Once again thanks to my beta QianYun ^_^
You're awesome!
XXX
Chapter 2: Discoveries
XXX
"Severus…" Lupin smiled tiredly, but opened the door to let the black-haired man in.
Snape immediately sat down in the chair he had become accustomed to sitting in. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the sandy-haired man in front of him. He couldn't get used to this no matter how many times he had come here…part of McGonagall's punishment was to receive counseling from the werewolf.
He just wasn't used to sharing like this…unless it was with Dumbledore.
"Did something happen?" Lupin took in the man's serious state.
"Longbo-Neville," he had remembered the rule Lupin instated for these sessions, you had to use the person's first name if they were involved, "was attacked by Devil's Snare."'
Lupin's eyes widened.
"He's alright…sleeping." Snape put a hand over his mouth, thinking, "The baby is alright as well but…"
Lupin stayed standing, watching the man in front of him argue with himself. It was times like these he knew better than to talk to Snape.
"Remus…he…he hugged me and was crying…" He moved his hand to his eyes, "He was so worried for the baby that probably isn't even forming yet and…"
"You were shocked." Remus stood in front of the other man and put his hand on the other man's arm. "It's understandable…"
"I held his hand while Poppy was checking to make sure everything was alright." Snape admitted it like a person confessing to a priest.
"Severus…" Remus sighed at the black-haired man's tone.
"I shouldn't be having feelings like this…" Snape moved his hand from his face, "He's going to end up regretting his decision…"
"Well, that's for him to decide now, isn't it?" Remus took a seat in his chair. "At least he isn't pushing you away…or attacking you for that matter."
"He should be…"
"I think that's for him to decide Severus…" Lupin sighed tiredly. "Maybe you should take a break. Cancel your classes tomorrow and see about just relaxing…or maybe you could visit Neville while he's in the infirmary?"
"His Great Uncle just got here." Severus sighed and pulled himself together, he was getting too emotional.
"Did he attack you?" Remus asked with a smirk.
"He didn't even look at me." The black haired man sat back in the chair. "I don't know how much he knows, but it was all in a letter from Neville."
"Then he knows as much as Neville's told him." Remus nodded. "I still think you should take tomorrow off, if his Uncle didn't seem too upset, he probably won't be staying very long anyway. You should try to talk to him again."
"I-I can't." Severus sighed shaking his head and stood up. "But I think I might talk to Minerva about tomorrow."
"Good." Remus smiled and stood up walking to the door with the other man. "And Severus…please try to forgive yourself."
Snape snorted.
XXX
"I see," Algie nodded and put one of his large hands over his nephew's stomach. "So that's about four weeks then?"
"Yes, sir." Neville nodded, "I've been reading about it too."
"Does anyone else know?"
Neville hesitated and bit his bottom lip. "Yeah… Hermione, the girl that was here last night. She knows and she's been helping me."
"Good. I wouldn't want you not to have anyone here you can rely on. Though you know you can always owl me." His Great Uncle seemed hesitant and stopped smiling slightly. "Neville, you've really thought about this?"
"Yes, sir." Neville looked down at his hands. "It wouldn't be right any other way."
"How does Professor Snape feel about this?" Neville's hands tightened together, he hadn't really spoken to Snape about it. He hadn't really spoken to the professor at all.
"H-he told me that it was my body," Neville offered but then noticed Algie's expression. "W-we really haven't had time to talk about it, but he's right, it's my body and I want to keep it."
"Neville, I think what you're doing is a good thing. I really do." Algie sighed, looking at the teen in front of him. "I just want to make sure you're going to be alright. Will you write me even if you think it's ridiculous?"
Neville smiled at his uncle. "I will…but I still don't want Gran to know just yet."
"You know I don't think that is a wise decision." Algie sighed.
"You know it'll be bad either way." Neville mumbled, "Well, when she finds out about this, I might as well come all out and tell her I'm a poofter too. Don't worry; I'll think of something if it comes down to that." He glared at his hands.
"Neville…" Algie leaned over and gave the boy a side-along hug. "She might not have the reaction you think."
"I'll write you with updates." Neville hugged him back lightly. "And if she does find out, I know everything will still work out."
"That's the way to think; now I want you to do two things before you write back to me."
"Yes?"
"First, I want you to talk to Professor Snape about this, and I mean really talk about it and, two, I want you to research the Praegnan Lilly." Neville looked at the older man questioningly, but nodded nonetheless. His Great Uncle smiled at him before turning to leave.
Neville sighed as the door shut. It was nice to be able to talk about it with family, but he wondered what his parents would think. Would they be okay with this? He looked down at his hands, he was sure they would enjoy his decision.
Praegnan Lilly? He hadn't heard of that before… he wondered if Professor Sprout would know. He thought of the Devil's Snare in the greenhouse three and wondered if it had been handled already. Today was also supposed to be his first day back in Potions…
"How are you feeling, Mr. Longbottom? " Madame Pomfrey came out of her office, smiling at him with a dish of food in her hands. "Your Uncle didn't want to stay for breakfast?"
"He had to get back to his house. Apparently he is trying to breed some things that he shouldn't." Neville smiled as she sighed and handed him the dish.
"Well, I want you to rest today and I'll be by later to check up on you… Then we can decide where you are going to eat your lunch."
He looked down at plate of food, realizing how hungry he was.
"Neville?" He looked up to see Hermione peek her head through the closed doors of the infirmary. When she saw he was awake, she slipped in and walked over to him. "Oh good, I wanted to catch you before your Uncle and…"
"He already left." Neville finished the roll he was eating and she gave him a face as if to say, 'well?'. "It's alright. He was fine with everything from my letter, he just wanted to see for himself. He promised not to tell my Gran."
She nodded approvingly and sat down in the chair his Uncle had just left. "So everything is alright then?"
"So far." Neville nodded drinking, some milk.
She nodded, but then looked like she wanted to say something. She opened her mouth, but then blushed and closed it, waiting for him to finish eating his breakfast.
"Hermione." He groaned, "Just spit it out." She flustered.
"Professor Snape is the father?" She looked up to him questioningly.
Neville looked down at his hands again…he could tell her…it was alright. She already knew everything anyway. "Yeah, he's the father."
"But!"
"We had an accident during my detention." Neville stopped her from going any further. "Remember when I showed up covered in that potion?"
"And blood." She added grimly. "It was a potions accident? So you mean you two didn't…" She blushed brightly and looked down.
Neville faltered a bit…how was he supposed to answer that? He really didn't want people thinking that… It really hadn't been in either of their controls…
"No, we didn't. It was just the potion and then there was blood…you know…"
Her eyes widened, but she nodded. "Sorry."
"It's alright, I don't even think he knows about my… well, you know…" Neville wondered what the older man would say about the crush he had developed.
"Oh Neville." Hermione sniffed. "You never know…it might work out…"
Neville smiled and nodded but suddenly his stomach gave a lurch. He put his hand over his mouth and jumped out of the bed, running over to the nearest cleaning bucket and proceeded to puke out his breakfast.
"Oh God…" He moaned, holding on to the bucket, "Oh God…"
"Neville…" Hermione was behind him rubbing circles on his back, "Oh poor Neville, is this the morning sickness already?"
He decided that he really didn't want to know.
XXX
"Devil's Snare? Wicked!" Dean Thomas hit Neville on the back as he passed the other teen. Apparently the rest of Hogwarts had gotten the idea that he had defeated some kind of Devil's Snare monster crossbreed or something, not that he cared how exaggerated it was.
"Man, we were really worried when you didn't come to dinner, but we're glad you're okay." Ron nodded looking a little grim, "I hate Devil's Snare." This made Neville raise an eyebrow but he looked over at Harry who had the same expression.
"First year, with the Quirrell incident." Hermione mumbled over to him before giving him a glance. "You didn't tell me you were there for wrestling with a plant."
"Why else would he need to go to the infirmary?" Ron snorted, not noticing the looks Neville and Hermione gave each other.
"She probably thought I fell down the stairs or something." Neville tried to sound indignant as Ron and Harry laughed. "So how were classes today?"
"Meh…oh! Potions was cancelled today." Ron brightened up. "Maybe Snape, that git, got sick or something."
Neville sincerely hoped not.
"I heard he was poisoned." A second year looked over at them.
"Did we ask you, little person?" Ron looked at her and she blushed, turning away. "Kids these days…"
"Ron, that was uncalled for!" Hermione hissed at him. "I seriously doubt he was poisoned anyway." She had turned to the group of second years the girl came from. "He could probably make the antidote right away anyway."
"Are you praising him?" Ron sounded flabbergasted.
"Uh…" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Oh, Neville!" They all turned to see Ginny walking over to them looking confused, "Um, I just saw Professor Snape and he said he was looking for you. Did you do something?"
"It was probably his Devil's Snare you destroyed." Dean mumbled and Harry laughed.
"Oh. Yeah, probably." Neville stood up hesitantly, trying to laugh with the guys. "I guess I'll see you guys later."
"This really isn't his year, is it?" Ginny sat in the spot Neville left. "First he was sick and he's already spent half of his time here in the hospital wing…"
"And now the morning sickness…" Hermione mumbled, silently agreeing.
"What was that?" Ginny looked at her, confused.
"Oh, I was wondering what Snape would want." She blushed and looked over at the picture Dean was drawing.
XXX
"Hello, Professor." Neville was shocked to see Snape standing outside of the Gryffindor common room entrance. It was a sight he couldn't recall in all of his years at Hogwarts.
"Ah, Mr. Longbottom, please come with me." And Snape started heading down the stairs with Neville following him. Snape's voice even seemed to be back to normal. Neville watched as the man did not change his expression even after he yelled at some first years and took away their flying whisbee.
Well, this was going to work out. His uncle had wanted him to talk to Snape, and he was about to get a chance… or was he? Did something else happen? Neville tried to think of the possibilities and barely stopped in time to not run over the Professor who had stopped suddenly. The older man looked around the hallway and then walked into an empty classroom, Neville followed him closely.
"Professor, what…"
"I just thought that maybe you and I should talk." Snape sighed; he really hated taking Remus' advice. Really, really hated it.
"I was thinking that too." Neville leaned against the teacher's desk.
Snape watched the teen and seemed to be waiting for Neville to start this 'talk' they were supposed to be having.
"You first." Neville nodded his head at him while messing with his sleeve; he really didn't want to be the one to start what was probably going to be an awkward conversation.
"How are you feeling?" Snape asked, still looking as blank as ever.
Neville smiled slightly.
"Okay considering… probably not so well in the morning." Neville didn't really want to think about it but he saw the look Snape gave him. "Morning sickness…"
"Already?" That made the man raise an eyebrow… Well it really wasn't that early for it to be starting. Neville nodded.
They were both silent for a while.
"How did your Uncle take it?"
Neville bit his lip but nodded, "He's agreed to help me keep it from my Gran for the time being, but I don't know how much time that gives me. He's not very good at keeping secrets, especially not from my Gran."
"She wouldn't want you to keep the baby?" Snape asked, watching the teen sit fully on the desk as he looked down at his robes and proceeded to dust off a small spot. He didn't know if that question might have been too personal.
"No way." Neville snorted, "But don't worry, I think I might try to distract her with other things."
"Such as?" Snape lips twitched, obviously amused, and Neville blushed. Well it wouldn't be that big of a deal if Snape knew.
"I'm gay." Neville looked at the floor then, deciding he didn't really want to see his Professor's reaction to that… He wondered idly if Snape would want him to get rid of the baby now. He prayed to Merlin that it wouldn't be the case.
"That's really not a big deal in the wizarding community." Neville looked over, surprised, at the older man who just shrugged. "Which would she take worse?"
"Hmmm. Probably the pillow biting, but I still don't really know. She had her plans laid out for me and slowly year by year I destroy them." He glared at the ground.
"You should make your own decisions anyway. It shouldn't matter what other people are thinking… Longbottom, even after the war you still can't stand up to her?"
"She's to me what Voldemort was to Harry." He snorted but smiled when Snape's lips twitched.
"Decide things for yourself. Don't let anyone make you do something you disagree with.…" Snape looked at the teen beside him. "Listen, I'm not good at this. And I lie and break promises and other things but if I can… and if you need it… I will try my best to help you."
Neville blushed. "Well… how do you feel about this?" He looked down at his hands again… he really wanted to know.
"I…" Snape closed his mouth and cursed mentally. He wasn't expecting that, but he figured honesty wouldn't hurt in this situation. "I don't know."
Neville nodded, understanding; it was a pretty big deal and he still didn't know how he felt about it himself. "But you don't mind helping?"
"I was a Slytherin, Mr. Longbottom, I do not offer anything I cannot give." Snape crossed his arms. Okay, so this talking wasn't that bad.
"Well okay then." Neville nodded but looked over at his Professor. "No crazy ex's I'm going to have to hide from?"
"No." Snape said assuredly. "And I guess as long as I don't have to wrestle Devil's Snare…"
Neville snorted, then covered his face blushing.
"Listen Long… Neville…" Snape made sure his tone was serious and the boy looked at him. "You're really not going to regret this?"
"I hope not." Neville shrugged honestly. He didn't want to think about how his name sounded with that voice.
"I should probably let you know, your class schedule is changing." Snape stood up and took his teacher tone.
"Huh?" Neville didn't ask for any changes…
"Well, after the Devil's Snare incident, several of the Professors feel that their classrooms are no longer fit for well… someone in your condition." Snape coughed slightly at that. "McGonagall is going over with some of them now how to change your curriculum but keep you up for your NEWTs."
"You don't feel the same as them?"
"Mr. Longbottom, if you expect me to believe you can make a perfect potion before this year is out, then you need as much time in the dungeons as you can get."
XXX
"Are you going to be okay?"
Neville groaned over his porcelain throne, thankful to any god that had let him make it in time. "I'm dying…"
Harry laughed slightly. "Do I need to get anyone for you?"
"No, I should be good." Neville shook his head and grumbled, "I'll probably be late to Charms…"
"I'll let Professor Flitwick know." Harry patted Neville on the back before leaving the bathroom.
"Don't need anyone to hold your hair for you?" Neville laughed at Ron's voice and sighed. He wouldn't be able to get used to this.
There was no way he had enough in him to be puking this much without giving up a liver or something.
He wiped his mouth as the nausea slowly faded. He needed to take a shower now. He grabbed a towel and took a quick shower. He stopped in front of the mirror. There was no way he could picture himself with a pregnant stomach… He hadn't started showing yet and he was very thankful for that.
He put his uniform on and as he grabbed his robes, there was a knock on the door. "Neville?"
"Come in, Professor Lupin." Neville smiled as the man walked in and nodded at him. He was holding a piece of paper.
"Wow, this brings back memories." Lupin looked around the dorm room before settling his eyes on Neville. "Well, let's get down to it."
"The Professors are worried about how their classes are going to affect me." Neville sniffed but smiled slightly at Lupin's surprised face.
"Did someone already come by?" he asked, eyeing the teen.
"No… umm… Professor Snape told me last night to expect this." Neville looked at the ground.
"Ah." Lupin nodded. "Well yes, after the greenhouse incident, a lot of professors don't want you in a dangerous environment, and understandably so. Professor McGonagall probably never told you this, but most students who had become impregnated during a school year were usually sent home."
Neville's eyes widened; no, he didn't know that.
"I suspect she hopes for Snape to become a participant in the pregnancy with you, so she allowed you to stay." Lupin continued, "Well to get on with it, here's your new schedule."
Neville took the new piece of paper and looked down at it.
"Most of these look like study halls…" He looked up at the teacher.
"Well, you will still be participating in most classes; any of the ones that the professors think you shouldn't be in, you'll spend in a study hall. Also, I should say that Professor Sprout has been very upset about the incident."
Neville looked down and saw that Herbology wasn't even on the list. "Oh, she has got to be kidding me."
"Understand that most of the plants she had planned for your year are rather dangerous, violent or even poisonous…" Lupin watched the boy contemplate.
"I think I'm going to talk to her about doing different projects. I mean, I still have those seeds I'm waiting to see what they grow into." Lupin smiled at the teen. "I'll try to talk to her after my classes today… Was there anything else, professor?"
"Actually…" Lupin sat on the end of Harry's bed, looking at the ground. "I know you've probably been asked this a lot lately… but was there anything you wanted to talk about?
Neville suddenly felt very happy that Lupin was asking him that; it wasn't that he really had anything on his mind, but Lupin was being so nice. He sniffed.
"Are you alright? Did something happen?" Lupin was looking at the teen with worry as Neville tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. Neville shook his head vigorously and started cursing.
"Sorry, Professor, I can't seem to, you know… stop." Neville put his hands over his eyes, "I've been alright, Hermione's been helping me deal with a lot of this stuff and…"
"Miss Granger knows?" Neville swore again.
"Y-yeah she knows… but it's okay, she's…"
"It's alright, Neville." Lupin laughed lightly and was glad that the kid got his tears to stop. "It's good to have people help you through this. Does anyone else know?"
"Well, between throwing up and these mood swings… I think Harry and Dean might start thinking something's up… No hope for Ron though." Neville laughed, "Probably just thinks I'm going mental and all."
"You know you could tell them." Lupin messed up the teen's hair with his hand. "And I'm afraid to tell you… I was told the mood swings get worse."
"Oh God." Neville sniffed, "Don't tell me that… I hate crying… Makes me think I'm a first year all over again."
"It's alright, just take a deep breath and don't worry about it." Lupin waited for the teen to pull himself together. "Do you want to go ask Madame Pomfrey about what you could do for the morning sickness?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Neville looked at his schedule, "Then I'm going to be going around school and talking to all of these professors…" he stopped. "And you too…" he glared over at the werewolf, "I'm not an invalid, you know."
Lupin smiled that smile that Neville was really starting to not like. "I know, Neville. I was just going to have you sit out on days when we're wrestling pixies or maybe testing jinxes on each other. You really shouldn't be stressing your body out."
Neville glared but nodded, "I don't know how you all expect me to pass my NEWTs if I can't even participate in class."
"We'll think of something, hmmm?" Lupin smiled and got up. "Want me to walk with you to the hospital wing?"
"No, it's alright," Neville grabbed his bag and started putting his books in it for the day. "I'll see you later, Professor."
"Oh and Neville, there was something I wanted to ask." Lupin looked uncomfortable and Neville was almost worried about what it could be. "Could you… I mean, well I was wondering if you could give Professor Snape some time…"
"Professor, wha…"
"I was just asking." Lupin raised his hand to stop Neville. "I want you to know that he's been thinking hard about you and the baby. Just give him time…"
"O-okay." Neville didn't really know how he felt about Lupin asking him that, but nodded nonetheless. Lupin smiled and left the room. Neville sighed, picked up his bag and made his way down to the deserted common area … Everyone was probably eating breakfast.
His stomach let him know that it was hungry too, which was understandable, Neville thought, but he didn't know if he wanted to be eating anything any time soon.
Neville stopped halfway to the Hospital Wing and looked around. He had heard people talking… but he didn't see anyone. He heard the noise again… It was two people whispering to each other; both voices sounded very familiar. He looked down over the stairwell and was surprised to see Ron and Draco Malfoy whispering harshly at each other… It was a surprise because they weren't yelling or dueling.
Neville noticed both of them were blushing… and was it just him or were Ron's lips a little swollen. He pulled back, hoping they hadn't seen him looking. What was that all about? No way, Neville shook his head and continued on his way; maybe he was just seeing things.
Or maybe something had happened and… Neville couldn't think of a good reason, but he guessed that it was something that wasn't any of his business and walked into the Hospital Wing, deciding to ignore it for the time being.
XXX
"What is that?" Hermione looked at the pot Neville was holding. It was a very small pot that could be held in one hand, but it was just full of soil, she didn't see a plant in there.
Neville looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. "It's a Praegnan Lilly." He had to admit he was slightly surprised at the blank look she had given him… Then again, he hadn't heard of it either. "Come upstairs, I'll explain it to you."
He grabbed his Charms essay he had been working on and passed a group of third years playing Exploding Snap. "Oh, Neville, thanks for the help on my essay about Bubotuber." Neville smiled at a fourth year boy who was coming down the stairs.
"You really help a lot of people with their Herbology." Hermione smiled at the kid that passed and then entered the seventh year's boy's dorm.
"Well, I mean if they ask…" Neville blushed slightly. "I like finding excuses to talk about Herbology anyway."
"Okay, so explain the pot." Hermione pointed at the small pot.
Neville looked around his room and saw that it was empty. "It's a Praegnan Lilly, a plant that can only grow if it's in the presence of someone who is pregnant."
"Oh." Hermione's eyes widened.
"Yeah well, Professor Sprout really didn't want me near the greenhouses after… you know… So she's promised to take care of my seedlings and this is my special project." He held up the little pot, a little excited. "I don't know if it will work since I'm a guy, but it's a little exciting, isn't it? Even Professor Sprout has never seen one before because not that many pregnant women feel like taking care of a plant and we had to special order the seed from Bulgaria."
"That's really exciting." Hermione looked at the pot with a little more enthusiasm. "So why do you need to be pregnant for it?"
"Well that's the thing." Neville looked at the pot and sat it beside his bed before sitting on it. "I don't really know. I couldn't find anything about it in my text books… You think you could ask Krum?"
Hermione blushed but nodded. "Of course." Neville smiled, she and the Bulgarian had been going steady now and she had even went over and visited him after the war.
"Has he met your parents yet?" Neville yawned and laid down on his bed.
"He's coming over for Christmas," Hermione smiled and sat down on Neville's bed. "Oh… I'm really nervous."
"It'll be good." Neville nodded reassuringly. "I think I might stay here for Christmas this year though." He looked around his dorm.
"What about visiting…" Hermione looked down at her hands.
"My parents?" Neville put his hands behind his head. "I know... and I really miss them, but by Christmas I'll probably be showing and my Gran will figure it out and she might try and get me put into St. Mungo's, then I couldn't get back to school."
"Well, then maybe you can visit them after the baby is born." Hermione patted his stomach. "It'll be really exciting."
"Yeah." Neville yawned again. "Man, I'm getting tired a lot more lately."
"Are you taking the vitamins Madame Pomfrey gave you?" Hermione looked around for a sign of them.
"Yeah." Neville lifted up his pillows to reveal his vitamins and books about pregnancy. Hermione looked at him, surprised. "I'll admit I stopped reading the books when it got to bladder problems."
"Neville." She shook her head with a sigh.
"Couldn't you just tell me… if something else happens… whether it's normal?" Neville laughed. "I really don't think I should be reading these things, they scare me."
"What scares you?" They both jumped as Ron entered the room and then looked at them both on Neville's bed. "What's going on here?" He gave them a smirk.
"We were talking about an interesting book I found and…" Hermione smiled at Neville when Ron snorted and walked over to his bed, deciding to ignore them.
"You and books." Ron scoffed. "You need to get a boyfriend."
"Like you have any room to talk," Hermione huffed with a blush, "I don't see you walking around with a girlfriend."
Ron blushed and Neville thought about seeing the ginger talking to Draco Malfoy earlier that day. No way… Neville shook his head; he had to accept he was going to be the only shirt lifter in his year.
But it was hard to deny when he could have sworn Ron mumbled something along the lines of 'what you think' and 'blond idiot'.
Neville never had a chance to really think about it though because he had fallen asleep.
XXX
Everything was going really well as he went into his sixth week. He was still throwing up every morning, but he didn't feel as bad afterwards with the vitamins Madame Pomfrey had given him. His mood seemed to also have stabilized, for which has was grateful.
Classes weren't as bad as he thought they would be; the teachers were pretty good at making excuses for him to leave the room if they had decided that their lessons were too dangerous. The problem was the Slytherins who had noticed and started catcalling at him or suggesting that the teachers didn't think he should even try for their NEWTs.
They were easy enough for him to ignore; what wasn't easy were the new rumors flying around the school about him and Hermione. Apparently Ron had said something about her being in Neville's bed and some underclassmen had heard it and started talking.
And that wasn't even the worse part. It seemed everyone in the school all had different opinions on who he was dating. Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood were his other two prospects and Neville groaned every time someone asked him about it.
And a lot of girls started calling him three-timer and leaving him rather nasty notes that he didn't mind sharing with his dorm-mates as they all talked about how crazy girls were. But even with all of these rumors, Neville wasn't allowed to tell anyone that Harry was dating Ginny and Dean was dating Luna, which is why the girls visited so much in the first place.
Luna was startled to find out she had two boyfriends and apologized to Neville for spending most of her time with Dean.
"Luna, we aren't dating," Neville groaned, watching Hermione and Ginny walk around the room giggling to themselves. He really wondered why he denied the rumors since it was obvious none of them were helping.
"True… I always thought you liked boys, Neville." Her dreamy voice seemed to stop time. He choked on his cup of water. "You don't like Dean, do you?"
"No, I…" Neville looked over at Hermione who was looking at Luna quizzically. Ginny had her hand over her mouth in surprise.
"I knew it!" she squealed and Neville flinched. "Oh my goodness…"
"May I ask how you guys came to this?" Neville frowned at them. If Luna Lovegood had figured it out…
"See, he's not denying it." Luna smiled at Ginny. "I guess I owe you a galleon."
He hit his head with his hand and sat back on his bed. "Any more bets I should know about?" he moaned.
"Nope." Ginny smiled, "So what's it like?"
"If I have to explain to you what's it like to like boys, then I'm going to start wondering about you." Neville growled and Ginny blushed furiously.
"Oh Neville…" Hermione sat on his bed again. "Well maybe these rumors are a good thing if you really don't want anyone to know about it." He ran his hands through his hair as he sighed against his pillows.
"Well actually…" Everyone turned to look at Luna. "The school paper is putting in an article on how Neville swings both ways… They interviewed me."
"Wha..." Neville choked.
"You never told me that!" Ginny laughed hysterically and Neville rather wished she would leave. "Man, that's flattering, Neville! You can get anyone you want!"
"This can't get any worse…" Neville grumbled into his pillow.
"I wouldn't say that… My father said that there have been a lot more Narlspurts out this time of year and that's really not a good thing."
Everyone watched as Luna smiled at them and then started looking around the room again before the door swung open and Ron came in with a busted lip looking angrier than Neville had seen him in a long time.
"Ron!" Hermione seemed to shake him out of his stupor and he looked around at all the girls in the room. Harry came in quickly.
"That stupid little ferret." The black-haired teen grumbled. "You alright, Ron?"
"Yeah…" Ron looked down at Ginny, "You know this really isn't helping Neville with those rumors…"
"I know." She looked at her hands. Ron growled again but went into the bathroom.
"What happened?" Hermione looked at Harry, who was smiling down at Ginny now that Ron was out of the room.
"Malfoy just up and punched Ron." Harry looked at little confused but still angry. "We were just walking past and then he punched him… There was no reason behind it."
Hermione gave him a look that said she didn't believe them, but was startled by the sudden snore beside her. She looked to see that Neville had fallen asleep again.
"He's been doing that a lot lately." Harry nodded over at Neville, "I don't see why, he's sleeps more than the rest of us…"
"Is Neville sleeping again?" Ron came out looking better than he had and gave a worried glance over at Neville. "I'm worried about him… He's looked different lately…"
"He's glowing." Luna nodded, but everyone shook their head laughing, not hearing Hermione's cough.
XXX
Neville wiped his mouth and steadied himself against the bathroom stall. He groaned and hoped that this part would be over soon, he didn't know how much more he could take of this. He left the stall and rinsed his mouth out at the sink.
He stopped when he heard hurried whispers coming from the room. Normally the guys would just go on to breakfast and he would meet them down there… Were they still there? Did something happen? He looked into the room and saw them all whispering to each other.
He coughed slightly, trying to let them know he was there. All of them looked up, startled.
"Is… there something wrong, guys?" He noticed how Harry and Dean seemed to be disagreeing with Ron. The black-haired teen pushed Ron toward Neville.
"We… were wondering what's up, Neville?" Ron looked at the floor, obviously not liking this confrontation. Neville paled slightly and felt a wave of nausea hit him and he had to the grab the wall. Ron was beside him in a second, helping him over to the bed.
"See…" Ron made sure Neville was okay before sitting at the end of the bed. "You've been getting sick every morning… and you're tired all the time. At first I thought you must have caught a bug, but it seems to be getting worse, doesn't it? Not to mention you're eating a lot more too…"
Neville put his hands over his face. It had to be Ron, didn't it.
"I don't know how to explain it, but yesterday Luna was right… I just didn't notice right away… but you are glowing and… and you look a lot like my aunt did…" Ron bit his lip.
"Your aunt?" Neville coughed a bit and looked over at Harry and Dean who were listening to them.
"Yeah… but… you know… when she was…" Ron flustered, obviously not wanting to say it. "I must be crazy, Neville, but are you… pregnant?" his voice squeaked slightly at the last part, but Neville couldn't bring himself to look at any of them at the moment.
Ron… the thickest kid in the history of Hogwarts… and he figured it out?
"This is ridiculous, Ron, you know guys can't get pregnant," Dean snorted and Harry nodded with him. Neville thought about it, he could tell them… they would help him… hopefully. Neville swallowed, ignoring how tight his throat had gotten.
"He's right." He didn't look up, but took to counting the freckles on Ron's hand that was on the bed. He heard them splutter. "I am… you know…"
"Are you really?" Ron seemed amazed, and then suddenly put his hand on Neville's stomach very gently. This made Neville smile. "How far…"
"Almost seven weeks, I guess…" Neville shrugged but looked over to Harry and Dean who had gone silent. They were looking at him like he had grown another head. He might as well keep going…
"Look, I can't tell you everything , but I am pregnant and I've decided to keep the kid. You don't have to agree with me or anything, I just ask if you could help me keep this quiet… you know…" He looked back down at the bed.
"Neville…" It was Harry this time. "Why didn't you tell us? I mean… we could've helped. I don't know how, but we can now… if you want it…"
"What's it like?" that was Dean and Neville laughed slightly.
"I honestly can't find words for it yet… I know I'm pregnant… but I just don't feel it yet… You know, other than the morning sickness and stuff…" They all laughed. "Listen…I feel like I should tell you guys… since you know….but… I'm…"
Neville swallowed hard, he didn't think it would get any easier to tell people this. "I'm gay."
The room was silent for a second.
"Neville…" Dean gave the teen a smile, "I don't know how to tell you this…but we kind'a figured."
"Oh." Neville looked at them, surprised, not really knowing what to say to that, but then Ron laughed.
"Oh, come on… give me the name of one guy who likes flowers as much as you." He snorted and they all started laughing.
"There are several male herbologists…" Neville defended, trying to catch his breath.
"And well, you know… Seamus wasn't really ever quiet about who he had snogged with." Dean smiled and they all thought about their old roommate.
"You guys knew?" Neville blushed, thinking about his first male kiss. Well, he and Seamus had gotten into a supply of Fire Whiskey.
Ron snorted, "Seamus really liked bragging… and snogging." They all laughed quietly and then looked at the empty corner of the room where his bed would have been. It was tough.
"Mate…" Harry sat at the end of Neville's bed now. "Seriously, tell us what we can do to help… you know, other than the secret thing."
"Give me patience because I think I'm going to start crying again." Neville sniffed. He didn't know what set it off this time, but he could feel it coming. "Seriously, this is getting ridiculous… I should try selling my tears on the market or something if I'm going to keep making them this often."
"I could ask Fred and George about that." Ron laughed before patting Neville's back. "Man, at least you're not violent. My aunt would throw stuff at any male in the vicinity."
"I get options?" Neville sniffed, trying to keep the tears back as the guys laughed.
"Hey, this could be an experience for all of us." Dean laughed, "Like… life training for our future wives… except it's Neville."
"Three husbands… couldn't help yourself, could you?" Harry shook his head jokingly.
"As if you guys were my type." Neville snorted playfully. "I like them older…"
"Speaking of which," Ron looked at him quizzically, "How? Or who's the real dad?"
Neville sobbed slightly at this… he really didn't want to tell them. "I-I can't share that with you right now…"
"Shhhh…." Ron was suddenly beside him, rubbing his back, "Sorry, mate. Breathe…"
"You know…" Dean looked at them, "This would be really awkward to explain if someone just wal…"
"No time for knocking, please be decent!" All of them watched as Hermione came running into the room and closed the door behind her, holding a piece of paper in her hand.
"Hermione!" Harry and Ron both shouted indignantly and Ron quickly jumped on the bed to try and block Neville from view who was rubbing his face.
She took in the scene in front of her and looked over at Neville who smiled slightly and shrugged. "You told them? Everything?"
"Okay so this doesn't get confusing…" Neville raised his hand up to get all of their attentions. "Everyone in this room knows I'm pregnant and gay… Yes?"
"Hermione knows?" Ron looked flabbergasted.
"God… Yes, Ron! I know…" She opened up the paper she was holding. "You guys didn't come to breakfast, so I thought you should see this before you go to class."
They looked at the paper that had the title of 'Hogwarts Press'- it was a student paper that some of the underclassmen were trying to establish. Mainly Collin Creevy. The headline read 'Gryffindor's Room of Sin' and underneath it in slightly smaller print, it read, 'Neville Longbottom's Harem'.
"What?" Harry jumped up and grabbed the paper, immediately scanning through it.
"It mainly just says that all of us are seeing Neville…" She paused, making sure to point at everyone and herself, "and Ginny and Luna."
"Ha… Dean look at this…" Harry pointed at the paper, laughing a little and then in a whispery-doe voice much like Luna Lovegood, said, "I didn't know that Neville was my boyfriend… Does that mean I have two? Does that mean Dean's dating Neville too? I would be okay with that you know…" And then he stopped because he was laughing too hard to continue.
"Oh Luna…" Dean sighed, but all of them looked up as Hermione coughed.
"Class… about to start…." She looked over at Neville, "Are you going to be alright?"
Neville laughed and nodded, "Just let us all get decent from our recent activities of sin… We'll meet you down in the common room in a second."
They all laughed and started getting ready for class. Neville was glad he had stopped crying and laughed at the paper one more time before leaving the room. He was glad no one really took the school paper seriously.
"Whoo whoo!!" All of the boys stopped at the catcalls coming from down the stairs. Neville flustered and kept going.
"Dang, Neville…is it true?"
"Can I join next time?"
"Do you mind if I ask Ginny ou…" There was a thud and Neville looked back to see that Ron had whapped the fifth year on the head.
"Don't get full of yourself," Ron growled, "and you all wish you were in his harem too." He sniffed and straightened his uniform before strutting the rest of the way to the portrait, earning more catcalls and laughter. Neville laughed and followed after him.
Walking through the school wasn't as bad as Neville thought it would be. He definitely got more attention than usual, but he guessed it was mainly because his dorm-mates and Hermione were walking around him like body-guards, and then Harry and Dean got into a play-fight in front of some second year girls over who would carry Neville's bag.
He ended up giving it to Ron so that they could go on and get to class and left the applauding and giggling girls.
"What a sight." Neville and Ron stopped at the doorway to Transfigurations as they saw Draco Malfoy coming from behind them looking rather stiff. "Carrying your boyfriend's bag, Weasley?"
Neville quickly took his bag from Ron as the redhead glared at the blonde. "What's it to you Malfoy? Jealous that Neville doesn't give you any attention?"
Neville looked at the two of them and decided he really didn't want to get in between them so he went inside to get out of the tension. Two minutes later, Ron sat beside him looking grumpier than ever and continuously looking back at the doorway.
Slytherins didn't have Transfigurations with Gryffindor.
Neville was finding it hard to pay attention to class while Ron kept looking at the door and mumbling to himself. He couldn't figure out what was going through the redhead's mind… Neville thought Ron had gotten over all of the Malfoy teasing, especially after the war.
At one point, Neville could even recall a moment where he witnessed the two teens laughing with each other while they drew stuff on Harry's face while he was sleeping. Maybe it had been some temporary truce the both of them agreed on for the battles, but even Neville thought it would be hard to resort all the way back to the way it was before.
"Oh!" Neville looked over at Ron who looked… strangely surprised. "The paper…"
"Mr. Weasley, I do suggest you start paying attention to my class." Professor McGonagall was in front of their desk glaring at them. Neville coughed and looked down at the notes he had been taking.
"Yes, ma'am." Ron looked down at the desk, embarrassed. She huffed impatiently and then continued walking around the classroom continuing her lecture. Neville looked over at Ron who was obviously lost in thought again and not listening. He had a hunch.
"Is Malfoy upset about the newspaper article?" Neville whispered softly while watching Professor McGonagall conjure up some rather soft looking chairs. He heard Ron splutter and looked over at the redhead, who was blushing furiously and looking at Neville in utter shock.
Neville had to smirk a little at that. Maybe his theories weren't as far off as he thought. "Ron, with that kind of reaction, it's going to make it hard for you to deny anything later."
"Mr. Longbottom, since this seems to be not worth your attention," Neville winced and looked forward noticing how everyone was looking back at him and Ron, "How about you try conjuring up a chair… silently."
He looked down at his notes quickly and thanked whoever was looking out for him that he had written the incantation down. He stood up slowly and noticed from the corner of his eye that Hermione was waving her wand in jagged motions behind her desk. He took a deep breath and looked over at Professor McGonagall who was watching him closely.
He moved his wand, hoping they were the movements Hermione was making and thought the incantation clearly in his head, but closed his eyes when he was done. He heard someone go "Oh!" and opened one eye to see a blue chair that closely resembled the one that sat in his Gran's den… or would have, but it only had three legs… Thankfully they were spread evenly and it almost looked like the chair was supposed to only have three legs.
"Very good, but please pay attention from now on." Neville sat down quickly at her words and glared over at Ron. It was his fault for distracting him in the first place, but the redhead was now giving Neville a calculating look. The sandy-haired teen sighed before turning his attention back to the class… He really didn't want to get in any more trouble with McGonagall.
"Now, Mr. Thomas…"
XXX
Neville watched Snape move across the classroom in strangely hypnotizing movements.
He was finding it harder to concentrate the more he attended class and he couldn't understand it for the life of him. Sure he had a crush on the older man… but last time he checked, it was just a small one and mainly for the man's voice… And after the incident, they had finally gotten to an understanding. He watched the man yell at Harry for doing something… He looked down at his potion, which wasn't even near the right color.
He looked over at the redhead and noticed that he looked distracted as well. Following Ron's gaze, he honestly wasn't surprised that he was staring at Draco Malfoy. He watched Draco too; the blond was very good looking… just not really Neville's type. He noticed that even Draco's potion wasn't exactly the right color… Closer than Ron's and his, but definitely off.
Neville suddenly noticed that Snape's voice had stopped and he looked around the room to find him standing in front of his desk. He looked up sheepishly at the blank black eyes staring down at him and then Snape leered over at Ron and with a flip of his wand, their potion vanished.
"20 points from Gryffindor for lack of concentration." Neville noticed Ron had the grace to look sheepish at the glares he was getting from the other Gryffindors. The sandy-haired teen noticed that none of them were looking at him like that… He guessed they were used to it.
"Maybe you should rethink who you spend your time with," Neville looked up to see Malfoy next to Ron sneering, "If Longbottom's rubbing off on you, there's no chance for your NEWTs…"
"Shove off, Malfoy." Ron mumbled and Neville noticed that the ginger looked dejected as the blond walked away.
"Ron…" Neville whispered lowly so that none of the passing classmates could hear him. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"
Ron looked at him questioningly. "Sure, mate…"
"We'll catch up later…" Neville waved at Harry and Hermione who were waiting for them. He smiled and waited for everyone else to leave the class room. He looked around and noticed that even Snape seemed to have slipped out.
"What's the problem?" Ron smiled nervously as he packed his bags.
"What's going on with you and Malfoy?" Neville decided being blunt might be quicker with the ginger no matter what kind of insight he had shown earlier. Ron turned a deep crimson and coughed.
"Wha-what are you talking abo…"
"I saw you guys on the stairs the other day…" Neville moved his hands around. "And now he's acting all strange because of the newspaper article? The one that says you're part of my harem?"
"Ah…" Ron still seemed to be trying to find a way around the subject.
"Listen, I don't care." Neville ran a hand through his hair, "It doesn't matter who you like as long as they make you happy right? Houses and everything else… Well they don't really matter anymore right? I mean after everything we've been through? I'm just saying… if you need help, I'll help you. But please don't let me get between whatever you guys have going… because no offense…" Neville motioned at his still flat stomach. "I'm going to have a lot more to deal with soon."
Ron smiled uncomfortably before nodding and running a hand through his hair. "You… you're right, mate, sorry."
"So what are you guys?" Neville decided he kind of wanted to know; he grinned.
"I don't know… That's kind of what started this… mess." Ron sighed dejectedly. "I just don't know anymore."
"Maybe you should clear things up?" Neville patted the redhead on the back. "Start there… Although I don't honestly see how he could believe this rubbish…"
"I can explain that." Ron sighed again, "But later… I think I might see if I can get him before dinner…"
Neville smiled and watched the redhead leave before getting his books ready to leave.
"That was a nice moment." He stopped as the sarcastic voice oozed through the room. He could feel himself shiver. He looked over at Snape who was sitting at his desk like he had been there the whole time.
"You weren't there before," Neville sniffed idly.
"I would've knocked," Snape offered, "but I didn't see the point."
Neville grinned.
"So he knows?" Neville licked his lips before nodding. He should probably tell Snape who else knew what just in case anything happened.
"Only Hermione knows everything." He looked uncomfortably at the ground, not wanting to see the older man's reaction… if he had one… "The guys…well actually, Ron figured out I was pregnant… That's all they know…"
"Must be a Weasley instinct to recognize if someone's pregnant." The black-haired man snorted, tapping some papers against the desk. Neville shrugged sheepishly with a small grin. "But I guess that's for the better, just in case there was an emergency, they might be able to react with good sense."
"I'll try to be more careful too, sir." Neville nodded, swinging the bag over his shoulder.
"Severus…"
It had been very quiet, but Neville had heard it. His head snapped up and he looked at the Professor who was looking at him blankly once again.
"I think it is only right that you can call me that… when we are alone." The last word had been emphasized slightly and Neville nodded blushing furiously. "You can practice if you need to."
He looked up again and noticed the man was smirking at him and he could feel his face warm up more. "Sev…Severus…"
"Good, Neville," the voice was smooth and silky and Neville realized he should probably leave soon or suffer some strange body reaction overload. "And do be more careful while in my class… If you had added that shredded tree spore like you were about to, let's say the reaction could've rivaled the one you made at the beginning of this year."
"Oh…thank you, Sever-ssor Snape!" Neville jumped as the door opened suddenly and Lupin came walking in. He stopped when he noticed them standing there and seemed to be thinking about the situation.
"Did you just forget to knock or are your Gryffindor tendencies coming back to you?" Snape's sarcastic tone seemed to startle Lupin for a second before he smiled uncomfortably and gave Neville a small grin.
"Sorry, Neville, Severus, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Neville got the strange impression that Lupin didn't really mean it but shook his head. He didn't know why he was suddenly finding the other man so annoying, but he knew that it was probably because he was tired.
"It's alright, Professor," Neville started before Snape could respond, "I think I'm going to go visit Madame Pomfrey though and have a lie down." He noticed both men change their expressions to looking slightly worried. "Nothing serious! Just tired, and the dorm is a little loud around this time."
"Alright, Neville take care of yourself." Lupin watched him leave, still looking worried.
"And I would suggest putting a stop to your harem later today if you will… I don't think that calls for a healthy environment." Neville blushed furiously at Snape's voice and shut the door behind him, but not before hearing:
"You sound jealous, Severus!"
XXX
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