He blinked as the world tilted off-kilter. He felt his stomach churn with acid as the words bounced around his head. His face throbbed and he could barely swallow. He shook his head and couldn't seem to stop. He couldn't let it happen. He refused.

"No." Was all he could say. He would not believe it. It couldn't be right, his hearing was damaged.

"No?" She asked angrily. "You don't have a say, I said yes." She argued as she stared down at him.

"And I said no." He said stubbornly. He wasn't sure where he was going with the argument, he just knew that he couldn't let her go, not without a fight.

"Tough, Longbottom. We're done," She turned and stormed off towards the dorms. He stood, stunned in place until the sounds of people entering the room behind him forced him into movement. He chased after her, taking the steps two at a time. His pulse hammering the wound in his face.

He grabbed her wrist and turned her around. She had started to cry again.

"I said no," He replied as he stepped close enough to look into her watery grey eyes.

"I know, and I said tough." She replied as she went to pull away.

"Ok, if you can give me a good reason, I'll let you go. But I need a reason. I need to know why you don't want me anymore." He hated the phrase as it left his mouth. It made him sound pitiful and needy. He watched the angry expression on her face change to anguish as she felt against the wall.

She seemed to struggle for words. Female voices started up the stairs and they looked at each other, his panic reflected on her face. "Come on," She nodded as they rushed to the portrait hole to the boy's dorms. He muttered the password and pushed through as Sir Patrick bid them a good day.

The silence in the dorms was deafening as Neville led them to his bed. He didn't want to be having this conversation here, but it was the only place he could think of where they might get a semblance of privacy.

He sat on the edge of his bed and watched as she tentatively stepped into the room. Her tears had stopped but she seemed smaller than she had been, like the fight had left her.

"So?" He asked when the silence lasted for longer than he could bear.

"So," She said, avoiding his gaze.

"What have I done that makes you want to break up?" He asked, relieved that his voice didn't quiver.

"Nothing, it's not you. We would never work. Our families-"

"The whole, two households in fair Verona scenario is bullshit, and you know it!" He argued, surprised with himself at his anger. Pansy seemed just as startled as she looked at him with wide eyes. He stood up and began to pace, the throbbing in his face fueling his annoyance.

"For fuck's sake Pansy." He growled as he cursed the pulsing torment. "We are consenting adults with minds of our own. I'm not asking for your hand in marriage, but even if I were, we wouldn't need our families consent. Not if we really wanted to be together. If you want to use our families as an excuse, then it's bullshit! And you're going to have to do better than that."

Pansy seemed stunned by his passion as she stood and bit her lip, tears seeming to start up again. She looked like a deer in headlights as he continued to pace. "Come on, try again." He said as he leant against the wall with his arms crossed.

"I don't like you." She said as she still avoided his gaze.

"You came on to me. You followed me to the greenhouses. You're the one who has been dressing in stockings to catch my attention."

She looked around the room, and he could only guess that she was looking for reasons to dump him. After an age of waiting she looked at the floor. "You're a bad kisser?" She asked it like a question, so Neville didn't feel hurt. He snorted as he stepped closer to her, slowly as not to startle her.

"Do you mind if I touch you?" He asked. She shook her head but still didn't look at him. He pulled her into a hug and held her tightly. "If I'm such a bad kisser, you must help me improve. It's your duty!" He felt her start to laugh and smiled weakly into her hair. He kissed the top of her head and pulled away slowly to look into her face. He took her face between his palms gently as he gazed into her eyes. "Now are you going to tell me what's really going on?"

She shook her head as she pulled away and sat on his bed, tucking her knees under her chin.

"If it's going to be something that affects us, I'm going to need to know. I don't think I could cope with you threatening to dump me every five minutes." He confessed as he moved and sat next to her. "Please, tell me."

"I have an idea," She muttered into the silence. He looked at her with interest as he met her eyes. "We swap. I'll tell you if you tell me."

"Tell you what?"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow in disbelief.

"What happened to your clothes? How did you hurt your face? What did Theo help you with? What's really going on?" She explained.

He chuckled as he looked away, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to go into all the details of that, but he wanted her to be able to trust him. He made the decision. If he wanted her to trust him, he needed to be honest.

"Ok," He said as he let out the breath he was holding.

"Really?" She asked, surprised.

"Really," He nodded as he pushed himself further onto the bed. If he was going to be uncomfortable, he wanted to be comfortable when he did it. He propped himself up against the wall and grabbed a pillow to hold. She watched him and did the same, then pulled out her wand and closed the curtains, encasing them in darkness.

"What is said in here, goes no further," She said seriously. He nodded and agreed.

"So, who goes first?" He asked nervously.

"You do."

"Isn't it usually ladies first?" Neville asked, trying not to smile. Pansy huffed, but he could see a smirk on her face in the dim light too.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" She asked, holding out a fist. Neville snorted at that before offering his own fist.

"One, Two, Three" Neville held out a fist where Pansy held scissors.

"Best of three?" She asked. Neville rolled his eyes and agreed.

"One, Two, Three," Neville held out the flat of his hand for paper. Pansy smirked when her hands were still formed like scissors.

"One all," They nodded as they did it one final time.

"One, Two, Three" Neville held out a fist again, but this time Pansy offered the flat of her hand and grinned.

"You're first."

"Promise that you will tell me though," He said as he prepared himself. She nodded sadly as she pushed her green and purple hair out of the way.

Neville took a deep breath as he recalled everything that had happened, from the break up with Hannah to Stephen's attack in the shower. He closed his eyes as he felt the nerves build up. He remembered the panic at each and every moment and relived it a little.

When he was finished, he gripped the pillow and waited for her to laugh at him. He turned to her to find her with a hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

"Oh Neville, that's awful." She cried as she pulled him into a hug. He felt the relief instantly as she held his face, careful of his cheekbone. She pulled him forward and kissed his injury better. He felt the warmth spread through him as he breathed her in; the black cherries overpowered the violets today. They cuddled for a little while before Pansy backed away. "It needs to stop Neville, whether that's with McGonagall or me. You need to tell." He wanted to nod just to appease her but knew it would only anger her if he didn't mean it. He looked her squarely in the face, and she sighed

"Typical, stubborn Gryffindor!" she groaned. She shook her head as she pushed her hair back from her face. "As promised, it's my turn," She sighed as she gripped the pillow. "Probably best you hear it from me first anyway. I'm sure Oliver and Stephen will only make sure you find out soon."

Neville sat and waited, wishing the pulsing pain in his face would fade already. He watched as she gathered herself.

"It was while we were in third year and a seventh year asked me out. Remember Marcus Flint?" She asked.

He nodded, afraid to speak and ruin her flow. "He asked me out, and I said yes. He was so cool and popular. Quidditch Captain and from a good pureblood family, everything I knew I wanted back then. It was amazing being asked out by one of the older boys, and all the other girls were jealous. We would hold hands in the common room and kiss in some of the window seats when the professors weren't looking. It was really great for about two weeks. I was fourteen and boyfriends were only about holding hands and kissing." She shrugged for a moment as she stopped. Neville felt nervous about what he was about to hear. She swallowed and continued.

"Whenever we kissed, he would try to push a little bit further, try to expose a bit more flesh or push his hand a bit further under my clothes. Thinking that it was normal and acceptable, I let him. Whenever I did complain, he would threaten to dump me for a more mature girl. I didn't want to lose him, so I went along with it. Like a good little wife," She spat the last bit out like the words tasted terrible.

She turned to him then and took his hand while she stared at his knuckles.

"He used to call me his little wife, tell me he loved me. He even promised to set up a marriage contract with my father, and as a stupid third year, I fell for it - I drank it up. He pushed further and further until there was only one thing left to give and I finally said no."

Neville waited, feeling sick to his stomach as she relived this time in her life.

"I said no, and if there was one thing he didn't like, it was being told no. He tried to force me, he tried kindness first, then threats. He drove a wedge between my friends and me until I was all alone and vulnerable. Then he would try again, using dirtier tactics, sometimes hurting me. I always managed to say no, though, and he never did get what he wanted. Not that it matters."

She turned to him without looking at him. "The jibes that Stephen and Oliver were coming out with this morning were from then. When I said no that final time, Marcus dumped me. He left me with almost no friends, he humiliated me and spread rumours about me. I'm surprised you haven't heard them."

Neville shook his head.

"Filthy and lewd things. Saying that I wasn't a virgin when he got his way, that I was rubbish, saying that there had been many men before me. Slut, Whore, I could go on, but I don't think I could bear you looking at me if I did."

"I thought that the rumours had finally disappeared, especially with the war happening. I thought that maybe this year, I'd be free of them. But then this morning when they said those things... it brought it all back. Only Theo, Blaise and Draco forgave me and stayed friends with me afterwards. Some of the other girls thought I'd slept with their boyfriends and soon I became a pariah. Some of the rumours even got back to my parents who took me to St Mungo's to check I was still intact. You know how Purebloods are about purity. It was the most humiliating time I have ever had to endure. I felt like a broodmare."

Neville had nothing to say as he pulled his hand away. She let him go, but he could see the tears already forming in her eyes. He went to pull her into a hug, but she was already moving away.

"I'm sorry, I'll go." Neville frowned as he grabbed her wrist. She looked at him nervously.

"Stop, don't go," He said as he tried to pull her back. She beamed at him as she started to cry again. "Why are you crying?"

"I thought that you didn't want me. That you couldn't want me if you thought I was a slut." He shrugged as he held her close, resting his good cheek on her head.

"It's all bullshit," He said finally, enjoying the swear words. "I couldn't care less about the state of your virginity, even if you had gone all the way with Marcus." He shook his head as he stroked her hair "I think it's horrific what he put you through and I want you to tell me if anything I'm doing is being pushy. I'm happy to just kiss, cuddle and hold hands."

"I know you would never do anything to hurt me. I feel safe with you." She smiled against his hand. She kissed it before speaking again. "But are you saying you didn't enjoy last night?" She asked, a small smirk appearing on her lovely lips.

"I am not saying that at all. If you want to repeat anything from yesterday, I am more than ready for it; however, I will honour your decision if you don't want to." He promised. He blushed as he continued to talk. "I've never been with anyone, so I have no expectations." She leant back and looked at him, suspicion and disbelief written across her face.

"You've not? Not ever?" She asked with a frown. "What about Hannah?"

"She didn't want to do anything, so we didn't."

"Nothing?" Pansy asked curiously.

"We kissed a couple of times and held hands."

Pansy looked at him, her mouth open in shock.

"Oh, Salazar! I wish I had known," She said in horror.

"Why? Is it a problem?" He asked nervously. She shook her head.

"So yesterday behind the tapestry, that was your first-?" He smiled at the memory and nodded. "Fuck." She swore with feeling as she covered her face with her hands.

"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" He asked as he shifted on the bed.

"No, I did. I would have done things so much differently if I had known it was your first."

"Different? How?"

"Maybe it's different for girls. I would have done it somewhere else, for one thing. Maybe in your bed, made you more comfortable? I just wouldn't have done a quick one in a nook somewhere."

Neville laughed at that and pulled her back in for a cuddle.

"A quick one?" He laughed, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks at the thought. "It was perfect the way it was. I wouldn't have changed anything." He kissed her head again, wincing at the pain that suddenly intensified in his face.

"So, by the waterfall, that was your first time too?"

He nodded."You mean you couldn't tell?" He smirked proudly.

"No! It was…" She floundered for words for a moment. "It was great Neville, I've never had someone just want to give me pleasure without taking some back."

"Good, I'm glad I wasn't rubbish at it. I really did want you to you know-"

"Orgasm?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah," He confirmed with a chuckle.

"Neville Longbottom, you are adorable. You can make a woman come screaming in ecstasy in about five seconds flat, but you can't say that you've done it. However, I can see my swearing has already started to wear off." She smirked "Sorry."

"Liar," he smirked back.

They sat in bed for a while longer, just enjoying the silence around them as Neville stroked her hair. It was the most relaxed he'd ever been with anyone, there were no secrets. If his face didn't hurt so much, the moment would have been perfect. Pansy sat up and smiled suddenly.

"Was this all just a cunning ploy to get me into bed with you?" She asked, quirking her eyebrow.

He laughed heartily before holding his cheek in pain.

"Really? After telling me all that, you're making jokes?"

"I own it. It happened, and there's nothing I can do to change it. As long as you're okay about it, so am I. It only bothered me because I thought it would bother you."

"So we're not breaking up?"

"Not if you can do that with your fingers on your first try! Salazar, Neville! I'm never letting you go! I'm interested in seeing what you can do with some practice." She wagged her eyebrows cheekily.

He laughed again before cringing.

"Would you mind if we just cuddled today? I'm quite tired," He felt exhausted from the pain, it seemed to touch everything and there was no way to ignore it.

Pansy's face straightened with concern.

"Is it really hurting? What did Pomfrey say?"

"I had to drink Skele-gro. The bruising won't disappear for a few days, but it should be healed by tomorrow. Just lots of pain between now and then and you were right, it was a fractured cheekbone."

She snorted as she lay down,"Maybe if Spagyric's falls through I could become a healer."

Neville lay down next to her and pulled her close as he breathed in the scent of her coloured hair. Her scent was concentrated in the bend of her neck, and he revelled in it.

"What happened by the way? I was supposed to be meeting you at potions."

"Fucking Cornfoot and Rivers!" She growled.

"Repeating all the rumours?" Neville asked and felt Pansy nod.

"Maybe I should just agree with the rumours and say that they're all true?" She pondered thoughtfully.

"I'd love to see their faces if you did." He replied as he pushed some hair out of her face. Pansy smirked and looked at him.

"Well we've got potions in about fifteen minutes so why don't we test the theory?"

"Sounds like a plan." Neville smiled. Pansy smiled back, the blotches still visible on her cheeks. Neville thought, looking into those silver eyes, that he'd never seen anyone more beautiful. He pulled her head forward gently and kissed her softly. He couldn't help the grin that passed his lips as she pulled away.

"What?" she asked with a smile.

"Fancy teaching me how to kiss properly?" He asked as he quirked his eyebrow. She gently hit his arm as she rolled her eyes.

"You know I didn't mean that!"

"Yeah, but fancy practising anyway?" He waggled his own eyebrows, and she smiled.

"If you insist," She said as she pressed her lips to his.