Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Are you seriously insinuating that I ask for patrol duty instead of going to the Professor's Welcome Soiree, Longbottom?”
“Parkinson if night patrol isn’t your vibe then pick some other excuse that will keep you far away from the Soiree.” He spoke the last word with as much disdain as that event deserved.

Back when he was new if he had been told to skip the professor’s welcome party he would have probably acted exactly like Parkinson was acting now. However, Neville had learnt to avoid the “Welcome Soiree” after the first year of his mastery in herbology. Once he was a professor he had mastered his excuse. He tried to warn all incoming professors but they all reacted the same way Parkinson was right now. They all realized that he was right in the end.

After three years on the post plus his two years as an assistant professor during his mastery, he had his first day back routine down pat and she was messing with it. He looked back at her again her arms were crossed her mouth was twisted in a sneer and he knew whatever she said would make him feel like tossing her to the blast-ended screwts or his bed. Both are dangerous propositions and both are out of the fucking question so he cut in.

“Just listen. Ask for patrol with Axel he has been here for long enough to know what the deal is and will show you what to do.”

“What to do? Please! Longbottom it’s a soirée. What's the worst that's going to happen? It's not like I'm going to get hurt!” She let out exasperated.

“Maybe not physically.” He mumbled to himself

“What? Here I thought you had grown out of your mumbling stage.”

“Parkinson for once in your life stop being a brat and listen. Tell them you have Head of House duties or whatever the hell you want just don’t go.” And with that, he turned around and left.

It was that or putting her over his shoulder and tying her to something, preferably his bed. Fuck no. His brain needed to stop this nonsense.

His brain had been doing that for a month. Starting just with the thought of ‘her lips are lovely.’ Which rapidly escalated to ‘I want to suck the bratty pout off her, then suck on her neck and maybe explore…’ he had to cut those thoughts off or else have to jinx himself with a chilling spell. Again.

He had hated working side by side with Slughorn but lately, he dreamed of those days. At least those days he knew he hated the old man and his patronizing ways. Not to mention that for some reason the old man never stopped mentioning the war. Which inevitably made Neville want to punch him. That was better than whatever this confusing thing was between Pansy and him. He had initially thought it was just lust, after all, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Pansy Parkinson may not have grown much since the last time he had seen her but she had certainly grown into her body. Not that her witches' robes let him see much but a few times when it was too warm in the potions room or greenhouse she had taken them off and Neville had been able to appreciate her.

“Everything ready for tonight?” Neville looked up to see Axel leaning against his classroom door. “Yeah,” Neville answered shortly. Still, mid-thought of the white linen shirt and pencil skirt combo Pansy had worn earlier that day.

“Let me guess Parkinson has decided to go on to the soirée and not be my patrol partner. Shame I was looking forward to getting to know her better. No matter. I’ll ask Susan I heard Minerva telling her that she really didn’t need to man the hospital wing all night. I can be her knight in shining armour.”

Neville nodded at him still in his head about Pansy. It didn’t sit right with him that Pansy was going. Of all of them, she should not be subjected to the emotional torture that passed as the remembrance of the fallen. “Thanks I’m sure Susie will appreciate that.”

Axel was a good guy. They had met in the Auror force when Neville still thought he owed a debt to society and he was now glad that Axel had gotten the DADA posting at Hogwarts, he’d be sad to see him gone next year. “Come on mate your Parkinson looks like a tough cookie I am sure she will survive it. We all have. It’s a rite of passage at this point.”

Neville took a deep breath choosing to ignore the ‘your’ in that sentence which made his heart do something entirely funny. “I know it’s just. She is the first of us with different baggage. It’s not just that she didn’t fight or that she had ties with the death eaters it's that she… maybe I should go.”

“Why? What about having the Snake Slayer there make any of it easier for her? You have done all you can. Let it go. See you this evening. I need to catch Minnie and Susan.”

—————
It had been a tense welcoming feast. While most of the children had been well-behaved and hadn’t outright booed Pansy when she was introduced you could tell that the usual energy wasn’t there. He had to sit there and watch her smile diminish with every single second and it took everything in him to stop himself from reaching out and grabbing her hand for support. A feeling he certainly wasn’t going to examine too closely. It’s not like she would have even accepted his support, anyway.

“Chin up Parkinson don’t let your kids see you with your head down. I don’t want any excuses for when we beat you at the end of the year.” He whispered instead. He didn’t look at her then but could see her demeanour changing her shoulders straightening and even though it didn’t take away, from what was becoming a real, need to physically comfort her it did help him continue with his meal.

“So Neville are you still feeling like your Head of House duties are too much tonight? It has been years since you attended the Soirée and it would be lovely to have you.” Flitwick spoke from Pansy’s other side. “I hear Professor Parkinson will be able to join us. I must say as much as I am impressed with your dedication I am starting to worry that the Gryffindor house is too much for you.”

Neville cringed internally. Of all the things to show how Pansy was treated differently, this was the worst. Every professor called each other by name, and Minerva demanded that she be called Minnie. Yet Pansy was Parkinson not only that but using her to get him to attend the damn thing while talking literally over her.

“Filius, we have this conversation each year. I just run things differently. It is not better or worse. I am sure Pansy, here, has her duties well in hand.” He tried to run the thin line but wasn’t sure how it was taken. He’d always been very careful not to let it happen but he couldn’t possibly call Filius by his first name and not call hers, yet he didn’t miss the look on her face.

—————

Once he had gotten the students settled he made his way towards his rooms still thinking of her. He didn’t understand his preoccupation. He hadn’t been worried about Susan her first year when she didn’t listen to him. Susan was his friend she had been in the DA and had started in the healing profession trying to make sure they all came out of 7th year in one piece, she was Scottish, tough, and stern.

Not that Pansy wasn’t. She was a viper, a credit to her house. She had to have been strong if she was to survive 7th year and in many ways, the aftermath of the war. They all had their own demons and had found solutions in different ways. It was clear to him that Pansy had built walls, many, tall, wide, and strong. It killed him to see it.

Every day since she had arrived in that castle all he wanted was for her to at least feel safe to drop her walls with someone. It didn’t feel fair that she needed to walk around like a fortress and not feel safe around anyone in her home.

One thing was lust over a witch it was another thing to want to hold hands, protect or be their safe place. If he was honest he wanted to be that someone, someone she would feel safe enough to let her guard down but when it came to Pansy Parkinson, he had labelled all thoughts as "intrusive" and “unnecessary”.

With all these thoughts swirling in his brain, he served a generous helping of Ogden's and drank deeply. He conjured his patronus and smiled as he saw his little bee. Whenever he was feeling particularly melancholic he’d cast the little bee just to have some company and a clear reminder that he had had happy moments. After a few more spins the bee stopped at the tip of his index finger and he smiled. “Hello there, Beetrice. Why don’t you go pay a visit to our favourite flower, tell her to stop being a stubborn brat and come over.”

As soon as his little bee went zooming out Axel and Susan walked in the door.

“How were rounds?” He asks handing them each a glass. Axel nods at him in thanks while Susan looks like he is in trouble. “What did I do now Suze?”

“I’m really surprised you let her go. What a truly despicable thing for you to do Neville Frank Longbottom.”

“What do you mean let? No one lets Parkinson do a thing. She just does it.” He tried weakly.

“Yeah and still you should have tried harder. She is nice you know. I worked with her briefly at St. Mungos when she was doing her first mastery. The abuse she endured, It’s no wonder she left after only two months.”

He looked back at the short curvy redhead. Susan had always mildly scared him. She was overly qualified and caring but did not mince words. She was the type to jinx you to next Tuesday and say it was fine because she was a healer and could heal you afterwards… and right now she looked like she was about to jinx him. “Look it's not like I didn’t try. I tried with you both and neither of you listened then either.”

“Come on Susie how was he supposed to get Parkinson to not attend? It’s not that big of a deal. Obviously, I do not know her as well as you two do but she seems to be a rather tough one. She should be fine.” Axel cut in waving his glass nonchalantly.

“I am as tough as they come and I barely survived that night. You weren’t here the seventh year. Were you even here at the battle?” Susan said with a sigh. “I don’t mean that disparagingly it's just that…It was terrible. I had always known I wanted to be a healer but to have to learn the skill in a war zone with your friends as patients was not how I envisioned learning, and then have all the same professor wax poetical about it.” She shuddered. “Then when I thought it was over they turned to me and started to talk about my family and how brave their sacrifice was. As if that was the greatest aim to sacrifice oneself to the cause. Not, you know have a /family/.”

“Shit… I’m sorry Suze, I should have tried harder. I thought I had it bad when I had to sit there listening to them talk about how I would have made my parents proud, going on about how amazing I was with the younger students. How brave I was to put myself in the line. Like I wasn’t a student myself. I look at the 7th year now and wonder if we were ever that young.”

“You should have tried harder with Pansy. Specially /her/. Merlin only knows what they will say to her.” Susan kept looking at him with a narrowed eyes,

“In my defence, how do you tell someone how horrible it is… oh you know they have a moment of silence for the fallen and then exalt the virtues of those who survived. It is hard to describe the anguish without experiencing it. I did think of going to at least keep her company and maybe see if could, you know, make them change the subject.” Neville took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “I might still be able to go.”

“I already told you having the Snake Slayer wasn’t going to help her in any way.” Axel pipes up.

“Yeah, that is a poor comparison ‘Miss He's right there, grab him’ versus ‘The Snake Slayer’. By how drunk they are now I’m not sure they would ever give that up.” Susan added. “It's too bad you can’t get her out of there. She doesn’t deserve to be tortured in that way.”

“Actually.” Neville smiled and conjured his little bee once again. “Get Robert’s, tell him it's time to pay up.”

Chapter Text

Thirty-six hours earlier Pansy was cursing Draco's name while trying in vain to swat Bert away. After being summoned down to the greenhouses. It was either curse Draco or have to focus on the other man that tended to be the focus of her ire lately. Draco seemed like a safer one, all she wanted to do to Draco was murder maybe a bit of maiming. Neville... well her thoughts on him seemed to deviate as soon as he rolled up his sleeve or flexed his huge hands. Why were they so big?

DRACO! She was going to kill Draco. All this was his fucking fault. It was. She wasn’t sure how she would make him pay but she would make sure he would. Someone had too. She had been happy in France. She had been.

Okay, not really. She had been miserable and she had to agree that her dream had always been to become Hogwarts potion master. There was something about this school that was home for her. What a horrible statement. With all the suffering, torture, and literal bloodshed she still preferred this school to living at home with her mom. So with a lot of encouragement from Draco, she had taken the post. 

What she didn’t know was that the herbology Professor who she was expected to work closely with, was none other than the Snake Slayer himself. If Pansy had thought the man was big in 7th year (the last time she had seen him) it was nothing to the quite literal bear he had become in the intervening 10 years. It had taken all of her, not inconsiderable, self-control to not gape at the man. If that wasn’t enough he had been nice. Wanting to be helpful. She had tried to apologize for her bit 10 years back and he waved her off! 

And here she was walking down to greenhouse six because she had been summoned by Bert. Bert, who acted more like a familiar than a patronus. She could count on the damn bee coming in at any point in the day to deliver a ‘message’ from his owner. It had started as, what she thought was a genuinely good, way of communicating in this godawful large castle. However, the bee wouldn’t just deliver the message and leave. It would hang about, zoom around her office or her rooms. She was pretty sure patronuses couldn’t actually spy on someone but having never been taught about them she wasn’t 100% sure. 

She knew she had made a grave mistake when she complained about the damn bee halfway through her first week by the wide-lopsided grin Longbottom shot her. She only realized how bad of a mistake when the next day she was woken up at 7 am by Bert zooming near her ear and Neville’s voice saying “Good Morning Flower” in a way that showed her that he was a morning person something she was not. At breakfast, this had all been confirmed when she found him almost finishing breakfast and with his wide lopsided grin. “Good morning Professor Parkinson I hope you had a good wake up. Would you like some coffee?” 

Pansy had rolled her eyes too tired to utter a response and and just took the offered coffee. Taking the mug in both hands, sipping, and letting out a quiet sigh. 

This had repeated every single morning since. She would wake up to Bert buzzing in her ear “Good morning Flower” at 7 am sharp on weekdays and 8:30 on weekends. “How generous you are Bert” she had said the first Saturday, before heading down to breakfast where by now she wasn’t surprised to find Neville with a mug of coffee just as she liked it. She could have stayed in bed and not gone to have breakfast with Neville but she had found that she enjoyed the banter. He wasn’t the shy, awkward boy anymore and she could admit that this confident man was doing something for her.

And there were moments when they were alone and he’d say something seemingly innocuous that just boiled her blood. There were moments when she talked back at him and she could almost feel how close he was from taking her. Then he would take a deep breath take a step back and continue as if nothing. Most of the time she wishes he would just hate fuck her already. That, she would be able to take, gladly.  What she can’t take was when Bert shows up in her office letting her know that he noticed she didn’t eat lunch and an elf would be there shortly to bring her some food. She would thank Bert as if it had been the bee and not his master noticing. 

What was he playing at? He had gotten bolder somehow. Bert would no longer come in and say “Parkinson meet me in an hour in the infirmary, Susan and I want to go over potions and supplies needed.” It would be like just an hour ago when Bert came in unseen by her only to feel his buzzing tickling her ear and hear Neville’s deep voice, “Come Pretty Flower, come play with me at greenhouse 7” It was times like these were she couldn’t pretend that it was just Bert. No. She felt the message as if Longbottom himself had nudged her ear with his nose and purred the words down her ear. 

The man was infuriating. One moment she had half a mind to change her underwear and the next, like now, she was saving him from himself. “Wingaurdium Leviosa” She spoke just in time to keep a ceramic pot from falling on his head. “Seriously Longbottom? Weren’t you an Auror? How did you not only survive 7th year and your years as an auror only to be done for by a fucking ceramic pot.”

“Lucky for me I have a pretty flower to save me from myself. Nice of you to come around Parkinson.”

“You summoned me and I am nothing if not your devoted servant... apparently.” She said spewing sarcasm crossing her arms and scowling at him. “What was so urgent Longbottom I have work to do.”

“If that’s how you respond to urgent summons I’d be afraid for whoever life was in danger.” He spoke as he lifted his arms and reached for the pot still hanging suspended above his head.   A movement that causes his oxford to rise and sheets a peak of his soft but toned belly. Fuck. What was it about this man?

“And yet still arrived in time to save your life.” She answers hands on her hips manicured eyebrow raised. 

“So you did.” He said ruefully “Now I am so glad you answered my summons as you put it. I have a surprise for you.” He looked just then like a schoolboy about to show his artwork proudly. She didn’t trust it. Nothing about this added up.

“A surprise?” 

“Yes come on.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her over to a corner of the greenhouse that had been recently cleared. “What do you think?”

“Of a cleared-out corner of your greenhouse? Should I be worried? Are you sick? or is this where your venomous tentacle bites me? or your trained devil snare grabs me and you have your way with me?” She asks with her arms crossed.

“Have my way with you? My, my, my you seem to have been creating some very elaborate scenarios in your time off.”

It took all the self-control not to blush at that statement and as it was she wasn’t sure exactly how successful she had been considering the look he gave her. “I noticed you haven’t denied the accusations.”

“Merlin you are difficult. No, first of all, you can’t train devil snare. Second, a venomous tentacula bite would in fact kill you. Contrary to your belief, I rather like having you around.” He gave her one of his lopsided grins and she rolled her eyes making a mental note that didn’t deny wanting to have his way with her. 

“Very well if you aren’t here for treachery pray tell what is this all about?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It's for you.”

“For me.” She repeated slowly like maybe she had lost something in translation. “What’s for me?”

“And here I thought you were one of the most brilliant witches I know,” he said exasperated. “Susan told me what you said.”

“What I said about what precisely?” Susan Bones may not be what Pansy called a friend, she made a point of not calling anyone that, but out of everyone in the castle she was the one person that whom Pansy felt like maybe she could relax a little with. They had started taking tea in the infirmary on Tuesdays and Thursdays as they organized potions and balms that were needed for the school year. What could she have possibly said that would have made this fool of a man bring her to a deserted and empty corner of a greenhouse?

“Suze, may have mentioned, that you missed having your own herb garden. I thought that you might like a corner of your own. This greenhouse happens to be my personal one so it’s my prerogative if I have space to give.”

The suspicious look on her face intensified if anything. “Why would the Herbology master of the castle relinquish not only his space but the ability to inconvenience me at all moments of my day?”

“Come one Parkinson, I am a tease and I may have played a few tricks but I would never actually want to inconvenience you or impede you and your work in any way.” Now it was his turn to fold his arms on his chest really showcasing his thick forearms. 

“Then why would you do such a thing? I cannot believe you wouldn’t need this space”

He shrugs looking lost, clearly this is not going how he expected. Then again this was not on her list of things that would ever happen ever. “I thought it would be something kind.”

“Kind.” She sneered back at him. “Kind? and why would you ever want to be kind to me? Because I can't see you extending this same Kindness to Professor Slughorn.”

“Professor Slughorn was a patronizing ass who kept messing with my plants for profit. Why would I want to help him?”

“Why would you want to be kind to the fallen princess of Slytherin house, the greatest traitor of them all, the one who wanted to give up Harry Potter? Is it because you pity me?”

“For fuck sake Parkinson why won’t you let me be kind to you? Is it so hard to just let me do something nice for you for once?” She hadn’t noticed until that moment how close he had gotten to her, she hadn’t realized how she had steadily been stepping back until her back hit on one of the workbenches and she was forced to look up to see his face. His eyes had gone dark and his hair was disheveled from all the times he’d run his hands through it in this conversation. 

“Do you know the effort it takes to be nice and kind to you when all I want to do is filthy, vile, and delightful things to your body?” He had her caged now, his muscular arms on either side of her body bracing himself on the bench forcing her body to curve in order to look up into his face. 

“Please like the noble Gryffindor has a single vile bone in his body.” She sneered back at him even as her hands grabbed onto his shirt. “The only thing filthy you can do is play in the dirt.”

His eyes widen for a second before she felt his large hand wrap around her nape pulling her toward him for a rough kiss. She kissed back like it was a battle, grabbing at his shirt and pulling him closer. Their teeth clashed, and his tongue lapped at her demanding entrance, instead, she sucked on his lower lip and bit it hard relishing in making him bleed. “Fuck.”He groaned out deepening the kiss letting his hands skate down her body until they reached her thighs gripping her harshly he picked her up placing her on the bench.

She felt consumed, overwhelmed, overtaken. She would not allow it. “I knew you couldn’t do rough and dirty.” She managed to speak out between dominating kisses. He felt his hands flex the one around her nape tightening slightly before letting go, while the one at her thigh tighten and brought her closer to him “Dammit Parkinson do you ever fucking shut up.”

She let out a pearl of laughter that choked into a moan as two of his fingers entered her mouth effectively shutting her. “It's okay Parkinson I know better ways to keep that pretty mouth of yours occupied.” He grinned at her as he started at the buttons of her blouse revealing an emerald green lacy bralette. “Always the pretty pampered Slytherin princesses huh? You look so good in emerald I am not even mad,” he said hoarsely as his head dipped to take one of her dark nipples into his mouth through the lace. 

Pansy couldn’t control her body letting out a moan as her hips bucked forward in search of friction. Damn the man. So she bit his fingers hard making him groan. “Fanged geraniums have more in common with you than pansies.” He managed to gasp out.

“Why won’t you just admit I am too much for you? You can’t handle me, Longbottom.” Pansy managed to speak out breathlessly just before he grabbed her pencil skirt and ripped it in the seams, before splaying her thighs open, sliding his thick muscular thigh in between. “Longbottom! That was designer!” She tried to complain. 

“Parkinson, I will buy you a new one, two if it will shut you up.” He grabbed her ass moving her forward and rubbing her burning, weeping core against the rough texture of his work pants. The whimper of pleasure that Pansy let out was truly embarrassing. “That’s it princess ride my thigh I want to see you come apart.” She was about to deny him, to refute him when she felt his large hands at her hips grounding her down pulling another moan from her only to be captured by his mouth. 

Pansy was in a fog then, all of it felt divine. She dug her sharp nail in his back for purchase. She was past caring what would happen the only thing she knew was that she needed this, him. She was so close she was no longer fighting it her eyes closed and she hid her face in the crook of his shoulder, delighting in his earthy smell. As Pansy felt herself getting closer to that edge he felt his large hand tightening around her nape pulling her so that she couldn’t avoid looking straight into his eyes. “Oh no you don’t Princess. I wanna see you fall apart. I am not letting you hide and pretend you are somewhere else with someone else. I did this.” 

She wanted to retort, she wanted to deny it but all she managed was to open her eyes wider. She was so close. So so close and then a ringing came out of nowhere startling them both she saw him deflate his hand previously firm against her jaw slackened moving gently, almost caressing her neck on its way down. “Shit. I need to fertilize some seedlings and it has to be done at timed intervals. DO NOT MOVE Parkinson! I swear there will be consequences if you disobey me.” With one last mournful kiss, he stepped away from her turning resolutely away from her and out of the greenhouse. 

It took her less than a minute to right herself up and out of the greenhouse. She did not go down to the great hall at dinner. She did not answer Bert's summons. 

Chapter Text

“A minute of silence for the fallen,” McGonagall said as she rose to her feet and lifted her goblet. Pansy followed suit starting to get a bad feeling about what was to come. After the minute had passed everyone gulped their drink and sat back down. The atmosphere which at point had been merry turned cold. 

“It is incredible how much talent we lost in the war,” Sinistra said breaking the silence. 

“I don’t think we will ever see someone with as much talent as Fred Weasley. Till the day I die, I will regard his pond as the finest bit of magic.” Flitwick added.

“Colin Crevey’s photography was some of the most stellar I have ever seen.” McGonagall added wistfully. “it is such a shame what happened to those children. They were all so valiant. Not just surviving but the way they survived. They fought back.”

“You saw them suffering. How they took the punishment those despicable Carrows gave them stoically.”

“Neville really shown. His bravery. He is willing to risk his own safety and comfort for the sake of protecting the younger students.”

“A true credit to the house of Gryffindor.” Babbling added their voice to this emotional torture. “All the houses really shone. Even some of the Slytherins redeemed themselves. Milicent’s bravery will never be forgotten. She didn’t run away in fear. She fought to the end.”

“Oh, how I will miss Millicent. Truly showed grit unlike others in her house who couldn’t be bothered to show up and protect their school or students; too afraid to stand up for what was right and good.”

“Even the Greengrass sisters came to help. Maybe they didn’t fight but they were there with Poppy and Susan helping patch everyone up. Really shows you who you can count on. That almost everyone has something they can provide.”

If it wasn’t for Pansy’s upbringing in the Parkinson Household she would have cracked about 30 minutes into this part of the ‘Soirée’. Fortunately for her, was fortunately even the right word, her mom Pricilla Parkinson had made sure to let her daughter know how little she was worth. If Lady Parkinson’s words hadn’t been enough her experience during the war and especially after had cemented it. 

Pansy had strongly considered quitting right there and then. When Bert sneakily zoomed in through the room whispering a message so softly in her ear. With that, she straightened up her spine put her shoulders back, and took in a deep breath. She wouldn’t leave. Obviously Pansy wasn’t about to give Longbottom the satisfaction but she was also not going to make herself small in front of all these people. 

She endured another half an hour before the door opened widely, Neville’s body filling the whole door frame. “Oh, how lovely Neville you are joining us?” 

“I am afraid not Minnie, I need Professor Parkinson. It’s about one of her students.” With that he stepped aside to show Andrew Roberts literally being carried by the scruff of his neck. What could have possibly happened to bring this unlikely duo here? 

“Yes of course. My apologies,” She stood up shakily, not only was she uncertain about what exactly was going on here but she had also spent a whole hour having the message of her worth (minimum if at all) reinforced. Pansy walked with her head held high, letting Neville maneuver them toward his quarters. 

“Very well Roberts you may go now. Thank you.” Neville said affably to the young man as he set him straight. 

“We are even then?” Roberts asks suspiciously.

“Yes, your assistance was invaluable.” Neville grinned at him and patted him on the shoulder as a goodbye.  

“Great, thanks professor, Professor Parkinson nice to have you, see you tomorrow.” With that Roberts turned and started moving away. 

“Wait a moment what just happened? Roberts you are not dismissed. I am your Head of House and I demand to know what the hell is going on.” Her nerves already frayed were showing as she said that in more of a shriek and less of the composed order she had intended. 

Roberts stopped in the middle of the hall looking like he rather be anywhere else. “I…” He started to speak only to be interrupted by Neville. “It is no matter Andrew continue on to your common room I will explain everything to Professor Parkinson.”

Pansy did not like this one bit, clearly whatever was going on was Longbottom's doing and Andrew did not deserve to be caught in whatever the fuck this was.

“Well?” She asked hands on her hips lifting one eyebrow.

“Now, now, Parkinson. There is no rush.” Longbottom started calmly. “Now that I have you managed to get you out of that dreadful soiree we can let Roberts get to safe distance before you start screaming at me.” He continued casually hands in his pockets bobbing on his heels.

“I was not going to scream Longbottom. I am not as hysterical as you seem to assume. I am merely interested in understanding how as Head of House I am needed urgently only to immediately dismiss the student in question.”

The damn man couldn’t look more pleased if he tried. His silly, dashing, boyish smile. “Well, I am glad that you weren’t planning on screaming at me. As much as I enjoy our little spars,” He paused as if giving her time to think about two days ago in the greenhouse. Damn him and his eyes that sparkled with mischief. “Andrew owed me a favour and I needed to get you out of that horrible room.” He shrugged as if that explained everything.  

Pansy just stood there watching him with her mouth open. She closed it and took a fortifying breath before opening her mouth to say something only for nothing to come out. What was there to say? She would die before thanking Longbottom or admitting that he was right and that she should have never gone. Not to mention she was still avoiding him because of the best sexual experience in her life and she hadn’t even come. So with an eye roll, she turned on her very high heels. 

It only took about two steps before his hand was around her wrist stopping her. 

“Wait, Parkinson.”

She didn’t pull away but also didn’t move. Neville didn't say anything but started running soft circles on her inner wrist. She didn’t appreciate the shudder that ran down her spine as he did so. Nor how it felt like some of the nerves and anxiety were draining from her as he did.

“Please, Pansy. Stay. Come with me.”

She shook her head. Still refusing to let the tears that had been threatening to fall all evening to do it now. “To what purpose Longbottom? So that you can embarrass me further? Make me feel worse than I feel right now?”

His hand held her even gentler if that was even possible. “Pansy.” He spoke her name in a reverent sad exhale as if it was something soft and precious. 

It made her even angrier. How dare he feel petty for her. “Fuck you, Longbottom. I don’t need you. I am not your charity case of the year. I am not in need of a knight in shining armour to come and sweep in and rescue me.” With that, she tried to leave only to be dragged into his chest.

Fuck him and his strong broad chest and equally strong thick arms that now surrounded her. It was warm and cozy. All she wanted to do was to sink into this embrace. So instead she fought it. Straining against him going as far as punching his chest. Longbottom didn’t even budge. He didn’t try to stop her, he just held her firmly. They could have been there for hours or minutes, but eventually, she tired.

Pansy hadn’t noticed she’d stopped fighting nor that her tears had soaked his jumper or that his hands were running smoothing circles on her back until he gently lifted her chin making her meet his eyes. She hated those hazel eyes. Eyes that reminded her of the sun shining through the forest canopy in early autumn. She hated that she felt seen by them. She hated how at that moment they seemed to be asking a question she didn’t know the answer to.

Just when she was about to stomp on his feet in an attempt to free herself from all these feelings he kissed her. 

Softly. This kiss wasn’t like the one the other day. It was sweet and tentative he held her as if she was something to be cherished. Before she allowed herself to melt into the feeling this kiss gave her, She wrenched herself and slapped him hard. 

This time when she ran away he didn’t stop her. 

Chapter Text

Neville downed the hungover potion and grimaced at the taste, immediately letting out a hiss of pain. He hadn’t healed the burning her hand had left. By the time he had gotten back to his quarters Susan and Axel had both clearly called it a night. Something that he was increasingly thankful for. He had not felt like explaining.

Could he even explain? Why couldn’t the interactions with her be simple? Casting a tempus charm he summoned Beetrice. “Hello, Beetrice. It is time to wake our Flower. Will you send her a message as well?” He paused and considered. What to say? Sorry? He wasn’t actually sorry. He had wanted to help her. He had wanted to kiss her. He had wanted to do so much more. 

She had seemed to have wanted to do more too. She’d asked. Hadn’t she? Well, not last night. Last night she looked so broken. He hadn’t thought. He deserved to be slapped. He deserved even more. Beetrice nudged him. “Right. We don’t want her to be late for her first day. Say, ‘Good morning pretty Flower. Please forgive me. I overstepped last night. Good luck on your first day.’”

He watched his little bee float away and started to get dressed. He considered shaving but one view of himself in the mirror and he decided that the angry red hand mark would do better without putting a razor to it. He considered a shaving cham but had never mastered the look he preferred and knowing they would also sting left it alone.

Normally he’d be one of the first at the Great Hall however today the witch who lived to torment him was there sitting in her spot drinking her mug of coffee and eating her pomegranate. Why won’t she ever eat anything else? Doesn’t she know that's not enough to sustain her for a day of teaching? Maybe Beauxbatons is a slower pace but here in Hogwarts, she was going to need more. He made a mental note to send an elf with some food for her mid-morning as he made his way to his spot where a cup of tea was waiting.

“Professor Parkinson.” He said as he sat down. 

“Professor Longbottom.” She said without looking at him. 

“I see you are having an early start this morning.” One of these days he would learn to keep his mouth shut but clearly when it came to Pansy he was unable to.

Susan sat on the other side of the Headmistress's empty seat, looked up, and gasped. “Neville! What the hell happened to you?!”

He groaned internally, “Nothing Suzie. It’s not a problem.”

“Clearly something is a problem, Longbottom. Did your Tempus fail you this morning? It seems like you haven’t had time to shave.” He heard Pansy say with an amused tilt to her voice. 
He tried to take a sip of tea only to have Susan grab his chin roughly towards her. “If I didn’t know better I’d assume you were slapped. I have some balm in my office. You should come by later today.”

“Thanks, Susan.” He replied, trying to eat a bite of toast that now tasted like sawdust, while Pansy on his other side was cackling. 

Thank Merlin, the first few days were mostly introductory stuff because Neville spent the first week distracted. He had spent the whole week trying to talk to Parkinson. He’d send Beetrice first thing in the morning only to find Pansy already at the dining hall eating her tiny portion of fruit, his tea perfectly prepared waiting for him. He’d attempted to make teasing requests for her to come and play, he had tried to  Friday he had the last period off and went over to the hospital wing with a firm idea of his next steps. 

“Suzzie?” he called as he came into the wing walking past the empty cots headed to the healer's office in the back. 

Only for Susan to come out with a bright smile on her face.“Nev! Is everything okay? A bit early for even you to need me, or are you finally going to get that balm for your face.”

“Err…” He had forgotten about her offer from earlier in the week. Although the stinging had gotten better he knew there had been some bruising left. He mildly wondered if Pansy’s hand hurt as much or if she had healed herself. “No, I had forgotten actually I was here to ask for a favour.”

Susan’s demeanor immediately changed, her eyes narrowed and her hands went to her hips. “A favour…”

“Yeah. I…” Why was it that all the women in his life had to be difficult? “Can we go to your office and have some tea, please? I'll explain.”

“And will that explanation include why you are refusing to let me heal the slap Parkinson gave you?”

“Yea—What?! How…” Neville cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at the scary witch in front of him. “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Susan was making her way to her office laughing at him. “Sure Nev. Sure you don’t. Come on, let's crack the whiskey. I feel like I am going to need to be fortified to endure your idiotic manly behaviour.”

He groaned but followed anyway. Once she had served them both and had a burning sip, Susan looked at him as if to say… well?

Neville took a sip letting the drink burn his throat, avoiding looking at Susan. Now that he was here he wasn’t so sure of what he was about to ask for. All he knew was that he needed to get Pansy talking to him like they had and this was the only way he could think to do that. 

“So are you going to fess up and tell me why Pansy slapped you so hard you still have bruising or are we going to continue to pretend?”

He let his head hang in misery. “Is it that obvious?”

Susan laughed, “Well unless you have started making a habit of pissing off tiny witches capable of leaving their dainty manicure handprint on your cheek, yes it is. Well at least for me and Axel, I don’t think the others have clued into it.”

“Maybe I did piss off another witch.” Neville groaned at his own weak retort. “What do I have to do for you to drop it?”

Susan narrowed her eyes and after a few seconds answered. “Next DA night you cover for me.”

Now it was his turn to widen his eyes in surprise. “Still? I can’t believe you are still avoiding him.”

“I believe the guy sporting a slap bruise should not be throwing stones.”

“Not throwing stones, just assessing the situation.”

“There is no situation to assess. Hannah was going to run interference but she had something come up.”

“Sure. You know, one of these days I would love to know what happened. It has been, what? A whole year since you left the DMLE? Did you two even date?”

Susan drank deeply from her glass and refilled it. “Neville, you either accept the term or leave.”

Neville knew when to shut it, and so saved his questions for later asked. “I need to know where Parkinson buys her skirts.”

“Her skirts,” Susan repeated with a stunned face.

“Yeah. Her skirts.”

“Which skirts? Pansy has a bigger closet than you, Axel, and I put together.”

Neville exhaled slowly “You know Suze, the one she wears all the time.” The ones that cling to her hips in that sinful manner that made him want to rip them. The ones that made her legs look like they went for miles. The ones that she tortured him with all day, every day. 

“Uh-huh. Why do you need to know this?—Wait, is this why you got slapped? For being a creep and asking a grown woman where she buys her clothing?”

Neville could feel his cheeks heating with a blush. “Come on Suze, please? Can you just help me?”

“I don’t know Nev that’s a rather personal question”

“I ruined one of her skirts.” Neville blurted out. “I am not a creep, I am just trying to make amends.” Well maybe he was a creep but he was also a man of his word and he had promised.  

He knew that she couldn’t read his mind or memories but something about the way Susan glared suspiciously made him squirm.

“Look, a couple of days ago I asked her to come to my greenhouse and… it… it… it got ripped.” There that was as close to the truth as he was willing to get to. Still, he could feel his nape burning.

“Oh, Nev. Why do you keep on doing that? It can’t make her any happier with you. I know you have this thing of antagonizing her but couldn’t you just go to her office?”

And be stuck in a room with a door that locks with that tormenting temptation? No. If he had been incapable of keeping his hands to himself in the greenhouse, a building entirely made out of glass, the prospect of an utterly secluded spot would not do. “It had to be in the greenhouse. I was showing her her corner.” Which still remained barren.

“Her corner?” she asked, looking more confused than before. 

“Yeah, you know. She mentioned she missed her own garden so I cleared a corner out of mine.”

“You did what? Oh Neville I knew you were attracted to her, I didn’t know you had feelings for her.”

“That’s—” Neville was sputtering, “That’s not what it is. I just wanted to do something kind for someone. Why won’t anyone just let me do a kind thing!”

Susan watched his outburst with a lifted eyebrow. Taking a sip of her drink continued. “I never said you couldn’t be kind but that is more than being kind. You cleared out space in your domain for her. That is a lot.”

Neville had downed his drink and had his head hanging off the back of the chair. While Susan wasn’t wrong he hadn’t meant it as a big gesture or a declaration of anything he just wanted… well he wasn’t sure what he had wanted. 

“So will you help?”

It had taken him three weeks to finally be able to get the damn skirts. She had not lied, they were designer. They were also expensive and hard to find. He had bought her the black one he had ripped. He had also gotten her a second one, as promised. A deep scarlet one he had been incapable of letting go of as the images of seeing her in his house colours flooded his mind.

He had tried to get her to come to him. Beetrice had been zooming off to her every spare moment he had with increasingly desperate and demanding tones. She never came. Instead, he could expect a very formal owl waiting for him along with his tea in the morning. He tried to talk to her during meal times but Pansy would just smile and talk over him to Minnie or Susan. Often giving her back to him to discuss intricate charms possibilities with Filius. Every time he caught her in the hallway she would say something bratty and walk away. Making his veins boil with the desire to push her against the wall and have his way with her which immediately made him stop trying to reach for her. They were in public. In front of children. He had to get a grip.

It took him another week to finally figure out how to get her alone.