Part III

A lot changed after Neville and Draco officially got together. Instead of ignoring each other's presence like they had done since the war ended, they spent most of their time together. They worked together in the lessons they shared, they ate their meals together, and they hung out by the lake if it was a nice day, or in the Slytherin Common Room if it wasn't.

They did make sure that they spent time apart as well. They'd quickly learnt that spending every waking (and sleeping) moment together was a very bad idea as it usually reached a point where they just irritated the fuck out of each other. Draco found Neville's ineptitude for Potions frustrating, especially since Draco was such an excellent tutor and since Neville was so good at Herbology. Neville, meanwhile, couldn't stand the silences that Draco insisted upon when they did their homework together and Draco's ridiculous reluctance to step foot in Gryffindor Tower (though he did eat at the Gryffindor table with him, so that was something Neville supposed). A few days a week Draco would eat with his friends over at the Slytherin table instead of with Neville, Ginny and Luna, and Neville went to do his homework in the Library instead of with Draco in the Slytherin Common Room.

The biggest change of all was the fact that Neville no longer slept in his Gryffindor dorm, but spent every night with Draco in Slytherin. Blaise and Theo seemed to have no issue with him staying there, and Dean and Seamus were just thrilled that they could now shag whenever they wanted without silencing charms (not that they ever used them in the first place) and without the worry that they could be interrupted at any time.

Despite the very sexual relationship they'd had the previous year, there wasn't anything sexual about them sharing a bed now. They'd only ever discussed it once, with Draco saying that he didn't want to push Neville into something he wasn't ready for, something which Neville was eternally grateful for and they left it at that. The truth was, Neville wasn't sure when, if ever, he'd be ready for sex again. He'd used it back then as a way to try to rid his thoughts of Carrow, a way to try to get rid of the feeling of him all over him. Now, though, it terrified him and freaked him the fuck out and a large part of him believed that Draco wouldn't even want him in that way anymore. He felt used and dirty and whenever he had a nightmare he'd spend what felt like hours in the shower, trying to scrub the feel of Carrow away. It never went away. He was damaged goods.

The best thing about Neville sleeping in Draco's bed every night was the fact that his nightmares had lessened. They hadn't gone away completely, but instead of getting them every other night, he now got them three times a week at most. When he did have nightmares, though, they seemed to be worse than ever and he knew that it had been triggered by that damned Prophet article. One night, he had one so bad that he woke up screaming to a worried looking Draco hovering over him and an even more worried Blaise and Theo stood by the bed having yanked the curtains open. Neville usually put a silencing charm round their bed, so he must have been screaming pretty loudly to break the charm.

"Neville, it's okay. You're okay. You're safe." Draco rubbed a comforting hand over his back from where he sat next to him. Neville realised he was shaking and his pyjamas and the sheets beneath him were drenched with sweat.

"It was him again." Neville's fists clenched the damp sheets and he didn't really register that Blaise and Theo were still stood there as he continued speaking. "It was so vivid. It's never been that vivid before. It was like I was reliving it." Neville stared straight ahead and, truth be told, he was starting to scare Draco.

Draco gently prised one of Neville's hands away from the duvet and linked their fingers together, trying to provide whatever comfort he could. Blaise and Theo just stayed rooted to the spot, not wanting to move for fear of startling Neville.

"You're safe," Draco repeated, "he can't reach you here."

Neville's eyes met Draco's and Draco could see the fear in them. "But what about when we leave Hogwarts. He's out there, Draco! They both are! And there's no guarantee the Ministry will catch them again. What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Draco replied quietly, wishing he had an answer, something that would reassure Neville that he would never have to see either of the Carrows again.

Neville seemed to realise that the two of them had an audience and his eyes flickered to where Blaise and Theo were still stood, worried expressions still firmly etched on their faces. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"Don't be," Blaise found his voice first.

"Do you want anything getting?" Theo asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Neville nodded. "Water. Some water would be good, thanks." His throat felt a little hoarse from all the screaming he'd done.

Theo shuffled off to their shared bathroom, swiping a glass from one of the bedside tables on the way.

Blaise, perhaps for the first time in his life (or at least from what Neville had seen anyway), looked nervous and at a loss for words. He managed to ask, "Are you alright?" He realised how stupid that sounded after he said it; Neville clearly wasn't alright.

"No," Neville answered and Blaise was a little surprised at the honesty of the Gryffindor, "but I will be," Neville added, squeezing Draco's hand briefly.

After Neville had stopped shaking and had downed the glass of water that Theo had brought him, the four of them went back to bed. Well, Blaise and Theo did. Neville couldn't fall back asleep. Draco stayed awake for a while with him, holding him close, but he eventually nodded off and Neville was left alone with his thoughts.

Neville jerked awake some time later, having just started to doze off. He could hear Blaise and Theo bustling about in the dorm. Neville sat up carefully, making sure not to wake Draco. Neville swung his legs over the side of the bed, the movement catching the eyes of both Slytherins since the curtains around his and Draco's bed were still open. They both gave him a cautious look as he started to get dressed, but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," Neville said as he pulled on his jeans, not making eye contact with either of them.

"Neville," Theo said firmly, "you have nothing to apologise for."

Neville looked up at them both, "But I feel I owe you an explanation."

Blaise shook his head. "We all went through shit during the war, Neville. Some people more than others. You don't owe us shit."

"We kinda figure it's to do with the Carrows?" Theo added and Neville gave a slight nod. "We don't need to know anymore than that. If you want to tell us later, that's cool. But don't feel like you have to."

"And for the record, we've got some pretty nasty curses up our sleeves if we ever see either of the Carrows again."

"Why?" Neville asked, baffled.

"Because," Theo explained, "you're one of us now, and Slytherins protect their own."

Blaise nodded, reaffirming what Theo just said.

Draco, having woken up, just smiled, thankful he had such wonderful friends.

"Have you been to see Professor Snape yet?" Draco asked, casually flicking through his Potions textbook. It was one of those rare times that they actually did their homework together. Though that was because Neville was so hopeless at Potions that he couldn't really afford not to get Draco's help.

Neville ignored his question and carried on making notes for his essay. "Tell me again why you can't add sugar to the Wolfsbane Potion?"

"Neville," Draco said more firmly and Neville glanced up at him, "answer my question."

Neville's eyes darted away from Draco's and back to his parchment as he muttered, "No, I haven't."

"Why not?" Neville ignored him again and Draco started to get frustrated, "Merlin, I'd get more response out of a brick wall," he muttered. "Look, Neville I get why you might not want to…"

"Do you really?" Neville suddenly snapped, leaving Draco gobsmacked.

Draco's eyes narrowed; whatever Neville was going through, Draco didn't think he deserved to be spoken to that way. He was only trying to help. "You're scared."

Neville sighed. "It's more than that."

When he didn't elaborate further, Draco said, "Tell me. Please. I want to understand."

"My parents have been in St. Mungo's for pretty much all my life. They lost their minds because Death Eaters tortured them."

"Neville, you are not your parents. Your situations are totally different. You still have your sanity."

"Doesn't feel like it some days," Neville muttered under his breath, but Draco heard it anyway. "I don't want some Healer calling me crazy."

"They're not going to."

Neville remained silent.

"Please. Go talk to Professor Snape."

A pause. "Okay."

Neville knocked lightly on the door of the Headmistress's Office and McGonagall answered straight away, a look of surprise on her face as to who was in front of her. "Mr Longbottom! What can I do for you?"

Neville shuffled from one foot to the other. "Erm, I came to speak to Professor Snape actually."

McGonagall's eyebrows raised, but she didn't comment as she let him in. "Very well. Go ahead." She carried on bustling about her office, while Neville just stood there nervously, trying to figure out how best to ask her to leave.

In the end, he didn't have to find the words as Snape spoke for him, "Minerva, he wishes to speak to me privately, he's just too polite to say so."

Minerva, realisation dawning upon her, offered Neville an apologetic look, "My apologies, Mr Longbottom. I'll just leave you to it then." Gathering up a few things, she left her office.

Neville cast Muffliato on all the portraits apart from Snape's, not wanting the nosey previous Headmasters listening in.

"Using one of my spells I see," Snape commented, a slightly pleased tone to his voice.

"It has its uses." Neville perched himself on the arm of one of the chairs in front of McGonagall's desk and tried to bring himself to say what he came here to.

"What can I do for you, Longbottom?"

Neville took a deep breath, "I wanted to thank you, for last year, for letting me serve detention with you instead of the Carrows." Okay, so it wasn't what he came here to say, but it was something he wanted to say nevertheless. "I know you don't like me and, frankly, I don't like you either, but thank you." He definitely hadn't meant to say that either, but at least Snape looked amused and not angry.

Snape inclined his head slightly, "It is Draco you should be thanking. After all, if he hadn't informed me of the situation, I may never have known, but nevertheless, you are welcome."

Neville paused a moment, "Can I ask, why did you help me?"

Snape seemed to hesitate for a moment, before he replied, "Because, Mr Longbottom, I know what it's like."

Neville couldn't stop his eyebrows from raising in surprise, "Really?"

"Tobias Snape was not a nice man. He had an alcohol problem and he was often very violent when he'd had too much to drink. It didn't happen often, but even just the once was enough to give me nightmares for years."

"Did they ever go away? The nightmares?" Neville wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that. The way things were at the moment, it felt like they'd never go away.

"Eventually, for the most part," Snape said, "but they did come back on the odd occasion, usually when something triggered me."

"I've been having nightmares most nights. I don't get much sleep anymore. I take Dreamless Sleep some nights, but I know it can be addictive, so I only take it when I really need to. Even then, it doesn't cure the problem, just gets rid of it for a few hours." If you'd told Neville a year ago that he'd be spilling all his secrets to a Professor who he'd hated, and who'd hated him, he'd have laughed in your face. Yet here he was. Now he'd started he couldn't seem to stop. Merlin, even Draco didn't know that the nightmares were starting to get more frequent again; Draco was usually a pretty heavy sleeper, so he only woke up when Neville started screaming which, thankfully, wasn't every night.

"Might I suggest seeing a Healer?"

"Did you see one?"

"Yes, and I daresay it helped." Snape paused for a moment. "Xavier Montfort. He lives in France now, I believe, but it'd be well worth contacting him."

"Thank you, Professor, I really mean it." Neville stood up. "I just wish there was something I could do for you in return."

"There is. Don't give up."