta doesn't feel like talking to him right now. She's just had to witness her son singing another tuneless melody while her daughter-in-law handed Neville a gum wrapper. She knows it's useless to hope, but there are times she desperately yearns for Healers to somehow find a cure and for Frank and Alice to finally get better. That is her greatest desire, and as she goes to sleep that night, she prays for You-Know-Who to finally be defeated, once and for all, and that Harry Potter will live up to his fame and get the job done. With a healthy Frank and Alice on her mind, she drifts into dreamland.