A Quiet Life

A Quiet Life

By Cindale

Chapter 5

A Quiet Life

By Cindale

Chapter 5

"Don't be nervous," Ginny said as they ate breakfast one Sunday morning in October. "My family's loud, but harmless."

Aside from his lunch with Ginny's father and a drink one night with Ron, Neville hadn't seen any of Ginny's family since she had moved in with him. Neville supposed he should thank Ron for that; he had obviously told his brothers something to keep them from barging into his flat and hexing him silly.

However, Neville knew he couldn't avoid the Weasleys indefinitely, so when Ginny told him she supposed they should go to Sunday Dinner that day, he had reluctantly agreed.

"I wouldn't call Fred and George 'harmless'," Neville argued. "They turned me into a canary plenty of times in school." Neville wondered what pranks the twins would have in store for him if they were in close proximity and thought he had betrayed Harry.

"You're not still a canary, are you?" Ginny said with a smirk.

"How am I supposed to act, though? What did you and Ron tell everyone?"

Ginny looked away as if unwilling to meet his eyes. "Everyone except Ron and Hermione thinks we're dating, and they all know I live here. We were purposefully vague about what really happened, but we tried to give the impression that the relationship didn't begin until after Harry and I broke up. Everyone knows Ron would never take your side over Harry's if you had done anything to betray Harry, so I don't think anyone will think you did."

Neville thought about that. He wasn't sure if he could pretend to be her boyfriend and show her the physical affection that would be expected. It wasn't that she repulsed him, it was just that he didn't really feel any closer to her than before she had moved in. At times, Neville actually forgot he had a roommate. Ginny stayed in Appleby during the week, and when she was home on weekends she was so busy running errands that Neville barely saw her. The only time they really talked was when he cooked for her once each weekend.

"Will Harry be there?" he asked.

"I don't think so," she said with a disappointed frown.

"Have you talked to him?"

"No, not since that day in Draco's office," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I've tried to Floo him, but he's never home, and he won't answer my owls." She sniffed and held her head up defiantly. "I wish he was going to be there," she said. "You and I could show him what a good snog looks like!" Neville felt a brief moment of panic, but then he saw Ginny's mischievous expression. "Don't worry," she said, obviously reading his feelings from his face. "I wouldn't really do it."

Neville wasn't so sure about that, but he let it go.

One hour before mealtime they Apparated to the Burrow. They landed beside an imposing white wall broken only by a small gate. Ginny passed her hand carelessly over the lock and the gate swung open to admit them.

Neville had expected the Minister of Magic to live in an impressive-looking structure, but the Burrow surprised him. It was a bright yellow two-story house with cheerful curtains and flowers in window boxes. Neville couldn't help grinning because he felt as if the house was smiling at him in welcome.

"I like it," he said, noticing that Ginny was looking at him expectantly. "It seems to suit your parents."

"Yeah, it does," said Ginny, turning to look at the house, her eyes glazing over a little. "I was devastated when the other house burned down. We lost so much. But I have to admit, this one is much nicer to look at. The first Burrow looked like it would fall over at any minute!"

Neville had almost forgotten that Death Eaters had burnt the Weasley's house to the ground when Ginny was fifteen, and that one of Ginny's brothers, Percy, had died in the fire. An odd feeling stirred in his stomach, it may have been sympathy, and Neville put his hand on Ginny's shoulder and squeezed. She gave him a look of surprise, but then smiled and headed toward the house.

The door was wrenched open as Ginny was raising a hand to knock and they found themselves looking down into two pairs of enormous blue eyes. "Aunt Ginny!" one of the girls squealed. The other hid herself behind the door, poking her head around so that they could see only one eye and half of her long blonde hair. The girl who had spoken walked up to Neville and tugged on the leg of his trousers. "Are you Ginny's boyfriend?" she asked.

Neville swallowed; he hadn't known he would have to lie to a child. "Yes."

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Neville Longbottom." On a sudden impulse, he squatted down to the girl's eye level and held out his hand. "What's your name?"

"Aimee." She put her hand in Neville's and pumped it once. "I am very pleased to meet you," she recited in a formal tone. Neville thought he detected a trace of a French accent, and looked questioningly at Ginny.

"Bill and Fleur's," said Ginny.

"That's what I thought." He reached out a hand toward the other girl. "And what is your name?" The other girl looked at his hand for a moment and then looked into his eyes, but remained silent and made no move to touch him.

"Her name's Aurore," said Aimee. "We're five years old. We're twins, which means we were in my mum's tummy at the same time. We're sisters, too."

"Hi, Aurore," said Neville, trying to show the more timid girl that he wasn't a threat. "Are you two identical like your uncles?"

"No," said Aimee, ignoring the fact that Neville had asked Aurore and not her. "We're fatermal. We're not exactly alike."

"Faternal," Aurore corrected, rolling her eyes. Neville smiled at her and saw that they were correct about their twin type, if not the pronunciation. Both girls had blue eyes, but Aurore's were much darker, and Aimee's hair had a definite reddish tint while Aurore's was platinum blonde.

A female voice laced with a French accent called the girls, and Neville straightened up as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen walked to the front door. "Girls, let them come into the house," she said in an exasperated tone. Aimee ran into the house with a little squeal, and Fleur picked up Aurore. "I am sorry, Ginny," said Fleur, "and you must be Neville. Fleur Delacour-Weasley." She tried to hold out her hand, but it was awkward with Aurore struggling in her arms.

"It's okay," Neville assured her. "It's nice to meet you." Of course, he remembered her from the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts long ago, but knew she wouldn't remember him.

Aurore stopped struggling and whispered something in her mother's ear while shooting curious looks at Neville. When she had finished, Fleur said, "Ginny, Aurore wants to talk to you." Ginny looked a little surprised, but took the girl from her mother and carried her into the house. "Come in," Fleur said to Neville. "I know Bill isn't planning to hex you, though I can't speak for everyone else."

Neville gave a nervous laugh and followed her into the house. He decided he liked Fleur, despite her beauty, which intimidated him slightly. It was actually her bluntness and her open, friendly manner which appealed to him.

The front door opened into a massive living room which was tastefully decorated in neutral tones and colourful accents. Neville got the impression of a room that was welcoming and friendly while still being worthy of the Minister of Magic.

Neville looked nervously at Ginny, who was still deep in conversation with Aurore. He was nervous about spending time with her family, and he had hoped she would be constantly by his side to diffuse any uncomfortable situations, like...

"Neville!" said Fred (or George?), bounding up to him wearing a grin, but with a predatory look in his eyes. "Glad to see you mate," he said in an overly friendly tone. He threw an arm around Neville's shoulders and pulled him toward a doorway on the opposite side of the room. "Have you got a moment for a chat, luv?"

Neville looked helplessly at Ginny, but she had her back to him and apparently hadn't heard her brother. He was very grateful when Fleur stepped up and said, "No, he doesn't, Fred. I was just taking him to meet Bill."

Fred looked very disappointed, and Neville couldn't help wondering if he had been meant to spend the entire visit at the Burrow as a canary or a clown. Yes, he definitely liked Fleur.

"I'll catch you later, Neville," said Fred, letting go of him with obvious reluctance.

"I'll look forward to it," said Neville, looking Fred in the eyes, trying to convey that he wasn't afraid of him despite his trepidation. Fred looked at him with an expression that might have included approval before he turned and stalked out of the room.

Neville followed Fleur into the kitchen, which was also a huge room; the living room and the kitchen obviously encompassed the entire ground floor. A long table dominated one end of the kitchen and the other was crowded with what appeared to be every Muggle appliance in existence. Mrs. Weasley was stirring something on the stove and Hermione was cleaning vegetables at the sink.

"You must be Neville," said a man who could only be Bill; he pushed Aimee out of his lap and rose awkwardly from the chair at the end of the table where he had been sitting. "I've heard all about you from my informant." He nodded toward the little girl standing beside him and held out a hand to Neville.

"Pleased to meet you," said Neville, taking Bill's hand and shaking it firmly.

"See - I told you he was nice, Daddy!" said Aimee, and Neville couldn't help grinning at her gratefully.

"Hi, Neville," said Hermione as she gave him a warm hug, despite her ever-growing belly. Neville was touched by the embrace, and he hoped that he would get a chance to tell her how much her gesture of acceptance meant to him, especially since she was one of Harry's closest friends.

"Hermione," called Mrs. Weasley from the other end of the kitchen, "you go sit down and make yourself comfortable. I can finish this."

"Nonsense. I'm fine. No need to spoil him before he's born," said Hermione, patting her stomach.

"Can I do it for you, Hermione?" Neville asked eagerly. It had occurred to him that he might be able to avoid whatever Fred and George had in store for him if he was occupied under the watchful eyes of Mrs. Weasley.

Neville gave Hermione a pleading look, which she apparently understood. "I think I might go sit down after all," she said. "Ginny says Neville's a wonderful cook, Mrs. Weasley." She turned back to Neville and said, "I had just finished washing the vegetables and was ready to chop them." Then she whispered something to Aimee (bending to reach her ear with a bit of trouble) and left the room hand in hand with the girl.

Mrs. Weasley gave him an unreadable look as he walked over to the sink and picked up the long knife. "I can manage myself, Neville. You go and have fun with the other young people." Neville got the impression that she said this only half-heartedly, however; he suspected that Mrs. Weasley would welcome the opportunity to interrogate him, but Ginny's mother was a far better prospect than Fred and George.

"I like to cook," said Neville truthfully. "And if I help you, we'll all get to eat sooner." Thankfully, she didn't protest again, and Neville took up the knife and began expertly slicing cucumbers.

Mrs. Weasley watched him like a hawk for several minutes, and Neville felt as though he were a student back in Snape's Potions classroom. He hoped he didn't blow something up, or cut his finger off, or something worse. Finally, he felt her gaze shift away from him, and he looked up furtively to see that she had turned back to the stove, presumably because she realized that he wasn't going to mangle the vegetables too badly.

As he relaxed into the repetitive movements of the knife, his thoughts drifted to the remark Hermione had made about his cooking. Hermione didn't know he could cook. Hermione had said ... Ginny had told her he was a wonderful cook! That was interesting. Neville had thought Ginny was only being nice when she complemented him on the dinner he made for her every Saturday. He tried to suppress the light, airy feeling that began to grow in his chest (it was only cooking after all!) but he couldn't help the smile that crept across his face.

"Oh, here you are," said Ginny as she walked into the room, her eyes filled with relief when she spotted Neville. "Hi, Mum," she said, and kissed her mother on the cheek. Then she walked over to Neville, put her lips close to his ear, and said, "It would be best if you could avoid being alone with Fred and George."

"Yeah, I got that impression," he whispered back as he scooped the cucumbers into a bowl.

She leaned in a little closer, presumably for more privacy, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world for Neville to rest a hand on the small of her back. "Aurore told me they're planning to turn your hair red, or some such nonsense." He grinned at her, but then she suddenly seemed to realize where his hand was resting, and stiffened. Startled, he removed his hand quickly, but she recovered almost immediately and gave him a resigned look, as if to say, "Of course, you're supposed to be my boyfriend," and leaned over to brush his cheek with her lips.

"No snogging in the kitchen," said George (or Fred?) as he came in through the back door.

"We weren't!" Neville insisted without thinking.

"Why not?" said Bill. "I'd like to see a good bit of snogging."

"Leave them alone, Bill," said Mrs. Weasley in a scandalized tone.

"It's just not the same after being married six years," he said, his eyes on Fleur as she ran through the room, presumably chasing one of the young girls. As she passed, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, wrestling her down on his lap. She seemed to put up very little resistance, and gazed adoringly into Bill's eyes as he said, "Yeah, the snogging really slows down after six years."

"It better not," said Fleur and she gently kissed her husband on the lips.

Bill growled and pulled Fleur into a kiss that was arguably inappropriate in public. Apparently, George agreed because he said, "We don't need to see that! Get a room!"

"Should we follow his advice, love?" Bill asked, waggling his eyebrows at Fleur. "This family needs another set of twins, doesn't it?" Fleur blushed to the roots of her hair and struggled out of Bill's embrace, but she leaned over and whispered something into his ear that made his smile widen before she left the room.

"Well, can you two top that?" said George, looking at Neville and Ginny in open challenge. To Neville's surprise, Mrs. Weasley was silent; she must be wondering how they would behave.

"Ginny and I like to keep that sort of thing private," Neville said, having thought of the answer to the question of physical affection before they had left his flat. It was perfectly true; the fact that their relationship wasn't of that nature was a private matter. Ginny, who was facing away from her brothers, gave Neville a grateful smile.

"Neville!" said Mr. Weasley as he entered the kitchen. He extended his hand to Neville, and Neville shifted away from Ginny to shake it. "I talked to Remus yesterday, and he said this last transformation was even easier than September's."

"Yes, I heard," said Neville. "I'm very pleased with our progress. We would like to begin testing the potion on other werewolves early next year. We would especially like to find out if magical background makes a difference in the effectiveness."

"Hmmm..." Mr. Weasley said, nodding. "Remus had one magical parent, I believe, so you would want to test it on purebloods and Muggles. I'll look into it."

"Thanks, Mr. Weasley," said Neville sincerely. He hadn't meant to ask for help; he just couldn't help being excited that his research was paying off. He had to admit that it could be beneficial dating the Minister's daughter.

"Wait a minute," said Ginny, "there are Muggle werewolves?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Mr. Weasley with a frown. "They usually die from the initial bite, but a few survive. They, of course, need more help than a wizard, but they usually get the least amount of support."

"Neville," said Mrs. Weasley, "what made you decide to do research on the aconite plant?"

"I've been interested in cross-breeding magical and non-magical plants since I was an apprentice. I was visiting Remus with ..." he had started to mention Harry, but caught himself just in time, and tried not to wince. "I was visiting Remus and Petunia one day a couple of years ago and got the idea while we were talking." He could have gone on to tell them how Remus had expressed confidence in his abilities, even from the beginning, and how much that faith meant to him, but he had learned that people tended to get glassy-eyed when he talked too long about his work.

"But why did you keep doing it on your own when the Ministry shut you down?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Neville shrugged. "I guess I didn't want to let Remus down. He was the first teacher at Hogwarts who openly expressed confidence in my abilities, not to mention that he was showing a lot of faith in me when he agreed to test the modified Wolfsbane Potion." He paused, and decided that in this case it might be best to be completely honest. "Part of it was that I just wanted to see if I could do it, of course."

Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned back to her cooking, but Neville thought he caught a look of approval in her eyes. Ginny smiled at him gratefully, and Neville returned her smile, but he hoped she realized he was being sincere and not just trying to impress her parents.

"Come on, Neville - let Ginny finish the vegetables," said Mr. Weasley. "I want to show you my collection."

Neville felt torn. He wasn't sure what the "collection" was, but he could see that it would please Mr. Weasley to show it to him; however, he didn't want to risk displeasing Ginny or Mrs. Weasley by leaving them to the cooking.

"Go ahead, Neville," said Ginny, taking the knife from him with a smirk. "I'd rather risk cutting my fingers off than have to suffer through the 'collection' again." Neville was a bit shocked at Ginny's seemingly harsh words, but her eyes were soft and teasing.

"Scoff if you like," said Mr. Weasley, obviously not offended, "but I got elected to my office on a platform of cooperation with the Muggle world. My 'collection' that you are insulting is what made me what I am today!"

Ginny smiled affectionately. "What you are today, and always will be, is my eccentric father." She put the knife down, reached over Neville, and kissed her father on the cheek. Neville felt a slight pang of sadness as father and daughter gazed at each other adoringly for a brief moment; he longed for a loving relationship, any kind of relationship, with his own parents.

"You can show Neville your toys after dinner, Arthur," said Molly. "We're almost ready. George, set the table."

Neville had forgotten George was still in the room. He had apparently been listening silently to the conversation, and was now giving Neville an appraising look that was surprisingly not unpleasant. George pulled plates out of a cupboard, walked over to Neville, handed him half the stack, and said, "You're good with plants, are you?"

"That seems to be the consensus," said Neville, raising an eyebrow and following him to the table.

"Fred and I are trying to develop a product that causes a person to breathe fire, but everything we've tried so far causes nasty burns in the mouth. Any ideas?"

"Have you tried aloe vera?" Neville asked.

"Never heard of it."

"Muggle plant. Really should be tried in more potions - it has many healing properties. You can buy a plant at almost any Muggle greenhouse, or I think I could spare one of mine."

Neville continued to chat with George about the properties of certain plants and their potential use in products for the Weasley twins' store as they set the table. George sat next to him at dinner and they continued the discussion as they ate. Fred sat across from them and glared at George at first, but apparently came to realize that Neville could actually benefit their business, so eventually his expression softened and he joined in the conversation.

"Don't encourage them, Neville," said Angelina, who was sitting next to Fred.

"Yeah," said Alicia from George's other side, "we've warned them that if they lose any body parts to their 'research' we won't go out with them any more, but they don't listen."

It was apparent that the two women were just joking, however; their eyes twinkled as they batted at their boyfriends playfully. It was interesting to Neville that identical twins would choose women who looked so different; Angelina was tall and dark while Alicia was petite and pale.

After dinner a make-shift Quidditch match was formed. Neville watched as Ginny kicked off from the ground and soared into the air, her hair flickering behind her like flames. She moved gracefully through the air as if she was weightless, but it was the expression of absolute bliss on her face that made him catch his breath. He had never seen Ginny look so happy, and he immediately revised his opinion that Fleur was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"We really appreciate all you've done for her, Neville," said Hermione, making him jump; he hadn't realized she was standing right next to him.

Neville felt his face getting hot, and he wasn't sure how to respond. "Nah, it's not a big deal," he finally said.

"But it is," Hermione insisted. "You're really making this easier for her."

Neville had nothing to say to that, so they watched in silence for a few minutes. His thoughts turned to Harry, and he couldn't help thinking that it seemed wrong for him not to be there with the family he loved so much, especially when they were playing Quidditch. "Do you think Harry will come back to her?" he asked before he really thought about it, and was immediately horrified with himself for voicing his thought.

Hermione, however, didn't seem to be bothered by the question and appeared to consider it seriously. "No, I don't," she finally said with a sigh. "Harry's very confused right now, and I don't think this is something that's going to fix itself."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Neville as something like a physical pain stabbed through his heart. He turned to watch Ginny play. "Ginny still loves him."

"I know," said Hermione. She was silent for a few moments, and Neville turned to look at her, finding her examining his face closely. "You know," she said, "for the first time since this whole mess began, I think it might all end up okay."

Neville wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but Aimee ran up, demanding Hermione's attention, and he forgot all about it later.