Growing Up {Longbottom Family

[JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM]

Jasper had paid several visits to Hogsmeade within the last couple of months. He hadn't realized that he had been that much of a popular guy when he first left. He was certain that there were going to be two, maybe three people that genuinely missed him besides the Quidditch club. He hadn't realized that there would be more. And, now that he saw that there were plenty of people who did, he had felt touched. He wasn't sure how many of them claimed to be his friend because they wanted Quidditch tickets, but he was determined to think that they liked him becase he was genuinely a great guy. With that in mind, he hadn't realized that he hadn't visited home very often. He had gotten a flat closer to the stadium so he'd always be on time for practice. That, and he was older now. He realized that he had had to have a place for himself and not just mooch off of his parents for the rest of his life. (Because, he loved his mum and his dad. But, the chances of him leaving if he kept letting his mum spoil him wasn't very high.) He'd just gotten the day off and had looked down at his watch. He couldn't say it for sure, but he thought, maybe, both of them would be at the pub.

Now, he wasn't much for drinking any of the hard stuff. He had to take care of his body, so he generally avoided pubs unless it was to meet someone. Then, he was only there briefly before they moved on somewhere else. But, today he would make an exception. He got himself dressed in his best trousers and his nicest shirt. He didn't bother with a tie because everyone and their mother knew that he wasn't much of a fan of them. Even for game days, when everyone was supposed to look their best as they were arriving at the pitch, he didn't care much for ties. He spiked his hair back and made sure to stick his wand in the holster he had attached to her wrist. He made sure to look himself over in the mirror before nodding his head. He looked somewhat casual, not like he was going on a date or anything. He also didn't have very many presents to take them. He could always get them a jersey, which he was sure his mother would appreciate...but neither his mum nor his dad had enjoyed Quidditch as much as he had. He was also sure that they would have wished him to go into some other career. He knew that plenty of his professors had hoped he would be an auror like his granddad, but that hadn't ever been his passion. He had joked around too much in Hogwarts to ever hope to attain such a position.

Besides, his team needed him. Without him, it was likely that James and Scorpius would have killed each other by now. He was the one who, generally, tried to keep the Potter off and away from Malfoy. He didn't see what the big deal was. So Malfoy liked Rose. He hadn't made that big deal about it, and he had known her since childhood, too. He apparated from his apartment, looking around and pleased that the place didn't look too packed. It would be enough for the waiters and waitresses to get everything under control so that he could surprise his family. Spying his mom quickly, he made his way behind her quickly, covering her eyes with his hands. “Guess who?”

@neville HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM

[Deleted]

Neville was arguing with his cat Poof again. The cat seemed to love hanging out with Neville in the indoor greenhouse on the top level of the Leaky Cauldron... and constantly disturb his work. Neville was carrying him back to one of the bedrooms, ranting on at him.

"You silly cat, you almost got eaten again," he said. "I told you that Venomous Tentacula does not want to be your friend! Now stay in there!" Neville placed the cat inside the room and shut the door. He then sighed and re-opened the door to place the cat's food and milk inside as well. He then closed it, but re-opened once more to pet the cat on the head. "I'm not angry... just disappointed." He then shut the door again.

It was then that he heard the familiar voice of his son. Neville smiled and headed to meet him, embracing him when he arrived.

"Jasper, hello!" he said, over-showing his excitement as always. "It's good to see you again! Come in, we'll have a soda..." He turned and headed to the icebox, but then turned around. "You still like soda right? I forgot."

JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM

[HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM]

Hannah had been spending much of her time volunteering at St. Mungos magical hospital lately and thus she had been away from the pub. She trusted Neville to make important business decisions while she was away but she tried to spend a few days a week working around the pub and making sure that everything was going well and that all of her staff were up to her standard of work. She didn't have to worry about it at night as much as during the day. She trusted Sarah Finnigan. Sarah had been able to keep all of the regulars under control and she even knew when to cut them off and how to defend herself and the other customers from those few customers who had drank too much and were causing a scene. But during the day when there was more of a family feel to the pub, Hannah liked to be there to make sure that the servers and bartenders knew when to cut off the heavy drinkers and were always friendly to everyone, regardless. For not being a fan of hard Alcohol, Hannah was able to keep the bar pretty nice. She was quite proud of herself, actually.

Hannah was upstairs sitting at her work desk figuring out the totals from the last week when the set of hands covered her eyes and the familiar voice that she had been longing to hear appeared behind her. Her son was here! Hannah stood up quickly and embraced him tightly. "Oh my boy!" She exclaimed and kissed both of his cheeks. "I was wondering if you had forgotten about your poor mother." she teased him after messing with his hair a little. She smiled when her husband embraced the boy as well and offered him a soda. "Are you here long?" she asked.

[JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM]

His father had surprised him. This had been yet another reason that he thought it would be a horrible reason for him to be an auror. He didn’t pay a lot of attention to what was going on around him. He hadn’t even noticed his father was anywhere near him. He hadn’t even known that his father was in the pub. His mouth twisted upwards in an amused grin as his mum turned around to give him a quick hug. He returned it enthusiastically, picking her up just a little off the ground. When had he grown bigger than his mother and hadn’t even noticed? He knew that he was taller than her, but he hadn’t been aware of just how much bigger he had been. It almost made him flush in embarrassment. “‘lo, Mum, Dad.” He greeted with a nod of his head. He wandered over from his mum to his dad, clapping him on the shoulder.

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be drinking any soda, actually. The drink had a lot of sugar in it, and sugar was something that Jasper definitely didn’t need in his diet. Then again, it wasn’t like he drank a lot every day. He had one every once in a while. And, as far as he could remember, he hadn’t had one in at least two weeks, so he didn’t think that the manager would mind if he had one. "Sure, dad. I’ll take whatever you have. I’m not that picky.” He grinned, tucking his hands in his pockets. It felt nice to be home. It was great living in his own apartment and all that. It meant that he could fall asleep wherever he wanted and not worry about being scolded, but it also felt nice to be around his parents. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed them. He made a mental promise to visit them more often, especially after his mother teased him.

“Ay, I’ve been busy with practice. Trying to make sure Malfoy and James don’t kill each other, and then we have games all over the place.” He scratched at his cheek awkwardly, smiling at them. He supposed, at some point, he should mention that he had been offered to be traded to another team. It wasn’t the best team in the world - it certainly wasn’t Pud. United, but they had offered him the position of captain as well as having a hand at rebuilding the team. He didn’t think he was going to take it, not yet, but it was worth mentioning. “For the day, I think. I promised I’d go to some premier or something tomorrow, and then I’m to head to Hogsmeade and catch up with a couple of people. Sign an autograph here and there.” He was kidding about the last part, of course. It had been a running joke between him and his sister. He couldn’t even visit her anymore without people asking him for his autograph - or someone on the team’s. It was a little outrageous, to be honest.

[Deleted]

Neville was relieved that Jasper liked soda and he wasn't imagining that Jasper had liked it before. Neville opened the icebox and pulled out a bottled soda and used a bottle opener to pop it open. He walked over and handed it to Jasper as the boy talked to his mother. It was amazing how much his son had grown. It seemed like yesterday when the boy was going off to Hogwarts on his first day of school. Now he had graduated and was playing for a Pro Quidditch Team!

Neville could only imagine who it was having James Potter and Scorpius Malfoy on the same team. Then again, all he could really picture was Harry and Draco on opposite teams back at school and the drama that went with that.

"I'm sure you're doing a good job with them, son," he said. "Always had a good head on your shoulder and all." He turned and smiled at his wife before smiling at his son again.

Neville didn't realize Jasper was kidding about the last part concerning the autographs.

"Well, be careful not to get mobbed," he said with his ever concerned voice. "The fans will do that, you know? Might want to hire a bodyguard."

JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM

[HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM]

Hannah was a bit stunned when her son picked her up a little while the two were hugging. When had he gotten so strong? She knew that her boy had always been strong, but this seemed a little extreme. "I think you're working to hard." She admitted with a smile, "You might be stronger than you father by now." She teased both of the men in the room and sat down with them both. "You look wonderful though." she said. Hannah was thrilled to hear that her son was planning on staying most of the day here with them, if only their little girl was home too, then they could all be together again; it felt like it had been ages, when in reality, it had just been last Christmas holiday, hadn't it? To the mother, it felt like ages.

"Quidditch sounds like a lot of work." Hannah mused, "But it seems like it's a great fit for you. - And I can just image all the girls who want to meet you all of the time... speaking of which..." Hannah's mouth turned into a bit of a smirk, "Is there anyone special?" Of course, she was in absolutely no hurry for grandchildren, but she wouldn't mind if her son was at least picking up a few prospects. When she was his age, a year out of Hogwarts (and a year out of the war) she knew who she loved and who she wanted to marry, she was just stuck waiting for him to ask. "Oh Neville, the boy doesn't really need a bodyguard." Hannah smiled and brushed some dirt off of her husbands shirt.

((OOC- I hope this is good. I wrote it in kind of a hurry XD))

[JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM]

He laughed. Maybe he was feeling nostalgic, but he felt that this little scene they were all doing wouldn’t really be complete unless Helena was around, too. He grinned at his dad and took the bottle easily. “You’re my mum, mum.” He waggled his finger at her. “I think it’s kinda your job to think I’m working too hard.” Although, if he were being honest with her, he would say that he was doing the same. They did work a lot. They had to in order to stay in shape, and he wasn’t exactly going to argue it any. “But, I’ll have you know that I’ve been stronger than dad since fourth year, at least.” He was teasing of course, and he made sure that they knew it by the smile on his face. Especially when he winked at his father. He took a swig of the soda, wincing when the bubbles burned at the back of his throat. He supposed that was to be expected when he rarely ever drank the caffeinated drink. Jasper coughed to clear his throat, but shrugged his shoulders.

Normally, it was better to just let the two blokes fight with each other. It was a lot less work for him to let them argue, or even let the Captain take charge. He still wasn’t entirely sure about the other job offer. It was a dream to work for Puddlemere United. It was the team among teams. He had heard a couple of things about their ‘Muggle Equivalent’, which he assumed would be the big football team of Manchester. He wouldn’t think about leaving if it weren’t for the fact that he had been offered the position of Captain. He would be guaranteed to play games, and he would have a team of his own to offer. Either way, he had the entire season to think about it. He’d probably ask Nina and a couple of his old pals what they thought, perhaps even the management at Pud. U. Considering they had just bought him, he didn’t think they’d be eager to have another team poach him after training him up for the professional leagues. “Mum’s right, dad. I don’t really need a bodyguard, although it’d be funny to see the look on the faces of the team to see me show up with one.”

He laughed and took a smaller drink from his soda this time. It didn’t burn as much, but it was still there. He wasn’t the nicest looking lad on the team. He didn’t bat that way, but he was pretty sure that James was the pretty boy. He didn’t mind it, however. It was just weird to see the reactions of the fans when they took to the pitch. “The great thing is that wands are normally confiscated for the bigger games. We don’t really have to worry about that. And, if they get on the pitch, well...we’re several feet up in the air, you know? It’s not like they can whip out a broom and try to get us to sign something for them. That’s what press releases are for.” Not like he had actually been required to go to any of those yet. He had one coming up, but he hadn't been confirmed for it. It was likely he'd be sharing it anyway. Still, he shook his head at his mum’s question. Honestly, Jasper had been seeing her gearing up to ask from the moment he had decided to stop by for a visit. He had been expecting it. “No, mum. I’ve been a bit busy with practice, and all the girl’s I do already know either have boyfriends or are still in Hogwarts.”

[Deleted]

Neville blushed a bit about the reaction to the bodyguard idea. It did seem a silly one and he knew Jasper could take care of himself. He gave his wife a small smile as she brushed the dirt off his shirt, then looked at Jasper.

"Well, that's good," he said about the confiscating of the wands. "I'll wager it's dangerous enough just playing on the pro teams. That Seeker from the Caerphilly Catapults took a nasty bump last week... well so the Prophet says." Neville said no more, realizing he wasn't helping things.

He then listened and his wife and son talked about girls and how Jasper didn't have one just yet. Neville beamed at this, feeling he could help.

"Well, don't give up on that, son," he said. "There's a good lady waiting for you out there. I doubted I'd ever find such a lady until I met your mum here." He took Hannah's hand and blushed a bit. His beautiful wife still made him blush after all those years.

HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM @neville

[HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM]

Hannah gave a laugh when her son insisted that he had been stronger than his father since his 4th year of school. To be honest, it was probably true. Physically, her husband wasn't the strongest wolf in the pack, but in her eyes, he was definitely the wisest, he would be the Alpha that she would chose to follow. Hannah could see a lot of Neville in Jasper, and a lot of herself as well, though, she had absolutely no idea where he got his Quidditch skills from. His grandfather probably. And of course, when Neville brought up how her son was in a dangerous profession, she sighed a little. She knew that Jasper was a strong young man and that he could take care of himself. Plus, he was good at the game and from the sounds of it, he had a good team despite the fights among teammates. He was safe enough on the pitch that she didn't have to worry. She would have to find something else to worry about. "Have you spoken to your sister lately?" Hannah asked with a sigh, after the letter had been sent home about Helena's party and after her recent conversation with her daughter, she was sure that Jasper had heard something about it. Maybe even something from Helena herself. Hannah knew that even after so long, she still made Neville blush. He still made her blush too. He had been her first and only boyfriend. He had been the only mad that she had ever connected with the way that she had connected with him. He had been there for her during their 7th year when they were stuck in a school ran by Death Eaters and he understood the feeling of not having your parents. He was the only one around that really did. "But don't rush dating... you'll know when you meet the right girl." Hannah added. She wasn't to eager to marry off her baby boy. Or, to have little Longbottom babies running around the house again.

[JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM]

Jasper was, in all honestly, probably a bad brother. At least, he had been since recently. No, he had not managed to make any contact with his sister. He had been meaning to, especially with some of the things that he had been hearing lately. He hadn’t wanted to baby her about it, though. Merlin knew no one had babied him while he had been going through Hogwarts. The only problem was that, for his baby sister, she had managed to be surrounded by her big brother all but her last year. It hadn’t been fair for her. Not really. He wanted her to grow up and be her own person. He wanted her to make her own decisions, even if they were stupid ones. It wouldn’t be fair to expect her to act like he had. He might not have been perfect, but he had been good enough at not getting caught that no one had ever written home about him. When he had Junior on his side, it was hard to believe that anything else could happen. His best friend had gone off recently abroad, but they still kept in touch. Jasper managed to send him clippings that he found himself in his game. Perhaps that was all that his sister needed - to find herself away from him and their family. It wasn’t that Jasper didn’t love his parents. He did, and he was sure that Helena did, too.

It was just that they had grown up with everyone expecting them to be a) mirror images of their parents or mirror images of their grandparents. He tended to get the first one, but he suspected that people expected Helena to be more like their parents. He’d owl her soon. He’d probably go so far as to invite her to stay in his flat for a couple of days. If the rumors were true, he doubted very much that she would want to be spending too much time at home. “Bah, dad. You know better than to trust the Prophet. Even these days, all it spews are a bunch of lies.” Although, that particular one hadn’t been a lie. He, too, had heard that the Catapults had to put in their reserve Seeker. It was such a shame, but, hey, anything that made Pud. U’s life easier was better in his books. Still, when his parents tried to talk to him about his love life, he was pretty sure that most teenagers would have exploded with embarrassment. As it were, he was tempted to implode. Fortunately for him, he had more sense than to do that. Mostly because he had had a lot of experience with Joseph and the rest of the boys making fun of him and teasing him that a lot of it tended to just slide right off as if they hadn’t said anything to begin with. “I’m sure she’s out there, somewhere. I’m just not looking for her yet. There will be time for that later.”

He had a lot of other things to focus on, especially his sister and his career. He had just left Hogwarts, for Merlin’s sake. He wasn’t in a hurry to have children. He wasn’t even in a hurry to get married. Jasper was certain that there would be time for that in his life when he wasn’t worried about travelling all over the place and extended amount of hours spent training. He didn’t want to worry what his wife would say if a Bludger managed to knock him off his broom, and he broke an arm. Or, he didn’t want a wife to worry about what would happen if he had gotten hexed because some security guard didn’t manage to confiscate someone’s wand. It was just too much pressure on him, and it would be expecting too much for whoever it was that he eventually married. "I've not talked to her recently, no. But, I can guess what's happening if there's something to be concerned about. Did something happen?"

[Deleted]

Neville was also curious about whether or not Jasper had spoke to Helena. While Neville loved his son and the two got along quite well, it always seemed that Neville and his daughter had the closer relationship. He realized that, and hoped it had never upset Jasper. Neville was of course there for his son whenever the boy should need him.

He did have to agree about the Prophet though. Lately it had been more rubbish than "real news". It seemed like more and more of the writers had sold out to writing what the public wanted to hear, not needed to.

"Probably," he said, feeling a bit dumb now for buying into the story. "But still, you know I only say this as a concerned father. You also know I believe you will continue to do well on the Pitch and that I am proud of you."

Neville was glad Jasper was taking time looking for a girl. He did want him to end up with someone can kind and brilliant as his mother, and not some girl that would end up breaking his heart.

"Taking your time is indeed best," he said. "Who knows, she may find you."

Neville knew Helena was going through a lot with the biggest blow being her attitude about classes. Neville didn't know how much Jasper would react to what he was about to say, but for Neville, it had been very personal.

"She... dropped Herbology," he sighed. "And... has joined Dumbledore's Army." The former disappointed him and the latter still worried him to death.

JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM

[HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM]

Hannah didn't want to spend to much time talking about Helena when Jasper was here to see them. She wanted to be able to turn her attention to the young man whom she had raised to be such a brilliant Quidditch player. But her conversation with Helena and her recent behavior wouldn't leave Hannah alone. She was always wondering what she could do to help, even though her conversation with her daughter had made it clear: Nothing. She and Neville had done enough. They had done too much? Helena was feeling pressure to be perfect from her parents and it was getting to be to much for the young girl to take. She wanted them to leave her alone to live her life on her own. Hannah hadn't realized that she had been putting pressure on Helena, but she was sure that her daughter wouldn't lie about something like this. Helena wasn't a liar. "She's just... growing up and doing her own thing: including throwing parties at school and getting into a lot of trouble." Hannah said. She began to wonder if Jasper had felt pressure to be perfect as well. Sure, Hannah was extremely biased, but she felt that she and Neville had raised a pretty perfect son. Her conversation with Helena had her questioning every decision she had ever made as a parent. "But we've got to let her grow up, so she's free to do what she wishes." She decided.

"I do really want to see one of your matches though. Though, I'm afraid that I'll cringe every time that the bludger get near you." Hannah smiled, trying to lighten up the conversation, it could do with some lightening. "Oh! And we'll need to get those T-shirts with your name and number on them! What do they call them? Jerseys?" Hannah asked. "And Scarfs in your colors of course. And maybe hats! Or flags!" Hannah said excitedly.

[JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM]

He could understand why they were worried. Their expectations of what their children should act had been up there. It wasn’t like they expected for their hair to be perfectly combed, for them to maintain an O in every single one of their classes, or even for them to have achieved everything that had been at Hogwarts for them to win and achieve. His parents weren’t like that. They had wanted for their children to succeed, and Jasper had done his best to do right by them. He hadn’t managed an O in all of his classes, nor had he managed to win every award. What he had managed was to make friends and to have fun; he had found who he wanted to be and what he had wanted to do with his life. It had been easy for him, but that didn’t mean that it would be easy for his sister. He could see why his parents were disappointed, and he was angry at himself for it. Perhaps, he should have gotten caught. Perhaps, he should have let them think that he was every bit as much as a troublemaker as his sister supposedly was.

Or, perhaps, Helena genuinely was a troublemaker. She had every right to choose what she wanted for herself. His parents were great, and he loved them. He’d defend them against anyone who tried to say anything bad about them. He knew what classes they had taken when they were younger. He knew how they had fought against the “Dark Lord”. He was very much aware of all of that, but he didn’t think that they quite grasped how difficult their life had been for them. Not because they had been horrible, but because of the expectations that had been shoved on all of them. Everyone knew who their parents were. Everyone knew the name, “Longbottom.” He had shouldered it remarkably. He had channeled it into a way of making friends. And, while he didn’t particularly like being compared to his grandfather, he had grinned. Helena, bless her heart, was a lot different from her brother. Still, he let his face twist into a look of shock. It was the reaction his father had been looking for, he was sure of it. “Honestly? I was in Dumbledore’s Army, too. I’m in the Order now. I caused a ruckus. I just never got caught.”

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm with Mum, really. Helena's a big girl now, guys. I think my little sis can handle herself just fine." Still, he grinned at the change of direction. He could always agree with changing the topic to anything Quidditch related. It was part of the reason he never minded being compared to his family. He had stayed in Herbology, but he hadn’t had the gift of it that his father - and, to an extend, his mother - had had. Jasper also wasn’t that masterful at Defense Against the Dark Arts, so it wasn’t like he could be anything like the grandfather he had gotten his name from. “Yeah, mum. Jerseys. Pud. U has a store that sells all that stuff. I’d give you mine, but I’ve already given it away. I’m gonna have to buy a new one. I’m lucky that our next game is an away one. I won’t have to wear the standard one.”

[Deleted]

Neville knew his wife and son were right about Helena. But again, his closeness to her caused his daughter's decision to worry him a great deal. That was just in Neville's nature. It always had been.

"I know she does, and I want to support her," he said. "Again, just being a worried father I suppose." Neville blushed a bit. He honestly worried for Jasper when the boy was in Dumbledore's Army, and now being in the Order, even though Neville was there with him. "Perhaps it's all this Black Army rubbish that is worrying me, and all our friends being attacked." Neville knew the Longbottoms could easily be targets as well, along with the Leaky Cauldron. And it seemed like the Black Army was pulling out all the stops.

Neville listened as the conversation turned to one of Quidditch wear. Neville actually appreciated the lighter subject.

"I wouldn't mind a Jersey myself with my son's name on it," he said. "And yes we must see another of your games soon."

JASPER FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM HANNAH AMELA LONGBOTTOM