Neville was sitting in his grandparents' garden. It was a warm and sunny day and there were ripe apples on the ground. Most of them had already started to rot and Neville knew that he couldn't eat them. After rolling five apples over, he found one that looked good. He stretched out his hand to take it when he felt a stinging pain in his hand.

Neville started to cry. His hand was red and started to swell.

Strong arms were picking him up. "This was a wasp," his mother said and carried him towards the house. "Don't cry. It will be better soon."

"I told him there were wasps there," another voice said, it was much less friendly. "That's what he gets if he doesn't listen. He shouldn't cry like that either. A Longbottom doesn't cry from a bit of pain. The boy's not supposed to grow up to be a weakling."

"Augusta, really. Neville's a two-year old child, not a trainee Auror," Alice said and went inside with Neville, not talking to the older woman any longer. Inside, she fetched a small bottle of some potion. "This will hurt a bit but it will get better soon," she told him. "Keep still."

Neville did as he was told and his mother was stroking his head. "Good. You're not going to become a weakling, no matter what Gran says."

She raised her wand and spoke a quick spell; afterwards the swelling on Neville's hand was gone.

"I want the apple now," Neville said.

Neville was in a small kitchen, his father was with him. He was cooking dinner. "I want to help," Neville said.

"Alright, you can fetch the tomatoes," his father said. "Be careful not to drop them."

Neville carried the bowl of tomatoes to his father who cut them into slices with a quick spell. Frank put them into a baking dish with cheese and herbs; afterwards they were setting the table, Neville was helping again. This time, one of the plates did fall to the floor though. Frank quickly mended it with his wand. Afterwards, he put Neville into his highchair. Neville didn't like that. He wanted to walk around. "Want down," he said.

"No Neville, you stay in there. Mum will be home soon," his father told him. Neville was annoyed. He didn't want to stay there so he started to kick and cry.

"Neville, stop it!" his father told him but Neville didn't listen.

When his mother opened the door and almost threw her bag on the floor, he fell silent. His Mum was really angry.

"Good evening, Alice," Frank said. "Everything alright?"

"Not really. I'm going to tell you when we're sitting," she said.

Frank turned back to Neville: "Do you want tomatoes?"

"Yes."

He started to slice them into pieces so Neville could eat them with his spoon. He wasn't allowed a knife or fork yet, those were for the adults.

Alice sat down, took a deep breath and said: "Hello Neville. Sorry for startling you."

"Well, he did deserve it," Frank said with a slight smile. "The way he's been acting."

"I'm fine Mum," Neville said, proud that he had learned to say this and started to tuck into his tomatoes.

"So, what happened, dear? Did the Lestranges refuse to show up again?" Frank asked now.

"No. They did turn up and we had to let them go," Neville's mother said, her eyes flashing with anger. Neville knew that she wasn't angry at him now but he preferred to be quiet. He hoped they wouldn't talk about boring adult stuff he didn't understand for too long.

"That's what I feared," Frank said. "So they didn't admit anything?"

"No, of course not," Alice said. "Bellatrix Lestrange did her best to play the cultivated pure-blood lady who would never get her own hands dirty. She arrived at the Ministry wearing gloves so she didn't have to touch anyone who wasn't pure-blood and went on about how impertinent it was to summon a daughter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to the Ministry like a common criminal."

Alice grimaced while Frank looked slightly amused.

"She said that they'd only talk to a pure-blood and Scrimgeour actually conceded this request."

"Maybe he hoped they'd be more likely to get answers this way," Frank suggested.

"Well, he was wrong. Young Kingsley and I questioned her and she told us some unlikely story about how she wanted to start a family now as was her duty as a pure-blood now that this "terrible war" was over and her children could grow up in peace. All the time, she's been using Occlumency of course."

"You didn't find anything suspicious in her mind?" Frank said.

"Well, actually I did. She must have been more involved with the Cruciatus curse than Dolohov and that says something."

Frank looked at her surprised. "And this wasn't enough to keep her?"

Alice shook her head. "No. It's not really possible to tell if she's used it herself or if she's had it used on her. As if! Who should use it on her if she isn't involved with Voldemort?"

"They didn't consent to the use of Veritaserum I assume," Frank said.

"No, they did not," Alice said angrily. "It's outrageous really. They "have the right" to refuse Veritaserum while others have been tortured or sent to Azkaban without a trial."

"You've always disapproved of this kind of thing," Frank said.

"Yes, I do. It is outrageous how all the people from old pure-blood families get such lenient treatment though. First the Malfoys, then Avery and Nott and now the Lestranges as well."

"Well, there has been some nasty incident with Nott's wife," Frank said. "I don't know what happened exactly though, it was in another team and Scrimgeour preferred to handle it discretely."

"Nott is still at large though," Alice said. "But none of them is as much of a threat as the Lestranges are. I'm certain Bellatrix Lestrange is the woman we have been looking for all those years. The one who was referred to as the Dark Lady. "

"We only know that this woman that she has dark eyes, is an excellent duellist, fond of the Cruciatus curse and quite close to Voldemort," Frank said. "The fact that Bellatrix Lestrange is an excellent duellist with dark eyes isn't enough to put her into Azkaban. No Death Eater has testified against the Lestranges and no surviving victim has recognised them."

Alice sighed. "I know that. I'm certain it is because the other Death Eaters are too scared though. Bellatrix is probably the best fighter of the lot and they all depend on Rodolphus Lestrange's healing skills."

"More tomatoes," Neville said. He was still hungry and he didn't want them to ignore him all the time.

"You've forgotten something, Neville," his mother told him.

Neville needed a moment until he knew what she meant. "I want more tomatoes please."

Alice smiled and sliced him a few. "Don't forget to eat some bread too," she told him. Neville took one piece of bread; he didn't want to eat more though. Bread was so dry.

"I spent lots of time to persuade some of the surviving Cruciatus curse-victims to take part in a line-up," Alice told her husband now. "Crouch would have kept them overnight, but the Minister herself intervened. According to her, it is "unnecessary" because the perpetrators wore masks and never used their names. I'm sure they could have recognised their voices though."

"This must have been really frustrating," Frank said. "They should value your efforts more. Lestrange got himself quite a few supporters during his time at Saint Mungo's of course. Among the patients whose life he has saved are Senior Auror Cordelia Savage and Scrimgeour's young daughter, the niece of the Minister. None of them is really keen on sending him to Azkaban if they can avoid it."

"They should have stood up for him when he was dismissed from Saint Mungo's," Alice said. "This way they might have kept him from changing sides."

"You're sure he did?" Frank wanted to know.

"I am sure even though he was very careful not to give anything away," Alice said. "He wanted to know how things are going at Spell Damage department. We didn't tell him of course."

"The answer would have been highly satisfying to him I assume," Frank said. "It's never been the same since Lestrange and Derwent have left."

"You know, while I was talking to him, I really wanted to believe him," Alice said. "I greatly respected his work. But I couldn't. He has used Occlumency very carefully, always showing the right memories but I could tell he had changed greatly. I didn't find any details but that much was obvious. Not enough of course, he only admitted that he treated people who "might have been Death Eaters" but he knows like us that there's no law against that. Everyone who has sworn the Healer's Oath has the right and duty to do this."

"What about Rabastan Lestrange?" Frank asked.

"Well, he told all kinds of wild stories about some parties where he has been drinking with known Death Eaters without really knowing what they were doing. He claimed he had never believed in the entire pure-blood ideology and had a half-blood girlfriend for a year and a half. No idea if that's true, I'm sure he has to do with the Death Eaters as well, but he might not be as deeply involved as the others. In the end, he wanted to invite me to accompany him to one of the parties he attends so I can see that there's nothing illegal happening there."

"You refused, I hope?"

"Of course."

"I'm glad to hear it. Last time you accepted a Death Eater's invitation to get information, things didn't go too smoothly," Frank said.

Alice blushed. "That's ages ago."

Frank grinned but his face turned serious again rather quickly. "So Crouch let them go without any restrictions?"

"Yes," Alice said angrily. "I know this is a mistake but no one wanted to listen to me. Scrimgeour told me I had a personal problem with the Lestranges."

"Well, you are rather passionate about the subject," Frank said.

"Maybe I am. I just don't understand how someone as intelligent as Rodolphus can fall for Voldemort's plot like that. He refused to talk to any of us after he had lost his job. I tried it, Emmeline Vance tried it, Remus Lupin did as well but he wouldn't hear any of it. He wanted to believe that Dumbledore and Crouch were the ones who begrudged him his success while in fact Voldemort had wanted to get him away from Saint Mungo's so he couldn't help his enemies anymore. He should have known better."

"So you're calling him Rodolphus again?" Frank asked.

Alice glared at him. "Using their last names isn't very practical when there are three of them," she said.

"I know," Frank said. "Let's just hope that they really want to live peacefully and repopulate pure-blood society with seven children. It's not just but there's not much we can do about it I'm afraid. I will try though; maybe my father can achieve something. The Longbottom family isn't without influence either you know. And remember, all eyes are on them now and I'm sure Crouch will strike as soon as he can. If Bellatrix Lestrange really is the Dark Lady, she won't settle down. She'll make a mistake and do something rash sooner or later and then we'll catch her."

"Yes, but not before this "mistake" has cost the lives of innocent people," Alice said. "I don't want to be the one who explains to the families why we didn't prevent this"

Neville started to cry. His mother was sounding so angry and upset. He didn't know what was going but he knew that they weren't happy about it. The tomatoes were already eaten.

Alice took him on her lap. "Oh Neville, I'm sorry. We really shouldn't have ignored you like that," she said. "There's been trouble at work you know."

Neville didn't really understand but he was glad that he was close to her and that she didn't seem so angry anymore.

Neville was running around in his playpen. His mother was watching him when his father came into the living-room as well. He looked very stopped running and watched them, holding onto the wooden bars.

"Alice, I have to go to the Ministry now."

"Frank, do you really think this is necessary? Do you really think you are the one who has to do this? You have a small child."

Neville looked up when he heard his mother say his name. Why was she so sad?

"We have already discussed this. I have to go," Frank said.

"Not a single member of Dawlish's team has returned," Alice said.

"I know. That's why it's very likely that they've found him," Frank responded.

"I don't think so. The Balkans region is full of dark wizards. They've probably gotten involved in some sort of trouble that doesn't concern us at all."

"Even if that's true," Frank said. "No Auror, dead or alive, will be left behind in the hands of the enemy. We have to find them. I'd want someone to do the same if it was me."

Alice hugged him. "I'm so scared it will be you next time and I have to go and get you back," she sobbed.

"Oh Alice, love, what's the matter with you? It's strange how this one year of peace could change so much. We always knew that every day might be our last before. You and I both knew that it was necessary, that we had to make this sacrifice."

"Yes, I know," Alice said, her voice still stifled by tears. "But back then, we didn't have a child. Neville needs his father, Frank."

"I'll do my best to come home alive," Frank promised. "But I have to go. This might be our chance to finish him off completely. We might be able to end this forever. Do you really think I shouldn't take part in this?"

"No Frank, you're right. I've been foolish. Selfish and foolish," Alice said. "You're right, maybe he's really there. You have to try and end this."

Frank put his arms around her. "I'm glad you understand it now, love. I'd hate to leave you behind feeling bitter about my decision."

"Yes, I understand now," she whispered.

"Please promise me one thing," Frank said his voice husky. "Explain it to Neville if something does go wrong. Tell him I love him."

"Yes, Frank, I promise," Alice said, crying again.

Neville's father walked over to Neville and knelt down beside him. "Hey little man. Daddy has to go on a long journey now. I hope I'll be home for Christmas but I can't tell you for sure. But believe me, I'm not leaving you. I'm doing this for you and all the other children. I want you to be able to grow up in peace. Bye, Neville."

He got up and kissed Alice goodbye, before leaving with his suitcase.

Neville sat under the large Christmas tree in his grandparents' living-room. It was decorated with real candles that were charmed so Neville couldn't touch them and he had gotten lots of sweets and gifts.

Granddad Frederic and Grandma Augusta were there, so were Great Aunt Enid with Great Uncle Algie and even Great Aunt Callidora and Great Uncle Harfang. Neville was a bit wary around those two, maybe because his mother was as well.

One person was still missing though. "Mum, where is Dad? He said he'll be here for Christmas."

"Your Dad isn't back yet," Alice said. "He's still travelling for the Ministry."

"I want Dad to be here," Neville said, tears in his eyes.

"I know, Neville, I know. I hope he comes back soon too," his mother said.

Even Neville's stern Grandmother seemed worried. "I really hope everything's okay. All the other teams of Aurors have returned by now."

"Well, the last team that has taken this route isn't back either," Algie said. "It's been all over the papers."

"You're talent to cheer us all up is really admirable," his wife told him.

"I don't think this kind of speculation will lead us anywhere," Callidora said. "A good friend of mine in Belgrade has met some British Aurors two weeks ago. She told me because she knew one of them was my nephew. They seemed to be perfectly well if very busy. It's very likely that they weren't able to finish their job before Christmas. Didn't Crouch tell you this might be the case?"

"Yes, you're right of course," Alice said. "Did you hear this Neville? Great Aunt Callidora's friend has met your Dad. He's still busy but I'm sure he'll be home soon."

It was a grey day in February. Alice had taken Neville to the playground despite of the bad weather, neither mother nor son liked to be locked up inside all day. There were only very few children there with their parents. Some older youths played a game that involved kicking a ball and plenty of yelling. Neville was a bit scared of them but his mother was there so he would be safe.

He sat in the sandbox and tried to build something like the toy model of Hogwarts he had been given for Christmas by his Grandfather. It kept crumbling down every time though. Neville started to grow impatient.

"Hey, do you want a bit of help?"

Neville flinched. One of the older youths had walked over to him. He had untidy light hair and many freckles on his face. He smiled and seemed quite nice. Neville wasn't scared anymore. Maybe he'd really help him.

"Yes," he said before he remembered what his parents had taught him. "Yes, please."

The older boy sat down besides Neville and put a wooden stick out of his pocket. Neville recognised it right away. "You're a-"

The older boy put a finger on his lips before tapping the sand with his wand. It was much easier to build the sand castle now.

"Thank you," Neville said. He remembered that they weren't supposed to talk about magic when they were out there with the Muggles.

"No problem. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Neville," he said grinning and the two of them continued making the sand castle.

"Do you know where your Daddy is, Neville?" the older boy asked.

"Daddy's at work," Neville said. His mother had told him to give this answer. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone that he was away for longer.

"Hello Barty, what are you doing here?" Neville's mother asked. He hadn't heard her come closer at all.

"Ah, Mrs Longbottom, good to see you," the young man, Barty, said. "I was looking for your husband. Mother and Winky have cleaned up our garden house and they've found his umbrella. He must have forgotten it at the MLE's summer party."

He handed the umbrella to Alice who gave him a puzzled look. "Thank you. You wouldn't have needed to travel here to bring his umbrella though. I don't think Frank's ever really missed it."

"Well, I was a bit bored really," Barty said. "School's out you know and I don't really know what I want to do now."

"You have excellent marks your father said," Alice told him. "I'm sure the Ministry would gladly take you."

"Yes, but I don't know if I really want to go there. I'd love to travel a bit, get to know the world and everything. Father's against it of course. He thinks I'm not able to do it. As if I was still a little child."

He was talking very quickly.

Alice raised her eyebrows. "Yes, that must be quite difficult for you. I can't really help you though, I'm afraid. Thank you for bringing the umbrella. Neville and I really need to go home now, it's quite cold. Come on Neville."

"I don't feel cold and we've only just-"

"Neville, come on. Bye, Barty."

She took Neville by the arm and steered him away. On their way back, she kept looking behind herself. "Listen Neville, you must not talk to strangers. Do you understand this?"

"Yes, Mum," Neville said, wondering what had upset her so much.

"Neville, we have to pack your things. We're going to visit Granma and Grandpa," Alice said. She was quite agitated.

"Take the champs to them?" Neville asked. He didn't really want to visit Granma and Grandpa. Gran was always so strict. He'd rather have stayed with his Mum.

"What? The mushrooms? Yes, you're right. Maybe we should take them."

Alice took Neville by the arm and apparated with him. Neville hated this. It made him feel sick. His mother hardly ever did it because of that.

"Alice dear, what's the matter," Neville Grandmother asked when they arrived. "You're really pale."

"Hello Augusta. Sorry for bothering you but we had to get away. I've just been out with Neville looking for mushrooms and someone's been watching us. Someone wearing an Invisibility Cloak. There was no rain in this one spot. Someone's been following us, I'm certain about it."

Neville didn't understand what his mother was talking about but he did know that she was scared. He began to cry. He had never seen her mother be really scared before. It must be something really bad.

"Are you sure?" Augusta asked. "Maybe there's just been a very dense tree over you."

"I know that there's something wrong. Mr Crouch's son, young Barty turned up on the playground last week. He's approached Neville. Barty said he had come to bring an umbrella Frank had forgotten but I can't really believe that."

"Mr Crouch's son? Really Alice, you can't seriously believe that he is involved with bad folks," Augusta said. "He's a fine young lad from a good family. I think you're getting a bit paranoid because Frank's away for so long. Let's make lunch; I hope that'll calm you down. You can stay here of course if it makes you feel better."

"Thank you, Augusta."

The door bell rang. Alice flinched slightly before walking towards the door, her wand in her hand. Augusta and Neville followed.

"Hello Alice, what kind of reception is that? You haven't been expecting an attack, have you?"

"Dad!" Neville shouted and wanted to run towards him but his Gran held him back.

For a moment, Alice looked as if she wanted to hug him, than she stopped in her tracks. "Frank, what did you tell me during our sixth year when I was suffering from Dragon Pox?"

"I told you that you weren't supposed to thank a Slytherin because it meant betraying Gryffindor."

"Really Frank, I didn't raise you to behave like that," Augusta said. "A Longbottom is polite to everyone, no matter which school house he's in."

"Yes, Mum," Frank said. "The Slytherin in question is a Death Eater now though. He didn't really deserve my politeness."

The next moment, everyone was hugging each other. Alice had tears in her eyes, this time from happiness. Augusta led all of them inside. Neville didn't want to leave his Dad's side anymore at all.

He had been away for soo long.

It was night. Neville's parents were both lying on the ground, wounded and in pain. Neville felt cold, so very cold. Something terrible was going on but he couldn't grasp it. He was holding onto his mother's arm tightly.

She said: "Be good and do the right thing,"

"Enough of this sentimentality," one of the masked men said. His voice was very cold. Neville had heard him say another word before, this terrible word. "Make sure your son is getting himself out of the way," he added.

"I think you should take him away. Dump him at some Muggle's house," another one of the masked figures said. Her voice was high and screechy, a woman's. Listening to her hurt his ears.

"Evelyn. Take him to Evelyn, will you? The house next to ours," Neville's mother said.

"Yes, I'll take him there", another one of the masked men said. He sounded almost scared too. Neville had heard his voice before but he didn't remember where.

"Thank you," Alice said.

The masked man tried to pick him up, but Neville didn't want to go with him. He wanted to stay with his Mum and Dad. His mother was crying now. "You have to go with this man Neville," she said.

Neville didn't want to go with him, but he couldn't do anything about it. He was too small. He had to let himself be led outside by the masked man. He had to leave his Mum and Dad.

It was raining outside. The man took him over to the neighbours' house and made him sit down on the doorstep. When he looked at him, Neville saw that his mask didn't cover his complete face. There were green eyes and pale, freckled skin. Now, Neville remembered who this was.

"Do we build a sand castle again?" he asked.

"No Neville, we won't," he said, his voice sounded very odd. He rang the doorbell. "Someone's going to come for you soon. Give them this note."

He slipped a piece of parchment into Neville's hand and looked at him once again before walking away into the darkness.

A man with very short hair was holding Neville now. He too was very pale. "That's too much, way too much," he muttered before raising his wand. "Obliviate!"

Neville knew that something was wrong. He began to cry. All those pictures in his head were gone now, there was nothing anymore, absolutely nothing? He only saw the things around him right now. There was a desk and a clock at the wall; some shelves were lined with files.

Neville flinched when the door was opened. A tall woman with short brown hair walked in. Her eyes fell on Neville. "Dawlish, what's wrong with the boy?"

"I used a Memory Charm. It might have been a bit too strong," the man said, shifting uncomfortable. "Sorry Madam Savage."

"Sorry? Do you have any idea what you have done to this child? Can I not leave you alone with the child for a few minutes?"

"He couldn't go on like this. Not with the things he has seen," Dawlish said.

"You cannot do something like this without asking your superiors. There will be consequences! A trained Healer should have taken care of the boy!"

Dawlish looked down at his feet.

The woman sighed in exasperation. "Go and inform the family. You can explain to them what you have done right away."