Written for Love Fest 2021, for MaraudingManaged

#TeamCass

Prompts: Pansy/Neville, after the battle of Hogwarts

Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this creation.

As the sun was setting on the evening of May 2nd, Neville stepped out into the crisp evening air to clear his mind. It had been a long, hard day and it was difficult for him to wrap his head around the idea that Voldemort had only been defeated earlier that morning. It seemed surreal, the battle they had fought seemed like a lifetime ago, already.

After clearing the blood and dirt from his body and getting some much-needed rest, he had joined the others and spent the day combing the halls and grounds. They'd been tidying and repairing what they could and taking note of areas that were too badly damaged for a quick reparo . Mercifully, Aurors had worked while they slept to recover any remaining bodies, both friend and foe, and none of the people who had taken part in the battle had needed to be directly confronted by one of the fallen.

Neville felt lost. They had been fighting Voldemort and his followers for so long that he didn't really know who he was anymore, in the absence of their threats. He wondered if he also sported the blank look he had seen on the faces of so many others today.

Walking towards what remained of the Quidditch pitch, the last thing he expected to see was Pansy Parkinson. She was perched on the edge of a slab of fallen rock, her knees tucked up under her chin and her head in her hands. The last dying rays of sunshine danced over her dark hair, making her stand out like some kind of grounded Sylph. He slowed his course and veered in her direction without conscious thought.

She hadn't moved by the time he reached her, not even giving him a sign that she might have noticed his presence.

Neville reached out, as if to gently touch her arm, but there was history between them. He hesitated at the last moment, dropping his hand.

"You alright there, Parkinson?" he said softly, unsure of exactly how to approach her, given the circumstances of their last conversation.

A quiet groan came from behind her curtain of hair. "Go away, Longbottom. Leave me to my misery in peace, for once."

His brows furrowing, Neville took a step back, intent on retreating if he wasn't wanted or needed. Then, he heard the sniffling.

"Parkinson?" He stepped closer again, nearly invading her space this time. "Pansy? What's wrong?" He let his fingers rest lightly on her forearm and she finally looked up at him, her eyes red and wet.

"What do you want, Neville? Are you here to gloat? To rub it in my face that you were right and I should have joined you while I still could? Because I have bigger problems at the moment, I don't need you adding to them." Her voice was bitter, but the anger in her words had no bite. He knew he couldn't leave her here, as much as she probably expected him to.

He breathed deeply and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Can I help, please?"

Pansy stared at him with an undisguised curiosity he had never seen in her before. "Why? Why help me now, when I wouldn't accept your help before?"

"Because I cared about you." He ran a hand awkwardly through his hair, looking away from the questions in her eyes with the truth on the tip of his tongue. "Because I still care about you."

Their breaths seemed to hang in the air between them for several moments before Pansy exhaled noisily, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I...have nowhere to go. My parents have been arrested一" She choked on a sob, visibly trying to calm herself and continue. Neville took her hand in both of his and rubbed soothing circles on her skin with his thumb. "They've taken the house too, for the investigation. All I have is what's in my trunk. I'm alone."

He caught her as the reality of her situation seemed to truly sink in and she toppled from the rock as she cried.

She buried her face in his shirt, and he ran his hands through her hair in a desperate attempt to soothe her, eventually settling for letting her grief run its course.

"Come home with me."

Pansy stilled, bringing her tearful gaze up to his face. "I could never impose…"

"It's no imposition! Just, let me take care of you, even if it's just for now. There's time to figure out the rest of it later, yeah?"

Pansy averted her eyes and nodded.

"I suppose we have time, now," she said, almost lost in thought as she pulled away from his chest, still clutching his hand.

Neville tugged her gently along beside him, heading back to the castle. Her words sank into him, like a balm on his broken soul. He smiled. "So much time."