Chapter 11

Neville just received the owl he had been waiting for months: Harry was back in London. Whatever he did up north, near Scotland, it was finally done, at least that is what he hoped for. Ever since Harry left London, he frequently sent Neville owls. The messages detailed his secret missions and often asked for information about artifacts, history, and people. Many would have found research boring, but Neville always enjoyed it.

The taxicab swerved violently as it made its way through early morning traffic. "Bloody rain," the cabbie cursed. Yes, it was raining again, and yes, Neville forgot his umbrella.

"Sir," Neville replied as he slid across the backseat. "Could you please drive a little slower? I'm not used to riding in automobiles."

"What?" the driver scoffed. "You live in London don't you?"

"Of course," Neville said, "but I usually don't travel by automobile."

"What are you talking about? Then how do you get to work?"

"Well," Neville began, but paused to think about his answer. "I usually take my tricycle."

"W-what?"

"Sorry, I meant bicycle."

"You one of those hippies?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Never mind, we're here…" the cabbie braked hard and put the car in "Park." He then pressed his face against the glass to get a better look of Neville's destination.

"Um, yes," Neville replied as he adjusted his tie. "Thank you." He opened his wallet and took out exact change for the ride. Before giving it to the driver, Neville remembered to gather a few extra bills for the tip, as instructed by Hermione. The cabbie took it happily and waved him out of the taxi.

Neville's destination was a construction site that was put on hold, indefinitely. The condemned department store was no longer a viable cover for St. Mungo's Hospital. A few months ago, a Muggle official came across the paper work for the building by accident and realized it was deemed unfit for use. Thus the red-bricked building was demolished a week later, but the hospital itself was placed in a protective shell and temporarily moved.

This time around, the Ministry decided a construction site would be a better cover. It provided similar protection from ignorant pedestrians and drivers, but it also deterred undesirables from using its facilities for personal use. Neville lost count of the number of Muggles that had their memories wiped, because they wandered into the hospital by accidentally entering into the right window. The paperwork always went through his desk.

The construction site was effective, but Neville wished the Ministry had picked a better portal. He brought up the sleeve of his jacket to his nose to protect it from the awful smell. The horrible smell. The new portal was a plastic porta potty. Of course, it was a Muggle invention. The door was locked from the inside and an enchantment was used to create the horrible odor to scare Muggles away. However, with the flick of his wand, the door unlocked.

Neville did not waste time. He quickly entered the portable toilet and closed its door. With a turn of the lock, there was a bright flash and the young wizard was transported to the hospital. Neville stepped out of the small doorway and into the reception area of St. Mungo's Hospital. He walked up to Inquires desk and greeted the Welcome Witch with a, "Hello."

"Raining?" the witch asked without looking up from her desk. She was reading a magazine, but Neville could not see what the article was about since it appeared blank.

Neville ran his hand through his wet hair. Water sprayed from his drenched curls in every direction. The witch quickly raised her reading material to protect herself from the water. "Sorry," he apologized immediately.

"For whom are you looking?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Harry Potter, he checked in earlier this morning?"

"Yes, P," the witch mumbled to herself as she turned the page of her magazine, another blank page. "P… P is for Potter… He's on the fourth floor. Sixth door on the right."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked. "You didn't do look anything up."

The witch stopped reading and looked up at him. Neville wanted to jump back, scream, and cover his eyes. Both of her eyes were pale and hollow. Despite her blindness, Neville felt her eyes staring deep into his soul. A cold chill ran up his spine and goose bumps formed up his arms. "I'm pos-i-tive…"

"S-sorry," he conveyed his remorse. "I'll be going now." He quickly bolted for the stairs before she could respond. The stairway was enormous. The structure was constructed of marble steps and obsidian pillars. The Magic community loved to show off whenever it could. Even more amazing was the number of witches and wizards that populated the stairway, yet traffic flowed quickly and smoothly.

However, it took a while for him to navigate the stairs, but Neville managed to find Harry's room on the fourth floor. He gripped the knob of the door slowly. The brass was cold against his palm. It was a strange sensation. Was it the metal in his hand or the tensions and expectations waiting for him behind the door? The young wizard turned it carefully and pushed the door open. The first person he saw in the room was Ron. He had his back leaning against the wall of the room.

"Hey, Neville," Ron greeted him by waving an apple with a mouth-size bite in it. His hair was well groomed, but his attire told a different story. His clothing beneath the clean cloak was disheveled and the bandages he wore peaked out from his collar.

"H-hey, Ron," Neville mumbled as he entered the room. To his right, he saw Hermione sitting in a small chair next to Harry's bed. Hermione appeared to be in better condition than Ron. Her hair was braided into what looked like a ponytail. She too was wearing a cloak, but her attire was more Muggle than witch: a blue blouse with ruffles and a white skirt, which were both nicely ironed. However, the spine of her book in her hands was full of creases, and several corners of pages were bent in odd angles.

Harry on the other hand was unconscious, but seemed comfortable in his bed. While there were several layers of bandaging wrapped around his head, his hair still managed to stick out. His beard had grown much longer as well.

"Neville, it's good to see you," Hermione placed the book on the small table beside Harry's bed and walked up to Neville to hug him.

"You too, Hermione," he returned the hug, awkwardly.

"How is he?" Neville asked as he followed Hermione back to her chair.

"He's doing much better since we brought him here," Hermione replied coolly when she took her seat.

"What happened to him?" Neville wondered.

"He died again," Ron answered him. "Don't worry, he was dead for like a minute or two."

"What? How did that happen?"

"He got in a duel with these masked—" Ron tried to continue.

"The Vanguard?" Neville interrupted him, but realized he should not have. The room went silent. It was certainly an awkward moment, one he had not had in a long while, and he hoped to end it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, he did not know how.

"Neville," Hermione stood back up from her chair and started walking towards him as Neville took several steps back. However, she was not walking, she was stalking him like a lioness and he was the wounded gazelle. Bullocks. "How did you know that?"

"L-let me ex-explain," Neville stuttered. His hands were up in a defensive position.

"Please do," Ron said flatly as he took another bite from his apple.

"I was helping Harry on his secret mission of treasure hunting and espionage," he gasped. This stopped Hermione's advance, he was thankful.

"You've been helping Harry?" Hermione pushed the subject. "For how long?"

"For a few months now."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because he told me not to. He didn't want to worry you two."

"Of course not," Ron jumped back into the conversation. "That's when you tell us, Neville."

"I had to keep it secret. I'm sorry, but I promised him."

Hermione eyed him for a moment, with her eyebrow cocked. He watched her analyze his statement for several excruciating seconds. "Fine. Apology accepted." The young witch returned to her chair again.

"Do you know who 'Your Grace?' is? That's what they called him at least. He was dressed in all red," said Ron.

Neville thought long and hard. "He's one of their leaders, that's all I know."

"That's it?" Ron took another bite of his apple.

"That's all Harry told me. I think he might be some Muggle official if that means anything."

"What do you know about the Vanguard?" Hermione wondered.

"Not that much actually," Neville answered her. "Only that they're from the continent."

"What do you know, Neville?" Ron asked.

"Harry asked me do research for him."

"What kind of research?"

"Well, there was a glove."

Hermione frantically opened her bag and pulled out the gauntlet. "Like this?"

"Yes," Neville replied. He walked over to her and picked up the gauntlet. Even though he spent hours of reading and researching, Neville had never seen one or touch one. It was strangely warm to the touch. The young wizard was tempted to put it on, but he managed suppress his curiosity. "Did you actually see Harry use it?"

"Yeah," Ron's mouth was full of apple. "It was really wicked."

"Brilliant," Neville whispered to himself. "Did this do that to Harry?"

"No," Hermione replied. She returned her attention to the unconscious wizard by taking his bandaged hand in both of hers. "It was the Wizard in Red. He had his own gauntlet."

"Wow, what happened with Harry's?"

"He didn't use his in the duel," Ron answered him.

"What? Why?" Neville blurted.

"He left it with us," Hermione mumbled. "I think he overused it when he was fighting the golem."

"What, you guys battled a golem?"

"Yep," Ron replied confidently. "And I defeated it."

"By decapitating it with an ancient, elf statue," Hermione said angrily.

"Don't mind her," Ron shrugged, "she's been hounding me about it since we returned."

"Anyways," Hermione continued, "He just overpowered Harry. The Wizard in Red won with pure strength and Harry didn't stand a chance."

Before Neville could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. A Healer entered the room. The young witch was dressed in lime green robes and had a big smile on her face. "I'm sorry for interruption. You have an owl, Mr. Longbottom, it's from the Ministry."

"I'll be right back," Neville joined the Healer in the hallway.

"Just over there," the Healer directed him to the end of the hallway and continued on her way. Neville started walking towards the messenger's office when he noticed Mrs. Robinson traveling in the opposite direction. She was Shacklebot's personal assistant and one of Neville's superiors. Whenever she didn't want to do paper work, he was stuck with it, which was often.

"Hello Mrs. Robinson," Neville greeted her.

"Hello, sweetie," she smiled warmly.

"What are you doing here?" the young wizard asked her.

"Oh, you know," Mrs. Robinson padded her purse, "just visiting family. I have a cousin that's been a little ill. Are you here visiting friends?"

"Yeah, Harry Potter."

"Oh my, why isn't that fascinating. Well, I better not keep you waiting, dear."

"Okay," Neville said as she continued down the hall. He stopped for a second and turned back around. She already mingled with the crowd of people. If her cousin was ill, why was she on the fourth floor? This floor was designated to addressing injuries caused by spells, hexes, and jinxes. What was she up to? Before he could take a step back to Harry's room, that part of the hallway exploded. The shockwave from the explosion sent Neville flying backwards. He landed hard on his back, but managed to protect his face from the flames and debris with his arms.

The young wizard sat up slowly, using his burned arms as support, and was horrified by what he saw before him. There were dozens of wizards and witches on the floor. They were severely injured, but none appeared to be dead. Thank Merlin. The hospital wing was also cluttered with fire and debris created by the explosion. Neville forced himself onto his trembling feet and pulled out his wand from his burnt robes.

A/N: From now on, I'll be releasing the following chapters once a week. Recently uploaded a bulk of chapters in a short period, because I had drastically fallen behind. Anyways, definitely more to come, and I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!