A dozen or so minutes later, Frank finally pieced everything together and understood what had happened to him.
Only then did he realize he had missed his son's entire childhood.
He held Neville's head and apologized over and over. "Oh, I'm sorry, Neville. I'm so sorry..."
Neville hugged Frank without a word. Will shook his head gently. Mrs. Longbottom stepped away from the bed and came over to him. "Come, Mr. Behrens. Let's go to the Book Repository."
Will smiled and followed Mrs. Longbottom downstairs...
A few minutes later, Mrs. Longbottom led Will down a corridor, explaining as they walked. "The Longbottom family has always valued its honor. Many of our wizards have contributed to the Wizarding World, and our Book Repository has grown over the generations.
"When Harfang Longbottom married Callidora Black, the Longbottom family also acquired part of the Black family's collection.
"Still, our Book Repository isn't particularly large. I hope you'll forgive us."
With that, Mrs. Longbottom pushed open the doors to the Book Repository.
Lights sprang on, revealing the room to Will.
An Undetectable Extension Charm had clearly been used here. By his estimate, the room was half the size of a Muggle football pitch. It had only one floor, but the shelves were packed.
Unlike the Black family's haphazard collection, the Longbottom family's books were neatly arranged and spotless. The Longbottoms' House-elves evidently cleaned the room.
Everything was made of wood. Walnut Wood floors and Teak shelves gave the room warm brown tones.
The air was cold and dry. Silver flashed in Will's eyes as he saw the structures of Magic flowing through the room. Many spells had clearly been placed here, probably including fire protection.
"Please, Mr. Behrens." Augusta Longbottom gestured for him to enter. "I'll return this evening. Until then, you're free to