A Perfect Situation

Cathy was reluctant to see Kevin but for obvious reasons. She had spent so many years denying what had happened to her, that the last thing she wanted was to be confronted face to face with one of the people she had trusted most in her life. She had thought she encouraged them, she thought she gave them the idea, she thought……..



She thought too many things over the years, most of them incorrect according to what she had been told recently. She wondered at why this young healer had taken an interest in her past. She thought for a moment that maybe she had said something to him to make him think she needed help, but she knew it was his concern for Hermione that prompted it.



She was positive that he had never been her lover, it was very clear now. He was what Kevin and Justin had once been to her, although he wasn’t deceptive, he was a true friend to Hermione, and he had earned her respect.



She sat alone in her flat, settled and at ease. She was suddenly glad that she had decided to take some time to herself, given what Neville forced her to deal with. She thought her life was where she wanted it to be. She would never be in the position to be betrayed again. By knowing that men were liars and bastards she kept herself safe. Or so she thought.



Neville had sneaked in when she was distracted and managed to upset her in more ways then she knew. Granted he hadn’t lied or broken his word, he just brought back the past.



She downed her glass of wine, thinking about what she should do. If she faced Kevin, she would have some control. She could leave at any moment, and he would be behind bars, chained and guarded. Neville had volunteered to go with her, for support, but she also knew that it would be good to have a healer on hand in case it proved to be traumatic.



She wondered what he could do. He wasn’t a mental healer and she was not about to see one of those again. They pried where they weren’t wanted, and they tried to make her break down. She didn’t like being broken, she had already been broken before and she was not about to do it again.



KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!



She glanced at the clock, wondering who could be at her door at 8 in the evening. She opened the door and found Healer Neville Longbottom standing there. ‘I didn’t realize I had an appointment.” She held the door open for him to enter.



“You never do.” He waited until she closed the door. “I came to see how you were doing.”



“Yeah?” She fell back into her chair. “Why?”



He settled into a chair beside her. “You didn’t approach Severus and Hermione today.”



“I would have thought you would be happy about that.” She found speaking to him much easier now. Having let out the waterworks in front of him, and not received any ridicule afterward surprised her. He seemed like he could keep a secret, at least an important one.



“I’m concerned about you for the moment. I know Hermione is doing just fine. If she needs me she will let me know.”



“And you show up here without being told.” She knew it sounded hard but at the same time, she had to figure out what this man was all about.



“You do need me.” He maintained his calm. “I know what happened, and I’m trying to help you.”



“Without being asked?” He nodded to her. “So what do you want to know now?”



“Did you want to approach Severus?”



She thought for a moment. “No. Considering what I have learned recently it didn’t seem to matter at the moment.”



“What does?” Neville had an approachable face and the way he was non threatening at the moment was comforting. She had heard him angry and making threats but now that she knew this side on him, she knew this was real.



“I don’t know anymore.” She let her eyes drift away, and memories filled her mind. “I was fourteen.”



“When what happened?” He asked softly.



“A party in the dorms. Late at night. We snuck into one of the rooms that were empty. Me and a few of the girls. We went to the boys side, since so many of them had left for the holidays. One of the girls had managed to steal a couple of bottles from Slughorn. It was supposed to be just the girls, but one of them invited her boyfriend, who invited a friend who invited a friend.”



She shifted in her chair, but Neville remained quiet. He was here to listen to her, note lecture. “I drank and drank, and everyone else drank and drank, and we all eventually paired off. I remember him as a boy who teased me in front of everyone else, but now that we were alone, I was pretty. I was nothing to him at any other time, but now I was worthy of attention.”



She looked at him again, wondering if she should continue but once she started she knew she couldn’t stop. It had to come out sooner or later, at least it would be on her terms. “He began touching me, and pulling me closer. I remember thinking that I was finally going to have something for myself. All the girls had a boyfriend, and I was going to have one too, but soon enough I knew that was wishful thinking. He wasn’t kissing me. He was kissing my neck, he had opened my shirt and was kissing my breasts. He was touching me under my skirt, he had taken off my knickers, he was doing everything but kissing me.”



Neville fought to stay quiet. He was hurting for her, angry at the person who took advantage of her in that way. She was insecure and naïve and a target, and he had seen that. “It hurt, it really hurt. Like a burning feeling that wouldn’t go away. I tried to ask him to slow down but I couldn’t form the words. I tried to get comfortable but he wanted me a certain way and I didn’t know how to refuse. I didn’t have the energy to do anything. When he was done, I drank some more, hoping it would help. Then he wanted to do it again.”



She fell silent and for a moment Neville wondered if she was done, but she continued. “When he was done, he left. That’s when I realized everyone else had left the room. I was alone. There was half a bottle left so I drank the rest of it. I felt sick, inside and out. I’m not sure when someone had shown up, but eventually I was taken away. I woke up in St. Mungo’s and was put through a bunch of tests and asked questions. They brought my parents in and told them what happened.”



Neville knew this was the hard part. Her posture had stiffened and she seemed on edge. He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, giving her his attention. He let her know that he wasn’t going to leave, he would listen to her just like he promised.



“My father called me a whore, a whore who couldn’t hold her liquor or her legs. My mother said nothing, which meant she agreed with my father. She always did. A dutiful wife who supported her husband, even at the expense of her daughter. My father order me to tell them who did it to me, but I refused. It was the only weapon I had against him. I wouldn’t do what he wanted.”



Neville held himself in check, watching her. She had yet to make eye contact and that meant she wasn’t done. “My grandmother came to get me and took me to her home for the rest of the holidays. She had never liked my father and told me that I could come to her house during the summer. When I went back to school, just like I thought, he didn’t pay me a second glance. My friends thought I had a good time, and I said nothing about it. They assume it was a one night occurrence, that I was just having fun, so I let them think it. My grandmother never blamed me for anything, she never told me I was wrong. When she died, she left me her estate. I sold it all and used it to fund my career. She told me to do that, in her letter. So that’s what I did.”



She met his eyes, seeing that there was no judging going on. He had merely listened and understood. He wondered why she had to go through everything that she had gone through, this woman. She was around Severus’s age but she seemed much younger, now that she had unburdened herself. He felt for her, he really did. “I don’t know why I told you al that.” She tried to laugh it off so he just smiled.



“I’m glad you did.” He said, smiling.



“Why?” She continued trying to laugh it off, but he knew she was just nervous.



“Because it shows me that you are trusting me, and I want you to know that. I don’t have alternative intentions, I’m not out to hurt you. I want to help you.” He reached out a hand and took hers, happy that she didn’t pull away. He stood and pulled her to her feet, wrapping her in a hug.



Cathy closed her eyes and fought back tears. It had been so long since someone had hugged her out of concern, in friendship and she didn’t realize how she had missed it. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his shoulders. She felt his own arms tighten, and she let herself for the first time in a long time, be comforted by someone else.



Neville held her, feeling the tension fade away. She was healing, in her own way, but she was healing. He couldn’t resist and dropped his head to place a kiss on her temple. It seemed right, and it felt right. She didn’t object and she didn’t seem insulted.



He let her go slowly, keeping her hands in his. “Have you decided?”



“Yes, I’ll see Kevin, if you go with me.”



“I’ll arrange it.”



She sat in her chair for several hours more, wondering what she was thinking, and if she had made the right choice. She was scared to face Kevin. For the first time in a long time, Cathy Haversham was scared.





A/N: I have no idea why this fic is heading in this direction, but most of my stories write themselves. I had wondered if maybe i should put this under a Neville/OFC section but i have no idea if they will get romantic or not. Like i said, the stories write themselves. What do you think?