Chapter 17 – Of Lions and Violets

Neville held himself together until he was well away from the main doors of the school, then burst out laughing. It lasted such a long time and came with such force that Neville had to stop his pace to finish and catch his breath about halfway to Hagrid's hut. A picture of Gran flitted into his mind, opening Carrow's letter and reading it. The only thing imaginary Gran did was smile.

Now feeling much lighter, Neville grinned widely as he walked, a grin that did not fade as he arrived at the clearing where Care of Magical Creatures was held. He barely noticed Pansy sitting and waiting for class to start as he laid out his book on a stump.

"Well, Mr. Longbottom, don't you look quite pleased with yourself this morning. I do suppose you have every right to be," Pansy said after a few moments, her tone light and approving. Pansy's tone surprised Neville out of a response as she continued. "I'll grant you the boldness of it. Only a true Gryffindor would have the…" Pansy paused, looking like she was searching for a word, "the audacity to take his girl into the Headmaster's office for a snog. I'd wager the locale made it all the more exciting."

"My…my…girl?" Neville managed to stammer out, utter confusion replacing his previous good mood. "What in blazes are you talking about, Parkinson?"

"You and Luna, of course! Don't try to deny your greatest achievement to date, Longbottom. She's a lovely girl, perfectly suited to you, not to mention a pureblood to boot. It's nice to see you finally living up to your potential," Pansy said, smiling quite genuinely at Neville. "If you need any help or advice, feel free to ask me. Keeping a girl is a far harder course than getting one. With your limited experience, I feel I could be of great help to you in this regard."

"Now…half a moment, Parkinson…" Neville said, his mind stumbling all over itself to give a response, clutching at anything to kill this rumor. "Ginny was with us too, you know," he said desperately.

"Was she now?" Pansy replied, her voice even more piqued with interest. "You? A ménage à trois? Involving not just any girl, but Potter's girl?"

Pansy stood daintily and clapped her hands lightly together, her smile almost predatory as she looked at Neville. "Bravo, Longbottom. Bravisima!"

"A what now?" Neville asked, completely perplexed by her dipping in and out of what was obviously French.

"But what will Potter think of you now, I wonder?" Pansy said, ignoring Neville. "Not only snogging his girl, but doing so along with another? I'm certain he'll be quite put out with you now, Longbottom. Then again, you're here, and he's not, am I right?"

She winked conspiratorially at Neville before taking a seat again. She looked expectantly at him, looking as if she were ready to pounce. To give himself time to wade through all the ideas Pansy had thrown at him, Neville stalled with, "Where's Professor Hagrid? I thought I was late to class."

"I've no idea. I, of course, am always early, but I think the Professor is spread a little too thin, given his…limited…capabilities. I've no idea why he's being kept on, to be honest," Pansy said matter-of-factly.

"If you hate him so much, why in blazes are you still taking this course?" Neville asked angrily.

"I'll not let another's limitations block my own goals. Besides, I don't hate anyone. Acknowledging another's disabilities is a form of respect, and I am quite clever enough to learn on my own if needed, until a suitable replacement is found."

"You're going to tell me that you've learned nothing from Hagrid?" Neville countered.

"Well…perhaps being closer to them himself gives him an insight into the bestial mind that those more sophisticated would tend to lack. Personally, I think anyone can learn that insight without the burden of muddied heritage," Pansy replied.

"You're wrong, Parkinson," Neville said quietly.

"Am I? About which part?" Pansy asked bluntly.

There was so much wrong about the things she'd said that it took Neville a moment to pick the one that needed addressing first. "If I were going to take a girl somewhere for…anything like that, it'd be somewhere a good sight more romantic than Dumbledore's office. Aside from that, Luna and I are good friends, and I wouldn't change that for the whole world. You really shouldn't believe everything you hear, especially from your…your friends."

"Then what exactly were you doing there, Longbottom?" Pansy asked, excitement mounting in her voice.

"Not…not that," Neville said. "As to Ginny…like you said, she's Harry's girl. Off limits. I wouldn't betray Harry like that."

"Well, Potter broke up with her and skived off, so it's not exactly a betrayal," Pansy countered. "Unless, of course, Lovegood objects."

"Why…what…why would she…" Neville said, confused again.

Suddenly Pansy's expression changed from one of elation to deep concern. "Neville, have you ever snogged a girl before?"

"Well, no, not that it's any of your business," Neville said before he thought about his answer.

"Oh! Oh dear! You poor, poor thing! Well, you're a prefect now, a pureblood. This can easily be remedied, and if my information is right, it's not like Lovegood wouldn't be amenable. You are quite correct that the Headmaster's office is a poor choice. There's the Astronomy Tower, classroom eleven, the boat house, oh, the lapping of the water there is to die for, the lake if you want to be boring…" Pansy said, ticking off on her fingers as she spoke.

"Wait, wait, Parkinson," Neville said, interrupting her. He tried desperately to catch up to the leap Pansy had made, and just couldn't get there. "What, exactly, are you talking about?"

"Why, asking a girl out, of course. I told you I could be of help, and now I'm more determined than ever to be. Lovegood is a good fit for you, if you ask me." Pansy said.

"Luna? You want me to…ask Luna out?" Neville asked, incredulously.

"Actually, I'm fairly sure Lovegood wants you to ask her out. Why else would she spend so much time with you?" Pansy replied.

"Because half of our friends are gone?" Neville asked.

Before Pansy could reply, Hagrid came crashing out of the woods and into the clearing. He was covered from head to foot in mud and grime, his face obscured by the same, his beard more in tangles than usual.

"Bloody damn Carrows," he muttered a little too loudly. "O' course I'm late fer class on top o' it all. Sorry, kids, won't be a habit, I promise."

"What happened?" Neville asked.

"Never you mind tha', Neville. I've got somethin' fer you," Hagrid said, reaching his hand into a pocket of his filthy cloak. Out of it he pulled Neville's wand in pristine condition. "Here ya go. Snape said you could have it back fer class."

"Thanks, Professor. Where's Ginny's?" Neville asked.

"Had another student take it to her earlier this mornin'. She got it before her first class, no worries, Neville." Hagrid replied with a smile. "Also, you, Ginny, and Luna'll be serving yer detention on Halloween, so don't be thinkin' you lot'll be goin' to any parties tha' night."

"Yes, Professor," Neville replied.

"Oh, and one last thing, my boy. You've got to…oh, how did she put it? Toe the line and be cautious. Can't have you lot gettin' caught doin' bad things too often, or there'll be trouble, ok?" Hagrid said with barely contained glee.

"How did who put it?" Pansy asked, drawing Hagrid's attention for the first time since he arrived.

"Never mind, Parkinson. We've got a lesson to do, and not nearly as much time as I'd like, so let's get to it." Hagrid replied.

Neville tried to keep his head down for the remainder of the day, but the rumors flying around the castle were unavoidable. They seemed to sit him like darts as he walked through the halls.

"They were trying to kill him, of course. It's a wonder they're still at school. Should be expelled, if you ask me."

"They wanted to take the mickey out of him, I say. Like as not they were pulling some prank or other."

"Oy, Neville! Good on you mate! Way to put it to the old snake!"

Normally, he never paid any attention to the conversations in the hallways, but for some reason, the words about him were louder, hitting his ears whether he wanted them to or not. Of course, he only heard such things from around corners or behind half open doors, and when he came into view of the speakers, all conversation quieted to whispers he couldn't hear.

He ate his lunch amid the stares and whispered conversations of both friends and enemies. He forced himself to eat all his meal despite feeling nauseous and hurried out of the Great Hall. Even hiding in the common room of Gryffindor tower was no help, though he stuck it out diligently and at least made a show of working on homework. For the first time, Neville dreaded the weekend starting tomorrow as it would allow more time for him to have to face the rumors about him.

Neville sullenly wandered toward the library three hours after lunch to meet up with Ginny and Luna, a ritual they had started since both the girls had Herbology together each year. Neville was all too happy to help with their homework, though Luna never really needed it.

He was running late, and as he expected he saw the girls at their normal table already chatting. The girls failed to notice him approaching.

"He's got kind eyes," Ginny was saying, causing Neville to stop behind one of the stacks between himself and the table the girls were sitting at. Curiosity kept him fixed as he listened.

"I agree, but…" Luna said.

"But what?" Ginny asked. "And what about those lips? You know he's a great kisser!" Ginny continued.

"That's not…" Luna said sincerely.

"Also doesn't hurt he's tall now. One of the tallest in the class."

"True, but…" Luna said.

"I'd imagine his hair is great to run your fingers through,"

"He does have hair…"

"He's stronger than he lets on. He's put some muscle on in the last couple of years."

"Likely, but…"

"He's a gentleman too. You know he'd treat any girl lucky enough to have him like a queen," Ginny said.

"Ginny, I know he's a great guy." Luna said.

"So if that's not the issue, what is?" Ginny asked in frustration.

Luna was quiet for a long moment. "Why is this so important to you?" Luna asked.

"I just want you to be happy," Ginny insisted. "And stop dodging the question!"

"Do you think I'm not happy?" Luna asked

"You're sad about something, I can tell," Ginny retorted.

"Not this," Luna replied. "Besides, he won't be here very much longer."

"You don't know that!" Ginny almost yelled. "He's not the type to abandon someone, and you know it!"

"Ginny, all the seventh years will be leaving school," Luna replied sadly.

"You'll have the whole summer, and you could owl each other over the year after. There's Hogmeade weekends, and…and the secret passages! He could sneak in to see you!" Ginny retorted.

Luna laughed lightly. "Do you really think Neville would break the rules like that?"

Ginny replied with something, but Neville couldn't process it. He was too focused on the fact that his friends were talking about him. A part of him recognized this was something Ginny had pressed him on earlier, and he should have realized what was happening. Great kisser, however, was not something he'd ever thought of himself. In fact, he'd never really thought of himself in any of the ways Ginny had described him. Hearing his best friends talk about him like this was…well he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it. Scared, maybe?

"He's doing that now because he's trying to protect others. That's not something he'd ever do for selfish ends," Luna said, bringing Neville out of his thoughts.

"Well," Ginny began, then sighed. "Ok, true, but it could still work."

"Maybe," Luna said softly. "Maybe not."

Deciding he was treading far too close to eavesdropping now, Neville walked around the stack and straight to the table, which stopped the conversation between his best friends.

"Neville!" Ginny said, smiling with both genuine warmth and great mischief. "Did you hear? We were trying to off Snape last night!"

"I heard," he replied. "I've been trying to stop the rumors all day."

"Don't do that! I started that one!" Ginny protested. "Or at least I strongly implied it, and they came to their own conclusions."

"Why?" asked Neville.

"Because this is the fun part of getting caught, and I intend to enjoy it, thank you very much," Ginny interrupted.

"I heard we were there chasing wrackspurts. Or putting them in his office. Or maybe they only think that's why I was there. I wasn't paying much attention," Luna said, then turned to Ginny excitedly. "Should I start a rumor? That would be great fun!"

"By all means! Have at it while you can. It'll be forgotten soon, so now's the time," Ginny replied.

"Now half a moment…" Neville began, then resigned himself to it. "I suppose I could imply I was there to hide a potted mandrake or something."

"We can work with that!" Ginny said brightly. "Oh, right, some good coming out of this. Lavender and Parvati cornered me in the common room this morning, begging to be let back in to the DA. I told them I'd think about it."

"Begging? Really?" Neville asked incredulously.

"Well…maybe they said they were coming to the next meeting, and I said that'd be great. Way to spoil my fun though…" Ginny said.

"They're still our friends, Gin. I'll be glad to have them back," Neville replied.

"Do you think Michael and Padma might come back?" Luna asked.

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot now, I suppose," Ginny replied. "Being infamous does have some advantages."

"We weren't in the spotlight enough before?" Neville asked.

"Not for something recent, which is all that matters to some people." Ginny said.

As Neville was about to reply, he saw a brief movement out of the corner of his eye that stole his attention. Zacharias Smith stood between two of the stacks, staring intently at Ginny. He briefly failed to notice Neville staring back at him, then looked Neville in the eyes. With a sneer of contempt, he turned away with an audible huff and walked away. By then, both Luna and Ginny had seen him.

"What's he on about?" Ginny asked suspiciously as Luna's gaze hovered on the spot Smith had previously occupied.

"I don't know, but maybe we shouldn't be talking so openly. He could cause us trouble," Neville replied.

"Smith's a prat. I doubt he'd have the stones to betray us, not with Hermione's curse hanging over his head," Ginny replied.

"He's very afraid of us, I think," Luna said, her gaze not wavering. "Scared people do strange things sometimes."

"Either way, I think we should be more careful," Neville said.