Predictably, Neville was left partnerless.

[adjunct]

Hullo, this is Neville Longbottom, I think I've done this right.
Erm, you can leave me a voiceletter. If you'd like.

Comments

private text

[liquidsky]

Not yet. But we will. You started.

I don't have a lot. Especially not here. So you don't need to be so anxious.

private text

[adjunct]

I haven't started anything!

[And it has never taken an army of Death Eaters to do irreversible damage and ruin lives, not that Neville will give Barty the satisfaction of reading that.]

[adjunct]

[Neville turns a bit pink and waves the compliment off.]

We helped, anyway. [They wouldn't have saved any day if Harry, Ron and Hermione hadn't been out busting their butts all year finding Voldemort's secrets, that's for darn sure. Neville doesn't want to tell her what the D.A.'s contingency plan had been if they never returned. It was quite grim.] I'm just glad it's over. Really glad.

private text

[liquidsky]

As you say. Then you shouldn't be worried, should you?

[Barty will be living proof of that, if he isn't already, so the smugness is there anyway.]

[brainiest]

You were wonderful, Neville. All of you were.

[ She makes the tea quickly, putting it on the table before she offers him a seat, shooing away the dogs. ]

I am too. I know we're fighting a war here, too, but... I'm really glad that everyone is safe at home. It stops me from feeling like I'm doing something wrong by being here.

[ A pause, then a slightly brighter smile. ]

When would you like to move in?

[adjunct]

[Neville tries to look casual and lighthearted about that, to it's clear he's a bit worried about this new war.]

I suppose I wouldn't really know what to do with a holiday, anyway.

[But then he accidentally slops milk over his fingers and the side of the teacup at her question, where (luckily) it only pools down into the saucer instead of getting all over the table.]

I-- really? [He looks immensely pleased by the idea, but he hadn't wanted to presume.] Well, I suppose, whenever you'd be ready. I haven't got much stuff to move, yet.

private text

[adjunct]

[Neville tries to reply a couple times, but feeling quite like he'd just gotten completely outmaneuvered, he eventually gives up and cuts the feed so he can go hide out in his room and pretend like he's not profoundly bothered by all of that.]

[brainiest]

Neither would I, honestly. Even during the breaks from school at home I did so much reading - a holiday now just sees a little useless.

[ Hermione, far too used to Neville's clumsiness, simply grabs a nearby teatowel and passes it over, letting him clean up the milk in his own time. She's reminded, sharply, of Potions class and it's all she can do to bite back her little smile.

At least until he perks up and she brightens in turn. ]

Of course! This has become Gryffindor house, almost, and I'm sure no one would mind if you joined us. We've still got a couple of spare rooms so you can take your pick.

voice | private.

[ffuckoff]

Hey, I'm Fiona Gallagher. If you aren't totally sick of the whole soap opera going on on the network, could I ask you a few questions?

voice | private.

[adjunct]

[Neville has pretty much been opening up all messages with a sense of slight trepidation over the past couple days.]

You work at the school, right? I'll- I could answer some questions.

voice | private.

[ffuckoff]

Yeah, I'm the secretary. I organize the schedules and everything, make sure the trains run on time. [Fiona's voice is calming and friendly. She's making a point of trying to gain his trust, or at least his cooperation, through simple niceties; if he likes her, he'll be that less likely to lie, and she can trust his information that much more.] Ever since my boss was basically accused of war crimes, I kind of want more details, you know?

voice | private.

[adjunct]

[Luckily for her, Neville is an extraordinarily soft sell. He sounds receptive, if... resigned.] I'm not trying to make things hard for the school, you understand. I quite liked school, I mean, until last year, but he's-- [He hesitates. He's not going to excuse Snape's actions like Harry has done, very vocally and repeatedly, because he was there for them and there is nothing that can make what Snape turned the school into justifiable. But he's also not going to purposefully exclude the information because lying by omission is still lying, and that's apparently what Snape has been doing here since starting the school - Neville quite refuses to be anything like Snape.] That he's put himself in charge again is just, just-- [He lets out a wuff of breath, sounding very much like he's trying to talk himself out of getting worked up again.] I spoke with Ms. Carnahan, about the... details. Have you talked with her at all, or should I start from the beginning?

[adjunct]

[Neville gratefully takes the towel and starts to dab the mess up, barely letting it break the stride in their conversation.]

It's quite odd there are so many Gryffindors here, isn't it? Not that I'm complaining, of course. [It's just that there's not a single Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, and he'd gotten so used to living with the three houses all thrown together in the Room of Requirement lately.] Is Professor Lupin young like the others? Or does he remember teaching?

[brainiest]

It is a little strange - Professor Snape, Draco and Barty Crouch Jr. are here too but there's an overwhelming majority when it comes to Gryffindors, present and past. Maybe they just needed a brave lot to fight in this war for them?

[ Finally, she sits down and settles properly, reaching for her own cup of tea and preparing it slowly, letting her mind think through the things she wants to talk about. ]

He's young, like Sirius, James and Lily. He doesn't remember anything about being our teacher, though he has asked me a few questions about his future, here and there. They all have, really, and I've done my best to tell them whatever I can.

text - hello!! i am backdating this to like the day of barty's post if that's cool <3

[doggedly]

hows things between you and barty crouch

[a pause between that text and the following because oh right--]

this is sirius black by the way
hi
hows it going

voice | private.

[ffuckoff]

I talked to Ms Carnahan about making sure you weren't scheduled with Snape, and I'll try to swing that as best I can. But I figured it'd probably be politer you talk to you upfront. Unless you'd rather I talked to her? [Fiona doesn't want secondhand information, and angles the question to politely underline that point. Still, if he says no, she's hardly going to force him.]

text - yes absolutely!!

[adjunct]

[Neville goes pale upon receiving the message, interpreting it instantly as an accusation, mostly because he's still so high strung after his conversation with Barty. His reply is rapid.]

I didn't have anything to do with that, even if it is true
I would never work with him on anything

[doggedly]

yeah i didnt think you would? or were or are
sorry did i say that or does your device maybe correct things to read as the worst case scenario


i just want to know what the hell the bastards been saying to you

[adjunct]

oh
nothing. he just enjoys taunting me
over the things he did to my parents

[doggedly]

[The one thing you shouldn't ask after someone says something like that (especially in regards to someone like Barty Crouch) is what happened to your parents. But Sirius realises that he doesn't actually know. It hadn't even occurred to him that something might have happened to them. There's a bit of selfish tunnel vision when it comes to the future.

So, okay. A pause.]

is it something we should a stop to

[adjunct]

[If Sirius is curious, a certain someone had far less tact than him about the whole thing.]

how?
he's not likely to listen is he

private; video

[tonsofpun]

[After Snape's stupid fuckup. About six to eight hours after, perhaps, after he's had time to process, a message pings through.]

... hey.

[It comes out like a sigh. The voice is a little young. A girl, probably a teenager. After a second the camera adjusts to show her face. She doesn't ask if he's okay, because who would be?]

Look. I don't exactly know you or anything, but... for what it's worth- Snape's a huge asshole.

private; video

[adjunct]

[Every time a Death Eater posts to the Network, he gets a private message from a well-meaning stranger. When the reply video shows up, Neville looks like he's found his head again after the past couple hours. He's beyond embarrassed over his own public explosion in response, though.]

I have had him as a professor for the last seven years, I've noticed.

[It's an attempt at a joke! Bit of a pathetic attempt, mind. The weak little smile that accompanied it falls away after about a second and a half, sorry.]

private; video

[tonsofpun]

Yeah.

[Ellie tries to smile too. He's tough, she'll give him that. There's no pity in her expression, or eyes, just a certain frustration. About everything.]

Still. Kind of a shitty welcome wagon to the city.

... I might've yelled at him. A... lot.

[More than a lot. She makes some kind of awkward hand gesture, as if there's more she wants to say about it, but it's not important.]

I'm Ellie. Neville, right?

private; video

[adjunct]

[That seems to jostle Neville out of his funk better than anything else had, and he blinks a bit owlishly at her.]

You yelled at him?

[You can just yell at him? Granted, that's what Neville has been doing since arriving here, but Neville also has a bone to pick and a very real problem with recklessness.]

I- [Wait, hang on.] Ellie? Do you know Harry?