A/N – I forgot to give the answer to the PoA movie tribute last chapter! Oops! Several of you guess correctly. In the movie, Neville and Dean have painted faces and it cracked me up. I could totally see quidditch fanatics doing that!
Chapter Eleven – Hogsmeade
That night, Harry and Neville worked on Legilimency until just after midnight. Neville was mentally exhausted after the session. A little embarrassed as well, to tell the truth. Harry was getting better. He was starting to be able to look through Neville's mind easily. So easily, that Harry said he might try to teach Neville Occlumency to help him fight it off.
Harry had seen some images that Neville really would have preferred he hadn't. When Neville was five, he had a bed-wetting problem. Harry saw his grandmother yelling at a five-year old Neville who was bawling his eyes out.
Harry saw an eight-year-old Neville hanging outside the third floor window; his Great Uncle Algie holding him by the ankles. Neville relived how terrifying that was, thinking he had no magic, and if he fell, he would die. But then the sudden relief as he bounced through the garden.
Harry also saw Neville's and Luna's first kiss. Not that that wasn't a wonderful memory, Neville just would have preferred if Harry hadn't seen the nose bumping part first.
When Harry was finally spent, Neville was grateful to go upstairs and climb into his warm bed. He spent a few moments practicing what Harry told him to try: clearing his mind of all emotion. Neville quickly realized that it was much easier said than done. After a few minutes, he drifted off to sleep.
Rodolphus raised his wand to Frank and screamed "Crucio!" Frank fell to the ground, next to his wife. Together they screamed. Bellatrix and Rodolphus yelled "Crucio!" again, and the twitching became more violent.
Another Death Eater grabbed Bellatrix by the arm. "If you don't stop now, they will not be able to give us any information."
Bellatrix laughed, "I don't think they have anything for us..."
The Death Eaters watched for over ten minutes. "They are now in no shape to talk," the Death Eater said, looking at the bodies of the two Aurors.
Neville forced himself to wake up. He sat on the edge of the bed, panting slightly. He had been dreaming of his parents so often lately. He almost wished he could go back to the summer where he only dreamed about the Ministry of Magic.
Quietly, he stood up and went to the water pitcher to get a glass of water. The water felt cool on his throat. More than anything, he wished he could talk to Luna. He knew she would be able to comfort him. But she was far away in the west tower, with the rest of the Ravenclaws.
Neville went back to bed, and nestled himself under the covers. He fell asleep with a smile, remembering that all he wanted over the summer was someone who he could share these things with. He saw Luna's face in front of him and realized that his wish had been granted.
-------------------------
The next morning, Neville looked around frantically for Luna in the Great Hall. He wanted to tell her about these dreams and see what she said. He kept looking, but didn't find her. Neville had noticed that she didn't come down for breakfast sometimes.
He was heading towards the Gryffindor table when someone jumped on his back. "Surprise," Luna whispered in his ear. She stayed on his back, piggyback style. Neville grinned, not caring about what the people around them thought.
"Your chariot awaits, M'lady," Neville joked.
"Yonder, good man. For I smell breakfast, and thee looks mighty hungry," Luna said in a posh upper class voice.
Neville laughed, and walked them down to the end of the Gryffindor table, where they could have some privacy. When they reached the end, Luna jumped off his back and sat down, but not before giving Neville a quick kiss.
Neville blushed; he hadn't seen Luna with this much energy in the morning in...well...ever.
Usually, she was exhausted when she woke up. It was Luna's O.L.W.S. year, and she was determined to get at least nine O.W.L.S. So she stayed up late studying.
She loaded her plate with food, which was also odd. She didn't usually eat much in the morning. Luna took a bite of her pancakes, and looked at his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.
"How you know something's wrong?" he asked. How did she know?
"I know your face, silly. What's wrong?" she asked again.
Neville gulped. In all the conversations he and Luna had had since they started going out, he never once brought up his parents. She hadn't asked for any information about them, and he wasn't ready to tell her. He felt silly, she should know. Other people knew, he told himself. Well, truthfully, no one would know if he hadn't seen Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the hospital ward a year ago.
"I've been having some bad dreams lately. I guess I'm just letting them bother me," Neville said quietly, starting on his porridge.
"I think everyone has bad dreams sometimes," Luna said softly. "I've been dreaming about the Ministry of Magic lately. I keep remembering how scared I was. How I was sure I was going to die."
Luna looked so upset that Neville walked around to the other side of the table and sat next to her. "I'm sorry I brought this up," Neville said, putting his arm around her.
Luna smiled at him. "I'm fine," she said brightly. Neville reached across the table to bring his breakfast to him.
They ate in silence for a bit when Luna asked, "There's a Hogsmeade weekend in three weeks, should we spend the day together, do you think?"
Neville nodded. He was thrilled that he was even allowed to go to Hogsmeade. He remembered his third year, when Professor McGonagall banned him from all visits. Luckily, that only lasted the year.
Breakfast ended too quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to go to class.
-------------------------
"Today we will be learning how to change our heights. Again, like all body changing spells, this is very complex. The incantation is Proceritas Secus. Get into you pairs," Professor McGonagall said briskly.
Neville was pairing up with Hermione this week. "Point your wand at your partner, and think about the height you want to make them. Try only for a few inches shorter or taller to start."
Hermione looked like she was going to burst if she didn't try the spell soon, so Neville let her go first.
She pointed her wand at him and said, "Proceritas Secus."
Neville felt nothing for a few seconds, then felt the strangest sensation in his legs. His legs were stretching! He was getting taller. Hermione had the utmost look of concentration on her face. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her wand.
Neville looked down. He was at least six inches taller than he was before. He could feel a slight draft on his bare leg, where his pants or socks didn't cover. "I like this height!" Neville said, and Hermione beamed at him. "Let me try you," Neville said eagerly.
He said the incantation and thought hard about Hermione losing inches. After two minutes of work, she was maybe four inches shorter. "Good work, Neville!" Hermione said excitedly.
Neville couldn't believe the fun this class was now. Before he had his own wand, he hated this class, always thinking he would mess up. He finally made the realization that magic could be fun.
He eagerly looked around the room. Everyone was different heights. Ron, being the tallest in the class normally, had been made even taller. He was giving Hagrid a run for his money. Lavender, who was the shortest in the class, had shrunk quite a bit, looking like she was a relative of Professor Flitwick.
"Now the hard part," Professor McGonagall announced. "Try to put them back the way they were."
Hermione went first, and Neville was back to his regular height easily. The strange sensation in his legs stayed there, though. Then Neville tried. Hermione grew three inches quickly, but Neville couldn't seem to get that last inch. After trying three times in a row, Neville had to ask for Professor McGonagall's help.
"Very good, Longbottom," she told him, putting Hermione back to her normal height.
"Thank you, Professor," Neville said happily.
"How are the rest of your classes going?" she asked, not unkindly.
"I'm having a good year, this year," Neville said smiling, thrilled that it was true.
-------------------------
The next few weeks passed quickly, and Neville was looking forward to spending the Hogsmeade day with Luna. It was the end of November, and it was time to put on the winter coats. There was no snowfall yet, but Luna said that was because Mother Nature still hadn't been given control of the weather.
They met in the Great Hall. Luna was wearing jeans, and a long navy blue coat. She wore a knitted baby blue cap on her head that matched her long scarf and the pair of mittens that were attached to her coat by some fasteners. Neville started to say something about the fasteners when she said, "I lose my mittens a lot."
"Something we have in common," Neville joked, taking her hand. The sun was shining brightly. Quickly though, Luna's cheeks turned red from the cold. They walked to the village in a group with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The first thing Neville noticed in the village was the number of Enforcers and Aurors guarding the streets.
The group shared a look. "They must be worried of an attack," Ginny said softly. The rest of them just nodded.
Ron announced that he wanted to go to the quidditch shop, and Harry, Hermione and Ginny followed him, leaving Neville and Luna on their own. "What should we do?" Neville asked, desperate to please.
"Why don't we take a bit of a walk? Then we can have lunch," Luna said simply. That sounded good to Neville. They walked away from the village towards the Shrieking Shack. For a few minutes, they stood in front of it, just holding hands in silence.
"Do you believe it's haunted?" Neville asked.
"No. The Ministry of Magic bewitched it to seem haunted," Luna said confidently. "In reality, it's a secret army base."
Neville just nodded, used to Luna's proclamations. He looked around quickly, and saw that now one was in the area. Feeling quite brave, he wrapped his arms around Luna and started kissing her.
"Neville!" Luna giggled, and then kissed him right back. Neville had learned quickly that it was hard having a girlfriend in a different house than your own. They never found time to really be alone together. Today was the first time they were able to have more than just a peck in a week.
The kissing intensified, and Neville decided he didn't need lunch; he'd rather just stay out here all afternoon with her.
"Lovegood Longbottom. Now that's an interesting combination," a malicious voice called out. Immediately, Neville and Luna broke apart, they wands out.
Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore Nott were walking towards them. "Let's go," Luna said quietly to Neville, taking his hand.
"Leaving so soon?" Malfoy drawled, slowly taking his wand out. "You two have a lesson to learn. Especially you, Lovegood."
Finally Neville found his voice. "Leave her alone, Malfoy," he said confidently.
"Or you'll do what? Let me practice the leg locking curse on you again?" he sneered.
Neville cursed at him. Draco raised his eyebrow. "You need to be taught some manners, Longbottom," he said, his eyes narrowing.
Neville and Luna raised their wands at the same time and jinxed him. Draco fell to the ground, barely able to breath, he was laughing so hard. Luna must have hit him with a tickling jinx.
Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott pulled their own wands out quickly.
Just then, they heard Professor Sinistra's voice, who was chaperoning today. "Break it up! All of you!" she cried. The group slowly put their wands away. Neville and Luna quickly started walking towards the village. Neville took a look back at the Slytherins. His stomach was in knots. He knew this wasn't over yet.
-------------------------
A/N - Proceritas - Height; Secus - Different
Chapter Eleven – Hogsmeade
That night, Harry and Neville worked on Legilimency until just after midnight. Neville was mentally exhausted after the session. A little embarrassed as well, to tell the truth. Harry was getting better. He was starting to be able to look through Neville's mind easily. So easily, that Harry said he might try to teach Neville Occlumency to help him fight it off.
Harry had seen some images that Neville really would have preferred he hadn't. When Neville was five, he had a bed-wetting problem. Harry saw his grandmother yelling at a five-year old Neville who was bawling his eyes out.
Harry saw an eight-year-old Neville hanging outside the third floor window; his Great Uncle Algie holding him by the ankles. Neville relived how terrifying that was, thinking he had no magic, and if he fell, he would die. But then the sudden relief as he bounced through the garden.
Harry also saw Neville's and Luna's first kiss. Not that that wasn't a wonderful memory, Neville just would have preferred if Harry hadn't seen the nose bumping part first.
When Harry was finally spent, Neville was grateful to go upstairs and climb into his warm bed. He spent a few moments practicing what Harry told him to try: clearing his mind of all emotion. Neville quickly realized that it was much easier said than done. After a few minutes, he drifted off to sleep.
Rodolphus raised his wand to Frank and screamed "Crucio!" Frank fell to the ground, next to his wife. Together they screamed. Bellatrix and Rodolphus yelled "Crucio!" again, and the twitching became more violent.
Another Death Eater grabbed Bellatrix by the arm. "If you don't stop now, they will not be able to give us any information."
Bellatrix laughed, "I don't think they have anything for us..."
The Death Eaters watched for over ten minutes. "They are now in no shape to talk," the Death Eater said, looking at the bodies of the two Aurors.
Neville forced himself to wake up. He sat on the edge of the bed, panting slightly. He had been dreaming of his parents so often lately. He almost wished he could go back to the summer where he only dreamed about the Ministry of Magic.
Quietly, he stood up and went to the water pitcher to get a glass of water. The water felt cool on his throat. More than anything, he wished he could talk to Luna. He knew she would be able to comfort him. But she was far away in the west tower, with the rest of the Ravenclaws.
Neville went back to bed, and nestled himself under the covers. He fell asleep with a smile, remembering that all he wanted over the summer was someone who he could share these things with. He saw Luna's face in front of him and realized that his wish had been granted.
-------------------------
The next morning, Neville looked around frantically for Luna in the Great Hall. He wanted to tell her about these dreams and see what she said. He kept looking, but didn't find her. Neville had noticed that she didn't come down for breakfast sometimes.
He was heading towards the Gryffindor table when someone jumped on his back. "Surprise," Luna whispered in his ear. She stayed on his back, piggyback style. Neville grinned, not caring about what the people around them thought.
"Your chariot awaits, M'lady," Neville joked.
"Yonder, good man. For I smell breakfast, and thee looks mighty hungry," Luna said in a posh upper class voice.
Neville laughed, and walked them down to the end of the Gryffindor table, where they could have some privacy. When they reached the end, Luna jumped off his back and sat down, but not before giving Neville a quick kiss.
Neville blushed; he hadn't seen Luna with this much energy in the morning in...well...ever.
Usually, she was exhausted when she woke up. It was Luna's O.L.W.S. year, and she was determined to get at least nine O.W.L.S. So she stayed up late studying.
She loaded her plate with food, which was also odd. She didn't usually eat much in the morning. Luna took a bite of her pancakes, and looked at his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.
"How you know something's wrong?" he asked. How did she know?
"I know your face, silly. What's wrong?" she asked again.
Neville gulped. In all the conversations he and Luna had had since they started going out, he never once brought up his parents. She hadn't asked for any information about them, and he wasn't ready to tell her. He felt silly, she should know. Other people knew, he told himself. Well, truthfully, no one would know if he hadn't seen Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the hospital ward a year ago.
"I've been having some bad dreams lately. I guess I'm just letting them bother me," Neville said quietly, starting on his porridge.
"I think everyone has bad dreams sometimes," Luna said softly. "I've been dreaming about the Ministry of Magic lately. I keep remembering how scared I was. How I was sure I was going to die."
Luna looked so upset that Neville walked around to the other side of the table and sat next to her. "I'm sorry I brought this up," Neville said, putting his arm around her.
Luna smiled at him. "I'm fine," she said brightly. Neville reached across the table to bring his breakfast to him.
They ate in silence for a bit when Luna asked, "There's a Hogsmeade weekend in three weeks, should we spend the day together, do you think?"
Neville nodded. He was thrilled that he was even allowed to go to Hogsmeade. He remembered his third year, when Professor McGonagall banned him from all visits. Luckily, that only lasted the year.
Breakfast ended too quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to go to class.
-------------------------
"Today we will be learning how to change our heights. Again, like all body changing spells, this is very complex. The incantation is Proceritas Secus. Get into you pairs," Professor McGonagall said briskly.
Neville was pairing up with Hermione this week. "Point your wand at your partner, and think about the height you want to make them. Try only for a few inches shorter or taller to start."
Hermione looked like she was going to burst if she didn't try the spell soon, so Neville let her go first.
She pointed her wand at him and said, "Proceritas Secus."
Neville felt nothing for a few seconds, then felt the strangest sensation in his legs. His legs were stretching! He was getting taller. Hermione had the utmost look of concentration on her face. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her wand.
Neville looked down. He was at least six inches taller than he was before. He could feel a slight draft on his bare leg, where his pants or socks didn't cover. "I like this height!" Neville said, and Hermione beamed at him. "Let me try you," Neville said eagerly.
He said the incantation and thought hard about Hermione losing inches. After two minutes of work, she was maybe four inches shorter. "Good work, Neville!" Hermione said excitedly.
Neville couldn't believe the fun this class was now. Before he had his own wand, he hated this class, always thinking he would mess up. He finally made the realization that magic could be fun.
He eagerly looked around the room. Everyone was different heights. Ron, being the tallest in the class normally, had been made even taller. He was giving Hagrid a run for his money. Lavender, who was the shortest in the class, had shrunk quite a bit, looking like she was a relative of Professor Flitwick.
"Now the hard part," Professor McGonagall announced. "Try to put them back the way they were."
Hermione went first, and Neville was back to his regular height easily. The strange sensation in his legs stayed there, though. Then Neville tried. Hermione grew three inches quickly, but Neville couldn't seem to get that last inch. After trying three times in a row, Neville had to ask for Professor McGonagall's help.
"Very good, Longbottom," she told him, putting Hermione back to her normal height.
"Thank you, Professor," Neville said happily.
"How are the rest of your classes going?" she asked, not unkindly.
"I'm having a good year, this year," Neville said smiling, thrilled that it was true.
-------------------------
The next few weeks passed quickly, and Neville was looking forward to spending the Hogsmeade day with Luna. It was the end of November, and it was time to put on the winter coats. There was no snowfall yet, but Luna said that was because Mother Nature still hadn't been given control of the weather.
They met in the Great Hall. Luna was wearing jeans, and a long navy blue coat. She wore a knitted baby blue cap on her head that matched her long scarf and the pair of mittens that were attached to her coat by some fasteners. Neville started to say something about the fasteners when she said, "I lose my mittens a lot."
"Something we have in common," Neville joked, taking her hand. The sun was shining brightly. Quickly though, Luna's cheeks turned red from the cold. They walked to the village in a group with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The first thing Neville noticed in the village was the number of Enforcers and Aurors guarding the streets.
The group shared a look. "They must be worried of an attack," Ginny said softly. The rest of them just nodded.
Ron announced that he wanted to go to the quidditch shop, and Harry, Hermione and Ginny followed him, leaving Neville and Luna on their own. "What should we do?" Neville asked, desperate to please.
"Why don't we take a bit of a walk? Then we can have lunch," Luna said simply. That sounded good to Neville. They walked away from the village towards the Shrieking Shack. For a few minutes, they stood in front of it, just holding hands in silence.
"Do you believe it's haunted?" Neville asked.
"No. The Ministry of Magic bewitched it to seem haunted," Luna said confidently. "In reality, it's a secret army base."
Neville just nodded, used to Luna's proclamations. He looked around quickly, and saw that now one was in the area. Feeling quite brave, he wrapped his arms around Luna and started kissing her.
"Neville!" Luna giggled, and then kissed him right back. Neville had learned quickly that it was hard having a girlfriend in a different house than your own. They never found time to really be alone together. Today was the first time they were able to have more than just a peck in a week.
The kissing intensified, and Neville decided he didn't need lunch; he'd rather just stay out here all afternoon with her.
"Lovegood Longbottom. Now that's an interesting combination," a malicious voice called out. Immediately, Neville and Luna broke apart, they wands out.
Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore Nott were walking towards them. "Let's go," Luna said quietly to Neville, taking his hand.
"Leaving so soon?" Malfoy drawled, slowly taking his wand out. "You two have a lesson to learn. Especially you, Lovegood."
Finally Neville found his voice. "Leave her alone, Malfoy," he said confidently.
"Or you'll do what? Let me practice the leg locking curse on you again?" he sneered.
Neville cursed at him. Draco raised his eyebrow. "You need to be taught some manners, Longbottom," he said, his eyes narrowing.
Neville and Luna raised their wands at the same time and jinxed him. Draco fell to the ground, barely able to breath, he was laughing so hard. Luna must have hit him with a tickling jinx.
Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott pulled their own wands out quickly.
Just then, they heard Professor Sinistra's voice, who was chaperoning today. "Break it up! All of you!" she cried. The group slowly put their wands away. Neville and Luna quickly started walking towards the village. Neville took a look back at the Slytherins. His stomach was in knots. He knew this wasn't over yet.
-------------------------
A/N - Proceritas - Height; Secus - Different
