harry potter boys reaction

second chance trope (neville's version)

Pt 2:
The past 2 days have been bad - okay, bad is actually an understatement.
You never expected such a cruel thing like making a bet over your feelings from Neville, out of all people. He said he was sorry when you texted him and you tend to believe him. But he broke your trust once and you couldn't be sure if he really means what he says anymore. Your trust is broken and even though you really want to forgive Neville, you just can't.
Nervously, you knead your palm with your fingers, waiting for the time to pass.
You try to stay calm, but your going through a rollercoaster of emotions, torn between the urge to forgive and trust Neville and the raging anger and sadness that comes when you think about him.
Taking a last deep breath, you get up and grab the box that you had packed. Crazy how a whole relationship fits into it.
When you enter the common room, Neville is already sitting at a table. The room is empty besides you and him, because it's way past curfew.
"Hey.", Neville says, getting on his feet. There's clear evident that he cried shortly before you came down the stairs. His cheeks are still a little wet and his eyes are red and glossy. It makes your heart ache, seeing how sad he is.
You used to be the one to cheer him up when he was down. You two used to seek comfort in your presence.
And you still want to wrap your arms around him tightly and he held in a warm embrace, but it would feel wrong.
"Hey.", is your response. Your grip on the box tightens. It's the last remnants of another lifetime and you want to keep it, even though you were the one that smashed Neville's hopes by saying you should return each others stuff.
Neville clears his throat, his voice wobbly when he says: "So, here's your stuff. I'm sure I got everything..."
You nod, unable to reply. Instead, you place the box your holding in the table. You want to step away from Neville again, but you can't.
"Can I...hug you?", you whisper before you can stop yourself, tears blinding your vision.
"Yes, please.", Neville croaks. He opens his arms for you, that much you can see.
You body's fit into each other naturally, like two pieces of a puzzle clicking together. Just for one last time, you find comfort in Neville's arms, your tears soaking his knitted sweater.
He's clenching his jaw and blinking profusely, trying to hold back his own tears, with modest success. "Even at the chance of ruining this, I need you to know I'm sorry. That bet was the biggest mistake of my life and I will spend the rest of it to make it up to you."
You sigh. "I get that you're sorry, but you broke my trust in you, Neville. I don't know how I'm supposed to ever forgive you."
You remain in Neville's arms for a while, until you convince yourself that it's only going to get worse the longer you stay.
Neville feels your body stiffen and tightens his grip just for another second, trying to stretch out the moment and engrave it into his brain. In the end, his arms fall to his sides, dangling into the air uselessly and you take a step back, wiping tears from your face.
You grab your box and hold onto it as if that would help holding your heart together.
Then you turn around to leave.
Just before your feet hits the first stair, Neville speaks up and your head snaps around.
"I know you need space, but I will love you forever.", Neville gulps, his voice drenched in pain and honesty. You know he means it.
And somehow that's only making things worse.
"I will also I've you forever, Nev.", you say and you mean it, too.
Even though it isn't going to change anything.
Before the tears can start flowing down your face again, you turn around and leave.

Pt 3:
You had thought by giving Neville his things back you had drew the final line, you had thought that you could now focus on moving on. You weren't naive enough to think it would be easy, but still, you expected to slowly move on.
What you did not expect was the be stuck in a swamp of grief, being held captive by the loss of a relationship that barely just started.
All you could think about for weeks was this last, heartbreaking hug that you shared with Neville. How warm his skin was against yours, how soft his sweater was under your cheek, how his tears dropped to your head, how tight he held you. And the pain in his eyes. Oh, the overwhelming pain.
Neville did not bother at all to hide his emotions. There were no words to describe how bad he felt; the closest he could get to an adequate description was by wearing his regret on display for you to see. Besides that, he tried to show his love through little gestures.
From time to time, you would find a flower on your place at the Gryffindor table in the great hall. They we're special, nothing like ordinary roses or lilies or tulips. Their smell was so much richer, their color so much brighter. Even without a note or anything else attached to them you knew exactly who gifted them.
You didn't tell anyone, but you wished for Neville to just do more than giving you flowers. No expensive gifts or big gestures, honestly just an explanation, because the flowers - as beautiful as they were - did not exactly explain anything, let alone make up for anything.
As you are deep in your thoughts about the current situation with Neville, like you usually are, you bump into someone, your books getting knocked out of your arm and loose papers getting scattered across the floor.
Silently cursing the other person, you get on your knees to gather your things, only to get almost knocked out by a forehead crashing against yours.
"Merlin's beard!", you scream, rubbing your forehead with your palm.
"Oh, I'm sorry!", you hear an all to familiar voice. Looking up, you realize you had crashed into Neville. He's solitude smiling at you, wearing an apologetic look on his face.
"Hey. Are you okay?", he asks. You forget about your things scattered across the floor, don't even notice the students recklessly stomping over your notes as you take a look at Neville. He looks even more lost than usually, his hair a mess, dark circles and a shadow in his eyes.
"Are you okay?", you ask, emphasizing the you.
Neville starts to nod, then stops mid movement. It's as if every bone in his upper body disappeared as he caves in. "No, actually not.", he answers, his voice hoarse. "I- I really meant to give you your time, but- I really miss you and I don't know how to make it through another day without you. I felt like it would make no difference but I need you to know that I called off the bet and did not take the money. That does not excuse anything, I know that. But I- I really am sorry and I don't know how to live without you because you basically are my life."
When he is done speaking, he's panting heavily. "You- you don't need to say anything, I just-"
You interrupt him by placing a hand on his cheek. "Breathe, Nev.", you say, forcing him to look at you. "Breathe."
He takes a few deep breaths with you until he calmed down a bit. "Sorry for freaking out.", he murmurs as he starts collecting the losers papers lying on the floor.
You just kneel on the ground, watching his every movement as you mind starts racing. He looks somehow relieved to got this things off of his chest and yet you can still see the fear in him that he made things worse. He just took the exact step you needed him to take; gave you the very same push you needed.
"Nev.", you say, stuffing books into your back.
He looks up, clearly surprised that you called him that. "Yes?"
You sigh, taking the papers from his hands. "I think it's time we have a proper talk, because I can't stop missing you."
The hope brightening Neville's eyes makes you smile softly. "I will pick you up from your last class, if that's okay with you.", he says, helping you up.
"I'm very okay with that."