The next morning, Neville and Kellen made their way to the Great Hall with their luggage. Ana was already sitting at the Horned Serpent table, waiting for them.
"I couldn't sleep very well last night, I was thinking about you two. Oh, and Neville, here's the picture I promised you," she said with a bright smile. She handed a moving photo to Neville.
"It's us, from the Spring Dance! That's perfect," Neville said. The photo had all three friends in it, dressed to the nines in their no-maj clothes.
"You two are too handsome not to show off," Ana said.
"Thanks, Ana," replied Neville.
"You still look beautiful, even without makeup charms, and in a softball shirt and blue jeans," Kellen told Ana sincerely.
"Well thank you, Kellen," said Ana. "I'm going to miss you two dingbats. Promise me you'll stay out of trouble."
"No promises," Neville said with a smirk. Ana gave him a look.
"Neville, I'm serious," she said. "I love both of you like family."
"And we love you like family," Kellen said. "We'll have fun, but we'll be careful. We promise."
"Thank you, Kellen," Ana said with a smile.
A voice from the other side of the Great Hall reached Kellen and Neville's ears. "Neville! Kellen! It's time to get going!"
"That's Professor Goode," said Kellen. "Why don't you come see us off, Ana?"
The boys grabbed their bags and Ana followed them to meet up with Professor Goode.
"Good morning, you two," Professor Goode said with a smile. "Anastasia, I take it you're here to see the boys off?"
"I am, Professor," Ana replied. "I promised them that I would."
"Mister Malloy is here with the CAB and he doesn't like to be kept waiting," Professor Goode said as the unmistakable sound of a car horn pierced the air. "Follow me, please."
"I'll make this quick, then," said Ana as she gave both Neville and Kellen a hug and a peck on the forehead.
"I'll see you in a week. Please be safe, and enjoy yourselves in Scotland," Ana said.
"We'll owl you as soon as we get there," Neville replied. "I'll be thinking about you a lot."
"I wish I could take your hugs with me," Kellen said. "I love how they make me feel. No girl gives hugs quite like you."
Ana blushed as she waved her friends goodbye.
"Well, it's about time," Malloy said as Professor Goode and the boys got in the CAB. "We'll still make time, but I won't be able to stop for coffee."
About an hour later, they reached the airport in Boston. They had about two hours before their flight took off, so both Kellen and Neville cracked open their books to kill the time.
"It's going to be after midnight by the time we reach Hogwarts castle, maybe even as late as 2 in the morning," Professor Goode advised. "They are several hours ahead of us, and it's going to be a jaunt from Heathrow to Hogwarts."
They boarded the aircraft, and it wasn't all that long before the 747 took off and was on its way to the other side of the Atlantic.
The flight took about six hours, and they arrived in London at about half past ten. Stan the Knight Bus driver was already there, waiting.
He saw Neville and smirked. "You're back, sonny. Didn't get enough action the first time around?"
A couple of hours later, they reached the Hogwarts castle. A very tired looking Professor McGonagall stood on the steps in her nightgown. Her face lit up when she saw Neville and Kellen run up to her.
"Neville! Kellen! It's so good to see you! I hope you had a good flight." She saw Professor Goode behind the boys. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, Emaline. I trust these rapscallions were no trouble?"
Professor Goode giggled. "Not one bit, Minerva. They were terrific little gentlemen."
She nodded at the boys in approval. "Wait right here, you two. Percy Weasley will escort you to your room momentarily." She turned to Professor Goode. "It's a great night to watch the stars, is it not? Perfectly clear, and a slight nip in the air."
"I think so too, Minerva," replied Professor Goode.
A moment later, Percy the Prefect arrived to take Neville and Kellen to the Gryffindor dormitory.
"Welcome back, Neville," Percy said. "Oh, I'm Percy Weasley, Gryffindor Prefect." He stuck out his hand, but Kellen was reluctant to take it.
"Kellen has Asperger Syndrome, Percy," Neville clarified. "It's nothing personal, he just has some mild sensory issues."
"Hi Percy," Kellen said, not giving Percy eye contact. "Please bear with me, I'm made a little different than most wizards."
"You can say that again, Kellen," Neville replied. "Percy, Kellen is the smartest wizard... maybe since Merlin. I'm not joking."
"I find that hard to believe, but I don't doubt you're very bright, Kellen," said Percy.
"He got perfect marks in all his classes last term," Neville said.
Kellen was starting to feel a little embarrassed. "Neville, please," he murmured.
"He's so modest about his accomplishments too. That's why he's so awesome," Neville said.
Percy smiled at Kellen. "You probably should have made arrangements with the Ravenclaws."
Kellen smirked. "My cousin Desiree is a Ravenclaw, and I probably fit better there too, but Neville was a Gryffindor, and if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me."
"Kellen can be quite brave, too. He knocked out this tosser at the Spring Dance last April. That took some guts," said Neville.
They made their way to the Fat Lady portrait guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor.
"Caput draconis," Percy said, and the entrance to the Gryffindor common room was revealed. Percy led the boys to an unused room on the boys' side of the dormitory.
"Make yourselves at home," Percy said. "Nice to meet you, Mister Grimsby."
"Actually, it's Grimseth," Kellen corrected as politely as he could.
"Right you are, Mister Grimseth." Percy raised an eyebrow. "That's not a British name... Swedish, perhaps?"
Kellen's face lit up. "Close, it's Norwegian. I'm half British though, my mum was born and raised in Greater London."
Percy smiled. "That would explain your cousin then... Desiree, you said? As in Moultrie?"
Kellen nodded. "The one and the same!"
Percy's smile broadened. "She's a good student. I'll keep an eye out for you and let her know you're here."
"Awesome - thanks, Percy," replied Kellen.
Though tired, Neville and Kellen had a hard time falling asleep.
They woke up groggy and hungry. They got dressed - Neville wore a hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans and Kellen wore a Minnesota Twins tee shirt and corduroy pants.
"I suppose I'll follow you to the Great Hall," Kellen said. "I'm sure the castle is still familiar to you."
The boys made their way downstairs. Before they reached the Gryffindor table, Kellen asked Neville to point him to the Ravenclaws so he could find Desiree.
Kellen scoured the Ravenclaw table, while Neville went to his old spot at the Gryffindor table. A moment later, he spotted his old friends Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He winked and put his finger to his lips as he saw Harry and Ron look at him, so he silently snuck up on Hermione and tapped her shoulder.
"Neville!" she squeaked, hugging him wildly. "I've missed you so much! Did you have a good trip?"
"It was great! I spent the night in an empty Gryffindor dorm room with Kellen last night. We didn't get much sleep, that's for sure."
"Where is Kellen?" Hermione asked. "I'm anxious to meet him!"
"He's at the Ravenclaw table right now. His cousin Desiree is a third-year student. He's half British y'know," Neville explained. "His mum is Scottish, but she was born and raised in Greater London."
"That's understandable," Hermione said. "I'm sure they haven't seen each other in eons. I'll let them catch up. Please send him my way when he's done catching up with Desiree. I have a hug to give him - that is, if he wants one."
"I'm sure he'd like one, but you might want to ask him first because he is a little sensitive, due to his condition." Neville looked over his shoulder. "Oh, there he is," he said. "It looks like he found her! I think I might introduce myself to his cousin... I'll be back in a few."
Meanwhile, Kellen had gotten re-acquainted with his second cousin Desiree. She had shoulder-length, perfectly smooth light brown hair and pleasing grey eyes.
"How've you been, Desiree?" Kellen asked. "It's been too long."
"Can't complain, Kellen," she replied. "How's Ilvermorny?"
Kellen smiled. "Terrific. Got two great friends, one of whom is with me today - Neville Longbottom. I think he's with the Gryffindors now, as he used to be one."
"I'm afraid I don't remember this Neville friend of yours, Kel," Desiree said. "He sounds like a very nice boy, though."
At that moment, Neville made it to Kellen's spot at the Ravenclaw table. "Hey Kellen! So this is your second cousin, huh?"
He thrust his right hand across the table. "Hello there. The name's Longbottom. Neville Longbottom."
"Charmed." Desiree took Neville's hand and shook it gently. "I'm Desiree Moultrie. How are you?"
"Can't complain one bit," Neville replied. "Kellen told me a little bit about you, but he never told me that you were pretty."
Desiree blushed slightly. "Well thank you, Neville. So, you went to Hogwarts last year, and now you're at Ilvermorny? How do you like it over there?"
Neville beamed. "Best decision I've ever made. I was struggling at Hogwarts - struggling with my classes, struggling to make friends, so owled Professor McGonagall one day and she suggested taking a look at Ilvermorny. She mentioned your cousin, and how he's so bloody brilliant, but really needed a friend. I had to see him for myself." His smiled broadened. "It didn't take long for us to become best friends."
"I'm only one of your best friends, Neville," Kellen clarified.
"Oh yeah, there's Ana. She's an angel," Neville added. "Anastasia Harrison. She's a really smart girl too, she's on their Quiz Bowl team, she made it as a second-year last year! And oh, here's her picture from the Spring Dance for first and second-year students." He took out the picture that Ana gave him the day before.
"Oh, she's a pretty girl," Desiree said. "Very flattering Muggle clothes, too. I take it she was your date at the dance, Neville?"
Neville nodded. "Muggle," he chuckled. "It's no-maj now."
"It sounds like you've lost a bit of your British dialect there, Neville. I can tell it's still there, but rather diluted," Desiree drawled.
Neville shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter too much, the important thing is, I'm having a great time across the pond and have some brilliant friends."
Desiree giggled. "No, it doesn't really matter. I'm sure that was a risk you're very glad you took in retrospect. I'm sure your friends really brought out the best in you."
"And he's brought out the best in us," Kellen beamed.
Neville burst out laughing. "He didn't tell you what happened at the Spring Dance at Ilvermorny, did he?" Desiree shook her head 'no'.
"This asshole named Flynn Replogle butted in between Kellen and his date, Nova. I've never seen Kellen get angry before, but he told Ana to hold his wand, and he knocked a couple of Replogle's teeth out! That was so bloody brilliant - everyone there was so happy for him that he finally stood up for himself!"
"Good for you, cuz," Desiree said to Kellen with a smile. "You're certainly smart enough to be a Ravenclaw, but it sounds like you're brave enough to be a Gryffindor as well."
"So, Kellen, you ready to meet Gryffindor's finest?" Neville asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Kellen replied.
"Oh, and I gotta warn you - Hermione wants to give you a hug - just throwing that out there," Neville said. "I know you're a little uncomfortable with strangers touching you and everything..."
"That's okay," Kellen said. "If she wants to, I'll let her." He turned to Desiree. "It was good catching up with you, cuz. I'll see you later. Maybe I'll see you back here at dinner time?"
Desiree beamed. "I'd love that, Kel. Ta!"