Chapter 28
He was trapped in a room with no apparent way out. Darkness stretched in all sides as far as he could see, and the only source of light was from the shots of green lights that immersed from four wands. The only source of sounds were the cackling laughter coming from the four, but even that was drowned out by the screams of the two people floating, their bodies contorting and their mouths wide open, screaming in pain.
Neville Longbottom immediately recognized what was happening. He tried to yell, a weak attempt to call for them, but he couldn't even hear his own voice against his parents' screams. He recognized the other four—three males with masks over their faces and a woman with black hair that was all over her face. Frozen on his spot to do anything to stop them, Neville clenched his fists, closing his eyes as he tried to drown out the sound of their screams.
The woman drew back her wand, laughing manically before she glowered at the bodies, which were still screaming from the three other Death Eaters. "Where is he?!" She shrieked. When they continued screaming, she yelled in frustration before pointing her wand back. "Crucio!"
Neville looked away, gritting his teeth and placing his clenched fists on either side of him. That was when he felt his wand in his pocket.
With tears in his eyes, Neville drew the wand and pointed it at the four. He didn't hesitate. "Stupefy!" He yelled. A burst of red sparks hit one of the men first, and Neville skillfully repeated it on the others, barely missing a spell shot his way. They all sprawled on the ground, unconscious.
Neville ran to his parents, whose bodies were just a few meters from the Death Eaters. As he stepped closer, he wondered why one of his parents had long blonde hair.
Oh Merlin no…Neville thought horrified. Hannah!
He looked at the other body next to her. Instead of his dad's balding head, it was a head full of brown hair. No…
Hannah and Arnold. Neville kneeled by them and tried to shake both of them, but neither of them stirred.
And behind him, he heard the sound of rustling. He turned around to see the woman standing over him.
But it wasn't Bellatrix. The woman was as pale as Bellatrix and had the same hair and eyes, but she wasn't Bellatrix.
It was Gemini Ridley.
"G-Gemini…" Neville breathed. But before he could continue, she gave him the coldest smile before pointing her wand at the three of them.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Neville woke up to the sound of Hannah screaming. He was sweating despite the bedroom windows were open, and his heart was racing. Neville tried to calm down, realizing that it was all just a dream, and Hannah's scream wasn't in pain.
"NEV, GET OVER HERE NOW!" Hannah screamed. Without thinking, Neville jumped out of bed, ran out the door, and into the living room. He saw Hannah and Arnold there, and he took a step back when he saw Gemini in a black dress that quickly reminded him of his dream.
"Neville!" Hannah squealed. "Arnold and Gemini are engaged!"
Neville looked at Gemini, and how he understood why he could mistake Gemini for Bellatrix Lestrange. They had similar skin, hair, and eyes, though they differed in a way that they looked different. From time to time he would have recurring nightmares of his parents, but he couldn't understand why Gemini suddenly came in the picture. But he looked at her closely, the Slytherin girl who had once been his student, and he figured she had been in a relationship long enough with his son that part of him was beginning to link the similarities between the two.
"Nev…dear, is something wrong?" Hannah asked when he didn't respond for a moment.
It's just a dream. Neville shrugged, noticing the way Arnold smiled. He had never seem him happier. They're going to be wonderful together. He smiled warmly at her. "Welcome to the family, Gemini." He said. Just a dream.
~0~
Hannah was so happy for her son's engagement—possibly even happier than Gemini and Arnold—that she put off working downstairs and hastily planned a family lunch upstairs. Neville had to return to Hogwarts to check on the greenhouse, but he promised that he would be back before lunch. Gemini and Arnold were helping out in the kitchen with Hannah, who was already planning the wedding.
"Oh, but of course we're not going to have the wedding here. Maybe along a nice field or something like that—but I heard Muggles got married in big places called Cathedrals, so if you want a wedding like that, maybe we could plan one." Hannah babbled on as she watched the enchanted knives cut vegetables. "Now your father and I got married four months after we started dating—not judging that you're marrying after three months, of course—we had a very simple wedding so it didn't take long for us to get married after Neville proposed. Speaking of which, when do you plan to…?"
"Maybe in a few months—is that fine?" Arnold looked at Gemini, who was beside him helping by cutting water spinach. She nodded. "Maybe after Gemini gets this Auror thing going on."
"Oh, alright, but we should definitely throw an engagement party soon." Hannah gushed. She added quickly, "Just a small dinner downstairs with friends and family."
"I suppose, Hannah." Gemini consented.
Hannah laughed. "I'm just so happy. Just yesterday I was tugging Arnie along to the Hogwarts Express and now here I am cooking lunch with my future daughter-in-law." An idea popped in her head. "Speaking of which…Gemini, how would you feel about moving in up here?"
Gemini looked up from the vegetables, noticing Arnold turning a shade redder as well. "You could move out of the inn and into Arnold's room." Hannah beamed. "It's not the tidiest place in the house but I suppose you and Arnold are old enough to share the same room."
Gemini wondered if the we-stayed-out-really-late-that-you-didn't-see-Arnold-come-home excuse worked a while ago. "Uhh…"
"Mum, please." Arnold said, flushed. "We just got engaged. We haven't even thought about a ton of details yet, let alone who stays where."
"Sorry—but I'm just so excited!" Hannah sighed. "I'll leave it to the two of you."
The three of them heard a loud thump from downstairs, and Hannah stood up. "Must be out of flour again, downstairs." She muttered as she took her apron off. "You two continue on. I'll be back."
The two of them heard Hannah go down the stairs and out the front door. They quietly looked at each other and laughed. "I'm guessing it'll be a handful living in the Longbottom flat." Gemini laughed.
"You'll never be bored." Arnold said dryly. "But, now that you're going to be part of the family…"
"What is it?"
"I heard mum talking to dad about wanting to retire from the Leaky Cauldron and work at Hogwarts." Arnold explained. "And now that I'm not studying and I've got a job of my own, mom plans on leaving soon. Madam Pomfrey's offering the job next year, if she's interested. She's always wanted the job for a while."
"Well that's great, isn't it? She and Neville get to work at the same place and she'll be doing something she likes."
Arnold nodded. "It is, and I'm happy for her if she takes it. But…"
"But?" Gemini reached and held his hand.
He winced. "If she's not running the Leaky Cauldron, either I will, or I have to move out for the next person who runs the place."
He looked at her and she understood. "I'd want your mother to be happy and be a Healer, but what do you want, Arnold?"
Arnold sighed. "I love my job. I love working in the library. But I don't see myself working two jobs or leaving the library to work here. Mum makes the job look easier than it is, but she's in charge of everything here and I don't think I can do the same."
"Then we'll move out." Gemini said before she realized how impossible that was.
"I'd love to, believe me. I'd love to have a normal house to live in without having to climb three stories. After Hogwarts, I was really hoping I could find a place of my own." Arnold said. "Don't you?"
"I know the feeling," she replied, remembering the time she was so desperate in getting a place of her own. He must have thought of the same thing because he smiled and leaned over the table. Gemini did the same and kissed him back.
"I just want a house of our own, you know? A normal house without having to pass through a pub where I can come home to my wife and kids." Arnold continued. "And let's be honest: we're not in a position to afford a house right now."
A pang of guilt passed through her because she knew it was true. "After I become an Auror, I'm pretty sure we can afford one." Gemini pointed out.
"And I've actually done pretty well. Mr. Blake says at this rate, I could be Junior Head of Archives in a few months' time."
"See?" Gemini smiled. "Problem solved. The Auror Training's like, what? Six months, tops?"
"Yeah. Here." He touched her hand. "We have to make a promise: We are not going to think about marriage until we can get a house of our own. Not until you finish Auror Training. Not until I get a promotion. Not until we can afford to move out of here—and somewhere decent."
She held her pinky out. "Pinky promise?"
He blinked. "Is that like an Unbreakable Vow or something?"
Gemini giggled. "It's a Muggle thing." She laughed, locking her pinky in his. "It's pretty much an Unbreakable Vow for Muggles, but it's not lethal."
"What happens if we break it, then?"
"Errr…it's not really binding. More of an honor code thing."
"Oh, okay then." He grinned as he locked his pinky with her. "I pinky promise to wait for us to buy a house of our own before we can get married. Does the finger turn red or something before—"
"Never mind." Gemini exhaled, chuckling as she got back to work on the vegetables.
Six months before I get married—seven if I need time to plan a wedding. Maybe just a small one: his friends, my friends, his family—our family. Maybe eight. Gemini tried to remember bits of what Harry told her about Auror Training. He said "months", right? I'm sure he said months. She felt guilty that she and Arnold had to wait, knowing that they loved each other so much. But they didn't want to start a life together unhappy, so Gemini let it go, silently hoping Hermione would give her a job offer after the weekend.
