There are no words in the entire history of speaking that I can use to express how sorry I am for keeping you waiting this long. I started college at September's start, and the work has been piling up! But I've snagged some free time at last.

Read on and enjoy!

MLC- Thanks, I'm so glad you like it! And I get the thing about Moody's OOC-ness; I felt shocked writing it! But let's just say that the reason for him being so open will be revealed…soon enough…Anyways, thanks again!

Timbers number1 girl- Will do!

Curly Queen Swirl- I shall!

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"Are you sure this is comfortable enough, Lacey?"

"Oh, yeah," I answered, looking around the guest room. "This is very nice."

"Great," said Neville, smiling. "Do you need any help unpacking?"

"No thanks, I'm fine," I said, smiling to myself as I opened my suitcase.

"Alright, then. Want to have some lunch after you're done?"

"Okay, I'd like that."

After I unpacked the trunk and settled into the cozy room, I walked over to the window and pulled up the shade. The sky was as white as the snow we were expected to get during the break. Meanwhile, a light frost was clinging to the leafless trees.

I went down the steps and found Neville in the kitchen. He was putting a couple of plates on the table, and on the stove, two grilled cheese sandwiches were giving off a very pleasant aroma.

Neville looked up at me and smiled.

"You like grilled cheese, right?"

"Yes, very much," I said, nodding. I couldn't help but glance around the aged house.

"It's so quiet here," I commented. "It must be very peaceful." At this, Neville chuckled.

"It usually isn't. Gran's gone to the market to get a few things. When she's home, it's rarely ever this quiet." I felt a smile stretch across my face.

"I see."

Not a moment later, a loud crack was heard, and Augusta Longbottom appeared in the kitchen, red bag and all. Neville let out a small yelp of surprise.

"I'm back," Augusta said, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Then, she turned and saw me. "Oh, hello there, Lacey. Did you get here safely?"

"Yes," I told her. Then, she turned to her grandson.

"Have you been a good host, boy?" she asked sternly.

"Yes, Gran. I'm making lunch and everything." Augusta eyed the stove and went towards the stairs.

"Alright," she muttered. "But try not to burn the house down again." With that, she disappeared up the staircase. Neville slowly turned to me and spoke in a harsh whisper.

"One time. It happened one time!"

I giggled at this, and after a few moments, Neville smiled too.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that day, after supper, Neville and I went for a little walk. There was a big patch of woods behind his house, and he was anxious to show me.

"I would always love playing here when I was little," he said as we went into the trees. "Gran always said that I should've spent more time with the neighborhood kids, but they didn't exactly like me very much." I nodded empathetically.

"I know that feeling," I said.

"Plus, this place is quiet one hundred percent of the time, because nobody ever comes here but me."

Soon, we reached a large fallen tree in the middle of the woods. Neville ran over to it and sat down. When he waved me over, I approached him and sat beside him. Even though it was getting colder, the scent of the wood was still very strong. I sighed heavily, feeling quite relaxed and peaceful.

"So," Neville asked, "what are you thinking about?"

"Well…I'm thinking about snow, and about Christmas. What about you?" Neville sighed before answering.

"I'm thinking about how long it'll take before Gran hexes us back to the house." I laughed out loud at that. Then, Neville looked at me and spoke again. "I'm also thinking about how glad I am that you're here."

"I'm really glad to be here, Neville."

We smiled at each other for a long while. Then, I heard that little voice in my head. It was screaming at me to come clean with how I felt about him. After all, it was the perfect setting, the perfect time, and nobody was around to interrupt. Sure, I was still afraid of rejection, but when would I get another moment like this? Taking a breath, I spoke.

"Neville…"

"Neville Longbottom!" Both of us were nearly thrown off of the tree by Augusta's booming voice echoing through the trees. "It's time for bed! Come back to the house this instant!"

"Okay!" Neville shouted back as he got off of the tree. "Well, I guess we'd better get back." I nodded and got up. As we started back for the house, Neville spoke again. "Lacey, what were you going to say?"

I couldn't help but interpret what had just occurred as a sign, so I acted quickly.

"You know, I really can't remember."

"Story of my life," he said with a laugh, and I laughed along as we left the not-so-quiet woods.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I slept very well that night. Actually, it was one of the best sleeps I had ever gotten! When I woke up, it was very quiet. After slipping on my bathrobe and putting on my slippers, I left the room and started down the stairs.

As I descended, I heard faint whisperings. I didn't want to eavesdrop, so I continued down like nothing was wrong. Neville and Augusta were at the kitchen table.

"Good morning, dear," Augusta said. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you," I answered with a smile. Neville gestured to a nearby cereal box.

"Want some corn flakes, Lacey?"

"Sure."

I got myself a bowl and spoon, poured some cereal, and sat down next to Neville. A few moments later, Augusta rose and started to leave the room.

"I'll be upstairs getting ready if anyone needs me." And with that, she was gone.

"Is she going somewhere?" I asked Neville. He nodded.

"Yeah, we both are. Actually…" He leaned in a bit closer to me and spoke in a quiet voice. "I was going to ask you about it."

"Alright," I said.

"Well," he began, "You know how me and Gran go to see my parents during the holidays?" I nodded. "We were sort of wondering if…you'd like to come with us."

I didn't know what to say to this.

Does he really want me there?

"You don't have to if you're too uncomfortable about it," Neville said.

"No, no," I answered, shaking my head. "I'd love to go, if you're sure it's okay." He smiled at me.

"Of course it is."

I smiled back, secretly honored that he wanted me to meet his parents.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It felt weird being at St. Mungo's again. Memories of my mother getting hurt flooded back for a few seconds, but Neville looked at me reassuringly, which calmed me down. Before too long, we arrived at a door with a sign next to it: Spell Damage.

As we went inside the large wing, I looked around. There were so many men and women doing random things; some were giggling, while others were simply pacing around or sitting completely still in their chairs or beds. I followed Augusta and Neville to the other side of the room.

Once we passed a curtain, two figures came into view; one was pacing around her bed, while the other was lying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. Neville gently took my arm and turned me towards the man on the bed.

"Lacey, this is Frank, my dad." I smiled at him, but he didn't act as if anyone was there. Then, I looked over to the woman, and Neville spoke again. "And my mum, Alice." I looked at her, and she gave me a peculiar look with her head cocked to the side. She had this unusual grin, and her eyes were moving all over the place.

"Yes," Augusta said. "That's good, Alice."

At that moment, Alice slowly walked up to Neville and me. She was fiddling with something in her hands. Ever so slowly, Neville stepped a bit closer to his mother as she moved her hand forward and dropped something. Neville reached out and caught it. It looked like a wrapper to a piece of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.

"Thanks," Neville said quietly, smiling at his mother. Alice then turned towards me. It was almost as if she was trying to stare right through me. Then, her eyes sort of drifted off and she started walking away. Next to me, I felt Neville stiffen slightly. My heart ached for him as Augusta gently led Alice back to her bed.

Oh, Neville. I can't imagine what it's like for you…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dinner was fairly quiet that night. Even Augusta barely spoke a syllable. Then again, I could hardly blame anyone for the somber mood.

God, both of them must always feel like this after visiting them. It must bring back plenty of bad memories.

"Well," Neville said, getting up, "I think I'll just go upstairs." I watched him leave and turned to his grandmother.

"He always feels quite down during this time of year," she said to me.

"I can understand why," I said quietly. Augusta nodded slightly before speaking again.

"I can, too. After all, Frank is my son. But I feel proud of what he and Alice did. They both fought valiantly as Aurors and courageously sacrificed themselves. It just seems to me that Neville hasn't been focusing on that as much as he has on the negative side of it. That's what has been making him weak for so many years."

I listened to the elderly woman, but deep inside, I couldn't help but disagree with her opinion about Neville. I would've been as upset as he was if my parents couldn't recognize me.

"But I must say," Augusta suddenly continued, "he is starting to show some of his parent's courage."

I smiled and nodded. After a few seconds, I put my plate next to the sink and turned to Augusta.

"Thank you for dinner. I think I'll go to bed now as well."

"All right, dear."

I smiled and went up the stairs. At first, I was heading towards my room, but just as I was opening the door, I heard something. It was coming from Neville's room. I took a few careful steps towards his bedroom, and I heard it again. It was sort of a crinkling noise, like wrapping paper or something. After waiting a few minutes, I gently knocked on the door.

"Neville?"

"Oh. Come in, Lacey."

I opened the door. My eyes went wide when I saw what Neville was doing. He was standing on a chair in front of a wall. The wall was covered in Drooble's Best Blowing Gum wrappers. Neville had the one he had just received in his hand.

"Messy, isn't it?" he asked, not looking at me as he reached forward and started to attach the new wrapper. I shook my head.

"No," I answered truthfully. "It's actually really…interesting." Neville glanced at me and chuckled.

"Gran thinks I'm mad to be keeping these around. But it…it just makes me feel better." He stepped down off of the chair and moved it over to his desk before turning back to me. "They're all from her."

"Really?"

"Yep," he answered. "She's given me one every time I've visited her." I nodded as I gazed at the nearly covered wall.

"So you kept them all?"

"Yeah. It's kind of the only thing I have of my parents that I can really hold on to." I looked at him as he walked over to his bed and sat down.

"That's really good, Neville," I said, standing where I was. "Does it help to comfort you?"

"It helps the most out of everything I've tried. Gran keeps telling me that Mum giving me those wrappers doesn't mean a thing. It's not like I have it built in my head that it's Mum's way of showing her love for me, because I know she doesn't know who I am. But…a part of me wants to believe that my parents remember me just a little bit."

I nodded and slowly approached him. After slowly sitting down next to him, I looked at him and spoke.

"Well…I do agree that it's best not to carry false hopes. But I'm sure I don't need to tell you that even though they don't recognize you, it has nothing to do with the way their hearts cared for you. Even though their brains don't know you, maybe they have some recollection of you in their hearts. I don't believe that any spell can change how the heart feels."

Neville slowly turned his head towards me and smiled.

"Thank you, Lacey. That actually does help a little bit." I smiled.

"I'm glad."

I reached towards him and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. A few seconds later, I heard a very soft sniffle.

"I want them to know me," he whispered. "So badly."

"I know," I said back. "I'm sorry."

Neville looked at me again, and for the first time, I saw tears rolling down his cheeks. I gently extended my arms and embraced him, and he instantly reciprocated. It wasn't long before I felt tears filling my eyes as well. After a while of this, we both cried ourselves to sleep.

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Again, I'm sorry for the wait. I hope you liked this chapter!