Potterfic - Cast Him Off One Day (2/3) - Draco/Neville
Draco felt lost. How were things meant to proceed with Longbottom? What did Longbottom expect? Did he understand that Draco meant everything he said last night? He wanted to be more than a series of late night rendezvous but that would put them both in danger.
Blaise asked Draco where his brain was during double history and he was too distracted to give a witty retort. Crabbe’s snore from the next desk provided a good enough answer. No-one bothered prodding him awake until the lesson was over. Nott was heard muttering about the number of classmates who’d be scrubbing toilets like Muggles unless they put effort into more than Dark Arts. The Slytherin table was treated to a lecture on the importance of education over lunch. Crabbe and Goyle pegged boiled eggs at Nott’s head to get him to sit down and shut up. He transfigured the projectiles into darts and returned them to their source. Draco cast a shield charm directly in front of their noses.
‘Stop doing their thinking for them, Draco.’
Crabbe and Goyle smirked at this reprimand until Nott added ‘or they’ll remain ignorant for the rest of their lives.’
Draco mentioned the principle of loyalty in his reply. This caused further trouble for his unsettled mind. Did Longbottom expect him to act as a double agent? He hadn’t said he would. That didn’t seem to bother Longbottom, come to think of it. Thinking about it created echoes of physical and emotional sensations. Draco had revealed which species of scum he was and yet Neville accepted his advances, shared his confusion, returned his affection. The contentious connection between them had become something wonderful. Draco swiftly stifled a smile. Being happy when he clearly hadn’t earned it would only make Nott suspicious.
*~~~*
Neville tried not to look or smile in Draco’s direction as their paths crossed during the day. Draco did the same. They almost collided during their nocturnal wanderings.
‘I haven’t been ignoring you.’ Their explanations overlapped so they stopped, clumsily kissed hello and talked quietly as they continued to the scene of their first affectionate kiss. Then they said nothing.
‘Where do we go from here?’ Neville asked.
‘Hell?’ Draco glibly suggested.
‘Well, now that we’ve arrived…’
They chortled shyly at their feet because nothing about this felt real then reached for each other’s hand at the same time. Human warmth confirmed the truth.
Draco spoke first. His voice was a softer than a whisper. ‘I’ll help defend Hogwarts, but I won’t spy.’
‘What do you want in return?’ Neville asked.
Draco’s fingers tightened around Neville’s. ‘Someone I can trust.’
‘Will I do?’
‘Perfectly.’
Approaching footsteps prompted them to flee before they could seal their deal with a kiss.
*~~~*
Draco used a levitation spell to shift Seamus’ potions equipment onto Lavender’s table without interrupting the brewing process as a noxious teal smoke plumed from Neville’s cauldron. ‘Join your girlfriend, Finnigan. I refuse to die as a result of Longbottom’s ineptitude.’
Neville followed his angry, sneering lead as Draco started putting Neville’s mess to rights. ‘I’m not taste-testing whatever lethal stuff you’ve concocted Malfoy, so get your evil ferret features out of my face.’
‘Not even NEWT level poisons are as toxic as those fumes you created by accident. At least, I assume it’s accidental and you aren’t attempting to assassinate Professor Slughorn and the senior Slytherins.’
‘My assassination plots don’t involve innocent bystanders.’
‘Those flobberworms you force fed to death in Fifth Year hardly warrant the term assassination, Longbottom. Merlin's unwiped arsehole! How did you let your potion get into this state? Perhaps I should sit here for the rest of the year Professor Slughorn, provide some adult supervision to prevent Longbottom inventing Instant-Death-for-Life-as-we-know-it.’
‘Perhaps you should sit on his face,’ Zabini muttered.
‘Or my lap,’ Neville murmured so only Draco could hear. Draco subtly stepped on his toes.
‘Excellent idea Mr Malfoy,’ Slughorn hooted his approval without hearing the sexual references. ‘Inter-house co-operation, splendid! Can I convince you to accept the added responsibility of private tutorials with Mr Longbottom, say for increased weekend privileges and fifty points for Slytherin?’
‘You’ll have to offer more than that, Professor. The idiot spent five years in the same class as Granger and Potter yet still can’t mix a chocolate milkshake without wreaking havoc.’
‘That’d be an insult if it wasn’t true,’ Seamus chided from beside Lavender. He and Neville pulled friendly faces at each other.
‘Ho-Ho! Meet me in my office for a spot of afternoon tea and we can haggle over your fee. You’d better come along too Longbottom, since your NEWT is as stake.’
Neville tried to look like he hadn’t been handed Draco on a plate. The lesson had been brilliant. Exchanging heartfelt and earnest insults while flirting then being offered regular, sanctioned alone time-could life get better than that? Sitting with Seamus and Lavender at the Gryffindor table for lunch, noting the increasing number of absences and missing their friends, reminded him that once it had been.
*~~~*
Slughorn’s afternoon tea could be considered a reward in itself. The extravagant spread of cakes, iced buns, crumpets, tea, hot chocolate and liqueur sweets reminded Draco of Mother’s Sunday teas before Malfoy Manor became the Dark Lord’s headquarters. All this room needed was a platter of artfully sculpted fruit and warm, friendly chatter. Slughorn tried to provide the latter between making negotiations and setting guidelines for Neville’s remedial lessons.
‘Looks like he’s considering you for the Slug Club,’ Neville said while the professor was busy in his liquor cabinet.
‘What for, wanting to fuck you in potions?’
Neville stared for a moment with blazing eyes then time seemed to leap forward because their tongues were suddenly duelling furiously and they were getting into a more comfortable embrace.
‘O-ho, so that’s how it is,’ Slughorn declared in a surprisingly mild tone. ‘No need to be embarrassed, gentlemen. It happened last time, too. Tensions run high, blood boils, enemies fall into bed together and the threat of discovery feels as oppressive as the war itself.’ He poured the drinks as originally intended then added an extra splash or two to Draco and Neville’s glasses. ‘School rules forbid such fraternisation between students of course but as you are legally both adults, and there are other extenuating circumstances.’ Slughorn peered into the deep amber liquid swirling in the bottom of his glass as though simultaneously searching for a demon and redemption. ‘I see no harm in it. Use at least three-quarters of your allotted tutorial schedule for study, as Longbottom’s brewing skills may indeed get us all killed if there is no improvement. The rest of that time is yours.’ He raised his glass to the potential lovers. ‘The heart wants what the heart wants.’
They swallowed the sweetly burning alcohol as a toast. Neville slapped Draco across the knee with the back of a hand for smirking at his astonished gag reflex.
‘The same rule applies to other parts of the anatomy,’ Slughorn added with gruff resignation and dismissed them with a negligent wave of his hand. ‘Don’t get caught!’ he called the moment before they left his office.
‘Our Thursday tutorial is in twenty minutes. I know the schedule isn’t meant to begin until next week but there’s nothing wrong with getting a head start.’ Draco kept his voice steady and authoritative as possible because this wasn’t going to be an opportunity to make out. He told Longbottom he would help defend Hogwarts and he meant it. Few of the dark and magical creatures recruited by Lord Voldemort would differentiate between students of different houses during an attack. Choosing to fight was one thing, being terrorised in bed by the likes of Fenrir Greyback was another, and no First Year should be defenceless against that kind of monster.
*~~~*
Neville was disappointed when Draco began teaching the moment they entered the dungeon. He sounded too much like Professor Snape until he found his own rhythm.
‘Your shield charm is excellent but your disillusionment needs work so you can sustain it without having to refresh. I’ll have to teach that to Crabbe and Goyle, too. The Dark Lord examines my wand every time I’m summoned.’
‘He doesn’t trust you?’
‘He believes I’m incompetent and the weakest link in his chain around Hogwarts. The fact that I’m here proves him right. Occlumency is something else we’ll have to delve into.’
Neville squirmed under Draco’s scrutiny. ‘You still think I’m thicker than troll’s toenails.’
‘Occlumency is extremely difficult. Practicing is unpleasant and intrusive. We haven’t established the necessary level of trust...’
‘Then why mention it?’ Neville considered heading for the door.
‘Because it will protect your mind if we’re caught or you’re captured,’ Draco replied solemnly. ‘The Dark Lord used Legilimency against me to find the best way to punish my father and then threatened my mother’s life to ensure my compliance. Do you want me poking about in your thoughts?’
Horror replaced Neville’s bone marrow with cold lead. ‘You can do that?’
‘Yes,’ Draco admitted without boasting. ‘Not as well as he can, or my aunt, or Snape. It took months before I could block their access and I’m still not brilliant at shielding specific memories while letting others come forward. I probably couldn’t teach it to anyone.’
‘Humility? I’m not sure you’re actually Draco Malfoy. You look like him.’
‘Was that meant to be an insult or a compliment? Who do you think you’ve been snogging lately?’
‘A fantasy version?’ Neville suggested. ‘To be honest I’ve only been thinking before and after the snogging, not during. Last year we pretty much ignored each other. The year before that we were building up to angry sex against the nearest available flat surface. Now…’ Everything was a mystery. Oddly, Draco’s sneering grimace put Neville’s fears to rest, and he smiled.
‘No, now is not the time to be cute and distracting.’
‘Cute…’ Neville never expected Draco to find him physically appealing. They made each other horny beyond all recognition but that was attributed solely to boiling tensions and whatever else Slughorn said explained their situation. Draco being a sexy beast probably helped. Neville wasn’t.
‘I suspect Granger made communication on those coins one-way so only she or Potter could boss everyone about?’ Draco shook his head in irritation as Neville nodded. Draco had no idea Neville’s hormones were behaving like blast-ended skrewts. ‘Firstly, I’ll show you the Protean Charm so you can communicate directly with friends and minions instead of sending owls, spray painting messages on walls, or waiting for the Chosen Hero to tell you what to do.’
‘Terry Boot said that’s NEWT level…’
‘You received Exceeds Expectations in charms, didn’t you? And that was with your grandfather’s wand. Now you’ve got your own I expect nothing less than Outstanding results from these tutorials.’
‘How’d you know all that?’
‘Oh please! I know more about you and Potter than either of you do. Death Eaters spend more time discussing you two than their own children.’
A window opened in Neville’s mind and the familiarly bitter breeze from Draco’s jealousy drifted through almost every memory of their confrontations. Draco sought attention where Neville didn’t want to be talked about at all. ‘These lessons-I can disarm, summon, stun, produce a Patronus but not a corporeal one.’
‘What about silencing and stealth related charms?’
‘Getting better but still not perfect, as you pointed out.’
‘There are a few Potter may not have shown you. Did the DA meet during Sixth Year?’
‘That question borders on spying.’
‘There’s no point wasting our private time on spells you already know.’
‘No. We wanted to, most of us, but Harry was too busy spying on you. For a while-I thought the two of you were fucking.’ Neville hadn’t been sure he was more jealous of at the time. Draco’s cringe at the suggestion made him feel smiley and warm inside. His happy relief must have made it to the surface because Draco gave him a quick, reassuring kiss on the cheek before demonstrating the protean charm.
‘Will I need to do that to every coin?’ Neville asked. ‘A lot of members have left school.’
‘No. This next one will let you send the same spell to each. It’s trickier and the only way to test it is by checking someone else’s.’
‘I’m not giving you names.’
‘This is a very one-sided relationship, Longbottom. I’m starting to wonder if I get anything out of it.’
‘Apart from laid?’
Draco’s expression declared the lesson was over. Private time began.
*~~~*
Longbottom’s lips were an incongruous combination of rough and soft as they slid across and between Draco’s. He could feel the maturing strength in Longbottom’s arms as their embraced tightened. The contact was comforting and warm in more than a physical sense. Draco sped up the kiss. Longbottom raised the ante by lifting Draco’s shirt and Draco clenched his fingers around the intruder’s wrist. Breaking the kiss stung his lips and pissed Longbottom off.
‘You’ve had your hand on my cock!’
‘Yes, when we hated each other and messing up didn’t matter!’
‘So liking each other is a turn off?’
‘I still want to fuck you, rough and spontaneous, but the first time should be different. I want to cuddle up and sleep with you afterwards - it’s sickening, honestly.’ Draco intended to keep that private but the emotional swell refused to be smothered.
Neville chuckled, bashfully burrowing into the crook of Draco’s shoulder. ‘I envy your friends for knowing this side of you from the start.’
‘Be serious. They’d eat me alive, particularly in this political climate.’ Draco began an all-round retreat.
Longbottom’s rebuttal was a tentative kiss. ‘I want to fuck you more since I’ve gotten to actually know you.’
Draco’s hormones roared like a Hungarian Horntail in pursuit of a Triwizard champion. ‘Get touching then,’ he commanded. Neville obliged with a grin.
*~~~*
Draco was a less patient, more demanding teacher than Harry and he was worse as a pupil. “Are you sure? Shouldn’t it be more like...?” Even while supposedly learning he’d end up teaching. On the upside, he rewarded Neville’s progress with more than the occasional ‘Yeah that’s great, I’m going over there now.’ Draco’s dirty talk was more arousing than his kissing and they’d always end up handling or grinding against each other once he started which is why he bottled it in until the lesson part was over, no matter how horny they both were.
‘I remember the way you’d stare at me while wrapping that tempting mouth of yours around that flask, like a repeated offer to suck me off.’
‘That’s exactly what it was,’ Neville admitted and teasingly sucked at Draco’s neck. Draco grabbed Neville’s bum, pulling him close so they could both feel exactly how hard they were getting.
‘When? Where?’ Draco’s husky voice carried a hint of impending moan. Neville moved his hips so they slid against each other.
‘Why not here?’ They hadn’t made intimate contact outside the dungeon since that ridiculously unguarded snog in Slughorn’s office.
‘Images of Slughorn telling you to get that out of your mouth…’
‘Unhygienic,’ Neville chuckled along before Draco’s fingers launched a lazy sneak attack on Neville’s navel, making him gasp and arch forward. ‘There’s only me and Seamus in our dorm. Practical application of the security charms you’ve taught me so far,’ he suggested. They punctuated each sentence with deceptively light kisses. Neville would have suggested the corridor or stores cupboard before they’d begun seeing each other in a gentler, more romantic light. He wondered if they were beginning to fall in love.
‘Run through a possible plan.’
Spoken like a dedicated soldier. Why couldn’t Draco be fighting on the right side? ‘A disillusionment charm should be enough for me to smuggle you into the common room. Peter Pettigrew got past the security portraits for twelve years so they mustn’t be able to detect body-altering spells.’
‘Everyone calls him Wormtail now, except me. I reckon Scabbers is the perfect name for that fink. Changing sides I understand, but not ratting out your friends and getting them killed. He’s got no sense of loyalty. Plus he’s a boring, creepy tit. In that respect it’s a shame Sirius Black was innocent. By most accounts Black would provide some welcome comic relief.’
‘But then he’d just be one more member of your family You-Know-Who can hang blame on.’
‘You’re starting to think like me.’ Draco broke the established speak-smooch-speak pattern by frowning slightly.
‘Understand you, more like.’
‘Yet you’re still here, and rather hard for me,’ Draco teased as he brought their lower halves closer together.
‘That’s why I’m still here-and incredibly hard for you.’ Neville pressed Draco against an empty work bench and helped him sit on the edge. He began touching and slowly kneeling down, feeling Draco’s hands slide up his back, across his shoulders, carefully grasping his hair. The dungeon door opened before Neville’s knees reached the floor.
‘O-ho!’ Slughorn boomed into the steamy silence. ‘None of that in here thank you.’
‘Unhygienic,’ Draco murmured, causing Neville to muffle his laughter against Draco’s thigh.
‘You’ve had access to the prefect’s bathroom, Draco. Take him there. The acoustics…’ Slughorn cleared his throat.
‘Were you a naughty school boy, Sir?’ Draco quipped while helping Neville to his feet.
Slughorn’s instruction to pack away their equipment prompted more boyish chortling so he gruffly ordered them off to dinner while assessing the contents of the cooling cauldron. ‘Hm. Much better, ten house points each.’
*~~~*
Neville knew more and learned faster than Draco expected. His measures were more accurate now he wasn’t terrified of his instructor and could keep his hands steady. He wasn’t rushing to get out, or make out, so no longer missed entire chunks of instructions. There’d soon be no need for these tutorials if Draco wasn’t careful. Longbottom would never reach NEWT standard but he should achieve a passing OWL grade.
He wasn’t stupid enough to let Draco hear the password needed to enter Gryffindor tower, either, using the muffling charm Draco learned from Snape in Fifth Year.
‘Want to get the lecture on trust over first?’ Neville asked once they reached his dorm room, unable to see Draco’s grin until he’d lifted the disillusionment charm. ‘Oh.’ He smiled back.
‘Which one’s yours?’ Draco asked.
Neville pointed to the only bed directly beneath a window. ‘Um,’ he hesitated with his hands sliding nervously into the back pocket of his jeans.
‘We can just sit. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean we have to jump straight to it.’ That’d be nice, but for now Draco happily savoured the unfamiliar glow of being trusted in another wizard’s room. ‘Tell you what, Longbottom. Demonstrate the area concealments and imperturbable charms.’ He shuffled backward into the centre of Neville’s bed to watch him apply complex security measures to the curtained perimeter with confidence. Not a single gesture or syllable needed correcting. Draco was stupidly proud of his student and… boyfriend?
The thought made him more nervous than Longbottom had been. Neither looked the other in the eye as Neville sat on the edge of his own bed. Draco made room. Neville edged closer, then closer still as they began to talk. Then they began to kiss, and touch. It felt different doing these familiar activities lying down, more serious somehow. Their hands were up each other’s untucked shirts and down the back of each other’s trousers when their eyes met between breaths. The mutually grave stare answered the boyfriend question. Draco didn’t want to go beyond this point with anyone else. They fell in at the deep end, kissing, moving and removing their shirts with vibrant urgency. They touched each other’s bared chests with lips and fingers, tongues and palms, exposing themselves lower still as their tongues met. Draco had no qualms lying on his back and clamping Neville’s head against his shoulder as they humped against each other. His partner grunted and groaned just as eagerly. Genital friction began to burn until an orgasm provided lubrication. They could have come at the same time or one directly after the other. It was impossible to tell. Everything stopped apart from involuntary actions of pulse and breathing.
‘What,’ Neville’s voice was muffled by his mouth’s proximity to Draco’s neck and so dry he coughed slightly, swallowed, and tried again. Draco felt all of it. ‘Um, what happens now?’
‘Clean up and go I guess.’
‘Right.’
‘Stop the kicked puppy act. If I knew what to say or do without ruining what just happened then I’d be hanging around.’
‘Draco,’ Neville began with overwhelming trepidation.
Draco was unable to conjure a suitable quip or hold his wand steady. Tissues would have to do. ‘What?’
‘I don’t know where Harry is. I haven’t heard from him all year. So if you’re after information…’
‘I’m after you, you moron, but only because you aren’t actually a moron.’
‘Sorry. It’s just.’
‘My friends think that’s the only reason we should be together, too. Nott thought you’d have better taste.’ This should be a happy moment. Why did politics and suspicion have to ruin every aspect of their lives? ‘Cheer up Longbottom. We’ll make this work somehow.’
‘Another time, will you stay?’
‘To be honest I’d rather stay now, and every night until the end of term, at least. Except, you know, Finnigan’s a destructive twat who hates my guts.’
‘That’s only funny because it’s true.’
Draco caressed Neville’s smile with the pad of his thumb and then his lips. ‘See you across the hall at breakfast.’ He opened the crimson bed-curtains, scaring Seamus Finnigan into a corner in the process.
‘Jay-zuss H Christ! How long have you been here? What’ve you done with Neville? Did you kill him, or what?’
Draco saved time explaining by opening the drapes further. Neville was taking off a shirt rather than putting it on. He looked up at Draco. ‘You noticed we’ve got the wrong...’ He saw Finnigan. He blushed.
Draco loosened his tie again and tucked it into the collar of what must be Neville’s shirt, removed the shirt without unfastening the buttons, handed it to the rightful owner and accepted his own. He leaned in to kiss Neville’s cheek while doing up the buttons. ‘You’re lovely,’ he whispered sincerely, kissed his boyfriend on the mouth, disguised himself with a disillusionment charm, and left Neville to explain things to Finnigan.
*~~~*
Seamus ripped into Neville right away. ‘You brought him in here, of all places? Why not just host a tea party for Death Eaters in the common room? We can serve First Years to Greyback.’
Neville assured Seamus that Draco didn’t know the password and never would. ‘We can’t go to his room.’
‘What did he say to you, just then? Tryin’ to convince y’ to kill y’ half-blood roommate in my sleep, I bet.’
Neville avoided his friend’s eye while mumbling the truth.
‘Eh? What was that? It’s true, isn’t it? He’s turning you to the dark side.’
‘He said I’m lovely, alright?!’
‘What, like you’re a girl?’ Seamus asked in oddly gleeful confusion.
‘Like I’m his boyfriend.’ Neville said it and he was still as shocked as Seamus. Then a grin of smug satisfaction seeped to the surface.
‘He shouldn’t be sayin’ mushy stuff like that, it’s not natural. The boy-lovin’ doesn’t bother me,’ Seamus hastened to assure Neville. ‘But Malfoy’s barely human.’
‘The important bits are,’ Neville said as he threw his pillow at Seamus.
Seamus caught it with an exaggerated grimace and tossed it back with a cheeky grin. They leapt about the room dodging and hurling every pillow in the room until they flopped onto Dean and Ron’s beds to get their breath back.
‘So it was worth missin’ dinner then?’ Seamus asked once they calmed down.
Neville had forgotten all about food, so it must’ve been. He nodded a little nervously. What if Draco felt otherwise?
‘If it turns out that slimeball’s using you, I’ll turn his nut-sack inside out.’ There was a solid weight behind Seamus’ casual tone.
‘The mark of a true friend, thank you Seamus.’
‘No worries Neville. I know you’d do the same to Lavender’s tits for me. On that note,’ Seamus forced himself to sit up, ‘it’s time for a wank in the shower before lights out.’
Neville knew he needed a shower too, without the wank. He told Seamus about Slughorn’s prefect bathroom recommendation on the way.
‘Are you sure Malfoy’s not got him under Imperius Curse?’ Seamus asked while opening the main door to the Gryffindor boys’ shower.
‘Then why let him interrupt? We’d already discussed doing it up here before starting down there. Would you give up a blow-job for…?’
‘Not for any reason,’ Seamus interrupted. ‘And I’d rather not visualise you two goin’ at it while I’m sudsy and naked, thanks all the same.’
‘I’d rather not picture you sudsy and naked.’
‘You sure? I kinda dance like this while puttin’ on the soap.’ A First Year walked out of the cubicle directly behind Seamus’ rather sluttish gyration. Neville laughed at the boy’s horrified expression and then laughed harder at Seamus’ red-faced mortification as he sought refuge in the nearest empty cubicle.
Best Day Ever.
*~~~*
They argued, occasionally to the point of letting hexes fly along with insults, but on the whole they spent more time exchanging knowledge, conversation, and spit. Clandestine meetings to make each other come became more common and Draco brought Neville to the Slytherin dorm during the Slytherin-Hufflepuff quidditch match. Longbottom was far less comfortable in this environment than Draco had been in the Gryffindor rooms.
‘It’s a bit gloomy,’ Neville said as he looked around. ‘No wonder you Slytherins are a miserable lot.’
‘I didn’t insult your tower’s charity shop décor so leave my dungeon alone.’
‘Alright, I’ll explore your tower instead.’
‘Are you starting in on the dirty talk now?’
Neville nodded suggestively. Draco edged back toward his bed. Watching Neville prowl after him was definitely a turn on. ‘You never finished that blowjob Slughorn interrupted. In fact, you never properly started it. I’m beginning to doubt I mean anything to you, Longbottom.’ Draco didn’t mean that last bit. Their connection was becoming stronger, deeper, and more important to them both. Saying differently ensured Neville remained willing to prove it.
Draco slid back toward his pillow and Neville crawled after him with their mouths joined the entire time. They’d practiced a slowing jinx on both teams’ brooms during breakfast which would hopefully buy them some decent time alone. Arousal was pretty much instant these days. Draco fell onto his back as Neville opened the zipper of his casual trousers and freed Draco’s cock from his underwear. Draco growled with anticipation. Neville growled back and lowered his head, licked. Draco’s entire body jumped. Neville slid his lips and tongue from tip to balls and up again, slowly parting his lips around Draco’s head and then-Bliss. Humid and snug, the roughness of his tongue and palate contrasted with the smooth lining of his cheeks. His lips were curled over his teeth but Draco could still feel them move, rolling slightly as Neville began moving down and up. He watched. It was far better than a warm wet hand in the bath or shower. Draco want to urge him further down, beg for more, grab his head and fuck him. After a while the damp, dribbling, slide was still pleasurable but became less satisfying. Draco kneaded Neville’s shoulders with both hands and gently raised his hips.
‘Suck it,’ he demanded in a hoarse whisper. ‘Try. Make me come.’ Neville tried. ‘Yes, like that. More.’ That was much better. It was bringing him close. ‘Harder, suck it har…yes, oh yes, about to…’
The dorm door opened. ‘What the fuck?’ Crabbe demanded. The other Seventh Year Slytherins were behind him, witches included.
Everybody froze. Neville’s mouth was half-way down Draco’s cock and his wide, wild eyes made Draco laugh. The resulting body movement made them both moan. Draco aimed an open hand at the bed-curtains and closed them with a nonverbal spell so they could come in private, hopefully before his spurting dick fell out of Neville’s gaping mouth. He clutched Neville’s hair with both hands as Neville continued pulling him off and humping his leg. Draco came with a grunt and felt Neville’s spunk seeping through both layers of trousers. It was too late to help. The usual glow of accomplishment didn’t last long because Neville sat on the corner of Draco’s bed, kind of curled into his own lap and shooting terrified glances at the closed curtains. This behaviour was a regression to First Year Longbottom. Draco didn’t like it.
‘I would’ve Accioed your cock into my hand but it might have come off in the other way, and it’s worthless without the rest of you.’
Neville nodded blankly at Draco’s lame attempt at humorous reassurance.
‘We’ve been here less than twenty minutes. There should have been plenty of time. This wasn’t deliberate, I swear. Neville,’ Draco said his name softly to seek forgiveness.
‘They can hear us.’
Draco forgot. ‘Let them. If I hadn’t been a prick to you from day one then I wouldn’t have to grovel. You’d trust me.’ The only pleasant part of Draco’s life was constantly being ruined by his past and other people’s expectations. Privately accepting he loved Neville didn’t mean he was entitled to say it. He let his voice carry this anger beyond the curtain. ‘Plus I won’t have to yell out the consequences should they threaten you.’
Neville’s bravery returned and he reached for Draco’s hand. Draco kept their fingers linked together as he stood and opened the curtains. They were alone in the room.
‘Don’t relax yet, Longbottom. They may simply be in the common room spreading the news.’
‘Disillusion?’ Neville suggested.
‘No. Sometimes it’s more effective to boldly pretend you belong somewhere you obviously don’t.’ Draco did this everywhere he went after failing to kill Dumbledore. After all, he didn’t belong at Hogwarts or among the Dark Lord’s Death Eaters-or with Neville. Neville squeezed Draco’s hand and looked him sternly in the eye, sharing his strength. Draco nodded in appreciation and they left the sanctuary of his bed. ‘How’s a person supposed to get laid in this school?’ Draco declared as they entered the common room, hands clasped together. ‘The arrival of you cock-blockers before lunch better mean a Slytherin victory!’ Silent stares were the only reply. ‘You’ve all seen Longbottom before. He’s been cluttering up the hallways longer than most of you. What matters is quidditch. Why is it over so Merlin-damned early, and who won?’
‘Astoria caught the snitch in the first five minutes.’ At least Nott remained capable of speech.
‘I think someone enchanted it, since it flew up my robes and I had to pull it out before it reached my skirt.’ The younger, modest Greengrass sister seemed embarrassed as well as angry.
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. Draco hit their trousers with a restrictive jinx. ‘Perverts.’ That stopped them sniggering. They sneered at him instead.
‘They weren’t the ones getting sucked off by a Gryffindor blood-traitor,’ Blaise announced Draco’s indiscretion. Judging by the reactions, the news hadn’t been spread yet.
‘So? Longbottom had my consent to suck me off, didn’t you Neville?’ Draco found the smug grin spreading across his boyfriend’s face irresistible. ‘Astoria was almost raped by a golden snitch.’ Draco frowned ponderously and made a weighing gesture with both hands while keeping his fingers linked with Neville’s. ‘Like comparing peaches with pears, really. Come on Neville. Let’s find somewhere private so I can return the favour.’ He led his outwardly amused boyfriend from the dungeon.
‘What’s going to happen now?’ Neville asked before they reached the top of the stairs.
‘Beyond eating a large lunch, I don’t know,’ Draco admitted. Neville suggested having lunch together, outside. Draco agreed. Neville smiled. The impending shit-storm was worth it.
*~~~*
The senior Slytherins listened to Daphne Greengrass read from the latest horror novel her cousin had written. It was a flimsy excuse for the witches to be in the boys’ room when Draco received his dressing down from his fellows. The story itself was mostly feminine romance garbage with a few scary bits, but Daphne was a talented narrator and Draco had difficulty ignoring the dramatic cadence of her voice.
“… as intended, the sliver of Renault’s soul slowly possessed the body of Christina’s young lover. Husband and wife would be permanently reunited once the horcrux relinquish…”
‘What’s a whore crux?’ Goyle asked. ‘Sounds like Parkinson,’ he added to Crabbe and they both snorted.
Daphne began the sentence again with a louder voice. “Husband and wife would be permanently reunited once the horcrux relinquished its treasure. Pierre did not suspect that the ornate watch granted the woman he coveted and the rival he murdered use of his lithe and pleasurable body.”
‘Oh please!’ Draco interrupted harshly. ‘Could you imagine anything more disgusting?’
‘Fucking Longbottom?’ Goyle offered.
‘Yes, ha-ha, highly amusing Goyle,’ Draco scoffed bitterly.
‘This, and your ignorance, is why Draco bears the Dark Mark and you don’t,’ Nott told Goyle without looking up from his transfiguration essay. ‘He accepts the privilege of performing the most dreadful duties and persists in his attempts to mould failure into success. Do you question the Dark Lord’s judgement, Goyle?’
‘The Dark Lord told you to-why didn’t you say?’ Pansy asked as though robbed of opportunities to worship a martyr.
Draco wished Nott hadn’t come to his defence. What he said next almost made up for it. ‘If more than one person in this group knew, the entire House would know and it would get back to Longbottom. He’d hardly betray the Order of the Phoenix without believing Draco’s fixation was genuine.’
‘Enough of Draco’s horror story, let’s get back to Christina and Renault,’ Millicent said to Daphne.
The wizards joined forces to send the witches and their fictional drama into the common room. Draco didn’t trust Nott. He had no reason to lie to Goyle on Draco’s behalf, they weren’t friends. Maybe he wanted to focus on the same thing that caught Draco’s attention rather than the person he’d been caught fooling around with. Draco shot a sneaky body-bind curse at Nott then sidled through his bed-curtains and applied various privacy charms. ‘I’m not going to rape you,’ Draco assured his glowering classmate and allowed him to move again. ‘Horcrux,’ Draco said bluntly.
Theodore’s expression showed dread and disapproval. ‘Or horcruxes,’ he suggested. Draco nodded in solemn agreement. ‘What do you plan to do?’ Nott asked.
‘Find it before Potter does.’
‘Then what?’
‘I haven’t decided yet.’
Nott touched Draco’s elbow. ‘You know what happened in Fourth Year wasn’t personal and we aren’t precisely friends, but we’ve always been allies.’
‘Is that why you lied earlier? Or are you hoping that’s true?’
‘You’re fucking Longbottom because he lets you and you like it. Any information gleaned is incidental, or most likely accidental.’
‘Accidental leaks are less likely to be manufactured.’
‘True.’
‘My plans are my own, along with the punishment if I fail.’
‘Or the glory if you succeed.’
‘Yeah, because I have a history of success and don’t want your input buggering it up.’
Nott didn’t smile. ‘How many masters do you serve, Draco?’
‘None.’
Nott nodded without comment. They truly were allies.
*~~~*
Neville hadn’t understood St Patrick’s Day before sharing a room with Seamus Finnigan. Every year Seamus began what he considered a major holiday by paraphrasing St Patrick’s prayer, which sounded like a litany of gratitude for being alive. Neville couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to start any day in these dark times and asked to recite it with him. Seamus’ brogue thickened with pride. This year he ended the day with jugs of green beer and a hilarious jig through the corridors with a glittering shamrock on his head. Lavender and Parvati performed their own version, complete with phony Irish accents. Neville stopped laughing once he saw Draco leaning against a wall wearing his classic smirk of derision. Predatory grey eyes locked onto Neville’s and issued a challenge. More than Neville’s heartbeat changed pace. He strode toward his boyfriend with undisguised intent. Draco moved away from the wall and simply stood, waiting. Then they pounced into each other’s personal space, waging a familiar battle so recently replaced with conservative affection. Anything beyond their surging pulses and frantic breaths became meaningless noise. The kisses and touches were aggressive and possessive yet somehow liberating. Neville’s comparative bulk crowded Draco back toward the wall. Draco didn’t resist. If he had, Neville would have picked him up, lifted at least one leg to wrap around his waist and carried Draco upstairs to bed.
They came as close to fucking as they could manage in that position while fully clothed. Their rapid climax felt like mutual victory. Cool down kisses signed the peace treaty.
‘I think your friends know we’re a couple,’ Draco murmured in a hush against Neville’s jaw. His arms remained clamped around Neville’s shoulders and back.
Neville turned to peer over his shoulder and saw Ginny, blankly staring from one end of the corridor amid a clutch of goggling Gryffindors with Seamus shrugging at her from the tower stairs. ‘Then you may as well come upstairs and spend the night,’ Neville whispered.
Draco replied with the barest hesitation, ‘Alright.’
The stares of other Gryffindors as Neville brought him through the common room and up to the dormitory were shocked and either insulting or insulted, as though Neville offended them by bringing this snake into their den. Draco walked beside and slightly behind him like a bodyguard instead of a boyfriend. His wand hand twitched and he glared menacingly at the first contentious whisper. There wasn’t a second. Neville wondered if his hormones had led his heart and head astray until they were safely alone-and Draco grinned.
*~~~*
He woke up draped across a solid body. Red and gold curtains meant they weren’t in his bed. Although nothing but kisses and words were exchanged during the night, they each wore one half of the same set of pyjamas. A startled hand came to rest in the small of his bare back.
‘Still here, then?’ the owner of the bed and hand asked. Neville’s voice had that surprisingly sexy dry, morning quality and his arms crossed over Draco to hug him good morning. Draco couldn’t resist snuggling into the protective embrace. He hadn’t slept so soundly in over a year. Odd that he felt safer in the enemy’s lair than his parents’ home.
‘I’m sorry.’ The words were tiny and lighter than a breath but carried a wealth of remorse. Agony laced up and down Draco’s core as the sincere apology mended the fraying tear in his soul. For the first time he was truly glad he’d been unable to kill Professor Dumbledore. He couldn’t imagine living with a divided soul, let alone committing the atrocities required to create horcruxes as he and Nott believed the Dark Lord had done. Draco’s opinion of this war had not changed. Both sides were leading the magical community further astray yet here, in his blood traitor boyfriend’s arms, was the only place Draco did not feel lost. He clung to the warmth and affection offered as Neville held him tighter and kissed his forehead.
Neville cared.
Draco cared about him, the consequences of their individual and combined actions. He wanted Neville to come out of this whole and alive. He needed to love him and be loved in return. The two ambitions were incompatible. It had to be one or the other. Draco made the selfish choice and kissed Neville good morning. He would lie to the Dark Lord when confronted about this relationship. He would tell the same lie to Neville and the world. Nott and Blaise had laid the foundation required to make it believable. Depending on how the wheels of war turned, Neville would either loathe or forgive him. Until then… he kissed his boyfriend again and they said good morning with their hands.
*~~~*
There had been no word from or on Harry since that bother he caused at the Ministry. That was before Christmas. Neville’s nerves wore so thin he had difficulty eating. Draco began sleeping with his Dark Mark arm wrapped around Neville every night so they would both feel it burn. He explained what the different degrees of pain and various movements of the brand indicated, and Neville found its complexity gruesome yet compelling. House elves sat Draco’s school robes and books on Dean’s empty bed each morning. They made no secret of their sleeping habits and let people draw their own conclusions. Everyone assumed they were fucking, most said Draco was spying for the Dark Lord, the minority whispered that he had deserted the Death Eaters and joined the Order of the Phoenix. They were all wrong.
The closest they came to fucking since sharing Neville’s bed was occasionally smoothing the splinters from each other’s morning wood. Body heat and proximity shielded them from the overwhelming spiritual coldness of war. Neville didn’t feel the need to tell Draco he loved him, or to hear it from him. It was evident in the ways they stood together while waiting to get into potions and dark arts. Draco would sometimes stand behind him with both hands in Neville’s hip pockets and smirk smugly at anyone who dared glance their way. Because Neville was taller, he’d stand in back with an arm around Draco’s waist and his chin on Draco’s shoulder while they whispered or even kissed. Corridors and common rooms overflowed with rumours. Draco was accused of everything from being a traitor to using the Imperius Curse. Neville was declared either a gullible or unwilling participant, nothing in between.
‘I keep my friends close and my enemies in my undies,’ he glibly replied to Parvati and Padme Patil’s comments during transfiguration. All the students laughed. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips beneath astonished eyes.
The Seventh Year timetables changed the next morning. Slytherin and Gryffindor no longer shared any classes. Everything else remained the same. Neville didn’t dare ask why.
*~~~*
All four Heads of House met in the Headmaster’s office. The portraits of previous headmasters were unusually silent. Albus Dumbledore’s appeared to be sleeping.
‘It can’t go on,’ Horace Slughorn said to the gathered professors before turning directly to Minerva McGonagall. ‘You’ve basically kidnapped one of my top NEWT students!’
‘Let me assure you Horace, if I knew how the blighter was getting in to my boys dormitory I would put a stop to it! As it stands, kicking Malfoy out will require the severest invasion of Longbottom’s privacy. Put a dragon beside that bed and it would be as secure as Gringotts! Switching class groups and putting an end to those private potions tutorials is all we can do.’ Minerva folded both hands in her lap and brought her lips into a thin line. ‘The more fuss we make attempting to break it up, the more determined they will be to carry on.’ Every professor in the room nodded, including the painted ones.
‘We don’t need a repeat of Black and Lupin,’ Horace added.
‘Sirius?’ Pomona Sprout asked.
‘Regulus,’ Horace replied. ‘You’d remember that one, wouldn’t you Severus?’
Severus remained silent.
‘Sirius and Remus were both in my House. If they’d been carrying on no-one but Potter and Pettigrew would have known about it.’ Minerva explained further. ‘Regulus and Remus were meeting all over the school.’
‘At least they took my advice about the prefect’s bathroom instead of going at it in corridors.’ Horace grumbled. Each professor raised at least one eyebrow. Horace cleared his throat. ‘Like none of you were ever young and rampantly horny for someone from another House.’
More than one portrait coughed guiltily. Severus appeared entertained by Pomona’s blush yet he spoke solemnly.
‘As I recall, interference by staff and other students, particularly Black’s brother, made our point of reference unnecessarily messy. Animosity between Houses reached an historical peak when that relationship dissolved.’ Severus stood and began slowly pacing behind the headmaster’s desk. He paused and placed both hands on the back of the headmaster’s chair. Minerva was still unused to this room belonging to someone other than Albus. ‘Only Malfoy and Longbottom know what they are playing at. Once the game is over, the resultant fallout will be punishment enough.’
That wasn’t good enough for Filius Flitwick. ‘Surely our main concern should be shielding them from such fallout, especially Mr Malfoy.’
‘I agree with Filius,’ Minerva spoke up before he was accused of House prejudice. ‘Neville’s friends will be there in one form or another when this comes to an end. Draco currently has no friends in any House and has already proven susceptible to…’ She trapped the words “Death Eater influence” behind pursed lips.
‘Yes Minerva?’ Snape drawled. ‘Pray, continue.’
‘Draco may or may not be a Death Eater but he is inarguably a student.’ Minerva’s voice rang out. One or two portraits silently applauded her behind Severus Snape’s back.
‘Precisely Minerva,’ Snape said smoothly. ‘Let me assure all of you that I take a personal interest in Draco’s welfare.’ He rounded the headmaster’s chair and sat in it to remind the Heads of Houses that although he was once their student, he now held authority over them. ‘History implies the dalliance will rapidly fade if left alone. Let’s not forget, the parties involved detest each other.’
‘Lily Evans detested Potter,’ Horace pointed out.
‘Enough!’ Snape’s voice cracked like a crystal ball dropped onto a statue’s head. Minerva had been unwilling to accept that this man murdered Albus Dumbledore of his own volition, until now. ‘Leave - them - alone. You are dismissed.’
*~~~*
The burn came just as they were about to cross a new line of intimacy. They both muttered about Snape’s cock-blocker instinct as Draco dressed. Neville Disillusioned him and watched the room ripple where he walked.
Seamus rolled over to talk to Neville once the door closed. ‘How long is this going to go on? I can’t sleep properly with that Death Eater in here.’
‘He keeps my nightmares away.’
‘He causes mine.’ Seamus rolled onto his back and folded his arms beneath his head. Neville pulled his pyjama pants up while under the covers before doing the same. He couldn’t do it while Seamus was looking.
‘Everything I’ve shared with the DA this year has come from him. He can’t change sides if we won’t let him.’
‘Do y’ think he will?’ Seamus asked.
‘I hope so,’ Neville admitted. ‘He’s like the needle in a compass, swinging around in search of true north. Sometimes his goals and opinions are way off, which we fight about.’
Seamus scoffed. ‘No-one’s seen you two argue in ages.’
‘So? No-one’s seen him suck me off, doesn’t mean it never happens.’
‘That’s just-you’re not allowed to bring sex stuff into a debate. Winning by default because you’re opposition’s disgusted is a hollow victory, my friend.’
Neville laughed.
‘I miss Dean,’ Seamus said suddenly. ‘Dean, Ron and Harry should be in here every night. Not him.’
‘I know.’ Neville missed them all too. But if they were here, Draco couldn’t be. Neville wouldn’t see the lighter side of his sense of humour, feel his human heart beating, be reassured by his fears, or be able to defend Seamus and the others as effectively. ‘Sorry Seamus, but I need him here. You can sneak Lavender in if you want, just show us the same courtesy and use privacy charms before...’
A pillow hit Neville in the face. The two friends laughed as he sat up to toss it back. Knuckles rapped sharply on the closed door.
‘Are you gentlemen decent?’ Professor McGonagall enquired politely.
‘I am. Neville’s a Slytherin suck…’ Seamus dodged a pillow with a grin and Neville hurriedly put a shirt on.
Their Head of House entered with Draco behind her. ‘Get your belongings Mr Malfoy and return to your dormitory. If I catch you in Gryffindor tower again, both you and Mr Longbottom will be expelled. The male professors seem happy to shrug and say “boys will be boys” but these rules are in place for a reason. We can’t let disciplinary standards slip, now of all times.’
‘Not unless one of the students is named Potter,’ Draco muttered harshly as he hooked an arm behind his books and swept them off Dean’s bed and into a pillowcase.
‘Don’t take that tone with me, young man. Harry and James Potter spent as much time in detention as playing quidditch while they were attended Hogwarts.’ Professor McGonagall said sharply as Neville took Draco’s wand from his bedside table and handed it to him.
Their eyes met and fingertips kind of embraced. They almost said it.
‘Sorry Longbottom,’ Draco said instead and headed for the door with McGonagall close behind him.
‘Professor, please. We’re not doing anything,’ Neville pleaded as Draco left the room. McGonagall may have been more inclined to believe him if he didn’t adjust his collar to hide recent bite marks.
‘I’m sorry too, Neville. But rules are rules. What example is this setting for the younger students?’
‘I should think that House is irrelevant to friendship is a bloody good example, and one the Slytherins need to follow more than anyone else,’ Seamus suggested rather heatedly.
Neville was overwhelmed with gratitude for this support when Seamus obviously didn’t approve.
‘Goodnight gentlemen,’ McGonagall said briskly and closed the door behind her.
‘Your pet ferret did have a point, though Neville. Harry got away with murder. If we’d tried any of that we’d have been expelled.’
‘Harry wouldn’t murder anyone.’
‘Unlike your boyfriend.’
‘Shut up Seamus,’ Neville said quietly.
‘No Neville, I don’t think I will. You seem to be forgetting a lot of the evil shit he’s done just because he makes your cock happy. I’m glad he’s gone. You two need to break up so life can become a little less weird.’ Seamus turned his back on Neville before drawing his curtains closed with his wand. ‘Goodnight,’ he said abruptly.
‘Goodnight,’ Neville replied, even though it wasn’t.
*~~~*
Draco did not expect the nightmares to return immediately, believing he’d become strong enough to keep them at bay. Nott was on the far corner of his familiar bed in the Slytherin dorm when he woke up in a shrieking sweat.
‘You forgot the silencing charm you’ve been using for more than a year. I was tempted to body-bind you once you began thrashing around so I could get back to sleep but became caught up in imagining Longbottom coping with all this. Or did he perform the charms for you like a good little house-elf?’
‘He usually gives me a blowjob before bed to keep the boggarts away. If you’d like to take over,’ Draco wiggled his hips suggestively.
Nott ignored it and made the bed-curtains imperturbable. ‘Learn anything?’
‘Potter doesn’t give a toss about any Gryffindor not named Weasley. Finnigan’s more likely to lose faith in the Chosen One than Longbottom. Many outside the DA already have. Potter’s silence is doing his reputation more damage than the Dark Lord’s propaganda. You?’
‘Every book containing so much as the word Horcrux has been removed from Hogwarts, not just the library. They were last in the possession of Professor Albus Dumbledore.’
Draco sat forward. ‘Are you willing to act, or merely research? Because if you’re able to lead students in the proper direction…’ Draco paused, allowing the seed to germinate. ‘Neville is willing to discuss alternatives to Death Eaters and Order of the Phoenix if it results in freedom for wizards and witches. Recruit him and those purebloods who oppose us simply because we’re Slytherin sons of Death Eaters will fall into line.’
‘If the Dark Lord fails,’ Nott said without commitment.
‘If he isn’t what he claims to be…’
‘I know.’
Open sedition was too risky, especially for sons of Death Eaters. The main purpose of this conversation was to sound each other out and solidify the using-Longbottom-for-information alibi. Draco loved the mind-fuck aspect of this war-to a point. He’d rather have his soft-hearted and soft-bodied boyfriend to cuddle.
*~~~*
No Draco beside him as he fell asleep or woke up. No classes together. No reprieve from darkness.
Neville stared out the common room window on a drizzling Saturday morning. Movement near the quidditch pitch caught his eye. A hooded student braved the weather, determined to fly-nutter. Neville summoned his coat, gloves and knitted hat then put them on as he headed for the door.
Ginny stopped him. ‘I wouldn’t. He’s hardly bothered trying to make contact with you.’
‘It isn’t his idea to stop staying over and one of us has to make the first move.’
‘He probably wants you to chase and crawl after him.’
‘That’s how we do this, Ginny. Hunt each other down. We enjoy it.’ Posturing outside the classrooms had been a form of showing off their captured prey. Neville missed that and hoped Draco did too. He politely pushed Ginny aside and raced outside, at first to watch and then to talk once Draco came to ground.
‘Get in out of the weather, idiot,’ Draco said as he shook rain from his white hair. Neville could do nothing more than stare at how sexily drenched and dishevelled he was. Draco sipped rain from his lips. ‘Miss me?’
Neville answered by folding Draco into his arms and nipping at his neck. Draco moaned and tilted his head back for easier access while grabbing Neville’s bum. Pelvic heat contrasted with cool, damp skin and clothing. They performed a revealing spell to ensure they were alone before ducking into the Ravenclaw stand and peeling away the wet outer layers. Neville knelt above Draco and bent down to kiss him. Their tongues met while hands slid inside dry shirts.
‘What do you get out of this, Longbottom, aside from my snide yet gorgeous mouth around your thick cock?’
‘I came pretty close to having your skinny yet gorgeous arse around my…’ Neville grunted when Draco smacked his rump.
‘Seriously,’ Draco insisted.
‘I get to change the way you see me, while finding the best in you. What do you get out of it?’
‘A break from Crabbe and Goyle, oh, and cock,’ Draco teased. Neville dug a knuckle below Draco’s rib to make him squirm and answer honestly. ‘Sanctuary, liberty …and your cock,’ Draco added with a chortle.
Neville touched Draco’s smiling mouth, kissed it, and then gave him the finger. Draco gasped, writhed slightly and dug his fingertips into the back of Neville’s neck as he received another. Neville’s hips moved in time with his wrist so he rubbed against Draco inside and out. ‘You’re so hot, and, snug. I can’t wait to put my dick in you.’ But he had to wait because thinking about it combined with ongoing dick-to-dick friction to make them both come. Sounds of a team preparing for quidditch practice prompted them to clean up and dress in a hurry. ‘Even with your dark, menacing side, you’re the brightest point in my life right now.’
‘Then your life sucks.’
Neville held Draco’s pointed chin so he couldn’t look away. ‘I know what you’re capable of Draco Malfoy, the good and the bad. Don’t underestimate my intelligence or...’ He nearly said affection. Although Draco no longer sought physical or sexual dominion over Neville, he would interpret verbal confirmation of an emotional connection as the weakest form of submission, because Draco was still an arrogant twat.
‘Believe me Longbottom I wouldn’t let you touch me in any manner if I didn’t have some respect for you.’
‘Fifth Year,’ Neville offered as evidence to the contrary.
‘You were already proving to be a rebel. Isn’t it every boy’s dream to either be a nice boy turned bad, or to do one?’
‘I prefer evil ferrets turned less evil and ferrety.’
Draco twisted his leg at the knee to kick Neville’s bum while they crossed the quidditch pitch. ‘You’re a tough one to break, which is another major turn on. Zabini was right-you hit all my kink buttons.’
Neville looked forward to finding those.
*~~~* continue *~~~*