ATtD Ch42 pt2
“No, Zabini is quite well. I have it under Poppy’s good authority that he will be up and about within the week.”
“He shouldn’t have been allowed to go if he was so weak, Headmaster.”
“He wanted to go. Do you think I could have stopped him? How many times have you slipped out of this castle in the middle of the night, Draco?” Dumbledore smiled reassuringly. “I made sure his clan had been notified of his condition and Neville was quite willing to watch Blaise while they were there.”
Draco glanced briefly at Neville, all emotion blank on the Slytherin’s face. “I don’t think any of you understand the consequences of magical contamination. Blaise could have died. He could still die. Please, speak with me before allowing any newborns in your care to be allowed to run off among dangerous magic and people.”
“I think I can agree with that.” Dumbledore said cheerfully, not fazed in the least that Draco was throwing his weight around. The boy did know the most about such things anyways. “Now, we will leave you two to your business. Don’t stay up too late, Neville. You do have classes tomorrow.”
Neville nodded at the Headmaster, eyes straying to Draco. Standing face to face with Malfoy for the first time since last year, he was struck with the realization that he had never really known the boy. Draco had changed, as to be expected with anyone chosen to be a Candidate. It had to be that which really threw him. Draco Malfoy was worthy of being Soul Vigil, and only amazingly intelligent, resourceful people, with the bonus of great courage, sharp eyes, big heart, and a dangerous, predatory sense of the world were worthy of that right. This was not the same boy he had hated barely half a year ago. This was not the same boy he had been friends with seven years ago.
Draco had waited for his bedroom to clear of annoying Professors and healers before setting his gleaming eyes on Neville again and asking the question he had been wondering since he had left Grimmauld Place. “Is Potter alright? Don’t give me that shit you told Dumbledore; I know he’s hurting from the magic there. How bad is it? If it’s really bad I might have to send you back in there and drag him out…” He raked his hand through his hair and started pacing. “…Well?! Spit it out, Longbottom!” He growled when Neville made no move to talk, only continued to stare at him. Shit, was his power spiking? He stopped moving and checked to make sure his Veela powers were behaving. No… still in control. …What the hell was Longbottom staring at?
“Huh-What-Did you just hit me?!” Neville gaped in confusion, stepping away from Draco.
“So you haven’t gone mute; nice to see. Now answer the fucking questions!”
Neville rubbed his shoulder, glaring reflexively at Draco. Candidate or not, Malfoy was still a bloody bastard. “Here, go take your anger out on this first, then let’s try talking without resorting to violence. Slimy git…” He dug into his robes and handed Draco the unlabeled, sealed roll of parchment Harry had told him was for the boy, and stepped out of the way of any random punches sent in his direction. Bloody Slytherins.
“What the hell is this?” Draco froze. Staring at the scroll with narrowed eyes, he lowered his head and gave a curious sniff.
Potter.
Grinning grimly, he tore the seal open and quickly unrolled the parchment. Huh, Potter had surprisingly nice handwriting for such a head case.
Demon eyes,
I’m alive, pissed and woozy, but alive. Don’t do anything stupid, and I use the phrase loosely, you prat. Shits piled high up here and needs my attention for the week. You won’t have any more problems concerning bias with your new look, so don’t let the Ministry fuck with your head. I need you, mate, but your shirt might do in a pinch.
…Pleeease?
I’ll beg if you want, oh mighty, brilliant, wonderful pal of mine who I am not worthy to have as such a generous friend. I promise I’ll bring you back something really, really, really nice.
Anyways, you don’t have to worry about me. Listen; if the opportunity arrives don’t come here unless it’s an emergency… a real emergency. Maybe you shouldn’t even then. I’m pretty sure they’ll kill you right off. Just stay safe. See if Shiny will take you to the two dark feathered friends of mine. I… I’ll be back in a week. Oh, I said that already…yeah.
I think… Well, I think that I’m going to really miss you-Stop laughing; it’s called a heart, you git.
Regards
P.S.-Make sure that Galleon you owe me is nice and sparkly. I like’m sparkly.
“…Damn it, Potter. You just keep fucking with my head.” Didn’t the idiot realize he had enough problems without Potter getting clingy in bloody letters too?! I need you, mate? Really miss you? How could he write that so casually!?! Whimpering, he stumbled to his bed and curled up into a ball on the green comforter, the letter clutched firmly to his chest. He was headed for a mental breakdown. Twelve hours away from Potter and he was going nuts. Twelve people to kill.
Stupid, stupid, stupid… didn’t the idiot know that the longer he stayed there the more opportunity it gave the Council to off him? Potter has to play do-gooder, like always, and never thinks of his personal safety! Did he really expect him to wait patiently at Hogwarts while he gets himself killed? Stupid, bloody Gryffindork.
“Malfoy? Really, are you all right?” Neville eyed the boy curled up on the bed. He looked small and scared, and if he wasn’t wary of getting another uncalled for punch, he might have went and made sure he was ok. Draco made a sudden shout, causing Neville to jump. “Huh, what?” Shit, what the hell was Malfoy on? What a nutcase.
Draco sat up with a huff, his silver hair mussed uncharacteristically. “I said Potter is a fucking idiot. Now, for real, how did he seem? Was he rational? Sometimes, when it’s bad, he can’t even stand on his own and he starts babbling and hurts himself…” He trailed off, looking down at his hands that were fidgeting with the edge of his pajama top.
Dear gods, Harry hadn’t been kidding… the two were really friends. Dismissing his amazement for the moment, he tried to go about reassuring the boy. “Harry’s fine. He’s rational, can stand on his own, and is having a fun time ordering the old codgers in the Council around.” He said it cheerfully but found he was unable to smile at his own joke. “Uh, he told me that he’s found some good people that he’s equipping to replace the Chancellor. Oh, and Lesley Griffith is there and I really think he’ll do everything he can to make sure Harry’s safe. He even helped to find him a room and set up guards so Harry could rest from his magical fatigue.”
“Magical fatigue?” Draco echoed hollowly, licking his lips. “Uh, was it dark? Was the room like a hole in space?”
“Er, yeah. How’d you know?”
Draco shook his head thoughtfully. So Potter had an escape from the magic. At least something had turned out right. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. It wasn’t like Potter was easy to kill when he had his guard up. He was alive and rational enough to write a letter without giving away anything to anyone who might have intercepted. He had even made jokes, as lame as they were. He was alive, and he missed him. He licked his lips again and glanced back at the parchment. “Hey, who the hell is this Shiny person? I’m supposed to speak with them.”
Neville blushed, ducking his head with slumped shoulders. He was going to kill Zabini. “Yeah, that’s uh… that’s me, I guess.” He sighed dejectedly.
Draco gave him a long look, raising a brow at the sparkly haired brunette. He chose not to comment for now, deciding he probably didn’t want to know anyways. “You’re supposed to take me to ‘two dark feathered friends’ of his. I assume he’s talking about his birds.”
“Oh… yeah.” Harry wanted Draco to see the Fae. Why? Would they talk to Draco since he was a Candidate? “Um, they’re up in our dorm room though, and I really doubt they’ll let themselves be moved. I can sneak you up during classes tomorrow, I guess. The twins might go easy on me if I’m late for Potions… we’ll have to disguise you or something though. Um, if you don’t mind waiting that is. Do you have to see them right away?”
“No… I don’t think anyways. Potter is such a pain.” Draco mussed. “Like I want to see his stupid birds.”
Neville couldn’t help but silently agree with Malfoy. “Listen, he wants me to make sure you’re okay while he’s gone. I’ll be checking up on you daily but don’t get the wrong idea; it’s only for Harry. Candidate or not, I’m still angry about the shit you said about my parents… hey, are you listening to me?” Malfoy was looking blankly at his hands, a strange expression on his face. “Hey, are you all right?” Against all misgivings, he stepped closer to the boy, enough to see the war of emotions flashing in his silver eyes.
Malfoy sighed, twisting his shirt idly. “…You saw him, right? Close enough that I can smell him on you… You can’t understand how weird that makes me feel right now.” He looked up, eyes aglow with pain and confusion. “Part of me wants to lean in and get his scent back on me.” He swallowed hard and clenched his fists. “Another part wants to snap your neck for ever getting that close to him. And the rest, the rest that used to be what I considered rational and sane, is screaming above it all, wondering what the fuck is wrong with me for feeling so happy that he sent someone to check up on me!” He fell silent, dissecting his words now that he had said them. Gods, he needed help.
Blanching, Neville spread his hands wide in a non-threatening manor and carefully approached Draco, hesitantly kneeling beside the boy. He held his arm out to Draco in offering, hoping to calm the boy. “Here, it was only a hug hello. He can’t help it; the Heir’s blood makes him very touchy. It’s natural for him to imprint those he cares about through touch. It’s probably natural for you to freak about it too, since you’re a Candidate.”
“I know, I know! Yet my brain is saying otherwise and I can’t figure out when I started caring!” Draco wailed, grabbing Neville’s shoulders and rubbing his face into his neck to pick up Harry’s scent. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He whispered glumly into Neville’s red robes. “I was supposed to grow up, marry someone my parents chose, inherit mad amounts of money, have kids, get a job in the Ministry, and find some happiness in all of it. Voldemort was supposed to be the only thing in my path, that somehow would have disappeared, because who the hell expected him to show up after all these years?!”
He pulled back to meet Neville’s eyes earnestly. “Did you really expect to transform? Did anyone honestly expect after thousands of years an Heir would actually be born! What the hell? This wasn’t supposed to happen and now I’m going nuts because of it!” He exuberantly waved Harry’s note in front of Neville, too fast for the boy to read but enough to make him squeak. “He needs me! That big idiot needs me and worse, I actually, truly care! So much it hurts! Why the fuck do I care?!” Breathing heavily, Draco’s anger slowly faded and he slumped, staring blankly at the page in his hand.
Neville watched him, not sure if he should bother or not. Malfoy was a little scary like this… more so than he used to be. Hell, his Gryffindor instincts always killed him during times like this. Fine, he would be nice. “He cares about you too. He told me. He considers you a friend, and said you made the list.”
“The list?” Draco raised his eyes, too glum to laugh at the thought of Harry actually having lists of whom his friends are. Lists of enemies were one thing, but of friends? What a dork.
“Yeah, Harry made these lists last year around the time we were getting the DA organized. It was a way to strengthen us through friendship and loyalty… all for one and all that rot. He had a secret one, one that only the people on it really know about, and not even all of them know. They’re called untouchables and the DA members pass the names through each House with the knowledge that they’re protected. You’re on it now and because of it, no one will give you a hard time about anything without knowing that they’ll get twice as much shit for it later.”
Raising his eyebrows, Draco sat back a little to search Neville’s face. “And why, exactly, is that?”
“Um…” Neville squirmed, looking away.
“Didn’t quite hear that, Longbottom.”
Neville rolled his eyes at the boy but wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Because Harry will retaliate. Fully and with discretion… including, but not limited to, death.”
Draco blinked. “…He came up with this last year?”
“Ha, ah, yeah.” Neville scratched his nose lightly. “He’s quite serious about it too. He hasn’t killed anyone, mind, but he’s dealt out quite a few nasty hexes because of it. I don’t think anyone took him serious until the whole Ministry battle, but they sure do now.”
Well, once again Potter had proved beyond any doubt that he was quite mad. Draco fixed Neville with a sharp look. “This doesn’t bother you at all, does it. You are not fazed in the slightest that Potter is absolutely insane. I mean, it’s fine for me, I find it horribly charming because apparently, I’ve lost my mind, but you-you’re a sane, freethinking person, Longbottom. This should bother you. You can’t tell me that everyone on that list agrees with this.”
Neville shrugged, smiling softly. “He’s my friend. If anything happens to him, trust me when I say everyone on that list would be ready to kill for him. Now that I know that he’s the Heir, it makes sense to me, but even back then, when I didn’t know, it never bothered me. Harry’s an amazing person and the rules were always different when it came to him.”
Draco couldn’t help but remember how he had thought of the same and used to be annoyed by it. “And the others? They’re fine with this?”
“…Well, they don’t know.” Neville chuckled sheepishly. “The Weasley twins, Sirius, Remus, Ron, and Seamus were the only ones Harry told besides me. They took it well. I think it made sense to Remus and Sirius, the others were just glad to be a part of it, but most people just don’t have the right mindset, I suppose, to truly understand. I think you have to experience real pain in your life to gain the right perspective. It is horribly charming, Malfoy. I think it’s the sweetest thing ever. But you want to know what Ron said when he had first heard? He asked Harry if Voldemort wasn’t planting ideas into his head- Oh, that’s another thing. You’re now privileged to certain information. I don’t know if Harry was planning on having me tell you, or if he wanted to do it himself, but if you happen to ask the right questions, I’ll be willing to answer.”
Draco just kind of stared dumfounded at the brunette. Potter had a secret society of followers. Before he had even become Heir. Life just kept getting weirder and weirder. “Um… I don’t have to pretend to like any of you, do I? I promise to try to cut back on the prattiness but don’t expect me to be nice. Potter is just going to have to deal.”
Neville didn’t smile, just thought back to how Harry’s tone had softened when they had been discussing Draco. “Something tells me you can act however you want, Malfoy.”
Draco nodded blankly and buried his head into his hands. “He’s okay?”
“Yeah.”
“He really misses me?”
Neville sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Draco nodded, spreading his fingers so he could meet Neville’s eyes. “I’m sorry for… I’m sorry I treated you like shit, Nevvy. I wasn’t supposed to-”
“Shit, don’t start with that.” Neville looked away from the sad eyes, the childhood nickname hurting him more than he had ever thought it would. “It makes sense now with you being a Candidate. You sure took to it, though.”
Draco smiled weakly. “Raw talent.”
“I’m sure… Eh, I should get out of here. Classes tomorrow and all…”
“Right, see you then.” Draco gave a halfhearted wave of his hand, watching the boy shuffle awkwardly out the portrait hole and leaving him alone. He didn’t expect things to really go back the way they used to be, it was far too long and too many cruel things had been said between the two. It was a relief that at least Neville now knew his hostility hadn’t been personal.
ATtD Chapter Index Links
“He shouldn’t have been allowed to go if he was so weak, Headmaster.”
“He wanted to go. Do you think I could have stopped him? How many times have you slipped out of this castle in the middle of the night, Draco?” Dumbledore smiled reassuringly. “I made sure his clan had been notified of his condition and Neville was quite willing to watch Blaise while they were there.”
Draco glanced briefly at Neville, all emotion blank on the Slytherin’s face. “I don’t think any of you understand the consequences of magical contamination. Blaise could have died. He could still die. Please, speak with me before allowing any newborns in your care to be allowed to run off among dangerous magic and people.”
“I think I can agree with that.” Dumbledore said cheerfully, not fazed in the least that Draco was throwing his weight around. The boy did know the most about such things anyways. “Now, we will leave you two to your business. Don’t stay up too late, Neville. You do have classes tomorrow.”
Neville nodded at the Headmaster, eyes straying to Draco. Standing face to face with Malfoy for the first time since last year, he was struck with the realization that he had never really known the boy. Draco had changed, as to be expected with anyone chosen to be a Candidate. It had to be that which really threw him. Draco Malfoy was worthy of being Soul Vigil, and only amazingly intelligent, resourceful people, with the bonus of great courage, sharp eyes, big heart, and a dangerous, predatory sense of the world were worthy of that right. This was not the same boy he had hated barely half a year ago. This was not the same boy he had been friends with seven years ago.
Draco had waited for his bedroom to clear of annoying Professors and healers before setting his gleaming eyes on Neville again and asking the question he had been wondering since he had left Grimmauld Place. “Is Potter alright? Don’t give me that shit you told Dumbledore; I know he’s hurting from the magic there. How bad is it? If it’s really bad I might have to send you back in there and drag him out…” He raked his hand through his hair and started pacing. “…Well?! Spit it out, Longbottom!” He growled when Neville made no move to talk, only continued to stare at him. Shit, was his power spiking? He stopped moving and checked to make sure his Veela powers were behaving. No… still in control. …What the hell was Longbottom staring at?
“Huh-What-Did you just hit me?!” Neville gaped in confusion, stepping away from Draco.
“So you haven’t gone mute; nice to see. Now answer the fucking questions!”
Neville rubbed his shoulder, glaring reflexively at Draco. Candidate or not, Malfoy was still a bloody bastard. “Here, go take your anger out on this first, then let’s try talking without resorting to violence. Slimy git…” He dug into his robes and handed Draco the unlabeled, sealed roll of parchment Harry had told him was for the boy, and stepped out of the way of any random punches sent in his direction. Bloody Slytherins.
“What the hell is this?” Draco froze. Staring at the scroll with narrowed eyes, he lowered his head and gave a curious sniff.
Potter.
Grinning grimly, he tore the seal open and quickly unrolled the parchment. Huh, Potter had surprisingly nice handwriting for such a head case.
Demon eyes,
I’m alive, pissed and woozy, but alive. Don’t do anything stupid, and I use the phrase loosely, you prat. Shits piled high up here and needs my attention for the week. You won’t have any more problems concerning bias with your new look, so don’t let the Ministry fuck with your head. I need you, mate, but your shirt might do in a pinch.
…Pleeease?
I’ll beg if you want, oh mighty, brilliant, wonderful pal of mine who I am not worthy to have as such a generous friend. I promise I’ll bring you back something really, really, really nice.
Anyways, you don’t have to worry about me. Listen; if the opportunity arrives don’t come here unless it’s an emergency… a real emergency. Maybe you shouldn’t even then. I’m pretty sure they’ll kill you right off. Just stay safe. See if Shiny will take you to the two dark feathered friends of mine. I… I’ll be back in a week. Oh, I said that already…yeah.
I think… Well, I think that I’m going to really miss you-Stop laughing; it’s called a heart, you git.
Regards
P.S.-Make sure that Galleon you owe me is nice and sparkly. I like’m sparkly.
“…Damn it, Potter. You just keep fucking with my head.” Didn’t the idiot realize he had enough problems without Potter getting clingy in bloody letters too?! I need you, mate? Really miss you? How could he write that so casually!?! Whimpering, he stumbled to his bed and curled up into a ball on the green comforter, the letter clutched firmly to his chest. He was headed for a mental breakdown. Twelve hours away from Potter and he was going nuts. Twelve people to kill.
Stupid, stupid, stupid… didn’t the idiot know that the longer he stayed there the more opportunity it gave the Council to off him? Potter has to play do-gooder, like always, and never thinks of his personal safety! Did he really expect him to wait patiently at Hogwarts while he gets himself killed? Stupid, bloody Gryffindork.
“Malfoy? Really, are you all right?” Neville eyed the boy curled up on the bed. He looked small and scared, and if he wasn’t wary of getting another uncalled for punch, he might have went and made sure he was ok. Draco made a sudden shout, causing Neville to jump. “Huh, what?” Shit, what the hell was Malfoy on? What a nutcase.
Draco sat up with a huff, his silver hair mussed uncharacteristically. “I said Potter is a fucking idiot. Now, for real, how did he seem? Was he rational? Sometimes, when it’s bad, he can’t even stand on his own and he starts babbling and hurts himself…” He trailed off, looking down at his hands that were fidgeting with the edge of his pajama top.
Dear gods, Harry hadn’t been kidding… the two were really friends. Dismissing his amazement for the moment, he tried to go about reassuring the boy. “Harry’s fine. He’s rational, can stand on his own, and is having a fun time ordering the old codgers in the Council around.” He said it cheerfully but found he was unable to smile at his own joke. “Uh, he told me that he’s found some good people that he’s equipping to replace the Chancellor. Oh, and Lesley Griffith is there and I really think he’ll do everything he can to make sure Harry’s safe. He even helped to find him a room and set up guards so Harry could rest from his magical fatigue.”
“Magical fatigue?” Draco echoed hollowly, licking his lips. “Uh, was it dark? Was the room like a hole in space?”
“Er, yeah. How’d you know?”
Draco shook his head thoughtfully. So Potter had an escape from the magic. At least something had turned out right. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. It wasn’t like Potter was easy to kill when he had his guard up. He was alive and rational enough to write a letter without giving away anything to anyone who might have intercepted. He had even made jokes, as lame as they were. He was alive, and he missed him. He licked his lips again and glanced back at the parchment. “Hey, who the hell is this Shiny person? I’m supposed to speak with them.”
Neville blushed, ducking his head with slumped shoulders. He was going to kill Zabini. “Yeah, that’s uh… that’s me, I guess.” He sighed dejectedly.
Draco gave him a long look, raising a brow at the sparkly haired brunette. He chose not to comment for now, deciding he probably didn’t want to know anyways. “You’re supposed to take me to ‘two dark feathered friends’ of his. I assume he’s talking about his birds.”
“Oh… yeah.” Harry wanted Draco to see the Fae. Why? Would they talk to Draco since he was a Candidate? “Um, they’re up in our dorm room though, and I really doubt they’ll let themselves be moved. I can sneak you up during classes tomorrow, I guess. The twins might go easy on me if I’m late for Potions… we’ll have to disguise you or something though. Um, if you don’t mind waiting that is. Do you have to see them right away?”
“No… I don’t think anyways. Potter is such a pain.” Draco mussed. “Like I want to see his stupid birds.”
Neville couldn’t help but silently agree with Malfoy. “Listen, he wants me to make sure you’re okay while he’s gone. I’ll be checking up on you daily but don’t get the wrong idea; it’s only for Harry. Candidate or not, I’m still angry about the shit you said about my parents… hey, are you listening to me?” Malfoy was looking blankly at his hands, a strange expression on his face. “Hey, are you all right?” Against all misgivings, he stepped closer to the boy, enough to see the war of emotions flashing in his silver eyes.
Malfoy sighed, twisting his shirt idly. “…You saw him, right? Close enough that I can smell him on you… You can’t understand how weird that makes me feel right now.” He looked up, eyes aglow with pain and confusion. “Part of me wants to lean in and get his scent back on me.” He swallowed hard and clenched his fists. “Another part wants to snap your neck for ever getting that close to him. And the rest, the rest that used to be what I considered rational and sane, is screaming above it all, wondering what the fuck is wrong with me for feeling so happy that he sent someone to check up on me!” He fell silent, dissecting his words now that he had said them. Gods, he needed help.
Blanching, Neville spread his hands wide in a non-threatening manor and carefully approached Draco, hesitantly kneeling beside the boy. He held his arm out to Draco in offering, hoping to calm the boy. “Here, it was only a hug hello. He can’t help it; the Heir’s blood makes him very touchy. It’s natural for him to imprint those he cares about through touch. It’s probably natural for you to freak about it too, since you’re a Candidate.”
“I know, I know! Yet my brain is saying otherwise and I can’t figure out when I started caring!” Draco wailed, grabbing Neville’s shoulders and rubbing his face into his neck to pick up Harry’s scent. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He whispered glumly into Neville’s red robes. “I was supposed to grow up, marry someone my parents chose, inherit mad amounts of money, have kids, get a job in the Ministry, and find some happiness in all of it. Voldemort was supposed to be the only thing in my path, that somehow would have disappeared, because who the hell expected him to show up after all these years?!”
He pulled back to meet Neville’s eyes earnestly. “Did you really expect to transform? Did anyone honestly expect after thousands of years an Heir would actually be born! What the hell? This wasn’t supposed to happen and now I’m going nuts because of it!” He exuberantly waved Harry’s note in front of Neville, too fast for the boy to read but enough to make him squeak. “He needs me! That big idiot needs me and worse, I actually, truly care! So much it hurts! Why the fuck do I care?!” Breathing heavily, Draco’s anger slowly faded and he slumped, staring blankly at the page in his hand.
Neville watched him, not sure if he should bother or not. Malfoy was a little scary like this… more so than he used to be. Hell, his Gryffindor instincts always killed him during times like this. Fine, he would be nice. “He cares about you too. He told me. He considers you a friend, and said you made the list.”
“The list?” Draco raised his eyes, too glum to laugh at the thought of Harry actually having lists of whom his friends are. Lists of enemies were one thing, but of friends? What a dork.
“Yeah, Harry made these lists last year around the time we were getting the DA organized. It was a way to strengthen us through friendship and loyalty… all for one and all that rot. He had a secret one, one that only the people on it really know about, and not even all of them know. They’re called untouchables and the DA members pass the names through each House with the knowledge that they’re protected. You’re on it now and because of it, no one will give you a hard time about anything without knowing that they’ll get twice as much shit for it later.”
Raising his eyebrows, Draco sat back a little to search Neville’s face. “And why, exactly, is that?”
“Um…” Neville squirmed, looking away.
“Didn’t quite hear that, Longbottom.”
Neville rolled his eyes at the boy but wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Because Harry will retaliate. Fully and with discretion… including, but not limited to, death.”
Draco blinked. “…He came up with this last year?”
“Ha, ah, yeah.” Neville scratched his nose lightly. “He’s quite serious about it too. He hasn’t killed anyone, mind, but he’s dealt out quite a few nasty hexes because of it. I don’t think anyone took him serious until the whole Ministry battle, but they sure do now.”
Well, once again Potter had proved beyond any doubt that he was quite mad. Draco fixed Neville with a sharp look. “This doesn’t bother you at all, does it. You are not fazed in the slightest that Potter is absolutely insane. I mean, it’s fine for me, I find it horribly charming because apparently, I’ve lost my mind, but you-you’re a sane, freethinking person, Longbottom. This should bother you. You can’t tell me that everyone on that list agrees with this.”
Neville shrugged, smiling softly. “He’s my friend. If anything happens to him, trust me when I say everyone on that list would be ready to kill for him. Now that I know that he’s the Heir, it makes sense to me, but even back then, when I didn’t know, it never bothered me. Harry’s an amazing person and the rules were always different when it came to him.”
Draco couldn’t help but remember how he had thought of the same and used to be annoyed by it. “And the others? They’re fine with this?”
“…Well, they don’t know.” Neville chuckled sheepishly. “The Weasley twins, Sirius, Remus, Ron, and Seamus were the only ones Harry told besides me. They took it well. I think it made sense to Remus and Sirius, the others were just glad to be a part of it, but most people just don’t have the right mindset, I suppose, to truly understand. I think you have to experience real pain in your life to gain the right perspective. It is horribly charming, Malfoy. I think it’s the sweetest thing ever. But you want to know what Ron said when he had first heard? He asked Harry if Voldemort wasn’t planting ideas into his head- Oh, that’s another thing. You’re now privileged to certain information. I don’t know if Harry was planning on having me tell you, or if he wanted to do it himself, but if you happen to ask the right questions, I’ll be willing to answer.”
Draco just kind of stared dumfounded at the brunette. Potter had a secret society of followers. Before he had even become Heir. Life just kept getting weirder and weirder. “Um… I don’t have to pretend to like any of you, do I? I promise to try to cut back on the prattiness but don’t expect me to be nice. Potter is just going to have to deal.”
Neville didn’t smile, just thought back to how Harry’s tone had softened when they had been discussing Draco. “Something tells me you can act however you want, Malfoy.”
Draco nodded blankly and buried his head into his hands. “He’s okay?”
“Yeah.”
“He really misses me?”
Neville sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Draco nodded, spreading his fingers so he could meet Neville’s eyes. “I’m sorry for… I’m sorry I treated you like shit, Nevvy. I wasn’t supposed to-”
“Shit, don’t start with that.” Neville looked away from the sad eyes, the childhood nickname hurting him more than he had ever thought it would. “It makes sense now with you being a Candidate. You sure took to it, though.”
Draco smiled weakly. “Raw talent.”
“I’m sure… Eh, I should get out of here. Classes tomorrow and all…”
“Right, see you then.” Draco gave a halfhearted wave of his hand, watching the boy shuffle awkwardly out the portrait hole and leaving him alone. He didn’t expect things to really go back the way they used to be, it was far too long and too many cruel things had been said between the two. It was a relief that at least Neville now knew his hostility hadn’t been personal.
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