prongsxwormtail

            Neville couldn’t exactly pinpoint when he started having feelings for one Seamus Finnigan. His mind noted that it probably had to do with that one conversation they’d had in their seventh year. They were the last two of their dormmates to be left in the room.

It had been a bit of an off day and Neville was sore from the lashings and his self esteem was even less than it normally was.

“You alright, Neville?”

“It’s fine, really…” There’d been a specific amount of lying in that statement as he felt as far from fine as ever. Here he was getting beaten but certainly not to the same extent as Seamus. He didn’t think that it was fair for one student to get more lashings than another. “I should be asking you if you’re alright, Seamus. I mean…you’ve got it worse than I have…” He’d instantly blushed then. “I…That sounded worse than I meant…”

“It’s alright, Neville. No feelings hurt here. I figured I should check on you, though…since I’m the only other one here…” Seamus had motioned to the three empty beds.

“Why?” Neville cleared his throat, shaking his head. “I mean…I’m no one special. I’m just Neville. I’m not even that good at any of my classes…besides Herbology.”

The feeling of hands holding onto his had rather caught him off guard and he looked up to find Seamus smiling at him. His heart fluttered a moment. He’d never really realized why. “That’s no way to think about things, Nev. To some people, you’re pretty darn special. And good doesn’t cover it when it comes to Herbology. You’re absolutely brilliant, Neville. Really. I would have been fucked without you still here this semester. I’m not exactly the best when it comes to that class.”

Neville could have laughed for a moment but those words kept ringing in his ears. “I…Thank you, Seamus. No…no one’s ever said that to me before…Well…no one besides Gran.” It was then that an unexplained blush crept across his cheeks.

“They should.” Seamus had stepped back then, letting go of his hand and making his way over to his bed and climbing in. “You ought to get some sleep before tomorrow. Transfigurations is first…and you know McGonagall won’t tolerate falling asleep in class.”

“Of course not…” He’d climbed into bed with the intention of falling asleep but that night it certainly didn’t come easily. Not with Seamus constantly smiling at him in his mind. After a while he’d fallen into a fairly light sleep, dreaming of his friends.

He’d never said a word to the other boy about how he felt the rest of that year, talking only to Luna about it. However, when Luna went missing, he was at a loss. He could barely sleep and barely stay calm. It was times like these when Seamus would come over and sit with him till he fell asleep. He never understood why the other boy never complained about it. Nor did he ask the reasons behind his doing so. He just took it at surface level, not allowing himself to think of it as meaning anything more than friendliness.

The war came later that year, bringing with it a slight electricity to the air. Anything could happen. Neville had hoped it would end the way it should. Good triumphing over evil. Everything the story books said it was. He’d never imagined how many people would die, how many would be injured, how big a part he would have.

The sight of Voldemort’s face in front of him made his blood boil. He was the reason his parents were how they were. Yes, he knew who had carried it out…but he was the reason they had. Somehow it brought out the courageous side of him. He’d been offered a prized spot on Voldemort’s side and he’d thrown it back in his face, practically telling him to shove it up his ass.

No one was more shocked than he was when he drew Godric Gryffindor’s sword from the sorting hat. He was also pretty sure that no one was as surprised as he was when he managed to cut the snake’s head off.

After that, everything seemed to go in slow motion. It was almost like a scene from a movie. He’d only ever seen one in his life and it amazed him how much he thought about it at the time. And then it was over and there was a mixture of celebration and grief. He remembered looking down at the dead body of Bellatrix Lestrange, a slight smile on his face. “Wish I could have said I told you so…” She’d learned the hard way that you just didn’t mess with Molly Weasley’s children. To anyone else it would have been a well known fact. If only their deaths meant that his parents would go back to the way they were. If only seeing Bellatrix’s dead corpse brought as much joy to him as he thought it would. If only.

Somehow Seamus had known where to look for him. “Hey, Nev. I always told you you’d be the hero.”

“It wasn’t anything special. It wasn’t like I killed Voldemort or anything…”

“Not anything special? Have you lost your marbles, Neville Longbottom? Without you, Harry couldn’t have killed Voldemort. That was the best thing I’d seen in AGES! I mean…You went and told Voldemort to shove it up his ass. You could have bloody died and you STILL told him to shove it up his ass! Not to mention Godric Gryffindor’s sword. Not anything special my ass.”

Neville laughed for what felt like the first time in ages. “Merlin, Seamus. You…you should see your face when you get excited. It’s like a child on Christmas…”

“You want to know a secret, Neville?” There was an odd twinkle in the other boy’s eyes  and he wasn’t at all sure he wanted to know but who was he to not hold onto other people’s secrets.

“Sure…”

“Well…You better come down to my level then. Can’t very well whisper when you’re towering over me like that...”

“Alright…Alright.” Neville squatted down, arching an eyebrow slightly.

Seamus had leaned over, smiling slightly. “I think you were brilliant.” And with that, he quickly kissed him. “How’s that for a secret, huh?”

Neville was stunned. Absolutely stunned. “I…well…” He felt a blush making its way across his cheeks. “G-good secret.”