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FIC: Hero (Neville Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Gen)
Title: Hero
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Neville Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Gen
Fandom: Harry Potter
Word Count: 488
Summary: 'I have news for you.' Neville Longbottom has something to tell his mother. (Written for hp_genlove's May Drive.)
Notes: Written pre-DH, but I think it still fits in canon. Instructions for the challenge were:
I invite you to work on setting up a vignette that will hold a brief dialogue between two HP characters. Let's aim for something short (100 to 500 words).
However, the first quote spoken must be 'I have news for you.'
Link to fic at hp_genlove
She didn't seem to recognise him; she hummed as she sat down, her eyes darting everywhere except his face.
Neville sighed. He should have expected this, given that he'd been away for so long.
'I have news for you,' he began, frowning when her gaze flitted over him. 'Look at me, Mum, please.' He reached for her hands, forcing her to focus on him.
She blinked bewilderedly. 'I'm sorry; I should know you, right?'
He nodded and released her hands. 'Never mind that yet -- you need to hear this first.'
She giggled. 'I like secrets.'
'It's not a secret, Mum,' he said patiently. He contemplated his next words. Should he say 'Voldemort'? Might it put her into a panic? He decided against it. 'You-Know-Who is gone.'
'Is it a guessing game?' she asked hopefully. She shut her eyes and started to hum cheerfully again.
'He's gone,' Neville repeated, but his mother no longer seemed to be attending. He forged on, nevertheless. Even if she wasn't listening, he wanted to tell her. 'Harry defeated him. For good, this time. And -- I helped. I fought the Death Eaters. And we -- we won.'
Her eyes snapped open. 'Young man, your parents must be very proud,' she said dreamily. Neville swallowed with difficulty. His throat felt constricted. He opened his mouth to reply her, but no words came. She leaned forward confidentially and whispered into this ear, 'My boy, Neville, he's only one now, but he'll grow up to be a fighter.' Her eyes crinkled at him. 'He'll be a hero like you, won't he!'
He had to turn away then so that she wouldn't see him wipe away the tears. When he faced her again, she was crooning contentedly to a baby only she could see.
'Thanks, Mum,' he whispered.
She looked up and the smile on her face faltered. 'I should know you, shouldn't I?' Her brow furrowed in confusion.
He took her hand again and squeezed it. For a brief moment, he toyed with the idea of telling her that he was Neville; he was her son. But then ...
He shook his head. 'It's all right,' he said.
Trapped in a time when Neville was just a baby, she wouldn't know him now as her son. But it didn't matter; because somehow, the baby she knew, whom she believed in and trusted to be a hero -- well, he wasn't so different from who Neville was today, was he?
And that made him feel like a real hero, never mind that the title was Harry's.
He kissed her forehead. 'I love you, Mum.'
She pushed herself to her feet and slid, in her socks, towards her bed. When she returned, her hands were clenched.
He didn't have to look to know what she held in her fist.
She pressed it into his palm, a gesture he'd once desperately pretended was her code for 'I love you'.
Maybe it was.
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Neville Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Gen
Fandom: Harry Potter
Word Count: 488
Summary: 'I have news for you.' Neville Longbottom has something to tell his mother. (Written for hp_genlove's May Drive.)
Notes: Written pre-DH, but I think it still fits in canon. Instructions for the challenge were:
I invite you to work on setting up a vignette that will hold a brief dialogue between two HP characters. Let's aim for something short (100 to 500 words).
However, the first quote spoken must be 'I have news for you.'
Link to fic at hp_genlove
She didn't seem to recognise him; she hummed as she sat down, her eyes darting everywhere except his face.
Neville sighed. He should have expected this, given that he'd been away for so long.
'I have news for you,' he began, frowning when her gaze flitted over him. 'Look at me, Mum, please.' He reached for her hands, forcing her to focus on him.
She blinked bewilderedly. 'I'm sorry; I should know you, right?'
He nodded and released her hands. 'Never mind that yet -- you need to hear this first.'
She giggled. 'I like secrets.'
'It's not a secret, Mum,' he said patiently. He contemplated his next words. Should he say 'Voldemort'? Might it put her into a panic? He decided against it. 'You-Know-Who is gone.'
'Is it a guessing game?' she asked hopefully. She shut her eyes and started to hum cheerfully again.
'He's gone,' Neville repeated, but his mother no longer seemed to be attending. He forged on, nevertheless. Even if she wasn't listening, he wanted to tell her. 'Harry defeated him. For good, this time. And -- I helped. I fought the Death Eaters. And we -- we won.'
Her eyes snapped open. 'Young man, your parents must be very proud,' she said dreamily. Neville swallowed with difficulty. His throat felt constricted. He opened his mouth to reply her, but no words came. She leaned forward confidentially and whispered into this ear, 'My boy, Neville, he's only one now, but he'll grow up to be a fighter.' Her eyes crinkled at him. 'He'll be a hero like you, won't he!'
He had to turn away then so that she wouldn't see him wipe away the tears. When he faced her again, she was crooning contentedly to a baby only she could see.
'Thanks, Mum,' he whispered.
She looked up and the smile on her face faltered. 'I should know you, shouldn't I?' Her brow furrowed in confusion.
He took her hand again and squeezed it. For a brief moment, he toyed with the idea of telling her that he was Neville; he was her son. But then ...
He shook his head. 'It's all right,' he said.
Trapped in a time when Neville was just a baby, she wouldn't know him now as her son. But it didn't matter; because somehow, the baby she knew, whom she believed in and trusted to be a hero -- well, he wasn't so different from who Neville was today, was he?
And that made him feel like a real hero, never mind that the title was Harry's.
He kissed her forehead. 'I love you, Mum.'
She pushed herself to her feet and slid, in her socks, towards her bed. When she returned, her hands were clenched.
He didn't have to look to know what she held in her fist.
She pressed it into his palm, a gesture he'd once desperately pretended was her code for 'I love you'.
Maybe it was.