WARNING: This is a SLASH story. If a romance between two men bothers you, please read no further. That said, I own none of the characters in this story. They are the property of JK Rowling. Hope you enjoy!



Summer came much too quickly for me. For the first time I could remember, I didn't want to be anywhere as badly as I wanted to be at Hogwarts.

It all started the Sunday morning after my sixteenth birthday. I felt warm and safe. I was happy, still in the throes of the best dream I'd ever had. I didn't want to wake up. I never wanted that dream to end. But, then I realized that arms around me were real, as were the fingers raking through my hair.

I cautiously opened my eyes and met Harry's. He wasn't wearing his glasses like I was accustomed to, and his eyes seemed all the more greener. I felt my face growing hot even as I willed myself not to blush. It hadn't been a dream, after all.

He didn't say a word, at first, just kissed me. It definitely hadn't been a dream. I remembered this feeling from the night before and couldn't have helped melting into him again if I had wanted to.

"Good morning, Neville," he whispered as we finally broke apart. "Did you sleep alright?"

He looked down at me with such concern and open affection. I was a bit confused. Yesterday, I didn't think he knew I was alive and today... today I was being held and kissed. My face caressed and my hair played with. If this was a spell, I didn't want to know.

"Good morning, Harry," I smiled back at him. "I haven't slept that well in a long time."

Everything that happened from that point forward was a whirlwind. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I suppose I didn't realize how openly adoring Harry would be of me. I should have known better. I've known all along how kind and loving he could be.

There were many different reactions to us. I think everyone was as surprised as I was that Harry could be interested in me. Ron was shocked, but he accepted it faster than I had. Hermione was overjoyed, painfully so. I never thought my ears would stop ringing from the squeals. I think Ginny was mad at me for a while, but it wasn't long before our friendship was back to normal.

Draco and his group reacted as expected, laughing and sneering at us every chance they got. I wanted to run and hide the first time, but Harry just pulled me closer to his side and laughed at them. I think he really believed they were jealous of him. I believed he had lost his mind, but I was falling in love with him for it. No one had ever made me feel so special.

Over the course of the year I learned more about Harry Potter than I knew about anyone else. During the beginning he told me about that first night he kissed me. It was odd, hearing him describe me using words like 'lovely' and 'sweet' but I didn't stop him. Help me, but I was beginning to believe him when he said I was beautiful.

Sometime after that, I lost most of my shyness. I think he nearly jumped out of his skin the first time I snuck up behind him and pinned him against the wall in a deserted hallway. He recovered well enough to enjoy being ravished, however.

Christmas was unbearable. He was spending it with his godfather and I with my family. I think I realized then how much he meant to me. By the unshed tears in his eyes, I meant just as much to him.

I got an owl almost every day with some little trinket and tender note that I treasured. Gran, my Aunts and Uncles were a bit concerned with the daze I walked around in. That is, at least, until someone pointed out that it looked as if I were in love. It took two days for my normally overbearing grandmother to get up the nerve to ask me whom all the letters were from.

I was surprised by the reaction everyone had when I told her. I hadn't actually thought about Harry as 'The Boy Who Lived.' 'The Great Harry Potter.' He had just been another kid at school. Then he had become the one who made me glow, inside and out. They were making way too much fuss, for something wonderful that wasn't happening to them.

It was the worst Christmas vacation ever. Everyone was asking questions about him, especially my female cousins. Some of them were a bit... embarrassing. And considering we had done little more than kiss, I was hardly in a position to answer them, if I were inclined. I was so grateful when it was over and I was returning to Hogwarts.

I ran into the dormitory to find Harry already there, sitting on his bed. We were the only ones in the room. We looked at each other for a moment before he opened his arms and I dove into them. Wrapped in his warmth again, feeling his lips rain kisses over my hair and face, the press of his mouth to mine, hands roaming over my back as he pulled me down to lay beside him...

...the water balloon that broke over us and soaked our clothes, hair and Harry's bed.

Ron was in the doorway, laughing, barely able to stand. Seamus and Dean were chortling beside him. And the chase was on! Harry gave me an apologetic smile before taking off after them. I couldn't help but laugh. I was happy, and like the first part of the year, the time after the holidays went by in a whirlwind as well.

And so here we are, saying goodbye at Platform Nine and Three Quarters all too soon. Gran has invited him to stay part of the summer, but I don't know what's worse, being without him or subjecting him to my family. One lingering kiss and several soft words of affection later, he's gone.

God this summer is going to be awful.