What You Never Knew
Neville Longbottom: The King
Laughter scared him.
It was irrational, admittedly, and he was smart enough to know it- but he simple couldn't help it. He wished, more than anything, that he could take comfort in the sound of laughing, that he was like everyone else and would laugh freely, whenever he could. But no matter what he did, laughter always terrified him. Because every time he heard someone laughing, he remembered a high, cruel laugh harmonizing with his mother's screams.
He hated his family.
Sure, he was grateful for them, and he tried to love them- but it was so, so hard. Whenever Neville saw his family, they would criticize him, tell him how stupid he was, and make bets about whether or not he'd end up being a Squib. And though Neville never showed it, each time he heard one of his relatives doing this, he felt a little bit more worthless.
His grandmother first took him to see his parents when eight.
He had just exhibited his first signs of magic, and though Great-Uncle Algie gave him Trevor, Neville was still unsettled. Augusta Longbottom could tell.
"What's wrong, Neville?" She asked him kindly one day as he played with his new pet toad.
"Nothing, Gran," Neville said, not looking her in the eye so she wouldn't know that he was lying. She knew anyways.
"Come now, Neville, you know you're a terrible liar. Tell me, what's on your mind?" She was being much more understanding than usual- Neville attributed this to the fact that he was not, in fact, a Squib, and she was extremely relieved.
"Gran… what happened to Mum and Dad?"
Augusta stiffened in her chair. She had put off telling Neville the truth about his parents, and she had warned the rest of their family to do the same. He was a fragile child, in her opinion; a bit of a softy. She didn't show it often, but she loved her grandson, and hated to see him get hurt. Then again, he had just proved he was a wizard- that he would be going to Hogwarts and following in his parents' footsteps.
He was ready.
"I'll take you to see them," she sighed finally. "We'll go tomorrow."
The next day, that was exactly what they did, and a young nurse admitted them into the long-term residency ward, full of witches and wizards that had been victims to permanent spells and curses. Mrs. Longbottom and Neville were led to the farthest end of the room, where two people were lying down on hospital beds; something was very clearly wrong with them.
One- a man- had thin, curly grey hair, and wrinkled skin. His eyes- which, for whatever reason, Neville recognized; he didn't know where from, though- were a dull brown, though showed traces of past vigor.
The other person, a woman, had wispy tendrils of grey hair. Her skin was wrinkled as well, though not as badly as the man's, and her body was permanently limp besides her hand, which kept twitching. Her eyes, however, were alert, darting every place, as if cautiously on guard, watching, almost… waiting.
"Who are these people, Gran?" Neville looked up at his grandmother confusedly. To his surprise, however, his stern, no-nonsense grandmother had tears in her eyes, and looked too choked up to speak. His brow furrowed in befuddlement, Neville looked into his grandmother's eyes, and saw something alarming.
She and the man on the bed had the same eyes.
So did he.
Neville instantly understood, and could only stare at his parents, wondering what in the world had happened to his parents, and why they had been reduced to this state.
"Their names are Alice and Frank," Augusta spoke suddenly through tears. "They met at Hogwarts; they were both in Gryffindor. Childhood sweethearts, they were. They became the Ministry's best Aurors- the only person who was better was Mad-Eye, bless him. But then…" She trailed off, swallowed a sob, and then forced herself to continue. "The Death Eaters- Lord Voldemort's followers, you've heard of him- they tortured your parents to insanity. You- you were just an infant."
Neville had nothing to say to that. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he looked down at his parents, wondering what they had been like one upon a time. Suddenly, rage filled him. "Which Death Eaters did it?"
"Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange; as well as Barty Crouch, Jr. They're all in Azkaban now, Neville- don't worry." Relief flooded Neville; if they were in Azkaban, they could never get out.
Alice shifted from her place on the bed, drawing Neville and Augusta's attention to her. Her eyes were fastened on Neville as she pulled a Dooble's Best Blowing Gum wrapper out from under her pillow. Slowly, shakily, she held it out to Neville. Just as slowly, Neville took it from her. The barest ghost of a smile crossed his mother's face as she held his hand; and then she went limp once more, her eyes staring everywhere and nowhere.
"Thank you, Alice," Mrs. Longbottom told her daughter-in-law.
"Th-Thanks, Mum," Neville stammered. A smile's ghost crossed Alice's face again; she seemed to like being called 'Mum'.
"Never be ashamed of your parents, Neville. Honor them. They were brave, noble people, and should be remembered that way. Let's go now," Mrs. Longbottom instructed her grandson, and with a last look at his parents, he followed her out the door.
Hermione Granger was his first friend.
He met her on the train; both nervous, for similar reasons. They sat in a compartment together, and talked to each other; about their worries, about what they might learn. They talked about everything. It was the happiest moment of Neville's life at that point. Then, later in the year, they grew apart- Hermione became close friends with Harry and Ron, and Neville was left in the background.
The Sorting Hat mocked him.
It had been, without a doubt, the most humiliating moment of Neville's life- even though nobody could hear it.
"Longbottom, Neville!" Professor McGonagall declared to the Great Hall. Neville walked to the stool nervously- managing to fall over on the way- and did his best not to jump when he heard the Hat say,
I knew your parents, Neville Longbottom.
I know. You know every witch and wizard in Britain.
True, true… you know, you're nothing like your parents.
That's not true. I am like them.
You WANT to be. There's a difference. Your father was one of the easiest students I've ever had the pleasure to Sort. Only took a second to decide he belonged in Gryffindor- what a brave, noble man. Same with your mother. A kind, bubbly girl at eleven. Still, with one look at the way she punched her cousin when he got on her nerves, I knew she belonged in the house of the red and gold, too. You, however… you're not nearly as easy.
…Oh.
In fact, I wonder: are you even their son at all? You could be adopted, you know; it's always possible. I wouldn't doubt it, I-
SHUT UP!
...Excuse me?!
I told you to SHUT UP! I AM like my parents, I AM! I even have my dad's wand! Don't you dare accuse me of not being their son, because I am, and I know it! Yeah, I may be more scared than they ever were, but every person's different! You may be the Sorting Hat, but you have no right to tell me whether or not my parents are actually my parents! They ARE my parents, and I couldn't be prouder to be their son!
…Well, that was unexpected.
Sorry, I shouldn't have blown up at you.
Don't apologize. I daresay I deserved it. Tell your parents that they should be awfully proud of their son.
Alright, but I don't think they'll understand me.
And why not?
They- They were tortured into insanity by Death Eaters when I was a baby. They're in St. Mungo's now; they'll be there forever. They don't even know I'm their son.
…And you deal with that every day of your life?
I don't have a choice, do I?
No, you don't. Well, this certainly makes my choice clearer. You're much more like your parents then I thought, Neville Longbottom. "GRYFFINDOR!"
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
You're quite welcome. Now please take me back to my stool.
He always knew that Ginny and Harry were going to get together someday.
He may not have been the brightest, but he could tell that Ginny had a massive crush on Harry, and that the two would make the perfect couple. So, after discussing it with Hermione, he decided to ask Ginny to the dance, in hopes that Harry would be jealous and realize that, deep down, he fancied her. Alas, his plan didn't work- but Neville was proud to say that he tried.
He used the Cruciatus Curse.
In his opinion, Bellatrix deserved it; she most definitely did. She deprived him of being raised by his parents; she was the reason he was practically an orphan. It was her fault. Everything was her fault. And so, in the midst of the fighting, Neville had used the Cruciatus Curse on her. He had tried to make her feel the same pain she had but his parents through. Nobody ever knew that he succeeded.
He first talked to Hannah Abbott during the middle of the Final Battle,
He was throwing Fanged Geraniums at passing Death Eaters, rather enjoying their screams, when Hannah had come behind him and said, "Here- try throwing these at them."
She handed him the bucket of Bubotuber pus, smiling kindly at him. "Thanks," Neville smiled back. "Where'd you get this?"
"Professor Sprout said to give it to you," Hannah answered. "If you don't mind a suggestion, it would probably work best if you poured it out the window- then, none of the Death Eaters would see it coming, and you wouldn't have to touch it."
"Good idea; I never would've thought of it."
"Yes you would've. You're smart, Neville; brave, too. You would've thought of it eventually." With that, Hannah grinned at him one last time before darting down the corridor, shooting a Stunning Spell at some Death Eaters as she ran.
Neville stared at her retreating figure. Now that was a nice girl.
The happiest day of his life was when his twin children, Frank and Alice, were born.
Alice was a mirror image of her mother, and Frank was a miniature Neville. They were absolutely adorable, with their soft, tiny hands and their innocent smiles. They both grew up to be bright, beautiful and curious. Frank was as brave as his namesake, which was proved when he was Sorted into Gryffindor; Alice worked hard at everything she did, and so it was no surprise when she was Sorted into Hufflepuff.
Nor was it a surprise when, after fancying on him for years, she finally got together with Hugo Weasley.
He took Frank and Alice to visit his parents once.
The week before Neville's children went to Hogwarts for the first time, he decided that they were mature enough to visit their namesakes. And so, they were taken to St. Mungo's to see them.
"Where are they, Daddy?" Alice looked up at her father with wide, curious eyes, holding his hand.
"Yeah, we've been walking for ages," Frank added impatiently, trying in vain- again- to tug his hand out of Neville's.
"We're almost there, dear," Neville told her, squeezing their hands.
They finally arrived at the beds farthest from the door, and Neville fought away tears at the sight of his parents. "These are your grandparents," he told Alice and Frank.
Alice gasped and placed her hand over her mouth in horror, tears immediately beginning to trail down her cheeks.
"What happened to them?" Frank wondered, staring utterly shocked at his grandparents.
"I've already told you, Frank," Neville said. "They were tortured into this state by Bellatrix Lestrange."
"You mean, the evil Death Eater Auntie Molly killed?"
"Yes, Alice."
"I'm baking her cookies for the next time we see her."
Neville chuckled at his daughter's proclamation just as his mother stretched her hand out to him. He stepped forward and accepted the usual gum wrapper- he had hundreds, all kept in a box in his room. Then, all of the sudden, a strangled sound came out of her mouth. Neville's eyes widened as he asked, "What was that, Mum?"
After a few minutes of making the strangled sound, Alice Longbottom (the first) choked out, "F-Fam-Family."
Neville collapsed to his knees with happy tears as he nodded, "Yes, Mum. We're your family."
Neville Longbottom's life was one filled of tragedy; heartbreak; suffering; danger; and more awful, unthinkable things. Nobody could have ever predicted that Neville would be gifted with a successful career, fame and admiration from the whole Wizarding World, a beautiful family, and even recognition from his mentally insane mother. And yet, in the end, Neville had all those things and more. In the end, Neville was a King in his own fairytale happy ending.
Aww, I love Neville! I hope he has an ending at least somewhat like this- he deserves it.
Now, second: why did only ONE person review (thanks, by the way, leahhg26) for the last chapter?! I need three before I update again this time! Heck, the only reason I update before three reviews this time is because this is my favorite chapter yet! So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review for this chapter!!!!!!!!!!
-Joelle8