A Turn for the Better

Chapter 35 ~ The Confession

"You know Luna, I feel a bit guilty about Hermione," Neville said to Luna as they sat outside of Hercules' coop, tossing the rooster shelled sunflower seeds, which he eyeballed for a moment before deigning to eat them.

"Why, Neville?" Luna asked him, seeming to focus on the rooster.

"Well, you know we're best friends," he said softly as Luna nodded in agreement, "but now that . . . that we're together, I feel like I've abandoned her. Like she doesn't have anyone," Neville continued, looking glum as he tossed Hercules another couple of seeds.

Luna didn't say anything as Neville sighed.

"I'd feel better if she had a boyfriend, but . . . she just doesn't seem interested in getting one, Luna. Sometimes I kind of wonder if she likes girls," he said, his brow creasing.

"Oh, she likes boys all right. Or men rather," Luna replied with an air of assuredness, rising from the ground and picking up the remainder of the seed. "I think Hercules has had enough."

Neville rose also and took the bag from Luna, putting it into his robes pocket. Luna took his hand and they began walking back toward Hogwarts.

"She does?" Neville asked Luna, looking relieved. He didn't have anything against lesbians; he just didn't understand how they got anything out of it. He felt if they used strap-ons and such, they should just get a wizard in the first place. It was less complicated. Nothing to tie on or buckle.

Neville. Sometimes he thought so simply.

"How do you know, Luna? Have you seen her show any interest in anyone?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes. You did too," Luna responded, swinging Neville's hand now as they walked.

Neville looked bewildered.

"I've never seen Hermione show interest in anyone," he said to the witch.

Luna gave a little smile.

"You've seen it, it just didn't register because it's not what you would expect," she told him. "She likes Professor Snape. Maybe she even loves him."

Neville stopped walking and Luna looked up at him. She had seen Hermione with Professor Snape in the cave, and the tender way she looked after him until he woke up. She wasn't completely focused on the Basilisk. Neville had seen it too, but didn't pick up on what was happening.

"Professor Snape? Oh . . . no way, Luna. There's no way that's possible. He's . . . he's not her type, too old and too . . . well, too mean. He could give that Basilisk a run for its Galleons," Neville told her.

"He's not mean to Hermione. He's never been mean to her, Neville. Didn't you ever notice that?" she asked him softly.

"But, that's because she's smart," the wizard replied, his stomach feeling tight.

Luna was usually right about a lot of things that didn't involved rare creatures. That was still up in the air. But she couldn't possibly be right about this. Hermione liked Snape? No. That was too . . . weird. Too wrong on so many levels. He was a teacher. He was a Slytherin. He was twice her age. He wasn't good-looking . . . the list went on and on.

"There are plenty of smart people in Professor Snape's classes. He gives everyone what for except Hermione. You know how he loves to take points from Gryffindors. He's hardly ever taken any points from Hermione, and she's spoken out of turn and everything," Luna said softly. "He treats her nice. Really nice. She's the only one in the school he treats that way. He's done it from the beginning I think, although I wasn't here her first year."

Neville thought about it. He was here, and Snape did treat Hermione nicely from the first. Even awarded her a nice amount of points when she told him what Wolfsbane was used for. What was odd about it, was that another Gryffindor student had answered a question correctly, and Snape told him off for trying to be a know-it-all, but when Hermione did the same thing, he just gave her points . . . and she was far worse than the other student. She talked for at least a minute. Snape hadn't said a thing.

Still . . .

"Luna, I think you're wrong about this one," Neville told his girlfriend gently. "Not only are you telling me Hermione likes Snape, but . . . you're suggesting he likes her back."

Luna shrugged and they started walking again.

"Well, there's one way you can find out, Neville," the witch said.

"How?" Neville asked her.

Luna gave him a naughty little smile.

"Just ask her," she told him.

**************************************

That afternoon in Advanced Potions class, Neville watched Hermione carefully, looking for signs that she did indeed like Professor Snape. She was her usual attentive self, writing down her notes meticulously and listening to him closely as he lectured. Neville couldn't discern anything in her behavior that indicated an unnatural attraction to the dark wizard. And unnatural it would be.

Snape?

Ugh.

Still, after Potions class, Neville walked with Hermione, unnaturally quiet. She looked up at him.

"What's wrong, Neville? You're awfully quiet," Hermione said to him.

Neville's eyes shifted toward her.

"Yeah. I have something on my mind. Something Luna told me. I don't really believe her," he said to Hermione, who smirked.

Anything was likely to come out of Luna's mouth, and despite how smart she appeared to be, many of her claims were suspect to say the least.

"Neville, I know Luna's your girlfriend, but you can't be expected to believe everything she says," Hermione replied, thinking he was feeling a bit guilty he didn't have total belief in the Ravenclaw. "You have to think for yourself, too, you know."

"I know," Neville said glumly.

They walked up the dungeon staircase to the Entrance Hall. Everyone was converging on the Great Hall for supper. Luna wasn't waiting for them.

"Where's Luna?" Hermione asked him.

"Oh, she's working on a charm. She's going to eat in this evening," Neville said distractedly.

"What kind of charm?" Hermione asked curiously.

Neville shrugged as they waited to enter the Great Hall, standing behind students bottlenecked at the doorway.

"I don't know. She never says exactly what she's working on. She says it'll jinx it," he replied.

Hermione could tell whatever Luna said really bothered her friend. Well, that's what she was here for. To lend a sympathetic ear. Suddenly she looped her arm through his.

"Come on, Neville. Let's find someplace to talk about this," she said to him.

Neville let Hermione lead him out of the doors on onto the grounds. They found a bench on the side of the castle and sat down, Hermione casting a Silencing spell around them for extra privacy.

"Now, tell me, Neville. What did Luna say that has you all tied up in knots?" she asked him.

Neville reddened and he couldn't look at her.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Hermione said to him, wondering if it had anything to do with sex. It could, the way Neville was hedging.

Neville drew in a strengthening breath. Hermione was his best friend. He shouldn't be afraid to tell her what was on his mind, although she might blow a torch at the idea of it.

"All right, I'll tell you, but I don't want you blowing up at me, or Luna," he said warningly.

Hermione scowled.

"What? She said something about me? You two were discussing me?" Hermione asked him. She didn't much like the idea if they were.

"Well, I was really. I told Luna that I was worried about you, Hermione. And I am, I've told you this before. You're all by yourself, and I feel like I've abandoned you now that I'm with Luna," he told his friend.

Hermione gave him a soft smile.

"You're not abandoning me, Neville. You're just growing up. You have other things on your mind besides me now. And I'm happy for you, I really am," she told him.

And she was happy for Neville. He had pined after Luna for so long and now they were a couple. It hadn't been easy to accept at first, but she got used to the idea, and being without him so much. It was bound to happen.

"Yeah, but . . . but you're not 'growing up,' Hermione. You're all by yourself . . . but . . . but Luna says different," he responded, his ears reddening slightly.

"Different?" Hermione asked. "What did she say?"

"She said you are interested in someone," Neville replied, looking at her directly. "She says you like Professor Snape. And she even suggested he liked you back. That way."

Hermione's eyes went wide as saucers. How did Luna know?

When Hermione didn't respond, Neville frowned at her.

"Why aren't you denying it, Hermione?" he asked her, his voice just a touch higher.

When Hermione hesitated, it was usually it was because she was thinking of something other to say than the truth.

Hermione didn't answer him. She just looked down at her hands.

"Hermione!" Neville cried, horror in his voice. "Luna isn't right, is she?"

Hermione still didn't respond.

"Is she?" Neville demanded again.

Hermione looked up at him. Neville had stuck with her through thick and thin. Maybe she could make him understand. She couldn't lie to him. She could tell he knew the answer already.

"Neville, when I told you the story about going back in time, there was something . . . something I left out. Something important that tells why I was in Harry's room," she said softly.

"What did you leave out, Hermione?" Neville asked her, curiosity plastered on his face.

"I . . . I need an oath from you not to tell anyone about it, Neville," she said to him, her eyes sober.

Neville gave her the oath without hesitation. The fact that she even asked for it meant this was something big.

"All right, now I want you to stay calm---" Hermione began.

*********************************

Neville was absolutely green.

"I can't believe it, Hermione. You shagged Professor Snape?" he said to the red-faced with in disbelief.

"Well, he wasn't a professor then, Neville. He was just an ordinary wizard. Head boy," she replied in her defensive. "He wanted a reward for stopping Tom Riddle."

"He coerced you," Neville said, frowning at her. "He took advantage of you being there the way you were."

Hermione shook her head.

"I could have said no, Neville," she responded, but Neville just shook his head.

"You wouldn't have said no, Hermione, not with what the future held if he didn't do it," the seventh-year replied. "He knew that. The bastard knew that."

Neville sat on the bench stiffly, his hands clenched into fists. Hermione put her hand on his.

"Neville. Neville, it was worth it, and it wasn't terrible, believe me. My virginity in exchange for a peaceful wizarding world wasn't much to pay. I was going to lose it one day anyway. Why not with a hero?" she said to him softly.

"But . . . but a witch's first time is supposed to be special, Hermione. Love's supposed to be there. The wizard is supposed to care about you," Neville said, thinking about Luna.

Hermione smiled at Neville. He was a hopeless romantic. Most first times weren't anything like that, but more of a spilling over of raging hormones.

"But he does care about me, Neville. He always has ever since I came to Hogwarts. He's looked out for me all these years, gave me a leg up, didn't treat me like the rest of our house. And when we were in the Chambers, he was willing to die to save me," Hermione told her friend gently. "And now, he's offering me an apprenticeship. Being taught by him will make me very respected in the field, Neville."

"It will also keep you in his private quarters," Neville said darkly.

Hermione smiled.

"Yes, and I want to be there, Neville. I really do," she told him. "I think I love him."

Neville clamped his hands over his ears.

"Oh, Hermione," he wailed, shaking his head as if he could make the words fall out.

Hermione pulled his hands away with a bit of irritation.

"Neville Longbottom. You're my friend. You're supposed to support me," she reminded him.

"Ok. I supported you when you dragged me around the castle looking for clues that proved you lived an alternate life. I supported you when you said you wanted to find the chamber and kill the Basilisk. I've been behind you ever since we started Hogwarts. But this, Hermione? Oh, this really takes the rockcake," he told her.

"I didn't plan on this happening, Neville. It just did. I can't help how I feel. How else am I supposed to feel after being with him like that, and respecting him as much as I have all these years? How am I supposed to feel after discovering we have this connection . . . that . . . that he was my first---"

Neville shook his head again.

"Neville, you have to understand that to me, this is something that happened recently, even though it happened before I was born. I just received these memories, and I can't just push them away. And . . . and he feels the same way, I know he does. But he won't do anything about it, because he's my teacher and I'm his student and he could lose his job," Hermione told him.

"How do you know if what he feels is more than him just wanting to get into your knickers again, now that you're of age? He might just be taking advantage of your inexperience," Neville said to her soberly. "He's a Slytherin, Hermione. Manipulation is a Slytherin trait. You're young . . . pretty. He could probably never get someone like you on his own. I really think you should think about this, Hermione. Witches are far too emotional," Neville said to her.

"What? Are you trying to tell me I don't know my own feelings, Neville?" Hermione said to him angrily. "How can you tell me that? You've never slept with anyone! You don't know how this feels!"

"Hey! You don't know if I've slept with anyone!" Neville said indignantly as he realized that Hermione had beat him to the punch, or the stroke, rather. "I could have."

Hermione screwed up her face at him.

"Without me knowing?" she asked him.

Neville hesitated.

"Well, I could have," he said stubbornly.

"But you haven't," Hermione declared firmly.

Neville sighed.

"All right. Maybe I haven't shagged anybody yet, but still, shagging doesn't necessarily add up to love, Hermione. People shag and run all the time," he said to her. "You might feel like this, but there's no reason to think Snape does. He's probably thinking of the physical aspects . . . not the emotional ones. You could get hurt, Hermione," he said sincerely. "And I really don't want to see that happen. It would be better if you liked someone your own age."

"And I can't get hurt then, Neville? If love hurts, its going to hurt no matter how old the people involved are. Age has nothing to do with it," she argued.

Hermione and Neville debated the situation for more than an hour before Neville gave in and said she had a right to like who she wanted to like, adding that it creeped him out that it was Snape.

"Well, you don't have to be with him," Hermione snapped.

"Fine, I just hope I never see you two snogging," Neville replied as she removed the Silencing spell, then punched him hard in the arm.

"Don't worry, you won't," she hissed, storming off.

Neville followed, praying to the gods that she was right.

Hermione kissing Snape?

Brrrrrrr.

**************************************
A/N: Lol. Neville had to find out. He's Hermione's best friend after all. Luna is something else. Now, as to Harry, he does seem very interested in Snape and Hermione, but you have to remember, in this timeline he doesn't have anything else to snoop about, and Harry was always trying to figure something out. Unfortunately, without Voldemort, he doesn't have much else to do. One of the downfalls of an alternate timeline. Thanks for reading. ****