Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except Graces Malfoy and Thomas Higgs who are my own. I do not claim ownership of the characters or the settings within. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story.

Author's notes: Huge thank you to my beta Denarii for editing Also, thank you to my best friend Aleah for reading over this chapter.

Special thanks to Guest, infinateconstellations, GTH, bridget237, Cree, Pinksparkles, snowflake2410, , Blue Luver5000, and Snakespur for the reviews! I'm so glad everyone seemed to like the last chapter!

Chapter 62

The longer Neville sat there in silence the more Graces felt frightened. He didn't seem shocked like she had thought he would be. He seemed more contemplative, as though he were thinking and trying to decipher her thoughts and actions. She imagined at this point she was a very difficult riddle to the boy in front of her and did her best to look open, but her best was surely falling short because of her nerves. Neville silently stood from the couch and wordlessly waited for her to lead him to the bedroom. Graces let out a small nervous laugh, before standing with him and slowly shuffling to the room.

Her mouth had gone dry and her heart felt as though it had dropped to her knees. She knew this was what she wanted, but she couldn't believe she was actually doing this. This was going to change everything and-and Neville was about to see everything. She moved her hands closer to her stomach as she twisted them nervously. What would he think?

I can't think of that now.

She stopped in the doorway to the room and stared at the bed. It was so odd to think that once Neville entered with her they would leave it so very different. She wondered if she was ready for this. It was one thing to decide you want something, but to be ready…

"I don't have to be here," Neville reminded, his brown eyes reading her hesitation. There was no disappointment or anticipation to Neville's face. Actually, it looked as if there was no emotion at all. He just stood slightly behind her watching her as though she were a creature to be studied.

"It's not about need," Graces informed softly. "It's want. I want you here."

This seemed to send a spark of emotion through the Gryffindor, but as soon as it had shown it was gone. Graces moved to the bed first and only paused for a moment to decide if she wanted to be in the covers or out. She decided in. Neville followed her decision and soon they were nestled in the warm bed sitting and both feeling exceptionally awkward. Graces knew Neville was not going to make the first move, not after the week that they had just had, so she moved closer to him and took a deep breath as the proximity made the hairs on her skin stick up.

Her leg was now touching his and he stared down at the blankets curiously before turning to her. He was like a man waiting for instructions. Either she would begin this, or he was going to leave. The unspoken knowledge of that made her sick with nerves. She had just finally mustered up enough bravery to move to kiss him when Neville spoke.

"What's going on?"

Graces dropped her hands which she was about to use to pull Neville closer and instead buried them in the sheets nervously.

"Well," she began slowly, now feeling like she really would be sick. "I—well, what do you think is going on?"

"I have no idea," Neville spilled out honestly. "I have absolutely no clue as to what is going on." Graces looked down at Neville's words, he didn't seem mad, but there was a definite edge to his voice.

"Neville, I—"

"And that's another thing. You're saying my name. You realize that don't you?" Neville asked, clearly not believing she was doing this on purpose. "You said my name. My given name. Neville. You said Neville. You said it at the party and you said it here, you said my name. I don't know if that was a slip of the tongue on your part or—"

"I knew I was saying it," Graces interjected gently.

"You knew you were saying my name?" Neville asked, staring her hard in the eyes. "You knew. And you still believe all that stuff about given names?"

"Yes," Graces reaffirmed, doing her best not to look away.

"I don't understand," Neville blew out, leaning back against the headboard of the bed and rubbing the bridge of his nose as though a headache was coming on. First you want space and do everything in your power to avoid me. Then you show up for me to the party with Blaise but for me apparently, and then you go saying my name and inviting me into your bed." Graces remained silent, seeing as how Neville seemed to be talking to himself more than to her. Neville took a deep breath and dropped his hand, so he could look over at Graces. "Why are you saying my name and inviting me into your bed?"

Graces looked down and tried to swallow some of the fear that was taking hold of her. Now she felt as though she really were going to be sick. Saying all of this was much more terrifying, especially now. What if Neville didn't feel the same.

"Well," Graces started deciding to take this step by step. "I started saying your name because it's your name," she said lamely, her whole body beginning to tremble. "And I'm done lying to myself about who you are and—" Graces wiped away the tears that were spilling out of her eyes. "And what you mean to me," she croaked. "You're Neville. In-in my heart you're Neville and and you're not just this boy that gets me through the day or-or my friend. We're not friends. We-we are more," Graces stated more firmly looking up into Neville's eyes. She wanted to reach for his hand, but was to scared. "I think we've been more for a long time. At least I-I want us to be more. I feel like we are more. You're more to me." Neville still wasn't saying anything, but he seemed to have gone into a state of shock.

"You want us to be more?" Neville asked cautiously, as though he suspected she was playing a malicious joke. "You want us to be together. Like really together?"

"We still couldn't tell anyone," Graces nodded. "But yes, I want us to be togeth—"

Graces didn't get the opportunity to finish her statement before Neville collided into her and dipped her down to the pillow kissing her heatedly on the mouth. Nor did she care that she didn't get to finish. She pulled him down so that he was more on top of her, blanketing her with his body as she kissed him with the same want and need. She had missed him so much. She gasped as she felt his hands taking her in, going beneath the shirt so that he could feel her skin against his palms.

She was now entangled between the sheets, his shirt she was wearing and his arms. Neville seemed to have no desire to slow down, his lips had moved to to the base of her throat and she could feel his blood boiling with desire through his skin. She knew it was only a matter of time before he would be tearing away the cloth around her and taking his own clothes off and she knew she needed him to stop now, before she wouldn't be able to stop herself. She didn't want it to be this. Passion was great, but she wanted something… more. Something special.

"Wait, wait," she gasped, pulling the shirt down so she was covered and pressing a hand against his chest. "Slowly," she requested, her chest still rising from what had just occurred. "Slowly."

"Slowly," Neville panted, glancing away for a moment before meeting her eyes again. "Slowly because you're not ready? Or…" Neville let his words trail off and looked down at her hopefully.

"Would 'or' be okay?" she asked timidly looking down, hoping Neville and her were on the same page as to what 'or' was.

She felt Neville's warm hand come to her face and pull her to look up into deep brown eyes. The first kiss was permission. That was the only way to describe it. Neville brushed his lips against hers and hovered near them waiting for her return. They kissed like that a few times before he slowly began to deepen the kisses, breathing in deeply as though he were taking in her scent. By the time he pulled away and began exploring the sensitive skin below her ear Graces' breathing had become erratic.

"Or," Neville began from deep in his throat, "is more than fine with me."

Graces felt herself relax at Neville's words and soon they were both entangled in one another so much so that the outside world seemed to disappear. All she knew about the world was Neville's arms, his lips and the way his skin tasted. Nothing else mattered. It all just faded away. She explored him like she never had before. She wondered if he thought it odd how often she let her fingers trace along his face, as though she were trying to memorize every inch. He didn't seem to though he just pulled her close and watched her as her eyes took everything in before chuckling and kissing her tenderly.

Her hands began to move to other places as the kissing ignited a fire through her veins and she reveled in the way Neville's breath hitched as she moved to touch him below where his belt would be. Not needing anymore prompts Neville undressed, causing her to become even more feverish and hungry with need. She wondered for only a moment if she should do the same before she was once again gathered in his arms and being kissed. Neville seemed to be in no great hurry for her to undress, and Graces was relieved considering how unready she was for that part.

He was harder in his chest than before and even his legs seemed to have more bulk to them. In the back of her mind she remembered that he had hurt his ankle playing some sort of sports game with his friends and decided that must be the explanation. Neville's skin was hot to the touch and the more they continued to kiss the less soft they both became.

Neville eventually decided that her clothing had to go and rolled on top of her during a kiss and slowly started to kiss down. Graces tried to quiet her fears as he slowly began to unbutton her top. She stared up at the ceiling, knowing she didn't want to see Neville's face when he saw her abdomen. She knew it wouldn't deter him from her, no she just didn't want to see. He had just undone the button that would allow him access to her breasts and she did her best not to shake as he softly planted open mouthed kisses on her humble mounds, teasing her rising nipples with his lips and tongue. She wished that he would just get it over with. Move on and open the next button that would reveal the beginning of her scars.

She was starting to lose her nerve. Thoughts of asking him to let the shirt stay kept floating through her mind. He would allow it if she asked, she knew he would, but she didn't. She wanted them to be as open and honest as possible and he deserved to know. Neville kissed her right above the button as he undid it and she felt him pause and move away. She took a shaky breath and looked down at him hovering over her torso, unbuttoning the rest of the shirt slowly and taking in the display.

It was a small relief to not see disgust on his face, like she had seen on Draco's and Snape's, but his silence began to bore into her. Hesitantly he reached out and traced the scars that were the testimony of how a muggle saved her life. Red, angry and raised, they spoke volumes. She would have never believed that these scars were not from torture had she not known the situation.

"If they bother you I can just button up the shirt," Graces rasped, more ashamed than ever. "I know they're—"

"They don't bother me," Neville promised, leaning down and kissing her torso. "Not one bit."

Graces made some sound of protest and was about to tell Neville that there was no need to lie, but before she could continue he pressed her hand against him, making her fall silent. He was hard as iron and she could feel the tension welling up in him.

"Like I said," he whispered huskily. "It doesn't bother me one bit."

And once again she was reminded of why she wanted to be with Neville. She couldn't imagine that there was another man in the world that could be like him. She leaned up and kissed him longingly, hoping that he knew exactly how she felt in that kiss. Neville returned her affections and she lifted her hips up as he slid her underwear off.

"You know this means something to me, right?" she asked, stopping him from continuing. "You know that right? This-this means something to me. It's not like before," she pleaded, looking up at his eyes. "It's not just sex for me. After this it's going to be different between us. You're going to have the ability to hurt me. I mean really destroy me from the inside out," Graces stressed, becoming increasingly frightened. "I'm scared, Neville. Really scared. If you don't—" Graces took a breath and swallowed some of the fear building inside her "—want something with me or are unsure then we shouldn't do this. I know we're kids and-and that this shouldn't be such a big deal, but I couldn't bear it if—"

"Graces," Neville interrupted, placing her hand on his chest so she could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Graces hadn't noticed the trembling that was taking over his chest until that moment and stared up at him in anticipating. "I'm scared too," Neville admitted, leaning down so that he was closer to her. "And it's never been just sex for me. Never. You've meant something to me for a very long time and you've had the ability to destroy me since the day you dangled from your broom during that Quidditch game."

Neville kissed her softly and moved to lay beside her so he could pull her close and hold her. "I've wanted this for a very long time, Graces. A very long time. I'm not going to hurt you. I will never hurt you."

"You can't promise me that." Graces hiccuped. "We're young and stupid."

Neville laughed vibrantly at the truth of that statement and Graces felt a bit better feeling the vibrations of his laugh against her chest.

"We are, but I know that I won't ever purposely hurt you. You make me so happy, Graces. I'm not going to hurt my source of happiness. We'll fight and I'm sure you will hex me a few times, because as you said I'm young and stupid, but I think we are worth that risk."

Graces laughed out a sob and buried her face in Neville's warm skin. Taking deep breath after deep breath to calm herself down.

"I don't know how this happened," she breathed, thinking of the months that passed. "How did this happen, you and me?"

"I don't know," Neville said giving her a small half smile. "But are you happy it did?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose it doesn't matter."

"I'm so scared."

"Me too," Neville murmured, playing with her hair against her bare back. "We don't have to right now. We can wait or we can just fool around tonight, we have time. There's no need to rush."

"No, I-I want this," Graces breathed, placing her hand on his face and kissing him. "I want this with you," she added, thinking of the night in the greenhouse and smiling. "I'm ready now."

Neville seemed to be drawn back into the memories of that night as well, he smiled quietly and kissed her again as she allowed his hands to roam her body. He seemed to not be able to decide what he wanted to touch more and Graces found her skin raising as he explored it all. She could tell he wanted more, but he seemed to want to take his time in getting there. By the time he had positioned himself back on top of her they were both winded and glistening with sweat from the fever threatening to consume them.

She let out a small gasp as he entered her and Neville stopped and groaned from somewhere deep in his throat. "I forgot how good you felt," he murmured, kissing her right under the ear and lingering there so she could hear his heavy breath. She held him close to her as he began gently move inside her. Even connected she didn't feel close enough to him she wanted him to hold her as tight as she was holding him and she also didn't want to suffocate from the full force of his weight on her should he grant her that wish.

Neville seemed to want the same thing too and soon he had repositioned them so she was on top with her legs wrapped around him as he held her close and thrusted up into her. She moved with him groaning his name, his given name, over and over and wrapping her hands in his damp hair as he kissed any part of her his lips could find. It didn't matter how deep she moved him in her, he found a way to move deeper and a few times she had to push him back, so he didn't hurt her. He seemed a bit proud of this, but did as she requested. She didn't know what she enjoyed more: his hands on her body, or entangled in her hair and brushing against her face.

She had been right to be afraid of this. Making love was much different than what they had done before. This was completely about them, how they felt for one another, showing a sort of devotion and promise, while sleeping with someone was more about lust and desire. She didn't believe she loved Neville, not by her definition. She wouldn't sacrifice everything for him, but if she was falling for him the possibility of reaching that point was there. She had no idea if they would reach it, but she could see it like looking over at a mountainside and awaiting a sunrise. She could very well grow to love him.

She felt herself tensing around him from the thought and moaned as he responded to her body's needs, pushing himself more into her, so that she became increasingly flushed and lightheaded. She dragged her fingers down his back and bit her lip as her senses overloaded from his thrusts. If Neville minded the new scratches he didn't show it. He was relentless in his movements, ardent with his lips and firm with his hands. She cried out as her body finally gave in and Neville was quick to roll her over onto the bed where he fervently met each wave of her euphoria with his own fury.

Graces laid panting on the bed, one hand over her heart so she could feel it's fast paced beat while Neville pushed away to the side trembling himself. She moved in closer to him, placing her head in the crook of his arm. She wasn't there long before Neville pulled her closer to his chest and held her, his breath still irregular from their exertions. They both seemed to be pleasantly drowsy, but neither of them were willing to sleep. Despite the soft, warm bed around them they just laid there holding one another.

"You're being really rude," Graces breathed after a while, nuzzling her nose to his chest and breathing in his musky aroma.

"Rude?" Neville asked startled.

"Yes, rude," Graces confirmed. There was a long silence before Neville asked how he was being rude. "You haven't thanked me," Graces grinned, fully expecting it when Neville pinned her to the bed and began tickling her mercilessly.

"When will you ever let me live that down?" he asked, his fingers still causing her to giggle loudly.

"When it stops being funny!" Graces howled, refusing to give up on the hilarity of it all.

"I-didn't-know-what-to-say!" Neville stomped out finding a new place to tease her skin with each word.

"Not my fault you chose to say something stupid!"

"You're a wicked witch, Malfoy," Neville teased, finally releasing her and laying back down beside her and propping himself up on his elbow so he could look down at her.

Graces felt a bit caught off guard with how much she wanted to kiss Neville in that moment. He stared down at her in that way that used to make her feel uncomfortable and she just felt an odd sort of peace come to her. She moved closer to his body heat and idly played with the hair on his chest, wondering about the situation she was in now with him, but not fearing it.

"Are you still lonely?" Graces asked, remembering what Neville said so long ago.

"No," Neville smiled, cupping her face and caressing her lips with his. "No, not at all."

"Good."

She laid there a little longer before going to the loo and cleaning herself up a bit. It was really surreal, she wondered if this was going to become a regular thing. She hoped so, it would be a dream come true to be able to see Neville every night again. She splashed some water on her face and used one of the cloths by the sink to wipe away any lingering sweat before going back to the bedroom.

She folded back into Neville's arms like they had done this a million times. He still was propped up on his arm looking down at her, satisfied with taking in every feature of her skin and every strand of her long hair. He glanced down at her abdomen for a moment and the old feelings of insecurities began to come upon her.

"Do the scars really not bother you?" Neville raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, as though he couldn't even phantom a reason for her question before a smile tugged his lips and he simply replied no.

He was everything she never knew she wanted and in that moment she could have cried from the pure joy of it all, but instead she leaned up and kissed him gently, sighing happily as he deepened the action and moved to be on top of her once again.

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