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Chapter XX: The Winter Holiday (Part I)

(Sirius P.O.V)

"Sirius," Harry said with a smile, and Sirius couldn't help but return one as he held his godson tightly in his arms.

"Hiya, Pup!" Sirius said, placing his hand atop Harry's head and ruffling the boy's hair, "Glad to see you home, the house has been a bit empty recently."

"I know," Harry said, "I've been thinking a lot about it these past months, I think it has to be Pettigrew, he's the only one who would know about everything. We need to catch him soon."

"I believe it's Pettigrew as well, Dumbledore wouldn't take such a risk," Sirius said in agreement, "But now is not the time for depressing thoughts, it's Christmas Break for Merlin's Sake, come on, let's get a Butterbeer, I want to hear about everything the 'New Marauders' have been getting up to."

A smile appeared on his Godson's face as together, they walked into the kitchen, taking a Butterbeer and plopping down on a pair of armchairs by the fire. Sirius listened as Harry retold all the stories from the potion explosion, to the Snivillus Song, and everything in between. Sirius' ears really perked up upon hearing of a secret lair discovered by the Twins, and Harry's gang, and he was even more impressed that it was a place that he hadn't found in his time.

Harry talked about the training they had undergone, Harry and his friends' plan to get the young Longbottom boy on a broom, and to Sirius' excitement, he had listed to Harry talk about the Blonde girl he had seen in person during the hospital visit. The way Harry talked about her reminded him so much of how James talked of Lily. The way Harry like his father had no problem throwing shots at anyone else, but how he couldn't help but gush about the Greengrass girl.

However, while Sirius knew a thing or two about not judging a person by their family, the Greengrass name troubled him. They weren't what Sirius would consider a 'Dark Family', but they certainly weren't in the light. While the Greengrass family had remained neutral during the war, their hands weren't exactly clean, as they had been 'extorted' out of money by the Death Eaters, though Jonathan Greengrass didn't really seem to mind. Sirius had faith that Harry would never fall for a blood purist, but a parent's influence can't be overlooked, at least, not entirely. Had Sirius actually be raised by his parents and not all but formally adopted when he had, Sirius was unsure what sort of man he'd be.

However, Harry brought him out of his stupor as he groaned falling back in his chair, "It was almost cruel Sirius. I had her, forehead to forehead, and then she leans past me and I didn't get a kiss. Honestly, major buzzkill, but man is she worth it, headache and all."

Sirius chuckled as he spoke, "So what are your plans for the Christmas Break? Not that I don't want you here, but Harry Potter completely disappearing for a month wouldn't go unnoticed. I imagine you'll be wanting to do something with your friends right?"

"Actually," Harry started, "Corner and I were planning to help Neville go visit his parents. Then, I don't really know, we were just going to relax at Neville's place, maybe help him get a new wand and learn to fly. Figured it would be cool if every one of us was on our house-teams, maybe we'll even go broom shopping. Honestly, I still need to figure out presents for the two of them."

"Sounds like you have quite a couple of weeks ahead of you," Sirius said grinning.

"Sirius," Harry said and Sirius could hear the guilt in his voice, "I just feel bad and I want to spend time with-"

"Don't feel bad Harry," Sirius said earnestly holding his godson's shoulder, "When I'm cleared, we'll have all the time in the world to do whatever we please, who knows, maybe we'll even go see the Quidditch World Cup if everything works out well enough. But for now Harry, you have a road in front of you that while I'll be with you every step of the way, I don't envy. You need to cut loose, have fun, if you don't, you'll end up a bitter shrewd like Andromeda."

"Watch it," Andromeda called out from the upstairs hallway.

"How did you even hear that?" Sirius asked in amazement.

"Super Hearing," Andromeda called down, "A gift all mothers get, especially when their child is clumsy."

"It's not my fault," Nymphadora called out, "Blame the genes."

"I'm not getting involved in this," Ted called out and instantly, the room filled with laughter.

"Anyways," Sirius spoke after drying his eyes from the tear of laughter, "The point is, you don't have to feel guilty, I'm not going to be here alone, and Tonks is right, you should have friends your own age. I still have here Remus after all, I'm going to be fine, go have some fun, you deserve it."

"Well," Harry said, "I'm still here for a couple of days, so I was wondering if you could help me find my old training sheets. Corner and Neville want to practice as well and-"

"Say no more," Sirius said with a smile, "You new Marauders certainly have higher aspirations than we did, that's for sure. We'll find the old lesson plans, try not to stress over it. Also, speaking of finding things, you haven't figured out where the map is, have you?"

"No," Harry spoke disappointedly, "We thought Filtch would have it, but when we snuck into his office, we didn't see it there."

"Hmm," Sirius said, "I was certain Filtch would have it, but nothing can be done now, it will show in time, it always does. For now, it's getting late, let's call it a day, tomorrow will without a doubt be eventful."

Sirius watched as Harry smiled, a grin grew across the man's face seeing how much his Godson resembled James as he grew, except for his eyes, he had his mother's eyes. Harry yawned loudly, and Sirius nodded as he yawned himself. He picked up the last of his Butterbeer, draining it before he spoke, "Goodnight Harry."

"Goodnight," Harry spoke before a pause started, "And Sirius," Harry called out, "I know I haven't ever really said it out loud, but the dementors, they showed me things, and I couldn't stop thinking about how different my life could have been without you. I just wanted to say thank you, for everything, I-"

Before Harry could even finish his sentence, Sirius had wrapped his arms tightly around his godson before he whispered, "You never have to thank me for anything Harry. You're my son, I'll love you, always."

"I love you too," Harry whispered and Sirius could have sworn if he felt tears on his shirt, as he rested his hand on the back of the boy he loved more than life itself, and silently Sirius vowed, I will always be with you Harry, always.

(Michael P.O.V)

Honestly, Michael was thrilled to be back in Diagon Alley, he loved his parents, of course he did, more now than ever since he had found himself with two best friends who currently didn't have any of their own, but being at home was overwhelming, and not nearly as fun as being at Hogwarts was. Michael and his father had gotten into a fight, which wasn't unusual for him and while his mother had tried to intervene, his father had struck a nerve in him when he had called Michael a, "Lazy kid who was ungrateful for the gifts he had," and how if he had the gift of intelligence that Michael had he wouldn't have been working as a mechanic struggling to make ends meet.

Michael, however, had been irritated at being called lazy despite for the first time in his life trying to succeed at anything and responded, "I'm sorry that your life is so miserable you don't know how to be thankful for what you do have and instead try to live your life through me."

Michael had left the room and locked himself in his room, raising the temperature on his doorknob not wanting to be disturbed. Unfortunately, despite his desire to put up a silencing charm, he wanted to continue listening in on his mother and father arguing in the room below through the night. While his mother had argued that instead of berating Michael for not getting straight O's like he himself and everyone else in his family knew he was capable of, they should celebrate the fact that Michael hadn't come back with any failing grades as he normally did on his pre-Christmas exams. His father had responded that being soft on him is what made him the 'fuck-up' that he was and a firm hand was the only way to get him to succeed. While his mother seemed to be appalled at his father calling him a 'fuck-up' Michael sighed at the fact that it wasn't the first time he'd heard it from his dear old dad.

While his mother had tried to defend Michael, simply claiming that if the bar wasn't always set so high that anything but perfection was looked down upon he would do better. His father had argued that if he was capable of reaching 'near perfection' in his studies why should the bar be set lower? All Michael knew was that what he desperately wanted to do was write to Harry or Neville, beginning them to get them out of this hell-hole, but with his two friends being essential orphans, Micahel kept his mouth shut about his family issues, after all, he had one and they didn't, despite the shittiness of his family, it had to beat not having one at all, right?

And with that thought, Michael lunged out of bed and marched to his calendar, crossing out another date and smiled, his reunion with his friends was almost upon him, and finally, it had arrived. Michael couldn't even remember the last time he'd run so fast but after a week at home, he wasted no time in taking the floo over to Diagon Alley to meet up with Harry and Neville.

As he roamed the streets of Diagon Alley, knowing he was a few hours early until they were set to meet at the Leaky Cauldron, Michael couldn't resist stopping at Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. He had entered trying to find a gift for Harry, but one issue with having not one, but two extremely wealthy friends as Michael had learned, was that buying gifts for them was impossible. However, Harry's love for mischief made buying gifts for him a bit easier as he simply stocked up on Dungbombs, Stink Pellets, Non-expolodable Ballons, and a pack of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. Just the thought of hiding some in the potion supply cabinet before class only to detonate them as soon as Snape opened it sent a smile brimming through his face.

Neville wasn't really as easy, I mean, he wanted a new plant obviously, but if Michael was being honest, he didn't really know what plant the Hufflepuff didn't already have. Still with his bag full of Harry's gifts tucked away in his trunk, Michael began touring the stalls of the alley, hoping to find a plant that looked interesting and was affordable, because Michael was broke.

Michael enjoyed his walk up Diagon Alley, Athena was perched happily on his shoulder, and even though he saw family after family walking through the alley, Michael was at least at the moment glad to be alone. He had finally stopped at a stall where he saw a plant he had never seen before, the vendor had called it a bubotuber, and to him, it looked more like a thick black slug than a plant, though Michael was certain that Neville didn't have it. He was down to his last galleon after the purchase was complete, but at least he could rest easy knowing he had finally completed his Christmas shopping, and as the Bubotuber was placed gently in a box before being shrunken down and stored in his trunk, he heard a voice call out, "Michael?"

He turned and walking towards him waving was a girl that instantly caused his palms to sweat. His heart thundered in his chest, as the auburn-haired beauty entered sight. She was bundled up in a grey double layered hem coat and earmuffs, and a smile rested on her face as she approached. "Hey, Red," Michael said trying to calm his nerves as the two shared a friendly hug.

"What are you doing here, are you with your mom and dad?" Susan asked kindly.

"Uh, no, they're at home," Michael said awkwardly, not wanting to get into detail, quickly transitioning to answer the first question, "I'm actually here to buy Christmas presents of Harry and Nev, kind of last minute, but I don't really do deadlines all that well," he finished with a laugh, nervously scratching the back of his dark-blue hair.

"That's sweet," Susan said kindly, "I think it's awesome that you guys included Neville in your group. I mean, friends from two houses are already pretty rare, let alone three. Plus, Neville's really been coming out of his shell a lot since he started hanging out with you. Even though you three always seem to end up in some kind of trouble. Although I've got to give it to you, that Peeves song was catchy."

"You think?" Michael said with a grin, "I wrote the lyrics," He said with a chuckle, "Harry was the one who negotiated the deal with Peeves though."

"You two are insane," Susan said with a giggle that brought a smile on her face, "Snape was so pissed. I think it bothered him even more that they couldn't confirm it was you. Even the Baron found it funny."

Michael watched as a breeze blew the red hair from Susan's face revealing her smiling expression that Michael could describe in no other way than a work of art. Her amber eyes were encapsulating and he fought the urge to stare in admiration. Susan was always very kind, she was smart, hard-working, compassionate, yes she was a bit shy and clumsy at times, but to Michael that only made her more endearing. He couldn't take it anymore and seeing that nobody else was around, he channeled his inner Potter, and with as much confidence as he could muster, he spoke, "Hey um, Red."

"Yes?" Susan asked tilting her head adorably as she listened.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to come grab a butterbeer with me at the Leaky Cauldron? On me."

Suddenly, a sadness filled Susan's eyes, and instantly, Michael readied himself for the rejection. It was coming, Michael was perceptive enough to see it from a mile away, and all he could think of at that moment was how Harry managed to deal with this every day and let it slide off him, despite the harshness of Greengrass' responses. Susan gave a small smile as she spoke, "Oh, um, I can't Michael, I'm actually here with-"

"Su!" A voice Michael recognized called out and his stomach did a sank like a rock in the ocean as Terry Boot walked into frame wearing black sweats, an off-white thermal and a thick and most likely charmed jean jacket and wrapped his arm around Susan, "Where'd you go? Here's your drink by the way." Michael watched as Terry handed Susan a large to-go cup from Rosa Lee Teabag before they locked eyes, "Oh hey Corner, what are you doing here?"

"Uh, nothing," Michael said trying to imitate Harry's lazy grin to hide the pain he was feeling in his chest, "Just last-minute Christmas shopping, you know?"

"Yeah," Terry said with a chuckle, "I just both Anthony his gift yesterday, stressful as hell really."

Michael simply nodded, "Yeah, well um, it was nice seeing you two, I think Harry and Nev are at the Leaky Cauldron already, so I'm going to head out. Merry Christmas you two."

"See ya, Corner!" Terry replied happily enough, as Michael raised his hand and waved goodbye, not wanting to turn around and see the heartbreaking image. Suddenly, Michael heard Terry yell, "Ouch!" and quickly turned around to see Susan's tea melting the snow that rested atop the ground.

"Sorry," Susan said in a overly-polite voice, a tone that instantly made Michael realize she had dropped the cup on purpose though Terry didn't seem to notice as she pulled out some knuts from her purse, "Do you think you could go and get me another one Terry, I'll pay for it this time."

"Uh, no, don't worry about it," Terry said, drying the tea stain from his sweats with his wand, "I got it, just try not to be so clumsy alright."

Susan gave him an apologetic smile before Terry once again walked away and Susan turned to face Michael once more, stopping him as she spoke, "I'm sorry Michael. It's not you, okay? I just, Terry he-"

"I get it," Michael said honestly, though he wouldn't let his face honestly portray the feeling of emotional turmoil he was feeling, "Terry's a good guy, and I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. Thank you though, for wanting to clear things up, but we're okay Red. No hard feelings, I just need to go, okay?"

"Yeah," Susan said softly, "Okay. Merry Christmas Michael."

"Merry Christmas Susan," Michael said politely, and as he saw Terry once again leaving the teashop, he turned on his heels and left.

(Harry P.O.V)

Honestly, leaving Sirius behind as he apparated alongside Kreacher back to the England and the Leaky Cauldron hurt. Harry so badly wanted to walk down Diagon Alley and look through the joke shop with Sirius or salivate over whatever the next big broom would be, or go get some Ice Cream together, or really anything as long as the two were able to walk together as people and not with Sirius having to be confined to his dog form.

Seeing Sirius, flying with him, training with him, eating and laughing with him, it left Harry with a desire stronger than ever to clear his Godfather's name. He wanted Sirius to be there when he got off the Hogwarts Express, he wanted Sirius to be there when the big Quidditch games would start, he wanted Sirius to be free more than anything in the world. However, as he popped into the upper floor of the Leaky Cauldron, he saw something from the railing that concerned him.

Michael was sitting alone at the table, a butterbeer to his right completely untouched, and a look of sadness in his eyes. Not wanting to alarm his friend, Harry slowly descended down the stairs, and keeping in view of Michael, he sat across from his best-friend a concerned look on his face as he spoke, "You good man? You look like shit."

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Michael said tiredly.

"Alright," Harry said taking the butterbeer from Michael, popping the cap off and pouring it into the two glasses on the table, "What happened?"

"Look, it's just family stuff," Michael said, "And I saw Susan and-"

"Sorry man," Harry said instantly understanding now what had happened. Harry had assumed Michael's home life wasn't great, seeing how he'd often shy away from the subject when holiday plans were being discussed only mentioning how strict his parents were about his grades, and while Harry knew it bothered him, it never would have done this to him.

"It's more than that," Michael said and once again Harry understood.

"Who?" Was all he asked.

"Boot," Michael responded taking a swig of the butterbeer.

"Didn't he know-," Harry started.

"Yeah."

"That's a low blow," Harry said taking a swig from his own glass, "Hey Tom! Can I get a double-cheeseburger please!"

"Of- of course, Mr. Potter," Tom said with a nod. Despite his presence in the Wizarding World now for so long, Harry sometimes forgot about how famous he was, and the fact he had magically appeared in Tom's bar, Harry understood the starstruck response.

However, without a move, Michael spoke, "You hate Cheeseburgers."

"True," Harry said with a nod, "But you love them."

"Why couldn't you just have been a bird Potter?" Michael said with a light chuckle.

"Woulda been too easy," Harry responded with a grin on his own, "You wanna talk about what else happened when you were at home?"

"It's nothing just," Michael said with a sigh, "It sounds stupid considering you're the Boy-Who-Lived and all, but it's just overwhelming expectations."

Harry nodded as the Cheeseburger arrived and Harry slid it over towards his friend, "Eat, and don't beat yourself up. Everything's going to work out in the end."

"You actually believe that?" Michael said with a chuckle of his own.

"I have to," Harry said honestly, "Otherwise I'd go insane. Now eat, Neville's going to be here any second now with his gran, and if he sees you this down it's going to be a forced therapy session and I don't care how sad you are we both know we don't want to sit through that."

Harry felt a smile rise to his face as Michael let out a small laugh before bitting into the burger and swallowing, "Thanks, Harry."

"'Course," Harry said with a grin, "What are friends for. And for the record, Boot and Bones aren't going to last, I give it two months max."

"You're a good friend Potter," Michael said with a genuine grin, "You're a good friend."

(Neville P.O.V)

Neville felt a bit nervous as he paced around the entrance to his floo network. He always felt sad or antsy on the day he'd be meeting his parents, but this time it was at an all-time high. Neville had never really had friends, he was a talentless loner for years that nobody would even spare a second glance to, but now so much had changed. Yes, of the three of them, Neville was the weakest, of that he made no illusion, but that didn't matter to him because for the first time he had friends, now he was just nervous at how they'd respond to seeing his parents.

"Neville," His gran called out, "Are you ready to go? We're picking up your friends and heading straight to St. Mungos. It's lunchtime now so you'll have the best chances of seeing your mom and dad awake."

"Y-yes Gran," Neville said as his Grandmother walked beside him, balancing her body against Neville's shoulder.

"Don't sound so nervous, I'm certain that everything will go well," Augusta Longbottom said, "There's nothing to be ashamed of Neville, you should be proud, your parents are heroes."

"I'm not ashamed," Neville responded, "I'm just nervous that things are going to change, and they're going to start feeling sorry for me instead of seeing me as their friend."

"That's not going to happen," Augusta said kindly, "And don't ask how I know, I just do."

With that, Neville nodded, a more confident smile growing on his face as his grandmother and he stepped into the emerald green flames and were swept up into the floo, landing with a thud at the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. It seemed he had arrived right on time as he just finished watching Corner put down one of Tom's extremely large Double-Cheeseburgers, and currently saw Harry and Michael sharing a laugh over something he couldn't hear.

Neville walked over towards their table slowly, earning a smile from both Harry and Michael as Harry spoke, "Hey Nev, good to see you, how's your break been going so far."

"So far, so good," Neville said with the best smile he could muster, "Oh yes, before I forget, Michael, Harry, this is my Grandmother Augusta Longbottom."

"Right," Harry said lowering himself politely from his chair, "It's an honor to meet you Lady Longbottom."

"So much formality," Augusta said with a chuckle, "The time of Lords and Ladies has passed long ago, I mean look at me Mr. Potter, do I look like a young Lady to you."

A nervous grin appeared across Harry's face as he spoke, "Am I supposed to answer that?"

"Don't do it," Michael whispered, "It's a trap for sure."

It was quiet for a moment before Augusta laughed as well, a sound Neville hadn't heard for a long time as his gran sent him and ever-seldom smile, "You've chosen quite the pair of intelligent friends Neville, that is for certain."

"My Grandson tells me you've included him in your little group, and while it seems you three get into a fair share of mischief, Neville's exam scores have never been higher, and he's almost unrecognizable when it comes to his confidence, I suppose I have you to thank for that."

"Not really," Corner said calmly, "Neville was already bright before he met us, he mostly just keeps us from getting into too much trouble."

"Plus," Harry added, "He's a dependable friend, him volunteering to help during the dementor attack on Hogsmeade made it clear to me that he's a friend I'm lucky to have."

"Very good friends indeed," Neville heard his Grandmother whisper beneath her breath, before with a vocal presence she spoke, "Well, I'm certain I will have plenty of time to become acquainted with you two boys over the remaining Christmas Holiday, but for now, how about we head back to the manor to drop off your things before we leave for St. Mungos?"

"Sounds good to us," Michael said with a shrug, and with a brief smile from Neville, the four of them entered the emerald green flames once more, apparating back to the manor. Neville looked about nervously as he heard Michael whistle as his eyes scanned the home.

The Manor had a strong Gryffindor presence due to his family being Gryffindors for nearly a century. The floors were a beautiful and freshly polished mahogany, with the walls a roaring mixture of red and gold, that if the look in Harry's eyes meant anything showed that it looked much like the Gryffindor Common Room.

The house was furnished with assortments of light brown and red furniture, and while Neville grew up in this place, it still blew his mind how far the Manor spread exactly. Michael smiled as he spoke, "Swanky little house you got here, Nev."

"I wouldn't exactly call it little," Harry corrected as he too marveled at the sheer size of Longbottom Manor.

"Prior to selling it off for the war efforts," Augusta spoke, "The Potter Manor was around this size as well, though Frank always talked about how little James like large houses. That cottage in Godric's Hollow was everything he could have ever wanted. It's a shame what happened there." Neville sent his Gran a look showing that maybe talking about the deaths of Harry's parents wasn't the best thing to talk about and while his Gran seemed to shrug with indifference, she finally relented saying, "Well Neville, why don't you show the boys where they'll be staying. The two guest bedrooms across from yours should do."

Neville nodded, and with haste, he took off, leaving for the entrance of the guest rooms before his Gran had a chance to say anything else slightly insensitive. Harry and Michael had followed behind him and it was only once they were out of earshot did Neville whisper, "Sorry about that Harry. I'm sure she didn't mean to-"

"It's fine Nev," Harry said with a shrug, "Plus she wasn't wrong, it was a really nice Cottage, I want one like that myself one day."

Neville felt a sigh of relief come over him as he led them to their bedrooms with a smile, "So this is where you guys can stay. You can let Loki and Athena out too if you want, everything here is protected and charmed so no harm in scratches or anything like that."

"Cool," Harry said with a nod before speaking, "We'll meet you back down at the floo in five."

"Alright," Neville said kindly.

"Thanks for letting us stay here," Michael said, "This is a really cool house."

(Neville P.O.V)

The linoleum floors of St. Mungos had always made Neville feel uneasy, the smell of chemicals and the tears of newly administered patients echoed through the room. While it clearly wasn't intentionally designed that way, and while the medi-wizards did everything they could to make the environment better, a hospital by its very nature was a depressing place.

Neville's feet led the way, he'd walked down these halls many times before, always hoping for a miracle, but receiving nothing but silence instead. As he turned the corner, he was faced with the entrance to the wing he'd been both searching for and dreading. The Janus Thickey Ward for Irrevocable Spell Damage. He took a deep breath before turning to face the encouraging smiles of his friend and with a nod, he entered.

If there was one good thing about the ward, was that for as long as Neville had been going, the place was never packed, and it took him less than a minute before he saw the expressionless faces of his mother and father. His father's passive demeanor hadn't even shifted as Neville approached his bedside, staring into the blue eyes they shared with no results. His mother too continued to stare off into space and with a calm voice, he spoke, "Hi mom, hi dad, I just wanted to come and say Merry Christmas. Things have been, well they've been going better this year than last year that's for sure. I made friends, I haven't made a lot, but I've made two really good ones, and that's all that really matters."

"I um," Neville continued trying to keep his voice from cracking, "My grades are also getting better, and I'm not as scared of everything as I used to be. I even helped out during a dementor attack on Hogsmeade, and maybe even more impressively, I asked a girl to come with me to Hogsmeade. I mean, she said no, but still, I'm not running away from things anymore."

"I've also tried to start flying," He continued, fighting the heat of tears in his eyes, "I know that probably would make you a bit nervous mom, but I'll try to be careful. I'm even going to try out for the house team like you did, even if it is for Hufflepuff and not Gryffindor. Maybe if we win the Quidditch Cup, I'll bring in a picture to show you."

"I'm also thinking about getting a new wand," Neville said, "I've been using your old wand dad, and I've been practicing a lot, but it's just not really working out for me the way I wish it would. But I think I'm still going to carry it with me, just in case, you know? I-"

But before Neville could continue, his mother turned to him and lifted her hand. For a moment, Neville had thought the miracle he had spent every night praying would happen was about to come through, but as Neville prepared for his mother to touch his face for the first time in his memory, she simply opened her palm and dropped a gum wrapper into his lap, before leaning back into bed, resuming her active stare at the wall.

A sad, pain-ridden smile began to appear on his face, and he had become completely lost for words, simply staring at the parents he long to have so badly, but would never return. However, just before he felt the tears emerge, two hands rested on his shoulder as they took the seats next to him, "Hey," Michael said calmly.

"We're right here," Harry said with a nod before Neville watched Harry turn to his mother with a smile, "Hi auntie, well, I don't really know what you're supposed to call a godmother, but Mrs. Longbottom and Godmother seem too formal, I know you probably can't recognize me, but I'm Harry Potter, Lily's kid."

Neville watched as both Harry and Michael began telling stories about their time at Hogwarts, helping ease him back into a less emotional state, and while it took some time, Neville had even let out a small laugh at the recounting of how they had to hide in the girl's bathroom to avoid being caught after hours by Filtch, or how the three of them had served their first detention together and how Neville had been freaking out over the consequences. As Neville gave his final stare to his parents as visitation time began to come to a close, he realized that when he was around Harry and Michael, the hurt didn't feel so heavy.