One Wednesday night, Neville had the evening off. On a whim, he walked into Hogsmeade to pick up a few things. He stopped by Honeydukes to restock on his favorite treats and picked up some fudge for Ellie. Instead of walking straight back to the castle, he turned down the alley behind the Three Broomsticks, climbed the stairs and knocked on Ellie's door. .
Ellie opened it.
"Neville, what a pleasant surprise. I was just about to call you," said Ellie as she gave him a hug. He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek.
"I had a to pick up a few things in Hogsmeade, so I thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat."
As she broke the hug, he noticed she looked a little pale, and one of her eyes drifted slightly outward. "Are you ok?"
"Would you be ok with eating here tonight? I've got a bit of a headache, a ton of papers to grade, and I've just put on noodles for spaghetti."
"Are you sure you are ok? You look a little pale."
"I'll be fine."
"Saying you'll be fine" implies you aren't. Is there anything I can do?"
"It means I'll be fine. I've just taken some meds and when they kick in- I'll be great."
"If you really want to help, you can help me mark papers."
"What's that beeping sound?"
"It's the timer. I'll add some extra noodles. I think I've got some salad in the fridge."
"Is there anything that I can do help."
"You can put the salad together," Ellie pulled out a bag of salad greens, a bottle of dressing and bowl.
"Just put the salad in the bowl. I'm not sure what kind of dressing you like- I've got balsamic and bleu cheese."
"So, I have a question- do wizards cook or can you just wave your magic wand and conjure up a meal?"
"Well, food is one of the few things you can't do that with. You can use magic to make more of something, but you can't conjure it out of nothing. I wish you could. You can use it to cut vegetables, to start a fire, to boil water, but you can't make food appear out of nowhere. I learned that the hard way during my last year at Hogwarts. It's how I got to know Aberforth so well. It also how I learned to cook."
"So, if you are making something and realize you don't have enough onions or flour, you can use magic to make more."
"Yes. That would be very useful. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to change what I was making or run to the store to get one ingredient."
"If you needed more onions, you could wave your wand and get them, but if you had no peppers, you'd still be going to the store."
"So, we're not that different," said Ellie
"True and food is a great equalizer," said Neville.
"I think the meat and noodles are ready." Ellie put noodles and sauce on each plate, handed one to Neville.
"What do you want to drink? I have water, lemonade, diet coke."
"I'll take Diet Coke."
"Let me bless the food," said Ellie. "O lord, bless these gifts to our use, us to thy service, and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others."
"Oh boy. I should have asked if wizards say grace."
"Don't worry. We do."
"So you aren't in league with the devil?"
"No, whatever gave you that idea."
"Well, in all the stories, especially the witch trials, witches are always accused of being in league with the devil. They're never portrayed as Christian."
"I can assure you that, no, the magical world isn't league with the devil. In fact, I know of a good many wizards and witches who at, the very least, nominally Christian. The magical world did resist Christianity for a while, but so did muggles. It is one of those things muggles make up about people or groups that scare them. It's much easier to hate a group when you are scared of them than it is to try and understand them."
"Interesting. I wonder what other tropes are true? Wat about animals- in so many of the stories, witches can either talk to animals or communicate with them. Is any of that true."
"Well, some do manage to communicate with pets, but not in the way you'd think. We can't hold conversations with them. There's also the fact that animals just tend to be drawn to us- cats, rats, owls, and dogs are all popular pets in the wizarding world.
"What do owls do?
"They are the most popular- they can carry messages from one place to another. Heck, the wizard post is half based on Owls. They are smart birds."
"So what other tropes are true? In the stories, you always hear about evil witches or wizards trying to gain power and manipulating the king at court. Is that true?"
"I think most kings and queens had a few magicians on staff. Some royals, well many in the middle ages, were purported to be magical themselves. However, over time, the two worlds didn't work well together and so they split- the Ministry of Magic governs magic in Britain, while muggles are governed by the Prime Minister.
"But the prime minister isn't head of State- the Qu, King is."
"The King is the head of the magical state as well. It's the one governing body that both sides agree on."
A ping interrupted the conversation. Ellie opened her phone.
Suddenly, her expression changed. "Ugg!.
"What's the matter? Everything ok?"
"It's just an email from my dad about the big meeting at Christmas. He's really turning up the pressure. And this is not helping the head."
"What's the problem?"
"When I went into education, I made a deal with my family. I'd teach for five years and then consider coming back to hospitality. It's only been three and he is turning up the pressure for me to come back. Hospitality is a great industry, I just like teaching better.
"Have you tried telling him that?"
"Numerous times. I've helped when I can. But in the last year, it seems like my parents are really turning up the pressure. It isn't just me, either. Dad's also been turning up the heat on my brother, David. David's reading law at Cambridge. He wants to start his own practice, but now Dad wants him to be house counsel. Will, my other brother, does work for the firm. He's supposed to go overseas to head up the American division, but Dad's micromanaging that, too."
"Is the business doing well?"
"Yes. The business is doing quite well. We're actually growing. I think something really strange is going on. Dad's never been like this. It's gotten steadily worse since Uncle Jamie and Nathaniel died."
"In that case, there's only one thing you can do- go home at Christmas and find out."
"Will you come with me?"
"Yes, of course, I will." Neville couldn't help breaking into a smile. For the first time in years, he'd get to experience a family Christmas- away from Hogwarts, with a girl he loved.
Ellie jumped up and hugged him. He noticed there were tears in her eyes.
"Why are you crying?"
"It's just everything that is going on and my head is kind of hurting."
"It's ok," said Neville holding her a little tighter. "I'll be happy to go with you."
"I'm sorry," said Ellie.
"For what?"
"For breaking down like this?"
"There's no reason to be sorry. What are friends for? Honestly, if you can't fall apart in front of friends, then get new friends."
"Why do I feel like you've given that lecture to students?"
"Because I have and I'll wager that you have, too. What about this headache? I might have something that could help."
"Don't tell me, you just wave your magic wand, and it goes away," said Ellie.
"Not exactly, but this wiggenweld potion might help. There's also Decarrow potion, but that'll knock you out."
"If g-g-grades ww-w-ern't due, DAMN IT.
"What wrong?"
"M-m-my s-speech is screwing up. I hate it when this happens. There's no way I'll get these done."
"Calm down. If it is just grading papers, I can do that. Where's the answer key? Neville then pulled a small vial out of his pocket. This is Wiggenweld potion- it's basically the wizarding world's answer to minor pain. It should help."
"At this point, I'll try just about anything."
Neville went to the kitchen and found a small glass and measured out a dose of wiggenweld. He also took a cookie and then handed both to Ellie.
"It doesn't taste too bad, but believe me, you'll want a chaser of some sort," said Neville.
Ellie drank it.
"Now, where are the papers you need to mark?
"D-d- y-y-ou want spelling or history?"
"I'll take spelling," said Neville.
She handed him the answer key and he began grading.
"Damn it," said Ellie.
"What's up. It's this bloody headache."
Neville moved closer to her and put his arm around her- he could see tears starting to well in her eyes. He simply held her. After a while she put her head in his lap.
"It's ok. Just rest. I'll grade these vocabulary tests," said Neville, stroking her hair.
As he graded the quizzes, he reflected on the differences between muggle and magical education. In the magical world, spell work involved movement, incantation, and energy. In the muggle world, spelling just meant vocabulary. Once he finished marking the vocabulary tests, he picked up the history quizzes.
Once he finished with the spelling tests, he decided to pick up the history quiz. The unit was on the Norman Conquest. He opened the book- just to see what, if anything was different. William won the battle and there was a brief mention of the Battle of Stamford Bridge, but no mention of the wizarding world's noble heroes- Hedwig the Bold and Aethelflaed the third. If Athelflead hadn't been killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, things might have been different. Hedwig the Bold was able to use some magic to get King Harold and his army down to Hastings, but she was not as brilliant as Aethelflaed. She'd fought wand to want with Carloman the Mighty but died trying to save the king. The arrow in King Harold's eye doomed the country, and English magic to Norman Conquest. The Normans had tried to stamp out English magic, but soon realized that they couldn't. They also quickly learned that British magic was actually superior to continental magic. In a funny way, Hogwarts was located in Scotland because of the conquest- it was much easier to hide magic in Scotland than in England. Most of the students did well on the quiz, though a few clearly had trouble with dates. His thoughts were interrupted by a small snore from Ellie.
He checked the time- 9:30. He pulled out his wand and accio'd a small black communication book. Communication books were the wizarding world's answer to texting- you wrote down what you wanted to say, and it appeared in the book of a friend. He would have texted Evan, but the signal inside the castle was horrendous. "I'm with Ellie. I'll be back in the morning. Cover for me." Within minutes, a reply appeared- Ok. But you owe me. He stroked Ellie's hair and burrowed a little closer to him. His arm fell asleep, but he wouldn't move for anything. He'd never felt this way before. He'd held plenty of hands during what he called the "reign of terror" or his last year at Hogwarts. This feeling didn't come close. He loved Ellie- with the kind of love that poets write about, and singers sing about. They'd only been together a few months, but Neville couldn't envision his future without her. Ginger, Ellie's dog, came over to him and started walking in circles, her signal that she needed to go out. Neville didn't want to wake Ellie, nor did he want to ignore Ginger. He took his wand out of his pocket, pointed it at Ellie and said "Wingardium leviosa. Ellie floated up into the air. Neville got underneath her-putting his hand underneath her shoulders and knees. He quietly carried her into the bedroom, pulled back the covers, and placed Ellie on the bed. He grabbed Ginger's leash and took her out.
He returned to find Ellie sitting up in bed, looking a little confused.
"Where did you go? How did I get here?"
"I carried you in here when Ginger started whining to go out. How's the headache?"
"It's a little better."
"Oh, and I finished marking the vocabulary quizzes and started on the history ones."
"Have I told you that you're an amazing boyfriend?"
"No, and that the first time you've called me boyfriend."
"Is that ok?"
"Of course it is," said Neville, smiling. Ellie laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Your face. You lit up like a Christmas tree!"
"Well, that's not a bad thing," said Neville.
"Will you stay with me tonight?"
"Me too," said Neville.
"Stay with me tonight."
"Of course I will. I already told Evan to cover for me. Fortunately, I don't have dorm duty tonight."
"I have a pair of Will's old sweatpants in the bottom drawer."
Neville opened the dresser drawer, found the pair of sweats, and put them on. They were a little big, but they fit. He got in bed next to Ellie. He kissed her back and fireworks nearly went off in his head. Suddenly, Ginger jumped on the bed, trying to get between them.
"Ginger, stop being annoying," said Ellie.
"It's ok," said Neville.
"Well, you are in her spot- she usually sleeps on the bed with me."
"There's plenty of room," said Neville.
"Ginger, you're very lucky that Neville likes you- or you'd be on the floor."
The dog finally settled at their feet. Ellie put her head on Neville's chest and used his arm as a pillow. Within minutes, she fell asleep. Neville focused his mind on trying to remember this moment- he'd never felt like this. He'd never held anyone like this. He'd never been happier in his life. He couldn't stop smiling. He picked his head up, kissed the top of Ellie's head, and then fell asleep.