Chapter 4
Things changed again in fourth year, for the good and the bad. Hogwarts had a tournament and other schools came to participate. During the drawing for the champions Harry's name came out of the cup. The school was in an uproar. How could Harry do this to them? To Hufflepuff? To Cedric Diggory? Not many people believed Harry when he said he didn't put his name in the cup. Ron didn't believe him, his house didn't believe him and Hermione took Ron's side.
Harry was almost alone, but he had Neville. Neville held Harry as he cried that night. He held Harry and listened to his fears about participating in a tournament that people had died in. Neville believed Harry when 'his closest' friends had not. Harry would never forget that.
Harry would also never forget what happened after facing the dragon. Ron had tried to apologize to him, but he rejected his apology. He didn't want to have anything to do with Ron and Hermione anymore. They had begged and pleaded, but he held firm. He would not trust them ever again. That night he went to Neville and cried for his lost friendships. That night Neville held him close and wiped his tears. It was that same night when Harry pressed his lips to Neville's.
Harry had never kissed anyone before and he never really wanted to, but this thing with Neville felt right. He knew when Neville kissed him back shyly that he felt the same way. They didn't do anything that night besides soft, closed mouth kissing. Both of them were a little shy, a little nervous but whole heartedly happy.
The rest of the tournament passed by in a stressful blur for Harry. During the days he would research for the tasks and go to classes and at night he would lay in bed with Neville. Sometimes they would exchange kisses, sometimes they did not; they were both happy with this new change to their relationship and neither wanted to push for something more and ruin it.
The final task came upon Harry abruptly, but with Neville cheering him on he made it to the cup. Besides him were Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum. They had all made it to the cup at the same time and they decided to claim the cup for both of their schools. The moment they touched the cup Harry knew something was wrong. All three boys were port keyed into a cemetery and Harry had to face Voldemort once again.
This time, however, he killed him for good.
When they made it back to Hogwarts both Cedric and Viktor vouched for him. They told the wizarding world what had happened and nobody doubted them. Voldemort had returned and been dealt with by Harry in one fell swoop. They sung praises of the Boy-Who-Destroyed-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. People who had scorned him tried to become friends and Hermione and Ron tried the hardest to get back into his good graces. He didn't care for them though. He had the twins, Luna and most importantly Neville. Neville had been there from the beginning, but this wasn't the end.
Oh no. This was just the beginning.
A.N. Hope you enjoyed this.