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“Do I have to go?”
“Neville dear, it’s your own birthday party.” Neville’s grandmother carefully adjusted the bow tie on her grandson’s neck, smiling into the mirror as she did so, smelling like mothballs and soap. “Plus, I thought you liked the birthday presents you get from your Aunt Lily and the Potter children will be there.”
Neville’s eyes brightened upon hearing the mention of the woman who acted like yet another aunt to him. Hearing that the Potter children would be there made his mouth quickly twist into a frown. “Oh.”
His grandmother patted his shoulders. “Don’t pout like that.” Neville let his mouth twist into a smile, pushing aside any thoughts of the Potter children and his past interactions with them from the back of his head.
~
“I don’t want to go.”
“Stop whining Draco. You know full well that the Longbottom family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and their grandson is in fact the Boy-Who-Lived. Our family can use their connections, but your mother put a lot of effort into convincing her cousin Sirius to arrange for you to attend.”
Draco’s small mouth twisted ever so slightly. “If Uncle Sirius is there, does that mean Potter will be as well?”
“Stop whining Draco. It’s unbecoming for a Malfoy.” His father pushed his lips together, looking down at his small son. “Do you have your present for the Longbottom boy?”
“I don’t want to go. If Uncle Sirius is going to be there, then the Potter kids will be as well.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“You are going and that’s final.” His father pushed his lips together, looking down his nose at his small son. “Do you have your present for the Longbottom boy?”
Draco’s mouth twisted slightly, the present obviously held in his arms. “Yes.”
Lucious Malfoy moved the tip of his cane forward so it pushed lightly at the bottom of Draco’s chin. “Don’t give me that sour look. You know as well as I that the Longbottom family has connections our family needs, but as I’ve told you, you are going to the birthday party of the Boy-Who-Lived.”
“You mean Neville Longbottom?” Draco let out a sigh. “And what if the Potter kids are there? I mean, they’re always there if Uncle Sirius is.” The young Malfoy flinched as his father’s nostrils flared.
“We’ve been over this before Draco. You are Malfoy and you are not to cause a scene with the Potter children like you have in the past.” Of course, Draco wanted to protest the person causing the scene was in fact one Harry Potter with the help of his friend Ron Weasley, but he knew better than to question his father. “Not to mention the fact the Potter family is good friends with the Longbottom family. As such, it would not bode well for getting on the Longbottom family’s good side.” Lucius tapped his cane onto the ground, still looking down his nose at the boy.
Draco let out a sigh, closing his eyes as he clung to his father’s clothing so he could Side-Along Apparate with his father. He still remembered the first time he’d met the Potter boy which was when the boy also became fast friends with the Weasley boy. It was there he’d learned the reason his father wanted to make connections, given the fact his father was an accused Death Eater, but Potter thought it funny to nickname him Dragon Pox due to the fact they were in the pediatric section of St. Mungos for various reasons.
He soon felt the typical feeling which resulted from Apparition and let himself settle before opening his eyes, looking around. “Behave. I will be back to get you later.”
Which likely meant his father either wasn’t welcome or that he wanted nothing to do with some of those who would be there, both of which left a sour taste in Draco’s mouth. He walked over to the table and set his present down, his eyes darting around taking everyone already at the party in. He didn’t feel at all welcome, but then his eyes caught sight of two red-haired ladies talking with each other with their children nearby, or the younger children in the case of the older lady.
Sucking in a deep breath, Draco stepped backward, deciding he wanted a place to hide before Potter and his friend found him, but he’d already learned he didn’t want to deal with the Potter girl either.
~
Neville’s grandmother left him in his room, proceeding to go and greet the birthday guests with the condition he’d be out in a few minutes so he could make some new friends. “Make new friends.” He let a smile spread across his face. “I think I can do that.”
Of course, a butterfly flittering by his head upon stepping out of the house distracted him and he followed the creature into the nearby hedge garden. The place was quieter, but for some reason, he found himself fond of his grandmother’s garden. He didn’t get far when he saw a boy with pale blond hair and grey eyes hunkered down as if he wasn’t enjoying himself, but his grandmother’s request that he try and make new friends echoed through his head.
“Hi.”
His friendly voice made the boy look up from where he hunkered down, but he seemed caught off guard for some reason. His mouth twisted into a frown while his small fingers tightened around the knees of his pants. Despite the grimace on the boy’s face…
“My name is Neville Longbottom.”
The boy’s eyes widened as if recognizing the name, but then he swallowed, still looking at Neville warily. “Of course Potter would be friends with the Boy-Who-Lived.”
“The woozy-whatsit?” Neville tilted his head, the smile continuing to remain on his face. His mind noted that he found it strange that the boy associated him with Harry Potter even though Potter wasn’t there.
“You know. The Boy-Who-Lived.”
“No. I don’t know this Boy-Who-Lived,” Neville replied. “Is it Harry?”
“No! You’re the Boy-Who-Lived!” The boy seemed exasperated as if Neville should have known that fact. Neville kept smiling despite the wary look the boy kept giving him.
“Oh.” Neville then asked, “Why am I called that?”
“I…” The other boy’s mouth snapped shut. “Are you dumb?”
“Harry says that a lot. So does Ron.” Neville squatted down so he was now at Draco’s level. He also lowered his voice to a whisper. “Secret?”
“Um…” The other boy swallowed.
“I don’t like them. They’re mean. You won’t be mean to me, will you?”
That of course baffled the other boy. “Where are Potter and Weasel?”
“I think Ron’s last name is Weasley.” Neville continued to whisper.
“That…” The other boy let out a sigh. “Where are Potter and Weasley?”
“I don’t know.” Neville tilted his head slightly. “I followed a butterfly?”
“What?”
“There you are Chubbybottom!” The other boy flinched upon hearing Harry’s voice, but Neville felt himself tensing up, yet he still managed to stand up while the other boy remained hunkered down. Harry enjoyed giving nicknames which got a reaction.
“I’m not chubby. It’s baby fat.”
“What are you doing with Dragon Pox?” Ron Weasley piped up.
Neville stood up, glaring at Ron. “That’s mean!”
“Wow? Now you get a backbone?” Harry glared at him. “Come on Chubbybottom. His father’s a convicted Deatheater.”
“He’s…” the other boy tried to protest.
Neville glared at Harry. “That doesn’t matter! My new friend isn’t his father!”
“New friend.” Ron let out a sigh. “Really. Are you dumb?”
“You’re dumb as dirt Chubbybottom.”
It was then that the other boy lunged at Harry, but another figure – it would later turn out to be Tuni Potter, hurtled out from the hedge and bit Neville’s new friend. Well, sort of.
~
“Really Draco? Was that worth making the matron of the Longbottom family never want you to come over again?”
“Yes.” Draco still nursed his arm where Tuni Potter bit him, but also remembered how the older boy stood up for him, even called him a friend. Of course, he knew things couldn’t last. They never did with Potter involved. The adults didn’t even give him a chance to explain, not that he wanted to. He was also used to that where Potter was involved.
“What am I going to do with you?”
~
“When you attend Hogwarts stay away from that boy.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s a bad boy.”
“But he’s my friend.”
“Neville. You can’t just make friends with everybody you meet. This is what I worried about…”
“He’s also not bad.”
“Neville dear.”
“He stood up for me.”
“You mean the Potter children stood up for you.”
“No. Harry kept calling me Chubbybottom.”
“It’s baby fat. You’ll grow out of it.”
“And he called my friend Dragon Pox.”
“Neville, do you even know your friend’s name?”
“No. He’s still my friend. Harry is not.”
“Did he really call you Chubbybottom?”
“He said friends give others nicknames, but I don’t like that nickname.”
“Well, alright. I’ll talk to your Aunt Lily…”
“No! Don’t upset Aunt Lily! Please.”
“We’ll see.”