A Perfect Situation

Neville showed up unexpectedly at Severus’s home, still unsure how his request would be greeted. He knew he couldn’t say too much as to his reasons, and as a healer he had the right to ask for potions from any certified master, which Severus was. He hoped he wasn’t going to be questioned too much. He knew however, that Hermione was always reluctant to let anything go if she didn’t have the answers to curiosities. Maybe he would be lucky and she would be busy or out for the night.



He wasn’t lucky, her smiling face greeted him at the door with a hug. “Neville, what a surprise.”



“How are you?” He smiled back more out of instinct than manners. She was his friend after all.



“I’m feeling much better.” He gave his hand a squeeze.



“I hope you haven’t let this sway you from having a baby.” He focused on her eyes. Hermione always communicated with her eyes.



“No. I still want to have a baby.” She looked away then back, still smiling. “I think I want one more than ever, not that I know I can get pregnant.”



“That’s wonderful. I’m glad.” She led him to a seat, just as Severus came out from another room. “Severus, I was hoping you’d be home.”



“What can I do for you?” He asked, taking a seat, after shaking hands.



“I need these, and wanted to see if you had any ready right now.” He handed over a slip of parchment for him to look at.



“These are anti-depressant potions, what do you need them for?” He looked again. “This one is infused with cocoa, used mainly around dementors.”



“I’m taking someone into Azkaban and need them for before, during and after the visit.” He explained, noticing out of his peripheral vision that Hermione had sat up straighter.



“Who are you taking?” She asked.



“Hermione, what does it matter?” Her husband asked.



Hermione was always on target, and saw Neville avoid her eyes. “You’re taking her, aren’t you!?”



“Hermione, calm down.” Severus was out of his chair and holding her shoulders in moments.



“I can’t believe it. When I saw you on the street, I thought it must be some mistake, but you have taken an interest in her haven’t you?” She was batting away Severus’s hands as she ranted, but Neville had had enough.



“Hermione,” he stood to his feet, “I have never explained any patients personal business to you before, out of respect for healer patient confidence, do not ask me to make the exception now.” His voice was firm and he spoke with a confidence that Severus himself respected.



She stilled and slowly eased into her seat, but the fact that she didn’t have her answers was unnerving, he could see it in her posture. “You know Neville, out of that speech you just gave me, you didn’t deny that it was her.”



Neville turned and faced her husband. “Do you have them ready?”



“Yes, give me a moment.” He vanished to another room and Neville sat himself down again.



“Why, Neville?” Her voice was quiet, you would have thought she was being betrayed by her husband.



“I am a healer Hermione, when someone needs healing, I provide it, regardless of whether some people think it is undeserved.” He knew he had insulted her but he was right, and he knew he was right. “I’m sorry if I have done something that makes you think I have gone against you, but trust me, I have not.” He met her eyes. “Trust me.”



Her face softened. “I have always trusted you and I will continue to do so. I just wonder why, that’s all.”



Severus had returned and handed over the vials, each in the does amounts that he had specified. Tucking them into his robes, he looked at Hermione again. “Anyone who can attack like that without remorse has got to have some underlying issues making them unhappy. Things like that need to be healed, and that’s what I do in my life. I heal.”



“But why Azkaban?” Her confusion was eminent, but so was his professional integrity.



“I can’t tell you that.” He stood and held out his arms, glad that she entered them without a pause. “Believe it or not, I am doing this for you.” He looked down at her. “By helping her deal with things, she doesn’t target you.”



Hermione nodded and along with her husband, they saw him out, returning to their quiet evening at home.









Neville had already informed the prison of their visit, and the proper precautions were set up. Cathy arrived but she looked drastically different. She obviously hadn’t had much sleep, and her hair, rather than being styled, was merely brushed and pulled back in a tail at the nape of her neck. She was in jeans and a simple sweater under her cloak. She wasn’t wearing make up and Neville was surprised to see that without her ‘face’, she looked about 5 or 6 years younger. She didn’t get any sleep and she was looking about, not wanting to focus on anything.



“Here, take this now.” He handed her one vial, and watched as she drank it all.



“What was that?” She asked, slipping her hands into her pockets.



“It was an anti depressant, brewed with dementors in mind. With that in your system, you will be able to handle the visit better. I have one that I will give you in there and I want your promise that you will take it when I give it to you without question.” She gave a nod. “I have another for when we leave the prison, it’s a lot stronger.” He watched her take several breathes. “How are you doing?”



“I’m scared. I don’t know why I am doing this.” She let out a sigh and began pacing the grass, the massive prison off in the distance, waiting for her.



“You are doing this for you and for no other reason.” He took her hand and walked her to a nearby barge that took them and a few others to the prison doors. She began shaking and for a moment he wondered if she would change her mind, but she settled down when he gave her hand a squeeze.



She watched as the prison came closer and closer, growing in size and intimidation. She told herself that she should leave, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know why but she wanted to prove to Neville that she could do this. He had found a way to discover her deepest secrets and if she refused to confront this man, he would see first hand how cowardly she was and she didn’t want that. She could be strong.



They were ushered into the huge doors, then told to wait as they were sealed off, with a loud slam and several locks clicking on their own. Several guards waved wands, checking for weapons, and contraband of any kind. The other in their group were taken through a door, but Neville and Cathy were told to wait for their escort.



He arrived, tattooed and loud, with a shiny bald head and a neatly trimmed goatee. “You here for Prisoner Brandon?”



“Correct.” Neville called, still holding her hand.



“This way.” He walked through another door, where again the door was sealed behind them before the other was opened. They were told to leave their cloaks and wands in a tray, to be retrieved when they were ready to leave.



Cathy began shaking again, opening and closing her fingers around his. They were led down a hallway that seemed a mile long into a room, then sealed off again.



“Drink this.” Neville handed her the second potion, and she quickly swallowed it down trying to imagine the strongest Russian vodka. She felt more in control, but still nervous and scared.



The room she was in was divided in half by a huge set of bars. They were on one side with a guard posted at the door, watching them closely. The other side, had a huge window and she could see a dementor floating outside. There was a chair in front of the bars with two iron rings bolted to the floor beside it.



A door opened and two guards walked in with a ragged looking man. He was seated in the chair and the chains he wore were locked to the rings on the floor, glowing green with anti apparition charms. When he raised his face however, Cathy sucked in a breathe.



He had changed from the mischievous young man she befriended and the cocky man he grew into. He was deathly white, and he had dark circles under his eyes. His faced looked sunken in and he had lost a lot of weight. She knew he must be skin and bones under the prison robes. His hair was long and greasy, hanging past his shoulders in both clumps and strings. He wore a growth of about a weeks worth of beard, and his hands hung on his knees, unable to move from where the chains held them. His eyes, once a gorgeous green were now dark and haunted, with no sparkle of attitude at all.



If he could have seen what he would eventually become, he wouldn’t have believed it. Even Cathy was having trouble believing in what she was looking at. He was a shell of his former self. Even before he turned violent on her, he had a spark of life, but it was clear now, that it had been extinguished, with no way of coming back. She pitied him. She truly pitied him at this moment.



She eased away from Neville and looked closer, still holding his hand. She leaned down and met his eyes. “You look like hell.” She whispered.



“You don’t look much better then the last time I saw you.” He taunted, but seeing him now, gave her courage.



She actually smiled at him. “You’re referring to that night in the room of requirement, but the actual last time you saw me was walking in the great hall to received my Hogwarts completion.” She stood upright and let go of Neville’s hand. “Look who has lived a better life.”



Neville watched her, proud and confident that she had things well in hand. “I have done so many wonderful things Kevin, and you have been in here feeding rats with your blood from the looks of it.”



“Fuck you.” He threw at her.



“Fuck you.” She returned with a sneer. “You can’t score with a woman unless it’s by force, because nobody wanted you.”



He let out a growl, but silenced when he heard one of the guards take a step forward. “It doesn’t matter what you think anymore, I got what I wanted.”



“I’m sure you believe that but it’s not true.” She leaned in closer. “You told me that it would make up for a horrible first time, but that was just an excuse. It was something you said to make the time and place work, and to get Justin on your side. You always needed someone to follow you.”



“It doesn’t matter. I fucked you and so did he. We had you that night, we had you all night. In the end we won, and you lost.” His hatred had increased while in prison but Cathy was smarter than he gave her credit for.



“You didn’t destroy me. I still went on with my life. And now having faced you after all this time, I can close this door forever. You didn’t control me and you didn’t control Justin.”



He gave her an odd look which she returned with a smile. “He wrote to me before he died. He apologized.”



“He never would have done that.” He tried to stand but the chains held him in place and a hand of the guard settled him roughly into place.



“Yes, he did. He knew you wanted a lackey, someone to follow you. He grew up and realized he was wrong, and that all you wanted was for someone to make you feel important. He found a way to let me know. He’s at peace, I’m at peace and you get to spend the rest of your life in here.”



“You whore!” He yelled. “We turned you into a whore! It doesn’t matter what he did before he died, he wanted it too!”



She turned and looked at Neville and gave him a genuine, brilliant smile. He returned it, then signaled to the guard who unwarded the door for them to leave. She continued to walk with determination, refusing to even acknowledge his outburst. She needed no more hand holding or support. She would be fine, he knew it.



He wanted to tell her how gorgeous she looked when she smiled with feeling but he didn’t want to interrupt her train of thought at the moment. She was riding the emotions. She wouldn’t need the last potion, he knew that and he was glad.



They gathered their cloaks and were given their wands They traveled back and when they were firmly on solid ground again Cathy let out huge peals of laughter. Neville just watched her with a smile.



She spun herself around and when she faced him she froze, still laughing. “Neville, pick me up and spin me around!” She cried out.



Neville swept her in his arms and spun and spun and spun and spun, until they were both too dizzy to stay on their feet. They fell to the ground still laughing. Cathy was on her back, holding her belly as she let everything she was out.



It filled his heart as he sat on the ground and watched her laughing. He was happy that things had gone well, and even happier that she was finally resolved of her past. She would always carry the memories but she would be in control. He would help her as long as she needed but he had a feeling she wouldn’t need it as much now.



She rose up and sat facing him, her face had blushed from all the laughing. She was giving him a wide smile now, one that he actively returned. All of a sudden she leaned forward and took his face in her hands, planting him with a kiss.