The Doctor opened the door of the Tardis, showing a beautiful blue sky and a green field. Neville looked at him, as if waiting for approval. Even as The Doctor nodded he seemed reluctant. He placed one foot on the grass. He then came out of the Tardis, taking a deep but silent breath. The words The Doctor had said to him, as well as all that he had seen on the way to this place, was too much for him to believe it just yet. Still, there he was, in the middle of what looked like a playground, with only a set of swings and a bench. It was desert apart from a young couple. He started to pace towards them. He stopped and turned to The Doctor once more.
"What should I say?"
"I trust you to say the right things." was the only answer he got.
Neville played in his head The Doctor's words. He had told him it was possible to visit his parents. That the blue box could take him there. Neville laughed at first. That was not magic, had said The Doctor. But, if it was not magic, what could it be? And his parents were now at St. Mungos, how could they be here, on this playground, in the middle of an immense field as well?
As he got closer from the young couple he started to recognise a few features. The Doctor must have been right. Aside from looking younger - oh, so much younger - they were his parents. Neville had seen a lot in his own world of wizardry to believe now the words of The Doctor and all the explanation about time and space he had given him. Those were his parents, no doubt about it.
He got closer and closer. He saw them laughing and talking. At some point his father held his mother's hand, she looked up and saw him, finally. She smiled at him, a warm, sincere smile and that was all Neville needed to find the courage to approach them.
"Hello." he said, stepping closer, his natural shyness showing.
"Hello." his mother said. His father smiled as well. "Are you lost?"
He shook his head.
"Just walking around." he explained.
"Shouldn't you be in school?" his father asked. But he wasn't judging.
Neville nodded.
"Wanted to enjoy a nice day on the park, hu?" his mother asked. She patted the bench. "Sit here, you seem a little lost."
Neville accepted the invitation and sat. it was weird to see them like that. Untouched, healthy, happy. Even if they did not recognise him.
"It's a beautiful day, don't you think?" she didn't wait for his answer. "We came here to celebrate, although in truth we should also be working." she explained, a guilty expression on her face.
"Well, we have a good reason to." his father said.
He placed a hand on her belly.
"She's pregnant. We are expecting a baby."
They looked at each other then, and it was love Neville saw, raw and pure.
Neville's heart jumped on his chest and he swallowed. He smiled.
"I'm very happy for you." was all he managed to choke out, remembering the good-manners his grandmother had taught him.
"Thank you." his father said. "We are hoping it to be a boy. A brave boy. We just hope we can give him all he deserves. Times are getting darker..."
Neville saw his mother squeezing his father's hand, as if asking him to stop. The smile on her face was only half-hearted.
"I am sure he will be brave and clever. And he will always be loved, no matter what." she affirmed, looking at Neville.
Neville nodded, trying to hold back the tears. He got up to avoid facing them.
"It was very nice to meet you both." he said.
They smiled.
"Likewise." they said in unison and laughed at their timing.
Neville started to pace away and stopped.
"He loves you too, you know?"
"Who?" his father inquired, furrowing his eyebrows.
Neville shook his head. That had been a mistake. he started to pace away again but she stopped him.
"You haven't told us your name."
Neville looked at her again, his eyes welling up.
"Neville. My name is Neville."
He then started to run away from them. He got in the Tardis, closing the door behind him. The Doctor didn't ask a thing. As Neville sat on the floor against the wall crying, hoping his parents would know how he had killed Nagini, how he had finished the necessary exams to become a professor, how he had defended his friends and helped defeat the worst enemy of all time, his tears blurred his vision, but the memory of his happy and young parents was as vivid as possible.
At St. Mungos his delirious mother was looking at the sky and, with a flask of a memory bringing her some brief grasp over reality, she remembered how they had decided their son's name. "He loves you too, you know?" She knew now who he meant. She knew now who he really was.