Anne Abbott straightened her skirt for the fifth time. She was always nervous about meeting her husband's wizardly colleagues. It was awkward to be the only Muggle in the group, the only one who couldn't reminisce about old times at Hogwarts and offer to do the dishes with a flick of a wand. But Michael swore up and down that the Longbottoms were lovely people, and they had a baby son just about their Hannah's age, and anyway they'd had to go into hiding and it was practically an act of charity to visit them.
"What do you mean, they had to go into hiding?"
"Some sort of prophecy that led You-Know-Who to think that their baby son might be a danger to him someday. Either him or another boy who was born the day after he was."
"That's horrible! Michael, they're hunting children over a prophecy? What is this, Greek mythology?" Sometimes, Anne had a hard time believing her husband's world was actually real - and sometimes, it felt safer that way.
"Prophecies do have a way of coming true in the wizarding world. Which is good, because it means we have hope of defeating him. Anyway, Dumbledore's taking no chances and has put both families under the Fidelius Charm."
"What does that mean?"
"Essentially, they perform a spell that keeps their location hidden from everyone - even those who knew perfectly well where their house was the day before - except their chosen Secret-Keeper, who is the only one who can tell people where to find them, and the only one who could betray them to the person they're hiding from. Frank's Mum is theirs, so they're perfectly safe, she'd never betray them to anyone."
"Anyone will betray anyone under torture. That's a given."
"You can't torture the secret out of a Secret-Keeper. That's part of the magic. It has to be freely given, and Mrs. Longbottom would never give away her family. I'd hate to be the Death Eater assigned to go after her, in any case. You'll understand when you meet her - she's a force of nature. "
"That sounds ominous."
"A bit, but Frank and Alice are perfectly charming people. You'll like them."
She smiled at him warmly. "I'm sure I will." Inside, though, the knot of anxiety hadn't quite gone away.
It only got bigger when she was introduced to Augusta Longbottom. She was, indeed, formidable, slender and straight-backed with fierce dark eyes that looked right through people. On anyone else, the tall hat with the vulture on it would have looked ridiculous - on her, it looked like a threat, and Anne was fairly sure she intended it that way.
But the older woman actually unbent enough to smile at them, and even to coo a bit at little Hannah, who had fallen asleep in her car seat as usual. She told them to leave their car where it was, and led them around the corner to a comfortable-looking cottage with a huge and brightly-colored garden.
By the time they got to the door, Hannah was stirring, waking up with her usual wide-eyed expression, and thankfully, no tears yet. A plump, sweet-faced young woman with a baby on her hip opened the door, and greeted them with a pleasant smile.
"Alice, this is my wife, Anne, and our little girl, Hannah. Anne, this is Alice Longbottom."
"I'm so glad to meet you! This is our little Neville. Neville, can you say hello to your new friend?"
Baby Neville looked up, quizzically. Spotting Hannah, he smiled brightly. "Ba-ba-ba!"
Hannah hid her head shyly in her father's shoulder. "She just woke up - she always falls asleep in the car, and she's a little groggy."
"I understand totally. But it's so nice when they sleep all the way there, rather than yell, isn't it? Come in, come in!"
Augusta demurred, saying, "I'll excuse myself now, dear, with a little kiss for Neville if I may?" Neville was already reaching for his grandmother, who gave him a kiss on the forehead and a little cuddle before returning him. "Algie and I are going to be dining with Minerva and Pomona in Hogsmeade this evening. Pomona's got some new plants from her summer expedition that she wanted to show Algie, and we'll spend the night in Hogwarts' guest rooms. Albus thinks it's safer that way."
"All right, Mum. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon, then." Alice kissed the older woman gently on the cheek, while simultaneously carefully detaching Neville's chubby little fist from his grandmother's pearl necklace.
Augusta nodded briskly, and turned to the Abbots. "It was very nice to meet you. Have a pleasant evening," and left. When she reached the edge of the walkway, Anne noticed, she vanished with a soft "pop".
Alice led them into a cozy, brightly-lit room with a fireplace and a comfortable wraparound couch. A large play mat sat in the middle of the floor, scattered with soft plush and rubber toys, and Alice deposited Neville on it, where he immediately picked up a stuffed toad and began to chew on a leg. "You can put Hannah here, if you like. They're a bit young to actually play together, but who knows, maybe they'll make friends."
Michael let Hannah carefully down onto the mat, where she looked around her, and promptly decided that her best option was to roll over onto her back and kick madly at a toy cauldron hanging from a mobile suspended over the mat, which made a pleasant jingly noise. Neville, delighted by the sound, giggled happily and shook the toad, which added a soft chime to the jingle. "See? They're already forming a band," Michael chuckled.
"Anything that makes noise," Alice said fondly. "And it helps if it's shiny, too. Lately I can't even chew gum without him grabbing for the wrappers, because they're pretty and brightly colored and crinkle so nicely...but all the toads are gifts from Algie, Frank's uncle. He's an Herbologist - rather eccentric, but reasonably well-respected in the field - and very fond of toads, because of the way they eat garden pests, you know."
A tall, solidly built man in a patterned cardigan and khakis came through the French windows from the enclosed garden in the back, brushing dirt from his hands. These people really like flowers, I suppose, thought Anne, and her avid gardener's heart warmed to them. "Hello, all! Sorry to be late, I just got caught up in de-gnoming the garden. There were more of them than I'd expected."
De-gnoming? Wizards even have odd gardening problems..."Frank! I was wondering where you were. Anne, dear, this is the other half of the most dangerous Auror team on the force, Frank Longbottom. Frank, my wife Anne, and that's our daughter Hannah rolling around on the floor with your son there."
"Pleased to meet you." His handshake was firm and comfortable, and his smile genial. "I'll go wash up, and then shall we sit down and have a drink or two before dinner? What do you like, Anne?"
As the conversation progressed, through drinks and dinner, Anne felt the knot in her stomach disappearing. Michael had been right, the Longbottoms were warm, welcoming, and friendly, with no apparent sneering at her non-magical status. It was much like having a conversation with any other pair of new parents, except of course for the inevitable discussion of which Hogwarts Houses their children would be in. And there, they actually asked for her opinion, as if, even though she was a Muggle who had not gone to Hogwarts, she was still an intelligent and thoughtful person who had a hand in her child's upbringing. She had responded, simply, by asking which House had the fewest Death Eaters, and all three of the other adults had instantly replied, "Hufflepuff."
"Well, then, I hope she's a Hufflepuff." It didn't seem quite polite to admit that she really hoped Hannah would be a Squib, and get to stay safely at home with her away from the dangers these people took for granted every day of their lives.
"Can't say that I'd be unhappy if Neville is Sorted into Hufflepuff, they're good people, and Ravenclaw would be fine, too. I have to admit, though, I am rather hoping he'll be a Gryffindor like Alice and I. If only because Mum has her heart set on it, and Mum tends to let people know when they disappoint her. It can be hard on a kid," Frank said ruefully, and Anne wondered how he had disappointed his mother, and what the consequences had been.
"He'll be what he is, and your Mum will cope with it," Alice said firmly, and offered the little boy another piece of banana, gently discouraging his attempts to smear it in his hair. "I just hope he doesn't have this bloody war hanging over his head the way we have. I want him to have some peace, and happiness, and a quiet safe job doing something he loves, with no cursing and no deaths and no having to look over his shoulder all the time."
"Hear, hear," said Anne, just as vehemently. "Let them have nice cozy lives with nothing to fear."
Hannah reached for her mother's plate, and Anne put a spoonful of peas on the tray before her, which she carefully picked up, studied intently, and ate one at a time.
"How are you coping with the confinement?" Michael tilted his head, an expression of concern on his face.
"Well enough. It's almost a vacation for us, to have lots of free time to spend with each other and Neville. It's the Potters who are worst off, especially James. He's always been restless."
"I don't know the Potters very well - they're quite a bit younger than us, aren't they?"
"They're only twenty-one. They wouldn't have overlapped at all with your time at Hogwarts, but they were both first-years when Alice and I were seventh-years."
Alice nodded. "We got to know them mainly because Lily asked me for advice and help on becoming an Auror herself someday. I hope she does, when this all blows over, perhaps when little Harry's a bit older too. She's got talent, and courage, and she could really do well."
"How do you manage, being an Auror and the parent of a young child, though?" Anne asked, hastening to add, "I mean, you're obviously doing something right, he's such a happy baby, but it must be hard."
"It is hard, honestly. We generally end up taking different shifts to get as much time with one of us home as possible, and we're very lucky to have Frank's mother nearby to help, of course. But it's always a strain. The Ministry's trying to be helpful - so many of us have died in this war that they're really eager to encourage as much replenishing of the magical population as possible - but it's slow work to get a bureaucracy to change the way it thinks. Lily will have it easier than us, I suspect, though, because James comes from a wealthy family and they can afford for him to be a stay-at-home dad while she works." There was no jealousy in her tone, though, only quiet thoughtfulness.
"You should have married money, dearest," Frank teased.
"Nonsense. Money is terrible in bed, and you can't hold a reasonable conversation with it either. I married the love of my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Her shining eyes gave truth to her words, and Frank's face reflected the light on hers. Anne found herself absurdly touched, and Michael squeezed her hand under the table.
"In any case," Frank went on, "we've become much closer friends since Alice and Lily got pregnant at the same time - the boys were born only a day apart. Lily even asked us to be Harry's godparents, along with James's best friend Sirius, and they and our old friend Kingsley did the same for our Neville. We were hoping the boys would grow up together, so that even if Neville ends up an only child, he'd still have a godbrother at least - but then, well, all this happened. Hopefully it won't be long before the crisis is over, at least."
"From what Michael says, you're horribly outnumbered, though. What if you lose this war?"
"We won't. We can't afford to."
The grim looks traded between the three Aurors were not reassuring, Anne thought. Nor was the way they quickly steered the conversation to safer topics. Finally, when Hannah got bored with eating peas and began to throw them at Neville instead, and Neville, clearly considering this a highly entertaining game, responded with a handful of banana, they decided it was time to clean off the children and retire to the living room again.
It was late before the Abbotts took their leave, and Anne realized to her surprise that the evening had passed far more pleasantly than she'd expected. She admitted as much to Michael in the car. "You were right, they are lovely people. We should have them over for dinner once they're out of hiding. And Hannah can always use another little one her own age to play with..."
But it was the last time the two couples ever met.