Chapter 7
As Nellie stood there stunned, someone took hold of her arm and began to lead her into the main hall. It was Voldemort holding her. His touch was gentle, like she was a delicate china antique that was to be handled with great care. Or someone too precious to have let go. Someone so precious Lord Voldemort needed that someone to help him and his evil schemes.
"Come, my pet." He said. Nellie walked along, afraid to even open her mouth. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle followed along.
"You must meet everyone!" Voldemort said and dragged her amidst the much older people in the room. Most of them had glasses in their hands and they laughed.
"Young Malfoy," Voldemort said to Draco. "Show our special guest around." He smiled at them.
"Yes Master." Malfoy said and took Nellie's arm. Malfoy pointed out several people to Nellie. Some smiled at her. Others merely nodded. The names of the people went in one ear and came out of the other. They had reached a group of 6 people standing by the fireplace which was crackling merrily, despite its evil surroundings.
"Mom. Dad. This is Nellie Vonwit, Master's special guest." Draco said to a man with blonde hair, same as his wife.
"Ah. Yes." Mr. Malfoy said. "Pleased to meet you." Mr. Malfoy stuck out his hand for Nellie to shake. The shock was wearing off and Nellie reached out and shook it. She even managed a smile. After all, it was a party. Evil Lords usually just don't have parties to do untrustworthy things at.
"And this is Mr. and Mrs. Goyle." Draco said, gesturing to the two slightly overweight people talking to Goyle.
"Let me guess." Nellie said. "Those are Crabbes parents." She said. The other two people were talking to Crabbe.
"Right." Malfoy grinned.
"Um. Ahem?" said a man, wringing his hands by the entrance where Nellie had come in.
"Uh, will everyone please proceed to the hill behind Master's Palace?" The Death Eaters murmured in interest and headed out through the kitchen. As Nellie and Draco's family made a pass to go to the hill, the man reached out and tapped her shoulder.
"Master would like to see you."
"Oh!" Nellie said.
"He will meet you in the Showing Room." Nellie was totally bewildered. The man sighed.
"Down the hall, take three rights, past the gallery, fourth door on the left."
"Thank you." Nellie said.
"See you later." Draco said to Nellie as she turned and went the other way of the hall. There must have been around 200 rooms or so in the Palace. There were various doors. After three rights at the man had said, there was a grand long hall lit with torches on the wall. It seemed to be a gallery of some kind that had a contribute to Voldemort. Walking along, gazing at the pictures, she stopped at one. There was a picture of a woman. A woman with Nellie's hair. A man was beside her with Nellie's gray blue eyes. A smoldering house was in the background. The lady was crying and clutching a baby with black hair to her chest. Something yet again triggered in her mind. The flickering of the torches made the pictures even seem to move.
"No! No! How could you?" Someone cried in Nellie's head. "I loved both of them! And you took my girls away! You shall pay!" There was silence. Then..
"I had to do it." Someone purred in Nellie's ear as they laid a hand on her shoulder.
Neville ate his alphabet soup and daydreamed. The soup was cold by now and Ron had stolen his roll. He was hungry. Stirring his soup absentmindedly, he stared into space. People leaving the Great Hall stared at him. He didn't briefly notice. He began to evening dream (okay. It's not day so he can't day dream. All right?). Him and Nellie. Nellie and him. He began to put together a first date for them. Maybe they could go around Christmas. Christmas! He thought. What could he get her for Christmas?
"Uh, Sir?" said someone in a squeaky voice. It was one of the house elves, dressed in a big sweater.
"Huh?" Neville said. The Great Hall was deserted, except for the house elves sweeping the floors.
"We's needs to clean!" squeaked the elf.
"Uh. Sorry." Neville said and got up and left the hall. He trudged slowly towards the Gryffindor common room.
"Quakopolis." Neville glumly said to the Fat Lady in her painting. She gazed at him and swung back on her hinges to let him in. The new first years were talking together about their first days at class. Seamus was chasing after Lavender Brown who kept shrieking. Colin Creevy and his brothers were engaged in a game of exploding snap with Ron. Hermione and Harry were discussing the Defense Against the Dark Arts notes. Neville felt suddenly very out of place. He went up to bed. No one noticed.
In his bed, Neville felt like crying. Being almost 18 now, it was very foolish. Only the little kids cried when someone was mean to them. Neville had gotten used to be made fun of. Snape didn't taunt him anymore, but maybe it was because he was always high on something. He wanted so many things in life. He wanted his parents to recognize him the most. Images flashed through his mind about the last visit:
"Hi Mom. Hi Dad." Neville said, stepping into the padded room. Mr. Longbottom screamed as usual and ran to his corner which was littered with well worn baby blankets that he often clutched in fear.
"Dad. It's me. Your son, Neville! I come every school vacation I have! Remember?"
"No Bob. I don't" Mrs. Longbottom muttered to Neville as she brushed a rag dolls hair. Mrs. Longbottom loved that doll. The doll had blonde hair, like Neville.
"I'm your son!" He wailed. He had tried more to convince them of this ever since summer vacation of his fourth year.
"No." Mrs. Longbottom said. "This is my son." Mrs. Longbottom said and held up the doll. "His name is Neville. Do you agree that he is the sweetest baby ever, Christopher?" Mrs. Longbottom asked him.
"Mom! Mother! I'm your son!"
"What was that you said Patrick?" Mrs. Longbottom asked and tucked the Neville doll in a play crib.
"NEVILLE! I'm NEVILLE!" HE screamed, just as insane as his parents.
"Norman." Mrs. Longbottom said to Mr. Longbottom. "It's your turn to wash the dishes." She said and pointed to the little Muggle Fisher Price kitchen in the far corner of the room.
"No. I don't wanna." Frank Longbottom said and began to suck his thumb.
"Richard, you wash the dishes, since you're here." Mrs. Longbottom said and stood up and pointed at Neville.
"NEVILLE!" he yelled.
"Quiet! Neville is sleeping. You can't play with him now." Mrs. Longbottom said and pointed to the doll, its goofy grinning face peeking over patterned blankets.
"Uggggggh!" he said and stomped his foot. "Mother! Listen to me! I. Am. Your. SON." Mrs. Longbottom picked up the plastic phone that was attached to the kitchen play set.
"Shush, Jonathan. I'm on the phone." She said. Neville didn't know what to do.
"Hello?" Mrs. Longbottom said into the phone talking just like someone had actually called the yellow piece of plastic. Yet alone them in their room of padded walls. "Yes, this is Veronica. Oh, Ophielus! Ophielus Midrigge! My dear sister! How am I? I'm good, thank you. How are you? Yes. George is fine." She said and looked over at Mr. Longbottom.
"Albert, come talk to my sister." Mrs. Longbottom ordered.
"No." Mr. Longbottom said sternly, words slurred by the thumb in his mouth.
"Henry doesn't want to talk right now. A nice boy named Samuel is here to wash the dishes so I better get off the phone. All right. Buh Bye!" Mrs. Longbottom hung up the fake phone.
"Now where did William go?" Mrs. Longbottom said, hands on her hips, staring around the room. "Did you see where he went David?" Mr. Longbottom didn't respond. Tears filled Neville's eyes as he shut the door and the nurse locked it. In his bed, real tears filled Neville's eyes. Could his mother's sister really be Professor Midrigge. Neville stepped out of his bed and headed to his teachers office.
Voldemort's pale hand was on Nellie's shoulder, also gazing at the picture on the wall, all surrounded by green paint, made to look like light.
"Why?" Nellie asked. Voldemort said nothing.
"Come." He said finally. With one last look at the people being tortured on the wall, Nellie followed Voldemort down the hall. He led her into a room. It was exactly the same Show Room as his old house. The three bare walls and the last with the black clouds swirling.
"Sit." He said and gestured towards his throne. Nellie expected at once to have chains bind her to the chair as she sat down. Voldemort stood behind the throne.
"Show her. What she longs to see." He said, pointing his wand at the wall. It once again swirled and a house with a green yard appeared. The black clouds still circled the film. An old car pulled up in the driveway. A young boy, around the age of 1 came running outside, the baby-sitter, a woman in her early 30's following.
"Mommy! Daddy!" the boy cried and pointed to the car. A man with glasses, blue gray eyes, and black hair that stood up in the back got out of the car and ran around the other side to open it for his wife. A woman with flowing red hair and vivid green eyes. Her arms were full of blanket.
"Ooooh!" the boy said, as his mother leaned down to show the boy what was concealed in the blankets.
"What is it?" he asked in his very tiny voice, just catching up on vocabulary, causing the adults to laugh.
"This is your baby sister Nellie, Harry." Said the woman. The boy stared at the sleeping baby girl.
"Oh." Said Harry. The man handed the woman a couple of coins.
"Thanks Minerva." He said. The screen then flashed to the same house. It was night and it was Halloween. Leaves littered the street. There was no car in the driveway this time. No baby-sitter. No little toddling boy with messy hair. Nellie was stunned by now, even more when she first discovered she was in Lord Voldemort's house. A black cloaked figure appeared outside the house and unlocked the front door with a tap of his wand. Seconds later, a faint sound could be heard from inside the house. A light flickered on in the left bedroom. Later, that same man and woman ran out of the house, the cloaked figure at their heels. They argued and the man said a curse. The screen filled with green light and the red haired woman fell to the ground. The man picked up his son whom had rolled out of his dead mothers arms. They argued some more. The man set down his son and prepared to strike with his wand. The figure was quicker. The same green light flashed on the screen again. Crying could be heard. The figure removed it's hood and crouched down by the little boy.
"Greatest Lord, ever born. Sent to end the evil one." Said the old, but a bit younger, Voldemort. "You will never defeat me. Now it's your turn. The moon is right at the peak of it's darkness." As the clouds in the sky parted, the blue moonlight of the very large moon washed over the young boy and Voldemort preformed the curse once more. There was a scream and the clouds swallowed up the scene. Nellie choked on her own salvia.
"You see, my pet." Voldemort said. "You aren't Nellie Vonwit. You are Nellie Potter. Harry Potter's sister." Nellie coughed.
"Why?" Nellie managed to say. "Why didn't you kill me?"
"I needed an ally." He whispered, reaching over the back of the throne. "The best choice was someone related to my worst enemy. Your brother. The greatest most powerful Lord born to put me to rest. He almost succeeded that terrible night. I had someone under my reign who retrieved you from the rubble of the Potter's house. You were still sleeping. So young." He picked up a piece of Nellie's hair and fingered it.
"I tracked your movements. Now you cam here. To help me, have reign over the magical world." He dropped her hair and smoothed it down.
"What is there to be gained by refusing?" he asked, coming around from behind the throne.
"I don't know." She said.
"Look at me." Voldemort said. Nellie looked at him. His green eyes stared at her.
"When I have taken over, no one except those with me will be free. Do you want to be enslaved?" Nellie shook her head.
"See? It is best to come to me during this time. The moon will be ripe in its darkness once again." Nellie blinked and tilted her head back to keep the tears in.
"Shall we begin to the hill now?" he asked. Nellie swallowed.
"Yes." She nodded. "Master." Voldemort leaned down and kissed her forehead. Now she was marked in 2 places. Her finger, her forehead, and soon to be, her forearm.
Neville wandered down the hall and knocked on the door of Professor Midrigge's office. He took several breaths.
"Hello Mister Longbottom." Professor Midrigge said as she opened the door. "I know why you have come."
"I know." Neville said.
"First off." Professor Midrigge said as Neville opened his mouth to speak and the door magically closed behind him. "I want you to know that I am here for you." That did it. Neville broke into tears and flung himself at his aunt.
"I miss them!" he cried into her shoulder. "I want them back! Why did he have to do that to them?"
"No one knows. Even I do not know why Voldemort did all he did." Neville straightened, sniffed and wiped his eyes.
"But. Why didn't my Grandmother tell me about you?"
"She never did like me." She said. "I was considered sinful to her because I could see through people."
"Couldn't you have seen what would have happened?" he asked.
"No Neville. All the Psychics had gathered to try to figure out his plans. There was so much dark magic going on that all the visions were clouded." Ophielus led Neville over to a couch on the far end of her office.
"Before I knew it, My brother in law and sister had been attacked. I went to your grandmother to comfort her and ask if she needed my help. But all she did was turn me away. She never wanted me to have anything to do with the Longbottoms."
"Is that why I had to be brought up by her?" Neville asked. "When I could have been brought up by you? My uncle never really liked kids so."
"Yes. That seems presumably why." Ophielus said. Neville looked at his hands.
"It will come to an end." She said to her nephew.
"It will?" he asked.
"Yes. I have foresaw it." She said.
"And. And. " he didn't dare ask what he wanted to. Ophielus smiled at him.
"Hogsmeade will be freed. Dumbledores orders. Voldemort will still be allowed to patrol and keep watch over the village, but you can take Nellie out for dinner."
"So you know." He said.
"Yes." She said. "She's a fine one, my boy." She patted his hands. "Some say there is no return to innocence. But I believe that there is. The innocent are always taken first. She will come back to us sooner than we expect."
"Huh?" Neville asked, sniffing again.
"You'll understand soon enough." She looked at the clock on the wall. "You should get back to your common room now." She said.
"Yes." Neville said.
"The others will find out that you're my nephew, so you need not worry keeping it a secret." She said as she ushered him towards the door.
"And um." he cut himself off again.
"This is your last future reading Mister Longbottom." Professor Midrigge said. "You will have a half son named Timothy in the summer. But you won't know that it is your half son until after you are married. He shall come around Christmas." With that, she quietly shut the door in Neville's confused face.
"I get divorced?" he asked through the door.
"Good night Mister Longbottom!" Professor Midrigge said sternly.
At the lion's den, Ron and Dean headed upstairs to go to sleep. Neville was already asleep (yeah right) in his bed. The first years had been stashed away in their dorms. Seamus kissed Lavender before running up to the dorm after Ron and Dean. Harry, Hermione, and some other 5th and 6th years were left.
"I guess I'll go now." Harry said, picking up his DADA book and stuffing it away. Hermione said goodnight to him and went to her dorm. Harry stayed in his robes and only pretended to go to sleep. The stars twinkled through window glass. Dean's loud ticking alarm clock didn't help pass the time that Harry was waiting for. Then, when he thought it was safe, he started to climb out of bed. Then, the door of the dorm opened. Harry leapt back and peered around the divide in his curtains. Neville hadn't been asleep. He came in sniffing and crawled into bed. Harry waited more. When Neville began to snore, Harry made his escape. Back down the staircase he went. Someone pouring their pumpkin juice on the fire had extinguished it and only the light in the room was that of the moon streaming in through the curtains. Harry crept close to the wall as he made his way up the girl's staircase. He was more confident now. He slowly opened the door to the seventh year dorms and inched in. Silently but quickly tip toeing past Lavender and Pavartis beds, he reached Hermione's bed. The curtains on one side weren't closed. Hermione was curled up under the covers. This time, Harry sat down on the bed. His hands trailed over the sheets and he leaned in again to Hermione. She was Goldilocks this time, and this time, it was juuuuuuuuuuuust right for Harry to lean in and kiss her on the lips. After he moved away, Hermione spoke again in her sleep.
"Harry." She said. Harry smiled. "I know you're there." She said and sat straight up. Harry nearly fell off the bed.
"I -- um! I can explain!" he whispered in the dark.
"Explain what?" Hermione whispered back, brushing her hair back.
"Um."
"Harry." She said. She reached out and took his chin in her hand. "You're a great wizard." She said.
"What does that have to with anything?" he asked.
"Everything." She said. And she leaned in and kissed him full on the lips this time. When they broke apart, Harry stroked her hair.
"Should we tell Ron?" he asked.
"Not yet." Hermione said. There was silence between the two as Pavarti grumbled in her sleep.
"You better go." Hermione said.
"Right." Harry said. Without a backwards glance. He raced out of the common room.
How was that everybody for Chapter 7? Fact: I cried when I typed the part about Nellie in the Show Room and when Neville talks to Professor Midrigge. See? This is a great piece of work! J.K. Rowling should take a leaf out of everyones books who comes and reads this!
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