Combustible

See Part I for Summary and Disclaimers

All of the students were rushing to finish up their packing in order to catch the Hogwarts Express by the time Neville managed to reach the Gryffindor Dorms. He ran into Ron Weasley as he tried, unsuccessfully, to quietly get changed before any of his mates could see him looking so dishevelled.

‘God, Nevvy, you look a bit worse for wear. Where’d you end up last night?’ said Ron with a slight grimace. Hermione had already scolded him about his ‘overindulgence’ the previous evening and he wanted to share the pain a bit.

‘Ron, you aren’t taking those shoes, are you?’ Hermione asked in aggrieved tones. ‘They’ll never fit,’ she said in a frustrated voice.

Neville peeked over at Hermione.

‘I’ll just pull the curtains so I can get changed,’ he murmured. He could hardly blame Hermione for her irritation; she’d begged Ron to get an early start in his packing but, of course, Ron had put it off in order to attend the most graduation parties he could find before leaving Hogwarts that day.

‘So where’d you end up?’ Ron continued to press.

Behind the curtainsm Neville wasn’t quite sure what to say. The truth wouldn’t be believed, or if it was, Ron would be appalled---he hated Snape. Well, truth be told, he wasn’t fond of any of the Slytherins, but Snape especially.

‘I, err’ I ended up in one of the deserted classrooms and slept it off there,’ Neville replied.

‘Gods, you must have an awful crick in your neck,’ Ron muttered.

‘Where’s Harry?’ Neville asked. He didn’t want to miss saying goodbye to any of his friends.

‘He’ll be along. He’s meeting with Dumbledore again. You’d think Harry was going around the world instead of into the Auror program. I’m sure the owls will fly thick and fast between them,’ Ron said complacently.

The recruiters from the Ministry Department of Auror training had tapped both Ron and Harry for the Auror program. Ron had barely scraped by the academic standards but he’d made it in the end. He and Harry would train together over the next year and a half. Both were delighted.

Hermione had chosen to go into the Medi-witch program, taking emergency field medicine as her specialty. As the war with Voldemort escalated there was a huge demand for trained medics that could handle battle conditions. Only the best were accepted into the program as they had to qualify both in the medical end and the DADA training. No one could be allowed in the field if they couldn’t defend themselves as well as their patients. All of the Gryffindors had been enormously pleased for Hermione as she’d worked incredibly hard to have the chance to participate in the program.

Neville was a part of the Hogwarts apprenticeship program, which stretched back almost five hundred years. Each graduating year, the most talented students were given the opportunity to apprentice to a Hogwarts Professor in an area of their specialty with an eye towards teaching the subject someday.

Neville had been given the Herbology apprenticeship, Mandy Brocklehurst and Padma Patil, both from Ravenclaw, were chosen respectively for Charms and Arithmancy while Ernie McMillan from Hufflepuff was selected for transfiguration.

To achieve an apprenticeship, the seventh years were required to take an advanced course in their particular area of interest during their seventh year as well as enduring additional exams on that subject during the NEWTS. The Herbology exam that Neville had taken with four other students had been three hours long and Neville had felt wrung out at the end.

Neville had been thrilled beyond his wildest dreams less than a week before, when the apprenticeships had been posted. He’d had to pinch himself. He’d been chosen. His Gryffindor mates had cheered and screamed and stamped their feet for him.

An apprentice level was somewhere between being a student and a Professor. They were adults and treated as such. Their study was independent to a great degree but guided by their mentors. They were regularly tested and given further direction as needed. All of the apprentices lived in---on the sixth floor in a small area that the Headmaster had converted to dorms for them.

Rules were strict, however, despite their adult status. They were in no way to set a bad example for the students. No alcohol, drugs or visitors of either sex were permitted within the school grounds. They could, however, escape to Hogsmeade for some ‘adult’ company.

As Neville pulled on his clean shirt and neatly pressed set of robes he thought how strange he had felt this morning. He was straddling two worlds: that of his childhood with his friends that he was leaving behind while stepping into adult shoes and responsibilities when the rest of the students left today.

‘Neville, hurry up if you want to see us off at the train station,’ called out Hermione.

Neville snapped back the curtains and quickly ran his fingers through his hair, trying to restore a little order to the mess.

‘Am I alright?’ he said breathlessly to Hermione, with Ron sniffing suspiciously beside her. Ron claimed it was ‘allergies’ but Neville was sure that this parting was bringing out Ron’s emotional side, loathe as he was to admit it.

‘Let’s go find Harry,’ said Ron and put an arm through Neville’s. Hermione did the same on his other side.

‘I expect you’ll write to me every week,’ Hermione scolded very gently.

The three friends walked out of the dorm room, their lives separating forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

4 Weeks Later ~

Severus sat beside the fire, nose buried in his potions journal. ‘The fool couldn’t possibly be publishing that—the premise was shaky, the research blatantly shoddy...’ thought Snape.

‘Here’s your tea, Severus,’ Neville said.

Severus reached out blindly and took the proffered cup and saucer. The aroma of his favourite ginger tea wafting up to his nose, he glanced up and nodded thanks.

‘I’ve bought some biscuits, too, the kind you like from Honeydukes,’ Neville continued.

Snape didn’t reply but Neville didn’t expect him to. He just gently deposited a plate of cookies within Severus’ easy reach on the side table.

‘Bah, I’ll have to write a lengthy rebuttal on that fool’s work for the next issue,’ he thought as he contentedly chewed on his biscuit.

The summer had been most productive. His research work was ahead of schedule, no little blighters to manage and bawl out and, best of all, he was getting laid regularly.

His eyes snapped over quickly to the young man writing quietly in his Herbology Journal.

Longbottom had been a bit of a revelation. What had started as a little slap and tickle had proved to be more durable than he’d assumed at first. Longbottom actually proved to be quite a good companion: undemanding, quiet and accommodating.

Snape had been a bit startled when Longbottom had taken to spending his free time with him. The sex he could understand. It was hot, it was good and it was plentiful. But Longbottom seemed just as happy to help Snape with his research or to do a laborious reference search so long as it was with his lover.

‘Must be the novelty of it,’ Snape thought with a snort. ‘That’ll soon wear off.’

‘I’ll be gone next week,’ Neville said, interrupting Snape’s thoughts.

‘Gone? Gone where?’ Severus snapped. Longbottom had been helping him with the Ricktus Potion Research, now they’d surely fall behind’how damnably inconvenient.

‘Professor Sprout’Elvira, that is, has assigned me a research project on the milk flowers of the Forbidden Forest. I’m to study their week-long life cycle, and bring back as many species as I can find. I’ll be camping out during that time,’ Neville said calmly.

Snape sputtered. ‘Of all the idiotic—’

‘I was hoping you’d accompany me, Severus,’ Neville said with a wistful expression.

Snape’s eyes narrowed.

‘And why would I?’ Snape said in a silky voice.

‘Oh, I don’t know. The fresh air—’

‘Fresh air is highly over rated,’ Severus snapped.

‘I have a lovely tent for two,’ Neville continued.

‘The dungeons are far more comfortable,’ countered Snape.

‘We could cook over an open fire—’ Neville breathed out.

‘Ridiculous,’ Snape said shortly.

‘At night, there’d be millions of stars to look at,’ Neville said, plugging away.

‘If I want stars I’ll go to the Astronomy Tower,’ Snape said sourly.

Neville looked down at his robes, picking off one of Snape’s long black hairs that had clung to it. Neville sighed.

‘Well, I can’t go alone, and Professor Sprout will be at a conference—so I guess I’ll ask Ernie if he wants to go,’ Neville said tiredly.

Snape’s teacup clattered into the saucer.

‘McMillian? That pillock?’ Snape said with a sneer.

‘Don’t be so hard on him. He’s quite nice once you get to know him. I’m sure he’d go with me if I asked,’ Neville said, pushing back his hair out of his eyes with one hand.

Neville began to nibble on his thumb, staring into the flickering fire.

Severus fumed. He’d caught handsome blonde McMillan on more than one occasion trying to ‘chat up’ Neville during the last few weeks. Snape hated the little sod.

‘Of course, I could use that as an opportunity to restock some of my more esoteric needs,’ Severus began.

‘Oh, I’m sure Ernie and I could do that for you, you needn’t trouble yourself, Severus,’ said Neville with just a small twitch of his lips.

Severus glared at him.

‘Two incompetents are not better than one, Mr. Longbottom,’ Severus said in a chilly tone.’

‘Well, of course, if you say so, Sev,’ Neville said meekly.

tbc