wow, it's been far too long for me to get this chapter out and complete this story. i guess i rankled at the thought of it actually ending. although, i still need to finish going back to the beginning chapters and revamp them to bring them up-to-style. this story is about two and a half years in progress, and i can't believe that some of you have continued to read it through.

you really can't understand how grateful and astounded that makes me feel, seriously. all who've read and/or reviewed this story ::deep bow:::

thursday, 30 august, 2007. 12:55 am.

---

I laughed at the disgusted expression on his face as he shuddered and turned back to the kettle; "I'd rather not have to know such things about Potter."

"So you'd not want to hear about how that dratted Ashwing interrupted us just when I was about to-"

"NO, I'd rather not."

There was a pause after I laughed, until I finally asked, "Where's Bill?"

Draco snorted; "Asleep. All your emotional turbulence wore him out."

My laughter rang throughout the kitchen, accompanied with the grinning flash of teeth from my friend.

--- --- --- (chapter begins)

I spent the day amongst my plants, observing and taking notes, and then cross-referencing old notes to the newer studies, and then compiling past studies for future reference. It’s rather satisfying to me to know that if I need to find a particular item or note, it’s not a week’s worth of flipping through books and pages to find it. Everything is ordered and precise, and that’s what I love about it. For someone like me, I need a system, or else I’d never get any work done whatsoever.

As it was, I didn’t realize that Mathew was again gracing our presence until he ambled into my work area with comfortable ease due to familiarity.

“Work, work, work. I swear, I’ve never seen you just…pissing about.”

“For me, this is pissing about. That’s what comes from having a job you’d be doing anyway.”

He laughed; “Was that an insult to my career choice?”

I glanced upwards, one eyebrow quirked, “Oh, so you consider it a career now?”

“Oh, that’s not fair! I get enough of 'the look' from Draco, I don’t need it from you too.”

I smiled and turned back to the gently swaying plant before me, a crossbreed of muggle and wizard plant species; so far, this is the only crop I’ve been able to bear to adulthood, but sadly, it’s infertile. That’s something I’m going to have to work on in the next crop.

“Neville. …Neville. …Neville!”

“Yes?” My eyes never left the page of my scrawled handwriting.

“For the last time, I’m telling you that Draco’s fixed supper.”

I gave an absent nod; “Ok, I’ll be in, in a few.”

Once he left, I reabsorbed myself into what I was doing, deciding to leave at the next available break; by the time I left the greenhouse and washed up in the kitchen, Draco and Mathew had finished their meals and sat talking over steaming mugs of fragrant tea.

“About time, you great lout.”

Draco’s voice was more knowingly amused than anything, and I glanced at him even as I served myself a generous portion of potatoes and pork roast. “Hm?”

“Mathew spoke to you an hour ago, Neville.”

I blinked; “Oh.”

His silver eyes rolled even as Mathew laughed, and I ignored them as I sluggishly ate as much as I wanted, which wasn’t really all that much considering I’m pretty sure I missed tea and I blatantly skipped the noon meal. The roast was still pretty good, and I continued to pick at it until absolutely sure I was full, at which point I pushed my plate aside and nursed a cup of the bitter dark tea poured for me at the beginning of my meal.

Hearing the front door open made me smile, and I glanced over to watch Harry walk in from the front hall. His eyes caught mine and held, his smile tired but pleasant as he came over for a brief kiss in greeting, more of an impulse than a real thought.

“I’m starving to death. Are you done with this plate?” Even as he asked this, he grabbed my leftover meal and shoved a forkful of cold potatoes into his mouth as he stood next to the table, chewing rapidly and stealing my cup of tea to wash it down before even glancing up and noticing that we weren’t alone.

A brief moment of confusion settled onto his tired face as he stood there with the teacup to his lips for a second gulp of tea, but by the time he swallowed, his expression cleared.

“Mathew…right?”

The man in question didn’t seem to quite know what to do with the man who suddenly appeared to walk in and know him…and had kissed me when I never really gave any indication of a relationship with anyone.

“Harry, sit down. You’re so bloody rude.”

Harry sat, claiming my leftovers and my mug as his own.

Draco appeared a bit discomforted, but he managed an amused glint in his eye as he turned to the man with a confounded expression sitting next to him; “Mathew, this is Harry, Neville’s…husband.”

“Husband? Since when?”

I stole my cup back from Harry with a slight frown, but I responded to the question, “A year, yesterday. We’ve been…separated, for a while.”

“Enough to where I missed when you came into the picture.” Harry’s voice was slightly amused, but mainly self-deprecating, and I rolled my eyes and silently indicated for him to get more food onto his plate, an edict which he gleefully followed without hesitation.

He shoved roast into his mouth and almost melted with pleasure, his question muffled, “Oh hell, who cooked?”

“Draco.”

“Mmf, Malfoy, I take back every snarky thought.”

Draco’s lip curled into a sneer; “Don’t stress yourself.”

Harry deigned not to hear, preoccupying himself with eating with that same fervor as this morning, shoving food into his mouth and just barely taking the time to chew it before swallowing. I took the moment to get up and go into the kitchen, bringing out a clean teacup and pouring him a hot cup of tea; he nodded in gratitude when I set it down before his plate, letting it cool a bit before sipping.

“You forgot my sugar.” His whine made me again roll my eyes; “Didn’t forget, I just figured you weren’t so lazy not to bloody do it yourself.”

“Hey, I worked hard today. I had to listen in meetings, learn a new protocol, and then I had to write reports. I’m exhausted!”

“Spare us.” Draco’s voice was venomous, but it was easy to hear the laughter beneath it; I think he missed having Harry around, even though he’d probably rather slit his throat rather than admit that. At any rate, him and Mathew left the room and disappeared into the kitchen, no doubt to give us privacy as well as to garner their own even while cleaning up.

“So that was Mathew.”

I nodded, and he paused in thought before stating, “Never would have thought…. Hm, never mind. He seems a good sort.”

“He is.”

“Good. …Merlin, I’m fagged out, I was serious about that.”

“I take it you’re staying here?”

Glancing at me, he then ducked his head with a sheepish grin; “Was kind of hoping my room was still open.”

“There might be something available.”

“Bastard.”

--- --- ---

“Well…going to show me your work?”

Harry’s abrupt question startled me from where I sat in the floral-pattern covered chair in the living room, my ankle crossed at my knee as I absently watched him flip through the channels of the tele; that set had remained silent for most of his absence, neither Draco or myself having the drive to watch it very often.

“What?”

He pegged me with a stare, warm as he said, “You’re dirty, I can smell it on you. You’ve been working…big surprise. So show me what you’ve done while I was gone.”

“How can you smell me…? I washed before supper!”

Smirking, he came over and ran a finger down my neck, eliciting a cold flush from the contact and remembrance of the last time he touched me so intimately. After touching me, he pulled his hand back and rubbed his fingers together, that smirk widening just enough to make my skin turn pink.

“You’re gritty, Nev, covered in dust and,” he bent down and put his face in sensually close to my neck, “you smell of old sweat and hard work. That, and I know you, and I know you work yourself to death if given the chance.”

“That he does.”

Both of us jumped at the dry voice coming from the doorway to the front hall, turning to see Mathew leaning against the jamb.

At my accusing glare for startling me, he allowed a playful grin to slip over his face, raising his hands as he backed up a step; “Whoa, sorry, pure accident. Just came to take my leave, say ‘ta’ and all that, yeah?”

“With you, it’s never an ‘accident.’”

He snickered and advanced into the room, and I stood to receive a good-natured kiss to the cheek, his facial features and tone mocking but his eyes serious as he said, “Belated congrats, Neville, bein’ happy and tied down. Figure the Serpent’ll never go for it, but a bloke’s gotta keep his dreams, now don’ ‘e? Kinda pissed you never mentioned no bloomin’ husband, but I might forgive you eventually.”

He released the hold on my shoulders and turned to Harry, thrusting his hand out and shaking firmly when Harry responded in kind. “Glad to meet ya and all, Mr. Harry Potter.”

Harry frowned in sudden thought, “I don’t think I ever-”

“Pshaw, like I wouldn’t know who you are, what with the scar and company included? Might not do magic meself, but I keep in touch.”

Pulling back and giving a jovial salute, he left us with a lazy, “See you around.”

And the bright entity that is Mathew left us, where Harry stood in a tired daze, mind still attempting to wrap around the fact that Mathew knew him for who and what he was, and that he didn’t seem to care overmuch. Other than that he was married to me.

I smirked, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the stairs; “I’ll show you my work in the morning.”

--- --- ---

A knee jabbed into my hip sometime in the early morning, grumpily waking me from sleep as I pushed against the offending limb. Harry mumbled something as I shoved his leg away from me, and I smiled in spite of my lingering grouchiness at having been woken before complete sunrise. Indeed, the light coming in the window was still a dullish blue grey, and I slumped against my pillows and attempted to return to sleep.

The knee returned, pulling a low hiss of pain from me even as I angrily shook Harry awake, his breathing hitching before he gave a sleepy growl; “What?!”

“Fucking stabbed me with your knee, you wanker!”

He half-sat up and thickly frowned through the muddled veil in his brain, blinking at my scowl and then at where his knee was still jammed against my side. His expression cleared as he said, “Oh, sorry, Nev,” and he pulled his knee away from me, his sleepy grin apologetic.

I was somewhat reluctant to immediately forgive, but it was hard not to when he lowered back to the mattress and leaned in for a sweet kiss to my bare shoulder, his hand reaching out and rubbing my chest. Then he settled in against my side and grew still, breath gently puffing against my skin.

After a few minutes, I mumbled, “Still awake?”

There was a pause, but he replied, “Mn…yeah.”

“Have work today?”

There was a longer pause after my low whisper, and I nearly thought him asleep before he startled me by saying in an abnormally loud voice, “No, took the week off.”

I grinned even as I let out a low ‘shush’ and I felt him sleepily smile against my hair, his arm sliding further on my chest to draw me in close to his warmth. I hummed with contentment, and his chuckle was roughly audible, his embrace growing even warmer and more awake.

“Nev?”

“Mm…yeah?”

His mouth moved close to my ear, his voice husky as he whispered, “I used to dream of this, of waking up with you.”

“Funny…I used to dream of us fucking, but whatever gets your rocks off, yeah?”

He pinched me because of my lilting joke, making me laugh and cringe enough to where I rolled over to face him, my lips peeling away from my teeth in a pleasant grin. The grin widened at the way he was eyeing me, the predatory glint in his eyes moments before he ducked his head and pressed a kiss to my mouth, damp and hot enough to spread fire through my arms and legs.

His responding chuckle to my low expletive was dark and promising, and it made my toes curl.

--- --- ---

By the time Draco emerged from his room and made his way downstairs, Harry had accumulated three separate bandages for the fingers of his left hand--from when he had had an unpleasant encounter with one of my more ‘untamed’ plant varieties. Not my fault when he touches something I clearly steer him away from, now is it? Still, guilt prickled at my conscience, and I knocked up a hearty breakfast even he couldn’t eat his way through.

My friend appeared grumpy as he ungainly slouched down into a wooden chair at the table after ascending the stairs--truly grumpy, and not just appearing so.

“Trouble sleeping?”

Furrows lined his brow as a frown deepened on his face at my genuine question, and his voice was acidic as he charged, “I was fine until I heard the two of you shagging this morning. I think I’m deeply and emotionally scarred.”

A magenta blush poured from my hairline down beyond the collar of my shirt, and blood even rushed to Harry’s otherwise stony face.

“We’ll remember a silencing spell, next time.”

“You do that.”

The two of them leered at each other in defiance, and I tried to drown my intense embarrassment with orange scones and tea. By the time Draco had cleared his plate of sausages and eggs, the subject was dropped and somewhat forgotten, talk turning to more mundane and safer subjects. They even carried on an entirely benign conversation without my refereeing presence, and I left them alone to pleasantly return to my plants.

Time can change all things.

--- --- --- Epilogue

The sky was grey and overcast, threatening rain, but it didn’t deter the sound of a trowel scraping through dirt and tough grass, removing weeds and unwanted growth. A low hum spilled from my throat, and I soon found myself humming an unidentifiable song, the melody almost that of a cheerful lullaby.

My work and humming didn’t quite mask the sound of approaching footsteps, but I didn’t pause until a whisper of cloth at my side and a light touch to my bent spine caused me to look to my right.

“It’s looking nice, Nev. He’d love the flowers.”

I smiled, a touch saddened even as I pleasantly bared my teeth and glanced at the headstone, the grave well-kept.

“He would like an apple tree better, I think.”

There was laughter in agreement, the fingers rubbing against my back now. “Still can’t believe you made a marker for a pet hog, Nev.”

“What?! Bill was more than just a pet!”

Harry grinned, leaning in for a kiss that had my protest melting away; he always manages to do that to me, no matter how often I’ve fought against it. Twelve years of fighting against the effect his presence can have on me, and I’ve never come any closer to defeating him than from the very first.

“Come on, the Rotten duo is due to show any minute, and Mathew bet me that you couldn’t spend one day away from work. I’ve got ten quid and eleven knuts riding on this.”

“I’m not working, I’m…resting.”

Harry cocked an eyebrow at me and I had to laugh, teeth flashing as I gave in with a nod. “Ok, ok, I’m nearly finished.”

Just a few more scrapes across freshly-turned dirt, and I was satisfied with my work, gathering my tools and pushing myself back to my feet. My knees are shot from years of kneeling in the dirt, but I wouldn’t give up my living for anything. Still, I appreciated Harry’s arm around my torso, steadying me as we began the walk back to the house, the one left for me after the passing of Grandmother, after the passing of my parents nearly four years ago.

Our home now, mine and Harry’s.

---

A/N: well, that's it, all's well that ends well. dunno if i'll start posting anything else here for a while, although i'm currently working on two seperate hp fics at the moment, neither of which is very far in production. well, one of them is a repost of an even older fic than this, Dare to Dream. both fics are h/d in nature, of course. :::laughs::: no neville worship in them, sadly. perhaps that's what is taking me so long to write them...?

at any rate, thanks for sticking through to the end:::another deep bow:::