(Neville POV)

So the search was on. Walking with the Slytherins felt odd, but my mind was set only on Draco.

Zabini had described Draco's previous state to me and, without thinking, in a state of pure, unadulterated hatred and anger, I had broken one of the windows in Gryffindor tower. Which, admittedly, didn't help anything, but it made me feel better.

"Damn." Zabini had laughed. "I think you and Draco will definitely make a good match. Just make sure to keep that anger for when we find Montague."

And there was no problem there.

If anything, the fact that he had run off and hidden himself from us just made me angrier. While Draco was laying in bed – weak, in pain – he was probably congratulating himself on beating someone so much smaller than him.

Merlin, my teeth were on edge.

But then suddenly, there he was, standing directly in front of us, talking to a group of other seventh year Slytherins. The ten of them were laughing.

"Montague!"

They turned to look at us. The mirth on their face turned to anger.

"That little bitch ratted me out, did he?"

"That little "bitch" didn't say anything." Zabini spat. "Greg and Vince found him in his bed, barely conscious. We've known what you've been doing for a while know. We just needed proof. And now we've got it."

The boys laughed again.

"So what are you going to do?" The other boy asked – Darkboe, I realized.

"We're gonna kill you." Goyle said simply. "And you too, Darkboe, if you don't get out of the fuckin' way."

"You know," Montague snickered, "I really don't think Draco would be happy you're doing this."

"Draco hates you as much as we do. He's just afraid of you."

"I have to disagree." The grin on Montague's face was sickening. "He loves me. He loves everything about me. Especially… certain parts of my anatomy. If you get what I mean."

My heart pounded viciously against my ribs.

They had…

He had taken Draco's…

"You're a fucking liar." Nott spat behind me. "You two haven't had sex."

"You're right." He chuckled. "We haven't. Not in awhile. But we have once. About… ah, I'd say about five months ago." He smiled at Zabini. "You should remember the night we did. I think he came to visit you afterwards."

Zabini's face went pale. Shock filled his features.

It was quickly replaced by rage.

His chest was heaving. His eyes grew dark. His hands were shaking. His entire body was shaking.

"Blaise, what is he-," Nott started.

"It wasn't the Death Eaters." Zabini's voice was purely a snarl. "It was Montague."

That seemed to mean something to the other Slytherin's as well. But I was in the dark.

"Zabini, what does he-,"

"He raped Draco."

The fury – the rage – that filled my chest was overwhelming. Next thing I knew, I was on top of Montague, my fists smashing in to his face repeatedly.

I was going to kill him.

I was literally going to kill him.

He tried to push me off, but I grabbed a handful of his dark hair and slammed his head into the tile under him.

It took me a moment to realize that the others were fighting around me as well, but I didn't even think about it.

I wanted the piece of shit under me to suffer.

He threw me off of his and rose to his feet, trying to get the upper hand, but I jumped straight up, fist smashing into his jaw.

I was already the angriest I've ever been. My entire body felt like it was on fire. I couldn't get any angrier.

Or so I thought.

Montague started laughing.

He was laughing.

"Aw. It's so cute that you think he would want anything to do with you, Longbottom. I've got news for you. He's mine. I'm the one that holds him. I'm the one that kisses him. I'm the one that took his virginity. He's my little bitch." He laughed once again. "I think I've beat that into him by now."

Before I could even move, Montague had been taken off his feet.

Zabini had tackled him to the ground.

With just a few hits, blood was spurting from Montague's nose and pouring from his mouth. And Zabini wasn't letting up. It was just punch after punch, meant to hurt, meant to injure, meant to kill.

The others stopped fighting, their eyes on Zabini now beating a barely conscious Montague.

Two Slytherins, who I couldn't name, pulled Zabini off of him, pulling him back.

But he was still trying to get at Montague, still trying to strangle him.

"You motherfucker!" He was screaming. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Darkboe, eye blacked, blood dribbling from his lip, helped Montague – stumbling and pale – to his feet.

"Blaise, calm down." One of the Slytherins was saying. "He got what was coming to him."

"No he didn't!" Blaise screeched, still fighting the hands holding him back. "Let me go! I'm gonna fucking kill him!"

I walked over to the two and grabbed Montague by his blood-soaked shirt. To see his eyes fluttering and to hear his heavy breathing should have given me some satisfaction, but I was still just pissed.

"Don't ever go near him again." I snarled to just him. "He is too good, too beautiful, to take your shit. Everyone knows what you do to him now. You'll be kicked out of this school within a matter of days.

"You're a disgusting piece of shit. We should kill you. But someone's got to protect Draco from scum like you."

I threw him back to the floor, not missing as Darkboe backed away from me.

"And, just for the record, he's mine. So back the fuck off."

On looking back at Blaise, it seemed as though he had calmed down enough that the other Slytherins didn't have to hold him back, but his face – as well as Nott, Goyle, and Crabbe – was still dark; furious.

Darkboe and one of the other Slytherins pulled Montague to his feet and hobbled off down the hallway.

"I'm going back to the dungeons." Blaise spat. "I want to make sure Draco's okay.

"You coming, Longbottom?"

I was surprised but I just nodded, following the too-quiet Slytherins.

The fact that Montague had been so happy, so proud, that he had…

Merlin, the thought made me sick. I felt nauseous.

Montague – all muscle, cruel glares, and even crueler words and blows – holding down Draco – so small, so petite, practically weightless; beautiful warm smiles, so kind and warm when he wanted to be…

I remembered during the war, when Harry had gone to the Forbidden Forest and we were all in the Great Hall, the deaths had been weighing heavily on all of us.

I couldn't take it.

I had turned to leave and my eyes immediately met Draco's gray ones.

He had been sitting next to Blaise and Daphne, all three of them looking nervous, lost.

I hadn't thought anything about it. I knew that they were on our side, but they were still just a lot of people who teased me.

But the look on Draco's face made me pause.

It was sympathetic, yet haunted. He had given me a small smile, but I hadn't had it in me to return it.

I had walked out of the Great Hall and was already one corridor over when I heard, "Neville!"

I turned quickly and saw Draco jogging to catch up with me, a slight limp in his stride.

When he reached me, he blushed slightly, his cheeks turning a light pink. "You… you look like you could use someone to talk to."

"And you think that person should be you?" I had spat at him. "Believe it or not, you're low on the list of people I would want to see right now."

Draco had flinched slightly, hurt showing in his eyes. "Forget I said anything." His voice had been right next to a whisper. "Sorry I bothered you."

He turned to walk away and I felt my heart sink.

"Draco."

He stopped but didn't turn to look at me.

"I'm sorry. Today's just been… rough. I would've snapped at anyone.

"And, yes, I do need someone to talk to. I really do."

He had turned and given me the same small smile from before.

We had went to a nook in the wall, and sat on the floor. We couldn't have talked longer than an hour, but it felt like we had talked forever about everything but the war. I knew now that Draco hated being as small as he was; he knew I had worked my ass off to finally lose all my baby fat. He knew that all I really wanted out of life was to be close to people; I knew that he would send anonymous letters to some of the people he made fun of, guilt consuming him, and tell them what he really thought of them.

"I sent Luna Lovegood one telling her how brilliant I thought she was. 'Cause she's totally herself."

"Are you not?"

"No, I am." He laughed. "But… sometimes that's not really what I want to be."

"You don't seem so bad to me."

"I'm not so bad." Again, a soft laugh. "I've just got a mean streak."

"Me too." I smiled at him. "I've just let mine build up for seven years."

"That's not good for you, ya know. Your head's gonna pop. And that'd be a shame. I've already got blood on me. I'd really rather not have brains too."

Godric, I had fallen hard for him that night.

But thing's weren't the same once we came back. For some reason, the old rivalry was still in place. Not between us, but between the groups. In all honesty, we still shared a passing smile at each other every now and then.

I just didn't have the guts to tell him how he made me feel.

(Blaise POV)

Reaching Draco's dorm, seeing him lying in bed, fast asleep, my anger just increased.

I was angry at him.

Why did he lie? Why didn't he let me kill Montague when it first happened?

I felt ashamed thinking that.

Oh, okay, Blaise. He gets raped and then he's going to run straight out to his friends and tell them in detail. I mean, hell. If it hadn't been for the Healer telling us, I probably still wouldn't have known it even happened. He refuses to talk about it or open up to anyone about the things he's suffered through.

Salazar, I was so sick.

Montague would die. Maybe not today, but I would kill him.

I watched Longbottom closely as he sat on the edge of Draco's bed, looking at his face.

Longbottom was the exact opposite of Montague in every way. And I think that's what made me like him.

He moved a piece of hair out of Draco's face, a look of longing in place.

Draco needed someone to protect him; to treat him right.

Things had gotten bad for him after the war. His mother had been killed in the last few moments of the war and, despite many arguments and pleas from members from the light side, his father had been sentenced to life in Azkaban. Draco was virtually an orphan.

Then came in fucking Montague.

Draco needed the love-filled looks and the gentle touches Longbottom was giving him. He needed that jealous, loving, possessiveness that Longbottom had for him.

"He really likes you, you know." I said quietly. Draco would be pissed, but he'll get over it when he's in a happy, non-abusive relationship. "Like… a lot."

Longbottom's eyes met mine, hope in them. "Really?"

I nodded. "Totally completely head over heels in love. You should ask him to go to the ball with you. He'd definitely say yes."

He smiled down at Draco who was beginning to stir. "I just might."

Seeing Draco settle back down, leaning into Longbottom's gentle caresses, I sighed.

"It was awful that night," I managed in a whisper.

Theo, Vince, and Greg sat on their own beds, heads bowed slightly.

How had we not known?

"He came to my house." I said, looking at Longbottom's hands as they pushed Draco's hair out of his face. "He was bleeding profusely. Some of his ribs were broken, his arm was broken." I walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down on it, gently picking up Draco's arm, pulling up his sleeve, showing Longbottom the thick scar. "It was done with dark magic. The bone ripped through the skin. They couldn't heal it all the way.

"He was in shock. I don't even know how he got there. He was just… not there. He was crying but… I don't think he even knew what was happening.

"I took him to St. Mungo's and they said that he had been beaten severely. He had had the Crutiatus Curse put on him at least three times. And he had been…" I swallowed thickly, "r-raped."

Longbottom was fuming, I could see it in his eyes. But he just continued to gently push Draco's hair out of his eyes, wait for it to fall back down, then push it away again.

I looked down at my purple knuckles. I knew that I had beat the shit out of Montague, but Merlin, it wasn't enough. He needed to suffer the way that Draco did.

"He was gone for a few days. Side effect from the Crutiatus. "I explained. "But when everything was normal again, he refused to talk about it. Just said Death Eaters did it. But it was Montague. It was fucking Montague. His boyfriend. Oh, fuck I'm so fucking pissed."

Draco stirred once again, whimpering slightly.

"I want you to be with him, Longbottom." I said, giving him the biggest smile I could muster at the time. "Really, I do. And I want you to protect him. Kill Montague if he gets too close."

"I was planning on that anyway."

Yeah, I think I was starting to like Longbottom.

(Harry POV)

I looked at Hermione – Malfoy – sitting across from me.

This whole situation was… odd. But, out of everything, it surprised me how the two weren't trying to ruin eachother's lives. In fact, they were trying to better them. It was weird.

Her… His… whatever. Malfoy's hand was in Ron's (once again, just weird) as he talked about the quickly upcoming ball.

"I'm wearing a gold dress. I've already picked it out. You just need to…" He trailed off.

Oh, Godric. Here we go again.

Ron was staring intensely at Lavender Brown, who was purposely both falling out of her shirt and showing under her skirt.

"Oh, wow." Malfoy muttered. "I fucking hate that bitch. She's such a whore."

I nodded. "You and Hermione have that in common."

Ron didn't even flinch, his eyes widening as Lavender bent over.

"All the shit Granger's done for me the past week, there's no way in fuck I'm letting this happen." Malfoy sudden spat.

He looked straight at Ron and spat, "You're not listening to me."

No response.

"You never listen to me."

No response.

"You're obviously staring at her!"

Nothing.

"I can't sit and watch this." Malfoy snarled.

Climbing to his feet, he marched straight over to Lavender (definitely gaining Ron's attention) and told her – loudly -, "I swear to Salazar if you try to flash your ass at him again I'll fucking kill you."

It took everyone by surprise. No one said a thing.

"Aw." Lavender baby-talked. "Is someone not satisfying their boyfriend?"

Malfoy's eye twitched.

"Seriously, Brown. Back the fuck off. You're such a fucking slut."

"Well, you know what? Your boyfriend doesn't complain about it so-,"

A sharp, resounding SMACK resonated through the stone-walled room.

"Did you just fucking slap me?"

"I did." Malfoy said, smile in place.

Before we even knew what was going on, the two were on the ground – screaming, kicking, biting, ripping each other's hair out – being cheered on by the others in the Common Room.

Ron pushed pass them quickly, pulling the two apart and pushing Lavender to the side.

Lavender and her friends took off toward the girls' dorm as Malfoy tried to fight off Ron.

"Yeah, run you FUCKING BITCH!" He screamed after her.

"Hermione! Calm down!"

Malfoy turned to look at Ron. "Don't you ever fucking look at her again. Got me?"

Ron nodded, swallowing thickly.

The portrait door swung without warning, a flustered, angry looking Neville walking into the room.

"You find Montague?" I called to him.

We all settled back on our couch, scuffle between Hermione and Lavender completely forgotten except for a group of first-years.

"He raped him. Montague raped him."

The bluntness of is shocked me, caused my stomach to lurch.

"I… he was fucking proud of it. He laughed. Blaise and I about killed him."

I looked at Draco in time to see him stand, hands clasped to his mouth, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

And he ran. His feet carried him full speed out the open portrait.

Without thinking, I ran after him.

Hearing the small sniffles and following them, I found Malfoy behind a tapestry, sitting on the floor, knees bent up to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

"They can't know." He whispered. "They can't. They can't. They can't."

I knelt beside him, not knowing what to do.

"Not Neville. Not Neville. Oh, Merlin. Not Neville." Hermione's body was shaking. "He can't know. Not Neville. Not Neville. Not him. Please, not him. Anyone but him."

It was then that I saw what his friends saw; what Neville saw: a small, beautiful creature who needed all the protection he could get.

I hugged him to me, letting his tears soak my shirt.

I vowed, at that moment, to see things Neville's ways; to get them together; to save Draco.

Even if it meant teaming up with the Slytherins.

(Page Break)

There was another part I really wanted to write in this chapter, but I'm so tired and I really wanted to get this chapter up this weekend.

Now I'm going to sleep before I die.

Love you guys.

Reviews are love.