Know Thyself {Neville Longbottom}

VIII. Arborvitae

Arborvitae

A symbol of everlasting friendship.

"Um, Laura? Are you alright?"

Neville's voice shook me from my contemplative disposition. I had drifted off from our conversation concerning Herbology, staring out through the windows of the greenhouse where he and I were working. Professor Sprout had asked us to check in on the Fanged Geranium, as it was rather prone to biting if not cared for enough. We were also tasked with collecting any fangs it had shed, which was proving to be rather difficult given my preoccupied state.

Looking over to Neville, I noted the concern in his eyes.

"Sorry, didn't mean to tune you out like that. I've just got a lot on my mind right now..."

He hesitated, "Is it about Cece?"

"Yeah, wait how did you know?" I asked, a bit surprised by his perception.

"Well, I haven't seen you two together lately, and you seem a bit distracted. I thought maybe something happened..."

I clenched my jaw, recalling our fight that had taken place the previous week.

"We sort of got into it, the whole thing was rather foolish looking back on it. She was accusing me of spending all this time with you, which I thought was terribly hypocritical considering her and Malfoy are practically inseparable. Of course, I can't tell her about D.A. so she just assumed you and I..."

I caught myself, realizing I was rambling on a bit too much.

Neville however, didn't seem to notice this, his expression contorted into one of guilt.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause a problem between you and her. If I hadn't needed your help so much, you could've been with her more."

I stared at him in disbelief, unsure of how he could blame himself for what had happened.

"No, no it's not like that at all. This isn't your fault Neville, it's really just the whole D.A. thing. I mean, I want to tell her about it but she's with Draco Malfoy of all people. He's practically our biggest enemy at the moment, and if he found out we'd all be in loads of trouble. Still, I've never had to keep anything from her before..."

He frowned, "You really think she'd tell Malfoy on us?"

I shook my head, "No...I mean not intentionally anyway, but she does have a hard time keeping secrets sometimes..."

"But you trust her?"

I nodded, "Absolutely."

He ran a hand through his hair, and let out a long breath.

"I don't know much about this sort of stuff...but you and Cece are really close, even I can see that. If you trust her, then you should be able to tell her anything. I don't think you should let a secret come between you, no matter what it is."

I was silent for a moment, genuinely touched at Neville's response.

"Thanks." I said finally, a smile playing on my features.

He gazed at me with a puzzled expression that I found incredibly endearing.

"For what?"

"For not thinking of Cece as just another rotten Slytherin. Most people usually assume the worst of her because of that..."

"Well, I don't know much about her personally, but if she's your friend then she must be alright. Besides, she might even want to join D.A. herself...she seems like the sort that's attracted to trouble."