"She's not in there," Luna said as she reappeared.

"You're sure?" He asked as he tried to look over her head.

"I know what I'm looking for, Neville. There's no one in there but me."

"If shes not in there, where else could she be?"

"Some people like to go to the astrology tower," Luna offered.

"Maybe," He replied reluctantly, the astrology tower didn't feel like a place she would think of.

"Or a secret alcove or nook?"

"That's not a bad idea." He said as he went to turn. "Could you try the Astrology tower?"

"But, Neville. Lessons are about to start. She may have gone to Muggle Studies already."

Neville frowned as he toyed with what he was going to do. He turned this way and that unable to make the decision.

"Come on, let's go to class. Pansy's a big girl, she can look after herself for a little while."

"But. No, She's-" He stammered as Luna took his arm and started leading him to Muggle studies.

"Neville. She needs some space. Let her be for a bit." Luna said sternly as she placed her hand on his arm and looked at him.

"But Luna," He looked down into her pale eyes and shook his head.

"Come on," Luna commanded as she guided him to lessons.

Neville kept looking for her as they walked through the corridors, craning his head around corners and into doorways. Until there were no other doorways left. Luna guided him into the room and immediately his eyes fell on her green and purple hair. She didn't turn around as he approached. Theo and Blaise sat on either side of her. They looked at each other before turning to Neville. He went to open his mouth to speak to her where Theo stopped him.

"Give her some space for a little while," Theo said gently. Neville felt the blood in his body go cold as his eyes darted between the three of them. Blaise smiled a thin-lipped smile as he turned away. The seats were almost full, leaving Neville to sit at the back next to Lisa Turpin. The former Ravenclaw spent the lesson trying to get his attention as he remained stiff. Frozen with fear and guilt as he stared at the back of her head.

Through two hours of Professor Taylor talking about Muggle vehicles, she didn't turn around once. He wasn't even sure that he saw her move. Theo and Blaise shared several furtive looks between themselves as they glanced back to look at him every now and again.

His mind struggled to take in any of the lesson as he went over the facts again and again. And then again until he'd gotten himself into a mental mess. He didn't want to contemplate what the letter could contain and what it could mean for them.

He sat up and moved before leaning back down again to rest his head on his forearms. Why wasn't she talking to him? He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? They had been fine at breakfast. He swallowed thickly as he glanced at Lisa, who gave him an approving once over as she smiled seductively. He couldn't even bring himself to smile back politely before returning his gaze at Pansy.

When the professor dismissed them, Neville was the first one to stand up as he waited for the other students to filter out and for Pansy to approach him. She kept her head down as Theo and Blaise walked beside her.

"Pansy?" He called out as she walked past him. She stopped without looking up. "Can we talk?" He tried as Lisa Turpin knocked him out of the way roughly.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Blaise tried as he stepped between them.

"I just need to know what I've done. I think you owe me that?" He saw her shoulders start to shake and he knew she was crying. "Pansy," He offered as he held his hand out. She shook her head and walked off without them. He watched as her robes disappeared around the door.

"We're so sorry, Longbottom," Theo said as he clapped his shoulder with his hand.

"Can you tell me anything?"

Theo looked at Blaise, who looked back and shrugged. Theo took a deep breath and closed his eyes as if stealing himself against the news.

"Someone wrote to her family and told them about you."

Neville felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. He couldn't quite catch his breath.

"If they get wind that she's so much as looked at you after getting their letter, then they're going to pull her out of school or worse. The letter was quite detailed." Blaise winced with distaste at the memory.

"Worse?" Neville asked as his tongue turned to paper.

"They mentioned disowning her, disinheriting her, throwing her out. They were not very forgiving."

"The only reason it wasn't a howler is that purebloods don't air their dirty laundry in public," Theo explained.

"So, we can't talk to each other again?"

"Fraid not," Blaise explained with a shake of his head.

Neville stood in the silent classroom and felt the echos through his soul. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Erm, right. Let her know- if she erm…ever needs me. I'm right here for her."

"She knows." Blaise offered. "She's in pieces over it,"

"This is really hard for her too," Theo muttered uncomfortably. "She doesn't want to follow the rules," he snorted with a short, derisive laugh. "You know Pansy, she has never been one for the rules! But this- she's finding it very difficult. Leave her alone to work through it, hanging around will only make it worse."

Neville swallowed and nodded as he collapsed back onto the stool.

"We've got to get to our next lesson. We're still here for you Longbottom, You're one of us now." Blaise added as he too slapped him on the shoulder.

"Thanks" he mumbled as they left him alone to his thoughts.

The crushing tightness in his chest threatened to suffocate him as he struggled to make sense of it all. He stared off into space without seeing as the panic spiked inside him. He shook his head as he covered his head with his arms. He needed to move, needed to do something to expel the energy.

He started to walk away. Walk and breathe. He didn't try to focus on where his feet took him. He just focused on moving and feeling the air enter his lungs until one stopped the other. When he couldn't breathe any more, he stopped and sank to the floor. His heart boomed in his limbs like a giant's pulse as his throat burned. His skin felt frozen and burning at the same time. There were just too many sensations to understand. His mind couldn't cope.

He needed to slow down, he needed to breathe and calm down. He tried to do what Theo did for him, he attempted to slow down his breathing, but he couldn't get the rhythm right. Why was breathing so hard? He felt the air pressure change around him and opened his eyes.

A witch in dark robes crouched before him and grabbed his arm. He could bearly hear her over the buzzing and booming between his ears.

"Longbottom, Come on, get up."

He blinked at her as he tried to comprehend her words. He tried to stand as the fear coursed through his veins.

He fell against the wall and slid back down again as the strength left his legs. He couldn't walk if he had a heart attack. He closed his eyes again and tried to curl up into a ball. His breath hitched, and the black halo started to appear at the edge of his vision. He tried to slow his breathing, but his lungs didn't want to cooperate. He felt the halo grow larger until it consumed him. He didn't want to faint and make a fool of himself. He just wanted to stop.

He heard someone counting and looked up. The witch before him was McGonagall, and she was counting. Very much as she had done when she'd been teaching them to dance.

"One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four." She murmured slowly as she sat on the floor next to him. "In, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four." She chanted over and over. He closed his eyes and latched onto her words. Why was breathing so difficult? He focused on fighting off the darkness. The dizziness threatened to take him.

"Come on, Mr Longbottom. I do not wish to be sat on this cold floor for the rest of the morning. Focus so that we can take this to my office." She said brusquely. Neville caught the tilt of her smile as she peered at him from under her wide-brimmed hat. He almost smiled as he hiccupped again.

Muttering from down the corridor drew his attention as some students walked past. Their wide eyes and surprise, all for him and the forbidding headmistress as they edged past. He cursed himself again as he thought of the news spreading through the school like wildfire.

"In, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four." She repeated again until his breath came to him steadily and left him slowly. "There, now, if you will come with me. I believe a cup of tea and a biscuit are in order," He nodded mutely as he slowly followed her through the corridor. She glanced back ofter to make sure he was still with him.

The large stone gargoyle was stood to attention the way it always had been. He jumped when it started to rotate and rise. Watching the stairs appear, he realised that he had never been to the headmaster's office before.

"Come, Longbottom." McGonagall motioned as she led the way up the stairs. He followed her around the tight spiral of steps, the spin doing nothing for his dizzy head. Once at the top, she took his arm and guided him towards her office.

The room was large and circular and filled to the brim with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses. Some frames were empty where their occupants had gone gallivanting. Most of the remaining professors tried to look preoccupied, but Neville knew that they watched him. He felt nervous as he approached the desk as if he were on display. The bureau was huge and heavy looking with large claw feet at its base.

He wondered what the office had looked like when Dumbledore occupied it. He could only imagine that there was less tartan. There was a comfortable-looking armchair by the fireplace with a green and red blanket thrown over the arm. Trinkets and other paraphernalia decorated the shelves. He recognised the battered-looking sorting hat, which sat motionless and inanimate on one of the high shelves, surrounded by some Quidditch memorabilia.

She led him over towards the fire and sat him down on another chair, though far less comfortable looking. She sat in her armchair and sighed.

Neville felt the swirling dread build up again as she looked at him over her square-framed glasses.

"So," She said in her Scottish drawl. "Can you explain to me what caused that little episode in the corridor?" The words sounded harsh, but her tone was soft and careful.

He took a deep breath as he tried to find the words to explain. He felt ridiculous.

"It's nothing." He mumbled.

"Don't mumble, Neville! My hearing, I'm loathed to say, is not what it once was." She snapped. He felt a strange mix of surprise and shock at hearing his first name come from her lips. "Now, It's perfectly normal after what everyone has been through, its nothing to be ashamed of."

He looked down at his fingers and noted how the nails were bitten and sore. Red and splintered where he had chewed his way through them as he gazed at Pansy, waiting for her to turn around.

"Pansy received a letter this morning from her family." He mumbled before repeating himself more clearly.

"Ah, young love," She remarked as she crossed her hands over her lap.

Neville nodded as he glanced down at his feet.

"Her parents have forbidden her to talk to me, and she's just ignoring me."

"I see."

"Nott and Zabini told me at the end of Muggle studies, just before you found me." He fiddled with his fingers picking at the rough nails and making them worse.

"So, you've had a bit of a shock?" He nodded.

"We got on so well." He muttered again. He couldn't bring himself to repeat it.

"Love is like a broken rib, Longbottom. It hurts to breathe and is agony to move on. It draws your focus from anything else. However, like everything else, it heals with time." She said as she leant forward and patted his knee.

He nodded then stopped, he didn't agree. He felt a swell of pain rush through him as he remembered what she had said. He wanted to punch something at the unfairness of it all.

"Neville, If there is one thing I've learned in all my years, it's that couples who are meant to be will go through everything that is meant to tear them apart, and will come out on the other side even stronger. If you and our Ms Parkinson are destined to be together, it will happen."

"But what about her parents?" She gave a gallic shrug which could mean everything and nothing simultaneously.

"What about her parents? It's none of your business. What I would urge you to do is to concentrate on your schoolwork. You have ten months to make this final year count. Wait and see what the future holds. Respect their wishes, and we'll see whether Ms Parkinson's nature is revealed."

Neville smiled slightly at the advice.

"Now, I'll get to the point as I was actually looking for you when I stumbled upon you. This conversation never happened." She warned. She handed over a small tartan tin. "Have a biscuit,"

He helped himself to a ginger newt before closing the tin back up and handing it back. She smiled at him with the barest twitch of lips before she tented her fingers.

"I wished to discuss with you that matter you brought to my attention." She said before she paused. "I was very distressed to see what you have been through over the past few weeks. I wanted to let you know personally what has been done to prevent this from happening In the future." She stood up at this point and began to pace, her robes trailing behind her "Both Rivers and Cornfoot are on final warnings. If either other them even breathe funny, I'll have them out of this school before Filch can rehang the thumbscrews. Ms Abbotts however, even though I feel that she was the instigator, she has done very little which I can prove. I have given her a very stern talking to, and I believe that she has taken my warnings on board. However, I would urge you to inform me if any further infractions, however slight, are committed by her from this moment on."

Neville nodded as he chewed on the newt. If he had known back on the Hogwarts express what he knew now, he never would have asked her out. As he thought back, he wondered whether he had actually asked her out in the first place or whether she had just manipulated him into thinking he had.

"Now, unless I am very much mistaken, You have got the better part of an hour to focus on your studies. So I would suggest you return to the library or common room and focus on your homework there."

"Yes, Professor," He said as he stood up.

"And Longbottom?" She added as she stood up with him.

"Yes, Professor?"

"She'll come around, you have a lot going for you." She smiled, her usually-stern eyes crinkling at the edges behind her glasses.

"Thank you, Professor." He nodded his thanks as she walked him to the door. She held it open for him as he left. Once the door was shut behind him, he stood for a moment just trying to take everything in. He felt a strange sense of floating like he wasn't really in the moment but watching from elsewhere. He shook his head as he tried to clear the sensation and then forced his legs back down the narrow stairwell.