Wolfsbane // Neville Longbottom

Chapter 15: Sopophorous

Two and a half weeks after Neville's grandmother passed away, he got back to his regular schedule. Cassie admired him so much for the strength he had shown these past weeks. He had spoken at the funeral, had taken care of everything, and on top of that had even gone to teach his classes the first week that everyone had returned from the holidays.

He had left out his other duties still but now he was ready, or at least, he said he was. Cassie had been taking care of him the best she could. She had ensured he at three meals a day, made sure he got enough sleep and helped him take care of the funeral, but he seemed to be managing okay.

On one Thursday afternoon in the second week of January, he was waiting outside her classroom. "Hi Professor Longbottom!" the students all greeted him as they left the room. Cassie smiled at him and picked up her cloak.

"Hi Professor Longbottom," she said, raising her eyebrows. "Surprise visit, eh?" He nodded, smiling. She was glad that he hadn't stopped smiling. He was so incredibly strong.

"That was your last class of the day, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, I heard that you killed one of my plants." She blushed.

"I told you, I don't have the greenest fingers," she said. He chuckled.

"I know, I know. It was my bad for letting you get near them." They both laughed. She loved the sound of his laugh. "But since you're free now and I'm free too... Do you want me to show you how to properly take care of them?" She nodded and closed the classroom door behind her. He seemed to be in a good mood today.

"How were your classes today?" he asked her as they walked to the greenhouses together.

"Fine, fine. I start with my two easiest classes on Thursday morning, two first-year classes, then a third-year which would be easier if Nina wasn't so eager," she chuckled, remembering how eager she herself always had been once upon a time. "And then a double class for Fifth-Year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. Which is harder because it's O.W.L. stuff and they're struggling quite a bit."

"I'm sure they will all pass with Outstanding grades," he said. She glanced over at him and tilted her head slightly.

"Nev?" He hummed in response. "What's gotten you into such a good mood today?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, grinning widely.

"Are you up to something?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, I was hoping we might sneak in a kiss later but besides that, no," he whispered in her ear before speeding up his pace. Her cheeks turned bright red and her eyes widened slightly.

The thing was; they hadn't kissed since the morning after their after-Christmas Christmas party. After Mrs Longbottom's passing Neville had been busy arranging everything and he had obviously been grieving his grandmother. She didn't want to make the first move, unsure how he was feeling and Neville hadn't instigated it either.

And she missed it. She missed it a lot. They hadn't even kissed that many times, just on those three occasions. But her lips felt cold and lonely and she wanted to kiss him. There was a tingling feeling in her stomach and she quickly hurried after him.

He hung their cloaks on the coat rack in one of the greenhouses and put on an apron, handing one to her as well. She put it on as well as the gloves he handed her. A faint bit of sunlight shone into the greenhouse, lighting up Neville's eyes even more than usual.

"So, which plants need some care today?" she asked, leaning her hands on the desk. He took two plants and placed them in front of her. He pressed a kiss on her cheek and her need to kiss him on his lips grew.