Butterbeer Chats (Neville)

[Deleted]

Neville felt terrible about not being able to help Helena. She knew this "Kasey" meant a good deal to her. He pretended not to hear the whisper she made under her breath. He could understand how much she wanted Kasey to be found.

"So..." he said, trying to change the subject. "Is there anything else you liked to do while I'm here? Perhaps go to Honeydukes? Or maybe we can walk down to the school together?" While it was usually odd for the students' parents to be about the castle and grounds at Hogwarts, it was normal for those there to see Neville given his meetings with the Herbology Professor, so he highly doubted anyone would say anything if he simply walked about the place with his daughter.

He was about to pay for the drinks when he remembered his daughter was paying. He then sighed before asking, "Helena, is there anything else you need to talk about? Anything? You know I'll understand."

HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM

[HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM]

‘We can go to Honeydukes if you want. I’m really not in a hurry to get back to the school,’ said Helena. She was already sick of classes and homework and she they had just gotten back not that long ago. She loved Hogwarts just hated spending hours doing homework. She just wanted to be able to be with friends and stuff. But she supposed she had to take the good with the bad.

Memories from the time she was in muggle primary school with Kasey came back to her. Swinging on the swing set in Kasey’s backyard and stopping the swings mid-air than making them go really fast back down. Helena getting stuck in chair in the library after setting in it for what seemed like ages trying to study last year and Kasey trying to cast ‘reducto’ and Helena running around the library trying to get away from Kasey. Or the countless sleepover that always had strange things happen like the time they started acting like chickens when the sun came up, they hadn’t slept all night, and plucked Kasey’s older brother. What made Helena sad is that she had no real final memory besides her bursting into the muggle motel room. She would rather have it be something better than that, good or bad. She may never get closure, and she knew it. But it was going to haunt her until she found something, anything.

Helena quickly paid for the drinks nearly dropping her coins on the floor. She was trying not to act nervous or anxious, but was epically failing at it. She took a deep breathe. She just had to say it. ‘Dad, please don’t be upset, but the DA has started up again and I’ve joined,’ she said. She couldn’t keep this away from him. She already had the summer thing resting on her shoulders. She could tell him but he’d never trust her to go anywhere alone again. It could have been really bad but Kasey saved her, and now she felt like she owed Kasey.


@neville

[Deleted]

Neville was happy that Helena agreed to go to Honeydukes. Even as an adult, he still loved going to the place. He still had his favorites from there and was sure he'd stock up today as he always did when he visited Hogsmeade.

As they departed, Neville quickly bent down as Helen dropped her coins. As he helped gather them, he heard her revelation about Dumbledore's Army. He looked at her for a moment in awe... and then smiled. In all his time at Hogwarts, Neville felt most proud as part of the Army. Hearing his daughter had decided to join whatever this new incarnation was made him proud too.

"Helena, that's brilliant, just brilliant," he said, hugging her. Then it hit him... how dangerous being in the group was. He remembered the battles, and trying to keep morale when Voldemort's minions took over the school. Was Helena ready for those types of things? "Just please... be careful... and know what you're getting into."

HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM

[HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM]

Helena was surprised by Neville’s reaction. She had expected him to be over-protective as usual. She was a bit startled by being hugged, sometimes she forgets about how much a hug means, but hugged her father back. She smiled at him. She never ceased to be surprised by his reactions to things. She put her coins back into her pocket once she collected it all. She got all nervous for nothing. She just never knew what to expect anymore.

‘Don’t worry, dad, I’ll be careful. I know what I’m doing. But I’m not going to make any promises though, I don’t want to accidently end up breaking if the situation arises,’ said Helena. She wanted her dad to know she wasn’t going to dive head first into trouble just because she’s a Gryffindor and that’s just what everyone else is doing. She wanted him to know that she wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t know what she getting to, well at least again though that was her own personal information. She certainly wouldn’t being a coward, and run away from trouble just because her dad told her to be careful.

There was one more question that was always at the back of her head, but she knew her father didn’t know. The only person that knew was her mother. And if they could ever get along maybe she could get an answer. She wanted to know why her mother was so hard on her and went after her for the stupidest of things. She doesn’t know if it is just the fact she doesn’t like saying the Leaky Cauldron but she felt like her mum barely noticed her. She was pretty sure Jasper probably felt the same way reversed. She supposed it was like that in all families. But it didn’t make it right. She cursed the fact her mother was back inside of her thoughts again. She can never get rid of her, it’s so annoying. Isn’t it bad enough she hears her mother’s yelling in her nightmares about her parents finding out about what happened in the summer.

@neville

[Deleted]

Neville should have known that Helena was destined for certain things when she was sorted into Gryffindor. She was there because of her courage, and often a Gryffindor's courage would be tested once or a number of times in life. And being his daughter, Neville should have known Helena would have it no differently.

"Remember one thing," he said. "It's called an Army for a reason. If you must face any danger, never face it alone. You have friends, so have them there with you. Trust me, working with others is a lot wiser. I know from experience."

What would Neville have done without Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sheamus, Luna... and so on? He was brave and he had accomplished things on his own of course, but he definitely needed them when it counted. And he was grateful for them. He wanted his daughter to be the same way with her allies in the Army.

As they headed to Honeydukes, he saw his daughter was quiet again and that something was on her mind. He didn't whether to bother her about it or not, so he thought of something to talk about.

"So... we hired a new assistant at the greenhouses," he said. "His name's Lute... he likes to talk a lot, but he's really good with foreign plants." The sentence didn't make a lot of sense, and Neville blushed when he realized that.

HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM

[HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM]

‘I will, dad,’ said Helena having to step a bit faster than usual. She forgets how slow she walks compared to others. She liked to look at things as she walked. That usually slowed her down. That’s why when she is late it is most likely because of pace of walk. She wasn’t willing to change it either. She had learned to plan ahead so she wasn’t late to every class, every single day.

‘Do the foreign plants have accents, or speak a different plant language,’ laughed Helena. Sometimes she couldn’t help herself. Her dad and his plants. ‘Dad, I love you, but that sounds so weird I wouldn’t be surprised if it is true.’ She wasn’t trying to make fun of him, and she wasn’t laughing like she was. It was more of a childish laugh, like when kids talk about farts at the dinner table.

Helena’s leg decided to cramp up. She inwardly groaned. Why in Merlin was that happening? She didn’t really care, she’d just walk it off anyway. She always had the worst timing ever for thing out of her control to happen. Like the time she was flying and got a horrible headache, and crashed into a tree. Of course, there were many other times when this has happened. She usually walked it off, if she could.

@neville

[Deleted]

Neville smiled and nodded as Helena promised to find her allies in times of trouble. That's all he needed to know to be assured she would be okay. When he was in the Army, any time he had his friends with him, he was more than confident they would win in the end.

When Helena made the joke about the plants, Helena stared at her for a moment, not getting the joke at first. He then laughed and said, "Oh, that's quite funny." He wasn't insulting his daughter there. He actually found her to have a great sense of humor. It was his own sense of humor that could use some work. "I think there might be some magical plants in India that can imitate Hindi, but right now that's more of a theory than a fact."

When he noticed Helena in a bit of pain, Neville quickly stepped over to help her.

"Helena, are you alright?" he asked.

HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM

[HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM]

Helena tried not to roll her eyes. She knew her dad was only being a dad, but she didn’t need every single thing taken care for her. A little pain didn’t do anyone any harm. It was frustrating that he did this. But at least he cared unlike her mother. She knew deep down her mother still cared, but her Gryffindor pride wouldn’t let her. She was after all a Gryffindor, maybe not the most typical, but she was still one.

‘Dad, it’s just a leg cramp. I get those sometimes. It will go away in a few minutes,’ said Helena ‘anyway there is really a plant that imitates Hindi. That wouldn’t be very good if a muggle care across it.’

She was in a hurry to get inside. It was cold, she hated the cold. The first thing she was going to do when she graduated from Hogwarts is spend a few weeks somewhere warm. That was about all she knew for her future. She just was hoping to figure it soon, she had done her best on her OWLs, and was taking every class that she got a high enough OWL in. It bothered her that she had no clue. She certainly didn’t want to end up working in the Leaky Cauldron with her mother. That would be the death of her. She refused to let herself learn wandless magic, and only use it for everyday use. She wanted to do something useful with it.

@neville

[Deleted]

Neville sighed a bit of relief when he heard it was just a leg cramp. Merlin knew he had his share of those. Then again, he was a good bit older than Helena and those were more expected.

"Okay... good," he said. "I'm glad that's all it is."

Neville then shook his head about the Muggles finding a plant that imitates Hindi.

"If they exist, it's said they're well hidden in the magical part of India," he said. "Much like many of our magical plants are hidden here. But yes, it would be something if a Muggle found one."

Neville actually wasn't overly worried about this. From what he heard, any magical plant or animal a Muggle ever crossed had now been deemed extinct by them after it was moved or moved itself to the magical world. An example was the Diricawl, which the Muggles called a Dodo. The Diricawls were not only existent in the magical world, but were plentiful.

Neville held the door at Honeydukes for his daughter before stepping in himself.

"What would you like here?" he asked.

HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM

[HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM]

Helena dropped the conversation. She had lost interest, and was more interested in the candy. There was so many things she liked. She always took forever here because she couldn’t make up her mind. She usually got Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, but she wouldn’t buy that with her dad her. She didn’t want to bring back unpleasant memories, though maybe he wouldn’t think about it but she didn’t want to attempt the waters. She had Liquorice Wands hidden in trunk, so much she kept trying to give it away to get rid of it. She didn’t want to eat several liquorice wands a night for the next year to get rid of.

‘I’m thinking Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans since I have enough Liquorice Wand to last me half of next year, and I still have enough gum to last me until the next visit,’ said Helena caught herself before saying what type of gum. She always tried so hard to be kind and tactful, but sometimes she failed epical at it. She smiled at her father. She wished she could just shut her mind off. She only did worse when she thought more about it. She thought too much about the little stuff, and too little about the big stuff. She should be researching careers right now, but she was so sick of looking at books, and not really learning what the career was really about.

@neville

[Deleted]

Neville had to play dad again when he heard that Helena had been stocking up on sweets. He didn't mind her eating candy of course, but he didn't want her over-indulging on it. And the Herbologist in him of course had him making sure she had a good portion of fresh fruits and vegetables every day.

"Just be careful not to eat too many sweets," he said. "And don't chew gum all the time. The Professors don't like that... well didn't in my time here anyway." And Neville wasn't just talking about when he was a student, but when he was a Professor as well. He remembered seeing gum stuck to the bottom of flower pots, and some of the gum was super sticky and extremely difficult to clean up. "Anyway, the Every Flavour Beans sound like a good choice. Always liked the unpredictability of those."

(Probably need to wrap up soon. Thread's just them rambling now.)

HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM

[HELENA ALICE LONGBOTTOM]

Helena tried not to roll her eyes. She never said she was eating the Liquorice Wand. She was honestly trying to get rid of them. She really had quite enough of them. She however left out the fact she had gotten so many because they would bet on Quidditch games, both school and professional. Of course, they had to listen to the professional games on the radio.

She hadn’t checked the time in a while. She jumped nearly out of her skin as her pocket watch starting to scream at her. What in Merlin’s creation was she late for? Then she remembered. She had Transfiguration revision today. Falling Transfiguration was not something she wanted to do.

‘Dad, I hate to do this but I really have to get back up to the castle. I forgot I wanted to do my Transfiguration revision today. I really did enjoy talking,’ said Helena. She froze for a second. She quickly paid. She really didn’t have time to debate who should pay. She quickly hugged her dad. She cursed her forgetfulness. She should have done it last night. But she forgot this weekend was a Hogsmead visit.

(Sorry about that, I sometimes write late at night when I’m super tired)

@neville

[Deleted]

Neville felt his visit was not one of the best ones he had with his daughter. In some ways, he felt like she was slipping away from him. She was becoming an adult more and more, and Neville wasn't quite ready to lose daddy's little girl. When he hugged to her, he held on for as long as she allowed and closed his eyes.

"Take care of yourself," he said. "I'll be back soon. I love you."

And with that, he watched his Helena leave, sighing a bit before turning to go himself and hoping the next visit was be more joyous.

(End)