The Lion and the Eagle |Neville Longbottom|

38. The Return Home

 At last, my day to leave!

I couldn't have been happier to leave St. Mungo's. I'd stayed a few days longer after Ember's departure. Shockingly, she stopped by once since her leave. Draco hadn't been with her. The gesture meant a lot.

She'd tried to search for Bree but got a devastating result. The girl had sustained injuries she couldn't recover from. Adam was going to be in such agony when he heard the news. He was alive, Ember had asked about him as well. She hadn't gone to see him.

The siblings remained on my mind, even after Mum and Dad told me it was time to leave. I searched for Adam as we headed out to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist asked the usual questions towards me, to which I gave minute responses. I wanted to leave, sure, but I wanted to stay long enough to find Adam, at least.

As my parents were finishing the paperwork, someone else came to the desk. Adam looked physically better, but his sharp blue eyes told a different story. He had to know about his sister's passing. He and I exchanged a solemn look. I reached across, squeezing his hand.

"We tried," I whispered to him.

"Gran is heartbroken," he said in a hollow tone. "It was bad enough I had been Imperiused to take my own sister. She had to witness that. Now she's lost her granddaughter..."

"It'll be hard. It's a day to day process."

"She didn't deserve it."

"No one so young ever does." I sighed. "I give you all the best, Adam. I'm sorry."

On that parting note, Mum and Dad escorted me out of the hospital.

* * *

I had never been so happy to be home.

In the days I was at St. Mungo's, Dad had been doing renovations via magic to repair the house back to its former glory. Nala came to greet me, twining herself around my legs even after I was moving throughout the house. Though images of destruction lingered in the back of my mind, the house, inside and out, was restored.

"Things feel right again," Mum said with a happy sigh. "How about I make us a big dinner?"

"Please do, hospital food can't compare to your cooking," I told her. She squeezed me into a hug before bounding off into the kitchen. Dad joined me as Mum went to prepping. "How bad was it, for you both?"

"It was tough," he admitted. "We were stuck on the hope we'd see you again. That's what kept our focus. Jen, I can't begin to imagine what you went through in there, what you saw...Just know that, if you ever want to talk about it, your mother and I will be here to listen."

"Thanks, Dad. For now, I think, I'll keep things to myself."

"Understandable. We'll do our best not to pry and push too far."

"It's really appreciated. If it becomes too much, perhaps I'll start seeing someone to work through it all." It was the first time I had said the idea out loud. It hadn't been an option after the Battle, I hadn't been in the right mindset. I didn't believe I would be for some time, but I wasn't going to write off the option. I had a feeling it was going to be necessary in my future.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Things felt, for the first time in a while, somewhat normal. Everyone seemed to go about their business. Knowing that I was back home, I retreated up to my room. My room. Merlin, that sounded so nice.

I'd snoozed a good part of the day away. Nala rubbed against me, begging for attention, causing me to stir awake. I gave her what she wanted before I rubbed my eyes clean of sleep. I hadn't dreamt at all. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

How long was I out? I guess the only way to find out would be to go downstairs. Still shaking sleep from my system, that was what I did.

"Well, hi there, sleepyhead," was Dad's greeting to me.

My nose picked up familiar smells of dinner. "I'm guessing I woke up just in time?"

"Still working on it!" crowed Mum from the kitchen. "I'm open to having a helping hand or two."

Before I could offer, there was a sharp knock at the door. Dad and I exchanged a look. A creepy sense of déjà vu lingered. The threat is over. But who could possibly be stopping by?

Still cautious as ever, Dad and I pointed our wands at the door. With a flick of his, the door opened. Neville had a new vase of flowers in his hands.

"I don't want to drop it, but I promise I mean no harm," he said.

Dad and I lowered our wands, and Dad gestured him inside.

"I missed your release from St. Mungo's," Neville explained. "I forgot it was today. I figured I'd still give you these, though, since you seemed to like them a lot."

"How thoughtful," I said. I took the vase from him. "I'll find a good spot for these."

"Preferably a place with a good amount of sunlight!"

I took my time up the stairs to my room. I set the vase down on the floor for now, just below the window it would soon be level with. I hoped Nala wasn't too curious to start messing with it. But judging by how peaceful she was on my bed, I doubted she would bother it.

As I headed back downstairs, I heard Mum's voice: "Neville, do you want to stay for dinner?"

I stopped mid-step on the stairwell. "Mum, I think Neville is still on duty," I said.

"I am, but if I can get off early enough, I'd be happy to join you," he said. "I need to get back to the office."

"So, we'll see you for dinner?" I asked.

"I'll keep you guessing."

The second Neville left and Dad got the door shut, he looked at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Sweetheart, that boy likes you."

"Well, we were on the run for so long, we bonded. Became friends."

"You know that's not what I mean." He smiled. "As someone who's been married for a while, I know what love looks like."

"Dad."

"He'll show for dinner. He seemed to brighten at the fact you mentioned it again before he left. He'll come around."

"I hope so," came Mum's call from the kitchen, "when I said I wanted to do a big dinner, I meant it. He better come with an empty stomach too!"