Summary of the last chapter:

Harry and the Grangers go to the bookstore where their new DADA teacher has a book signing. Harry sees Ginny for the first time and Arthur and Lucius get into a fight. Neville arrives with his Grandmother Augusta and the families continue their shopping together. Afterwards, Neville and Harry leave with the Grangers to stay with them for a few days.

A/N: Dreamthrower, who is Australian, corrected a missing apostrophe in 'McDonald's' and told me that Australians often refer to it as 'Maccas'. Fun fact: Germans do, too, but I can't remember ever hearing this in the States (please correct me if I'm wrong!). Now I'm curious: Is it just Germans and Australians calling it so? That would be a funny coincidence! What about you Brits? What about you people in other parts of the world?

Of Muggles and Magic

Neville was very excited and a bit nervous about his first prolonged visit to the Muggle world. As he had never met a Muggleborn before Hermione, and the Longbottoms had no Muggle acquaintances, it was as strange and foreign to him as the wizarding world had been for Hermione and Harry.

His eyes were glued to the car window throughout their drive from London to the suburb where the Grangers lived. Harry was equally excited, but he was better at hiding it. The Dursleys had never taken him anywhere and he had never had a sleepover before. Most of his and Tom's knowledge of the world outside of Little Whinging came from TV (at Mrs. Figg's house), and from what they had learned at school or from books.

The Grangers lived in a much posher neighbourhood than the Dursleys. Their house was a spacious, middle class home with a verdant back garden bordering on a park. There was a guest bedroom waiting for Harry and Neville to share.

As it was late to be cooking, the Grangers decided that they would order pizza. Neither Harry nor Neville had eaten pizza before but immensely enjoyed the experience. After dinner, the children played a round of Cluedo with the Grangers, and Neville, after having seen the cabinet full of board games, decided that the wizarding world was lacking in variety when it came to games.

"We have Exploding Snap, which is a card game, but Grandma never wants to play, because you have to be really quick or the cards explode in your hands. Then there's Gobstones, but that's not cool, and if you lose, the marbles squirt Stinksap at you."

"Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant," said Mrs. Granger, clearly not convinced of the concept either. "Our games do not tend to punish us physically if we lose. If you find a game you all like, we can buy one extra that you can take to Hogwarts with you."

The idea met the kids' approval, so they spent many hours at the Grangers' trying out different board and card games to decide which ones they liked best. Their choice finally fell on Cluedo and Labyrinth.

The next day, Hermione took the boys clothes shopping. Harry needed to restock his entire wardrobe anyway, given that everything was still in his trunk at the Dursley's. It was great to have Hermione with them, although she and Tom were not always in agreement on what was cool. Harry decided to put his trust in Hermione in this, as Tom's fashion knowledge was, most likely, a little outdated.

Neville, who had been handed a rather large sum of Muggle money which his Grandma had exchanged at Gringotts for him, was persuaded to invest in some modern Muggle clothes as well. A lot of kids wore them in their free time even in Hogwarts, though not so much in Slytherin. If there were any Muggleborns in Slytherin (Harry didn't know of any), they probably adapted to pureblood customs rather than the other way round.

One evening, Hermione took them to the cinema to watch 'Batman Returns', and the friends, including Tom, had a lot of fun pointing out similarities between Professor Snape and Batman they thought to have discovered. Given his unexpected riches (the exchange rate for gold galleons to pounds had been rather favourable), Neville bought a huge selection of the Muggle treats that usually went with watching films on the big screen: all kinds of flavoured popcorn, Nachos, crisps and soft drinks, and Tom once more regretted that he couldn't fully experience the new flavours, as smelling things was probably very different from actually tasting them.

Other fun activities comprised bowling with Hermione's parents and a visit to an open air theatre with dinner at a restaurant beforehand. As Hermione thought it was an essential example of Muggle culture, the kids also went to McDonald's for lunch when the Grangers had to work, which Harry and Neville loved, but Tom found totally disgusting (and he didn't even need to taste this poor imitation of a sandwich to know that). The Grangers also showed their guests around in their dentistry practice and explained to Neville what dentists did. That, for once, was something Neville didn't wish they had in the wizarding world, too. It sounded too much like inflicting torture without magic.

What he and Harry did enjoy very much was the TV. Since they had so many other fun things to do, they only got round to watching it a little before or after dinner. It was so much more entertaining than speaking portraits!

All in all, it had been a wonderful three days, and Neville was sad when he had to leave.

"Don't worry, Neville! You can all come back next year at the latest, and we can repeat what you liked most or try out new things."

"I would like you to come to my home, too, but I'm afraid it will be boring compared to this. There isn't that much to do. I think the wizarding world is just far less exciting."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Neville, there are ghosts and three-headed dogs, a castle full of mystery rooms, floating trunks and biting books, potions and sentient plants. Moving staircases, sweets that turn you blue, talking hats and flying brooms … I can't even list all the insane things we have seen since we came into the wizarding world! It's anything but boring!"

"Yeah, Hogwarts is cool," agreed Neville, "but my home really isn't. Anyway, if you guys want to come and visit, you're welcome!"

Cheered up by the prospect that he might be able to visit the Grangers again next summer, Neville once more hopped into the car and enjoyed the ride back to central London. They parked the car in a garage near Holborn and soon found the large, old-fashioned, red-brick department store called Purge & Dowse Ltd. in the slightly scruffy area between High Holborn and New Oxford Street.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Mr. Granger asked his daughter sceptically. To their left was an electrical appliance store, but the building they were standing in front of had a 'closed for refurbishment' sign on the rusty door.

"That's where Mrs. Longbottom took me," Hermione confirmed, looking at the building in front of her. "St. Mungo's is supposed to be hidden."

"Well, the disguise is perfect. I would never have paid this store a second glance," said Mrs. Granger. "How do we get in?"

"Easy," said Neville and turned to the shop window, addressing a chipped dummy that had its wig on askew and was modelling fashion at least ten years out of date. "Hello there! We're here to see Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom please." The dummy gave an almost imperceptible nod, and Neville told Harry and the Grangers to lean against the window, just like they did with the barrier to platform 9 ¾.

It did the trick. They emerged in the weirdest reception room they had ever set foot in. Most of the wizards or witches waiting to be attended to were suffering from severe disfigurements: There was a kid that had a large trunk for a nose and was trumpeting loudly every other minute. He didn't seem to be in distress though, different from his mother, who repeatedly admonished him to "stop that infernal noise".

A man was sitting backwards on a chair so he could face the room instead of the wall: His head sat on his neck the wrong way round. It was a most disturbing sight.

A woman in a lime-green uniform with an emblem of a bone crossing a wand on her chest was standing in front of a young man who had his scarf pulled up to his mouth and refused to show his chin, that, according to him, sported an anatomic anomaly after his girlfriend had hexed him.

"Good Sir, in order to know how to treat it, I will have to see it!" the nurse (or doctor?) admonished.

"I will show you, but not here!" said the man in panic. "There are children present!"

The nurse sighed and begged him to follow her into a nearby room, sidestepping a witch who was hopping around the waiting room as if she was imitating a bunny, but looking quite exhausted from it.

It was, all in all, as if they had stepped into a madhouse.

Neville didn't seem to find any of it worth his notice. He walked up to the reception desk and told the witch that he and his friends were here to visit the Longbottoms in the Janus-Thickery-Ward.

"Of course, dear. You go right up. Your grandmother's waiting for you."

The Grangers and Harry followed Neville through the main corridor and up a rather rickety staircase to the fourth floor. Behind the door that was unlocked for them by a friendly nurse lay a huge, brightly lit room with two rows of beds. Curtains on either side could be drawn to give the occupants some privacy. The many personal decorations on the wall behind each bed made it obvious that these were long-term patients.

Neville headed straight to the end of the room, where curtains separated two beds from the rest of the room.

Augusta was sitting in a rocking chair beside a bed in which a thin, elderly looking wizard sat staring into nothingness. An equally thin woman in a bathrobe who looked much older than she should be given that she was Neville's mum, was aimlessly shuffling around.

Harry and Tom had never seen anything so sad in their lives.

Augusta stood up and greeted them all, introducing them to her son and daughter-in-law as if they noticed what was going on around them. "These are Neville's friends in Hogwarts," she explained to them. "Look, Alice, that's your godson, Harry Potter! Isn't it just charming that he and Neville are best friends now?"

She had already explained to the Grangers why the Longbottoms were in the state they were in, so they knew what to expect. As medical professionals, they were very interested in the diagnosis and the prognosis the Longbottoms had been given.

"Have you ever thought of trying Muggle means?" asked Mrs. Granger thoughtfully. "There has been quite some progress in diagnostics in recent years. An MRT, for instance, is an examination procedure that enables us to obtain images of the inside of the brain. It might be helpful to do a scan and find out which areas are damaged and if they could be stimulated to heal themselves to some degree."

Mr. Granger nodded in agreement with his wife and added: "Especially in neurosciences, doctors have discovered many new ways of treatment. It's an area where a lot of research is being done, as dementia is affecting an ever ageing population."

"I really don't mean to sound patronizing," replied Aunt Augusta, "but I hardly think that Muggle medicine could do anything that our healers with all their magic can't."

"I'm not sure, grandma," said Neville doubtfully. "Wizards don't have cinemas, they don't have anything like TV, cars, bowling centres or the Tube. Really, I've seen stuff that I would call magic, except wizards claim it isn't, and Muggles call it technology. Did you know that Muggles actually flew to the moon – decades ago? I don't think we'd manage with flying carpets or brooms. There's no air up there."

Augusta looked at him in surprise. "Is that so? It sounds like you had a really interesting week."

"It was awesome, grandma! And Hermione's parents are healers, too, only for teeth. And they said that doctors do not always cut people open, that's only the sturgeons."

"Surgeons," corrected Dr. Granger, laughing. "But yes, that's correct. A lot of illnesses – especially those affecting the mind and nervous system – have non-invasive treatments. Therapy usually comprises medication. I think speaking with a neurologist is worth a shot. There must be quite a few Muggles who have magical children and are aware of magic. Is there no way to find out if there are doctors among them?"

"I will think about it," said Augusta. "Unfortunately, the contact between Muggle parents and wizarding parents is practically zero."

"I noticed that, and I really think it's a shame. Navigating in a world that's totally alien for us isn't easy. Having a network would definitely help, and it might even be advantageous for wizards and witches."

Aunt Augusta looked thoughtful. "You're raising a very good point - one I've never thought about. Maybe together, we can start working on it. Do you accept owls?"

Dr. Granger assured her that they were used to receiving mail by owl since Hermione often wrote them. Thanks to the park behind their house, the bird hadn't attracted too much suspicion so far.

"Then we will stay in contact. Thank you so much for having Neville over, Mr. and Mrs. Granger! He obviously very much enjoyed his stay and seems to have learned many new things. And thank you also for bringing him here despite the circumstances."

"It was a pleasure having him over, Mrs. Longbottom. Your grandson is a fine young man with impeccable manners and a very kind heart. He's welcome to visit again any time."

Neville's ears turned red at the praise. He, too thanked the Grangers, and they all said their good-byes.

Soon, Harry and the Grangers were back out in the Muggle world, heading for their car. The ride back home was considerably more subdued, as it was hard to forget what they had seen. Harry at least had accepted the fact that he had to grow up without parents. Neville didn't have that kind of closure. In a way, it was a more tragic fate than being an orphan.

A/N: This is the Grangers' house from the movies. It's not at 8 Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, which is supposedly their address, as revealed on Hermione's Hogwarts acceptance letter on an Instagram post by Wizardingworld. No idea if we should consider it canon, but I went with it. And here's an article about the location of St. Mungos if you're interested. (Sorry, the links I put in here were deleted. It's not possible to post links on this website.)

To Dreamthrower: Yes, I took the inspiration of the man's embarrassing condition from "At the Toss of a Coin". It probably sounded familiar to you. :)