Understanding (Neville Longbottom)

18

I read the messages from David laying in my bed, close to the little lamp on my nightstand.
He was fine; his mother was with their muggle relatives and he was just travelling around Europe.
Apparently, he kept a low profile, passing for a muggle tourist he had spent time mainly in France or Germany.
I kept touching the small ink letters.
It was undeniably his calligraphy. It was him, he was still real.
And I could go to him.

The next couple of days passed in a haze; my uncle and I pretended there was nothing different and went on as if it was a normal Christmas holiday: we decorated the tree, I wrapped all the presents as it was my favorite thing to do, I baked with Gilly...
I was constantly thinking about what I should do. I watched my uncle getting stronger every day and understood how much the stress of not knowing if I was alright sapped him.
If I had gone with David, I would've been safer.
I decided not to undo the bag I had taken home from school: before getting on the Hogwarts express, I thought my uncle and I would leave and didn't know when, so I organized myself; while at school, I made researches and magically expanded the inside of my bag, I then proceeded to stash it with clothes, books, spare potions, letters from friends and everything else I thought I might need.
I basically had created the perfect emergency bag that I could just grab and run and it was better to keep it at the ready.

I did take my nimbus out to fly to the Weasleys.
It wasn't a long flight but I had to conceal myself with an incantation so that the muggles wouldn't see me.
I was very happy to see how much better I had gotten!
I was flying smoothly and steadily, David would have loved to see me fly like this.
I put the question out of my head.

When I saw the structure Ginny had described me, her house could not be mistaken for any other all bent and crooked as it was, I loved it immediately.
No sooner had I firmly planted my feet in the wet and soggy soil, that Ginny crushed me in a tight hug

"You came"

"Of course I did" I smiled in her hair and hugged her back. I had missed my friend.

Mrs. Weasley was very happy to see me and begged me to stay for dinner which I accepted gladly, but much of the afternoon was spent discussing very grim subjects like who we had lost in the past months.
Of course Ginny and I also endured a lot of shouting because of our D.A. allegiance.

"It's dangerous and stupid, that's what it is!" She huffed worriedly in the end before moving in front of the stove.

When Fred and George came after work, we sat on the couch and talked for a while.
I had been right about the radio code, which I already knew because my uncle listened to it as well, and they invited me to hear the transmission with them later in the night. I accepted, uncle Oberon knew I was going to be late so he wouldn't worry.
I envied them so much. Growing up I had wished for siblings to play with, but I also was a very independent child so once books claimed me, I didn't feel so alone anymore.
But books couldn't possibly make up for what was in front of me: just her brothers' presence calmed Ginny to a point where she could smile easily. Their attention towards her was incredible; only they knew the right jokes, the right games to make everything all right again. That was something I wished for.
Of course the twins were very funny, the joke shop life suited them incredibly well, it was difficult not to forget about the bad things when Fred and George wanted you to be ok.
After meeting Mr. Weasley, we had a lovely and delicious dinner, even though it was more subdued than the afternoon.
Listening to the radio program was not as bad as it was the first times and even if I felt bad admitting it, even if only to myself, having Ginny close calmed me more than my uncle's presence. It was clear by now that she was just as much my family.

"I think George likes you" she smirked putting down a cup of tea in front of me.
Her parents had gone to bed and the twins had retired somewhere