It was a little warmer that day in Godric's Hollow than it had been in London, but not quite warm enough to soothe the residual chilliness from Kyle's 'apparation.' Even though he wasn't very wet on the outside, it left him feeling quite wet on the inside.
Kyle had brought them to an area behind some large home on the opposite end of the village to where Harry lived, but it was closer than they would have gotten by any other means, so he was pleased. Possibly a little too pleased.
"Slow down, I am short!" Kyle huffed, practically having to start jogging to keep up with Neville. He couldn't help but laugh, and then cackled harder when she almost ran into him when he stopped.
"Sorry, sorry. I forgot." He reached out to smooth a strand of hair that had come loose from her bun. "Oh, hell. What are we going to tell Harry, anyway? I didn't think about this, did I?"
She rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away from her head. "If you say he's trustworthy, then I trust him. But he's got kids, doesn't he?"
"Three of them. James, Albus, and Lily."
"Well," she adjusted her jacket, careful not to drop the envelopes they had been given. "Kids are harder to keep quiet. So an adults-only chat would be best for us all."
"Right, I'm sure they won't mind." He started to walk again, this time a little slower so Kyle could keep up. "He and Ginny are very trustworthy. They aren't going to tell a soul, I promise it."
"I'll trust you."
When they arrived at the sweet little cottage Harry had bought some years ago, Neville knocked firmly on the door. There was a quick, surprised shout from somewhere in the house, then the sound of heavy, awkward footsteps before the door was flung open.
"Hello there, Teddy. I didn't know you were staying with Harry right now." Neville said, a little surprised at the second year standing in the doorway.
"Oh, Professor Longbottom. My grandmother sent me here because she thinks it's safer while everything is going on. Why are you here?" Teddy glimpsed Kyle then, his face contorting into a look of confusion. "And Matron Cunningham?"
"Well, we were hoping to speak to Ginny and Harry. Are they—"
"Neville!" Ginny came rushing down the stairs, arms full of squirming toddler. She adjusted her grip on the teary-eyed child so she could rush at Neville and throw her arms around him. "I was just thinking about you. We've been so worried—Oh! And Kyle! How long has it been?"
Kyle looked properly taken aback when Ginny gave her the same warm hug. "Hello, Ginny. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"
"That it has. Things are quite out of sorts here, but please, come in. Harry is in the kitchen with the boys. I'm sure you have so much to tell us."
Neville and Kyle slipped in past Teddy, who shut and locked the door behind them. Ginny led them back past the staircase and into the cozy kitchen. They seemed to be having a hard time controlling the household without magic, as Harry was giving his sons a lecture on properly cleaned dishes at the sink. He turned upon hearing Neville enter, and gave a wide smile to his old friend.
"Neville, what's brought you here today?" Harry asked as he dried his hands on a tea towel. He came to embrace his friend once he was less soapy, and Neville felt like life had been brought back into him. There was nothing quite like a good friend to make the chaos melt right out of his bones.
"Well, we've got some business to attend to, and we really wanted to stop by before we go."
"We?" He asked, peeking around Neville to find Kyle. He immediately thrust his hand out towards her. "Hi."
"Nice to meet you," Kyle grasped his hand comfortably. "I'm Kyle Cunningham."
"Oh, yeah, I've heard that name. I wasn't expecting—the name Kyle is—oh, it doesn't matter. What's going on?"
Neville gave a stern nod towards James and Albus, who had been standing dumbstruck at the kitchen sink. "It's best if we talk more privately. Not that I don't trust the boys, but we wanted to let you know about some sensitive information. We don't want you to be caught off guard when… Well, we'll get to that."
Harry blinked a few times, then turned to his two eldest children. "Alright, you two. Head upstairs, we'll let you know when to come back down."
James and Albus grumbled, almost protesting until their father gave them a very stern look, at which point they just each shook their heads at each other and went off.
"What about me?"
The four adults turned to look at Teddy at the kitchen entrance, looking somewhat out of place in the household. He didn't have the Potter or Weasley genes, and it showed, even though Neville knew he was as comfortable and welcome here as he was at Andromeda's.
Neville almost spoke to ask him to leave as well, but Kyle beat him to the punch.
"Teddy, you're in Hogwarts. You deserve to know why you were sent home. Can you keep big secrets? Even from the other two?"
He looked nervous just then. "Yeah, I can. What kind of secrets?"
Kyle clicked her tongue, looking about the kitchen. When she saw all the dishes still in the sink, she reached forward and gave a wave of her hand. The dishes began to scrub themselves.
Silence fell over the household.
"Those kinds of secrets. Secrets that can upset people."
Teddy bit down on his lip, obviously thinking things over before he gave a nod. "I can keep it secret. Promise."
"Maybe we should sit down for this," Ginny seemed to be speaking to herself, wandering to the large kitchen table to take a seat with Lily.
"I don't understand, I thought no one could do any magic at all?" Harry said while they all followed Ginny to the table. Neville sat down across from his friends, Kyle at his side.
"Well, almost no one," Kyle began, taking a deep breath before she started to fill the three in on everything that had happened, and everything that had been discovered in the last days. Neville felt so disconnected from this story, like she was reading a book he already read rather than something that had happened to them personally.
When she was finished, Harry and Ginny were looking baffled, Lily having long since escaped her mother's grasp. Teddy didn't look like he understood a word of it.
"This is unbelievable. We've gone how many centuries not believing in ancient gods, but they're… real?" Ginny gasped, holding onto the edge of her seat as if she were about to fall off into a void. "We all knew a little bit from stories, but how could we have ever… What kind of things do we not know about at all? This changes everything."
Kyle shook her head, watching the toddler pitter about with an oven mitt on her hand. "There's no way to know what we don't know. And I really don't know what will change, if anything. It's too soon to tell, and my mother will only give me limited information."
"And did you tell all this to the Prime Minister?" Harry asked, seeming to snap out of the fog he was in.
"Heavens, no. First, he wouldn't damn believe me. Second, what kind of a panic would that cause? There's no need for it. Muggles need to be content where they are, any of what we know would cause chaos."
"Speaking of chaos," Harry sighed and sank back into his chair, picking up his daughter as she came to him asking to be held. "Things are in shambles. The Ministry doesn't know what to do with itself, the economy has tanked. I don't know how long people are going to be able to last. They're already resorting to muggle shops and exchanging their galleons for muggle money. Even we're feeling the strain."
"That's why we're leaving," Neville perked up, leaning across the table. "We can't just sit back when Kyle is the closest thread we have to whatever is happening. I don't know what kind of plan she has, but… it has to be better than nothing."
Kyle nodded, her jaw visibly tight. "This is the fault of someone despicable. To upend millions of lives like this? And for what? I'm going to do what I can to make them return everything to normal."
Ginny ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay. Well, what can we do?"
Neville and Kyle looked to each other briefly.
"Just standby and try to keep Kingsley on track. I know he'll listen to you, Harry. There's nothing that can be done to help us, even Neville coming along is a bad idea. I've been trying to convince him to go back to Hogwarts, but he's stubborn." Kyle gave him a light, playful kick under the table, and he had to grin.
"Two is better than one."
Ginny looked at Harry, raising an eyebrow.
"Wait, I have a question." Teddy raised his hand as if he were in school but didn't wait to be called upon. "Will we be going back to Hogwarts? Or is this forever?"
Kyle leaned across the table to look Teddy directly in the eyes. "I'm going to make sure you go back to Hogwarts, Teddy. I'm not going to quit until I give everyone their magic back."
"You're not going to have to fight a god, are you?" He looked concerned all of a sudden, looking between all four adults the way children do when they're frightened.
Kyle didn't answer that immediately. She sat back in her chair and sniffled. "I don't know what I'll have to do, but I'll do anything. It's not fair for anyone to suffer through this."
Harry put an arm around his godson, giving him a tight squeeze. "In the meantime, you're going to learn all about being a muggle. Isn't that just so exciting?"
His sarcasm was lost on Teddy, who replied with a scrunched up face and firm "No!" and caused Harry to loudly cackle.
"Speaking of muggles," Kyle slowly stood from her chair, trying to move it back quietly. "I need to get to a bank, and find somewhere I can use a computer. Neville, if you want to stay and catch up, that's fine, I can come get you once I have a plan in motion."
Neville looked from her to Harry, conflicted. He wanted to both go with her and stay with his friends for a little while longer.
"Well, why don't you stay here, Neville, and help with dinner. And when Kyle comes back we can all eat together. You can even stay in the guest room tonight if you'd like." Ginny offered the solution and Neville quickly nodded in agreement.
"What say you, Kyle?"
"That'd be brilliant, thanks. I'll try not to keep you all waiting, should only take an hour or so." She placed a hand on Neville's shoulder. "Ginny, we should chat when I get back—it's really been ages since we had time to talk. Also, I'm sorry about this."
With her apology, she once again seemed to turn into a little pool of water as she apparated away, leaving a very startled pair of homeowners looking at the floor.
"Nereid magic is pretty strange," Neville stammered. "Where can I find a towel?"
"I'll get it. Watch Lily, Harry."
"Right. And Teddy, why don't you go see what James and Albus are up to, I'd really like to talk with Neville for a moment." Harry said, watching Teddy leave his seat and head towards the stairs with Ginny. "Oh, and remember: no telling them what you heard or saw."
When the kitchen was clear of everyone except for Harry, Neville, and Lily, Neville turned to his friend suspiciously. "What's this all about, then?"
"So, curious minds want to know… are you and Kyle a 'thing'?" Harry asked with one of those ever-familiar grins. "I'm not judging, just would love to hear the details on that."
Neville felt his face turn red immediately. "Oh, come on, Harry. We're not kids anymore!"
"I know, but you haven't seen anyone seriously since Luna. I do think it's very on brand for you to shack up with someone who ends up being a bit of weird one."
"You think so?" Neville leaned onto his elbow, cradling his cheek in his hand. "I was just hoping for something average and calm, but I end up fancying a mythical creature."
"Well, she seems interesting, I'll give her that." Harry stood up, picking a toy off of the kitchen counter to hand to Lily while he poured water into a kettle. "It's good that you've got someone, though. Rough times are made easier when you have someone by your side."
"Not when you can't do anything to protect them, though." Neville melted into his chair, suddenly feeling very weary.
"Neville," he sighed and leaned against the counter, bracing himself with his arms. "You don't have to be the protector all the time. Look, it's great—fantastic even—that you've grown so much and are willing to be strong for people. But it's okay to not be able to do that, too."
Neville desperately wanted to believe Harry and feel better about the situation, but he was already beginning to feel like he may be slowing Kyle down and could become a burden on her. "I just don't want to leave her alone. The only thing that kept me going at Hogwarts was having Dumbledore's Army, but even we could do more than nothing then. We could resist then, antagonize them. I don't know what I could do for her."
"Be there for her. Hell, the emotional support alone is worth you going, unless you just don't want to. But aside from that, I think you could be able to help her. You were a brilliant Auror. Use your experience to your advantage."
Neville closed his eyes, reassuring himself as he nodded his head. "Yeah. Thanks, Harry." Even to himself, he didn't sound convinced, but he would have to just hope for the best and take his words to heart.
"That's better. Now, what kind of tea do you want? Ginny's started this damned tea collection…"
In a quiet, very wet park, Kyle cleared a bench of water with a wave of her hand after making sure she was alone. She had a newly purchased umbrella in one hand, the bag from a recent, very expensive purchase in the other. As she sat down, she carefully tucked the handle of the umbrella under her arm so she could pull out one of two white boxes and remove the shiny new mobile phone. Truth be told, she had barely used these, especially not the fancy new smart ones. But how hard could it be?
She cursed when she realized that it was a little more complex now. Perhaps she shouldn't have bought a second one for Neville. But despite her confusion over how to work most of it, she couldn't help but play with it for a bit. She took a couple photos of drooping tulips planted nearby, messed with the settings, and chose a ringtone. Not that anyone would be calling her, but it seemed appropriate.
Then, when she'd had her fun, it was time to get to work.
The internet wasn't exactly the most functional thing on a cell phone, but it would have to do because all of the public access computers that she could find were currently in use with more people waiting. Such was a rainy day like today, it seemed.
She had to keep adjusting her umbrella as it slipped and fell, getting frustrated the longer it took to research maps and ships. She had a plan, but things were just difficult to line up precisely. After a short time, she set down the phone inside of its open box, groaning as she took a break from trying.
She had to ask herself why she was so frustrated, and immediately part of her knew why.
"Damn it, Neville," she whispered to herself, leaning back and slumping down.
She wanted so badly for him to be safe, but she couldn't guarantee that he would be if he came with her. But even more than that, she needed him with her. She was scared. She felt so vulnerable and confused, and she needed him. It was causing a conflict in her that she didn't know how to handle, making her on edge and it was hard to contain the river of tears that had been threatening her for the past two days.
But she knew she couldn't give up. Not after enduring every scar that adorned her body, or learning about who she really was.
She picked up the phone again and began her search anew, focusing on nothing else. By the time she solidified the plan, the rain had stopped. She closed the umbrella, checked to make sure no one was nearby, and apparated out of sight, leaving the bench just as wet as it was before she had come by.
Harry answered the door back in Godric's Hollow. He had a smear of sauce on his shirt and the house smelled of tender meat and roasted vegetables.
"Welcome back, Kyle. Come in, dinner's just about ready." He moved out of the way for her to come past and then closed the door after her. "Did you get everything taken care of?"
"I did, thanks," she replied, placing the umbrella beside the door to dry. "I've got a nice, solid, absolutely batshit plan that we'll start on tomorrow morning."
"Ah, well, batshit plans are my specialty. It's better than no plan, that's for certain." Harry followed her towards the kitchen, almost running into her when she stopped to look into the living room.
Neville was sitting on the floor, Lily in his lap, while he helped her press together building blocks in a tall, leaning tower. Neither had noticed the knock at the door, giggling together when Lily accidentally dropped blocks. She watched them for a moment, holding a hand up to silence Harry behind her. An ache settled into her chest.
"Hey, Nev," she called out, trying to shake herself out of this feeling.
He looked up to her with a grin plastered across his face. "Welcome back, Kyle. Like our tower?"
"I love it. It's almost as tall as you are, Lily."
"So big," Lily agreed in her tiny voice. She stood it up straight again, standing up beside it to show how big it was. "Nebbie helped me make it."
Kyle couldn't help but grin and come closer, kneeling on the floor beside the pair. "I see that. Is it fun to play with 'Nebbie?'"
Neville shot her a look of mock irritation at name. But Lily, enthusiastic as a toddler can be, wrapped her arms around Neville's neck and pressed her cheek into his shoulder.
"Yeah!"
The ache in her chest grew.
"Lily, my darling," Ginny came into the living room doorway, holding her hands out for her daughter. "C'mon, let's go eat dinner, okay?"
Lily looked up to Neville and, when he gave her a nod, she hopped up from his lap and went to take her mother's hand. Kyle watched her toddle out of sight before turning back to Neville and giving him a large, mischievous smile.
"Well, Nebbie..." She smiled wider when he pouted at her. "Seems you're popular with toddlers, aren't you?"
"Lily especially," Neville said, scooting closer to her as he worked to begin disassembling their tower. "James and Albus didn't take to me quite as much."
"If you ask me, it's very cute that she's a bit attached to you."
"Oh, stop it, Kyle."
Kyle leaned over, planting a kiss on his cheek, rough with a little stubble. "Never, Nebbie."