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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
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For the sake of his children, who he thought might someday need the support of the Lord of House Longbottom, Algie accepted the apology, and his relations with Archie mostly mended. But he never forgot the incident and what it meant. That he would always be the second brother, entitled to nothing from the Longbottom name save a lump sum financial payment left to him purely out of a vague sense of parental obligation. No estates. No trust vaults. No heirlooms. Not even a stuffed teddy bear to pass on to his son.
And now, the final insult – Neville was indisputably a wizard. And Algie was the witness for it. Because he'd just seen the Brat summon L.B. through accidental magic, presumably all the way from Longbottom Manor in Lancashire. Neville was a wizard, and so Neville was the Heir Presumptive, and thus Algie's lot in life now was to manage Neville's estates and assets until the Brat was old enough to claim them for himself, at which point he would probably give Algie a brass plaque to match the other one Frank had given him years before.
Algie stared for a long time at the adorable infant and his stuffed bear. And then, something inside him snapped like a twig in a heavy ice storm. "No. No, you little brat, it won't be that easy for you. And I certainly won't let you beat me with the help of that thing. EVANESCO!" There was a flash as the teddy bear vanished out of Neville's arms, startling the child. But before he could start crying again, Algie's wand flashed a second time. "OBLIVIATE! You will forget about Ebby. You will forget that you ever had a bear that looked anything like Ebby." He paused as a vicious gleam came into his eyes. "But you will remember that there was once something you loved that you have now lost forever. And you will remember that the reason you lost it because you wished for it too hard!"
Little Neville shook his head for a few seconds and then crawled over to play with some blocks, with a strange look on his face, as if he were sad but didn't know why. Later, when Augusta returned, Algie told her that Neville had been a perfect angel and that she shouldn't hesitate to ask him to babysit whenever she needed a break. He also reminded her to be on the lookout for signs of accidental magic because Neville was getting to that age.
The next day, Algie went to Flourish & Botts and purchased several books on squibs and the latest theories about what caused them.
When Neville was three years old ...
Algie had been visiting Longbottom Manor for a week, as was his right as Longbottom Regent. On the fourth day there, he was in a sitting room reading the Daily Prophet when he felt a small hand tug on his pants leg. It was the Brat.
"Well, hello there, little Neville!" Algie said with false kindness. "What can I do for you?"
"Will you read Baba Rab to me, Unca Algie?"
"Babbity Rabbit, you mean? Well where is it, Neville?"
"Baba Rab on da shelf in lie-berry," the child replied.
"Why don't you show me?" Algie asked.
And with that, the toddler led his great-uncle to the nearby library, where Neville pointed to a book on a middle shelf. Algie noted that the bookshelf was freestanding instead of mounted to the wall, and his eyes gleamed.
"Oh, that's not too high, Neville. You can reach it. Show me how big and brave you are, just like your dad was." Algie smiled at Neville, who looked back up at the tall shelf nervously. Then, he waddled over and, after a bit of hesitation, tried to climb up to the third shelf. Just he reached the edge where the Babbity Rabbit book was, Algie pulled out his wand.
"This is for you, Reginald," he whispered as he cast a spell at the heavy bookcase, which suddenly tipped over onto Neville. The toddler fell to the floor with the bookcase poised to crush him ... when suddenly it froze in mid-fall and then tipped back into place, with all the books and knick-knacks that had been on it snapping back into place as if they'd never moved. All except the Babbity Rabbit book which Neville proudly clutched in his hands.
Algie stared at Neville with his eyes wide in astonishment. Then, from some distance away, he heard Augusta call out. "Algie, what was that noise? Is Neville getting into mischief."
"It was nothing, Gussie." Then, he hissed out a strong Memory Charm to make Neville forget what had just happened, followed maliciously by a mild Stinging Hex on the boy's bottom. Neville soon began crying. Just as Algie put his wand away, Augusta came around the corner. "It looks like Neville tried to climb up the bookshelf to get his Babbity Rabbit book and then fell on his bum. No harm done."
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