Hold Your Heart Close

*Disclaimer: This story is a piece of Harry Potter fanfiction, which is owned by J.K. Rowling and her associates. This story is simply based on the wonderful wizarding world that she created.

As the realization that Neville Longbottom was lost in London sunk in, he stuck out his right hand in a gesture that could provide his only hope of getting somewhere warm before the night fully settled in. Why did this always have to happen to him? What had he ever done to deserve such a fate? He shut his eyes as a forceful gust of wind blew by. It passed, but when he opened his eyes, the sight before him was not as it had been just a few moments before. Instead, before him rested a triple-decker, violently purple bus with The Knight Bus scribbled onto its side in bold golden letters. A smile spread across the contours of Neville’s shadowed face at the fact issued before him. He did it! He actually did it!

The doors of the bus slid open to reveal a sinewy man stepping out, the heels of his fancy boots clicking on the cement sidewalk. “Good evening, sir. My name is Abraham Sheffield and I will be your conductor tonight on the Knight Bus. This here,” he continued, signaling to the man in what appeared to be the driver’s armchair, “is Ernie. He will be your driver. Now what is your name, young man?”

“Uhh...Neville Longbottom,” Neville mumbled. He had not ridden on the Knight Bus since he was sixteen. Now, at eighteen, the conductor had changed and he could not help but develop a little bit of fear in his presence.

“Well Mr. Neville Longbottom, where exactly is it that you wish to go?” Abraham inquired his gaze accidentally fierce and disturbing in the dark of night.

Neville gave the question some thought. Where was it that he wished to go? In his mind, he had not gotten that far. There were so many different destinations around London and any one of them would offer some sort of shelter.

“The Leaky Cauldron,” he replied, reaching for his dragon skin coin sack in the depths of his robe’s pocket. Pulling it from the gap, he took it into his fingers and waited to hear the cost of his travel.

“Now hold on young sir.” Abraham’s voice waned as it droned on. An amusing effect one might note but it sounded a bit more sinister to Neville’s large ears. “You can’t pay just yet. Not unless you want a hot chocolate of course. Is that what you want, Mr. Neville. A hot chocolate?”

“Uhh…sure, why not.”

“Well, then young man, if you want a hot chocolate then a hot chocolate is exactly what you will get. Two sickles please. You can pay the fare when you reach your destination. You are third on our list, so I cannot tell you how long that will be.”

Neville gave him the correct arrangement of coins after a brief fiddle with the money in his pouch. He returned the purse back to his robe pocket and placed his hands at his sides, staring.

“Well, don’t just stand there, Mr. Hop on; we have some driving to take care of,” Abraham directed, climbing up the tall bus steps in an orderly manner. Neville followed clumsily in his steps and pulled himself aboard the bus using the side handle. Taking in the familiar surroundings of the enormous bus, he stopped, searching intently for a place to sit. A half a dozen brass beds littered the floor of the bus, two occupied. Taking several hesitant steps toward the nearest bed, Neville sunk into the fluff and let out an untamed sigh.

“Here is you hot chocolate sir,” Abraham addressed, handing Neville and steaming mug of hot liquid. “It is charmed so that it will not spill over the sides. Enjoy your ride.”

The conductor disappeared to the front of the bus before Neville could offer him any form of thanks.

The bus jolted with aggressive force as it began its route and the loud thump of a fallen book sounded throughout the bus. Neville jerked his head in the direction of the disturbance and half smiled at the familiar face.

“Hannah?” Neville pondered as the blonde haired woman bent down to pick up her dropped volume. She popped up curiously at the mention of her name and immediately tucked a strand of loose hair behind one ear. “How have you been?”

“Excellent,” she beamed after she realized who was speaking to her. “Life is going great. How about you? What have you been up to for the past year?” She set her book next to her left hip and pulled her fingers through her long hair once again. She enjoyed conversations, that much Neville could remember from school but why she appeared to be so self conscious was unexplainable to Neville. She had always been so outgoing and confident. What had changed?

“I have been working with Ron and Harry under Shaklebolt. We are Aurors and are attempting to stop the Death Eaters from regaining power. Busy life it is but I enjoy it,” Neville replied in a friendly tone. He did not plan on being an Auror forever but it was one of the few ways that he could help with the aftermath of the Final Battle. He would do anything to keep fellow wizards safe from harm even if it meant putting his own life in danger. Neville took a quick sip of his hot chocolate before Hannah spoke again.

“So I guess I pretty much owe you my life, huh,” Hannah laughed, making a joke out of something that Neville would have never dreamed could be a joking matter. That was the Hannah he knew at Hogwarts. He was glad to see that she really had not changed as much as he had thought.

“You could say that, but I don’t want to do it forever. I love everyone at the Ministry but I have other plans and those will most likely rule these in the end.”

“Let me guess: something with Herbology right? You know, Professor Sprout is planning on retiring at the end of this year. I think that they are accepting applications until the end of the week. You should apply,” Hannah requested. Her pale hands now rested in her lap and her back hunched forward. Clearly she was interested in this conversation.

“Really? I did not hear anything of it,” Neville replied, amazed. It had been his dream for several years to one day become a Herbology professor and now such an opportunity was opening up right in front of him. Drinking in another gulp of the hot liquid in his mug Neville noted on its heavenly flavor. A hint of raspberry could be tasted within the mix of coco and water and Neville emptied the mug despite its warm content.

“Yeah; it has been in the Daily Prophet for the last few days. I really think that you should apply considering how much you love the subject. You would do an amazing job at it in my opinion.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your input, you know,” Neville added sincerely, once again taken away with how easily this conversation was flowing along. Neville and Hannah had talked back at Hogwarts every now and then but nothing like this. It seemed as though they had been friends for years. She was good company and very intelligent to. Intelligent in her own way, at least.

“I know and I appreciate yours as well,” Hannah admitted.

The bus suddenly came to an abrupt stop and Neville reached rapidly for a nearby bedpost in dire fear of lunging forward. Hannah did the same and the two took in deep breaths as they worked to settle themselves down. A stout, graying, older woman came from one of the back beds and excited the bus. A green, tree-like suitcase was in one hand and Neville could not help but think of his grandmother at that one artifact. He could not believe how relieved he was to be out of her guidance.

The massive vehicle leaped forward once again and a sensation of safety washed over the small collection of passengers.

“What do you mean by that?” Neville inquired skeptically. “I have said nothing that provides any form of impute. Rather, every word that I have spoken has been quite the opposite.”

“Not exactly. You have given me your opinions and thoughts and that seems to be input in my eyes,” Hannah argued with little expression. How can she do that? How can she just sit there and speak words that mean so much? Neville was honestly amazed at how much of Hannah he had overlooked throughout his school years.

“I cannot disagree with that,” Neville smiled effortlessly, for the first time in awhile, allowing his emotions to shine through.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

It appeared that Hannah had caught on to what he had stupidly let through.

“I am just happy,” Neville truthfully responded. “Ever since the war, I have not been as happy as I could be and now I feel as though I am the happiest that I have ever been. Talking with you has reminded me that there are still others out there who have not received the justice and serenity that they deserve and that proves that I can do more than I think that I am capable of accomplishing.” Neville did not know what had come over him. What had made him want to express the truth in such explicit detail? He did not know what it was but he was not regretting any word that had left his mouth.

“You do not have to save me from the past, Neville,” Hannah assured sweetly. “I know how much you want to now that you realize how painful it is but you cannot take back what has already taken place. None of this was your fault. My mother’s death was not your fault and neither were the deaths of so many others. Please accept that.”

“What can I do to help you? Name anything. I just need to do something so I know that you are okay.”

“You really want to know me?” Hannah asked in wonderment.

“Yes, I do,” Neville guaranteed.

“Then come with me.”

“Excuse me?” Neville was immediately puzzled by her use of words.

“Come with me. Every six months I take a tour around London. This bus drops me off at random locations and picks me up when I request. Come with me. Take a week or so off of work and explore the city. It relieves stress and allows room for warmth. You deserve it.”

“Alright,” Neville promised. “I’ll do it.”

“Really? You’ll come with me?” Clearly she was shocked at his acceptance and in wonder with what had possessed him to take on her offer.

“I told you that I wanted to help you, didn’t I,” Neville reminded in an even tone. “If this is something that helps you then I would be honored to take a tour of London with you.”

A wide grin spread across the outline of Hannah’s face as Neville confirmed her hopeless offer. She had never taken a tour with anyone but herself and the idea did seem to be a bit satisfying. She did not know what motive he had for wanting to help her but she was very grateful that he was so willing to do so. After pushing through hard times it is always nice to get a little help every now and then and Hannah had no idea how she could ever thank Neville enough for desiring to help her through hers.

“Well then I must thank you from the bottom of my heart, Neville. Your offer means the world to me. The world is a big place and amounting to that much is a major feat,” Hannah graciously responded.

“For once then, I must admit, that I have accomplished more than I had ever thought possible.” Neville smiled contently as the bus slowed for the second time tonight. He was a little more prepared this time and therefore found the bar with a little less haste. His light eyes proved that Hannah had done the same.

An abnormally tall man boarded the bus and ignored Hannah and Neville on his way up to the second or third level. But Neville was not bothered by this; he had something else on his mind.

“So,” Neville began, starting up conversation once more. He plopped down next to Hannah on the medium bed that she had occupied for his entire ride and sighed. “What do you want to talk about now?”