Growing

Chapter Three - No Ordinary Thing

Author's Notes: Thank you to Nathaniel, my great beta.

~*~*~*~

When Neville flooed into the Tonks' fire place the next day he was relieved to find that the wards had been adjusted and did not start screaming again. Though part of him wished they would just to wake him up. Six o'clock in the morning was not an easy time to be up and about.

Andromeda met him by the fireplace and got him to feed her and Ted's four owls, Brian, Rodger, John and Freddie, who had returned from their trip to St. Mungo's, before starting on the garden. The day was spent much as the day before with Neville watering, feeding and weeding the plants, while Andromeda was busy planting some more Mandrake seeds, which would eventually replace the seedlings they had planted the day before.

Neville then had some time to tend to the Mimbulus mimbletonia after lunch. They were rather an odd species, having only been rediscovered by Muggles excavating the ruins of an old Abyssinian temple. On these digs there was always a wizard present passing as a Muggle to prevent them from stumbling across anything that could potentially hurt them, so when the Muggles found a cache of a few hundred grey seeds they were confiscated and taken to wizarding research institutions, such as the Department of Mysteries in Britain. Having been grown, and declared thoroughly useless and not dangerous at all, other wizards were allowed to purchase them, but nobody had yet found a way to cultivate them and with the current lack of interest the species would eventually be extinct again.

Neville had suspected for some time that he could not make his seed or flower because another Mimbulus was required, after all some plants did have genders, but these were always non-magical plants, so many herbologists had not given this much thought. What Neville required to prove this theory were more Mimbulus, which is what Andromeda had supplied him with. But first he would have to get them to a state of good health. So Neville started by watering them, which was what all plants eventually required, and stroking them, running his finger down the stalk, carefully avoiding the puss-filled boils. He had found that his own Mimbulus had responded well to him stroking it.

"You seem to be very good with them." Neville jumped, he had not noticed Andromeda walk up behind him. "Oh, sorry. I though you had noticed me."

"It's okay. I've had some practice with Mimbulus, they....um like being stroked," Neville responded, wondering in Andromeda would think it was silly to be stroking a plant.

"Odd that, they have one of the most fascinating defensive mechanisms I've ever seen, but in order to grow they need people," Andromeda replied, her focus more on picking up some empty pots that were sitting on the bench next to the Mimbulus.

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm glad you're here to take care of them, I've been rather negligent with them." Neville had noticed that Andromeda was the only one who worked with so many plants and was constantly busy. He wondered how on earth she had been doing it all by herself up until now. "Eventually," she continued, "I will make enough profit off this place to hire somebody full-time to stroke the Mimbulus. But this place is not exactly a quick returning investment. It would be wonderful to make lots of money off something you loved, but that isn't always the way it is, is it?"

Neville agreed with her and continued the next two days showing up in the morning and working around the greenhouse. Occasionally, Andromeda would get him to help her with extra duties, on the Thursday morning that required watching the Venomous Tentacula while Andromeda fed them.

Neville job consisted of standing well back and telling her if one of the tendrils made a grab for one of Andromeda's legs. She herself was dressed from head to foot in an odd padded costume that left none of her skin showing and would hopefully prevent any spines from going through the fabric and into her flesh. She wore an odd mask over her face made out of fabric and cloth mesh, which allowed her to see out of it.

Ted stood by, wand drawn, and instructed Neville that he was to stun the plants should he see one get too close. Andromeda cautioned them both against being too hasty, since the stupefy charm could kill a plant, but Ted protested, after all her life was much more important than a plant.

The red plants inside feed on decomposing flesh, and so, Andromeda fed them by placing cuts of meat where the plants could reach it. Neville watched as Andromeda cautiously leaned in with a lamb shank and placed it just out of reach of one of the plants. She moved backwards quickly and a tentacle shot out at the meat, wrapping around it. It tightened itself causing the spines to imbed themselves in the flesh. Soon dark black patches appeared as splotches in the red meat around the spines, slowly getting wider until there was no longer any red meat, only black rotting flesh.

There were four plants in total, and Andromeda placed the last three pieces of meat down quickly before walking out of the room, never turning her back to the deadly plants. She shut the door and locked it.

Neville watched on through the glass as the plants started fighting with one another over the meat, vines reaching and grabbing at each other. He suddenly felt an odd sensation at his ankle, reacting quickly he pointed his wand down at his foot and lifted his trouser leg, expecting to see a red vine wrapping its way around him, ready to kill but instead found only his grey sock sticking out of his shoe.

"Careful there, Nev." Ted was watching him and chucked. "Wouldn't want to stun yourself."

Neville could feel bloody rushing to cheeks from his own embarrassment. "Awh, don't worry about it." Ted patted him on the shoulder. "Those things give me the creeps too. In fact, you should see Dora around them, she's positively terrified of them but won't admit it."

"Well, that's your bloody fault, Ted. Giving her Day of the Triffids to read when she's eleven and has a mother constantly bringing home odd plants," Andromeda replied, having shed the protective mask.

"Dora didn't become a Auror because I gave her a book to read," Ted replied putting a hand on his wife's shoulder.

Andromeda glanced at him. "Well, it certainly didn't help."

~*~*~*~

Friday was marked by the absence of Andromeda, who had gone off to speak with some of her distributors. Neville finished his daily work by the early afternoon, and without Andromeda to tell him anything else he could possibly do, was spending some time tending to the Mimbulus.

"Wotcher, Nev. You bored?" Ted was walking through the greenhouse.

"I don't really have any work I can do."

"Well, why don't you help me out this afternoon?"

Neville followed Ted into a rather large garage, inside was a desk covered in a ton of papers and shelves upon shelves of what Neville recognised to be Muggle appliances. The whole place was a mess, the paper randomly scattered and bits of broken Muggle appliance and what looked like string with metal running through it all over the floor. Neville suspected that this was the one place Andromeda's love of cleanliness did not reach.

"This is where I work," Ted announced. "Andi thought that if you were bored you might want to learn how a charm is made."

Neville had always known that magic hadn't always been spells a person memorised, a wizard had created those spells, but very few people knew how to do it. Neville doubted even Hermione could do it. "Yeah."

"Well." Ted beamed. "The two things needed to create a spell are imagination and patience." He paused. "And, well, I suppose the ability to do magic helps a bit."

"Don't you have to be powerful?" Neville asked; he had always thought you had to have a special talent, be someone like Dumbledore and Harry, to be able to do it.

"That's what most people think but it's not true. All you have to do it point you wand, and will it to happen." Ted pointed his wand at a nearby piece of string, and said quietly, "Come here."

Surprisingly for Neville, who had though that objects only did that when you used a summoning charm, the object floated up into the air and into Ted's outstretched hand.

"Of course that's not very imaginative, that's just me being sick of everybody using Latin all the time. It's rather elitist."

"So I could do that, I though it would be harder than that. I mean, I though making a spell would be harder than that, but anyone can do it, right?" Neville asked intrigued by the idea that he could one day just sit at home and create a spell. It seemed too easy to be true.

"Yeah, and it doesn't matter what the word is. Try it yourself, get that piece of wire there to spin around in a circle." Ted was pointing at one of the odd pieces of sting.

"I can't I'm still underage," Neville replied, finding he was quite disappointed to be able to give it a try.

"Oh," Ted replied, disappointed. "I forget that sometimes, haven't spend much time with teenagers since Dora moved out years ago."

"But it's really that easy. I could do it?" Neville asked, still in disbelief.

"Only imagination and patience, Neville. The only people who seem to understand that these days are dark wizards. That's why the dark arts are so difficult to defend against. As soon as you've figured out a counter curse to one attack, some sick bastard has come up with another and you have to start all over again."

Neville found himself wondering what horrible curses the Death Eaters were creating at the moment, as cold tingling went up and down his spine as he had the image of Bellatrix Lestrange and Snape laughing as they though of new ways to torture people who looked awfully like Neville's parents.

"Are you working on counter curses?" he asked.

"Nah, the ministry won't let me, they keep the war stuff to themselves." He obviously noticed what Neville was thinking as he quickly added, "But don't worry they've got a whole Department on it at the moment, all the Unspeakables. They're really good at it too."

"So what do you do?" Neville asked, wanting to change the topic away from the Department of Mysteries, he still felt a little bad about contributing to the destruction.

"Me, I'm trying to do the impossible. Making a magical substitute for electricity." Neville knew the word from somewhere but could not quite place it. Ted laughed at the puzzled look on Neville face. "That's the stuff Muggles use as a magic. It gets all these appliances to work."

Neville did not really know that much about Muggles, but he did know that their substitutes were not as good as the real thing. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because Muggles have discovered something wizards haven't, how to have more fun. They've got televisions and stereos and computers and play stations. I want to be the guy who supplies these things to the wizarding world."

Neville had no clue what he was talking about.

"You look puzzled now, but just trust me on this one, the wizarding world would be a much better place if we could just play CDs." Neville decided that like Luna, Ted had a good heart, but was just a little bit nuts.

~*~*~*~

Neville spent Saturday tending to his vegetable garden that had been woefully neglected over the week. Somehow spending all day tending to plants, then coming home and tending to more plants did not appeal to even Neville who loved all things plant-related. Some lettuces had grown and Neville presented them to Dusty, who protested very loudly that it was not master's job tend to the vegetable patch. Both house-elves felt that way, which merely reflected his Gran's opinion on green fingers. Neville thought they were all wrong, it was not beneath him to grown and tend his own lettuces, whether he enjoyed it or not.

Duck arrived in the afternoon, it was becoming a common occurrence, Luna had written every day since her first letter had arrived. As it had turned out it had not been her birthday, she had just been given her present because according to Luna, it was not a surprise if birthday presents were given on a persons birthday, with Neville had to agree with.

It was not usually very important stuff that she wrote, it was about what the Quibbler was doing, some more of Luna's conspiracy theories and Luna's predictions of Neville's future from tea leaves. Luna seemed to not have noticed that there was a war going on. Many people didn't speak about the war, Andromeda and Ted did not mention it very often, but with an Auror for a daughter Neville suspected they thought of it often. Neville's Gran didn't speak of it much either, only when there was some progress made for their side, which was not a common occurrence. But Luna was different; she seemed to exist in her own world where there was no war. And for that Neville envied her.

Dear Neville

Went to Diagon Alley today and visited my Dad's offices which are there since I've decided that I am going to be like you and work somewhere for some experience over the summer. Dad thinks its great so I'm writing more stories and working by replying to the letters, its lots of fun and I get to watch the people mill around Diagon Alley from his window. Also went to the Weasley joke shop they are very clever. The Weasley family are great. How is your weekend going?

Bye Luna

Neville picked up his quill and wrote a letter back about fixing his garden and how he was going to London tomorrow by would probably not be in Diagon Alley. He neglected to mention his parents. Only Ron, Hermione and Harry knew about them, and he wanted to keep it that way. He wished her well as a secretary and journalist.

Neville then turned his mind to more pressing matters and put out some good clothes for the next day and went for a hunt around the garden for some nice wildflowers for his mother.

~*~*~*~

When Neville and his Gran arrived at St. Mungo's the desk clerk didn't even give them a second glance as they walked past her and onto the fourth floor and the Janus Thickey Ward. They walked past Gilderoy Lockhart, who waved them hello. This was instantly followed by Miriam Stout, the healer on the ward who was also in the process of waiving them hello, question Gilderoy as to whether he remembered them, to which he dreamily replied, "No. Should I?"

Neville and his Gran finally reached the two beds at the end of the ward, and Neville sat down between his mother and his father, who were propped up on their beds, as his Gran went about pulling the curtains to give them some privacy.

"Hello, Mum. Hello, Dad." They both stared at him, but there was nothing in their eyes, no sign of recognition, just seeing where the source of the noise was coming from.

"Frank, Alice, how great to see you." Augusta Longbottom gave them a hug in turn. "Neville, tell them about what you have been up to."

Neville didn't much see the point in actually going into details, so he summarised. "Well, I've finished my sixth year at Hogwarts early. There was a Death Eater attack and Professor Snape killed Professor Dumbledore. Turns out I was right about Professor Snape. I fought a few of them myself but got injured when I ran into a Death Eater barrier. It was a stupid thing to do, I'm sure you two wouldn't have made that mistake, but now I'm as good as new. And I got a summer job; I'm working with plants for a research and potions goods company, so I'm very busy most of the week...And that's about it really."

His Gran glared at him, she was probably hoping for some more elaboration, but Neville decided against it. She pick up where he left off and went into all the news and gossip about what was happening to her and her friends. Neville wondered if his parents would be interested in the stuff if they were not suffering from spell damage.

Alice Longbottom spent the entire time staring at Neville. If Neville did not know better, he would think that she was remembering him as her son, but she did this every time he came to visit. Neville had learnt by now not to get his hopes up. As his Gran prattled on about the war, he took up his mother's hand, and started stroking it. He had discovered some time ago that it soothed her. He had been thinking of her when he first started stroking his Mimbulus.

"Look, Mum," he said quietly while his Gran was engrossed with his father. "I've got more gum for you." He reached into his pocket and produced a pack of ten he had bought through owl order while at Hogwarts. "You have to share it with Dad, okay?"

Alice took a look at the gum in Neville's hand, and opened her mouth as if to say something, but it just hung open loosely. Then she made a quick dash for the table top next to Neville with her free hand, and grabbed an old piece of gum wrapper, and gave it to Neville.

They had been doing this for the best part of ten years, Neville would bring gum, and his Mum would give him a wrapper from the last bag of gum he brought. Neville leaned over and kissed his Mum on the forehead. "I love you too, Mum," he whispered.

By this point his Gran had finished her talk and turned back to Neville. "Well, I think it's time and we better be off. Good bye, Alice. Good bye, Frank." She got up and started opening the curtains.

Neville pulled away from his mother, she seemed unwilling to let go of his hand. "I'm sorry, but I have to go," he muttered as he pulled his hand out of hers.

"Good bye, Dad." He gave his father a hug. Neville and his Gran left the two former great Aurors lying in their beds, those sad, blank expressions still present on their faces.

~*~*~*~

Back at home, after dinner, Neville dug around in his closet and found a tiny wooden box that his Grandfather had given him. He opened up the small metal latch, and placed the new gum wrapper inside it with the others he had collected over the years.

Sitting at his desk was Duck, waiting patiently as always with a letter tied around his leg. Luna had written about her next article on how the Hogwarts founders were also still alive and well and hiding in Singapore. Her father had apparently made her the official Hogwarts correspondent for the Quibbler so she was in charge of informing the whole world that there was someone who was alive and who could save them from Voldemort. Neville did not need one of Luna's theories to believe that, he knew Harry could. What worried Neville was that he knew Harry, so did Luna, and they both knew that poor Harry was just human and capable of failing. Luna seemed to need somebody who was infallible, invincible and immortal to believe in right now. Neville did not blame her, there had once been Dumbledore to fill that position. But he was dead, along with the hopes of so many.

Neville picked up his quill, now looking at home on his desk next to a half filled inkpot and some small roles of parchment.

Dear Luna, he wrote. There is somebody who can save us from You-Know-Who, but it's not the founders and it's not Dumbledore. It's Harry. He then felt an overwhelming urge to confide in her. I went to visit my parents today, they seem to be doing fine. That was all he managed. He didn't want to burden her. Bye. Neville. He folded up the scarp of paper and attached it to Duck's leg. The owl quickly took off in the direction of Catchpole.

He quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and started another letter. Dear Luna, he scribbled quickly. I went to visit my parents today. They still don't recognise me, but Mum remembered the gum like she always does. He started scribbling on the page more furiously, and he felt his cheeks go red. I don't know why even bother. They are never going to remember me. I'm never going to know them. But they are still there, somewhere. Some days I think it might be easier if they had not survived the attack.

Neville stared at what he had just written. I think it might be easier if they had not survived the attack. He was horrified. Grabbing the letter, he tore at it again and again until there were just little pieces littered all over his desk. But destroying the evidence did not change anything; he knew what he had written. Neville Longbottom wanted his parents dead because it would be easier for him. Wracked with guilt, he fell onto his bed, face first into his pillow as tears welled up in his eyes, hoping that the darkness would make everything go away. There he stayed until he drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~

"Neville!" a woman's voice called in the distance. "Neville, where are you?" Neville could see anything but blackness.

"Here!" he called hoping she could find him. "I'm here!"

"Neville, where are you?" she called again in her ethereal voice. She could not hear him, she could not see him and he could not see her, could not move around to find her. "Neville. Please come back to me, Neville."

"Neville, wake up!" she called in a louder, more realistic voice. "NEVILLE, WAKE UP!"

Neville woke up suddenly, rolled out of his bed still fully clothed from the day before; he had fallen asleep crying into his pillow. He looked around, he was sure the woman had been in the room. It was dark, but the full moon lit the sky like a weak sun, shining light into his room.

There was no woman, but it was then that he heard the howl outside his window.