Time frame: Fifth Year AU. No Umbridge
It was dinnertime at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Fifth year Neville Longbottom was quietly eating and studying a herbology book between bites. His theory for crossbreeding two similar plants, one magical, one mundane to produce a magical version with a higher yield looked promising. Professor Sprout had given him some space in the school greenhouse to test his theory. His focus was so on the text that he failed to notice a trio approaching the Gryffindor table with malice in mind.
The Slytherin trio of Draco Malfoy and his bodyguard / toadies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle made routine trips to the Gryffindor table to harass Harry Potter trying to get the fellow Fifth year into trouble. However, this night they were going after what Draco assumed to be much easier prey. He sauntered up to stand behind Neville unnoticed by most. Harry along with his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger did notice and had palmed their wands to be prepared. The defense lessons that Harry had been providing insured that the group was in a state to react to anything that Malfoy would dare to do.
"Hey, Longbottom," Malfoy drawled out in his attempt to sound high class. "I hear you have a project in herbology coming up. It seems that you are quite adept at it. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise considering your family."
Neville' breath caught in his throat. 'Malfoy wouldn't dare bring that up here. Would he?' the teen thought.
"It seems Longbottom is used to dealing with vegetables. After all, he will have to take care of his parents one day," Malfoy said with a laugh in his tone. The comment brought a cry of outrage from several people who knew Neville and his family's past. Harry stood and was going to say something but to everyone's surprise, Neville spoke.
"Leave it Harry. This is my issue, not yours," Neville said in a tight voice. People beside the Gryffindor teen could see him trembling with his head lowered and his fists were clenched hard. His private pain had been revealed to most of the Great Hall by the tone Malfoy had used. It carried well in the room.
"If I am not mistaken, done by your aunt in the service of the Dark Tosser," put in Harry. He was not willing to leave Neville to face these bullies alone.
Draco Malfoy decided he should put the finishing touch to get these stupid Gryffindors into trouble now. "Perhaps now that she has been broken out of Azkaban by unknown forces, maybe she might go finish the job. I don't even think crushing some vegetables will get her into any further trouble. She might even get a commendation for relieving society of their burden," the blond finished with a sneer he routinely practiced.
This comment brought out a murmur of talk from the other tables. No one noticed the shaking in Neville had stopped. All eyes were on the blond boy whose sneer transformed into a smile of victory as the seconds crawled by without a response from Neville.
Neville's head snapped up. The Second year across from him would later say she was momentarily terrified of the gentle boy but was glad his eyes never focused on her. The boy placed both palms on the table and slowly rose to his feet. Then he turned so he could look across the Staff table to see what if anything they were doing about Malfoy's insults. Most of the teachers were looking on with blank faces. McGonagall and Sprout looked angry but had not risen to his defense. The Headmaster Albus Dumbledore actually looked interested in what was going on but he made no move to stop it.
'Fine,' Neville thought. 'It is on their heads then.'
"Ooo, Longbottom does have a pair," Malfoy taunted before Neville finished his turn to face the Slytherin bully.
"You insulted my parents, Malfoy. Apologize," Neville said in a deep and dangerous voice.
Draco's eyes flashed up to the Staff table to see they were doing their standard gargoyle act as far as his antics were concerned. 'They are all afraid of my father,' he assumed incorrectly. The blond looked at his Head of House Severus Snape and noticed the man was simply waiting for his own time to act and punish Longbottom for reacting.
"Why should I, Squib? It's not like you can do anything about it. Or are you going to threaten me with that butter knife you have clenched in your hand."
Neville looked own to see he indeed had a knife in his hand. He slowly moved the hand across his body to place the knife on the table. Then, before anyone else could react, he brought his arm up in a whipping motion and struck a backhanded fist to Malfoy's jaw. The slap of impact and the crack indicating the breaking of the blond's jaw followed by the boy's flight backward several yards onto his back was something no one had foreseen coming from this encounter. The toadies both looked at their boss and back to the angry face of Neville and stepped back in fear.
"One hundred points from Gryffindor for striking another student," cried out Snape in reaction to the strike.
Neville looked at Snape and spoke in a loud clear voice, "No."
"Another fifty points for disrespecting a teacher," Snape said in a sneer that made Malfoy's look like a child he was.
"Again, No," Neville ground out. "You lost all right, moral or legal to interfere when this French merchant's son decided to insult the Heir of an Ancient and Noble House and the teachers in this school DID NOTHING!" All the students in the Great Hall noted that the Gryffindor point counter remained unchanged after the exchange as the student and teacher glared at one another before Snape looked away. The slightly chubby but powerful boy now looked at the groaning blond on the ground before him.
"Draco Malfoy, scion and heir to the minor merchant House Malfoy, you have greatly insulted the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. As his Heir and sole Scion I have taken up his defense and find great offense at your actions and chosen physical chastisement for your words under the laws set forth by the Wizengamot. You only need apologize and beg forgiveness for this chastisement to end. Losing consciousness will not end this as it is a lawful right as the Heir of a Peer of the Realm to conduct."
"When my father …," Draco slurred out before the heel of Neville dragonhide boot impacted on his nose, shattering it.
"When you father hears about this, he WILL DO NOTHING. Your House is in deep enough trouble as it is a known follower of the half blood Riddle, Malfoy. Your father is only a member of the Wizengamot as a proxy for the vacant Black seat. He has no real power outside of money on his own. The House of Longbottom has been recognized in Britain since the time of Merlin. You French upstarts have only been living in country for a mere two centuries and only as visiting merchants before that."
Many of the Slytherin students listening were shocked at the revelation that Neville made. Many had simply assumed that the Malfoy family was much older than that. No one had delved into their history and the family kept it a closely guarded secret. The fact that Draco's father was sitting a proxy in the Wizengamot was never told to anyone either. Draco's stock in the House of Snakes took a major fall with that one statement.
Crabbe and Goyle were about to step up to Neville when they were commanded by an unlikely source; Daphne Greengrass.
"Vincent, Gregory, stop at once!" the girl ordered the boys before they could close on Neville. "This is an Ancient Family matter and if you get involved, he could tear down your fathers as well."
The two bruisers backed off nodding first to Neville then going to stand next to Daphne. The dark haired enigma of Slytherin stood with her arms crossed as she observed the event happening between Neville and Draco. For his part, Neville nodded at the girl and she nodded back in silent communication and respect.
Draco managed to pull his wand out of his robes and turned it on Neville. The blond boy tried to cast a curse at Neville but his broken nose and jaw ruined his pronunciation and caused it to misfire. The action brought a large murmur from the Ravenclaws and Slytherins along with a few Hufflepuffs. All sounded of disapproval. Neville responded by stepping on Draco's hand and snapping the wand along with several fingers.
Neville looked down at the boy who fancied himself the 'Prince of Slytherin' and shook his head.
"Even under a official challenge you still try to cheat. Typical French behavior," Neville said in a low voice. "Sad."
Draco knew he was quickly running out of options when Neville grabbed him by the front of his robes and lifted him bodily from the ground. His jaw made speaking difficult and could not even speak in his own defense. He saw Neville's fist pulling back to hit him again. Many members of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor who has suffered at Malfoy's tongue and wand over the years were egging the normally quiet boy on.
"Neville, that's enough," said Harry in a quiet voice that was somehow heard over the din. The Scion of Longbottom paused and looked at his friend. Harry and Neville looked at each other in silence as long seconds passed before Neville lowered his prepared fist and spoke.
"Scion of the minor merchant House Malfoy, the Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter has spoken in your defense. For this reason, I shall halt your chastisement at this time. However, should you make the mistake of insulting ANYONE within my hearing; I reserve the right to resume it. Do you understand?"
Draco only nodded but Neville was not going to let him go with that.
"Then say your understanding, Heir Malfoy," the Heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom instructed.
"I understand," slurred out Malfoy.
Neville did not move or lower his raised fist a millimeter. The only motion was his eyebrow rising a fraction as he waited.
"Milord," Draco finally murmured out the honorific as his defeat was complete.
Neville simply lowered his fist and released Malfoy's robe from his grip. The beaten boy merely fell to the stone floor as Neville turned back to the Gryffindor table and took his seat as if nothing had happened. Once Neville had asked the second year girl across from his spot to pass the potatoes, Daphne allowed Crabbe and Goyle to collect Malfoy from the floor and carry him out of the Great Hall to the hospital wing.
Daphne sauntered up to Harry at this point and smiled.
"Thanks Potter. Your speaking up for Malfoy did a lot of people a service today. Between Neville physically destroying him under the Old Ways and you putting him in your debt by speaking up for him, you have broken Malfoy's political grip on Slytherin House. Public knowledge of his family history will echo into the Wizengamot by the next session as well and ruin the ponce's father as well. I guess it is a good thing the son is not as canny as the father was. He never learned a simple truth in life," she said.
"Oh? And what is the simple truth he didn't learn?" Harry said still confused by all the events of the day.
"Never piss off a Longbottom," she said with a smirk. "You would be better off poking a sleeping dragon. By the way, you are quite uneducated for someone of your position. We should have a talk; soon. In public of course. Ciao, Potter," the girl finished before sauntering out of the hall to solidify her new position in the upended Slytherin hierarchy.
A simple idea of a Neville that would fight back to defend his family as opposed to simply enduring insults to himself. The idea leads to a political Harry along with Neville and Daphne showing him the way. Weasleys and Dumbledore marginalized but dragging Hermione along as she is quicker to learn than Harry and stands by her friend. One idea that could be something but I lack the time to research and/or create a nobility system.