"That's good," Neville agreed. He grew pensive for a moment. "This is serious, isn't it, Harry? Like, world-changing serious."
"Yeah, you could say that." Harry bit his lip. "Look, Nev, if you want to stay out of it, I completely understand. Being around me is always a bit chaotic, but things are only going to get worse."
"Shut up, Harry." The force in Neville's voice made Harry blink, taken-aback. "I might not be the bravest Gryffindor around, but you're my friend, and what's happening to you isn't right. Dumbledore— he can't be allowed to just keep doing whatever he wants and manipulating people for the Greater Good. I've been thinking about it ever since you told me what he did last year. I can't promise to be much help, but I'm in this with you, whether you like it or not."
Harry had never seen Neville so firm about anything — he was starting to see what the Sorting Hat had in mind when he put Neville in the house of lions. "Okay, then," he said eventually. "That's— yeah. Thanks, Nev." Neville was blushing now, and Harry smiled. "You've already been loads of help. I wouldn't have learned Occlumency without you, and your gran. I was going to write to her, actually when I make my move, when it all comes out, I'll need to change my Wizengamot proxy. If we can't get Sirius' name cleared… d'you… would she be willing?" He couldn't take the Slytherin seat from Dumbledore's hands, but he could take the other three.
"She'd be honoured, Harry," Neville assured. Harry grinned; that was one load off his mind. It wouldn't happen for a while yet, but it was good to know he had something in place.
"Good. And—" he paused, hesitant. "I've been thinking about telling the other heirs the truth. About Dumbledore, and even Sirius. If I can get them on my side, it'll be easier to get him out of power when— when I need to." It made him a little queasy, the thought of actively conspiring against the headmaster, but it would need to happen eventually. The wizarding world couldn't be brought forward with Albus Dumbledore holding it back. "I just don't know if I can trust all of them."
"Well, no one's said anything about you being an heir yet," Neville pointed out. "None of them trust Dumbledore. I think they'd be willing to listen to you, if you wanted to tell them. They're good people."
Harry realised that Neville must have known most of them for far longer than Hogwarts; they probably played together as children. Grew up together. If Neville said they were trustworthy, he believed him. "Oh, and there's one more thing," he added, bracing himself for perhaps the most volatile secret of all. Neville's brows drew together warily. "Y'know last year I said Draco Malfoy wasn't as bad as we thought he was? I'm sort of— friends with him, now?" In all his story he hadn't said a word about Draco, but it didn't seem fair to be trusting Neville with so much but not that.
Neville stared at him. "That's it, right? No more secrets after that?" he checked. Harry ran over things in his mind.
"No, no, don't think so. That's the last one." Well, there was the slight maybe-crush he'd developed on the blond Slytherin, but Neville didn't need to know about that. He'd warm him up to the idea of Draco being his friend first.
"Okay," Neville said eventually. "If you're friends with him, he can't be as bad as he seems."
"Really? Just like that?" Harry had expected some sort of argument, at least. Neville shrugged.
"I thought Cassius was kind of a prat before I started talking to him, but he's actually alright. Even if he is crap at Herbology. If you say Malfoy's not a prat, then I believe you."
"Oh, no, he's definitely still a prat," Harry assured with a laugh. "But… a good one?" He felt his cheeks turning red, and hoped Neville didn't notice.
"Well, you're a bit of a prat sometimes, too, so I s'pose it all balances out," Neville said with a teasing grin. Harry made a noise of offence. "You went after a basilisk, knowing it was a basilisk, with nothing but your wand at the age of twelve! You spent all of last year wandering about at night when there was a murderer out there who wanted to kill you!" Neville pointed out. "Hell, you followed Quirrell down to the Philosopher's stone in first year without a second of hesitation!"
Harry was beginning to regret having told Neville the truth about his first two years at Hogwarts over the summer. "Okay, yeah, but in my defence I was under a Compulsion charm for the first two years," he pointed out.
"And what's your excuse for last year?" Neville asked, lips curled up at the edges. Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm a prat?" he admitted eventually, shrugging apologetically. "I don't know what you want me to say, Nev — we both know I'd be lying if I said I won't do it again."
Neville laughed, shaking his head. "As long as you're aware of your faults," he said magnanimously. He glanced at Harry in consideration. "I take it Ron and Hermione don't know about any of this?"
"They know Sirius is innocent. They were there for that bit," Harry told him. "But they don't know about Seren Du, or about Dumbledore. Or Draco. I, uh, wasn't planning on telling them. Not until I can be sure." "If Ron's mum is on Dumbledore's side, they might be as well," Neville realised softly. Harry nodded.
"I always thought it was a bit weird how right as I got to the platform, a wizarding family appears and just starts talking really loudly about muggles," he admitted. It all felt a little too coincidental, the way the Weasleys had been there to help him, and Ron had been the first friend he met on the train. Even with Hermione and the troll, though he knew Quirrell had been the one to let it into the school, how had she been the only one in danger? He didn't like to believe it, but now he knew how manipulative Dumbledore could be, he wouldn't put it past the man. Ron and Hermione were the perfect best friends to keep him oblivious. To keep him in check.
"You deserve better than Ron, anyway," Neville said with a huff. "He's always been jealous of you. You don't even realise when you're holding yourself back for his sake. Like all those new clothes you got that you hardly ever wear. Your trunk's full of them, but you're still in the same five shirts that are way too big."
"You really have been paying attention, haven't you?" Harry mused, watching Neville blush bashfully. "Do you know how Hermione's taking the whole champion thing, by the way?" Harry hadn't seen her since the Halloween feast.
"She was telling a couple of third years last night that you didn't put your name in by yourself," Neville told him. "But she's not stupid, of course she can see that. That…"
"That doesn't mean she isn't one of Dumbledore's," Harry finished for him. He sighed, looking out across the lake. "I guess I'll stick with it and see. Ron's not talking to me, which is fine, but if I start pushing her away I'll let Dumbledore in on my plans a little earlier than expected. Besides, maybe she's trustworthy. I don't know yet."
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