[With apologies for messing up my first effort to post this new chapter!]
Chapter 88 – Back to Business
Severus awoke quickly, as was his habit, going from slumber to wide awake in an instant. However, he was immediately if vaguely aware that something was different. His arms tightened instinctively around Harry, still nestled in his arms, snoring softly as he slept with an ear pressed against Severus' chest. He allowed his hand to card through the tousled dark locks as he contemplated the events of last evening. He would cherish forever the intimacy they shared, and he looked forward to future evenings cooking with Harry. As much as he would have enjoyed ruminating on those two things, he had to address the things that Harry had told him as they sat by the shores of the lake. There were parallels here to the eye of Odin that reinforced the suspicions that he and Albus shared. Perhaps between the two of them, they could develop some understanding of this and what it meant.
But what felt different? It bothered him that he could not put his finger on this instantly, but accepted that the things of most immediate concern seemed to be fine. He would let his mind ponder it while got about doing what he needed to do today.
Severus slowly extricated himself from Harry's grip, being very careful not to wake the young man, although the movement did begin the slow process of Harry's gradual awakeing.
By the time Harry was up and dressed and joined him in the sitting room, Severus was already half-way through some correspondence from the Potions Masters Guild, reporting on their progress in evaluating the potiont that he had submitted for their review, the cure for lycanthropy. He was surprised at the speed with which that notoriously sluggish body was moving here, although few of the submissions they received were accompanied with the level of publicity and general public interest as that had been.
Severus looked up when Harry entered the room, noticing immediately an air of uncertainty and shyness. Back to this again? Why, with Gryffindors, was it always one step forward, two steps backward? Are they wired that way?
Fortunately, as a Slytherin, Severus was capable of observing and recognizing these patterns in others, and he was now ever so slightly better prepared. Gryffindors were ultimately not entirely predictable, but he'd noticed that allowing a mood like this to go unaddressed just made things worse. He envisioned an internal dialog that kept spinning and spinning until the power of centrifugal force sent it flying off in some totally unpredictable direction.
He stood as Harry neared his chair on his way to collect a cup of tea, and intercepted the young man as he passed. Lifting Harry's chin so he could not pursue that annoying habit of studying the floor, he offered a smile and a warm "Good morning, Harry" and a kiss. Placing his hands on Harry's shoulders, he asked "What is troubling you?"
The uncertain expression remained as the young man just shrugged.
What Harry could not bring himself to explain was how sad he felt awakening in a bed all by himself, left to go through his morning routine all alone in the bathroom. It had been just that one time, yesterday, but he had really enjoyed sharing the early morning time with Severus. Showering together had been mindblowing, but he'd relished the intimacy of the entire experience. Harry concluded that it was not something that he would experience every day, but he had hoped it would happen again. That also brought to mind his insecurities about his body. Had Severus been so unsatisfied with him last night that he could not stand the sight of him the next morning – he'd had to get up and dressed and out of there before Harry got up and put his scrawny body on display?
Severus had no idea what was going on in that lovely head, but he did recall the incident with the Heartstone. Harry had assumed that Severus had discarded his gift when he found the stone on the floor, and had clearly been taken aback when Severus contrived to make it clear that he had been wearing that stone all along, and had accidentally torn it off in his frantic efforts to attack his Dark Mark the night of the Calling. With his luck, Harry was convincing himself of something awful right now, something that utterly disavowed what happened last night.
Severus squeezed Harry's shoulders firmly but gently. "Thank you again for having that special dinner with me last night, Harry. I found the evening most enjoyable. Do you think that we might do that again, some time soon?"
Harry's relief was evident in his eyes, and Severus had to restrain himself from showing his jubilation at having guessed the reason for his distress so quickly. Harry needed reassurance, and he'd managed to deliver! Into Harry's hesitation in answering Severus' question, he purred and encouraging "Mmmm?" and raised Harry's head again for a kiss. When they surfaced from that delightful interruption, Harry nodded happily.
Breakfast in the Great Hall was a typical Saturday morning affair, with a balance of students who stayed up way too late on a Friday night now groggily coming to grips with the food before them, and others up and excited. Of course, as classes had been canceled for most of the week, this day was not all that different from the others before it, but it was still Saturday and that made it special. Ron was more quiet than usual and Hermione was a bit testy, but Neville more than made up for their silence with his growing panic over his tea later that day with his Gram. Harry was glad that Neville had commitments to keep in the greenhouses, both to get him moving and to give him a distraction. A few of the warriors of the Winter Lands had approached him for advice on plants for their newly-recovered farms, having seen the way Professor Sprout trusted him with her plants and with the management of all the Hogwarts greenhouses. He and they discovered a surprising array of common interests, and he'd been spending time, after getting the squibs assigned to their tasks, working with the warriors on assembling some useful plant cuttings to bring north with them.
"I have to go upstairs to work on translations. Anyone want to come along?"
Ron decided to go flying instead, as it was a beautiful day and he'd missed the freedom of time on his broom, but Hermione was happy to join him. Charlie needed to get back to Romania for a few hours, and he knew that a distraction would keep Draco in a better frame of mind while he was gone. He suggested that Draco go along with Harry and Hermione, and with minimal reluctance, Draco agreed.
Albus confirmed to all the staff at the table that classes would resume come Monday, a welcome relief to those who were also Heads of Houses. Most of the older students were helping out, either in the school or on Ministry teams, but the younger ones were running about and needed constant supervision. They could work out any arrangements needed to allow support for Ministry efforts while getting the students prepared for their finals, OWLs and NEWTs.
When the meal was over, Severus accompanied Albus up to his office, to discuss his concerns about some of the things Harry had told him the night before.
Once they were settled into their seats, Albus behind his desk and Severus in one of the arm chairs before it, Severus explained his concerns. "Harry shared some additional things about the ravens he sees, how they help him focus on the things that need his attention at a particular time, or call things to his attention. And we discussed his ability to see paths before people. He's going to check to see if he can see paths before people at will. He told me that up until now, the paths just appeared before him at certain times, and when I challenged him to see if he can summon this vision, he agreed to try to do that, if he can control it in any way. What on earth do you think this means, Albus?"
"I've been giving this a great deal of thought, my boy. I suspect that there might be a parallel between what we are seeing now and what happened fifteen years ago when Voldemort attempted to kill Harry. In the release of all the energy when Voldemort's Avada Kedavra deflected off of Harry, some of Voldemort's powers were transferred to Harry, resulting in such things as his becoming a Parselmouth. Maybe that happened again."
"But the explosion when Harry stole the Eye of Odin from Voldemort was just a stone exploding, not a powerful wizard being relegated to the ether!"
"Ah, but remember, Severus, the Eye of Odin was reputed to be Odin's actual left eye, sacrificed at Mimir's well in exchange for Mimir's knowledge. It could well have contained Odin's magic within it. Is it not possible that in the energy that accompanied it's destruction, some element of Odin's magic transferred to Harry? That would explain why the two ravens appear to him, almost as familiars would, and why he suddenly has this ability to see the sort of things that were associated with Odin's knowledge."
"Do you think that is a benign transferrence, or something that might be problematic for Harry? Especially that it's happened before?"
"Consider, even the powers he got from Voldemort were not a problem to Harry. The link between them was probably forged at the same time, but that's was a separate process, I believe. So Harry is a Parselmouth – that's just a skill he has that he did not have before. It is neither good nor bad, it just is. Quite likely, this is the same. He now has access to some of the sight that Odin had, both from the ravens now favoring him with the information that they gather every night as they roam the world, and his ability to see the strands of fate at times. Most likely, he will find himself better able to control all this as time passes, to summon the ravens to him when he wishes to see them, and to look for the strands of fate rather than passively wait for them to appear at times. Again, just skills that he did not have before."
Severus took that in. He'd spent a good deal of time himself ruminating over what all this meant, with great concern. He had always associated the Eye of Odin with power in battles, and in the ability to compel and bend others to the will of its holder. At least Albus had found a different direction to consider, one that was a bit less frightening. Harry had absorbed powers before, and was dealing with that, so maybe it happening again was something he'd be able to take in stride. It was certainly better than the thoughts that had been tormenting him!
"Thank you for your insights, Headmaster. Your approach to this is more comforting than the one that immediately occurred to me. I will give this more thought."
"Before you go, Severus, I have something else I'd like to speak to you about." The younger wizard sat back in the chair from which he was about to stand, with curiosity on his face.
"I got an urgent owl from the editor of the Daily Prophet this morning. He states that people in the wizarding world are scared right now, and he feels the need to add a column on practical defensive magical spells."
Severus had heard that before, and as he'd once explained to Miss Granger, the average wizard is utterly useless at defense against anything dark, or perhaps more accurately, at defense against anything at all. With a look of pained annoyance (a look he did particularly well), he responded "That again! Albus, you know as well as I that the people clamoring for this information are the least likely to do anything with it. Most wizards just can't deal with this. You saw what happened in Hogsmeade!"
"I know, I know. However, in these extraordinary times, feeling that they have some control, some ability to remain safe, will in itself make people feel better, and who knows, someone might actually find that they can do something, if they are confronted with a threat. Frankly, I'd rather that we have some input into these articles, to be sure that the Prophet is providing reliable information, rather than have this handled by someone who knows absolutely nothing but presents himself or herself as an expert."
In his mind, Severus clearly saw the face of Guilderoy Lockhart, but he wisely chose not to share that observation.
"I was thinking that this would be something that I might ask Augusta Longbottom to handle. She was an Auror years ago, and is a very practical person."
If Albus was thinking that he was going to object to Mrs. Longbottom taking on his task, insisting that he was better suited, he was wrong. Severus had quite enough to do, thank you very much, and if Albus wanted to scare half the world to tears with the fierce bluntness for which that woman was renowned, that was his call. "I'm sure she'll be an excellent guide to those in need of such assistance."
"Well, we'll see if she is amenable to taking on this task. She asked for an appointment to see me later, as I gather she's chosen not to return to her home for now. Will you be joining Harry in his offices this morning?" Albus asked as the younger wizard stood to take his leave. Severus nodded in response to the question, and took his leave with a curt "Good day, Albus."
As he exited the Headmaster's office, he ran into Professor Sprout, accompanied by a young woman who looked vaguely familiar. He thought her name was Amaranth Ellisford, or at least that's what it had been when she attended Hogwarts. She was a decent enough Potions student, but preferred the ingredients end, and spent more of her time on Herbology. He nodded cordially to the two women as he passed, on his way to check in on Harry.
Professor Sprout re-introduced Amaranth Ellisford Savoy to the Headmaster, who recalled her time as a student instantly and shared some reminiscences with her. "Albus, Mrs. Savoy approached me about starting up a program for the squibs who are new to magic, to acquaint them with our world. We realize that you will be resuming classes next week for the students, and many of the other wizards now residing in the castle will be working on the Ministry efforts to control the damage and restore the muggle world, so we would like to offer some evening programs, after dinner things, very informal."
Amaranth added her own thoughts. "Professors, I had invited one of the squibs to join me for lunch in my tent, as she had never experienced wizard space, and I thought she'd find it interesting. Unfortunately, I summoned one of my house elves when she looked a bit overwhelmed by the experience, and she fainted dead away." Albus nodded – he, like just about everyone else, had heard all about the house elf incident. "I will be staying on at the castle with my two little ones, helping Professor Sprout in the greenhouses, and would be delighted to work up a syllabus of the aspects of the wizarding world that might need some explaining, and identify some speakers."
"Mrs. Savoy, such a generous and kind thing to do! We have some resources that we use when delivering letters to Muggle-borns being invited to Hogwarts; I'm sure Professor Sprout can share those with you. If you wish to arrange for these programs, we most certainly can make one of the classrooms down nearthe Great Hall available, and you can let me know when you plan to commence the program and how often it will run. I'll announce it at lunch and dinner on the day you will begin the class."
Both women were very pleased with the Headmaster's support for this project, and they bustled out deep in conversation about what sort of things were most important to share with the squibs, how to present things, who might be willing to assist. They did not notice the small woman in the odd-looking dress and outrageous hat standing off to the side of the vestibule, admiring the view from one of the windows. Hearing them depart, she turned and made her own entrance into the Headmaster's office.
"Albus, thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice."
"Augusta, it is always a pleasure!" he replied as he escorted her to a chair by the fireplace. "Tea? Lemon drops?" She nodded curtly to both, and as soon as they were brought, she accepted a black tea and took several lemon drops that she placed on her saucer.
"Someday, I must track down whoever makes these for you, Albus. I've never had lemon drops quite as good as the ones you always have on hand." The older man glowed at the praise for his favorite candy. He often felt he was foisting his treasures onto people who at best accepted them to be polite, and he was pleased to find someone as enthusiastic as he was.
Augusta got a steely look in her eye, which piqued Albus' curiosity. "I've been doing a great deal of thinking since the Calling, Albus. I always knew I was a strong witch, and back in my days as an Auror, I could pretty much get myself out of any situation. I was just starting out when Grindelwald was wreaking havoc, shortly before you defeated him. Some very alarming things were going on. I took most of my skills for granted. When my son and his wife became incapable of taking care of my grandson, I thought nothing of retiring from the Auror corps and devoting myself to raising the child. But now, he's getting older and he'll be on his own soon. I don't think I want to return to being an Auror; I'm sure I'm more than capable, but that's a young person's game. But, as I looked around the circle at the Calling and considered the place I occupy in our world, I realized that the time has come for me to step up and do something. "
The two continued a conversation from that point that lasted for over an hour, and two significant subjects were discussed, with satisfactory outcomes agreed to on both. The immediate outcome of the meeting was Albus escorting Mrs. Longbottom over to Harry's office, to introduce her to Hermione Granger.
When Albus asked Augusta to write columns on practical defensive magic for the Daily Prophet, she was pleased to do this, but requested that someone else be assigned to co-author them. Writing was not her strong suit, and she'd been told in the past that her written work was too harsh and blunt. She asked that a talented student assist her, to give the material a more fresh and current tone, more understandable to the Daily Prophet readership. She was quite pleased when Albus suggested Hermione, as Neville had mentioned her several times as one of his and Harry Potter's friends.
As he expected, Albus found Harry, together with Severus, Hermione and Draco Malfoy seated around the large table, each hard at work on their own project. Harry was softly muttering to a charmed quill that transcribed his words to a parchment as he read from an ancient text, Severus had the contents of a large file from the Potions Masters Guild spread out and was reviewing it while taking notes, and Hermione had a stack of parchments and several large books before her that she and Draco were consulting. Mrs. Longbottom was particularly pleased that Harry not only recognized her from the Calling, but commented on having seen her there in front of the others. She was quite reserved in her greeting to Draco Malfoy, considering his family connection to Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione was not cowed by the older woman, a fact that impressed all the men in the room, and seemed quite pleased to be invited partner with her on articles for the newspaper. She actually made room beside her at the table and invited Mrs. Longbottom to join her and Draco in reviewing some of the work she, Ron and Harry had done last year.
To Severus' eyes, Albus looked inordinately please with himself as he hustled back to his office, having deposited Mrs. Longbottom with them.
X X X X X X X X X X
Amaranth was very pleased to find an empty seat next to Petunia Dursley in the Great Hall at lunch. "Oh, Petunia, I'm so glad to see you up and about! I am so sorry my house elf frightened you so! Can you ever forgive me? Are you alright now?"
Somewhat overwhelmed by the younger woman's breathless barrage, Petunia could not get out any kind of response before Amaranth took off again.
"I've just been with Professor Sprout to speak to the Headmaster about starting up an evening program for all of you who are new to magic, to introduce you to the wizarding world and acquaint you with the things that you'll find here. It's very exciting, and I'm sure you'll all benefit from attending. In fact, maybe we can work together this afternoon in the greenhouses and discuss what you think might be most concerning to someone new to our world – that would be very helpful."
At the moment, Petunia's concern was that she was having a hard time holding her fork – her hand hurt every time she took hold of a fork or a spoon. She'd first noticed this right before she was released from the infirmary after she fainted, and she'd asked the nurse (or whatever that woman was) to check to see if she had injured a nerve or something in her fall. While Petunia put no faith at all in that wand waving nonsense that was the way they seem to diagnose problems here, the woman was adamant that she had no injuries to her nervous system from that fall. Given that Petunia's hand felt fine any time she was not trying to hold a fork or spoon, she wasn't quite sure what as going on. She just nodded vaguely at the young witch, who immediately sensed Petunia's discomfort, but misunderstood the reason for her friend's apparent distress.
Speaking much more softly, and with a very sympathetic look, she leaned in. "I know, getting used to the food here might be a challenge. The house elves at Hogwarts have a definite cooking style – very rich and heavy, and if you aren't used to this sort of food, it can take your system a while to adapt. I'm sure it will pass."
As Petunia geared up for a response along the lines that it should surprise no one that non-human creatures could not produce particularly fine cuisine, a belch escaped, to her mortification, earning her a more sympathetic look and a pat on the arm from Amaranth. That also clarified what the young woman meant by her sympathy, making Petunia feel even worse.
Just as Petunia returned to staring at her silverware with a pained expression, a young man wandered by, who apparently was a family friend of Amaranth's and who was immediately invited to join them at the table. "It's been years, Eustace! You're looking well. Tell me, still working at the family firm?" The young man (where on earth did his parents come up with the name "Eustace"?) moved to take the seat to which Amaranth directed him, and Petunia got a good look at him. He was pleasant enough looking, in a haughty way. It was clear that his clothes were expensive, as the tailoring was precise and the fabric sumptuous. If she had to sit with someone in the ridiculous clothing favored by the people here, at least this one clearly spent some money on his.
Amaranth kept up the chatter, informing Petunia that Eustace Landon and her brother were friends from their fencing academy days, and he was a frequent visitor to her childhood home, and that he had gone on to work in the family business, sourcing high-quality potions ingredients. She then proceeded to inform Eustace that Petunia was the aunt of a Hogwarts student who had just learned that she actually had magic herself, and was in the process of learning about the wizarding world.
Eustace noticed that Petunia was having a problem with the silverware, and inquired. He had no explanation for what could cause her discomfort, and the silverware looked fine to him, but he offered a solution. "Some of the old pure-blood wizarding families don't use this sort of silverware at all, they use a utensil that dates back far before this stuff came to fashion." Reaching for a slender knife that was among the utensils in her place setting, he offered it to her. "This is a scramasax, a dagger. It is considered quite polite among many here to spear your food with this, and eat it from the dagger. With a little practice, you can cut meat or larger food items with it, and then just spear the cut bits to eat. You can easily avoid forks altogether, and minimize even your need for a spoon. Just be careful that you don't nick your mouth."
Petunia was immensely relieved to discover that she did not feel pain or discomfort in her hand when she held the dagger, and she thanked the young man profusely for his suggestion. She was intent on mastering this new utensil while the other two prattled on about their respective families, which spared her having to contribute to the conversation, which in turn assuredly spared her the embarrassment of an "episode" if she felt compelled to speak her mind about this new world in which she found herself. It was clear that the young man was quite the name-dropper, just by the way he mentioned names, even though she had no idea who most of those people were. He was thrilled to have met that awful Snape person, Harry's husband, and he also bragged about having met Harry Potter, which seemed to impress Amaranth. Petunia was too busy trying to cut a small piece of brisket with her dagger to offer a comment on that, although she did roll her eyes.
When the meal was over, Eustace took his leave, with a self-important comment about having a meeting with someone Petunia had never heard of. Amaranth eyed Petunia suspiciously, as she had noticed the eye-roll at the mention of Harry Potter and Professor Snape. As they walked down to the greenhouses, she broached that with Petunia.
"I noticed that you rolled your eyes when Eustace mentioned having met Professor Snape and Harry Potter. He does go on sometimes, quite the name-dropper and all. But given his family business, meeting one of the most renowned Potions Masters in the world was surely a thrill for him, and of course, then meeting Harry Potter – just about everyone in the wizarding world would want to meet him. Why did you react as you did when Eustace mentioned them?"
Petunia was really torn. More than anything, she wanted to tell this young woman what abnormal and disgusting freaks those two were, and how Harry paled in comparison with her wonderful Dudley. On the other hand, she knew that any such exposition on her part would be accompanied by a thoroughly embarrassing bout of flatulence. It had mortified her to learn that others were aware of her "problem" and blaming it on the need to adjust to the food served here.
She took a deep breath. She could not help the very sour expression that was on her face, but, by God, she'd try for a neutral response. "Potter is my nephew. We do not get along. I only just met Snape, and that did not go well, either."
There – she said it, and – a small hiccup escaped. Nothing more! Petunia's sour expression changed to one of relief.
"How sad that family members do not get along, Petunia. But he brought you here, didn't you say?"
Another deep breath. "Actually, two men who knew my sister when she attended Hogwarts came to collect me and my family and bring us here. I was the only one awake. That didn't go too well at all." OK. She could do this. She had to be careful, and really not say what she was thinking, but at least she could control herself enough to converse neutrally.
Amaranth wisely chose to drop the subject of Petunia's relationships with everyone she knew who was a wizard, as it appeared all of those interactions had "not gone well," as she kept saying. "So, do you think we should cover the moving paintings and photographs in my class? How about wizard space?"
X X X X X X X X X X
The hour was at hand. It was time for Neville to join his Gram for tea. He did his utmost to subdue the terror within him, and went as directed down to the vestibule of the Great Hall. The formidable Augusta Longbottom was already waiting for him, ignoring the occasional stares of others passing by who looked with alarm at the stuffed vulture perched on her hat.
Neville bent down to kiss her offered cheek. "H'lo, Gram. I hope you weren't waiting long for me." She nodded to him, and a small smile teased at her otherwise stern face. Neville allowed hope to grow – maybe he wasn't in trouble, although he could not imagine why she wanted to see him like this.
Augusta led Neville to a small parlor off the vestibule, one that Neville was pretty sure had not been there before. It was decorated much like the parlor at home – a lumpy couch, some stiff chairs, and a table with a tea set arranged on it, and too many ferns and other plants. She got them seated, and poured the tea. Neville sat quietly, waiting for her to speak, which usually was not a long wait.
"I've made some decisions that I'd like to discuss with you, young man. When I stood in the circle at the Calling, I was both proud and humbled to find myself among such a remarkable group. I felt that perhaps I needed to find a way to contribute to our world, but I wasn't sure what would be appropriate. After these recent events, I believe I know what I should do."
"I was an Auror long ago." Neville did not recall his Gram ever speaking of that, and his immediate reaction to the news was great distress – was she really planning, at her age, and at this time, to go back to such a dangerous job? She caught the look that crossed his face, and added quickly "I've no intention of resuming that job, don't worry."
She took a sip of her tea. "I started my career as an Auror during remarkably dangerous times. The last great dark wizard, Grindelwald, was rising, and wreaking his own brand of havoc on our world, and on the muggle world, as well. He was utterly ruthless, and quite mad. He lacked the cleverness of this current chap, who figured out how to connect his followers to him in a way that let him draw on their power, but even with just his own power to work with, he created mayhem. We needed all our wits about us, and we had to be ready for just about anything, if we had to deal with Grindelwald or his followers. They regularly summoned demons, not the monster Elder Demon that Riddle summoned, mind you; you really do need the linked powers of many wizards to pull that off. But even the smaller ones terrified people, and left wide paths of destruction behind them. It turned out that I was actually very good at banishing or destroying those things. An interesting knack, but there you go. I don't think I've heard of a demon being summoned since Grindelwald, until Riddle did that."
"I thought that Harry used one of his royal spells to banish that, Gram. Can regular wizards really banish demons?"
"Regular wizards can do quite a bit. Not on the scale of what Harry Potter can do, with the King's Banishment, mind, but still, we can do things to keep our world safe. And the stronger among us must step up. I met with Albus Dumbledore this morning and proposed that I stay on at Hogwarts and teach an adjunct course on defensive spells and tactics, to students and adults here and invited guests from other countries. Riddle seems to have rediscovered some of the dark magic that we have not seen for many years, and that many of the younger wizards and witches of today do not know and have never experienced. I do know this magic, and I know how to fight it. It might not be possible for me to lead the fight any longer, but I can train others to do it, and that's what I proposed. Albus agreed."
Neville was very proud of his Gram. Actually, he was always proud of her, even while being intimidated and sometimes downright scared of her, but this was special. She'd clearly been very moved by being among those Called when Harry was recognized, and she'd mentioned that experience several times to him over the last few days. He'd never heard her speak of her days as an Auror before, but he guessed that given what happened to his parents in their roles as Aurors, it was not something she'd be quick to discuss. He'd never realized that she was among the most powerful witches and wizards in the world before, and now to find out that she was among those who fought Grindelwald – that was an even bigger surprise.
"Gram, you're doing the right thing. Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. I'll be out of Hogwarts myself soon, so it's time that you pursued things that mean something to you, and helping the effort in this way is fantastic. I'm proud of you."
The tough old witch had to dab her eyes with a lacy hanky she fished out of the sleeve of her dress. Neville had been her pride and joy since he was born, and especially since she was left to raise him when her son and daughter-in-law were incapacitated by that Lestrange woman. She knew she was not a tender mother-figure to the boy, but she did her best, and she felt so pleased that he was proud of her for what she was doing.
"Albus also asked me to write a column for the Daily Prophet on practical defensive spells and such, and I'll be working with your friend, Hermione Granger. I met her this morning in Mr. Potter's office. She showed me some of the research she did last year, some of the spells she found."
"Yeah, Harry said that she taught him all the royal spells. She had found mention of them in her books, but she and Ron could not make them work, just Harry. It's funny, isn't it, that most purebloods, who've heard all the fairy tales as children, would have dismissed them as legends, but she thought to try them out."
"She is a very bright young woman, and was already working with the Malfoy boy on those old books, looking for other forgotten spells that might be useful today. Her research will help me with my classes, and some of it might be simple enough for Daily Prophet readers, as well. And, Neville, I want you to help me with my classes, too. You will be my teaching assistant."
The terror which had abated with the discussion of his Gram's plans came roaring back. "But, but, Gram – I can't teach! I don't have your power, and I can't possibly - - "
"Nonsense, my boy. You are a Longbottom, and it is time you started stepping up, too. You will do just fine."
[A/N: Thank you to dead feather for the idea of a "squib school" or lectures for the squibs to acquaint them with the magical world.]