Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter V: Unwanted Visitors

Looking back, it was all Ron's fault. Ron had never been able to keep his mouth shut. If he had been able to, he could have saved Neville a lot of strife. On the other hand, it could have happened anyway. It was only a few days after the debate, after the incident with Ginny, after the scolding from Ron. Neville shouldn't have been surprised; it was nearly impossible to lead a quite, private life when Rita Skeeter was running amok.

Neville awoke in a pleasant enough mood. It was to be a good day, at least that was what he thought. As he went down the stairs to open his shop, a shot of uneasiness went through him. Something was not right. Neville just shook the feeling off. Then he went to open the door. He wished he had not. As soon as he opened it a shot of light blinded him. He blinked. He was surrounded. Questions bounded around, cameras went off. Neville backed up and shut the door quickly. He shuddered. The press had found him.

Neville knew he would either have to face them, or he would not be able to open his shop that day, or any other day. He slowly opened the door again and more flashes went off.

"What is your relationship to Ginerva Weasley?"

"Is it true that you refused to support Harry Potter's campaign?"

"Are the rumors that you are wanted for murder in Argentina true?"

Neville was stunned at the questions asked. One reporter even asked him about his undergarments. Neville tried to quiet down all the press so that he could say something, but they kept shooting questions at him. He felt like he was going to faint with all the flashing cameras and shouting people. Suddenly, Neville felt a tug on his arm as someone led him through the crowd. He looked up to see Harry Potter with a strong grip on his arm. Neville tried to say something, but he found himself pushed into the Leaky Cauldron, away from the press.

"Follow me," said Harry, commandingly. Neville nodded and followed, knowing it would do no good to refuse. They entered one of the private back rooms of the Leaky Cauldron. Tom the bartender brought in drinks, which Neville accepted thankfully.

"Sit down, Neville," said Harry with a hint of anger. Neville sat.

"Thank you," said Neville feeling quite uncomfortable at the turn of events.

"No need to be thankful. I did nothing for your benefit."

There was a silence, while Neville pondered over Harry's words.

"First you refuse to support me," started Harry. "Even after everything I have done for you. Then you directly disobey me. You have slapped me in the face, Neville, and no one gets away with that."

Neville stared. "Since when have I been obligated to obey you?" he said.

"I am Harry Potter, I saved that world from certain destruction. You are not obligated, but you owe it to me."

"I am sorry, Harry, but I swore long ago never to let anyone or anything run my life. I do not know what happened to change you so, but I am sorry it happened," said Neville getting up.

Harry stood up quickly with fury flashing in his eyes. "I can discredit you, I can make it so you can never show your face in Britain again."

Neville smiled softly. "I am sure you can," said Neville with no trace of mockery. As he exited the room Harry Potter shouted after him.

"I told you to stay away from Ginny, Longbottom! If you come near her again, I will take action!"

Neville looked back at Harry. "You really are a fool, Potter."

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The next week did not go well at all. Neville stayed isolated from the world. He could not go anywhere without being hounded by the press. It seemed that the whole world now knew that Ginny had stayed one night at his house, although no one knew the truth of it all. The Daily Prophet was filled with articles about him, most written by Rita Skeeter.

...Mr. Longbottom refused to reply to questions raised about his relationship to Miss Weasley, but rumor has it that they are dating...

... "Longbottom just wants to put in a jab at Harry Potter by dating his ex-girlfriend," says Macmillan...

...No one really knows where Mr. Longbottom went after the war, or why he left. Rumor has it that he left because he was not the hero we all thought he was...

...Officials in Argentina and Australia have charged Mr. Longbottom with murder...

...He has refused to support Harry Potter's campaign for Minister of Magic...

Neville sighed. Only one in five accusations were true. He had actually started laughing when he heard about him being charged with murder in Argentina and Australia. He had never even been to either place. He knew the whole thing was Harry Potter's doing. He would not have really cared, but now everyone sent him fearful or disgusted looks. No one would shop in his herbarium, either. Neville found his only solace in taking care of his plants.

He had not seen Ginny since that night. He guessed she had been scared off by the murder accusations. Neville shook his head sadly as he pruned a stinging shrub.

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Neville had been lost in his own thoughts when he heard someone enter his shop. He looked up and saw Hermoine Granger.

"Oh, Neville," she said, giving him a hug. "I am sorry I wasn't able to come sooner. The Ministry has been hectic. A few of us having also been working on stopping the press from spreading slander about you."

"Thank you, " said Neville softly.

"It is the least we can do. I think I am right in believing Harry is behind all this?"

"Yes."

"I will get him back for this. Many people are really upset about what is happening. It took five of us to restrain Ginny from tackling Rita Skeeter when she was in the Ministry the other day."

Neville's heart jumped at the mention of Ginny. "How is she?"

"Ginny? She is— well, not great. She is being overworked and this all has been really hard on her. She has always hated pity and between the rumors that she is mentally unbalanced and that you are using her, she has received more than ever," said Hermoine.

Neville thought a while before changing the subject. "How is the campaign going?"

"Not well since Harry is playing the strong, yet hurt wizard. He has been playing off of all your negative press, including taking credit for when you took on ten Death Eaters. It is disgusting how people will believe anything," said Hermoine making a face. "Yet, I do believe that I can win this. We can also over come this problem. We just need an old friend."

"Who?" asked Neville smiling at the mischievous look in Hermoine's eyes.

"Luna Lovegood."

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Neville could not believe what he was doing. An interview was just too weird. He knew that to clear things up, but he would have to answer awkward questions. Still, it was all for the best. Hermoine made Luna promise that the interview would only address the slanderous issues brought up by the press, not things like Rib-nosed Murtutons. She agreed reluctantly.

Neville was now sitting in the corner of the Leaky Cauldron trying to calmly sip his drink while he waited for Hermoine and Luna. He had chosen a less visible corner of the pub so any lurking press would not think there was some type of conspiracy going on. On the other hand, he thought, maybe he should have sat out in the open; it would look less like he was up to something that way. Before Neville had time to further ponder the future consequences of his seating arrangements, Luna and Hermoine had walked over with their drinks.

"Hello, Neville. Lovely to see you again," said Luna looking around with her trademark dreamy expression.

"Hi, Luna. How are those red Gogolisdims working out for you?" smiled Neville.

"Oh, they are working very well. I have not seen signs any Rib-nosed Murtutons—"

Hermoine interrupted with a disapproving look. "Hello, Neville. I am quite sorry, but I am in a bit of a hurry. I wrote out some questions for Luna to ask. I think they might do the trick."

"Good. Thank you very much, Hermoine. And you too, Luna."

"It is no problem. I have to get to work though. Oh, and Ron says 'Hi'. Alright, goodbye and good-luck," said Hermoine as she left.

"Bye," chanted both Neville and Luna.

"So, shall we get started?" said Luna.

"Sure."

Neville had never talked so much about himself. It was quite awkward at first, but he eased into it. If it had been anyone else besides Luna, it would have been worse. Luna had a way of not being shocked by anything. Yes, she still had a knack for voicing uncomfortable truths, but, all in all, it was not all too bad. Not that Neville would volunteer for a second interview, but still it could have been a lot worse.

Luna had said that the article would appear in the edition coming out in two weeks. Neville just hoped that he wouldn't be arrested by then. With all the crazy rumors going about, he was surprised that no one had tried to arrest him yet. Then again, Ginny and Tonks were both Aurors and probably had some sway over the regular law enforcement.

Again, Neville came back to Ginny. Something about her kept drawing him in. It wasn't physical, although he, or anyone, had to admit she was beautiful. It was just something about her. Something that made him want to protect her and be there for her, but he knew that he couldn't help her until he helped himself.

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Two weeks of misery passed. Two weeks of being hunted by the press, two weeks of being avoided by everyone. Yet, this morning was to be a good one. An owl flew in the window as Neville ate breakfast. The brown owl with yellow eyes stared at him menacingly. It carried to cylindrical container. Before Neville could remove it, a few more owls flew in. In no time, Neville's home was covered in owls. He, not wanting any nasty messes, quickly untied every letter from all the owls and shooed them out. By this time, Neville had a huge stack of letters.

He grabbed the cylindrical one and opened it. Out rolled a magazine—with his face on the cover. Neville almost fainted, not because he had forgotten about the interview, but seeing a big picture of his face was not what he expected.

Neville Longbottom—The Real Story

Neville Longbottom has been accused of an affair, at least two murders, slander, and dishonesty all in the last week. The magical community was shocked that someone like Mr. Longbottom could have done such things. The truth is that he did not. All these stories have been shamefully fabricated. We at the Quibbler are disgusted at this nasty display by the press. Therefore, we decide to let Neville Longbottom himself speak out in his defense.

Q: Where did you go after the War?

NL: I first traveled to Tibet and Mongolia. Then I went to the jungles of Africa. Pretty much, all I did for those years was study plants and hang around with the locals...

Q: So, you really didn't commit murders in Argentina and Australia?

NL: No! Of course not! I have never killed anyone, not even in the War. I also have never been to either Argentina or Australia...

Q: What made you come back?

NL: I missed the familiarity of home. No matter where I went, I never felt like it was somewhere I actually belonged. That is why I came back here, although now I am even doubt that I belong here...

Q: Everything has changed a lot here.

NL: Yeah. I got here and it was strange. It was a familiar place but everything had gone nutters. People I knew were almost unrecognizable even if they looked the same...

Q: Rumors have been going around about you and Ginerva Weasley, care to elaborate?

NL: There is nothing to say, really. We knew each other at Hogwarts and we are friends now...

Neville smiled. The interview had not sounded too bad. He just hoped this would get the press to back off. This also explained the heap of letters that adorned his table. He opened them to find many people had written letters saying that they were sorry about the way the press had treated him and things of that sort. A rare few still thought he was a conniving, deceitful murderer, but the rest were enough to make up for it.

Neville opened his shop that day. He was in a great mood. A lot of people stopped by to talk and apologize. He also did a fair good amount of business. He sold one of his rare Tanzanian Thymus plants for a good amount as well as many different herbs. Neville knew the whole thing was not over, but he was going to enjoy his day of peace anyway. No one would take this day away from him.

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A/N: Thank you to everyone for reading. A special thank you to AngeliqueCollins for reviewing!

---Perplexity