Chapter 5 - Attack
Neville had just placed his hand on her waist for a waltz when out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of blinding green light. Operating on a combination of instinct and training he spun her out of the way as the spell missed them by a mere fraction of an inch, causing a nearby ice sculpture to explode in a thousand pieces.
In one fluid motion he drew his wand as he threw Hermione to the ground, using his free arm to brace her from the worst of the impact. He covered her body with his and quickly rolled them under a nearby marble bench for additional cover.
He heard her cough and shifted his weight slightly but remained on top of her, using himself as a shield.
"You okay?" he said, trying to be heard over the chaos which was now ensuing around them.
"Think so. You?"
He felt her trying to get up. He pulled her close and said in a gentle but firm tone, "I'm fine but you need to stay down until I tell you otherwise, okay?"
Something in his voice told her this was not the time to argue. "Okay."
A moment later they heard a familiar voice beside them. "Neville! Is she hurt?"
"I'm fine, Harry," came her muffled reply.
"Thank Merlin! Nev, how about you?"
"I'm good. Did you catch them?"
"No. Looks like whoever it was got away. I'm gonna need you to get her somewhere safe until we know what's going on."
"Copy that. We'll contact you later via patronus."
"Good man. Get her out of here and lay low until you hear from me."
"Will do." As Harry ran off Neville said, "Okay, Hermione? I need you to hold on. I'm going to apparate us somewhere safe but from this angle we might have a bumpy landing. Got it?"
He felt her tighten her grip on his robes. "Got it."
She felt the familiar twist and pull of apparation and seconds later they slammed onto a hardwood floor in a darkened room. Immediately they were on their feet, instinctively taking back to back defensive positions.
"Are you okay?" he asked over his shoulder.
"Fine. What kind of wards do we need?" He could tell she was in battle mode, her voice brisk and efficient, focused on the task at hand instead of what just happened.
"This place is pretty well locked down but a few more protegos and any masking spells you've got certainly won't hurt."
They cast every spell they could think of until Neville said, "I think we're good. Only thing getting through all that is a patronus."
He cast a lumos, revealing a large, old fashioned sitting room filled with antique furniture, ornate rugs and an inordinate amount of expensive looking bric-a-brac. Another flick of his wand and the massive fireplace roared to life, providing additional light and warmth to the space.
"Are you okay?"
Hermione turned to face him. "For the last time, I'm..." She stopped short when she saw his horrified expression. "What? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is you're bleeding! Damn it, Hermione, you said you weren't hurt!"
He pulled her over to a faded velvet divan in front of fire. He dropped to his knees in front of her, produced a handkerchief and began dabbing her face gently.
"What? Oh, that. Yeah. Sorry. Bit my lip when we hit the ground the first time."
He froze as his voice dropped to a whisper. "I did that to you?"
"I'm fine, Nev. Really."
"I'm so sorry, Hermione."
"Don't you dare apologize. You saved my life." She stared at him for a moment before hitting him hard on the arm. "You idiot!"
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"That was for jumping in front of a killing curse! You could have died!" Her voice began to break as she fought back tears. "You could have..."
She struggled to speak and found she couldn't finish the sentence.
"Shh...Hey. It's okay." Neville joined her on the divan and wrapped her into his arms. "I'm okay. You're okay. Everything's..."
"So help me, Neville Longbottom, if you say 'okay' one more time, I swear to Merlin I will hit you again." They both chuckled then there was silence until she whispered, "Someone is honestly trying to kill me. Again."
He tightened his hold on her. "Yeah. I know."
"They almost succeeded."
"Trying not to think about that part."
"They almost got you as well."
"But they didn't."
"Looks like once more I owe you my life."
He leaned back to look at her. "What are you talking about?"
She lifted her face towards his. "By my count this is at least the third life debt I owe you, Nev."
"How do you reckon?"
"Well, you carried me after I was injured by Death Eaters when we went after that blasted prophecy."
"As I bloody should have. I caused more harm that day than..."
"Rubbish," she said firmly. "You were incredibly brave. You saved me. Retrieved my wand. Refused to cave even when Bellatrix tortured you with Crucios."
Her voice trembled and he recalled the stories of her own run-ins with Bellatrix La Strange.
"Then during the last battle you killed the snake just before it attacked Ron and I. Now tonight..."
"Hey. I promised to protect you and I did. Besides," he said, trying to lighten the mood, "I can't let anything happen to the girl who helped me find Trevor now, can I?"
"Trevor notwithstanding, I believe I've taken far more than I've given in this relationship." She made an effort to compose herself. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is I'm in your debt once more and I've no idea of how to repay you."
"I do."
"How?"
He laid his hands on her shoulders. "Don't die. Really all I ask, okay?"
She hugged him hard and he hissed in pain, causing her to jump. "Nev! What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just a little sore. May have bruised a rib."
"Wouldn't surprise me. You took the worst of everything back there. Let me give you something for that." She summoned her bag and rummaged around inside.
He couldn't help but smile as her arm disappeared up to her shoulder. "Still using the extension charm, I see."
"What can I say? Comes in handy." She began pulling out a wide variety of bottles and canisters and laying them out on a low table next to them.
"I thought you didn't believe our warnings. Why are you packing all this?"
She continued producing items and sorting them into groups. "I never stopped. Residual baggage from the war."'
"Hold on," he said, gently stopping her. "Before you do anything else, send your patronus to show Harry you're okay. He'll be beside himself with worry until he hears from you."
"I suppose you're right." She stood and moved to the middle of the room. "Shall I tell him where we are?"
"Best not be too specific until we know what we're dealing with. We can't be sure who'll be around when you reach him and we aren't sure who we can trust other than him at this point. He and I established some code phrases when we started in the Aurors. Tell him 'we're safe as a gerbil in a handbag'. He'll know what that means."
"Fine. There's a bottle of dittany and wiggenweld on the table. Drink some of that. It's a little sour but I've added some mint so it's not too bad. Help yourself some murtlap balm and star grass salve while you're at it."
"Quite the collection you've amassed."
"You know what they say - be prepared."
It took a moment for her to center herself and find a memory that allowed her to conjure her patronus and let Harry know they were safe. After sending her otter off with the message she finally spared a moment to take in their surroundings.
"Is this your home?" she asked, wandering around the room to study the furniture and decor.
"I suppose. It was Gran's place. I inherited it when she died. I didn't spent much time here after she passed other than tending the greenhouses but I moved in when I got back from this last assignment. Like you said - somewhere to eat, sleep and shower until I find a place that feels more like my own. For security and privacy I cast a bunch of wards around the property before I left for France. Anyone outside the fence - with the exception of Harry who helped cast the spells - just sees an overgrown empty lot unless I say otherwise, so you ought to be safe here for the time being."
She relaxed a tiny bit upon hearing this news. "So - this is where you grew up?" She had trouble envisioning someone like Neville in such stuffy, pretentious environment.
"Yeah. Homey isn't it?"
"It does seem a touch...overwhelming."
"Try seeing it through the eyes of a toddler. Some of the first words I ever learned were, 'Don't touch that!' "He waved his finger to emphasize his point.
"How old were you when you came here?"
"Eighteen months."
She moved back to the divan and rested her fingers on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Nev."
He briefly laid his hand upon hers then stood abruptly. "Right. My orders are to keep you under wraps until we hear from Harry and that could be a while. Apologies. I don't think I have any spare clothes in your size..."
She laughed and held up her bag. "I wasn't kidding about being prepared. First aid kits not the only thing I still carry around with me." She reached inside and produced an overnight case. "Is there somewhere I can change?"
He showed her the nearest loo and a few minutes later she reappeared - face washed, lip healed, hair now in a loose ponytail, wearing light blue flannel pajamas and a pair of purple fluffy slippers. Neville couldn't help but grin as he took it all in.
"Sorry," she said. "When I'm stressed I crave simplicity and the comforts of my childhood."
"No apologies needed. As stunning as you looked this evening I actually prefer you like this. This is the Hermione I know." He took a seat on the divan. "So - do you want to talk about what happened tonight?"
"No," she said in a firm tone. "I can't do anything about it right now so, for the moment, I'd rather focus on something else entirely if it's all the same to you."
"Very well," he said, motioning for her to join him. "In that case, tell me more about this childhood you mentioned. You didn't talk about it much when we were at school."
"Probably because not many people seemed interested. When I did talk about it, you were one of the few that actually listened." She sat beside him, pulling a pillow onto her lap as she spoke. "Okay. Childhood. Not much to tell. Born in London to Mark and Alice Granger. My parents were dentists."
"I remember you talking about that at Slug's dinner."
"You do?"
"Yeah. You told how a kid bit your Dad one time."
"Yes! Robbie Fenwick. I can't believe you remembered that."
"I could always remember things that were meaningful to me. It was everything else I had trouble with," he said with a shrug. "Anyway, that story was kind of hard to forget. I always pictured your Dad as some sort of courageous lion tamer type after that. You know, bravely sticking his hands into the mouths of feral children."
"He would have liked that," she giggled and got a funny faraway look in her eyes then shook her head to refocus. "Right. So, I suppose I had a fairly normal childhood by Muggle standards. Home and family and all."
"What was your house like?"
"Nothing as grand as this. Just a regular two story, two bedroom house."
"Where'd you keep all your books?"
"Any flat surface that wasn't currently occupied. Dad finally put his foot down after he built the third bookcase. Said after that it was a 'one comes in, one goes out' policy."
"And how'd that work?"
"Pretty well...Until he found the stash under the bed."
"I figured you'd found a loophole," grinned Neville. "What did you do on the rare moments you weren't reading?"
"Normal things, I suppose. Muggle children start school when we're six years old, so once that time came homework and studying occupied a good portion of my time. Other than that? Theatre. Museums. Camping. Occasional holidays to France or Switzerland. Got my Hogwarts letter on my eleventh birthday. Bit of shock for everyone as we were completely unaware of any magical lineage. From that point on I read everything I could get my hands on regarding your world. Then I boarded the Express and met you."
"Your studies helped you a great deal. You were very confident on the train."
"Pure show and bluster. Inside I was a quivering jellyfish."
"It can't imagine what that must have been like for you. I'd spent my whole life in this world. My entire family had attended Hogwarts and I was still terrified. Then to top it all off I hadn't been on the train ten minutes when I lost Trevor. Good thing a brave little girl with unruly brown hair came to my rescue." He lightly tugged at a loose curl. "You know, you were one of the very first friends I ever made - and not just at school."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Until I went to Hogwarts my social circle was limited to family and Gran's close friends. Most of them were elderly and came from the 'children should be neither seen nor heard' way of thinking. Rarely saw other children so my confidence and interpersonal skills with those my own age were certainly lacking by the time I left for school."
"Same here but for different reasons, I suppose. My parents always treated me like an adult so I never fit in with anyone my age, even before I started showing magical tendencies. Quite frankly being around other children terrified me."
"You couldn't tell from the way you introduced yourself on the train."
"Again, show and bluster. But you were easy to talk to. You were friendly and kind and how did I end up repaying you?" She ducked her head. "Petrifying you in the common room when you quite sensibly stood up to us."
He gently lifted her face. "Hey, it's okay. You did what you had to do. Besides, I got house points for it so no hard feelings."
They shared a smile then for the rest of the evening he tried his best to distract her with a stream of questions about Muggle schools, their educational system and their teaching protocols and, for a while, the pair almost forget why they were there in the first place.
At one point he noticed her worrying the sleeve of her pajama top. He recalled the scar underneath and reached over to take her hand.
"Not to overstep, but I understand wanting to talk about something that you also desperately want to forget. Just so you know, if you ever need an ear, I'd be willing to listen."
"I appreciate that, Neville. Really I do. Maybe one day. But...not now. Not tonight."
He pulled his hand back and nodded. "I understand. No pressure. Whenever you want. I'll be here."
"I know." She surprised him by inching closer and laying her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."
He slipped his arm around her shoulders and they continued to talk until they both drifted off to sleep in front of the fire.