Chapter 8 A New Lease on Life
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Title: A New Lease on Life
Rating: T
Pairing: Frank/Alice
Summary: On Neville Longbottom's eighteenth birthday he gets a birthday surprise that he never expected that he would receive. Though he does find out that having his greatest wish granted would be harder than what he expected and isn't instant.
Alice and Frank though Frank was in therapy at the time. With Alice he talked to her about the books that he had read during the past year and about his time abroad as a visiting professor at Salem Academy for Witches wondering if she could understand him for the first time in years. He had even shown her pictures of the school and of the area to let her know what America was like since she had almost taken the twins there after they were born since their lives were in danger. Alice liked hearing about Algie's time in America though he hadn't told her anything about her babies, she wondered if they had been killed. She wondered who the nice young man who was with both him and Augusta since he did seem to be familiar to her so maybe he was a distant cousin. It was nice for him to be with her though she didn't think that he looked like any of her relatives but he did look like he could be related to her. Augusta somehow seemed to look older, she The next morning both Augusta and Neville as well as Algie couldn't wait to go to the hospital to see the progress that Alice was making since her surgery. Augusta wasn't too surprised to see that they had made the Daily Prophet with the editor thinking that they had insulted St. Mungo's by going outside the wizarding community for treatment. The muggle Healers were the only ones who had given her hope in seventeen years about Frank's and Alice's condition while the wizarding Healers had written them off years ago as being incurable. If St. Mungo's had a treatment for Frank and Alice that would give them back to her then she would seek that treatment but they didn't so she went to muggle Healers and her grandson was the one who had approved for Alice's treatment she didn't though she was proud of him for being willing to provide the best care for his parents. When they had arrived at the muggle hospital as soon as the visiting hours began Alice was more alert than she had been the previous day though she wasn't verbal yet. Algie came in along with his wife Enid to see both wondered if worrying about her well being had aged her so. Uncle Algie somehow seemed to be older as well. She could only hope that she would be able to hold her babies in her arms again. She wondered how long she was going to be stuck here in hospital since she wanted to make those who had put her in there pay for what they have done. She couldn't wait to go back to work though it looked like it would take a while for Frank to return to duty since the few times that she did see him he was in a wheeled chair of some kind unable to walk. She was curious though why they had to stay in a muggle hospital and they couldn't be transferred to St. Mungo's. She never heard of a wizard having to stay in a muggle hospital unless no one knew who they were, usually if they did wind up in a muggle hospital because they were found by a muggle they were immediately transferred to St. Mungo's when their identity was discovered. She didn't worry about that now since she had her mother in law coming to visit her and she might get a visit from her babies today maybe that nice young man with her mother in law might bring them in to her. Her parents may even visit her today since they may not know that she was in a muggle hospital today though Augusta would let them know where she was. For some reason she liked the nice young man that had accompanied Augusta and Algie to the hospital though she wasn't sure of his relationship with them in spite of the fact that he somehow looked familiar to her. She still thought that he was a distant cousin of some kind that her parents sent in order to check up on her since they were unable to visit her in hospital for some reason or another. She wanted to rest like she knew that she probably should since she was recuperating from some injury that she didn't even remember but she wanted to visit with her mother in law hoping that she would be able to update her on the details of her injury and let her know how long she was even in a muggle hospital. She also wondered where Frank was going to these past couple of mornings and then returning back to the ward but he never acknowledged her presence. She only hoped that he hadn't lost his mind where he would have forgotten that he was even married let alone be the father of two sons. She couldn't know if she could stand it if her Frank could not even remember her or their life together. However she was glad to see Augusta and Algie coming to visit her with that nice young man, they gave her hope that she would leave this place soon though she didn't know if Frank was going to leave with her or not.
When Augusta, Algie and Neville entered the ward where Alice and Frank were staying and noticed that Alice looked better than she did the previous day even though her head was still bandaged and they still weren't sure if she even knew who they were. They were able to see Frank go off to therapy when they arrived which he seemed to be more alert even if he wasn't able to speak with them yet. Now, he was able to stand from his wheelchair for a long period of time and feed himself. Hopefully, he will be able to talk with them soon instead of still looking at them as if trying to figure out who they were, especially Neville. When they visited with her, Alice seemed to be more alert though she wasn't able to communicate with them. Neville only hoped that she would be able to make a full recovery from her injuries as well as his father though he was making process with his rehab only slowly. Neville knew that muggle medicine can take a while before he would see any results in his mum's condition but he couldn't wait to have his mother be able to recognize her own son and to let him know that she had loved him. He knew that his grandmother would like to have his own father back and will be willing to wait for him to come back since they have waited a long time for this moment. He only wished that their recovery would go faster so that he can update everything that has gone on in his life and in the wizarding world over the past year. He wondered if his mother would even remember the things about his life growing up that his grandmother had told her or if she even know that he had visited her in hospital. He knew that his father wouldn't know any of that stuff since he was in a coma the entire time and his mother was conscious at least. He did notice that the bandages on his mum's head reminded him of the ordeal that she had gone through being cut up by a muggle doctor he only hoped that she would regain her memory where she would remember him and be able to move back him with her family. He doubted that he would return to Hogwarts this year so that he could have a good seventh year since he felt that he didn't learn enough in the last year to graduate since he wanted to spend more time with his parents while they recover. He didn't let his Gran know about his plans but he was sure that she would understand.
He saw his father go off to therapy and then he pulled himself up to his mum's bed in order to speak to her, hoping that she would be able to recognize him finally even after he was told that it could take a while for his own mother to recognize him. When he did see her he thought that he could see her trying to place who he was. “Hi mum,” he greeted his mother not sure of what to tell her or if she even knew who he was or where she was at. Alice had looked at him confused as if she didn't even know who he was. He couldn't tell though if she even knew that she did have a son and thought that he was younger or if she just didn't even know who anyone else was. He was disappointed he thought that his mum's recovery would be instant that once the operation was over that she would recognize him as her son. He however could be patient with his mum to see if she could make a full recovery since he had already waited seventeen years for this he could wait a few weeks or even months more. He only wished that this muggle operation was tried when he was younger so that he would have a chance to have his mum with him instead of living with his overbearing and overprotective grandmother. He was careful not to mention anything about the wizarding world to his mum, though he was concerned that she might say something without being fully aware where she was. He also wanted to put off telling her about the second war, since he didn't want to upset her, since he felt that she still wasn't ready to hear about the war at this time. He did feel like he could talk about other “safer” subjects such as the weather and about his grandmother. While he chatted with his mother he saw that she was looking at him as if she understood even though she may not know any of the people or anything about the subjects that he was talking about with her but she seemed to be interested. He could only hope that now his mum would make a full recovery and be able to carry a conversation with him very soon. He didn't want to have his mum to go back to St. Mungo's to live after all that he has done for her. After only a couple of hours his mother was worn out from their visit and she was so excited that she didn't want to take a nap. After she was reassured that they would still be there when she had woken up she had finally drifted off. Neville wasn't too sure however if she would even be aware of them being in the ward if they were there when she did wake up or if she would remember what had put her in hospital in the first place. He was warned that she may not ever remember her time at St. Mungo's since her mind was not right at that time. Of course you never can tell with these type of injuries, he and his grandmother was told for years that there was no hope for neither his mother nor father to lead normal lives but here they are in a muggle hospital seeking treatment so that they can lead a normal life. Right now he could only hope that both of his parents would be able to get back to normal after living at St. Mungo's for so long. He did see the progress that his father was making but he was frustrated on how slow the progress was. He didn't see too much of a change in his mother but maybe her recovery will take a while as well.