Neville had feared Lilith Lestrange for as long as he could remember. In fact, he could recall the first time he had met her, in the hallway outside of Professor McGonagall's room after Draco had smacked the book out of his hands. Paper flew everywhere and he had been on his hands and knees, crawling around trying to gather it up when he noticed her standing there, watching him with a curious look.

She had bent down and started to help him, but at this point he had no idea who she was, only that she was a Slytherin.

"Got a name first year?" She had asked as handed him the papers and Neville remembered swallowing hard before he spoke.

"Ne - Neville."

"Neville? What no last name?"

"Longbottom."

She had stared at him for the longest time after he had spoken, and at the time he hadn't realised that she was looking at him as if she was about to cry.

"What's yours?"

She seemed to clench her jaw before she spoke, quietly saying the words.

"Lilith Lestrange." She had answered back and Neville out of instinct stepped back when he heard the name he had grown up to fear.

"Le- Lestrange?" He asked again and she nods, looking rather sad as he recalls.

"Are you..."

"Yes." She had immediately answered back, not even allowing him to finish his sentence.

Neville remembers feeling terrified, although he realises his reasoning behind it now was lacking at best. She didn't say another word and neither did he as he ran off, leaving her in the hallway, and he doesn't remember since then actually having spoken another word to her. He remembered hiding from her, avoiding her gaze, but he couldn't remember a single time she had done anything to him, not even bullied him. Mainly she just stayed away.

He sat in the great hall that morning, he looked over to the Slytherin table, slightly puzzled about everything that happened. He couldn't stop thinking about that Saturday despite it being a few weekends ago now.

Over the past couple of weeks, he noticed how tired she looked, and he noticed because he looked the same way. He hadn't been sleeping properly, because every time he closed his eyes his mind drifted off to that day, the terror of being locked in that room and the memory of seeing his mother, screaming in agony, and Lilith's horrified face as she stared at it.

Neville is sat opposite Fred and George, not really touching it as he looks over Fred's shoulder to Lilith who is sat next to that Chambers guy. Neville had noticed that Fred had been doing that more now, sitting with his back to her despite the face he was constantly looking at her before.

"Staring at your girlfriend, Neville?" Seamus chuckles and Neville pouts slightly as he forces himself to tuck into his breakfast. Fred glances over his shoulder before looking back to him curiously, but he doesn't say anything regarding it.

"You got a thing for Lestrange?" Dean asked in slight bewilderment.

"No." He immediately answers back

"Neville has his first big boy crush?" George teases as well, but Neville doesn't respond this time, he just dips his head down to finish off his porridge.

There was one upside to Lilith's outburst to Draco in the hall that day, people were actually leaving him alone. Crabbe and Goyle hadn't gone near him in weeks and in fact the one time they had tried something out in the courtyard it had simply taken a glare from her to put them in their place.

But then again, it didn't work on everyone.

As he sees Marcus Flint moving up the corridor with a group of his friends, Neville keeps his head down, avoiding eye contact, but it doesn't stop the burley seventh year from shoving Neville into the wall, forcing his face to hit the brick and suddenly he can taste blood.

"Watch where you're going Long- ARGH!"

His legs are suddenly being pulled from underneath him and he's dangling upside down in the hallway while his friends watch in horror.

"PUT ME DOWN!" He yells, and suddenly he's falling to the floor in a heap, groaning in pain. Lilith, who Neville hadn't noticed down the hall, steps over him and past his friends and grabs Neville by the shoulder, studying his face with a look of concern before dragging him away from the scene with no arguments from him.

In moaning myrtles bathroom she helps him clean up his face, neither of them saying much as she helps to wipe the blood off of him, and then she pulls her wand from her pocket.

"Looks like you broke your nose, do you mind if I - ?"

Neville shakes his head, and she points her wand. "Episky."

He feels the crack, but the pain suddenly disintegrates as his pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Better?"

"Yeah." He says as he twitches his nose. "Thank you."

As Lilith cleans up the bloody tissues Neville studies his face in the bedroom mirror, still red and flustered.

"You didn't have to do that." He remarks quietly as she makes her way out of the stall. Lilith walks over and leans against the sink, arching an eyebrow as she looks at him. "I didn't? Planning on doing it yourself were you?"

Neville pouts slightly. He would have stood up for himself if he wasn't so terrible at it.

"You ok?"

He nods, feeling rather embarrassed that she had to stand up for him. He should be able to do it for himself. "How do you do it?"

"What?"

"Stand up to people."

She smiles slightly. "I didn't always. I actually used to come and hide here my first year, when everyone picked on me."

"They did?"

"Still do. They just happen to be more scared of me now." She says with a smirk. "They used to talk about me a lot...assume stuff. They still do."

"Do you want them to be scared of you?" He asks, noticing that she's not looking at him.

"Not always." She replies honestly and Neville feels bad for all the years he spent terrified of her.

"I didn't tell anyone, about the boggart. I didn't think you would want people to know..."

"It's not my business to tell, it wasn't my mu - " She seems to stop herself as she looks over to him. "You look kind of tired Longbottom." She remarks, and Neville can hear the quilt in her voice, as if his sleep troubles were her fault.

Neville raises his head. "So do you."

She smile sadly as she picks a piece of flint from her uniform. "Made it more real, I guess."

He can see her eyes glassy and Neville looks at her for the longest time, wondering why he was ever so scared of her.

"You know, Fred asks a lot about you. He must have asked me about what happened a thousand times."

"Fred Weasleys a git." She remarks, and Neville decides it's probably best not to bring him up again.

"What should I do then?" He asks.

"What do you mean?"

"When they pick on me, what should I do?"

Lilith arches an eyebrow. "You fight back, obviously. or...come fine me." She chuckles.

"I don't really know how to do that. Fight back."

"Do you not pay attention in classes, defence against the dark arts?"

"I do, I'm just...not very good at it. I'm a bit of a coward."

He feels her hands softly on his shoulder and he looks up at her. "I don't think you are at all." Neville clenches his jaw, not believing his words. "Besides, it takes a brave person to get beaten up that many times."

He can't help but smile slightly at that, but the clatter from the toilet stall forces both of them to turn their heads to stare at the stall.

"What was that?"

"Probably just Myrtle listening in again!" She calls out and silence answers back.

A sudden thought occurs to him and he looks over at her, slightly bewildered. "Are we...friends?" He asks and she seems a bit taken back by the question.

"I...suppose we are. If you want?"

Neville smiles at her and nods. "You know, I don't know why everyone is scared of you, you're not scary at all."

She smiles back sweetly at him and he feels his chest pound a little bit. "We should get going before people start to talk. Everyone in Slytherin already thinks I have a thing for you."

Neville can't help the nervous laugh that escapes his throat as they leave the bathroom.

Fred lets out the breath he was holding as soon as they hear the door close. George slumps against the stall.

"Well, that was interesting." He murmurs. "Who would have thought it, Neville and Lestrange besties. What do you think that's about?"

"No idea." Fred mumbles as they leave the stall, still unsure where he should tell his brother or not about the pair.

"Also did you hear, you're a git." George smirks and Fred rolls his eyes. "I think we're going to have to find a better place to hide, do you know that?"

"Back to the quidditch changing rooms I guess."

Saturday came around quickly, and it was the morning of the second tournament, Fred made his way down from the Gryffindor common room after forgetting his scarf and made his way along the corridors, noticing Lilith sat on one of the benches with a book in her lap. He's meant to be meeting George in the courtyard, but his desire to go annoy her is far more overwhelming.

Besides, it's been weeks since she's even spoken to him properly, and in that time, he had caught her kissing Chambers in the three broomsticks one afternoon. Despite the jealous rage in his chest he hadn't acted on it, choosing to ignore it and pretend as if watching her do that didn't hurt like hell.

"Still avoiding me?" He says as he reaches her, and she looks up from her book to him, almost surprised to see him speaking to her. He's shocked when she speaks back.

"No. Not avoiding you. You're the one that hasn't said a word in weeks."

"Well," He shrugs, supposing maybe he was the one that had stayed silent, but it's not as if she had tried to speak to him in that time. He wants to desperately change the subject. "How's the boyfriend?"

"How's the girlfriend?" She shoots back and Fred grimaces. He wouldn't exactly call Angelina that to be perfectly honest, but he hears the slight jealously in her tone as she said the word, so that wasn't completely disappointing.

"Well, I heard that you and Neville are now best mates."

"Why is that any of your business?"

"So, it's true then?" He teases. "Or am I right in my understanding you were after him as well?"

"You are insufferable." She snaps as she slams her book shut and stands up from the bench.

"I'm joking, Merlin's beard you need to learn how to take a joke."

"Or maybe you need to learn to stop being so childish and ignoring me just because you're jealous."

He surprised that she called him out first.

"Well it's not my fault you decided to get off with...Neville?"

"I am not trying to get off with Neville!"

"No!" He points at the door to dungeons Neville just disappeared through. "Neville just went into the Dungeons."

"So?"

"On a Saturday...when he's terrified of Snape?"

They both exchange a glance before heading through the door behind him.

Fred finds Neville lurking in the hall, peering around the corner towards Snape's Classroom, he's tempted to sneak up behind the fourth year and scare the life out of him, but he notices the glares Lilith shoots towards him, as if she can read his thoughts, and he decides against it.

"Neville, what the bloody hell are you doing?"

He looks at the pair of them like a dear caught in headlights and starts to shake his head. "Nothing!"

"Longbottom you should be down at the Lake with the rest of them."

"Oh bloody hell yeah!" Fred exclaims and smacks his forehead. "George is going to kill me, we were supposed to be taking the bet money."

Lilith rolls her eyes at him before moving her attention back to the Neville.

"Well Neville? What are you doing?" Fred asks and he sees him swallow hard.

"I need...something."

Fred and Lilith again exchange a look.

"What is it Neville?" She asks, rather nicely actually and Neville seems to respond to her questions more than he does Fred.

"It's in snapes...cupboard."

"ooohoooo Stealing?" Fred says with delight. "From Snape?! Good for you Neville."

"Oh for Merlin's - Why are you stealing from Snape's cupboard? Do you know how much trouble you could get into?"

Neville swallows nervously and Fred feels it's because Lilith is the one addressing him.

"Gillyweed?"

"Gillyweed?" They both say stunned.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Fred asks.

"It allows you to breath underwater." Lilith answers. "Neville, is this for Potter by any chance?"

He nods nervously. "It's not stealing...really...I told Harry I would help him but...Snape..."

"A heist. I like it." Fred smirks. "We'll help you."

"We will?" She says stunned.

"Of course. And what does any good heist need?"

"A plan?" Neville says, excited to be a part of it.

"Nah you never need a plan, you just need a distraction." He says looking over to Lilith with a grin. "A very pretty one." he adds on, but her scowl doesn't disappear.

"No."

"Oh come on. It will look too suspicious if Neville or I go in. But not if one of his student's slash prefect goes and talks to him. Just long enough for me to sneak in and out."

"And what am I supposed to talk to him about?"

"I don't know." He shrugs." Maybe give him some tips for soft and bouncy hair? Or, you know, potions?" He says completely exasperated. "I mean he's your head of house."

"So, you always pop into McGonagall to have a tea and a scone?"

"Only when I've been naughty, and she has to punish me" He grins and even he sees her smile slightly.

"Uh...guys?" Neville's small voice perks up, caught between the flirting.

Lilith looks between the two boys and he can see her falter. "Fine. Neville go wait in the courtyard, just in case?"

As she walks off Fred turns to Neville and gives him a small high five before following down the corridor.

"Remember, just long enough for me to grab it. Should just be in and out."

"Is that what you tell McGonagall?"

He smirks as he walks behind her. "Har har."

As they finally reach the classroom, she turns to him and he smiles at her. "I believe in you."

"For god sake." She sighs before entering the classroom. "Professor?"

"Yes?"

The noise comes from his office in the back and she gives Fred a glance before walking over to him and disappearing out of sight.

"Professor May I have a word?"

"What is it Lestrange?"

Fred smirks as he enters the classroom, ducking down behind the desk as he works his way between the stools.

"Professor I was wondering...um, as my head of house, I suppose, I could come to you with any issues I have...correct?"

"In theory."

Fred finally makes it to the cupboard door, suddenly remembering how badly it creaks so he pulls out his wand and preforms a charm before pushing it open.

"Well Professor...I...um, was wondering...actually...if you..."

"Lestrange would you spit it out!"

"Why isn't there sex education taught in the school sir."

Fred has to cover his mouth to stop himself from bursting out laughing.

"Excuse me."

"Well I remember in muggle studies that in muggle schools they teach their students about sex and I was wondering why...we don't?"

As Fred searched through the G's he wishes he could see the look on Snape's face right now. He could only picture him being completely and utterly mortified. As if he knew what sex was.

"Miss Lestrange...I don't - really - "

"It just seems strange, I mean, how are we supposed to stay safe professor? I mean at the ball everyone was getting off left right and centre and I'm more shocked there hasn't been more accidents."

Fred finally finds it and grabs the jar off the shelf, ducking down again as he makes his way through the stools and making his way out of the door and he sees Lilith glance at him.

"Lestrange - "

"You know what professor, it doesn't matter. It's not like the school should be promoting that sort of thing anyway! I shouldn't be wasting your time!"

Fred is still trying not to laugh as he hears the footsteps and see her exist the classroom, glaring at him as she does.

"Not a word." She says through gritted teeth before they both dart out of the dungeons.

"Sex!" He practically yells as they reach the top of the stairs. "Did you really just ask SNAPE, about sex!" He can't stop laughing.

'I panicked!"

"You're a bloody prefect! You could have talked about some misbehaving students you saw, literally anything!" He's leaning against the wall, laughing so hard that it's starting to hurt his side.

"Are you going to give this to Neville or not?"

He's still laughing, and he can't seem to concentrate, and even she cracks a smile as she watches him.

"Don't, ok? That was embarrassing enough."

"I'm sorry, ok...that was just horrific." He chuckles, finally getting his breath back. "You may never be able to look Snape in the eye again."

"I couldn't anyway." She remarks softly and he finally stops laughing, spinning the jar around in his hands.

"Well we should both give it to him, you did help. And like I said before, you seem to be helping him out a lot lately, Flint – "

"He deserved it." She mutters.

"That boggart." He carries on and her head snaps up and her eyes widen.

"Neville told you?" She says it as if she's been betrayed and Fred immediately regrets mentioning it.

"No. No I just hear rumours about it. That you saved him. That's all." He decides to change the subject before he landed Neville in trouble. "We could walk to the task together, if you wanted?"

"I'm actually meeting Xander beforehand."

"Oh." He murmurs quietly. "Well why wouldn't you, he is your boyfriend right? Explains why you're dressed up I suppose."

"I'm not - " She pulls down her jumper and skirt, as if she's suddenly conscious about what she's wearing, he hadn't meant to do that either. Why was he constantly cocking up left right and centre?

"It doesn't matter." Fred murmurs as he pushes himself from the wall. "I suppose I'll give this to Neville then."

He starts to walk off, but he forces himself to turn back to her.

"We can be friends, can't we?" He asks sincerely, even though it's not what he wants at all and she seems stunned by the question.

"Fred - "

"Just friends." He asserts again. "I get it. You don't like me like that, right?"

"Right." She agreed, although she doesn't seem convinced by her own words. "Well, I suppose I'm making all sorts of friends now days. Just friends though, right?"

"Yeah. Course. Just friends."