Revelation part 2
Will panicked seeing her friend fainting, she barely managed to slow his fall so he wouldn’t hurt his head. For a moment she didn’t know what to do, as much as she hated to admit it Will as generally the one being unconscious, not the other way around. She couldn’t help the feeling of guilt, maybe she shouldn’t have told Neville, he had nothing to do with her problems and he shouldn’t be drag into the mess that was her life for her selfish wish.
Honestly, she didn’t to involve other people, this was her problem after all, but in a desperate moment she had gone to the twins and she didn’t regret it per say but she couldn't help the guilt that was eating her, like every time she caught the worry her friend tried to hide for her sake. Will hated being that powerless, that useless, she hated that the Dursley had been right all along: she was just a little girl who couldn’t do anything and ruined everything for those around her….
How could she ask Neville to put himself in this situation? How could she drag anyone else in this mess? She would tell Neville to forget what she said, and she would not involve Fred and George any more than this! They had other thing to do than having to deal with a problem magnet like her! She would...
“Ugh…” Will was brought back to the present by a groan . She watched her friend worriedly, as he woke up, stopping him when he immediately tried to get up.
“Be careful, you just fainted…” He didn’t answer, looking at her, seeming a little lost. He took a deep breath before sitting with his back on the wall. “Look, Nev, I’m sorry, forget what I said, I…I shouldn’t have brought my problems to you. I know you don’t like all these things that happen around me all the time. Don’t worry, I’ll-”
“Did I ever tell you about my parents?” He interrupted her. It was Will’s turn to look confuse, what did his parents had to do with the situation? She knew the boy lived with his grandmother so she assumed something must have happened to them, but Neville never talked about them, and she hadn’t wanted to push the -surely difficult- subject. She shook her head in response.
“My Gran… she doesn’t like to talk about it, but she told me once, that my parents went to school with yours. Dad was a little older, but Mom…she was apparently your mom dormmate, her best friend.” Will didn’t dare interrupt him as she desperately wanted to hear any new information about her parents. “My parents were both Aurors, and they fought in the war alongside yours, and after…after That Night, they wanted you to come live with us.”
“What happened?” She asked in a whisper. She could feel her eyes stinging, but she stubbornly refused to let herself cry, it wasn’t about her right now.
Neville let a shaky breath before picking up his story. “Sometimes after His defeat, B-Bellatrix Lestrange and two other Death Eater came to our house, they used the Cruciatus curse on my parents for so long that their mind broke… It just broke…”
Will couldn’t take the pain in his voice anymore, slowly she reached out to her friend and engulf him in a gentle hug, tucking his head in her shoulder. She tried to remember how Fred, George and even Sirius felt like, trying to create the same feeling of comfort; she probably wasn’t as talented as them, but it seemed enough for Neville if his arms tightening around her, was an indication. For a moment, they both stayed like that, two orphans sharing the same overwhelming pain, desperately clinging to each other as if they would fall apart the moment they let go, mourning for the family that was taken from them.
She didn’t know how long it was before they let go and Neville talked again, his voice hoarse. “Gran told me that Mom was your godmother, and that your mom was mine. That’s one of the reasons why you were supposed to come live with us. We…we were supposed to grow up like siblings, so if there’s anything you need, you can count on me!” His determination created a great contrast with his eyes, red from tears, and the stains on his cheeks.
“I…I appreciate it Nev, more than you can imagine, but it’s more trouble than it’s worth.”
“You told me you never learned anything about you Family, so you don’t know it yet; but the Longbottom Family and the Potter Family have been allied for generations! In time of conflict and in times of peace, on a political scene or a battlefield, we stand together!”
Will could feel the weight of each of his words, she could feel the promise behind them, a promise of loyalty and support, the promise of an alliance; an oath older than her, older than them. And she responded more by instinct than anything.
“We stand together” She agreed, nodding her head, relieved, he sighed, breaking the precedent tension.
Will felt both relieved and more guilty to burden Neville like that, but if they were really to do this there were one more important information, he should have.
“So, there’s something else you should know. Remember that night in first year...”
Neville didn’t know how to feel about Voldemort being well…not as dead as he was supposed to be. He had needed a bit of time to think about everything Will had told him. She clearly had been worried he would freak out or faint again, but Neville was the first surprise to see that he hadn’t panicked as much as he would normally. Maybe because it didn’t feel real for him yet, not that he didn’t believe Will, but the news of Dumbledore actions, or his inaction really, had been much harder to accept.
After parting with her, he had found refuge in the green house, nothing could calm him down like being surrounded and taking care of plants. Mrs. Sprout had given Neville access to the green houses whenever he wanted thanks to him helping with the mandrakes the year before.
More importantly, Neville didn’t know how to feel about everything he had just learn, but he was sure of one thing, Will would need all the help she could get. He had been sincere when he told Will he would be there for her. He knew he was nowhere as powerful or smart as his parents, that he was a big disappointment to his Gran, but if there one thing she couldn’t reproach him; it was being negligent of his duty. He had always been diligent in his lessons as the heir of the Longbottom. And it was precisely what would be of help to his godsister.
He couldn’t believe how much had been hidden from her, honestly what was the headmaster thinking. It was a serious matter to try to interfere in the Noble Houses affair, not only that, but the man had managed to keep her completely isolated from their world. The fact that she never received anything, letter, or gift, was proof enough that something was wrong. But as wrong as it was, Nevill could help the relief he had felt knowing that she hadn’t ignored his letter.
It was during one of his lessons, that Neville, 8 years-old had learn of his link to the famous Girl-Who-Lived, he had been so happy. Him, the almost-squib, was the god sibling of The Will Potter! He had hoped that maybe, she wouldn’t care much that he wasn’t strong like his father, or that she could even help him train his magic, and so he had sent her a letter. A day had passed, then three, then a week, and another, but no response. He had been devastated, thinking that she probably didn’t want anything to do with him.
It was also why he had been hesitant to approach her again, arriving at Hogwarts, but to his surprised she had acted like she didn’t knew him at all. Neville had thought that maybe she had forgotten about the letter; turns out she had never even received it. He couldn’t believe how ignorant of everything she was…
He was so lost in his thoughts; he didn’t hear another person entering until last minute “It’s good to know that you’re still alive after being kidnapped. You almost had me worried for a moment.”
“Merlin, Theo, don’t do that!” he said scolding his friend.
The Slytherin’s only answer was a little smirk, showing absolutely no signs of repentance. The friendship between the two boys wasn’t really public knowledge given both their discreet nature and the potential political repercussion, and so they tended to avoid crowded places a much as possible. Therefore, the library and the greenhouses were their favorite meeting places.
“So, what happened now? Potter seem to really be in a hurry earlier. I though we only had to deal with one life-threatening situation per year?!” He asked, a little bit of concern audible under his usual nonchalance.
Neville let out a long sigh, “It’s such a mess, you have no idea…”