I do not own Harry Potter. I still can't figure out how anyone would think
that I did.
Chapter 2 The Whole Family
About a week or so into the summer, the Longbottom house was filled with noise, laughter, and the smell of an amazing meal which was currently being prepared, not to mention more family members than any one family should rightfully hold. It happened every year around this time, a family reunion. Everyone of the nearly 40 or so people milling about the house were somehow related to everyone else there, though at various distances, and right in the thick of it was one Mr. Neville Longbottom.
Neville tried his best to make himself blend in with the wall behind him. He was successful for a while, watching his extended family move about his home, talking about the same things they did last year and laughing at the same jokes that were told every year since Neville could remember. Neville's luck, however, ran out, and his hopes of letting this year's reunion pass without him were shattered. He was spotted.
"Neville!" an awkward looking boy with dark blonde hair shouted at him.
"Hello, Eugene," Neville said in a voice that clearly stated that he would have rather not admitted to his younger cousin's existence. Neville was five years Eugene's senior and the kid idolized him, for reasons Neville had never been able to figure out.
"Guess what, Neville!" Eugene commanded excitedly. Neville absolutely despised the way Eugene drew out his name, as though he got stuck on the L and couldn't stop.
"What?" Neville asked flatly.
"No, Neville!" Eugene seemed incapable of maintaining a normal volume in his excitement of talking to Neville. "You have to guess, silly! That's why I said guess what!"
Neville rubbed his left temple at the oncoming headache. "Tiny men from another planet stole your pants while you were asleep last night," he ventured a guess. Apparently sharing a school house and a dormitory with so many Weasleys had brought out his sarcastic side.
"No, Neville!" the younger boy answered. "Could they though? Does that really happen, Neville?"
And they thought I was naive, Neville marveled to himself. "I really don't know, Eugene."
"Guess again, Neville! Come on guess again!" Eugene was rocking on the edge of his chair with excitement.
"I have no idea. Why don't you just go ahead and tell me," Neville prompted.
"Aww!" Eugene whined. "But that's not the way you play the game, Neville!" Eugene's lower lip jutted out, and Neville rolled his eyes, convinced that he was going to have to play this game until his aunt and uncle pried Eugene away so that they could go home. Since they had only just arrived, that would not be for a very long time.
Before Neville got a chance to answer, a tiny little girl with pigtails tied up in bright pink ribbon crawled up in his lap. "Hello, Laney," Neville smiled down at the happy little three year old curled up on his lap.
"Ello, Nevoo," she said softly, smiling sweetly up at him. She laid her head against his chest, and closed her eyes.
"Aren't you going to guess again, Neville?" Eugene asked, completely ignoring the young girl cuddled up to his cousin.
"Not right now, Eugene," Neville answered. "I think we ought to let her sleep. Maybe later."
Eugene gave a huffy sigh. "Fine," he scowled, and then got up and set off to find something else to entertain him.
"Thank you, Laney," Neville whispered to one of the only family members he could stand to be around. The tiny child snuggled closer and made a small cooing noise in response to his words.
Neville reached over to the bookcase next to him, and grabbed the closest book. He arranged Laney and himself into a comfortable position and began to read. It wasn't long though before his seclusion was interrupted yet again, this time by Eugene's father, Neville's great uncle Algie.
"Hello," Neville greeted politely, carefully keeping his voice low so as not to wake the sleeping child in his arms.
His Uncle apparently did not believe that such courtesies were necessary, as he greeted Neville at a much higher decibel. "What are you doing over in the corner child. You think you're too good for us?" The older man snorted in a deep barking laugh that grated on his great nephew's nerves more than fingernails on a blackboard at what he must have considered a joke.
Neville looked back at him and feigned a smile, hoping it didn't look as much like a sneer as it felt. Laney stirred, and Neville rocked slightly and whispered words of comfort in her ear. Her breathing slowed, and Neville smiled at the small triumph of keeping her asleep. He settled back again, and looked around for his book, forgetting that his great uncle was sitting with him, and that he happened to be in the middle of a conversation with the man.
"Not worth the effort, my boy," the man said, once again with a voice of such volume that he could surely have woken the dead, but at the very least the toddler Neville was so desperately trying not to disturb. The meaning of his statement was revealed before Laney fully woke. He snatched her from Neville's arms, and told him that it was time to eat. Laney's eyes filled with tears, as she stared over the shoulder of the man who held her, to the boy whose arms she had been in just moments ago.
"Nevoo," she cried, reaching out her arms trying to get back to her cousin.
"It's okay, Laney," he said softly to the child. "He's going to take you to get some food." He smiled brightly for her, and she was carried off to the other side of the massive table. Neville looked around for an empty chair. Upon finding one, he sat and stared at the place card in front of him. The empty chair had apparently been meant for him as the card had the name Neville Longbottom written across it in his grandmother's curvy handwriting. Am I going to get confused with some other Neville? He wondered. Why is my last name on here? Why are there place cards to begin with? He sighed. Gran always goes overboard.
Neville was pulled out of his thoughts by the loud airy laugh of the boy sitting next to him. Sitting behind the place card with the name Langston Longbottom scrolled across was a boy only a bit older than Neville. They had played together when they were younger, but had never truly become friends. They hadn't spoken much since they told one another which school they had been accepted to. Langston went to Beauxbatons and Neville to Hogwarts. Langston considered Hogwarts an inferior school, and mentioned that fact to his younger cousin often. Neville watched him tuck a lock of his wavy brown hair behind his ear and then continue his conversation with the woman next to him. Neville began to fill his plate, and listened to the babble around him, Langston being the loudest.
"Yes," Langston in a voice that didn't lack for confidence on a nearly comical level. "I believe I scraped in more O.W.L.s than anyone in my class," he bragged. "But of course that is only speculation, as the results are confidential." He turned to his food, and caught a glimpse of Neville. "How did you do on your O.W.L.s, Neville?" he sneered.
"I won't know for a couple of weeks," Neville answered, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. Alas, it was not meant to be, as Langston continued to speak.
"I received my results just this morning," Langston replied as though he personally should be praised for how quickly the results came out. Neville didn't reply, but began nibbling on a roll instead.
"I suppose it's all in the way that the school is run. Ours is always ever so organized. It's no wonder my results came quicker than yours," he smiled at Neville in a very 'Na-Nee-Na-Nee-Boo-Boo' sort of way, and Neville was immediately bombarded with the mental image of himself jabbing his butter knife into the other boy's eye. Neville shook his head, and turned away from Langston on the pretense of grabbing another roll.
In the seat to Neville's left sat Eugene, and upon noticing this Neville immediately began banging his head on the table beside his plate. Why, oh, why does Gran do this to me? Neville screamed in his own mind. Unfortunately, Neville's fit drew the attention of the whole table. Eugene looked terrified and asked repeatedly if Neville was okay. Langston backed as far from Neville's seat as possible, as though afraid it was contagious. There was a tiny cry of "Nevoo" from across the table, and he looked up at the little girl's fear filled face. When she saw that he was in fact okay she smiled brightly at him. Neville marveled at the innocence in that expression until he heard another comment from one of the many family members startled by his outburst.
"Does insanity run in your side of the family, Evelyn?" Enid Longbottom asked of Neville's grandmother. Which earned her a slap across the face from the older woman. "How dare you!" Enid shrieked, but Evelyn Longbottom stood her ground. "I was just asking." Enid started, but was cut short by the wand tip hovering less than an inch from the bridge of her nose.
"Enid, Algie, I think it would be best if you collect Eugene and your things, and leave my house immediately," her voice and wand were rock steady as she spoke. The two who had been addressed quickly got up and went after their things, while Eugene sat and complained that now Neville wouldn't have time to guess his secret. Soon, though, he was ushered from the table and towards the front door.
"Bye, Neville!" the boy called over his shoulder. "See you soon!" Merlin, I hope not, Neville said, though he was fairly sure it was not out loud.
He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Gran looked down at him, her face completely unreadable. "Go upstairs and lay down, Neville," she said quietly. Afraid to incur the wrath of the woman standing above him, and because he didn't really want to be there in the first place, he hastened to comply.
Neville entered his room and flopped down on his bed. I truly hate family reunions. Something always goes wrong, and I am usually the one to blame, or at least the one who gets blamed. Neville lay there for a while thinking, and listening to the babble downstairs. He wished he could have said goodbye to Laney. He had a feeling she was going to grow up to hate these things as much as he did. At least I don't have to be part of the rest of this one, he thought.
He dozed a bit between thoughts, ignoring the softening noise from downstairs. He was nearly asleep when his bedroom door burst open, leaving his grandmother standing in its empty frame. He sat up straight at the noise, and then cowered back at the anger radiating off of the infuriated witch.
A/N I wrote this. I'm tired now. Please review. I'm getting rather discouraged. Thanks to Erfa, my wonderful beta, and to the four of you who actually made it through the last chapter to spite it's rather hideous state, now review this one. Goodnight.
Chapter 2 The Whole Family
About a week or so into the summer, the Longbottom house was filled with noise, laughter, and the smell of an amazing meal which was currently being prepared, not to mention more family members than any one family should rightfully hold. It happened every year around this time, a family reunion. Everyone of the nearly 40 or so people milling about the house were somehow related to everyone else there, though at various distances, and right in the thick of it was one Mr. Neville Longbottom.
Neville tried his best to make himself blend in with the wall behind him. He was successful for a while, watching his extended family move about his home, talking about the same things they did last year and laughing at the same jokes that were told every year since Neville could remember. Neville's luck, however, ran out, and his hopes of letting this year's reunion pass without him were shattered. He was spotted.
"Neville!" an awkward looking boy with dark blonde hair shouted at him.
"Hello, Eugene," Neville said in a voice that clearly stated that he would have rather not admitted to his younger cousin's existence. Neville was five years Eugene's senior and the kid idolized him, for reasons Neville had never been able to figure out.
"Guess what, Neville!" Eugene commanded excitedly. Neville absolutely despised the way Eugene drew out his name, as though he got stuck on the L and couldn't stop.
"What?" Neville asked flatly.
"No, Neville!" Eugene seemed incapable of maintaining a normal volume in his excitement of talking to Neville. "You have to guess, silly! That's why I said guess what!"
Neville rubbed his left temple at the oncoming headache. "Tiny men from another planet stole your pants while you were asleep last night," he ventured a guess. Apparently sharing a school house and a dormitory with so many Weasleys had brought out his sarcastic side.
"No, Neville!" the younger boy answered. "Could they though? Does that really happen, Neville?"
And they thought I was naive, Neville marveled to himself. "I really don't know, Eugene."
"Guess again, Neville! Come on guess again!" Eugene was rocking on the edge of his chair with excitement.
"I have no idea. Why don't you just go ahead and tell me," Neville prompted.
"Aww!" Eugene whined. "But that's not the way you play the game, Neville!" Eugene's lower lip jutted out, and Neville rolled his eyes, convinced that he was going to have to play this game until his aunt and uncle pried Eugene away so that they could go home. Since they had only just arrived, that would not be for a very long time.
Before Neville got a chance to answer, a tiny little girl with pigtails tied up in bright pink ribbon crawled up in his lap. "Hello, Laney," Neville smiled down at the happy little three year old curled up on his lap.
"Ello, Nevoo," she said softly, smiling sweetly up at him. She laid her head against his chest, and closed her eyes.
"Aren't you going to guess again, Neville?" Eugene asked, completely ignoring the young girl cuddled up to his cousin.
"Not right now, Eugene," Neville answered. "I think we ought to let her sleep. Maybe later."
Eugene gave a huffy sigh. "Fine," he scowled, and then got up and set off to find something else to entertain him.
"Thank you, Laney," Neville whispered to one of the only family members he could stand to be around. The tiny child snuggled closer and made a small cooing noise in response to his words.
Neville reached over to the bookcase next to him, and grabbed the closest book. He arranged Laney and himself into a comfortable position and began to read. It wasn't long though before his seclusion was interrupted yet again, this time by Eugene's father, Neville's great uncle Algie.
"Hello," Neville greeted politely, carefully keeping his voice low so as not to wake the sleeping child in his arms.
His Uncle apparently did not believe that such courtesies were necessary, as he greeted Neville at a much higher decibel. "What are you doing over in the corner child. You think you're too good for us?" The older man snorted in a deep barking laugh that grated on his great nephew's nerves more than fingernails on a blackboard at what he must have considered a joke.
Neville looked back at him and feigned a smile, hoping it didn't look as much like a sneer as it felt. Laney stirred, and Neville rocked slightly and whispered words of comfort in her ear. Her breathing slowed, and Neville smiled at the small triumph of keeping her asleep. He settled back again, and looked around for his book, forgetting that his great uncle was sitting with him, and that he happened to be in the middle of a conversation with the man.
"Not worth the effort, my boy," the man said, once again with a voice of such volume that he could surely have woken the dead, but at the very least the toddler Neville was so desperately trying not to disturb. The meaning of his statement was revealed before Laney fully woke. He snatched her from Neville's arms, and told him that it was time to eat. Laney's eyes filled with tears, as she stared over the shoulder of the man who held her, to the boy whose arms she had been in just moments ago.
"Nevoo," she cried, reaching out her arms trying to get back to her cousin.
"It's okay, Laney," he said softly to the child. "He's going to take you to get some food." He smiled brightly for her, and she was carried off to the other side of the massive table. Neville looked around for an empty chair. Upon finding one, he sat and stared at the place card in front of him. The empty chair had apparently been meant for him as the card had the name Neville Longbottom written across it in his grandmother's curvy handwriting. Am I going to get confused with some other Neville? He wondered. Why is my last name on here? Why are there place cards to begin with? He sighed. Gran always goes overboard.
Neville was pulled out of his thoughts by the loud airy laugh of the boy sitting next to him. Sitting behind the place card with the name Langston Longbottom scrolled across was a boy only a bit older than Neville. They had played together when they were younger, but had never truly become friends. They hadn't spoken much since they told one another which school they had been accepted to. Langston went to Beauxbatons and Neville to Hogwarts. Langston considered Hogwarts an inferior school, and mentioned that fact to his younger cousin often. Neville watched him tuck a lock of his wavy brown hair behind his ear and then continue his conversation with the woman next to him. Neville began to fill his plate, and listened to the babble around him, Langston being the loudest.
"Yes," Langston in a voice that didn't lack for confidence on a nearly comical level. "I believe I scraped in more O.W.L.s than anyone in my class," he bragged. "But of course that is only speculation, as the results are confidential." He turned to his food, and caught a glimpse of Neville. "How did you do on your O.W.L.s, Neville?" he sneered.
"I won't know for a couple of weeks," Neville answered, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. Alas, it was not meant to be, as Langston continued to speak.
"I received my results just this morning," Langston replied as though he personally should be praised for how quickly the results came out. Neville didn't reply, but began nibbling on a roll instead.
"I suppose it's all in the way that the school is run. Ours is always ever so organized. It's no wonder my results came quicker than yours," he smiled at Neville in a very 'Na-Nee-Na-Nee-Boo-Boo' sort of way, and Neville was immediately bombarded with the mental image of himself jabbing his butter knife into the other boy's eye. Neville shook his head, and turned away from Langston on the pretense of grabbing another roll.
In the seat to Neville's left sat Eugene, and upon noticing this Neville immediately began banging his head on the table beside his plate. Why, oh, why does Gran do this to me? Neville screamed in his own mind. Unfortunately, Neville's fit drew the attention of the whole table. Eugene looked terrified and asked repeatedly if Neville was okay. Langston backed as far from Neville's seat as possible, as though afraid it was contagious. There was a tiny cry of "Nevoo" from across the table, and he looked up at the little girl's fear filled face. When she saw that he was in fact okay she smiled brightly at him. Neville marveled at the innocence in that expression until he heard another comment from one of the many family members startled by his outburst.
"Does insanity run in your side of the family, Evelyn?" Enid Longbottom asked of Neville's grandmother. Which earned her a slap across the face from the older woman. "How dare you!" Enid shrieked, but Evelyn Longbottom stood her ground. "I was just asking." Enid started, but was cut short by the wand tip hovering less than an inch from the bridge of her nose.
"Enid, Algie, I think it would be best if you collect Eugene and your things, and leave my house immediately," her voice and wand were rock steady as she spoke. The two who had been addressed quickly got up and went after their things, while Eugene sat and complained that now Neville wouldn't have time to guess his secret. Soon, though, he was ushered from the table and towards the front door.
"Bye, Neville!" the boy called over his shoulder. "See you soon!" Merlin, I hope not, Neville said, though he was fairly sure it was not out loud.
He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Gran looked down at him, her face completely unreadable. "Go upstairs and lay down, Neville," she said quietly. Afraid to incur the wrath of the woman standing above him, and because he didn't really want to be there in the first place, he hastened to comply.
Neville entered his room and flopped down on his bed. I truly hate family reunions. Something always goes wrong, and I am usually the one to blame, or at least the one who gets blamed. Neville lay there for a while thinking, and listening to the babble downstairs. He wished he could have said goodbye to Laney. He had a feeling she was going to grow up to hate these things as much as he did. At least I don't have to be part of the rest of this one, he thought.
He dozed a bit between thoughts, ignoring the softening noise from downstairs. He was nearly asleep when his bedroom door burst open, leaving his grandmother standing in its empty frame. He sat up straight at the noise, and then cowered back at the anger radiating off of the infuriated witch.
A/N I wrote this. I'm tired now. Please review. I'm getting rather discouraged. Thanks to Erfa, my wonderful beta, and to the four of you who actually made it through the last chapter to spite it's rather hideous state, now review this one. Goodnight.