Author note: Hey!

Sorry, this chapter took so long. I meant to get it up last week but then I ended up going on a small holiday in the Highlands to get away from everything for a bit and then it was my birthday. Also, I'm just the worst procrastinator:).

I tried to write Quidditch, I don't like it but it's there so oh well.

Really hope you enjoy - Let me know what you think!

Have a lovely day/night and stay safe xx

Her parents reply arrived two days later. The family owl, Malum, swooped into the hall and dropped the letter in front of her, not sticking around this time, much to Ebony's relief. She tore open the letter and anxiously read it's contents.

Ebony,

We received word for your head of house that she feels that it would beneficial to your studies if you were to remain at school over the Easter break. Though your presence will be missed, it is good to see you finally taking your work seriously and so I will allow you to stay at school over the holidays.

This extra studying better make a difference in your results - I'm sure that you do not need a repeat of the conversation that was had at the start of the school year.

Don't let us down.

R. Lestrange

She just stared at her father's loopy signature. She couldn't quite believe what she had just read- both that she was actually able to stay at school and that 'her presence will be missed.' It was hard to say which one was more surprising.

"What does it say?" Neville asked through a mouthful of cereal. Ebony turned to him and grinned.

"Guess who's staying over Easter!" Neville dropped his spoon.

"Really?"

"Yep," she said, still beaming at him. "Your brilliant bloody idea worked!"

"No need to sound so surprised."

Ebony playfully elbowed him.

It felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. No matter how much holiday homework they had received, the fact that she didn't have to go home until summer was enough to lighten her mood.

Her joyous feeling did not last long though as the reality of how much work they all had to do set in.

"So much for a 'holiday'," Seamus moaned as he threw a ball of paper at Dean's head, who merely shot him a dirty look. "I don't know why all the teachers are going mad, exams are ages away and it's not like they're OWL's or anything."

Neville was a nervous wreck, even more so than usual, which did not help in his overall clumsiness. It had got to the point that Ebony had to ask Hermione to help her put a cushioning charm on his ink bottle because he kept elbowing it off the table onto the stone floor below.

Still, Ebony knew that this was far better than if she had gone home for the week.

...

Ebony shoved her ancient runes textbook off the desk with a groan of frustration. The noise earned her a glare from several students. She and Neville were in the library trying to get the bulk of their holiday revision done and out of the way in the hope that they could perhaps have a few days off at the end of the week. It was not looking likely.

"I don't know why my parents didn't let me take divination instead, ancient runes is bloody impossible!" She buried her face in her hands. "It's like they're setting me up to fail."

"I would offer to help but honestly, I feel I may be more of a hindrance," Neville said, not looking up from his work.

Ebony gave him a small grateful smile which faltered as her eyes fell onto his notes.

"Neville you can't just revise Herbology all the time."

"I'm not." Ebony raised her eyebrows at him. "I want to do well in it, what's wrong with that?" She rolled her eyes and snatched the parchment from in front of him. Then she grabbed his transfiguration book and shoved it under his nose.

"You could do the Herbology exam with your eyes closed and you know it." He gave a defeated sigh and reluctantly grabbed a new piece of parchment.

"Yes, Professor." He said a cheeky grin on his face.

Ebony rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Piss off."

...

"Jesus fuck it's cold." Ebony cursed as the cold water of the lake splashed around her ankles. The two of them finally seemed to have some time to themselves and the sun was high in the sky so they decided to go paddling in the Great Lake.

Ebony looked over to where Neville was still untying his shoes.

"Come on, slowcoach," she shouted, kicking water in his direction. He involuntarily opened his mouth in shock as the cold water sprayed him.

"Oh, you're so gonna pay for that." He said, rolling up his trousers. He inhaled sharply as he joined her in the water. "You'd think for April the water would be a bit warmer."

"I guess that's Scotland for you."

Neville scooped up water with his hands and threw it at her, catching Ebony off guard. She squealed, wrapping her arms around her soaked shirt.

"Oh, it's on Longbottom."

They chased each other, flicking water at one another and roaring with laughter. Though it wasn't until Neville stumbled and fell, dragging Ebony down with him, that the two of them got thoroughly soaked.

They sat in the shallow water giggling, both of them far too wet to even be bothered by the temperature of the water anymore.

"I'm glad you stayed here this week," Neville said, wiping his wet hair out of his eyes.

"Me too."

...

The Easter holidays seemed to both drag on and fly past at the same time. It wasn't until Ebony noticed the small group of students coming through the main entrance as she made her way back to the common room that she even realised it was the last day.

She was just about to head up the stairs when she saw Draco coming round the corner.

"Hi."

"Hey," he said, dragging his trunk upright. "Missed you at the wedding."

"I'm so sad I didn't go." Ebony curled her bottom lip in mock sadness. "Was it tremendously boring?"

"What do you think?" She just snorted.

"No need to sound so bitter." He glowered at her. "Awww, are you sad I left you with only Blaise and Theo to talk to?" Draco rolled his eyes at her.

"They are my friends you know."

"Yeah but they aren't nearly as fun as me," she said with a smile, "they don't cause family drama by purely existing." There was a trace of a smile on his lips.

"How come you stayed here anyway?" From the way he was speaking Ebony could tell that he was far more annoyed that she hadn't come than he wanted to let on. It was almost enough to make her feel bad for skipping it. Almost.

"McGonagall thought that I needed to focus on my work and Mum and Dad agreed."

"You put that idea in her head I presume."

"So what if I did?" She said, smirking.

"You can't just avoid them forever you know."

"I can try." He rolled his eyes at her again and her smirk disappeared. "Don't give me that, you know what they're like, wouldn't you avoid them as much you could?."

Draco just sighed. "What about after Hogwarts? What are you going to do then?"

"I'm taking life one day at a time." He merely arched an eyebrow at her. "Oh I don't know, hang on till I'm seventeen and I get my inheritance? Then I guess I can get a place of my own, start my own life."

"They'd never let you do that."

"I'd like to see them try and stop me." She scoffed

"Such a bloody Gryffindor." He muttered and it made Ebony's jaw clench.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." He gave her a pointed look but she just shrugged. "I'd rather be a lion than a snake."

"You can't just keep your head down can you?" He snapped. "You just have to be different."

"Would you rather I torture every person that disagrees with me?"

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?"

"I mean it's probably best you didn't come because otherwise, you'd have to listen to what everyone says about you."

Ebony knew full well what everyone really thought about her, her parents reminded her often enough. They both loved nothing better than complain about her 'rebellious phase' and 'outlandish opinions'.

"What makes you think I actually care what anyone in our family thinks of me?"

She stared at him expectantly but he remained silent, choosing instead to just give her a pitying look which she ignored. "That's what I thought."

...

Ebony lay on her back stretched across the sofa. Her head was buzzing with Draco's words.

He was right, of course, he was. She couldn't avoid them forever, every skipped event was just putting off the inevitable. She'd have to go home and face them and their unpredictable moods in the summer anyway. She groaned. Going home was exhausting.

And it was true, she didn't care what any of them thought of her. Well, that's what she told herself anyway. The truth was that she couldn't afford to listen to any of them because after a while being told how much of a disgrace you are, starts to bring you down. So she pretended that her skin was thicker than it was, pretended that she didn't just want someone to say something nice once in a while. Pretended that she didn't care that her parents didn't love her.

She sighed. Even if she managed to last there until she became of age, she would most likely be married off by then to some twat and be stuck in a miserable marriage much like her parents. And then the cycle continues.

She grabbed a pillow and squashed it against her face. Why did she have to be stuck with the world's shittiest parents?

"Hey, I was looking for you." Ebony lifted up the pillow to see Neville by the sofa. He lifted up her legs and sat down, putting them over his lap. He frowned at her. "What's up?"

"I just had a chat with Draco."

"Ah."

"He was complaining that I abandoned him over the holidays." He let out a soft laugh. " and he said that I can't avoid my parents forever." Neville's small smile faded, "And the worst part is, he's right."

Neville didn't seem to know what to say.

She pressed her hands against her face and rubbed her eyes.

"I just can't catch a fucking break can I?" She groaned. "Every time I do anything it's never what I should've done ."

Ebony sighed and stared up at the ceiling as she felt Neville reach for her hand. He didn't say anything, he just held it. It was his way of telling her that he wasn't sure what to say but he was here regardless.

That was the thing about Neville. People could call him what they liked but he was loyal. In fact, Ebony was almost fairly sure that she could straight up kill someone and Neville would still be at her side.

She sighed gently and placed her other hand on top of his.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

"For what?"

"Being my friend."

...

"You know I've never really understood Quidditch," Ebony said as they sat down.

"You really don't seem like the sporty type, " Neville replied.

"Is that a good thing or not?"

Neville merely shrugged and returned his gaze down to the pitch.

They were sat in the stands ready to watch the Quidditch final.

It was true, Ebony could never really get what all the fuss was about but Neville enjoyed watching it so she wasn't going to leave him alone. Besides, pretty much the whole school had turned out for the match so she would be silly to miss it.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and all the players zoomed up into the air and Lee Jordan's commentary was going at a hundred miles an hour to keep up with the action.

That was one reason Ebony wasn't a fan. The game moved far too quickly for her to keep up with any of it.

But she had to admit that the atmosphere of the game was quite spectacular, even though Neville was screaming right in her ear.

She spent most of the game watching Draco, she had to admit her cousin was pretty good on a broom. It was just a pity that his team seemed rather fond of playing dirty.

Although today, the game as a whole was turning out to be pretty violent, By the time the score was forty - ten to Gryffindor, both teams had scored a multitude of fouls.

"AND IT LOOKS AS THOUGH THE SEEKERS HAVE SPOTTED THE SNITCH!" Lee's voice boomed and everyone turned their attention to Harry and Draco dove towards the pitch. Draco lagged behind Harry and then ended up tugging on the end of his Firebolt, knocking Harry off balance.

Typical, she thought as outrage erupted from the stands, even McGonagall seemed furious. Draco could never just play by the rules.

His dirty tactics didn't pay off though, they both lost sight of the Snitch. The game carried on with Gryffindor in the lead. Harry eventually managed to grab the Snitch and landed, his fist raised in the air.

They'd won.

Ebony and Neville joined the rest of the supporters as they rushed onto the pitch. As they were all jumping and cheering Ebony looked over to the corner of the pitch and saw the black scruffy dog wagging its tail before slipping away under the seats.

Maybe the match had been interesting after all.

...

The weather seemed to be taunting them. As exams loomed closer the temperature outside soared, the sun shining high in the sky. All they could do was stare enviously out the window as they poured over notes and textbooks.

Ebony glanced up at Neville who was sat with his fingers on his temples, frowning at the book in front of him. He'd been in a weird mood all day, unusually quiet and not his cheerful self in the slightest.

"Neville." He didn't respond. "Oi." Ebony waved her hand but he still didn't react. It was only when she smacked her hand down on the page he was reading that he looked up.

"What do you want?" He snapped. Ebony was taken aback by his tone.

"You alright?" She asked, her forehead creasing. "You seem...stressed."

"Oh, I wonder why?" Neville stood up, scooping his books into his arms and stormed off up the stairs to his dorm. Ebony sat and watched him, her mouth hanging open.

That was not like Neville at all. He was usually always calm, rarely raised his voice, least of all at her. He didn't seem like himself, not one bit.

Ebony decided to give him a few minutes before heading up after him.

...

"Neville?" She said, tentatively pushing the door open. "I'm sorry."

It took her a minute to find him. At first, the dorm seemed empty but as she walked over to his bed she saw a tuft of brown hair sticking up from the other side.

Neville had his knees drawn up to his chest, his books discarded in a pile next to him. His hands were in fists clenched on top of his knees. As Ebony got nearer she could see the clear tear tracks down his cheeks.

"Hey," she said softly as she knelt in front of him. His face was crumpled and his breathing was becoming rapid. "Hey," she said again more firmly, placing her hands on top of his fists. "Look at me."

Neville looked up at her with bleary eyes. "I'm going to fail everything." He choked, screwing his face up as more tears poured down his face. "I'm going to fail and then Gran is going to be so disappointed and I will have let my parents down -" He was now gasping for air, "-Again."

Ebony's chest tightened as she moved her hands up to his shoulders. She had never seen him like this and she hoped that she never would again.

"Look at me," she repeated, meeting his eyes. She was fully aware that she was making all of this up as she went along but it didn't matter. She had to help him somehow. "Breathe with me, Neville."

"I can't." He spluttered his face flushing deep red. She squeezed his shoulders.

"Yes, you can. Now come on," she inhaled deeply. "And out." Neville copied, his breathing still a little jittery. "Good." Ebony gave him a reassuring smile. "Just keep doing that."

She wasn't sure how long they sat there breathing slowly but eventually, Neville calmed down and his face slowly turned from crimson to light pink. Ebony crawled over to be beside him and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"It'll all be fine," she said, rubbing her thumb up and down his arm. "You can only do your best." He turned his face to her, still looking slightly forlorn. "Whatever happens." She smiled at him. "I'll be proud of you."

Neville flung both his arms around her neck and buried his face into her shoulder.

"You're the best, " he mumbled into her shirt.

Ebony just held on tight.

...

"Reminder that your practical exam is in a couple of weeks," Professor Lupin said as he cleaned off the blackboard, "and it will cover pretty much everything we have looked at this year."

"Pretty much everything?"

"Well I can't exactly get you to fight off a vampire for your exam Seamus, so yes," he chuckled, "Pretty much everything."

There were a couple of groans which faded into chatter as the class packed up.

"I am so not looking forward to this exam," Neville said, looking pale. Ebony just smiled at him.

"Honestly I'd be concerned if you were looking forward to doing an exam."

"That's true."

As the bell went for lunch everyone filed out of the room but Ebony hung back. "I just want to ask something about the exam," she said, "I'll see you down in the Hall in a bit."

Neville gave her a grin and followed everyone else out of the door, narrowly missing walking into the door frame.

Ebony edged over to the front of the room where Lupin was still clearing up.

"Ebony," he said, glancing at her, "How may I be of assistance?"

"Umm," she said, twisting her hair in her fingers, "I know that you can't tell me what will be in the exam but I'm worried that..." Ebony was not good with words. "I'm worried that if there is a Boggart involved then I will not be able to beat it." She felt herself blushing.

"Ah, I see." Professor Lupin stopped what he was doing and studied her for a moment, perching on the edge of his desk.

"Well," he said, folding his arms, "you are correct in that I obviously cannot tell you what will be in the exam. However," he smiled softly. "I think that you are more than capable of defeating a Boggart."

"Really?"

"No need to sound so surprised," he said and she blushed again, "I think that the main issue the first time is that it caught you off guard but if you were to do it again you would know what is coming."

"Right."

"What you now have to think about is why your Boggart is what it is and try to rationalise that in your mind. Remember that it is not real, it is only a representation of your fear."

Ebony had absolutely no idea how to do this or why Professor Lupin seemed to have so much faith in her but it felt oddly reassuring.

"Thank you, Professor."

"No problem," he said, returning to his clearing up, "it's what I'm here for."

...

"This is pointless," Neville said as he scrunched up his potions essay and lobbed it across the dorm. The common room was far to busy so he and Ebony had retreated upstairs. They were sat between Neville's and Seamus' beds, parchment and books spread all over the floor. "Even if I know what I'm doing I'll never be able to do well with Snape breathing down my neck the whole time."

"I don't need to worry about that because I just never know what I'm doing."

Neville flopped his head back against his bed. "Why are we both so stupid?"

Ebony reached behind her to grab a pillow and lobbed it at his head. Neville managed to duck just in time. "Speak for yourself."

"At least if we fail, we'll do it together," he said with a grin.

Ebony gave a dry laugh, "I can't fail, they'd kill me." Neville's smile faltered.

"What will they do? If you do?" She just looked away from him. "Ebony?"

She shook her head, "I don't want to find out." She tried to make it sound light-hearted but found that her voice came out far more grim than she intended.

"Then you won't," Neville said and his grin returned to his face. He picked up the textbook and cleared his throat. "How to make a confusing concoction..."

Ebony sat with her head leant against the bed frame and listened to Neville read out the instructions as a smile crept onto her lips. She could listen to him read the fucking dictionary.

How was it that her life was filled with darkness that constantly tried to swallow her up, yet this boy in front of her somehow managed to keep it all at bay?