Family Time

Neville believed that it would be best if his mother talked about her experience in the war with the other Order members who had been there as well. For them, understanding what she had gone through back then would be much easier than for Neville who had never experienced this. She seemed inclined to heed this advice and accompany him to the next visit.

Thinking about the Order made Neville think of Ginny again as well. He still didn't know how to help her and he hadn't seen her for quite a while. At the moment, he wasn't able to do anything for them anyway because his magic was still too instable. He wanted to change that as quickly as possible though. His patients needed him and he wasn't supposed to be ill himself for too long.

Under his mother's guidance he began to do the RMP. His first attempts were disheartening. Neville felt almost as if someone had forced him to undertake time travel back into his first year at Hogwarts. His spells either failed completely or they had completely unintended effects.

"Don't worry, that's normal at the beginning," his mother told him. "I wasn't able to do a single spell. At first I gave up because I believed that my magic was gone. Later I was so bored that I tried again and after a few times, I was suddenly able to do it again. I'm sure this will happen with you as well."

Neville had seen similar in his patients but he still lacked confidence in his own magical abilities. He was scared that even if his magic returned, it wouldn't be good enough to allow him to work as a Healer anymore.

Hannah was very busy for three days with her Quidditch tournament. She invited Alice and Neville to attend but neither wanted to do so. Neville was still on sick leave and didn't want to be seen in public and his mother preferred to stay out of the spotlight. The news Hannah brought after the last day reassured both of them that they had made the right decision.

"The Dark Lord was there himself," Hannah said. "He's presented the winners of the professional competition with the cup. He doesn't look anything like You-Know-Who did in the past anymore. More like a rather handsome man with dark hair. Safe for the red eyes."

She seemed to be rather impressed by this meeting, Neville thought. His mother obviously got the same impression. "Not going to become a Death Eater now, are you?" she asked rather coldly.

"Me, a Death Eater? No, of course not. I'm not the kind of person they're looking for. By the way, Madam Lestrange sends you her regards, Neville. She hopes you'll soon be well again."

"Ehm, well, yes thank you," Neville said.

"She was there with the Dark Lord. My colleagues were quite surprised that she talked to me like that."

Neville didn't know what to do about the situation. Hannah was obviously quite taken by Voldemort's appearance and also by the way other people had reacted to the fact that the woman who accompanied him was interested in her husband's well-being. She probably didn't know how much Alice hated this. Subtly changing the subject was the only thing he could think of.

"Which Quidditch team has won the cup?" he asked without really caring one way or the other.

The situation between Alice and Hannah remained rather tense even though Alice didn't acknowledge it openly and Hannah didn't seem to realise it. Unlike Alice, she had accepted the new political situation and tried to make the best of it now. Neville knew that this probably was the most sensible course of action. There was no real chance to change it any time soon, the number of people who wished to resist was far too small for that. Neville did his best to help and protect them but there wasn't much more he could do. After everything he had heard from his mother, he didn't think he really wanted a resurgence of this war either. Especially not against the will of the majority of wizarding Britain who were quite satisfied with the way things were now.

The weather which had been rather rainy all week turned sunny when it was time to fetch Francis and Deborah from the Macmillan's. Hannah suggested celebrating the good weather, Neville's recovery and the children's return with a barbecue party. Neville had no objections. He wasn't sure if it was the fresh air, the smell of the plants or the sun, but as soon as he could practice his magic outside, it started to improve and soon worked properly again. He was immensely relieved.

There was one thing he wasn't so glad about however. Lestrange wanted to check his magic before he returned to work and Neville had to meet him again for that. He had no idea what exactly the Death Eater had seen in his mind during Neville's illness and he was a bit scared of the next meeting. Hiding from the truth wasn't helpful either though and he obviously hadn't found anything which made him take immediate action. So he sent his owl to the Lestranges, requesting a meeting.

Francis and Deborah had both enjoyed their time with the Macmillans and their children. Amelia, their daughter was about their age; her brothers Brian and Simon were six and four. Neville was glad to hear that Debbie hadn't suffered from nightmares or been homesick while with the other family.

The Macmillans had also attended the Quidditch tournament but Francis was more interested in the game than in Voldemort's appearance. He kept talking enthusiastically about his favourite players while they were sitting in the garden and enjoying steaks, sausages, potatoes, peppers and corn cobs from the fire. Even Alice seemed to have a healthy appetite this evening. Neville was quite happy. There was only one thing he wished for. His father should be there as well, finally getting to know his grandchildren. Neville really hoped that he was well wherever he was.

Neville and Hannah were holding hands. "I'm so glad you're well again," she said. "We've been really worried. Please don't do this kind of thing again."

"I don't think I'll have to," Neville said. "My magic's fine now I think."

"I hope so. This has been quite a struggle," Hannah said. "I'm really glad Lestrange agreed to help you."

"Dad, will you buy me a broom?"

Neville wasn't unhappy about this distraction by Francis. "We've already talked about this. You're too young to have one."

"Do you really think so, Neville?" Hannah asked. "The Death Eater children his age all have their own brooms already. Why shouldn't we get him one too? He's really good. You want him to play for Gryffindor one day, don't you?"

"You see, Dad, Mum says so as well," Francis said.

Neville sighed. "I'll think about it. Maybe for your birthday." The twins had been born in June, the wait wasn't too long.

Francis smiled. "Thank you Dad."

Deborah looked at Neville. He needed to think of a similarly expensive present he could get for her. Anything else would be unfair.

"Ehm, Dad," Deborah said and Neville expected her to voice a birthday wish of her own. She didn't want to request anything like that though.

"You know, I think I want to visit Roxy," she said. "I know that I'm not having bad dreams or anything when I'm staying with someone else now. I won't embarrass you. I'd really like to spend more time with her."

Neville and his mother shared a long glance. Neither of them wanted this of course, but they didn't know how to explain it to the child either.

"The Lestranges invited you?" Hannah asked before either of the others could say anything.

"Yes, a few weeks ago," Deborah said. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to go but I'd like to now."

"Of course you can go," Hannah said. Deborah smiled.

Neville coughed. He didn't know what had happened during this Quidditch tournament but it had really aroused Hannah's enthusiasm for the world of the Death Eaters. She should have known that he wanted to discuss this kind of thing with her before a decision was made. It was impossible for him to say no now however. The children would want to know why he was so opposed to Debbie staying with her best friend and his employer's family. It didn't make any sense if they didn't learn what had happened but Neville didn't want them to know. Especially not Deborah and not at this age.

Arguing with Hannah over this could lead to trouble as well. She didn't know that he was secretly supporting Voldemort's enemies and Neville wanted this to remain that way. So far, he had done this because he wanted to keep her safe, now he realised that she would probably disapprove of it as well.

The atmosphere had tensed considerably now. Alice was probably feeling the same way he did and kept from saying anything in front of the children but she didn't approve of course. After a period of tense silence that was only broken by a few remarks about the weather from Hannah, Alice told the children to go inside and prepare the fruit salad for afters. The House Elf Sandy had been supposed to do this but she often let the children help in the kitchen, so they weren't too surprised. "Strawberries and cherries are in the cellar," she told them.

When the children were out of earshot, she turned to Hannah. "What are you thinking? You can't send Deborah there on her own."

"And why not?" Hannah asked. "You don't really think they're going to harm her, do you?"

"It's quite likely, isn't it?"

"No, it's not," Hannah said. "The war's been over for eight years. Neville's well-respected here. What do you think they'd gain from doing something to his daughter? Being friends with the Lestrange daughter is a great opportunity for Debbie. Do you really want to ruin this for her because you fought on different sides twenty years ago?"

"You've really internalised the party line now, haven't you?" Alice asked. "You know very well that we weren't only "fighting on different sides", don't you?"

"Yes, of course I know. But these times are over. The Dark Lord and his people have accepted us in their society even though we've fought against them. We have the same rights everyone else has, no matter which part we played in the war. The Old Ministry wouldn't have done the same and you know that as well as I do. It would have been a lifetime of suffering in Azkaban for everyone who had supported the Dark Lord."

This was true in a way, Neville thought even though it sounded so wrong. They all had expected Voldemort's world to continue being the way it had been during the last months of the war or likely even worse. They had believed that they were going to be imprisoned, killed or enslaved. The truth was different, at least for those of magical blood.

Neville knew that Muggle-borns were no longer allowed to learn magic but had their magical powers removed as soon as they manifested. Official sources said that this was better for them because they could remain in the world they had grown up in. Neville knew that this wasn't true for people like Hermione but he was sure that she could have done well in the Muggle-world if she had remained there from the start. She probably would have suffered far less there.

"So you're supporting them now?" Alice asked and for a moment, Neville wasn't sure if she was talking to him or Hannah.

"Yes, I probably do," Hannah said. "I can understand that you're feeling the way you do and I would never tell anyone about the things you're saying here but I can't deny that I'm quite happy with things the way they are and I don't think I should be ashamed for that."

"I see," Alice said.

Hannah looked at him. "What do you think, Neville? Is it alright for you if Debbie visits the Lestranges?"

Neville sighed deeply. He hated to be torn between his wife and mother like that. He agreed with both of them in a way. Neville knew that the new magical society wasn't as flawless as Hannah seemed to think and he understood that his mother couldn't forgive the Lestranges for what they had put her through. He didn't want to see the newly-found peace threatened either though and he was satisfied with his situation and didn't feel that he suffered any undue restrictions as far as his work as a Healer was concerned. He was also grateful to Lestrange for teaching him; this was something he couldn't deny either.

It was quite possible if not likely that Rodolphus would simply show Deborah a few interesting things while Bellatrix would let them play Quidditch or something like that. He couldn't be sure though. He'd never be able to trust them.

"I would never try to persuade her to go," Hannah said. "But she wants it. Should we really forbid her to visit her friend? Without a good explanation?"

"I don't think we can forbid it now after you've already allowed it," Neville said reluctantly. "At least not without telling her why and I don't really want to do this."

"We'll have to tell them at some point," Alice said. "Why not now?"

"No, I won't have this," Hannah said resolutely. "Deborah's troubled enough as it is. She doesn't need to be burdened with things that happened long before she was born. What good would it do?"

"She'd know what kind of people they are," Alice said.

"Do you want her to fight the Dark Lord as well? Maybe start a new war with others and bring all the suffering and dying back? Is this really what you want?" Hannah asked.

Alice didn't answer. Neville knew that she wasn't sure what she really wanted either. He didn't believe his mother had any plans for the future at all. She remembered what the Lestranges had done to her and was afraid of letting Deborah stay with them even though they all knew that there probably wouldn't be anything bad happening.

"You are Debbie's parents and you decide what's happening," Alice said in a husky voice. "I can't do anything but hope that it will go well."

Hannah took her hand into her own and said: "You have nothing to fear, believe me. It is really over. I don't want to make you sad, I really don't but I'm very sure it's better this way. For Debbie because she can stay with her friend and doesn't have to carry around things she can't understand and for the rest of us because we aren't raising suspicion this way. We can't forbid our children contact with the Death Eaters without marking ourselves as enemies and I really don't think we should do that."

Neville wasn't sure if his mother could understand where Hannah was coming from but at least she made an effort to explain herself to her. He hated how Deborah's harmless question had caused this unpleasant argument. It shouldn't be that way. He really didn't want to drag the children into this, Neville agreed with Hannah on this. They didn't need to know about these things. He wasn't going to tell them about the Carrows or anything either.

When Franics and Deborah returned with the fruit salad the argument had ended but the relaxed atmosphere was gone.