[HP] Noble

Even though I told myself countless times that the letter must have been mailed and lost, I still couldn't hide a strange hope in my heart. Zabini's calmness made Neville feel lucky. Psychology—he has fantasized countless times that the letter has been delivered to that Slytherin, and then the recipient has carefully read it, and then put it in a very hidden place that no one can see. In the bookcase.

On a snowy day just after Christmas, when the common room was almost empty, and everyone was excited to go out for a snowball fight, Neville sat by the fire and wrote Zabini once again. letter.The Hogwarts house-elf is the best house-elf in the world. The fire in the stove is very strong, and the jumping flames are reflected on the fat face of the Gryffindor boy, glowing red.

Neville and his awkward and tactful tone asked Zabini in the letter if he had received his letter - he decided that if the other party didn't reply or replied "what letter", he would give up completely. To put his life back on track, he will continue to learn his herbalism well, and then try to make himself like a girl, graduate smoothly, find a job that can pay enough for his parents in St. Mungo's, and he can The work of supporting myself and my grandma, and finally, finally, a baby Longbottom if I can...  

When Neville had almost planned his life so that his children would go to school and not be thrown into Hufflepuff, he received a letter from Zabini -

It was extremely inconsistent with his own style. It was a very, very low-key kraft paper envelope, and inside it was just a piece of ordinary letter, which seemed to be ripped from some leftover paper parchment. Neville sniffed quietly up to his nose when no one was around - not even a Slytherin-like cologne.

The content of the letter is very simple.

Only two words.

【receive. 】

There was no rejection, no knowingly asking, and no disregard. It was just a formal answer to Neville's eloquent and cautious inquiry, which was filled with thousands of words.

"Neville, what are you laughing at?" Ron Weasley leaned over and asked, "Was that girl writing you a love letter - oh oh oh, Harry, come and see, our little Neville is in love! "

"Don't talk nonsense! Ron!" Neville blushed and frantically tried to grab his letter back.

However, even if he is taller than Harry, he is not as tall as Ron. When the red-haired Weasley laughed and held up his envelope, no matter how much Neville blushed and jumped about his oversized body, it was still enough. Without that letter—

"Damn Ron! Give me back my letter!"

"Don't be angry with Neville, the third grade is not a puppy love - strange, why didn't you sign it?"

Ron flipped through the letter over and over again, and threw the envelope to Harry, who, holding back a smile, ran wildly in pursuit of Neville, and then laughed and reported to everyone who turned their heads to join in the fun: " There is no sign on the envelope!"

"Who wrote it to you, Neville?" Hermione asked very gently, hesitantly.

"how could I know!"

Panting, Neville snatched the letter back from Ron's hand, and yelled loudly, regardless of whether Hermione was frightened enough by him.

……

Afterwards, Neville kept that letter under his pillow for a whole year.

Until the end of winter, the arrival of spring, the end of spring, the end of summer vacation, and the departure of summer and autumn, when the sky was covered with heavy snow again, at this time, Neville was already a fourth-grade student.

It happened just before the second project of the Triwizard Tournament was about to start, and Harry was struggling with the golden egg, and almost the entire Gryffindor fourth year was in motion, just to figure out what was going on with the egg , they appeared in the Hogwarts library in groups, oh, Neville was sure, there had never been so many Gryffindors in the library.

When he was forced to flip through those ancient manuscripts that he couldn't read anyway, Ron had already quietly played wizard chess with Seamus beside Neville, and Hermione sat opposite and flipped through the books, from time to time Looking up at Ron's impatient "beep" sound, Neville smiled and quietly pulled out a piece of parchment. He bit the tip of his tongue and wrote quickly on it. Neville finished his letter and folded it when the crown dropped at Ron's king's feet.

He borrowed Angelina's owl and sent the letter.

So, there was the scene of him standing alone in Hogsmeade village and waiting foolishly on the weekend.

From nine o'clock in the morning, he cleaned himself up early in the morning, followed the Gryffindor team through Filch's inspection without haste, and after he walked out of Hogwarts, he left the other Man, while they were excitedly discussing what new BeeDukes products were coming out this week, Neville stalked his way to the Shrieking Shack - no one noticed where he went, except for one left in the snow A lonely footprint.

The sky was gloomy and gray, and Neville stood at the place agreed in the letter, waiting very calmly.

He didn't even look like someone who was waiting.

He stood there with his head down, except for looking up very confusedly when the sky started to snow, he didn't even look around like a waiter, and when it was close to lunch time, his stomach started rumbling screamed loudly, not far away, finally came the rustling sound of walking——

Neville raised his head abruptly, a tall, dark-skinned figure was reflected in the gradually shrinking amber pupils——

He didn't wear a hat, but was wrapped in a silver and green scarf, with his hands in his pockets, heavy snow fell in his hair, and he didn't seem to notice, he hurried this way alone, there was nothing beside him On weekdays, there are always three or five chattering girls around.

Neville stood there in a daze for a moment. In fact, to be honest, he never thought that Zabini would actually come.

"Sorry, I overslept." Scratching his hair, the handsome Slytherin showed a sunny smile, "You didn't wait long, did you?"

"..."

"Hi? ... Longbottom, are you there?"

"...I'm here! Oh no...I mean, damn it, I didn't wait long!"

In fact, I have been waiting for two and a half hours.Neville was stuttering, and when he noticed the smile on the corner of the other's lips widened, he began to feel uneasy. Even the cold winter wind could not cool down the temperature on his face.An emotion called depression spread from the heart to the whole body along the blood, and his face finally began to turn pale. Gryffindor blinked vigorously under the curious eyes of the other party, and he began to wonder what he was doing , and why are you standing here?

How long did you have to wait?With a smile in his eyes, the Slytherin glanced nonchalantly over the snow beneath the Gryffindor boy's feet - it was a deep hole.However, he remained calm and didn't expose him, as if he hadn't found anything, he tilted his head: "Are you hungry? I'm so hungry, do you want to eat something?"

Naville nodded dully, and followed Zabini obediently.It was very passive from the beginning to the end, as if the Slytherin who was silently moving forward was the initiator of this date.

As expected, their strange combination in the restaurant was seriously watched.

When a fourth-year Hufflepuff girl asked Zabini loudly why he was with Longbottom, Neville opened his mouth. The words on the menu in front of him were distorted into unfamiliar words, and he tried hard to put the realization in front of him. On the menu, he forced himself not to look up at those curious eyes around him - he was afraid that he would not be able to resist jumping up and running for the door.

"...Ah, Longbottom got lost near the Shrieking Shack, and I happened to pick him up."

Resting his chin with one hand, with a cup of freshly served hot cocoa in hand, Slytherin smiled very naturally, his smile was a little fuzzy after the steam was lingering, this was the third time he took the trouble to gossip about the inquirer The author explained——

"So Longbottom decided to treat me to lunch as a token of appreciation."

Lost in Hogsmeade?This is of course impossible.

But what about Longbottom?Oh, you can believe it.

After Zabini sent away the fifth curious Slytherin who came up to inquire, the main meal was finally served-grilled sizzling steak with very fresh herb sauce.During the entire meal, the two of them didn't speak a word - Neville tried countless times to find a topic that both of them could talk about, but when the topic almost reached his throat, he swallowed it again.

This was definitely the most indigestible meal I've had in over a decade since I was born.

Laughing at himself silently in his heart, Neville began to regret a little bit how much courage he had to come to ask this Slytherin. The most ridiculous thing is, why did Zabini accept the invitation? ...Just ignore me.

During Neville's severe distraction, Zabini paid for the final lunch.Walking out of the restaurant, the snow outside had stopped - but there was already deep snow on the ground, as usual Zabini walked in front, Neville walked behind him silently, he didn't even want to ask the Slytherin in front , where are they going?

Until they passed by a shop selling small ornamental potted plants with thick leaves.

Neville glanced longingly—as if he also had eyes behind his back, Zabini paused, and then walked inside without saying a word.Gryffindor, who was following him, was a little surprised. He didn't smile until he walked into the small shop with dimly lit yellow lights and smelled the smell of soil.

Zabini was carelessly playing with a small flytrap. Next to him was the boss, an elderly witch who was very kind.

"It's rare to see a combination of Slytherin and Gryffindor shopping together," the old witch said with a smile, "I was a Ravenclaw back then, and my grades in herbal medicine were the first in the whole year, oh, Lian Deng Bullido is also my defeat."

"Ah, we also have a first grader here." Slytherin said with a faint smile, and nodded his chin in the direction of the Gryffindor whose back was facing them. "Maybe you will have something to say."

The old witch patted Slytherin on the shoulder, then walked towards Neville with an inexplicable smile—

They stayed in that store for more than an hour, and they didn't come out until it was almost the time to return to school in the afternoon.Neville was holding a beautiful pot of lantern grass in his hand. The thick leaves were very lovely, and it hadn't bear fruit yet, but according to the owner, the old witch, next winter, when it was in full bloom, it would definitely bear fruit.

"Actually, I can buy it myself." Neville paused. He lowered his head and hugged the flowerpot tightly in his arms. to move forward side by side.

"It doesn't matter." Slytherin smiled easily, "It's just ten Galleons."

Ten Galleons, that's all.

Neville's monthly pocket money was only five Galleons.

"...By the way, do you have any plans for tonight?"

"No."

"Oh."

That night, no one knew where Longbottom went.After dinner, he completely disappeared.Before curfew, Harry and Ron yawned when Hermione petulantly asked Harry and Ron to look around again, "Why bother, Hermione, Neville must be dating some girl," Ron grinned Said, "Why do you have to disturb other people's good things."

Neville showed up the next day before Potions class.

The posture was a little strange when walking, and the heartless Gryffindors laughed, "Did you get kicked in the shin by a girl, Neville!" Ron looked very excited, "To be honest, I haven't had... oh--"

When Neville blushed and was once again surrounded by the crowd, Zabini sat behind them, still wearing his trademark smile, nonchalantly copying Draco's notes from a class.

"I'm going to re-examine you, Blaise." Prince Slytherin said blankly, looking at the other Slytherin who was busy copying notes, "I thought at least you could have a little limit."

"Come on, Draco." Zabini said, holding back his smile, "I was the one who was thrown out this morning-it seems there will never be a next time, you can't imagine waking up to find only How empty it must feel to be alone with the dried semen on the quilt—”

In response to this, Draco gave his friend a super supercilious look.

For the next two years, a pot of lantern plants was carefully placed in front of the bed in Neville's dormitory.

It was a plant he had always wanted very much, given to him by someone he liked very much.

Even though he never took the initiative to contact that Slytherin in the fifth grade, after that night, they seemed to be strangers who had never met before.

During the summer vacation at the end of the fifth grade, with one week left before the start of school, a strange visitor came to Longbottom's house. It was a German. Neville had met him in the fourth grade, and his name was Dillard Brest— —no one knows exactly what kind of contract they signed, anyway, when Ron recalled the day when Neville was replaced by a German—

"No wonder he always hums a song and goes to water the pot of lantern plants with a spring face," the red-haired Weasley shuddered, "I can't believe that such an expression will appear on Neville's face .”

At that time, Neville was a guest in Germany, and under the tutoring of his tutor, he had completed all his sixth grade homework.

When autumn came, Neville came to St. Mungo's in a restless mood.There, he got a surprise.

The mother no longer smiled and stuffed all kinds of candy wrappers into his hands. Her pupils, which were exactly the same as Neville's, were full of smiles. She opened her arms and gave him the warmest smile in the world.His father no longer smiled foolishly, in fact, in Neville's opinion, there was no father more handsome than him, he smiled softly, gave him a real, father-son hug, and called him "" son".

The blood relationship makes them seem to have never been separated.

Life seems to follow this day, and everything is developing towards the good side.

Then the Great War started, and he finally returned to Hogwarts.

Crouching by the window, the battle is raging outside the window, when Blaise Zabini and Astoria duel in the snow, he never knows, in the castle behind him, there is a Gryffin lying on the window Duo, quietly watching him through the window.

Of course, he would never know why that little Greengrass tripped to the ground so well at the critical moment.

It's like a spell.

More like Merlin's blessing.

Later, they all survived the war, and the bright side won.

But the British wizarding world was hit hard because of this. This group of sixth graders became the first group of students who graduated from Hogwarts early due to special circumstances.

Ron and Harry went to the Auror office as a matter of course, no one was more suitable than them.Hermione went to the Ministry of Magic secretariat, and the new Minister for Magic loved her to death, which made George a little unhappy.

That Slytherin named Daphne, oh, couldn't wait to marry Fred as soon as she graduated - they became the second pair of Slytherin and Gryffin to successfully walk into the wedding hall after Frink and Wood How... I'm so envious.

Neville stood in front of the full-length mirror, adjusting his tie for the third time.

An hour later, he will go to work at the Ministry of Magic's herbal medicine entry security management department. There, he will have new colleagues and new bosses. He will have weekends and weekends. He can choose to go to the bar with Harry and the others Drink, or go to a gay bar to find out what he might have.

There is heavy snow falling outside the window, just like back then.

As if recalling that year, on the table behind him, there was once a little boy in the third grade, biting the tip of his tongue, hesitating with difficulty, and wrote the first love letter in his life... In the mirror, chubby The boy showed a smile, a snowy day is always a good start.

Humming a song, watering the lush lantern plant by the window sill that had to be planted in a big pot.Downstairs, Mrs. Longbottom and the old Mrs. Longbottom sounded urging voices, one high and one low, with different emotions. Neville responded, and never cared about the tie that seemed to be tied badly any more. He stumbled and rushed downstairs. ——

At the dining table, Mr. Longbottom, the deputy director of the Auror Office, sat at the dining table energetically reading today's newspaper. Mrs. Longbottom was busy pouring coffee for him, and the old Mrs. Longbottom who seemed to be nagging forever , sitting in her rocking chair, quickly knitting a handmade sweater——

"Relax, everything will be fine, son."

Before Neville rushed out the door with a piece of toast in his mouth, his mother planted a good morning kiss on his forehead that was more than ten years late.

……

Everything will be fine.

It couldn't have been smoother.

As Neville stood stupidly in front of the office door where he was about to report, his head was simply not working.

Not far from him, in the open office door, behind the ornate desk, sat his new boss, apparently.When Neville stood dumbfounded at the door, like a stupid statue boundless among the people coming and going, in the door, his new boss finally seemed to have noticed something, raised his head, and revealed that even if it turned into Grey, the smile that Neville was too familiar with.

"Good day, and . . . your tie is awry, Mr. Longbottom."

one year later.

"—Did you hear that Blaise Zabini is getting married!"

"—was that Zabini, the Slytherin one, the one who recently transferred from the British Ministry of Magic back to the German Ministry of Magic Auror Office? My God! I don't believe it! Is it finally his turn after Malfoy?! With who with who?"

"...that Longbottom."

"...W-what?"

"Longbottom, that's the Gryffindor, oh, what does he look like, chubby... the one who never failed the Potions exam!"

"Merlin's beard!"

Now, people all over the world know one thing.

Neville Longbottom loves Blaise Zabini.

deeply love.