Unofficial Portkey Archive

Neville could barely keep from running around the room screaming. He was so fidgety that it made it utterly impossible to concentrate on anything. He felt so sure of himself when he told off Draco and stood up for himself toward Ginny. Now, his self-assuredness had all but vanished. She was never going to speak to him again. He just knew it. So, here he was sitting on the end of his bed trying to figure out exactly where his plan went all wrong. He wanted nothing except to be honest with his feelings and the courage to talk about them to the woman he had these feelings for. He was not looking for anything in return. Then she had to go and kiss him. Which, for all his bravado, really was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him. He certainly was not going to admit that to the boy who made his life miserable in school, and certainly not to a girl who was using him to hurt said boy.

He groaned and threw his body backwards onto the bed. He clenched his fists and punched the bouncy mattress repeatedly.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I am so stupid! What was I thinking?" he scolded himself.

He leapt up and stormed out of his room. Maybe going for a walk would help calm him down. He clomped down the long stairway to the dining room. There was a side door that led into the fields in the back of his house. He practically threw it open when his concentration was broken by a voice yelling out to him from the foyer. The interruption of his self-doubt further irritated him and his temper started to flare.

"Neville? There…"

"Not right now! I… need to go for a walk."

"But there's…"

"Please! Not right now! Can't everyone just leave me alone for a bit here? Whatever it is can wait," the exasperation in his voice was obvious.

"But, Neville?! There's someone here to see you."

"I don't care, thanks!" he yelled.

"Well, what on earth should I tell Ginny? Do you want her to come back later?"

"Mother, I told you that I don't… … … ummm… did you say Ginny?"

"Yes," she responded.

"Oh," Neville answered in an unsure voice. "I uh, I'll uhh… be right there."

If anyone had been in the room to see his face they would have said he had just been on the receiving end of a stunning curse. He stood there for a moment trying to wrap his mind around the concept that Ginny Weasley was actually here.

"Neville?" Mrs. Longbottom called out, "Are you coming?"

"Y..y..yes."

As always, his head dropped down in his usual nervously shy way. It was easier to look at your own feet when you felt all embarrassed and awkward. Far better than looking into the eyes of those around you. You never know how they might be looking at you. It could be disgust, or laughter, or anger, or any number of awful looks that just seemed to sap all the courage from his heart. It was definitely better to keep your eyes on the ground or on something, anything else besides people. It was too painful to have to face what others thought of him. He knew… he had always known. There had never been a time when kids were not ignoring him, laughing at him, calling him names, or beating him up. All his life… all his life… … always.

Now, the one girl he put all his trust into. The one he had always secretly crushed on was going to give him that same look. There was nowhere for him to hide. He was not a child anymore. He could not run and duck under his bed or lock himself in his closet as he had always done in the past when people were cruel toward him. He was an 'adult' now and adults don't get to hide. They have to face head on, whatever terrible things people do or say. He simply did not have the strength to deal with it, but what else could he do?

With a secret crush, at least, it is just a fantasy. The fantasy could always be perfect. He would imagine he would find the courage to look up into her eyes and there would be no hatred, or disgust, or detached pity. He imagined her eyes full of warmth and sometimes even with fire. He imagined she would smile and the feeling was so powerful that even though it was only his imagination, it would make him feel like he was something special. She could make him feel like a hero with just a glance.

Now, that was all going to be gone. The dream would be broken and the bubble of his perfect fantasy would be popped. He would have to face the reality. Ginny Weasley did not like him in that way and there was nothing he could do to make that change. It was about to get worse, because she was going to prove it to him beyond a shadow of any doubt and he would be left with nothing. Neville wished he could be anybody else, but himself… of all the people he hated in his life; he hated no one more than he hated Neville Longbottom. He could not stress that enough.

He quietly walked into the foyer. His eyes firmly fixated on putting one foot in front of the other. When his mother saw him walk in she excused herself and left the two of them alone. Ginny could tell with one look that Neville was at just about the lowest point in his life. It made her sad to think that she had something to do with making things harder than it already must have been for him. She wanted to go and visit Harry and Hermione. She needed someone to go with her and Neville just popped in her head. He was a good person and would never be anything but trustworthy. Now, she realized that asking him to go was bordering on cruel. He would not even look at her. He just sat there in silence staring down. What happened to the brave young man who told her a thing or two just the day before? What was he scared of now?

He had faced down the blonde worm of a wizard and had even faced her down when she stole something from him that she could never give back. It made her feel as small as a house-elf knowing that his first kiss was the charade she used to twist the proverbial knife in Draco's unfeeling heart. The sad thing was it accomplished nothing. Malfoy was a total prat and laughed the whole thing off and simply turned his back and apparated home to head off for France with his little groupies. What a waste. She threw away all those hours and days of her life swooning over a self-absorbed Slytherin. Never again she promised herself.

The silence was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Hi, Neville," Ginny tried to say in a happy voice.

"Hi, Ginny," he replied, still looking at the ground, "you look very nice today."

"Uh, how would you know? You haven't even looked at me," Ginny teased him.

"I don't need to. You always look beautiful," he answered.

She was about to say something else, then it sunk in what he had just said to her. She thought about it and realized that he had just given her one of the best compliments she had ever received from a boy before. It was not exactly the words he used; it was more how matter of factly he said it. As if it was something so obvious and true that he could say it without looking at her, just knowing it and without any thought telling her exactly that.

"Please just say it and go," Neville whispered to her.

"Say what?" Ginny asked unsure what he meant.

"I know why you came here."

Ginny carefully chose her next words, "Why do you think I came here Neville?"

"To tell me that you don't like me the way I like you and then I'll look into your eyes and I won't see anything in them for me. Then you'll go and I won't ever see you again."

Ginny could hear that his voice was on the verge of tears. This was fast becoming the worst moment of her life as well. In all her years, she never thought that she had the power to hurt someone so deeply without even trying to; without even having to lift a single finger. She knew some girls loved the power they had to hurt men. Ginny tasted the power and thought it something foul and bitter. This was not a 'gift' she wanted to have. Neville was in a dark hole and she had no way of bringing him out of it. She knew that it was not her fault that he had feelings for her, but that thought brought her little comfort right now.

Neville tried to lift his head up and look at Ginny, but he simply could not do it. So, instead he told her the most important thing he had ever told anyone in his life. If this was his last moment with her, then he decided he had better say it before the chance was gone forever. He knew it was futile. He knew it would fall on deaf ears. He knew that it would mean less than nothing, but the last flicker of courage inside of him came rushing up in the darkness of the moment

"Ginny…

…

…

I love you."

Ginny felt the heat of a tear falling down her cheek and then another. She had no idea of how to respond to that, so they both just stood there. The silence was deafening.

--- ---

Hermione was already sitting down at the dining room table when Harry walked in all grins. He was as happy as a clam. Tradition says that when two people sit at a ridiculously long table for dinner, that they most both sit at opposite ends. Harry and Hermione sat right next to each other somewhere in the middle. While eating the delicious meal that Teebel had prepared, the two of them simply started talking and talking and then talked some more.

Hermione told Harry all about her adventures in America. Even the parts that he would normally find dull he hung on her every word, as if she were sharing the secrets of the universe with him and him alone. When Harry started talking about his great, great grandfather and his fantastic experiments, Hermione's ears immediately pricked up.

"Hang on," she exclaimed excitedly, "did you say his name was Heaglevert?"

"Yes, Heaglevert Leakwood. Why do you ask?"

"Harry! Don't you remember when I told you about the classes they offer at the American wizarding school? About the old, eccentric wizard trying to mix science and magic? No wonder why no one could find the man. They had his name wrong. They called him Hagelburt, thinking that was his last name, since it was the only name they had. All this time his name was Heaglevert and it was his first name; his last name obviously being Leakwood. That would explain why I could never find any information on the poor fellow."

"You never told me about that," Harry said in a confused tone.

"Yes, in the letter I wrote you awhile back. Which reminds me; I'm a bit miffed at you. Why did you never write back? I was really worried about you," Hermione said with obvious frustration.

"Wrote me?" Harry said again in confusion. "I did write you. Two times to be exact and I never heard anything from you. Are you sure you sent me the letter?"

"Of course I am. Did you think I wouldn't write?"

Harry felt a bit relieved when he replied, "I was kind of wondering about that. I thought maybe you were too busy to send me an owl."

"Harry Potter! I would never in my life be too busy to write you when I am away. You're my best friend. Of course, that leads to the obvious next question. How on earth could we have sent two letters to each other and neither one receive any of them? You did send yours by Hedwig right?"

"Yes, and she came back both times empty handed, so I made the assumption that you got them and just didn't write back."

Hermione pursed her lips and said, "How odd. I used one of the witch's owls that I was bunking with and the same thing happened. Both times her owl came back without a letter from you. How is that possible though? Something doesn't add up."

Harry was staring hard at Hermione with a smile on his lips.

"What is it?"

"You have no idea of how relieved I am that you tried to write me. I was starting to really worry that maybe you would like it so much out there, that you wouldn't come back."

"Oh Harry, never think that I would ever just up and leave you. You are far too important a person in my life to do that. It was hard enough to go in the first place. If I hadn't thought it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I would never have gone at all. I mean look at all this that I missed."

Hermione had her hand extended out motioning around the room.

"I mean come on. A big, mysterious mansion chock full of odd things. With a history of an eccentric wizard dabbling in the taboo prospect of blending magic and science, I was born to be here Harry. I have no doubt that in a previous life I was a great detective, or at least a really good mystery novelist."

With that the two of them laughed warmly and began their catching up with renewed enthusiasm. Hermione listened intently on matters regarding The Great Machine and the ghost of Amelia. Each of these two things fascinated her. In turn, Harry was especially interested in the woman Colette and her living circumstances. He made no bones about wanting to visit her and seeing what he could do to help. Both of them began to wonder about the disappearing letters and the coincidence of an estate to the south being occupied by a woman and her 'dearest' shortly after Bilibaum dropped by to call on his new neighbor. They talked until the late night had become the dark, early morning. Hermione told Harry that she wanted to think about all the things they had talked about and see if she could sort it out in her head.

She also got quite excited about Harry's description of the Leakwood library. She was sure there would be important books there if she could just start browsing through them in the morning. When Hermione discovered that Amelia could 'control' Harry when he let her, and the fact that no one could see her and no one else could hear her besides Harry, made a little warning bell go off in her head. Again, she was too tired to take it all in tonight, so it would have to wait until morning.

Teebel came in and insisted that they both go to bed before they fell asleep right there on top of the dirty dishes. Harry and Hermione agreed that a good night's sleep was in order. They both stood up and looked at each other.

"It is so great to have you here Hermione."

Hermione smiled, "It's great to be here. I'm so relieved that you are okay. I worried about you non-stop until I could see with my own two eyes that you were all in one piece."

Harry reached out and pulled her into a warm, bear hug. He hugged her so tight that he squeezed some of the air out of her lungs, but she did not mind one bit. After he let her go they both made their way to their respective bedrooms to turn in for the rest of the night.

As Harry turned towards his own room after saying their 'goodnights', he felt Amelia nearby. He was beginning to be able to tell she was in the room without even trying now. At first it unnerved him a bit, but as time went on it seemed more and more natural. They did share a blood bond after all.

"Hello Amelia," he said sleepily.

"Hello Harry. Do you have your wand with you?"

"Of course, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing is wrong. I just needed to show you something. Will you come with me?"

"It can't wait until morning?" Harry pleaded while trying to keep his eyes from closing involuntarily.

"It won't take long I promise," she begged.

He sighed, "Sure, lead the way."

Though he could not see her, he could definitely feel her presence and hear her voice. It was easy to follow her as long as she did not pass through any walls or floors or ceilings. She carefully led him down to the floor just above the cellar. He realized he was in a part of the house he had not wandered through before and the curiosity of it began to wake him up. At the end of a strange and curvy hallway was an imposing stone door. The door looked very old and upon inspection appeared to be much older than the rest of the house. There on the floor was a large, iron key.

"What is this place?" Harry asked.

"It's a special place. Take the key, unlock the door and light up your wand. I have a surprise for you."

Harry did as he was told. While pulling on the heavy door a blast of cold air came in from the darkness. Harry cast the Lumos spell and peered inside. The cobwebs and dust in the hallway beyond left no question as to how long it had been since someone had been down here. This was another one of those areas that Teebel did not look after. He could not explain it, but Harry was both afraid and intrigued.

"It's alright Harry. There's nothing down here that can hurt you. I would never put you in any kind of danger. You're the only family I have."

"I know you wouldn't Amelia. I trust you."

With that he stepped in and began to slowly walk down the hall. The place had a strange smell, like the smell of burnt wood mixed with stale dust. Harry began to notice that the hallway was getting much wider. After a ways, it opened into a spacious stone room with huge blocks carved out of the walls. In many of the blocks were finely carved stone and marble boxes. Many of them had figures carved onto the tops of various people lying down. Harry stopped and it hit him like a bludger. This was a crypt and he immediately realized why the cemetery was so small. The rest of his ancestors were all buried down here.

There was an open archway at the end of the room that led into another room. Harry stepped through and saw that there were stone sepulchers in this room. Some had statues carved on the top and others simply had words or poems carved into them. In a strange, morbid sort of way it was hauntingly beautiful. At the same time Harry felt his skin crawl. It is always an unsettling thing being in a crypt, no matter what the circumstances. Harry looked up and noticed what appeared to be a trap door of some sort in the ceiling.

"Amelia where does that go to?"

"Oh, that goes up to the small mausoleum in the family cemetery. Papa told me that his grandfather built it when they first laid the foundation for the crypt as a secret escape. I always thought it was really neat. A bit creepy, but neat."

Harry took another look around the room and saw a particularly interesting sepulcher. It was very small and was carved out of a single block of white marble. It had an amazing sculpture of a little girl sitting on top with her bare legs dangling over the edge. The girl had a bright smile on her face. When Harry approached it he saw the words carved on top.

Amelia Leakwood, beloved daughter

We miss you so much. You were taken from our lives too soon.

You will never be forgotten.

Harry touched the letters with his fingers. This place was no longer scary at all. It was a very special place. It was the place that many of his ancestors had been laid to rest. The thought was oddly comforting to him. Harry looked up and almost jumped out of his pants. There hovering a few feet from him was the ghostly visage of a nine year old girl.

"Amelia, I can see you."

"You can?! Really?! You can see me?"

"It must have something to do with the fact that we are so close to your body. Your connection to the world of the living must be stronger here."

Harry noticed one very interesting thing. He had seen many ghosts at Hogwarts. There was no doubt that Amelia was a ghost, but she looked very different from the others. She was much brighter and her image was as white as new snow at night when the moon's light reflects off of it. Her form was also much less distinct, like he was looking at her through shimmering water. Where the ghosts he had seen looked like they almost belonged in this world, Amelia looked like she definitely did not. Without a doubt, Harry knew that she was not meant to be trapped in this life. And yet, here she was.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Harry said earnestly. "This is an important place and now that I know I can see you when we're down here. I promise I'll visit often."

Amelia had no idea that Harry would be able to actually see her down here. However, it made her very happy indeed. Now, she knew that he would not forget her, even with his woman friend Hermione staying here. Maybe things were going to work out okay after all.

--- ---

A light rain began to fall on the empty beach. The dark figure who had been occupying this place was again pacing up and down near the water.

"So, your little friend has decided to come and visit. How nice for you Harry Potter. I see she found dear Colette hidden away in her crumbling tower. That woman is blind in more ways than one, eh?"

He chuckled to himself as his grotesquely thin and tall body lumbered eerily along.

"This Hermione will not be able to help keep the Eye of Narlroot safe from me, anymore than you could. Oh, if only you knew what you had locked up in your little manor. Heaglevert's experiments failed because he did not realize that his machine was incomplete. The results were not at all what he expected. What will you find Harry? Will you discover that it has great power? If you learn its true purpose in time, it might save you, but I assure you there is no danger of that happening. When the rest of the wizarding world discovers what you will find in that cellar, they will never allow it. They will come for you and lock you up in Azkaban just to shut you up. When they do, I will step in and take the sapphire from its hiding place and I will be free of this wretched curse. Then with the power of the Eye I will become what that overrated Voldemort never could. The destroyer of all witches and wizards who will not accept me… as their god."