I apologize for short and few chapters. Life is busy, work is hell and things to be done. I will try to do better at posting.

positive vibes, positive reviews.

stay safe.


"Actually, the Minister wants to speak to us," Harry thundered over the crowd of mingling people moved down the hill towards the castle.

Ron let go of her hand immediately, "Work calls you; dinner calls me. I'll save you a plate."

"His allergies must be acting up," Harry scoffed once Ron was out of hearing, "because he's allergic to anything work-related."

She looked him square in the eye with a straight face, "Harry Potter, if you make me look bad by laughing at a funeral, I will kill you."

He could see the corner of her mouth struggle to fight off a smile, "I could never make you look bad; you're amazing all the time."

Looking away, shyly, "If Kingsley wanted to speak with us, why did he leave?"

"He didn't," Harry admitted, sighing heavily, "I had to get out of there. I'm sorry I pulled you into my lie."

She shook her head, adamantly, "No, Harry. You saved me!"

He noticed how the pink sky of the setting sun behind her only accentuated her curly hair and small dimples on her cheek. He swallowed hard, "Anyway, I figured we could use this time to look for clues. McGonagall claimed that the riddle on Snape's grave appeared shortly after the funeral-"

"So, you're here about the tree then?" a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Neville- what?" Harry nearly jumped at the intrusion.

"I knew you were here for something bigger than a funeral. I take it you're investigating Snape's grave then?" he smiled at his longtime friend, "I work here, remember?"

Hermione mentally kicked herself for forgetting Neville took over the Herbology position after Professor Spout retired after the war, "We were going to come to see you."

Neville Longbottom indeed outgrew his short chubby frame, but not his medium length hair and round cheeks. His smile lighting up the darkening skies, "So I was right! They are connected!"

Harry put a hand up to quiet their friend, "Hold on, what are you talking about?"

"The tree! You must be here about the tree, and the flowers-" he cut himself off with an excited inhale, "and -and- and the door! They are linked! I knew it!"

"The what?" the Aurors said in unison.

"The tree I found shortly after the cemetery was built. The Headmistress didn't tell you?" Neville looked at them with worried eyes, "Perhaps I said too much."

"Not at all, Neville, we just were not prepared to run into an old mate who knew what us poorly undercover Aurors were up to." Harry gave a smile and pat him on the shoulder.

"How have you been?" Hermione asked after giving him a friendly hug.

Neville smiled, "I've been great since moving out of Gran's. I love her, but a bit overbearing at times. Professor McGonagall still lets her come over for tea, which is nice, but being able to shut the floo off at times is even nicer. You should'a seen the look on Lord Ollivander's face when she came up to him at the service. Said he couldn't believe she survived the war and raising me." Neville's laugh stopped when they didn't join him, "Now that I think of it, it might not have been a joke."

Harry noticed their friend started wringing his hands, "But…?"

"Well, Professor Slughorn's passing before the end of the term leaves us with an empty post." Neville looked nervous., "McGonagall wants me to fill in until we find another."

"You?" Harry pointed at him with a skeptical look, Hermione elbowed him hard. "I didn't mean to be rude."

"That's what I said!" Neville exclaimed, "Me?! Harry, I've melted every cauldron I've come in contact within a classroom setting."

"Isn't there another Professor who's able to help?" Hermione asked, "I'm sure if you tell the Headmistress-"

He shook his head adamantly, his shaggy hair moving down his forehead, "She won't listen, said that Snape is gone and his ghost won't pop up to give me detention. But I ain't one to take that chance!"

"What if you stick to theory? Not as much lab time, I'm sure the students would appreciate it as well." Hermione offered.

Harry felt for him, but they had a job to do, "The tree, Neville. Can you show us the tree?"

"Oh, of course," he nodded and pointed up the hill, "Come on then."

As they passed Snape's grave, Neville did a small bow and greeted the headstone, "Sir."

Harry wondered if the other man knew the grave was empty as well, not that he could ask or tell him. Perhaps it would soothe him knowing the man wasn't, in fact laying six feet below them, nor could roll in his grave for a Longbottom to touch his private stores.

Neville stepped past the Snape's grave, which happened to be the last on in the back of the cemetery. He stepped over large parts of the tree that were uprooted, hurrying around to the back while ducking under low hanging branches.

"What's the story with the tree, Neville?" Harry asked as he looked around the perfectly normal looking tree.

Neville started looking around for something, "It didn't start with the tree. It started with the flowers."

"Someone has been placing flowers at the tree? Being in a cemetery, that doesn't seem too out of the norm, does it?" Harry looked back to Hermione, who shrugged but shooed him to keep following Neville around the tree.

"No, not like that. Someone placed these flowers here but to hide the tree." He said, and used his wand for light as he looked up into the branches of the tree, "There!"

"Flowers are growing on the tree, how is that tied to Snape or anything?" Harry said in frustration as he looked up to see some green flowers growing on the side of the tree.

Neville scowled, "I know you think I'm foolish, but I can tell you that as the Herbology Professor, these are not native to Northern Scotland."

"You think Someone planted them here? I'm sorry Neville, I do not see the connection." Hermione finally said.

"At first, it was the flowers. I was curious as to their origin and went to pick a few for cultivation in the greenhouse. That's when I saw it," Neville used his wand to move the light closer, "Dahlias don't thrive in the winter, let alone on a tree."

He reached up with his other hand and picked one of the flowers, using the light to hold it out in front of his two friends. The large green bloom got larger as if it was reaching its full peak of maturity before quickly fading in color. It went from vibrant green to pure black and shriveled before disintegrating in his hand and floating to the ground and in the small breeze around them.

"What just happened?" Harry pulled out his own wand and started looking at the remnants that were in Neville's hand. He picked up a pinch of the black powder and moved it between his fingers before smelling it. "It smelled burnt."

"It's ash, Harry," Neville said seriously, the grave look on his face highlighted by their wands, "No flower I've seen, nor book I've read has ever covered anything like this. A flower that grows from a tree and not the soil itself is one thing, but this? Someone planted this here intentionally with specific magic that far surpassed anything I've known."

"You say intentionally, how do you know for sure? Hogwarts has many mysteries, a new breed of flower growing in a place where a battle of magic happened and in a cemetery full of people with strong magical energies." Hermione said as she looked around the ground for more flowers.

"Because they planted these to hide this," he used his wand to reach up again, this time the empty spot where the flower he'd picked once been, started to grow a new one immediately. They watched in awe as the bud formed and quickly grew to the flower it once was. Neville used his wand to push the large flowers out of the way, "I don't know about you, but those initials look pretty familiar to me."

Hermione gasped and put a hand to her mouth. The bark of the tree had been disturbed, what looked like decades ago, but the lettering still clear with seventeen marks around it forming a circle.

"SS + JO"

"Bloody hell…" Harry muttered and looked at Hermione.

Hermione quickly reached for her bag and pulled out a piece of parchment and a muggle pencil, "Harry, get a copy, would you?"

"Copy?" Neville asked.

Harry grabbed it from her, "Never did this in primary school, Neville?" he joked and started shading the pencil over the tree.

Hermione was whispering to her quick notes quill, which was going at a furious pace. Suddenly she turned and pointed to Neville, "When did you find this and how?"

"I- I- I came to visit old friends and check on some new ones." Neville's cheeks turned slightly pink in embarrassment, "Not a lot of people our age still here at Hogwarts, eh?"

"Then I'll make it a point to stop in for work more often," Harry smiled at him over his shoulder.

Hermione nodded and continued with her questions, "You mentioned a door?"

"Oh!" he perked up, "Snape's rooms are locked up tighter than Gringotts."

She nodded, "Yes, unfortunately, we are still working on that."

"I wonder if it has to do with the temperature. I'm sure you already went down to check, you know being the Aurors and all." He chuckled and pushed his hair from his face.

Harry spun around from his task, "Temperature?"

"Well, you didn't notice how hot it was down there? For the dungeons? The source of the heat comes from that entrance." Neville looked from them back and forth, "Or… I could be completely wrong."

Hermione looked at Harry and shook her head slightly, "Did you notice the temperature?"

He shook his head, "No, and we should have. Neville, you have been more than helpful. Is there anything we can do for you?"

Smiling at his childhood friends, "Well, you can certainly sit next to me at dinner. It would be nice to have proper company in the Great Hall."