Love Is In The Air: The Angelic Witch And Draco Malfoy (Book 4)

Neville's Parents

They followed Moody into his office. Moody closed the door behind them and turned to look at Neville, his magical eye fixed upon him as well as the normal one.

"Sit down, Sonny!" He told Neville. "Pearlstone! How are you feeling?" Nodding at the chair for her to sit as well.

Neville and Heroneka sat in front of Moody's desk.

"I'm alright, professor." She looked around the office.

Heroneka had visited this office under two of its previous occupants. On Professor Lockhart's day, the walls had been plastered with beaming, winking pictures of Professor Lockhart himself. When Lupin had lived here, you were more likely to come across a specimen of some fascinating new Dark creature he had procured for them to study in class. Now, however, the office was full of several exceptionally odd objects that Heroneka supposed Moody had used in the days when he had been an Auror.

On his desk stood what looked like a large, cracked, glass spinning top; Heroneka recognized it at once as a Sneakoscope, because she had seen one that Harry had owned, though it was much smaller than Moody's. In the corner on a small table stood an object that looked something like an extra-squiggly, golden television aerial. It was humming slightly. What appeared to be a mirror hung opposite to Heroneka on the wall, but it was not reflecting the room. Shadowy figures were moving around inside it, none of them clearly in focus.

"Like my Dark Detectors, do you?" said Moody, who was watching Heroneka closely.

Neville made an impatient noise next to Heroneka. Both, she and Moody looked at him. Neville's face was hung and red. He seemed really upset about the class on Unforgivable Curses.

"Oh, yes!" Moody went inside another door and said. He didn't return for almost a minute.

"Are you alright, Neville?" Heroneka asked him quietly.

"Are you?" He glanced at her then began fumbling his fingers.

Heroneka wasn't sure if she was alright or not, but she knew that what Moody was trying to teach them was important. A moment later, Moody came clunking out of the other room with two mugs of tea and kept it on the table.

"Drink," he said, sitting on his own chair. "You will feel better."

Neville and Heroneka took a mug each and began to sip quietly.

"Longbottom," said Moody. "Professor Sprout told me how amazing you are at Herbology. Also, that your boggart was Professor Snape."

Neville smiled for a moment but then got scared as he heard Snape's name.

"You turned his clothes into your grandmother's clothes?" Moody laughed harshly. "That was something epic."

Heroneka and Neville looked at each other and then smiled softly.

"Professor Snape doesn't like me a lot," Neville said in a small voice. "I am not good in his subject."

"Does it even matter?" Moody laughed again. "Here, I have something for you that might make you feel better." He pulled out a book from his table's drawer and handed it to Neville. "This might help you excel greatly in Herbology, Sonny. What else do you need?"

Neville's face lit up suddenly. Heroneka looked down at the book's cover that read: Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean.

"Keep it, you might enjoy reading it." Moody nodded enthusiastically so his scarred face looked even scary.

"What's that?" Heroneka asked, pointing at the squiggly golden aerial she had seen while entering the room.

"Secrecy Sensor. Vibrates when it detects concealment and lies...no use here, of course, too much interference - students in every direction lying about why they haven't done their homework. Been humming ever since I got here. I had to disable my Sneakoscope because it wouldn't stop whistling. It's extra-sensitive, picks up stuff about a mile around. Of course, it could be picking up more than kid stuff," he added in a growl.