"After questioning the healer, he was taken away and... further questioned. Apparently, the Minister was just in time as the healer was getting ready to dose them again. With some of the potion on hand, a hospital Potions Master was able to develop an antidote and the Longbottoms were immediately dosed with it.
"They woke up this morning. That is, the potion was neutralised, allowing them to come back to their senses, this morning. They're now, in there, with family and a new healer and medi-witch team."
"And, you're here, because?" asked Sirius.
"Orders. Apparently, direct from the Minister, himself," said Senior Auror Savage. "'If anything happens to them after they've so recently woken up, it would disastrous!' were his words, I think."
"Let me guess, said Sirius a little sarcastically. "The story in tomorrow's Prophet will be something along the lines of how the Minister, himself, solved the problem of the Longbottoms' long term insanity, and saw to them getting their sanity back."
Savage just smirked and was about to say something back when the door opened. Madam Longbottom stuck her head out.
"Dumbledore gone?" she asked.
"Yes, Ma'am," replied the other auror as Madam Longbottom looked about.
When her eyes recognised Sirius she looked at him for a moment before she said, "Get in here, Black." Then she held the door open.
Sirius said to the two aurors, "Nice talking to you. And, thanks for blocking Dumbledore."
Both aurors smiled and nodded as he stepped between them and through the open door.
As soon as Sirius stepped in, Madam Longbottom shut the door, pointed with her chin and said, "This way."
She led Sirius down the length of the ward and through a set of hospital shielding curtains.
She immediately said, "Frank, Alice? Sirius has arrived."
Stepping within, Sirius could see both were sitting up on their beds, with both beds pushed closer together. Both looked about how he looked when he first escaped Azkaban; but, a lot cleaner.
"Frank, Alice," he said giving both a smile and nod. "You both look like shit."
The comment earned him a wide grin back from both but an angry rebuke from Madam Longbottom for both his remarks and his language.
After dinner, while Harry was pacing the floor in their apartment unable to concentrate on assignments, he felt his communications mirror vibrate. Whipping it out he opened it up and waited for the screen to clear.
As soon as Sirius appeared on the screen he asked, "Well?"
"I am. Thank you for asking, Pup," his godfather cheekily replied.
While Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance, Sirius gave a little chuckle before he said, "I've been in to see them both. I only left their bedsides about ten minutes ago, actually; when I was tossed out to allow them to rest."
Before Harry could even ask his first question, Sirius continued. "They're both well. Both have their full mental faculties back. However, they're also both quite weak. That's understandable. It's going to take them quite some time to rebuild their wasted muscles and be able to at least move about unaided.
"The first people they asked to see were Madam Longbottom and Neville, of course. However, while I was there, Alice asked after you. She wants to see you. So, I'll be organising a time for you to visit with Professor Flitwick. I also had to tell them that you are bonded to two witches in your year as I expect you'll want to bring both when you come in to visit with them. I didn't want to tell them more than that because I didn't want to shock them with it.
"Neville will be spending the next few days living at Longbottom Hall and will return to school on Sunday afternoon. He's not happy with that. However, he has to attend school and, therefore, cannot take too much time off.
"While I was there Madam Longbottom and I had a private chat. Apparently, their Healer-of-Record had been dosing the both of them with a senility-inducing potion. He'd been paid by someone to keep them in that state. That person had also been supplying the healer with the potion. The DMLE cannot get the name of the person who's been doing that due to a Wizard's Oath. But, current unsubstantiated belief is that it was Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore?" asked Harry. "Why would Dum... Ah!" he said, suddenly understanding.
"Yes," said Sirius. "Because of either who Neville might be; or because Alice is your godmother; or both. Plus, the potion used is supposed to be something no one's ever seen before. And that includes the team of Potions Masters and Mistresses employed by the hospital. They say it's almost alchemic in nature."
"And Dumbledore apprenticed under the world-renowned Alchemist, Nicholas Flamel," said Harry.
"Precisely," agreed Sirius, before he changed the subject. "I hear from her that Daphne wrote to her asking her to investigate why you've not received your Order of Merlin yet."
"Yeah; I'm not that bothered by it, but both my ladies are," replied Harry. "As slaying the basilisk was something I did, not something my parent's did for me in eighty-one, I'm willing to go along with it."
"Well, she's now going to be busy with tending to Frank and Alice," explained Sirius. "So, starting tomorrow, I take over the investigation."
"Of course," said Harry. "And thank her for tending to it until now. It is very much appreciated." "I already have, knowing how you'd have reacted," said Sirius.
"Thank you," said Harry, honestly moved his godfather was looking out for his interests and knew exactly how he'd react.
The second task was only a couple weeks off, but Harry's mind was almost fixated on the Longbottoms and how they came to be woken up.
It was a few days later, on the weekend, when Harry and the girls were picked up by Sirius from Hogwarts and taken to Saint Mungo's. They Floo'ed directly from Professor Flitwick's office, this time.
"Remus has a job," said Sirius by way of saying hello.
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