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Chapter Three
Friends
"It seems to me a crime that we should age
These fragile times should never slip us by
A time you never can or shall erase
As friends together watch their childhood fly"
(Elton John "Friends")
Out of all the subjects Neville Longbottom had taken at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, the one class he enjoyed and excelled at equally had been Herbology. It was no surprise to anyone who knew him that he would take up that as his career. It was well-known that whenever Professor Sprout retired, Neville was first in line to take her place. As Professor Sprout was in hurry to do that, Neville had taken a job with the Ministry of Magic, working in a research capacity. He had gone quite far in a short time. He'd even managed to write a number of studies that had been published in many respected and esteemed journals of Herbology, not only in the United Kingdom, but also in the United States.
It was this that had led him to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He'd been invited by a Muggle friend to attend a three-day symposium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school's biology department in conjunction with the Biology & Horticulture Departments at North Carolina State University and Wake Forest University were holding the symposium on plants and the usage of plants in medical breakthroughs. It was on the last day of the symposium that the professors and specialists were holding a somewhat informal banquet at a local restaurant.
Neville had enjoyed the conference a lot. He'd had the opportunity to meet with a great number of people he'd only had the privilege to read about. He couldn't believe his luck at actually getting to meet people whose work he'd admired for years.
However, he was looking forward to finally going back home. He was still somewhat out of it with getting used to the time difference and he'd missed his friends and especially his girlfriend, Susan. He and Susan had been dating ever since sixth year at Hogwarts. In addition to her great sense of humor and personality, she had been one of the few people he'd ever known who could actually stand up to his grandmother. He wasn't ashamed to admit that his grandmother was a somewhat formidable figure in his life and to be quite frank, she scared the bejesus out of him. She'd wanted Neville to go into some other field, instead of Herbology. Susan had told her point blank that Neville was a grown man and could make his own decisions about what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. To say he'd been impressed had been an understatement.
He had thought about blowing off the banquet and just apparating home, but he'd decided that it would be rude to just rush out of there like that.
He and his Muggle friend, Dr. Peter Simon, arrived at Billie's Bar & Grill at a little after 7 p.m. The hostess, who introduced herself as Lisa, led them back to the banquet room of the restaurant. As they passed by, Neville marveled at the number of people already there. There was the sound of pop music coming over some speakers. The wonderful smell of steak and fresh bread filled the air.
It reminded him a little of The Three Broomsticks and he recalled the number of weekends he'd spent with his friends there in Hogsmeade.
When they arrived in the banquet room, he and Peter exchanged hellos with a number of their fellow guests and exchanged small talk. A blonde waitress with a pixie cut introduced herself as Chloe and asked for his and Peter's drink orders. Peter ordered a scotch and soda, while Neville chose a beer.
"Neville," one of the guests was saying. "I bet you aren't used to weather like this in your neck of the woods."
"No," Neville said. "This is a little too hot for my blood, actually, but it's been quite nice, actually. I wouldn't mind coming back here for a longer visit, but for holiday instead of work."
"When are you supposed to be heading back home?" the man asked.
"Early tomorrow morning," Neville said. "I can't wait to get back home and share with my colleagues all the wonderful things I found out here."
"Where was it you said you worked at again?"
Neville froze. He hadn't really come right out and said where he worked. These men and women were all Muggles, as far as he knew. They'd probably want to lock him up if he told them that he worked for The Ministry of Magic in London. The only one who knew his real identity was Peter, and that was because he was a friend of Dean Thomas', who was a Muggle-born wizard.
"I, um, am actually between jobs right now," Neville said. "I'm hoping to eventually sign on at some sort of educational institution, preferably at university level."
Luckily, the man just nodded and went on to exchange pleasantries and small talk with the other assembled guests. He and Peter shared a look of relief as they watched the man walk away.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
At the same moment Neville was in the banquet room, Julie was busy helping Billie in the kitchen. One of Billie's assistant cooks had called and said he'd be a little late, due to a family emergency. That left only Billie and Julie to man the kitchen. This wasn't good news when the restaurant and bar was packed, and there was a banquet room full of people waiting to be served. As luck would have it, Billie had prepared most of their food beforehand, as the Biology Department had requested a catered style dinner. Mostly, they had to load up the barbecue, Brunswick stew, potatoes, potato salad, hushpuppies and Cole slaw onto the large serving platters. The Biology Department had requested a Southern-style menu and Billie had failed to disappoint.
"I swear if Ray doesn't get here soon, I'm going to see about getting a Voodoo doll and some pins," Billie said, helping Julie load the platters onto the rolling trays.
"He'll be here," Julie said, helpfully. "Besides, I'm in no hurry to get back there and help Chloe with those plant people. She said she's already had her ass grabbed five times."
"Maybe I should head on back there," Billie said, with a laugh. "You know it's been a long time since I had a date. I imagine one of those plant people as you call them might be like tigers. You know, they always say it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for."
Julie stared at her boss, her mouth agape.
"I'm kidding, Julie," Billie said. "It has been a long time, though."
"Stay away from the plant people, Billie," Julie said, laughing. "Stay away from the plant people and no one gets hurt."
"Very funny, very funny," Billie said. "Why don't you take these trays on back to the plant people? I'll get Tim to help you. Let me know if you see any cute ones!"
"I got your back, Billie," Julie said, shaking her head. She took the rolling tray and pushed it through the crowded bar and back into the banquet room. The collected guests sighed as she and Tim pushed the trays into the room.
"It's about time," she heard someone mutter. She put on a wide smile that couldn't have been more synthetic.
She and Tim quickly loaded the platters onto the big tables that had been set up in the middle of the room. They'd just finished when Julie felt a shiver. It was the kind of shiver you got when you felt someone staring at you. She tried to shake the feeling and chalk it up to the fact that she'd just laid out platters of food for a group of about 30 people. They were probably just waiting for her to get out of the way so they could dig into the food. Tim said he'd take the trays back and she smiled appreciatively.
She decided to help Chloe out and mingle around to see if anyone needed a refill on their drinks. One older woman asked if she could have some lemon with her iced tea and Julie smiled and said that she'd go and get that from the kitchen and be right back. As she walked out of the room, she felt that same shiver come over her. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around the room to see who was staring at her.
She saw him, standing right against the back wall. He was a short, stocky man with brown hair. He was staring so intensely at her that it almost scared her. She smiled uneasily at him before turning on her heel to walk into the kitchen to get that woman her lemon slices.
This was too strange.
"It couldn't be!" a voice in Neville's head kept echoing. "It couldn't be her!"
It looks just like her, Neville told himself. Yet, she had died nearly four years ago. He'd been to her funeral. He'd seen the devastation on the faces of her family, her friends and her teachers. There was no way that this was Hermione Granger. This couldn't be, Neville said.
This girl's hair was a little shorter than Hermione's had been, but it was the same shade of brown and it wasn't as bushy as Hermione's hair sometimes had been. She did have the same warm, brown eyes that Hermione had. Her skin was a little darker than Hermione's, no doubt due to the North Carolina sun.
This girl was not Hermione Granger. She was just someone who looked amazingly like her, Neville told himself. He shouldn't be staring at her like that. He couldn't help it though. From the moment he'd seen her walk in, he'd nearly felt his legs buckle. It was like going through a time warp.
The look on her face when she'd caught him looking at her had caused him to try and focus. He was probably freaking this poor girl out with his strange behavior and his staring at her, his mouth wide open. He needed to get a grip and get one fast.
Just as he thought he would be able to, the girl returned carrying a small bowl of lemon slices. She gave them to one of the women in the group and smiled warmly at a few of the other guests.
Peter walked over to his friend and nudged him. "Are you going to get something to eat or stand here holding up the wall all night, Longbottom?"
"Hmmm?" Neville stammered.
"You look as if you've just seen a ghost," Peter said, worried. "Are you alright?
"Yeah," Neville said, nodding. He watched as the young woman walked out of the room again. He knew he should probably leave well enough alone, but he couldn't help it. He had to know, to speak to her, just to give himself peace of mind. "I'm fine. I think I just need to go to the loo. I'll, um, be right back."
Peter nodded, worriedly at his friend. "Whatever you say."
Neville smiled half-heartedly before hurrying out of the room.
He looked around the bar, trying to find the Hermione look-alike. He finally found her standing at the bar, talking with one of the customers. He hesitated only a moment before walking over to her.
"Excuse me, miss?" he said nervously.
She turned around and she flinched a little as she saw who had wanted her attention.
"Yes?" she asked forcedly.
"I don't mean to bother you, but I think I might have met you some place before?"
"I don't think so," she said, looking at him quizzically.
It sounds just like Hermione, Neville said to himself. Her English accent wasn't as pronounced as it once had been, but it was still there.
"I'm not a psycho or anything," he said, smiling warmly at her. "I swear I'm not. I just-"
"What?" she asked. She couldn't help feeling a little more at ease. He seemed pretty harmless. She was still somewhat on guard because that was usually the kinds you had to be on your toes about.
"You remind me of someone," he said. "My name is Neville Longbottom."
"Well, nice to meet you, Neville," she said, shaking his hand. "I think I would remember if I'd ever met someone named Neville Longbottom. It's quite a unique name, isn't it? Mine's about as plain as can be. I'm Julie Maxwell."
"Oh," Neville said, his heart sinking a little. He was hoping this would be Hermione. But then again, the Hermione he had known would never willingly leave her friends and school. She had been devastated when her parents had pulled her out of school before sixth year started. She'd been so happy when she'd been able to return. He'd been so happy for Harry and Hermione. He'd always known that eventually they'd end up together. Hermione's death had hit them all hard, but no one had felt it like Harry.
"Nice to meet you, Julie," Neville said. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You just look remarkably like someone I once knew. Did you grow up in London?"
She nodded. "Actually, I did," she said. "I moved here to the states about four years ago with my dad."
"I still live in London, now," Neville said. "I'm here on the symposium."
"I kind of figured that," Julie said warmly.
Neville laughed.
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not this girl that you know," she said. "I probably just look like her. What is it they say, everyone has a twin?"
Neville smiled. "Yeah. That's what they say. Well, I won't keep you any longer, Julie. I better get back."
Julie nodded. "Enjoy the rest of your stay, Neville."
He nodded and turned to walk away. His mind was racing with questions. This girl grew up in London, and moved her four years ago? That coincided with Hermione's death. Could it be that something had happened? Could this girl really be Hermione and not even know it? Part of him thought he should just drop this, but he couldn't help feeling that this was something big. This was something Harry should know about. He couldn't just let this go. Hermione was his friend. If she was still alive, he'd do anything he could to help her. Harry would know what to do.
Neville sighed with relief. He knew exactly where he would go when he arrived home tomorrow. He hoped Harry would be ready.