Round 9 – A Captain, or Acting Captain's Love

CHASER 3: Focus on a necessity for your character/pairing

Character: Neville Longbottom

Prompts:

1. (word) Neighbour

9. (word) Present

15. (word) Join

A/N: I like Neville, I really do, but writing about him... I can just say I prefer writing about bad guys. And special thanks to my ickle Rayniekins for helping me out. I love you so much ;w;

"Oh, Neville. Not again."

Augusta Longbottom's voice dripped with disappointment. The grumbling sound she made was far from inaudible and Neville's ears turned red from embarrassment. His gaze was glued to the ground and he kept uncomfortably shifting his weight from one foot to another. He bit his lip; it was a nervous habit.

Augusta was a woman of strict rules and discipline. She appreciated when things went exactly like she wanted. And so, it wasn't much of a surprise that her grandson was continuously getting on her old nerves. Augusta rubbed her temples and this time held back her disgruntled groan.

When younger, Neville had never understood why his parents weren't around. He kept asking why his Mum wasn't at home though everybody kept on talking about her. Augusta had always muttered lowly how he would understand when he grows older.

It was never easy with Neville. He was a sweet boy, of course he was, and Augusta loved her dearly, but magic was never Neville's forte. It had taken eight years to get a magical reaction out of the boy – and even that time it had been forced out of him. Augusta had cursed Algie to Wales and back – neighbours probably hearing it all – but still, she had been somehow relieved. At least she hadn't been wasting her time with a squib.

"Just clean up these wrappers, Neville."

Neville gave a hesitant nod, not looking the old witch in the eyes. Augusta left Neville's room but from the corner of her eye she saw how her grandson picked up the wrappers from his bed and put them in a metallic box; one by one, like each of them was such a fragile, delicate object.

Augusta sighed. She had already raised one son and he had turned out just fine.

Neville instead was a completely different matter.

Neville loved his parents.

How couldn't he? Every child loves their parents, even if just unconsciously. But Neville's love was far from unconscious – he adored his parents.

When six years old, Neville had finally understood why his parents didn't recognize him anymore; why they hadn't actually recognized him at all actually. It had hit him hard. How could it be that his brave parents had been destined with such a fate?

Each time Neville made sure to bring Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and other sweets to his mother to enjoy as a present when he visited them at St Mungo's Hospital with Augusta. And each visit took courage to face the hard reality; there was no change for his parents to actually be there for him. They still wouldn't know who he was and how much he loved them.

But in the end, it didn't matter.

Alice had a strange fascination towards the bubblegum. Neville watched as she slowly chewed a piece. She looked almost like she truly enjoyed it. And in the end of each visit Neville would receive a gift from his mother. Alice grabbed his sleeve; thin, fragile fingers brushing the back of his hand. She looked at Neville expectantly and Neville stretched out his hand. She placed a smoothed gum wrapper into Neville's offered hand and patted it couple times.

"Thanks, Mum", Neville said gently and smiled at the shadow of a woman that Alice was.

But she was still there. She had been brave and so she wasn't dead. She was there, in front of Neville, though unable to recognise him as her son.

There was the tiniest hint of a smile flickering in Alice's eyes before she went back to her bed, sitting on the edge of it, looking blankly at the white wall and humming softly a tune Neville remembered. It was a lullaby. Familiar and beautiful in his ears.

Neville's smile lingered on his lips a little longer than necessary.

"Gran?!"

Neville's cry echoed in the battlefield as he noticed that Augusta had appeared on his side and was about to join the duel.

"Couldn't let my favourite grandson to get his bum kicked!" Augusta snorted and Neville laughed shortly at that when Augusta fired a spell towards the Death Eater Neville was duelling, making the man flew backwards.

"You can't seriously think that I–" A loud explosion came out from the castle and Neville turned automatically towards the sound. "Luna–!"

The name had left his lips before he could snap his jaw closed. He cut himself off and bit his lower lip as he nervously glanced at the fierce duelling not so far away from himself. He was unsure of what to do, what he wanted to do. But this was war. The present time was a chaos. He shouldn't hesitate at the moment like that.

Augusta swatted his already injured arm, making him flinch at the sudden touch.

"Go get your girl", the old witch said in a commanding tone but the small, gentle smile curling her lips gave her away. Neville nodded at that and was already sprinting to the heart of the battle that was going on in the castle when Augusta's words made him stop dead on his tracks.

"And Neville", she said. "…I'm truly proud of you"

Neville smiled softly, and he mouthed the simple words: "Thank you."

Augusta smirked, her earlier softness gone as she draw her wand and headed to the opposite direction of her grand-son. "Now let's show them what Longbottoms are made of!"

Neville was like his mother in so many ways.

Gentle. Thoughtful. Passionate.

Though Alice had never taught Neville – she hadn't been there to be a mother to him; to listen carefully to all the things Neville would have wanted to tell her, to see all the things he would have wanted to snow her, to give him advice only mother could – her son had inherited what she valued the most.

He was brave.

A/N: I don't actually really ship Nuna. I'm quite neutral towards it. And Augusta Longbottom is a badass. Hoddie out.