Chapter 12 - Reciprocity
"So it is time for me to tell my story."
"Yes." He smirked.
"And what do you want to know?"
"Why don't we start from the beginning?" His smirk grew.
"Why don't you ask me the question you are dieing to ask?"
Was that a full blown grin? "Tell me about your relationship with Neville's family?"
"So you know about them, about what happened to Frank and Alice."
"Only the students are unaware, they are too young to remember."
"I will need some wine for this. Interested." He turned down a refill. She nearly downed the entire glass at once.
"Let's see, where do I begin?" She suddenly took a great interest in her hands. "Well, first of all you need to understand that I was an only child of two only children. That meant I had no family to speak of, save my parents. When Alice and I met we were still in diapers. We grew up like sisters but only better, we were practically twins. We didn't even need to speak to each other to know what the other was thinking. It was as if we shared one mind, one spirit. We also knew she was special. We didn't really understand it but we know she had…abilities."
"One day, when I was about seven, we were playing in her yard when a wild dog ran in. He was foaming at the mouth and growling. We started to panic and ran for the nearest tree. Alice could climb like a monkey. I, not being blessed with natural grace, tripped and fell. That beast was about to descend upon me and all I could do was scream and brace myself for the attack. The next thing I knew I was floating in the air, up the tree, next to Alice."
Severus did not speak a word while Sophie told her story. "Neither of us really knew what happened. We would later find out that she came from a long line of wizards. Her mother began to teach her things and I would sit in on the lessons, gladly signing up as the test subject. It was an adventure for me. I became privy to a world I thought only existed in books and movies."
Sophie was calmer than she was before, and seemed to really enjoy sharing this part of her life. "My favorite part was when she took me flying," she said happily. "We would perch on her Mum's broom and go soaring through the air. It was amazing. The world zoomed by underneath as we watched people who had no idea they were being watched. Touching clouds and racing birds…it was glorious, absolutely glorious. It is the one thing about being here that makes me sad, to watch the students fly around and knowing that I will never feel that again.
"I had a pretty hard time explaining to my mother why I was so bruised all the time. She eventually made me take dance and piano lessons to try to make me less awkward. She never really understood and I didn't want to tell her. I didn't know how she would react to the fact that my closest friend in the world, the girl I spent every waking moment with, that I loved more than life itself, was a witch – and I wasn't willing to risk her reaction." Sophie absentmindedly stirred the remnants of her wine in her glass.
"Then the summer we turned eleven she got her letter. She was going away to school and I was devastated. I begged to go too, but obviously I couldn't. I made her promise to write me every week and tell me absolutely everything and she did. She wrote me once a week, sometimes two or three times. I have seven years worth of letters in a hope chest at the end of my bed, perfectly preserved."
Here she stopped and Severus prompted her to continue, "What did you do while she was away?"
"I took piano and dancing lessons. My dancing ability was only just to say the least. To my mother great disappointment I would ever be the sol --truth be told I was just grateful if I didn't fall on stage. But the piano was different -- there I excelled. It became my friend when I couldn't talk to Alice. It understood when I was sad or happy. It would lull me to sleep…Eventually I became a concert pianist."
Severus looked stunned and she wanted to laugh. "Not what you were expecting?"
"Not in the least."
"Come with me."
She led him into her bedroom and in the corner stood piano; highly polished and exquisite. She sat down at the bench and paused before she began to play. Her fingers pressed the keys effortlessly and the most melancholy music was produced. The piano practically wept as she played a tune completely from memory. Her fingers slid along the keys, and, as if in a trance, she played on. Severus was impressed with her virtuosity and surprised at how sad the song was that she decided to play. It seemed out of character for her.
"Mahler," she spoke upon finishing the piece. "No one could quite capture a moment like Mahler." She suddenly became very self-conscious. It had been a long time since she played in front of an audience and her discomfort showed. "We should continue."
Sophie walked back into the living room and sat on the couch, Severus followed suit. She stopped to finish her wine and he sat not saying a word.
"Now where was I," she said almost nervously. "Alice met Frank Longbottom her fourth year and they were inseparable from the start. I hated sharing her but I understood. I knew love was destined to find her, she was that kind of person. She believed in the power of sunsets and that there was no stronger magic in the world than the first kiss of true love. The happiest day of her life was when Neville was born. He was such a beautiful baby, so chubby and always smiling just like Alice. I was his godmother. He used to say I was his fairy godmother like in the stories we used to read to him. He was such a bright child." She waited for a cutting remark from Severus but it never came.
She continued, "I was with him when we found them…He was barely three I had taken him to the zoo. He ran ahead of me when we got home and opened the door calling for his parents, dieing to tell them about the baby gorillas…
A slight tremble came back into her voice. "He froze at the door… "
The tremor grew. "When I got there I saw that the house had been ransacked. Everything was broken. They even tore into the walls. I scooped up Neville in my arms and was about to run to the neighbors to call the police."
Her voice cracked. "Then I heard it…It was a moan, primordial, inhuman, and I knew it was Alice. I ran into their bedroom and saw them. Frank was sitting on the floor hitting his head against the wall. Alice was in the corner rocking and moaning…
"They had been tortured, severely. They were no external marks on their body. I knew it was Cruciatus. It was confirmed when I noticed the Dark Mark burned into the far wall…I put Neville down and ran to Alice. She didn't recognize me, she couldn't speak. Her eyes were empty, hollow. Neville ran to his father crying, 'Daddy, Daddy,' but he didn't even look at him. They lost all mental capacity, all touch with reality. They were completely insane…I could only imagine what they went through, but it quickly became painfully apparent.
"Later we would find out that a few remaining followers of Voldemort attacked them to try to get information on his current whereabouts. They didn't know anything, though I am not convinced they would have revealed what they did know." She wrapped her arms around herself. "It was a terrible blow to the community. They were so well liked. Everyone thought they were safe, that it was over." She paused to compose herself but she could feel herself start to fall apart.
"Anyway..…I ..I…just stared at my friends and their child and suddenly realized how useless I was. I played piano for God Sakes, what could I do. When it became apparent that the conventional wizard methods were not going to help the Longbottoms, I decided I had to do something. I quit touring and went to the University to pick up a discarded Psychology degree. I thought that maybe I could find something to help them come back. I thought that somewhere in the shadows of the mind, locked away was my friend and that I could find the light that would bring her home.
"I was relentless. I studied everything I could get my hands on. I became and expert in methodology and techniques. But for all my work, and for all my accomplishments in the field, and for every damn paper I had published, I could do nothing to help them. After six years of trying I had to admit I had failed. I had failed her. I had failed Neville."
Sophie was shaking. Doing everything in her power not to cry, she took a few deep breaths before continuing.
"Neville suffered the most. He was never the same after that. He was frightened of everything, terrified of going anywhere alone. He became incredibly clumsy. I wanted him to live with me, I wanted to make sure he got the counseling he obviously needed, but his grandmother refused. Personally, I think she liked keeping him that way. I think….I think she felt it would keep him safe. His ineptitude became a convenience. Who would bother with a wizard who could barely manage the simplest of spells?
"She had a fit when she found out that I was coming to Hogwarts. She made me promise her that I would not take him into sessions. Neville didn't want anyone to know we were so close anyway. I think he felt that people would think he was crazy and not just awkward. Then I find out he is avoiding the issue completely, preferring to let his friends think his parents dead…I'm not sure I can blame him, really. It has to be a special kind of hell to see your parents and want nothing more than to be held by them when they don't even remember you." She got up and walked around the room to the fire.
"So there you have it."
Severus sat back and looked at her. He was searching for the words but somehow anything he thought of seemed inadequate. She was in pain. It was the same look she had Halloween night when she ran out of the Feast. He had the overwhelming need to comfort her. As he had little experience in the field he took a tip from her methodology. He walked over to her and put his arms around her and held her close to him. She rested her head on his chest and cried.
