Piece By Piece

Chapter Twenty-Four: Be Prepared

      Neville could hardly contain his excitement as they apparated back to Headquarters, but was able to pause his giddy thoughts when Harry nearly collapsed as they landed. Neville caught him just before he would've given himself a concussion.

      "I'm fine," Harry insisted as Neville stood them up. "Just had a lot of people to deal with this time." 

      "Yeah, yeah," Neville said. He noticed that they were standing in the Security Bay, which meant that Harry had chosen not to bypass it like he normally did. This must've been a big jump for him, Neville thought to himself. 

      "Hello," A voice chirped through the speakers in the ceiling. "Do you have clearance?"

      Harry grunted and reached into his pocket. He took out a badge similar to the ones Neville had seen other Aurors wear and held it up over his head. 

      Seconds later a wall on one side of them split open to reveal the first hallway in the Joint Forces' Headquarters. Neville turned to his parents and the two elves beside them and beckoned them to follow him. With Harry leaning on him a bit for support, he made a beeline for the infirmary. Once inside he had Harry sit down to rest and then sat himself down on another bed. He looked around; the infirmary had been recently deserted for lunch.

      Then Neville's attention turned to his parents, his parents, who were standing awkwardly in the front of the room. His heart swelled with so many emotions at once he thought it was going to burst. Was this how Harry had felt? He asked himself. No. No, I did this. I'm the reason they're here. A new emotion joined the cluster that was forming in his chest: pride. It made him grin from ear to ear. 

      "Neville," Harry interrupted his thoughts from where he was lying on his back. "Aren't you going to fill them in?"

      Neville snapped himself out of his trance and stood up. He walked towards his parents but couldn't find the right words to begin. And as his mother held out her arms to him he found himself beginning to cry tears of joy yet again.

      "Welcome home," He sniffled as his parents pulled him into a tight embrace.

      "We're so proud of you," His father whispered into his hair. 

      Neville gave himself a minute to collect his thoughts, then pushed himself out of his parents' arms. "I should probably catch you up," He said. "We could do that here or over lunch; take your pick."

      His parents exchanged a look. "We're pretty hungry," His mother said. "Just tell us what today's date is before we go so we don't look like complete idiots."

      That made Neville laugh a little. "It's October 2nd, 2001."

      The looks on his parents faces told him all he needed to know. They were devastated. "There's a lot you'll need to tell us, then," His mother mumbled. 

      "We have all the time we need," Neville assured them. "Sort of."

      "You do," Harry said as he walked towards them. "The other medics here can cover for you until you're ready." He jerked his head towards the hallway as he picked up Dobby and Winky like he would his godson. Neville assumed that was for the sake of speed, or not letting them get run over accidentally, or both. "Let's go eat."

      Neville and his parents followed Harry and the elves out of the infirmary. As they walked Neville gave them a brief tour of Headquarters. He pointed out the Potions Lab, Weapons Lab, and other rooms as they passed. He purposely refrained from mentioning any of their friends, as he wanted to keep that part a surprise.