"And remember," Professor Sprout said, "To have a partner picked by the next class for the end of year presentation, or I'll choose one for you. I'll give you a few minutes right now before you leave to pair up."
You grin. Herbology is your specialty, as everyone in Slytherin house knows. You look around and see everyone buddying up with their friends.
From across the room, you see some Gryffindors looking over at Neville, who's making his way around the long table separating the two of you. For every project since 2nd year, you guys have worked together, and for every project since 2nd year, you've gotten an O or an O+, or if Professor Sprout was feeling generous, maybe even some candy.
You stare at him as he walks up to you, "Hey, y/n," He starts, "Partners, right?"
You try to hide your increasingly reddening face by faking a cough, "Yea, sure, whatever."
"Ok, great!" he says, wearing on his lips that stupid grin he always has. "Can you meet at the library at 7?" He asks.
You nod, "Fine. Don't be late."
You walk past him and out of the Greenhouse faster than you can say, "I like you."
~
At 6:58, you rush to put on your Montrose Magpies tank top and some shorts before you're sprinting out of the Slytherin common room, your bookbag quickly thrown over your shoulder on your way out.
You run to the library seemingly quicker than you've ever gone on your broom, but still only make it through the doors of the library at-
"7:04. Hey, that's a new record for you!" Neville exclaims from the table he's sitting at. You move to the chair next to him and place your books on the table before sitting down. "Fuck off," you say, huffing. There's a reason why you're not on the Quidditch team, that of which is being proven at the moment.
Neville, who doesn't ever know what's good for him, chuckles. "Okay, so let's get started. I think we should first look through a few plants before permanently deciding on one." You nod, "Okay, I'll look through this book," you say, picking up the one nearest to you. Neville nods and chooses the other.
After a few minutes, you speak up, "Neville," you say, "What if we did Alihotsy." Neville looks up from his book and seemingly glows at the suggestion.
"That's.. Actually a really good idea."
"And we could demonstrate it for extra points," you suggest.
"We could! But we'd have to get some-"
"Glumbumble treacle as an antidote," You both finish.
He smiles at you and suddenly you feel your heart in your ears, in your eyes, in your hands, in your cheeks, everywhere except for in your chest and all you want is to put it back where it's supposed to be.
"This is why I love you, y/n," He says jokingly, "It just feels like our minds are connected sometimes." And God you wish he was serious.
"Shh, save it for later, darling," you tease, and you swear you see a hint of something behind his big brown eyes. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.
Neville rushes to pull out a quill and some parchment, and by the time he's opening his mouth to announce that he's forgotten his ink, you're already unscrewing the top off of yours.
He labels the top of the parchment as Alihotsy in neat cursive. "How about we start by listing its characteristics and effects."
You nod, "Okay, start writing. So, firstly it's usually-" you glance at the paper, "No, Neville. Don't write every word I say."
"But that's what you just told me to do."
"Neville, you know what I meant."
"What if I didn't?"
"But you did."
"But I-" You lean across the table and cover his mouth with your hand before he has the chance to finish.
"Just do a bulleted list, idiot," you say as you put your hand down. "FiNe," he responds.
"Right, so put down how it makes you laugh a lot."
- uncontrollable laughter
"And how its got red and green leaves,"
- christmas leaves
"That's not what I said,"
"Well, you know it's what you meant," Neville reasons, a chuckle spilling out between his lips.
You roll your eyes, "And write how it's got a pink stem."
- bubbleg
You take the quill out of Neville's hands before he can finish writing. "Right, so you clearly are good for absolutely nothing."
"I'm sorry, you know I can't help it!" He says playfully, ears glowing a bright red. Suddenly, Madam Pince appears from behind a line of bookcases, "Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Longbottom, I expect you to go back to your dorms. I have to close up." You see her eyebrows furrow when she casts her eyes on Neville, but she quickly turns around and leaves.
"Neville, why can't you be more like the shy and awkward boy I first met? He'd be a lot easier to like." That's a lie. That's the biggest lie you've ever told. Neville shrugs, "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." You guys walk out of the library together and part ways when you get to the entrance of the dungeons.
~
Over the next few weeks, between working on your project, joking around, and taking turns caring for the plant (of whom you've decided to call Alistair (Ally for short)), you guys have seemed to develop something of a real friendship.
During mealtimes, you've gotten into the habit of spending half your time at the Slytherin table and half your time at the Gryffindor one, which some Slytherins have started to tease you for, but who cares. They're the ones missing out on a quarter of the students who attend Hogwarts.
"Hey Neville," you say as you squeeze in between him and Dean. Neville quickly swallows his bite of toast, " 'Morning, y/n. How's Ally doing?" You shrug, "Better now that he's staying with me."
Neville shakes his head as he reaches for some more butter, "Rubbish. You can't even give him natural sunlight." You scoff and act like you're offended, "Well excuse me for living underneath a lake . I'm doing the best I can with what I've got, sweetheart."
Seamus and Dean are starting to turn red from trying to hold in their laughter, while Neville looks at you with seemingly the fakest face of disbelief he can muster.
Seamus decides to speak up, "So, Neville, how much are you paying for child support?"
At this point, you all burst out laughing. You also notice yourself blushing a bit, but quickly stop yourself. "Neville, have you gotten the Glumbumble Treacle yet?" You say in an attempt to redirect the conversation.
Neville nods, "Yeah. I asked Hermione if she had some, and surprisingly she did. I swear, that woman is better prepared than Dumbledore sometimes."
"What's Glumbumble Treacle?" Dean asks. Neville looks over at Dean, "Imagine a bumblebee that's extremely depressed decides to make a treacle, which when you eat makes you extremely depressed." Dean doesn't seem to question their need for such a thing and goes back to eating his syrup-bathed waffle.
You look at Neville, "Right, so can we meet up at the library tonight to finish the essay?" Neville smiles, "Yea sure. I'd tell you to not be late, but somehow I don't think that'll work."
~
Once you arrive at your usual table at the library, (fashionably late, as always) you guys start to work on polishing your essay. Quickly, you can tell that something is off with Neville, but decide not to bring it up. At one point, you guys go looking for one specific book you forgot to cite. Eventually, his attitude becomes so unbearably tragic, you smack him in the head with a rolled-up piece of parchment and say, "Did you accidentally eat some of the Glumbumble Treacle? Because that would be extremely idiotic of you."
Neville shakes his head and looks down, "No, it's just something's been on my mind and I don't know what I should feel about it." You set the parchment down, "Well, maybe if you told me what's wrong then I could help you." The Gryffindor raises his head and looks at you, "I- It's just.. I don't know."
"What do you mean, 'You don't know, " you say, "Of course you know, you just don't want to tell me." Neville shakes his head, "I do want to tell you, and I will. I just don't know what you'll say and that's scary. I don't want to make a fool out of myself."
You chuckle, "Neville, you make a fool out of yourself every day, but that's never stopped you from doing anything."
Neville stays still for a moment. But then he leans in closer to you, and suddenly you get it . You notice how he's barely an inch taller than you, his fluffy hair probably making him look taller than he is. "Neville," you close your eyes, "If you're going to say what I think you're going to say, then I have a feeling you won't have to worry about my answer."
You feel him shift slightly and lean in closer towards your lips. You close the distance between the two of you and kiss him.
His lips are soft and warm, and you make a mental note to ask him later whether or not he uses chapstick. It only takes a moment for him to have his hand in your hair, his fingers carefully threading each strand like gold. You place your hands on his hips and sink deeper into the kiss, erasing from your mind anything that could possibly distract from this moment.
~
On the day of the presentation, you make it a point to get to class early to set up Ally and the Glumbumble Treacle Jar perfectly. You watch Neville walk across the lawn to the greenhouse, "Hey, Nev," you say when he arrives. He gives you a quick peck on the lips (much to the surprise of the other students) and looks over the essay one more time before handing it in to Professor Sprout.
~
"Alright," Professor Sprout says after Malfoy and Crabbe finish presenting their wonderfully interesting Daisy plant, "Time for Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Armstrong to present their Alihotsy plant." You guys walk up to the front of the greenhouse, you carrying Ally and Neville with the Treacle jar in his hands.
"So, this is Alistair, our Alihotsy plant," Neville starts, "And if you don't already know, Alihotsy plants cause hysteria to the person who eats their leaves."
"And obviously the only logical thing to do here is to show you its effects live and in person." You say. Neville picks off two leaves from the plant and hands you one.
"Boys, all I ask is that this does not get me fired, please." Professor Sprout warns. "Don't worry, we've got it all under control," Neville offers. You turn to face each other.
"Cheers." You both say, leaves touching for a moment before you shove them in your mouths and start chewing. You barely have enough time to swallow before you feel laughter rip from your throat. You hear the students laughing at you guys as you scramble to open the treacle jar. At this point, Neville is so red you aren't sure which is redder: his uniform or his face. It's almost impossible to hear anything other than your own laughter, it's force of which more powerful than any spell you've ever witnessed.
You can also feel tears streaming down your face, and before you know it, Neville is feeding a spoonful of Glumbumble treacle down your throat. You pause for a moment before wiping your mouth. Then, the Gryffindors and Slytherins are both clapping at our (very) entertaining presentation. I decide to take Neville's hand and we both bow.
"Great work, boys, as always. You can go back to your spots now." Says Professor Sprout. This time Neville takes the plant and I take the (now empty) treacle jar. On our way back, Neville trips over someone's robes and drops Alistair.
"Well, now you've done it, Neville," you say, "You've killed our child."