The Invitation

On Sunday, Neville had his first Occlumency lesson with the Order. Snape did it and told him that he "wasn't quite as bad as expected." Coming from Snape, this was high praise indeed. For some reason, Neville found Snape's attempts to read his mind much more unpleasant than Lestrange's. He knew that this was completely irrational. Snape had been a nasty teacher while Lestrange had tortured Neville's parents into insanity. Being more inclined to show your private feelings and thoughts to the latter wasn't a reasonable thing to do at all.

"I do not intent to brag but my approach to Legilimency is similar to the Dark Lord's, he taught me in this art personally," Snape said. "It can get much more unpleasant of course but we won't overdo it the first time. When you start the Auror Occlumency, it will become even harsher."

Snape was always one to encourage his students but after the Carrows, Neville wasn't scared of unpleasant teachers anymore. All in all, it hadn't gone too badly.

While Neville was away, Hannah went to fetch Deborah from the Lestranges. She was the only adult family member who actually wanted to visit their home and no one begrudged her the "honour."

Deborah seemed well and happy when she returned. Neville hadn't really believed that they'd do anything to her but there had always been a slight amount of doubt.

"Mr Lestrange says I'm a witch," she told her father proudly. "My magic is unusual but I am magical."

"That's good news indeed," Neville said. Deborah's lack of magic had been a constant reason to worry. He knew nothing about the Death Eaters' Squib policy and this usually wasn't a good sign at. If Lestrange declared her a witch, everyone else would probably be satisfied to.

"Francis gets a broom for his birthday, doesn't he?" Deborah asked next.

"Well, we're not telling you yet," her mother said.

"I think I'd like to have one too," Deborah said.

Neville was surprised to hear this. So far, his daughter hadn't shown any interest in flying. Maybe Roxy had influenced her.

"You need to think this through really well though," he said. "I don't want to buy something so expensive and see you throw it into the corner two weeks later because you don't want to fly anymore after all."

"I know I'd like one," Debbie said. "Flying's really fun and Mrs Lestrange says I'm really good for someone with so little practice."

"It doesn't matter if she doesn't like it," Francis added. "Then I'll have a spare broom."

"No, you won't," Debbie told him loudly.

"We'll think about it," Neville promised.

"Come on, let's eat outside. We have something to celebrate after all. Debbie doesn't have a real First Magic Day but we know she's a witch now," Hannah said.

Neville accompanied her to the kitchen and they began to prepare the food while Sandy fetched the ingredients.

"Mr Lestrange told me about Debbie's magic," Hannah said meanwhile.

She seemed to be quite proud because he had discussed this with her. Neville tried not to be taken aback. His mother definitely was. She seemed rather upset since Neville had returned from Grimmauld Place but he wasn't quite sure why. She probably didn't like the pro-Lestrange mood shown by Hannah and Deborah. Neville's daughter had always been rather sceptical about the Lestranges too in the past; maybe she had sensed something about Alice's own feelings. It was understandable in a way of course but Neville still preferred this course of events to most alternatives.

"She is able to sense spells that have been used on a place and magic in other people," Hannah explained. "Like Healers and Aurors learn but she can do it automatically, at least sometimes. I have a great aunt on the Abbott side who had this too. She never had "normal" accidental magic either but still became an excellent curse breaker for Gringotts later."

"I'm really relieved she's no Squib," Neville said.

"Me too."

Alice remained very quiet during dinner and ate little once more. She told the others she had a headache. Neville sighed and wondered how long this would continue. Why did she never seem to get better? His mother's state hadn't really changed much since she had left Saint Mungo's. Her new haircut made her look less ill and she was a little bit more mobile but it hadn't improved much. She was still constantly unhappy or suffered from inexplicable pain. Hannah and the children more or less ignored her state, maybe they didn't even notice. Neville wasn't sure how he felt about this. He found it insensitive and at the same time, he thought that they deserved their happiness. They couldn't do anything to help Alice anyway. And neither could Neville. His potions and counter spells barely helped against her pains anymore.

She retired to her room rather early and Neville decided that he would look for her later. Maybe his healing magic would be of some help after all. He just didn't want to leave her like that without doing anything.

She was sitting in her room, her eyes gazing emptily into space once more. Neville hated this look. It always reminded her of the times when he had visited her as a child without getting any response ever.

"Mum, what's wrong?"

She looked at him. At least she did notice what was going on around her now.

"The usual," she simply said. "I have a headache and my back's hurting too."

She obviously didn't want to speak about whatever went on in her head. She barely ever did. Saturday morning when she had asked him about the potion had been one of the few times and even then she hadn't done it directly.

"Will you let me have a look?"

"If you want to." The tone of her voice made it clear that she didn't accept much help from Neville.

He used the wandless magic he had learned at Saint Mungo's for this kind of purpose. There was nothing wrong with her body and he couldn't find any traces of dark magic either. She was in pain because she was so tensed up, almost as if she was still trying to resist the Cruciatus curse. In her head, the torture seemed to go on and on. There were potions against this but according to the theory; they were supposed to be only a temporary solution. Normally, a patient should have recovered from this state after all those years, especially with the help of Goldberry Leaf Potion and a trained Healer nearby. Neville didn't understand why his mother didn't gain the strength to overcome it. The problem was in her head and not in her body. Neville didn't know how he could make her change her mind. Physical injury was much easier to heal with magic.

"You can't really do anything, can you?"

Neville didn't know what he was supposed to answer. She was right but he couldn't tell her so. He couldn't tell her what he had found either though. She already believed that she was weak. If he said something similar, she would only feel worse.

"It's difficult but I can try," Neville said. His magic could at least bring temporary relief and he needed to find a way to help her relax better.

Inspiration didn't come though. Alice didn't want to see Lestrange next week and asked Neville to hand him a letter where she explained herself. Neville didn't know what she had written. He wasn't happy about his role in this but he understood that meeting Lestrange would make her feel even worse and he really wanted to avoid that. He told Lestrange that she was unwell and handed him the letter.

"It's no problem if this is happening once or twice but she can't be "too unwell" every week," the Death Eater told him.

"She really isn't well," Neville emphasized. He didn't like Lestrange's tone at all.

"Yes, I don't doubt that. This doesn't change the facts though. The Dark Lord requests regular meetings if she wants to become a citizen and he'll check if we're doing them. Hiding things is relatively easy, inventing fake memories is not."

Neville wondered if the Dark Lord didn't have more pressing problems than Lestrange's meetings with Alice Longbottom. Did Lestrange want to see her for personal reasons or was he only doing the Dark Lord's bidding as he claimed? This was a question he couldn't answer.

Apart from this meeting, the week passed without any major incidents.

When he returned from work next Monday, his mother told him that an unknown owl had arrived. "I've never seen this one. The letter has the crest of a German hospital on it. Probably something business-related, I didn't open it."

Neville looked at the letter curiously. Elke Neubert, Sigrun Rotfang-Hospital Heidelberg, Germany. Neville knew that name. Elke Neubert was a German Cruciatus curse expert. Lestrange had asked him to try and get Neubert to agree to a cooperation, he had shown Neville her publications as well. The German Healer had always answered his letters with polite refusals though. If Neville remembered correctly, she had already answered his last letter. Neville had given up after this. Normally, Neubert's owl always brought her letters to Saint Mungo's and not to Neville's home. It was rather strange.

Under his mother's curious gaze, Neville opened the letter. He was always glad when she showed an interest in anything around her.

Dear Mr Longbottom

We have already been corresponding. I have reconsidered your offer and I came to the conclusion that patients in both our countries could contribute from some amount of contribution between us.

For further discussion, I'd like to invite you and your mother to my hometown of Heidelberg. The second piece of parchment in this envelope is a registered Portkey that will take you to Heidelberg on July 1 if you choose to come and tap it with your wand.

Hoping to see you soon

Yours faithfully

Elke Neubert

Centre for Magical Victims of Torture and Abuse

Sigrun Rotfang Hospital

Heidelberg

Neville put the letter aside, slightly surprised. Healer Neubert had been rather firm in her refusal to cooperate with Saint Mungo's. Mainly because of Lestrange or so she had implied to Neville. Had she really changed her mind now? And why did she want to talk to Neville and his mother? Maybe she hoped to have the cooperation without Lestrange's involvement. Neville would have to inform him about the journey. He didn't see any need to tell him about everything he might learn there however. Neville checked the piece of parchment which was supposed to turn into a Portkey. It was also a ticket for three nights in an inn called "Zum Roten Phönix." For a moment, Neville wondered if this was some sort of code. Did something mentioning a Phoenix even pass border control? Well, he would show this to Lestrange anyway so he hopefully wouldn't end up in trouble.

"What do they want?" Alice asked.

"The letter is from a colleague of mine," Neville told her. "I've met her on my visit to Germany and she wants to discuss a cooperation between our hospitals. She's invited both of us to Heidelberg in Germany."

Alice's eyes lit up. "Can we go? I'd love to visit Heidelberg again. I've been there on holiday once with my parents you see."

"Yes, I think seeing something else can only do us good," Neville said. "I have to clear this first of course but if there are no problems, we'll go."

"Clear this?" Alice asked. "Does that mean you have to ask Lestrange for permission?"

Attempts to phrase things more nicely never went down well with her. "Yes, I can't simply stay away from work, you see."

"And I'm not allowed to go anywhere without his permission," Alice added.

Neville sighed. Officially, this probably was the case.

"What are you going to do if he lets you go but not me?" Alice asked.

"We can discuss this when we know it's the case," Neville said.

He hadn't thought all the options through yet. So far, Lestrange had always seemed rather keen on learning more from Elke Neubert. He probably wouldn't be opposed to the offer but Alice was right. For him, there was no reason for her to accompany Neville to Germany. Neville doubted that the fact it might be good for her health would influence his decision in any way.

Neville requested a meeting with Lestrange as swiftly as he could. The first of July wasn't that far away after all.

They met at Lestrange's office at Saint Mungo's, a place Neville preferred to the Lestranges' house. This was a formal meeting after all. It didn't matter that much if someone overheard it.

Lestrange asked if he could see the letter. Normally, Neville would have been reluctant to allow this but the letter seemed innocent enough and he wanted to do anything that might heighten his chance. Maybe, this journey was the chance for his mother to find distraction he had been looking for. Elke Neubert was an expert for this kind of thing too. Neville had already asked her for help but she hadn't been able to do anything over a distance. Maybe she could help Alice in some way when they actually talked though.

"Curious," Lestrange said after reading. "She has denied any contact so far and now she's suddenly requesting a personal meeting."

"Well, maybe's she's simply thought about it," Neville said.

"Perhaps. Other reasons are more plausible however," Lestrange said.

Neville wondered what kind of reasons he was referring to.

"Elke Neubert is an excellent Occlumens," Lestrange said. "It was impossible to tell what really went on in her head when we met. Her dislike for me was the only thing she didn't try to hide. Are you familiar with the situation between the Dark Lord and the Germans?"

"You mean this arrest attempt and Mr Mulciber's death?" Neville asked, making sure that he only talked about things that had been in the official papers. Mentioning that he knew that the Death Eaters had tried to murder Anthony wasn't a good idea.

"Yes, exactly. The situation between our countries has turned much tenser than it was. Neubert is a very able Healer; she seems to have actually cured level four patients by her Muggle methods, Pensieves and Legilimency alone."

Neville nodded. He had read the publication.

"It seems to be an extremely time-consuming process though. Our potion works much more swiftly and requires less of an effort. That's why the German are interested in it of course. I'm certain that she won't agree to anything if you don't tell her about it. The Dark Lord doesn't want this though. You'd be in serious trouble if you did; I have to tell you that."

"I know. I'm not going to tell her," Neville said. It wasn't the first time that Lestrange was informing him about this.

"You have to take the possibility into account that they might attempt to make you," Lestrange said. "The German Aurors could put you under arrest until you do so or even worse, those Grindelwald supporters might get your hands on you. I don't know if she would arrange this on purpose but the danger's definitely there. We're not even sure if they don't cooperate with the Aurors, doing the dirty work for them."

Neville knew that the "Grindelwald supporters" had ruthlessly killed many Death Eaters who had wanted to attack Anthony Goldstein. He didn't really feel threatened by them himself though. He didn't go to Germany because he wanted to attack anyone.

"Do you really think they'd be after me?"

"I've already told you so, it's very likely. They don't know about your true allegiances but they do know that your great-uncles used to fight their leader in the past. It is dangerous."

"So you won't let us go?" Neville asked. It had been such a good opportunity, especially for his mother.

"I didn't say that," Lestrange told him. "You're old enough to decide this for yourself. I've only informed you about the risks. The Dark Lord won't be happy if he has to send someone to retrieve you from the Grindelwald supporters' hands."

"I don't expect him to," Neville said. He had always felt more threatened than protected by the regime.

"You didn't take a holiday for ages, I can't deny you that," Lestrange said. "You should consider if you don't want to go somewhere safer."

"Thank you. I'll take the risk. Can my mother come too?"

"The same goes for her," Lestrange said. "If you think she's capable of this journey when she's not even able to travel to our house."

When he returned home, Neville informed his mother about the conversation with Lestrange

"Of course I'm coming," Alice said. "Does he really think we believe he's worried about our safety? I'm certain he's more worried about us taking to people who don't belong to the regime."

Neville did not mention Lestrange's warning to Hannah. There was no need to give her unnecessary worry. She quite liked the idea and also hoped that a change of scenery might help Alice.

They packed everything they needed for three days, especially papers and the like. They were travelling into a foreign country after all and Neville didn't want any unnecessary trouble. Last time Lestrange had taken care of these things. Back then, he had still been a welcome visitor but that had changed now. He also packed Goldberry Leaf Potion for his mother and a few other emergency potions. There as a hospital nearby of course but he didn't want to depend on Neubert's help. Alice packed all her new robes as well as her mementos from the Order. Neville didn't tell her that they were only staying for three days. If she felt more comfortable with all those things nearby, he didn't want to forbid it. Carrying things wasn't hard with magic.

On the early afternoon of the first of July, Neville and Alice said goodbye to Hannah and the children and left the garden. Neville didn't admit it to anyone but Lestrange's warnings had left him slightly nervous. He would make sure to be very careful.

"What are you waiting for?" his mother asked as he stood there, gazing at the Portkey. "You don't let Lestrange scare you, do you?"

Neville couldn't admit this of course but he remembered Harry's experience with a Portkey that brought him directly to Voldemort. Now things had changed and Voldemort wasn't the one they feared most anymore. It was really strange.

"Come on," Alice said. She put a finger on the piece of parchment too and tapped it with her wand. A few moments later, Neville felt the familiar sensation of a hook pulling him forwards from his navel.

Both managed to land rather gracefully and ended up in front of a half-timbered house with a red phoenix sign on it. Neville looked around. They were in the magical street of Heidelberg; he had been here once during his last visit. So far, Elke Neubert's letter obviously had told them the truth.

Alice looked around with a smile on her face. "Let's go in, shall we? So we can get rid of our trunks."

They walked into the inn and where greeted by a rather small woman who had tied her brown hair up into a bun.

"Guten Tag, Longbottom," Neville said and showed her the Portkey parchment. His German didn't get him very far. His mother looked at the landlady curiously.

"Good afternoon," the woman said. "Elke Neubert told me you might arrive today. Come with me, the guest rooms and on the first floor."

"Are you, can you be, Mary Macdonald?" Alice asked all of a sudden, a mixture of hope and disbelief on her face.

The woman smiled. "Yes, I am. I got married though. It's Mary Cattermole now."

"That's wonderful. So you got away?" Alice asked.

"Yes, it's a long story. I got saved by Harry Potter in person. Great boy he was, but it's no wonder with parents like his now, is it?" Her face fell. "It's such a shame, such a shame. He didn't even get old enough to finish school."

"That's really sad," Alice said. "If only I could have done something."

"Well, you weren't in a state to do anything. You don't have to blame yourself," the woman called Mary said. "But they found a cure now I see. At least something good this lot achieved. You barely believe it."

Alice obviously didn't want to discuss this subject matter. "Are there more of us who made it?"

"Oh yes, there are quite a few," Mary said. "I can't give you names though. They have to decide this for themselves. Please don't be offended but we don't know how deeply you're involved over there or what they've got to threaten you. Here, this is your room."

The room contained two beds, a cupboard and a small table with two chairs, there was a bathroom as well. It was modest but clean and looked rather nice.

"I'm going to tell Healer Neubert that you chose to come," Mary said. "She'll visit you tomorrow at about ten of clock. Breakfast's included; you can have it from 7.30 to 9.30. I think I'll leave you to unpack now."

"Yes, thank you," Neville said.

They began to unpack their things. Neville's mother told him that Mary Macdonald had been a friend of hers and Lily Potter's back at Hogwarts. She had also supported the Order of the Phoenix but never become a full member because she had never been good at fighting.

After unpacking their things, Alice suggested: "I could put some wards around our room. This way, it will get harder for unwanted visitors to enter. I think we can trust Mary but you never know for sure after so many years."

"Alright, let's do this," Neville said.

Alice drew her wand and began to speak incantations. Neville had never heard of them before. He was surprised. His mother normally never took action like this and she didn't show the magic she had learned as an Auror either.

"We should be reasonably safe this way," she said. "It's not absolute of course but I don't think someone really powerful would come for us. We're not hiding from Voldemort after all."

"Mum, don't say-"

"Why not?" Alice asked. "The taboo doesn't reach beyond the jurisdiction of the British Ministry. I can say what I want here. Vol-de-mort."

Neville hoped she wouldn't forget to stop saying it when they returned.

"Oh, it feels so good when you can do something to keep your enemies away," Alice said when she had finished her protective spells. "Such a nice change to sitting on a table with them."

After everything had been provided in the room, they went outside and took a walk through the alley. Neville felt slightly uncomfortable because he didn't understand what people were talking about but no one seemed to want to threaten them.

They had dinner on the terrace of a little restaurant. The food was good and Alice ate her entire large plate of it. Neville thought that he had been right. The change of scenery was really good for her.

Alice considered taking a look at the Muggle part of town too but Neville decided against it. He didn't understand the situation here yet and he didn't want to leave the safety of the magical street which was guarded by Aurors as well. None of them seemed to be interested in apprehending Neville.

He felt slightly apprehensive when a group of dark-robed people passed him, led by a woman with blond braids who talked in Parsel to an adder that had wrapped itself around her neck. The Aurors watched them but obviously didn't see any reason to do something. They didn't seem to notice Neville and his mother. Visually, they weren't any different from the many other visitors to the street.

When they returned to the inn, they saw the people in the rooms next to theirs, an elderly couple and two young women. Neither seemed very threatening but Alice still checked her wards before they went to bed.

Neville fell asleep rather quickly but he was woken up in the middle of the night by his mother's restless sleep. It wasn't hard to tell that she had a nightmare. A nightmare where she was being tortured again, pleading with Lestrange.

Neville decided to wake her up. He needed to call her name twice before she looked at him for the first time and it took even longer until she noticed where she was.

"I'm sorry, Neville. I didn't want to wake you up."

"Don't worry; it's not your fault."

She took a deep breath. "Do you know how nice it is when you wake up from this kind of dream and know that tomorrow; he won't be at your door or anywhere else near you?"

Neville didn't know what he was supposed to say. He knew that the situation between him and Lestrange was hard for his mother but he didn't really have a choice in that matter. If he was completely honest with himself, he had to admit that he would miss the Death Eater's insights, if they were never to meet again.

"I know what you're thinking," Alice said. "You think that things have changed and that I should get over it finally, stop being so resentful."

Neville tried to tell her that this wasn't what he was thinking. He wasn't very successful.

"Neville, I have every right to be resentful. He didn't cheat on me with a prettier and younger woman or lie to the boss so he could get a promotion. Do you even understand what he did to me?"

"Tell me," Neville said. She always avoided this and expected others to understand without any explanation.

"There was a time when I used to trust him," she said. "We got along quite well at school and later when he worked as a Healer as well. He was always the one I preferred to go to if I was ill or injured. I didn't believe that he had really worked for Voldemort at Saint Mungo's either. I tried to persuade him to stay away from Voldemort after he lost his job. Fruitlessly, as you know. I didn't want to believe he was a Death Eater but there was way too much evidence against him. When they tortured us, he used the spells he had learned as a Healer to subdue us. The damage caused by this is still visible in my magic patterns. Words can't express what this feels like."

She swallowed.

Neville was shocked. He had still preferred to believe that most of the torture had been done by Bellatrix and the others. For some reason, he had always blamed her. Maybe because she was the one who had cast the curse on Neville himself for the first time, the one who always seemed so gleeful about it. Lestrange never acted like this.

"He knew exactly that I didn't know anything," Alice continued. "This didn't keep him from continuing even when Frank was already unconscious. Bellatrix still believed I might know something and he didn't bother telling her she was wrong even though he knew."

She hesitated before she continued talking. "In the end, I was so miserable; I didn't know what I was doing anymore. I, I begged him to stop; I told him I couldn't stand anymore. He simply laughed and cast the next curse on me."

She hid her face in her hands.

"He knew exactly what he was doing and what was going to happen. He wanted me to stay at Saint Mungo's for all those years, for the rest of my life if it hadn't been convenient to use me as a price for you."

Neville didn't know what he was supposed to say. He could hardly believe it was true but she had no reason to lie.

"And now he thinks, we should work together as if nothing had ever happened. He expects me to play along with this. Do you understand now why I can't do this?"

"Yes." There was much more Neville considered saying but he thought better of it.

"I can't forget this and I can't forgive it. If he had really changed sides during the war, fought for us and risked his life to make up for the things he's done, I might be able to forgive him. But not like that. He doesn't regret anything. He only thinks it's more convenient if we get along now. He doesn't care about my feelings any more now than he did back then."

"Yes, I know that this is really hard for you. I wish that You-Know-Who didn't force you and him together. It was much easier to avoid each other in the past."

"Yes, and I can't continue like this. It's eating me up from the inside. I have to get out of this. Now is my only chance. They've admitted Mary so they'll admit me too. I'm not going to go back."

Neville took a deep breath. "Let's not discuss this now in the middle of the night," he said. They didn't know if the Germans would let his mother stay and if she would really be happier here in a foreign country where she didn't understand the language.

He also knew that things couldn't continue the way they had been. It was obvious that she was suffering. Forcing her to keep enduring this because he didn't want to leave her now when he had finally met her again was selfish. He needed to do what was best for her.