All of This and Nothing

Chapter 2

\"Neville? Wake UP! Breakfast is in less than a half hour!\" Ron exclaimed, clearly intent on arriving early. That boy always did love his food.

\'Unnngh... Too bloody early for this.\' Neville Longbottom thought to himself. \"All right, all right. I\'m up.\" Neville stretched his arms above his head luxuriously, willing his body to awaken properly. He glanced over at the clock on the opposite wall. It read 7:34, just enough time for Neville to shower, get dressed, and get his arse down to the Great Hall.

\"I\'ve really got to start getting to bed earlier...\" Neville muttered to no one in particular. He had been up late the previous night, studying Potions with The Trio. \'W hat a lost cause,\' he thought. \'I\'m bound to blow up my cauldron again, anyways.\' He certainly couldn\'t help being so scared to death of his greasy Potions professor, so much that he couldn\'t concentrate. Hermione\'s efforts were just as intense as they had been in attempting to shove him off on Ginny.

Neville didn\'t have to worry about that anymore, though. Ginny had started seeing Draco Malfoy, much to The Trio\'s dismay. Neville knew it was inevitable; Ginny had been glancing over at the Slytherin table more than usual in the past week or so, at a specific blonde-haired Slytherin. \'What Ginny wants, she gets,\' Neville mused. \'I wish I had that kind of luck...\'

He had not forgotten what had occurred in the Library the previous Saturday, while all his friends were at Hogsmeade. No, he had not forgotten it at all... In fact, it was nearly all he could think about. He had had an even harder time trying to keep up in his classes, despite Hermione\'s help. The only class he\'d managed to pay attention in was Herbology, but he\'d always had a knack for that.

He didn\'t realize that, in Blaise\'s opinion, he had a knack for other things, as well...

* * * * * * * * * *

He\'d been awake since early that morning, unable to fall back to sleep, and was thinking about that wonderful day just a week previous. Blaise Zabini looked over at the clock on his nightstand, groaning. He hadn\'t gotten enough sleep, and knew he\'d have a hard time paying attention in class. \'It\'s all his fault,\' Blaise complained. \'If he didn\'t have to be so damned good...\'

Blaise sprung out from under the covers and dressed quickly. Not having much time before breakfast, he quickly gathered up his books and strolled into the Slytherin Common Room.

\"What\'s the rush, Zabini?\" a voiced drawled from across the room.

\"Breakfast, Malfoy. Surely you\'re planning on attending? It is, after all, the most important meal of the day. You look like you could use it. While you\'re at it, you should really get some sun on those fair cheeks of yours.\" Blaise smirked, knowingly toying with Draco Malfoy, something most people had more sense than to do.

\"You arrogant little prick!\" Draco fumed.

\"Likewise,\" Blaise interrupted. \"I don\'t plan on being late having Crabbe and Goyle finish it all.\" Blaise made to head out of the Common Room and into the hallway, but Draco stepped into his path.

\"You\'re being more cocky than usual, Zabini. Don\'t think that I don\'t notice that you lay awake each night. You\'re hiding something,\" Draco accused. \"I intend to find out what that is!\" Blaise swallowed hard. Draco had no way of finding out, unless... But no, there was no way that Longbottom would have told anyone, much less Draco Malfoy. Still, Blaise wasn\'t completely reassured that his little secret wouldn\'t be found out. After all, a Slytherin wasn\'t to be caught unaware.

\"I can assure you, Malfoy, that I am I not hiding anything worthy of telling you,\" Blaise remarked, hoping that the other Slytherin would catch the hidden meaning.

\"Let\'s hope not, Zabini, \" Malfoy growled, before stalking off toward his room.

\'What an idiot,\' Blaise thought. He thought that Malfoy would have for sure noticed that Blaise never flat out said that he wasn\'t hiding anything, only that he wouldn\'t tell Draco anything worth his while.

Blaise practically ran out of the dungeons and up to the Great Hall, barely making it in time for breakfast.

* * * * * * * * * *

Neville picked at his food, unable to eat with all the thoughts running through his head. He sighed, thinking about how he hadn\'t even seen Blaise since that Saturday, excluding meals. He glanced over at the Slytherin table in time to see Blaise take a seat next to Pansy Parkinson. \'Merlin, he\'s gorgeous,\' Neville thought. \'If only...\' But he was sure that would never happen, not again. Blaise hadn\'t even attempted to see Neville since last week, apparently content on having things return to the way they were before.

\"Oi, Neville, care to pass the jam?\" Neville was interrupted from his thoughts by Ron\'s request.

\"Sure,\" Neville grumbled, still not fully awake. He handed the jam to Harry, who then passed it to Ron.

\"You all right there, Neville?\" queried Seamus. Neville glanced up from his full plate and looked over at Seamus Finnegan. He had hoped he wasn\'t being too obvious, but was clearly caught.

\"Just tired, is all. Up too late studying,\" Neville said, still unable to articulate fully. Neville cursed himself for being such a night owl and such a terrible morning person.

\"Think you\'ll be too tired to go with us to Hogsmeade today?\" asked Hermione. \"You certainly didn\'t go last week. You should really get out of this castle, Neville.\"

In his head, Neville knew there was no question as to what he\'d spend the day doing. While he wanted to go to Hogsmeade and just enjoy a butterbeer or two with his friends in the Three Broomsticks, he inwardly knew that The Trio would try to do everything within their grasp to try to cheer him up. \'As if they could...\' Neville complained to himself.

\"I\'ve got too much studying to do, Hermione.\" He hoped that such an excuse would satisfy the Gryffindor genius.

\"I could help you when we got back! Really, Neville, you have to come with us. I promise you\'ll have fun!\" Hermione insisted.

\'Crap,\' he thought. \'She really HAS decided to adopt me as her charity case!\'

\"Hermione, I\'m FINE, really! Just go, have fun, and don\'t worry, all right?\" Neville said. \"I have too much work to do. Besides, what will I do in the future when you aren\'t around? I have to start developing my own study habits, you know. I can\'t become dependent on you, Hermione.\"

Hermione looked slightly hurt, and turned back to her breakfast. Harry shot Neville a look, and tried to strike up a conversation with Hermione. Ron remained completely oblivious, his face practically touching his plate as he shoveled food into his mouth. Neville grimaced, and returned to his daydream.

He figured that pretending to eat was doing him more harm than good, abruptly finished his pumpkin juice and got up and left the Great Hall.

\"I\'m a worried about Neville,\" Hermione confided in Harry and Ron. \"I think he\'s taking the Ginny Situation harder than he\'ll let on.\"

Ron suddenly looked up from his food as if electrically shocked. \"WHAT!?\" he exclaimed. \"Don\'t tell me you still think he\'s hung up on her!\"

\"Ron, I know you don\'t want to hear this, but...\" Hermione said gently, not wanting to get Ron upset.

\"Hermione, don\'t tell me you don\'t see it.\"

\"What are you on about, Ron?\"

\"Hermione,\" Ron said, then leaned in towards her ear, the whispered, \"Neville\'s gay.\"

At this, Hermione cried out, \"BLOODY HELL!\" The Great Hall became deadly silent as everyone turned to look at the assumedly prim and proper princess of Gryffindor. Hermione blushed a deep red, then whispered back, \"Are you sure? I mean, it\'s Neville...\"

\"Exactly my point, Hermione.\" Ron turned back to his food and continued eating.

\"But... how would you know that?\" Hermione spluttered.

\"Tell her about the Shower Incident, Ron,\" Harry spoke up.

\"What?\" Hermione perked up slightly, suddenly interested.

\"Fine.\" said Ron, swallowing his food and he hesitantly put down his fork. \"Last year,\" he whispered, \"I was taking a shower, minding my own business. All of a sudden, Neville accidentally walks in on me. I turn around, give him a glare, and just keep showering, figuring he\'d take the hint. When he\'s still there about twenty seconds later, I turn around to ask him why he\'s still there. When I do, though, he\'s just staring at my body, blushing. I ask him what the hell he\'s staring at, and he mumbled an apology and ran out as fast as he could. After that, he couldn\'t look me in the eye for about a week.\" Ron picked up his fork and took a bite of his fried potatoes. He swallowed again, and finished, \"Any straight man would have merely laughed at my tiny dick, teased me, and probably proceed to either brush their teeth or just leave. A straight man wouldn\'t just stand there, because it wouldn\'t be a big deal. AND, to top it all off, a straight man wouldn\'t get a boner from looking at my scrawny arse.\" Ron took a gulp of his pumpkin juice, and set it back down forcefully to emphasize his point. Hermione\'s eyebrows just about reached her hairline at Ron\'s last comment.

\"You have to admit, it\'s pretty incriminating evidence,\" Harry agreed.

\"But...\" Hermione started.

\"But nothing. We\'ve got to the Main Hall in about ten minutes to leave for Hogsmeade.\"

Ron and Harry practically had to drag Hermione out of her daze, into the Main Hall, and out the doors with their classmates to Hogsmeade.

* * * * * * * * * *

Neville rubbed his eyes as he trudged off with his books to the Library. \'Thank Merlin I\'m the only one staying,\' he thought to himself. He set his books down at his usual table and sat down in his favorite comfy chair. Spreading his books across the table, he dove in and got right to work. Neville was so involved in his studies that he didn\'t even hear the library door open just minutes later.

After finishing a chapter of Charms, Neville took the book out of his lap and sat it back down on the table. He glanced up and took a quick look around the library, not shocked to see it completely empty.

\"Don\'t worry, Madam Pince has gone on her break. She won\'t be back for at least a half hour.\"

Neville jumped up from his chair at the voice coming from behind him. He turned around to see a pair of beautiful blue eyes staring at him intensely.

\"You scared the crap out of me, Zabini!\" Neville gasped. \"Do you creep up behind people as a normal pastime?\"

Blaise chuckled. \"Well, not usually, but seeing how involved you were with your work, I thought it would be fun to see your reaction. It\'s your fault, really, for making it so easy.\"

\"Gee, thanks, Zabini.\" Neville glared at Blaise, but found it increasingly difficult not to melt under the penetrating gaze staring directly back at him. No, into him.

\"You are more than welcome, Neville,\" Blaise smirked.

At hearing his name coming from the Slytherin\'s mouth, Neville froze. Blaise was being informal again. Maybe the \"incident\" last week really did mean something...

Neville remembered himself, and plopped back down in his chair like a petulant child. Blaise then assumed his cue to take the chair opposite Neville and sat down. Neville\'s breath caught in his throat when Blaise\'s knee brushed against his own. He was further surprised when Blaise didn\'t even move to correct himself, and Neville was treated to a wonderful warm sensation traveling straight up his leg to... himself. Amazing how much control Zabini had over him, whether he realized it or not.

\"So, really... Why are you here?\" Neville queried of the gorgeous boy sitting in front of him.

\"Same thing you are,\" Blaise replied, motioning towards the books under his arm. \"I wasn\'t aware that the Gryffindors had sole reserve over the library.\"

\"We don\'t,\" growled Neville. \"I was merely curious.\"

The two boys just stared at each other for a few moments, lost in each other\'s eyes.

Blaise cocked his head to one side. \"Are we going to ignore what happened last week?\"

Neville gulped. \"I wasn\'t hoping to... I\'ve just been busy all week.\" At this, Blaise\'s calm expression morphed into a wolfish grin.

\"Neither was I, mate. Neither was I...\" Blaise stood up from his chair and motioned for Neville to do the same. Neville got up and followed Blaise past the isles of books back to \"their spot\".

Blaise turned around to face Neville, his heart pounding in his chest. What seemed merely a fantasy earlier that morning was becoming a reality for him right before his eyes. He reached for Neville\'s hand and pulled him close. Neville responded in turn and pushed Blaise against the wall directly behind him. At this, Blaise smiled, loving the way how Neville took control. He knew there had to be more to the formerly gangly and clumsy boy. Much to his delight, being this close to Neville again made him realize how much the other boy had developed from his former self, not that any of his other friends had noticed. Blaise was not going to be like all the others, and just cast the shy Gryffindor aside like some sort of curse.

Through all this, Neville was having thoughts of his own, yet some were not as innocent as the reminiscent ones of the Slytherin Sex God he was just about ready to pounce upon. Neville raised his eyes and looked at the curvature of the other boy\'s face. The space between the two of them was seemingly growing smaller, yet neither of the boys were moving.

Finally, Neville stepped towards Blaise, closing the gap and pushing him forcefully against the wall. Blaise moaned at the sudden, rough contact between them, and tilted his head to capture Neville\'s lips with his own.

Neville\'s thoughts quickly flooded out his ears, and he let himself give in to the sensations that Blaise\'s roaming hands were presenting to him. He again thrust Blaise against the wall, thrusting his thigh between Blaise\'s legs. Blaise gave another moan and let his hands tangle in Neville\'s hair.

Their tongues were caressing each other, stroking passionately. Neville was about to faint from the extreme bliss he felt, warmth radiating from his body.

Finally, Neville pulled back, panting slightly. He looked at Blaise\'s swollen lips, smirking. \'I did that,\' he thought devilishly, \'I had control.\' Knowing this sent tremors up and down his body, causing him to grow harder than he already was. He glanced down, seeing that Zabini was in a similar situation.

Blaise smirked, seeing Neville blatantly stare at his erection. He pulled to him by his hips, and ground their pelvises together, reveling in the pleasure. Yet another moan escaped from Neville\'s blood red lips before Blaise smothered them again.

With a quick movement, Blaise was back in control, gently pressing Neville against the wall next to the bookshelf. His lips left Neville\'s, eliciting a whimper, before they traveled down to his jaw to the hollow of his neck. Neville threw his head back to give the other boy an easier angle. His fingers twisted in Blaise\'s dark curly locks, tugging slightly at the small tremors of pleasure flowing freely through his system.

After a time, Neville gently pulled Blaise\'s face back up so it was level with his own. He softly kissed his lips, and brought the both of them away from the wall. He brought his lips to Blaise\'s ear, whispering, \"D\'you think we\'re moving a bit fast? I don\'t want to do something you\'d end up regretting.\"

Blaise pulled away and looked into Neville\'s deep brown eyes. \"Neville, I\'ll never regret this.\" He pulled Neville back into his arms, circling the boy\'s shoulders. \"I just hope that you don\'t regret it...\"

Neville gave him a peck on the cheek. \"I\'ll never regret wanting you, either.\" He kissed him full on the lips again, showing Blaise the extent of his passion.

After another round, Blaise pulled away. \"Unless you want to get caught naked in the library by Madam Pince, with a SLYTHERIN no less, I suggest we continue this at a later time.\"

Neville pouted, clearly not minding the prospect of being caught.

\"It\'s not going to be another week before this happens again, right?\" Neville asked, sounding a bit worried.

\"Certainly not,\" Blaise remarked. \"I\'d attack you before then if I was forced to wait too long.\"

At this, Neville\'s small, shy smile stretched into a wide grin. \"Likewise, mate. Likewise.\"

They kissed one last time, and made to head back toward their books. Madam Pince had returned to her spot at the front desk, looking austerely over at the two boys. Her eyebrow arched, but she turned back to her book, ignoring the scene before her.

Seeing that his presence would merely be a distraction to the both of them, Blaise quickly gathered up his books and bid goodbye, turning and strolling out the doors of the library.

Neville sighed, picking up his Charms book to finish his homework. Much as he would have liked, he couldn\'t finish reading. His mind kept drifting off to a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed Slytherin Sex God Extraordinaire...

* * * * * * * * * *

The entire afternoon saw Neville wondering furiously what to do about his friends, and his newfound love. What would he do at dinner? Would they ignore each other some more, or would they acknowledge each other in front of their peers? Someone, namely Hermione, would figure them out. Neville shuddered at the thought, not too sure he wanted to find out what would happen if someone were to realize. The wizarding world was still somewhat in the dark ages; Neville knew that wizards were expected to settle down with witches, not other wizards.

Neville gulped, realizing that dinner was in less than twenty minutes. He quickly put his books back in his room and sprinted down to the Common Room to walk with his friends to the Great Hall.

* * * * * * * * * *

Blaise, too, was incredibly nervous. He knew that, despite how much he and Neville wanted each other, there would be difficulties in their relationship. He knew he would be ostracized by his fellow Slytherins, all of them being brought up to breed for their pureblooded families in the traditional way.

\'Merlin, what do I do?\' he cried to himself.

He knew that, whatever happened, it wouldn\'t be easy...

He glanced over at his clock, saw that dinner was approaching, and trudged off to find his peers.

* * * * * * * * * *

When Neville arrived at the Great Hall for dinner with The Golden Trio plus Ginny, he glanced over at the Slytherin table. He saw Blaise sitting by himself at one of the far ends, playing with his fork.

\"It\'s now or never,\" he muttered to himself.

\"What was that, Neville?\" Hermione asked, looking a bit confused.

\"Oh, nothing. You guys go on and sit without me,\" he said, as he stalked off in the direction of the Slytherin table. Suddenly, the entire Hall became quiet as he sat down next to a dumbfounded Blaise as if nothing was wrong.

\"What the bloody hell is wrong with him!?\" cried Ron. \"Has he finally blown up the potion that\'s driven him completely MAD!?!?\"

Hermione looked shocked, then smiled knowingly. Neville looked happy, and she wasn\'t about to change that for the sake of House Pride. \"Leave him alone, Ron,\" she giggled.

Harry smiled at her, realizing what was going on, as well. Ron just gaped at the two of them, his mouth opening and closing, but no words actually coming out of his mouth. Hermione and Harry finally dragged him over to the Gryffindor table, but not before flashing Neville their best shit-eating grins possible.

Neville turned to Blaise. \"Are you really all that surprised?\" Neville smirked at Blaise\'s shocked and confused face.

Blaise\'s confusion quickly turned into a wide, warm smile. \"I really shouldn\'t be, considering how dominant you are...\" He winked at Neville, who returned the wink with a rosy blush spreading across his cheeks.

\"You\'ve got THAT right!\" Neville exclaimed, then pulled Blaise in for a proper kiss. He heard gasps all around him with most of them coming from the Slytherins that sat just down the table. When he finally pulled away, the two of them smiled shyly at each other before turning to their food.

Neville picked up his fork and dug right into his potatoes. He glanced over at Blaise who seemed to be radiating happiness.

\'Yes,\' Neville thought. \'I really could get used to this...\'


A/N: This is all I have written for this specific story so far. After this... I just don\'t know what to do with them. If there\'s anything you\'d like to see... just review. ;)

I appreciate the reviews I\'ve already received. Thanks so much!