Potions and Parchment Match

Christmas day dawned bright and clear. The Weasley household was in an uproar trying to get everything ready for the wedding of George and Luna. Molly was frantically cleaning and demanding everyone within her site to help. Food was being prepared in the kitchen by Fleur, Hermione, Ginny, and Gretchen Riley. The Riley’s had arrived the night before with Natalie and had decided to stay the night in order to help with wedding preparations the next morning. Arthur and Patrick were outside putting up a huge tent and stringing lights. Even though it was December, the tent would be magically charmed to stay warm providing a romantic atmosphere to hold the ceremony and reception.



George was a nervous wreck and Molly shoved his tiny daughter at him and shoved him outside to go for a walk in the crisp morning air. She was bundled in a cute pink pram that had a white bunny embroidered on the front and a fluffy pair of bunny ears adorned her hood. It was a Muggle outfit, but he thought that she looked adorable in it and he knew that Luna would appreciate it as well. She was very much looking forward to taking over the care of Natalie. The Riley’s had been disappointed when he told them that he wanted to take custody full time, but they had been relieved when he informed them that they were welcome as often as they wanted and anytime that they wanted to take Natalie for an over night visit that it was no problem.



They had both loved Luna on sight and knew that she would make a wonderful mother to their granddaughter. It was a poignant moment when they thought of how this young women would willingly and happily take over the job of raising their granddaughter, when their daughter wanted nothing to do with her own biological child. They couldn’t understand what had gone wrong with Kimberly, but their first priority was the happiness of Natalie. Kimberly was a grown woman and had made her choices in life. Natalie still needed their love and attention. Luna had even informed them that she would love it if they would be the honorary grandparents of any children that she and George decided to have. Both Riley’s perked up at that idea as they had both wanted a house full of children and then grandchildren.



“Natalie, my beauty, how are you today?” George asked his daughter. It was strange to him how much she resembled his mother.



She looked at her father and yawned.



“It is a bit boring at weddings,” he said. “You’ll get a new Mum today, love. She thinks that you’re wonderful, just like your daddy does,” he said kissing her forehead.



Natalie watched as her father spoke and made little sucking motions with her mouth.



“Are you getting hungry, baby? Your grandmother forgot to give me your bottle,” he said wondering if he should go back in. His mother shoved him out the door and he didn’t dare go against her orders.



Natalie opened her mouth and let out a horrific howl and George quickly changed his mind. He pulled Natalie up on his shoulder and raced to the back door. He peeked in the kitchen door, finding the room free of his mother he snuck in. “Where’s Mum?” he asked his sister who was peeling potatoes.



Ginny grinned when she saw her niece. “Oh, let me hold her!” she said rushing over with arms out.



George shook his head. “I’m supposed to be outside taking her for a walk. She needs her bottle though.”



“Here you are, dear,” Gretchen said handing him the baby’s bottle.



“Thanks,” he said with a smile.



“George Weasley! I thought I told you to go for a walk!” Molly screeched.



The baby jumped at the noise and started howling. George took the bottle and stuck in her mouth and retreated back out the door. “That mean old witch scared my little pumpkin, didn’t she?” he crooned.



“I heard that George!” Molly shouted and slammed the door behind him.



George laughed. “Please never screech the way that your grandmother does,” he whispered to his daughter and then kissed her cheek.



She looked up at him and blew some milky bubbles before she resumed sucking.



“Look at that beautiful baby! Looks just like her favorite Uncle!” Fred said pulling the baby from her father’s arms.



George smiled. He could relax now, Fred was here. “She looks a bit like Mum don’t you think?”



“Kind of scary isn’t it?” Fred asked.



“Where’s your wife?” he asked looking around.



“She went in the front door. Mum’s probably put her to work. Ron here yet?” he asked with a huge grin.



George laughed. “Not yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if the little bugger shows up!” he said. “Might be afraid we’ll chop his bits off!” George howled with laughter.



Fred grinned. “I have a plan. Lets pin him down, I’ll pants him, you point your wand at him like your hexing him, only make his bits invisible, I’ll drop a blood bomb on him, and then we’ll dangle these!” he said pulling a set of bloody looking testacles from his pocket.



George barked back a fit of laughter and said, “What are those?”



“I transfigured a couple of apples. He’ll freak!” Fred said laughing. The two brothers stood there holding a pair of transfigured testacles and a baby howling with laughter. They were laughing so hard tears were streaming down their faces.



“What’s so funny?” Harry asked, coming up behind him with Pansy.



Fred and George quickly told the pair their plan and Harry was soon howling with laughter as well.



“This is no place for a baby! Shame on you!” Pansy said relieving Fred of his niece. “I’ll take you into the house, love,” Pansy crooned. “We’ll leave these nasty boys to their playing,” she said walking away.



“Pansy!” Harry shouted between laughs, “Don’t tell anyone!”



She turned, rolled her eyes, and kept walking. Boys!









Draco and Blaise sat together in chairs in the warm tent. Both Ginny and Hermione were bridesmaids for Luna and were still helping her get ready. Pansy and Harry were across the room snogging in the corner, oblivious to anyone around them, and George stood at the front of the tent yanking nervously at his tie while his twin kept making cracks to him about the ball and chain he was about to collect. “You looking forward to your wedding?” Blaise asked.



“Not really to the wedding itself, but I am looking forward to marrying Hermione. This match has turned out surprisingly well,” he drawled.



Blaise grinned. “Who would have ever thought that Draco Malfoy would ever marry a Mudblood and be happy about it?”



“And who would have ever thought that Blaise Zabini would marry a blood traitor and be happy about it,” he countered.



“And who would have ever thought you two gits would be sitting at a Weasley and Lovegood wedding,” Ron said with a glare. He had come up behind them and not been impressed with their bantering.



“Look who’s talking, you almost married Millie,” Blaise said.



“I would have liked to have seen that,” Draco mused.



Ron shuddered. “God’s, I’m glad to be rid of that one!” he said flopping down in the empty chair next to Blaise. “She’s more woman than I need,” he said. “I want a girl who just wants to sit home and cook, clean, and be willing to shag me whenever I’m in the mood.”



The other two young men both burst into laughter. Draco was the first to respond. “Good luck finding that witch, mate,” he said with a snort.



“Like that’s ever going to happen,” Blaise cackled.



“It’s possible,” Ron argued. “Luna wants to raise my brothers baby and not work,” he argued. “I’ll bet she’ll cook for him and shag him whenever he likes,” he said.



“Weasley, have you ever heard of a house elf? They’ll cook and clean for you, and I suppose you could shag one, but that might be a bit gross,” Draco said.



“That’s sick, Malfoy! Besides, I can’t afford one,” he said with regret. If he had a house elf, he could come home to a clean house and food on the table. There were always witches to pick up in the pubs. He could use one for a night or two and send her on her way.



Draco laughed. “I’ll send you one of mine. I have more than I need, and they reproduce faster than I can find jobs for them,” he said.



Ron perked up. “Really?” he asked.



“Really. Think of it as a gift from me for all the years you helped Harry against the Dark Lord.” As much as the red head was an idiot, he had been instrumental in helping Harry with finding the Horcruxes and understanding the Wizarding world.



“Hey, thanks, Malfoy, you’re all right,” Ron said with a grin.



“Do you want a male or a female?”



“I don’t really care, as long as it can cook,” he said.



“Shall I send it to the school, or do you want to leave it here?” Draco had seen how much Mrs. Weasley could use an elf or two, but he knew better than to suggest such a thing. Hermione would kill him if he insulted the Weasley’s.



“Send it to me at Hogwarts. Mum wouldn’t want one in the house.”



Blaise raised an eyebrow. “I hope that your sister doesn’t have anything against house elves. I wouldn’t want to see my wife working herself to the bone with menial tasks,” he said. Zabini’s did not do manual labor.



“Ginny has begged for years for a house elf. Mum likes to do everything herself, not to mention I don’t think that we could really afford one,” he blushed.



“So are you standing up with George?” Draco asked Ron.



Ron turned bright red and shook his head. “Mum’s making me, but I would rather not go near those two,” he said. He still had nightmares about those two wanting to snip his balls off.



Blaise and Draco tried not to laugh. They both had heard what the Weasley twins had planned. “You should get up there then,” Blaise said. “I see Hermione and Ginny standing at the back of the tent,” he said.



“Oh!” Ron said scrambling out of his chair. He quickly walked to the front of the room and stood next to his older brothers.



“Do you think Millie and Neville will show up?” Draco asked.



“I don’t know. Neville and Luna are pretty good friends, but the Weasley’s are pretty irritated with them for eloping and leaving poor little Ronnie out in the cold,” Blaise said with a snicker.



“She’s lucky to rid herself of that one,” he drawled. “Although, I’m not sure how much better Longbottom is, but he does have his own money.”



“Millie could have married Weasley and they would have been fine. She’s got enough of her own money from her mother,” Blaise said.



“Yeah, but can you see those two married? It would be like living through the war again,” he laughed. Just then music started and the room quieted as everyone stood for the bridal march.







“Hello, Mum,” Neville said kissing his mother.



“Hello, Mrs. Longbottom,” Millie said with a soft smile.



“Happy Christmas, Mum,” he said.



Alice Longbottom looked up at the two visitors. She walked up to her son and handed him the gum wrapper that she had been fumbling with.



“Thanks, Mum,” he said with a smile. “I brought you a present as well,” he said. “I found this in a book at the house,” he smiled. He handed her a photo of the original members of the Order of the Phoenix. She stood next to her husband smiling.



Alice took the gift and looked down at it. She stared at all the smiling faces and felt a twinge in her soul. She continued to stair and then when she got to the smiling face of Lilly Potter she stopped. She reached her finger out and ran it over her beautiful face. She knew that woman. The name Lilly came rushing into her mind. She had a vivid memory of the red headed woman sitting on a sofa holding a black haired baby while she sat on the same sofa holding another baby. She glanced up at her son and suspected it must have been him. She was almost positive that she did not have any other children.



Neville saw her finger brush over the face of Lilly Potter and he smiled. “That’s Lilly Potter, Harry’s mum. She died years ago,” he said sadly.



Alice felt a stab of despair race through her heart. She tried to recall what her relationship with this woman was and why she would feel grief at the knowledge of her death. She looked at the rest of the people in the picture and saw herself. She was much younger than she looked now. She stood next to her husband, who looked very different. She instantly recalled standing next to her husband who had reached behind her and squeezed her buttocks just before the flash from the camera went off. She gasped and looked up at her son again.



“What’s wrong, Mum? Does that picture upset you?” he asked.



She shook her head and heard him gasp. She looked at him again and wondered why he was staring at her with an open mouth and obvious shock across his face.



“Millie, quickly, go get a nurse,” he said to his wife. The young witch followed his directions and raced out of the room. “Mum, do you know who these people are?”



Alice wished that she could speak, to answer his question, but the words that she wanted to form would not come out.



Neville pointed to Lilly and said, “Do you know who she is?”



Alice looked down at the face he pointed at and then back at him. He sounded so insistent that she really wanted to answer him. She could tell it was very important to him.



“Mum, do you know who she is?” he demanded. He was sure that she had understood his question when he asked if the picture upset her and she shook her head.



Alice watched the hope and then the defeat cross her son’s face. She didn’t want to disappoint her son. She grabbed his arm and shook her head, pointing at the red haired woman.



Neville grinned. “You knew her, Mum?” he asked excitedly.



She again nodded her head.



“Oh, Mum!” he cried throwing his arms around her. He felt the tears flowing down his face and clutched onto his mother. This was the first time that he had ever felt like there was hope for her recovery.



Alice pulled back from her son and looked at the tears that ran down his face. She cringed when she saw them and shrunk back. She had hurt him somehow and she couldn’t stand it. She felt the tears well up in her own eyes and she stepped further back away from him.



“Mum!” he gasped. “What’s wrong?” he asked pulling her back towards him. “Are you all right? Do you need something?” he demanded.



Alice didn’t understand what was going on. She thought that Neville was hurt but now it didn’t seem that way. She stared at him a moment and then wiped the tear from his face and shook her head. She didn’t want him to cry.



Neville smiled. He understood what she was trying to say. “I’m so happy, Mum, that’s why I’m crying. You can understand me,” he whispered.



Alice smiled and nodded. She could definitely understand him.



“Mr. Longbottom, I’m Dr. Rooke, your mother’s doctor. Can I help you?”



“My mother knows what’s going on, she has been acknowledging my questions,” he said excitedly.



The healer nodded his head. “I’m sure she does. I’ve told your grandmother for years, that your mother would be fine with some speech therapy and a few potions. Your grandmother has always maintained that she wanted your mother to remain under sedatives to keep her calm. It was her opinion that your mother wouldn’t want to live without your father,” he said.



“What?” Neville demanded. “Are you telling me that my Mum is fine, but she acts the way she does because she is sedated?”



The healer nodded. “I’m sorry, Mr. Longbottom, I was under the impression that you already knew this. We have to respect the wishes of the family,” he said sadly. He always thought that it was a shame what the Longbottom matriarch was doing to her daughter-in-law, but he his hands had been tied.



Neville turned and stared for a moment at his mother. “Mum, do you understand me?” he softly asked her.



She shook her head and watched him closely.



“Do you want to get better? Do you want to speak again and leave this awful place?”



Alice felt tears well up in her eyes. She immediately grabbed her son’s arm and nodded her head. She wanted to be able to speak more than anything.



Neville smiled softly at her and gently kissed her cheek. He then determinedly turned towards the healer. “What do we need to do?”



“I’m afraid that there isn’t anything that I can do. Your grandmother is your mother’s legal guardian. Only she has the authority to authorize any treatment,” he said.



Millie spoke for the first time then. “Wouldn’t the next of kin be the guardian?”



“Yes, but as Mr. Longbottom is under age, that would leave Mrs. Longbottom his mothers guardian.



“But I am not under age,” he said with a smile. “I turned seventeen in July,” he said.



The healer slowly smiled. “Well then, that puts a new light on the situation, doesn’t it?” he said. “Perhaps, we can retire to my office and discuss the options for your mother?”



Neville grinned and looked to his wife. “Thank you,” he whispered as they followed the healer from the room.



Alice watched as the three of them left. She wondered what would happen next. She sat in her favorite chair by the window and stared at the picture he had brought her. Names popped into her mind as she looked from face to face. Lilly, James, Arthur, Molly, Sirius. She was startled as the faces and the names matched up in her mind. She closed her eyes as the memories floated through her mind.





A/N: so, what did you think??? please review and let me know...by the way, my Veela Hermione/SEverus story was just updated as well, so check it out! Its called, Professor You\'re Mine!