Rating:
R
House:
Schnoogle
Ships:
Harry Potter/Neville Longbottom
Characters:
Neville Longbottom Remus Lupin Severus Snape Nymphadora Tonks Harry and Hermione and Ron
Genres:
Mystery Adventure
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Stats:
Published: 01/16/2006
Updated: 06/19/2006
Words: 134,451
Chapters: 37
Hits: 105,190

Becoming Neville

Jedi Rita

Story Summary:
Neville's Gran breaks her hip just after his fifth year at Hogwarts, and he must spend the summer with Harry and Remus at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. He and Harry discover a hidden message in the candy wrappers Neville's mother has been giving him over the years, and they begin to uncover secrets about the past, even as they must confront dangers in the present. Along the way, Neville learns just how much he has in common with The Boy Who Lived, and how to be his own kind of hero.

Chapter 20 - Chapter Twenty

Chapter Summary:
In which we meet Snape's favorite student.
Posted:
03/24/2006
Hits:
2,550

The visit to his parents gave Neville hope, so when Snape sent a floo message that evening informing him that Dr. Chatterjee had agreed to consider his parents' case, his spirits lifted even more. Even Harry couldn't find fault with Snape's timely arrangement, and though he was no more fond of the potions master than before, at least he pitched his grumbles about Death Eaters to an almost inaudible level. He even insisted in accompanying Neville and Remus on the visit to Dr. Chatterjee.

On the appointed day, they followed a carefully prepared floo route to the College of Magical Medicine where Dr. Chatterjee conducted her research. After two short stops, Neville stepped out of the fireplace and into a large stone entry hall. An indignant voice squawked, "Good Lord, not another one!"

The voice had the pinched tone of a portrait, and he looked up at the walls to see a row of mediwizards and witches glaring down at him. One of the portraits, of a witch wearing a winged headdress like an enormous white albatross, frowned down her nose at him. "When did the College of Magical Medicine become a kindergarten?"

"All these children!" a sour-faced wizard added. "Little germ factories is what they are!"

"How true," a deep voice grumbled.

But that voice did not belong to a portrait. Neville turned to see Professor Snape standing in the center of the room, arms crossed over his chest in typical imposing fashion. Harry hovered over by the wall, as if trying to keep his distance from Snape, and he smiled gratefully when Neville saw him. Harry had insisted on flooing before Neville, as if he were afraid to leave Neville alone with Snape.

There was a rush of air from the fireplace, and Remus stepped through.

"Thank heavens it's not another brat!" the witch with the albatross headdress exclaimed.

The witch next to her sniffed, "Though this one hardly looks like the reputable type."

Remus's brow wrinkled as he frowned up at the portraits, and Snape smirked.

"This way," he ordered, as he spun on his heel and headed down a hallway, like the Angel of Death.

The other three trotted to keep up with him, their footsteps clattering down the long hall. The sharp tang of formaldehyde stung Neville's nostrils, as well as other scents both unidentifiable and unpleasant. They passed large doors with signs on them, like "Magical Regeneration of Internal Organs" and "Medicinal Uses of Venom (Invertebrates Only)". Some of the doors were open, revealing steaming rooms of bubbling potions, or walls hung with sinister-looking medical instruments. One was lined with shelves of glass jars filled with blood. The shelves were labeled by species, including "goblin," "giant," and "vampire."

Neville looked away, his head spinning. "That's disgusting."

"Did you see that room back on the right?" Harry whispered in his ear. "I saw a mediwizard going in, and it looked like they were operating on someone in there."

Neville groaned and clutched his stomach. "You didn't really need to tell me that, did you?"

"Gentlemen!" Snape barked at them from down the hall. "Stop gawking and keep up! We don't want to waste Dr. Chatterjee's time!"

Neville whimpered, and Harry grabbed his elbow, pulling him down the hall.

They had just caught up to Snape and Lupin when they stopped in front of a door bearing a brass sign that read, "Dr. Meena Chatterjee, Medical Potions Research."

Snape knocked on the door, and a high voice called out, "Well? Don't just stand around! Come in!" He opened the door, and they entered a laboratory filled with pipettes and tubes and multi-colored vials. At least four cauldrons simmered over flames of varying intensity. Jars of ingredients were scattered over the worktables, amid stacks of open books and scrolls.

"Wow," Harry said softly to Neville. "This place looks like something out of a mad scientist film."

Before Neville could ask what a mad scientist was, Snape rumbled, "Miss Chatterjee, this lab is a disgrace! Did you learn nothing from all your years of study with me? You're just begging for disaster with all this clutter lying about."

From somewhere in a dark corner of the lab, a voice replied, "And how many times have I told you: why put things away when I'm only going to need them again?"

Snape picked up a jar, uncorking it. "Look at this! You've got beetle wings in a jar labeled 'salamander livers.'"

"Professor Snape, are you touching my ingredients?" The owner of the voice appeared from behind a bookshelf. She was a short witch, on the pudgy side, her hair bound in two braided buns on top of her head like mouse ears. Her pink mediwitch robes were stained and burned in places, and she had purple ink stains on her chin and the tip of her nose.

Snape scolded, "Your jars are mislabeled!"

"No, they're not," she protested, hands on her hips. "I know perfectly well what is in each jar." She stomped over and plucked the jar from Snape's hand, replacing it on the table.

Snape scowled at her. "Perhaps your obstinate Hufflepuff brain can remember, but anyone else using this laboratory would not."

"That's why no one else is allowed to use my laboratory." Her bright, black eyes caught on Neville, Harry, and Remus, and she blinked rapidly. "Who are these people?"

Snape gestured to Neville. "This is the student I told you about, who needs a second opinion about his parents."

"Oh, yes yes yes!" Dr. Chatterjee's round face lit in a wide smile, and she clasped Neville's hand, shaking it hard. "Mr. Longfellow! So pleased to meet you!" She turned to Remus, looking him up and down and tut-tutting. "This would be your father, then? Poor man."

Remus blushed and cleared his throat. "Remus Lupin, Dr. Chatterjee. I'm a friend of Neville's."

"Oh! Right." She gave his hand a quick shake before moving on to Harry.

"I'm Harry," Harry said, holding out his hand.

She shook his hand, blinking rapidly as she studied him. Her head cocked to one side in puzzlement, and she refused to let go of his hand, even when he tried to pull away from her grasp. "I say!" she exclaimed. "You look bloody familiar, don't you? Do I know you?"

Still trying to tug his hand free, Harry mumbled, "I don't think so."

"Are you sure?" she asked, shaking his hand with renewed vigor. "Don't be afraid to say if we've met before. I'm terrible at remembering people."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Yet you are capable of remembering mislabeled ingredients?"

"But of course! Ingredients are important!" She finally let Harry go and gestured to include them all. "Well, don't just stand around like a flock of pigeons. Come in to my office!"

She led them on a winding route through the worktables and bookshelves to a corner of the room where her desk stood, buried under books, scrolls, and yet more ingredient jars. Next to the desk, an enormous bat hung upside down from a perch, its leathery wings wrapped tightly around itself.

"Whoa!" Harry exclaimed. "That's the biggest bat I ever saw!"

"Do you like her?" Dr. Chatterjee asked, scratching the bat's head. The bat chittered happily and flapped her immense wings, creating a breeze that blew several scrolls off the doctor's desk. "Lakshmi is an Indian fruit bat. Isn't she a dear?"

"What happened to that godawful toucan you used to have?" asked Snape. "Such an ill-tempered beast."

"Oswald wasn't the one with the ill temper, Professor; you were. Alas, Oswald died a couple of years ago. He was always drinking my potions, and I'm afraid one in particular just didn't agree with him. Fortunately, Lakshmi is too smart to go tasting potions."

Leaving the bat to settle back down on the perch, she turned and smiled at her visitors. "But where are my manners? Please, have a seat." She gestured to two chairs, piled high with melted and cracked cauldrons. While Neville, Harry, and Remus pondered what to do about the chairs, she held up a tin labeled "ferret glands." "Would anyone care for tea?"

Neville blanched, and he could hear Harry swallow hard next to him. Remus managed to say, "No, thank you."

She glanced at the tin and said, "Oh, don't worry. It's Darjeeling."

"That's quite all right," Remus again declined.

She shrugged. "Suit yourself." Setting the tin down, she clapped her hands in front of her. "So, are any of you lot fellow Hufflepuffs?"

"I'm afraid not," Remus smiled. "We're all Gryffindors."

"Gryffindors! All of you?"

"Who else would be in need of intellectual assistance?" quipped Snape.

Dr. Chatterjee burst into giggles. "Oh, Professor Snape! You're so droll!" She wiped a tear from her eye and got herself under control. "But seriously, Mr. Longfellow."

"Longbottom," Neville quietly corrected.

"What? Oh, yes yes." She waved a dismissive hand. "Mr. Longbottom, I understand your parents are under the care of Dr. Otis B. Driftwood?"

"Yes, ma'am." He opened his bookbag and handed her the files he'd brought. "These are their medical records."

She took them from him, leafing quickly through the files and muttering to herself. "Yes yes. Prolonged Cruciatus. Possibly five days. Mm-hmm. Catatonia. Bloodwort? Yes yes. Bouts of aphasia. Unresponsive to scullcap and tabasheer. Both? Hmm. Interesting. I see, I see." Nose buried in the files, she edged around her desk, taking a seat as the continued talking to herself. Without looking up from the files, she reached unerringly for a blank scroll and a quill, which she dipped in a jar labeled "powdered gallstones." She set the quill point down on the scroll, and it began jotting notes.

Abruptly she looked up, blinking at Neville. "Mr. Longfellow, I wonder if you can answer some questions for me about your parents' behavior?"

He nodded, and she peppered him with questions: about their appetites, how often they caught colds, whether they responded to remarks about the weather, if they preferred to sleep on their left side or their right. Neville could barely keep up, and he could answer no more than half the questions. But his ignorance didn't seem to bother her, and she kept the questions flying while the quill scratched vigorously away on the scroll.

At last she heaved a great sigh and stood up. "With your permission, Mr. Longfellow, I'd like to meet with your parents and examine them for myself."

"Of course," Neville replied.

"Good." She rounded the desk and came to stand directly in front of him, looking up at him with an expression so intense, he had to force himself not to look away.

"My dear boy." She sighed again and took his hand, patting it lightly. "Professor Snape tells me that your parents were heroes in the war against What's-His-Name. We all owe them so very much. No doubt you know that no one has survived such a prolonged exposure to Cruciatus. It may be that there is nothing I can do to help them." She squeezed his hand and offered him a warm smile. "But I shall do my very best."

Tears stung in his eyes, and he fought to keep them back. "Thank you, Dr. Chatterjee."

"It is such a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Longfellow." She gave his hand a final shake and turned to Remus. "And you, Mr. - er - Whoever." And on to Harry, who hastily clasped his hands behind his back as she tilted her head and frowned pensively at him once more. "Mr. Potter, are you *sure* we haven't met?"

"I'm sure."

"Any older brothers or sisters who went to Hogwarts?"

"No, Doctor."

"Cousins?"

He shook his head.

"Oh, well. It'll come to me." She turned on Snape next, throwing her arms around him in a hug. "Professor! It's always *such* a pleasure to see you!"

He grimaced, holding his arms away from her. "Miss Chatterjee, kindly cease this ridiculous display!"

She released him, beaming at Neville and Harry. "I'm sure Professor Snape is your favorite teacher, just as he was mine!"

Behind her, Snape rolled his eyes, and the boys refrained from commenting.

"Now Miss Chatterjee, we've taken up enough of your valuable time. I'm sure you have very important research to attend to. However, I insist that you re-label those jars."

"Oh, Professor, you're so droll! If I re-label them, how will I know what's in them?" She waved a hand at him. "Well, good-bye to you all. Mr. Longfellow, you can expect to hear from me in a week or so."

They bid her farewell and left her laboratory, walking down the hallway with less alacrity than when they had arrived.

Walking next to Snape, Remus remarked, "Well, Dr. Chatterjee certainly is affable."

Snape harrumphed. "Everyone has their flaws. But she was the most capable student I ever taught. Certainly moreso than the pretentious Miss Granger."

Harry balled his fists at his sides, but Remus continued pleasantly, "That is high praise. As I recall, many of the professors considered Miss Granger to be quite bright."

"Anyone can parrot back answers," Snape dismissed. "And her sycophantic attempts to curry favor with her long-winded essays are most distasteful. But it takes true dedication and hard work to master the intricacies of potionmaking. Miss Chatterjee understood the theory from the inside out. She had the highest scoring NEWT results since 1952."

"Really?" A hint of amusement tinged Remus's voice. "Why, that would mean she scored higher than *you.*"

Snape walked several steps in silence, his robes billowing behind him. "When I sat for my NEWTs, there were other pressures distracting me. I did not perform at my best."

That sounded like an excuse to Neville, but to his surprise, Remus seemed to take it seriously. "Oh. Of course."

Neville glanced at Harry, who seemed just as perplexed as he was. Harry only shrugged.

"Well," continued Remus, "she seemed quite fond of you. It must be rewarding to have a student who has succeeded so well."

Again Snape did not reply at first. Neville thought that was very strange. Why wouldn't he appreciate the compliment?

At last the potions master said, "She works very hard."

Remus looked ahead. "You have a right to be proud of her. And maybe even a little fond of her, as well."

"Honestly, Lupin!" Snape protested, but his complaint lacked his characteristic bite.