Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N - Alright, this story, I'm very excited about. My second dark story, this one will be very dark (my first cannot be posted on Portkey). Just from the summary, I doubt I have to warn you there is a character death in the chapter.

I am hoping this story will reach people of various wants and interests, so please spread it about, and tell your friends. I will be honest, I do hope this story becomes a popular one. The plotline will be extremely complicated in its progression, which should make it a very fascinating story. This is my last new story being posted before I go on break for the summer.

Chapter One

The Last Longbottom

`Thank Merlin it's Friday' Neville voiced to himself, putting down his last plant to catalogue. He had been cataloguing plants all day at the Ministry, and it was about time to pack up and leave for the day. Everyone else already left early, as per usual on Fridays. Work in the Department of Magical Plants was slow these days, but Neville loved every moment of it.

As he slowly got up and looked around the department, he was reminded at how lucky he and the world were that the war turned out the way it did. Voldemort was defeated, and the world stayed out of the darkness.

After Voldemort was destroyed by Neville's friend Harry Potter, the world relished in the Dark Lord's fall. Neville was there, helping the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix defend Hogwarts, and he remembered how the reaction to Voldemort's death moved through the school.

Neville was in fact the person who found Harry that day. Amidst the dueling wizards and Hogwarts students against the mass number of Death Eaters, Harry and Voldemort had met in the lower dungeons of the castle, away from everyone else. Neville found Harry lying unconscious in one of the dark corridors, and as he looked around for help, he found a black cloak, and a long and hauntingly still wand on the ground. The wand was broken in half, and as he continued to look for help, he ran back to Harry when he heard him moan. Getting to him, Harry whispered "he's gone," before he lost consciousness again.

As Neville put his catalogue into the filing cabinet, he looked about the lab again and smiled. So much had changed since that day so long ago. Well, he had to remember, it was not that long ago, only three years. Still, the absence of light against dark had a huge affect on the wizarding world.

After Voldemort fell, Death Eaters became disorientated and quickly gave up to the Ministry. Some escaped from Hogwarts, but many were caught very early afterwards. The ones that were still on the loose never showed their faces, since they were scattered everywhere, and their precious Dark Lord was gone for good.

The Ministry, after things settled, returned to the Ministry building, and Hogwarts cleaned itself up, and reopened. Few students were seriously injured, although some, like Terry Boot, suffered injuries that proved later to be fatal. In total, six Hogwarts students-Terry being the only seventh year-and about a dozen Ministry officials died in the protection of Hogwarts. The Order suffered much worst losses, with many of their newer members perishing. The biggest loss to the Order had to be, especially to Harry, the loss of Remus Lupin. Dying a valiant death by protecting four first year students from two Death Eaters, all the first years survived, but Remus was killed as they escaped and he defended them. Neville was told by Hermione Granger, that she was going to make sure that in the new versions of Hogwarts: A History, at least three pages would be dedicated to Lupin and his story. The new versions were going on sale at the end of the month.

Locking up the file cabinets, Neville made one last stop to the greenhouses. They were not exactly greenhouses, with outside with sunlight coming through, but were instead magically made greenhouses. Sunlight still poured through them as if they were outside.

Walking through the quiet and peaceful greenhouse, he looked at the Abyssinian shrivelfig, the Fanged Geranium-which tried to bite him as he passed-and finally, the Flutterby bush, which quivered as he walked by. He loved all the plants, and their fascinating uses and attitudes. Oh yes, plants had attitudes, and in the magical world, Neville found out some of them even acted out with those attitudes. Luckily he got along with most of the plants, though the Geranium never liked him after he had to replace his soil, and used the wrong type.

Coming back, he locked the door to the greenhouse, and waved his wand over a peculiar looking knob next to the door affixed to the wall, which turned. It was part of Neville's job, as Under-Coordinator for the department, to turn the greenhouse over into night time. The sun would set in the greenhouse, and rise again by time he returned in the morning. Of course it was Friday, so he was not coming back in the morning, but the weekend crew would be there.

Walking out, he grabbed his coat and his bag, and made for the lift. The Department of Magical Plants was run under the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The "Planters" as they were called, were small in number, but they enjoyed their work thoroughly, working with all the plants.

Getting on the lift, Neville was happy to see a fellow Hogwarts student there.

`Padma!' Neville boasted, slightly scaring the woman on the lift.

`Neville! It's wonderful to see you' she exclaimed, as they shared a friendly hug. Neville was very fidgety with the hug, since in the three years since he had seen Padma, she seemed to only become more attractive.

`What are you doing here in the Ministry?' Neville asked her shakily, as the gate closed and they started their way to the Atrium.

`Oh, I was just visiting the Department of International Magical Cooperation. I'm a co-chair of the British-Indian council.'

`Co-chair' Neville said with raised eyebrows. `Wow, congrats Padma! That's quite the position.' Padma laughed and looked down for a moment.

`Yes, well, there are fourty-three co-chairs, but still, I like the position. I get to travel to India a lot, which is wonderful. What do you do?'

`Oh' Neville responded, not feeling so proud of his position anymore. `I'm the Under-Coordinator of the Department of Magical Plants.' Neville was happy with Padma's response.

`And you thought my position was good, an under-coordinator? Well, you deserve it Neville, especially since it's in Herbology. I remember Professor Sprout always boasting to other professors how you excelled so well.' Neville blushed with the comments, and smiled brightly. He never knew Professor Sprout said that to the other professors.

As the lift reached the Atrium, Neville invited Padma out first, and then followed her to the Floo connections off the main hall. The Atrium underwent some reconstruction after the Ministry fell before the attack on Hogwarts, but three years later, it was looking much better. The Magical Brethren however, could never be fixed to their before proud selves. They all wore frowns now, and as much as the Ministry tried, they would always go back the next day. The house elf did not look up with admiration, but rather slouched and looked to the water below. The centaur now had its arrow in his quiver, and held his bow at his side, while he looked about-looking away from the wizard.

`Well, it was wonderful to run into you Neville. Say, did you want to go for coffee tomorrow afternoon?' Padma asked.

`Sure, that would be great. Laurel is coming back tomorrow night, so perhaps you might meet her.'

`Oh, is she your girlfriend?' Padma asked, as a light trickle of wizards and witches moved past to the fireplaces, and vanished in the green flames.

`No, she's my wife' Neville answered, Padma beaming at him.

`You're married! Oh, congratulations Neville! Hey, why wasn't I invited to the wedding?' she asked, still happy but a bit disappointed.

`Well, it was only me, her, and like three other people, and that's including the cleric. We kept it small, `cause we both wanted that. She's very nice though, a Muggle.' Padma smiled at Neville again, and gave him a playful punch in the shoulder, that he blushed at again. Even though he was married to a wonderful woman, it didn't change the fact that Padma was very a very beautiful girl-sorry, woman.

`Alright, so we'll meet . . . say, around three in the Leaky? I want to meet your wife!' she exclaimed happily. Neville agreed to the time, and she left to her flat for the night. Neville gave a chuckle, and with a sparkling of Floo Powder, and a quick shout, he Flooed to his home.

Landing in his sitting room, he dusted off the soot from the hearth, and vanished it from the floor. Putting his bag down next to the couch, he sat down and sighed.

His house was a small, but cozy one. It was in the country, just outside Banbury. Both he and Laurel decided to live here, since it was such beautiful farmland. Loving plants of course had drawn Neville there, and Laurel grew up on a farm, so it worked well. They had a very small amount of land, and they grew mostly barley. A small patch near the back of the house was for Neville's more proactive plants, but he made it so normal muggles would not see them.

Looking about, he looked up to the ceiling and breathed out slowly. The trip from the Ministry to his home was always a contrastive time. The Ministry was always so busy, like it was at Hogwarts. He enjoyed the busyness of it all, always having something to do, or someone to meet. Of course he also enjoyed the quiet times, like now, but it was a Friday, and he wanted to do something.

Getting up, he went to the kitchen, and made himself a small supper. He was not too hungry, and the idea of spending his night at home alone did not exactly make him jumping for joy.

That was a big aspect about Hogwarts he missed. At Hogwarts, there was always homework, or Quidditch, or-in their last year-the defense club. The Guardians practiced all the time, and Neville helped out Harry and the others a lot with that. He loved having all the people know him, and having to prioritize things.

Since his position in the department, it seemed he got lost in the new world. Seeing Padma was surprising, since he had not seen any friends from Hogwarts in some weeks. Everyone was busy, he knew this, but he would have wished to see people more. Working with plants did not exactly make new friends all over the Ministry.

Sitting down with his spaghetti, he ate quietly, and followed by using magic to clean up. Going back into the sitting room, he decided he would be a bit more proactive. Neville was never one for being proactive, but he wanted to get out and see some people. Getting up from the couch again, and giving his cat-Mandrake-a nice pat, he went towards the hearth. Just as his name sake, Mandrake didn't enjoy being pushed off his place once he got settled, so he bound upstairs after the move-his black tail bobbing behind him, occasionally flicking in anger.

Moving over, he threw some Floo powder into the fire place, and yelled out the address. He stuck his head in, and moments later, he was pulling back with a smile on his face. He moved upstairs, showered, and while getting dressed, tried to make up with Mandrake. A good thing about Mandrake, was his lack of short-term memory, so he forgave easily-as long as you gave him about an hour or so.

Popping out of his house, he locked the door, and gave a twist; Apparating away and reaching the house he intended. Knocking on the door, he was happy to see the face of his-some would say loony-blond haired friend.

`Hello Neville' Luna expressed as dreamy as ever, Neville smiling. The two shared a nice hug, and he entered to find it was only the two of them.

`Where's Ron?' Neville asked as Luna offered to take his coat. Neville insisted he do it himself, since Luna was quite big at the moment. She was pregnant, about seven months along, and it surprised Neville when he Flooed earlier to see how big she had gotten since the last time he saw her, about two months before.

`Oh, Ronald is at work. He's a lucky boy, and gets to work overnight on a Friday. No worries though, I enjoy the quietness' she answered, moving into the sitting room, and Neville following. They lived not to far from Ottery St. Catchpole, just outside town in the country. Luna enjoyed living near her father, and Ron's family in the The Burrow.

`Oh, well, I can go if you'd like-`

`No, it's alright Neville. It's nice having friends' she answered in her oh-so-common oddness.

`So how are you doing?' Neville asked, moving forward.

`Oh, I'm alright. Can't really see my feet anymore, but it's alright. Ronald gets all worried over me, but I have to keep telling him that there aren't any worries anymore. I think we all had enough of that before.'

`Quite. So you are on leave now from the Quibbler?' Neville asked, as he took a cup and poured some tea.

`Yes. My father wouldn't let me work anymore, so I stay here now. I still go and see him a lot, though Apparating is a bit difficult with the extra size. Plus Harry, Hermione, Seamus, and loads of other people come to see Ron, but I see them too' she explained, Neville feeling a bit bad at Luna's solitude. She never had a huge amount of friends, but he hoped he was helping at least.

`Well, I came to see you tonight, so there you go' he said.

`Thank you Neville. How are the plants doing at the Ministry?' she asked, dropping at least some of the dreamlike oddness.

`They're doing well. Work is quiet, but it's nice. Hey, what are you doing on Sunday evening?' he asked, getting an idea.

`Oh, probably just staying here. Ronald has tonight's shift, but then he goes back to days on Monday, so we'll be probably spending the night in.'

`Did you want to come over for dinner? Laurel gets back tomorrow night, and I thought you'd like to get out' he expressed nicely.

`Hmm, that would be nice. I'll let Ronald know, thank you Neville.'

`It's no problem! We haven't had a house guest in while, so it'll be nice. So have you picked a name yet for the baby?'

`Oh, we have some ideas. Ronald wants to stay to tradition, but I thought a newer name might be nice.'

The two friends continued to talk with each other for a while, conversing about various things. Ron seemed bent on naming the baby-be it a boy-Charles, after his brother that died that day at Hogwarts. Luna did like the name, but was leaning more towards a newer name, like Ethan or Cameron, but the discussion was still ongoing.

Neville found out that many of his other friends from Hogwarts were doing well. Harry was still working in the Auror department with Ron and Hermione, though from what Luna was telling him, Harry was on vacation at the moment. Seamus was working for a Quidditch shop in Dublin, and played with a team in the Irish National League.

The Weasleys were doing alright as well, which Neville was pleased to hear. Mr. Weasley, as people knew, was the Deputy Minister of Magic. He was the one who instated the Department of Magical Plants, so Neville still kept close ties to him. Ginny Weasley was in her early years of Healer training. Neville thought she would not go for that particular line of work, but she was doing it. He imagined her getting into a number of tiffs with patients, her fiery attitude still making its place known in the world.

As the night started to deepen, Neville decided he should go. Luna was getting tired, and he was also. It had been a long day at the Ministry, and the thought of his warm bed at home made him all the more sleepy.

`Thanks again Neville for stopping by. I'll bring a dessert for supper on Sunday. I'll get Ronald to Floo before we pop over' she said.

`Sounds good, I'll let Laurel know. Good luck with the name, I think Ethan Weasley sounds nice. Take care Luna' he insisted, giving her a hug.

`Oh don't you fret, we Lovegoods always keep an open eye on things' she declared with a smile. Neville waved good-bye, and with a smile from Luna, he Apparated back home.

Getting back, he went into his darkened house, and lit some lamps. He was tired, and was planning on going to bed right away, so he only lit one or two of the lamps.

Hanging up his coat, he called Mandrake, but as usual, he did not come. Probably still upset at me for leaving he figured.

Walking in to the kitchen, as he reached for a glass something ran past his legs. Twisting around quickly, the glass in his hand falling and smashing to the ground, he struggled with his wand, before casting a Lumos spell, to see the culprit.

`Oh, now you come down' Neville stated to his cat, which looked up at him like he did nothing wrong. Neville looked to the broken glass on the floor, and sighed angrily as he ran his wand over and the glass came back together.

`Look what you did Mandrake. Sometimes I do wonder why I keep you' he insisted, as Mandrake came forward and rubbed against his leg. Neville's anger died, and he picked his cat up and pat him.

The cat purred softly, and Neville smiled, until a sound came from another room.

Neville kept the cat in his hands, and started to walk forward-his Lumos spell still cast. Neville hated nighttime, because of all the shadows and strange sounds. He was one of those kids that always needed a night-light, and even though he was an adult and fully-fledged wizard, he still got scared in the depths of the night. The reminder of being all alone in the house-with the exception of his temperamental cat-out in the middle of nowhere did not help his attitude.

Walking forward, his steps creaked on the floorboards as he moved in the direction of where the noise came from. He lit more lamps as he moved forward, but tried to stay relaxed. After all, it was doubtful an evil wizard was outside his door. Chances were, it was just a muggle teenager, or even some animal.

Hearing the sound again-something like a door hitting its frame-Neville moved slower towards the back of his house. The moonlight shone through the windows, and cast shadows here and there. Walking further in, he could see the cause of the noise, just as the door slammed against the frame again. Mandrake became frantic at the sound, and scratched Neville as he escaped his grasp.

`Ah! Damn cat!' Neville cursed, as he looked back at the door. Simply put, the screen door at the back entrance was open, and banging against the door frame with the light wind pushing it.

Neville hastily opened the door, and latched the screen door shut. Closing the inner door, he locked it, turned, but stopped short. Turning back around, he put his wand to the lock and thought for a moment.

`Was it locked in the first place?' he asked himself aloud, looking at the door, then turning around quickly to look at the room. The back room was like a summer dinning room, but since it was spring, they still had some boxes and other things stored there.

Dropping his shoulders, he sighed with his own frustration, and looked to the ceiling. He could not believe that he was getting all jittery over an open screen door.

Walking out of the room, he extinguished the lamps he lit earlier, and got that drink of water he had planned in the first place. Mandrake was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, and Neville brought the water with him upstairs to the bedroom. Mandrake trotted up before him, and giving the dark downstairs one more look, he walked upstairs with a candle lamp.

Walking into his room, he put the lamp down, and put his wand down on his nightstand. Mandrake was already getting himself settled on top of the sheets of the bed, as he always did, and Neville pulled on the sheets and made him move as usual. He figured Mandrake would have known this to happen every night, but this was where that lack of short-term memory played against Neville.

Climbing into bed, he heard another creak from the house, and looked to the doorway. One thing he disliked about being alone in a house like this was, well, being alone in a house like this. The creaks and bits of noise that came from it at nighttime-which were intensified it seemed by the lack of other senses available-were even more apparent when one was alone in the house.

Dropping his glance at the doorway, he put the candle back down and sighed. Mandrake, who had decided to stay off the bed rather than try to get back on, looked at the doorway, and trotted out and down the dark hallway. Neville and Laurel kept the door open at night so Mandrake could come and go as he pleased, and it did not mind Neville. Mandrake seemed happier when Laurel was there anyways, so he would enjoy not having to deal with a disgruntle cat in the morning.

Lying back, Neville tried again to calm down. Another creak from the hallway found Neville's ears, but he blamed it on the cat. Now that Mandrake was out of the room, he could at least be a reason to which Neville could put to the noises, aside from the light wind outside.

Giving a yawn, he turned his mind to the coffee he would be having with Padma, and the meal with Luna and Ron, and put out the candle. The room was thrown into darkness, with the dull moonlight creeping in through the curtains.

His hands tingled as his eyes tried to adapt to the darkness, and the odd creak here and there just seemed to scare him more. He did feel like a six year old, but as before, he hated the darkness. Something about the unknown, and the fact that he could not see what was two feet in front of him, it bothered him a lot.

Closing his eyes, he laid back and again, tried to relax himself. There was nothing to worry about, and he knew in the morning he would slap himself for getting all worked up over the noises caused by an old house.

Exhaling slowly, a thud-not a noise, but a clear thud-came from the hallway. Neville shot up instantly, and grabbed his wand, lighting the room. The noise was too bothersome just to attribute to the cat, and wind could not have made that noise, so with a frustrated sigh, he got out of bed, and went to the doorway.

Looking down the hallway, he saw two yellow, reflective eyes look at him from the top of a table in the hall. Evidently, Mandrake decided the floor was too good for him, and he jumped onto the table top.

`Again, why do I keep you?' Neville asked, the cat still looking at him, as if telling him he was bothering him. Neville sighed, and went back into his room.

Laying back down, he extinguished his wand, and placed it back on the nightstand. He could hear the cat dropping off the table with another thud, and trotting down the stairs. Neville shook his head at his idiot cat's movements, and turned on his side to get to sleep.

Hearing the quietness of the house-if you could believe it-Neville began worrying about the lack of sound. What he would do to live in the city, where there is constant noise, or have numerous people in the house.

Rolling over, he reached for his wand, and his hand landed on the table top. Panic set in quickly, and he began searching for his wand in the darkness. Figuring it fell on the floor, he moved to the edge of his bed, and began searching for his wand on the floor.

More panic set in and his blood turned to ice as he could not feel his wand. He threw open his sheets, and went onto the ground to find his wand. There was still no sound going on in the house aside from the noises he was making, but he needed to find his wand. It was the one security he had in this darkness.

Looking about, he heard now a sound from the hallway. Not a thud, not a thump, but rather a shuffle. Realizing his wand was not there, he figured he must have dropped it in the hallway. He was tired, and he could not remember precisely if he had it with him when he hopped back into bed.

Looking down the dark hallway, the moonlight shed some light and allowed him to see the top of the stairs, where a lump was on the floor. Neville figured that Mandrake had caused one of the plants on the table-top to fall, and that it was what caused the sound. Moving closer however, his fingers shivered and his chest hollowed as he saw that the lump had fur.

Running towards, Neville knelt down and gasped as he found it was Mandrake. He was dead, his eyes still open, looking down the stairwell. Tears began to form in Neville's eyes, but as he looked down the stairwell, horror filled his mind.

A man stood at the bottom of the stairs, the deep blackness of his face, set into the shadow os his hood, looking up at Neville. He was wearing a dark cloak with a hood, so Neville could not tell who it was, but it did not matter.

Neville, his mind filled with fear, ran down the dark hallway, and back into his room. He still did not have his wand, and he was moving about frantically to try and find it. He could hear the light footsteps of the intruder coming closer to the room, and as the panic overwhelmed him, he began to fight with the window latch to escape that way.

`Com'on! Open dammit!' he yelled, as he kept looking back at the doorway. He had locked the door, but as he looked back again-when the footsteps stopped-he could see the lock slowly turning.

Neville knew it was no use with the window, and watched as the door slowly opened, to reveal darkness beyond it. The dark cloaked figure entered Neville and Laurel's bedroom, and Neville tried desperately to maintain his sanity.

`Who are you, what do you want!' Neville yelled, as his eyes kept on the figure. He was still trying to look for his wand, but at this point it was hopeless.

The figure kept silent, and moved closer to Neville. He backed into the windowsill, and his heart continued to thunder in his chest as the figure approached. The cloaked man raised his wand-Neville now realizing this was indeed a wizard-and Neville was frightened beyond comprehension.

`Who are you?' he asked shakily, noticing the man's wand pointing square at his chest. Neville tried to make out the man's face, but it was impossible in the darkness. His thoughts began however to punish him for not having his wand in his hand all the time, instead of loosing it.

The cloaked man laughed harshly at the question, and took a step forward. 'I am your executioner Longbottom.' The voice was rasp, but Neville realized it sounded familiar.

The cloaked man-keeping his wand trained on Neville-removed his hood, and Neville fell backwards on to the floor in shock.

'No! It- It can't be!' he whispered in horror, looking up at the man's face. It can't be, of for the love of Merlin let it not be him!

The cloaked man laughed menacingly again, his red eyes looking at Neville on the floor. 'Oh it is. I am the Emerald Phoenix, and you are the first of many who will die at my wand.'

A frightened tear escaped Neville's eye as he realized what would come next. He thanked Merlin that Laurel was not at home, and he prayed that his unborn baby would be safe, not growing up to know its father.

`Avada Kedavra!'

Spell/Name Meanings:
Laurel - Latin: Laurus - "Laurel" (a tree)
Mandrake - As we all should remember, those lovely plants Harry and the othes played around with in second year.
Ethan - Hebrew: "Solid, enduring"
Cameron - Gaelic: cam - "crooked", sròn - "nose" (Cameron = Crooked nose)

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