Bold Text is excerpted from OOTP PP 279-280
"Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of!" said Mrs Longbottom angrily. "You should be proud, Neville, proud! They didn't give their health and their sanity so their only son would be ashamed of them, you now!"
"I'm not ashamed," said Neville, very faintly, still looking anywhere but at Harry and the others. Ron was now standing on tiptoe to look over at the inhabitants of the two beds.
"Well, you've got a funny way of showing it!" said Mrs. Longbottom. "My son and his wife," she said, turning haughtily to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, "were tortured into insanity by You-Know-Who's followers. "
Hermione and Ginny both clapped their hands over their mouths. Ron stopped craning his neck to catch a glimpse of Neville's parents and looked mortified.
"They were Aurors, you know, and very well respected within the Wizarding community" Mrs. Longbottom went on. "Highly gifted, the pair of them. I - yes, Alice dear, what is it?"
Neville's mother had come edging down the ward in her nightdress. She no longer had the plump, happy-looking face Harry had seen in Moody's old photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix. Her face was thin and worn now, her eyes seemed overlarge and her hair, which had turned white, was wispy and dead-looking. She did not seem to want to speak, or perhaps she was not able to, but she made timid motions towards Neville, holding something in her outstretched hand.
"Again?" said Mrs. Longbottom, sounding slightly weary. "Very well, Alice dear, very well - Neville, take it, whatever it is."
But Neville had already stretched out his hand, into which his mother dropped an empty Drooble's Best Blowing Gum wrapper. "Very nice, dear," said Neville's grandmother in a falsely cheery voice, patting his mother on the shoulder.
But Neville said quietly, "Thanks, Mum." His mother tottered away, back up the ward, humming to herself.
Harry stood back, watching the whole interaction. Suddenly, he had a curious thought. He motioned to Neville to come closer. Trying to not look at anyone around, Neville asked, "Yeah?"
"I was wondering … have your parents gotten any better since they came here?"
Neville was close to tears as he replied. "Not really. They kinda … just sit there, 'cept Mum always gives me those wrappers."
Harry looked at Neville with some compassion as he said, "Just goes to show you that she recognizes you. Otherwise, she'd be giving them to whoever walked in." Neville looked a bit brighter at that. Even Mrs. Longbottom, who was trying to appear less nosey than she was, had a thoughtful look when she overheard the comment. "Anyway, I was wondering … has anyone tried to get their magic to react?"
Neville looked at Harry with an odd look. "What do you mean?"
Harry tried to put into words what he was struggling to think about. "Well, here they sit. The mediwizards cast spells on them, I'm sure, and give them potions and I'm sure everyone tries to talk to them." He paused and then continued. "I know when I was hit with the Cruciatus I didn't feel right until I actually cast spells again myself. Sure, I was still in pain – but I didn't feel that horrible unbearable suffering."
Neville looked between his parents and Harry, looking thoughtful. Neville's grandmother, becoming somewhat interested, interjected, "Well, what would you suggest then? Try to get them to cast spells?" Her tone was somewhat derisive.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. But I remember when I finally got the right wand at Ollivanders, how my magic seemed to just sing. Until I got the right wand – my magic was just kind of … sitting there. I never noticed but it was just … stuffed up. And then my wand let it all come out." He sighed. "It's too bad their wands aren't here. I'd like to see what would happen if you gave them their wands and let their magic start to flow again." He shrugged again.
Neville looked at Harry thoughtfully and then slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand. He looked at Harry again and then started slowly walking toward his parents.
Mrs. Longbottom started to call out harshly "Neville! Don't go experimenting with something you don't know!"
Before she could say anything else, Neville turned back and looked at the group who were watching. He had a look of resolve that not one of them had ever seen on his face before. He held the wand up. "This is NOT my wand. It's my fathers. And I'm going to give it to him – and see what happens." He turned resolutely back and started to move with more purpose.
Neville's grandmother was suddenly struck speechless. Her grandson had never spoken with that tone in her hearing in all the years of his growing up. Harry noted that although she looked thunderstruck … she didn't look all that upset.
Neville walked up to his father and moved so that he was looking straight at him. Neville's father didn't react much. Neville said clearly, "Hold up your hand."
Suddenly, everyone could see Frank Longbottom's eyes come into focus. He still didn't look all there, but now had a look of confusion.
Harry heard a small gasp coming from Mrs. Longbottom.
Frank hesitantly raised his hand, still looking confused. Neville reached down and took his hand. Moving to the side, so he wasn't on the other side of the wand, he put the wand in his father's hand and then moved his fingers to close around it.
Frank looked at the wand in his hand again. And then slowly began to wave the wand.
The entire ward was suddenly awash in light as bright sparks flew from the wand in Frank Longbottom's hand. Gold and silver lights cascaded down – even as the waving wand was suddenly being moved with more surety.
Everyone looked at the man's face. And, unlike earlier, he had now a look of concentration as he looked at his wand in his hand as he waved it around. When it stopped he looked around. He still wasn't fully there … but he was more there now that either of the other Longbottoms had seen in the last 14 years.
Neville turned and said to his Gran. "Well, I guess I need to get my own wand now."
A/N: This is as far as I got with the bunny. Feel free to take it if you wish.