Part II

Neville could never quite remember how this whole thing between him and Draco had started. It was seventh year, around October time, but he could never remember the details. It just seemed like one day they were arguing and trying to hex each other and the next they were shagging. He was sure Draco could remember every tiny little detail in vivid colour, but Neville had never bothered to ask. For the first couple of months of their - for lack of a better word - relationship, it didn't seem to matter what they did or who was on top. It was whatever they both needed on any given day. They never spoke to each other beyond negotiating a safeword and kinks, and the only other communication they had was through owl to arrange the time and place of their next meeting.

Then one day that all changed, and it left Draco trying to figure out why. Every time they met up, Draco would get thoroughly shagged by Neville, harder and rougher than he ever had before. Not that he was complaining, it was some of the best sex he'd ever had, even if he did sometimes feel it for days afterwards. So one day, after Draco had had a particularly awful day, Draco decided that evening he was going to be the dominant one. Except it didn't go exactly as planned. One minute they were kissing with more passion than they ever had before, the next he had Neville pinned face first to the wall, and then all of a sudden Neville shouted their safeword, panic lacing his voice. Draco stopped what he was doing immediately and moved away, but he saw the terrified look in Neville's eyes and the next moment he found himself flung across the room before Neville fled through the door. He was left more confused than ever.

The next day Draco received a scrap of parchment by owl that simply said, "10:00pm, RoR."

When he entered the Room of Requirement later that night, it was to find Neville sat on a couch, his legs pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around his knees and an anxious look on his face. Draco had never seen him look so vulnerable. He stood in the doorway, unsure what to say or do, but in the end he didn't have to make the first move.

"I'm sorry." Neville hadn't looked up when Draco had entered the room, nor did he look up when the blond Slytherin came and hesitantly sat down beside him. Neville was silent for a few moments and Draco waited for him to continue, sensing there was more. When Neville continued, he looked Draco in the eye, and Draco saw that his eyes were full of sorrow, regret and maybe a little fear. "Did I hurt you?"

Draco shook his head, "Just a few bruises. I'll survive." He paused. "Longbottom… Neville… What's going on?"

Neville looked away and stared into the fireplace that the room had conjured for them.

Glancing round the room, Draco figured that this was pretty much what the Gryffindor Common Room looked like, if the red and gold furnishings and comfy armchairs were anything to go by.

"Do you enjoy it?"

The question was so unexpected and out of the blue that Draco was caught off guard. "What?"

"The sex," Neville clarified, "bottoming."

"Yeah, I do," Draco replied, confused about where this was going. "I thought that was pretty obvious from my reactions."

"I don't ever hurt you, do I?"

"You're rough," Draco thought it best to be honest in this situation, "and I can often feel it for a while afterwards, but I like that. No, you never hurt me."

Neville was staring into the fireplace. "I suppose I haven't been too considerate of what you might want recently. I've just taken what I wanted and haven't really given you much of a choice, have I? Does that make me as bad as him?"

"As bad as who?" Draco was starting to get really confused now and when Neville didn't reply, Draco prompted, "Neville, you're starting to freak me out now. Tell me what's wrong. You can trust me." Neville didn't say anything. Draco grabbed one of Neville's hands and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Look at me. Please. Tell me. Who?"

Neville looked up at him, the fear now prominent in his eyes. "Amycus Carrow."

It all started to fit together in Draco's mind, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Realisation dawned on him and he felt sick, wishing more than anything that it wasn't as bad as the conclusions that his mind was jumping to. "Neville… What's he done to you?" Draco was almost afraid to ask. Neville didn't reply or make eye contact, but his hand tightened around Draco's. "Please tell me he didn't…" Neville looked up then, and Draco knew it was true, could see it in the broken look in Neville's eyes. "How many times?" Draco didn't want to know the answer to that, but his vocal chords seemed to have a mind of their own.

"Every detention." Neville's voice was barely above a whisper, but Draco heard it loud and clear in the silence of the room, the only noise coming from the crackling of the flames. He couldn't stop the horrified look that crossed his face; he knew how many detentions Neville had been getting from the Carrows for refusing to do what they asked. It was a miracle he had held it together for this long.

"Can't you tell someone? One of the other Professors?" Draco felt helpless. He wanted so badly to do something to stop this, to get rid of the broken look in the Gryffindor's eyes, hell he'd even take his place if he could. He wanted to go hunt Amycus Carrow down, curse him, torture him, even kill him but he couldn't. He was too much of a coward; he wasn't brave like Neville was, and Neville was more than brave for enduring what he did most nights. No matter how much he cared for Neville, he cared for his parents far more; because if he did go after Carrow, it would not only be him that got punished for it, but his parents as well, and he wouldn't let that happen, not when his family was already in such a precarious position with the Dark Lord.

Neville shook his head. "Everyone who is on my side can't do anything about it. I don't want to put them at risk."

It didn't escape Draco's notice that Neville had said 'my side' and not 'our side'. It wasn't much of a surprise; they never talked about the war and the fact that they were supposed to be on opposing sides, but Draco had thought that Neville knew he wasn't really on Voldemort's side, that he didn't want to be a Death Eater. Apparently he was wrong. He would just have to show him then. "Bloody noble Gryffindor," Draco muttered under his breath, then asked, "What about Professor Snape?"

Neville gave him an incredulous look, "You are joking, right? He hates me and he's a Death Eater. Why would I trust him?"

"I'm a Death Eater and you trust me," Draco reasoned.

"That's different."

"I can't just let you sit back and do nothing!"

"Why not? We're not together!" Neville yanked his hand out of Draco's grasp and stood up, his eyes flashing with anger and frustration, "We're not a couple, Draco! Why do you even care?"

Draco stood as well, the frustration in Neville's eyes reflected in his own. "Because, believe it or not, I'm not the cold Slytherin bastard you seem to have painted me as! I do have a sense of right and wrong you know!"

"Could've fooled me. After all, you said it yourself, you're a Death Eater."

Draco would've been lying if he said the words didn't sting, and even his father, the most stoic man he knew, would have recoiled at the venom with which Neville spat 'Death Eater'. Draco didn't blame Neville, though, didn't hold the words against him, he couldn't even begin to imagine what Neville must be going through. His voice, though, once again had ideas of its own. "Fine. Be like that. See if I care." Draco left the room without looking back. As soon as he was out in the corridor he regretted leaving Neville in such a state. He wanted nothing more than to go back inside and beg his forgiveness, but his Malfoy pride stopped him at the last second.

When Neville received detention again the next day, Draco knew he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. That was why that night he found himself sneaking out of the Slytherin Common Room and heading to the Headmaster's Office. What he didn't count on was running into Alecto Carrow.

"Well if it isn't little Malfoy Junior." She sauntered over to him, twirling her wand between her fingers in a thinly veiled threat. "Think you're exempt from the curfew do you? Perhaps I should teach you a lesson… Unless you can give me a good enough reason as to why exactly you're wandering the corridors at this late hour?"

Draco was frozen to the spot in fear, but he somehow managed to find his voice. "Professor Snape asked to see me."

"You know what I think?" Alecto asked, a vicious smile on her face that sent shivers right through Draco, "I think you're lying, but let's see what Professor Snape has to say, shall we?" She grasped hold of Draco's arm and roughly pulled him along beside her, Draco silently praying to every God the Muggles believed in that his godfather would cover for him.

When they reached the Headmaster's Office Alecto entered without knocking, pushing Draco in before her.

Severus looked up from his desk, thoroughly unamused by the intrusion. "Alecto, care to explain why you're manhandling my godson and barging into my office without knocking." Severus's dark eyes flickered over to Draco and he saw the fear in his eyes as well as the silent plea for help.

"He claims you asked to see him," Alecto prodded Draco in the back with her wand, and Draco unconsciously stepped forward, trying to get away from the witch.

"I did ask to see him."

The look of surprise on Alecto's face would have been almost comical if the situation weren't so serious. "About what?" she asked.

"That is none of your business. Now leave."

Alecto's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything, nor did she budge from her spot.

"Leave," Severus said again, more forcefully this time, and Alecto reluctantly left. Once the door closed behind her, Severus cast a silencing charm on the room, just to be sure that she wouldn't be eavesdropping.

Draco sank into one of the chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk, only just realising he was shaking. "Thank you for covering for me."

"Why are you here, Draco?" Severus got straight to the point, still irritated at the intrusion this late at night.

Draco hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's about Nev-" He cut himself off and corrected himself, "Longbottom."

If Severus noticed his slip he didn't let it show on his face. "What about Mr Longbottom? I'm sure whatever the problem is you can handle it yourself, you've had no trouble doing so in the past."

Draco shook his head. "Not this."

"Then what is it?"

When Draco hesitated again, Severus's patience, already wearing thin as it was, snapped, "Just spit it out, Draco. I cannot help you if you won't tell me what is wrong."

"I'm not the one that needs help," Draco found his voice again, "you need to stop him from serving detention with the Carrows."

Severus raised an eyebrow, not seeing how this was any concern of Draco's. "If he doesn't want to serve detention then he should keep to himself and stop provoking them. As much as I may hate it, I cannot protect all the students from them."

"He's not just being tortured though!" Desperation started to creep into Draco's voice. "He… Amycus Carrow… he's…" Draco trailed off, going very pale.

Severus, concerned at his godson's behaviour, prompted, "What? What is it?"

"Longbottom… he's being raped." He could barely bring himself to say the word, he didn't want to think about it, about what was most likely happening right at this very moment in time.

Severus went pale, something which Draco wouldn't have thought possible given his already pale complexion. "How often has this happened?" When Draco didn't answer immediately, Severus, his patience gone altogether now, demanded, "Draco! How often?"

"Every detention he's had for the past couple of months." Draco looked at his godfather and was almost surprised to see a horrified look on his usually stoic face.

"Merlin. I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."

"That's all I ask."