Magical Encounters

Chapter three: Neville Longbottom

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

Neville sat down on an inviting purple couch near the entrance of the room just as the young man who had escorted him to the room turned on the lights and closed the door. He leaned back and thought about how to present the situation to a new witch. As he sank into the cushions he thought about all the ways this could go so horribly wrong. Neville continued to ponder on how he should proceed with his task when he heard to voices outside the room.

"His name is professor Longbottom." A voice Neville recognized as the woman he had met earlier, Mary began. "He seems nice and I know you will do fine."

"Ok," another voice, Neville took it to be Ariana, said quietly.

The door swung open revealing the two women in its wake. Mary ushered Ariana into and shot a look at Neville as if to say that he shouldn't dare to bother this girl. Ariana turned to look at Mary for one last comfort and saw that Mary was already shutting the door behind as she left.

"It's ok," Neville said but when Ariana turned her wide icy blue eyes onto him he couldn't help but gasp. "You look so much like your aunt, I saw a portrait of her once in your father's pub."

"You knew him, Aberforth?" Ariana asked her eyes wide with excitement. "Does that mean that people at this school of yours know him?"

"Some people do, but I reckon most people will recognize your name because of his brother. Albus Dumbledore was the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had." Neville caught the inquisitive look on Ariana's face and continued on before she had a chance to ask questions. "I know you want to know about your family but I'm afraid we have to talk about the real reason I'm here. You have been accepted to Hogwarts: school of witchcraft and wizardry."

Ariana had initially opened her mouth to make a snappy retort but now all she could manage to make her mouth do was hang open with surprise. She stumbled to the arm chair across from Neville and sank into it closing her mouth and looking utterly and completely confused. Ariana and Neville sat in silence for a few minutes. Neville stared at Ariana waiting for her reaction while Ariana looked down at the linoleum floor apparently in deep thought.

"Witchcraft and wizardry?" Ariana questioned finally looking up at Neville's round face. "Like magic?"

"Yes, like magic." Neville said smiling. "And you are a witch, who had a wizard as a dad. This school will teach how to use your powers and merge you into the wizarding world."

"You must be kidding," Ariana continued the disbelief evident in her voice. "I'm not a witch, there is nothing magical about me. I'm just another girl stuck in this place waiting for some one to adopt me. Yeah! Actually now that I think about it, if I have magic why haven't I been adopted yet? I mean couldn't I have just zapped some one here to adopt me."

"It doesn't work that way," Neville said his chocolate eyes locking onto her piercing and icy blue ones. "Young witches and wizards don't have any control over their magic that's why certain things may happen because of you while others won't. See, at Hogwarts we will teach you how to control your magic and from then on you will be expected to keep it secret and never use it in the presence of muggles."

Ariana raised her eyebrows and looked at Neville for a very long time before speaking again.

"I once helped a girl get better from being sick," She began. "but I was just hoped for it and held her hand, I don't really think it was me but everyone else does." She looked at him quickly before continuing. " I also have dreams sometimes, sometimes they are about me when I'm older and I'm in my body but sometimes it's like I'm watching myself. Oh, and yesterday I had a dream about a little girl and I think I have had it before but I can't really remember when. Is that normal? And what the heck are muggles?"

"It's not unusual," Neville began smiling at her. "The dreams aren't unusual anyway. As for the other event, well I think maybe you just have some healing talents. And muggle is the word used for non-magical folks."

Ariana took in a deep breath in and looked down at her hands. She had no idea what to think, on one hand it all kind of made sense while on the other it sound just a little bit too crazy. She thought about the moving picture in her album and the key next to it and how nothing in that note made sense.

"Do you reckon I should believe you?" Ariana said, looking at Neville and hoping for a sign.

" I think," said Neville looking at her with the same friendly smile as before. " That you should believe what your heart tells you to believe. Don't you ever believe that you are special or that some how you're different, because you are. I can tell just by looking at you that you are different even for a witch, here is just something about you."

Neville watched her for any expression that would show she disagreed, but none came. She brought her legs up on the chair and wrapped her arms around them. She looked at him for a minute more, her face a mix of confusion and sadness. Ariana knew he was right. She was different, things always seemed to happen to her, whether they be good or bad. Whatever Ariana wanted, she got even if it was something bad for some one else. She laid her forehead on her knees and felt tears slide down onto them.

Ariana had made bad things happen in the past, and although back then she had thought they were just coincidences, she knew now that she had forced them to occur. She thought about the time where Billy Fink had broken the head off her favorite doll and then broken his arm the next day. Ariana thought about how much trouble Bethany and Heather had given her about her night light and how they both got chicken pox within the week after that. She remembered feeling horrible and having everyone tell her it wasn't her fault. Ariana had wanted to believe them but she couldn't, something inside her told her she was to blame and after those incidents she tried not to think anything badly of anyone. It hadn't worked, ever, and now she knew why. Ariana felt horrible, she was horrible, she had made all those things happen. The tears flowed steady from her eyes by now and she felt her last hopeful light that these events might have not been her fault bubble up into her throat.

"Can you prove it?" She said, lifting her head to look at him, hoping he couldn't yet some how knowing he could.

"Yes," Neville said, a sad look filling his face as he pulled out a wooden stick Ariana took to be a wand, and pointed it at the table beside him. "Wingardium leviosa."

The table lifted into the air and floated towards Neville as he maneuvered it with his wand, he moved it around for a few more minutes before gently putting it down where it belonged. Ariana had watched with wonder at the floating table and when he put it down she took a deep breath and looked at him with a fake smile.

"You know," Neville began noticing how empty her eyes were. "It doesn't matter what you've done, you couldn't control it. Now if you decide to come this school you will you will learn to control it, and you will never hurt anyone again. Although, if you don't, I don't know what will happen, it might get better, but it could also get worse. It's up to you, but if you want to stop hurting people and you want to be around people who understand what you have been through, then you should accept this."

"You are right," Ariana said wiping her face with her arm. " I need to go, but I have one more question: how am I supposed to pay for school supplies and tuition?"

"I am pretty sure," Neville began thoughtfully. "That Aberforth left some money for you in his vault. But of course we would need to find your key, and I have no idea where that could be so-."

"Wait a second, I'll be right back." Ariana mumbled as she stumbled across the room and out the door.

Neville sat in silence and confusion wondering where she had gone and why. It must have been at most five minutes before Neville heard the door open once again and Ariana re-entered carrying a large purple book in her arms. This time she sat beside Neville on the purple couch and laid the purple book on her lap. She stole a quick look at Neville and opened the book, which Neville now saw was a photo album, to its first page. Neville saw a picture of Aberforth waving back at him, a key, and a piece of paper which Ariana was, most obviously and quite vehemently, covering with her hand.

"Is this the key you are talking about." Ariana said, taking her free hand and pointing to the key taped down on the page.

"Yes," Neville gasped, grinning hugely at Ariana. "I do believe that is quite possibly the key to your family's vault at Gringotts." -Ariana glanced at the note hidden beneath her hand when Neville mentioned that name- " Next stop, Diagon Alley!"

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Hey everyone, I hope you are liking it so far. I personally didn't get into this chapter until Ari started crying but I hope it doesn't show in my writing. I will update when I can, please R&R and let me know what you think.

Becca.