Astronomy•Neville Longbottom

Chapter 7: Holiday Dance?

The great hall was lined with lights, the scrambled dots illuminated the ceiling like stars would the sky, though there weren't any constellations, besides that, it was perfect.

"Would you mind passing me a brownie?" Alex asked from beside me, he stared at me with an eyebrow raised and his hand waiting sassily.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I raised my eyebrow in retaliation, feigning confusion.

"I just thought you would be watching your figure?" I paused, "you know, for Quidditch and all." I eyed him up and down teasingly mocking his figure.

"Why are you so mean to me?" He held his hand over his heart with his eyes wide.

"I don't know, I just don't like you much" I shrugged before throwing a brownie at him anyway.

"Yes, we all know you prefer Malfoy over everybody." He poked at my side with his elbow, as he nodded his head in Draco's direction.

"You're just upset that you're ugly." I turned swiftly and began to talk to a Ravenclaw girl named Alexis.

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"Nev, slow down please." The boy was practically sprinting down the hallway, he seemed to be running from someone, but he wouldn't tell me who.

"Not yet Ro, we aren't far enough!" I rolled my eyes as he kept going, I could practically feel his panic as he ran, it was disgusting.

"Neville, stop running!" He paused immediately, even his chest quit moving, he was completely still.

"I'm sorry, it's just Snape was right behind me earlier, and you know how I feel about him." Fear was laced in his voice and I knew that I shouldn't have said it but, 

"Neville I'm sorry to say this, but" I turned my nose up, "you're a wuss."

He looked slightly shocked for a moment, then his shock turned to a glare, he then turned and stormed away.

"I see you're having friendship problems" I heard Draco's voice and turned around with a frown on my face.

"I don't know why you insist on making company with that," he paused as if disgusted, "pansy of a boy, but if you must I won't make any rude comments."

"Thank you," I slipped my hand into his, I would make up with Neville later, I should probably give him some space anyway, "Let's go to class."

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Draco's Point Of View

"Rose" I poked her shoulder as she stared intrigued in the lesson, "I'm bored."

"Well, that's not my problem is it?" She glared at me briefly before turning back toward the lesson.

She had looked a bit stressed all morning and I was betting that it had something to do with her little argument with Longbottom.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude or anything, I'm just thinking." She turned and looked at me, her green eyes stared into mine and I saw everything I wanted in them, she was an open book for me, and I wanted nothing more than to give her the same.

 "Please forgive me?" She turned her lips into a frown and almost instantly everything she had ever done to upset me had been forgiven, I wanted her to smile again and even if that meant that I would have to fight a dragon with my bare hands, I would do it twice. She was her own type of magic, and it was a magic that seemed to seep out of her without her even noticing.

"I'll always forgive you, Rose." I smiled at her as she leaned her head onto my shoulder, so close that I could smell the minty fragrance that came from her hair, she pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek before turning back to the lesson.

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Neville's Point Of View

I had to find Rosalie, she needed to know that I was sorry for reacting like I had, she needed to know that I still wanted her as my friend, bloody hell I needed to know if she was still my friend.

"Rose!" I ran towards her as soon as I saw her, completely disregarding Malfoy as he stood next to her.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to act like a prat earlier." I held onto her for dear life hoping she wouldn't push me away,

"Do you forgive me!?!" She smiled at me, the way my grandmother smiles at me after I've done something great. She was always looking at me like that, and it made my heart lift to think that maybe nothing had changed.

"Of course I forgive you, I was wrong to call you out of your name, I'm sorry." She hugged me close and then let go quickly, the way I hugged my grandmother before rushing away, she did the same, she turned and walked away with Draco. And I turned to find Hermione.

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Rosalie's Point of View

Draco smirked over at me as we walked away from Neville,

"Rosie and Longbottom sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Draco sang the taunting song with a familiar smugness in his voice.

"Shut your troll mouth," I hissed at him as he sang louder down the hallways, "you're a git." He smiled over at me and threw his arm around my shoulder.

"I know you are but what am I?" He stuck his tongue out at me before he turned back around to look forward.

"I fear that you have been hanging around the Muggle-born children too much." I raised my eyebrow taunting as his face contorted into a look of disgust that even Lucius couldn't make, It was a Draco specialty.

"I don't, I hate those filthy Muggle-borns!" Draco sneered at just the thought of them, I was shocked that he hadn't called them Mud-bloods.

"Was that hard for you?" I feigned sympathy to the overly dramatic blond boy that stood to my left. He rolled his eyes at me but didn't take his arm off my shoulders.

"You're really annoying you know?" He sneered quietly as if saying it loudly would hurt my feeling, ha, jokes on him, I don't have feelings.

I smirked at the boy as he sulked down the hallway leaning his entire body's weight onto my shoulder, he was causing an ache in my back but it wasn't unbearable. I could feel his eyes staring into the side of my face as we walked slowly down the hallway to dinner.

"Hey Rose," Draco never took his eyes off of my face, "do you want to go to the Holiday ball with me?" He looked just like he had when we laid on the floor in his bedroom during a particularly boring meeting. His gray eyes looked younger than usual and he wouldn't stop chewing on his bottom lip, it was a nervous habit of his, though I found it quite endearing.

"I would love to attend the Holiday Ball with you!" I wasn't expecting to get asked to the ball but I had figured I would hang out with Draco there anyway, so it wouldn't really change too much if I went with him as a date.

He smiled a bright smile that I had seen on various occasions but it still managed to blind me every time it appeared. His smile was so wide it looked like it might split his face in half, and his eyes were a light shade of gray, one I had only seen on a few occasions, and it was absolutely lovely.