1 It was still early when Neville arrived back at his house. He apparated to the front porch easily. When he walked into his house, Gran was already awake, but it didn't appear she'd been awake for long. She was at the stove, making her usual breakfast of weak tea, eggs, toast and melon. Neville went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Gran smiled. She had noticed a definite improvement in Neville's well-being over the last couple weeks, even if she could still hear him tossing and turning in his sleep. She had no idea where he was going when he left the house every day, and she didn't want to ask. Because obviously, whatever he was doing was working. Neville was an adult and she trusted him to tell her when he was ready.

"I've got a surprise," Neville said.

"Oh?" Gran asked.

Neville reached in his pocket and pulled out his new license. "I passed my apparition exam," he held out the license to his Gran shyly.

Gran looked up in surprise. "Neville!" she exclaimed. She took the license and looked it over carefully. "I didn't know you were going to do this."

Neville shrugged, blushing slightly. "George Weasley told me about a position opening up at a greenhouse in Wales. I'd have to do this" he waved toward the license, "if I wanted to consider trying to get to Wales for work."

"Work?" Gran asked handing him back his license. "That's great Neville." She held his face in her hands. "Oh, I'm so proud of you. Sit. I'll make you some breakfast."

Neville sat obediently, quietly, only half listening to his Gran chatter about Wales and apparition and plant life. Gran placed a plate in front of Neville and sat down across from him. "Why so quiet, Neville?"

"I have something to tell you."

"All right, what is it?"

"It's not an easy thing to say."

"Are you ill?"

"No. No. Nothing like that." Neville hesitated. "It's just. I had some help, learning to apparate. George Weasley taught me."

"Well that's nice." Gran said, sounding confused. "The Weasleys are a lovely wizarding family."

"Yeah," Neville said dismissively. He knew the Weasleys were lovely, but that wasn't really his point. Gran was the most important person in his life. And as tough as she'd been on him when he was a child, she always loved him unconditionally and he'd always know he could trust her. He knew she'd done her best, raising him. So he took a deep breath. "Anyway, I've been spending a lot of time with George that last couple weeks."

"Well, yes. I noticed you were gone quite a bit." Gran said uncertainly.

Neville was quiet for several more moments. He took a bit of toast, then realized it was a bad idea when his throat was too dry to allow him to swallow. Neville took a gulp of tea to wash it down, but it didn't help the dry, scratchy feeling in his throat.

"Neville," Gran put her fork down. "You can tell me anything."

"I'm gay." Neville didn't look at his Gran, instead focusing on an area about one foot above her head.

"Oh." Gran took a small bite of egg. "And George is..?" she trailed off.

"Also gay," Neville said nodding.

"So you two are..?" she didn't seem to be able to finish a sentence.

"Yeah. We are."

"I'm glad you told me."

"Are you mad?"

"Neville! Of course I'm not mad. I'm not entirely surprised either. I've had my suspicions that you are gay for a while now."

"Have you?" That made Gran and Luna who suspected. Neville wondered if he was really that transparent.

"Look, Neville. I just want you to be happy. You've been having such a tough time the last few months. I love seeing you happy again. And if we have George Weasley to thank for that, then all the better. Invite him to dinner! What do you say?"

"Er...dinner?" Neville hadn't quite expected this. Gran seemed a little...too happy. He wondered if she was overcompensating. Neville wasn't sure that dinner with Gran was really something George would be keen on. Hell, he wasn't even sure that George would be keen on having been outed to Neville's Gran. "I'll talk to him about it."

Gran didn't pursue the topic. On the inside, she was conflicted. Something she'd never let Neville know. On one hand, it wasn't a great surprise to her. She'd seen Neville throughout the years glance vaguely away from witches who Gran knew to be good looking. And she'd seen him look with interest at handsome wizards. Half of her had been hoping it was just a phase, but when Neville made it through adolescence without any obvious crushes, Gran began to suspect more strongly exactly who her grandson was. And the gay thing didn't really bother her.

What did bother her is that, even in the wizarding world, there was prejudice against gay witches and wizards. It bothered her that her shy, quiet, unassuming Grandson may have to deal with such prejudice. And in her heart of hearts, it did bother her a little bit that this could mean the end of the Longbottom name. Unless Neville could change who he is, he wouldn't be producing any offspring. But saying anything like that to Neville would put him in a truly unfair position. So she remained quiet on the subject, plastering a big fake smile across her face.

"Dinner?" George asked Neville later that afternoon when Neville told him about his conversation with his Gran. The store was quiet, the last patron had left about two minutes ago and Neville was sitting there with George, alone, since Ron had left. The store was due to close in fifteen minutes.

"Yeah," Neville blushed.

"Can we put that off a bit?"

"Definitely."

"Good, because, you know, I haven't even told anyone in my family that I'm gay."

Neville nodded. He'd guessed as much by the way George freaked out when Ron knocked on the door. "Did you ever tell Fred?"

George grimaced, as he did so often when Fred's name was mentioned, and nodded. "'Course I did. He was fine with it. You know, my brother was my best mate. He wouldn't have cared." George was silent for a moment and a smile spread slowly across his face. "One time, I guess it was sixth year, he got me the eligible wizard issue of Witch Weekly and wrapped it up for me. He told me it was my wanking gift. Since he was getting some from Angelina and I hadn't gotten any since Oliver left Hogwarts-"

Neville cut him off. "Oliver Wood is gay?"

George shook his head. "Bi. He goes both ways."

Neville sighed, "I had no idea."

"Anyway. Fred was fine with it. Turned it in to a joke, just like we did with everything. It was one of our secrets, a thing we kept from our family."

"You should tell someone else. It might make you feel better."

"Better how?"

Neville shrugged. "I just know I feel better for having told Gran."

"Yeah, but your Gran is different than my family. Your Gran is quiet and can keep a secret. My family is loud and obnoxious and everyone would be in my business."

"All right," Neville held up his hands in surrender.

"Anyway," George looked at his pocketwatch. "Let's close up a couple minutes early and head back upstairs. Didn't we start something this morning?" He smiled flirtily at Neville.

Neville's heart skipped a beat. "Er. Yeah. I think we did." He could feel himself blushing as George waved his wand toward the door and windows, locking them. Then extinguishing the lights and heading toward the flat stairs.

Neville followed George, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

When they got into the flat, George shut the door and immediately pressed Neville up against it, kissing him hard. Neville responded in kind, opening his mouth and letting George's tongue in. George wasted no time in pulling up the hem of Neville's shirt. Neville obliged him by taking it off. George backed up and stared at Neville. He kicked off his shoes, took off his own shirt and beckoned Neville back to the bedroom. Neville kicked off his own shoes and hurried after him.

Neville was surprised that the bed hadn't been made. Neville discovered that George was uncharacteristically fastidious about certain things, and one of them was making his bed, which not only had to be made every morning, but all ten pillows had to be in their exact places. Still, Neville was a little distracted at this moment and didn't think to ask George why he hadn't made the bed.

"What is this?" George asked, tracing a long thin scar that went across Neville's abdomen.

"Scar," Neville said burying his head in George's neck and kissing lightly. "There're more on my back."

George turned Neville around and gasped. He traced his fingers along the snake-like scars and counted them. "One, two, three, four, and just a hint of five," he whispered. "Where'd you get these?"

"Seventh year," Neville sighed. "When people said I was the Carrows' whipping boy, they meant it quite literally."

George pulled away and looked Neville in the eye. "You were whipped?"

Neville nodded, "They thought I knew where Harry was. And later where Harry, Hermione and Ron were. They got Ginny also. They would have got Luna also, but you know the Death Eaters kidnapped her first."

George went pale. "Ginny never told me."

"No. Probably only Harry knows. She and I agreed not to tell anyone unless they happened to see us with our shirts off."

"So she's scarred like this?"

Neville nodded. "The scars wouldn't be so bad if we'd gone to Madame Pomfrey. But we tried to treat them ourselves."

"Why didn't you go to Madame Pomfrey?"

"I don't think you realize what it was like there, at Hogwarts that year. Madame Pomfrey would have certainly treated us, but she would have paid a steep price for it by the Carrows. Any professor who was considered too friendly to me and Ginny and Luna was punished."

"I can't believe this," George whispered, still tracing the marks on Neville's back. "I can't believe I never knew. I can't believe Ginny's been keeping it a secret."

George pulled his hand away quickly and Neville could hear him hesitating.

"Look," Neville tried to reassure him by poking at the scar on his abdomen. "You lost an ear, I got whipped and beaten. We're both battle-scarred, all right? It doesn't hurt anymore. You can still touch me." Neville lowered his voice, "I want you to."

George ran his fingers gently along Neville's back, making Neville shiver excitedly.

George pushed Neville down lightly on the bed and crawled on top of him. When Neville would later look back on this night, he'd remember a few things. The first is that George looked Neville straight in the eyes when he was unbuckling his trousers. The second thing Neville would never forget is how it felt the first time he felt another man's erection bump against his own. Finally, he'd never forget the realization that a handjob from someone else is far, far better than one you give yourself.

It was a decadent night with Neville and George exchanging quick furious handjobs in George's luxuriously messy bed, followed by a dinner of cold leftovers from George's icebox, followed by a second round of snogging, this round much slower and more deliberate, and finally the two men falling asleep for the night, wrapped in each other, naked.