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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.

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Hi again, here’s our new chapter of What If. There will be a few questions answered and even more questions posed. Sorry, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
The Holidays
It was the day before Christmas and Neville had been home for a week. He hadn’t heard a thing from Harry and he was more than a little worried about the other boy. It was odd really, he was sad about the whole Dean situation but he found himself missing Harry more than he missed his ex boyfriend and he wasn’t sure why. Was it because Dean had cheated on him and therefore ruined Neville’s opinion of him or was it something else entirely? He didn’t know and he really wasn’t in the mood to analyse it, he just wanted to see the Hufflepuff and make sure he was okay.
He was heading downstairs to spend some time with the orchid when a beautiful, snow white owl swooped down over his head and dropped a rolled up parchment into his hands. It continued flying so obviously wasn’t waiting for an answer and Neville, hoping desperately that it would be from Harry, pulled open the seal and unrolled the parchment to find a meticulously hand drawn picture of one of the most beautiful gardens Neville had ever seen. He admired it only a moment before pulling the letter out from behind the picture and reading it.
Dear Neville,
I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to get back to you I’ve been unwell. I read your letter as soon as it arrived. I was so happy to hear from you, but it took me a while to get well enough to write back and again I’m sorry. I also want to say sorry about the other day, in the library, I hope I didn’t freak you and the others out too much. I know I must have seemed a bit odd to you, out of character and all, I promise it won’t happen again.
How are you going? Have your holidays been good? Are you going okay with the whole Dean issue? Ron and Seamus coming up to you in the library like that was so horrible, I wanted to make sure you were okay with all of that but .... I’m sorry I wasn’t there the last week, I wish I could tell you why but I’m afraid I can’t, I’m not allowed to talk about it. I’m all right though, I’m sorry I worried you but I’m fine. Your letter was really nice and it made me smile, thank you. I know you’ve probably already seen the picture I sent you, I hope you like it. It’s my favourite section of the botanical gardens that’s close to my house and I thought you’d like it. Maybe I’ll be able to show it to you one day ... if you want.
Anyway I should go. I’m glad I got to send this to you before Christmas since that’s what it is, a Christmas present. I’m sorry it’s not much. I was going to buy you something nice, but with the sickness I didn’t get time, sorry. I hope you have a great Christmas, Neville, I hope you’re not too upset with me and I’m looking forward to seeing you next semester.
Take care,
Harry
Neville placed the letter down and looked at the picture again. The trees were drawn so perfectly they almost looked alive, except they weren’t coloured. He searched through the pile of paper again and was pleased to find Harry’s address written on the back of the page the letter was written on. He was happy about that, it meant he could send Harry letters back as well as the Christmas present he’d gotten the other boy. Unfortunately it didn’t shift the nagging worry he was feeling about what had been wrong with Harry. He’d said he’d been sick, but with what? Was it something he’d had before? Something serious that he might get again? He hated not knowing, it gave him no end of worry.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he ran down to the fireplace. He knelt down in front of it right as it flared to life and Draco’s face appeared in the flames.
“Did you hear from Harry?” Draco asked upon spotting Neville in front of the fire.
“Yeah I did, did he send you a picture?” Neville asked.
“Yeah, it’s amazing too,” Draco replied. “Did he give you his address as well?” he asked.
“Yeah he did. I’m going to write back to him now and send him his Christmas present but I wanted to make sure you got a letter too. I guess you beat me to it,” Neville said with a chuckle.
Draco chuckled back, “Yeah, I guess I did.” The laughter died down and he became sombre all of a sudden. “Did he tell you what was wrong with him?” he asked.
“No, he just said he’d been sick,” Neville replied.
“Yeah, same, I wonder what’s wrong,” Draco said, sounding worried and thoughtful.
“I don’t know,” Neville replied, sure he sounded as down as Draco looked. “I’m going to go and write back to Harry. Do you want to come over tonight, my parents are going out?” he asked.
“Mine too. Sure that’d be good,” Draco replied. “I’ll floo over around 6?” he asked.
“All right, see you then.”
“Bye.”
The floo call shut off and Neville headed upstairs to write to Harry. The letter wasn’t too long since he wanted to send it back ASAP, but he told Harry that he was really happy to hear from him, he wasn’t at all frightened by him that day in the library and he was worried about his health. He told him he hoped he was okay and was looking forward to seeing him again as well as inviting him to come over any time during the holidays if he was feeling up to it.
He shrunk Harry’s present and attached it to the letter. He’d bought the other boy a new book to draw in with pages that were spelled to be unbreakable. He could pull them out if he wanted to, but if the stupid Gryffindors got a hold of his book again they wouldn’t be able to actually cause any damage to the things he’d drawn and written.
The book itself was leather on the outside and he’d had Harry’s initials embossed on the front in gold letters. It looked amazing and Neville was really happy with it; he hoped Harry liked it too. He knew Draco was sending Harry a set of expensive, high quality drawing pencils. There was a box of just plain charcoal pencils as well as another of coloured pencils that could be used as normal pencils or wet and used as water colours if Harry wanted. Neville thought the two presents would go well together and he hoped Harry agreed.
He sent his letter and the present off with his owl and headed downstairs to the greenhouse to tend to his orchid. There was no way he was going to miss the flower blooming again.
XX
The day at last arrived for them to return to Hogwarts and Neville was positive he’d never been so eager to get on the train. He’d received several letters from Harry throughout the rest of the holidays, the one right after he’d sent the boy his Christmas present full of thank you’s and telling him over and over again how much he loved the book. Apparently Draco received something similar. Harry hadn’t been able to come out unfortunately, but he promised he’d be at the station ready to get on the train and head back to school. Draco and Neville found each other quickly as they always did - Draco’s parents were impossible to miss with that hair. They gave each other a quick hug and exchanged pleasantries with the other’s parents before searching around for any sign of Harry.
When at last they spotted him it was actually due to Neville’s mother spying Harry’s mother’s hair. Neville and Draco crossed the distance quickly and as soon as they were in front of Harry, whose eyes lit up beautifully at seeing them, Neville couldn’t stop himself from sweeping the smaller boy into his arms and holding him tightly.
“It’s so good to see you,” he told the Hufflepuff as he felt Harry’s arms slip tentatively around him in return. “We were so worried about you.”
“It’s good to see you too,” Harry replied softly. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” His arms felt wonderful around Neville’s neck and if he could he would have held the hufflepuff for a lot longer. He knew he shouldn’t though, he was sure he’d already confused the hell out of Harry and everyone else on the platform not to mention himself. Why was he so desperate to hold Harry? Yes he’d missed him a lot but still...
He pulled back and gave Harry a smile before moving away and allowing Draco to say hello. The blonde gave Harry a hug as well and told Harry he was happy to see him and not to ever be out of contact that long again. Harry smiled, promised not to be and turned to introduce them to his mother who was standing behind him, watching the exchange in silence.
“Guys this is my mother, Lilly Potter. Mum this is Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom,” Harry introduced them.
“It’s nice to meet you both. Harry’s been talking nonstop about you all holidays,” Lilly greeted them both with a smile.
“You mean he has that capacity? I thought he only had a 20 word quota per day,” Draco said teasingly. Harry blushed and looked away, prompting the others to chuckle at his embarrassment.
“Harry’s always been a quiet child but he does talk a little more when he’s at home,” Lilly told them with a smile. Just then Neville felt a touch on his shoulder and he looked back to see his and Draco’s parents standing behind them.
“Lilly, it’s nice to see you again,” Neville’s mum greeted the red haired woman with a warm smile. Lilly smiled back, although Neville could see it was slightly nervous.
“It’s nice to see you too, Alice. Hello, Frank, Mr and Mrs Malfoy, nice to see you again” she greeted the parents politely before turning to face Harry again. “Do you have everything?” she asked grasping his shoulders gently.
“I do,” Harry replied.
“Okay. Remember, if you need anything you let me know right away, all right.” Harry nodded and Lilly smiled. “I love you,” she said softly and leant forward to kiss him on the forehead before pulling him into a hug. Harry hugged her back and gave her a smile when she pulled back.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said.
“Yes you will. Have fun,” she said before turning back to Neville and Draco. “It was nice to meet you both, enjoy your new semester,” she said with a warm smile for them both before bidding them and their parents farewell and heading out of the station.
“We’d best get on the train,” Draco told them and Neville and Harry both nodded. He and Draco turned to say goodbye to their parents and it was only when Neville hugged Frank that the man reminded him he hadn’t introduced them to Harry yet.
“Oh, sorry of course, mum, dad, this is Harry,” he said motioning to the slight Hufflepuff boy who smiled shyly and waved.
“It’s nice to meet you, Harry,” Frank greeted holding out his hand to shake. Harry shook his hand nervously before doing the same to Alice and then Draco introduced Harry to his parents. They weren’t as welcoming as Neville’s parents, but the Malfoy parents weren’t really warm with anyone except each other and Draco, the blonde had told him that the first time he’d met them. Harry shook their hands, told them it was nice to meet them and then the group headed onto the train. They found a compartment quickly enough and Neville helped Harry put all his things up in the overhead storage. He got the orchid sorted in its temperature controlled container, then they all sat down and waited for the train to depart.
It didn’t take long before they were on their way and they began talking about their summers and how they’d been. Harry pulled the book Neville had given him out of the little book bag he’d left down from the overhead storage and showed them both the picture he’d started drawing with the pencils Draco had given him. It was another section of the botanical gardens near Harry’s house, the main sketch was already finished and Harry was just about to start colouring it in and testing the water colour aspect of the pencils. He thanked them both again for the presents and they thanked him in return for theirs. Neville had placed his in a frame and put it up on his wall. Draco’s was in his study on his desk.
After about an hour the compartment door opened and Hermione’s head appeared around the door. “Ah, there you are, we’ve been looking for you,” she said before opening the door the rest of the way and walking in, Padma, Cho and Theo following close behind. “It’s good to see you,” she said coming over to hug Neville who smiled in greeting and hugged her back. The others all gave Neville greeting hugs of their own then turned to say hello to Draco and Harry.
“Now, we know you and Draco have been friends forever and you’ve been making friends with Harry, that’s cool, but we don’t feel like being left out anymore,” Theo told him matter of factly. “So we decided to crash your compartment and get to know Draco and Harry better and here we are. Hi, how is everybody?” he asked.
Neville was surprised but not unpleasantly. He motioned for them to sit down on the other side across from him, Draco and Harry and they did so, making themselves comfortable. It was a good thing the compartments were big and that Harry, Cho and Hermione were small or they would have had a hard time fitting. They’d just gotten settled when the door opened again and this time it was Draco’s friends who’d decided to do much the same as the Ravenclaws, not liking the lack of time they got to spend with Draco lately.
Somehow they all managed to fit in the small compartment, but it meant being a little squished. Neville ended up against the window, Harry next to him, Draco next to Harry and the three of them were pressed rather close together. Draco and Neville had always been okay in each other’s personal space, they’d been friends long enough for it not to bother them. Neither of them had been this close to Harry, however, aside from their earlier hug. While it didn’t seem to effect Draco at all, and Harry was unreadable as always, Neville found the contact with Harry just a little too pleasant. What was going on with him? Harry was his friend, and yes he was happy to see the hufflepuff again, but this was a little much surely.
He tried to distract himself by listening to the others talk about their holidays but he was acutely aware of every move Harry made for the rest of their trip to Hogwarts.
XX
They settled back into their routine easily enough, Harry and Draco spending their afternoons with Neville in the green house tending to the orchid before heading back up to the castle to study. The Slytherins and Ravenclaws were with them during their study most of the time now however and Neville had to admit he liked that they were all getting along and taking the time to get to know Draco, himself and Harry.
Harry was like he’d been with Neville and Draco for the first little while, not saying a lot. The others in the group quickly got used to him however and did their best to include him and get to know him, it made Neville proud. The Wednesday after they returned to Hogwarts was the full moon, Harry had miscalculated when he’d told Neville it was during the holidays in his letter, which Neville was actually happy about as it meant they could watch the flower open together. Harry, Neville and Draco headed outside together after dinner, with Professor Sprout’s permission, to wait for the flower to open.
They found an area of grass where the moonlight was unobscured and the area as flat as possible. They placed the orchid down on the ground and sat back to wait for it to bloom. It didn’t take long for the orchid to react to the full moons light and after only a few minutes its dance started to become more pronounced. The three of them watched in awe as it swayed and twisted around itself, spreading out further and further from the pot and actually becoming taller as the dance progressed. Finally, with a wave and a flourish, the petals unfurled and spread out wide, like arms opening to embrace the moonlight. As they watched, the petals, like the stem, lengthened and thickened and by the time it was open fully the plant was more than twice its original size with a flower that was almost a metre wide and just as high.
It was magnificent. The flower itself was bright yellow in the middle, changing to green and finally a bright blue as it reached its edges. The tips of the flowers were black, almost as if they’d been dipped in paint and the stem had darkened to an almost purple colour. Neville looked at the flower in awe, amazed beyond words by its beauty. He moved to stand next to the plant and as if sensing his presence it lowered its flower and appeared to be looking at him.
“It’s beautiful!” he exclaimed happily as the others moved to stand beside him. The flower swung to look at Harry then finally to look at Draco before beginning a new dance for them to watch. Neville turned to thank Harry for saving the orchid so he’d have a chance to see this, but was floored by the look of wonder he could see on the other boy’s face. He was like a child seeing Honeydukes for the first time and Neville had never found anything so endearing in his life. Harry was so beautiful, how had that thought not occurred to him before now?
As if sensing his gaze Harry turned and looked at him, the wonder still present in his gorgeous eyes, but mixed with curiosity. Knowing he had to say something fast Neville thought about why he’d been looking at Harry in the first place and whispered. “Thank you for this, I never would have had the chance to see it if it weren’t for you.”
“You’re welcome,” Harry replied with a warm smile, turning back to look at the orchid who was still dancing for them. They stayed out there with it for hours before both them and the flower seemed to tire. They took her back to the greenhouse to sleep before heading up to their own dorms to do the same.
As Neville lay in his bed that night he couldn’t get the image of Harry’s face out of his head. Why had it struck him so? It wasn’t like he hadn’t always noticed Harry was beautiful, what had changed? He was too tired to think about it right then and decided to ponder more over it when he had more energy. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, images of Harry and dancing orchids filling his head.
XX
End of chapter
So what did we think? Did you like the orchid? I could picture it so clearly in my head, I hope you can too. So More questions. I’m looking forward to seeing the theories you come up with as to what’s going on with Harry. Feel free to let me know what you think and of course if you want to find me on facebook just look for Kayla Dark or darkdancerkayla@outlook.com. See you soon xxoo
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