Chapter 3: Facing the consequences.

Each day Neville was stronger, he even hitted Crabbe with a couple good punches in their last box training. (In response Crabbe beated him even after he won that round) So Draco decided to make the training more and more intense, Neville tried to stop that, but Draco didn't care, he thought he knew better. The intimidation didn't stop, Neville was still too cobard to stop them, but each day he tolerated less shit of everyone, Longbotton tried to quit in more than one occasion but Draco always remembered him that he promise didn't quite.

'You know, I stop messing with you because you never did me anything', he confessed 'but break a promise… that is very awful, Nev, very awful, I don't know what it will make me do'

Draco was questioning if he was really like the otherss slytherins, messing with a weak and pathetic boy without winning nothing in change… no, he couldn't be so stupid, he is a Malfoy and the Malfoy aren't stupid.

During the week he started reading a very interesting potion book with Hermione, and Hermione helped him with his charm, and he taught her how to ride a broom, she was having problems with that but he discovered she only lacked confidence in the air, also he and Hermione…

'You don't think you are spending too much time with the mudblood' aked Pansy.

'Pansy I thought I already explained everything to you' he said and threw a pebble into the Black Lake.

'I know but the people are starting to say things' Pansy confessed, worried.

'They are Slytherins, they always will find something to gossip about.' Draco answered, she didn't look sure 'Pansy, I'm handsome and rich, at least I didn't do something very stupid, the slytherins will still obey me'

'Okay…' she said.

Draco liked Pansy, she always said what he wanna hear.

With a punch in his face Neville fell to the ground.

'Come on, Nev, get off the floor' Draco shouted.

Neville obeyed him but Crabbe punched him in the face again.

'I don't wanna continue,' Longbotton exclaimed and he throw his box gloves 'I'm not care if you make Crabbe and Goyle hex me, that can't be worse than this'

Longbotton turned and started walking far.

'What happened with the promise?' Draco said.

'I don't care about the promise' he answered without turning 'You promised me the slytherins will stop messing with me, but nothing changed, my life is worse than ever and everything is for you'

The next day was Halloween, he remembered that all the Halloweens her mother bought him a full bag of sweet and his father will decore all the manor with skeletons and bats, and for dessert they will do Dobby, their house-elf cook a Pumpkin Pie, that would be the first Halloween Draco would spend far from his parents…

His father told him that if he missed them he could always send a letter, but Draco was too old for that, he would see them again on Christmas… but Draco was a good son so he would send an owl after classes, only to know if they missed him, of course.

That day he had Charms class with the Gryffindors, Flitwick announced that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Longbotton's toad zoom around the classroom.

'Now that I think about it, I don't remember that Longbotton let him do that'

Talking about him, Draco was going to have some words with Neville after class.

Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Draco's partner was Nott, Potter's partner was that Irish boy from Gryffindor, Hermione, however, was to be working with Weasley. They didn't look happy.

Draco was having a lot of problems with the spell, at least he wasn't as bad as Weasley, he wasn't even saying it well.

'Stop, stop, stop! You're going to take someone's eye out. Besides, you're saying it wrong. It's LeviOsa, not LeviosAR!' Hermione said.

You do it, then, if you're so clever,' Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

Their feathers rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

'Oh, well done!' cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. 'Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!'

'It's no wonder no one can stand her,' Weasley said to Potter as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. 'She's a nightmare, honestly.'

Someone knocked into Potter as they hurried past him… It was Draco Malfoy.

'These are pretty rough words for someone that doesn't even know how to make a feather float, ' he said smugly 'What happen Weasley, are you jealous?

They heard a little laugh, it was from Hermione, It looked like Potter nor Weasley didn't know Hermione was here before that.

'As you see, Weasley, I have friends,' she said 'and they are better dressed than you, I might add.'

Weasley responded with a bad word.

'As eloquent as always, Weasley,' Malfoy sneered.

'You will see,' Ron threatened, looking for his wand in his pocket.

Potter took his friend by his shoulder. 'Ron' he said calmly 'They aren't worth it,' he said 'let's go to the next class' Ron calmed himself and they left Draco and Hermione alone.

'Did you looked his face? he was going to explode' Draco laughed.

Hermione made a kind of cute smile at Draco, he realized her eyes were watery 'Thank you', she said.

Draco only nodded.

'Nev, nice to see you' Draco greeted.

'What do you want, Malfoy?' Longbotton said, coolly.

'I think, you know what I want', Crabbe and Goyle pulled out their wands 'Never break a promise you did me'

'Let him alone!'' somebody shouted, it was Potter. He was with Weasley.

'Keep in your own business Potter, I'm trying to talk with Neville'

'You 'keep in your own fucking business, Malfoy' Weasley said.

A crowd of students from all the houses of second and first years started to form around them. Including, Pansy, Zabini, and Nott.

'Walk away, Neville, We'll deal with him' Potter said, Neville started to leave.

'Wimp' Malfoy muttered.

Longbotton stopped suddenly 'How did you call me?' he asked softly

'I called you a wimp', he repeated with venom in his voice 'that's why you don't have any friends'

'He has friends,' Potter said. 'Us' he pointed to himself. Longbottom smiled warmly.

'Come on, do you really think that shit', Draco exclaimed, exasperated 'they don't like you nobody like you, I spend more time with you last month that all of these hypocrites, they say they are like a family and everything but they don't care about each other, Do they play with you? Do they read books with you? Somebody even laughs or smiles in your presence when you are not being mocked?', he asked 'they only care of you if somebody is hexing you, and they only care if that person is a Slytherin.

'Hear me little cu…' Ron started.

'Ron, please stop, he is right' Neville said 'I don't have many friends, sometimes I ask myself if I even had one, the only person that sometimes spends time with me outside classes is Hermione, and she is Malfoy's friend.'

Neville looked like he became older in front of Draco eyes, his face loosened all shyness and nervous, instead he had an intense but tired look 'You know, Malfoy?' he said calmly 'When I met you you seemed like a little shit with no redeeming qualities that hid behind Crabbe and Goyle'

Draco blinked, he never thought something like that would come out of Longbottom's mouth.

'Later when you became Hermione's friend you started to be nicer, you stopped picking on me whenever you got the chance, but it turns out you didn't stop being a jerk, you just got more subtle.'

'Well… at least…' Draco didn't know what respond to that 'At least I live with my parents and not with a ugly fat witch'

There was silence for some seconds.

Then Neville slowly walked toward Draco... and punched him in his face

Author Note: I'm not dead.

Thanks to everyone for reading my fanfic, if you like it please review, if you don't like it review it anyways.

This short arc that I like to call 'Neville punches Malfoy in his face' it's a reference to the stories where someone (Indy!Harry in general) tries to help Neville to become more confident forcing him to train, and sometimes breaking his wand (even Draco is not so bad), I think forcing someone to change himself is something horrible so Draco faced the consequences (literally)

I centered a lot in Draco, but I promise you that next chapters are going to be more center in Hermione, now that I finished this arc.