He returned back to the castle, feeling productive and slightly better than he had been. The small box in his pocket, consuming almost all his thoughts as he navigated the stairwell. He wondered whether his choice was too extravagant for someone that he was no longer in a relationship with. He wondered what her face would look like opening the box as he pushed through the door to the common room. He stood, thoughts gone from his head as the room before him had changed beyond all recognition.
Slime dripped from the walls as cobwebs and chains hung from the ceiling. Mist clung to the rafters and glowed an ominous red as Neville wandered in.
"What in Merlin's spotted boxers-?" He asked as he looked around in awe. Bloody handprints smeared the windows as though people had tried to get out.
Theo glanced over and grinned brightly. "Do you like it?"
"I'm really not sure… I don't recognise it if that's worth anything?" Neville offered as his eyes landed on new features he hadn't noticed before.
"That will do. The red mist will rain blood later on," He beamed as he waved his wand at something behind him. Neville turned and jumped as a colony of bats flew out of the fireplace and perched themselves on the walls, twitching and trembling as though cold. Neville held his beating heart as he rolled his eyes.
"Very realistic," He breathed as Theo laughed.
"I'm glad you approve" Theo smiled as he strung up some more spiders webs from the bookcases.
Neville bit the inside of his lip for a moment before speaking again. He was probably overreacting, but he would never forgive himself if something happened and he could have stopped it. And with the number of hidden corners and distracting decorations, he didn't want to be the only one to have eyes on her.
"Theo, can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked. Theo looked at him, his smile dropping from his face as he spotted the serious expression on Neville's. He nodded before looking around the rest of the common room. They were a few others, but they stood chatting in the kitchen so they probably wouldn't be overheard.
"What's on your mind? Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.
"Yeah… I'm, yeah it's not about me" He stuttered. "I had a bit of a run-in with Cornfoot and Rivers in Hogsmeade. They suggested that they were going to try and get Pansy drunk and take advantage of her."
"What?" Theo asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. I don't want her getting hurt, I thought If I let you and Blaise know, we'll all be able to keep an eye on her."
"Firstly, we always keep an eye on each other. Eight years of being in the lowest regarded house. Constantly being picked on by anyone that isn't in Slytherin, teaches you that if you don't look after your friends, no one else will. Secondly, I think you underestimate how much it takes to get Pansy drunk. Blaise and I have been trying for years. Try not to worry. I'll mention it to them but don't worry."
Neville nodded. He felt better now that someone else knew. He smiled and went to leave when Theo called him back.
"So what are you coming as tonight?"
"I'm… erm," He struggled.
"You weren't planning on coming, were you?" Theo asked as he physically deflated. Neville shook his head.
"My head isn't in the right place for all this," He said as he gestured to all the decorations. "I'd just be sat in the corner bringing everyone down."
"That's not true, and you never know, this might be just the thing to brighten your spirits. I have a few things you can wear." He brightened. "Just come for an hour after the feast, if you're not having fun, you have my permission to leave. Deal?"
Neville sighed and nodded. The bag handles had started to cut into his fingers painfully, he would need to put them down soon. "Great, come on, come see what I have in my collection. You should hear the music I have for tonight. Professor Taylor has given me his entire collection of muggle music and his stereo. This party is going to go down in history, I promise." Theo announced as they walked up the steps to the boy's dorms.
He sat on his bed with the last of the presents wrapped and labelled. He felt quite proud of himself for being so organised. He glanced to the wardrobe and sighed at the costume that Theo had set him up with. It wasn't the worst costume in the world. If anything, it was rather tame than some of the others that had been discussed by his friends.
It was a three-piece suit which was striped with black, grey and purple, running down its length. A white shirt beneath with a purple and black filigree bow tie. The collar on the shirt was surprisingly large. There were a couple of props that went with it which seemed extremely mismatched, but Theo assured him that they were correct. One was a large cigar, and the other was a bat or stick from a muggle sport called Golf.
He had no clue of the character he was going as, only that it was a character from a muggle play that performed in their picture radio boxes. Theo was surprisingly well versed in a lot of Muggle popular culture, something which Neville was most definitely not.
Theo had offered to do his hair and face paint too. Neville had nodded, letting Theo do whatever he wanted. He reasoned that he would only have to wear it for an hour before going to bed, and it would mean he could keep an eye on Pansy and more importantly, Cornfoot and Rivers.
He knew that he would probably stay up as long as Pansy or the boys depending on who went to bed first. At least it wasn't something truly ridiculous, he heard that some of the boys were dressing up in blue tights and putting their underwear on the outside. He smirked at the thought before starting to load the presents into his wardrobe.
The feast would be soon, and they were supposed to get dressed up before attending. Neville felt queasy at the thought of eating again. He considered skipping the feast all together, But Hermione and the others would probably storm the dorms demanding he go. He rolled his eyes as he warded his wardrobe. There was no way he was going to let anything happen to those presents before they were given out. His mind returned to the pendant, and again he wondered what her face would look like when she opened it. He hoped that she wasn't going to be angry with him. The best he could hope for would be a smile and a nod as a thank you.
He tried to turn his mind to other things as he looked around his bedroom. He checked that everything but the chocolates and sweets for the girls were away. He would give them out tomorrow when everyone was hungover and in need of comfort. He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before turning to find Theo.
The dormitories in Lumos tower were split into four sections. He assumed the girls were the same; however, he had heard that the stairs had the same charm on as the Gryffindor ones. One quarter was for the bathroom where the others were divided into three separate, interlocking bedrooms holding three beds apiece. He was in the furthest away, passing through the room that held Cornfoot, Rivers and Goldstein before reaching Blaise and Theo's.
He stepped in, and Theo was nowhere to be seen. He was just about to leave when he heard a whispered giggle come from Blaise's bed. That was not a boyish giggle, and he could never imagine that noise coming from Blaise's mouth. He stopped and turned only in time to find Hermione opening the curtains.
Neville gaped in surprise as Hermione spotted him. She flushed crimson before she tried to straighten her bushy hair.
"Hi," He muttered awkwardly as Blaise's head appeared out behind the curtain. Blaise gave a grin and a wave to Neville and appeared at complete ease over being caught.
"Hello Neville," Hermione muttered as she straightened her clothes. "I'm sorry, I thought we were the only ones up here."
"No… It's ok. Erm, have you seen Theo?" He asked, looked desperately for another subject. Hermione jumped on it too.
"I believe he's downstairs finishing off. The common room looks great, doesn't it?" She fiddled with her clothes as she looked around the room, avoiding his eyes.
"Yeah, great." He nodded as he inched towards the door. "Well, I'll erm… see you later, Theo said he was going to help me."
"Oh, great, yeah." Hermione nodded eagerly.
Neville turned to go but not before hearing Blaise pull her back into bed, causing her to shriek and giggle again.
He closed his eyes as he pushed through the portrait hole. He really didn't want to hear any more. He only hoped that this was the real thing for Blaise because he couldn't bear Hermione getting hurt. He wouldn't wish it on anyone.
After a double-take, he spotted Theo downstairs adding the finishing touches to the room. The pumpkins were ablaze as bleeding candles oozed over the tables. He had to admit that Theo had really outdone himself, the place looked amazing.
Theo was powdery white and muted from his clothes to his face. Everything about him screamed ghostlike. Neville wouldn't have been surprised if he had floated through him as he approached and braced himself for the sensation.
"You look great," Neville confessed as he got closer. Theo looked down at his renaissance style clothes and bowed.
"Why thank you, m' lord" He offered before standing again and laughing. "I am the Ghost of Lumos Tower." He smirked, "are you ready for your makeover?" He asked as he flicked his wand at something in the kitchen, causing a squelching noise to answer back. Neville cringed. It all looked great, but he dreaded to think who was going to tidy the place up afterwards.
He followed Theo back upstairs, his palms sweating at the thought of seeing Blaise and Hermione again. As they stepped in, Blaise was pulling on his costume, and thankfully, Hermione was nowhere to be seen. Blaise's outfit looked akin to military regalia with its navy coloured breeches and royal blue jacket which were both trimmed in gold. He was just trying the blinding white neck scarf as he turned. He smirked as he saw Neville.
"Sorry about earlier, Nev. We really did think we were alone." Neville nodded warily. "It's all so new, and we've been trying to keep it secret if you know what I mean?"
"Don't hurt her." Neville blurted, surprised at his own bluntness "Sorry, I meant-"
Blaise laughed and looked down as he pulled the frilly shirt cuffs through his blue and gold jacket sleeves.
"I understand, I have got a reputation which is completely deserved. However, Hermione is different. I'm hoping that this time it means something,"
Neville nodded, satisfied with the answer. "You once gave me the once over to see if I was good enough for Pansy. I would be a poor friend if I didn't do the same for Hermione. Treat her well."
"Neville, no offence, but do you really think I would risk pissing off Hermione Jean Granger? She'll blow my balls off, turn me into a billywig and then stomp on me with her shoe. No, her heart is quite safe."
Neville smirked and nodded. He wouldn't mess with Hermione either, He knew what she'd done to Rita Skeeter in their fourth year.
"Will you stop distracting him, Zabini! I need to work my magic on his head." Theo announced as he produced a pallet of paints in almost every shade.
"You're in safe hands, Neville," Blaise smirked as he waved his wand over his head. His lower legs, forearms and head began to grow golden fur like a lion. Neville watched, fascinated at the transformation. He couldn't remember ever learning that in Transfiguration but that didn't count for much.
"Woah, Blaise! You look amazing! Just how Walt Disney intended!" Theo announced.
"Who's Walt Disney?" Neville asked as he looked between the two former Slytherins. They shared a look and a shake of their head.
"Right, Longbottom!" Blaise announced "Tonight, we educate you in alcohol. Later we will educate you in the joys of Muggle pop culture! You are going to love it!"
Neville laughed uneasily at the thought of them educating him in alcohol. It had gone fine last time; however, tonight there was going to be no reason to stop drinking.
"Now, sit down," Theo said as he patted the bed beside him.
Neville moved forward uncertainly as Theo concentrated on his paints.
"How come you're doing it the muggle way?" Blaise asked as he sat down on his bed to watch as he platted some of the mane with little bows.
"Sometimes, the muggles get it right," Theo shrugged.
The room fell quiet for a while as Theo applied the makeup. The colour seemed to be a strange tanned colour as though he had baked in the sun. His mind wandered as he tried to ignore the cold, wet sponge dabbing at his face.
"I spoke to Sir Patrick yesterday." He said finally, receiving interested noises from both boys. He waited for a second before continuing. "He said it was Pansy's birthday soon. Is that true?"
There was suddenly a heavy silence as the dabbing stopped. Neville opened his eyes and looked at Theo. His face looked almost worried as he looked at Blaise. He turned to Blaise who frowned under the fur.
"It is." He finally admitted. Theo bit his lip as he continued with the makeup.
"What day?" Neville added, closing his eyes again.
"The third of November. But she doesn't like to make a big deal out of it, so, just forget it." Blaise muttered.
"Oh, How come?"
"We don't talk about it." Theo almost whispered as he applied the makeup. "If you want to know, you will have to speak to her about it, but I wouldn't recommend it." He warned as he put the orange paint down before picking up the black.
He felt more in the dark than before. It must have been something really bad to have put her off her birthday completely. He would probably never find out if it meant speaking to her directly.
It seemed to take forever for Theo to finish with his face and hair. His hair had been sleeked back with multiple hair gels, and his face felt like a strong emotion would make the paint flake off.
"Now, I'm going to powder you up to set everything, and then I believe we are done," Theo said happily, the previous conversation, forgotten.
"Let's see him!" Blaise said as he stood up. Neville heard him step closer as Theo assaulted his face with a cloud of powder. He coughed as he fanned the air around him to thin the particles in the air. "At least Pansy didn't need your help with her make up. You'd have run out of time!"
"What's Pansy going as?" Neville asked.
"I can't remember exactly. You'll have to see for yourself," Theo said airily.
Blaise whistled as he looked at Neville, his eyes bright with laughter.
"You need to go and get your suit on now! And don't forget the golf club and cigar," Blaise insisted, virtually pushing him out of the room.
Neville nodded and went to fetch it. He pulled it on as quickly as he could before returning.
They both looked at him and smiled.
"Cara Mia!" Blaise said with a laugh as he stepped closer to neaten his collar and to arrange the lavender coloured handkerchief in his breast pocket.
"Perfect!" Theo said with a satisfied nod. "Now, let us do the grand unveiling." He held the bathroom door open for him, allowing him entry.
Neville didn't recognise himself in the mirror. His hair seemed much darker as did his skin albeit slightly muted from the powder. He looked as tired as he felt with the darkened eyes and sharp eyebrows. The main thing that caught his eye was the dark, thin moustache which decorated his top lip.
He stepped closer to the mirror and admired the work from closer up. Theo had even painted in crows feet at the eyes to indicate age. It was a masterpiece.
"Well, Mr Addams, I would say that you are indeed ready to go to the party.
"Mr who?" Neville asked again.
"You are Gomez Addams," Blaise smirked from under his fur. "It's great, Excellent work, Notters,"
"Thanks, Theo" Neville nodded as he turned his head this way and that to get more perspective. "It looks brilliant!"
"Now let's go and get some food so that we can crack on with this party!" Theo said as he herded them all out of the door.
