Disclaimer: Don't own.

They didn't know how to help her.

It was clear as day. How could they help the insane? How could they fix a mind broken beyond repair? That was just the thing, they didn't know how. So she was stuck, gazing at the world like it was a movie, unable to do anything. She looked at the broken expression her husband had and knew it was also on her face. When her son and mother in-law came to visit, it was the best thing in the world. At least then, she had a little bit of control, but not much. It was enough, though, in her world, to mean everything.

And so, it was another normal day for her. Walking around the room, hearing people talking but unable to properly understand them, the usual jazz; she had been locked in a tightly knit torture for Godric knows how long. She knew she was insane, broken beyond repair, but still being able to see everything suited her just fine. That was when the usual jazz was interrupted by two people who had sneaked into the room. They were odd, to put it bluntly. She didn't understand why they were here, but they were.

What surprised her more, however, was the fact that she could understand them. It was slightly muffled, like a radio, but yet she could make out the words instead of the usual mixed-up language she heard every single day from the mediwizards and healers. "He's too far gone," the woman had said sadly, "We can't help him, Quinn; he's not even there anymore. It's a miracle he's still alive." Her head turned to see the two next to her husband, and she would've cried if she could. He was gone? Gone? No! She would have cried if she was actually allowed to, but alas, she couldn't.

The two strangers then walked over to her, their eyes filled with curiosity. She wanted to cry for help, afraid of what they might do to her, but she couldn't. A sudden force entered her mind, going past the shattered Occlumency walls, and she tried to fight back, but she couldn't. The force wasn't like that of the Cruciatus or any other Legilimens-types. No, instead it was very warm, and it made her think that maybe it was okay to let it in. "She's still there!" the woman gasped. "We can actually help her! Quinn, this is astounding! A miracle, don't you think?"

"It is," Quinn agreed, "But can we help her? You're being too optimistic about this, Moon. What is she thinking? Her husband is in the Next Great Adventure, or at least his soul is. You can't deny it; this very well could go wrong. No other bonded can do this, and yet we are willing to try it. We could wind up making her worse! Don't you think we should think this through at least?"

Moon shook her head before replying, "If I think this through I'll agree with you. The boy needs at least one of his parents, Quinn!" The force then got sharper, slightly painful, before she knew it; the force was suddenly rebuilding her mind.

Hours could have passed, and she wouldn't have realized it. Memories suddenly flooded into her thoughts; names, people, questions, everything. She blinked a few times, trying to process the things. What had happened to James and Lily? Harry? Sirius and Mary; the list of people just went on and on. What about Marlene? How was Remus doing? How did the Death Eaters find them? How? How! The force then left her mind, and she cried, simple as that.

Neville went for Godric knows how long without a mother and father. Her baby boy, her only son, what on earth had happened? Her whole world had just suddenly taken a turn for the worse that one night. They were in hiding, when Frank heard Bellatrix and her husband and another person barging through their door. He told her to take Neville and go. She should have gone. She would have been able to. It was all her fault that she didn't go, and now, she had just been healed from insanity.

"Alice?" Moon asked in a sing-song voice, although she had no accent to her voice at all. "Alice, can you hear me? Can you understand me?"

What on earth could she say? That she was fine? She would be lying if she said that, she was far from it. "Yes," she rasped, her voice having been unused for so damn long. "What do you mean Frank's gone? No! What about Neville? What happened? What the bloody hell had happened to us all? Where are James and Lily? What about Harry?"

"Calm down, Mrs. Longbottom," Quinn told her calmly, and she looked at him with bewilderment. "The year is 1995." That was a sickening blow. "Harry is alive." What about James and Lily? "So is Neville." Thank Godric. "So are Sirius and Rosemary." At least they came out of it alive, everybody thought Mary wouldn't have, even the woman herself. "But James and Lily perished on October 31st, 1981, at the hands of Voldemort."

Alice blinked. James and Lily dead; that was just too damn much. Tears poured onto her cheeks like hot rain, now realizing that she threw away everything but her life just because she didn't want to run with Neville. She had been too damn foolish, too damn stupid, and now she paid the price for it. Alice knew she deserved it, but just the facts were so deafening. Well, Viva La Vida for being an arse, she supposed. She heard a 'pop' and supposed that the couple had disappeared, but she didn't care. It was just so much to take in, and so much she had realized was gone now. Frank was actually gone, he was broken beyond repair, and she had been repaired, she supposed.

"Mrs. Longbottom—Oh Merlin," one of the healers gasped. "Somebody get in here! Mrs. Longbottom is—is—I can't describe it!"

Alice put her head in her hands, tears not stopping. She had been foolish, stupid, whatever you wanted to call it; she was that. "I can't believe myself," she hoarsely whispered, "I can't believe what I did. I shouldn't have done it!"

Now, they didn't know what had happened.

One minute, Alice was stuck in her insanity, and the next she was perfectly fine, save for the breakdown she was having. They had checked every inch and ounce of her, while she was still crying, but found nothing wrong with her. The doctors were confused and astounded, but she really didn't care at that point. Alice had turned inconsolable, and the healers had to wind up giving her Dreamless Sleeping Potions to calm her down, get her away from the nightmares she had each time she tried to go to sleep. They also gave her Calming Draughts, but those hardly worked.

She wanted to see her son, but knew that he was probably in school, at his fifth year. When she had the Calming Draught in her, she vaguely wondered how he had been doing. Did he make friends? And if he did, who were they? She wanted to know everything, and anything about what had happened in the outside world, but nobody would tell her. A fortnight had finally passed since she had been cured, and this was the day she was supposedly allowed visitors.

"Alice?" a familiar voice asked her. "Alice? Godric, this has to suck. At least I vaguely had an idea of what was going on, for Merlin's sake."

"Mary?" she asked in a timid voice, slightly surprised that the other woman would care to visit her.

"The one and only, although I daresay, please don't trust your eyesight when you decide to look at me and Siri here. Narcissa, Cissy, is outside, she's too nervous to come in. She's not dark, Ally, in fact she's anything but. She has a little kiddie now, his name is Draco Black. Harry's well, he's married to Molly and Arthur's seventh child, Ginny. Don't ask me how, it will take too long to explain, but he's well."

Alice actually smiled, albeit rather painfully, and she turned her head in the direction of Mary's voice. Whatever she was expecting, however, it wasn't this. Mary was there alright, but she looked like she was still in their seventh year, and the same went for the boy who she knew was Sirius. Her eyes widened, and she spluttered, "How? How! If this is 1995, you two should look the same age as me! You should have a family by now!"

Mary gave her a sad smile. "Ally, the whole world is just starting to fix itself again. After Voldemort disappeared and left Harry without his parents." Alice couldn't help but wince at the thought. "Padfoot went after Pettigrew, who framed his own death. Alice—Sirius was in Azkaban for twelve years."

Again, Alice found herself having too much information to take in. Sirius had been innocent! They all knew that he would never betray James and Lily! Pettigrew, the bastard! "Where's Pettigrew?" she asked sharply.

"Dead," Sirius replied. "He suffered the Dementor's Kiss."

Good. He had suffered in the end, just like somebody that could betray their best friends deserved. She held her head in her hands again, not wanting to think about the fact that her whole world was now in ruins. Everything had been perfect, hell; she would have had a perfect life for herself if Voldemort hadn't come along. But no, she wasn't even allowed that. "How is Harry married?" she asked in a hoarse whisper, trying to not let the tears escape from her eyes.

"Soul-bond," Marty answered, "You know the Weasley Twins? Both of them are seventeen now, and George is actually soul-bonded to Xeno's daughter, Luna." But Mary was holding something back.

"What happened to Xeno?" she asked sharply. "And why didn't you mention Klara? Don't tell me they're dead too!" When the two of them shifted uncomfortably, her eyes widened. "They're dead! No! Don't tell me they're dead! I get it that Dorcas, Marlene, and the Bones family except for Amelia and Susan are dead, but Xeno and Klara? No!" She broke down after having just gotten over her last fit of crying, and to be honest, she felt like a child. Everybody thought she wouldn't understand, and she really didn't, but she wanted to know. "Who else is dead?" she asked in a cold, hard voice.

"All of Marlene's family," Mary sighed, "James and Lily, of course. The other Mary that we know, the whole Potter Clan except for Harry; Klara died from a Potions accident. Xeno died when Luna was twelve from a Yeti attack. I know this is a lot to process and handle, Alice, but you need to pull yourself together." And that was when Alice finally just snapped.

"Calm down?" she growled, a noise similar to her cat animagus form. "Calm down? Mary, I've just been told that I was insane for fourteen years! Fourteen! My husband's soul has already passed on, and I'm effing stuck with the payback I get for not being there in Neville's life! Godric, if I hadn't seen Augusta in my broken state I would've thought she had perished too! James and Lily died, leaving their soulbound son as an orphan, and if Siri was in prison, I'm guessing you didn't take care of him so he probably wound up with the Dursleys! Do you know how terrible they are? Luna's parents are dead and she's bonded to one of the Weasley Twins, and they were troublemakers and you know it! How am I supposed to calm down when I know that my entire life has been turned upside down and I'm left with the shattered pieces?" Mary and Sirius both looked hurt, but she shook her head. "I'm done talking. I guess I know nothing at all anymore. I'm done!"

They left her like that, mentally repaired but yet still broken, and she cried for the next few days. The healers and mediwitches and wizards were starting to get worried, but she didn't care. She wanted to give up, throw a fit and just curl into a ball and cry, but she didn't do the first two. Most of the time, though, she was in her little ball of protectiveness, trying to accept that all of this had happened, but she couldn't; they had moved her out of the Permanent Wards and into a private room, but she wanted to see Frank, although she knew she couldn't bear to see him in his disrepair state anymore.

Nobody visited her for another fortnight, making it almost a month since Alice had been brought back to sanity. And yet, she still felt insane. The only reason why the healers kept her here was to make sure that she didn't do suicide or that jazz. She refused all visits, even from Dumbledore, and the healers just asked her how she was feeling physically, because they knew what she was mentally feeling. They told her it was natural to be depressed like she was, but she knew that wasn't true. Alice knew that they hadn't expected her to come out of her insanity.

Alice opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in her 'room'. Her previously white hair hand changed to her once dark brown, and her blue eyes, albeit slightly dulled, were still there. But she looked older, she felt older, and she felt miserable. "Worried, much?" asked a humorous voice, and her eyes widened as she turned around, to see nothing. For a second, she had thought Frank had teased her. Oh, she wished this was all but a dream, but it wasn't. It was her damned reality.

This day, though, the healers demanded she accept one of her visitors. She didn't ask who it was, she just told them to send them in, not really caring. When the door opened, she didn't even bother to look at who was there, but soon enough; a girl's cheery voice spoke up, "Mars and Padfoot are pissed at you, you know. They understand, but you really need to lighten up! It is not your fault, besides; I got Moony here too; although he's afraid you're going to yell at him too."

"Tonks," Remus sighed.

"What? You are!" Tonks laughed back, and Alice turned around to look at them.

Tonks seemed to be in her very early twenties, with spiky bubblegum pink hair down to her shoulders and the same very dark brown eyes she had had when she was born. Remus had more grey hair and scars, but other than that he looked like he had before. But yet, Alice couldn't find herself to crack a smile at them. She didn't know if she could smile anymore. Her shoulders slumped, and Alice whispered to them, "I'm sorry. I just don't know anymore. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to get to know my son, the now unusual jazz. But I can't. Not yet, possibly not ever."

They didn't leave, but she turned back around to stare at the blank wall. She had later learned that the date was November 30th, 1995. Not like she really cared anyways, because there had been so much time in the space between. Alice felt like a lost soul in the midst of everybody's happiness. She heard the door open and close, and knew that they had left. She cried, unable to hold it in any longer. Although, a few minutes later the door opened and then closed, but she didn't know who it was, she might not care anyways.

"Ally?" she knew who it was now, and she did everything she could to not cry, although it didn't work.

"You told me," she sniffled, "You told me it was a bad idea to go into hiding with Frank, and you told me it was a bad idea to trust Dumbledore. I don't know anymore. I should have listened to you, but I didn't. I didn't damn listen, and you knew it. Hell, I knew you were working for them, trying to get us out of danger's way, but there was nothing you could do. How was I supposed to believe a seemingly seventeen year old—boy—who seemed insane and had a taste for trouble?"

He smiled, the bastard. When she had first met him, he had offered her a deal she declined, and he left her at that. But she never forgot those words, "Just you wait, Mrs. Longbottom."

She hated him with everything in her now, because things might have gone differently if he hadn't warned her. For all she knew, he had revealed where they were hiding, but she didn't think he knew where exactly they had been hiding at, well, maybe he had spied on them. It didn't matter, though; she still hated him for it. Alice glared at him, but he didn't seem to care until she snapped, "Just go. I don't want to see your sorry ass here."

"Well aren't you cheery," he mocked, but when she narrowed her eyes at him, he sighed, "You're friends won't like me meddling, but I can't help it. My companions meddled in the first place. If it wasn't for them, you would still be insane. I know ya hate me, but honestly, get over the grudge. You can't change the past, or at least that far back, so don't even try to get your false hopes up. If it wasn't for me, both of you would be dead, actually."

"Liar," she snarled. "Liar; get out!"

"No," he said simply, and she scowled at him.

"I'm not going to be treated like a six year old, but you definitely are acting one," she retorted.

He shrugged in response before plopping down onto one of the wooden chairs that really weren't that comfortable, while she had barely moved from her bed that had been in this room, ever since she had been moved here actually. The healers were talking about sending her home, but she didn't have a home to go to. Augusta hadn't visited yet, so she assumed that she was unwanted there. She wouldn't let herself barge in on Sirius and Mary, and she really did not want to go with this boy, but she couldn't stay here. This was just lovely, although she would have preferred to stay insane over all of this at the moment.

"Alice."

"You have no right to call me by my first name or my nickname!" she said, "If you want to even try to get on my good side, then leave and never come back! I don't want to deal with you sorry piece—"

"Quiet," he snapped at her, and she faltered. "You don't know the half of it. I will treat you like a child if I have to, but I've been on this miserable plane of existence for three hundred years. Can you imagine living that long? How about being a slave for one hundred and fifty of them? If you want to complain to me about how sorry your life is, then you better rethink it, Mrs. Longbottom! I'm not here to give you some damn pity, and I'm not going to offer anything to you! I'm trying to actually get you prepared for the outside world, but if you don't want me to, all you had to do was ask, damn it! Furthermore, before you complain and rant even more, think about what you have done to your friends! Tonks at least understands some, but Lupin is thinking that maybe you need to be kept here! The Blacks' are pissed at you, and if the Potters were here, I can assure you that Lily would have slapped you right across the face jus because of what you have been saying!"

She glared at him, but didn't say anything more. Alice knew he was right. She was being selfish, stupid, but she couldn't put the blame on herself. She could blame Bellatrix Lestrange, Bartemius Crouch Jr., Rodolphus Lestrange, but not herself. But, she had just passed the crying stage just a few minutes ago, and this time, she wasn't going to let Chaput get away with what he did.

"You ruined my life!" she snarled, and he looked at her, his eyes widening. "I didn't get to see my son get his wand, go to Hogwarts, hell, I didn't get to see him GROW UP! If you want to know what's unfair, TAKE A LOOK AT EVERYBODY ELSE'S BLOODY LIVES! MY HUSBAND ISN'T THERE ANYMORE! MY BEST FRIEND'S SON DOESN'T HAVE HIS PARENTS! MY OTHER BEST FRIEND'S DAUGHTER HAD TO WATCH HER MOTHER DIE AND HER FATHER GO INSANE! IF YOU THINK THAT YOUR LIFE WAS TERRIBLE, RETHINK IT AGAIN!"

He looked at her, his jaw dropped, and she stared at him back, her anger finally having boiling over at him. "I used to be pissed at you," she said quietly, "But I figured it out now. You don't like to think how supposedly terrible your life was, so you blame it on everybody else. Well, newsflash Chaput, you aren't the most miserable person the planet, nor the only one. There are people out there who have been to effing hell and back, so don't give me those excuses. If you have nothing more to say, I suggest you leave. I don't want to hear you whine anymore."

And he left.

But she didn't feel guilty, in fact, she felt rather glad. Alice knew he wouldn't come back, and she didn't want him to. Because honestly, she didn't really want to find out about hardly anything more of this time, of what had happened, at least not anymore. Voldemort was back. She knew that much, as well as the Lestranges had broken out of Azkaban Prison, mainly being put in there because they tortured Frank and herself to insanity.

She still couldn't sleep. Each time she did, she heard the screams that came from herself and her husband. Each time, she knew that she was going to lose, and each time she knew that it was her fault that she hadn't run with Neville. The screams that she heard were terrible, just like Bellatrix demanding that Crouch Jr. torture them more until she couldn't think straight anymore. How the bitch would know that, she had no idea, but she knew that it was horrible. The healers didn't want to give her anymore Dreamless Sleeping Potions, since you could easily get addicted to those. Not like they really worked that much anyways anymore.

Alice felt like she was still trapped, still trapped inside her mind. A week had passed now. December had rolled in, and she knew she should probably be glad. The Holiday Break would be rolling around, and Neville would hopefully come around to see her. She wanted to hear about how his life had been; she wanted to be filled on every bit and piece her son had done since she wasn't there to witness it. She wanted to tell him she was sorry, that she was sorry she chose this fate instead of being a proper mother. She knew that Harry was considered the Boy-Who-Lived, and that he might save the entire wizarding and muggle worlds, but Neville was her son. She didn't really mind hearing about Harry's adventures, but she wanted to hear what her son had done, what Neville had done.

She sighed, burrowing her head into the pillow. She knew she was acting like a child, but she didn't want to think, or at least remember. That just wasn't what she did, or at least not anymore. She didn't want to remember any of this at all. She wanted this to just be an awful nightmare, although Alice knew it wasn't.

XXX

He shook his head, anger boiling at a very deadly rate.

Who the hell did she think she was?

He punched the wall, making the stone wall itself shudder and shards to break off and go flying. He mentally cursed himself for that one, but Damion really did not like her. "Punching walls, now, are ya?" Dia asked in a humorous voice, and he growled in response. "Ooh, who got your knickers in a bunch?"

"Shut it," he replied, and she rolled her eyes.

"Was it me? How about Lance? Oh I know; did you finally get pissed at my grandparents! That seems to be the most reasonable answer! You got pissed at them, Lance now owes me five galleons!" she giggled and he glared at her.

"No, I'm not angry at your grandparents, you, or the little troublemaker. I'm mad at somebody else, now go away," he really didn't want to deal with her right now.

"No," she said simply, "You look like you need to talk about it. So, who got you so mad if it wasn't our insane bunch? It had to be someone you met before, since you're always so collected around everybody else. You were gone for a few days; Moon and Quinn were getting worried. They thought you had done something stupid and wound up killing yourself. You're right, maybe I should go and get them, tell them you're back." She paused. "But you know how tired they get; being Godric knows how old they are, so I think I'll leave them be. Are you sure you're okay?"

He rolled his eyes. "Diamond," she flinched at the use of her full name, "I'm fine. Nothing I haven't been through before."

"Liar," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Alright; fine. You want to know? Moon and Quinn ruined a young woman's life by giving her sanity back! Alice Longbottom; she cries all the time, according to the healers at St. Mungo's and she won't take any visitors willingly!" Dia looked shocked at his outburst, and he took a deep breath, calming himself down. "I swear; I'm going to have a few words with them for their reckless behavior. Maybe probation on them, I don't know."

"Ha, ha, very funny," Dia snorted. "They'll just be mad at you."

"It's worth it," he sighed.

"No, it's not. Even though you're probably screwed in the head, more so than they are, I expected you to have at least some common sense. They did a good thing, curing her. The Longbottom boy, Neville, will have one of his parents now. It just takes time, Damion. You have to know about that. Remember what it was like when you escaped form Aubrey? Moon and Quinn told me you were an emotional wreck until they finally found you."

"Low blow, Dia," he retorted.

She smiled, "But you know I'm right; Reparo," and the shards from the broken stone flew back into place, fitting back together and sealing itself so that it looked as if it hadn't been broken. "You have to admit it; everybody makes mistakes, including your sorry self too."

"If you're trying to guilt-trip me it isn't going to work."

"Oh, I wasn't. My interests are just rather odd. Well, see you later, Maine." She called out while she was walking away.

Damion sighed, shaking his head. It was like he was in one of those damned muggle soap operas. Too much drama for his taste; maybe he just needed a break from all of this. That would probably be for the best, give himself a break so he didn't finally snap like he just did or worse. . . . But of course, he knew that Moon and Quinn would just try and find him. They didn't exactly understand the position they had put him in when they first met; it was either agree or wind up getting thrown into Azkaban or dying. The latter two options, of course, he really did not want to have happen to him, so he took the first one. But did those options stand for him anymore?

"One more thing, Damion," Dia whispered, and he was surprised she hadn't quite left the room yet, "Don't leave."

He blinked in shock, although other than that he showed no emotion. She could tell pretty much everything that was going on around her, even if she wasn't looking at it. He finally heard the door close, and Damion sighed. Three hundred years. That was all it took to make an unrecognizable touch to him. Well, almost three hundred years. But he didn't have one ounce in him that was like his former self; when he still had a family, that is. As an only child, he probably tore his parents' hearts into pieces when he left, although he hadn't left on purpose. Aubrey did it.

Don't think about it.

He now slightly understood the feeling Potter's wife had after she had been possessed. It drains you, goes down to your very core; to your very soul. It shreds you apart, leaving you with nothing left except for the memories on how they betrayed you and why they did it. "I thought you would be a nice snack, but then you actually turned out to be nice. Too bad that I have to kill you now," Aubrey laughed, and he let out an involuntary snarl.

That was just what he needed; to wind up turning into a depressed person all over again. He had convinced himself a long time ago that it wasn't a good thing to dwell on the past, and then BAM! Moon and Quinn just had to go and ruin it, obliterating every careful thing he had laid out. Everything he had convinced himself was just the damn past, and he didn't need to do anything about it. He supposed he thought wrong, but it was a good thing to all of those painful memories under wraps. Keep him from screaming bloody murder at everybody too; that usually worked except when he got mad.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Damion shook his head, before opening up the door and walking out of the room. It was a terrible mistake, but he could eventually deal with the price of it. Just not now, maybe not for a long time; he really didn't know.

But one thing he knew for sure was that Moon and Quinn were still going to be in a hell lot of trouble, no matter what Dia had told him. They shouldn't have meddled in the first place with things he knew would mess up quite a things, and now they were going to pay for it.

Now to plan which pranks he wanted to use.

A/N: I hate writers' block. On both of my stories, I about had a fit when I couldn't decide what I wanted to do. Anyways, I got the chapter finished! Finally! I didn't want Alice to come into the plotline so early, but if I hadn't, it would have taken me a lot longer to come up with a chapter! I don't like making the characters so dramatic; it reminds me of a soap opera way too much. Poor Alice needs time to heal first, though, she's grieving. Why can't just everybody else see that?

This will probably be the only interlude I ever make in this story at least, in the whole series at most. I don't like making them, but I wanted you all to know what had been going on while Harry, Ginny, and the pack are pretty much oblivious to it at the moment.

Review by Loveandpower: I agree he should feel something at least at that time!
Just finished reading the trilogy as it stands and it's pretty sweet waiting excitedly for more chapters!

Response: Thanks! Even if he didn't know when they had died, there's always the 'imprinting' of a memory on your brain of a very important day that changed your life, but he knows the date. Here's the next chapter and thank you for the review!

Review by Lilykees: Interesting, What are the Lovegoods up to? Definitely a twist to keep us poor readers questioning; I love it.

Response: Yes, what are they up to now? Yep, I have even more questions for you guys now! I'm glad you like it so far! Thanks for the review!