Author's Note:Whoo, two in one day. And four's nearly done, well -- sort of. Though, I may end up going back and doing a prologue, so watch for that if chapter numbers suddenly shift a tad.
I'm foreseeing that some of the things addressed in this chapter may be questionable to some of you. It'll begin to make a bit more sense as time passes. Please! If you think you know something that others don't, e-mail me. We'll discuss it without giving possible clues to those waiting patiently.

3. Revelations and Secrets

"The kids wanted to go to the park. I told Luna I'd meet them there after my appointment."

"Maybe I'll go with you for bit."

"That would be wonderful. The kids adore their Uncle Harry."

Harry gave a reminiscent smile and laughed.

The other man began to laugh a bit as well, and said, "You should have never told them about the basilisk. ­Ewan was charging around the house the other day with a paper hat on and stick in hand fending an imaginary one off. Had his eyes covered and everything."

"I only put the hat on once."

"Well, he seems to prefer to wear it constantly."

As he laughed, Harry began to wheeze slightly, but Neville didn't notice. Harry inhaled a slow breath and held it for a moment.

"Your eyes are red, Harry, are you okay?" Neville asked as they rounded a corner.

"Yes, yes, I'm ..." he began, clearing his throat rather painfully. "... fine. Thanks." He coughed twice into his hand and turned away from his friend. Had Neville been paying attention, he would have seen small wisps of smoke escape between Harry's fingers.

"We must be close to the kitchens. It smells like something's burning."

Gesturing toward the door ahead with one hand and absently waving away any traces of the light ashen vapour, Harry responded, "We're at the stairs. The café is upstairs. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Perhaps."

They began their trek to the fifth floor. Harry always tended to fall behind on the stairs, his breathing a touch more laboured than normal.

"Neville," he called when his friend topped the landing in between the floors.

The man turned as Harry arrived at his side.

"Yeah?"

"Your lace is undone."

Looking down, the other man smiled lopsidedly, "So it is." He knelt to remedy the situation.

"I don't think we should be down here, Neville," Harry remarked, somewhat half-heartedly, looking at his friend.

"Oh, bother," Neville sighed, kneeling behind a tall counter. "Of all the people ... You, Potter, are suddenly worried about breaking the rules?'

"He may be right, though," a third young man chimed in, a glint in his blue eyes. "This is the Ministry. It's a bit different than Hogwarts."

Neville returned to his full height and leaned on his palms on the countertop.

"Would you like me to take you back?"

"A few minutes wouldn't hurt," Harry said a bit too quickly, and in an attempt to cover it, added, "Since we're already down here, and all."

"Yeah, a few minutes," he nodded emphatically.

Neville grinned and knelt once again, returning with a model home.

"What is that?" Ron asked, seemingly disappointed.

"It's a house," came the answer, rather matter-of-factly. The two Aurors quirked their brows at the Unspeakable who returned the look, "What? It is, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's a house, Neville, but what's it for?" Harry wanted to know.

"It's for demonstration."

"Ah," Harry nodded and Ron breathed, "Demonstration, of course."

Neville drew his wand and, firmly, stated, "Exuro."

A stream of fire shot from his wand toward the house and the corner of the rooftop was ablaze.

"I prefer incendium. It would have lit the entire thing first shot," Ron put in, "But whatever that was worked well, too."

Harry frowned at his partner and thwacked him on the arm, "It's Curse Fire."

The fire had spread over the roof and was heading downward. Within seconds, the roof had been completely consumed and was a layer of smoldering ash dusting the fiery top floor. It had started to smoke heavily.

"Ah, come with me," Neville motioned and they moved around the desk, away from the smoke. "Cover your mouth and nose - don't breathe it in." He quickly retrieved a small vial with a small pump. He sprayed a small amount into the smoke above the burning model and it dissipated promptly. The house, down to the foundation was still smoking, but the smoke would disappear a few inches above the flame, making the air around it breathable again.

Harry and Ron looked impressed and breathed deeply.

"So you're working on a retardant?" Harry queried.

"Yes, but ... as you can see," he sprayed heavy amounts onto the house and it continued to burn until all that was left was a pile of ash. "... I've not been successful so far. The minister's not sure what to think of this." He spritzed the smoke dispeller into the air once. "It's not much help in a real house-fire if we can only produce it in small amounts."

"I reckon this is a start, though," Ron told him, taking the bottle in swirling the blue liquid around a bit.

Harry thought for a moment, fingering a wide leaf of a plant nearby.

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"Nope. You said it yourself: you're not even supposed to be down here. But this isn't for me. It's for you guys when you're out there fighting the remaining fractio..."

"Factions and forces of things evil, seen and unseen!" the Aurors shouted, standing proudly and saluting.

"Yeah, those," the Unspeakable smiled, knowing full well that they had made that up during training. The three of them laughed and Neville moved to replace the perfume bottle.

Neville stood straight, frowning. Harry looked down at the lace, still loose.

"I'll get that for you," he said, bending to tie his friend's shoe.

"I'm sorry," Neville whispered.

Harry's jaw tightened as he began to stand.

"What are you sorry for?"

Something akin to fear shone in his eyes. "I-I couldn't do it. I've ... forgotten."

Harry shook his head, "No, Neville, you shouldn't be sorry."

"Thank you, Harry."

"Anytime. Come on ..." he motioned for him to follow.

"No," Neville stopped him, holding onto his arm. "Thank you for everything. Everyday ..."

Harry looked at him closely and, suddenly, the fear was gone and he smiled.

"Oh, Harry. What brings you here?"

"Neville?"

"Yes?"

"Where've you been?"

"I'm getting tea for gran, won't you join me?"

Harry gave a half-smile and nodded, "Sounds lovely."