Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! And special thanks to those of you who have followed this story! I know this pairing doesn't have the broadest appeal so your support means the world to me.
When he woke the next morning, Neville was sure of three things:
1. He needed to figure out a direction in his life.
2. Something had happened between himself and Hannah Abbott.
3. His Mimbulus mimbletonia was dying.
Well, to be more exact, his original Mimbulus mimbletonia, the one given to him by his uncle back when he was fifteen, was dying. He had bred four others from that original and another that he'd received following the war, but they were all doing fine. Meanwhile the original's boils were slightly shriveled in comparison to their regular swollen state and rather than the crooning noise it usually made when stroked it was emitting an odd whine. Neville moved it away from the others, just in case it was something contagious, and then he turned to his small collection of books on Herbology to figure out what was happening. He went to the one that was specifically about desert plants first. It told him that Mimbulus mimbletonia should be able to live for decades when properly cared for and, when they were old enough to die, would quietly begin to shrink, their boils disappearing, not shriveling. So something was definitely wrong, but Neville still had no idea what.
He was about to consult another book when he heard his grandmother shouting from down the hall.
"Neville!" Augusta Longbottom yelled, her voice stern as usual. "Could I speak with you, please?"
It wasn't until he reached the bottom of the stairs that Neville realized he was still in his pajamas. That was one of Gran's pet-peeves, but a lack of adequate haste was another, so he supposed he'd just have to live with whatever consequence there was. He made his way to the elaborately decorated dining room where he found his grandmother sitting at the head of the table, a cup of tea, toast, and a diary before her. The table also had a place setting for him, with its own toast and jam. Sure enough, she frowned at his appearance as he walked in, shaking her head ever so slightly.
"Good morning, Gran," he said.
She nodded, looking down at her diary. "I'm planning out the next few weeks. Will I be responsible for any plants during that time?"
That was her way of asking if Neville would be traveling. "No," he answered, "I don't have anything planned…" He had meant to say for nowbut those words were swallowed by the deep, existential worry that he'd finally identified in himself the night before.
"Hm." That was all Gran said.
"Actually, speaking of plants," Neville said, taking a seat finally. "Did you notice anything odd about mine while I was away? The Mimbulus mimbletonia that Uncle Algie got me is acting strange."
Augusta frowned, her gaze going back to her grandson. "No, I did not. I would have told you if I had."
Neville nodded, "Alright, sorry, I just thought I'd ask. It's the strangest thing because supposedly if it were dying it would—"
"Speaking of your great-uncle," Gran said. Her eyes softened a bit when she saw her grandson's surprise at being cut off. A decidedly less stern tone emerged when she asked, "Do you know if he's planning a summer trip for himself? He and Enid usually go somewhere about this time, don't they? Perhaps they'd like some company this year."
Neville merely shrugged.
Gran sipped her tea. "You should eat something," she advised.
He dutifully spread jam on his toast and took a bite.
There was still a charged feeling to the air, despite his grandmother's efforts. Neville didn't blame her though. He wasn't exactly doing what she wanted, he wasn't making it easy for her. She'd been so proud when he'd joined the Aurors. "Just like your father," she had said, beaming at him when he told her. And she was still proud of him, he was sure—nothing would ever take away what he'd done during the war. Yet he also couldn't shake the image of her when he left the department, when he quit. Her face had read nothing but disappointment, from her deep-set frown to the crease between her eyebrows. She hadn't said it, but he knew it had to be in her mind somewhere. That was good enough for your parents. Why isn't it good enough for you? Or maybe you're just not good enough for it after all?Logically, Neville understood that it wasn't fair to assume Gran had had those thoughts, but emotionally? He didn't see how she couldn't have.
Presently, Neville was almost finished with his toast and neither of them had said anything else.
He rose, ready to take his plate into the kitchen, but stopped at his grandmother's question.
"What would you like to do for your birthday?"
Neville shrugged. "Family dinner, the usual."
Gran frowned. "You don't want to invite your friends over?"
He shook his head, "There'll probably be something for Harry's birthday so I'll see everyone then. You don't need to go to the trouble of—"
"It's no trouble to celebrate my grandson," Augusta said.
Neville smiled, his cheeks feeling warm from the sentiment. He said, "Honestly Gran, I'd rather just have the time to see family."
She relented, and he went back upstairs to figure out what was happening with his plants.
He was halfway through reading an old newspaper article about plant diseases that he had saved when a large, silver creature burst noiselessly into his room through the ceiling. Neville ducked and covered his head, as if pieces of the roof would fall on it, but realized how foolish that was when he looked up to discover Ginny's mare patronus staring at him.
"Hello, Neville!" the horse said in Ginny's cheerful voice. "Harry and I were wondering if you could pop by the Burrow this afternoon? We're babysitting Teddy today but there's something we need to talk to you about. Let us know if you can't make it today, but if you can don't worry about responding, just come by!"
Having delivered its message, the mare disappeared noiselessly.
Neville sighed, but figured it was a comfort that he at least knew what he'd be doing for that afternoon considering that was about as far as his plans stretched at the moment.
Neville apparated to the Burrow just after 1:00. He had spent the rest of the morning searching for answers about his Mimbulus mimbletonia but was still left empty handed. After having lunch with Gran he'd decided that that was enough research for the day and that he should go see Harry and Ginny before the afternoon was over.
He arrived just outside of the front gate, and enjoyed the short walk to their front door. The door was open, but he knocked anyway.
"Come in!" a cheery voice that Neville recognized as Mrs. Weasley's called from inside.
In the past few years Neville had been to the Burrow several times, but it never stopped amazing him that nine people had lived in a house that was half the size of his grandmother's. He felt a small amount of shame welling up inside him, that he'd grown up with so much while Ginny and Ron had had so little.
He found Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen. She smiled warmly at him and he was reminded that they had also had some things he never would.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," he said.
"Neville, dear, how are you? How is your grandmother?" She enveloped him in a warm hug.
"Oh, I'm fine," he said, adding as she released him, "And Gran's great."
"Wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley enthused. "And it's great that you've come by, we have so much planning to do! I was wondering, would next Sunday work for you to come to Madam Malkin's with us? I know it's short notice but with the date change—"
"Mum!" Ginny shouted, coming down the stairs in an oversized Gryffindor t-shirt that looked like it must have been Harry's. "We haven't told him yet."
Mrs. Weasley's face went as red as her hair. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't think I said anything too revealing."
Neville shook his head. He assured Ginny, "I have no idea what's going on."
Ginny smiled. "Alright, well Harry and Teddy are out back."
She started to lead him towards the back door when Mrs. Weasley said, "Lovely seeing you, Neville."
"You too Mrs. Weasley!" He called back, following Ginny outside.
"I was just upstairs changing," Ginny said. "Teddy spilled his juice all over me, but luckily Harry still has some old clothes here."
"Do you not?" Neville asked.
Ginny laughed softly, "Yeah, of course I do. But I like wearing his."
"I didn't need to know that, Gin," Neville said. Considering how private they were to the public, he felt that his friends told him far too much about their relationships.
Ginny snorted, laughing in response.
They found Harry in the middle of the yard, but Teddy wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Lost him already?" Ginny said, but she sounded amused rather than concerned.
Harry, who was smiling widely merely pointed to the outskirts of the yard, near the tree-line. Then he noticed Neville's arrival and said, "Hey, glad you could make it today."
"Me too," Neville said, "I'm very eager to find out what's going on."
Harry and Ginny gave each other conspiratorial smiles before turning their attention back to Harry's godson.
Neville followed their gaze and saw the toddler riding on a miniature broomstick that flew a few feet off the ground. It looked like he was going around the perimeter of the yard with an impressive amount of speed. It was enough to cause his hair—which was currently the same dark green that the Holyhead Harpies wore—to be blown back. Neville was very impressed, considering he was only three years old. A warmth spread in Neville's chest as he thought about Teddy's parents; he'd never forget how kind Remus had been to him in his time as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, nor could he ever undervalue the work that both Remus and Tonks had done in the fight against Voldemort.
After a minute of watching Teddy, Ginny turned to Neville and said, "Remember how I had been talking to the national Quidditch team? And it was possible that I could be on the team for the World Cup next year?"
"Yeah?" Neville asked, already smiling.
"Well, they sent me a letter last night after we got home from dinner. It officially asked me to join the team!"
"That's amazing!" Neville said, sweeping Ginny up into a hug.
Ginny laughed, "I know!" She ran a hand through her hair and turned to Harry. "You tell him the next part."
Harry grinned, "Okay."
"There's more?" Neville asked.
"Ginny and I had been planning on having our wedding next summer," Harry said, "But now with the Cup we need to move it up."
"And training starts in February," Ginny added.
"So we're getting married in November. Early November, the fourth. It's a Sunday."
Neville was slightly shocked. He was still adjusting to them being engaged, and now they were getting married. Not that it was that big of a deal really, he knew that they were meant to be with each other, everyone knew that, but it was still such a big thing to do. Such an adult thing to do. And they were doing it in four months. "That's only four months from now," Neville said before he could stop himself.
Harry and Ginny laughed.
"Less than," Harry said.
"As my mother won't stop reminding us," Ginny added.
"Wow." Neville said. Then he added quickly, "That's great, though! Right?" He was still confused as to why he'd needed to come to the Burrow to find this out. Surely it was information that could have been sent with the patronus? Or even just in a letter? He was glad to see them, but things just weren't adding up.
"There's something else," Ginny said at the same time that Harry yelled, "Careful Teddy!"
Neville looked over and saw that the toddler had somehow gained even more speed.
"Hold on a second," Harry said, before jogging after Teddy, who wasn't slowing down at all.
Ginny shook her head, smiling absentmindedly.
Neville watched her watching her soon-to-be-husband and tried to quell the slight feeling of jealousy that had arisen. He wasn't jealous because of their relationship—he'd never seen Ginny that way—but rather for the fact that they both had a stable relationship at all, not to mention their professional endeavors that were skyrocketing with success. It was similar to what he'd felt the night before, yet sharper somehow.
Harry returned with the small broom thrown over one shoulder and his godson over the other.
"Okay, where were we?" Harry asked over Teddy's giggling.
"You were about to ask Neville something important," Ginny said, grinning broadly as she took Teddy from Harry, holding him on her hip.
"Oh, right," Harry said. He smiled at Neville. "I—"
Ginny cleared her throat, giving Harry a stern look that made Teddy laugh loudly.
"Er, we, wanted to know, would you be one of my groomsmen?" Harry asked.
Neville felt his face turn red. It seemed like too much, too big of an honor for him. But, looking at Harry and Ginny's happy, hopeful faces, he couldn't bring himself to voice that doubt. "Of course," he said.
Now, Neville supposed, his plans stretched on for a while longer at least.
Note: It might take me a little while longer to get chapter 4 up. I'm going out of town for a few days so I won't be able to write but hopefully I'll be able to get it to you soon! Thanks again for reading! Reviews, comments, and suggestions are always welcome and very appreciated!
