A few of them chatted and laughed as they left the doorway of Lockhart's ward.
They were about to head up to the sixth floor for tea when, passing the next ward, they saw Neville.
Neville was inside a hospital room, talking to a thin, pale man whose expression was tense and uneasy.
Beside the man sat a woman.
Her face was half hidden by her hair, and she stared blankly at the ceiling, eyes wide open, as if she had no awareness of her surroundings.
Harry instantly realized who they were—Neville's parents—and he reflexively tried to quicken his pace.
He wanted to bypass the ward entirely.
But Ron had already spoken, his voice loud and careless.
"Neville, Neville! Why are you here? And who are they?"
Ron pointed at the two people on the bed. Neville's face turned deathly pale.
Harry imdiately tried to drag Ron away.
But at that mont, an elderly witch stepped out from behind the curtain in the ward.
She looked at Neville in confusion and said, "These are your classmates? Why don't you tell them that they're your mother and father?"
Neville's body stiffened, trembling slightly.
Mrs. Longbottom clearly paid no attention to Neville's feelings. She walked past him and ca up to Ron.
She looked at Ron and Ginny and smiled. "You must be Weasleys. All of you have red hair."
Then she turned her gaze to Hermione, studying her carefully.
Finally, she looked at Harry, and then her eyes suddenly lit up as she craned her neck to look at Darren standing behind the others.
"Oh, Darren. I've wanted to et you for a long ti, but it always turns out that Dumbledore won't let disturb your life."
"But I send you a gift every year. Did you receive them? Did you like them?"
Darren showed a slightly embarrassed expression.
He replied softly, "I received all of them. You always send clothes at Christmas. I think you know, just like Mrs. Weasley, that I'm afraid of the cold."
"Thank you very much. As for my gifts to you… they're a bit perfunctory. I never really knew what I should give you…"
[Ding, Father 100]
[Ding, Father 100]
[Ding, Father 100]
[Ding…]
"If even that is considered perfunctory, then there is no better gift," Mrs. Longbottom said seriously. "I'm grateful for everything you've done for Neville and his parents."
"He never knew how to thank you. He ca back and told that all he could do was watch you get hurt."
"I taught him a lesson. In the Longbottom family, there is no such thing as weak bones!"
"Neville, stand up and tell everyone. These are your parents. And Darren's parents fought for you as well. I think you shouldn't feel ashad of your parents!"
Mrs. Longbottom's voice was loud and firm.
Ron's mouth fell open.
"Neville… these are really your mum and dad?"
Neville nodded.
His face was burning red.
He hesitated, unwilling to step forward.
But Mrs. Longbottom grabbed him and pulled him over.
She said with pride, mixed with sorrow, "This is my son and daughter-in-law. They were tortured into madness by the Death Eaters. They were exceptionally talented."
"Alice, what's wrong?"
Mrs. Longbottom suddenly stopped and looked at her daughter-in-law.
Alice was holding a piece of candy wrapper, trying to stuff it into Neville's hand.
Mrs. Longbottom said gently, "Neville, hurry up and take it. And tell your mum you love her."
Neville took the wrapper.
He said softly, "Thank you… Mum. I love you."
Mrs. Longbottom laughed.
She put an arm around Alice's shoulders.
"That's wonderful, dear."
Alice bounced happily back onto the bed.
Her hair was streaked with black and white, and only innocence remained on her face. Neville finally lifted his head.
He looked at Harry almost defiantly, as if waiting for ridicule.
But Darren stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
"Don't be like this, Neville. No one will laugh at heroes. They shouldn't be forgotten, and they shouldn't be hidden."
"I think they're amazing. And I believe that anyone who isn't a Death Eater would stand on their side."
Neville wanted to say sothing.
No one except Darren would think that way.
Because his parents' hospital expenses weren't even fully covered. But he couldn't say it out loud.
Because Harry and Ron had hugged him at the sa ti.
When they finally parted from Neville, Hermione and Ginny both had tears in their eyes.
Hermione wiped her tears and said, "I never knew about Neville's parents."
Ron hesitated. He seed to know sothing, but not much. Ginny simply shook her head.
They all looked at Harry and Darren.
Harry said quietly, "I learned about Neville's parents from Dumbledore. He didn't allow to tell anyone."
"He said to wait until Neville himself was willing to talk about it."
"As for Darren… he knew even earlier than I did. And he's been donating to St. Mungo's for a long ti. In fact, it's for Neville's parents."
Darren nodded.
He said in a heavy tone, "The woman who drove Neville's parents insane is Sirius's cousin—Malfoy's mother's sister."
"One of Voldemort's most loyal Death Eaters. She's now locked up in Azkaban."
"Bellatrix."
...
Christmas finally ca to an end, no matter how it ended.
In short, the days passed like that, and Sirius's joy gradually faded as well.
Especially as the start of term drew closer, Sirius beca more and more depressed.
He kept hiding in the basent, unwilling to see anyone.
Harry told Darren that Sirius really wanted to stay at Grimmauld Place and didn't want to return to school.
Because that school had already made him unable to laugh.
He had lost Quidditch.
He had lost his reputation.
He had lost the things that should have made Darren proud of him.
Even Dumbledore no longer looked at him the sa way. This made him extrely frustrated.
However, when Darren said that he would stay with Harry and not return to school either, Harry imdiately changed his tune.
He said that school was actually safer. Though even he sounded unconvinced.
On the last day of the holiday, Dumbledore arrived.
The first thing Dumbledore did after arriving was to pull Darren aside for a eting.
All the mbers of the Order of the Phoenix were present. Dumbledore first inford them about the recent events.
Then he ntioned Darren and Snape's "falling out" act.
Both Snape and Darren showed helpless expressions.
Because neither of them was particularly good at acting.
Or rather, acting was pointless—if Darren didn't cooperate, Snape would never be able to teach him properly.
"I think your break-up act needs to be accelerated and rehearsed as soon as possible," Dumbledore said. "Also, Severus, you need to start teaching Harry Occluncy."
"Speaking of Occluncy… Darren, how did you practice it yourself?"
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