Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

What If	By : BlackDawnRose Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Neville Views: 8249 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in HARRY POTTER or its respective worlds and I make no money from this work of fiction.

Chapter List
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Two chapters in a row. This one has been on my other pages for a while, I forgot I didn't have it on here yet so adding both chapters at once. Love to hear what you think.
The Dancing Orchid
That night at dinner Dean didn’t come over to sit with Neville and he figured it was because Ron had told the other boy some story about what had happened that afternoon. As it was Neville was already in trouble from McGonagal for using a spell on Ron, even if the other boy did deserve it, but she’d promised to give the group detention for what they’d done. As annoyed as Neville was at Dean for not even bothering to come over and get his side of the story before instantly believing Ron and the others, Neville found more of his attention focused on the Hufflepuff table and Harry, who was sitting between a Susanne Bones and Ernie McMillan. Both were speaking to him and he’d occasionally nod or smile at something but he didn’t seem to speak all that much, even to his housemates. It was odd, Neville had never looked twice at the boy, thought twice about the boy, but now he found he could think of little else. Harry was a puzzle and Neville had always liked puzzles.
“What’s got your attention over there, Nev?” Theo asked, following his line of sight over to where Potter was sitting. “Potter, really?” the other boy asked surprised.
Neville stopped his study of Harry and turned to look at Theo. “I told you what happened today with the Gryffindors and him, I was just looking to see if he was really okay, he didn’t say a whole lot afterwards, not that there’s anything new there,” Neville lied, not really wanting to explain that Harry had begun to fascinate him.
“He seems all right,” Theo replied, looking over at Harry again. “And like you said, nothing new about him being quiet at all.”
“No, I guess you’re right,” Neville agreed, wanting to get the other boy to focus on something else for a minute. “How was the study this afternoon?”
“Great, got heaps done,” Theo replied. “If you want to look at any of my notes just say so, I know all the stuff with Potter kept you tied up for quite a while.”
“I think I’ll be all right, but thanks,” Neville replied, giving the other boy a grateful smile. Theo smiled back and returned to his food giving Neville another chance to look across the room at Harry. The boy was eating his dinner quietly, his friends still talking around him. He must have felt Neville’s eyes on him because all of a sudden he glanced up and those intensely beautiful, emerald eyes were suddenly looking straight at Neville’s. He held Neville’s glance only a moment before a light blush covered his features and he turned his attention back to his food. Neville couldn’t help but grin at the other boy’s embarrassment, his grin only widening as Harry glanced back up, most likely to see if Neville was still watching him and immediately averted his eyes again, the blush intensifying.
Neville took pity on the boy then and looked away, continuing on with his dinner. He felt Harry’s gaze on him a couple more times during the night, but he kept himself from looking back, not wanting to frighten the boy or embarrass him further. When dinner was over Neville walked back to the Ravenclaw dorm with the rest of his friends and headed straight for his room, wanting some time alone to ponder the mystery that was Harry Potter and hopefully catch up on the studying he missed earlier in the day.
He was going to get the boy to talk some more before they left at the end of the year, even if it took until the day they boarded the train to head home. And maybe, if he was lucky, he would convince the boy to sing something for him.
XX
Dean approached him the following day while he and the others were sitting at the Ravenclaw table enjoying their breakfast.
“Okay, so I’m calm and collected now and I’m ready to hear your side of what happened yesterday,” he said as he sat down across from Neville.
Neville considered the boy across from him. He hadn’t admitted to anyone that he was worried about how what had happened yesterday would affect his relationship with the Gryffindor. He’d been angry with Dean for not coming to talk to him the previous night and if he were honest with himself he still was a little, something that intensified with the way Dean was now approaching him, as if Neville was the one who should be sorry. Unfortunately there was one inconvenient facet of their relationship that they were both aware of and Neville knew the other boy took advantage of; Neville was too much in love with him to stay angry at him, regardless of what he did. That love always led to him feeling upset and worried about Dean leaving him so he was always the one to apologise and try and make things right.
The pattern annoyed him, and as much as he knew he had been the one to create it Dean had never volunteered to help him be rid of it, and this time Neville wasn’t going to be the one to give in. He was angry and Ron had deserved what he did, he wouldn’t apologise to Dean for something that hadn’t had anything to do with him. He studied the other boy for several moments before returning to his food without a word.
Dean was silent for several moment before finally asking, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Neville didn’t look up as he replied, “If you’re going to come over here and start the conversation like that, then no.”
“You attacked my friend!” Dean snapped.
“Your asshole of a friend had it coming,” Neville replied, keeping the tenor of his voice calm even though he could feel himself getting angrier with every second that passed.
“Since when does being a prefect give you the right to send people flying into vegetable gardens?” Dean demanded angrily.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe since being a Gryffindor started giving you lot the right to do and say whatever you want to whoever you want without consequence,” Neville snarled in reply, finally looking up at his boyfriend. “Tell me what, in Merlin’s name, has Potter ever done to you? He sits quietly in class, he doesn’t say anything mean to anyone, he doesn’t really say a lot of anything at all, he’s never done anything to hurt anyone so why him?”
“The guys were just messing around with him,” Dean argued.
“Oh, is that right?” Neville asked. “I’m curious, do you actually know what they were doing to him and condone it as ‘messing around’ of have your darling friends been keeping you in the dark about how they treat people? And just how long have your friends been calling people faggots and fairies?”
Dean looked shocked and he opened and closed his mouth several times with nothing coming out before he finally managed to say, “They dont-”
“Oh they most certainly do,” Neville cut him off. “And if you think I’m lying perhaps you don’t know your friends as well as you think you do.”
Dean fell silent and looked down at the table.
Neville took a breath to calm himself before continuing. “I know they’re your friends and you think they’re good people, but you know what, they’re not. I’ve put up with a lot from them over the years, their games and their silly pranks. I’ve let they off because none of it hurt anyone, but this wasn’t a game or a prank, this was bullying, and I will not condone it, whether they’re your friends or not.”
Dean didn’t say anything so Neville continued.
“Now, I think what would be best is for you to go back to your table, go about your day and come back and talk to me when you’re off your high horse and over your anger at something I didn’t do. I love you, but I won’t be spoken to like that, particularly when you chose to take their side before you even heard mine,” he finished, turning back to his breakfast and ignoring the boy, as hard as it was for him.
Dean sat silently for several moments before Neville heard him get up and walk away from the table. It took every ounce of strength he possessed to keep from following him and begging to be forgiven like his heart wanted him to. He hated upsetting Dean, but he wouldn’t give in this time.
“Are you all right?” Hermione asked quietly from beside him, her hand coming to rest softly on his arm.
“No,” Neville replied honestly, pushing his food around the plate with his fork.
“I’m sorry,” she said sympathetically, “but you did the right thing.”
“I know,” Neville replied with a sigh. “I just ... you know how I am,” he said, looking over at her with a self deprecating smile.
“It’ll be okay, he’ll come around; he loves you,” she reassured him, rubbing his back gently.
“I can only hope so,” he replied, putting his fork down and giving up on his breakfast before the food threatened to make a re-appearance. He knew he’d done the right thing, he just hoped he didn’t regret it.
XX
The worry about Dean was eating at him so he did his best to think about other things, something made easier when Harry walked by him that morning while he was heading to herbology. With a smile he moved to catch up with the boy who seemed to be heading to the green houses as well.
“Good morning, Mr Potter,” he greeted, falling into step beside the other boy.
Harry looked over at him, a surprised look on his face. He nodded in reply and looked down at the books he was holding in front of him.
“Where are you headed?” Neville asked.
“Herbology,” Harry answered quietly and Neville started wondering if he’d mistaken which class he had that morning.
“Really? I thought I had Herbology now,” he said thoughtfully.
“You might, I’m not sure,” Harry replied quietly. “They’ve just moved me to this class.”
“Really? Why?” Neville asked surprised; people almost never moved classes at Hogwarts.
“I don’t know,” Harry replied quietly, still not looking up from his books.
“Well then, I guess we’ll be in class together. That’s nice,” Neville said with a smile and even though he wasn’t looking at Harry he felt the Hufflepuff’s surprised and wary gaze on him. The rest of their walk was taken in silence and when they arrived at the greenhouses professor sprout was already there waiting for them. She smiled as she saw Neville approaching with Harry and moved forward to greet them.
“Ah, my two favourite students,” she greeted only loud enough for the two of them to hear. “How are you both this morning?”
Neville replied that he was well and Harry murmured something beside him that he couldn’t catch. The head of Hufflepuff seemed to have no trouble understanding him however and stood back with a smile. “Wonderful! Now Harry you are obviously aware that I have moved you to this class since you’ve arrived this morning. I did this because you and Mr Longbottom are my two top students and I wanted you two to work together this year. Both of your previous partners were talented wizards, but not as talented as the two of you when it comes to my class and I want you both to have the best possible chance to excel. I hope that’s all right,” she explained with a smile, looking from one to the other to make sure they weren’t unhappy with the change.
“It’s fine with me,” Neville replied with a smile, pleased that he’d now have a reason to spend time with his little puzzle and doubly pleased to be rid of his previous partner. Professor Sprout wasn’t wrong when she said he was nowhere near as good as Neville, in fact he’d been rather hopeless and Neville had been more than a little sick of his incompetence.
Harry just nodded beside him and Professor Sprout smiled happily at the pair. “Wonderful! I wanted to get you paired up before I gave you your new plant of study so head on over to your normal station Mr Longbottom and show Harry how you’ve set everything up. As soon as the rest of the class is here we’ll begin,” she directed, heading up to the front of the room.
Neville showed Harry over to his area and did as Professor Sprout had asked. The other boy listened intently to everything he said before settling in beside him to wait for the rest of the class. While they were waiting Neville decided to try talking to the other boy a little.
“So you’re good at Herbology?” he asked conversationally.
Harry nodded but didn’t say anything.
“What other subjects to you like?” Neville asked, hoping that might prompt Harry to talk.
“Charms, transfiguration, ancient runes,” Harry replied softly without looking up.
“What do you want to do when you’re finished here?” Neville asked.
Harry shrugged and didn’t say anything so Neville pondered over what else he could ask the boy.
“Have you always been so good at drawing?” he asked not really knowing what else to ask.
Harry shrugged again. Okay, not really getting anywhere.
“Do you only draw animals or other things too?” he asked, a last ditch effort to get Harry to say something as he could see the last few students floating into the greenhouse.
“I draw other things too,” the boy replied quietly before Madame Pomphrey called the class to order and Neville smiled at his small victory before giving the professor his full attention.
The class went quite smoothly and the groups were all given their magical, dancing orchid to study for the semester. They had to water it just right, give it the right kind and amount of plant food and pet it’s stem just right for ten minutes every day. If they did that it should bloom for them on the full moon in two months time, just before they went home for Christmas. If it did they would pass this term. If the plant really liked them Professor Sprout also told them the orchid would dance a special dance for them when she opened at the full moon. The orchid flower was, of course, closed at the moment and nobody knew what colour their bloom would be until it emerged on that full moon night. Neville hoped it would be beautiful, he really loved orchids.
Professor Sprout gave them all a book about their orchids and left them alone to decide on a care plan for their plants. It didn’t need everything done for it at exactly the same time every day but it needed at least a little consistency so if they chose to do its cares in the morning it would have to be every morning without exception. Neville pulled out his class schedule and organiser and turned to look at Harry with questioning eyes.
“What would be better for you morning or afternoon?” he asked.
Harry studied his own schedule for a few moments before telling Neville afternoon.
“Okay, afternoon’s better for me as too so that works in well. I think that, most afternoons anyway, we should come down together to handle the cares and just come separately if someone has a class that day, what do you think?” Neville asked.
Harry nodded and looked down at his organiser. “Three’s probably the best time for me, I only have one class at that time which is on Wednesday and we should be finished in plenty of time to get back for dinner.”
Neville fought the grin that wanted to come to his face when he realised that was the longest sentence he’d ever heard Harry say and looked down at his own organiser. “Three should be fine, I have a class on Thursday, but I’ll be around to handle the Wednesday cares if you’re okay to do the Thursday ones?” he asked.
Harry nodded and marked it in his organiser.
“Great,” Neville replied marking the time on his organiser and fighting not to grin. He’d wanted a chance to get to know Harry, looks like he was getting that chance and a beautiful orchid to go with it.
The plant moved gracefully from side to side in its usual dancing pattern. According to Professor Sprout they did that from sunrise to sunset before falling asleep and re-awaking the following morning to start again. Apparently you knew if you were stroking them properly by how they reacted to your touch. If they swayed faster they were happy, if the swaying stopped or slowed they didn’t like what you were doing and you had to stop and start again when the plant had returned to its original rhythm. They needed at least one good petting per day, but you could do so as often as you wished as long as you were doing it right.
Neville studied the diagram in the book Professor Sprout had given him and committed it to memory before placing the book down, intending to reach out and pet the plant. He was shocked to look up and find Harry already reaching out to the plant which jumped slightly at his touch before beginning to move and sway in enjoyment as he pet it just the right way. The look on the boy’s features was so calm and serene, a look of fondness in his beautiful, emerald eyes as he watched the plant dance to his ministrations. Neville was a little jealous he hadn’t been the first to do that, but seeing Harry look something other than nervous or withdrawn made that feeling go away and instead he enjoyed the sight presented to him, both from the plant and the other boy.
“Oh, Harry, that’s wonderful!” Professor Sprout exclaimed happily before calling for the classes attention. “See how Mr Potter is petting his flower and it’s dancing like that, that is exactly what you need to do, 10 points to Hufflepuff,” she praised and Neville looked down at Harry to see the calm look gone and once more replaced by the nervous, withdrawn look Harry usually wore. Neville was disappointed to say the least, but he felt even worse for Harry who obviously hated the spotlight and now had everyone in the class watching him pet his plant. Wanting to help Neville leant closer to Harry and asked if he could have a go, to which the boy nodded and moved aside to let Neville get closer to the plant. Neville reached out and began to gently stroke the plant’s stem as Harry had done and was pleased when the happy dancing resumed.
“Very good, Mr Longbottom,” Sprout praised, before turning to the rest of the class. “All right everyone else, time to give it a go, just like you saw these two doing it,” she directed and the class moved to comply. Neville’s attention turned back to Harry and he asked Harry if he wanted to take over again. He moved aside and let Harry back in next to the plant, happy when the nervous look started to fade from the young Hufflepuff once more and the look of serenity returned. Neville smiled to himself and turned his attention back to the book they’d been given, wanting to give Harry a bit of privacy.
When they were dismissed at the end of the lesson they headed to the Great Hall together for lunch, Harry his usual quiet, reserved self. They agreed to meet up at the greenhouse that afternoon before breaking to head to their house tables, Neville still smiling until his eyes fell on the Gryffindor table and Dean who was sitting with Seamus, Ron, Cormac and Lavender. The hussy of a girl was rubbing Dean’s back and pretending to be all caring when it was obvious she just wanted to plaster herself to him. Dean himself looked torn and Neville wanted to go to him so badly, but he closed his eyes, steeled himself and made his way over to the Ravenclaw table, his back to the Gryffindors so he couldn’t see his boyfriend.
“Are you all right?” Cho asked as he sat down and he shook his head, turning his attention to the food in the middle of the table and knowing he had to choose something to eat even though he wasn’t the least bit interested in food right now. He made a roll with the chicken and salad on the table and proceeded to play with it for most of the break. He felt the others’ worried gazes on him throughout lunch and when it was time to head to the next lesson Hermione and Padma walked closer to him than usual, wanting to show their support.
Potions was next. Neville always enjoyed those lessons as he was partnered with Draco and he hadn’t had much of a chance to chat to the other boy recently, both of them being busy with school and the like.
“Hey, Nev,” Draco greeted brightly before obviously noticing the look on Neville’s face. “Wow, you don’t look so happy,” he commented in a more subdued tone. “Has your day just sucked or..?”
“Fighting with Dean,” Neville explained, slipping into the chair next to his blonde friend.
“Oh, that’s crap, mate, sorry,” Draco replied sympathetically, giving his shoulder a friendly squeeze. “What are you guys fighting over?”
“His friends being tools and him taking their side over mine,” Neville replied matter-of-factly.
“Ah, that, yes I remember it being a problem early on,” Draco said thoughtfully.
“Yes, early on it was, but it hasn’t been for ages,” Neville replied, frustrated by the whole situation. “Then again I’ve never seen them do anything this bad. Usually it’s just pranks and stuff but this was ... it was bullying, it was awful, and the bastards were saying all these derogatory things about gay people which really pissed me off. I may have overreacted a little, but I think Ron deserved being expelliamused into a vegetable patch personally.”
Draco snorted a laugh and nodded. “Of course he did. You don’t overreact, Nev, you never have, if you were mad enough to do that he must have done something bad enough to earn it. I’m just sorry I wasn’t around to see it.”
“It was a thing of beauty,” Neville replied with a sigh.
“Hey, don’t worry, Dean will come around,” Draco reassured him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling into a sideways hug. “He knows Ron and the others are gits, anyone with eyes can see that. It’ll be okay, I’m sure of it.”
Neville gave him a grateful smile and leant his head gently against the other boy’s. “I miss you when I don’t see you for a while,” he said wistfully.
Draco chuckled. “I know; me too. But think positive, when school’s over we’ll be in college together then working together and you’ll see far more of me than you can ever handle,” the blonde reminded him brightly.
Neville scoffed, “I don’t honestly think there is such a thing,” he disagreed.
Draco smiled and rubbed his arm gently a few times before Snape glided into the room and they pulled apart to get their things ready for the lesson. They were given their potion to work on and got to it, following the head of Slytherin’s instructions which were written up on the board. Neville found potions class soothing; you got a recipe, gathered your ingredients, followed the instructions and watched as your creation came together. It helped clear his mind of his worries and focus on other things, like his future and the greenhouse he was going to build.
Draco worked beside him, making the potion construction look effortless as always. He was a good partner to have in general and even more so when Snape gave them a particularly hard potion to work on as Draco never seemed to struggle with a potion, even when the rest of the class were tearing their hair out. He always got them right and his explanations to Neville about how to do everything were flowing and flawless. Neville always wondered why the other boy was even bothering to do a potions degree, he already seemed to know more than most people about the subject.
They had finished the preparations and were just waiting for the potion to simmer and reach its final potency. Snape walked by their desk and inspected their work before giving them a nod and moving on, obviously happy with how it all looked.
“Hey, so I was thinking, how about we have a proper catch up after class? I don’t have anything after potions today and there’s something I want to talk to you about,” Draco suggested.
“I have to go to the greenhouse for about 10m minutes at three, but I’m free otherwise, sounds good,” Neville agreed.
“Great. I’ll come with you to the greenhouse; I’d like to see what Sprout has you guys working on now,” Draco replied.
“Dancing orchids,” Neville replied with a grin.
Draco blinked at him for a moment before asking, “Do they actually-?”
“Yep,” Neville cut him off, his grin widening.
Draco chuckled. “A dancing plant, that has to be amusing,” the blonde decided.
“Actually it’s quite pretty,” Neville replied.
Draco nodded and they returned to watching their potion as it had started to change colour.
XX
At 10 to 3 they made their way down to the greenhouse together, chatting happily about their lessons and classmates. Neville wasn’t surprised to find he was the first one there and took Draco over to see his and Harry’s orchid. Draco watched it dance and sway for a moment before turning to look at Neville with a grin.
“It really does dance,” he stated with a chuckle.
“I told you so,” Neville replied, moving over to the plant and reaching out to stroke it. “And when you do this...” The plant started it’s more pronounced movements and Draco chuckled again.
“Better be careful Nev, it might just fall in love you,” the blonde warned, causing Neville to chuckle back.
“It has to be petted for at least 10 minutes a day,” Neville told him, reaching out to grab the plant food and watering can from the draw in his work station as his fingers continued their ministrations. “If we do it right the flower opens on the full moon in two months time we get to see what colour it is.”
“We?” Draco asked curiously.
“Oh yes, I forgot I hadn’t told you, I have a partner for this assignment,” Neville replied, tapping the watering can with his wand to fill it with water.
“Ah, another partnered one. Don’t tell me you’re stuck with that moron Lenny again,” Draco asked sympathetically.
“No, thankfully not,” Neville replied. “Actually Sprout moved him out of the class and moved in someone from the other class to work with me. She said we’re both the top of our classes and she wanted us together so we could help each other thrive this year.”
“Nice, so who is it?” Draco asked.
“Actually it’s Harry Potter,” Neville replied.
Draco’s face took on a shocked expression. “Really, Potter? I didn’t realise he was good at Herbology. Actually I didn’t realise he was good at anything,” Draco stated with a thoughtful frown. “I mean I see him in class occasionally and he does his work, but he’s just so ... I don’t know, invisible.”
“He certainly does go out of his way to make himself so,” Neville agreed. “I actually hadn’t even heard him speak until I saved him from Ron and his lot the other day.”
“Oh, so it was him? Yeah, I can see now why they’re so pissed,” Draco said as if he finally understood something
“Why?” Neville asked confused.
“Well you must know Potter’s their favourite target, they’re always picking on him,” Draco replied matter-of-factly.
“No, I didn’t know that,” Neville replied. How had he never seen that before?
“Maybe you’re just never around when they do it, but it’s been happening for years,” Draco explained.
“And no one’s done anything about it?” Neville asked angrily.
“Hey, they’re Gryffindors, you know Dumbledore will never do anything about them, they’re his golden children,” Draco reminded him with more than a hint of irritation in his voice. “I mean the Hufflepuffs’ used to report it to the teachers but nothing was ever done about it. In the end they just stopped bothering.”
“But that’s awful! Harry hasn’t done anything to deserve that!” Neville snapped angrily.
“Of course he hasn’t, Neville, they’re Gryffindors, since when do they need a reason to pick on someone,” Draco reminded him. “You know they probably just picked him because he was an easy target. He’s always alone and he never fights back, why would they use more time and energy on other people if they didn’t have to?”
“It’s not right, Harry’s a nice guy,” Neville replied, still annoyed.
“I’m sure he is, Nev, but what can you do? Nothing will ever be done about it while they’re at the school, Dumbledore likes them too much,” Draco said with a sigh.
“I’m going to do something about it,” Neville replied determinedly.
“Really? And what are you going to do?” Draco asked curiously.
“I’m going to befriend Harry, I’m going to draw him into my group and I’m going to keep the Gryffindor bastards away from him,” Neville replied.
“Okay, but, why?” Draco asked.
“What do you mean?” Neville asked.
“I mean what’s the sudden interest in Potter?” Draco asked. “I mean you’ve never gone out of your way to talk to him before or been interested in him as a person, why now?”
“Because he’s nice, he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way and I didn’t know about it before now and ...” he trailed off, the look on Draco’s face telling him the blonde didn’t believe what he was saying and in all honestly Neville didn’t know what he was saying. He didn’t really have an answer for the Slytherin. “I honestly don’t know,” he eventually admitted. “In a way I find him rather fascinating and I want to know more about him, but as to why that is ... I mean I wasn’t lying before when I said he was nice. We’ve started working on his project together and he’s been lovely, quiet but lovely. I don’t know, there’s something about him that just makes me want to know him better; I can’t explain why.”
“Well it’s not like it’s a bad thing really. He is Harry Potter, his family is the reason we’re all free to live our lives as we want, they deserve our gratitude,” Draco said.
“They don’t get it though,” Neville pointed out.
“No, they really don’t,” Draco agreed.
“I want to change that and I want to get to know Harry better, are you going to join me or would you rather stay out of it?” Neville asked.
Draco looked at him incredulously. “Nev, come on, it’s me you’re talking to, do you honestly expect me to leave you to take on the entire school of Gryffindors alone? You’re my best friend, of course I want to help, and besides you know how much I hate the weasel, getting under his skin is something I always enjoy,” the blonde reminded him. “And getting to know the enigma that is Potter would certainly be an interesting adventure.”
Neville grinned, “Too true. All right then, Harry should be here soon; when he arrives I’ll introduce you and we can see if he’ll say anything to us today,” he decided.
“All right, it’s a plan,” Draco agreed and turned back to study the swaying plant again. “That thing really does look funny doing that,” he told Neville.
“You say funny, I say pretty,” Neville replied smiling up at his orchid.
Not 30 seconds later the Hufflepuff boy arrived, pausing in the doorway when he saw that Neville wasn’t alone. “Potter, there you are. Come in I was just getting everything ready,” Neville greeted him with a smile, reaching into the draw of their work area to find the scoop for the plant food.
Harry approached cautiously and Draco moved out of the way so the boy could slip in next to Neville, which he did while still keeping a decent distance between himself and the Ravenclaw. “Do you want to do the watering or the feeding?” Neville asked.
Harry shrugged and Neville was disappointed that the boy hadn’t said anything.
“Okay, how about I do the feeding today, you do the watering and tomorrow we’ll trade, what do you think?” he asked.
Harry nodded and reached out for the watering can. The food and water had to be poured evenly around the base of the plant with the water following directly after the food to help it soak in. Neville counted to three and began pouring the food around the plant, Harry following directly behind with the water. They finished the pouring and watched as the food dissolved into the soil, the plant did another version of its happy dance, which made Neville smile and Draco chuckle, and reassured them that they had done it right.
Harry didn’t say anything but Neville was sure he saw a ghost of a smile on the other boy’s face and when the plant was done with its happy dance Harry reached out to stroke it’s base, making it sway happily once again.
“You’ve got to wonder how it doesn’t tire itself out doing that,” Draco stated thoughtfully from behind them.
“Especially when it does it all day,” Neville agreed.
“So you’re Harry Potter aren’t you?” Draco asked curiously and Neville mentally scolded himself for forgetting to introduce the blonde to his Herbology partner.
“Oh yes, sorry, Draco this is Harry Potter, Mr Potter this is Draco Malfoy, my best friend,” Neville introduced the pair.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Draco greeted holding out his hand.
Harry who’d turned away from the plant to face Draco swapped the hand that was petting the plant with his other and took Draco’s hand gently to shake. “You too,” he replied politely, although Neville could see how nervous the smaller boy looked and he didn’t look up at Draco for more than a moment.
Draco released him and looked at Neville as Harry turned his attention back to the orchid. “He’s cute,” the blonde mouthed to Neville who nodded in agreement.
“So, Potter, since we’re going to be working together for a while would you prefer me to call you Potter or Harry?” Neville asked, wanting to make conversation.
“Harry’s fine,” the quiet boy replied without turning around.
“Okay then, call me Neville if it suits you, or Nev, most people call me that,” Neville offered politely.
Harry nodded his attention still on the plant. “He really doesn’t talk much,” Draco mouthed to Neville,”
Neville shook his head. “I’m trying,” he mouthed back.
“So, Harry, is it okay if I call you that as well?” Draco asked.
Harry nodded.
“All right, Harry, tell us a bit about yourself, what subjects do you like?” Draco asked.
“Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Herbology and Charms,” Harry replied softly.
“Ah okay, I’m okay with Charms, not so great with Herbology unlike you and Neville here and transfiguration is kind of fun. I’m best at potions myself, do you like it much?” he asked.
Harry shook his head.
“Neville’s good at both, not quite sure how he does it, far too smart if you ask me,” Draco complimented his friend who grinned back at him. “What kind of things do you do for fun?” Draco asked, finding a spot of clear bench and lifting himself up onto it.
Harry shrugged and Neville decided to step in here. “Harry draws, he’s really good at it,” he told the blonde.
“Drawing really?” Draco asked surprised and Neville saw Harry stiffen, which confused him until he remembered how Ron and the others had reacted to his drawings. “What kinds of things do you draw?” Draco asked. “People? Landscapes? Buildings?”
“Everything,” Harry replied quietly, his figure still not relaxed.
“Really? I can’t draw anything at all,” Draco told him. “You’re lucky to have a talent like that, I’ve heard so many experts say that having an artistic outlet of any kind is so good for you, helps you unwind, de-stress and the like. Plus if you’re good at it you can make a lot of money, have you ever sold any of your pictures?” Draco asked.
Harry shook his head.
“Can I see them?” Draco asked.
“I ... I don’t have my book with me,” Harry replied quietly.
“Oh, that’s a shame, maybe next time?” Draco asked.
“Okay,” Harry replied quietly, seeming to relax again. Neville smiled at his Slytherin friend; Draco was always good at talking to people, much better than Neville.
“Did you still want to talk to me about something?” Neville asked Draco, wanting to take some of the attention off Harry and give the quiet boy a moment to breathe.
“Yes, I almost forgot. I was talking to my future business partner and we were thinking about the shop. We’d mainly intended for it to be a place for buying readily made potions, but we were thinking of instead widening the business to include an area for people to purchase ingredients as well. We wanted to know if you were interested in being a partner and supplying the plant end of things, what do you think?” The blonde asked excitedly.
“Oh, well it sounds great,” Neville replied with a smile, excited at the prospect.
“Excellent,” Draco smiled back. “I think you’ll be awesome to have as a partner.”
“You too,” Neville agreed.
“What about you, Harry? Any idea what you want to do after school? Are you going to be an artist?” Draco asked.
Harry shrugged still patting the plant and Neville spoke again.
“That would be an awesome job wouldn’t it? Travel around the world, draw or paint whatever you see. You’re a lucky guy to have the possibility of doing that, Harry,” he said, looking down at the other boy.
“I’m not that good,” the Hufflepuff mumbled quietly.
“I think you’re pretty good,” Neville disagreed.
“And I’d like to weigh in but I can’t,” Draco added. “Still, Nev doesn’t say things that aren’t true so you must be good, Harry.”
Neville grinned when he saw a light blush colour Harry’s cute features and he looked over at Draco with a wink.
“So, are you going to stay down here for much longer or are you done for now?” Draco asked grinning back at Neville.
“What do you think, Harry?” Neville asked and the boy looked up at him, shock evident in his lovely green eyes.
“I ... I don’t know,” he replied, looking completely lost by the question.
“Well what do you want to do, stay here or go back to the castle?” Neville asked.
“Um, I was going to go back up and study,” Harry replied nervously, looking from one to the other and Neville nodded.
“Sounds like a good idea; Draco and I were going to do the same, mind if we join you?” he asked politely.
“Um ... okay ... if you want to,” Harry agreed stutteringly and Neville put all the things away before petting the plant one more time and leading the way out of the green house. Poor Harry looked so confused by Neville and Draco’s actions and Neville couldn’t help but think about how cute he looked like that. They made sure he was in the middle of the two of them and headed up to the library, chatting and doing their best to draw Harry in all the way.
XX
End of Chapter
This one was a good deal longer than the other but I liked where it ended. So Harry's our boy's new puzzle. What will it look like when it's pieced together? Let me know what you think. Love to all.
Kayla
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