The tears burned his face like acid as the cold steps leached every ounce of heat from him. His throat ached as the muscles tensed and trembled, holding his words prisoner. Another sob racked his body as he thought of her with him. The image of Cornfoot's hands being where his hands should be, killed something inside of him.
Why had she turned? He couldn't aline the two Pansy's together. Why had she turned into a malicious bitch? He guessed that he should have known that she would have an ulterior motive to be with him. It's not like he brought anything to the relationship except himself and his useless, worthless affection. She had looked disgusted when he had talked about love. His heart shattered all over again at the memory.
"Shit! Neville! Are you alright?" She asked again as she got closer, her heels clicking on the stone as she neared. He held out his hand to keep her away. He couldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him like this. He tried to reign in his emotions, he couldn't give her more fuel.
"Just go, you evil, spiteful bitch!"
"What the fuck?" she said as she pushed his arm out of the way to get closer.
He opened his mouth to say more but shut it again. He suddenly felt ill. The tears had stopped, but his stomach churned as his internal organs flushed with ice.
"Going to be sick." He muttered as he stumbled towards the portrait.
"Come on," She said as she helped him up and through the entrance. He wanted to shake her off but knew that he had to concentrate on one thing at a time. He tried to put one foot in front of the other, but his legs refused to work as though they had disappeared. He tripped and fell, bringing them both down.
He knew it was too late the moment before he hit the ground. The sudden jolt triggered his stomach. He convulsed and spasmed as the poisoning alcohol left his body. He heard her groan next to him and cringed as another wave hit him.
When he was done, heat returned to his core as relief washed through him. He hated being sick, it made him so weak and vulnerable. Someone was stroking his forehead as he lay on the cold floor, transferring their heat to his clammy but cold brow. Something akin to a cool breeze rushed around him as he rested his head on the floor. The taste and smell of bile and alcohol had disappeared, which he was immensely thankful for. He opened his eyes to see Pansy looking down at him, her features serious and thoughtful as she caressed his face.
It wounded him so deeply to see her, so gentle and caring. This wasn't who she really was, he reminded himself. He wanted to believe that she could be his sweet Pansy again, but her words had hit their mark. He needed to know why she thought that he would let that go.
"Why my mom?" he mumbled before closing his eyes.
"Your mom?" He heard her mumble before moving. He desperately wanted her to go, but he couldn't bear her being away from him. A primordial part of him wanted to cling to her and never let go. Silence filled the air like a deafening pressure as he lay on the cold flagstones. He wondered if she had left him. Left him to wallow in a puddle of his own vomit and self-pity. "Come on! Get up," She said as she tried pulling on his arm.
"Just go, m'fine," he said as he tried to get to his feet. He wondered whether she had cast a jelly legs curse on him without him noticing as his limbs just wouldn't cooperate.
"Stop being a pig-headed Gryffindor and let me help you get up already!" She complained as she grabbed his arm again.
"M'not pig-headed!" He said as he pulled his arm out of her grasp again. "Useless remember?"
"Oh, Neville, Please! You're not useless. get up, let me get you to bed."
"M'not going to fuck you!"
"I should fucking well hope not!" He could almost hear the smirk in her voice. He didn't dare hope.
"Why my mom?" He asked again.
"Why your mom what?" She asked as she pulled on his arm again, This time he pushed himself up, desperate to get off the cold, hard floor.
"M'so angry at you!" he slurred as he stumbled against the wall. She hooked his arm around her shoulders as she guided him through the bedrooms. He closed his eyes and winced as her scent of cherries and violets hit him. He decided that the world was cruel.
"I get that, and I'm sure that you think you should be. But I have no idea what you are talking about." She said as she pushed him onto the bed. "I can't believe Theo let you get this wasted."
"You upset him" He mumbled against the darkness.
"What?"
"Wore poison ivy costume, he's pissed at you," He started to feel sick again. He hoped that if he stayed perfectly still, he could hold it off.
"That makes sense." She muttered.
"Sick," He muttered as his body turned cold and started to shudder.
"Accio bin," She said as she grabbed and held it under his head.
He gripped the metal bin as though his life depended on it. He swore to himself he was never going to drink again. He shivered as he convulsed again. He felt her stroke his hair as he hung over the bin. As his body calmed again, he almost fell asleep with her soothing his pounding head.
"Why you here? Take the piss? So what m'sick?" He asked
"Shush, and relax, once you've stopped throwing up I'll get you a glass of water."
"Stop!"
"Stop what?"
"Pretending to care," He muttered as he wiped at his mouth. He wondered whether he had actually just passed out and was dreaming, that would explain everything. "I know you're fake, only want people to like you." His tongue felt slightly less fat as he dropped the bin and rolled away from her "Let's get with Stupid Bonglottom. He's an idiot" he closed his eyes hoping the room would stop spinning. "I'm proud of my parents, my mom loves me in sweet wrappers, and I didn't turn Luna gay." He huffed. He patted his legs to make sure they were still there, he knew it was stupid, but he couldn't feel them.
"Neville, honey. I don't know what you're talking about." She whispered as she sat on the bed next to him, stroking his hair. He felt his heavy eyes closing as he enjoyed the sensation.
"No woman could love me, not even my simpleton mother." He muttered sleepily. There was a long pause, but her hand kept up its movement in his hair, sending him to sleep.
"Neville?" A voice whispered through the darkness. He shook his head and rolled over.
"Go away," He moaned.
"Neville, Come on, sit up."
"I'm asleep, come back later." He muttered into the pillow.
"Neville, please." It was the please that did it. He blinked into the dimness that surrounded him. His head felt heavy, and his tongue was leathery and dry. He looked around for the voice as he frowned. He pulled open his curtain to find Pansy stood next to his bed. He stilled as all the memories returned. He frowned harder as she smiled gently at him.
"Here," She said calmly as she handed him a glass of water. "Drink this."
He looked her up and down and felt his heart trip. The long black dress was skintight with long flowing sleeves. It flared out at the bottom, hiding her feet. It was the hair that seemed the strangest, after so long seeing her with green and purple hair, it was weird seeing her with her natural tone.
"No, thanks." He muttered as he let the curtain fall again.
"Neville, please." She pulled the curtain open and held the drink out to him again.
"I don't want it!" He threw his arm out and sent the water cup flying.
"Now that was just childish!" she huffed as she grabbed her wand and cleaned up the mess. She picked up the cup and refilled it using her wand. "Drink, it'll save you some of the pain in the morning."
"I said I don't want it, go away."
"Neville, please, drink this, and we can talk."
"I don't want to talk to you." He mumbled. "I don't want to fuck you either, so get out of my bedroom!"
He heard her take a deep breath and sigh before he felt the bed sink down behind him.
"Neville, darling. I've already told you, There will be no fucking,"
"Go find Cornfoot, I'm sure he'll show you a good time."
"The only way he could show me a good time is if he fell down the stairs headfirst." She mumbled dryly.
"So you're already thinking about a good time with him?" Neville accused. "Just leave me alone. Haven't you caused enough damage for one night?"
"Neville," She emplored, but he interrupted
"You made me think that we could be together after all, but then you rip it away from me all over again." He pushed his fingers through his hair and grimaced at the slimy gel. "I can't do it any more. I'm going to leave Hogwarts and join the Aurors, and then I won't have to see your face every day and know that you don't want me."
"Neville,"
"Stop tormenting me, you sadistic bitch."
"Right, that's enough of that!" She announced as she flicked her wand at him. "Incarcerous!"
He jumped when thin, snake-like cords erupted from the end of Pansy's wand and twisted themselves around his mouth and body, gagging and immobilising him in one quick movement. He growled against the bindings as they tightened and bit into him.
"Now, you once asked me what my pet hates are, I forgot to mention that I hate people interrupting me! So now that I have your attention, you are going to listen to me." She said as she lay on the bed next to him.
He huffed and rolled his eyes. He tried to look away from her, but he still felt completely enchanted by the curve of her cheeks as they met her luscious lips. They were a different shade than earlier, this was deeper and less poisonous looking than he remembered. Her eyes were pale and ethereal against her chalky skin and dark makeup. But even with the ghostly get up she seemed almost real, like herself again. Tears came to her eyes as she bit her lip, leaving dents int the perfect flesh.
"Firstly, I'm sorry for ignoring you." She sniffed "the letter I received from my parents informed me that I was to cease all forms of communication with you lest they disown me and pull all funding towards school. I panicked, and I didn't know what to do."
She pushed her hair behind her ears, the way he had always loved to watch.
"If my Aunt Euphorbia were still here, she'd be so annoyed with me," She mumbled as she shook her head. He watched as her bottom lip quivered a bit before she cleared her throat. "I found out that my Aunt had a muggle-born sweetheart when she had been at school. They were going to run away together, but something went wrong, and she never saw him again. She would be so disappointed if I repeated her mistakes."
Neville frowned around the ropes. He tried to follow what she was saying, but the bite of the cables was creating unexpected sensations through him. A sense of excitement and helplessness.
"But we can discuss that later. Right now, I want to discuss what happened downstairs."
Neville forgot the sensations as the hurt returned.
"I went downstairs to see Theo while you were asleep. It was the first time I had been downstairs since lunchtime." She looked at him as if waiting for something to register. He frowned harder. "I can see that you're still a bit too drunk for this, but here goes. Hannah stupefied me in the girl's dorms."
Neville tried to work out what she was saying. "Why did Hannah do that?
"Hannah was supposed to be at the party as Poison Ivy." She waited again for the news to sink in. Neville's eyes narrowed
"I can see you have questions. I'll remove the gag. However, if you start to interrupt me, I'll put it back again. Understand?" She asked
He nodded. The gag disappeared with a flick of her wand. He licked his lips as he considered his words. His brain still felt muddled and heavy, and thinking was unnecessarily difficult.
"So, you stole her costume?" He frowned, it didn't sound quite right. She chuckled and shook her head.
"No, She knocked me out and used Polyjuice potion to become me."
"But why?"
"I have a few theories, but I think she wanted to get you back. I used to hear her bitch about us in the girl's dorms when she didn't think that I was there."
"But why?"
"We'll go into that later, but right now, do you know what that means?"
"That someone is running around like you?"
"And?" She asked with a gentle smile on her face. He shook his head. His heart was beating a little too hard for being bound on the bed. He blushed as he realised that he liked the sensation of it. "It means that it wasn't me downstairs, whatever awful things she said, that was Hannah."
It was as though the world had stopped spinning at this. It clicked in his head and made sense. He looked at Pansy as if he hadn't seen her before. He felt the hope filling his heart, but he'd been burned before.
"How do I know that you're not Hannah?" She laughed, covering her mouth politely with her dainty hand.
"I somehow don't think Hannah would have cleaned you up and gotten you to your bed,"
"Or tied me up." He nodded. "but just in case. Tell me something about you that only I know,"
"My favourite colour is purple?"
"Too easy,"
"My middle name is Rose?"
He shook his head again and watched eagerly as her lips curved into the wicked smile that flashed a hint of teeth. He felt his cock twitch just at the sight. His eyes followed the curve of her neck down into her dress. He could see the valley between her breasts. He closed his eyes as the ropes bit in again. He bit his own lip as he tried to focus. When he opened his eyes, he caught her looking at him, her eyes drawn lower. She licked her lips as she met his eyes.
"I could tell you a story instead?"
"Oh?" He asked, his voice sounding breathy.
"Yes, the story of the hare and violin tapestry?" She grinned.
"Go on?" he urged as she smirked wickedly and shook her head.
"I will once you drink some of this water. You are going to have a killer hangover if you drank as much of Theo's punch as he thinks."
He pouted as she held the cup to his lips. She held it for him as he swallowed the cool liquid, making sure there wasn't too much. He glanced at her as she gazed at him. Her eyes were so much softer than the Pansy from downstairs. He lifted his chin which got her to stop pouring.
"Kiss me," He demanded suddenly.
"Drink some more first," She said with a smirked.
"Kiss me first," He asked. "Please,"
She rolled her eyes and smiled before putting the cup down. He watched as she lowered closer to him. He closed his eyes as he eagerly waited. Her lips touched his cold ones like a branding iron, tentative at first and then confidently as small kisses turned into longer slower kissed. Their mouths worked together, the way that they always had done. He caught her lip between his teeth and pressed his teeth into the flesh. He heard her sigh as he bit harder. She moaned into it before pushing her fingers into his hair. He felt her tongue rush against his lips as he released her. She stayed pressed against him as she continued to kiss him. He felt the world fall away. At this moment, in this bed, with her- he was home.