Harry Potter the Power Unknown By Priya Ashok

Chapter 18

Harry apparated back to the castle where Nicholas and McGonagall were waiting for him along with Perenelle, Snape, Sirius and Remus. Harry keyed in the sleeping Longbottoms and all of them apparated into the house and Celly and the other elves prepared a comfortable room for the Longbottoms.

They were carefully leviated on to the huge bed and all the others sat by the bed to keep watch over them. Nicholas wrote to Bellatrix telling her about shifting the Longbottoms and told her to be careful. He received a short acknowledgement in return.

Harry in the meanwhile had sent a note with Lily to Neville saying his parents' were fine and sleeping peacefully and were safe inside the castle. He had made the note self inflammatory and no sooner than Neville read it than it burned into flames. He too, received a short thank you note from Neville and his grandmother.

The question that was burning into everyone's head was why had the Longbottoms been put into such a torturous existence for what would have been the rest of their lives. What had they found that was so incriminating or so harmful to Albus that he had ordered such a harsh sentence.

All of them dozed off where they were sitting for about two hours when Harry was awakened by a soft sound. "Frank? Neville?" said a voice very softly and very hoarsely, unused to speech or any vocal activity for the last fifteen years.

He slowly got up so that he would not scare her and went to her, "Mrs. Longbottom, how are you feeling?"

She shrank back terrified and looked at him with her big brown eyes so like Neville. She kept looking for about five minutes before she frowned as if trying to recall something and looking up at him she asked softly, "James?" Harry nodded his head, not wanting to explain there was a fifteen year gap in her life just when she had opened her eyes.

He walked around the bed to her side, changing his eye color to brown and bending down he asked her, "How are you Alice?"

That was the right thing to ask as she relaxed, "Why did you call me Mrs. Longbottom if you are really James?"

"You were hurt Alice and I wanted to see if you remembered." He explained, his heart pounding in excitement and hope that they would be all right and be a family with Neville.

She smiled and by now all of them had woken up and at Nicholas's signal all of them had moved to stand back, so that they would not confuse Alice and Harry could work on her without putting her into a panic.

Then she looked around and saw Frank sleeping, "Where are we? Merlin! James, Neville? My baby how is he?" she cried softly, the terror showing in her face and voice again.

"He is absolutely fine Alice. He is with Frank's mother." For the life of him, Harry could not call the formidable lady be name.

Alice relaxed once again. Then, "How are Lily and Harry? Oh! James, I have something very important to tell you, Lily, Sirius and Remus. Where are all of them?"

Harry suddenly felt choked from inside hearing the names of his parents and could not play this game longer. He bent down, changing his eyes and sat down beside her. "Mrs. Longbottom, I am not James." At her terrified cry, "You have been sick for the last fifteen years, Mrs. Longbottom, and I am Harry Potter, the son of James and Lily.

"Neville is fifteen years now and he is at your house with the elder Mrs. Longbottom. Both of them are fine. You are at Potter castle because we are scared someone might harm you. Now please take rest and we will talk later."