Chapter 12: The Gates of Spring
Classes grew more and more intense as the winter progressed. Every subject seemed to be getting relentlessly more difficult, even Divination. Neville had barely any time to visit his greenhouse anymore. Lessons at the gryphons' nest felt like the mental equivalent of a nap. Wind would shake her head at the beginning of every lesson, and comment on the stressful lives of young humans. He was truly glad he was with her those days, as her "releasing" exercises, while difficult, were preferable to Gold's "armour" approach. At least he thought so.
Arthur, however, continued to thrive. Neville saw him one day, sitting outside, holding hands with Mary.
Finally gathered the spirit to do it, Neville thought. The pride he felt for his friend was tempered, only slightly, by the weight of his own secret.
But that's different. We're different.
It drew his heart down, making him just a touch sadder with each passing day. He only hoped that the rejuvenation of spring would wipe away his feelings entirely.
"How long will the cold last?"
"Not much longer. One can already see the clouds breaking."
"This is good. The green will help."
"You know what else will come with spring.."
"One can feel it in the very air of this place. Heaviness will descend. But there will be happiness too."
"One hopes there will be enough to balance."
"Leaving them will be hard."
"It's always hard to see them away."
"Harder this time. Because they've grown so much."
"There will be more. But no one will blame us if we grieve our empty nest this time. There will be no shame in it."
"If only we could fill it with our own."
"One does no ask the spring for more than one's share."
The gryphons arranged their wings to sleep.
Neville watched the fruit slowly move up and down in the jar. It floated closer to the bottom now, having started its descent as soon as it wasn't quite as cold. Its strange colouration looked more ominous than silly in the light of the moon. He knew he should be in bed, but he had poultices to make that could only be done tonight and he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. The night was clear and cold, but he remained outside, behind his greenhouse, sitting on the ground, resting his head on the table he'd brought out. The fruit's feelers bobbed up and down in a steady rhythm, numbing Neville's mind almost entirely.
"Hey."
It took a second to process that someone was speaking to him. It clearly wasn't Filch, so Neville slowly lifted his head and turned around. Draco stood there, looking tired and somewhat out of his element. He shifted his weight around and then took a seat next to Neville, resting his chin on the table.
"Hey." Neville finally answered back. "What're you doing here?"
He got no answer for a long time. Then, Draco gave a short sigh and started moving the jar around with his finger.
"This was once mine, you know. Got it off some old witch with about fifteen walking sunflowers in her house. Don't remember her name now. I'd almost lost it that day I got stuck. Up that tree, remember?"
Neville's mind was no longer sluggish. Sure, he suspected that Draco was indeed the one Arthur had seen, but he always pushed those thoughts away. He didn't even dare to hope.
"Why? Why give me this?" he breathed
More silence.
"Because...because I..." Draco turned away but then turned back to stare at the fruit sourly, as though everything was its fault. His face fluttered between a scowl and stony neutrality.
"I just..." he could not say more, but his hand slowly made its way to Neville's. The touch was incredibly light, as though Neville's hand was some sleeping monster he had to steady himself against, but not awaken. Neville himself flushed pink, hearing his heartbeat in his ears. Draco might have withdrawn his hand, had Neville not gotten a hold of himself in time. He shifted himself and placed his head on Draco's shoulder. Both breathed more easily than they had in a long time.
"Hey Draco."
"Yeah?"
"When this thing drops, let's grow it together."
"Mmhmm."
They watched the moon hang amongst the stars and thanked the Gods for hope.
A/N: So I've finally hit spring. Which means that there's 2-3 chapters left. Home stretch guys!
Thank you to my international readers, those who reviewed and those who have stuck with this for this long. I adore you all! :)
