Hello Hello! I said I would be back and I am! and it didn't take me three years this time!
Here is chapter 8. it's not super long, more like a bridge chapter, I guess.
As always, any and all mistakes are my own.
Mending
chapter 8
Neville saw the moment Pansy began building her walls up again. She seemed to become more tense as brick by mental brick slid into place. With a small sigh, she started to move away.
"Don't," Neville said, tightening his fingers slightly on the back of her neck. "Don't shut me out again,"
"This doesn't change anything, Longbottom," Pansy whispered, reaching up to grip his wrist. "You are still you, and I'm still me. Talking about our pasts changes nothing,"
Neville allowed Pansy to pull his hand away from her face, dropping it in his lap. It felt strangely empty. He curled his fingers into a fist and looked at her. Her head was bowed.
"It changes everything, and you know it," he said in a low voice.
Pansy just shook her bowed head, her hair falling in curtains around her face. Only the slight shaking of her shoulders gave any tell to the tears Neville knew were falling down her cheeks.
"Pansy-" He started, but was interrupted when the door burst open and Draco walked in.
"Hermione said I would find you here, Nev," he said with a smile-a smile that dropped the second he glanced at Pansy.
"Are you ok?" Draco asked, taking a step towards her.
"Fine. I'm fine," She said, hastily turning her back and snatching up the discarded medical chart.
Neville was surprised her voice sounded as strong as it was.
"What did you need, Draco?" Neville asked, more to direct Draco's attention away from Pansy to give her a moment to wipe her eyes discreetly than out of any curiosity to the random visit.
Draco stared at Pansy's back for a few more minutes before turning to Neville.
"I stopped by the Burrow last night for dinner, I hadn't been to one in a while and Scorpius has been wanting to see Molly for ages. Anyway, she sent me with a care package for you. I dropped it in your room, and from the smell of it, its packed full of her homemade sweets," Draco smiled. "I do hope she put some of the treacle tart in there that she made last night. I thought Scorpius was going to get a stomachache from eating so much of it,"
Neville still marveled over the fact that Draco and the Weasleys were comfortable enough around each other to enjoy dinner together on a semi-regular basis. Molly had taken to little Scorpius as if he was one of her own grandchildren. Scorpius had even started calling her Gran Weasley (much to Molly's delight), and even called Arthur PopPop Weasley.
Draco seemed keen to make up for all his past mistakes, always letting the Weasleys, Harry and Neville know that he was always just an owl away for whatever they might need a hand with, be it home repair or babysitting.
"Her treacle tart is my favorite," Neville agreed, pretending to check the bandage on his thigh so he could sneak a glance at Pansy.
"How much longer to you have, Nev?" Draco asked, looking around the rehabilitation room.
"He's done," Pansy said, stuffing the quill back in her pocket and hanging the clipboard back on neville's wheelchair. "I assume you can wheel him back to his room, Draco?"
And without waiting for an answer, she swept from the room, shutting the door with a loud snap behind her.
"So," Draco said, turning to Neville. "What did you do to piss her off?"
Neville sighed, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. "Told her I didn't want her to be my physical therapist, tried to persuade Hermione to fire her, yelled at her for touching me, and was just a complete arse to her for no reason other than a fifteen year old grudge,"
Draco raised his eyebrows and whistled. "Yeah, that would probably do it,"
Neville looked up at Draco. He could talk to him about this. Draco was friends with Pansy in school, he was bound to know all about her attitudes….
"How do I make this right?" he asked his friend.
"Probably start by apologizing, mate," Draco said, walking around Neville's chair and kicking off the brakes.
As Draco pushed him down the hall to his room, Neville fought with himself. Would apologizing be enough? He wasn't sure it would be, not with all the past that was between them. Why was it so easy to forgive Draco, yet so hard to do the same with Pansy? Maybe it was because he had learned that Draco's actions were preformed against his will, and Pansy's was out of self preservation. Which was a ridiculous excuse. Weren't they all just trying to survive the war?
"I don't know if I can ever forgive her," Neville blurted as Draco helped him back into his bed a few minutes later.
Draco helped Neville swing his legs onto the mattress then handed him a glass of water from the jug next to his bed, he brow furrowed in thought.
"Why?" Draco finally asked, settling into the armchair next to the bed.
"What do you mean 'why'?" Neville scoffed.
"You forgave plenty of people from the war. You teach their children, provide their apothecaries with rare plants, hold a seminar once a month in Hogsmeade and answer any and all owls sent to you with herbology questions, no matter who the sender is. You do all of this without even thinking about it. Hell, you forgave me!" Draco let out a humorless laugh. "You have forgiven everyone, why is it so hard for you to forgive her?"
Neville stared at Draco. He was right, he had never really thought about the fact that he was teaching the children of former Death Eaters, or that he filled orders for apothecaries that were owned by former Death Eaters. He never really paid attention to who came to his Herbology seminar's in Hogsmeade, and he could honestly say that he never even glanced at the name of whoever sent in queries about out of control plants, just answered and sent the owl back.
"Yeah, maybe it's not Pansy you need to forgive, mate," Draco said, standing to leave. "I put the package from Molly over there," he said pointing to a large box on the small table under the room's only window.
"Thanks," Neville mumbled, still lost in thought.
"Don't mention it," Draco said, and with a wave, he was gone. Leaving Neville alone with his thoughts, something like guilt starting to swirl in his stomach.
And there is chapter 8! I hope you enjoyed! I'm working on chapter 9, and hopefully will have it up after the holidays!
