A/N: Next section in the story of The Last Doomtreader. Here it is... Enjoy Folks!
Oddity has been updated and do check it out. Mei will indeed make an appearance soon.
The latest chapter of Symbol is also available. It will be a slow progression, but I promise you it will be worth the wait...
No more updates of any of my stories will be done for at least the next fifteen days. Hope you folks understand it.

Chapter 5 – An Irresponsible Godmother


Neville Longbottom lay on the patch of grass present in the back garden of Longbottom Manor after taking care of the plants in their greenhouse. The sun was shining bright, and the heat of the morning was just setting in. He preferred the cool breeze that blew across the garden, ruffling his hair, and soothing his nerves, to the strict – almost militant, atmosphere present inside the manor.

While he loved his Grandmother, her demanding attitude was just a little too much to take in everyday during the summer. And after what happened at the end of last year, his Grandmother had become more and more protective of him. The ongoing power clash between Dumbledore and the Ministry has muddied the waters and constant rumors in the Daily Prophet haven't helped it much.

But, he knew Harry. He knew that Harry wouldn't say something like this, if it wasn't true. When his Gran had asked for his opinion – which was an wonder in itself, he had stated what he believed. His Gran had looked at him sharply and simply nodded his head.

Ever since then, he had been always inside the wards of the manor. His Gran had even gone to the lengths to bar immediate floo access to anyone who is not immediate family. That meant that he was virtually a prisoner inside the manor – not that he had any friends who would visit or he wanted to visit. Still, being cooped up in the manor had irked him somewhat. Working in the greenhouses was the only pleasure he had these days.

As he took a deep breath and basked in the sun, a sudden crash echoed from the house – more pointedly from the floo. Fear shot through him as he sat up in panic. Did… Did they come for him, just like when he was a baby? That can't be true. He was a nobody. He wasn't anyone of importance. He wasn't Harry.

As panic engulfed him, he felt the wards of the manor blare in alarm. The alarm rang through the entire house. Neville couldn't help but stand rooted on the spot. Then another thought flashed through his mind – Gran. Gran wouldn't stay idle. Despite her age, Gran would be fighting whoever was trying to breach the wards. And that meant Gran would be in danger.

Without another thought he bolted towards the house, intent on finding his Gran. Despite every inch of his mind screaming at him to run and hide, he couldn't do that. Doing that would mean leaving Gran alone, and after what happened to his mom and dad, he couldn't bear the thought of losing anyone else. He would gladly die before something similar happened to Gran.

For a moment, he realized that he was acting like a true Gryffindor. His Gran would be proud of that. But, being a Gryffindor was the last thing on his mind. Neither did the thought that his Gran would be proud of him at last register in his mind. All his thoughts were on reaching Gran before she was hurt.

He rushed into the house, only to hear someone cursing wildly. The voice was tinged with anger and frustration. It scared him further. He rushed towards the room the floo was connected to and came to a skidding halt to see his Gran holding her wand tightly and looking at the floo.

"Augusta! You crazy bint! Lower your wards!" the sound of a woman came across the fireplace.

Neville saw his Gran's demeanor change. Her hand shivered for a moment. But, the moment passed and his Gran was back to her imposing self again. Neville wondered who had the gall to call his Gran a crazy bint. Never in his life had he seen someone do that, it made him curious about the identity of the woman who was cursing.

"Who are you?" his Gran asked authoritatively.

"Damn you Augusta! I am Eve!" the woman shouted in reply.

"Thorne!?" Nevile heard Gran's voice shake a little with emotion, but the steel returned a moment later, "What did you write to Alice in your last letter?"

The struggling from the fireplace stilled. Suddenly, Neville felt a cold hand grip his heart. He had heard about stuff like this happening during the war. People masquerading as loved ones to gain entry into the wards and then attacking them. Whoever this Thorne was, his Gran wasn't expecting her. And from the shake in his Gran's demeanor he knew that Thorne was someone dear to Gran – after all very few things shook his Gran. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Gran's posture tighten in tension.

Just when he thought no answer would be coming, the woman spoke.

"I begged her to stay in Fidelius until I returned to mainland," the woman's voice was small as if she would rather talk about anything else.

Gran's breath hitched.

"Eve! Is that really you?" Gran's voice wavered slightly.

"Yeah," the woman replied softly.

Gran stayed silent for a moment before she waved her wand in response. Neville felt the wards lower. The fireplace burst into flame and a black-haired woman with brown eyes stumbled out of fire. The woman looked around a bit before closing her eyes. She unhooked a flask from her hip and took a swig from it, before shaking her head.

"You have some nerve Thorne to arrive in my home like this," Neville heard his Gran hiss angrily as she took in the woman's appearance.

The woman merely shrugged as she took in another gulp off her hip flask. Her eyes roamed the room – they looked haunted and sad, before finally landing on him. The woman paused, before shaking her head a little, and smiled gently at him. She looked at him with fondness and the haunted look in her eyes faded a bit.

"Neville, come meet your irresponsible Godmother!" Gran said shocking both him and the woman.

The woman looked as if she had been punched in the gut. For a moment she looked shocked, before it morphed into anger.

"You!" she screamed at Gran causing Neville to doubletake, "Why didn't you inform me?" the woman hissed in anger.

"And where am I to get hold of you?" Gran sniffed angrily, "The moment you returned, you went and fought a duel with Dumbledore. Then you got yourself exiled out of mainland and no one had heard from you since then, until now. All I had to go by was some rumors about how you were hunting Nundus in Africa. Nundus! Of all the brainless things you did – you went hunting Nundus!"

The woman rubbed her head sheepishly.

"And you had the gall to waltz back into my home after fourteen years, dressed like a worthless beggar and drunk half up to your throat and ask me why I haven't informed you. If Alice saw you like this, she would box your ears. You disappoint me Evelyn Euphemia Thorne," Gran said shaking her head in disappointment.

The woman looked everywhere, but at Gran.

"Here's what you are going to do, young lady. You will wash yourself out of all this filth, and dress according to your station. Then, only then, you will be allowed to meet your Godson. We will be breaking fast in half an hour, I expect you to conduct yourself as befits your station," Gran stated imperiously causing the woman to shrink in on herself.

"But, Neville," the woman – honest to Merlin – whined.

"No buts, Evelyn. Get going! You will meet him in the dining room when you are freshened up. I will not allow my Grandson to meet his Godmother when she half drunk on her feet and dressed like a street urchin," Gran stated angrily, "Snippy!"

Snippy appeared in a pop and bowed to Gran.

"Take her to her old room," Gran said in a no-nonsense tone causing the woman to hang her head. "Go, Evelyn!"

The woman let out a weary sigh and walked away.

The breakfast was a subdued affair. Gran wasn't her usual self and the woman was obviously more embarrassed to strike up a proper conversation. Neville felt as if there was some unseen tension present at the table as he switched between observing Gran and the woman.

The woman – his apparent Godmother, had cleaned up well and currently she was wearing traditional witch clothing compared to how she had presented herself when she came in. It was interesting to see someone who Gran deemed close enough to have breakfast with that wasn't their family or old like Gran. It was a novel experience for him.

But, Neville could see that there were some unspoken grievances between Gran and the witch. While he didn't know what they were, he figured that it wasn't serious enough. Lest his Gran wouldn't have invited her to breakfast. What made him curious was that he was also present at the table. Unusually, Gran was content let the witch stew and not clear the air between them before introducing him and keeping him in close proximity.

Neville knew that his Gran had become very protective of him since the attack on his parents. The mere fact that he was in the witch's presence before the air was cleared between them, spoke volumes on the level of trust Gran had towards the woman. But, like all things, the brooding silence came to an end when the dishes were cleared.

"So, what brings you back to the mainland?" his Gran opened the dialogue in her usual blunt manner.

"Heard old snakeface was up and about. Wanted to have a crack at him," the witch – Evelyn – answered nonchalantly as tea was served.

Neville saw his Gran's eyebrows raise upwards. He couldn't fault her. After all, who in their right mind would come back knowing You-Know-Who was back amongst living.

"So, the rumors are true then," his Gran asked after a bit of prolonged silence.

"Don't know," the witch shrugged, "Haven't got the complete story yet. Just returned back to Britain yesterday."

"That doesn't sound like you," Gran observed as she sipped her tea, "the Evelyn I know would have found some legitimate information by now."

"I would have," the witch grimaced, "if not for running into that old fucker."

Neville was slightly curious about who the witch referred in such bitter tone.

"You met Dumbledore, and you haven't started a fight with him yet. That's very surprising," his Gran said in surprise causing Neville to jump slightly in his seat.

From the way his Gran had spoken it was clear to him that the witch and Dumbledore weren't that close. If so, then he wondered who informed her. Even he knew that only Dumbledore was taking a stance against the Ministry and was warning people about the return of You-Know-Who. Very few people were willing to even talk about that subject apart from Dumbledore, after all.

"Not for lack of trying," the witch smirked viciously.

"Oh dear, I fear there is a story somewhere in there. I hope you didn't land yourself in trouble already Evelyn. But, then again, the Ministry might just side with you considering the current circumstances if you were willing to fight Dumbledore," Gran said thoughtfully.

"Oh! Why?"

"Dear Merlin! You don't know anything about what's happening currently, do you?" the witch shook her head, "Apparently, ever since Dumbledore started claiming that Voldemort was back, our incompetent Minister is of the mind that Dumbledore is after his job and is creating unrest among the population – as if Dumbledore would ever take that job willingly – that utter buffoon. So, for this past month he has been dragging Dumbledore's name through the mud and is rooting out any Dumbledore sympathizers from the Ministry."

The woman snorted in reply.

"Yeah, exactly what I thought. As if Dumbledore doesn't run Magical Britain already. Still, it has been entertaining to watch the back and forth between Dumbledore and the Ministry. Mind you, there hasn't been any sighting of You-Know-Who to give any credence to Dumbledore's allegations. It is all hearsay at this point. Rumor has it Dumbledore has re-established is old crew from the war and is actively recruiting."

"I can confirm that. I was initially invited to join the Order of the Phoenix by an acquaintance of mine. Initially, I wasn't that keen on doing that. As you obviously know, he and I don't get along well," his Gran snorted at that.

"That's putting it mildly. What in Merlin's saggy balls where you thinking dueling Dumbledore that time?"

The witch stayed silent for a moment before replying.

"That's it Augusta, I wasn't thinking. After I learned what happened to Lily, I sent the letter to Alice asking her stay put. I immediately made my way back to Britain, only to hear what happened to Alice. As you might remember, I came back the next day after that. If only, I had been a day earlier," the witch choked.

"And if only I had been an hour earlier," Gran said somberly. "We can't live with what ifs girl. It was not your fault."

"I know," the witch replied agitatedly, "Don't you think I know that? I have spent fourteen years trying to reconcile with what happened to Alice and Lily. But, I still can't. And you know what the worst part is, I know for sure that if I had been present things will be different. I got into an argument with Lily over who would be Harry's Godmother. I let my jealousy of Alice take over and fled the country to cool off. Only to return and find that everything that meant anything to me was gone."

"Not all is lost, Evelyn. You have your Godson and, dare I say, Harry too."

"Godson!" she exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "I am sorry Augusta, I didn't know."

"It happened after you left. Lily and Alice planned it. She would be Harry's and you would be Neville's and whenever you got around to getting a child, Lily would have been that child's. We all were looking forward to see the look of shock and tease you a bit when you came back. But," Gran pursed her lips.

"Thank you, Augusta," the witch said dabbing her eyes, "I didn't know. And it sounds exactly like something Lily and Alice would come up with to pull my leg. Anyways, I return to find that Lily is dead; Alice is hospitalized; the entire country is in celebration; and the war was over. I heard you were looking after Neville. So, I know he was in good hands. But, there was no talk about Harry. All, anyone could tell was that he defeated Voldemort – as if a baby could do something like that," the witch snorted.

"Then, news started dripping in. About Sirius's supposed deeds and his subsequent arrest. I was way too overwhelmed by then. All I could think of was to get Harry and Neville to safety. I know that with you there, Neville was as safe as he could be. But, I didn't know how Harry was. And I heard that he personally went for them. So, I decided to search for Harry."

"That's how you and Dumbledore ended up in a duel," Gran said as if she had solved the mystery. "Well, Alice too came out of Fidelius to get custody of Harry. Otherwise, they would have remained in Fidelius until you returned."

"Do you think," the witch asked sharply.

"I would never put anything past that man. But, it doesn't matter. We have no proof," Augusta said grimly.

The witch sat back in her chair dejectedly. She looked as if someone had punched her in the gut again.