Neville's Mother... and Candy Wrappers / Potted Plants and a Foiled Scheme

If I could turn back the clock by an hour, I would be extra careful, extremely careful, and so on when I start over...

"Alright, hurry up and knock on the door!" Just as Harry was lost in thought, Hermione gave him a gentle nudge from behind.

Judging from her expression, she seemed to have chosen to let the matter drop.

However, only the girl herself knew exactly how much Hermione rolled her eyes in her mind.

Although it was indeed unintentional, it may have foreshadowed some kind of expectation he had...

Haha, men~

"I heard this ward is usually locked, only open when the attending therapist comes... wait, why is the door open?"

Harry reached out to knock, but the door opened by itself after he touched it.

"The therapist probably forgot to turn it off when they left," Luna Lovegood guessed.

"Anyway, let's go in and take a look."

After scanning the corridor and finding no sign of a therapist, Harry decided it would be better to go into the ward first.

If the therapist really isn't there, he might have a chance to properly examine Bertha Jorkins' condition.

He led the two women inside and found that the ward was indeed like the patients' long-term home, with the patients' personal belongings piled up around the beds, even more than Filch had kept in the janitor's hut.

On a nearby bed lay a sallow-faced, gloomy-looking wizard, staring at the ceiling and muttering to himself, seemingly oblivious to Harry and the others' arrival.

Two beds away from him was a hairy witch. When she met Harry's gaze, she suddenly barked loudly, which piqued Harry's interest.

Judging from her condition, it seems that something went wrong when she was casting Animagus or a similar spell, causing her body and voice to become beast-like, and it will be difficult for her to return to normal.

Harry is currently very interested in the process of transforming from a beast back into a human, so he is quite curious about this case.

"Harry, look over there." Hermione said, pointing ahead.

Following the direction she was pointing, Harry saw someone he knew.

He had blond curly hair, bright blue eyes, and dazzling white teeth, but the smile on his face looked rather blank.

Gilderoy Lockhart.

He was wearing a light purple robe and looked no different than before... provided he wasn't grinning like an idiot.

"Haha, do you need my autograph?" he asked enthusiastically, pulling a worn-out quill pen from his pocket. "As many as you want, no problem! I can write cursive now!"

"Never mind, we don't need it at all." Hermione quickly and awkwardly shook her head upon seeing this.

Lockhart himself, along with his signature and other related elements, will instantly remind Hermione of her rather incomprehensible fan behavior from back then.

As it turns out, this guy who seemed nice to his female fans was no good person at all... Didn't he end up in jail?

However, Hermione isn't actually the most extreme fangirl.

Harry later heard that some Lockhart fans had even planned a prison break, but unfortunately, they couldn't find Azkaban and had to abandon their terrible idea.

Of course, Harry's concern for Lockhart wasn't because he was interested in the man, but because he noticed that Lockhart seemed to be recovering quite well.

He at least knows how to read, and he can even accurately pronounce a fan's name: 'Gladys Gugion'.

So it seems that memory impairment is not entirely hopeless...

Thinking this, Harry turned his gaze to the bed next to Lockhart, where a witch in her thirties lay, her expression extremely blank, her eyes vacant, showing no reaction to anything around her.

Bertha Jorkins, the last time Harry saw her, she was a walking corpse controlled by the Imperius Curse... but now that the Imperius Curse has been lifted, she has been reduced to something even worse than a walking corpse.

As for the corner of the room, there were two beds there, but they were tightly covered by curtains, seemingly to protect the patients' privacy.

Harry realized there were other people there, and one of them was someone he knew, so he immediately remembered whose bed it was.

Just as he was debating whether or not to say hello, the curtains were suddenly pulled open.

Suddenly, the three of them encountered a terrifying old witch, dressed in a green robe and with a vulture specimen adorning her hat.

Behind him followed a sullen-looking boy with a slightly round face.

"Neville?!"

Hermione exclaimed the other person's name in surprise, and the latter's body jerked as if a bullet had just grazed his shoulder.

The two people stared at each other, and the atmosphere suddenly became extremely awkward...

Chapter 672 Neville's Mother... and the Candy Wrapper

A chance visit to St Mungo's's at the tail end of Christmas, only to unexpectedly run into Neville in the hospital ward, was certainly an unexpected turn of events.

Neville, on the other side, was equally caught off guard, and he clearly didn't want to see his classmates here. His round face had turned purple, and he didn't even dare to meet the eyes of Harry and his two companions.

However, the old witch beside him didn't think so.

"Is this your friend, Neville, my little darling?" The old witch—presumably Neville's grandmother—approached the three of them with a friendly demeanor.

"Oh, right..." The other person scrutinized Harry closely, extending a claw-like hand towards him. "Of course I know who you are, Harry Granger. Neville speaks highly of you. I am his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Harry quickly and politely stepped forward to shake hands with the other person.

"As for you... you're Hermione Granger, right?" Mrs. Longbottom maintained her dignified demeanor, shaking hands with Hermione as well. "You're said to be a prominent figure at Hogwarts. And lastly... you're from the Lovegood family? Your father's magazine has been much better lately, though it used to be a complete mess."

"It's definitely become much more vulgar since someone got involved." Luna Lovegood reluctantly shook hands with the other person.

"Oh dear..." Harry shrugged slightly in exasperation upon hearing this.

This girl managed to offend both herself and Mrs. Longbottom with just one sentence, but the old lady didn't seem to care.

"I heard from Neville that you've helped him a lot, and even saved him not long ago." Mrs. Longbottom turned to Neville, scrutinizing her grandson with a stern look. "Neville is a good boy, but he doesn't have his father's talent. I must say, his parents..."

She turned her head towards the two beds inside, and the vulture on her hat began to tremble frighteningly.

"Neville's...parents?" Hermione turned her head in astonishment, only then realizing that Neville's parents were lying inside.

"Neville, haven't you told your friends about your parents before?" Mrs. Longbottom asked sharply, seeing Hermione's expression.

Neville, however, was just breathing heavily and shaking his head at the ceiling.

He didn't say anything, but a sense of sadness filled the air.

"Hmph, there's nothing shameful about it!" Mrs. Longbottom retorted angrily. "You should be proud, Neville! They sacrificed their health and sanity, not so that their only son would be ashamed of them!"

"I don't feel ashamed..." Neville lowered his head, offering a weak defense.

"You're behaving strangely." Mrs. Longbottom turned her head and looked haughtily at Harry and his two companions. "My son and daughter-in-law have been driven mad by the minions of the You-Know-Who. They were once Auror, highly respected in the Wizarding World."

"I know." Harry nodded heavily. "Frank and Alice Longbottom fought Voldemort three times; they are undoubtedly heroes!"

"That's right! That's exactly it... Alice, what's up?"

Perhaps hearing the commotion, Neville's mother slowly came out in her pajamas.

She was a very frail woman; her eyes appeared particularly large because of her thin cheeks, and her white hair was messy and dry.

She seemed unwilling or unable to speak, only gesturing timidly towards Neville with her hand, as if she were clutching something in her hand.

"Another one..." Mrs. Longbottom sighed wearily. "Very well, Alice... take it, Neville, whatever it is..."

Neville held out his hand, and his mother gave him a piece of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum wrapper, light blue, still retaining a faint candy flavor.

"Very good, dear." Mrs. Longbottom patted her daughter-in-law on the shoulder, feigning a happy expression.

Thank you, Mom.

Neville responded softly, carefully clutching the candy wrapper in his hand. Seeing this, his mother also staggered back to bed.

"Neville, throw the candy wrappers in the trash later. She's given you enough to cover your entire bedroom..."

Mrs. Longbottom sighed, but her eyes remained fixed on Harry. She felt that Harry seemed to be casting some kind of spell, but she couldn't be sure.

At the same time, Hermione also heard a voice that only she could hear.

Hermione, go with Luna Lovegood to the sixth floor and see if there's a suitable gift, preferably a potted plant...

Upon hearing this, the latter was taken aback for a moment, then apologized to the Longbottom family and hurriedly ran out of the ward with Luna Lovegood.

Neville seemed oblivious to the two women's actions; he simply stood there blankly, as if waiting for Harry's mockery.

But then he felt Harry's hand gently rest on his shoulder.

"Neville, relax a bit. At least they're still here, aren't they?"

"Harry..." Just those few words broke Neville's defenses instantly, and his eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Mrs. Longbottom, standing behind him, suddenly remembered that the boy comforting her grandson was the one who had truly lost his parents thirteen years ago!

But now, he has achieved far more than his parents, and many people even compare him directly to Dumbledore!

"Sigh, if only my Neville had half of your strength and talent..."

"You're mistaken, Mrs. Longbottom." Harry shook his head, then turned to look earnestly at Neville's grandmother. "Neville has always been strong and brave, and incredibly talented. He's just a bit naive, and sometimes he might inadvertently overlook his strengths, but his excellence is undeniable. And...didn't he tell you that in our second year, we worked together to resolve a school crisis and even received a special contribution award together?"

"You mean that trophy with so many names engraved on it? I thought it was just something you got incidentally..." Mrs. Longbottom said uncertainly.

"Of course not!" Harry shook his head in denial. "Neville has always been very good at Herbology. If it weren't for his careful cultivation, those life-saving Mandrake wouldn't have matured so quickly. In the end, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Even Dumbledore isn't without flaws... So you don't need to be so harsh on him, and you certainly shouldn't always focus on his shortcomings."

"This..." Mrs. Longbottom's lips moved, but she didn't say anything. After all, she wasn't like Harry, who could openly comment on Dumbledore.

And... she now thinks there's some truth to what Harry said.

At least this guy kept acknowledging his grandson's excellence, and even if it was just flattery, it still sounded pleasant.

For example, Neville is now completely agitated.

"Harry ...I...my mind is a mess today...no, I should say, my mind has always been terrible..." Neville stammered to Harry, his voice trembling with emotion. "I...I don't know what to say, but...thank you! Thank you for saying all this for me..."

"Isn't everything I said true?" Harry chuckled and patted Neville on the shoulder. "So you have to believe in yourself, and believe in your parents too. Everything will be alright, your mother... wasn't she just expressing her gratitude in her own way?"

"Mother's... gratitude?"

At that moment, Neville stared blankly at the crumpled candy wrapper in his hand...

Chapter 673 Bonsai and the Exposed Trick

Neville's mother used to give him so many candy wrappers that they could practically cover his entire bedroom... This should have been a very noteworthy detail, but the Longbottom and their grandson seem to have completely overlooked it.

They naturally assumed it was Alice Longbottom's subconscious behavior, believing that although she no longer recognized Neville, she still vaguely knew that she liked him, which was why she repeatedly gave him candy wrappers as gifts.

Attributing this behavior to maternal love is perfectly acceptable, and indeed admirable.

However, Harry is more accustomed to thinking about problems scientifically.

Alice Longbottom's repeated handing out of candy wrappers is similar to Lockhart's repeated signing of autographs, which may conceal some other underlying motivations.

So, after Harry discovered this element, he just investigated it a little bit in some way.

"Neville, did your mother used to like these candies?" Harry asked Neville curiously, as if in casual conversation.

"Hmm, I think so..." Neville nodded blankly. "Uncle Algie once told me that my mother's favorite bubble gum was Honeydukes ... Even when she was hospitalized, she didn't seem to forget her fondness for it. Sometimes when we visited, there would be many blue bubbles floating on the ceiling of her ward, just like the ones we grow at home..."

Bluebell.

"Harry ...how did you know?" Neville's eyes widened suddenly.

"It's more of a guess. Since she likes this kind of candy so much, maybe she'd prefer bluebells."

"Yeah..."

Honeydukes' Drooble's Best Blowing Gum allows you to blow bluebell-colored bubbles that float in a room for days without bursting... This explanation is somewhat far-fetched, but the absent-minded Neville clearly didn't notice.

Meanwhile, the door to the ward reopened, and Hermione, Luna Lovegood, and another witch dressed as a healer walked in.

And in Hermione's hands, there was a pot of bluebells in full bloom!

"Harry, I got it!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the healer behind her. "Thanks to the head healer here, Mrs. Strout, she's the one who carefully cultivated this bluebell."

"I'm so glad that I've had guests visiting again while I was away."

Melanie Straw was a healer who wore a gold and silver floral wreath and seemed to radiate maternal warmth. From the moment she entered, she always had a kind smile on her face.

"How are you, Agnes?" After gesturing to Harry, the healer first greeted the hairy witch cheerfully and laid out a small pile of Christmas presents for her.

"This is your gift, and your son also sent an owl saying he'll come to see you later. Isn't that wonderful?"

The hairy-faced witch Agnes called out loudly twice at her.