Finally, have updated Neville and his adventures. Hope this meets the expectations of a proper transition chapter.

Part VII

{The Scene}: The Burrow

"You git! Why the hell would you do something so stupid?" Ginny was furious. Neville blushed but remained silent. Fred rushed to his rescue. "Ginevra, calm yourself. Whether it was stupid or brilliant," (Here, George chimed in, "But mind you, it was bloody brilliant!"), "He still managed to come back alive, so be grateful."

"Plus, as an added bonus," George continued, "He led the Ministry right to Bellatrix Lestrange. She won't be doing too much after this." He and his twin snickered. Ginny pouted. "Just promise me you'll never do anything like that again," she asked Neville. The boy nodded and smiled, and she was satisfied for the moment. She scampered off to her room. Neville was content for a moment, but then he realized she'd left him in a room alone with the twins.

George took out a notebook and pen, pushed it across the table at Neville, and gave a sheepish grin, batting his eyes. "Will you sign this for me, Mr. Longbottom? You're my biggest fan!" he gushed. Neville merely looked at the objects in front of him. Fred grabbed a wooden spoon from the kitchen counter and used it as a microphone. "Tell us, Neville, how did it feel, vanquishing Lestrange once and for all?"

Neville twiddled his thumbs, embarrassed. Then he realized that the boys were serious. He took up the pen and wrote his name in beautiful cursive, passed the notebook back to its owner, and looked Fred in the face. "It felt great," he declared. "I would have liked to have put her in her place, but there were other, more important things that needed fixing at that time." The twins caused a ruckus at this, which made Neville flush again.

"I hope she enjoys where she's headed," Neville continued. "And if she's listening, she better take note: If you ever bother me or anyone I love ever again, I will not hesitate to kill you."

The twins laughed, but quietly. "Don't let Ginevra hear you talking like that, she'll throw a right fit," said George, admiring his new autograph. "Again," added Fred, absently stroking the spoon as he stared at Neville.

Neville stood and excused himself. He really needed some air. Ever since he had brought Luna home and returned himself to the Weasley home, he had not received any peace at all. He just needed some quiet to clear his mind. A lot had happened in the past few days.

Out the front door he ventured, and up to the serene garden he meandered. It was nice just to sit there on the little bench and catch his breath with no interruptions. Aside from that mosquito bite just now. And again. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

And now someone was crying somewhere in the yard. Just great. No peace, ever, huh? With a groan he called, "Who's out there?"

Nothing. The crying stopped, but he could hear the sniffles. Thinking it was maybe Ginny, he got up and began to search frantically through the bushes. He saw absolutely nothing at all. Just then he heard something rustle near him. Something brushed his ankle. He gasped and backed up, and then fell altogether into a heap on the grass.

But since when did he have multiple limbs? "Geroff," his apparent parasite grunted from Neville's back. It sounded strangely like-

"Harry!" Neville scrambled to his feet and helped his friend up. Neurotically he dusted Harry off and muttered various apologies. Harry said nothing. "Haven't seen you in a while. What's up?" Neville attempted conversation and steered Harry toward the stone bench. The raven-haired companion allowed himself to be taken over there, but he did not sit when Neville did. He stood and paced.

"Nothing's 'up,' but I guess you can't say the same thing, can you?" Neville just stared. Harry went on. "Off saving the world a normal occurrence for you, Neville? Do you enjoy putting people in their place?"

Neville was confused. What the hell was wrong with Harry today? "What's your problem?" he flat out asked him. Harry turned his head with a jerk. "Oh, nothing at all, except that you decided to go off and save Luna, hurting Ginny along the way, and you went and got rid of my only chance to get revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange!" Harry was fuming by this point.

Neville stood up. "Excuse me, but she nearly killed my parents. She tortured them until they couldn't function anymore. They still suffer from what she did to them." Harry countered, "She really killed my godfather, the only real family I had left in the world."

"What was I supposed to do, Harry? Let her go wreak havoc on everybody else until you could find her? At least I didn't kill her. Get over it." Neville sat back down. Harry sighed.

"I'm sorry, Neville, I just really wanted to- you know what, forget it. Are you coming back in or not?" Harry was making his way to the door. "No, I'll sit out here a while. Nice and quiet, you know?" "Sure, sure," Harry waved him off and went back inside.

"Seven times, I've been bitten seven times," Neville said aloud. On the inside, he was pretty mad. What was the matter with Harry? Was he upset that he couldn't rush in there and save Luna himself?

Little did Neville know that this was not the last time Harry would spout this sort of anger.

Another mosquito came by and landed on the tip of Neville's nose. "Eight," he sighed, and dejectedly walked back to the Burrow.

R & R if you will.