Potterfic - Peace, Love & Harmony (7 of 8) - Draco/Neville
Part 6
Part 7 Word Count: 7222
The staff of the permanent residents’ ward could not refuse Neville and Augusta’s request to remove Alice from the hospital for a day, not when the patient in question repeated “I go” in a stern voice. Alice couldn’t move her hands so her favourite nurse dressed her for the occasion.
“You look beautiful Mum,” Neville told her.
“Old,” Alice complained.
“Old does not automatically equal ugly, Alice,” Augusta replied snippily.
Alice’s lips quirked and Neville knew his mother was laughing at Gran. Neville placed the specially fashioned portkey around his mother’s neck. He and Gran touched the pendant before it began to glow and the three were transported to the Room of All Seasons where Neville’s friends, Draco’s family and Draco were waiting for them. The room had expanded to fit everyone in.
The chief warlock of the Wizengamot officiated over the bonding ceremony. Witnesses for both partners were selected to perform the enchantments that would seal Neville to Draco for eternity. And it was done. The process to finalise the most ponderous decision of their lives turned out to be disappointingly simple.
The Hogwarts house-elves provided a celebration feast which magically appeared on the table created by the bound couple’s first passionate kiss. There was now a cupboard full of matching chairs so no guest was forced to stand. Lucius surprised everyone by making the first toast.
“To hope,” he said simply and received a warm kiss from Narcissa as he sat back down.
“To love,” Alice said from her seat.
“To family,” said Astoria.
“To friends,” said Hannah.
“And to two people we never suspected would combine all four,” offered Ginny.
“Now the new age of Hogwarts truly begins,” Luna said enigmatically. Everyone was too eager to celebrate to interpret her comment.
*~~~*
“Well that didn’t live up to its destructive potential,” Draco said with breathless relief as he flopped backward onto the grand bed the Room of Requirement provided especially for this evening.
“Having the ceremony here was a touch of genius. Nobody dared tick Hogwarts off by being a dick.”
Draco stretched one arm across the bed in Neville’s direction while lifting one foot onto the bed and letting his knee fall open in invitation. His smile was smug but there was nothing smirky about it. “Since you’ve finished bringing out the best in me how about you bring the best of you over here…”
Neville clambered along the bed on his knees then crawled over Draco to kiss him. Draco firmly pressed a flattened palm against Neville’s chest.
“No magic Longbottom. Undress me slowly. Take your time. Give me a taste of our eternity.”
“Tease,” Neville said before their lips met. “Say please.”
Draco arched his back seductively and used his fingertips to tickle the nape of Neville’s neck. “Please,” he said. There was nothing submissive about it.
Neville’s cock complained but his heart deigned to give Draco precisely what he wanted. Slowly and lightly his fingers moved to unfasten Draco’s clothes. With similar meticulous touch, his lips and tongue followed his hands over his lover’s body. They touched and tasted each other all over, inside and out, before Draco returned to his starting position and lifted his hips for Neville to slide beneath and between his buttocks. Neville sank into the heat of Draco’s embrace as well as his arse. Magic could fulfil every need but this. It was impossible to be closer than this. Every part of them was connected by threads of emotional energy. And sweat. So much sweat as they exercised their love to its physical threshold. They were drenched with it as were the sheets and the mattress.
“Imagine how sweaty we’d be without the ceiling fan.”
“Next room, Prefect bath,” Draco insisted drowsily as they settled in to sleep on clean linen. “Sleep now because you’re going to fuck me on the floor, in the water, all over the place before we go home tomorrow.”
“Am I?” Neville asked as though that was as unlikely as becoming Minister for Magic.
Draco nodded with confidence. His eyes were already closed.
Turned out he was right.
*~~~*
Neville continued to use the house built for him near the Hogwarts greenhouses once he became a Professor since his holiday duties included maintaining the school gardens in collusion with Hagrid, who was still groundskeeper. The house sat empty whenever Draco came to visit. They felt it would be insulting whatever aspect of Hogwarts created the Room of Requirement if they didn’t sleep in the rooms it provided for them. They might bonk all over the school without remorse but sleeping was different.
Draco continued to bring Scorpius to visit Alice until she died. Scorpius was four. He sat on Draco’s lap through the funeral service, both of them unhidden at Neville’s side. It caused a mild stir among his parents’ generation but no one said a word after Scorpius placed a red felt ball with a bell inside atop the coffin then returned to sit on Neville’s lap and gave him a hug. Scorpius and Neville had no direct contact after that.
Gran was gone the same year. Aside from Minerva McGonagall, all Gran’s acquaintances had passed through the arch. Neville’s immediate friends came. There were no children at this funeral. Draco sat alone beside Neville. The wake for Augusta Longbottom was their final public appearance together.
“Funny how we’d expected this event to set us free when we were younger,” Draco said without humour as they tidied Gran’s house for the last time. Neville’s other friends had already left.
“I hope you’re not thinking I’m callous enough to wish harm on your son,” Neville said with solemn alarm.
“No. We’ve both grown up enough to know that while we relied on other people our happiness didn’t rely on their opinions.”
“Our misery and happiness changed their opinions.”
“That wouldn’t have made any difference if they hadn’t already loved us.”
Neville sat in a chintz upholstered chair and brought Draco onto his lap. “I can’t decide whether breaking up when we were younger is the biggest mistake or the greatest opportunity. My tears at losing you set my parents free. They hid their grief to spare me and Gran. Once they knew it made no difference…” He tightened his embrace around Draco’s middle and buried his face against Draco’s chest as he cried. He felt Draco’s fingers comb through his hair. Neville marvelled at how his high school antagonist had become his adult comfort and companion. Grief for all he’d lost and amazement at all he’d gained mixed in his tears.
*~~~*
“How’d Lupin Baby’s first day of big school go? Is he in your class?” Draco asked before Neville finished opening his office door.
At least he wasn’t naked, Neville thought. Draco could perch on the edge of Neville’s desk like that with his knees apart and feet on the armrests of the chair a little later. For now… Neville swept the lanky legs out of his way and sat heavily in his chair.
“Does anyone know the natural colour of Teddy’s hair? It changes each time he’s caught nicking something that doesn’t belong to him, so neither the students nor teachers know who they’re looking for.”
There was something smug about Draco’s silence. Neville called him a turd.
“It’s what I’d do if I’d been lucky enough to be born Metamorphmagic,” Draco admitted with a shrug. “Please tell me he’s in Slytherin.”
“Ravenclaw.”
“Damn. Then he’ll be getting no more advice from me.”
“Oh good, he might actually manage to complete First Year without getting expelled.”
Draco grinned. “I love you like this.”
“Tired and cranky?” asked Neville.
“Responsible and ordinary with just a hint of smartarse,” Draco replied while nudging Neville’s lower rib with a big toe.
Neville let one hand wander up Draco’s trouser leg before leaning up and out of the seat to kiss his bonded partner. Then they made love on the desk.
“Better now?” Draco asked as they got dressed.
“Much,” Neville admitted with a broad smile.
“Then I’ll see you every Wednesday while Scorpius has a play date at his cousins’. Purely to maintain your mental health,” Draco added loftily. “Not to replace our fortnightly sleepovers.”
“What’s going to happen once Scorpius turns eleven?”
“He’ll be educated here. Don’t expect him to remember your parents by then, or you. Seven years is a lot to a child.”
“And adults. Look at the changes seven years brought to our lives.”
“You and I will still be together,” Draco assured Neville. “Bound, remember?” Draco patted Neville’s cheek as Neville nodded his head. It felt more like a gentle slap actually. “We’ll sort out our visiting hours before then.”
*~~~*
Ginny and Harry invited Neville and Draco over for dinner while their children spent a weekend with Molly and Arthur Weasley.
“Alright Potters,” Draco said once the main course was cleared. “No couple would waste child-free naughty adult play time on guests they weren’t going to swing.”
Ginny’s saucy chortle didn’t make Harry or Neville more comfortable with Draco’s imagery. Harry hurriedly tossed an open envelope across the table. “It’s from Teddy.”
“If he’s trying to blame me for the trouble he gets into…” Draco began as Neville opened it.
“You’re in enough trouble.”
Neville saw what Harry meant as he read the first paragraph and felt his face grow hot. “By the lake, he saw us one night.” Neville passed the letter to Draco. “Teddy was out testing to see if a full moon could make him change…”
“That part’s Ron’s fault not yours,” said Ginny.
“…and thought your fine naked form was a ghost.”
“Lupin Baby thinks you’re romancing a ghost?”
“What exactly did Teddy see?” Harry looked queasy as he asked.
Draco didn’t look up from the letter as he said “Well we weren’t training for the midnight skinny dip championships.”
“It’s a school!”
“It was after curfew,” Neville said in their defence. “Well after curfew.” It had been a grimy hot night following a grimier, hotter day so they’d taken a late swim in the lake then had noisy sex in the shallows. Draco’s pale skin had taken on an ethereal glow in the moonlight and Neville had taken great delight in taking him. His privates took great delight in remembering. Cool outside, hot inside…
“He must have seen me summon our clothes if he thinks I’m a poltergeist. Didn’t even recognise me! How quickly they forget.”
Harry had another complaint. “You’re not supposed to be at the school.”
“I’m on the board of governors. Besides, a corridor runs directly from my manor suite to our Hogwarts residence. You have a problem with that then take it up with the Room of Requirement.”
“Told you it wouldn’t make any difference Harry,” said Ginny. “Hogwarts needs them there together for some reason.”
“Look Potter,” Draco said sharply. “I know you think Neville made a grievous mistake in taking me back but I loved him then, I love him now and I loved him in between. He’s not going to lose his job just because a student caught us having a midnight frolic. When Father was on the school board I heard worse cases of misconduct involving Professors who’d continued to teach for thirty years.”
“Including our ancestors,” Neville put in.
“Your ancestor was the professor who had it off with a student,” Draco countered. “Potter should thank me for keeping your penis occupied so you’re not pointing it at little Lupin.”
“Ah, so that’s who that story was about. Linden Longbottom and Ursula Black,” Ginny said to Harry. Harry looked at her blankly. “They really should be teaching that in History of Magic.”
“But then think of all the silly school girls who’ll think it’s hot to get on with a professor-like Lockhart.” Neville’s comment earned a nod from Harry and Draco. The girls had gone bonkers the year Lockhart taught DADA.
“No one who read that story to the end could be that stupid,” Ginny insisted. “That lost, unfortunate baby.”
“They had a baby?” Neville asked Draco. “You didn’t mention that.”
“Sorry. I just assumed you’d read it if you wanted details. While the forbidden lovers were being tortured by Ursula’s parents and the school board it was discovered that Ursula had fallen pregnant during Sixth Year, hidden the pregnancy from all but Linden, and given birth on school grounds. Linden cared for the child when Ursula went home for the holidays. It doesn’t say where the child was when both parents were in class or what happened after their memories were altered. The headmaster portraits don’t know either.”
The dining room of Grimmauld Place felt grim indeed.
“Just, if you’re going to fuck outside while you’re at Hogwarts, do it during the summer holiday,” Harry said eventually and the topic was laid to rest.
*~~~*
The Auror Office loudly and repeatedly questioned Hogwarts security. Something had to be done about the casual way certain outsiders abused the anomaly inherent in the new Room of Requirement.
Neville scowled as Ministry representatives, Hogwarts staff and school board members naturally turned their gaze to Draco. Draco blithely doodled on the proposed demolition of the unique room then aimed a Luna-worthy smile at his scowling lover. “Oh, they mean me,” he said in faultless imitation of flattered surprise and Neville’s scowl wobbled into a snorting chortle. Draco let humour visibly dissolve from his features as he stared each attendee in the eye. “Don’t Harry Potter, Mrs Potter and all the little Potters pop in to Hogwarts via the tunnel leading from the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade?” He frowned thoughtfully while flicking through the thick document. “My copy seems to be missing the section about filling that in. Surely current protocols for educating werewolves at Hogwarts make both structures redundant?”
Silence reigned.
Draco leaned forward. He rested both forearms on the large table with his fingers linked and tapped his thumbs together. “We agree that the erratic behaviour of the Room poses a problem. Our motives for leaving it intact are mostly personal but also intellectual. Doesn’t anyone want to know how and why this room exists? How the original came to be in the first place? Its affection for Neville is easily explained. Have any of you met a softer, warmer individual?” Draco’s proud and adoring smile made Neville feel like a heroic titan among mortals. “If funding was the main reason research into the Hogwarts Room of Requirement has been scaled down so dramatically all anyone had to do was ask. Find out why it’s able to open a door to Acapulco, why it wants to...”
“You’re not saying much,” Neville whispered to Hermione who was present as both Ministry and school board representative.
“My lines come later,” she replied and when the time came she leapt to her feet and delivered them brilliantly. “Yes, the Auror Office should be applying the latest defensive measures to all access points but that the decision regarding demolition of the Room of Requirement should be based solely on the findings of the Department of Mysteries. For all we know this room may be alive. It continually shows intelligence and even compassion.”
“Don’t get all romantic, Granger. It only likes me because Longbottom does.”
“Are you suggesting enforced resignation for Professor Longbottom?” asked Headmaster Vector.
“That won’t make a difference. He lived with me directly after his mother died and the room of all seasons appeared beside the pond. The winter wall dominated and froze the pond. The ice was solid enough to skate on, which cheered him up enough for the spring wall to gain control. So of course the ice thawed and we fell in. Some sentience controls that Room and it can’t leave Neville alone. It warrants investigating. Suggest harming or killing him to see how the Room responds and my vengeance will wreak the kind of destruction that gave Aunt Bellatrix multiple orgasms.”
That obviously wasn’t part of whatever script Hermione and Draco were working from. Hermione’s expression was priceless. It was as though she’d suddenly remembered this was the Malfoy she went to school with.
“Um, well, yes, thank you Draco for that testimony. All in favour of the Department of Mysteries investigating the Room of Requirement lest it find another student to latch onto?” Hermione clearly fluffed that last line but the end result was still to her satisfaction-until she saw Draco was the only person present without a lit wand in the air. “What…? You started this motion!”
“Those Unspeakables aren’t going to try to watch us fuck and claim it’s for research purposes are they?”
Hermione hit him repeatedly across the shoulder. The motion was carried.
*~~~*
Neville and Draco became so discreet over the next few years that those closest to them began to wonder whether they were still together. They sent out Christmas cards with both names at the bottom and a promise to let people know if they broke up.
“Like we’re that big a deal,” Draco grumbled during their Sunday morning routine.
Neville pointed to the features of the room they were in. “We’re epic remember?”
“Yes, but why?”
The Department of Mysteries had been at work on that for half a decade and still had no idea.
*~~~*
Neville felt nervous as a First Year when the children of his friends lined up for their Sorting. Harry had sent an owl asking Neville to keep an eye out for Albus, who’d been on the verge of wanting to attend a Muggle school thanks to his brother’s incessant teasing about being placed in Slytherin. Al seemed to be over that since he waved vigorously to Neville while chatting cheerily to Rose Weasley as they walked in.
Scorpius was Neville’s immediate concern. He entered the Great Hall with a purposeful stride far too mature for his age but became sullen and withdrawn as the line of students in front of him dwindled to single figures.
“Malfoy…” his first name was lost in a murmur from the student body. Harry Potter’s name caused a much larger fuss twenty-six years ago, but the murmurs about Harry hadn’t been underlined with malice. Every professor looked at the Malfoy boy to see how he’d react.
Scorpius strode with long, deliberately timed steps to the stool so everyone could get a good look then sat straight and calm. He resembled Narcissa waiting to receive tea in front of guests she neither liked nor detested. “Slytherin,” cried the Sorting Hat without hesitation.
“No shit!” someone from Hufflepuff exclaimed and lost ten points for their House.
Scorpius ignored the laughter and mutters as he took his seat at the Slytherin table. The person beside him moved along so a troll could fit between them. “Very mature,” Scorpius drawled in a fake complimentary tone. “Good grief, are you our Prefect? It’s probably safe to assume Slytherin hasn’t won a House Cup recently.” Then he folded both hands neatly on his lap and turned a vacant gaze toward the sorting stool.
Neville found the entire performance rather entertaining and looked forward to telling Draco later.
Potter, Albus was next. The Hat took a moment before shouting out “Slytherin!” Albus shocked everyone further by flipping James the finger with both hands while sticking out his tongue. That gesture assured him hero status among the student body. Then he sat directly beside Scorpius and grinned while offering his hand. His popularity plummeted audibly. Their corner of Slytherin table was close enough to Neville’s seat at the staff table for him to hear the ensuing conversation.
“I’m Al.”
“And what do you want?”
“Well, I reckon this is the safest place to sit because you’ll hex all the bullies who come after me once we become friends. Or it’s the most dangerous, and then I’ll need to be close enough to punch you in the face if you try anything.”
Scorpius declared Al an idiot with a dismissive sniff.
“My brother’s a tosser. I’ve been working on a sneaky left hook all year in case I was sorted into Gryffindor with him.”
Scorpius stared blankly at Albus.
“Alright, so that last part’s a lie. I actually asked the Hat to put me in Slytherin so I could sit with you since no one else wants to and I thought the way you handled that was cool. Uncle Ron told us not to get too friendly with you but he has an odd sense of humour so… I could go back up and ask the Hat to put me in Gryffindor like it wanted to.”
“Be quiet or I’ll show you why no one wants to sit with me.”
“Sorry. I’m just, nervous. People expect me to be Mr Whizz-bang Rebellious Hero and I’m just, ordinary.”
“People expect me to try and kill everyone. Care to trade?”
“You’re wicked,” Al said with a smile of approval.
“You’re oddly nice.” Scorpius made it sound like an insult but his expression as he turned away revealed uncertainty.
Al followed Scorpius like a shadow while Scorpius ignored him for four days. Professor Longbottom told his Slytherin and Gryffindor First Years to pair up for their first herbology lesson, expecting Al to partner his cousin Rose or follow Scorpius as usual. He did neither. Al stood aside with another Slytherin and a Gryffindor who’d been unclaimed. He began to ask the Slytherin boy if they could sit together when Scorpius realised the place beside him was vacant.
“Waiting for an engraved invitation Potter? Get your oddball arse over here.”
Albus hurried over in bewildered glee. Scorpius didn’t say anything more to him during the lesson, although he muttered a lot while making the hole in Al’s potting mix a little deeper when the lower tendrils of Al’s Dragon’s Beard didn’t sit flush with the soil. Albus flicked a tiny clot of potting mix into Scorpius’ pure white hair. Scorpius charmed a larger clot to hit Al’s robes. Al then wiped a wet, muddy hand across the young Malfoy’s cheek and took off across the greenhouse as Scorpius turned to retaliate. They knocked over two Gryffindors, a Slytherin and the tray of Devil’s Snare seedlings before Professor Longbottom threatened the grinning boys with detention.
Neville wondered if that’s how Sirius and Remus started. Harry agreed and Draco made ‘kill me now’ gestures when Neville described their sons’ first week.
“You were right. He doesn’t remember me,” Neville told Draco once they were alone in their cosy room. Sadness seeped through his observation. He didn’t expect to be bothered but he was, deeply so.
“Is it that Scorpius doesn’t remember you or that he doesn’t remember your parents?” Draco asked while stroking the hair on Neville’s chest. “He did for a while, asking why we didn’t visit our soft people anymore. That’s how his child’s mind defined them because Frank and Alice were so gentle and quiet. He was always sad when Astoria, Mother and I explained that they’d died. Then he remembered for himself and stopped asking. He missed them terribly. Asked if they were my grandparents once, sent Father into a rage.”
Neville tried to look Draco in the eye but Draco stared stubbornly at Neville’s chin.
“We were a family,” Neville said after realisation hit like an Unforgiveable Curse.
Now Draco met his gaze. “Yes, we were.” There was something accusatory about that statement.
“What are we since?” Neville asked hollowly.
“A couple.”
“Is that enough for you?”
“Honestly? No. Tor and I have begun trying to get pregnant again. After the last two miscarriages we weren’t game to say anything…”
Neville could only offer a cuddle as comfort but Draco accepted it like it was worth more than Gringotts. “Even though we’re happy we’re miserable.”
“Who do we blame now Voldemort’s gone?”
There was no answer to that. Ponderous silence eventually dragged them into sleep without breaking their embrace.
*~~~*
A complicated third miscarriage took Astoria through the veil before Halloween during Scorpius, Al and Rose’s second year at Hogwarts. Draco came to live in the small house with Neville so he could be close to comfort as well as Scorpius. His place on the board of school governors plus the odd behaviour of the Room of Requirement silenced all official protests. Scorpius was grateful for his father’s proximity, although he’d been angry and embarrassed to discover that Draco was the water spirit rumoured to have the herbology professor in thrall. A single argument in the Room of All Seasons was enough to alter the boy’s perspective. He eventually found some humour in the situation although he was still embarrassed by their clandestine behaviour.
“All this time,” he said one Friday afternoon as he joined Draco and Neville in the herbologist’s house. “Those silly stories about Professor Longbottom, ghosts and his house, Mother and her lady friend…”
“Imelda was more than your mother’s friend, Scorpius. Unlike the Professor here,” Draco openly reached for Neville’s hand, “Imelda couldn’t cope with living in the background. Not that she was selfish,” Draco hastened to add. “Neville grew accustomed to me bossing him about at school and didn’t have to adjust…”
Neville pinched him. Draco had become a bossy bottom once he’d stopped being a bully. His brief and incredibly saucy grin meant the message had been received and understood but now was not the time to draw that kind of attention. Neville behaved. Scorpius saw the exchange and understood what his father meant about background. For the first time he spoke to Neville as his father’s partner rather than a potentially home-wrecking professor.
“Our soft people,” Scorpius began then paused slightly. “Are they your parents?”
“Yes,” Neville replied simply.
“I miss them almost as much as my mother,” Scorpius admitted softly.
Draco hugged his son without hesitation or embarrassment. “We still have a family Scorpius. Your mother remains part of it, only now it’s Neville’s turn to take care of us while we grieve. You still have to call him Professor at school.”
“Ruin all my fun,” Scorpius muttered.
“Oh yes, because he’s bothered to stop you and Potter marauding through Hogwarts thus far.”
Scorpius grinned at the mention of his best friend and their antics-and the inability of Hogwarts staff to prevent them.
“Albus was such a nice, shy boy before the two of you met.” said Neville.
“Imagine how early you would have blossomed if you’d been Sorted into Slytherin,” Draco almost gloated. “You would have killed Nagini for me and I’d never have stuffed up so royally.”
“You were a git. A stunning git once puberty had its way with you, but still a git,” Neville felt fit to remind him. “I wanted to be in Hufflepuff but that darned Hat wouldn’t let me.”
“Blah, blah, stunning, blah, blah-that’s all I got from that Longbottom.”
Neville shook his head and Scorpius snorted back a chortle at his father’s expense before they smiled awkwardly at each other.
“I guess this is okay then,” Scorpius told Draco then sipped casually at his tea.
Draco subtly squeezed Neville’s thigh just above the knee to say they’d talk about it once they were alone, which they did. Scorpius would need time to adjust. The Potter and Weasley children weren’t impressed by his gossip, feeling they should have known all along, especially after Teddy Lupin sniffed and said that was old news when they told him why Draco and Scorpius were dining at Grimmauld Place for Christmas.
“Besides, my father’s a werewolf. What right have I to judge?”
Much to Draco’s despair Scorpius found Teddy fascinating. Much to James, Albus and Lily’s, Teddy gave Scorpius the Marauders’ Map after using potential ownership to bribe them into doing what he wanted for years.
“Dad!” they all protested to Harry.
Harry put his hands in the air and shook his head while rocking back on his chair the way Sirius used to. “His father made it along with mine…”
This wasn’t good enough for James. “You’re only going along with it because Maleficent and Al are bestededest bed bum chums. OW!”
Albus and Scorpius had kicked James under the table but Neville suspected Draco may have jinxed him too. The casual serenity of his lover’s expression confirmed it.
“Use it for good instead of evil,” Teddy told Scorpius, “or…” His facial features shifted into those of a wolf. Scorpius yelped and leapt back out of his seat, knocking over the chair, only to immediately put an arm around Lily when she covered her eyes and begged Teddy to stop it in a voice that squeaked like a house elf. The young wizard’s wand shook as it pointed at Teddy until he returned to normal.
“Thank you Scorpius,” Lily said softly as he let her go and put her chair to rights. Scorpius patted her on the head in an awkward, almost patronising manner then they went back to ignoring each other.
The reflexive act of chivalry raised eyebrows while Teddy apologised repeatedly. Then he scolded James. “That’s why you didn’t get the Map.”
The adults thought there were other reasons Teddy gave Scorpius the Map. They sat around the parlour in cuddly pairs once Teddy had gone to Andromeda’s and the children were in bed to discuss it: both motherless only children, their grandmothers were sisters, certain sectors of the magical community were prejudiced against their fathers, lateral descendant of Sirius…
“Do you think Teddy knows about Remus and Sirius?” Neville asked Harry. Neville lay on the floor between Draco’s sprawled and lanky legs. His head rested in Draco’s lap and Draco’s fingers absently tickled his face and hair. Harry only stopped staring and answered Neville’s question when Ginny’s toe poked him in the ribs.
“Huh? Yeah. Dunno who told him but, probably Luna or Hermione. Hermione spotted it right off but didn’t say anything to me or Ron until after Moony and Tonks were killed. You know how she is.”
“Luna’s looking for the lost child of Linden Longbottom and Ursula Black,” Ginny said with a yawn. “Thinks he/she/it may be one of the nameless ghosts of Hogwarts and hopes to write an article about the entire tragic affair for the Quibbler.”
Harry, Neville and Draco nodded sleepily, too tired to reply any other way. “Where are we sleeping?” Neville asked Draco.
“Not here,” Draco replied.
“Scorp’s asleep, love.”
“Regulus’ room is made up…” Ginny began but left it hanging as Draco looked up sharply and Harry frantically shook his head.
“Is it how he left it?” Draco asked with an odd reverence that Neville and Harry found disturbing.
“Some of it,” said Ginny. “These Blacks were fond of permanent sticking charms.”
“We tend to be possessive,” Draco told her while gently stroking Neville’s throat.
“We’re in Sirius’ old room across the hall,” Harry said resignedly, “so no fucking.”
“Too tired,” Neville murmured drowsily. Draco chuckled while pushing him into a sitting position then said he’d better tuck Neville into bed.
“Top landing,” Ginny told them.
“Don’t thieve anything!” Harry called after Draco.
“Kreacher already handed over anything worth nicking-apart from what you let Mundungus Fletcher sell off. Important historical artefacts…” Draco grumbled angrily as they went upstairs. “At least the mouldy old elf heads are gone. Bet Potter never offered those to Lupin Baby.”
“Please don’t start this again.”
Draco spitefully repeated Neville’s request. “By rights of heredity this ugly house and its contents should have been mine. I don’t give a knarl’s arse that Potter’s living here but everything marked with the Black crest...that’s my heritage Longbottom. Regulus made the same mistakes I did then made amends by trying to destroy that Horcrux. Why do you think I wanted to find that stinking diadem? All these years and you still have no idea just how much Potter’s taken from me.” He stopped to stare at the simple nameplate. “He was eighteen. Did anyone ask what happened to him? Did his brother bother to discover the truth or mourn him? Can you imagine how desperate he’d been to protect his brother from the Dark Lord that he willingly became an Inferus? And Sirius didn’t give a shit.”
“That isn’t the same for you.”
“You don’t get it. Regulus turned out to be the best of us. He’s dead and the rest of us blunder on.”
Then Neville got it. Suicide watch before the restoration of Hogwarts; Draco’s freak out when Hermione’s polyjuice changed him into Regulus; his insistence upon breaking up to stop an escalating family feud; the bitterness that refused to fade; taking Scorpius to meet Frank and Alice.
“Imagine my life after Hogwarts if you hadn’t survived,” Neville said softly while putting an arm around Draco’s waist.
“Selfish prick,” Draco said after a gruff snort.
“We’re well suited. Do you want some time alone to pay your respects?”
Draco said five minutes should be sufficient so Neville used the loo and brushed his teeth as he usually did before bed. He found Draco sitting cross-legged on the bed reading articles that had been stuck on the wall. He watched as Draco went over them again, touching a word or phrase in one notice then part of another.
“More than a permanent sticking charm, a message,” Draco explained. “Regulus expected Sirius to inherit the house once their mother died and then immediately try and remove the propaganda. Sirius had moved to Azkaban before then. Azkaban dulls a wizard’s wits, no matter how intelligent, and he never figured it out.”
“How do you know?”
“Dumbledore didn’t start the great Horcrux hunt until after Father gave Ginny Riddle’s diary. Mother told Father to get rid of it specifically when the Ministry authorised further raids on Death Eater homes but only because it was Riddle’s. My parents never suspected it was a Horcrux but Regulus did. He thought Sirius could succeed in destroying it, or convince Mother to. The clues are all here.”
“Does this make you feel better or worse?”
“To have something Regulus left behind that Sirius failed to hand over to Potter is good but honestly, I’m still pissed off.”
“Honestly? I’m too exhausted to argue.”
Draco used a spell to move the bed since sleeping against a wall gave them both a sense of being trapped. Neville sat on one side of the bed and watched Draco silently undress. There’s still so much I don’t know about you.
“Are you sure I’m enough of a puzzle for you?” Neville asked while joining him beneath the covers.
“Your simplicity no longer inspires insults so what do you think?”
Silence prevailed for a matter of minutes but neither of them slept.
“Why agree to the bonding if you continually have doubts?” Draco eventually asked.
“Things I discover about you inspire surprise, not doubt.”
“Are you sure?”
“Certain.” Neville moved closer to Draco and put an arm around him. “We’ve faced the worst of our trials and can allow ourselves to be happy together. Let’s give that a try, huh?”
“There’s always going to be something,” Draco grumbled stubbornly.
“No there isn’t.”
Draco mumbled “Optimistic twit.” But Neville felt him relax. Then they slept comfortably.
In the morning, after slipping Draco a quickie and letting him go back to sleep, Neville asked Harry to trace some of the items Mundungus sold bearing the Black family crest. Harry told him to sod off with a mouthful of toast.
“Regulus was a member of his family, not yours, and he restored my family to me. Just because you hated the people who raised you…”
“You know, Draco’s a bad influence on you.”
“At least he went out of his way to be an influence. Just forget it. It’s not like you owe me any favours. I didn’t ensure most of the student body kept faith in you or helped destroy a Horcrux or anything.”
Harry calmly placed his cutlery on his plate and leaned back in his chair. “Were you always this much of a dick or only after you became a hero?”
“Were you ever actually my friend?” Neville asked.
“I think you should leave and take your corruptive whore bag with you.”
“What did I miss?” Ginny asked with a frown as she entered the kitchen and found herself in their bubble of vexation. “Neville? Harry? One of you better answer before I roar like my mother.”
“Nothing you and I haven’t discussed before,” Neville told her. “The Malfoys and I will be leaving now.” He kissed Ginny’s cheek on his way out then went upstairs to inconvenience his family and assure them the hasty departure was in no way their fault.
*~~~*
Life became almost tediously domestic for a good long while. Neville taught. Draco dutifully acted on behalf of the school board. Scorpius studied diligently and made the most of the Marauders’ Map with Albus. Draco and Scorpius divided the next four summers between Malfoy Manor and Greengrass Park. Neville welcomed the time alone when he wasn’t socialising with friends.
The small house behind the Hogwarts greenhouses burned down when origami birds given to Professor Longbottom by a Muggleborn Seventh Year became a flock of miniature flaming phoenix during an argument over a topic neither Draco nor Neville remembered. They were too distraught over happy memories destined to be lost to bother with such trivial details as who’d been at fault. The Room of Requirement beckoned every time Neville walked past it so he took the hint and the pair moved in there.
Professor Binns finally realised he was dead. Unfortunately he was in the middle of teaching a class and caused a certain amount of distress among students by keening and failing about. Ever mindful of an opportunity to be a complete smartarse, Draco stepped in with a rather snide lecture on modern magical history-something Binns remained totally unfamiliar with-and shocked many Third Years while impressing others by showing off the faded scar left from his Dark Mark. Hogwarts owlery was swamped by students writing home about the wicked fill-in History of Magic teacher, all of them hoping he’d stay. Draco readily accepted the position. “Until the novelty wears off,” he added cheekily.
Neville discovered that Scorpius and Albus were not bestededest bed bum chums after spotting seventeen year old Scorpius casually luring his best friend’s younger sister into the lake for a midnight snog.
“Hope you like Lily, Professor Malfoy,” Neville said to introduce the subject.
“More than her father,” Draco admitted. “Why?” He listened silently, left eyebrow slowly creeping up his forehead as Neville offered details. “Hope you gave them detention.”
“I tried, and had our moonlight tryst in the lake thrown back in my face.”
“Go back and reissue that detention Longbottom. Tell them they’re supposed to learn from our mistakes not emulate them, blah, blah, parental stuff like that. Go on.” Draco made a shooing gesture with both hands. “When you get back I’ll reward you with a trip to the Prefects’ bathroom.”
“You’ll get us kicked out.”
“They wouldn’t dare. Imagine the student revolt if Hero of Hogwarts Professor Longbottom was ejected from castle grounds for boffing Shame of Slytherin Professor Malfoy. They love you more for nailing me than all that other stuff I brag to them about in class you know.”
Neville forgot about the snogging teenagers. “What precisely do you brag about, Professor?” he asked while stalking lustfully toward Draco. Draco’s devious grin made Neville hard and opened a path directly from the Room of Requirement to the Prefect’s bathroom. Draco dashed around the massive tub, turning on fountains of water and scented foam then stripping off as he managed to stay out of reach. He dove into the rising water as Neville struggled to remove his shoes. “Don’t you think we’re getting too old for this?” Neville asked.
“Can’t get it up, Professor?” Draco called back.
Neville proved just how far up he could get it. Draco grunted and moaned as Neville took him from behind against one side of the enormous bath. Bubbles tickled. Water splashed. Lust echoed and prevailed over setting a good example. “Louder,” Neville demanded. His left arm crossed the front of Draco’s body to grab Draco’s right shoulder, holding them together back to chest. His right hand caught the hair at the back of Draco’s head and pulled then pressed his mouth against Draco’s throat to feel him exclaim “Bruise me with that fucking big dick.”
“Fuck your arse so hard my knob hits the base of your skull, that what you want Professor?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Louder,” Neville demanded again with a gruff growl.
“Fuck, YES.” So Neville shifted his grip on Draco, grabbing by shoulder and opposing hip, bending him forward so Draco pushed against the side of the bath with both hands. They knelt on the ledge beneath the water provided for sitting so the water reached no higher than mid-thigh and Neville could pound deep enough into Draco to make the stained glass mermaid stuff her long hair into her ears to stifle the sounds of colliding bodies.
They came, noisier still, and then sank back into the water to sit on the ledge. Draco sat between Neville’s legs, languorous in his embrace with his head resting on Neville’s shoulder and savouring the slow, extravagant motion of their kiss.
Hogwarts Head Girl came into the bathroom with her Sixth Year boyfriend. They stared in astonishment at their enamoured professors before fleeing from the gentle echo of Draco’s whisper: “I love you Professor Longbottom, and your enormous dick, too.” Or so Moaning Myrtle told them as they got dressed. “I’ve never seen one so big,” she added with a titter then disappeared down a plughole in case Draco did something dreadful to her.
“Utter perve!” exclaimed Neville in shocked embarrassment.
“I’ve only been telling you that for twenty-five years. Nice of you to finally catch on,” Draco replied as though he’d been terribly insulted.
Neville sat on the floor to put on his shoes so he could grin adoringly up at Draco. The pair of lovers made old man noises as Draco helped Neville to his feet.
“I don’t feel forty-two when we lay together in bed at night,” Draco admitted.
“Or fuck,” added Neville.
“You shouldn’t be allowed to say that word without a hard-on. It doesn’t suit you.”
Neville laughed and Draco smiled adoringly at him.
“Can I please have a bath now?” the forgotten Head Girl called from the corridor.
“Only if you’re alone,” Draco and Neville called back.
“Hypocrites!” she declared.
“Potential teen pregnancy!” countered Draco.
“I got Johnnies!” the boy pitched in.
“Merlin’s arse Nicholas, you’re not helping.”
Draco and Neville chuckled. “Follow my lead,” said Neville. He curved an arm behind Draco’s back before opening the door then looked back over his shoulder. “Got your underwear this time Sexy?”
“Yes!” Draco grabbed the hem of his robes. “See.”
Head Girl and her boyfriend were a lot less horny now and not likely to recover for the next day or two. Boyfriend ran off to his dorm. Head Girl bathed alone.
Neville still thought it best to check Draco’s underwear status as they walked along. Draco slapped the inquisitive hand away then held it in his. They returned to their room with smiles on their faces and hearts full of love.
Part 8 = the very end!!!!!
Part 7 Word Count: 7222
The staff of the permanent residents’ ward could not refuse Neville and Augusta’s request to remove Alice from the hospital for a day, not when the patient in question repeated “I go” in a stern voice. Alice couldn’t move her hands so her favourite nurse dressed her for the occasion.
“You look beautiful Mum,” Neville told her.
“Old,” Alice complained.
“Old does not automatically equal ugly, Alice,” Augusta replied snippily.
Alice’s lips quirked and Neville knew his mother was laughing at Gran. Neville placed the specially fashioned portkey around his mother’s neck. He and Gran touched the pendant before it began to glow and the three were transported to the Room of All Seasons where Neville’s friends, Draco’s family and Draco were waiting for them. The room had expanded to fit everyone in.
The chief warlock of the Wizengamot officiated over the bonding ceremony. Witnesses for both partners were selected to perform the enchantments that would seal Neville to Draco for eternity. And it was done. The process to finalise the most ponderous decision of their lives turned out to be disappointingly simple.
The Hogwarts house-elves provided a celebration feast which magically appeared on the table created by the bound couple’s first passionate kiss. There was now a cupboard full of matching chairs so no guest was forced to stand. Lucius surprised everyone by making the first toast.
“To hope,” he said simply and received a warm kiss from Narcissa as he sat back down.
“To love,” Alice said from her seat.
“To family,” said Astoria.
“To friends,” said Hannah.
“And to two people we never suspected would combine all four,” offered Ginny.
“Now the new age of Hogwarts truly begins,” Luna said enigmatically. Everyone was too eager to celebrate to interpret her comment.
*~~~*
“Well that didn’t live up to its destructive potential,” Draco said with breathless relief as he flopped backward onto the grand bed the Room of Requirement provided especially for this evening.
“Having the ceremony here was a touch of genius. Nobody dared tick Hogwarts off by being a dick.”
Draco stretched one arm across the bed in Neville’s direction while lifting one foot onto the bed and letting his knee fall open in invitation. His smile was smug but there was nothing smirky about it. “Since you’ve finished bringing out the best in me how about you bring the best of you over here…”
Neville clambered along the bed on his knees then crawled over Draco to kiss him. Draco firmly pressed a flattened palm against Neville’s chest.
“No magic Longbottom. Undress me slowly. Take your time. Give me a taste of our eternity.”
“Tease,” Neville said before their lips met. “Say please.”
Draco arched his back seductively and used his fingertips to tickle the nape of Neville’s neck. “Please,” he said. There was nothing submissive about it.
Neville’s cock complained but his heart deigned to give Draco precisely what he wanted. Slowly and lightly his fingers moved to unfasten Draco’s clothes. With similar meticulous touch, his lips and tongue followed his hands over his lover’s body. They touched and tasted each other all over, inside and out, before Draco returned to his starting position and lifted his hips for Neville to slide beneath and between his buttocks. Neville sank into the heat of Draco’s embrace as well as his arse. Magic could fulfil every need but this. It was impossible to be closer than this. Every part of them was connected by threads of emotional energy. And sweat. So much sweat as they exercised their love to its physical threshold. They were drenched with it as were the sheets and the mattress.
“Imagine how sweaty we’d be without the ceiling fan.”
“Next room, Prefect bath,” Draco insisted drowsily as they settled in to sleep on clean linen. “Sleep now because you’re going to fuck me on the floor, in the water, all over the place before we go home tomorrow.”
“Am I?” Neville asked as though that was as unlikely as becoming Minister for Magic.
Draco nodded with confidence. His eyes were already closed.
Turned out he was right.
*~~~*
Neville continued to use the house built for him near the Hogwarts greenhouses once he became a Professor since his holiday duties included maintaining the school gardens in collusion with Hagrid, who was still groundskeeper. The house sat empty whenever Draco came to visit. They felt it would be insulting whatever aspect of Hogwarts created the Room of Requirement if they didn’t sleep in the rooms it provided for them. They might bonk all over the school without remorse but sleeping was different.
Draco continued to bring Scorpius to visit Alice until she died. Scorpius was four. He sat on Draco’s lap through the funeral service, both of them unhidden at Neville’s side. It caused a mild stir among his parents’ generation but no one said a word after Scorpius placed a red felt ball with a bell inside atop the coffin then returned to sit on Neville’s lap and gave him a hug. Scorpius and Neville had no direct contact after that.
Gran was gone the same year. Aside from Minerva McGonagall, all Gran’s acquaintances had passed through the arch. Neville’s immediate friends came. There were no children at this funeral. Draco sat alone beside Neville. The wake for Augusta Longbottom was their final public appearance together.
“Funny how we’d expected this event to set us free when we were younger,” Draco said without humour as they tidied Gran’s house for the last time. Neville’s other friends had already left.
“I hope you’re not thinking I’m callous enough to wish harm on your son,” Neville said with solemn alarm.
“No. We’ve both grown up enough to know that while we relied on other people our happiness didn’t rely on their opinions.”
“Our misery and happiness changed their opinions.”
“That wouldn’t have made any difference if they hadn’t already loved us.”
Neville sat in a chintz upholstered chair and brought Draco onto his lap. “I can’t decide whether breaking up when we were younger is the biggest mistake or the greatest opportunity. My tears at losing you set my parents free. They hid their grief to spare me and Gran. Once they knew it made no difference…” He tightened his embrace around Draco’s middle and buried his face against Draco’s chest as he cried. He felt Draco’s fingers comb through his hair. Neville marvelled at how his high school antagonist had become his adult comfort and companion. Grief for all he’d lost and amazement at all he’d gained mixed in his tears.
*~~~*
“How’d Lupin Baby’s first day of big school go? Is he in your class?” Draco asked before Neville finished opening his office door.
At least he wasn’t naked, Neville thought. Draco could perch on the edge of Neville’s desk like that with his knees apart and feet on the armrests of the chair a little later. For now… Neville swept the lanky legs out of his way and sat heavily in his chair.
“Does anyone know the natural colour of Teddy’s hair? It changes each time he’s caught nicking something that doesn’t belong to him, so neither the students nor teachers know who they’re looking for.”
There was something smug about Draco’s silence. Neville called him a turd.
“It’s what I’d do if I’d been lucky enough to be born Metamorphmagic,” Draco admitted with a shrug. “Please tell me he’s in Slytherin.”
“Ravenclaw.”
“Damn. Then he’ll be getting no more advice from me.”
“Oh good, he might actually manage to complete First Year without getting expelled.”
Draco grinned. “I love you like this.”
“Tired and cranky?” asked Neville.
“Responsible and ordinary with just a hint of smartarse,” Draco replied while nudging Neville’s lower rib with a big toe.
Neville let one hand wander up Draco’s trouser leg before leaning up and out of the seat to kiss his bonded partner. Then they made love on the desk.
“Better now?” Draco asked as they got dressed.
“Much,” Neville admitted with a broad smile.
“Then I’ll see you every Wednesday while Scorpius has a play date at his cousins’. Purely to maintain your mental health,” Draco added loftily. “Not to replace our fortnightly sleepovers.”
“What’s going to happen once Scorpius turns eleven?”
“He’ll be educated here. Don’t expect him to remember your parents by then, or you. Seven years is a lot to a child.”
“And adults. Look at the changes seven years brought to our lives.”
“You and I will still be together,” Draco assured Neville. “Bound, remember?” Draco patted Neville’s cheek as Neville nodded his head. It felt more like a gentle slap actually. “We’ll sort out our visiting hours before then.”
*~~~*
Ginny and Harry invited Neville and Draco over for dinner while their children spent a weekend with Molly and Arthur Weasley.
“Alright Potters,” Draco said once the main course was cleared. “No couple would waste child-free naughty adult play time on guests they weren’t going to swing.”
Ginny’s saucy chortle didn’t make Harry or Neville more comfortable with Draco’s imagery. Harry hurriedly tossed an open envelope across the table. “It’s from Teddy.”
“If he’s trying to blame me for the trouble he gets into…” Draco began as Neville opened it.
“You’re in enough trouble.”
Neville saw what Harry meant as he read the first paragraph and felt his face grow hot. “By the lake, he saw us one night.” Neville passed the letter to Draco. “Teddy was out testing to see if a full moon could make him change…”
“That part’s Ron’s fault not yours,” said Ginny.
“…and thought your fine naked form was a ghost.”
“Lupin Baby thinks you’re romancing a ghost?”
“What exactly did Teddy see?” Harry looked queasy as he asked.
Draco didn’t look up from the letter as he said “Well we weren’t training for the midnight skinny dip championships.”
“It’s a school!”
“It was after curfew,” Neville said in their defence. “Well after curfew.” It had been a grimy hot night following a grimier, hotter day so they’d taken a late swim in the lake then had noisy sex in the shallows. Draco’s pale skin had taken on an ethereal glow in the moonlight and Neville had taken great delight in taking him. His privates took great delight in remembering. Cool outside, hot inside…
“He must have seen me summon our clothes if he thinks I’m a poltergeist. Didn’t even recognise me! How quickly they forget.”
Harry had another complaint. “You’re not supposed to be at the school.”
“I’m on the board of governors. Besides, a corridor runs directly from my manor suite to our Hogwarts residence. You have a problem with that then take it up with the Room of Requirement.”
“Told you it wouldn’t make any difference Harry,” said Ginny. “Hogwarts needs them there together for some reason.”
“Look Potter,” Draco said sharply. “I know you think Neville made a grievous mistake in taking me back but I loved him then, I love him now and I loved him in between. He’s not going to lose his job just because a student caught us having a midnight frolic. When Father was on the school board I heard worse cases of misconduct involving Professors who’d continued to teach for thirty years.”
“Including our ancestors,” Neville put in.
“Your ancestor was the professor who had it off with a student,” Draco countered. “Potter should thank me for keeping your penis occupied so you’re not pointing it at little Lupin.”
“Ah, so that’s who that story was about. Linden Longbottom and Ursula Black,” Ginny said to Harry. Harry looked at her blankly. “They really should be teaching that in History of Magic.”
“But then think of all the silly school girls who’ll think it’s hot to get on with a professor-like Lockhart.” Neville’s comment earned a nod from Harry and Draco. The girls had gone bonkers the year Lockhart taught DADA.
“No one who read that story to the end could be that stupid,” Ginny insisted. “That lost, unfortunate baby.”
“They had a baby?” Neville asked Draco. “You didn’t mention that.”
“Sorry. I just assumed you’d read it if you wanted details. While the forbidden lovers were being tortured by Ursula’s parents and the school board it was discovered that Ursula had fallen pregnant during Sixth Year, hidden the pregnancy from all but Linden, and given birth on school grounds. Linden cared for the child when Ursula went home for the holidays. It doesn’t say where the child was when both parents were in class or what happened after their memories were altered. The headmaster portraits don’t know either.”
The dining room of Grimmauld Place felt grim indeed.
“Just, if you’re going to fuck outside while you’re at Hogwarts, do it during the summer holiday,” Harry said eventually and the topic was laid to rest.
*~~~*
The Auror Office loudly and repeatedly questioned Hogwarts security. Something had to be done about the casual way certain outsiders abused the anomaly inherent in the new Room of Requirement.
Neville scowled as Ministry representatives, Hogwarts staff and school board members naturally turned their gaze to Draco. Draco blithely doodled on the proposed demolition of the unique room then aimed a Luna-worthy smile at his scowling lover. “Oh, they mean me,” he said in faultless imitation of flattered surprise and Neville’s scowl wobbled into a snorting chortle. Draco let humour visibly dissolve from his features as he stared each attendee in the eye. “Don’t Harry Potter, Mrs Potter and all the little Potters pop in to Hogwarts via the tunnel leading from the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade?” He frowned thoughtfully while flicking through the thick document. “My copy seems to be missing the section about filling that in. Surely current protocols for educating werewolves at Hogwarts make both structures redundant?”
Silence reigned.
Draco leaned forward. He rested both forearms on the large table with his fingers linked and tapped his thumbs together. “We agree that the erratic behaviour of the Room poses a problem. Our motives for leaving it intact are mostly personal but also intellectual. Doesn’t anyone want to know how and why this room exists? How the original came to be in the first place? Its affection for Neville is easily explained. Have any of you met a softer, warmer individual?” Draco’s proud and adoring smile made Neville feel like a heroic titan among mortals. “If funding was the main reason research into the Hogwarts Room of Requirement has been scaled down so dramatically all anyone had to do was ask. Find out why it’s able to open a door to Acapulco, why it wants to...”
“You’re not saying much,” Neville whispered to Hermione who was present as both Ministry and school board representative.
“My lines come later,” she replied and when the time came she leapt to her feet and delivered them brilliantly. “Yes, the Auror Office should be applying the latest defensive measures to all access points but that the decision regarding demolition of the Room of Requirement should be based solely on the findings of the Department of Mysteries. For all we know this room may be alive. It continually shows intelligence and even compassion.”
“Don’t get all romantic, Granger. It only likes me because Longbottom does.”
“Are you suggesting enforced resignation for Professor Longbottom?” asked Headmaster Vector.
“That won’t make a difference. He lived with me directly after his mother died and the room of all seasons appeared beside the pond. The winter wall dominated and froze the pond. The ice was solid enough to skate on, which cheered him up enough for the spring wall to gain control. So of course the ice thawed and we fell in. Some sentience controls that Room and it can’t leave Neville alone. It warrants investigating. Suggest harming or killing him to see how the Room responds and my vengeance will wreak the kind of destruction that gave Aunt Bellatrix multiple orgasms.”
That obviously wasn’t part of whatever script Hermione and Draco were working from. Hermione’s expression was priceless. It was as though she’d suddenly remembered this was the Malfoy she went to school with.
“Um, well, yes, thank you Draco for that testimony. All in favour of the Department of Mysteries investigating the Room of Requirement lest it find another student to latch onto?” Hermione clearly fluffed that last line but the end result was still to her satisfaction-until she saw Draco was the only person present without a lit wand in the air. “What…? You started this motion!”
“Those Unspeakables aren’t going to try to watch us fuck and claim it’s for research purposes are they?”
Hermione hit him repeatedly across the shoulder. The motion was carried.
*~~~*
Neville and Draco became so discreet over the next few years that those closest to them began to wonder whether they were still together. They sent out Christmas cards with both names at the bottom and a promise to let people know if they broke up.
“Like we’re that big a deal,” Draco grumbled during their Sunday morning routine.
Neville pointed to the features of the room they were in. “We’re epic remember?”
“Yes, but why?”
The Department of Mysteries had been at work on that for half a decade and still had no idea.
*~~~*
Neville felt nervous as a First Year when the children of his friends lined up for their Sorting. Harry had sent an owl asking Neville to keep an eye out for Albus, who’d been on the verge of wanting to attend a Muggle school thanks to his brother’s incessant teasing about being placed in Slytherin. Al seemed to be over that since he waved vigorously to Neville while chatting cheerily to Rose Weasley as they walked in.
Scorpius was Neville’s immediate concern. He entered the Great Hall with a purposeful stride far too mature for his age but became sullen and withdrawn as the line of students in front of him dwindled to single figures.
“Malfoy…” his first name was lost in a murmur from the student body. Harry Potter’s name caused a much larger fuss twenty-six years ago, but the murmurs about Harry hadn’t been underlined with malice. Every professor looked at the Malfoy boy to see how he’d react.
Scorpius strode with long, deliberately timed steps to the stool so everyone could get a good look then sat straight and calm. He resembled Narcissa waiting to receive tea in front of guests she neither liked nor detested. “Slytherin,” cried the Sorting Hat without hesitation.
“No shit!” someone from Hufflepuff exclaimed and lost ten points for their House.
Scorpius ignored the laughter and mutters as he took his seat at the Slytherin table. The person beside him moved along so a troll could fit between them. “Very mature,” Scorpius drawled in a fake complimentary tone. “Good grief, are you our Prefect? It’s probably safe to assume Slytherin hasn’t won a House Cup recently.” Then he folded both hands neatly on his lap and turned a vacant gaze toward the sorting stool.
Neville found the entire performance rather entertaining and looked forward to telling Draco later.
Potter, Albus was next. The Hat took a moment before shouting out “Slytherin!” Albus shocked everyone further by flipping James the finger with both hands while sticking out his tongue. That gesture assured him hero status among the student body. Then he sat directly beside Scorpius and grinned while offering his hand. His popularity plummeted audibly. Their corner of Slytherin table was close enough to Neville’s seat at the staff table for him to hear the ensuing conversation.
“I’m Al.”
“And what do you want?”
“Well, I reckon this is the safest place to sit because you’ll hex all the bullies who come after me once we become friends. Or it’s the most dangerous, and then I’ll need to be close enough to punch you in the face if you try anything.”
Scorpius declared Al an idiot with a dismissive sniff.
“My brother’s a tosser. I’ve been working on a sneaky left hook all year in case I was sorted into Gryffindor with him.”
Scorpius stared blankly at Albus.
“Alright, so that last part’s a lie. I actually asked the Hat to put me in Slytherin so I could sit with you since no one else wants to and I thought the way you handled that was cool. Uncle Ron told us not to get too friendly with you but he has an odd sense of humour so… I could go back up and ask the Hat to put me in Gryffindor like it wanted to.”
“Be quiet or I’ll show you why no one wants to sit with me.”
“Sorry. I’m just, nervous. People expect me to be Mr Whizz-bang Rebellious Hero and I’m just, ordinary.”
“People expect me to try and kill everyone. Care to trade?”
“You’re wicked,” Al said with a smile of approval.
“You’re oddly nice.” Scorpius made it sound like an insult but his expression as he turned away revealed uncertainty.
Al followed Scorpius like a shadow while Scorpius ignored him for four days. Professor Longbottom told his Slytherin and Gryffindor First Years to pair up for their first herbology lesson, expecting Al to partner his cousin Rose or follow Scorpius as usual. He did neither. Al stood aside with another Slytherin and a Gryffindor who’d been unclaimed. He began to ask the Slytherin boy if they could sit together when Scorpius realised the place beside him was vacant.
“Waiting for an engraved invitation Potter? Get your oddball arse over here.”
Albus hurried over in bewildered glee. Scorpius didn’t say anything more to him during the lesson, although he muttered a lot while making the hole in Al’s potting mix a little deeper when the lower tendrils of Al’s Dragon’s Beard didn’t sit flush with the soil. Albus flicked a tiny clot of potting mix into Scorpius’ pure white hair. Scorpius charmed a larger clot to hit Al’s robes. Al then wiped a wet, muddy hand across the young Malfoy’s cheek and took off across the greenhouse as Scorpius turned to retaliate. They knocked over two Gryffindors, a Slytherin and the tray of Devil’s Snare seedlings before Professor Longbottom threatened the grinning boys with detention.
Neville wondered if that’s how Sirius and Remus started. Harry agreed and Draco made ‘kill me now’ gestures when Neville described their sons’ first week.
“You were right. He doesn’t remember me,” Neville told Draco once they were alone in their cosy room. Sadness seeped through his observation. He didn’t expect to be bothered but he was, deeply so.
“Is it that Scorpius doesn’t remember you or that he doesn’t remember your parents?” Draco asked while stroking the hair on Neville’s chest. “He did for a while, asking why we didn’t visit our soft people anymore. That’s how his child’s mind defined them because Frank and Alice were so gentle and quiet. He was always sad when Astoria, Mother and I explained that they’d died. Then he remembered for himself and stopped asking. He missed them terribly. Asked if they were my grandparents once, sent Father into a rage.”
Neville tried to look Draco in the eye but Draco stared stubbornly at Neville’s chin.
“We were a family,” Neville said after realisation hit like an Unforgiveable Curse.
Now Draco met his gaze. “Yes, we were.” There was something accusatory about that statement.
“What are we since?” Neville asked hollowly.
“A couple.”
“Is that enough for you?”
“Honestly? No. Tor and I have begun trying to get pregnant again. After the last two miscarriages we weren’t game to say anything…”
Neville could only offer a cuddle as comfort but Draco accepted it like it was worth more than Gringotts. “Even though we’re happy we’re miserable.”
“Who do we blame now Voldemort’s gone?”
There was no answer to that. Ponderous silence eventually dragged them into sleep without breaking their embrace.
*~~~*
A complicated third miscarriage took Astoria through the veil before Halloween during Scorpius, Al and Rose’s second year at Hogwarts. Draco came to live in the small house with Neville so he could be close to comfort as well as Scorpius. His place on the board of school governors plus the odd behaviour of the Room of Requirement silenced all official protests. Scorpius was grateful for his father’s proximity, although he’d been angry and embarrassed to discover that Draco was the water spirit rumoured to have the herbology professor in thrall. A single argument in the Room of All Seasons was enough to alter the boy’s perspective. He eventually found some humour in the situation although he was still embarrassed by their clandestine behaviour.
“All this time,” he said one Friday afternoon as he joined Draco and Neville in the herbologist’s house. “Those silly stories about Professor Longbottom, ghosts and his house, Mother and her lady friend…”
“Imelda was more than your mother’s friend, Scorpius. Unlike the Professor here,” Draco openly reached for Neville’s hand, “Imelda couldn’t cope with living in the background. Not that she was selfish,” Draco hastened to add. “Neville grew accustomed to me bossing him about at school and didn’t have to adjust…”
Neville pinched him. Draco had become a bossy bottom once he’d stopped being a bully. His brief and incredibly saucy grin meant the message had been received and understood but now was not the time to draw that kind of attention. Neville behaved. Scorpius saw the exchange and understood what his father meant about background. For the first time he spoke to Neville as his father’s partner rather than a potentially home-wrecking professor.
“Our soft people,” Scorpius began then paused slightly. “Are they your parents?”
“Yes,” Neville replied simply.
“I miss them almost as much as my mother,” Scorpius admitted softly.
Draco hugged his son without hesitation or embarrassment. “We still have a family Scorpius. Your mother remains part of it, only now it’s Neville’s turn to take care of us while we grieve. You still have to call him Professor at school.”
“Ruin all my fun,” Scorpius muttered.
“Oh yes, because he’s bothered to stop you and Potter marauding through Hogwarts thus far.”
Scorpius grinned at the mention of his best friend and their antics-and the inability of Hogwarts staff to prevent them.
“Albus was such a nice, shy boy before the two of you met.” said Neville.
“Imagine how early you would have blossomed if you’d been Sorted into Slytherin,” Draco almost gloated. “You would have killed Nagini for me and I’d never have stuffed up so royally.”
“You were a git. A stunning git once puberty had its way with you, but still a git,” Neville felt fit to remind him. “I wanted to be in Hufflepuff but that darned Hat wouldn’t let me.”
“Blah, blah, stunning, blah, blah-that’s all I got from that Longbottom.”
Neville shook his head and Scorpius snorted back a chortle at his father’s expense before they smiled awkwardly at each other.
“I guess this is okay then,” Scorpius told Draco then sipped casually at his tea.
Draco subtly squeezed Neville’s thigh just above the knee to say they’d talk about it once they were alone, which they did. Scorpius would need time to adjust. The Potter and Weasley children weren’t impressed by his gossip, feeling they should have known all along, especially after Teddy Lupin sniffed and said that was old news when they told him why Draco and Scorpius were dining at Grimmauld Place for Christmas.
“Besides, my father’s a werewolf. What right have I to judge?”
Much to Draco’s despair Scorpius found Teddy fascinating. Much to James, Albus and Lily’s, Teddy gave Scorpius the Marauders’ Map after using potential ownership to bribe them into doing what he wanted for years.
“Dad!” they all protested to Harry.
Harry put his hands in the air and shook his head while rocking back on his chair the way Sirius used to. “His father made it along with mine…”
This wasn’t good enough for James. “You’re only going along with it because Maleficent and Al are bestededest bed bum chums. OW!”
Albus and Scorpius had kicked James under the table but Neville suspected Draco may have jinxed him too. The casual serenity of his lover’s expression confirmed it.
“Use it for good instead of evil,” Teddy told Scorpius, “or…” His facial features shifted into those of a wolf. Scorpius yelped and leapt back out of his seat, knocking over the chair, only to immediately put an arm around Lily when she covered her eyes and begged Teddy to stop it in a voice that squeaked like a house elf. The young wizard’s wand shook as it pointed at Teddy until he returned to normal.
“Thank you Scorpius,” Lily said softly as he let her go and put her chair to rights. Scorpius patted her on the head in an awkward, almost patronising manner then they went back to ignoring each other.
The reflexive act of chivalry raised eyebrows while Teddy apologised repeatedly. Then he scolded James. “That’s why you didn’t get the Map.”
The adults thought there were other reasons Teddy gave Scorpius the Map. They sat around the parlour in cuddly pairs once Teddy had gone to Andromeda’s and the children were in bed to discuss it: both motherless only children, their grandmothers were sisters, certain sectors of the magical community were prejudiced against their fathers, lateral descendant of Sirius…
“Do you think Teddy knows about Remus and Sirius?” Neville asked Harry. Neville lay on the floor between Draco’s sprawled and lanky legs. His head rested in Draco’s lap and Draco’s fingers absently tickled his face and hair. Harry only stopped staring and answered Neville’s question when Ginny’s toe poked him in the ribs.
“Huh? Yeah. Dunno who told him but, probably Luna or Hermione. Hermione spotted it right off but didn’t say anything to me or Ron until after Moony and Tonks were killed. You know how she is.”
“Luna’s looking for the lost child of Linden Longbottom and Ursula Black,” Ginny said with a yawn. “Thinks he/she/it may be one of the nameless ghosts of Hogwarts and hopes to write an article about the entire tragic affair for the Quibbler.”
Harry, Neville and Draco nodded sleepily, too tired to reply any other way. “Where are we sleeping?” Neville asked Draco.
“Not here,” Draco replied.
“Scorp’s asleep, love.”
“Regulus’ room is made up…” Ginny began but left it hanging as Draco looked up sharply and Harry frantically shook his head.
“Is it how he left it?” Draco asked with an odd reverence that Neville and Harry found disturbing.
“Some of it,” said Ginny. “These Blacks were fond of permanent sticking charms.”
“We tend to be possessive,” Draco told her while gently stroking Neville’s throat.
“We’re in Sirius’ old room across the hall,” Harry said resignedly, “so no fucking.”
“Too tired,” Neville murmured drowsily. Draco chuckled while pushing him into a sitting position then said he’d better tuck Neville into bed.
“Top landing,” Ginny told them.
“Don’t thieve anything!” Harry called after Draco.
“Kreacher already handed over anything worth nicking-apart from what you let Mundungus Fletcher sell off. Important historical artefacts…” Draco grumbled angrily as they went upstairs. “At least the mouldy old elf heads are gone. Bet Potter never offered those to Lupin Baby.”
“Please don’t start this again.”
Draco spitefully repeated Neville’s request. “By rights of heredity this ugly house and its contents should have been mine. I don’t give a knarl’s arse that Potter’s living here but everything marked with the Black crest...that’s my heritage Longbottom. Regulus made the same mistakes I did then made amends by trying to destroy that Horcrux. Why do you think I wanted to find that stinking diadem? All these years and you still have no idea just how much Potter’s taken from me.” He stopped to stare at the simple nameplate. “He was eighteen. Did anyone ask what happened to him? Did his brother bother to discover the truth or mourn him? Can you imagine how desperate he’d been to protect his brother from the Dark Lord that he willingly became an Inferus? And Sirius didn’t give a shit.”
“That isn’t the same for you.”
“You don’t get it. Regulus turned out to be the best of us. He’s dead and the rest of us blunder on.”
Then Neville got it. Suicide watch before the restoration of Hogwarts; Draco’s freak out when Hermione’s polyjuice changed him into Regulus; his insistence upon breaking up to stop an escalating family feud; the bitterness that refused to fade; taking Scorpius to meet Frank and Alice.
“Imagine my life after Hogwarts if you hadn’t survived,” Neville said softly while putting an arm around Draco’s waist.
“Selfish prick,” Draco said after a gruff snort.
“We’re well suited. Do you want some time alone to pay your respects?”
Draco said five minutes should be sufficient so Neville used the loo and brushed his teeth as he usually did before bed. He found Draco sitting cross-legged on the bed reading articles that had been stuck on the wall. He watched as Draco went over them again, touching a word or phrase in one notice then part of another.
“More than a permanent sticking charm, a message,” Draco explained. “Regulus expected Sirius to inherit the house once their mother died and then immediately try and remove the propaganda. Sirius had moved to Azkaban before then. Azkaban dulls a wizard’s wits, no matter how intelligent, and he never figured it out.”
“How do you know?”
“Dumbledore didn’t start the great Horcrux hunt until after Father gave Ginny Riddle’s diary. Mother told Father to get rid of it specifically when the Ministry authorised further raids on Death Eater homes but only because it was Riddle’s. My parents never suspected it was a Horcrux but Regulus did. He thought Sirius could succeed in destroying it, or convince Mother to. The clues are all here.”
“Does this make you feel better or worse?”
“To have something Regulus left behind that Sirius failed to hand over to Potter is good but honestly, I’m still pissed off.”
“Honestly? I’m too exhausted to argue.”
Draco used a spell to move the bed since sleeping against a wall gave them both a sense of being trapped. Neville sat on one side of the bed and watched Draco silently undress. There’s still so much I don’t know about you.
“Are you sure I’m enough of a puzzle for you?” Neville asked while joining him beneath the covers.
“Your simplicity no longer inspires insults so what do you think?”
Silence prevailed for a matter of minutes but neither of them slept.
“Why agree to the bonding if you continually have doubts?” Draco eventually asked.
“Things I discover about you inspire surprise, not doubt.”
“Are you sure?”
“Certain.” Neville moved closer to Draco and put an arm around him. “We’ve faced the worst of our trials and can allow ourselves to be happy together. Let’s give that a try, huh?”
“There’s always going to be something,” Draco grumbled stubbornly.
“No there isn’t.”
Draco mumbled “Optimistic twit.” But Neville felt him relax. Then they slept comfortably.
In the morning, after slipping Draco a quickie and letting him go back to sleep, Neville asked Harry to trace some of the items Mundungus sold bearing the Black family crest. Harry told him to sod off with a mouthful of toast.
“Regulus was a member of his family, not yours, and he restored my family to me. Just because you hated the people who raised you…”
“You know, Draco’s a bad influence on you.”
“At least he went out of his way to be an influence. Just forget it. It’s not like you owe me any favours. I didn’t ensure most of the student body kept faith in you or helped destroy a Horcrux or anything.”
Harry calmly placed his cutlery on his plate and leaned back in his chair. “Were you always this much of a dick or only after you became a hero?”
“Were you ever actually my friend?” Neville asked.
“I think you should leave and take your corruptive whore bag with you.”
“What did I miss?” Ginny asked with a frown as she entered the kitchen and found herself in their bubble of vexation. “Neville? Harry? One of you better answer before I roar like my mother.”
“Nothing you and I haven’t discussed before,” Neville told her. “The Malfoys and I will be leaving now.” He kissed Ginny’s cheek on his way out then went upstairs to inconvenience his family and assure them the hasty departure was in no way their fault.
*~~~*
Life became almost tediously domestic for a good long while. Neville taught. Draco dutifully acted on behalf of the school board. Scorpius studied diligently and made the most of the Marauders’ Map with Albus. Draco and Scorpius divided the next four summers between Malfoy Manor and Greengrass Park. Neville welcomed the time alone when he wasn’t socialising with friends.
The small house behind the Hogwarts greenhouses burned down when origami birds given to Professor Longbottom by a Muggleborn Seventh Year became a flock of miniature flaming phoenix during an argument over a topic neither Draco nor Neville remembered. They were too distraught over happy memories destined to be lost to bother with such trivial details as who’d been at fault. The Room of Requirement beckoned every time Neville walked past it so he took the hint and the pair moved in there.
Professor Binns finally realised he was dead. Unfortunately he was in the middle of teaching a class and caused a certain amount of distress among students by keening and failing about. Ever mindful of an opportunity to be a complete smartarse, Draco stepped in with a rather snide lecture on modern magical history-something Binns remained totally unfamiliar with-and shocked many Third Years while impressing others by showing off the faded scar left from his Dark Mark. Hogwarts owlery was swamped by students writing home about the wicked fill-in History of Magic teacher, all of them hoping he’d stay. Draco readily accepted the position. “Until the novelty wears off,” he added cheekily.
Neville discovered that Scorpius and Albus were not bestededest bed bum chums after spotting seventeen year old Scorpius casually luring his best friend’s younger sister into the lake for a midnight snog.
“Hope you like Lily, Professor Malfoy,” Neville said to introduce the subject.
“More than her father,” Draco admitted. “Why?” He listened silently, left eyebrow slowly creeping up his forehead as Neville offered details. “Hope you gave them detention.”
“I tried, and had our moonlight tryst in the lake thrown back in my face.”
“Go back and reissue that detention Longbottom. Tell them they’re supposed to learn from our mistakes not emulate them, blah, blah, parental stuff like that. Go on.” Draco made a shooing gesture with both hands. “When you get back I’ll reward you with a trip to the Prefects’ bathroom.”
“You’ll get us kicked out.”
“They wouldn’t dare. Imagine the student revolt if Hero of Hogwarts Professor Longbottom was ejected from castle grounds for boffing Shame of Slytherin Professor Malfoy. They love you more for nailing me than all that other stuff I brag to them about in class you know.”
Neville forgot about the snogging teenagers. “What precisely do you brag about, Professor?” he asked while stalking lustfully toward Draco. Draco’s devious grin made Neville hard and opened a path directly from the Room of Requirement to the Prefect’s bathroom. Draco dashed around the massive tub, turning on fountains of water and scented foam then stripping off as he managed to stay out of reach. He dove into the rising water as Neville struggled to remove his shoes. “Don’t you think we’re getting too old for this?” Neville asked.
“Can’t get it up, Professor?” Draco called back.
Neville proved just how far up he could get it. Draco grunted and moaned as Neville took him from behind against one side of the enormous bath. Bubbles tickled. Water splashed. Lust echoed and prevailed over setting a good example. “Louder,” Neville demanded. His left arm crossed the front of Draco’s body to grab Draco’s right shoulder, holding them together back to chest. His right hand caught the hair at the back of Draco’s head and pulled then pressed his mouth against Draco’s throat to feel him exclaim “Bruise me with that fucking big dick.”
“Fuck your arse so hard my knob hits the base of your skull, that what you want Professor?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Louder,” Neville demanded again with a gruff growl.
“Fuck, YES.” So Neville shifted his grip on Draco, grabbing by shoulder and opposing hip, bending him forward so Draco pushed against the side of the bath with both hands. They knelt on the ledge beneath the water provided for sitting so the water reached no higher than mid-thigh and Neville could pound deep enough into Draco to make the stained glass mermaid stuff her long hair into her ears to stifle the sounds of colliding bodies.
They came, noisier still, and then sank back into the water to sit on the ledge. Draco sat between Neville’s legs, languorous in his embrace with his head resting on Neville’s shoulder and savouring the slow, extravagant motion of their kiss.
Hogwarts Head Girl came into the bathroom with her Sixth Year boyfriend. They stared in astonishment at their enamoured professors before fleeing from the gentle echo of Draco’s whisper: “I love you Professor Longbottom, and your enormous dick, too.” Or so Moaning Myrtle told them as they got dressed. “I’ve never seen one so big,” she added with a titter then disappeared down a plughole in case Draco did something dreadful to her.
“Utter perve!” exclaimed Neville in shocked embarrassment.
“I’ve only been telling you that for twenty-five years. Nice of you to finally catch on,” Draco replied as though he’d been terribly insulted.
Neville sat on the floor to put on his shoes so he could grin adoringly up at Draco. The pair of lovers made old man noises as Draco helped Neville to his feet.
“I don’t feel forty-two when we lay together in bed at night,” Draco admitted.
“Or fuck,” added Neville.
“You shouldn’t be allowed to say that word without a hard-on. It doesn’t suit you.”
Neville laughed and Draco smiled adoringly at him.
“Can I please have a bath now?” the forgotten Head Girl called from the corridor.
“Only if you’re alone,” Draco and Neville called back.
“Hypocrites!” she declared.
“Potential teen pregnancy!” countered Draco.
“I got Johnnies!” the boy pitched in.
“Merlin’s arse Nicholas, you’re not helping.”
Draco and Neville chuckled. “Follow my lead,” said Neville. He curved an arm behind Draco’s back before opening the door then looked back over his shoulder. “Got your underwear this time Sexy?”
“Yes!” Draco grabbed the hem of his robes. “See.”
Head Girl and her boyfriend were a lot less horny now and not likely to recover for the next day or two. Boyfriend ran off to his dorm. Head Girl bathed alone.
Neville still thought it best to check Draco’s underwear status as they walked along. Draco slapped the inquisitive hand away then held it in his. They returned to their room with smiles on their faces and hearts full of love.
Part 8 = the very end!!!!!