Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its characters are property of JK Rowling.
Chapter 1: Coming Out.
The Gryffindor common room was alive with laughter; music and dancing as all the children were celebrating the demise of the dark lord Voldemort. The Weasley twins, Fred and George, were putting on a spectacular display of fireworks and displaying other novelty items they had created for their new business they were planning on opening and Hermione Granger, a bushy-haired, fit young woman was busy playing muggle music on an old record player that professor McGonagall had allowed her to borrow for the night, provided that it be returned before curfew and in one piece. One boy, however, was completely oblivious to the uninhibited celebrations being engaged in around him.
Instead, the brown-haired, brown-eyed wizard was tapping his fingers nervously on the table in front of him; debating with himself as to whether or not he should send the letter he had just finished writing out to his grandmother.
Neville Longbottom sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He had always been a rather timid boy and up until the battle at the ministry of magic a few days ago, he had never believed that he truly belong in Gryffindor. The boy had proved himself that day and found himself getting a major confidence boost. That did not make what he was about to do any easier, but the confidence boost he gained from the ministry of magic battle that had him realise that he could do this and that he had the support of all his friends in the Gryffindor tower. The young man had written a letter to his grandmother, in it he explained that he believed... No he knew... That he was gay. He did not know what his grandmother's stance on homosexuality was as it had never really been a topic they had discussed, but he knew that he had to tell her, he was sick of lying and having to pretend that he was interested in girls. He just hoped that she would not have a problem with it.
Neville had told people previously about his desires and sexual orientation and it went well most of the time. The first person the boy had ever told was Ginny Weasley. She was dating him at the time, about a year ago, but Neville felt like he wasn't happy with the relationship and he realised that he was more interested in hanging out with the boys than going on dates with the red-head. The day he came out was just like any other, they were sitting in the sun studying for their final exams, just before the ill-fated last task of the tri-wizard tournament. Ginny was continually trying to distract him by making suggestive comments and when she leaned over, intent on giving him a sweet kiss, Neville pulled away saying that he was trying study. The two started fighting with Ginny claiming that Neville never wanted to kiss her and didn't seem to miss her when she was not around. Some point throughout the argument Neville turned towards her and screamed in frustration that he was gay. Neville regretted yelling that immediately and clasped his hands over his mouth to prevent himself from saying more incredibly stupid things and ran away from her, tears pricking at his eyes.
He tried to avoid Ginny for the rest of the evening, but the girl was persistent and trapped him in a corner on his way to the Gryffindor dorms back from the great hall. Neville felt himself sweating profusely and started fiddling with the strap on his satchel before she started talking. What she said shocked Neville greatly. He was expecting her to scream and shout at him for being a freak of nature and leading her on. Instead, she explained that she was angry and hurt that he used her to cover it up, but also that she understood his reluctance to come out and that he was not ready to come out to anyone just yet. She was also kind enough to promise not to tell anyone his dirty little secret, but she strongly encouraged him to tell the rest of their friends as she believed they would support him no matter what.
It was quite a long while after that before he finally felt comfortable telling his secret to his other friends, namely those he shared a dorm room with. They took the news rather well he thought. Some of his roommates were a bit awkward after he told them, particularly Ron and Seamus, but that soon passed when they realised that he was still the same Neville and was not about to accost them while they were in the bathroom or sleeping. Soon everything returned to normal, with the exception that Neville could now discuss his love life with the girls and Harry when the other boy eventually came out.
After Harry revealed himself to be also gay, the other boys in their dorm room were convinced that Neville and Harry were dating. The two boys quickly put that rumour to rest though, assuring their roommates that they had nothing but purely platonic feelings for each other.
The support of his friends ensure Neville that he could send the letter, so he sealed the envelope and went in search of Harry intent on asking him if he could possibly borrow his owl for the night. There were only 5 days until the end of term and Neville knew that it would be more brave and Gryffindor of him if he would tell his Gran face-to-face, but he felt that he would feel more comfortable writing to her and knowing beforehand if he was welcome or not as opposed to going all the way home, only to be kicked out the moment he walked through the door.
He found Harry sitting on the most comfortable couch in the whole of the Gryffindor tower conversing with Dean while drinking some of the illicit fire whisky the twins had somehow managed to sneak into the Gryffindor tower right under professor McGonagall's nose. When Harry noticed Neville standing in front of him, the emerald-eyed boy grinned and raised his glass towards him, nearly spilling the precious liquid inside. Clearly Harry had had a little too much to drink tonight. "Hey Neville!" Harry yelled jubilantly "You been sittin' in the corner all on your own all nigh'! Come! Sit! Be merry!"
Neville noticed that Harry was slurring his words already and decided that after he sent his letter that he would try to convince the other boy to go to bed seeing as though they actually had classes tomorrow and it would not be good for them to be hung over, even if it was the last week.
Taking a seat next to Harry, Neville turned to the other boy "Hey Harry. I know I've been a little antisocial tonight but I have been busy writing my Gran a letter. Actually that's why I came over here. I was wondering if I would be able to possibly borrow Hedwig for tonight to send it to her? I just don't think I will send it at all if I don't send it tonight."
Harry looked at Neville, his alcohol addled mind attempting to process what Neville was asking "Sure Neville, you can borrow her. I'll even walk you down to the owlery. I should probably stop drinking now anyway." The two boys got up and Neville waited by the portrait hole for Harry to return with his invisibility cloak. When Harry came back down he swung the cloak over the two of them and they set off for the owlery.
The two boys walked mostly in silence until they reached the stairs leading to the owlery so that they would not get caught out of bed after curfew. The need to remain silent meant that Neville had even more time to think to himself. At the forefront of his mind was how his Gran would take the news, thinking that the worse case scenario was his Gran would probably ban him from seeing his mum and dad, or maybe castrate him so that there would be no point in him having any sexual thoughts about anyone let alone another male. He also briefly wondered if his parents would have been accepting of his sexual preference. He decided that it wouldn't matter much in the long run, being that they would likely never be released from St. Mungo's.
By the time they reached the top of the owlery Neville was a nervous wreck. Harry didn't notice though, it was too dark for him to be able to see Neville's unnaturally pale face and shaking hands. Not that Harry would have been sober enough to make an observation like that no matter what light they were in. Harry started talking rather suddenly startling Neville from his thoughts and making him jump. "What did you want to send to you Gran that couldn't wait to morning anyway?"
"I'm coming out to her" Neville replied, his voice slightly shaky.
Harry paused mid-step and attempted to look at Neville despite the darkness surrounding them. "Oh, well good luck then. I hope everything works out well for you." He said finally.
When they walked into the enclosure, the first thing they noticed was the chaos surrounding the tiny room. Birds were flying everywhere, some returning from gathering a letter or coming back with the fruits of their hunting trip, others were preening themselves and getting ready to deliver letters. The second thing they noticed was the sheer amount of bird droppings. There was so much of the stuff coating the entire room so much that it looked disturbingly like snow. Brushing this aside, Harry went in search of Hedwig, finding her devouring what looked to be a mouse- or what used to be a mouse anyway. "Hey Hedwig" Harry cooed to the bird. "I have a letter for you to deliver."
Harry stroked her feathers for a while before reaching towards Neville who placed his letter in Harry's outstretched palm. Harry strapped the letter to the birds leg and lifted her out the window. The pair watched the bird fly off into the distance. "Do you think she will be ok with it?" Harry asked thoughtfully.
"I hope so." Neville replied. "I'm not sure what I will do if she doesn't. I'm just sick of having to hide behind a mask all the time."
Neville was momentarily shocked when he felt Harry's quidditch-toned arms envelope him in a hug and although the two weren't dating, Neville felt himself snuggle further into his friend's arms enjoying the feeling of being cared for.
"Come on." Harry said releasing Neville from the hug. "We have classes remember? I have to sleep of my drunkeness too."
Neville chuckled at this, agreeing whole-heartedly that Harry definitely needed to sober up before potions tomorrow morning. Snape would have a field day if Harry rocked up to work drunk. The pair walked back to the common room with Neville feeling nervous but also cautiously optimistic about what tomorrow would bring. Oh boy, he was going to have trouble sleeping tonight.
Early the next morning, many miles away, Augusta Longottom awoke to the sound of urgent tapping on her window. Walking over, she slid the latch over and pushed the window open allowing the bright white owl to enter. Hedwig held her leg out to the woman and patiently waited for Augusta to remove the letter from her claw.
Augusta then unfurled the parchment as she watched Hedwig take a break on the perch in the corner that had some left over biscuits and water that she could eat. Augusta immediately recognised the messy scrawl of her grandson and began reading:
Dear Gran,
I had to send this letter tonight as I believed that I would not have the nerve to send it if I waited any longer. What I have to say may seem bad and I am unsure what your feelings may be on the matter, but I cannot hide it anymore.
The truth, Gran, is that I am gay. Always have been and always will. I hope that you will accept me as I am because you are my Gran and I truly love you.
Love Neville.
Augusta re-read the letter a number of times as the message was yet to sink in. Her grandson? Gay? To say it was a shock would be an understatement. She quickly grabbed a blank piece of parchment, wrote a short reply and attached it to the owl's leg and sent the bird on its way back to Hogwarts to deliver the letter.
AN: Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and please let me know if you think I should continue... Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated but please no flamers. Thanks.