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Out of the tunnel, with his hair overgrown, his face cut, his robes ripped, clambered the real Neville Longbottom, who gave a roar of delight, leapt down from the mantelpiece and yelled:
"I knew you'd come! I knew it, Harry! I knew it!"
"Neville — what the — how — ?"
But Neville had also spotted Charlie, Hermione, and Ron, and with yells of surprise, he was hugging them too. The longer Charlie looked at Neville, the worse he appeared; one of his eyes was swollen yellow and purple, there were gouge marks on his face, and his general air of unkemptness suggested that he had been living rough.
And still, his battered visage shone with happiness as he let go of Hermione and said again, "I knew you'd come! Kept telling Seamus it was a matter of time!"
Hermione squeaked at the sight of him, "Neville, what's happened to you?"
"What? This?" Neville dismissed his injuries with a shake of the head. "This is nothing, Seamus is worse, but you'll have to see for yourselves. Shall we get going then? Oh," he turned to Aberforth, "Ab, there might be a couple more people on the way."
"Couple more?" repeated Aberforth ominously. "What d'you mean, a couple more, Longbottom? There's a curfew and a Camwaulding Charm on the whole village!"
"I know, that's why they'll be Apparating directly into the bar," smirked Neville. "Just send them down the passage when they get here, will you? Thanks a lot."
Neville held out his hand to Hermione and helped her to climb up onto the mantelpiece and into the tunnel; Ron and Harry followed quickly behind. Charlie, however, turned and addressed Aberforth.
"Thank you... for saving our lives," he whispered, flashing a small smile. "And I'm sorry for getting carried away earlier. It was uncalled for, especially since you're the only family I've got left —"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, nephew," said Aberforth gruffly, pointing in the direction where the others had disappeared. "They're your family now, too. So look after 'em, yeah? Because I might not be able to save 'em again."
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