Okay, so this one is a bit different to my usual fics. I got the idea after watching Matthew Lewis in 'Girlfriends' and started thinking about what Neville might be like with a kids and bit of a jaded past, and this is what I came up with. It was originally going to be a one shot, but enjoyed writing it so much that I knew quite early on, that is was likely going to turn into a multi-chapter story.

So, I haven't finished it yet, I'm only part way through Chapter 2 and I can't guarentee it will be updated regularly. Unfortunately, my muse tends to die a bit when I put deadline pressures on my fics, but unlike ' Fred Weasley vs' I do have a clear vision of where I want to go with this story, so I can promise it won't ever end up on hiatus or discontinued, no matter how long it takes me to update.

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. The only other thing left to say is that there is a little bit of 'golde trio' bashing in this fic. Not a lot, I don't think, but that might depend on your interpretation and perception. I just couldn't resist writing something with a slightly more jaded view of the trios fame and it's implications. Now, I'll shut up!

Neville Longbottom took a deep breath and pushed open the large oak door that led to the Great Hall. Here he was, back again. He cursed his Gran for making him do this. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to reconnect and he sure as hell wasn't in the mood to party. Ten years since the battle of Hogwarts and he'd successfully managed to stay as far away from it as possible. It had been nearly ten years since he'd stepped foot inside the wizarding world, let alone his old magic school. But his Gran insisted he attend their ten year reunion, and he desperately needed her help, so he had no choice but to indulge her.

He made his way over to the food and drink table, grabbing a small plate and piling a few bits on it. Next he began eyeing up the drinks selection, pondering whether he could get away with a few shots of firewhiskey or whether he was probably best not to chance it. He chose the latter and grabbed a butterbeer instead. He groaned internally as he heard his name called, having been seen and recognised by a fellow Hogwarts' alumni.

"Neville?!" Hermione cried, rushing towards him. "Oh Merlin! It's been so long! How are you? What have you been up to? How come we never see you?!"

"Hermione love, calm down and let him bloody breathe," Ron scoffed, grinning at Neville and patting him jovially on the shoulder.

"Harry! Harry! Look who it is!" Hermione shouted to her best friend and gestured for him to join them.

"Neville?! Oh Merlin! It's been forever!" Harry laughed, slapping the man on the back.

Neville grinned and nodded, doing the polite thing and pretending to listen with interest to the drivel coming out their mouths about everything that had happened over the last ten years.

"Me and Ron got married a few years back," Hermione said, grinning widely. "We had a little girl two years ago, her name's Rose."

"Oh, congratulations," Neville said, smiling nicely.

"Thank you," Hermione said. "Harry got married a year or two before us, to Padma Patil. They have two little boys, James is five and Albus is two, like Rose."

"Cool, congrats Harry," Neville said, nodding.

"Thanks mate." Harry smiled, clearly proud of his family. "They're a proper handful. Really inherited those Potter marauder genes."

Neville held back a smirk, knowing fine full well that Harry's kids had nothing on his own little monster. Tyler was something else entirely and he'd felt bad for Ginny Weasley when he'd drop him off at her little crèche and walked away.

"So, how've you been?" Hermione asked. "We haven't seen you for nearly ten years! What's been going on with you?"

"This and that," Neville said with a shrug.

"We haven't seen you for ten years and you've only been doing this and that?" Hermione laughed. "Come on, fill us in!"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Neville said, giving his very first genuine smile since he'd walked in the door, albeit a sad one.

"Oh Neville..." Hermione's face contorted into one of pity and sorrow. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I just wanted to know what you'd been doing all these years."

"It can't all have been bad mate, can it?" Ron frowned, squeezing his shoulder like they were fifteen again.

Neville scoffed. "Nah, not all bad." Some worse, some even more worse and some the worst. He did have Tyler though, and Tyler wasn't bad.

Before any of the golden trio could comment on his rather sardonic reply, or ask even more questions, the door to the Great Hall banged open. The group turned to look at the newcomers as did the rest of the hall. Everyone fell silent as a small group of Slytherins entered.

"I really wish Mcgonagall didn't have to invite them," Ron grumbled.

"I know, but they aren't all terrible Ron," Harry sighed. "They deserve a chance just like everyone else."

Neville wanted to roll his eyes at Harry's puffed up and pure response to the arrival of his former enemies. He knew the comment had come from a good place, but he also knew that no matter how good the man's intention, he really had no fucking clue.

"You can stick with us Neville, if you want?" Hermione said, looking warily at him. "I remember what you said about your last year at school...it can't be easy seeing them again..."

Neville snorted. He looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow and shook his head. "No offence Hermione, but it was harder seeing you three."

Hermione, Ron and Harry all looked at Neville with wide, shocked and somewhat hurt eyes. He wasn't surprised, they couldn't possibly understand, and they'd spent the last ten years being praised and put on pedal stools. He was aware that they'd all tried to remain grounded, but there was only so long that would last before they ended up as self-righteous pricks with bleeding hearts. He was also aware that he may still be feeling a little bitter.

"Holy shit! Split?! You actually fucking came!" Blaise Zabini waltzed right up to the group of mostly baffled Gryffindors.

"I told you weeks ago that I was coming," Neville said, smirking at the man.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually turn up," Blaise scoffed.

"I didn't have a fucking choice," Neville said, pulling the Slytherin in for a hug while the man snickered at the astounded faces dotted around the rest of the hall.

"You always have a fucking choice," Blaise muttered. "That was something you wouldn't let me forget."

Neville sighed and shook his head. "You are not helping me out," he growled. "Now fucking drop it before I drop you."

"Fine," Blaise huffed. "I'll just tell Lavender-"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Neville cried.

"What's the matter? You scared of my wife Split?" Blaise laughed.

"Fucking terrified mate," Neville laughed back. "Same as you."

Blaise nodded and raised his fist, smiling as Neville bumped his own against it. Harry, Hermione and Ron were still gaping at them, clearly confused about what was going on. The rest of the hall were much the same.

"So, you two are friends now?" Ron asked, looking from Neville to Blaise and back again.

"Yeah," Neville said. "He's my best mate."

"Best mate?" Ron frowned. "You disappear for ten years, never bother to contact us and then turn up with Zabini as your best mate?"

The hall grew still and silent, all wanting to hear the answer to that very prominent question.

"Ron!" Hermione looked at him in embarrassment. "You can't just say things like that!"

"And how hard did you try to get in touch with me, huh?" Neville gave Ron a hard look.

"What?" Ron said.

"How hard did you try to contact me? How many owls did you send? How many patronuses? How many times did you try knocking on my door?" Neville stood, waiting for an answer and knowing he wasn't going to get one. He shook his head in disappointment. "Don't fucking talk to me about friendship, because without Zabini I wouldn't be standing here."

"Yeah? Without Harry you wouldn't be alive," Ron shot back. "None of us would be."

"Difference is, mate, that if I'd have died back then, it would have been for a fucking good cause," Neville growled.

"That implies that Zabini also saved your life," Hermione said softly, looking intensely at Neville.

He sighed and shook his head again, running a hand through his hair. "He did."

Harry cleared his throat, sensing that there was more to Neville's story than he was willing to share. "So, how did you two reconnect?" Harry asked.

"We lived in the same place for a while," Blaise said with a smirk. Neville simply rolled his eyes.

"You mean, like an apartment building?" Harry frowned, trying to gain some sort of clue about how one of his closest friends from school ended up best mates with a kid who'd literally tortured him in his last year.

"Something like that," Neville said, now smirking at Blaise.

There was a scoff from behind the two and they parted a little to reveal a small woman with some rather nasty scars down her face.

"Lavender Brown?!" Hermione said, her eyes wide with shock.

"Lavender Zabini," she corrected.

"You married Zabini!" Ron cried, looking quite offended.

Lavender glared at him and folded her arms. "You married Granger," she snapped.

By now, the whole hall was watching these particular students reunite, none more avidly than the Professors who'd invited them.

"And what is that supposed to mean?!" Ron asked indignantly.

Neville groaned and looked up at the ceiling, listening with fading interest to the schoolyard squabbling the ex-lovers were engaging in. This was the reason he didn't want to come. Having to explain to old friends how his life turned out despite not actually owing them squat.

"Hey, beastie, wrap it up," Neville huffed. "If you aren't going to wolf up, calm the fuck down. It's not as entertaining without the claws and the fangs."

"Neville!" Hermione whirled on him, eyes ablaze. "You can't say things like that! You should be ashamed!"

"Oh piss off Granger," Lavender growled. "It's not up to you to tell me what I find offensive. Split's been too good a friend for too fucking long, so you can take your PC attitude and shove it up your fucking arse."

Hermione looked taken aback and not entirely sure what to say. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it..."

"I know you didn't, what with your bleeding bloody heart," Lavender sighed. "It's in the right fucking place, I'll give you that. But I have to be honest, that voice of the little guy you're supposed to advocate so well has gotten pretty lost in your fucking shadow over the years."

"That's unfair!" Hermione argued, a few tears in her eyes. "I always do my best..."

"What happened to you guys?" Ron said, looking in disgust at both Neville and Lavender.

"A whole fucking lot," Lavender snarled.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Neville said tiredly.

Theo Nott stepped forward quietly. "Don't judge what you don't understand. We've all lived the last ten years on different roads, and none of them converged enough to lay our judgement out now."

"How poetic," Blaise sniggered at his old friend. "You're such a knob Theo, but god how I've missed you."

"Thanks, you complete prick," Theo sighed. "I suppose I've missed you too."

"So, you didn't all come together?" Harry frowned.

"No," Blaise said. "Me and Lav ran into these guys outside. We just happened to all walk in together."

"So they don't know Neville as well as you do?" he said.

"I haven't seen Longbottom since the final battle," Theo said.

"No one's seen Split since the final battle," Lavender scoffed. "At least no one but me and Blaise, and that was purely coincidence."

"You mean you were living in the same apartment building too?" Ron asked.

Lavender laughed. "No, it was a male only residence. But I visited from time to time."

"Shut up beastie!" Neville grumbled, nudging her playfully.

"I feel like we're all missing some inside joke here," Harry mumbled.

"You are, a big one," Blaise snickered.

"And why do you keep calling him Split?" Hermione asked, completely puzzled.

"That's another inside joke," Blaise said with a smirk.

Before anyone could grill Neville further on what he'd been up to over the last ten years or on his strange but very close relationship to Blaise Zabini, the great hall doors opened again, this time with a slam. Ginny Weasley stomped over to the group, spotting them easily since the whole room were still looking at them.

"Oh Merlin, that's not good," Harry groaned. "What the hell have my kids been up to now?" he mumbled to himself.

Neville just winced the further she got, her blazing eyes locked on his.

"Split mate, you wouldn't happen to have put Tyler in her crèche by any chance, would you?" Blaise snickered.

"What the fuck do you think?" Neville snapped out the side of his mouth.

Blaise sniggered some more as Ginny Weasley finally reached them. Harry grimaced at the look on her face, still under the impression that it was his little rebels that were the problem.

"I have no words," Ginny said. "None." She took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. "I look after Harry's kids, I look after Hermione's kids. I spent a decent amount of time with the marauders and provide childcare for some of their grandchildren..."

Everyone was now looking solely at Neville, most of them in shock that he'd had a child and no one knew about it. Well, almost no one. Blaise was still sniggering like an idiot.

"Firstly, that's actually a lot of words. And I tried to tell you he was a little shit but you just stood there looking at me with these big wide eyes and could barely form a sentence," Neville huffed defensively. "I don't know what was wrong with you, but it wasn't my fault you weren't paying attention."

"Nothing was wrong with me!" Ginny hissed, her cheeks glowing red. "I just hadn't seen you in forever and then you turned up looking not at all like you left."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Neville frowned, folding his arms and scowling at the feisty witch.

"I think in this instance, it means your hot and it was a surprise," Blaise said, smirking as Ginny literally growled at him.

Lavender, however, didn't find it funny. Her teeth were bared as she stepped in front of Blaise. He gently wrapped his arms around her, calming the wolf and the wife.

"Oh shit, sorry Lavender," Ginny said, shaking her head. "I didn't think. He was just pissing me off is all."

Lavender looked surprised that the littlest Weasley wasn't trembling in her boots at the obviously territorial behaviour she'd displayed. Everyone else had taken a step back and become even more silent. "He has a habit of pissing people off."

Ginny chuckled. "Well, at least if he pisses you off you can always rip him to shreds."

"You aren't afraid of me?" Lavender frowned.

"Uh no, why would I be?" she said.

"Because I'm a werewolf," Lavender said.

"The last I checked, being a werewolf doesn't make you a monster," Ginny said.

"It's a shame the rest of the wizarding world don't believe that," Lavender sighed.

"Oh but Lavender they do!" Hermione cried. "At least, most of them do. We've pushed through so many laws that mean you can't be discriminated against because of who you are!"

"And that's great Hermione, really it is. For anyone twenty, thirty, forty years from now who happens to be a werewolf, that's great," Lavender said sincerely. "Honestly, I do think you've done amazing things, and out of everyone I read about in the prophet you are probably the most noble and most likely to use your fame and fortune to help those in need. But it is so naive to believe that by changing the law you can change the people. It's a step in the right direction but there are so many more to go. Tolerance is not acceptance, and it will take several generations to purge the ingrained and incorrect values from the minds of the majority."

Hermione gaped at the woman, unaware that she had more than a few brain cells and impressed that she could articulate herself so well.

"If you ever want to work for the ministry, just let me know," Hermione mumbled.

"No thanks," Lavender chuckled. "I like my life and my job. I'm not looking to change it."

"What do you do?" Hermione asked, her interest apparent.

"I work as a secondary school teacher," Lavender said.

"A secondary school teacher? Like in the muggle world?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Lavender nodded, "I started my degree not long after the final battle, and then I did my PCGE and I've been teaching for about three years now. I teach drama and English."

"Wow!" Hermione smiled. "I have to say I'm impressed. But why didn't you just teach in the wizarding world? Hogwarts has had werewolf teachers before...?"

"Because muggles are a billion times more accepting of someone's differences than wizards are. Especially the kids." Lavender shrugged. "The adults can be real dicks but the kids give me a lot of hope for the future."

"That's where you met Neville, isn't it? In the muggle world?" Hermione said, it suddenly clicking for her. She turned to Neville. "It's why we haven't seen you in such a long time, isn't it?"

Neville nodded.

"Why didn't you ever come back? Why'd you run away?" Hermione frowned sadly.

"Another tale for another time, maybe," Neville said.

"So, you and Blaise did live in the same building? Like a tower block, or a house share, or something?" Harry said, really wanting to beat Hermione to an answer for once.

"I think we're getting off topic," Blaise said, smirking at Harry and knowing fine full well that he was driving the man crazy. "What did Tyler do, Weaslette?"

"Don't call her that, you haven't seen her in years!" Neville huffed, giving his best mate a reproving nudge.

"Did you not think it might be a good idea to tell me that Tyler can pick a bloody lock?!" Ginny fumed. "It's a bloody good job I grew up with Fred and George, because if I hadn't, I'm not sure where your son would be right now."

"Did you come all the way down here to tell him that, when you could have just told him later when he picked the kid up?" Blaise smirked. "You've got it bad, Weaslette."

"Zabini shut the fuck up and leave her alone!" Neville snapped, glaring at the man.

"I can fight my own battles Longbottom," Ginny said, her eyes hard and fiery. "And I sure as hell can put up with your arsehole of a best mate. What I can't deal with is the accidental death of a child under my care because his father failed to tell me the extent to which he can be a little shit!"

Neville couldn't help the small snicker that escaped his lips. He looked up at Ginny Weasley, desperately trying to hide his smile but failing.

"It's not fucking funny Neville!" Ginny cried.

"I know!" he said, grinning at her. "It's just...I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to refer to the children you care for as 'little shits' even if their parents do?"

Ginny scowled at him. "He also flooded the bathroom and set fire to the craft table."

Neville groaned and rolled his eyes. "God, I'm sorry Gin."

"Well, you should be," she huffed. "Just be grateful I'm bloody good at my job."

"Always." Neville smirked endearingly at her.

Neville had begun walking towards the room of requirement, where Ginny's crèche was located. They'd set up a space to take all the returning students' children for the few evenings that they were back in the castle. He and Ginny walked and talked on their way up.

"I'm really sorry Gin," Neville said with a sigh. "I'm trying my best but its not easy. And he's a good kid really, he just gets carried away sometimes."

"I appreciate that Nev, but it's downright dangerous some of the stuff he's got up to," Ginny said.

"I know," Neville murmured. "I'll talk to him."

"I get the feeling that this behaviour is normal for him," Ginny said, glancing at Neville warily.

"It is, but it's not as simple as it looks," Neville said. He flicked his gaze to Ginny and furrowed his brow in contemplation. "What do you do? For a living I mean?"

"I work at a magical preschool and primary school that I set up with Hermione's help," Ginny said. "I used to play for the Holyhead Harpies but I got badly injured a couple of years after the final battle. I didn't expect to find my second calling in teaching, but I did. I've studied both muggle and magical childcare programmes, and we aren't held to the same standards that Hogwarts or the usual muggle primary schools are. We don't have tests or inspections to adhere to yet, just parental satisfaction."

"Wow," Neville said. "That's impressive. I can imagine how hard that is. Lavender talks about work all the time and I know I couldn't do it."

"Well, it's not for everyone, but it's incredibly rewarding," Ginny said. "Just giving children a chance to understand and accept who they are is something, you know? Before adults repress them and force them to conform." She sighed. "It's the only way we'll change the world."

"If I tell you something in confidence, will you do me a favour and promise not to tell anyone else unless absolutely necessary?" Neville asked, looking anxiously at her.

"Of course," Ginny said. She slowed to a stop as they reached the door to the room of requirement.

"It's not easy for me to explain," Neville said, shifting from foot to foot. "But, after the final battle, I struggled a lot with what happened here. I know everyone else did too, but...I don't know..." He huffed and shook his head. "After Harry got Snape's picture put up in that office..."

"I know," Ginny said, looking up at him with total understanding. "I felt it too." She gave him a small smile. "He might have been on our side all along but he was still a fucking snake."

Neville nodded. "We were all supposed to be good friends, fighting the good fight. But when the fight came to an end, it felt like no one gave a shit anymore. Not unless your name was Harry Potter, Hermione Granger or Ronald Weasley." He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "I know they're good people really. I know they went through their own hell, but they really had no fucking clue. I mean, trying to talk to them after the dust had settled was...it was painful. They failed to see anything we'd been through, it was all about them. And then the media came and made it a hundred times worse, and they were hailed as our lord and saviours and...I know Harry saved us. I do. And I appreciate that, I appreciate his noble and selfless sacrifice-"

"But they weren't tortured everyday trying to keep hope alive in a school run by Death Eaters," Ginny said simply.

"Yeah, basically," Neville said. "It's like no one cares that if we hadn't been running around this castle risking life and limb, there wouldn't have been anyone brave enough or strong enough to stand with Harry when he turned up. And he wasn't even here to fucking fight!" He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, trying to get a hold of his temper. "I mean, I still remember what the sick bastards did to Michael..." His shining eyes found Ginny's and he knew she really did understand.

"I'm sorry I never came back," she whispered. "After Easter. I'm sorry I never came back. I wanted to, so badly. But my mum just wouldn't let me."

"Hey, you were sixteen, there's nothing you could have done," Neville said earnestly. "I never expected you to come back after Christmas Gin! Your family were more than just potential targets, they were some of Voldemort's most wanted."

"I know, but I should have been with you," Ginny said. "I should have been here too and seen it through."

Neville shook his head. "You came back when we needed you most."

"When Harry needed me most," Ginny scoffed. "Merlin I was such an idiot. I pined after that man something fierce."

Neville laughed, nodding his head. "I remember. All those nights we were up in the common room and you wouldn't stop gushing about his gorgeous green eyes and amazing chest muscles-" He sniggered as Ginny slapped his shoulder, glaring playfully at him.

"Oh come on, you weren't much better when it came to Luna," Ginny said. "What was it you said? Something about her radiant beauty and her hair that shone like the stars..."

"Yeah yeah, alright," he chuckled. "We were both idiots. Although I did think your stupidity was going to last you at least till marriage and maybe a couple of kids."

Ginny scoffed and leant against the wall next to him. "It probably would have done if Harry was even slightly capable of recognising the sorts of trauma I suffered. Padma was much more suited, since she went into hiding with her family at the beginning of the school year. Just waiting for Harry to save us all."

Neville chuckled, finally happy to be able to talk to someone who got it. "What do you think about the fact that Blaise Zabini has been my best mate for the last nine years?"

"I think it's quite poetic and it makes a lot of fucking sense," Ginny said. "Anyone who wasn't here wouldn't understand and you'll make yourself blue in the bloody face trying to make them."

Neville nodded, feeling a small sense of relief. He'd never cared what anyone would think about his friendship with Blaise, but it was nice to know he wasn't stark raving mad for it either.

"I just, I can't forget his eyes," Neville said. "I know he tortured me, countless times. But it was under guidance from a teacher. And I could see how scared he was and how much he hated himself for doing it. I could see it right there as he pointed his wand at me..."

"I know. It was moments like those that mixed black and white into that murky grey we're all living in now," Ginny said.

"Anyway," Neville said. "I sort of spiralled out of control. I drank to get rid of the nightmares, and to numb the pain. And I kept on drinking and I kept on falling further and further into some sort of abyss. And it just got worse and worse."

"Oh Neville!" Ginny looked forlornly at him, guiltily even. "Why didn't you tell me?! I could have helped you! At the very least, you could have taken me with you!" She gave him a soft smile.

He gave a little chuckle and smiled back. "That's sort of what I was afraid of to be honest. Bringing someone down with me." He cleared his throat and soldiered on. "I'd fully merged into the muggle world within a few months of the final battle. Which meant I was fully submerged into the world of drinking by then too. Their stuff is so much stronger than ours, and with a good kick too. Anyway, fast forward a year and a whole bunch of shit I can barely remember, and I found myself stuck in a two by four cell in the middle of a muggle prison."

Ginny just stared at Neville in shock, she couldn't believe what he'd been through and judging by his slight pause, that wasn't even the end of it.

"I did my time, sobered up a bit and made a new best friend," he said, shooting Ginny a pointed look.

"Zabini?" she asked with wide eyes.

Neville nodded. "I saved him from a beating. Prison did me wonders for my alcohol addiction, not so good for my temper."

"You had a lot to be angry about," Ginny said. "We all do."

"Anyway," Neville continued, "I spent a year in the nic, and then moved in with Blaise and Lavender. He got out before me."

"So where does Tyler fit into all this?" Ginny asked.

"Well, after I got out I went to see a few of my old drinking buddies, much to Blaise's displeasure. I'd conned myself into thinking I could be around them, maybe have a couple of drinks and then stop. But once I took that first drink, God, it was like I'd never been sober." Neville shook his head, clearly disappointed in himself. "Anyway, that same night I wound up at a party with a bunch of drunk and stoned people. One of those people was Jules, Tyler's mother. I didn't realise it at the time, but she was addicted to stronger stuff than alcohol. We shagged, I knocked her up and she called me several months later to say she was pregnant. By that point I was back to drinking quite regularly and being chewed out by Blaise because of it.'

'God Gin, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe she was pregnant. And she was so fucking high all the time that she hadn't even realised it for nearly four months. How he survived that long was a bloody miracle. She tried to give the drugs up, she really did. But it wasn't quite enough for Tyler not to develop his own addiction. It made him the worlds crankiest baby when he was born, poor little thing. It took him about a few months to normalise, but even after he'd calmed down and suffered through his withdrawals, Jules couldn't cope. I mean, we weren't together. We never tried to make a go of it, she didn't want him but she was too late to get an abortion. I had sole custody from the minute he was born but it wasn't court issued or anything. She dropped in whenever she felt like it, sometimes high and sometimes not. In the end, she overdosed, when Ty was about six months old. Thankfully, she'd put me on the birth certificate so I didn't have anyone to contend with when it came to keeping him."

"Oh merlin Neville!" Ginny gaped at him.

"Blaise, he got me to quit the drinking again," Neville said. "Lavender helped me look after Ty and found me a job. I moved out when Ty was eighteen months old. It was a few months after Lav had Ruthie," Neville explained. "The thing is, because of the drugs he was exposed to while Jules was pregnant, he sometimes finds it difficult to control his behaviour and he gets carried away and forgets himself."

"See, now that's definitely something you should have told me when you dropped him off," Ginny sighed, giving him a small smile.

"I didn't know how Gin. And I'd already told him to be on his best behaviour, and to think twice about everything. His magical blood helped severely lessen the long term effects, that and the fact that he's not in a drug-addled environment, but it wasn't enough to heal him completely." Neville shrugged and shook his head.

"Come on, let's go talk to him," Ginny said.

Neville followed Ginny into the room of requirement. He looked at the small number of children all running around and playing together. He could spot Ron and Harry's kids a mile off. Tyler was deeply engaged in some sort of roleplay Ruthie (Blaise's eldest) was obviously the boss of. Blaise's youngest, Chase, was also playing along, as was a young boy sporting white blond hair and piercing grey eyes. Neville stopped to watch them all for a minute, smiling as they seemed to play happily together. Tyler looked up and caught his eye, the little boy's face falling at sight of his dad. He left his friends to come and talk to Neville.

"Did I fuck up again dad?" he murmured.

Neville groaned, not even needing to look at Ginny Weasley to see her eyebrows high on her face and that unimpressed glare boring into the back of his head.

"Maybe a little bit," Neville answered, choosing to focus on his son first. He sat him down and knelt in front of him. "Why on earth would you try and sneak out of here? And why would you flood the bathroom or set fire to the craft table?"

"The fire was an accident, and I was going to put it out but Miss Ginny saw it before I could fix it," Tyler explained.

"But it wasn't accidental magic," Ginny said with a frown.

"What's accidental magic?" Tyler looked confused. "I just used this." He pulled a muggle lighter out of his pocket as Neville groaned again and Ginny gasped. "I got it off one of the other kids, but he didn't know how it worked so I was showing him. And then that James kid tried to snatch it out of my hand because he said he could do it better, which is ridiculous because its a lighter and it just makes fire. You can't light a lighter better than someone else." Tyler rolled his eyes and Ginny almost couldn't contain her snort. Tyler was her favourite sort of kid. "Anyway, it fell and since it was a table full of paper, the whole thing went up."

"Which child did you get the lighter from?" Ginny asked, sure she already new the answer.

"The skinny lad that looks like he wants to hit James," Tyler said. "He said he got it from his grandad. I think he said his name is Hugo."

Ginny nodded her head and folded her arms, mumbling something about killing her dad. She took the lighter from Tyler and focused back on the rest of his detailed explanation.

"I didn't actually flood the bathroom, some other kid did. But he was so scared he was going to get into trouble that I kept my mouth shut when you asked me about it," Tyler confessed.

"Why wouldn't you say anything? I didn't see any other child in the bathroom and I know that one was accidental magic," Ginny said.

"Why'd you mention it if it was accidental?" Neville muttered.

"For effect," Ginny muttered back.

"Well," Tyler said, frowning at the grown ups. "He ran off before you'd seen him. And I'm not a grass. He seemed dead sure he was in for it though, even though he didn't mean to do it. He said he was a Malfoy, whatever that is, so I figured that might have something to do with it. I mean, Auntie Lav is a werewolf and apparently that's bad in this world." He shrugged and Ginny sighed.

"The sodding war was supposed to be over ten years ago!" she murmured with a huff. "Looks like I have another kid to talk to now."

Neville gave her small smile and looked back at Tyler. "And the escapism?"

"I got bored and wanted to explore. We are in a castle dad." He looked at his dad as though this explanation was both obvious and acceptable.

"It's a magical castle mate, emphasis on the magical," Neville sighed. "It could kill you if you aren't careful. Got it?"

"Got it," Tyler said with a nod. "Am I getting kicked out now? Do we have to go?"

"Please, I grew up with brothers who'd give even you a run for your money," Ginny sniggered. "It'd take more than that for me to throw you out."

Tyler jumped up and flung his arms around Ginny's waist. She looked up at Neville in shock. He gave her a heartbroken smile back.

"We haven't had much luck when it comes to teachers that actually understand him. It's one of the reasons why we're here. Tyler's been expelled from so many schools now that no one will take him on. I can't work if he doesn't have a place to go, and if I can't work, we can't live. So I bit the bullet and came crawling back to my Gran for help," Neville said.

Ginny nodded, squeezing Tyler around the shoulders before gently pushing him back. She smiled down at him and ruffled his hair.

"You know, I actually run a school and I have a Tyler-shaped hole in my class. Fancy filling it?" she asked.

"Really?!" Tyler cried.

"Really," Ginny laughed. "I mean, if it's cool with your dad?"

She looked up at Neville who was staring at her in wonder. "Sure it is. You're a fucking life saver, Red."

Ginny scowled at him. "Don't start with that again," she warned. "And stop swearing in front of your son!"

"Oh, I know they're bad words, but I only ever use them when I'm with daddy and not somewhere where I might upset other people," Tyler said. Neville smiled smugly from behind him.

"That is besides the point," Ginny grumbled, sending him back in to play with the rest of them.

"It really isn't Gin." Neville met her eyes, there was a dangerous gleam in them the likes she'd never seen on his face before. "I can't tell him not to use them when I use them all the time."

"So stop using them," she said.

"I can't. It sounds ridiculous, but being able to cuss and swear really alliviates my temper. And I have a really nasty temper when I snap," Neville said.

"How nasty?"

"Sent to prison for beating the shit out of someone to within an inch of his life, nasty," Neville said.

"What?!" Ginny paled. That wasn't Neville. At least not the Neville she knew.

"I was completely wasted, under some sort of drunken haze. A bar fight broke out and I got into it with some huge beefy looking guy. I just kept swinging. I don't even remember it all that well, except I put the poor guy into a coma and it took five guys to pull me off him," Neville said, shaking his head. "I never got quite that bad again but I snapped a few times in prison. That's why Blaise calls me Split. It's what everyone called me when I was in there, due to my winning split-personality."

"I never would have believed it if you hadn't told me about it yourself," Ginny said.

"I just thought you should know," Neville said. "You should know what I can really be like."

"I do know what you can really be like, and knowing how badly you can lose your temper doesn't change that." She waited for him to drag his eyes back to hers. She didn't smile, she didn't frown, she just held his gaze, steady. Nothing needed to be said or conveyed.

Neville reached for her without thinking. He pulled her into his arms and wrapped himself around her, holding on tight. Ginny slipped her own arms around his waist and gripped on just as hard. Neville felt his whole body relax just at having this woman back in his life.

"Fuck Gin, I missed you so damn much," he mumbled into her hair.

"I missed you too Neville," Gin sighed, blinking back the tears in her eyes. "Don't ever do that to me again!" she said, pulling back and slapping him gently.

"Never, I promise," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"I will hold you to that," Ginny said.

"And I'd expect nothing less," Neville grinned.

"What are you doing for the rest of this evening?" Ginny asked.

Neville groaned. "Probably heading back down to that god-awful party."

"We'll, if you're looking to get out of it you can always stay up here and give me a hand," Ginny suggested. "Just try not to melt Imogen if you do stay."

"Who's Imogen?"

"My assistant, the girl who's done nothing but ogle at you since you walked through the door," Ginny sniggered.

"You wouldn't happen to be jealous by any chance, would you?" Neville teased, following her further into the room as he silently accepted her invitation.

"Are you serious?! I was privy to some of your first years at this school don't forget," she chuckled.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Neville laughed.

The two of them spent the rest of the evening engaging in some light hearted banter and mild flirting. The children all went home in dribs and drabs, Neville hiding out in the office or the bathroom any time someone came to collect their kids. He really was not in the mood to socialise, or hear Blaise bark on about the obvious chemistry he had with the youngest Weasley. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel it, but he'd also be an idiot to act on it. Ginny was a true friend, despite being someone he hadn't seen in ten years. He'd rather concentrate on being a friend again and see where that led them, than shag her brains out and make everything beyond awkward.