Neville waved as Bill and Fleur headed for the exit, grateful they hadn't questioned him on why he was sitting alone outside the loo. He wouldn't have lied, of course, but he preferred to tell everyone at once. Not to mention his Gran would have kittens if anyone found out before her. Bad enough that Tonks already knew half of it.

Neville ran a hand through his hair, turning red at the mere memory of Tonks's visit to Washington halfway through his six-month tour on the international exchange program. He'd been misinformed about her arrival time and had learned a valuable lesson on locking charms when she walked into his office at the worst possible time.

"My, Neville, how you've grown! Is that an Engorgement Charm, or –"

"Out, out, out!" Neville pushed her out the door, slamming it in her face.

"Remember to wear a cloak when you visit her Restricted Section!" Tonks called through the door gleefully.

Tonks, of course, had found it hilarious while Neville himself had been unable to look her in the eye for her entire visit, even after she reminded him of the time she'd written a mock progress report intended for Harry's eyes only (in which she greatly praised his use of his 'wand') and it had gotten mixed in with the regular reports. But in the end she promised to keep quiet, and Neville could only hope she stuck to that.

"Okay, I'm ready." An attractive young blonde emerged from the ladies' room, taking Neville's arm when he stood up.

"Are you alright?" he asked anxiously. "Portkeys take a bit to get used to."

"I'm fine," she reassured him.

"If you're sure. We'll take a taxi to Gran's."

She grew quiet, and when they emerged from the visitor's entrance, he noticed she had paled. "Are you sure you're okay? We can sit down again."

"Oh, I feel fine. I'm not sick at all anymore. I'm just ... nervous. What if they don't like me?"

"Sarah, everything will be fine," Neville said soothingly. "They'll love you. I love you."

She smiled, dimpling. "It's just hard enough being different from everyone else on top of being the new person in such a tight-knit group, even if you have told me so much about them I feel as if I know them already."

"See? It's a start." Neville hailed a taxi and gave the driver his Gran's address once they climbed inside. "You'll probably know who is who as soon as you walk in the door."

"Well, I remember the pink-haired one clearly," Sarah said, grinning, and Neville flushed. "That's Tonks. She's your boss, right?"

"More of a supervisor, but yes, she is, in effect, my boss."

"And she's seven years older than you, but she's dating Harry?"

Neville grinned. "Yes. They got together during the war, right after we left Hogwarts. I don't know if anyone knows exactly what happened between them. They went on a mission and came back glued at the hip. Haven't been apart since."

"And his best friend is Ron?"

"Since our first year at school." Neville shook his head. "It was kind of hard. There were five of us in the dorm, but they split into pairs, Seamus and Dean, Harry and Ron. I was a bit of a loner those first few years. Anyway, Ron's family sort of adopted Harry. And Ron is dating Luna."

"Who used to be your girlfriend," Sarah teased him playfully.

Neville blushed. "Years ago. Everyone else was pairing off, so we tried to make a go of it. Only lasted a few months. She's ... different, you'll see. A great friend, just very ... Luna. But there was a war on, and, well, no one wants to die alone." Neville fell silent as the taxi drove along. He'd had some hard times during the war.

"But it's over, and you won, you told me all about it." Sarah squeezed his arm reassuringly, and Neville gave her a grateful smile.

"Yes, we did. So Ron and Luna got together afterward. They're very much an odd couple, but it seems to work. She's good for him. He's not as insecure as he used to be. Luna's good at making you feel good about yourself."

"And Ron has a little sister named ... Jenny?"

"Ginny," Neville corrected. "She had a thing for Harry all through Hogwarts, but she's over it now. She plays Quidditch."

"The broom sport?" she asked, her forehead wrinkling as she tried to recall everything he'd told her.

He smiled. "Yeah, I'll take you to a match sometime. I was never a huge Quidditch fan, but it's interesting."

"Sounds good. So who am I missing? Is it Ron and Jen- Ginny's family that's the huge one?"

Neville laughed. "Yes. Fred and George are twins. They make me nervous."

"Why?" she asked innocently.

"They run a joke shop, and they're always trying out their products on unsuspecting friends." He laughed in remembrance. "In fifth year they turned me into a canary."

"A canary?" she repeated, green eyes widening. "Like, a bird?"

"They very one. But don't worry. I'm completely molted."

"Well, I think I would have noticed if you had feathers hidden on you," she said playfully.

"Indeed," he agreed with a matching smile.

Her brief moment of levity dropped. "There's so much to learn about your life. I just feel overwhelmed."

He squeezed her hand. "No one will care if you don't know what a Blibbering Humdinger is."

"And what is that?" she asked, laughing.

Neville frowned. "Well, that was a bad example, as I'm not sure anyone knows what that is."

"The Luna girl?"

"See? You're catching on already." Neville smiled at her before continuing. "So the twins date Angelina and Katie, but to be honest, I still have a hard time telling the twins apart so I'm not entirely sure who dates which twin. Sometimes I wonder if they've ever confused them. And there's Percy, who's very nice and all but on the dull side. He's married to Audrey, but I don't know much about her. And then Charlie –"

"Who works with dragons," Sarah said in awe. Neville nodded. "Does he have a wife or girlfriend?"

"No, but according to both Tonks and Ginny, he likes Hermione."

"And she's the one you liked in school."

Neville grinned as his cheeks colored. "Yes, but don't tell her. I don't think she ever knew. Hermione, Ron, and Harry have always been close. I always assumed she'd marry one of them."

"Is that all of the Weasels?"

Neville laughed. "Weasleys. And no, there's one more, Bill, the oldest. He's married to Fleur."

"And she's French." Sarah looked rather proud of herself.

"Yes. And there will be a lot more people there, but those are the ones I spend the most time with. Oh! And Draco Malfoy." Neville shook his head. "To this day I can't believe I include Malfoy in that list."

"What's wrong with him?"

Neville hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain Draco Malfoy. "He ... was not a nice person when we were in school. In fact, I tried to fight him at a Quidditch match first year. It didn't end well for me. But in the end, he risked his life to fight on our side, so we all sort of tolerate him now. It helps that he's Tonks's cousin. She plagues his life, but she's the first to come to his defense."

"I thought Sirius was Tonks's cousin? The one whose house we're going to?" Sarah asked.

"Well, he is, too. Most of the pureblood families are related in one way or another."

"I see," Sarah said quietly. Neville could see anxiety settling in again, so he merely put his arm around her and pulled her close for the rest of the ride.

He looked around London appreciatively as they went, eyes sharpened by absence. He had volunteered for the exchange program as soon as he heard about it, trying to distinguish himself. Not that Harry didn't deserve it, but he normally got all the recognition out of their class of Aurors, and so Neville had jumped at the opportunity to emerge from his shadow. He'd enjoyed working with the Americans and, looking at Sarah, knew he'd gotten more out of it than he'd ever expected.

However, England was home, and he'd missed it. He missed his Gran. He missed his parents, even if they didn't know him. He missed his friends, Harry and Ron and Ginny and Hermione. He even missed Tonks, despite her embarrassing penchant for rather lewd jokes or the high level of proficiency she demanded from her squad. Neville eagerly looked forward to the party, even if he knew much of the attention would be centered on him, and he was never terribly comfortable in the spotlight.

His reunion with his grandmother went much as expected. Never one for tears and gushing, she looked him over and said she was proud of him, something Neville treasured far more than hugs. When Neville and Sarah told their news, she was shocked, as expected, but she took it in stride, and she quickly took a shine to the young woman. It helped when they decided to have dinner with her. Neville knew the others would forgive him for being late to the party.

After Gran decided not to accompany them to the party, being tired, Neville decided to apparate to Grimmauld Place, so he held on tight to Sarah, and soon they appeared in the familiar grassy square.

"Whoa!" Sarah exclaimed, still clenching his arm tightly. "That was ... something. Fast. Uncomfortable, but I prefer it to the Portkey. Do you get used to it?"

"Yes," he assured her. "You don't feel sick, do you?"

"No, I'm fine. Well, nervous," she amended with a shaky laugh. "But fine."

Neville paused on the top of the steps, taking her face in his gloved hands. "I'll be honest - it will be overwhelming. But you're wonderful and they'll like you, and in this group you can always count on someone to say something strange or funny or inappropriate, probably all of the above, and take away some of the attention." He kissed her briefly. "Are you ready?"

She put on her best smile. "I'm ready."

Taking her hand in his, Neville rang the doorbell. Here goes nothing, he thought. It all leads to tonight.