AOS CH7: Growing Pains

With both Luna and Draco's stories told, it was time for Neville's turn. He seemed rather cautious of telling it, unlike Draco who had relaxed as soon as Luna explained that her situation was similar to his. Neville was astonished; he'd never imagined that Harry had helped anyone else, though in reality it was rather stupid not to. With a deep breath in, he began his story much the same as the other two: from the beginning.

When he was young(er), he had lived with his grandmother in an old and empty manor in the middle of nowhere. The place was empty except for the two of them and a few house-elves who were too old to be much use. His Grandmother was rather ... odd in her old age, and she wasn't ever quite right after the death of her only child. When the wizards from the Department of Childcare came to check on them after his parents' issues, she had just clutched at him and insisted that there was nowhere better for him and that it was her right to raise him as his only sane remaining relative. When they persisted, she simply drew out her 'Lady Longbottom' persona and intimidated them into submission. The follow up visits had never happened, and neither has the routine health check up which was mandatory for all new guardians over the age of 75.

Either way, by the time Frank and Alice's anniversary came around, Lady Longbottom was at her wits end with dealing with a young child who couldn't amuse himself. Her brain was addled by loss and on that day, she snapped. Insisting that Neville should be just like his father, she had taken him outside and given him a stick he didn't recognise. She told him it was his father's wand, and that he would do magic with it before the day was out.

What followed was a gruelling hour under an impossible taskmaster who was pressuring an impossible feat of magic out of a 7 year old. After that hour, she had slumped down on the chair she'd been observing him from and clutched the arch of her nose with short, thin fingers. She began to rant, starting quietly and slowly building up into a sharp yell which was directed at the now crying child. He was sitting on their perfect lawn with the wand still clutched in his small hand, no magic coming from it anymore.

As she grew louder and nearer, still screaming his inadequacies at him, he threw down the wand and covered his ears, eyes clenched shut and tears streaming down his round cheeks. At that moment, there was a sharp crack and winding vines began to grow up out of the previously even lawn. They wound around, forming a huge dome around Neville, separating him from his Grandmother and cutting off anything else she had to say. Through the gaps in the vines, Neville crawled forward and watched his Grandmother to see what was going on.

Outside, his Grandmother seemed to be shocked speechless. She was staring at the vines and seemed incapable of doing anything else. A moment later, there was another crack, similar to the one which preceded the vines, only this time they announced a tiny boy arriving in a strange pod of leaves which seemed to grow out of the ground and separating like the petals of a blooming flower before melting away when he stepped out of their hold. Neville couldn't understand what was being said, but he could hear his Grandmother crying and see the boy smiling kindly a while later. Shortly after that, Neville watched his Grandmother nod and turn back towards the house while the stranger approached where Neville was staring out through the vines.

As he approached, Neville wondered who he could possibly be. He had clearly interrupted his Grandmother's rant and brought him to safety in this strange net, but why would he help Neville without expecting anything in return? One thing his Grandmother had taught him well in her rare sane moments was that people always had a motive; whatever they did, they did it for a reason, and Neville couldn't overlook something like that when it could tell him how safe this person was.

Neville ended up powerless, unable to do anything as the stranger approached and whispered into the vines. As Neville watched in awe, the vines directly in front of him melted away like those giant leaves had before spreading to the ones next to them and so on until the entire circle of vines had melted away as though they were never there. At that moment, Neville had looked up at the boy, who had smiled and held out a hand, which Neville had eagerly taken. It didn't matter what this boy's motive was, he had helped him and that was that. There need be no other reason in Neville's mind.

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After that encounter, when 'Harry' had left, Neville had returned inside to find his Grandmother waiting for him. She had embraced him and asked him if he wanted to visit his parents. They had spent the remainder of the day together at the hospital with his parents, reminiscing and reminding Neville just who his parents had been.

His Grandmother had apologised to him and they returned home gladly. After the experience, his Grandmother had begun to treat him better, more like the child he was. She didn't expect ridiculous fears of magic or silence at all times, she just became more like a loving guardian.

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During her own story, Luna had pulled Trevor out of her pocket and gently handed him over to Neville. Now that they had all shared their stories, Draco told the other two that his father was trying to find Harry now that they knew he was Harry Potter. They were relieved that he would be alright, but concerned that he wasn't on the train anyway.

There was nothing they could do to help him now, so they settled down in their compartment and got to know their new friends.

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AN: I'm really sorry for how long this has been. I had a few issues in my personal life, and everything has only just begun to clear up. I had decided that I would only post again when I'd written the entire story, but I have no idea how long that will be and I don't think that that is a good idea. I will eventually update DWK, but I don't have many ideas for what could happen. If you do, please let me know I'm a PM or review! Also, the challenge I set (woah) years ago is still open for anyone who wants to give it a go. All you have to do is draw a few scenes from this story. Such as the first time each of them meet Harry. Please, if you're artful then help me out! The best one I get will be set as the cover for the FanFiction. Thanks, and Sorry! RT xx