You'll be the Death of Me

Chapter 47

"Do you remember the first time we ever drank together?" Graces asked as Neville bit the top off another chocolate cauldron and lifted the shell filled with firewhisky to her lips to drink.

"No, I completely forgot," Neville deadpanned, giving Graces a patronizing look. "Please, remind me. Was it in the greenhouse?"

"Don't tease me," Graces smiled breathlessly, sipping the liquid and twisting her mouth as it burned down her throat. "I'm drunk, had muggle surgery, had my heart stop and have a mild concussion. I'm allowed to be a bit forgetful."

"I guess," Neville chuckled.

"So?"

"So what?" Neville asked patiently.

"Do you remember? Do you remember all of it?"

Neville frowned at the question. "What do you mean all if it?"

"Well, we were drinking," Graces blushed. "We were really drunk. Are parts a bit fuzzy for you? Or are things missing?"

Neville mouthed 'oh' as he realized what Graces was getting at and placed the box of chocolates down before sitting on the bed with her.

"I remember every single detail," he replied, holding Graces eyes with his. "Every detail."

Graces blushed at his intensity and looked down for a moment before facing him again.

"I-I can't stop thinking of that night," she admitted quietly. "I keep having it pop into my thoughts." Graces seemed distant for a moment, as though that night was once again intruding on her. "Do you think that things would have been different if-if I hadn't been drinking or if I hadn't offered you a drink?" she asked nervously.

"Yes."

Neville watched as Graces' face seemed to crumble at the definiteness of his answer, but he remained quiet. He wondered what Graces was trying to get at with her line of questioning and he had a feeling he was going to learn more of the workings of her mind if he remained silent and allowed her to continue on her own.

"In what way do you think things would have been different?" she asked, staring up at him timidly.

"Well," Neville sighed. "You would have never been that open with me for one. You would have never joked around with me and I never would have dared kiss you."

"Oh," Graces breathed disappointed.

"Not that I wouldn't have wanted to," Neville smiled kindly. "I had a bit of a thing for you before the greenhouse. It's just that, well, the fire whiskey definitely helped. I could never have just kissed you like that without it."

"You did?" Graces asked, a hint of excitement sparkling in her silver eyes.

"Yeah, I did," Neville chuckled. "I was growing very fascinated by you."

"Because I'm so pretty?" Graces teased.

Neville smiled at her humor and wondered if he should tell Graces all the reasons he had been thinking of her so long ago.

"Because you were smart and I had this strong feeling there was so much more to you than what you allowed the world to see," Neville murmured quietly. "I really don't know what it was, but I couldn't stop thinking of you. That night when I went to the greenhouse it was because I couldn't stop thinking of you."

"You were mad at me that day," Graces nodded. "About the paper. You were upset that I wrote it without you..."

"I was, but I definitely was not mad at the end of the night," Neville winked, moving his thumb in circles on the top of her hand. Neville grinned as she blushed and wondered when he became the type of guy that winked and had a pretty girl becoming bashful at what he said.