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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
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"OBLIVIATE!" Neville rocked back and forth in a daze, half in and half out of the window. Algie rushed forward, grabbed him by the leg, and shoved him forward until he was dangling out the window, held aloft by nothing but Algie's tight grasp. In the distance, Augusta ran forward, screaming Neville's name while her companion followed behind. Neville shook off his momentary confusion and looked up at his uncle, who merely smiled at him.
"I do wish you would have tried at least one of Cousin Enid's meringues before it came to this. They really are quite delicious." Then, he let go.
Neville dropped like a stone. In the distance, Augusta screamed in horror, but she was too far to cast a spell. The boy looked down at the approaching cobblestone driveway and braced for the end. Instead, there was a slight shudder ... and then, he was airborne again, spinning madly through the air. He came down again some distance away and felt another shudder. This time he didn't fly so high, and the confused boy finally realized that he was ... bouncing? His third and final bounce brought him down near his grandmother who used a charm to catch him safely.
Algie watched the entire scene with a crazed grin on his face. He'd gone for broke, but the Brat survived. Even from the fourth floor, Algie could tell that Augusta was glaring up at him with a look of vicious triumph. Worse, as she and her companion drew closer, he could see that the other woman was Griselda Marchbanks, an old friend of Augusta's and an esteemed member of the Wizengamot ... and now an impartial and irreproachable witness to Neville showing accidental magic. "Naturally," Algie said, before he started giggling to himself. Still laughing, he moved back to the table and picked up a few meringues to munch on. He looked around Neville's room wildly as he chewed the confectionaries before he finally snatched up the plate and threw it against the wall.
"Alright, Brat! You may be Heir Presumptive, but I'm not done with you yet!" He took a few moments to compose himself. Then, Algie went downstairs to congratulate Neville on his tremendous feat of magic and to let Madame Marchbanks know how grateful he was that someone of her stature was on hand to serve as witness. By then, other guests had come out to see what had happened, and he took the lead in announcing that Neville had finally showed accidental magic and was now the Heir Presumptive. He doubted Augusta had bought his routine, but he didn't much care. He still had three years before Neville's Hogwarts letter came, and that meant he still had one card left to play.
When Neville Longbottom was eleven...
In the three years since Neville's "official" demonstration of magic, Algie had worked ceaselessly to reassure the boy and his grandmother that he supported Neville as Heir Presumptive, that his only concern had been about the boy's magic, and that he certainly harbored no homicidal intentions. He had showered the boy with gifts and "grandfatherly advice" and given every appearance of being a doting regent who looked forward to handing over the Longbottom estates to Neville just as soon as his OWLS came back.
The truth, of course, was that Algie was playing a waiting game. Neville's OWLS were his last chance. If the boy failed to pass at least one of his three wand-based exams – Charms, Transfiguration or DADA – Algie had grounds to petition the Wizengamot that he met the technical definition of squib even though he'd been magical enough for a Hogwarts letter. So with that in mind, Algie set himself to the task of figuring out how to ensure that Neville failed academically. The wand classes were the ones that mattered, and so the wand was where Algie focused his attention.
As Neville's eleventh birthday approached, he and Augusta corresponded about when to pick up Neville's school supplies, and Algie pointed out that, as regent, he was the one with the key to the vault, which he should really show Neville anyway. Augusta acquiesced but also asked if Algie would pick up the family Rememberall for Neville. She was worried about him going to school with so many children of Death Eaters.
When the two arrived in Diagon Alley, the boy was most eager to get his wand – he'd talked of nothing else ever since his letter came – so Algie carried him first to Ollivander's. The old man remembered Algie instantly, as well as his wand from all those years ago. Surprisingly, given Ollivander's reputation, Neville found his own wand almost immediately. This, according to the wand seller, was because he'd been supplying Longbottoms with their wands for ages, and he knew the family's preferences from experience. Neville's wand was thirteen inches and cherry, with a unicorn hair core. "Exactly like your father before you," he said.
Algie crooked an eyebrow. "Exactly? Does that mean he could use his father's own wand?" He looked down at the boy. "I mean, we can certainly afford a new wand, but it might be a way to show respect for his father if he could use Frank's old one."
Ollivander looked horrified. "Certainly not! A wand chooses the wizard, not the wizard's family. And besides, unicorn hair wands are intensely loyal. A unicorn wand that had chosen one wizard would likely never work as well for another, not even a family member. And while the father is still alive? That could even be dangerous for the boy's magic. He might as well try to shove his magic through a brick!"
"Ah! Well, never mind then," said Algie jovially, as though he had not been researching the topic of incompatible wands for three years. "We certainly wouldn't want that!"
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