Scene 4

NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM, still holding the wand and LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE make their way back to the Leaky Cauldron for drinks with HARRY and RON

RON WEASLEY
Hey there you are! Look who we found! Beaming

GEORGE WEASLEY
Had a good day you lot?

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Smiles with relief It’s been… interesting.

NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM
Got a new wand shows his new wand, waving it, sparks fly

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Careful Neville stepping back and taking her butterbeer so, how WAS your day?

RON WEASLEY
Terrible, worst first day ever. cries Ron. It’s all blim’in paperwork. How we gonna cope? I thought we’d get to crack some death eaters on the head.

HARRY POTTER
Nodding Yeah I can’t believe we’re not gonna get to do all that much

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Give it time boys, you’ll see.

GEORGE WEASLEY
So, what did you get up to?

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Not much, just sorted a few bits out ready for tomorrow.

HARRY POTTER
Tomorrow?

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
You get assignments and stuff like that. Nothing you can’t handle.

HARRY POTTER
So, we’ll be getting stuff like that later on?

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Oh, yeah! You’ll be in the thick of it soon.

NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM
What did you do George?

GEORGE WEASLEY
Working on a new line of fizzy sweets. Half smiles

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Don’t tell me the basement is flooded again! Gert had so much trouble with the last lot.

GEORGE WEASLEY
Not exactly…

RON WEASLEY
So Louisa? What was your first day like?
There was a slight pause as RON noticed GEORGE shaking his head in his hands.

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Well let’s just say it wasn’t quite like your first day. sighs
I was living at Malfoy Manor at the time, my father and uncle had decided that being an Auror was the best place for me. Narcissa called me down and Pius Thicknesse was ordered to bring me to the Ministry.
It was more like, being handed over than anything.
George’s hand settles on hers with care.
Like I was a jewel that had to be handled with care.
I was taken by Kingsley and Tonks and told that I would be picked up afterwards.
There were no after-work drinks for me, I can assure you that
There were supposed to be five of us.
Me, Alicia Vine, Jeremy Pecks, Jade Jones and Gregory Greengrass but only three turned up.
Jade is a half-blood. Her father is a muggle and had been killed. Her mother, a pure-blood.
Gregory is a pure-blood and they wanted to recruit him. He was refusing.
Me, Alicia and Jeremy spent our first day gathering information. It was a different time.
When I went back, we had a plan to tell my father that the Ministry were looking for them and see if I could find out where they were and maybe get them out.
It turned out that Jade and her mother were in the Malfoy Manor. That was easy enough.
Gregory was at Hogwarts. Far more tricky.
We got him out eventually.
But as you see he is alive and well. She finishes her story as monotonously as she started

HARRY POTTER
What happened to Alicia and Jeremy?

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
As though coming round from a trance. Oh they ‘re fine, Alicia was injured and works with her mum and Jeremy is more of a consultant.
You might find that being an Auror isn’t for you glances at Ron, and find something else.

RON WEASLEY
Ha, well ours doesn’t seem as bad now.

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
I’m sure it was a great first day.

GEORGE WEASLEY
Yeah mate, Lou has you beat! Slaps him on the back

NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM
So, will you and me? I mean, Should I?

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
Prepare? Absolutely. But right now, I think you’re fine. They’ve done well putting us together. I don’t know Proudfoot’s strengths but we know eachothers and I think we can agree that together we can be a strong match.

NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM
Sure. You defiantly know how to manipulate.

LOUISA SNAPE-RIDDLE
I think I’ll take that as a complement?

HARRY POTTER
You should.

RON WEASLEY
Well he’s brilliant with a sword hey Neville? George kicks him under the table Ouch! What? Oh! Right…
They finish up their drinks and HARRY, RON & NEVILLE leave the LEAKY CAULDRON.