The Return to Hogwarts

Sirius Black hid his worries and heavy heart, and walked to the bedside with a smile, sitting down. "I bet you don't know where this is—St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Sicknesses. To be honest, I've been here quite a few times over the years, but this must be your first time, right?"

Hermione's back was supported by thick, soft pillows. Although she already knew where she was, she nodded slightly.

"How long have I been asleep, Sirius?"

"Probably less than twenty hours—"

It was Tonks who answered the question. Seeing Hermione looking at her somewhat reservedly, Tonks gave a light smile.

“Hello, Hermione, I’m Nymphadora Tonks, you can call me Tonks--”

“Tonks is an Auror in the department, and she’s now my partner. We were both sent here to protect you,” Sirius explained.

Hearing that the person was sent by the Ministry of Magic to protect her, Hermione felt a little uneasy. Did this mean she was still not out of danger? Nevertheless, she nodded gratefully to the seemingly approachable young woman.

“Thank you—” Hermione said.

"Congratulations on surviving that disaster, Hermione—"

"That's what the tall, elderly lady next to Tonks said."

This was a stern-looking old witch, dressed in a green robe and draped in a worm-eaten fox fur, her pointed hat clearly adorned with a vulture specimen—a very stylish outfit that Hermione found strangely familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before. However, due to her injuries, her mind was clearly not as sharp as usual.

"Oh, thank you too, madam—"

Leaning against the bed, Hermione nodded with difficulty to the old witch. She guessed that the old witch was probably an official of the Ministry of Magic, Sirius and Tonks' superior. She wondered why she looked familiar, perhaps because she had seen her picture in the Daily Prophet sometime during the day. Just as Hermione hesitated whether to ask the old woman's name, Sirius, noticing her confusion, smiled and explained...

"This is Mrs. Augusta Longbottom, she is Neville's grandmother—"

"Thank you, Sirius—"

Mrs. Longbottom said to Sirius,

"I was just about to introduce myself--"

The moment Hermione heard the word 'Longbottom,' two thoughts popped into her head. First, she understood why the old lady's attire seemed familiar. She had indeed seen it before; just last year, in Remus's class teaching them how to deal with the Boggart, the Boggart had transformed into Professor Snape, dressed in the same outfit, when facing Neville.

But the second thing Hermione realized was far more terrifying!

“Mrs. Longbottom?” Hermione’s weak face paled. “Neville?”

“Oh, don’t worry, Hermione—” Sirius immediately reassured her, “Neville wasn’t attacked. Augusta is here to take care of him. Oh, and by the way, Harry and Ron are fine too—”

"There's nothing I can't say, Sirius—"

Mrs. Longbottom gave Sirius a disapproving look, and said in a firm tone,

"I'm taking care of my son and daughter-in-law in the hospital. I heard from the therapist that you were also brought here, so I came to see you. Neville told me a lot about you. You helped him through some difficult times. Oh, yes, I see. You really are a kind girl, just as Neville said—"

Hermione whispered thank you again, but then she thought, "Isn't Mrs. Longbottom here taking care of her son and daughter-in-law Neville's parents?"

"Didn't Neville tell you anything about his parents?"

Mrs. Longbottom's sharp gaze seemed to detect what Hermione was thinking, and she frowned.

Sirius and Tonks both looked rather somber, and they didn't engage in the conversation.

Hermione was certain that Neville hadn't mentioned his parents to her, nor to Harry or Ron, but judging from Mrs. Longbottom's tone, something seemed to be going on.

"Oh, I need to write to Neville and ask him!"

Mrs. Longbottom said angrily,

"Hmph, there's nothing shameful about it. He should be proud of it. His parents sacrificed their sanity and health, not so that their only son would be ashamed of him!"

Then, Mrs. Longbottom looked at Hermione with a proud expression.

“My son and daughter-in-law are also Aurors. They are highly respected in the wizarding world because they bravely stood up against Varian when he was persecuting the wizarding community, and then—”

"Mrs. Longbottom!"

Just then, a nurse rushed in, looking anxious. Upon seeing Mrs. Longbottom, she immediately jumped onto the bedside table, interrupting Mrs. Longbottom before she could speak, and grabbed her arm, pulling her out without a word.

"Hurry, Mrs. Longbottom, Alice is awake! She's looking for you everywhere, crying in fear, and won't let anyone near her!"

Mrs. Longbottom was pulled away before she could even say goodbye, and Sirius and Classmate both looked on with reluctance as they watched her go.

"what happened?"

With only one arm still functional, Hermione struggled to support her sliding body with her hand, and asked in a daze.

"Oh—" Sirius pursed his lips.

“Alright, since Augusta is willing to tell you that her son and daughter-in-law—that is, Neville's parents—were driven mad by the Death Eaters through the Cruciatus Curse—”

Sirius, with a gloomy expression, spoke to Hermione in surprise.

Chapter 763 The Fallen Hero

2024-02-16

"Oh, what brings you all here?"

Twenty minutes later, Mrs. Longbottom finally calmed her daughter-in-law down and coaxed her back to bed instead of squatting barefoot in the bathroom of the ward. She was about to go outside to get something to eat for Neville's mother and Neville's father, who was still sleeping there despite the commotion in the ward. As she turned around, she saw Sirius Black, Tonks, and the little girl in the wheelchair at the door.

“We came to see if we could be of any help, Augusta—”

Despite not receiving an invitation, the three of them remained standing at the door, Sirius said.

"A minor issue, but that won't stop me—"

Mrs. Longbottom rose from her sickbed. Though she said this, the exertion she had just endured had added considerable strain to her aged body; her back ached as she stood. Her daughter-in-law, who had finally agreed to lie down, saw her intention to leave and immediately sat up anxiously, grabbing her sleeve to stop her from going, and looking fearfully towards the door.

"Don't be nervous, Alice—"

Mrs. Longbottom, somewhat exasperated, turned to Sirius Black.

"Alice seems a little afraid of you, Sirius. If it's convenient for you, could you please get some food for Frank and Alice? This is the busiest time of day in the yard—"

"No problem, Augusta--"

Sirius agreed readily and turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, he stopped and said to Hermione, "I remember something."

"Don't forget, Hermione, you can only stay outside for half an hour—"

“May we come in, Mrs. Longbottom—” Tonks asked.

Mrs. Longbottom didn't answer immediately. Instead, she glanced at her daughter-in-law, and it was unclear how she had determined that. Mrs. Longbottom then turned and beckoned to them.

"Come in, Alice seems to like you quite a bit—"

“Excuse me—” Hermione said in a weak voice.

The moment Hermione saw the woman lying in the hospital bed, she bit her lip, her dull brown eyes brimming with tears.

The woman on the hospital bed was thin and haggard; her body beneath her pajamas was shriveled and frail. Her skin lacked luster, and her mostly gray hair made her look ten years older than her actual age. Unusually, when she looked at herself and Tonks, her eyes still shone with a light—not the wisdom or profound gaze of an adult, but a childlike timidity.

Neville's mother still had obvious tear stains on her face, probably from the shock of not finding Mrs. Longbottom after just waking up.

"Alice, these two are Tonks and Hermione. They've come to visit you—"

Mrs. Longbottom said to Alice.

"Hello, Mrs. Longbottom--"

Hermione's voice was choked with tears as she looked at the woman who had shrunk behind Mrs. Longbottom, too sad to say anything more.

Neville's clumsiness has always been well-known at Hogwarts. For the past two years, Malfoy and his gang have enjoyed teasing Neville. Among the Gryffindor students, besides Harry, Snape dislikes Neville the most. Even in Gryffindor, many people like to make harmless jokes about Neville's clumsiness.

Neville doesn't seem to be good at remembering these troubles. He tries his best to fit in with everyone and be friends with them, but who would have thought that Neville is actually bearing such pain behind the scenes!

“This girl,” Mrs. Longbottom said, pointing to Hermione, “Hermione Granger, she’s Neville’s best friend at school—”

Hermione noticed that after the old lady said that, Neville's mother, who was hiding behind her and only dared to peek out, had a noticeably brighter look in her eyes, and she mumbled something indistinctly.

“Yes, my friend—” Mrs. Longbottom, quite adept at listening to such mumbled voices, said loudly, “At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry—”

Another indistinct sound.

"--She's fine, Alice, it's just a minor issue, she'll be back to normal soon!" Mrs. Longbottom ruffled Alice's hair.

Through the old lady's answer, Hermione understood the meaning of Alice's gurgling sound. She was moved, but also suddenly felt very regretful, regretting that she had never asked about Neville's family situation and did not know that his parents were in such a situation!

Having received Mrs. Longbottom's affirmative response, Neville's mother seemed less frightened. She slowly crawled out from behind the old lady, squatted on the bed, and rubbed something under her pillow with her withered hands. After a moment, under their gaze, she took out a piece of paper with colorful and playful animations.

Hermione immediately recognized it as the wrapper for Bubble Gum.

Neville's mother slipped the wrapping paper into the old lady's hand, gently nudged her arm, and looked aggrieved.

“I already told you, Alice, Neville is at Hogwarts. He's only been gone for less than ten days, hasn't he? He won't be back anytime soon—oh, okay, okay, I'll ask him for you—”

Mrs. Longbottom said with a hint of helplessness,

"Alice wants your help to take this to Neville when you return to Hogwarts—"

In a different setting, Hermione might have been amused by this funny scene and giggled, but now, she was doing everything she could to hold back her tears.

“I—I would be delighted, madam!”

Hermione said in a hoarse voice. Knowing that she couldn't move, Tonks took the wrapping paper, carefully folded it, and put it into the pocket of Hermione's hospital gown.

This scene made Alice happy. She even hummed a strange tune. With much lighter movements, she pulled something out from under her pillow again—the bubble gum wrapped in the same wrapper.

“This is from Alice—” Mrs. Longbottom sighed, slipping a piece of bubblegum into Hermione’s coat pocket as well, “to thank you for helping her deliver something to Neville—”

Watching the woman happily fiddling with her nails on the bed like a child, Hermione felt as if a stone was lodged in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.