Snapshots

“I don’t know why you’re so upset,” Harry complained.

“I. Am not. Upset.”

And he wasn’t. Really. He might have spoken through his teeth, and he might be dragging Harry down the corridor without stopping. Perhaps his grip on Harry’s wrist was a little too tight, but Harry could be a wriggly bastard and Neville wasn’t taking the chance.

Neville wasn’t upset.

He was fucking furious.

“It was just a question, not like I’ve actually done it!”

“But you would do it!”

“That’s the point of hypothetical questions!”

The Catacombs amphitheater was where the Puffs hung out when wanting to avoid the rest of the school, The hallway to the Chamber of Secrets was where he and Harry hung out together, because the rest of the Puff’s found it too creepy. And Myrtle too annoying. This little hallway was one Neville had found all on his own for the rare times he wanted some peace.

So far and deep from the rest of the castle that the air was cool and damp, so utterly still that Neville could hear his own heartbeat. There was a large patch of moss he’d been cultivating and experimenting on with drops of blood and the occasional mouse… -but he’d not brought Harry all the way down here to show off a clump of moss.

The shock of Neville being so aggressive had Harry too stunned to fight back as Neville shoved him up against the stone wall.

“I don’t care if you think dating is silly and useless. I don’t care if you think of me like a brother because that’s the only way you know how to love someone. I especially don’t care if you think of our friends or the other students as playthings to torment because you’re bored. But I do care, a whole fucking lot, that you still want to fuck Malfoy.”

“Not like he’d-”

“You would. You. If you were in a situation where you could, you would. Without hesitation. I don’t know what it is about Draco Malfoy that keeps your interest, but I have had enough. You are my boyfriend and I should be the only person you see.”

Why did it always come back to Draco? Cedric, sure, he was marked by the Slender Man as someone worthy to exist. Neville could put up with Cedric because he treated Harry like an annoying little brother and more importantly- Harry was more baffled by Cedric than interested.

But Draco Malfoy? He used to be a whiny crybaby who’d tried to bully Neville in their first year. A sulky brat in their second year. Sure something had changed him in their third year, but a few scathing remarks did not make someone interesting.

And Neville could see Harry still wasn’t getting it. There was nothing behind those brightly colored eyes that said he recognized why Neville was upset. Why Harry himself was the cause. And the only thing that kept Nev from trying to shake some sense into him, was that he’d backed Harry into a wall and he didn’t want to concuss the love of his life. Much.

Rein it in, Nev. Threatening him would only confuse Harry more. Threats, whether or not they were bluffs, were an everyday occurrence for Harry and usually ignored.

“Harry.” Neville took in a deep breath and tried to modulate his tone to something calmer. “Harry. The next time someone asks you for your top three choices of a bedmate, I don’t want to hear Draco Malfoy’s name fall from your mouth. Ever.”

“If it’d make you feel better, I guess. Would it be easier if I swapped him out for Hannah? ‘cause she’s a girl? I can work with that if you want to be the only boy. “

. . . calm was fast becoming a foreign language. Neville closed his eyes and tried to tell himself that he could not hit Harry. He loved Harry and purposely hurting him, no matter how much he deserved it, was something a good person didn’t do.

“Or remember that Seventh Year at the Ball? I don’t normally look but damn that was impressive.”

Too bad Neville wasn’t a good person anymore.