"Never far from the battle"
Okays! So this has been in the works for a little while, and finally, today's the big day. I finally post another fic!! Woot! Plus, it's written by myself and the lovely sparkysparky!
This one is something that will be going on for a while, in chapters and it's an HP fic post Deathly Hallows and it focuses heavily on Ginny and Neville :) What's kind of neat too, is that we had a song for them - 'Happiness and Disaster' by Stabilo... and it fit them so well that we wanted that to be the title of our fic, and the chapters are lines from the song. So read, and I hope you enjoy!!!
Title: Happiness and Disaster
By: Jess - sparkysparky & Katy - kitty_van_kat
Fandom: HP post Deathly Hallows
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After the war, everything changes...
Special thanks to acquiescence_ for reviewing this fic for us. :)
A few months after the Battle of Hogwarts everything seemed to be shifting back to normal, albeit reluctantly. Most were still rebuilding; whether it was the castle, their own lives, or relationships. It took time in any case and a few months wasn't really a lot of time. There were still bruises and cuts, mars on the land, ghosts of unseen dangers that still dared to linger in the corners of minds. Neville had thought on all of these things, especially when he walked through the halls of St. Mungo's. Even years wasn't enough time to erase some hurts.
This time though, it was his turn. Months of drawing fire from first years and unsuspecting and boastful students who thought they could handle what the Carrows could dish out left Neville with after-effects. They had subjected him to what his parents now lay mad with, though Neville wasn't as unfortunate as they were. Lingering nerve damage was all he received, and that is why he was at St. Mungo's that day, to be plied with more treatments. Each time it got better, he would twitch less, no more sudden movements that would wrench muscles out of place, and the dull ache that ran through his bones lessened.
He only had a few hours to spare owing to the fact that he was repeating his seventh year, having been given the option considering his act of bravery on the field. Neville's ambition of wanting to become a professor stole over him, and to achieve his goal, he'd have to get it right. He studied night and day and was more than a little tired, which didn't help his condition much. However, he was happy.
Neville started back down the hall and smiled as he saw Ginny sitting in a chair, waiting for him. He'd told her she hadn't needed to come along, but she'd just stared back at him, mouth drawn in a determined line, and Neville had known that he wouldn't be able to change her mind. Not that he minded, he was touched that Ginny had wanted to come with him, he just hadn't wanted her to feel obligated. Though he knew if he mentioned that to her she'd likely hit him.
"Thanks for waiting," he said, smiling at her.
She smiled back and rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get lunch before we go back. I'm starving, and the Mediwitches frowned at me every time I went to eat the apple I brought for a snack." She linked her arm with Neville's and dragged him to the lift.
"I’m surprised you didn’t just eat it anyway." They stepped in the lift and Neville smiled, not knowing Ginny to ever stop what she was doing in order to please someone else.
"That wouldn’t do though, not in this situation." Ginny tossed her red hair over her shoulder and pressed the button in the lift for the ground floor. She looked up at Neville and shook her head gently. "What would you have done without me if I had gotten myself kicked out for eating an apple? How silly."
It’s not as if Neville didn’t know his way around St. Mungo’s, he’d been going there for years after all. But Ginny’s company during his treatments was a real comfort to him. As well, Ginny wanted to get out of the castle every once in a while, and what better opportunity than to support her friend.
"Yes, how silly of me." Neville replied with a smirk threatening to turn into a smile as they both stepped out of the lift.
Ever since he’d been getting the treatments, Ginny was really the only one who noticed a difference other than Neville himself. At first, the nerve damage was painful and sometimes would make Neville collapse in the halls or the common room. Nobody dared to laugh, not after the first time it had happened. Ginny rushed to his side and when a couple of second years thought it absolutely hilarious, she laid into them something fierce; "Don’t you know what he did to save your arses? And you’re laughing?". She followed it up with a glare that put the fear of the Gods into them. Ever since then nobody made a peep until Neville was conscious again.
"The twitching seems to be going away. That should help my performance in Transfiguration. I don’t know if McGonagall could take another rabid footstool in her class anymore." Neville winced, remembering that day and squeezed Ginny’s arm that was still linked with his, leaving St. Mungo’s and heading to a safe spot where they could apparate.
Once they were far enough away from the bustling crowds of London, each of them Apparated to the outer gates of Hogwarts and walked inside. Neville had a note from the Healer, as usual, and he would need it, he was late for class again.
"I'll see you at dinner?" he said walking backwards and tempting fate.
"I hope so, unless I get held up....watch it!"
Neville stepped over the root that had almost caught his foot - he would've fallen flat on his back if Ginny hadn't warned him, just as she always did, it was getting to be her specialty - looking after him like she did.
"Thanks!" Neville blushed and waved, hurrying off to class while Ginny enjoyed the brief moment of sunshine that had peeked through the clouds. Briefly she wondered where Harry was at that moment and figured he was inside with Ron and Hermione. Those three were always still glued together, and not that Ginny minded much, she just thought it would be nice if everything wasn't done in fours. It was always a double date, if you could even call it that and more often than not, Ginny found herself getting incredibly bored when they would prattle on about past events - stories she wasn't privy to, inside jokes and such. And sometimes the three of them would just have some sort of mental conversation, not even aware they'd fallen into shared silence, and she'd just leave quietly, resigned that Harry wouldn't miss her, and go to find Neville, or sometimes Luna.
Sighing, she picked up her pace when the sun was once again covered and shadow fell over the grounds at Hogwarts.
***********
The day passed without spectacular incident, which the both of them were so used to in the past. Neville didn't mind in the slightest, he liked the quiet and schedule of the day, it let him think more clearly which is what he needed at that point in his life. Homework was heaped on his bedside table in the dormitories, not to mention the stack of books that was in front of him at the moment, late in the library. All the facts he'd just absorbed were swimming in his head and fighting to remain there so Neville could recall them at the best times, but at the moment, their frenzied seating arrangements were giving him a headache.
After a few minutes the table was cleared and all the books he didn't need were returned to where he'd found them. It was a miracle he didn't fall asleep walking back to the common room. Though he woke up rather quickly and confused when he'd stepped through the portrait. "...you know I'm not clingy like that." Ginny had said in a too-loud terse whisper.
"You're not really acting like it at the moment." Harry had retorted back, looking around and rolling his eyes when he saw people looking over at the scene in the common room.
"All I know is we haven't been alone for more than a half hour lately. And don't say you don't have time to spare because I saw you and Ron playing exploding snap before I went to class and afterward both of you were still there... so you obviously have some free time on your hands."
Neville didn't want to intrude, so he sat as far away as possible and tried not to listen and stuck his nose into yet another book, even though he was dead tired. He figured that Ginny would be upset and if she wanted to talk, he would be there... still, she was pretty angry and she usually went to cool off on her own. Wincing when he heard snippets like '..give me a little room...' and '...if that's what you want then fine...', Neville could feel Ginny's temper coming off of her when she stomped out of the common room and up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. He wisely pretended he didn't hear anything when Harry audibly groaned and huffed out of the room himself. Ginny had gone to cool off alright, she'd gone to where Neville couldn't check on her, and he sure as hell wasn't going after Harry; he tended to take things out on people when there had been a disagreement. So he stayed in the common room, with his books and the bags under his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the dormitories, Ginny was pacing and her mind raced and wondered why on earth Harry couldn't see what she did. "Bloody blind fool..." Eventually, she stopped pacing only to flop onto her bed and fume about what they'd said, and all the conversations where she was merely an alternate, a stand-by if no one else was around to talk to. That wasn't how it was supposed to be, not what she wanted it to be. "I guess that's what I get for dating a hero..." she said to herself, toeing off her shoes and getting drowsy from her fretting. She drifted into an uneasy sleep soon afterward, tossing and waking intermittently until she'd had it and decided to stay awake.
With her warm night-robe on, she trudged downstairs into the common room with a bit of parchment, planning to write a letter, only to burn it afterward to vent her feelings. For a while she sat on the couch, warm in front of the glowing embers that still emitted heat from the fire. Ginny wrote and wrote, crossing things out, laughing sometimes and other times becoming close to tears she was so vexed. Thinking she was alone, Ginny must have leapt two feet off the couch when she heard a sleepy snort coming from over in the corner. She placed the parchment onto a nearby table and walked over to where the sound was coming from, finding Neville asleep at a desk, using his book as a pillow. A quick hand stifled her soft laughter, she didn't want to wake him, but if she didn't, he'd be sore in the morning, not to mention he'd probably have the herbology text imprinted backwards on his cheek for all to see.
Ginny stooped down and gently put a hand on the back of Neville's head, stroking lightly to ease him out of sleep and not frighten him. "Nev.... come on now you've fallen asleep. It's time to get up."
Neville stiffened under her hand, and went for his wand before he stopped himself. It was reflex they both shared after this past year. It was one that would take a long time to go away--if it ever did. He blinked sleepily up at her, a warm smile growing on his face as he realized who it was. She felt her heart flip over in her chest as she realized just what was behind that smile. Oh, she thought absently, he loves me. Before she really had a chance to comprehend what that meant, the look was gone, replaced by simple friendship.
"I fell asleep again, didn't I?" Neville asked, a tint of self-depreciation in his voice.
She could only nod, her voice stolen by the realization that Neville loved her. She swallowed past a sudden lump and finally managed to say, "It's almost too late to go back to bed. They'll be serving breakfast in an hour." She wondered if Neville realized his own feelings, and if he did why he'd never said anything.
She knew the answer to that though. This was Neville she was talking about, always one to make sure everyone else was happy and never taking the time time make sure his own needs were looked after. That was okay though, for now, because she had no idea what she was going to do about this new development. There was Harry to think about; Harry whom she'd loved since she was a child. Harry whom she didn't know anymore. And there was Neville, who understood her in a way no one else ever had, and whom she understood right back.
"Mmm, that's true. May as well stay up then." Neville brushed a hand over his face, stopping when he reached the now-silver scars that were on his face and then dropping his hand with a sigh. "I can't believe I keep doing that." he said getting up and stretching, wondering if he had words printed on his face from falling asleep on his textbook...again.
"You've been studying a lot, it happens." Much too often for Ginny's taste though, she was worried that Neville was pushing himself too hard to achieve. She always thought that he didn't give himself enough credit as a Wizard. And there was that lump again. Ginny cleared her throat nonchalantly and looked away as Neville ambled over towards the couch. She noticed, only briefly, that all his baby fat had melted away and he'd shot up in height dramatically, thinning him. His silhouette was lean and the robes he was wearing draped over his arms showing just the slightest hint of muscle.
Ginny disregarded much of what she was thinking to walk over and find a seat in the common room. "So we both know why I'm down here, why are you awake." Neville asked, still rubbing his eyes and waking up.
Ginny shrugged and sighed. "I had a fight with Harry earlier," she said, taking a seat in the chair opposite the couch and drawing her knees up to her chest. "You probably heard us. Everyone else seemed to." She sighed again and shook her hair out of her face. "It seems like all we do is fight these days. And I don't even know why."
She felt bad unloading this on Neville, but he had always been the only one she could talk to this way. The only one she trusted enough to spill her most inner thoughts to.
"He doesn't get that I understand why he tells Ron and Hermione everything. Or that I understand how he's feeling. Sometimes I think he takes playing the martyr too far, that he thinks he's the only one ever to suffer in the history of the world." She snorted and rested her head on the back of the chair. "I sound like a such a bitch, don't I?" She opened her eyes and searched Neville's face, wondering what he thought.
Neville didn't answer Ginny's previous question about him overhearing their argument, but he did. Not wanting to upset Ginny any further, he didn't mention it and just let her vent while he listened. Watching her leaning her burdened head back, Neville gave her a crooked smile and shook his head. "You don't sound like a bitch at all. You're just frustrated that he won't listen to your side of things. It's understandable." In his head, Neville wanted to smack Harry around just a little bit... for many reasons.
"I think he's been down so long that he doesn't know when he has a good thing going." Neville smiled gently and continued, knowing what it was like to be down, underestimated, and to live without parents. Even though he had his Gran, he couldn't really imagine what it had been like for Harry, but at least he tried to put himself in Harry's shoes. "He's had this label on him since he was a baby right, so for everything to be 'over' in some respects, he's probably restless in his drama-free lifestyle and maybe he's looking for some trouble." He frowned just then and shook his head. "I hope I'm wrong because, well..." he stopped himself from saying what he would be like if he were with Ginny, a blush flooding his face, and then continuing on with a different thought "...it's just silly to continue like that when we're finally free of the immediate threat. And he shouldn't be taking it out on you if that's the case." Neville played with the loose button on his robes, trying to distract himself.
Ginny seemed to be lost in the thoughts that Neville just brought up and they sat quietly, but only for a moment. She was watching Neville play with his button and a red tinge to his face fade away as he breathed. "I've tried talking to him about it, which usually leads to the rows." Maybe she needed something drastic to get his attention... but, 'was it really worth it'? Ginny thought to herself, if she was going to do something drastic to save her and Harry's relationship, was it really one worth saving if she had to go to such lengths.
She growled and sighed at the same time, making Neville look up and raise an eyebrow at her sounds. "It's just maddening is all." She said, unable to stop her brain from thinking. "I don't want to talk about him anymore. It's just making me angry all over again."
Neville nodded, and she had the thought that he was always willing to listen when she needed him, but he never kept pressing her to talk when she didn't want to. She didn't know how he always knew what she needed, and wondered if he could give Harry lessons. But then, it was all part of Neville wasn't it? Not exactly something that should be shared.
"Come on then," Neville said, standing and stretching his arms above his head with a loud groan, joints popping after such a prolonged period of time sleeping in an unnatural position. "It's almost time for breakfast now. Let's take a walk and then maybe you can help me with this Defense essay."
Ginny snorted and bumped Neville's shoulder. "You don't need my help with the essay, Nev. You're brilliant, okay? But breakfast does sound good. And then maybe you can help me with my Herbology homework."
Neville flushed, the apples of his cheeks turning red, and he hunched his shoulders up self-consciously. "All right, you guys are working with matured Screechsnap this week right?" And he was off, mumbling magical properties and proper care and etiquette as they walked side by side down the the Great Hall, Ginny smiling fondly all the way there, the fight with Harry forgotten for now.
This one is something that will be going on for a while, in chapters and it's an HP fic post Deathly Hallows and it focuses heavily on Ginny and Neville :) What's kind of neat too, is that we had a song for them - 'Happiness and Disaster' by Stabilo... and it fit them so well that we wanted that to be the title of our fic, and the chapters are lines from the song. So read, and I hope you enjoy!!!
Title: Happiness and Disaster
By: Jess - sparkysparky & Katy - kitty_van_kat
Fandom: HP post Deathly Hallows
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After the war, everything changes...
Special thanks to acquiescence_ for reviewing this fic for us. :)
A few months after the Battle of Hogwarts everything seemed to be shifting back to normal, albeit reluctantly. Most were still rebuilding; whether it was the castle, their own lives, or relationships. It took time in any case and a few months wasn't really a lot of time. There were still bruises and cuts, mars on the land, ghosts of unseen dangers that still dared to linger in the corners of minds. Neville had thought on all of these things, especially when he walked through the halls of St. Mungo's. Even years wasn't enough time to erase some hurts.
This time though, it was his turn. Months of drawing fire from first years and unsuspecting and boastful students who thought they could handle what the Carrows could dish out left Neville with after-effects. They had subjected him to what his parents now lay mad with, though Neville wasn't as unfortunate as they were. Lingering nerve damage was all he received, and that is why he was at St. Mungo's that day, to be plied with more treatments. Each time it got better, he would twitch less, no more sudden movements that would wrench muscles out of place, and the dull ache that ran through his bones lessened.
He only had a few hours to spare owing to the fact that he was repeating his seventh year, having been given the option considering his act of bravery on the field. Neville's ambition of wanting to become a professor stole over him, and to achieve his goal, he'd have to get it right. He studied night and day and was more than a little tired, which didn't help his condition much. However, he was happy.
Neville started back down the hall and smiled as he saw Ginny sitting in a chair, waiting for him. He'd told her she hadn't needed to come along, but she'd just stared back at him, mouth drawn in a determined line, and Neville had known that he wouldn't be able to change her mind. Not that he minded, he was touched that Ginny had wanted to come with him, he just hadn't wanted her to feel obligated. Though he knew if he mentioned that to her she'd likely hit him.
"Thanks for waiting," he said, smiling at her.
She smiled back and rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get lunch before we go back. I'm starving, and the Mediwitches frowned at me every time I went to eat the apple I brought for a snack." She linked her arm with Neville's and dragged him to the lift.
"I’m surprised you didn’t just eat it anyway." They stepped in the lift and Neville smiled, not knowing Ginny to ever stop what she was doing in order to please someone else.
"That wouldn’t do though, not in this situation." Ginny tossed her red hair over her shoulder and pressed the button in the lift for the ground floor. She looked up at Neville and shook her head gently. "What would you have done without me if I had gotten myself kicked out for eating an apple? How silly."
It’s not as if Neville didn’t know his way around St. Mungo’s, he’d been going there for years after all. But Ginny’s company during his treatments was a real comfort to him. As well, Ginny wanted to get out of the castle every once in a while, and what better opportunity than to support her friend.
"Yes, how silly of me." Neville replied with a smirk threatening to turn into a smile as they both stepped out of the lift.
Ever since he’d been getting the treatments, Ginny was really the only one who noticed a difference other than Neville himself. At first, the nerve damage was painful and sometimes would make Neville collapse in the halls or the common room. Nobody dared to laugh, not after the first time it had happened. Ginny rushed to his side and when a couple of second years thought it absolutely hilarious, she laid into them something fierce; "Don’t you know what he did to save your arses? And you’re laughing?". She followed it up with a glare that put the fear of the Gods into them. Ever since then nobody made a peep until Neville was conscious again.
"The twitching seems to be going away. That should help my performance in Transfiguration. I don’t know if McGonagall could take another rabid footstool in her class anymore." Neville winced, remembering that day and squeezed Ginny’s arm that was still linked with his, leaving St. Mungo’s and heading to a safe spot where they could apparate.
Once they were far enough away from the bustling crowds of London, each of them Apparated to the outer gates of Hogwarts and walked inside. Neville had a note from the Healer, as usual, and he would need it, he was late for class again.
"I'll see you at dinner?" he said walking backwards and tempting fate.
"I hope so, unless I get held up....watch it!"
Neville stepped over the root that had almost caught his foot - he would've fallen flat on his back if Ginny hadn't warned him, just as she always did, it was getting to be her specialty - looking after him like she did.
"Thanks!" Neville blushed and waved, hurrying off to class while Ginny enjoyed the brief moment of sunshine that had peeked through the clouds. Briefly she wondered where Harry was at that moment and figured he was inside with Ron and Hermione. Those three were always still glued together, and not that Ginny minded much, she just thought it would be nice if everything wasn't done in fours. It was always a double date, if you could even call it that and more often than not, Ginny found herself getting incredibly bored when they would prattle on about past events - stories she wasn't privy to, inside jokes and such. And sometimes the three of them would just have some sort of mental conversation, not even aware they'd fallen into shared silence, and she'd just leave quietly, resigned that Harry wouldn't miss her, and go to find Neville, or sometimes Luna.
Sighing, she picked up her pace when the sun was once again covered and shadow fell over the grounds at Hogwarts.
***********
The day passed without spectacular incident, which the both of them were so used to in the past. Neville didn't mind in the slightest, he liked the quiet and schedule of the day, it let him think more clearly which is what he needed at that point in his life. Homework was heaped on his bedside table in the dormitories, not to mention the stack of books that was in front of him at the moment, late in the library. All the facts he'd just absorbed were swimming in his head and fighting to remain there so Neville could recall them at the best times, but at the moment, their frenzied seating arrangements were giving him a headache.
After a few minutes the table was cleared and all the books he didn't need were returned to where he'd found them. It was a miracle he didn't fall asleep walking back to the common room. Though he woke up rather quickly and confused when he'd stepped through the portrait. "...you know I'm not clingy like that." Ginny had said in a too-loud terse whisper.
"You're not really acting like it at the moment." Harry had retorted back, looking around and rolling his eyes when he saw people looking over at the scene in the common room.
"All I know is we haven't been alone for more than a half hour lately. And don't say you don't have time to spare because I saw you and Ron playing exploding snap before I went to class and afterward both of you were still there... so you obviously have some free time on your hands."
Neville didn't want to intrude, so he sat as far away as possible and tried not to listen and stuck his nose into yet another book, even though he was dead tired. He figured that Ginny would be upset and if she wanted to talk, he would be there... still, she was pretty angry and she usually went to cool off on her own. Wincing when he heard snippets like '..give me a little room...' and '...if that's what you want then fine...', Neville could feel Ginny's temper coming off of her when she stomped out of the common room and up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. He wisely pretended he didn't hear anything when Harry audibly groaned and huffed out of the room himself. Ginny had gone to cool off alright, she'd gone to where Neville couldn't check on her, and he sure as hell wasn't going after Harry; he tended to take things out on people when there had been a disagreement. So he stayed in the common room, with his books and the bags under his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the dormitories, Ginny was pacing and her mind raced and wondered why on earth Harry couldn't see what she did. "Bloody blind fool..." Eventually, she stopped pacing only to flop onto her bed and fume about what they'd said, and all the conversations where she was merely an alternate, a stand-by if no one else was around to talk to. That wasn't how it was supposed to be, not what she wanted it to be. "I guess that's what I get for dating a hero..." she said to herself, toeing off her shoes and getting drowsy from her fretting. She drifted into an uneasy sleep soon afterward, tossing and waking intermittently until she'd had it and decided to stay awake.
With her warm night-robe on, she trudged downstairs into the common room with a bit of parchment, planning to write a letter, only to burn it afterward to vent her feelings. For a while she sat on the couch, warm in front of the glowing embers that still emitted heat from the fire. Ginny wrote and wrote, crossing things out, laughing sometimes and other times becoming close to tears she was so vexed. Thinking she was alone, Ginny must have leapt two feet off the couch when she heard a sleepy snort coming from over in the corner. She placed the parchment onto a nearby table and walked over to where the sound was coming from, finding Neville asleep at a desk, using his book as a pillow. A quick hand stifled her soft laughter, she didn't want to wake him, but if she didn't, he'd be sore in the morning, not to mention he'd probably have the herbology text imprinted backwards on his cheek for all to see.
Ginny stooped down and gently put a hand on the back of Neville's head, stroking lightly to ease him out of sleep and not frighten him. "Nev.... come on now you've fallen asleep. It's time to get up."
Neville stiffened under her hand, and went for his wand before he stopped himself. It was reflex they both shared after this past year. It was one that would take a long time to go away--if it ever did. He blinked sleepily up at her, a warm smile growing on his face as he realized who it was. She felt her heart flip over in her chest as she realized just what was behind that smile. Oh, she thought absently, he loves me. Before she really had a chance to comprehend what that meant, the look was gone, replaced by simple friendship.
"I fell asleep again, didn't I?" Neville asked, a tint of self-depreciation in his voice.
She could only nod, her voice stolen by the realization that Neville loved her. She swallowed past a sudden lump and finally managed to say, "It's almost too late to go back to bed. They'll be serving breakfast in an hour." She wondered if Neville realized his own feelings, and if he did why he'd never said anything.
She knew the answer to that though. This was Neville she was talking about, always one to make sure everyone else was happy and never taking the time time make sure his own needs were looked after. That was okay though, for now, because she had no idea what she was going to do about this new development. There was Harry to think about; Harry whom she'd loved since she was a child. Harry whom she didn't know anymore. And there was Neville, who understood her in a way no one else ever had, and whom she understood right back.
"Mmm, that's true. May as well stay up then." Neville brushed a hand over his face, stopping when he reached the now-silver scars that were on his face and then dropping his hand with a sigh. "I can't believe I keep doing that." he said getting up and stretching, wondering if he had words printed on his face from falling asleep on his textbook...again.
"You've been studying a lot, it happens." Much too often for Ginny's taste though, she was worried that Neville was pushing himself too hard to achieve. She always thought that he didn't give himself enough credit as a Wizard. And there was that lump again. Ginny cleared her throat nonchalantly and looked away as Neville ambled over towards the couch. She noticed, only briefly, that all his baby fat had melted away and he'd shot up in height dramatically, thinning him. His silhouette was lean and the robes he was wearing draped over his arms showing just the slightest hint of muscle.
Ginny disregarded much of what she was thinking to walk over and find a seat in the common room. "So we both know why I'm down here, why are you awake." Neville asked, still rubbing his eyes and waking up.
Ginny shrugged and sighed. "I had a fight with Harry earlier," she said, taking a seat in the chair opposite the couch and drawing her knees up to her chest. "You probably heard us. Everyone else seemed to." She sighed again and shook her hair out of her face. "It seems like all we do is fight these days. And I don't even know why."
She felt bad unloading this on Neville, but he had always been the only one she could talk to this way. The only one she trusted enough to spill her most inner thoughts to.
"He doesn't get that I understand why he tells Ron and Hermione everything. Or that I understand how he's feeling. Sometimes I think he takes playing the martyr too far, that he thinks he's the only one ever to suffer in the history of the world." She snorted and rested her head on the back of the chair. "I sound like a such a bitch, don't I?" She opened her eyes and searched Neville's face, wondering what he thought.
Neville didn't answer Ginny's previous question about him overhearing their argument, but he did. Not wanting to upset Ginny any further, he didn't mention it and just let her vent while he listened. Watching her leaning her burdened head back, Neville gave her a crooked smile and shook his head. "You don't sound like a bitch at all. You're just frustrated that he won't listen to your side of things. It's understandable." In his head, Neville wanted to smack Harry around just a little bit... for many reasons.
"I think he's been down so long that he doesn't know when he has a good thing going." Neville smiled gently and continued, knowing what it was like to be down, underestimated, and to live without parents. Even though he had his Gran, he couldn't really imagine what it had been like for Harry, but at least he tried to put himself in Harry's shoes. "He's had this label on him since he was a baby right, so for everything to be 'over' in some respects, he's probably restless in his drama-free lifestyle and maybe he's looking for some trouble." He frowned just then and shook his head. "I hope I'm wrong because, well..." he stopped himself from saying what he would be like if he were with Ginny, a blush flooding his face, and then continuing on with a different thought "...it's just silly to continue like that when we're finally free of the immediate threat. And he shouldn't be taking it out on you if that's the case." Neville played with the loose button on his robes, trying to distract himself.
Ginny seemed to be lost in the thoughts that Neville just brought up and they sat quietly, but only for a moment. She was watching Neville play with his button and a red tinge to his face fade away as he breathed. "I've tried talking to him about it, which usually leads to the rows." Maybe she needed something drastic to get his attention... but, 'was it really worth it'? Ginny thought to herself, if she was going to do something drastic to save her and Harry's relationship, was it really one worth saving if she had to go to such lengths.
She growled and sighed at the same time, making Neville look up and raise an eyebrow at her sounds. "It's just maddening is all." She said, unable to stop her brain from thinking. "I don't want to talk about him anymore. It's just making me angry all over again."
Neville nodded, and she had the thought that he was always willing to listen when she needed him, but he never kept pressing her to talk when she didn't want to. She didn't know how he always knew what she needed, and wondered if he could give Harry lessons. But then, it was all part of Neville wasn't it? Not exactly something that should be shared.
"Come on then," Neville said, standing and stretching his arms above his head with a loud groan, joints popping after such a prolonged period of time sleeping in an unnatural position. "It's almost time for breakfast now. Let's take a walk and then maybe you can help me with this Defense essay."
Ginny snorted and bumped Neville's shoulder. "You don't need my help with the essay, Nev. You're brilliant, okay? But breakfast does sound good. And then maybe you can help me with my Herbology homework."
Neville flushed, the apples of his cheeks turning red, and he hunched his shoulders up self-consciously. "All right, you guys are working with matured Screechsnap this week right?" And he was off, mumbling magical properties and proper care and etiquette as they walked side by side down the the Great Hall, Ginny smiling fondly all the way there, the fight with Harry forgotten for now.