Authors note - Hey there, Thank you for getting this far with me!
Chapter 40! Wow! Well, this chapter is extra long as a thank you.
Also a special thank you to the guys in the Hermione's Nook Facebook group chat. This isn't a fest piece. However, they all help me with ideas and act as soundboards for what I have planned. A special thank you to Korsty, Nessie, Quinzee, Kira & Kora (Who you may spot dotted in and around the chapter)
I really hope you enjoy this extra-long instalment and I'll get chapter 41 out asap x
Please let me know what you think so far, in the comments! They really help keep me motivated 😊 Thanks again for reading!
Chapter 40 -
The whole school's eyes were on them as they entered the great hall, like a parade of colourful and wonderful monsters. He had to admit that some of the costumes were fantastic; Mandy Brocklehurst had come as a unicorn with a glittering, flowing mane that left butterflies floating in her wake. Terry Boot had dressed as a zombie, complete with what looked like rotting flesh. His costume got the strongest reaction from the rest of the school as it was dinner time.
His friends had pulled out all the stops too. Ginny had dressed as a character from a series of muggle books her dad had bought her as a child; Pippy Longstocking. Her long red hair was braided and curled up either side of her head. She wore a tight blue top which was mostly made of multi-coloured patches and a pair of mismatched brightly coloured stockings.
Luna's costume confused him the most. She had come as a rainbow fish which she had informed him was a salmon. As she walked through the hall, she started handing out scales to students who took them with some confusion. When asked about it, she had said it was an old druid tradition in Ireland, to spread wisdom and insight.
Blaise and Hermione had made a grand entrance hand in hand. Blaise, even in his finery and fur, was overshadowed by Hermione who beamed in her sunshine yellow ballgown. A few people gasped as they pointed. Hermione did look radiant with her hair pulled back.
A few people chuckled at his costume, the muggle-borns he presumed, as he held his cigar the way he'd seen his uncle Algie do. He tried not to rush to sit down with the others as he attempted to look cool and collected. It was only when all the eighth years were seated, he noticed that Pansy wasn't among them.
He looked to Theo in his ghostly white outfit and raised his eyebrows. Theo shrugged back to him as he looked around too. The only thing that kept Neville in his seat was that Cornfoot and Rivers were still in theirs. She was safe for now. He was just about to look for Hannah when Luna tapped him on the arm to ask him about his costume.
He knew that it was a trick to drag his attention away from Pansy, but before long he was held in a deep conversation about Salmon, Hares and Corn and their relations to wisdom and divine inspiration and about the Druid's belief in the great bard. He found what she was saying fascinating and so closely related to what they knew to be true.
Half an hour later, Neville had managed to eat a small pork pie, and that was only to keep the others from nagging him. Once the others stood, he followed, eager to be back in the common room and hopefully to find Pansy once he reached it.
The common room seemed so much darker and eerier in the darkness as they entered. Theo disappeared beyond the stairwell as unfamiliar music filled the space. In the curve of the staircase sat a table with a large cauldron filled with a steaming liquid.
"The smoking cauldron is a homebrewed Halloween punch. Please drink responsibly." He winked before scooping out the misty contents and pouring it into a cup. "Happy Halloween, everyone."
Neville followed suit as he got a drink. Then joined Theo next to the bookcase watching the party.
"You've done a really great job in here, it's terrifying," Neville said as he looked up at the clouds which had started to rain blood upon everyone. "Does that stuff stain?" He asked as he watched people beginning to panic about their costumes.
"Don't worry, the blood disappears after five minutes," Theo shouted in answer to Neville's question so that the others calmed down. "Thanks, I've wanted to do something for months to try and increase peoples morale and to make more friends. People still don't really like us because of which house we were in." Theo almost shouted over the music.
"So what's in the punch?" Neville asked, sniffing it before taking a sip. Theo laughed and winked before sipping his own.
"You know, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I know that some of the cheery mead and dragon barrel brandy is in there along with some other stuff to give it an extra kick. You might want to go easy with it." He smirked as Neville shuddered with the alcoholic aftertaste.
Theo laughed and pattered him on the back in good humour.
"Have you seen Pansy yet?" He asked after a moment. Neville shook his head.
"Not yet, do you know why she wasn't at the feast?" Theo frowned for a moment.
"To be honest, she's not been eating the last week or so, but I suspect you both have that in common. She may not have finished her costume. She's going to look amazing when she appears."
"She always does," Neville muttered as he looked into his drink.
Theo tilted his head at him and smiled sympathetically before squeezing his shoulder.
"I'm sure she'll come around. She's never been very good at following her parent's rules."
Neville nodded before knocking back his drink. Theo laughed in surprise.
"I was serious when I said to take it easy. The punch is strong!"
Neville grimaced as the liquid burned as it rushed down his throat.
"It's not like I have to floo anywhere, is it?" Neville said with a shrug. Theo chuckled again and shook his head.
"No, I guess not." Theo chuckled before he continued. "Guess what?"
Neville frowned and shook his head.
"One of the castle ghosts stopped me to talk to me not realising I was a fleshy, The Bloody Baron was most impressed," He chuckled as he nudged Neville. Neville smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Which ghost?" Neville asked.
"Lady Mildred of Morpington, if I remember correctly. She floats around by the Divination tower normally. She felt most affronted by the costume!" They laughed for a moment before Theo's eyes covered the room. "Right, I'd better check that everyone's having fun and see whether I can find some fun of my own, you haven't seen Goldstein yet have you?" Neville shook his head before Theo grinned, winked and walked off.
Neville liked to watch people normally, but tonight he perched on a chair in the kitchen as he watched the students get gradually more inebriated. Some of the sixth and seventh years had crept in.
He waved to Korsty, Nessie and Quinzee from Hufflepuff who he took Herbology with. Korsty was dressed as a muggle vampire, all-black cloak and pale skin. Nessie was a mermaid with red hair and green tail, nothing like the creatures in the lake. Quinzee, he only guessed at because she had a sheet with eyeholes over her head, but the three of them were usually inseparable. Daisy followed close behind, dressed as a doll. She blushed as the others smiled and pulled her away. Some Ravenclaws turned up including Kira, who was in his Ancient Runes class, dressed as Medusa, the snakes even moved. She didn't see him, so he lowered his hand.
He recognised Kora from the Gryffindor common room. They were almost in the same costume, with the black and white striped suit. However, she had wild, luminous green hair and dark purple eyes. Probably another muggle pop culture character. She smiled with her bright green lipsticked mouth and waved to him as she got her glass of punch. As she walked off, she nodded in the direction of the fireplace. Neville rolled his eyes as she smirked and disappeared into the thickening crowd.
In the armchair closest to the fireplace, Blaise sat with Hermione on his lap. Fully absorbed in each other. He half expected them to be kissing, but it looked like they were in the middle of a passionate debate. Blaise had said that Hermione was different from the other girls. Maybe that was true after all.
Other couples were tucked away into dark and private corners as they kissed and talked. Groups of people loitered on the stairwell too. Luna was dancing in the centre of the room in time to the muggle music, and Ginny looked like she was enjoying every twirl and spin the girl did.
He looked back into the bottom of his cup as he debated whether he wanted another one. He had had three already, and his brain was starting to slow down. He looked up and saw Cornfoot and Rivers walking towards him. He rolled his eyes, but he was strangely glad to see them. While they were with him, they weren't with Pansy, wherever she was.
"Hey, Shortcock. Where have you hidden her? I thought she was back on the market?"
"Shut up!" Was all he could bring himself to say, his tongue felt swollen from the alcohol.
"So witty! Merlin knows why you weren't put into Ravenclaw!" Cornfoot chortled sarcastically.
Neville looked up at them and waited for his vision to catch up. The room swam a little as he tried to stare them down. Their hideous costumes were, he assumed, supposed to be muggle clothes. Still, like most pureblood wizards, they didn't have a clue how the regular muggle dressed. It certainly wasn't in denim shorts, a suit jacket and cowboy boots. Neville couldn't hide his smirk as Cornfoot stuck his chest out. "And what are you laughing at?"
"Your costume,"
"We're poking fun at muggles."
"Muggles don't dress like that, you're only making fools out of yourselves." Neville couldn't hold back the laughter as Cornfoot ground his teeth in anger.
"Steve? She's here!" Rivers muttered, but Neville heard him. He looked up and saw her.
He had to fight to stop his mouth from gaping as she walked towards them. She wore a green, high-legged leotard which appeared to be created solely out of ivy. Tendrils crept down her green, stockinged legs. Legs that seemed to go on forever, until they reached her calf-high heeled boots. He almost didn't recognise her with the blinding red hair she sported.
He felt the urge to look away, she wasn't for him any more. He turned to the other two men and glared as he saw the lust and hunger in their eyes.
"You keep your hands off her, Cornfoot. And you Rivers! Touch her, and I will end you both." He growled with gritted teeth. They sneered at him before they turned to greet her.
"Hey Parkinson, Looking good! Who are you?" Cornfoot leered as he looked her up and down.
Pansy rolled her eyes before turning to Neville. He felt his heart skip before looking away, scared that she would see the hope in his eyes.
"Wow, Parkinson, you look fit!"
"I'm Poison Ivy from Batman, it's a film."
They looked at each other with confusion before they turned back to Pansy and shrugged.
"Sounds great." Cornfoot offered vaguely "I like the costume, red hair really suits you,"
Neville disagreed, The red was too bright and harsh against her milky skin. It seemed to drown her eyes in fire, when she was all water.
"Would you gentlemen excuse me, I need to speak with Longbottom."
"Now what would you want to do that for? You know he's boring and lacking in certain areas." Rivers chimed in.
"I think I'm in a better position to know how well proportioned he is, don't you?" She added as she stood hands on hips. Neville looked away again as his heart thudded n his chest. He didn't want to hope.
The boys grumbled as they left. "We'll see you later," Cornfoot promised smugly before they disappeared back into the dim room.
It was only the two of them now as she moved closer. He still couldn't look at her. He stared at her boots as she stood before him.
"Nev, look at me."
He sighed as his heart sang at the sound of his name, leaving her lips. He looked up warily, like staring at the sun for fear of being blinded. His eyes travelled up the creeping ivy to her chest and finally, to the prize. Her eyes.
He had missed those eyes like a sailor missed the stars, lost on an ocean with nothing to guide the way. She looked down at him smugly as though knowing what affect she had on him. The reaction seemed off considering their recent separation, but he was too lost to care. His eyes dropped to her lips, those perfect pillows, currently painted as red and poisonous as Holly berries. He gazed with caution as he yearned for her.
"Why are you here?" He heard himself say. His head felt fuzzy and heavy as he went to take another swig of his drink, only to remember that his cup was empty.
"Shall I get us a drink and then we can talk?" She asked with a smirk. He nodded as she took his cup and stalked off. He couldn't help but watch her bottom as she walked away. How he had missed her. Every bone and muscle in him wanted her, needed her. Like a drowning man screaming for oxygen. She filled up his cup and got one for herself before returning. She smiled as she caught him gaping at her.
He swallowed as she draped herself over his lap. His heart leapt as his cock twitched when she wriggled on his legs.
She handed him his cup before taking a sip of hers. She started to cough before putting the cup down.
"Wow, that's strong!"
"Theo made it," Neville said dumbly.
"Oh, that would explain it, he always did drink stronger drinks than me." She giggled as she fiddled with the bow at his throat. Then, without warning, she wrapped her arms around him, bringing his face closer to her chest.
He couldn't take his eyes off her lips. They were so red and enticing. He wanted to take it and bite it like an apple and hear the sounds she would make.
As if reading his mind, she leant forward and pressed her lips to his. It was a chaste kiss with so little pressure, but it meant everything to him. He took a deep breath before shoving his cup on the table and pulling her close. It was like he could breathe again as he kissed her.
He pushed his fingers into her hair and pulled her close so that he could feel her, smell her. He licked her lip before sinking his teeth into the delicate flesh. He waited for her to mewl the way she had always done before.
He felt a smack to his arm and released her. He looked at her through his hazed vision and frowned.
"Ouch, Nev! That hurt, you idiot!"
"Sorry," He muttered in confusion and surprise as he tried to focus. His throbbing cock immediately deflating at the sudden put-down.
"Be gentle with me. I'm delicate." Neville nodded as she closed the gap again. Neville followed her lead, letting her guide the kiss so as not to hurt her again. There was something clumsy about the way her lips met his, as though they couldn't remember the shape of his.
"Is everything alright?" She asked as she pulled away again. He nodded as he reached for his drink. He heard it fall and cringed.
"Oh, Nev!" She groaned as she got off his lap. He was thankful that his cock had calmed somewhat since he'd bitten her.
"Sorry," He mumbled as he picked his cup up and magicked away the mess.
"You're so clumsy," She said as she sat back in his seat. She smiled, but it seemed strained.
"Erm, I'm going to get another drink, do you want anything?" She shook her head as she pulled a small vial out between her breasts.
"I've got my own stash," She smiled before swigging it back. She shuddered before closing it and pushing it back down. Neville nodded as he turned to leave her.
He approached the smoking cauldron and watched as the contents inside seemed to bubble and simmer. He held the table as he tried not to sway. How many cups of this had he had now? They all seemed to merge into one, but his legs and head told him differently.
Terry, Wayne and Roger were playing some sort of drinking game opposite Ginny, Lisa Turpin and Isobel McDougal. It looked like human wheelbarrows, but the person playing the wheelbarrow had to hold a cup in their mouth and drink. Roger fell first crashing into Lisa before they all fell about laughing. He sniggered himself when most of Terry's rotting zombie costume fell off, leaving the room divided between laughter and nausea at the spectacle.
Luna was dancing in the centre of the room, still randomly giving out scales to anyone who wandered close enough. Her costume looked more like a silver shift now.
He spotted Theo through the glowing haze and waved. Theo smiled and left the group he was with and walked over. He was going around to make sure that everyone was enjoying themselves. He beamed at Neville as he approached.
"How's it going? You've stayed longer than you were planning so you must be having fun?" He said with a wink.
Neville nodded uncertainly. He felt frustrated, as though he'd been built up and then denied orgasm. Something felt weird. He looked into the cauldron again and wondered.
"What's in this again?"
"Erm, like I said, Dragon Barrel Brandy, cherry Mead. Some Lobe-blaster, some redcurrant Rum, some muggle Vodka, and a splash of Vermouth mixed with some Elderflower cordial, why?" Theo looked concerned.
Neville frowned as he tried to pinpoint what was wrong. He shook his head when he couldn't seem to string together his thoughts.
"I just feel really strange. Like something's not right." He said. Theo laughed and took his arm and started to lead him back to the kitchen. Neville noticed that Blaise and Hermione's debate had turned into a passionate kiss and he felt unreasonably jealous.
"Come on, You've probably had too much. You need to sit down and have some water."
"Pansy's here." He muttered as Theo helped him to the kitchen where Pansy sat waiting.
"What happened? That wasn't the one I put out for you?" Theo asked her in shock, almost forgetting Neville and the water.
"So?" She asked as she stood up,
"What are you wearing that for? You'd have looked better in the other one, that one does nothing for your complexion."
"I think this looks better, It's so red."
Theo scowled before reaching to get some water for Neville, He handed it to him before carrying on.
"It is very red, but you hate red. Where did you get that costume?" He asked slowly as though talking to a child. Then, as if remembering who he was with, he pointed to Neville. "And what about your parents?"
"Who cares about my parents?" she asked flippantly before flicking her hair away from her face, exposing defined collarbones.
"Normally you do, what's going on?"
Neville let them talk as he sipped his water. He glanced into the bowl and almost spat his water back up. Large green eyes rolled and squelched towards him as he looked at them. He blinked to clear his vision and then looked again. They were still there, blinking back at him. He shook his head before looking back to Theo. They were probably another decoration, either that or a transfigurations project gone wrong. He shrugged as he tuned back into what they were saying.
"Just because you're a raving homo, doesn't mean you have a better dress sense all the time. Stop your shrieking."
Theo looked confused as he stood there with his arms crossed over his powdery chest. Neville could feel the tension between them. This obviously wasn't the normal banter they enjoyed when he wasn't around.
"You know? I sometimes, really hate you when you've been drinking. You're a complete bitch and not the fun kind."
"Haven't you got somewhere you need to be? Maybe kissing arse somewhere?" She offered without looking up from her mint green nails.
Theo's blush seemed visible even through the makeup.
"I hope she's nicer to you, Nev. Talk to you later." He said before he stormed out. Neville stared after him in confusion as he tried to blink through the pounding behind his eyes.
"Are you alright, Nev?" Pansy asked as she appeared in front of him.
"Think I'm drunk," He muttered as he rubbed at his eyes.
"Not too drunk I hope," She said in what he thought was supposed to be a seductive tone.
"For what?"
"I thought we could have some fun, you know, like we used to while you and Hannah were together,"
Neville frowned and rubbed his head. Why didn't anything feel right?
Pansy pressed forwards and started to kiss his neck, her kisses leaving wet patches in their wake. He frowned before grabbing her shoulders and pushed her back slightly.
"Me and Hannah broke up." He muttered. His tongue felt fat and clumsy as he tried to say the words.
"That's right. And we had some fun before that, didn't we?" Neville shook his head.
"No, after." He blinked at her. The room swam before him as she glowed incandescent before him.
"No matter. Did you want to take me to your room? We can have some fun."
"No, what about parents?" He muttered
"Forget them, they don't matter."
"But-"
"Nev, I'm offering you all this, everything you see and everything you don't. What are you waiting for?"
"I really don't think-" He tried to say, but she interrupted him as she rubbed at the bulge in his trousers.
"Take me like you did before our date when we missed breakfast? I want to feel you in me again" She shook his head, maybe he was drunk and dreaming. That would explain everything. "Make me feel good, Nev! I want you to… have sex with me again."
"Again? No, I can't-" Pansy turned and growled, throwing her hands skyward in frustration.
"Can't what, Nev? Can't get it up? Can't like women? Can't please women?"
"No-"
"Then what's the problem? Are you gay or something? Should I get Theo back in here?"
"I'm so confused" he started as he rubbed at his temples. This conversation was getting beyond him.
"I can see that! Bloody useless! I thought all boys wanted to do it, obviously not you! Are you damaged or something?"
"No, your parent's rules. We can't." His brow drew together as he tried to put his thoughts into words. Why couldn't she understand or seemingly remember the one rule that they had promised not to break?
"Hannah wrote to my parents to say that we'd been having sex everywhere. And lots of it!" Pansy laughed sardonically. "How wrong she was, right? You're nothing but a faggot!" She stood up and looked down at him, an ugly sneer on her face, which seemed so wrong on her usually pretty features. It reminded him of her earlier years but not quite.
"Pansy, wait! Remember we-?"
"No, Nev! You're about as sensual as an empty fruit basket. Why I wasted all that time with you, I'll never know. About as much initiative as a worker ant." Her eyes narrowed cruelly as if looking for the best place to land the killing blow. "Maybe it was sympathy, I mean it's not as if any woman has ever loved you, is it? Not even your simpleton mother!"
And there it was. Neville felt like someone had erased the sound from the world as static filled his head. He closed his eyes so he could concentrate on the sound of his breathing and the thud of his heart. How could she say something so evil? This was not his beautiful, kind, caring, soft Pansy. This was someone new whom he had never met before.
"What did you say?" He almost whispered as he opened his eyes. He blinked against the light. He could feel bile at the back of his throat. She couldn't have said what he thought he heard. He looked up at her and frowned.
"I said that your simpleton mother could never love you! Granger would prefer a Slytherin womaniser to you. Even Weasley and Looney turned gay to avoid you as an option!"
He felt his face flush as his blood began to boil. He swallowed as the anxiety and muscles clenched his gut. Tears pricked in his eyes as he glared at her.
"What the Fuck, Pansy?" He straightened and looked down at her. There was something wrong as he looked at her, and he couldn't work out what it was. With the vivid red hair and the makeup, she didn't look right. "You know what my parents went through! How could you say that? To me? My mother loved me the best way she could. What the fuck would you know about it?" He started feeling heat rush up his spine and flood the skin at his neck.
"Don't you dare use language like that with me, Longbottom!" He ignored her as he pushed away from the counter.
"How could you fucking say those things? What have I done so wrong to you? I've treated you like a queen. How could you?" Neville swallowed to get rid of the burning in his throat as it threatened to close.
"You are a waste of space, you have no friends, and you will amount to nothing. Like I could want someone like you? I intend to climb the ranks of the ministry, you will probably never leave school. Our relationship was a farce. Nothing but a fling... a laughable, charity stunt to increase my reputation." She looked him up and down and shook her head "Absolutely laughable!" She sneered as she turned to leave.
"So it all meant nothing? I meant nothing to you? At all?"
"You meant about as much to me as the dirt on my boots, something to be tolerated until I can wipe it off."
"How could I have even fallen in love with such an evil bitch?"
"Love? You fell in love? Why?" She seemed genuinely shocked and confused by this.
"Just fuck off. Cornfoot's up for a fuck if you're only interested in that!"
He turned his back on her and bowed his head as he tried to keep it together. His muscles trembled in his head as he clenched his teeth, sounding like thunder even over the music.
"Maybe I will," She shot back as her heels clicked out of the kitchen.
He released the shuddering breath as the child in him wanted to cry. Cry at the loss of his parents all over again. The man in him wanted to cry over the loss of Pansy. Not the Pansy that had walked out but the one he had gotten to know over the month they had been together. The one who had met him out at the greenhouses to hear him talk.
Maybe she was right? Perhaps he was unloveable and useless. He almost sobbed as the cry tried to force its way through his throat. He was already unloveable. He didn't want to be a cry baby too. He swallowed it down, for now. He could fall apart in his bed, but he needed to get there first. He took a deep breath and held it as he turned around and faced the room. He couldn't see Pansy anywhere nor could he see Rivers or Cornfoot. Obviously, she had taken them up on their offer. He tried to walk over to the cauldron and poured another drink and downed it.
If there was one thing he didn't want to remember in the morning, it was this. He had enough nightmares to choose from until he died, he didn't need any more. He poured another one and downed that too.
"Neville! What are you doing?" Theo asked, his voice panicked.
"Forgetting" He answered before downing a third. He wiped his mouth with the back of his suit sleeve.
"You've had enough, go to bed and sleep it off!"
"Pansy is a prize-winning bitch!" Neville slurred as he tilted towards the stairs.
"Yes, she is! Now come on. To bed."
"Myself," He muttered as he pulled away from Theo. "Myself,"
"Ok, ok," Theo said as he let go.
Neville stumbled towards the steps, treading on someone's fingers as he crawled up on all fours. About halfway up, the tears threatened to spill again as he paused to catch his breath. He cleared his throat and swallowed.
He swayed unsteadily before catching his shin on the stone staircase. He swore loudly and with feeling as he rested his head on the step above and clutched the pained limb. The floodgates leaked as he hit the stone in anger. He swore again when his hand started to throb.
"Neville?" Came a voice. The most perfect, beautiful, loathed, hateful voice he could hear. He looked up and there she stood, as stunning and as exquisite as he had ever seen her. She stood in her low cut, long black dress and with long black hair. Her perfect lips pouty and beautiful in crimson.
"Off to fuck Cornfoot?" he muttered through gritted teeth as the floodgates broke open completely.