Neville's Tour and Story Time
After Harri had everything packed, she and Augusta said goodbye to the two Malfoys. She was excited to go see Neville again. She didn't spend nearly as much time as she would like with him.
She held on tightly to Augusta, who insisted that she called her Aunt Augusta, as they apparited to Longbottom Manor. She stumbled and fell when they landed. She decided that she hated wizarding travel.
"Harri!" She heard Neville say in surprise. She looked up at him with a small smile. She took his offered hand and used his help to stand back up. She hugged him when she was stable.
"It's so good to see you, Neville," she said happily. She pulled away with a small smile. "I'm going to be living with you and your gran!"
"Really? That's amazing! I'm glad that you're away from those horrible muggles," Neville said with a smile. He looked at his gran and asked her, "Can I show Harri around the manor?"
"Of course, but after dinner, we need to discuss both of your training schedules on how to you both to take over your houses," Augusta said seriously. She waved them off to go explore and catch up.
"Do you have multiple houses too? I have six, and I don't know a lick about even one of them," Harri said as she walked with Neville.
"Six is a lot. I've got three myself. Gran will help you understand everything you need to know. She started to whip me into shape before Hogwarts, and we aren't expected to make a debut until fifth year, so we have time," Neville said brightly. He showed her the library and the family hall. A house elf popped in front of them.
"Hello Nifty, how can we help you?" Neville said before introducing the two.
"Nifty is to be Miss Harri personal elf. Nifty is to tell Miss Harri that her bedroom was this one. Miss Harri's trunk is inside," Nifty said with a nod before disappearing.
"Why was I given a house elf?" She asked softly. She pushed open her bedroom door and stepped inside. She had never seen something so lovely. She asked, "Is this all really for me?"
"House elves are to help us with things like tidying and making sure that we are healthy. She'll just do her best to help with your needs. "All of this is what you deserve, Harri."
She touched the canopy bed as she looked around at the room. There was a desk under the window and a wardrobe that had delicate carvings on it. There was a book shelf that went up to the ceiling. She didn't have nearly enough things to fill the room. It was a bit overwhelming to have so much after so little.
"There isn't words to say how much this means to me, Nev," she said softly. She turned to him with a bright smile. She asked, "Do you want to continue the tour?"
Neville smiled and offered her his hand. She took it and closed her bedroom door behind them. She was excited to see the rest of the manor. Neville got the most excited as he showed her the greenhouse. She didn't really understand most of what he was telling her about the plants, but she listened happily anyway.
When dinner came, they sat at the table, and Harri hadn't seen this much food outside of Hogwarts. She asked, "Where do the leftovers go?" softly. She didn't want to offend her hosts this early in her stay, but she didn't want it to go to waste.
"The House Elves eat what they can, and the rest gets fed to our livestock or it goes into the compost," Augusta explained kindly. "None of it goes to waste, I assure you. Now we are going to have you seen by a medwitch tomorrow so we can try and correct some of the damage done to you. I know Gringotts had handled the spells and potions, but we need to start trying to make you feel healthy."
"I've never actually been to a doctor before. I'm not entirely sure how I was allowed to go to school because I've never been vaccinated," Harri said with a thoughtful expression.
"That will be rectified. Your grandparents were good friends of mine, and we lost them due to Dragonpox, and I will be damned if we lost you the same way," Augusta said passionately.
"Can you tell me about them?" Harri asked with bright eyes. She was learning more about her family than she ever thought she would.
"Well, your grandmother Euphemia was a Slytherin. She was the one who really controlled their politics. She was the captain of the dueling club when we were in Hogwarts together. She was the top of her class in defense, and she had wanted to be a teacher when we were little. She never became a teacher because she found love in politics even if she used Fleamont's face for it," Augusta smiled softly as she spoke. "Fleamont, on the other hand, was wild. He was a Gryffindor who lived every day to his fullest. He liked to go on adventures, and one year, I remembered Dryfuss and Fleamont daring each other to swim to the bottom of the lake in February."
"Did Grandpa and Fleamont do it?" Neville asked softly. He looked excited to have more stories about his grandfather. Harri remembered him talking about how his grandfather had passed before he went to Hogwarts.
"Oh, they tried. Me and Ephie found them shivering on the bank, arguing on who got further. They at least had the decency to look ashamed when we cast warming charms on them," Augusta said with a laugh. "I remember when Ephie found out she was pregnant. Frank was almost two at the time, and she flooed over and told me so excitedly. She had always wanted to be a mother, but she and Monty had been struggling to conceive until James. He had the most hair I had ever seen on a newborn. I was surprised that Ephie hadn't had more heartburn."
"Where Frank and dad friends?" Harri asked with a smile. She liked hearing these stories, but it also hurt her heart that she would never know these amazing people.
"Little trouble makers the both of them. They were practically inseparable until Frank went to Hogwarts. They had a relationship like an older brother and a younger brother pair. I remember Frank writing home about how he was afraid James was going to be expelled for yet another prank. James always told the tale like it was all in good fun, but he had a bit of a mean streak. He was raised very spoiled, and it made him a bit of a bully without him realizing it because he thought it was just fun. He had it out for your potions professor the most due to how close he was to Lily," Augusta said. They seemed to have opened a floodgate as Augusta continued, "Now James had loved Liliy since the moment she called him a 'dense toad who only ever had to worry about his daddy's money.' It led to him targeting young Severus, who was Lily's best friend. They grew up together in Worcester, and they were quite close."
"So he hates me because I look like my dad?" Harri asked, confused. "That makes no sense. If he had truly loved my mother, he would have treated me decently because I doubt she would have stood for the way he treated me."
"He is a bitter and hateful man, and if he continues to bully the two of you, I will take it to the Board of Governors. Now we do need to talk about your schedule for your training. We have a lot to cover, and Neville, this will be a review for the most part for you, but it'll be good for both of you. I don't want to take all day, but in the morning after breakfast and until lunch, we will be going over everything from etiquette to politics," Augusta said firmly.
"Will we be going over dancing again?" Neville asked nervously. It looked like he hadn't had the best experience in his first dancing lesson. Harri, also looked nervous about dancing as she had never danced before.
"You will be having dancing lessons again," Augusta confirmed. She laughed when the kids groaned but showed no remorse.