Rating:
R
House:
Schnoogle
Ships:
Harry Potter/Neville Longbottom
Characters:
Neville Longbottom Remus Lupin Severus Snape Nymphadora Tonks Harry and Hermione and Ron
Genres:
Mystery Adventure
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Stats:
Published: 01/16/2006
Updated: 06/19/2006
Words: 134,451
Chapters: 37
Hits: 105,190

Becoming Neville

Jedi Rita

Story Summary:
Neville's Gran breaks her hip just after his fifth year at Hogwarts, and he must spend the summer with Harry and Remus at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. He and Harry discover a hidden message in the candy wrappers Neville's mother has been giving him over the years, and they begin to uncover secrets about the past, even as they must confront dangers in the present. Along the way, Neville learns just how much he has in common with The Boy Who Lived, and how to be his own kind of hero.

Chapter 03 - Chapter 3

Chapter Summary:
In which Neville gets some assistance with the greenhouse.
Posted:
01/24/2006
Hits:
3,615

Chapter Three

Neville woke the next morning to a feeling of warmth all along the side of his body, a knee pressing against his leg. The old mattress sagged in the middle, and Harry was mere inches from him, lying on his stomach facing Neville, his mouth hanging open in sleep. Neville's leg tingled where Harry's knee touched him, and the tingle went straight to his groin, his morning erection growing even harder. Even though Harry was asleep, Neville blushed in embarrassment. Slowly, so as not to jostle the bed, he squirmed away from Harry, trying hard not to wake him. But Harry shifted and slowly blinked his eyes open.

Neville froze. "Thanks for letting me sleep here last night."

"That's okay," mumbled Harry.

Neville wanted desperately to get out of bed, but he was afraid Harry would see his erection if he did. He wondered if Harry would even be able to see anything without his glasses, but he didn't want to take the chance. "Um," he stalled, "are you going to come down for breakfast?"

Harry yawned widely. "I'm still tired. I'm going to sleep some more."

"Oh. All right, then."

Harry rolled over onto his side, away from Neville.

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Neville got out of bed, carefully keeping his back turned as he made his escape.

He had slept better that night that he had in a long time, and by the time he'd washed and dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, he felt almost happy. He poured himself a bowl of Witchabix and was shortly joined by Professor Lupin.

Over breakfast, he told Lupin about the things Harry had taught the students in Dumbledore's Army. Mostly he went on about Harry's great skill and knowledge, but he threw in a few personal boasts as well. After all, he'd made good progress during the school year, and he had done pretty well at the Ministry of Magic. He and Harry had been the only two students left standing at the end. Lupin listened attentively, asking questions and making quiet observations throughout.

"If Dumbledore still hasn't found a professor to teach Defense against the Dark Arts next year," Neville said around a mouthful of Witchabix, "he should hire Harry. I guess he can't really, but Harry's class was as good as yours. Still, at least in Dumbledore's Army we didn't have grades. Maybe that's why I did so well." He paused in his prattle to gulp down some tea.

Lupin smiled. "You're certainly in a cheery mood today. I think you've talked more this morning than in all the previous conversations we've ever had together."

Neville blushed. "Sorry about that, Professor."

"No, it's quite all right. I like it. So what do you think you'll do today? Work some more on the greenhouse?"

"Yes. Maybe Harry will help me."

Lupin's smile faded slightly. "Perhaps."

Despite the lateness of the hour, Harry had not yet appeared, and Neville was starting to wonder if he ever came out of his self-imposed exile. Curious, he asked, "What exactly does Harry do in his room all day?"

Lupin's gaze returned to him. "I don't know. This past year has been really hard for him."

Neville idly stirred his Witchabix, pondering Harry's testy behavior all year. "I bet he misses Ron," he said, musing aloud.

"That's part of it. And he's still mourning for --" Lupin stopped, and he appeared rather choked up himself.

"I never knew he had a godfather before we went looking for him at the Ministry."

"They had only recently been acquainted."

Neville considered this, but quickly realized he would never be able to unravel the mystery that was Harry Potter. Abandoning that topic of conversation in favor of one with more potential, he asked, "Do you think we might go out of the house sometime? I made a list of some seeds and supplies I'd like to buy for the greenhouse. I could grow some vegetables for us to eat!"

Lupin smiled and poured himself a fresh cup of tea. "I'm sure we can arrange that."

"Harry might like it, too. It would be good for him to get outside, I think. At school he's not really the type to stay indoors so long. I bet he misses Quidditch." And Neville was off rambling again, Lupin pleased to listen to him.

*****

After he had finished cleaning up from breakfast, Neville went upstairs and knocked at Harry's door. He had to knock twice before Harry called from within, "Come in."

Neville pushed open the door, but he didn't see Harry at first. Over by the desk, Hedwig flapped her wings and hooted a greeting, as if pleased to see someone friendly. She swooped over to land on his arm and give him a friendly peck on the ear before taking off again to perch on the end of the bed. Following her glare, Neville at last spied Harry sitting up in bed, still dressed in his pajamas. "You're not up yet?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm tired."

"I hope that wasn't because of me. I really appreciate you letting me sleep here last night."

"I said it was fine," said Harry, scowling slightly.

"Oh, right." Neville crossed the room and perched on the edge of the bed, giving Hedwig a friendly scritch on the head. Her feathers ruffled in pleasure at the attention. "So are you getting up now?" Neville asked Harry. "I'm going to go work on the greenhouse, and I thought you might like to come."

Harry glanced over at the books on his desk. "I don't know. I thought I might study today."

"Oh, come on, Harry! You can't stay indoors all day! Come up and see the greenhouse. It's great."

Harry's scowl deepened. "I'll do whatever I please. Why would I want to see some grubby old greenhouse?"

Neville recoiled at Harry's hostility, but he refused to give up just yet. "Lupin said we could go shopping for seeds and supplies. Maybe we could go to Diagon Alley. I need a new wand, you know --"

"Go shopping, then! Go plant a bloody banana tree! I don't care, just as long as you stop bothering me!" Harry threw himself back down on the bed and pulled the covers up over his head.

Neville just sat and stared at the covers for a minute, cheeks flushed in shame. He was never exactly certain where he stood with Harry, and he certainly wasn't used to dealing with him one-on-one. Maybe he had presumed too much. Perhaps Harry didn't want to have anything to do with him at all. That wasn't a very pleasant prospect, but Neville was rather used to it in his life.

He exchanged a melancholy glance with Hedwig, who hooted mournfully and tilted her head toward the lump that was Harry. Giving her a final scratch, he gently got up and left the room with as minimal fuss as possible. Out in the dusty hall, he contemplated his options. Company would be welcome right now, but if he sought out Lupin, the professor might ask him to help with research, and Neville didn't particularly care to place his shortcomings on display.

He sighed, desperately homesick. If he were home right now he could go for a walk in the countryside. Sunshine and a wide-open field never failed to raise his spirits. But London was not the same. He'd have to cultivate his own garden instead.

Resigned, he headed back to his room to retrieve the books he'd found in the library, then went on up to the roof to identify the plants in the greenhouse.

*****

He stayed up there all day, coming down only for meals. With the help of his books, he identified several of the plants. Some of them appeared to have primarily sinister uses, but others proved to be rare specimens that had Neville very excited. Unfortunately the only ones that were even remotely still alive were also the most dangerous.

He had scarcely touched the beds so far. He swept up the floor, accumulating a pile of broken glass, rotting vegetation, and assorted rubbish. By the time evening arrived, he was sweaty and gritty and happier than he'd been in a long time. He headed downstairs to wash up and change clothes before joining the others for dinner.

When he entered the kitchen, he found several members of the Order present, including Tonks. She waved enthusiastically at him, almost knocking Podmore's pipe out of his mouth. "How's it going there, old Neville? Hard at work on that greenhouse of yours?"

"Yes." He glanced around, spying Harry seated in a corner munching on a plate of chips.

Tonks pulled out a chair for Neville, and he sat down. "If we eat fast," Tonks said, "maybe we can pop up to the roof and I could help you a bit with the repairs."

"Um, Tonks," Lupin spoke up, biting his lip. "You know, it is a glass house."

"Of course!" she replied.

"That means it's made of glass."

"Well, what else would it be made of? Treacle tarts?"

"It's only that...you want to be a bit careful, there."

"Of course we do! But there might be broken bits about. We don't want old Neville to get cut, do we?"

"Indeed not." Giving up his cause as hopeless, Lupin turned to Neville instead. "Do be extra careful up there, you know."

"I will, Professor."

"I mean, extra, *extra* careful."

Neville and Tonks both nodded happily.

Still not quite reassured, Lupin appealed to Harry. "Perhaps you might go with them as well, eh, Harry?"

Fork halfway to his mouth, Harry froze. But he couldn't think of an excuse fast enough, so he muttered, "All right."

Tonks and Neville eagerly wolfed down their dinners and bid the others goodbye. With Harry following reluctantly in their wake, they trotted up the stairs to the roof, chattering about what plants Neville ought to try to grow.

When Neville opened the door to the roof, Tonks and even Harry were impressed. Wandering over to the wall, Tonks whistled. "This is grand! You can see for miles around." She leaned over the wall, so far that her feet came off the ground, revealing the mismatched boots beneath her robe. She dropped to her feet and winked at Neville. "This wall makes a perfect cover for a spot of nude sunbathing, right Neville? I bet that's what you're sneaking up here for."

Neville blushed furiously, looking anywhere but at Harry. "No!"

"Is this the greenhouse?" Harry asked, making an obvious attempt at distracting Tonks.

Cautiously moving next to him, Neville said, "Yes."

"It does need a bit of repair, doesn't it?"

Neville opened his mouth to defend his project, but Tonks beat him to it. "Oh, it will be just fine once we fix up that glass." She stepped forward, pushing her sleeves up her elbows and given her wand a few practice flicks. "You boys had better step back, though. Let me take care of this. *Fenestra reparo*!" she called out.

A shower of sparks burst from the tip of her wand and smashed into one of the panes, sending shards of glass everywhere. Neville and Harry flung their arms up, covering their faces to protect themselves.

When the tinkle of falling glass stopped, Neville cautiously lowered his arm to see that while the pane she'd been aiming at stood whole, sparkling like new, several of the surrounding panes had been smashed to smithereens.

"Hmm," Tonks said, crooking her hands on her hips as she surveyed the damage. "That glass must be more fragile that it looks." She picked her way across the shards of broken glass to inspect the panes more carefully.

Harry shot Neville a grin. "She's even worse than y--." His eyes widened in horror as he stopped himself just in time.

But Neville knew perfectly well what Harry had been about to say, and the fact that he'd had the same thought himself didn't make it any better. He scowled. "You know, you don't have to stay up here, Harry. Tonks and I can take care of this ourselves. I know you're not really interested."

Harry gulped hard, and he almost looked hurt, but Neville didn't really care right then. Ignoring Harry, he moved to join Tonks.

She managed to control her enthusiasm and, with a bit more practice, her ratio of panes repaired to panes destroyed improved. Neville cleared away the ones that didn't survive, and after watching them for a few minutes, Harry quietly joined them.

"A green thumb is a good skill to have, Neville," Tonks said as she sought out another pane to fix. "Plants have all kinds of good uses. I'm no good at it, though. I can't even grow weeds."

Neville smiled. "I bet you could. It's not really that hard once you get the knack."

She blew a lock of orange hair out of her eyes. "Nice of you to say, Neville, but I'm hopeless. You, though, I bet you're an ace at potions."

Carefully avoiding Harry's gaze, Neville focused on picking up some broken glass. "Not really."

"No?" Tonks asked in surprise. "And you so good with plants and things? You're just being modest."

"No, I'm not."

"It's Professor Snape."

Neville looked up to see Harry standing behind him.

"Snape's --." Harry caught himself, picking his words carefully. "Snape's hard on all us Gryffindors."

Tonks scowled in sympathy. "Slimy Snape. He never did like me, either. I always got the feeling he'd just as soon boil me in oil as mark one of my potions." Then she seemed to realize she was insulting a fellow member of the Order of the Phoenix, a member who was probably downstairs at that very moment. "Still, he's a good mate and all. I mean, on our side. And, um." She stopped, unable to think of any more glowing praise.

Abandoning that train of thought, she turned to Neville. "So you're a Gryffindor, are you? I had you pegged for a Hufflepuff."

Neville stared down at his toes. "Lots of people do."

"Too bad. You know us Hufflepuffs. Tenacious as badgers! We never let go!" She gritted her teeth together and growled in a display of ferocity. "Still, Gryffindors aren't so bad, even though you lot aren't exactly --." She tapped the side of her head with her wand tip, giving them a wink. "I mean, no offense, but Gryffindors aren't much for deep thinking now, are they?"

Neville and Harry exchanged an indignant glance, not sure what to say to that.

"Well!" Tonks said. "I think we've got time for a few more panes before I have to go to that meeting." She rolled up her sleeves again and got back to work.

It quickly became apparent to Neville that they would never fix the greenhouse this way. Too many panes were irreparable or missing altogether. And Tonks's track record of breaking as many panes as she fixed didn't help matters. "I think," he said at last when Tonks paused between spells, "that our best bet would be to get some plastic sheeting. Though it's not really necessary at all, I suppose. We'll only be here through the summer anyway."

Tonks scratched her head and contemplated the greenhouse. "You know, maybe you're right. Well, I ought to get down to the meeting. I'll leave this to you lot, then. See you later, Neville. Bye, Harry." With a final wink at them, she pulled open the door and headed inside.

For a moment they just stood there staring after her, then Harry's lips quirked in a grin. "I like her. She's a bit of a nutter, but she's fun."

"Yeah," said Neville, wondering whether Harry intended his comment as a kind of roundabout apology.

Nudging aside some glass with the side of his shoe, Harry cleared a path to the door of the greenhouse. He opened the door and peered inside, but it had grown too dark to see anything, and he did not enter. Looking over his shoulder he asked, "So what's in there?"

"Plants," said Neville.

Harry grinned. "I could figure that out, even if I am just a stupid Gryffindor."

Neville ducked his headed and looked away, hoping Harry wouldn't say anything about Tonks thinking he should have been a Hufflepuff.

But Harry's attention had returned to the greenhouse. "What I meant was, is there anything alive in there?"

"Not really anything you'd want to keep," Neville said, poking at some dead leaves with his toe. "Mostly bugs and things. It'll be a lot of work fixing the place up."

Abandoning the greenhouse, Harry crossed the roof to one of the walls and leaned over it. "Wow! This is pretty cool! You can see right into everyone's backyard." He turned back to Neville. "You don't think they can see us, do you?"

"No, the concealment spell should keep us well hidden."

"Even Tonks and all of her --?" Harry waved an imaginary wand in imitation of her spell casting.

"Yes. No one should be able to see or hear anything as long as we remain on the premises." Neville forgot sometimes that Harry had grown up with Muggles.

"So you *could* be nude sunbathing up here and no one would see you?"

"I have not been nude sunbathing!" Neville protested.

Harry grinned. "I'm just kidding."

Neville buried his hands in his pockets. He was starting to regret inviting Harry up here if he was just going to make fun of him. "It's getting chilly," he said. "I'm going to go inside."

He turned on his heel and stomped toward the door, not checking to see if Harry was following him or not. He pulled the door open and entered, but the door stayed open. Harry was indeed right behind him. They walked silently down the hall and on to their floor. Neville walked straight past Harry's door to his own room. He didn't bother to say goodnight, but as he entered his room he saw Harry out of the corner of his eye watching him as he stood in the hall.

*****

That night Neville enjoyed a perfectly harmless dream about finding a hidden room in Grimmauld Place that was as full of candy as Honeyduke's. He had just polished off the fizzing whizbees and was just starting in on the sugar quills when someone knocked on the door.

"No one's here!" he called out. The knocking persisted, and he tried again, "We're closed!" But his visitor refused to go away.

Slowly Neville was dragged from sleep by the awareness that the knocking was real. "Oh, bother," he muttered as he climbed out of bed and stumbled to the door, opening it to find Harry standing in the hall.

"Um," Harry said. He gave Neville a hopeful look.

Neville just stared at him, not really awake yet. "What?"

"I, um." Harry frowned. "Well I...I had a dream, too. *You* know."

"Oh," Neville said. Then his brain finally started to function. "Oh. Right. You, er -- you want to come in?" He held the door open wider.

But Harry made no move to enter. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all."

Harry's face relaxed slightly. "Thanks."

Neville returned to his bed and climbed under the covers. Harry followed him, but remained standing at the side of the bed. "Would you prefer me to --?" He gestured toward the chaise longue.

"Don't be silly," Neville said, stifling a yawn.

After a moment's hesitation, Harry slid into bed next him.

Neville started to drift off to sleep, hoping he could find that room again, when Harry's voice cut through his drowsiness.

"I'm sorry I haven't been very friendly," Harry said. "I just wasn't too keen on anyone else being here."

Neville frowned in the dark, wondering if that made him a nobody.

"It's been...kind of a hard summer," Harry continued. "But I'm glad you're here now. You're the only one who could understand."

Neville was awake now. He didn't quite know what to make about Harry's confession. "Understand what?"

Harry's head turned to face him. "You were there. You saw what happened, what Lestrange did to -- to Sirius. And to you. You know, I bet you and I are the only students at Hogwarts who've had an Unforgivable cast on us."

"Aside from Moody's class you mean," Neville said quietly.

"Right." Harry was silent for a minute. "I remember what you said at the Ministry."

Neville's brow wrinkled. "What did I say?"

"When I was alone with the Death Eaters. But suddenly you were there. You said I wasn't alone. At first I was angry that you were there. I wanted you to stay with Ron and Hermione and the others where you would be safe."

*Where I wouldn't mess things up, you mean,* Neville thought.

"But I'm glad you came. I wouldn't have made it without you. I'm glad you were there, and I'm glad you're here now."

"But I broke the Prophecy."

"Yes." Harry hesitated. "But you kept *them* from getting it, didn't you? That's what really matters."

Neville chewed on his lip, thinking about that. He was so used to getting in trouble for breaking things that it had not occurred to him that his destruction of the Prophecy might have been a good thing after all. "Well," he said, "in that case, I guess I'm glad I could help."

He heard a little chuckle in the dark. "You *did* help," Harry said. "You've helped me a lot. Thanks, Neville."

"You're welcome," said Neville. What else was there to say?

Harry did not reply, and after a while Neville guessed he must have fallen asleep. But he lay awake for a long time, listening to Harry's breathing and thinking about what the other boy had said.

********

A/N: Updates on Mondays and Thursdays.