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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
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Algie paid for the wand and then pocketed it. "You can see it when we get home, Neville. You're not supposed to use it now anyway, and I won't have you embarrassing the family with underage magic," he said to the disappointed boy. Then, he escorted Neville to Flourish & Botts, to Madame Malkin's, and eventually to Gringotts. There, he led Neville first to his trust vault, which he linked up to a moleskin pouch so that the boy would have a small weekly allowance while at school. Then, he took the boy down further to where the family vaults lay. Once inside the Longbottom family vault, he took care to point out certain interesting features and then told Neville to look around but not touch anything, as it might take him a few minutes to find the Rememberall.
In fact, he knew perfectly well that Frank's old Remembarall was not in the vault, as he'd disposed of it earlier. Instead, Algie spent those minutes at a small display case which contained the wands of dozens of deceased Longbottom scions each with a small placard denoting the name, date, and manner of the wand owner's death (or in Frank's case, incapacity). Frank's wand was near the top, and he snatched it up and compared it to Neville's. They looked nearly identical. He put Frank's wand in one pocket and Neville's in another.
"Oh, damn. The blasted thing's not here! Ah well, let's head on. I'll send the house elves to search for it at the Manor." Neville, who did not especially care about the Rememberall, was fine with that, and the two left to finish their shopping before a delightful lunch at Summerisle's, capped with a truly gigantic slice of chocolate cake with a candle on top for Neville's birthday. Then, he took the boy home and let him show off his new presents, including his wand, to Augusta. He also informed Augusta that there was no Rememberall in the vault and suggested it must be in the Manor somewhere.
Soon, September 1st had arrived, and Algie returned to Longbottom Manor bright and early. Augusta grilled him briefly about the Rememberall, but he assured her it wasn't in the vault. He even offered to swear an oath, but she told him to stop being silly and then left to see to their transportation to the rail station. Had it come down to it, Algie could have sworn an oath that there was no Rememberall in the vault because he'd already removed it. He could even swear he didn't know where it was, since he'd thrown it into the Thames and had no clue where the current would take it.
Algie headed upstairs to Neville's room, donning a pair of gloves as he went. The door was open, and Neville was inside finishing up his packing. "Neville, my boy. Have you got everything ready for Hogwarts?"
The boy jumped slightly. "Oh, you startled me, Uncle Algie! Yes, sir, I'm nearly ready." The boy was still a bit nervous around Algie and probably always would be, but he tried not to show it.
"Good, good. And you've got your wand?" Algie asked. The boy smiled and pulled it out for his uncle to see. "Excellent. And before we leave, I've got a special treat for you – a pet to keep you company at Hogwarts. His name... is Trevor." He reached into a pocket of his overcoat with a gloved hand and produced a fairly large toad wriggling furiously in his grasp.
Neville's eyes had lit up when Algie mentioned a treat, but he was less enthused by the struggling amphibian that this uncle was holding out to him. With a smile but a bit of reluctance, Neville reached out and took the slimy creature, which nearly slipped out of his grasp.
"Better use both hands until he gets used to you, Neville." The boy nodded, turned and set his wand down so that he could hold Trevor in one hand and stroke him with the other in a futile effort to calm the toad down. While he was distracted, Algie pulled out his own wand and took a deep breath before casting the strongest and most complicated Memory Charm he had used to date. More than a mere Obliviate, it also incorporated elements of a Confundus Curse. Neville's knees shook and nearly buckled, but he didn't fall. Algie reached over to take the boy's wand and hold it in front of his face.
"Listen carefully, Neville. You will forget this wand. You've never seen it before. We didn't go to Ollivander's and get you a new wand." Algie pocketed Neville's wand and then produced the one that had belonged to Frank. "This is your wand, as it was your father's before you. Your Gran insisted that you use your father's wand as a way to honor him. You made her cry for hours when you even suggested that you wanted a wand of your own, and you promised you would never ask her again. And now, you will take this wand, and use it as best you can. If it doesn't work well for you, it's because your magic is weak and you'll just have to try harder. In fact, you will push yourself until it hurts if that's what it takes to get magic out of this wand. Nod, if you understand." Neville nodded in a daze.
"You will also want to keep Trevor with you at all times. If you lose him, you will be very upset until you get him back. You will want to hold him whenever possible." Trevor was a late addition to Algie's scheme – the toad was from a South American species that was mildly poisonous. Not enough to make Neville sick – well, not unless he decided to lick the thing – but long term exposure would interfere with both the boy's memory and magic. The whole scheme was a desperate gamble, but it only had to work for five years, less if the boy got so frustrated he flunked out of Hogwarts ... or killed himself by trying to force his magic through an incompatible wand.
"Finally, you will forget everything your grandmother ever mentioned about Rememberalls. It's a useless thing to help stupid forgetful boys remember what they've forgotten. Don't pay it any mind." That last command was an afterthought, just in case Neville somehow came across someone else's Rememberall at school, as unlikely as that seemed. His work done, Algie stepped back and put his wand away. After a few seconds, Neville blinked a few times and looked up at Algie. "I'm sorry, Uncle... What were we talking about?"
"About how you'll be writing to me every week, Neville, to let me know how you're doing." Algie smiled. "I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward hearing about all your successes."
When Neville Longbottom was eleven... and three months...
They came just before dawn. Algie was sound asleep, curled up on the left side of his bed (after all these years, he still left Wendy's side untouched), when Lubby, his chief house elf, woke him with a few gentle coughs.
"Begging master's pardon, sir, but there be three aurors at the door who wish to speak with you. They says they has warrant for your arrest. Something to do with young master Neville."
"Oh. I see. Naturally," said Algie in a tight voice. "Well, tell them I'll be down just as soon as I get dressed."
Lubby nodded and disappeared with a pop. Algie rubbed his eyes and picked his wand up off the bedside table. Idly, he wondered why the Aurors were being so considerate as to send a house elf to retrieve him instead of kicking down door. Then, with a thought, he reached out to feel the status of his wards. Ah! The defensive wards were all down, and in their place were anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards. Also, the Floo connection was inactive. They could afford to politely wait because they knew he wasn't going anywhere. And, he supposed, they had chosen to wait in hopes that he would save them all a lot of paperwork by doing "The Honorable Thing."
Algie closed his eyes and slowly lifted the wand to his temple. Then, he tried to summon enough hate to use the Killing Curse on himself. But for all the attempted murders he'd made over the last nine years, he didn't really have any hatred for Neville or anyone else, just a pitiful selfish jealousy mixed with a bitter self-loathing, neither of which was enough to fuel the Killing Curse. When the Aurors finally got tired of waiting and came for him, they found Algernon Longbottom still in bed, in a fetal position, weeping like a child.
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