Unconditional Love [Alice]

[Deleted]

The first day was not setting a good tone for this Christmas break.

Neville read over the parchment a second time, eyes narrowed in annoyance, but finally scribbling a short reply on the back, rolling it back up, and handing it off to the owl that had delivered it. Rudolf Lestrange, older brother of his two new charges, wanted to speak to him. That in itself was annoying, as everything about the firstborn and others’ description of him said that he was very much in the same camp as his parents. On top of that, Aurora had attempted to retreat into her shell again, which simply would not be allowed, that it would not, and Alice was clearly in a foul mood over the whole situation. So, overall, not as good a day as he had been hoping. It would get better, but…well, Neville didn’t have to be content with the eventual result.

He slipped out of the office he and Hannah used for their various paperwork and letter writing, moving down the hall to knock on Alice’s door softly. He knew she was in there, didn’t even bother to check. His daughter spent a lot of her time in her own room even under normal circumstances, and when she was feeling sulky could easily stay in there for days at a time, excepting bathroom breaks. Honestly, he thought her favorite spell might be Aguamenti, since it let her have something to drink without leaving. “Sunflower? Can we talk?” Oh man, this was torture. Alice probably wasn’t considering that her attitude was hurting him. She was just angry and wanted to be left alone. But it was almost physically painful, to know she was angry with him. Neville did not regret providing help to Aurora. Nor would he.

But it still hurt, having his firstborn unhappy because of him.

“Come on Alice, we need to talk. Please don’t shut me out.”

@alice
Also tagging @hannah in case she wants to have been eavesdropping or if you want her to join in later in the thread, Dee <3

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Alice lay upon her bed, Oscar guarding her feet at the edge and her puffs sound asleep on her pillow. She had taken to reading through a book she had read many times since she had returned home yesterday, but she was finding it hard to focus. She felt awful for the way she spoke to her father after their arrival home and had not left her room until after everyone had gone to bed to grab a snack and run to the loo. She was embarrassed but she was also mad. How could her father possibly think it was a good idea to have those girls in their house? More importantly... why hadn't he told them before he invited them to stay? It was all very confusing to Alice and she just didn't feel like dealing with any of that over her break. This year was already stressful enough and then this had to go and happen. It was times like this she wished she had more friends to talk to.

Normally, Alice would talk to James for advice on this kind of stuff. But seeing as the main topic was about he and Aurora, that was not possible. Plus, after their last talk, Alice wasn't even sure they were on speaking terms. If James wasn't around, she would speak to her parents. But as it was she was far too embarrassed and mad at them to even think of approaching them. She sighed to herself and closed her book, which at this point she was just pointlessly turning pages in to pretend she was reading it. She stared up at her ceiling. There were pictures that her father had helped her tape up there as a child of stars in the night sky that twinkled. Every now and then a shooting star would shoot across her bed. She blinked at the pictures, feeling as if she were going to drown in all of the emotion she was feeling. Then - she thought of someone. Someone she thought she could write to that would certainly have some advice or encouraging words! Alice sat up in her bed, reaching for a quill and ink bottle on her night stand and a piece of parchment from the night stand drawer. She used her book as a hard surface to write on as she began to scribble out the name "Carcer Hagrid."

Then came a voice at her door.

She didn't know why it had surprised her. It was only a matter of time before her father came around to speak to her. Alice stopped writing. She looked anywhere but at the door. She didn't say anything. She had nothing to say. She felt a little prick in her chest. Guilt. She was being so cold to her father. Of course she felt bad but... she just wasn't ready to speak to him. Maybe if she didn't speak he would go away. She kept quiet a moment longer but heard no footsteps. Then his voice spoke again. He sounded upset. Or at least, as upset as Alice had heard him in a while. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She had locked her door, of course. So she reached for her wand on her night stand and gave it a little flick toward her bedroom door, which then slowly swung right open revealing her father in the doorway. Being seventeen had its perks, she thought, as she set her wand and her letter to Carcer at her feet and sat up in bed once again. She didn't say anything, though. She wanted her father to speak first.

@superluigi64

[Deleted]

For a moment, Neville wasn’t sure whether his daughter would deign to open the door. If she was still in a foul enough mood, he might be standing here all night—which he would, naturally. Alice had inherited her stubbornness from both of her parents, after all, even if she used it more readily than Neville did. But, mercifully, he heard the click of the lock and the door swung open, to reveal his daughter, no less beautiful to him even when she was feeling pouty. Well, it was a good sign that she was letting him in at all, even if she still wasn’t speaking. Not that Neville couldn’t open the door without her permission, but he would never do that unless he thought it was an emergency. He stepped into the room quietly and closed the door behind him. There she was, on her bed, with her cat at her feet and her Pygmy Puffs on her pillow (Neville still didn’t know how she’d managed to end up with two, but he chalked it up to her charming the professor with her love of animals). It looked like she had started to write a letter—Neville made sure not to even glance in the direction of the parchment. His daughter deserved her privacy.

He slowly paced for a moment in front of her bed, black robes quietly swishing against the ground, while he thought about the situation and what he could do to make it better. The conclusion he was rapidly coming to was that he should have let his wife handle things. But no, Neville couldn’t do that. This was his mess to clean up, and he refused to push his problems onto anyone else, not even someone who was willing to let him do so. He turned to Alice, paused for a moment, then resumed his slow pacing. He had been about to start to explain himself, but he knew his daughter. She didn’t want an explanation, not yet anyway, and it wasn’t going to sink in if she didn’t want it to. He had to figure out a way to get her to ask him. She had to want the answer before he could give it to her. But if he could get her to ask…but then how to do that? Well…there was no use coming up with something. Neville had been a father for 17 years, by Merlin, and he didn’t need to stand here and work out how to be one now!

With a sigh, the herbologist lowered himself to the floor, sitting down and putting his back to Alice’s bed. He let his head rest on the corner of the bed, his eyes pointing up at the ceiling, at pictures that had outlasted all of the toys and clothes and everything else that had been his daughter’s. He smiled, looking up at them. “I still remember when we put those up. You were so excited to be on my shoulders, way up in the air.” He could remember keeping her steady with one hand while she taped her pictures. His wand had been in his other hand, and he had been wordlessly casting charms to make sure Alice taped everything up perfectly, so she wouldn’t have to peel the tape off and maybe mess up the pictures. The time had long since passed when she wanted to sit on his shoulders, but the memory was still there, perfect and precious to a tired old teacher. And it reminded him of another memory. “You know, you’re the reason I’m still teaching at Hogwarts.” Neville turned his head, eyeing his daughter.

@alice

[Deleted]

Alice didn't look at her father as he entered the room. She still felt bad for what she had said to him the other night. While inviting two Lestranges into their home had hurt Alice, she knew that he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart to keep them safe. Alice knew that her words had hurt her father much more than his actions had unintentionally hurt her. Alice loved her dad, and hurting him like she had had in turn hurt her, as well. She knew she was lucky to have a father like Neville. He never pried for information and always gave Alice and her brothers the privacy he believed they deserved. As Neville began to pace at the foot of her bed, she took in a deep breath and self-consciously shifted where she sat. She glanced at her parchment but decided not to move it. She really didn't want to move a lot. She was feeling awkward as is.

Alice glanced up at her father as he stopped. It seemed like he may speak before he started pacing again. Alice looked down at Fizz and Quinn. Fizz scurried onto Alice's lap and didn't move while Quinn charged to the end of the bed and resumed moving just as Neville was, like he was trying to guard Alice. This made the corners of Alice's mouth twitch, wanting to form a smile but she didn't. She wasn't quite ready to smile in the presence of her father just yet. She took to stroking Fizzio with her index finger until she saw her father sit down at the end of her bed and look p at the ceiling. She followed his gaze, staring once more up at the ceiling.

As her father spoke, Alice didn't say anything. She could remember putting the pictures up with him, too. She always thought of that memory when she returned home to her bed after being at school for so long. Alice had refused to take them down as she got older, for she held on to the memory of putting up these photos with her father so tightly. She felt to take them down was to erase the memory completely. She blinked as she watched a shooting star shoot across her bedroom ceiling. She remained quiet. She knew she didn't have to say anything for her father to know that she remembered, too. “You know, you’re the reason I’m still teaching at Hogwarts.” That caught her attention, however. Alice's head instinctively turned to look at her father, her brow furrowed in confusion and slight frustration. "What do you mean?" She said slowly, he voice quieter than usual.

@superluigi64

[Deleted]

“What do you mean?”

Neville smiled. She didn’t sound hostile at the moment, which was promising. Maybe this wouldn’t be as painful as he feared. He turned to look up at the ceiling again for a moment, at the twinkling stars above them. Story time. He’d never been this talkative when he was younger. Again he had to credit that to blonde-headed children with endless questions for him to answer. “When I left the Aurors, I didn’t really have plans for the future. I was never a fan of combat, and we had mostly rounded up the Death Eaters after five years. So when your mother told me she wanted to start a family, I knew it was a good time to leave. I did a few things here and there—exploration with Luna, publishing articles on plants, selling to apothecaries. Even entertained the idea of just working here at the Leaky.” He could remember not really seeing much beyond his beautiful wife and their coming child. All he saw in those days was his wife and his friends. Neville had no ambitions for money, or power, or influence, or respect. All he wanted was to be content, and all he needed for that was the people closest to him and a small garden.

“Professor Sprout contacted me shortly after I resigned from the Aurors. Said she was looking into retirement, and there was nobody more qualified for the job than me. I wasn’t sure about that. But Hannah convinced me to take the post. Those first few years were…awkward. I didn’t know what the students thought of me—some of them always looked at me in awe, others in confusion. I was nervous in classes, I second guessed my lessons, I hesitated in everything I said or did. It wasn’t like the DA, where I knew that if people didn’t listen, they would die. Here, I wondered all the time whether what I said made them think differently of me, whether they even listened to me.” That was a feeling he could barely remember. He might not remember that he’d ever been that way at all, except that the memory of when he understood everything was so very powerful. “And then Hannah told me she was pregnant. I strongly considered making that my last year at Hogwarts. I wasn’t comfortable in the job, and now we had a little one coming that would need love and attention. Honestly, I could easily make money off of my greenhouses and traveling with the Scamanders. And by that point, the Cauldron was raking in the Galleons anyway.”

He grinned up at the ceiling. Why shouldn’t he? He’d just touched on one of the memories that could fuel a Patronus when he needed it. “And then you came into the world. We were at St. Mungo’s, and Hannah was cradling you. I was afraid to hold you. I’ve always been clumsy, and you were so tiny…so Hannah held you, and I reached out to touch your belly…and before I got there, you reached out and latched onto my finger with your hand. I never expected such a strong grip. And that’s when I got it. Teaching students wasn’t any different now than it had been in the DA. I was always worried what they thought about me, but when you grabbed my finger, I understood that it didn’t matter. What they thought of me—what you think of me—is of no importance. What I could do for the students, for you, that was all that mattered. Even if I was hated for it.”

He smiled. “When I went back to Hogwarts, it was the first time I started to do my job because I wanted to do it, not because I had been asked to.”

@alice

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Alice had grown up hearing all of the old stories of the DA and the Battle of Hogwarts. It would have been silly of her not to. She could remember the countless times she and her brothers or the Potter children had huddled around her father or Harry to hear them talk about those times. It was history, after all, and they were hearing it from the source. But Alice had never really learned much about her father growing up other than the part he played in the war, the position he held at school, and his role as a good father. She had never really asked about what his ambitions had been and she felt guilty for that but as Neville began to talk about when he had left the Aurors, Alice watched her father. She didn't look away from him as he did so, very interested in what he had to say at this point.

Alice couldn't really imagine her father being in a classroom and not knowing what he was doing. The idea seemed almost comical to her. He was so well composed and had such control over the class now. Her father, nervous? The thought made the corners of Alice's mouth twitch into a slight smile. As her father continued, the smile disappeared as he said he had considered quitting teaching when her mother was pregnant with her. Alice knew that her family was well off thanks to other ventures but what good was making money if one wasn't doing something that they loved? Alice couldn't imagine her father not being a teacher.

The story was taking a more sentimental turn now and Alice could see by the look on her father's face that this was an important memory for him. Her father had been afraid to hold her? Finally, Alice averted her gaze from her father and looked down at her feet at the foot of her bed. She was still listening but she was processing it all now. Of course Alice was far too young to remember such an event happening but the fact that it had stuck with her. When he had finished speaking, Alice looked back at him to see him smiling. Alice couldn't bring herself to continue being as cruel to him as she had... she didn't know what to say or do now. She was, quite simply, at a loss for words. There was one question that came to mind that Alice wasn't sure if she should ask, but she couldn't stop herself before it came out. "Do you... have any regrets?" She asked, looking back at her feet again.

@superluigi64

[Deleted]

Truth be told, Neville didn’t mind sitting in silence with his daughter. He’d been quiet himself much of his youth, though in Alice’s case that silence was more voluntary than his own had been. Nevertheless, he didn’t need to say a word when he was with his wife or children. Just being with them was all he needed. So he let his little girl think. Little. Funny, how that word never lost meaning, even though physically she was not so little any more. She was facing some of the things he’d faced growing up. Unrequited crushes, dances…even mysterious murders. But she was still his little girl, someone he would always seek to protect. Even from himself, if necessary. Neville never intended to let Alice see just how much her growing up worried him, how terrified he was of her leaving to be on her own. He knew he couldn’t stop it, but Neville couldn’t help wanting to.

“Do you... have any regrets?”

Regrets? Regrets…huh. Neville looked over at Alice again. “What kind of regrets do you mean? There are things from my youth I regret, of course. And I have quite a few regrets concerning students that I could have helped and did not, for one reason or another. But if you mean do I have any regrets where you or your brothers or your mother are concerned? No. I don’t regret a thing. There are times I can think back where I say to myself, maybe I could have done things differently, but it’s curiosity, not regret. After all, if I changed things, you might not be who you are today, and I happen to like who you are very much.” He smiled at her then—he really did like her. Alice might have her less-than-desirable moments, but so did everyone else. Ron was prone to jealousy, Hermione to indecisiveness. Harry still occasionally railed against authority. Neville was uncompromising, even when it could cost himself or others. His daughter was a good person. Not as kind as he was, perhaps, but more blunt and straightforward to make up for it.

He looked back up at the ceiling once more. He wanted to tell Alice why Aurora and Andromeda were here. Not the details, of course—that was their information to give out—but the basics, just enough so that she would understand. But his hands were tied. Alice wouldn’t understand until she wanted to understand. And his daughter would ask when she wanted to understand. But, that didn’t mean Neville couldn’t ask questions himself while he waited. “Why do you ask?” He wasn’t sure whether or not there was a deeper meaning behind her wondering if he had regrets, but he’d learned long ago that it was simply safer to ask than to assume one way or another.

@alice

[Deleted]

Alice never really put a lot of though into how much she and her father were alike. There were very few people on this earth that Alice could just sit in silence with and not need to speak words at all. With her father, she did just that very often and it never felt awkward or uncomfortable. Except maybe now, after her going off on him. They shared that and their passion for the things that they both loved; animals and plants. They knew one another well and Alice often took that for granted and never thought to realize it at all. She felt awful for that.

Alice should have specified what she meant by regrets, she knew that when her father turned to her again. But as he continued on talking he seemed to hit the nail on the head. She did mean with herself, her mother, and the boys. Alice should have known better than to wonder if he had any regrets concerning them... of course he didn't. She looked back at her feet to avoid looking at him as he spoke, half out of embarrassment and half out of shame for what she had earlier done. Alice could hear the smile in her father's tone when he finished speaking and she glanced up at him. A smile dared to appear at the corners of her mouth. She was thankful she didn't have to explain herself, that he father knew her well enough to seem to know what she was asking. And in spite of it all, what she had said to him and how much she knew she hurt him, he still loved her just as much. She wondered briefly if she could ever love someone other than her parents and brothers that way... she didn't know if she could. She wasn't like her father in the fact that he was far more kind and caring than she was. While they were alike in many ways, they were different in just as many.

When Neville had asked "why," Alice looked up at her father and raised her eyebrows a little. She hadn't expected him to ask that. She looked back down at her bed just to look somewhere other than at her dad and she shrugged. "I dunno," she said quietly. She tore at the corner of the parchment on her bed to occupy herself. "I guess..." She didn't know how to say what she was feeling. Why she had asked what she did. "I just wanted to know. To makes sure you never..." her voice grew quieter. "You... didn't want to... replace us or anything..." Her voice was near a whisper. Her face grew extremely red and she could feel tears pricking at her eyes. This of course only made those things worse.

What a childish thing to believe! Alice was mad at herself for even thinking such a thing! How dare she believe that he father would ever want to replace she and her brothers! She had just been so mad in the moment that she still felt the tornado of emotions from earlier that evening swirling around inside of her. She looked down at her hands in front of her now, hiding her face behind a curtain of blonde hair so that her father couldn't see her. Even if she knew that that was completely useless, she still wanted to hide.

@superluigi64

[Deleted]

It was quite odd to see his little sunflower hesitate to speak her mind. Normally it was getting her to keep it to herself that was the problem. For as long as Neville could remember, Alice had displayed all the subtlety and half the patience of a Bludger, something she had inherited from her great-grandmother. So to see her shrug her shoulders like a student who couldn’t come up with an excuse was quite odd to say the least. Neville waited, though—he’d never had problems getting Alice to answer a direct question of his. And he didn’t have to wait long—although the answer floored him. Replace? Replace her? Alice wasn’t someone that could just be replaced! Where would she get the idea that Aurora could—

Oh.

Oh.

But she had been replaced by Aurora once already, hadn’t she? Or, at least, she thought she had been. Rumors of James and Aurora were widespread enough that he’d heard about them—and beyond that, she girl had risked her life for the boy. And Alice had a crush. In her eyes, maybe Aurora had replaced her where James was concerned. And if it could happen once, it could happen again. No matter how silly the idea was, fear was a hard thing to overcome immediately. Now he understood.

So this was more his fault than he’d realized.

Neville stood up and turned around to face Alice. A lifetime of combat and manual labor had made the former Gryffindor powerful. It took no effort to slip one arm around Alice’s back and the other under her legs, to lift her up and hold her close to him. He rested his chin on her head and held her there like the little girl she would never quite stop being in his eyes. “I could search until my dying day and there would never be a replacement for you. If I were immortal, I could search until the sun itself went out, and there would never be anyone like you or your brothers. And you know, I wouldn’t bother looking either way. You are my sunflower. You and your brothers and your mother mean the world to me, and I would not trade you away for anything in this world or the next.” He hoped he had made that clear all their lives—but again, fear wasn’t always rational. She felt so tiny in his arms, and he knew he didn’t want to let go. But one day, he’d have to. Sighing quietly, he sat down on Alice’s bed, setting her in his lap and wrapping his arms around her securely. She’d been too old for such things for years now, but right now, he didn’t care—and he hoped she didn’t, either.

“Your mother and I—we didn’t invite Aurora and Andromeda to live here because we felt like we needed more children, or for anything you or your brothers did. I want you to understand that it has nothing to do with you or anything you did. Those girls are here for their own good.” He sighed again, this time louder. It wasn’t as though he had no sympathy for his family—he’d sprung this on them without warning, for the sake of people who shouldn’t be as important to him as they were. And, truth be told, they weren’t yet. But their safety and happiness did matter more to him than a little discomfort on his family’s part. It was the right thing to do. And for better or worse, Neville always did the right thing. But he’d messed up nonetheless. “Sunflower, I am…truly sorry, if I made you feel unwanted. That was never my intention. And it never will be. You will always be my daughter and my oldest child. Just because I choose to help others—and even if I grow to love them as my children—does not mean you will be less important to me. And I hope to never make you feel that way.”

@alice

[Deleted]

In an instant, Neville had stood up and turned around to face Alice but she still couldn't look at him. When she felt him put am arm around her back and another under her legs, her bottom lip began to tremble. As her father held her in his arm for the first time in a long time, Alice sniffled as she finally let the tears she had been holding back for so long fall down her cheeks. She folded her arms across her chest and as her father rested his chin on her head, she leaned against his chest. For so long, she didn't know that she needed to do this - but now as she sat there with her father, she knew that this was what she had needed: to spend this time with her father. Of course he could never replace she and her brothers, and his words did make her feel better but she couldn't stop the tears now. It only slowed them.

Alice continued to sniffle in her fathers arms as he continued on speaking. What did he mean by "for their own good?" Alice's brow furrowed at these words, but she was still too upset to speak. She remained silent, afraid to face her father while the tears were still racing down her cheeks. Neville's final words, although they were so loving and Alice knew them to be more true than anything in the world, they still made her cry. It made her feel bad that she had reacted in such a way. He was not the one who should be apologizing.

"I- I'm... I'm sorry," Alice managed to breath out. When it came down to it, the whole situation boiled back down to Alice being jealous of Aurora because of James. Could she admit that out loud? She didn't know. It was hard enough as is to admit it to herself, but sitting there cradled in her father's arms, she realized that. Alice sniffled again, trying so hard to deny what she was feeling so she buried her head into her father's collar, feeling like she was eight years old again.

@superluigi64
(ooc: Sorry this took a decade to get back to!!)

[Deleted]

She really would never stop being his little girl, no matter how old she got. Neville knew it, but he also knew that she needed her own space, had her own life to live. So he’d backed off. But he’d forgotten that Alice had that very Gryffindor streak of pride in her, and just maybe sometimes she needed him to come looking for her. He held her close, saying nothing, just letting her release her emotions and get control over herself once more. There was no need to rush—right now, there was nowhere more important for him to be. Hannah was up waiting for him, but he knew she would be patient. He’d stay in here as long as needed, and he knew she’d wait up for him just as long. Their kids came first, always, and he knew Hannah wanted to know how things worked out more than she wanted sleep.

“I- I'm... I'm sorry.”

He kissed the top of her head, squeezing her tighter for just a moment. “How you feel isn’t something to apologize for. Feelings don’t always care about facts. And they can build up. Maybe you’ve just needed an outlet for awhile. But you have nothing to apologize to me for. It’s alright to feel, and it’s important to find a way to deal with those feelings. Your mother and I are always here, and you have your brothers and your friends to help when you need it. I know you don’t like to admit needing help, but everyone does, from time to time.” He rocked slowly, with his daughter in his lap, face pressed into him, and he slowly rubbed her back in time to his rocking motions.

“The girls…I keep secrets for you, things you don’t want others to know. I do this for a lot of students. I can’t give them away. If you want details, you will have to ask one of them. But I will say this much. Aurora came to me, not for herself, but to ask for help for another. She asked nothing for herself, though I am sure she knew what awaited her: a world that would turn its back on her, all for things that happened decades before she was even born—before her father was even born. I could not allow that. Why should we expect the next generation to turn out better than the last if we continue to punish them for the crime of having a certain last name? I can change that—the world might shun the name of Lestrange, but now Aurora and Andromeda are known to be in my care. Nobody will be able to treat them poorly for no reason now, not when I’m standing behind them. The magical world will respect that if I of all people look past their surname, nobody else has the right not to. They did not ask for this. I offered it, because it was the right thing to do. And for better or for worse, sunflower, I am compelled to do what is right.”

He kissed her on the head again, voice lowering. “I’m not asking you to like Aurora. As I said , your feelings matter, and I would never demand that you change them, even if such a thing were possible. But I would ask that you try to understand her. Aurora is afraid, Alice—so very afraid. Afraid that we’ll shun her, afraid to think about why we’re not, so afraid to take things at face value, because very little in her life has ever been completely honest.” Of course, he wasn’t exactly sure about all of this, but he suspected it all. It would take time, he thought, for Aurora to trust him completely. She knew, of course, that he was as good as his word—but that was different from trust. “But above all, never forget—this was never to hurt you, or replace you. This is about helping two little girls escape from a legacy of hate and violence that neither want anything to do with. I am very sorry if it hurts you, but even knowing that, I cannot bring myself to say I would do differently if I could.”

He continued rocking, but now he began to hum an old lullaby, deep in his chest. He wasn’t much of a singer, but quietly humming to toddlers laying on him had worked wonders for helping them sleep in the past—this lullaby had been the favorite of one particular blonde girl who fought sleep as hard as she could each night.

@alice

[Deleted]

Neville's words always, always helped Alice feel better. How was it that he always knew exactly what to say? Alice did just need an outlet, but with her distractions from James and Aurora, she had let all of her emotions bottle up and she had closed off from many of her friends just because she was mad at one of them. But as her father mentioned "friends," Alice made a tiny scoff - only one particular friend coming to mind. And some friend he was.

Alice finally took her face out from being buried in her father's collar and she looked at him as he spoke now. Her brow furrowed at him in seriousness as she listened to what he had to say, about the Lestranges no doubt. Alice almost had a hard time comprehending what she was hearing but when Neville explained that she had asked the help for another, Alice's mind went once again him. She watched her father, unblinking as she listened and let all of the pieces puzzle together in her mind. Aurora had asked for help for... James. That was the only explanation. Alice knew enough of the girl to know she didn't have many other friends, like herself. She wanted so badly to know why, why she needed help with James. But Alice knew her father wouldn't tell her, it wasn't his place. And... a part of Alice wanted to ask Aurora for herself. She finally looked down at her lap as her father kissed her on the head once again.

Alice took a moment to really reflect on what her father was saying now. Aurora had to have been asking to protect James from something, and she was afraid. And here Alice was, being so cold and cruel to the person who ultimately wanted the same thing for James as Alice did. Safety and happiness. Alice felt ashamed. She had been so quick to judge... But it had been so easy! She was a Lestrange! But her father always did have the best judgment of such situations... he was a trusted figure in the wizarding world, and Alice doubted that even a Ravenclaw such as Aurora could pull the wool over Neville's eyes. Alice bit her lip as Neville began to rock her again. It was all a lot to take in, but speaking to her father really helped her feel better and to see reason. Not to mention open her eyes to how foolish and childish she was.

Alice continued to stay still in her father's arms as he began to hum an old lullaby she recognized from her childhood. She leaned her head once again onto her father's shoulder and finally she let a small smile appear. "How it you always know what to say?" She said quietly as she rocked along with her father. Even at seventeen, it was strange how much like a seven year old she felt. But only in the happiest of ways.

@superluigi64

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He could practically hear the wheels cranking in her head. His little girl, too clever by half. He’d meant to be vague about Aurora’s actions, but Alice had figured…something…out, nonetheless. Whether she was right or not, he couldn’t say, but he would bet Galleons she was. One thing Alice had never understood about the Sorting—just because she was sorted into Hufflepuff did not magically make her not smart enough to be a Ravenclaw. It simply meant that there was something about her that made her fit Hufflepuff even better. The Sorting wasn’t about finding out which Houses you didn’t belong in, it was about finding the House you belonged to the most. Alice was smart and quick-witted enough to fit in Ravenclaw, but her work ethic and loyalty were just that much more a part of her core being that she was placed in Hufflepuff. All Neville could do now was hope that when she confronted Aurora—and he had no doubt she would, eventually—she kept it civil and calm.

She asked him how he always knew what to say, and Neville chuckled. “I grew up around Ron Weasley. I have seen every wrong thing to say, and every wrong way to say the right thing.” Ron had been seriously skilled at inserting his foot into his own mouth when they were all younger. But even as he shook his head in amusement, he thought about how to put this. “A lot of people don’t appreciate the things I have to say. Many of them would rather hear what they want to, but I tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. But you, my little sunflower, have always valued brutal honesty. You don’t like lying or being lied to, and you don’t have patience for sugar-coating or dancing around the issue. You get that from your great-grandmother, and she’s the one who taught me that truth hurts, but lies harm. So I guess it just works for you?” It was honestly a bit scary to think about how much Alice reminded him of his Gran. Augusta Longbottom lived to see all of her grandchildren born, and died a few years later. But her health seemed to begin its last decline after Alice was born. Sometimes, Neville wondered if she knew her great-granddaughter would be her legacy, and she could finally rest.

“Anything else bothering you, Sunflower?” Best to make as much progress as he could while she was in a sharing mood. Besides, when it came to spending time with his daughter, Neville was never in a hurry to have it end.

@alice

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Alice could not help but chuckle at her father's mentioning of Ron Weasley. She was thankful her father was exactly the way he was. She knew far too well that some children, like Aurora and Andromeda, were not fortunate enough to have parents that cared enough to have such talks with them like Neville had always done. For such a thing, Alice was more than fortunate. She understood now why her father had invited the Lestrange sisters to stay with them. Her father was far too kind and caring to sit by and let two of his students be tortured and held practically hostage, also quite possibly putting other students in danger - such as James. It took this conversation for Alice to realize that her father's intentions, as always, were more than good.

Alice smiled at her father. "I always do value what you say," she agreed in his commenting on her honesty. There was nothing Alice disliked more in this world than lies. Perhaps that was why she was acting the way she was with James... she had lied to him all those times she had seen him and not been honest with him about how she felt, and for that she hated herself. But she could see that now. Now that she was slowly becoming able to accept it, maybe she could finally say it out loud.

The Hufflepuff's brow furrowed then as she looked down at her now fidgeting hands. "I feel I need to apologize. To James, first and foremost," she said, nodding slowly to herself. "But... I think I need to speak with Aurora... first." She nodded once more to herself and looked up at her father. She had been so cold to Aurora, not only because of her suspicions of Aurora being the killer but also for James's interest in her. While Alice was still in no rush to apologize (being the stubborn badger that she was,) she felt she should at least... speak to her. How, she had no idea. Where would she start? She looked up at her father, as if pleading for further advice.

@superluigi64

[Deleted]

“I always do value what you say.”

He chuckled a bit at that, squeezing her shoulders for a moment. Too many children didn't want to listen to their parents at this age. Granted, some had good reason, but he considered himself blessed to have three children who did listen to his every word, even if they didn't always like it. For that reason among others, he tried to stay out of their way when possible and not tell them what to do often. He didn't like to take advantage of their obedience...which, he supposed, might be why they did listen when it mattered. Then again, he'd raised hundreds of kids at this point. He'd give himself more credit, if two of them hadn't died while under his protection this year. Neville brushed such thoughts aside. It was the holiday, students were safe at home with their families.

Alice mentioned that she thought she should find James and apologize to him, but she wanted to talk to Aurora first. He heard the question she asked with her eyes. Neville snickered. “That might be easier said than done, Sunflower. You're stubborn, Aurora's reserved. I don't think forcing a talk will work out...” Though he didn't know if Alice would heed that particular bit of advice. The other side of brutal honesty? She hated knowing a solution and having to wait to use it. She might try to make Aurora talk to her anyway. “I think...I think when you two agree on something, and when you both state it without hesitation, that's when you two will have the talk you need. And I think things will be better after that.” He thought of something a laughed a bit. “Of course, I could always send the two of you to work for your uncle Carson for a week. I'm sure you'll both be agreeing about him by the end of it. Don't tell Mom I said that though.” Carson Abbott did not have the most glamorous job at the Ministry, and he made certain his interns knew just how hard the job was within the first week, so he'd weed out the quitters.

Neville stood up again, turning around and gently laying his daughter on her bed. He pulled the covers over her, like he'd done so long ago, and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before sitting back down on the bed beside her. “It's not an easy thing to do, letting go of your own way. And I know it's harder for you, who hates to see the world in shades of grey. But just trying is more than many less stubborn people ever do. Whatever you decide to do, I'm proud of you, Alice, and I will always love you.” He made no move to leave, not yet, because she didn't want him to leave yet. He could sit here all night if that was what it took. “Your mother might have better advice for talking to Aurora, too. You should talk to her in the morning.” Hannah loved to be Mommy again, since it was happening less and less frequently as her babies grew up.

@alice