A/N: What? I finally got around to continuing this? Yeah, I've actually had seven chapters of this fanfic sitting in my flashdrive the whole time, but they were in the rough draft stage until I got off my lazy butt and cleaned them up. Expect more frequent updates from now on. :)

As was bound to happen, Neville forgot to bring his textbook to Defense class, so Professor Snape sentenced him to detention. Neville was to remain in the Great Hall after dinner, where he would be assigned some tedious or disgusting chore.

Most of the students had vacated the Great Hall when Snape sauntered to the Gryffindor table.

"For your detention, you will remove the gum from the underside of the tables. You must not use verbal magic."

Scraping used gum would be a cakewalk compared to some of the other detentions Snape had given. He'd once made Neville disembowel a full barrel of horned toads. Neville had lost his appetite for meat for a week after that gruesome experience.

He bent to inspect the underside of the table. Evidently no one had bothered to clean it since his grandmother had last dined in the Great Hall.

Then he rose as a thought struck him. "You said I mustn't use verbal magic. Does that mean I can use nonverbal magic?" he asked Snape.

The professor had returned to his usual seat at the staff table, and was thumbing through an issue of The International Potions Review.

"I don't know, can you?" asked Snape, without glancing up.

That sounded like a challenge. Neville thought for a moment. A Vanishing charm was probably more than he could manage, but he could try a simple Wadiwasi first.

He sat on the floor and aimed his wand at one of the gum wads. He concentrated on the incantation, and the gum twitched, but it was stuck fast to the table.

Neville tried several more times before he figured out what he was doing wrong. Lupin taught his third year class the importance of directing the object of the -wasi spell to a specific place. Neville glanced around the room for an appropriate place to send the gum. Snape's smug face presented a tempting target, but the git would most likely block the projectile and give Neville another detention.

Ironically, Neville had an extensive collection of gum wrappers, although he didn't often chew gum. But even if he'd had any of them there in the Great Hall, he knew he wouldn't have the heart to use them to wrap a random student's used gum. He'd have to settle for the rubbish bin in the corner.

Wadiwasi, he thought, pointing his wand first at the piece of gum, then at the trash receptacle. The gum flew out from under the table, straight into the bin.

Neville could scarcely believe it. "I did it! I actually cast a nonverbal spell!"

Snape finally looked up from his magazine, his black eyebrows raised. "That was above average." High praise from Snape. "Well, you have plenty of used gum to continue practicing."

o-o-o

Neville walked to Professor McGonagall's office. The door was open, and he peeked inside to see her reading a stack of parchments at her desk. He rapped on the door to get her attention.

She lifted her head to look at him. "Longbottom, what is it?"

"If you're not too busy…" He shuffled his feet.

"I was busy, but I can take a break from reading essays. Have you ever read forty essays on sympathetic magic? It's very tedious." She beckoned him into the office. "Sit down and tell me what brings you here."

Neville sat in the chair in front of her desk. "I was wondering if you could tell me about my parents."

He had hated to talk about his parents in the past, but things were different then. That was before his secret became public knowledge, and before Sirius Black and Emmaline Vance were murdered. Neville came to the harsh realization that the people who knew his parents would get picked off one by one.

McGonagall peered at him through her square spectacles, her stern expression softening.

"You want an opinion from someone besides your grandmother. I don't blame you for that. Well," she paused, studying his face. "I wasn't very close to your parents, but I recall that they were both good students with a strong sense of justice and duty. Your father was quiet and reserved until his Fourth year, when he started to come out of his shell. That was the year your mother befriended him. They worked together to figure out that Lucius Malfoy had framed Sirius Black for 'owl-napping' Heather Smith's owl. Apparently he ordered a House-elf to sneak it into Sirius's trunk in his dorm room." Her eyes were sad and distant. "You know, your parents were never fully convinced that Sirius betrayed the Potters. They petitioned to give him a fair trial, but they were…tortured before that went anywhere."

Neville had heard about his parents' good grades and sense of justice and duty, but he'd never heard the details McGonagall shared. She seemed unwilling to continue, though. Her watery eyes stared past Neville.

"They were good people," said Neville. "Still are."

McGonagall blinked rapidly. "Yes well, I had better get back to reading these essays. If you want to hear more about your parents, you should write to Mad-Eye Moody. He worked closely with them and thinks very highly of them."

Neville didn't think he would ever be able to look at Moody without thinking of Barty Crouch Jr. But writing wouldn't be so difficult. He might learn something.

"Thanks, Professor."

"Any time, Longbottom."

o-o-o

During the third week of school, an owl dropped a letter on the Gryffindor table in front of Neville. His heart pounded when he unrolled the parchment and saw who had written it.

Dear Neville,

It's good that you're fairing well after that mess at the Ministry. Your queries about my wellbeing are appreciated, but I can't answer them in writing. You never know who could be intercepting the post.

However, it is safe to tell you a little about your parents. They are true heroes who never compromised with evil. When the Ministry authorized us Aurors to use Unforgivables, your parents never used them. When You-Know-Who tried to make them work for him, they refused. I think your mother's exact words were, "I'd rather kiss a Dementor than be your minion." Your parents are the bravest people I've ever known, and you should be proud of them. I like to think that deep down, they are proud of you.

Yours truly,

Mad-Eye Moody

Neville smiled and blinked back tears. He reread the note until Ginny asked him what the matter was.

She was sitting next to him, giving him a curious look. Dean sat on her other side, leaning forward to stare at Neville.

"Here, you can read it." Neville laid the parchment between Ginny and Dean.

After a minute, Ginny looked up at him and smiled. "That's great, Neville." But there was pity in her eyes.

A/N: I don't know Frank's and Alice's exact ages, but for the purposes of this fanfic, they were both three years older than James and Lily, which would give them enough time to establish themselves as well-known Aurors before they were put out of commission.

This fanfic may seem disjointed, but its main purpose is to show snapshots of Neville and some of the other students throughout HBP. The narrative will flow more smoothly as we approach the Invasion of Hogwarts.