Chapter 246 Lonely Heroes
Evan surveyed the room, which seemed to be a permanent residence for its occupants.
They had far more personal items around their beds than in Ron's room; the wall behind Gilderoy's headboard, for instance, was plastered with images of himself, in all of which he smiled broadly and waved at his admirers.
Many of them he had signed to himself in childlike, disjointed handwriting. As the Healer settled him into his chair, Gilderoy pulled another stack of photographs towards him, grabbed a pen, and started frantically signing them.
"You can put those in envelopes," he said to Hermione, tossing her the signed photos as he finished them, much like he used to do at school. "I haven't been forgotten, you know, I still receive a great deal of fan mail... Gladys Gudgeon writes weekly... I just wish to know why..."
He paused, looking slightly perplexed, then smiled again and returned to signing with renewed vigor. "I suspect it is simply due to my good looks..."
In a distance, Evan noticed two more patients in the room besides Lockhart, a man and a woman, lying in a corner of the room, staring at the ceiling. They muttered to themselves and seemed entirely unaware of their surroundings.
"That's the Longbottom couple!" Upon noticing Evan's gaze, the Healer explained, "They have been here for a very, very long time, over a decade. They were here before I started working."
Evan was astonished. They turned out to be Neville's parents!
They used to be Aurors and also members of the original Order of the Phoenix. During the first wizarding war, they bravely fought against Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
Following Voldemort's defeat and escape, just as people thought the war was over, they were captured by Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr., and other Death Eaters. They tortured them mercilessly with the Cruciatus Curse, hoping to extract information about Voldemort and where he might have fled.
Eventually, they were tortured into insanity, unable to recognize their family or know who they were, and were sent for treatment at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Undoubtedly, they were both heroes, but sadly, their fate was incredibly tragic.
"You just mentioned the Longbottoms," Hermione said, surprised, as if she had noticed something.
"Yes, they are Mr. Frank and Mrs. Alice Longbottom," the Healer said. "Their mothers, Mrs. Longbottom, used to come and visit them every day, and there was a chubby-faced boy. I remember his name..."
"Neville!" Hermione exclaimed.
At the same time, the room's door opened once more.
Evan saw Neville enter, looking worried, followed by an imposing elderly woman dressed in a long green dress, a tattered fox fur, and a pointed hat adorned with what was undeniably a stuffed vulture.
"Evan, Hermione, you, you..." Neville stammered and faltered, as if a bullet had grazed him.
He looked extremely surprised, then horrified. Neville glanced at Evan and Hermione, and then at his parents lying in the back beds. Obviously, he did not want his classmates to know about his parents.
The atmosphere was so awkward that Evan wished he hadn't come to this room.
"Friends of yours, Neville, dear?" Neville's grandmother said kindly, approaching Evan and Hermione.
Neville seemed as though he would rather be anywhere else in the world. A dull purple flush spread across his chubby face, and he avoided making eye contact with any of them.
"Are you Evan Mason?" his grandmother said, scrutinizing Evan closely and extending a wrinkled, claw-like hand for him to shake. "Yes, I know you. I saw your pictures and read your stories in the newspaper the other day. They said you and Harry Potter saved the son of the Blacks. You did a splendid job!"
Mrs. Longbottom caressed Evan's shoulder and directed her eyes toward Hermione, who was by her side.
"As for you, you must be Hermione Granger," she shook Hermione's hand and continued, "Neville has spoken highly of you. You've gotten him out of some predicaments, haven't you? He speaks highly of both of you."
Neville didn't look at them, instead staring down at his feet, his face steadily flushing.
"Neville is a good boy!" Mrs. Longbottom remarked, casting a critically evaluative glance from her somewhat bony nose at Neville, "but sadly, he hasn't inherited his father's talent, I must say..."
She turned her head towards the two beds at the end of the room, causing the stuffed vulture on her hat to tremble alarmingly.
Evan and Hermione remained silent, gazing at the two figures lying in the beds, unsure of what to say.
"Haven't you told your friends about your parents, Neville?" Mrs. Longbottom asked abruptly, sensing the tension in the air.
Neville took a deep breath, gazed at the ceiling, and shook his head.
Unconsciously, Hermione gently took Evan's hand. A deep sadness etched her features. She was concerned about Neville but unsure of what to do.
"Well, there's nothing to be ashamed of!" Mrs. Longbottom exclaimed in frustration. "You should be proud, Neville, proud! They didn't sacrifice their health and sanity for their only son to be ashamed of them, you know?!"
"I'm not ashamed," murmured Neville very softly, still avoiding looking at Evan and Hermione.
"The way you're behaving is very odd!" Mrs. Longbottom reprimanded, then turned to Evan and Hermione with pride, "My son and his wife were tortured into madness by the followers of 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'. They were Aurors, you know, highly respected within the magical community."
Hermione covered her mouth with her small hand and gazed back at Neville's parents.
At the sound, Neville's mother sat up in bed. Her face was haggard, her eyes disproportionately large, and her hair white, sparse, and lifeless. She did not seem willing to speak, or perhaps unable to, just lying in bed motioning towards Neville.
As he watched her movements, the Healer hurried to greet her.
"Goodness!" Mrs. Longbottom sighed, glanced at Neville once more, and staggered towards her son and daughter-in-law.
On her aged back, there was a profound loneliness.
Neville stood still. He took a deep breath, raised his head sharply, and gazed at Evan and Hermione defiantly, as if daring them to laugh.
Evan thought he had never encountered anything less amusing in his life. His eyes shifted elsewhere, avoiding Neville's gaze.
Beside him, tears danced in Hermione's eyes, watching Neville with concern.
Both were unsure how they eventually exited the room. In the hallway, Hermione, looking teary, murmured, "I never knew..."
Evan remained silent, his heart equally burdened.
Neville's life mirrored Harry's in some ways, yet was even more woeful. While he could often visit his parents, they couldn't recognize him. He didn't dare to mention them to his friends.
For Neville, this was an endless torment.
Evan sighed, once again realizing the cruelty of the Death Eaters and the brutality of war.
Facing a perilous future, enhancing their strength as much as possible was their only hope.