The Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 1

AN: Hey everyone, sorry for the super long gap between posting this chapter and the last one. Unfortunately life has caught up to me somewhat and I'm a lot busier at work now, so have had less time to write. On top of that, I was feeling a little burnt out at the pace I had been writing before (I had written for an average of two hours a day for nine weeks!) and it was having an impact on the quality of what I was writing.

That all added up towards making this chapter quite hard for me to write, and I've redone most sections of it at least once. I'm still not super happy with it, but I'm not sure there is a lot of value to be added by me trying to keep improving it.

On a more positive note, there was a fantastic reception to the last chapter, which made me very happy. I'm glad to see that so many of you enjoyed the end of Fourth Year and Neville's fight against Crouch.

Now, on with the story. Despite me not being particularly happy with it, I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else from the wonderful mind of JK Rowling, they belong solely to her and Warner Bros.

Thoughts

"Speech"

"French Speech"

'Spells'

My summer had started very well, spending some time at home with my grandmother and the occasional extended family member visiting. Gran seemed to be prouder than ever of me following the events at the end of the school year, boasting to anyone who would listen about how I had avenged my parents and what a great wizard I was becoming. It had been a little embarrassing, but I took a lot of pleasure in the genuine happiness and fondness I could see in her when she spoke about it. Not that we had ever been distant before, but my victory over Crouch had brought the two of us closer, seeming to heal some of Gran's wounds that had been left by him and the others when they attacked my parents.

However, after an enjoyable week or so of being at home, it was finally time for me to travel to France and visit Fleur. I was simultaneously thrilled and apprehensive about the visit to her family home. On the one hand, I would get to see and spend time with Fleur again, and I would be able to get know her family better after the brief introduction we had before the final task. On the other hand, they had heard the rumours about Voldemort being back and Fleur had told me that they were in no uncertain terms pushing for her to remain in France. She had also explained in her last letter that they had deduced that I had been somewhat involved in what had happened at the end of the tournament and were understandably wary about their daughter being involved with me because of that.

Regardless of the possibilities, I made my way to the Ministry early in the morning. I had arranged in advance my travel plans and was ready to pick up my International Portkey which would bring me to the French Ministry shortly. I walked through the atrium, registering my wand with the security wizard before taking the lift down to the Department of Magical Transportation. After signing in and going past the reception desk, I filled out the required forms then was ushered through to one of the small rooms that were just off the main waiting area. Waiting inside was an old shoe, with a hole in the top.

"International Portkey, departing for the French Ministry of Magic in three minutes," the clerk who had led me in said, reading off the clipboard she was holding. "Have a pleasant journey Mr. Longbottom." With that, she turned and left, leaving me alone in the room.

I picked the shoe up, looking around the room as I waited for the Portkey to activate. Finally, after a dull few minutes of examining the plain grey walls, I felt the characteristic tugging sensation in my navel, before I was suddenly staggering in an entirely different room. The previous dull grey was replaced with a light pattern of white and blue, as I slowly brought my balance back under control. There had not been too much of a difference between this Portkey and the one I had taken last summer to the Quidditch World Cup, the only noticeable change being my loss of balance being greater this time around.

"Bonjour Monsieur Longbottom," a voice in front of me spoke. I looked up, seeing a harried looking wizard in pale blue robes. "If you would please exit the Portkey arrival chamber, I believe your escort is waiting for you outside."

I thanked the man, before following his directions and making my way out of the room I had arrived in. I had hoped to be met by Fleur, but was not entirely surprised to see Sebastian Delacour waiting for me instead. The opportunity to interrogate me without her there must have been too good an opportunity for him, I thought wryly to myself as I walked over.

"Good morning Mr. Delacour," I said as I approached him, putting my many hours of French practice to good use. "It is good to see you once again."

He seemed a little surprised that I had been able to greet him in French, but recovered quickly. "Good morning to you as well Neville, and I am sure that I said before for you to call me Sebastian," he said as he shook my hand. "Come, let us walk to the reception area, I will Apparate us from there."

The two of us began to walk, with me following his lead as he led us through the French Ministry. It didn't take long before he began asking me some questions, "So Neville, I have heard from my daughter and my colleagues here at the Ministry some interesting things about the state of affairs in Britain. Both for the country generally and you in particular. Would you care to elaborate?"

"Well, I guess the place to start is with some context," I began, thinking carefully about how best to try and explain the situation, "I assume you are familiar with Voldemort's first rise to power and the almost civil war that came with it?" I asked, receiving a curt nod in reply. "Well, my family was quite heavily involved in the war. My parents in particular were ardent opponents of Voldemort and battled against him and his followers on many occasions." Sebastian's eyebrows had been rising as I spoke, clearly unaware of how involved my family had personally been. "Unfortunately this made them a target. In the aftermath of Voldemort's fall, several of his most loyal Death Eaters targeted my parents and tortured them into insanity," I said, keeping a straight face despite the pain that speaking about this brought up.

Sebastian looked towards me, sympathy clear to see in his eyes. "A tragic story," he said. "But I am not sure of the relevance to what happened this year and your involvement?"

"Well that is it you see," I said. "The Death Eater I attacked at the end of the year was one of the ones who had assaulted my parents."

"And that is why you did it?" Sebastian asked, looking at me intently.

"No," I said resolutely. "Not entirely at least. Whilst that was certainly a motivating factor in my decision, and perhaps part of why I did it alone, I would have done my best to apprehend him regardless."

"And why is that?" He asked.

"Because I have chosen my side. Easily at that. I will not stand by while Voldemort once again rises, nor will I let what happened to my parents happen to another, not while I can do something about it!" I said, my resolve firm as I stopped and looked towards him.

"So you would fight in your coming war, if indeed your Dark Lord has returned?" Sebastian asked, staring back at me.

"Yes," I replied, "He represents almost everything that I oppose in this world. The bigotry that I hate, the intolerance that I cannot stand, the fear that people shouldn't have to live under. It is not the safe or easy route, but it is one that I have to walk."

He looked very surprised by my response, obviously not expecting that level of conviction to come from an almost fifteen year old. "I see," he said, looking at me in a new light, before his eyes hardened once again. "Regardless of your conviction, which I applaud, the fact of the matter is that you are going to be involved in the conflict that you believe will come. Heavily so I would expect, judging by what you have said. Now, whilst I understand somewhat why you are set on that course, it does not change the fact that I do not want my daughter dragged into it."

"What are you saying?" I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"Frankly, I do not want you seeing my daughter at all, let alone bringing her back to Britain with you!" Sebastian said.

"I see," I said, steeling myself for the unpleasant conversation that was to come. "I think you have misunderstood the situation somewhat."

"Oh?" He said, raising an eyebrow sharply.

"Firstly, I did not decide to bring Fleur back to Britain," I began nervously. "Her decision was made long before she even met me, when she applied for the job at Gringotts that she now has. The fact that it suits the two of us very well is a happy coincidence, but make no mistake, Fleur chose this path. As for not seeing your daughter, respectfully, I must say that that is not your decision to make."

By this point, he was practically glaring at me and his eyebrows seemed to have almost reached his hairline. "Is that so, and how will you stop me?" He asked.

"I won't, nor is it my place to," I replied. "Fleur is very much capable of making her own decisions on the situation. I feel strongly for your daughter, and I will continue to be with her for as long as she allows me!"

He sighed heavily. "Good, you at least have a decent head on your shoulders when it comes to Fleur," he said, catching me off guard. Seemingly noticing my confusion at his sudden change in behaviour, he explained, "I am aware that I cannot control Fleur, despite me sometimes wishing that wasn't the case. Whilst I would much prefer that she would remain in France and not associate with you, I know that I cannot stop her. However, I can at least make sure that you convictions are strong."

"They are," I assured him.

He nodded as he looked at me, "Yes, I think I believe you. Or at least, I believe that you believe in yourself." He paused once again, "And I also believe that you will do everything in your power to keep my daughter safe." Despite it being phrased as a statement, the implied question was clear to me.

"I will." I assured him, "I may not have known your daughter for all that long, but make no mistake as to how important she is to me," I added, trying to convey fully how much Fleur meant to me.

"Good. That is good," Sebastian said, before turning back and once again leading the way through the French Ministry.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, both of us contemplating the conversation we had just had. There really is very little I would not do for Fleur. Precious little else comes close to how important she has become to me. Finally we reached the reception area and, after ensuring I was prepared, Sebastian took a hold of my shoulder and apparated us.

We arrived in a beautiful reception room, decorated in a tasteful light blue colour and with a fantastic view out into an orchard through the large glass windows. There were paintings of whom I could only assume were Sebastian's ancestors littering the walls. It's strange, I thought to myself as I looked around, it seems much more common for distinctive physical features to be passed down through the generations of magical families than muggle families. I could see from the portraits that Sebastian himself shared features with several of the people depicted, and could even spot a woman who had Fleur's nose among them. I had seen this in my own family's portraits as well, having noticed several of my ancestors who shared similar features to me.

Having given me a little time to look around, Sebastian gestured for me to follow him as he led me out of the room. We walked through the oak panelled corridors of the house, before he led me into what I assumed was their living room. Inside were the rest of the family: Fleur, Gabrielle and Appoline. Fleur quickly stood up from where she had been chatting to her sister, rushing over to me and pulling me into a tight hug, before drawing back and kissing me lightly.

"I 'ave missed you," she whispered to me as she broke the kiss. We were interrupted before I could respond by an amused cough from Appoline. We both blushed in response to being caught up in the moment, drawing a small laugh from Appoline and a giggle from Gabrielle.

I greeted both Appoline and Gabrielle after that with the traditional European kiss on both cheeks. With those pleasantries out of the way, the five of us spent some time talking. Most of the conversation focused around me, with Fleur's family trying to get a better grasp of me, though I did manage to get some of my own questions in as well.

Sebastian seemed to have been satisfied with the questions he had asked me on our way here, so most of the questions came from Appoline and Gabrielle. There was an amusing dichotomy between the two's questions; Appoline focused on asking me questions about my family and what I wanted to do in the future, whilst Gabrielle focused on asking me questions about my dates with Fleur and trying to pull out any embarrassing moments.

In turn, I asked a little more about what Fleur's parents did. Appoline explained that she mostly managed the family's estate, which comprised of the manor and three hundred acres of assorted orchards and land. In addition, she also ran a small apothecary business, selling some of the ingredients they grew on their land that had medicinal purposes. After his wife had finished, Sebastian described his role at the French Ministry where he was the deputy of their International Relations department. Not wanting to be left out, Gabrielle then went on to tell us all about her life and how excited she was to be starting at Beauxbatons next year, much to the amusement of the four of us.

After the interrogatory start to the trip, the rest of the time I spent in France was more than pleasant. Fleur and I spent lots of time together alone, taking trips to the different parts of magical France. Fleur delighted in showing off some of the more impressive locations, including her preferred pâtisserie which we visited a fair few times whilst I was there. We also took the opportunity to visit some of Fleur's favourite romantic locations around the country, which culminated in the two of us having a beautiful candlelit dinner overlooking the French Riviera.

We made sure to spend time with her family doing some activities as well. Aside from a few walks around the family's beautiful grounds, the five of us also attended a magical circus that was visiting Paris. It was an amazing spectacle and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it. The first part of the performance was a display from a group of Firedrakes, whose sparkling tails were used to create wondrous images as they performed. The finale involved a beautiful pair of Occamies, to much wonder from the crowd. It was breathtaking to see the beautiful creatures flying around the tent, their shimmering scales flashing in the magically lit space.

Eventually though, my week in France at the Delacour's came to an end. Fleur and I had packed our bags, as she was coming back to Britain with me to stay at Longbottom manor for a week, and were readying ourselves to leave when her parents called the two of us down. We entered the sitting room they were in and the two of us took a seat opposite them. They both looked serious and that, coupled with Gabrielle not being present, clued me in for what this was about.

"Before the two of you leave, we wanted to talk with you," Appoline said, starting the conversation. "It is clear from the time that you have spent here Neville, how close the two of you are, and that this is not just some fleeting romance."

At this point Sebastian picked up the conversation, "We know and accept that we cannot tell you what you are and are not allowed to do, Fleur. In light of that and the discussion that I had with Neville when he arrived here a week ago, we want to give you our blessing to go to Britain."

"We know that it is what you want to do Fleur and that, regardless of the danger, your mind won't be changed," Appoline continued. "We also know that because of this decision of yours and Neville's conviction on the topic, the two of you are going to be dragged into the coming war."

"I am not happy with our daughter becoming involved in that," Sebastian said, looking at me sharply, before he sighed, "But I understand that you are going to be Fleur. So rather than rail against what is going to happen, instead we will offer what support we can. Our home will always be open to the two of you if you need it and please don't hesitate to tell us if and when you need our support. There might not be all that much we can do, but what we can do, we will."

"And I have a gift for you Fleur. I spoke to your grandmother and she has given me this to pass onto you," Appoline gently said, taking a book from the table beside her and handing it over to Fleur. "It is a memoir from one of the Veela warriors of old, and it details much of the training and techniques that she used. I hope that there is something in there that will help to keep you safe."

"Thank you maman," Fleur whispered, looking a little teary eyed.

"Keep each other safe through what is to come," Sebastian said firmly.

"We will," I resolutely replied.

It was touching to get the approval of Fleur's parents for her still moving to Britain. She had confided in me that she would go regardless, but I knew how much this would mean to her. On top of that, the conversation was a vote of confidence from the two of them with regards to mine and Fleur's relationship, as if they didn't think it was going to last then I was sure that they would be adamant that she should not go.

After that final conversation with her parents, Fleur and I had gone to the French Ministry, where we had taken our scheduled Portkey back to Britain. On arrival, we had been met by my grandmother, who had escorted the two of us back to Longbottom manor. There seemed to be some tension between Fleur and my grandmother, with the latter sending suspicious looks towards Fleur as we walked. Well, this is not going to end well given neither of them are exactly one to avoid confrontation. I can see this blowing up very quickly.

A couple of days later, when Fleur was at Gringotts organising the start of her new job, I took the opportunity to ask Gran what the problem was.

"Gran, I've been meaning to ask, do you have a problem with Fleur?" I asked.

She seemed surprised at my question, before quickly schooling her face into a blank expression. "I have no idea what you are talking about Neville," she said.

"Please don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about Gran. Playing dumb doesn't suit you," I replied. "I've noticed the tension between the two of you and the looks you've sent her. Please tell me, what is the problem?"

"I don't like it, your relationship with her," Gran said. "She's too old for you and I don't understand why the two of you would be together if she wasn't getting something from you!"

"Gran," I sighed. I thought this might be the problem. "The age difference just isn't that important to her because of her heritage as a Veela. To her, the strength and maturity of my magic and my personality are much more important than age, which is a good thing. We're together because we genuinely enjoy being with each other."

"And why are you with her?" She asked, sounding more curious than angry now. "Is it her looks?"

"I'm not that shallow!" I said, a little offended at the insinuation. "Whilst I appreciate how beautiful Fleur is, the main reason I want to be with her is that she understands me better than anyone else. I've always been a little different than my peers, but that's not the case with Fleur. She just understands me."

The two of us carried on talking and, with her initial hostility out of the way, Gran listened as I told her more about Fleur and about our relationship. By the end, she still seemed a little confused as to why we would choose to be with each other, but was accepting of it at least. From that point on, the tension that had been there between Fleur and my grandmother disappeared, Fleur being willing to put it behind her after I spoke to her as well.

*line break*

A few days later, Fleur had excitedly told me that she had found where she was going to live. She apparated me to Diagon Alley and led me down the street, past Gringotts and into Horizont Alley. About halfway down the street, she spun in place and gestured to the building we were standing outside of.

"Ta Da! This is it!" Fleur said excitedly.

"Wow! This is an amazing location!" I said, smiling at the happy look on her face.

"Yes, well with a contract of employment from the Goblins and the money I 'ave saved up over the years, I was able to get a pretty nice place," she replied, before fishing a key out of her purse.

Fleur placed the key in the fourth lock down on the door and there was a whirring noise as she turned it in the lock. Seeing my questioning look, she explained, "Ze building functions like one of those trunks with multiple compartments. Depending on which key is used in which lock, a different apartment is reached. I think they said there is a total of twenty two or three bedroom flats 'ere!"

"Wow, that's amazing," I said. "I didn't realise that they used that sort of magic outside of trunks and the like. I guess it makes sense though when space is at a premium like it is in London, particularly here in the Alley."

"Exactly," she said. "Anyway, let me show you inside."

Fleur led me inside the building and I felt a weird tingle as the magic on the entrance washed over me. I wonder how this works exactly; my best guess would be a large expanded space inside and some sort of protean linked gateway into the correct flat based on the key. We walked down a short corridor, before it opened up into an elegant open plan kitchen and living room area. She excitedly showed me around, pointing out all the key features and showing me the bedrooms.

After she finished showing me around, Fleur turned to face me. "So what do you think?" She asked excitedly.

"It's great, it seems like a lovely place," I replied, smiling at her childlike happiness about it all.

"It is, isn't it," she exclaimed, before pulling me into an excited kiss. The kiss quickly evolved into a deeper kiss as she pushed me onto the sofa in the living room, before pulling back. Fleur looked at me through her eyelashes, panting slightly, before smirking as she said, "And we 'ave it all to ourselves!"

After some very enjoyable time making out in Fleur's new apartment, the two of us returned to Longbottom manor. My birthday was tomorrow and, despite having arranged to have a shared event with Harry tomorrow at Grimmauld Place, my grandmother wanted to have a small family event today.

The day started well, with a lovely breakfast put on by the house elves. After that, Gran escorted Fleur and I to St. Mungo's. It always felt bittersweet to visit my parents here. I loved seeing them and cherished these times, but it was nonetheless always painful to see them in this state. Fleur gripped my hand tightly as we entered the ward, knowing how hard it was for me to see them.

They were laid out on the beds as they always were, a Mediwizard tending to them. My father was in the furthest bed, laying unblinkingly on his sheets. In all my visits, I had never seen him move or react to anything, and painfully this time was no different. My mother was on the nearer bed and she stirred as we came through the door.

She looked up as I sat down beside her, gesturing for Fleur to take the seat next to me as Gran went over to my dad. My mum looked up, her glassy eyes staring past the two of us to the wall behind. Fleur looked uncertainly at me, but I just smiled sadly before turning back to my mother.

"Hey mum, it's me Neville, your son," I said gently as I took her hand. At the contact, her gaze swung round to me, but she seemed to be staring through me. I hope there's still some part of her in there, I thought sadly.

"I've brought someone very special to visit you. This is Fleur, my girlfriend," I said, before gesturing to Fleur to speak.

"Hello Alice," Fleur said slowly, looking unsure of what she wanted to say. "It is good to meet you. Neville 'as told me a lot about you in our time together, 'e is very proud of you."

I smiled at Fleur's words before my eyes widened when I saw my mother smile. She wasn't looking at Fleur or me as she did so, but she had definitely smiled just as Fleur finished speaking. I gripped her hand tighter as I said, "I am mum, I am so very proud to be the son of both you and dad."

As I finished speaking, my mum smiled once again. She still wasn't looking at us, but it seemed too much of a coincidence for it to have happened twice. I quickly called Gran and the Mediwizard over, explaining to both of them what had happened. They both looked excited and became even more so after I demonstrated it happening again, telling my mum once more how proud of her I was and how much I loved her.

The Mediwizard seemed very excited at the reaction from her, explaining that signs of her reacting like that proved that at least some small part of her was still conscious inside her body. It was amazing news, there really is very little more I could have asked for on my birthday, I thought to myself happily as the three of us left the hospital and headed back to the manor.

The rest of the day passed quickly as I rode on the high from our earlier visit to the hospital. Gran had only invited a few of her close relatives and, aside from answering a few questions about my capture of Crouch, Fleur and I weren't bothered or questioned too much by the guests. I received a few thoughtful gifts, including a promise of some lessons in the family's healing magic from my great uncle Algie who was quite contrite over his treatment of me as a child.

The remainder of that day and the day that followed had been great. The joint celebration with Harry had been a particular highlight, as Sirius put on a fantastic party for the two of us and our friends. I introduced Fleur properly to the others from our school year who had been invited, though most still weren't able to talk to her properly. Despite that, it had been really fun and I made sure to split my time between Harry, Ron and Hermione, Fleur, and the other guests.

Harry and I had also received some fantastic gifts. From Sirius, Harry had received an enchanted pair of glasses as well as a dragon hide vest that he could wear under his normal clothes. The glasses had been enchanted to resist being summoned, removing one of Harry's most exploitable weaknesses, as well as having a few other special qualities. I could guess at some of them as Sirius whispered to Harry, who flushed bright red sending an inadvertent glance towards Hermione.

For me, Sirius had gifted a series of metal bangles, each around an inch and a half wide and made of various metals. This had come following the discovery that my control of earth also extended to the more magically reactive metals, such as silver, gold and titanium. Whilst they were decorative, the main purpose of them was my ability to use them in battle. The titanium one had been enchanted to be as close as was possible to being unbreakable, and would serve as a fantastic shield for me to use. The gold and silver ones I had a more offensive use in mind for. As well as being magically reactive, gold and silver were also both fantastic conductors. Consequently, they could serve as lightning rods for Harry's power if I could spike bits into our opponents, something that Harry and I were looking forward to practicing.

Fleur had also given me a beautiful gift, an artfully crafted wooden locket with a picture of the two of us from the Yule Ball on the inside. I was touched at the obviously hand made gift, but it turned out to be even better than I thought.

Having given me the locket, Fleur pulled me aside, "Neville, the locket I 'ave given you is more than it appears."

"How so?" I asked curiously.

She blushed lightly, before she replied, "Well, I 'ad it carved from rowan wood, the same as your wand, and if you look around the edge you can see a slightly raised groove," I checked where she was indicating, and sure enough there was a narrow raised line running around the outside of the locket. "Inside that is a strand of my hair," Fleur said. "It obviously won't work as well as a real wand, but I think it might allow you to cast some basic magic through it, given how close we are."

I smiled softly at her, very touched by the gift. I knew from my reading on Veela that this was a big gesture from Fleur because a Veela's hair was very important to them and the most magical part of them as well. "Thank you Fleur," I said to her softly, before I pulled her in for a light kiss. "This means a lot to me."

Pulling back, I focused on the locket round my neck, focusing on making it glow. Sure enough, a soft golden light was emitted from the locket as soon as I did, causing both of us to smile.

Our moment together was broken when shouts broke out from the rest of the party and the two of us quickly moved back over to join everyone else, though we stayed hand in hand. The rest of the party was good fun and, soon after the presents, Sirius pulled out an old fashioned record player and set some music playing. Everyone began to dance, and I spent the rest of the evening with Fleur in my arms as we too danced. This is a perfect way to spend my birthday. I am surrounded by my friends, with the girl I now know for sure that I love in my arms.

Only days later though, my streak of happy days abruptly came to an end. Barty Crouch Jr. found dead in his cell! Read the headline of the Daily Prophet in front of me, causing me to swear angrily under my breath.

"Language Neville," Gran said, though she too looked angry at the news.

"Why is this so bad? This is the man who tortured your parents, surely you are not terribly un'appy zat he is dead?" Fleur asked.

"It's not that," I replied. "I'm perfectly fine with the scumbag being dead. It's that it happened on the day he was supposed to be tried."

"Without him as a witness, the Ministry is no longer going to be forced to admit the Death Eaters or Voldemort are back," Gran explained, getting a look of understating from Fleur. "They'll be able to sweep it all under the rug."

"Was 'is testimony not taken before? Could zat not be used in place of 'im?" Fleur asked.

"No, the Minister insisted that it happen only before the full Wizengamot, which is rather suspicious in light of this," I added. "I wonder if Fudge made that decision deliberately or was just manipulated or bribed into it?"

"Whilst an interesting question Neville, I am not sure that it really matters," Gran said.

She was about to speak further, when a loud boom crashed through the room, cutting any further conversation off.

"What was that?" Fleur asked, looking unsteady on her feet.

I looked over to my Gran, only to see her wide eyed. "Someone just broke through the outer wards," she said grimly, eyes hardening as she did.

"Do you have time to raise the war wards?" I asked, knowing the family mansion had a much stronger and more aggressive set, but that they weren't normally up.

"No, unfortunately with them already inside, it won't do us any good," she replied.

"Who is coming?" Fleur asked, looking shocked and concerned over what was happening.

"I don't know for sure, but I can only assume it's the Death Eaters," I said, trying to calm myself as I prepared for the fight I was sure was about to happen.

"Merde!" Fleur swore, before she turned to me. "I am with you Neville, we will face zem together!"

"Are you sure, you can probably still …" I went to say, but the look in her eyes stopped me part way through. "Thank you Fleur," I said, grabbing her hand.

"Always," she said, looking strongly at me as we waited for the attackers to arrive.

I was about to tell her that I loved her, when I heard a spell crash into the front door. "When we get through this, there is something I have to tell you," I said to Fleur.

"I know," she said, smiling cheekily at me, momentarily lightening the tense atmosphere, before we both focused up. Giving her hand one last squeeze, I let go and prepared myself.

While Fleur and I had been speaking, Gran had sent a message to the Aurors that we were under attack, but all three of us knew that they wouldn't get here in time. I poked my head out of the window, counting the black robed figures approaching the manor before ducking back inside, narrowly missing a distinctive green curse that flew right through the spot where my head had just been.

"There's five of them," I said, getting nods of acknowledgement from the other two. "When they break through the door, everyone fire the most powerful offensive spell you can toward the entrance, then we'll retreat further into the manor. Try and keep forcing them through choke points and hopefully we can take a few of them out before we have to fight them fairly."

Gran looked a little surprised at my taking charge, but nonetheless moved into a position to carry out my plan. I'll go with the blasting curse first, I thought, I'm not sure how much resistance they are expecting, but hopefully our attack will catch them a little off guard.

I started focusing my intent for the spell to come, as well as starting to pool my magic in preparation. I was aiming for this first spell to cause significant damage, even if they didn't get hit by it full on. Beside me I saw Fleur's features turn slightly more avian and wisps of flame start to flicker at the end of her wand.

I heard the first crash against the front door and let my magic build within me, heading towards a crescendo. Somehow I knew that my magic would peak at just the right moment, which was why when it did, I let the blasting curse explode out of my wand.

'Confringo!' I roared, my wand bucking in my hand as the bright white curse rocketed towards the door, just as it burst open and the first Death Eater strolled inside.

My curse barrelled into the Death Eater, detonating as it hit him squarely in the midriff. He looked wide eyed with shock in the brief glimpse of him that I had before the curse ripped him apart, blowing chunks of him back out of the door. Everyone on both sides seemed to freeze at the Death Eater's death, the two others who had followed him in covered in his blood as they stared up at me in shock.

The moment broke as the fireball Fleur had launched approached the Death Eater pair. It felt like years had passed, but in reality it could have only been half a second at most. I just killed someone, I thought to myself, a strange sense of detachment coming over me.

I watched as the Death Eaters, hastily put up a shield that buckled under the power of Fleur fire, before breaking entirely as Gran's curse crashed into it. It seemed to have done its job though, as the fire didn't burn them and the curse, which must have been some sort of cutting curse, only scored a thin line on the Death Eater on our right.

With a yell of anger, the four of them launched a variety of darkly coloured curses towards the three of us. Guessing what they had been planning to do, I had laid my hand on the stone bannister in front of us, manipulating the stone to form a barrier covering us. We used the opportunity to retreat back through the door into the main hall of the manor, though I did take the opportunity to fling another blasting curse towards the Death Eaters to hold them up.

"Right, we have another choke point here when they come through the doors," I said to Fleur and my Gran. "If we all make sure to cast simultaneously we should be able to break through any barrier they put up and take another one of them down."

I moved to begin raising a few stone barriers out of the floor, giving us a covered route towards the back of the hall, when I realised that neither of them had moved. Turning back towards them, I saw they were both staring at me wide eyed.

"What?" I asked, feeling self conscious at their looks.

"You… You killed that man Neville," Gran said, staring at me in shock. "Why did you do that?"

"What did you expect me to do?" I asked, feeling bewildered. "They've come here and broken into our home to kill us. I only just dodged a killing curse that they sent through the window earlier!"

"But… But shouldn't we just be trying to capture them?" She asked.

"Look," I said seriously, "In an ideal world sure. But this isn't an ideal world or situation. I'm not going to kid myself that I outclass them enough to be able to capture them safely without putting you two or myself at risk, so I'm not going to try to. I'm disgusted with myself for killing him and I'm feeling pretty numb, but I honestly couldn't live with myself if one of you was killed by them because I didn't do everything I could to stop them!"

Gran looked shaken at what I had said and Fleur looked like she wanted to say something, but before she could we heard the sound of the Death Eaters approaching. The three of us quickly made our way behind the closest of the barriers I had made and prepared ourselves for the fighting to start again.

The doors were blasted open, but this time, none of them brazenly walked through like before. As two of them slowly entered, a powerful looking Protego shield held in front of them, I slowly counted down on my fingers to Gran and Fleur. When I reached one, we stood up and launched our spells.

Fleur sent another ball of roiling flames towards them as Gran sent another cutting curse. This time I focused on the ground and forced two chunks of stone to explode out of the ground behind the Death Eaters, knocking them forward and causing them to lose focus enough that their shield wavered.

This time, with the two of them off balance and their shield already weakened, Fleur and Gran's spells broke through with a lot more force, catching the two Death Eaters and causing them to collapse to the floor. The one on the left was bleeding profusely from the stump of his right arm, Gran's curse having literally disarmed him. The other was rolling around trying to put out the flames on his cloak, screaming as he burned from Fleur's unnaturally hot flames.

We stayed crouched behind our cover to see what the last two would do. However, instead of them following the others in, I heard one of them shout, "Screw this, I'm not getting killed like this!" Before the distinctive crack of Apparition sounded, quickly followed by the fifth Death Eater cursing and following suit with another crack of Apparition.

The three of us stayed crouched for another thirty seconds, cautious of any sort of deception. When nothing happened, we carefully stood up, Gran in particular looking shellshocked. I made my way over to the two Death Eaters to check on them. The first had passed out from blood-loss I assumed, so I quickly cauterised the wound before checking on the other. He had managed to put the flames out, but was lying on the ground whimpering in pain. I quickly stunned him, before making my way back over to Fleur and Gran.

I went to say something, but words failed me. What do you say in a situation like this? I asked myself. I still felt numb, but as I thought back to the first spell I had cast, I felt more and more sick at what had happened. Realising I was about to be sick, I turned away from the other two before violently retching onto the floor. I stayed hunched over, as I felt someone approach me from behind. Fleur's soft hands swept across either side of my neck, pulling my hair back and out of the way. She stayed there rubbing my back as I continued to be sick, comforting me.

Finally, after what felt like hours in the wake of the fight, but could only have been ten minutes at most, the three of us heard the distinctive crack of Apparition. I tried to stand up straight in case it was another attack, but failed to as my stomach cramped from the retching, pulling me back down into a hunched over position.

"It is the Aurors," I heard Gran say. "They have finally arrived."

A detachment of ten Aurors had arrived, presumably because of the importance of House Longbottom. The three of us slowly moved out to meet them and I spotted several of them looking around in shock at the remnants of the battle in the reception hall. A couple of the younger looking ones looked pretty ill at the sight of the first Death Eater who had met his end at my blasting curse.

At this point, my Gran took the lead. She walked over to the Auror in charge and began explaining what had happened. The Auror, who I didn't recognise, listened closely to her explanation. Once she had finished, he looked over at me and Fleur, an inscrutable expression on his face.

"If it is alright with you ma'am, we'll need to check each of your wands and take statements from each of you," he said in a deep bass voice.

Gran looked irritated, but agreed nonetheless. The three of us were then taken into separate rooms, by a couple of Aurors each, whilst the remaining Aurors began to move round the manor collecting evidence. I spotted one of them slap Portkeys down onto the two unconscious Death Eaters, before they disappeared in a blue flash.

The questioning was pretty standard. The simply asked me to recount my version of events, one of them taking notes as I did. At the end, the older one took my wand and moved his own over it, muttering something under his breath, that I couldn't hear, as he did so. Out of the end of my wand flashed miniature versions of the spells I had cast, which the other Auror dutifully noted down. They had both looked shocked at my admittance that it was me who had cast the blasting curse which had killed the first Death Eater. The younger one looked like he wanted to say something, but was stopped by a sharp look from his superior.

"Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Longbottom. We'll be in touch if we have any more questions," the Auror who had been taking notes said, as they led me back out of the room.

I found Fleur and my Gran waiting in the hall with the other Aurors. With their initial checks and examinations complete, the lead Auror thanked Gran, before the group of them Apparated away.

"I'm going to follow them to the Ministry," Gran said. "With what happened to Crouch, we have a perfect opportunity to catch these scum on the back foot. I'll push for the Minister to call an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot tomorrow to try the two Death Eaters we caught here."

"That's a great idea Gran," I said, mentally applauding her initiative. "Hopefully with this, we'll still be able to prove to Fudge that Voldemort is back and that the Death Eaters are active once again."

She nodded resolutely, before Apparating away as well. With that, just Fleur and I were left in the manor. The two of us began the arduous process of restoring the manor to its undamaged state, though this was made somewhat easier by me being able to manipulate the stone that made up the floor and most of the damage. Whilst I worked on that, Fleur fixed the other damage that had happened to things like the windows and doors.

It didn't take us too long, only an hour or so, to get the place fully cleaned up. After that and with nothing left to distract me, I finally began to think about what had just happened. I killed a man, I thought as the numbness began to creep back into me. I had objectively known that was what would happen if the curse hit him, but I didn't think it would be like that. There was so much blood! I thought morbidly, remembering how his body was blown to pieces. The Aurors had practically had to scoop up his remains to transport them.

Before I could sink any further into my thoughts, I felt arms wrap around me from behind. Fleur pulled me down so that my head was in her lap as she stroked my hair and I realised suddenly that there were tears streaming out of my eyes.

"It eez ok Neville," she whispered to me. "I am 'ere with you."

"You… You aren't horrified by me after what I did?" I asked, choking out the words, afraid to look up at her and see rejection in her eyes.

"No, of course not," she replied firmly. "I was shocked, certainly. Shaken as well. But not by you, all I saw from you was the intent to defend me, your Gran and yourself."

"I can't believe I killed someone," I whispered, the tears increasing as I spoke in a broken voice. "I'm a killer now."

"No, you are not!" Fleur said resolutely. "Look at me Neville," she paused as I turned my head up to her, "You did the right thing, there was no alternative! If you hadn't done that then they would likely have killed us or worse! You are not a killer, you are a defender!"

I didn't have the words to respond to that, so I just wrapped my arms around her waist and held her close to me as I slowly began to calm down. At some point I began to drift off in Fleur's lap, with her hand still stroking my head tenderly. I really am very lucky to have Fleur in my life, I thought.

"I love you Fleur," I said sleepily, looking up into her beautiful blue eyes. "I feel so lucky to have met you."

"I love you too, Neville," she replied, smiling beautifully down at me.

AN: Big chapter content wise! Let me know in the reviews what you think. I moved the rating of the story up to M due to the fight scene to err on the side of caution.

So Longbottom Manor was attacked, unlike the original series. Neville's interference at the end of Fourth Year seems to have prompted a response from the Death Eaters, but they were not expecting him, his Gran and Fleur to be able to fight back like that! Next time we will get to see the fallout from the attack and what repercussions it has for both sides.