Chapter 251
Remus sat down with a thump. "Sirius, it's not that simple and…"
"Oh, I get that it's not simple, Remus!" Sirius lurched to his feet and startedpacing. "You know, back then, I always thought that Albus didn't confront
Voldemort because he was old and was better suited to running things thanfield action! He certainly corralled enough into the Order to do the fightingfor
him! And then I found out about the prophecy and I thought maybe that wasthe reason! But no! He didn't confront him because he has a wand that doesn't
even belong to him!"
"Sirius…"
"He could have given James the wand to store in the Potter family vault!
Nobody has it then! Nobody uses it! Just like we did with the stone!"
"Sirius…"
"He could do the same now!" Sirius continued. "He doesn't have to use that
wand! And it doesn't even belong to him and he knows it!"
"SIRIUS!"
"WHAT?" Sirius whirled around, breathing heavily. Remus looked calmly back at himand
pointed at the chair. Sirius flung himself down into it with a scowl.
"I don't disagree with you in principle." Remus said, rubbing his chin. "Albushas to know what the wand is and its history. He was quick enough to
recognise that the stone belonged to Harry so he must know that in principleand certainly from a sentimental viewpoint, Harry is also the rightful owner of
the wand. However…"
"The International Law of Conquest, I know." Sirius said quietly. "Albus wonthe wand in a duel. He was entitled to keep it."
"And he could argue, probably very successfully, that the wand's ownershipisentirely subject to that law since it has had many owners and they have
changed usually through a duel." Remus sighed. "If you wished to challengehim, the alternate argument is that the wand was stolen fromits original
rightful owner and is effectively hot property." Sirius grimaced.
"But since Albus must know all this," Remus stressed, "I believe he probablyhas a reason for keeping the wand from Harry beyond a desire to keep thewand in his possession."
"No doubt it's to keep the wand from falling into Voldemort's hands," Siriussaid, "I can see that! All he had to do rather than lie to me was to say 'I havethe wand and you'll agree that until Voldemort is defeated by Harry, it wouldbe best for me to keep it' or some other argument he has up his
multi-coloured sleeves! It's just…he's keeping secrets again! Deciding he
knows best!" He threw up his hands. "It drives me bonkers!" He noted Remusdidn't argue with him.
"Are you going to tell Harry?" Remus asked, eventually.
"I'll show him the memories once Simeon leaves." Sirius couldn't help thetinyflinch at having to face them again. Between the revelations that his grandfather had cared about himbut that hisgrandfather had also conspired to keep him and Harry in their respective
prisons for so long, that he had known and liked Lily and she had knownandapparently liked him…well, his mind healer was probably going to earn hissalary ten times over in his forthcoming session. And then there was Albuscreating problems again.
"Harry can decide whether we confront Albus or not about the Elder wand. At
the end of the day, it is Potter property, he needs a say in deciding what wedo." Remus winced. Sirius sighed because he agreed with him; it was not going to be a fun
discussion when Harry realised Albus had kept something fromthem–fromHarry; something that was potentially useful if they could work out howall of
the three artefacts had been used to defeat the Dark Wizard Severn. Harry hadforgiven Albus once; Sirius wasn't sure he'd forgive him again.
.... Neville waited impatiently at the floo with his Gran. They were hosting anIntroduction Party for the Black Regent Apparent. It was the first time that theLongbottom and Black alliance would be on public show instead of the
Longbottom and Potter. He knew his Gran was determined that the event
would be a smashing success to underline that just how much the Houseof
Longbottom valued its alliance with the House of Black. He had seen such a change in his Gran over the Summer; it was as thoughshe'd been given another lease of life. He'd always be grateful to Lord Black–Sirius – for that if for no other reason although there were plenty others;
convincing his Gran to buy Neville a wand that was matched properly withhim;
the politics lessons; the estate management lessons; his magic lessons; theoutings…but most importantly; his friendship with Harry.
It had been a surprise to him that Harry's parents had been his godparentsbut
it made sense of why he had only his Gran and a handful of elderly relativesinhis life. Since the start of the Summer and that news he'd asked his Granabout his father's friends more and discovered the two men closest to hisDadhad been the Prewett twins, Fabian and Gideon. They had died at the handsof
the Death Eaters. His mother's closest friend had been Lily Potter and his
Gran hadn't known any others beyond noting both women were known andaccepted in the social circle of the Potter alliance. Neville wondered why noneof them had come forward to help his Gran until he'd realised froman
overheard comment that his Gran had pushed most of themaway at somepoint in her grief.
It was a hard thing for Neville not to feel resentful; he loved his Gran but her
previous behaviour had turned away people who could have helped him–helped them. He could have adults in his life who didn't despair over his lack
of magical ability or who compared him constantly to his father. He couldhave grown up with friends instead of being isolated in LongbottomManor. But then, in fairness to his Gran, maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. Maybe he would have still been shy and awkward. Maybe. But he wasn't
isolated any longer, Neville assured himself. The Potter alliance was
re-established and all of the Heirs were committed to working together. Andmoreover, he and Harry had both delighted in being godbrothers.
It was a relief to Neville that Harry was just as eager as he was to establishabetter friendship. They hadn't been unfriendly at Hogwarts but Neville hadnever wanted to intrude too much into the territory of 'best mate' that Ronhadvery clearly marked out for himself (although in hindsight Neville could seethat alongside the possessiveness, Ron had truly been protective of Harry
who'd been overwhelmed by the attention). In truth Neville had been tooinsecure about his own worth to force himself upon the Boy Who Lived andlater, on the boy he'd come to know as Harry. Somehow though, thanks totheir family alliance, Neville had been given the opportunity of forging anunique place with Harry – Harry wanted him to be his godbrother as muchasNeville wanted Harry to be his – and Neville had grasped the inner couragethat had made the Hat sort him into Gryffindor and grabbed that opportunitywith both hands. He was pleased beyond measure at the result; Harry trusted himand believedin him and Neville had meant every single word of the oath of fealty he hadsworn. So, just like his Gran, he wanted the evening to be a success – for Harry, theHeir of the House of Black and his godbrother. Neville smoothed down the front of his robes again nervously, his fingers
absently tracing over the stitching of the Longbottom crest. His Gran shot him
a quick smile and he straightened as he smiled back. The floo chimed and immediately Sirius stepped through with an elegant
precision that his Gran approved of with a smart nod. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 252
"Sirius," his Gran offered her hand which was quickly kissed, "it's wonderful tosee you. I hope everything will be to your liking."
"Knowing you, it will be perfect, Augusta." Sirius smiled warmly at her beforehe clasped Neville's shoulder. "You look very smart, Neville." The floo flared again and Harry stepped out, sighing with relief when he didn't
stumble. He greeted Neville's Gran first before he and Neville shook handsformally; grinning as they both rolled their eyes at the absurdity. Sirius tookhisplace beside Neville's Gran in the line-up and Harry took his beside Neville, nudging Neville's arm and continuing to grin at him. After that, the House of Black arrived in speedy order; the guests of honour, Simeon and his wife, arriving first before the Tonks arrived with Hermioneandlastly, the Malfoys. Neville took a perverse pleasure in seeing the Malfoys bow (or in Narcissa'scase, curtsy) to his Gran. None of his humour showed though as he shookDraco's hand and bid him welcome. He was surprised that Draco managedtokeep the sneer of his face.
Simeon took his place in the line-up beside Sirius while everyone else wasushered into the formal parlour where the refreshments had been set out. Neville knew that Andromeda would play hostess in the absence of his Gran.
"Well, gentlemen," his Gran said, "are we ready for the hordes fromthe
Ministry and the Wizengamot to descend?"
"You mean locusts." Sirius commented dryly.
"They can't be that bad!" Simeon protested winking at the two boys. Neville and Harry looked at each other before they shared a smirk with Sirius. "Worse!" They chorused.
"Really!" His Gran admonished, but her eyes were sparkling. "Some of themare our allies."
"All locusts except for our allies." Sirius agreed. "Got it." His Gran looked as though she was about to retort but the floo chimed againand for the next hour, Neville was mostly occupied by shaking hands andkissing knuckles before presenting 'his friend and ally, Lord Potter, Headof
the House of Potter and Heir to the House of Black.'
Harry's smile grew tighter and more fixed as the hour went on. All of the
Wizengamot was in attendance and most of the higher echelon of the Ministry– the Department heads and their wives. Even if their allies knewbetter thanto fawn over Harry or to condescend to him, the rest hadn't a clue howtodeal
with the Boy Who Lived. Worse still were the families that they knewto beDark and aligned in the past with Voldemort. But Harry didn't waver or cower
in their presence and neither did Neville; a show of strength was needed. Thevery worst though was when Bartemius Crouch Senior stepped out of thefloo.
"Crouch." Sirius practically snarled the other wizard's name and everyoneinthe receiving line tensed.
"Black." Crouch snapped back. Neither offered their hand.
"Barty," his Gran stepped forward and presented her hand with a quiet
authority that forced Crouch into taking it, "let me introduce you to SimeonBlack, the Black Regent Apparent." Crouch shook hands quickly with Simeonwho eyed him speculatively. "You remember my grandson, Neville, of course." Neville shook hands and gave a stiff smile. The older man was rigid in hisstance; his grey robes were properly pressed and tailored; his short grey hair
neatly parted and his toothbrush moustache trimmed as straight as a ruler.
"May I also present Lord Potter, Heir of the House of Black." His Gran
continued.
"So you're the Boy Who Lived?" Crouch sneered.
"And you're the wizard who threw my godfather into prison without a trial." Harry shot back, his green eyes colder than Neville could ever remember
seeing them and he felt a shiver go down his spine. The floo chimed.
"Amelia!" Neville wasn't imagining the hint of relief in Sirius's voice.
"Bones."
"Crouch." Amelia Bones greeted her former boss evenly but without any
fondness as she allowed her hand to be kissed by Sirius.
"Brian! Good to see you!" Sirius grinned at her escort as Amelia moved tocurtsy to Neville's Gran and present her hand to Neville and Harry.
"Sirius." Brian smiled at the smirking wizard and sighed, although his facewasalight with humour. "Is there any way you're not going to tease me about this?"
"No…" Amelia shot Sirius a look.
"I mean, yes," Sirius hastily corrected, "I mean, why would I tease you about
escorting our lovely Amelia?"
"Nice recovery, my Lord Black." Amelia said dryly. Her eyes landed on Crouchagain. "Well, it's good to see that you've recovered from Wizard's flu at last, Barty."
"And just in time to attend the World Cup." Brian pointed out smoothly, offering Amelia his arm. Crouch glared at the solicitor while Harry exchanged furtive smirks with
Neville.
"I'm still recovering." Crouch stated coldly.
"Yes," Amelia said, adjusting the skirts of her dress robes, "I did hear talk
today that you'd forgotten the name of the Italian Ambassador."
"Memory loss is common after a serious bout of the flu." Crouch defendedhimself briskly.
"Short term memory loss." Amelia pointed out. "You've been meeting Antonioevery month for ten years. How you failed to remember his name is beyondcomprehension." A throat being cleared behind the Director had them all peering at the newarrivals: the Diggorys.
"My apologies, Lady Longbottom, we seem to be holding up the receivingline." Brian stepped in diplomatically. "Bartemius, Amelia; perhaps we should
continue this discussion in the parlour."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 253
Amelia smiled at him gratefully as Crouch muttered an agreement. Nevilledidn't miss the dark look he threw towards Sirius and Harry though as heleft. The Diggorys greeted Sirius, his Gran and Simeon. There was some tensioninthe air because nobody in the line had voted for Diggory when he'd beennominated to join the Wizengamot. Amos shook hands with Neville but
lingered with Harry.
"Good to see you again." Amos said pompously. "Looking forward to returningto school?" Neville stiffened at the underlying insult; Amos was effectively pointing out
Harry's youth and inexperience.
"Yes, Mister Diggory." Harry replied politely.
"It'll be good to get back to Hogwarts." Cedric stepped in to smooth thingsover and thankfully changing the subject. "Are you going to the World Cup?"
"We are," Harry said, "you?"
"I can't wait to see Krum in action." Cedric said, eagerly. "He's a brilliant
Seeker." Harry nodded and Neville knew that his friend was eager to see the matchandpick up some of the Seeker moves.
"So are you, son." Amos interrupted. "You beat young Potter here, didn't you?" Cedric looked miserably embarrassed once more. "I've told you before, Dad, it
wasn't a fair win."
Since Harry had been busy falling off his broom because the field had beeninvaded by Dementors during the moment Cedric had spotted and caught theSnitch, Neville agreed with Cedric's view.
"Nonsense," Amos blustered, "you won; that's all that matters." The floo chimed again.
"We should head inside before we make the same faux pas as Amelia andBarty." Peggy Diggory nudged her husband pointedly while shooting an
apologetic look in Harry's direction.
"Of course, of course." Amos inclined his head, offered his armto his wifeandset off to the parlour. Cedric mouthed a 'sorry' and trailed after his parents.
It was a relief that the next group out of the floo were the Weasleys. It wasonly Arthur, Molly, Ron and Ginny – Bill had arrived escorting Alicia Doge
earlier. Harry's tension eased a little and Neville relaxed a bit more himself.
"Oh don't you boys look handsome?!" Molly exclaimed, reaching to hug Harryrather than following etiquette.
Harry smiled at her. "Hello Molly."
"Mrs Weasley." Neville greeted her more formally, knowing his Gran wouldn't
let him get away with anything less than the expected behaviour.
"Neville!" Molly smiled at him as he kissed her hand. Ginny presented her hand with a smirk. Neville rolled his eyes at her but
kissed her knuckles. She turned to Harry and went bright red. Neville was tornbetween amusement at her evident crush and a tug of envy. Neville hadn't considered Ginny as a potential girlfriend until that Summer. Hehadn't failed to notice at the end of his third year that his peers were
beginning to date – at least Dean and Seamus; Ron and Harry seemed asequally as unenthusiastic as he was to actually attempt to ask a girl out. But
after Sirius and Remus had given him and Harry the Talk (and Neville thought
it had been cool they'd thought to work it so Harry's father provided muchof
it), Neville had given some thought to his own prospects and determinedtheonly girl he knew well enough to ask out was Ginny. He'd spent quite a bit of time with the youngest Weasley over the past year. They occupied the same position in their relative dorms; friendly with all but
not part of a close friendship themselves (although Neville suspected Harrywould be more inclusive when they went back to Hogwarts in September). Apparently Ginny had missed out in being part of a group in her first year byisolating herself with a diary when she was scared instead of pushing past theinitial fear and confiding in the other girls in her dorm. Neville surmised that
there was possibly more to it than Ginny was willing to say since he
remembered she'd ended up in the Chamber of Secrets and being rescuedbyHarry at the end of her first year, but he wasn't about to press her into givingconfidences she didn't want to share. Instead, he'd been happy enough tofindsomeone who he could sit with in the Common Room and at meals if they
were both without companions. He liked Ginny; she was compassionate, smart and had a wicked sense of
humour. She was also very pretty. Her only major flaw was that she was headover heels in love with the idea of being in love with the Boy Who Lived andturned into a speechless ninny around Harry. And, so regardless of Neville'sfirm belief that he and Ginny were friends, he doubted Ginny had ever thought
about Neville as a prospective suitor. His newfound confidence also meant that despite Neville's admiration of her, he was beginning to think that maybe he would be better off consideringsomeone else. Hermione was out since it was fairly clear to Neville that sheand Harry both liked each other; they'd sneak glances when the other wasn't
looking and there was a real genuine affection between them. It was just aquestion of when they would both realise that they liked each other. Besides, Hermione – as nice as she was – was a little too intimidating for Neville; alittle too much like his Gran if he was being completely honest. But Susan and Hannah were both friendly and nice. They weren't bossy or
intimidating. He liked them both although he thought Hannah was prettier
with her blonde hair and calm blue eyes. Maybe he should give up on the ideaof Ginny. He watched wistfully as Harry gently prompted Ginny with a remarkable
amount of patience for her hand; as Ginny offered her hand shyly and duckedher head when Harry's lips brushed over her skin.
Ron beamed at them and Neville realised belatedly that Ron obviously haddecided that Harry was the perfect boyfriend for Ginny – someone whoRontrusted and wouldn't mind being a part of his family. Harry, on the other hand, let go of Ginny's hand quickly and didn't protest when Molly ushered her
children away.
"Well, that was the last of the guests." His Gran declared. Harry let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank Merlin."
"Now, we just have to mingle for the next couple of hours." Sirius said withmock cheerfulness, placing his hands on Harry's shoulders and squeezingthem sympathetically as they began the walk through the manor.
"Fantastic." Harry said wearily. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 254
Sirius took pity on him. "Why don't you take a break? I'll come get you whenweneed you." Harry's smile could have lit up the Manor. Neville poked him in the arm. "Come on, let's grab a butterbeer and find
Hermione." A brief glance around the room quickly identified that Hermione was happilyensconced in a corner by the refreshment table with Susan, Hannah, DaphneGreengrass, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein. Ron and Ginny were withtheir parents talking with the Diggorys and the Inglebees. The Malfoys hadset
up shop near to them and Draco was flanked by Zabini and Nott. Harry and Neville made a quick stop to pick up a drink and joined Hermione'sgroup.
"Harry!" Hermione greeted him happily. "We were just talking about the Runestest. Daphne and Anthony are going to be sitting for the fifth year class sameas us."
"Hermione was just explaining that you were the one responsible for themoffering us the chance to skip a year. We should probably thank you." Anthonysaid brightly. The dark haired Ravenclaw smiled at Harry. Harry shrugged self-consciously.
"Don't worry, Potter," Daphne advised dryly, "I'm not going to thank you sincethat would be to confirm that I owed you something." Neville was about to say something but the hint of amusement in Daphne'sblue eyes stopped him as he realised she was teasing.
"Which you do." Anthony argued.
"No, I don't," Daphne said, "I was the one who achieved an Outstanding andgot the opportunity to sit the fourth year exam early. All Potter did was fail torealise that he wasn't just sitting the third year exam."
"Harsh, Daffers." Anthony chided her. Harry shrugged again. "I don't mind and she's right; you earned the right tosit
the exam yourselves."
"I didn't." Michael complained. "Exceeds Expectation." He sighed. "I'mgoingtobe left behind."
"There are plenty of people who didn't qualify to skip." Anthony assuredhim. "Padma, Ernie and Sally are all still going to be in fourth year Runes."
"I'm stuck in Divination." Neville said regretting his choice of electives evenmore. He'd eschewed Runes and Arithmancy for the easier subjects against
his Gran's advice (his father had taken Arithmancy) as a single act of rebellion, pointing out that neither would help in his chosen profession of Herbology.
"Me too." Hannah sighed.
"You could do what Harry did and swap." Hermione suggested. "We'd helpyou. You could drop Divination and study Runes independently – aimto take thethird year exam this year and do your OWL in sixth." Neville shook his head. "Someone has to keep Ron company."
"And someone has to keep Neville company." Hannah added. Neville felt his cheeks heat and inwardly cursed but he appreciated the
thought and smiled at her shyly.
"Divination is such a waste of time." Michael said. "If you don't have the Sight, it's useless."
"You know who does have the Sight?" Anthony asked with a hint of 'I knowsomething you don't.'
"Not Trelawney that's for sure." Daphne stated firmly. "The only Spirit that
woman sees is called Harvey's Bristol Cream." Hermione choked on her drink and had to be rescued by Harry who offeredher a white cotton handkerchief to mop up her chin.
"So you guys don't believe in prophecies then?" asked Harry. There was something about the way he asked that made Neville's Harry Alert
flare up. From the way Hermione started chewing her lip, he wasn't the onlyone who had read something more into the seemingly innocent question.
"I don't believe in them." Michael said firmly. "There is absolutely no proof that
one single prophecy has been correct."
"That's not true!" Hannah claimed. "There are plenty of examples; the Oracleat
Delphi, Cassandra…"
"But everyone looks at the prophecies and bends them to fit!" Michael argued. "Take the prophecy that "a young boy who is important to the moon will dieat
day-break!" Well, somewhere in the world there's probably a werewolf boy whodies at day-break or a boy who was born under a moon or a boy called Moon!
People see what they want to see."
"I agree with Corner." Daphne said raising her own glass. "It's a load of dragondung."
"Me too," agreed Hermione, "and Trelawney is a complete fraud!"
"Ah, but as I was saying earlier," Anthony asserted, "there are true Seers andI
know one!" Harry looked at Anthony curiously. "Who?"
"A second year – well, soon to be third year Ravenclaw called Luna Lovegood." Anthony said. "Her Dad owns The Quibbler."
"Looney?" Michael gaped at him. Harry's face hardened. "What did you call her?" Hermione glared at Michael, silently backing up Harry. Neville shifted closer.
"Not me!" Michael hastened to defend himself. "The girls call her that!"
"She is odd." Daphne said brusquely. "Half the time she wanders aroundwithout shoes." Neville threw her a disgusted look. "Out of choice or because someone stolethem?"
Daphne's eyebrows rose a tad as she considered it. "Good question."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 255
"I really hate bullies." Harry said with a sigh. He rubbed his forehead. "Is shehere?"
"The Lovegoods aren't here as they lost their seat ages ago." Neville
commented to Harry. But he knew from the determined look on Harry's facethat Luna was now on his radar and if she was being bullied, Harry was goingto step in. And Neville would be there to support him all the way.
"We're off topic," Michael pointed out, "whether Loo…" he caught sight of
Harry's hard stare, "uh, Luna is a Seer or not is not the point."
"Well, it is in one way," Hermione countered, "if there are true Seers then by
definition there must be true prophecies." Harry winced. "Maybe." He suddenly smiled. "Anyone want to make a
prediction about the World Cup?" And just like that the topic was changed with Hermione berating Harry andtheothers about being obsessed with Quidditch. Neville kept out of the debate over Ireland and Bulgaria. He wasn't that
interested in Quidditch and he mainly watched the games at Hogwarts out of
House loyalty. He contemplated Harry's questioning over whether prophecies
were real or not. Why was he so interested if he was dropping Divination, Neville wondered. He puzzled over it for a long moment until the obvious
answer struck him: Harry must have heard some kind of prophecy involvinghim. Not surprising, Neville thought, thinking of all the scrapes Harry hadgotten into it and the very strange words the spirit of Morgana had saidduringthe blessing ritual – something about betwixt the light and dark, and perishingor mastering Death?
Sirius cleared his throat behind Neville causing him to jump slightly. He shot alook over his shoulder and Sirius grinned back at him unrepentant. "Sorry, Nev. Simeon and I need to borrow Harry." Harry sighed but went willingly as Sirius and Simeon hauled himaway for atour of the room and the waiting mass of people wanting to talk to them.
"Poor bloke." Michael commiserated. Neville saw his Gran approaching and he sighed. "I have to go mingle too." Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile. "Good luck!" Hannah reached out a little hesitantly and patted his arm. Neville smiledat her
warmly before falling into step beside his Gran. They began on the opposite side of the room to Sirius and Harry. Unfortunately that meant they began with the Malfoys who had congregated
with the Notts, and the Wilkes. Blaise Zabini stood next to Draco but his
mother was thankfully nowhere in sight. Probably stalking Sirius, Neville
thought with amusement as his Gran started the overtures of small talk.
"Longbottom." Draco sneered.
"Malfoy." Neville gave him a cautious nod.
"Longbottom Manor is great," Theodore Nott said, "I didn't realise it was sobig." Neville nodded. "All my ancestors added to it except for my Dad." Draco shifted vaguely uncomfortable with the reference to Neville's parentage, which given his aunt and uncle had been the one to confine Neville's father toa long term treatment ward was understandable. "My father says the groundshere are very extensive."
"We have a good spread." Neville said. "Most of it is farmland; we have asmall
forest and some deer. There's a freshwater stream and lake with trout –myUncle Algie likes to fish. And then we have the formal gardens and the
greenhouses."
"I had no idea you had so much land." Blaise commented.
Neville shrugged. "We also have a holiday cottage in Cornwall, an agricultural
farm in the Peak district and a hunting cabin in Scotland. And that's just theproperty in the UK. We have more abroad." Nott and Zabini looked suitably impressed.
"Well, they do say land rich and magic poor." Draco said snootily. Neville smiled benignly. Draco was just skirting the edges of acceptable
commentary; it would be easy for Neville to take insult. "I think you'll findthat'snot entirely accurate, Malfoy. I've been using my father's wand but I've gottenmy own now and my magic is much easier."
"How did you get around the underage restriction?" asked Blaise.
"Lord Black arranged an exemption with the Ministry." Neville explained.
"My Dad does the same every year on the grounds that I'mthe last of theNott
line and need to be able to protect myself." Nott commented easily. "Most
purebloods can get exemptions, Zabini. Hasn't your Mum applied for you?"
"That would mean her acknowledging my existence." Blaise said dryly.
Neville suppressed the frown. That didn't sound like Blaise had a good homelife and Neville's compassion stirred. "Are you going to the World Cup?" Heasked Blaise directly.
"He's attending with the House of Black." Draco snapped. Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco's behaviour. "Draco's father invited myself andNott to keep Draco company so he wouldn't be surrounded by Gryffindors." The insult to Draco (for not being able to deal with Gryffindors on his own)
and to Neville (that he was a Gryffindor) was carefully hidden by his moderatebreezy tone. Very Slytherin, Neville thought with more amusement than heprobably should have had for the comment.
"Well, I'll see you then as my Gran and I will also be attending as guests of theHouses of Black and Potter." Neville replied, peripherally aware that his Granwas about to move onto the next grouping. Three groupings later, they happened upon the Weasleys, the Inglebees, andthe Diggorys.
"Oh, hi, Neville," Ginny barely looked at him as she peered around himclearlysearching for someone else, "where's Harry?"
"Doing the other side of the room with Simeon and Sirius." Neville pointedat
the trio and winced as he realised they were surrounded by Lord SelwynandLord Gibbon.
"Do you think he'll get here soon?" asked Lydia, flicking her hair. Her twinbrother Matthew sighed and rolled his eyes at Neville in silent apology.