Friday again meant that he was free first period. Hermione and Blaise walked with him to the stairs of Lumos tower before they went off to Alchemy. He trudged slowly up the stairs as he tried to keep his mind blank. Walking around the school was like the first week again after the war. People looking at him and whispering as he walked past. He felt the urge to rub his face or to tuck in his shirt. It made him feel painfully uncomfortable.

In his experience, his many failings were brought to the fore when under scrutiny. Even things he had never considered as such beforehand. He pushed into the common room and was relieved to find it empty. He walked over to the kitchen, dumped his bag on a table and made himself a cup of tea.

It was about the time when he reentered from the kitchen that he stopped, his eyes drawn to the spot at the bottom of the stairs. An image of Hannah on top of Pansy flashed into his mind. Then a picture of ripped tights and bruises. He sat down on the sofa facing the fire, as he had done a few nights previous and watched as the flames danced and licked the firewood.

His memory came back in dribs and drabs, and by his third cup of tea, he thought it had all returned. He sat a replayed it all in his head. From the moment He and Hannah had gotten together, to this moment on the sofa. He wondered whether he had missed any signs that could hint at the craziness or cruelty of the Hufflepuff. Looking back, he could see certain indicators but never anything as full-blown as this.

His mind drifted back to that moment on the subdued Hogwarts express. The platform had been a quiet and emotional affair with lots of tears and hugs. There was a strange sense of unity as houses intermingled in the compartments, all except the Slytherins. They still remained separate. Unforgivables and traitors to the rest of the passengers, they remained aloof and apart.

Neville pushed through on his way to find a compartment. Part of him wanted to sit amongst the snakes just to see whether he could get a reaction from them, but he suppressed it as he passed through. He was almost at his compartment when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned, surprised as he met Hannah with her beautiful smile.

He couldn't remember the exact words, but he remembered her doing most of the talking and him just nodding dumbfounded. From that moment on they had been virtually inseparable. He remembered the first time she'd said something that had seemed off. It was a throwaway comment about Hermione being a know-it-all.

It had seemed innocuous enough but now looking back the other comments increased in regularity. All focussing on characteristics and personality failings of his friends. Whether it was the brashness of Ginny or the strangeness of Luna. Comments that added together and twisted his thoughts against his friends. He wasn't sure he had ever seen anything to foreshadow his current situation though.

His mind started to gravitate back Pansy, but he stopped. He had spent enough time thinking of her, and it hurt too much. He cast another Tempus charm on his wand and was relieved when he realised he had enough time for a shower and a change of clothes. He rushed up to the boy's dorms and stopped at the portrait.

"Ah, well hello there, Longbottom. It's been a while." The cheerful adventurer greeted jovially from the canvas.

"Hello, Sir Patrick. It has indeed." He nodded.

"How are you? Your belle has been frantic without your presence."

"My belle?" Neville asked.

"Why, Miss Parkinson, of course. We have long discussion into the night when her mind is troubled."

"Is she alright?"

Sir Patrick frowned thoughtfully and shook his head. "I believe the news from home has hit the chink in her armour. I feel she is currently struggling with the dilemma of leaving the arrow in or pulling it out."

Neville frowned at the analogy. "I'm not sure I follow."

"It's of no matter. I'm sure all will become apparent once she comes to a decision." Neville nodded. He was sure that she already had. "I hear her birthday is imminent." He added.

"Her birthday? When?"

"Early November if my memory is correct." The portrait replied thoughtfully.

"She never told me," Neville said quietly.

"She never did like to celebrate it as I remember. Most unlike the rest of her friends. Oh, the parties they would throw and the gifts, well you can imagine I'm sure." The older man paused. "Actually that's not quite true. Her first year she had one of the largest cakes I have ever seen. But in her second year, everything changed."

"What happened?"

"I do not know." Neville sighed heavily as he perched on the edge of one of the steps leading to the girl's dorms. He carded his fingers through his hair, feeling the tender bump at the back of his head.

"You seemed troubled by this news. May I offer any assistance?" Sir Patrick asked as he looked down at him.

"What would you do? I'm not supposed to contact her. I don't want to get her in trouble. However, I don't want her to think that I've forgotten her on her birthday. Do I get her something?"

"Young sir, if she is all you can think about then it is worth taking the risk." The painting said sagely.

Neville nodded as he stared off down the steps, his mind a million miles away. As the passage of time dawned on him, he pushed himself up.

"Well, I must have a shower before I go to lessons, so if I could get inside, please?" Neville asked politely.

"Oh, of course. Remain steadfast and true in your affections, and she will come around!" He offered as he swung away from the wall.

"Thank you, Sir Patrick." He offered as he entered the dorms.

He stood outside the potions door waiting for the lesson to start. His eyes pointed down, he could already feel peoples eyes on him. He felt self-conscious as he stood alone. Pansy, Theo and Blaise had turned up already but held back from him. He caught Pansy's eyes once and found a mixture of emotions there. Relief, sadness, regret, indecision, playing out one after the other. He looked away, unable to bear it. He kept his eyes trained on his shoes until another's joined his. He looked up and found Ginny stood before him.

"Oh, Neville." She said before throwing her arms around him. She squeezed him tightly leaving him short of breath before releasing him abruptly. "If you ever throw yourself in front of a curse again, If it isn't a killing one I'll finish you off myself! You can't keep doing this!" She nagged. He smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Apparently, I was never in any danger. I have a hard head." He smirked back half-heartedly.

"I could have told you that before you decided to test it against the fireplace!"

"Sorry if I worried you," He muttered with a sigh.

"Of course you worried me. And Luna, And Hermione!" She listed "Idiot!" she said as she punched his arm. He frowned as he rubbed at the pain.

"Have I missed much?" He asked.

"I wouldn't worry about that!" She replied with a chuckle "Hermione has made sure that you have notes coming out of your ears." She grinned "I, however, have nice, easy-to-read bullet points ready for you to use in our classes. You'll have to ask Theo or Luna for Herbology notes though," His face fells as she too glanced over towards the former Slytherins.

Word must be out by now, He guessed at Ginny's reaction. Even if it was only between his friends. Gossip had a strange way of getting to all corners of Hogwarts within minutes of it happening.

Slughorn appeared before she could say anything else. He sat down as Ginny went and collected the ingredients. He kept his eyes at his desk, and when Ginny returned, they worked through the instructions.

Over an hour later found him in the middle of grinding up the lacewing flies into a paste. He winced in pain as Ginny nudged him, with her elbow in his ribs.

"What?" he hissed.

"I never would have believed it!" She snorted as she added the leeches to the cauldron.

"What?" He asked, looking at her. Her brown eyes mischievous as she looked around the room.

"That you would have two girls fawning over you at the same time!"

Neville looked up and found Pansy looking over at him as Blaise dealt with their ingredients. She seemed distracted and distant as though her mind were a million miles away. Their eyes met for a moment before she hurriedly looked away. For the fraction of a second where her mercurial eyes met his, it felt like home. He felt his heart start to race.

She looked so thin and pale, and bags hung painfully under her eyes. It was obvious that she hadn't been able to eat or sleep either. Neville wondered whether he had looked the same before his hospital rest?

He looked around for the other girl and spotted Hannah, who looked pale and tired as worry lines marked her face. Her hair looked unkempt as she pulled at it nervously. He had never seen her look so dishevelled

"Neither of them look happy though do they?" He said miserably as he added the paste to the cauldron.

"Neither of which is your fault before you get that in your head!" Ginny pointed out. "Hannah was lucky to have you, but she blew it, trying to control you. Pansy knows your worth and its eating away at her that she can't have you." Ginny shrugged. "It's a shame, I was beginning to like having them around. They're actually really funny, although I get the feeling that we haven't seen the last of Blaise." She smirked as she nudged him with her elbow.

"What? Why?"

"I know I shouldn't be surprised you being an oblivious boy and all, but seriously! There's some serious eye contact going on between him and Hermione!"

"Really? But I thought she was still with Ron?" He asked, surprised.

"No!" Ginny snorted "They broke up months ago. Amicably and everything but I think Ron really misses her."

"How come no one told me?"

"I thought you knew already, sorry." She shrugged. "but yeah, I reckon the Italian stallion is trying to woo her."

Neville glanced over to the trio again and caught Pansy's eye before she nervously looked away again.

Blaise, noticing Pansy's reaction, looked over and smiled before turning to carry on with his work.

"Well, he seems like a nice guy, I like him." Neville offered

"Almost everyone likes him. Apparently, he's got a reputation for being a ladies man," Ginny commented as she waved her wand over the potion.

"I've heard that too." He agreed, remembering Pansy's comment in the broomsticks.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens, but I think it would be good for her. They can go and be intelligent together, not like my brother!" She rolled her eyes. "I love him dearly, but he's an idiot for letting her go!"

Neville didn't respond. He couldn't imagine being in a romantic relationship with Hermione. Always being on the back foot, being the one in the wrong. Always being the stupid one. It didn't sound appealing. He always thought that Ron would be much better suited to someone a little less highly strung.

"Are you alright, Nev?" Ginny asked softly. "I mean, really alright?" He looked up at her, and she looked worried.

He looked back down at the pestle and mortar and focused on the paste. He shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. "Do you love her?"

Neville shrugged again, instinctively glancing at Pansy before he looked back down to the lacewings. A fine tremor began in his hand from the death grip he had on the pestle. Ginny put her hand on his arm, and he released it before shaking his hand out. "Nev, look at me." He shook his head. As he focused on the work. If he looked into her eyes, his fragile walls would crumble.

"Just leave it, Gin," He said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Was it his imagination that his head was beginning to hurt again? He pushed his hand into his hair and felt the sensitive lump on his head. He was definitely getting a headache.

She squeezed his arm before turning back to the bubbling cauldron in front of them. He took a deep breath as he steeled himself, scraping the lacewing paste into the simmering concoction. Ginny continued to stir as he emptied the heavy stone mortar.

He opened his mouth to say something when a loud hiss and plumes of purple smoke rose into the air. Neville looked up to see that the plumes were coming from the cauldron between Pansy and Blaise. Blaise frowned at Pansy as he waved away the smoke. Pansy tried her best to stop the smoke.

"Ah, I see someone added the Lacewing paste before the leeches," Slughorn commented as he walked over to the desk. "It's unlike the two of you to make sure a rudimentary mistake."

Neville watched as Pansy flushed the reddest he'd ever seen, her milky cheeks going crimson.

"Sorry sir, I was an accident, I thought Pansy had already put it in," Blaise muttered, as his eyes were still on Pansy.

"That's quite alright, Mr Zabini, I know that both you and Miss Parkinson are usually excellent brewers." Slughorn waved. "However, This will still need to be brewed today, so that it is ready for the same time as all the others. Do you have a free period today? If not, I can do lunch or after lessons this evening?"

"I have a free period after lunch if you can accommodate me?" Blaise asked.

"Perfect, my man. I will ensure that there is a space for you at the back whilst I teach my first-year class."

"Perfect," Blaise said with too much cheer. Slughorn, oblivious to the sarcasm, smiled and turned around to look at someone else's Polyjuice potion. Even from here, he could see that Blaise didn't look particularly happy. Pansy nodded a few times as Blaise muttered to her before his eyes settled on Neville.

Neville looked away, feeling instantly guilty as though he had intentionally made the cauldron smoke. From the corner of his eye, he caught Pansy start to turn her head to look at him but stopped herself. He missed the grey of her eyes which reminded him of the sky before a storm. The plump curve of her lips when she smiled, which filled him with joy and chased the clouds away. He recalled that amazing Saturday morning where they had missed breakfast. Just staring into her eyes and watching her react as they spoke. The perfect freckles across her nose and cheeks. He cleared his throat as Ginny nudged him.

"Eyes on the cauldron! I have practice tonight, and there is no way I'm staying over!"

Neville nodded as he reached for the bicorn horn. He looked around, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"Did you get the Bicorn horn?" He asked. Ginny looked at him, blankly before looking around the bench.

"No, I thought you got it." She replied. He shook his head as he stood up and headed towards the store cupboard.

He felt eyes follow him as he walked towards the front of the class. He felt relieved when he stepped out of sight. He closed his eyes for a second as he calmed the rising panic in him. He wasn't in danger of having a panic attack, but he didn't feel comfortable either.

He tried to concentrate on all the scents and smells around him. The cupboard, regardless of having the same ingredients on its shelves, seemed to feel different from when Snape had been Potions Master, less musty. He took a deep and calming breath before opening his eyes to start looking.

He felt warmth against his back as the door opened behind him. He turned curiously and stood speechless as she stood before him.

"Neville, please! Just hear me out," Hanah said as she blocked the entrance.

"What do you want?" He growled as he turned to the stores to look for what he had come for. He reached up and grabbed it before turning back to her.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, for everything. Especially for putting you into the hospital wing. As you know, I wasn't aiming for you." Her face sneered as she referred to Pansy.

"She could have got seriously hurt if that had hit her," He stressed as she stood there looking at him.

"I know, I was so angry at her for what she did to me that I just saw red. I wasn't thinking."

"Right, was that everything?" he asked calmly as he pushed his free hand into his pocket.

"Are you alright?" She asked gently. The question and the tone threw him off guard. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"I've been better, but I've been worse."

"Oh, alright. Well, I really am sorry,"

He nodded as he pushed passed her to get out of the cupboard. As he walked back into the classroom, all eyes were on him again. Most were peering into the closet too. He assumed to see whether Hannah was with him. He paused, almost tripping as he realised how it must look to anyone outside of the stores. His eyes met Pansy's who frowned before looking away. He looked at Blaise who watched him with interest as he made his way back to his seat.

Ginny sat, waiting for him with her arms crossed.

"Don't look at me like that!"

"Well? What happened?" She asked impatiently.

"Nothing, She apologised. That's it!" He said, probably louder than he needed to, but he could see that others were leaning in to get the gossip. He rubbed his face as he put the horn down on the desk. This was going to be around the school by the end of lunch.

He caught Hannah smirk at Pansy before she turned back to her work. He gritted his teeth and began grinding the horn into oblivion.

Hannah was going to be the death of him, he just knew it.