Conversations Unheard
Ch. 1: Our poor son
"Our poor son, why must our son be torn by our state? He can't even talk to us with the knowledge that we hear and understand. He doesn't know how much we love him or how much we desire to be able to comfort him.
"Our poor son indeed! But what are we to do about it? We are in a state in which we cannot interfere with his life and improve how he looks at the world."
"I know and it tears me up every time I see him. He doesn't know that I am there. I wish we could break free of our way of life. Have you heard that those Death Eaters are on the loose again with Voldemort leading them? Oh I hope they don't hurt our poor son any longer. I wish I could break free of the bonds that hold us like this to help him with life.
"Do you also notice that he doesn't have the confidence that he probably would have had with us at his side throughout his life?
"Yes, I do. Each time I see him I know that he is not using his magic to his full potential. I can see it in his eyes. I think that his escapade in the ministry helped his confidence though."
"Yeah, it is good to see that he has good friends by his side. Maybe they will help him gain strength magically and personally. I also think that some of his teachers see through his lack of confidence, but until he himself sees through it he will never be able to loose the image that he has created for himself with our absence."
"I don't think my mum is helping him any though. She seems to feed that lack of confidence by comparing him to us. I notice it every time they visit. The fact that she made him use my wand was probably one of the most disastrous things she could do to his self confidence."
"He has a new wand though. Did you see it in his pocket? I'm glad this summer he is a little happier and a little more confident though not as much as I would like him to be. His gran talks to us about him as if he is a failure. Each time she is here she says something about how useless he is. When he was younger it was his lack of accidental magic. Now it is the fact that he didn't get an O in transfiguration. I wish she would tell us more about the good in him."
"I agree. It would boost his confidence higher than ever and we would know more about the Neville hidden inside him."
"At least he doesn't feel the weight of the world like his friend Harry. Imagine loosing his godfather who happens to be in hiding because he was wrongfully accused while Voldemort keeps trying to kill him. I'm glad that Neville tells us so much on his visits, but sometimes knowledge that you can't respond to is the worst."
"Well, remember when he told us of his first occurrence of accidental magic? We wanted to strangle his gran and uncle, but we couldn't lift a finger because of our loss of control of our nerves."
"If only our death was quick and painless like the killing curse, but we were sentenced life in St. Mungo's by those Lestranges. I don't think many people actually know what happens with the crustaceous. The healers thought it was merely a loss of sanity."
"If they knew what it truly was, we would have been administered a nerve replacing potion and we would have been cured,"
"And our son would be happier with a life with his parents."
"Without his gran telling him how useless he is,"
"And more confidence in school with grades to rival the Ravenclaws."
"If only"
"Yes, if only we wouldn't be stuck here talking with each other by telepathy while our poor son spills his guts out about the dark world he lives in."
"Well, he is about to leave. I guess I'll give him my gum wrapper to let us know that we are here. It is the only action I can do. If only we could give him a better birthday present."
"We love you Neville, and we are proud of you. I hope that Voldemort is defeated soon and the Death Eaters pay for what they have done to you."
"goodbye son"
