Harry's mouth dropped open when she saw the Longbottom's house. Or should she say mansion?
It was an old building made of stone. There were two gardens in the front and a small fountain. There had to be at least four floors of the house, the balcony being on the second floor. All of the windows were arched and the curtains closed. There was a small greenhouse to the side of the main building, in which Harry could spy someone puttering around.
Harry turned to look at Remus and Severus. "So, this is Neville's place?" she asked.
Severus nodded and then motioned for the two to follow him. They went up to the door and rang the bell. The sound of chimes echoed throughout the home, alerting the inhabitants of their guests. The door opened and a small House-Elf bowed.
"Welcome Sir and Ladies. The Mistress is waiting in the dining room. Follow Darcy, please." The Elf said, leading the way to the dining room.
Once they entered, Darcy bowed to Mrs. Longbottom and then disappeared.
"Welcome, Harry. I am glad that you have decided to join us for the summer." Said a woman at the end of the table. She was somewhat plump, but also tall. She wore a long black dress with incredibly long sleeves, going well past her hands. When she got up, Harry could hear the click of high heels. She made her way to Harry and then extended her hand.
Harry took it and shook it firmly for a moment, then let go. Her gaze then fell to the floor, "Thank you for having me here, Mrs. Longbottom."
The older woman smiled lightly and then went back to her seat. "Severus, Remus, I would like to speak with you two before you leave." She turned to Harry, "Neville is puttering around in that greenhouse of his. I am sure that he would love your company, dear."
The young woman took the hint and went off in the direction of the greenhouse. She saw the brown-haired young man tending to a wilting fern, digging it up out of it's current pot to put it into a larger one. Harry let herself in and then announced her presence by clearing her throat.
Neville whirled around, "Harry!" he exclaimed, his face turning slightly pale.
"Um… yeah. Did your Gran not tell you that I was going to stay here?" Harry asked, walking forward and next to the startled teen.
"No." Neville said, biting his lip. He then sighed, "Shouldn't really surprise me. She never wants to step a foot in the greenhouse, refuses to. I'm always in here unless it is time for a meal. And by then I am just too tired to really care what on earth she is saying."
Harry blinked, not expecting this reaction from her friend. "You… you don't mind that I am here, do you?" she asked in a small voice.
Neville turned to Harry and then shook his head, his face a mixture of surprise and worry. "No, of course not! I am just… frustrated with… things at the moment. It has nothing to do with you…"
The ebony-haired girl nodded her head but didn't quite believe the boy.
There was a knock on the door of the green house and Neville and Harry looked up. Neville paled even more at the sight of his Potions professor.
"We just came by to say good-bye, Harry." Remus said, making her way towards the girl and pulling her into an embrace. She kissed the top of her head lightly, "If you have any problems, just owl me, all right?"
"Yeah, Remmy, I will." Harry said.
Severus stood next to Remus and was looking Harry up and down. He then let out a sigh and ruffled the girl's hair, "See you later Potter. Do try and stay out of trouble."
"Yes, Professor." Harry said, smiling.
Remus then turned to Neville, "Take care Mr. Longbottom, I hope to see you again soon."
And with that, the two adults left.
Neville turned to Harry, looking like a guppy. "What the bloody hell was that about? Who was that woman?"
Harry laughed, "That is a long story, 'Ville."
((The Pretender))
Harry laughed as she watched Neville perform his rendition of the Wyrd Sisters' latest song. He was terribly off key and was also attempting the dance moves. All in all, it was something that Harry hoped that Neville would never attempt in public, or the poor boy would be laughed off the stage with his face completely red.
Once the song ended, Neville lay back on his bed, breathing slightly labored as he tried to get his breath back. He turned to Harry who was sitting next to him, "What do you think?"
Harry smiled and shrugged, "It was interesting, I can tell you that." She then gave a little more thought to it, "As the Muggles say, 'Don't quit your day job.'"
"Hey!" Neville yelled as he tackled the girl, pushing her back on the bed.
The two struggled playfully, fighting to see who would end up on top. Neville had finally pinned Harry down and stared down at her.
"Ha ha, got ya." Neville said, a smirk on his face.
"No fair, I have a disadvantage." Harry stated, struggling a little under Neville's grip.
"I don't think you have a disadvantage." The boy said as he looked at the girl underneath him.
"Well, I guess you wouldn't think that being up there."
A laugh escaped Neville's lips and he drooped his head a bit. "Ugh, I am tired."
"I know what you mean." Harry muttered.
Neville stared down at the girl once more. Her hair fanned out around her, drifting out in long, delicate strands. Her eyes were as bright as ever, glistening slightly from tears of laughter. A smile was upon her lips. Those lips that were so pink and beautiful. The teen found himself being drawn towards those lips, bringing his head down farther and farther.
It was then that those emerald eyes snapped shut, eyebrows furrowing in pain, a whimper escaping those beautiful lips. Neville jumped off of the girl.
"Did I hurt you?" Neville asked hurriedly, looking down at the girl.
"Oh Merlin, it hurts!" Harry strained, rolling off of her back and onto her side. There was blood on the bed and seeping through her shirt.
"What the hell?" Neville said, panicking slightly at the amount of blood. "What is wrong, what happened?"
"I don't know! The cuts reopened! They weren't supposed to…" Harry responded. "Go to my room and get the vials that are on the bedside. Just bring all of them."
"Wouldn't it be faster for me to go get Gran?" Neville asked.
"Damn it, Neville! My room is just across the hall! Hurry up before I pass out, you arse!" Harry screamed, partly because of the pain and partly from not wanting to deal with the boy's stupidity.
Neville rushed out of the room and was back within a minute. Harry took a quick glance over the potions and then took the red one, uncorked it, and then swallowed the contents. She could feel the blood stop flowing out of the cuts as they began to magically stitch themselves back up. She let out a sigh and then rolled over once more onto her stomach.
"Neville, would you take off my shirt and make sure that all of the cuts are stitched up? I think they are but I am not all that sure…" Harry said in a low voice.
The young man nodded and then quickly did as he was told. He looked upon her back, and felt sick to his stomach. There was so much blood there that he couldn't tell where on earth the original cuts came from. He took a handkerchief out of his dresser drawer and then began to gently wipe the blood off of her back, the cloth quickly being stained red.
Once he was done mopping up the blood, he looked at the cuts, and nodded to himself. "Yeah, Harry, they are stitched back together. But who on earth did this to you in the first place?"
Harry went rigid for a moment, and then she propped herself up on her elbows, looking up at Neville with a serious expression upon her face, "My uncle decided that it was my fault that he got a reduction in pay. And since it was my fault, I needed to be punished. So he came to my room, had me take off my shirt and gave me a whole bunch of lashings. Lucky for me, Remus had decided to rescue me that day. If not, I most surely would have bled to death in that awful house."
Neville couldn't believe what he was hearing. Harry's relatives abused her? Why hadn't the girl ever told him? Granted they hadn't been close until recently but still, why hadn't she told him when they did become friends? When they did bond?
Harry, seeing Neville's dejected look, sighed and placed her hand over the boy's. "I didn't even tell Ron and Hermione, 'Ville. I wanted to tell you guys, especially you, but I couldn't… I just wasn't ready for anybody to know that…"
"The Boy-Who-Lived got beaten by her Muggle uncle?" Neville finished.
"Yeah." Harry said, closing her eyes and placing her head down on the pillow.
She lay there, looking as peaceful as a dove. It didn't seem that this girl could be hurting so much, both physically and emotionally.
Neville brushed the hair out of her face before he lay next to her and drifted off to sleep.
Conditions Met:
1. More than one character must have their gender switched.
2. They are switched involuntarily.
3. Snape gets somebody to love.