All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.

Beta: Roman's Sundial

Chapter Fifty-Five: The Newest Longbottom

Neville Longbottom – Present Day

January 21, 2001

Neville sat quietly on the edge of his mother's bed. She was pacing back and forth in front of him, not acknowledging him as usual. His father was sitting in the chair in the corner, fast asleep. Sighing, he decided to head back to Luna's for the night, when he heard someone enter the room.

"Oh, Neville, I'm sorry, I didn't know there were still visitors here."

"That's alright, Hermione."

"What are you still doing here?" Hermione asked him.

Neville shrugged. "I'm avoiding going back to my Gran's house. Actually, I've been staying at Luna's for the last little while."

"Oh. Are you and Luna-?"

"What? No! She's a good friend but that's it." Hermione nodded her understanding. "What are you doing here?" Neville asked her in return.

"Avoiding tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

"Draco's hearing. I thought I would come here and do some work to take my mind off of it."

"You're studying my parents, aren't you?" Neville asked bluntly. "I don't mind," he said immediately, seeing the look on her face.

"Healer Martus and I are looking into their condition, yes," she said slowly. "But Neville, I don't want you to get your hopes up…"

"I know," said Neville. "I've accepted that they'll never get better, but it's still nice to know that not everyone has forgotten about them."

"Nobody has forgotten about them," Hermione said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "They are part of the reason that we fight."

Neville nodded. "Why does my dad sleep all the time?"

"I'm not really sure," Hermione frowned. "I suppose he's bored."

Before Neville could say anything else, however, he heard someone else enter the room. "Hello, Neville, Ms. Granger."

"Gran," said Neville, both surprised and concerned.

"Hello, Mrs. Longbottom, I was, uh, just leaving," said Hermione.

"Thank you."

It was quiet until Hermione left, and then Neville spoke. "How did you know where I was?"

"Well, you haven't been home, and I saw Ms. Lovegood very recently in Hogsmeade, so I knew you weren't with her, so naturally, it left this place."

"D-did you, get my owl?"

His Grandmother sighed. "Quite disturbing news."

"I didn't know."

"You still shouldn't have left; she was your responsibility."

"I wanted to protect her."

"Then you would find somewhere safe to take her, not leave her alone in the woods. Your father would be disappointed, Neville."

"I'm sorry," was all Neville could say.

"It is your daughter that you will have to apologize to."

"You mean, I can see her?"

"Why wouldn't you see her, Neville? Regardless of what this muggle may think, Amelia is the Longbottom heir, and will be raised as such!"

"But Jessica-"

His Grandmother lifted a hand to stop him. "Jessica is being dealt with. We are arranging a meeting for you and Amelia, as well as myself. Now, I will be going, but I expect to see you at home shortly."

"I was going to go over to Luna's-"

"You are going to go home, Neville, and learn what it means to be a Longbottom. You are a father now; you must start acting like one."

Jessica Ferguson – Present Day

January 22, 2001

"Hey, Molly," said Jessica, as she entered the kitchen to get a drink.

"Hello, Jessica, Dear; just the person I wanted to see!"

"Is everything okay?" Jessica asked concerned, taking a seat across from Molly.

"Yes, Dear, I just wanted a word about Amelia."

"What about her?" Jessica asked defensively.

"You see, I've had a visit from Neville's Grandmother…"

"And?"

"Don't be upset now, Jessica; they've just recently learned that they have a new member of their family."

"Amelia is not a part of their family," Jessica replied sternly.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, and I've advised Augusta Longbottom the same," Molly told her.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Educate you."

"Educate me?"

Molly smiled. "Jessica, Dear, you are a very bright person, and I know you can make the right decisions for you and your daughter. But to do that, you need to know all the information. If you would allow it, I would like to explain to you how things work in the wizarding world, so that you can make the very best choice."

"I won't change my mind, but I'll listen."

"That's all I'm asking for, Dear. Now, as you already know, Amelia is a witch, and when she turns eleven years old, she will receive a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"They can't force her to go."

"No, they cannot. Although most children do attend the school in their district, not every single child goes off to school."

"Really?"

"Really; some are homeschooled by their parents."

"So, Amelia could be taught by you, if I wanted to?" Jessica asked.

"I am not an extraordinary witch, Dear," Molly answered modestly.

"I've seen what you can do, Molly. You take care of this house and everyone in it. Besides, I wouldn't want Amelia to be an extraordinary witch, anyway. If she has the right to use magic, then I can deal with her learning a few spells here and there, but for the most part, she will be raised as a nargle."

"Muggle, Dear. But Amelia will never be a muggle; you can suppress the magic from her, although incredibly dangerous, but she is a witch, regardless if she is trained or not."

"What do you mean, incredibly dangerous?"

"Well, I'm not the one to ask as I have very little information on it, but from what I have learned, suppressing someone's magic can turn them into what is known as an Obscurus."

"What's an Obscurus?" Jessica asked.

"I'm afraid I do not know, but I do know that it is fatal."

Jessica sat silently for awhile. "So, you can teach her enough that she doesn't become one."

Molly smiled. "I could; but I would advise against holding her back from Hogwarts."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"Neville is a Longbottom; his family, like my own, is part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"Ron told me about the Sacred Twenty-Eight," said Jessica, excited that she knew something. "It's like a group of government."

Molly nodded. "They do have quite the influence on decisions made in our world," she said. "Neville was the last Longbottom until now, so that means, once Neville steps down, the position will belong to Amelia."

"Well, I'll decline it."

"Unfortunately, Dear, that decision is Amelia's, once she turns seventeen. Until then, her guardian would have to take the seat on her behalf until she comes of age, if Neville stepped down."

"Me?"

"Not you, Dear; you are not a witch. In this case, it would be Neville."

"Wait, so if Neville stepped down, he would still be representing the Longbottoms anyway, since Amelia isn't seventeen?"

"It sounds a bit silly, but yes."

"And if Amelia refuses at seventeen?"

"Then it would be passed on to her heirs. But if she does not have any, then she will end the very long and ancient line of the Longbottoms."

"But what if her heirs aren't magical?"

"They will most likely carry the gene; she comes from the line of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, Jessica; the most noble of blood. It is incredibly unlikely that Amelia will produce a squib."

"A squib?"

"A descendant of a witch or wizard who does not possess the magical gene."

Jessica folded her arms across her chest. "If Neville has other children, could they take over, then?"

"Amelia, being the eldest, will have first choice. But if she declines, and he does have other children, then yes, they can. But that is if Neville decides to have more children."

"If he cares about his legacy bad enough, then he will. It's not fair to put this burden on Amelia."

"Plenty of things in Neville's life has been unfair, Jessica; including this situation with Amelia."

"How is it unfair to Neville? He left me!"

"Neville's intentions were honorable, and nobody could judge him based on his history."

"What history?"

"It is not my place to say, Dear."

"Molly," Jessica pleaded, placing her hand out on the table. "You said you wanted to educate me; help me understand."

Molly sighed. "Not too many know the details of this story, and I think it best we keep it that way."

Jessica nodded. "I won't tell a soul."

"Alright, well, years ago, when Neville was just a baby, his parents sacrificed their lives to protect him."

"Neville's parents are dead?"

"A fate worse than death. Anyway, although not at all his fault, Neville feels guilty about it, so when he had encountered you, he knew that he was being hunted. After what happened with his parents, he feared for your safety if anyone found out that you were connected to him, so, naturally, he made his first priority to keep you safe. That is why he left Jessica; there is no other reason."

"Oh," was all Jessica could say. She sat quietly for awhile, analyzing everything that Molly just told her. Finally, she asked, "Will Amelia be known as a Longbottom?"

"In our world, the father's surname is always the name one takes, regardless of the situation."

"So, what are their intentions?"

Molly shrugged. "I suppose to meet her; they are going to want to be in her life, Dear."

"They can be, as long as I'm present. What are your laws? They can't take her from me, can they?"

"In our world, the mother cannot refuse the father the chance to see their child, but no, the father cannot dictate where the child goes; that right stays with the mother."

"Good."

"Jessica, I do wish to warn you, though. Augusta is a very good and loyal person, but she can be quite fierce."

"Don't worry, so can I."

Draco Malfoy – Present Day

January 21, 2001

Draco sat in Harry Potter's dining room for what felt like hours. He was starting to worry that perhaps he was not going to come home today. He recalled Hermione saying that often times they stayed at the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters when meetings ran very late. Draco began panicking. What if he didn't come home today? It wouldn't be safe to galleon him as he was sure his mother would have a way of tracking that. Just as he was considering apparating outside of the Burrow's protections and somehow getting Weasley's attention, he heard the door to Potter's cottage open.

"Potter!" he cried out of excitement. "Ah, Potter, get that out of my face!" he said, swatting at Harry's wand.

"What are you doing in my house?" asked Harry, putting his wand away.

"I need to talk to Hermione. I know I'm not supposed to, but it's urgent!"

"Why aren't you supposed to? Did you two break up?"

"What? No, we didn't break – she didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" asked Harry.

Draco swore loudly. "Can you just galleon her and tell her to come here? Don't mention I'm here, though."

"If she doesn't want to see you…"

"It's not that, it's for her safety. Trust me Potter, please?"

Harry hesitated. "Fine, but I want to know what's going on."

Draco nodded. "As soon as she gets here."

It didn't take long for Harry to galleon Hermione, and for her to arrive. "Harry? What's the matter?" came her sweet voice, as she walked through the front door.

"Hey," said Draco, walking towards her.

"Draco! But how? Your mum!"

"She doesn't know I'm here, don't worry."

"But Harry…" Draco saw the look on her face and knew that she was afraid to tell him the truth.

"We'll tell him together, okay?"

Hermione nodded. "Harry, can we have a few minutes?"

"Sure," Harry said, heading upstairs. "Why tell me anything, anyway," he mumbled, as he made his way to his room.

"It's so nice to see you!" Hermione said, throwing herself into his arms.

"Were you really going to not see me again?" he asked her quietly.

"Of course not, Draco! I was just trying to find a way that was safe for everyone. I didn't want to risk anyone's life, and-"

"And now we have more pressing problems to worry about," Draco finished for her.

"What do you mean?"

"My hearing tomorrow."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry. If there's one thing I do know about your mother, is that she wouldn't do anything that could hurt you. I'm sure she's found a way around everything."

Draco shook his head. "It's not me I'm worried about; it's you."

"What do you mean?"

"She's going to say that you forged those documents."

"So? Say that I didn't."

"I can't."

"Why not?" she asked defensively.

"Because," Draco sighed.

"Because you would rather I go to Azkaban than disobey your mother?" she asked angrily.

"Of course not! I just can't say anything because… because…"

"Does she have something over you, Draco?"

"Yes," he replied, quickly taking the out that she was giving him.

"What is it?"

"Uh…" he put his head in his hands, trying to come up with something.

"She's put a spell on you, hasn't she? So that you can't speak?"

"Yes," Draco lied.

"That evil woman! So I'll tell them that she did that; they'll have the means to reverse it!"

"NO," Draco said quickly. "It'll be dangerous for others, please, just trust me." He felt horrible for lying, but he had no other choice.

"So, what do we do?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Run," said Harry, coming down the stairs.

"You were listening?" Draco asked.

"Naturally," responded Harry.

"What do you mean run?" Hermione asked, getting back to the point.

"You don't have time to figure something out right now. If Narcissa has something on you, it will take longer than a night to figure out a way around it. Hideout at the Order for now; we will all deny that we know where you are, and you can use that time to figure out a plan."

"It could work," said Draco, knowing too well what his mother was capable of. "I wouldn't be able to see you though…"

"Her safety is more important," said Harry, very big brother like.

"Agreed," said Draco nodding. "Will you, uh, take letters for us?"

"Not until someone tells me why you two can't see each other," responded Harry.

Hermione frowned. "I made a terrible mistake, Harry, but I honestly thought I was saving people when I did it." She went on to tell Harry about her deal with Narcissa, all the while avoiding eye contact with him. "I've ended up putting you and Ron in more danger; I'm really sorry."

"She's not the first one who wants to kill me," Harry chuckled. "Honestly, Hermione, it's the least of my worries right now."

"You aren't mad?"

"Of course not! But, uh, I wouldn't tell Ron…"

"I'm with Potter," said Draco.

"Let's get you to Headquarters before anyone tries anything," said Harry. "Draco, uh, you probably shouldn't come around here…"

"I'll send you an owl after my hearing with the details," Draco said to Harry.

"Okay, and, uh, can you release the fidelius charm on here once Hermione floos to Headquarters? It's probably not a good idea for you to be my secret-keeper given the circumstances."

"Who will be, then? You can't leave the place unprotected!" said Hermione, concerned.

"Ginny," said Harry at once. "I'll galleon her to come here now."

Draco walked over to Hermione and gave her a hug. "This isn't permanent," he told her. "We will find a way to be together, I promise." And with a long kiss, he watched her head into the fireplace and disappear, with a tear in her eye.

Harry Potter – The Past

May 3, 1998

Harry sat on the broken bridge at Hogwarts, looking out towards the lake. He was much too far to see the giant squid from where he sat, but he was sure that even he was mourning all the loss that had occurred last night.

"Harry," came the voice of Neville Longbottom.

"H'llo Neville," said Harry, not very enthusiastically. He has wanted to be alone, and told Hermione, Ron, and Ginny as such, but he should have known better than to think that nobody would bother him.

"It's finally over," Neville said triumphantly, sitting next to Harry.

"Mm-hmm," was all Harry said.

"You were brilliant, Harry! You destroyed You-Know-Who!"

"But at what cost?" Harry asked, remembering all the bodies in the Great Hall.

"It would have been worse if you didn't stop him; more and more bodies would turn up at his hand."

"I suppose so," responded Harry. "But I'm still responsible for all of this."

"He is responsible for all of this; you are responsible for saving us!" Harry said nothing; nobody would ever understand. "It must be hard being the Chosen One," Neville said, somewhat catching on.

"Voldemort made me the Chosen One," said Harry, not realizing exactly what he was saying, and to who.

"What do you mean? I thought it was that prophecy?" Neville asked, confused.

Harry studied Neville for awhile. Surely, Neville deserved to know that truth now that it was all over. "The prophecy never stated that it was me, Neville; it simply stated that the person to bring down Voldemort was the one born at the end of July. Out of all of those people, whoever Voldemort thought was the Chosen One, actually became the Chosen One."

Neville was quiet for a moment, probably digesting everything Harry just told him. "So, why did he choose you, then?"

"Snape."

"Snape?"

"Maybe I'll tell you one day," Harry said to him, not really interested in getting into his mother's past.

"Okay," said Neville. The pair of them sat in silence staring out towards the lake. "Out of all the people born at the end of July, what are the odds that it would have been you?" Neville asked, more rhetorically than anything else.

"About fifty percent," said Harry, answering the question regardless.

"How?"

"There were only two wizards born at the end of July that year, who had parents who thrice defied Voldemort" said Harry.

"But… That doesn't make sense… I fit that description, too."

"Exactly," Harry said, still not looking at him.

Neville shook his head. "If You-Know-Who did not pick you, then that would leave me…"

"Yup," said Harry, finally looking at him.

"That's impossible," said Neville.

"No, it's not, it's the truth. Your parents saved your life just like my parents saved mine." Neville sat there quietly, trying to process all of the information. "You deserved to know," said Harry, finally standing up. "But don't drive yourself mad thinking about it. This war is finally done – let it end. Very few people know what I just told you and I'm okay with keeping it that way." Neville nodded but still said nothing. Harry walked away and headed towards the castle. He knew he just put a lot on Neville, but Neville did deserve to know exactly what kind of heroes his parents were.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone, hope you are all well! I have a terrible cold and have been confined to my bed.. Winters in Canada are tough! So, let's talk.. I wanted Neville to know the truth about the prophecy.. I didn't want Harry to give him all details, but it was important that he knew and so that's why I had Harry tell him. We are going to see quite a change happen.. Keep an eye on the trio! I will say this: from now until Harry and Ginny's wedding in September, nothing will be the same (I don't mean within their relationship - just within the story) What's coming up: Draco's hearing, what will happen to Hermione, Jessica's meeting with Augusta Longbottom, and Indira's mission with Remus to find out more about Ralph.

Thanks as always, and keep reviewing!