Starting School

"Seeing Harry again was just as much of a wonderful surprise! I love surprises like this!" Sirius stared wide-eyed at them, then dashed over like a child and gave them both a fierce hug.

Harry, standing nearby, had never met the Longbottom couple before and had no idea who they were. But judging by Sirius's reaction and the fact that they had arrived with the Longbottoms, he could make a pretty good guess.

Still, to avoid the awkwardness of guessing wrong, Harry first moved closer to Neville and asked carefully, "Are these two your...?"

"Yeah." Neville's eyes were bright with joy. "They're my mum and dad."

"Oh... why have you never mentioned them before?" As Neville's friend, Harry often shared stories about their families with him and Ron. Though his own parents had been gone for years, Harry had never avoided talking about them.

But Neville was the only one among them who had never talked about his parents. He often mentioned his grandmother, Augusta, instead, so Harry had assumed that Neville's parents had passed away too, just like his own. It turned out they were still alive.

"Well... it's a long story." Neville gave a bitter smile. "My parents were both Aurors during the war. The Death Eaters tortured them so badly that they lost their minds, and they spent years receiving treatment at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."

"I see." Harry finally understood and nodded. No wonder the Longbottoms looked more haggard than Sirius. Sirius had served time in Azkaban, which had made him look older than most people, but the Longbottoms looked even worse than Harry's godfather. It was because they had once been so gravely injured.

"So your parents have finally recovered?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah!" Neville nodded emphatically. "I have Uncle Wilson