Comments | fiery_inception: None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them. ~ Charles Caleb Colton

broken_harry in fiery_inception

None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them. ~ Charles Caleb Colton

Jul 30, 2006 00:49

Date: Sunday - July 30, 2000
Time: Late, close to midnight (as the party is winding down and clean up has started)
Location: The Phoenix
Characters Involved: Harry Potter & Neville Longbottom
Rating: PG-13, it all goes downhill from here
Complete

( The salt inside my body ruins everyone I come close to. My hands are barely holding up my head. Oh I'm so tired of looking at my feet and all the secrets that I keep. My heart is barely hanging by a thread. )

status: complete, event: birthday celebration, character: harry potter, character: neville longbottom, location: the phoenix

Comments 25

forevernev July 30 2006, 08:12:21 UTC

With the last of the gifts tucked away in the sitting room (easier for him to remember to take them back with him once he decided to head home), Neville started wandering through the house collecting misplaced wine goblets and pint glasses onto an empty tray. Social gatherings always left him knackered, and if he was the center of attention, the weariness wore him down even more. At least if he were cleaning up, he didn't have to speak to anyone else. He made his round of the rooms, gingerly toting his platter of breakables.

Eventually, he backed into the kitchen just as Harry spoke aloud, though the clinking of glasses hid the words from his own ears. Dobby was supposed to be about somewhere, wasn't he? Neville kept his gaze aimed low to keep an eye out for the house-elf, but the sound of dinnerware into a sink caught his attention. With a grateful--if tired--grin, he wandered carefully towards Harry and placed the tray next to the sink.

"Bit more to add to the queue," he said, indicating the glasses.

broken_harry July 30 2006, 08:17:10 UTC

OK, so cleaning would deter just about anyone from joining in. Just about anyone, but Neville Longbottom that is. Thinking back on it, Harry should have guessed Neville was already cleaning up, it was just in his nature to help out...and avoid excessive social interaction.

Then again, Neville was probably one of the rare few in attendance that night that Harry hadn't minded talking to. There was at least a mutual misery factor in this kind of attention and being the center of it. Perhaps for different reasons, but that mattered little. Harry returned the smile and nodded in response to the glasses. More to keep him busy and away from the the party, or what was left of it.

Harry shook his head at that thought. Was he really cleaning just for a few minutes out of the picture? Apparently.

"Hey, Nev." Harry mumbled around a mouthful of slightly stale biscuit. Swallowing hard, he let out a bit of a cough and cleared his throat. "Helping out or avoiding more birthday well wishes?"

forevernev July 30 2006, 08:19:30 UTC

"Both, actually."

Stacking the glasses kept him focused on something besides the oddness of the evening. How strange to celebrate a birthday right next to Harry's, though by now Neville was a little surprised the Ministry hadn't pushed for July 31st as a national holiday. The thought of an actual "Harry Potter Day" (with banners of The Saviour's face hanging from every window) distracted him enough to let a wine glass slip straight through his fingers and shatter at his feet.

"Sod it!" he exclaimed. "Sorry, Harry! I wasn't...paying close enough attention. I'll get it cleared." He found his wand and cast a cleaning charm on the pieces of goblet, causing most of the larger shards to vanish. Some of the tinier specks still stubbornly remained on the floor. "Brilliant way to end a birthday," he sighed, pocketing his wand. "And I never could get that Vanishing spell quite right, either. I suspect Dobby'll be in here soon, though? Maybe he'll be grateful that there'll still be something for him to clean?"

broken_harry July 30 2006, 08:28:44 UTC

"I know the feeling, mate."

Harry jumped at the sound of glass shattering, and actually let out a small chuckle. Something rather scarce these days and even more rare on this night. The party was...fine. Really it was, but Harry's heart just wasn't in it. His heart wasn't in much these days. It seemed to have gone on holiday and forgotten to let Harry know where and when it was coming back.

"Don't worry about it, Nev. It's just a glass, I can take care of it." With a motion and a few words the remaining shards were banished to the rubbish bin, leaving the floor safe for bare feet once again.

"I wouldn't count on Dobby for a night like tonight. Crowds get to him. Crowds with Dra- Malfoy and Snape in them, even more so. He's probably hiding out in the attic until the coast is completely clear."

Brilliant way to end a birthday.Neville's words stuck in Harry's mind like a thorn. Something off about them, but he couldn't quite figure out what. As far as he knew, Nev didn't have anything against celebrating the day of his birth. But ( ... )

Thread 25