Fic: The Gift for ani_bester
Title: The Gift
Author: lazy_neutrino
Recipient: ani_bester
Character(s): Neville, Luna, others
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2100
Summary: A cancelled lesson has unexpected consequences for Neville.
Author's Notes: I do hope you like this!
The life-size glossy photograph of Professor Lockhart had been pinned to the centre of the blackboard. He smiled at the pupils as they entered and brandished a scribbled note: 'Called away. Pages 141-6; make notes on Kelpies.' Underneath, in Professor McGonagall's neat writing, had been added 'Test tomorrow.' Neville picked up his books. It was too nice a day to spend inside; he could get the notes done under the oak trees next to Greenhouse Three. He wandered along the corridor, whistling between his teeth, and rounded the corner to the staircases.
Another lost first year. This one was sitting on the landing, swinging her feet into the void. Dirty blonde hair obscured her face. Neville signed inwardly and padded over.
'Are you lost?' he said kindly, although he thought he already knew the answer.
The girl turned her head and stared at him. 'Lost,' she repeated thoughtfully. 'No. I know exactly where I am, thank you.'
Ravenclaw. Neville tried again. 'Do you know where you're supposed to be now?'
A dazzling smile. 'I think I'm supposed to be here.'
Ravenclaw, definitely. 'What I mean is -' Neville tried again -'do you have a timetable on you? What lesson are you going to?'
'Oh, that,' the first-year said dismissively. 'I've got Potions with Professor Snape. But that's not where I'm supposed to be.'
'You're supposed to be here.' He had no idea what the rules of this conversation were, but that much he understood.
She beamed at him. 'Exactly. There was a staircase, but it went away. I expect another one will be along shortly.'
Since he had nothing better to do, Neville sat down beside her.
--
They had been chatting for about five minutes, and had covered most of the important topics such as names and Houses (Luna, Ravenclaw), pets, (no pet), Quidditch (no opinion either way) , favourite subjects (all of them) and Professors (not quite all), when a creak from above alerted them to the imminent arrival of a staircase.
'I think this is us.' Neville picked up Luna's bag and held it out to her.
'You're very kind.'
He blinked. 'Gran would kill me if I wasn't.' He shoved his free hand into his robes to check Trevor was safe. Floorboards shook as the staircase settled into place.
'All aboard!' Luna made a noise like a steam train as they began to move upwards. 'Oh this is exciting. I wonder where we're going?'
--
The staircase dumped them unceremoniously at the entrance to a narrow winding passage, flanked by endless doors. The attic levels, Neville suspected. He frowned. Strictly out of bounds. Still, the staircase seemed to know what it was doing and anything had to be more interesting than Kelpies.
The floorboards here were of a different wood to the rest of the castle; these looked as if they had been cut from holly rather than the oak which had been laid elsewhere. They looked as if they had been here a lot longer, too. But that can't be right. The top of the castle can't be the oldest bit. That would only be true if it was growing upwards- He shook his head. The boards had been replaced, perhaps. Maybe they didn't get as much wear and tear up here. That was the most likely explanation.
Luna had moved ahead of him and was trying the handles of the doors. Neville wasn't surprised to find that they all appeared to be locked. She paused at the final door, chewing her lower lip. A Ravenclaw solving a problem. Neville waited.
Luna nodded to herself, and knocked on the door. As her knuckles touched the panelled wood, the door swung silently inwards. Luna smiled. 'I thought so. All I had to do was ask.' She walked through the door. Neville followed.
They found themselves in a small tower room, with a single narrow window looking out over the lake. In the distance, Neville could see the dark robes of pupils, dotted around the castle grounds like so many ants. Two of the ants became elongated and rose towards him. Broomsticks, he realised. That's a Quidditch lesson. He stepped back from the window and turned round.
Luna was squatting on her haunches, tracing patterns in the dust with her fingers. She was humming to herself, head cocked - almost, Neville thought, as if she were listening to the floorboards as she touched them. As he watched, her hands stilled. She reached behind her ear and produced a crooked wand.
'Alohomora.' The floorboards made a grating sound as they moved aside. Luna reached down. Her hands came up holding a flat shape wrapped in oiled cloth.
'Um,' Neville said. This was all going too far and too fast. 'Shouldn't we tell someone?'
'No, silly. This is what we're supposed to be doing.'
'We?'
'You're here, aren't you?' Luna threw back the cloth and lifted up a picture. 'Oh, goodness. What a pretty girl.'
Neville looked down over Luna's shoulder. The portrait was about nine inches by eleven, in a carved walnut frame which had been stained a darker brown. A girl smiled up at him, rosy-cheeked and fair-haired. She was planting a row of wildflowers in a small glade. Beside her lay a small wooden cup, fallen on its side, and a trowel. Realising she had an audience, the girl rose to her feet, curtseyed and gave them a friendly wave.
Neville felt a coldness in his chest. 'I think I know who that is,' he said slowly. 'How far have you got with Binns?'
'Professor Binns?' Luna frowned. 'We've done the Founders. And a bit about goblins. Quite a lot about goblins, actually. I think he jumps about, just to get more goblins in. Why?'
'I need to talk to someone.' Neville's hand closed around Trevor. 'Tell you what, it's nearly time for the next lesson. Meet me outside Greenhouse Two after dinner.'
--
Hannah's pigtails swung from side to side as she nodded. 'It's definitely Inga,' she said. 'Wow. I can't believe you found this. It must be hundreds of years old.' She stroked the frame. 'This carving is lovely, too. Someone took real care over this.'
'Inga.' Luna's face cleared. 'Inga Hufflepuff.'
'Helga Hufflepuff's daughter. I thought it might be. She was a gardener like her mum.' Neville looked at the picture again. 'It's painted where that bank of holly trees is today. I wonder what happened to the flowers.'
Inga smiled at the three of them. Her smile was almost as nice as Hannah's. She brushed mud from her skirt and beckoned. Neville bent forward. Inga shook her head.
'Not me.' He stepped back. 'One of you two?'
'Maybe she wants to talk to a Hufflepuff,' Luna suggested.
Hannah stepped forward, her cheeks pink.
Inga beamed at her and bent down to lift the wooden cup.
'Oh!'
'What is it?' Luna and Neville demanded together.
'Didn't you see? The sun caught the cup and it sparkled - it's not wooden at all.' Hannah's eyes glowed. 'Just for a second it shone like gold. I've never seen anything so precious.' Her face became thoughtful. 'It must be the missing chalice.'
Luna and Neville looked at each other. 'You'd better explain,' Neville said. 'Binns never said anything about a chalice.'
'He wouldn’t.' Hannah shook her head. 'It's a Hufflepuff thing. The chalice belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, but it went missing. No one's seen it for hundreds of years. This is really weird.'
'You're telling me'.
'It's supposed to turn up in the hour of Hogwarts' greatest need. Zacharias Smith knows all about it.' Hannah's smile lit up her face. 'His whole family are experts on Hufflepuff history. He says they're direct descendants of Helga Hufflepuff.'
'Is that true?' Neville looked at the picture for confirmation. Inga was on her hands and knees, firming in her flowers. She seemed to have lost interest in her audience.
Hannah shrugged. 'I don't think so. Why would you change your name if you were related to one of the Founders? I mean, the House is called Hufflepuff, isn’t it? Not Smith. '
'We should talk to Zacharias.' Luna wrapped the picture up in its cloth. 'Maybe -'
'What are you doing?'
Neville almost jumped out of his skin. A weedy boy with a thin face stepped around the corner of the greenhouse. Slytherin, Neville remembered. He tried desperately to remember the boy's name and failed.
'You're breaking bounds,' the boy said. 'What's that you've got wrapped up?'
Luna's hands tightened around the picture. She said nothing.
'Theo -' Hannah said. 'We were just coming back inside.'
'You're Hannah Abbott.' Theo Nott said. He frowned. 'You're never in trouble. What are you doing with Neville Longbottom? He's a friend of Harry Potter.'
'He's a friend of mine, too,' Hannah said. Trevor gave a protesting croak as Neville's grip tightened.
Theo scowled. 'I should report you. To Professor Snape.'
Beside him, Neville felt Hannah quail. He stepped forward. 'No need for that,' he said, astonished at how steady his voice sounded. 'We were just going to find Professor Dumbledore. You can come with us if you like.'
--
The Headmaster took one look at the four children and Summoned armchairs, a plate of biscuits and hot drinks. And, to Neville's chagrin, Professor McGonagall, who stared at him gimlet-eyed while Luna told their story.
'And then Neville said we'd better come to you.' She pushed the picture across the table towards the two teachers.
'Did he indeed? That showed commendable foresight, Mr Longbottom.'
'Commendable,' the Deputy Headmistress repeated, her eyes boring a hole in Neville.
Dumbledore unwrapped the painting, and he and McGonagall regarded it in silence for a moment. Then Dumbledore stood up. 'You have done a remarkable thing this evening,' he said, in a voice more serious than Neville had ever heard before. 'Quite how remarkable, I am not yet able to tell. But it seems to me that you were meant to find this item and you were meant to bring it here.'
Luna beamed. 'That's what I said.'
Dumbledore smiled at her. 'Your powers of analysis are quite as formidable as your teachers tell me, Miss Lovegood.'
'Professor Dumbledore.' Neville's voice cracked. 'When you say meant - who meant us to find it?'
Dumbledore sat down again. 'Ah,' he said sadly. 'If I knew that, I should know a great deal more than I do. But there - it is always pleasant to have something to aspire to, is it not? Fifteen points to each of you.'
'Not me.' Theo Nott shook his head. 'I didn't do anything.'
Hannah reached out and laid her hand on his. Theo flinched, but did not pull away. 'You came with us,' she told him quietly. 'Instead of - you know.' She hesitated. 'And I think maybe you're meant to be here, too.' She looked around. 'I'm right, aren't I? Fifteen points each doesn't change anything. It's not about that.'
To Neville's amazement, Dumbledore stood up and bowed. 'You know, Minerva,' he observed, 'I think that sometimes our actions are more transparent than we would care to believe. You are quite right, Miss Abbott. It gladdens my heart to see the four of you sitting here this evening - although', he added quickly as McGonagall raised an eyebrow, 'it is, of course high time you went back to your common rooms to think about homework and bed. I must ask you to keep the day's events to yourselves. You have certainly given me plenty to consider.'
As they hurried down the staircase from Dumbledore's office, feet clattering on the stone, Neville remembered the Kelpies and tomorrow's test. He wondered if McGonagall would speak to Lockhart, to point out that Neville hadn't prepared for it because he had been caught up in something important and mysterious. Inwardly, he grinned. Probably not. That sort of thing only happened to Harry.
Even so, he had no regrets. Something big had happened tonight, even if nobody knew quite what it was. His mind raced. Hogwarts' greatest need. The Hufflepuff chalice. Maybe he'd be able to call on Hannah again. And Theo wasn't so bad, for a Slytherin.
They had reached the bottom of the staircase. 'Well, this is it.' Neville shrugged. 'Remember what Dumbledore said. This is our secret.'
Luna said thoughtfully, 'They'll go mad wondering where the fifteen points came from. No one would ever think it was me.'
'Then they're not clever enough to be in Ravenclaw,' Neville said firmly. Luna's face lit up with surprise and pleasure. He turned down the corridor and walked away, suddenly ten feet tall.
It had been, he decided, as he climbed into bed, the best day of his life. His own adventure. His own friends. His own secret. And just for once, he thought guiltily as his eyes closed, it had had nothing at all to do with Harry Potter.
--
Author: lazy_neutrino
Recipient: ani_bester
Character(s): Neville, Luna, others
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2100
Summary: A cancelled lesson has unexpected consequences for Neville.
Author's Notes: I do hope you like this!
The life-size glossy photograph of Professor Lockhart had been pinned to the centre of the blackboard. He smiled at the pupils as they entered and brandished a scribbled note: 'Called away. Pages 141-6; make notes on Kelpies.' Underneath, in Professor McGonagall's neat writing, had been added 'Test tomorrow.' Neville picked up his books. It was too nice a day to spend inside; he could get the notes done under the oak trees next to Greenhouse Three. He wandered along the corridor, whistling between his teeth, and rounded the corner to the staircases.
Another lost first year. This one was sitting on the landing, swinging her feet into the void. Dirty blonde hair obscured her face. Neville signed inwardly and padded over.
'Are you lost?' he said kindly, although he thought he already knew the answer.
The girl turned her head and stared at him. 'Lost,' she repeated thoughtfully. 'No. I know exactly where I am, thank you.'
Ravenclaw. Neville tried again. 'Do you know where you're supposed to be now?'
A dazzling smile. 'I think I'm supposed to be here.'
Ravenclaw, definitely. 'What I mean is -' Neville tried again -'do you have a timetable on you? What lesson are you going to?'
'Oh, that,' the first-year said dismissively. 'I've got Potions with Professor Snape. But that's not where I'm supposed to be.'
'You're supposed to be here.' He had no idea what the rules of this conversation were, but that much he understood.
She beamed at him. 'Exactly. There was a staircase, but it went away. I expect another one will be along shortly.'
Since he had nothing better to do, Neville sat down beside her.
--
They had been chatting for about five minutes, and had covered most of the important topics such as names and Houses (Luna, Ravenclaw), pets, (no pet), Quidditch (no opinion either way) , favourite subjects (all of them) and Professors (not quite all), when a creak from above alerted them to the imminent arrival of a staircase.
'I think this is us.' Neville picked up Luna's bag and held it out to her.
'You're very kind.'
He blinked. 'Gran would kill me if I wasn't.' He shoved his free hand into his robes to check Trevor was safe. Floorboards shook as the staircase settled into place.
'All aboard!' Luna made a noise like a steam train as they began to move upwards. 'Oh this is exciting. I wonder where we're going?'
--
The staircase dumped them unceremoniously at the entrance to a narrow winding passage, flanked by endless doors. The attic levels, Neville suspected. He frowned. Strictly out of bounds. Still, the staircase seemed to know what it was doing and anything had to be more interesting than Kelpies.
The floorboards here were of a different wood to the rest of the castle; these looked as if they had been cut from holly rather than the oak which had been laid elsewhere. They looked as if they had been here a lot longer, too. But that can't be right. The top of the castle can't be the oldest bit. That would only be true if it was growing upwards- He shook his head. The boards had been replaced, perhaps. Maybe they didn't get as much wear and tear up here. That was the most likely explanation.
Luna had moved ahead of him and was trying the handles of the doors. Neville wasn't surprised to find that they all appeared to be locked. She paused at the final door, chewing her lower lip. A Ravenclaw solving a problem. Neville waited.
Luna nodded to herself, and knocked on the door. As her knuckles touched the panelled wood, the door swung silently inwards. Luna smiled. 'I thought so. All I had to do was ask.' She walked through the door. Neville followed.
They found themselves in a small tower room, with a single narrow window looking out over the lake. In the distance, Neville could see the dark robes of pupils, dotted around the castle grounds like so many ants. Two of the ants became elongated and rose towards him. Broomsticks, he realised. That's a Quidditch lesson. He stepped back from the window and turned round.
Luna was squatting on her haunches, tracing patterns in the dust with her fingers. She was humming to herself, head cocked - almost, Neville thought, as if she were listening to the floorboards as she touched them. As he watched, her hands stilled. She reached behind her ear and produced a crooked wand.
'Alohomora.' The floorboards made a grating sound as they moved aside. Luna reached down. Her hands came up holding a flat shape wrapped in oiled cloth.
'Um,' Neville said. This was all going too far and too fast. 'Shouldn't we tell someone?'
'No, silly. This is what we're supposed to be doing.'
'We?'
'You're here, aren't you?' Luna threw back the cloth and lifted up a picture. 'Oh, goodness. What a pretty girl.'
Neville looked down over Luna's shoulder. The portrait was about nine inches by eleven, in a carved walnut frame which had been stained a darker brown. A girl smiled up at him, rosy-cheeked and fair-haired. She was planting a row of wildflowers in a small glade. Beside her lay a small wooden cup, fallen on its side, and a trowel. Realising she had an audience, the girl rose to her feet, curtseyed and gave them a friendly wave.
Neville felt a coldness in his chest. 'I think I know who that is,' he said slowly. 'How far have you got with Binns?'
'Professor Binns?' Luna frowned. 'We've done the Founders. And a bit about goblins. Quite a lot about goblins, actually. I think he jumps about, just to get more goblins in. Why?'
'I need to talk to someone.' Neville's hand closed around Trevor. 'Tell you what, it's nearly time for the next lesson. Meet me outside Greenhouse Two after dinner.'
--
Hannah's pigtails swung from side to side as she nodded. 'It's definitely Inga,' she said. 'Wow. I can't believe you found this. It must be hundreds of years old.' She stroked the frame. 'This carving is lovely, too. Someone took real care over this.'
'Inga.' Luna's face cleared. 'Inga Hufflepuff.'
'Helga Hufflepuff's daughter. I thought it might be. She was a gardener like her mum.' Neville looked at the picture again. 'It's painted where that bank of holly trees is today. I wonder what happened to the flowers.'
Inga smiled at the three of them. Her smile was almost as nice as Hannah's. She brushed mud from her skirt and beckoned. Neville bent forward. Inga shook her head.
'Not me.' He stepped back. 'One of you two?'
'Maybe she wants to talk to a Hufflepuff,' Luna suggested.
Hannah stepped forward, her cheeks pink.
Inga beamed at her and bent down to lift the wooden cup.
'Oh!'
'What is it?' Luna and Neville demanded together.
'Didn't you see? The sun caught the cup and it sparkled - it's not wooden at all.' Hannah's eyes glowed. 'Just for a second it shone like gold. I've never seen anything so precious.' Her face became thoughtful. 'It must be the missing chalice.'
Luna and Neville looked at each other. 'You'd better explain,' Neville said. 'Binns never said anything about a chalice.'
'He wouldn’t.' Hannah shook her head. 'It's a Hufflepuff thing. The chalice belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, but it went missing. No one's seen it for hundreds of years. This is really weird.'
'You're telling me'.
'It's supposed to turn up in the hour of Hogwarts' greatest need. Zacharias Smith knows all about it.' Hannah's smile lit up her face. 'His whole family are experts on Hufflepuff history. He says they're direct descendants of Helga Hufflepuff.'
'Is that true?' Neville looked at the picture for confirmation. Inga was on her hands and knees, firming in her flowers. She seemed to have lost interest in her audience.
Hannah shrugged. 'I don't think so. Why would you change your name if you were related to one of the Founders? I mean, the House is called Hufflepuff, isn’t it? Not Smith. '
'We should talk to Zacharias.' Luna wrapped the picture up in its cloth. 'Maybe -'
'What are you doing?'
Neville almost jumped out of his skin. A weedy boy with a thin face stepped around the corner of the greenhouse. Slytherin, Neville remembered. He tried desperately to remember the boy's name and failed.
'You're breaking bounds,' the boy said. 'What's that you've got wrapped up?'
Luna's hands tightened around the picture. She said nothing.
'Theo -' Hannah said. 'We were just coming back inside.'
'You're Hannah Abbott.' Theo Nott said. He frowned. 'You're never in trouble. What are you doing with Neville Longbottom? He's a friend of Harry Potter.'
'He's a friend of mine, too,' Hannah said. Trevor gave a protesting croak as Neville's grip tightened.
Theo scowled. 'I should report you. To Professor Snape.'
Beside him, Neville felt Hannah quail. He stepped forward. 'No need for that,' he said, astonished at how steady his voice sounded. 'We were just going to find Professor Dumbledore. You can come with us if you like.'
--
The Headmaster took one look at the four children and Summoned armchairs, a plate of biscuits and hot drinks. And, to Neville's chagrin, Professor McGonagall, who stared at him gimlet-eyed while Luna told their story.
'And then Neville said we'd better come to you.' She pushed the picture across the table towards the two teachers.
'Did he indeed? That showed commendable foresight, Mr Longbottom.'
'Commendable,' the Deputy Headmistress repeated, her eyes boring a hole in Neville.
Dumbledore unwrapped the painting, and he and McGonagall regarded it in silence for a moment. Then Dumbledore stood up. 'You have done a remarkable thing this evening,' he said, in a voice more serious than Neville had ever heard before. 'Quite how remarkable, I am not yet able to tell. But it seems to me that you were meant to find this item and you were meant to bring it here.'
Luna beamed. 'That's what I said.'
Dumbledore smiled at her. 'Your powers of analysis are quite as formidable as your teachers tell me, Miss Lovegood.'
'Professor Dumbledore.' Neville's voice cracked. 'When you say meant - who meant us to find it?'
Dumbledore sat down again. 'Ah,' he said sadly. 'If I knew that, I should know a great deal more than I do. But there - it is always pleasant to have something to aspire to, is it not? Fifteen points to each of you.'
'Not me.' Theo Nott shook his head. 'I didn't do anything.'
Hannah reached out and laid her hand on his. Theo flinched, but did not pull away. 'You came with us,' she told him quietly. 'Instead of - you know.' She hesitated. 'And I think maybe you're meant to be here, too.' She looked around. 'I'm right, aren't I? Fifteen points each doesn't change anything. It's not about that.'
To Neville's amazement, Dumbledore stood up and bowed. 'You know, Minerva,' he observed, 'I think that sometimes our actions are more transparent than we would care to believe. You are quite right, Miss Abbott. It gladdens my heart to see the four of you sitting here this evening - although', he added quickly as McGonagall raised an eyebrow, 'it is, of course high time you went back to your common rooms to think about homework and bed. I must ask you to keep the day's events to yourselves. You have certainly given me plenty to consider.'
As they hurried down the staircase from Dumbledore's office, feet clattering on the stone, Neville remembered the Kelpies and tomorrow's test. He wondered if McGonagall would speak to Lockhart, to point out that Neville hadn't prepared for it because he had been caught up in something important and mysterious. Inwardly, he grinned. Probably not. That sort of thing only happened to Harry.
Even so, he had no regrets. Something big had happened tonight, even if nobody knew quite what it was. His mind raced. Hogwarts' greatest need. The Hufflepuff chalice. Maybe he'd be able to call on Hannah again. And Theo wasn't so bad, for a Slytherin.
They had reached the bottom of the staircase. 'Well, this is it.' Neville shrugged. 'Remember what Dumbledore said. This is our secret.'
Luna said thoughtfully, 'They'll go mad wondering where the fifteen points came from. No one would ever think it was me.'
'Then they're not clever enough to be in Ravenclaw,' Neville said firmly. Luna's face lit up with surprise and pleasure. He turned down the corridor and walked away, suddenly ten feet tall.
It had been, he decided, as he climbed into bed, the best day of his life. His own adventure. His own friends. His own secret. And just for once, he thought guiltily as his eyes closed, it had had nothing at all to do with Harry Potter.
--