Chapter 10: Ne
He really enjoyed his long baths. Especially after the workouts he had, it always helped him relax and provided much relief to his aching muscles.
He made a note to thank the elf Topsy, the one that had been assigned to look after his needs. Topsy had been with Neville pretty much from the time of Neville's birth.
And he had always done his very best to ensure that young Master Neville was always taken care of.
His grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, was one formidable woman and she had always managed to put fear into Neville's heart whenever he heard her call out his name.
So it was highly unlikely that Neville would ever approach her to read him a bedtime story. The one person he knew he could trust in that matter, to always be at his side was Topsy.
And Topsy always delivered.
Topsy ensured that Neville always got two stories at bedtime. One from the book that Neville always kept by his bedside, and another that Topsy conjured up on the spot based on incidents from his life, mixing into it the history of the elves.
While Neville was a fan of both stories in general, the second one was the one he looked forward to more, because he had no idea what it would be about and it would always be something that the young boy was not used to.
Finishing his recollections, Neville got out of the tub. The bath had served its purpose and the muscles that had screamed in protest when Neville pushed himself at the greenhouse, now seemed to have been sated. But Neville wasn't fooled. He knew this was but a temporary lull in the pain and that it would return once again in the morning. But he would be ready for it.
Neville sighed. It seemed that every time that he exerted himself at the greenhouse, he became very tired. In other words, he seemed to be woefully out of shape.
And Neville didn't like that one bit.
He didn't fancy becoming an Auror. It had already claimed his parents, and he had no intention of joining a force where danger was just a spell away.
But he could learn from the Aurors. The way they kept fit and the way they fought.
If there was one thing that the Department of Mysteries episode had taught it, it was that he was still woefully under-prepared to take on the forces of evil.
He walked over to his bed where Topsy had once again anticipated his needs and had set out clothing suitable for the task.
But Neville barely glanced at it. Not because he wasn't grateful to the elf or thought that the elf was beneath him, but because he was still lost in the thoughts of the events right after his OWLs.
He was proud of his decision to go with Harry. He had no idea what had propelled him to do it, but at that time it seemed like the right thing to do. Even now, he strongly felt it was the correct thing to have done, but perhaps he would have exercised more caution. Adrenaline had fuelled most of his decision making and while it had ensured he had come out alive and more importantly had not allowed the dark side a victory, he knew he couldn't keep relying on that.
No. He needed to figure out a way to keep calm and still look at problems logically and find solutions to them instead of rushing at them.
He mused that perhaps it was time to do something that he had loathed extensively. But which he was sure would prove to be important to stay alive.
He would begin to exercise.
He grimaced at the very thought. It wasn't something that he was looking forward to, but he knew that part of the reason that Harry was quite powerful was because of the hard drills that he had had to put in for Quidditch. Ginny seemed to be in a similar mould and he had seen her many a time running around the black lake. It wasn't surprising as she was the reserve chaser and seeker and he knew that she wanted to play on the main team and so was willing to push herself more. Ron Weasley on the other hand, had gone through the drills, but not with the same intensity. He supposed that that too would change after the Ministry debacle.
Hermione was in a league of her own. He had not seen her training like the others but he was sure that pounding up and down seven flights of stairs with a bag full of heavy books (there was after all a limit to how light you could make your bag) would have helped her build muscle and stamina as well.
Add to that her rather extensive knowledge of spells and he knew that she knew how to mix everything up so that she spent minimal energy. And even if she didn't know the details of this approach, he was sure that given some more time, she would perfect that as well.
Which left only Luna Lovegood to be analysed. Well, analyse he strengths and weaknesses, Neville told himself as he blushed slightly.
She had looked very attractive right from the first time that Neville had met her, but in typical Neville fashion, he had not said anything to her till date.
He had heard rumours about her. About how she was Loony. At first, to his shame, he had given some credence to these rumours. But it slowly dawned on him that the rumours were flying about just because Luna refused to abide by the normal societal rules. And just because somehow had the tendency to act differently did not mean they were loony.
In fact the more he got to interact with her, the better he came to know her. And he could see clearly, that beneath that quirkiness was someone who was very intelligent and yet at the same time very desperate to have friends, to be accepted for who she was, and to have fun.
And while he was not the best choice (the insecurity of the old Neville did come through from time to time), he could still be a good friend to her.
He was undecided if he should invite her over to his house. Not because he was worried about his grandmother's reaction nor because he was afraid Luna would read too much into it, but because having friends would only work once there was a common ground established. Otherwise the whole time would be awkward (although he was sure that Luna would deliberately keep doing or keep saying one thing or the other to prevent awkwardness from creeping in) and their friendship would have gone back by several steps.
No, the first step, Neville was very clear, was to write to Luna. He recollected that she had been hurt rather badly during the Ministry episode. While Neville himself had suffered a broken nose (his hand lightly traced its outline and he winced slightly from the pain that was still present), he knew that Luna's was far severe. He hoped that the course of medicines that Madam Pomphrey had prescribed for her had done the trick.
And that she was taking adequate rest. After all, most of the curses that struck them were rather dark in nature as was expected of a cowardly bunch like the Death Eaters.
Having decided on his course of action, he pulled a piece of parchment that he always kept on the table by his bedside, dipped his eagle quill (the only one that he possessed and the one he used only when he was at home) and began to write:
Dear Luna,
Hope this letter finds you well. I sincerely hope that the injuries that you sustained during our trip to the Ministry have healed properly. Please do take good care of yourself! You don't need me to tell you that some of the curses that the Death Eaters used was borderline dark, and as I am sure a Ravenclaw like you is well aware, the effect of most of the dark curses continue to remain well past the attack itself.
As for me, I am doing quite OK. My nose still seems to be a little tender, but I expect it to heal soon. Otherwise I am fine. I am thinking of starting up some physical exercises as well, not because I suddenly want to join the Quidditch team or anything, but because I realized that my stamina levels were quite poor during the fight. Had it lasted for another ten minutes perhaps, I am not sure I wouldn't have just keeled over and passed out or died. It opened my eyes to the fact that there is more to duelling than just the spell casting (and unlike what Lockhart taught us, there is no need for exaggerated movements and showmanship) and I want to be able to last longer in the next round.
You don't need me to tell you Luna. We both know that dark times are coming, and that we will need to up our games to help Harry and survive.
You can always contact me for any help or assistance or even if you just want a friend to talk with.
And if it is fine with you, I shall do the same.
Take care Luna! I hope to hear back from you soon!
Neville
There, that sounded quite good to Neville. A mix of caution, updates, opinions and offer of help and friendship. Now all he had to do (after sending the letter out) was to wait.
Just as he was about to call for Topsy, the elf popped into the room, leaving Neville bemused. As he was about to wonder if the elf had a telepathic connection to him, Topsy spoke
"Master Neville, Lady Augusta has requested you to join her for dinner this evening. She has asked that you meet her at the dining room no later than fifteen minutes from now. And your attire is to be on the formal side. They need not be the robes of the Scion of the House of Longbottom, but more formal than the ones that you are currently wearing."
Having said his piece and hearing no response, Topsy looked up to see that young Master Neville looked more confused than he had before Topsy had begun to speak.
Clearing his throat, Topsy brought the attention of his charge back on to him and asked him, "Is anything the matter, Master Neville? You seem to be totally confused?"
Neville opened and closed his mouth twice, before he could voice out the question that had taken him a couple of tries to frame. "Yes Topsy. I don't understand. Why the sudden air of formality in everything? Are we having some guests over?"
Topsy had to admit, the new version of his charge was handling things much better than what the older one would have. The older one would have been terrified at the thought of dinner in semi-formal attire with his grandmother and would have panicked and would have had to be calmed down with the use of a Calming Draught mixed into his drink of orange juice. The new one though, while still a little afraid, was a lot more calm. Actually the new one wasn't so much afraid as confused. It wasn't common for Lady Longbottom to call for this kind of an event and it would usually mean that the Longbottoms were having guests over, mostly purebloods, and most often than not, someone quite powerful and famous.
But that wasn't the case today. It was for something totally different.
And it was left to Topsy to explain it.
And boy, was he going to enjoy the expression on his charge's face at the end of it.
"No Master Neville. We aren't having anyone over. In fact, the part about the attire was my suggestion to Mistress" (at this, Neville scowled at Topsy, who said nothing but merely chuckled internally). "Fear not Master Neville. I am always on your side " (at which Neville's shoulders which he had tensed up visibly relaxed). "Your grandmother merely wishes to host a party of sorts on your successful duelling with the Death Eaters, and particularly with Bellatrix Lestrange (the last word Topsy practically spat out, with an expression on his face that made one shudder and remind themselves never to cross this particular elf)"
Topsy had been proved right. For the second time that evening, Neville opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. Well actually, he opened and closed his mouth half a dozen times before he managed to squeak out, "Oh! OK"
Topsy was about to leave when he spotted the letter on the bedside table. With a snap, the letter reappeared in his hands, rolled up (and tied up with a small bow).
"I shall send this to Miss Lovegood with one of the owls from the Owlery right away, if that is fine with you. Would you like the owl to wait there for a reply as well?" This time, Topsy did look up at Neville after he finished talking.
Neville, still a little too stunned to speak, nodded jerkily a couple of times.
With another snap of his fingers, the appropriate clothes for the dinner were laid out on the bed for Neville, who had not moved an inch.
"Time's a wasting, Master Neville"
And with another snap and a chuckle Topsy was out of the room, leaving Neville still bewildered but with only about seven minutes on the clock to reach the dining room.
Time was a wasting indeed!