Hiding under his Invisibility Cloak and clutching the note in his sweaty
hand, Harry rushed towards the greenhouses. The secret meeting place couldn't
mean anything but trouble and he was nervous about the purpose of the meeting.
Harry,
Can you meet me in Greenhouse Three at ten o'clock tonight? I have something
to ask you and since Professor Sprout has given me permission to work there, it
seems like it'd give us the most privacy.
Neville
When Harry reached the door, Neville was already inside, pacing back and
forth. He nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Y-You're here. Good,
great, I was beginning to worry."
Harry was puzzled. It wasn't even ten yet. "What's all this about,
Neville?" he asked curiously. "Is there something wrong? Did something
happen?"
"Wrong? What? Oh. Oh, no, nothing like that. I...I just have something I
want to tell you." Neville's posture was quite formal and he smoothed out
his robes.
"Go ahead, Neville. You can tell me anything." Still confused,
Harry tried smiling encouragingly.
At that, Neville's face softened a bit and he cleared his throat. "I
wanted to tell you I like you. I mean, I know you like me, too. That's not what
I mean. I just can't get you out of my head and I didn't know how to go about
acting on it."
Harry felt his cheeks flush and saw his expression matched Neville's.
"Oh! I don't know wh-what to say to that, Neville," he stammered.
"I've never had anyone say that to me before."
Taking two steps forward, Neville asked, "Harry, can I kiss you?"
Still recovering from shock, Harry shakily nodded. Neville nervously licked
his lips before leaning in. When their lips met, Harry felt warmth spread
through him and he closed his eyes. A moment later when Neville's lips opened
slightly, Harry responded by tentatively darting his tongue inside. He was
further encouraged when Neville moaned softly.
Thirty minutes later, Harry and Neville emerged, Harry's hair more
dishevelled than usual. Neville reached over and picked a leaf off Harry's robes
and said, "You go on ahead. I have to lock up here or Professor Sprout will
kill me. And... I want to meet you again, but maybe we shouldn't tell anyone
about this, just yet. I don't know what other people will think."
Harry nodded quickly, throwing the cloak over his head again and headed over
to Hagrid's hut in order to make himself presentable. He couldn't stop smiling
the entire walk over.
The next week was a thrilling one for Harry. He met Neville in the greenhouse
twice more, once in the Astronomy Tower and once in the Room of Requirement,
each time engaging in more activity than really was proper in any classroom
setting, but he'd decided it was time to end their secrecy. As the Sixth Year
NEWT Charms class spilled into the hall, Harry tapped on Neville's shoulder.
Neville looked a bit surprised but smiled warmly. "Yes, Harry?"
Harry kissed Neville squarely on the mouth, tangling his hands in Neville's
robes. A moment later, he broke away, ignoring Ron and Hermione's gaping faces,
the indignant calls of Professor McGonagall regarding proper school conduct, and
the sneering Slytherins that had witnessed the entire event.
That night, when Neville and Harry met in Flitwick's classroom, Neville
looked angry. Really angry. More angry than Harry had ever seen Neville. Harry
asked, "What's wrong, love?"
"I don't like public displays of affection, that's what, Harry!"
ranted Neville. "Everyone saw us and I thought we'd agreed to keep
this secret!"
"You don't like to kiss me in public, Neville?" Harry
sneered. "Then, why exactly, did you snog the hell out of me in the
Gryffindor Common Room not twenty minutes ago and thank me for the excellent
kiss earlier that day?"
Not-Neville looked scared. "I...I..."
Harry pushed Not-Neville into a chair. With a flick of his wand and a quickly
muttered incantation, tiny ropes shot out, binding Not-Neville.
Pulling up a chair of his own, Harry sat and stared at the impostor.
"Now we wait," he said.
"I could just tell you who I am," Not-Neville said
miserably.
"This is more fun. More dramatic, wouldn't you say?"
Not-Neville sighed.
The minutes ticked by and fifty minutes after Harry's arrival, Neville's wavy
hair straightened and lightened considerably. Brown eyes changed to grey. The
boy shrunk a few inches, giving way to the slight form of Draco Malfoy. Harry
narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Malfoy," he spat. "What are you
playing at, exactly?"
Sighing again, Draco said, "I told you the truth the first day. I've
been appreciating your form for quite awhile. I knew you'd never do anything
with me and took a chance on Longbottom. Seems like I guessed correctly."
"So, this isn't some evil plot?"
Draco scoffed, "Getting into Harry Potter's pants is an evil plot! Using
Polyjuice for the purpose is completely nefarious! And Slytherin," he
added.
Harry stood up and released Draco's binds. "I'd be lying if I said I'd
never, uhm, 'appreciated your form' before. But, I don't know. You're Malfoy and
it looks like the real Neville might actually be interested."
Pulling himself off the chair, Draco stood inches from Harry. "I can't
speak for Longbottom, but I'm willing to share." After a beat, he added,
"Preferably at the same time."
At that, much of Harry's bloodflow travelled in a direction far from his
head. He didn't stop Draco as the other boy leaned in for a kiss. Softly, Harry
asked, "Can you, uhm, do that thing you did in the Room of
Requirement?"
Draco looked confused. "Harry, I've never been in the Room of
Requirement."
Harry's eyebrows nearly flew off his head. Just how many Neville Longbottoms
were running around Hogwarts, anyway?