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Being a Slytherin was pretty hard when the other houses hated your house. Especially since the house was known for two things: pureblood fanatics and dark magic users. People avoided Slytherins most of the time due to the reputation of their house. As a result, Slytherin students tended to band together with those from their house outside of their common room. It resulted in a misconception that all Slytherins agreed with one another. In reality, they only banded together because they were stronger as a house together.
The truth of the matter was that most Slytherins found Draco Malfoy absolutely obnoxious. His views and behavior made a bad name for Slytherins, which meant most of the Slytherins actively avoided him in their common room. While there were also a fair number of admirers, due to his appearance, there were also plenty who wished he'd stop with the Potter tirades. Everyone found Potter to be old news, though Draco obsessed over it like a madman attempting to prove a conspiracy theory.
Once in their common room, it was a free for all and temporary alliances were called off. Most people would go back to ignoring those they didn't like and even act petty. One time, Y/N convinced a bunch of Slytherins to raid Draco's room and put up huge posters of Harry since he was obsessed with ranting about him so much. The look of horror on Draco's face was priceless and photos of his mortified expression circulated the common room for a while. He practically became a meme with people captioning: "My father will hear about this."
That was the small bits of joy they could savor within their common room. The moments that they, as Slytherins, could feel like they weren't just the label others gave them. A moment where they could breathe with ease and forget that most of the other students were hostile to them. They could shrug off their serious expressions and cold demeanors to share laughs about silly things.
Y/N was from a pureblood family in the Sacred 28, but her family did not agree with families like the Malfoys. Instead, their interest in retaining their status as a pureblood family was for the sake of keeping the three types of blood status present. Purebloods were bordering extinction thanks to the fanatics who insisted on marrying their distant relatives to preserve "purity." However, the L/N family maintained their status by marrying the so-called half bloods rather than their distant cousins.
Their reluctance towards marrying distant relatives prevented them from many of the issues related to pureblood families and inbreeding. The L/Ns saw how old pureblooded families like the Gaunts turned out and decided against the policy of marrying fellow purebloods excessively. They would often refer to the old pureblood families with a quiet disdain, calling them poodles. The term poodle was in reference to the dog breed that was thoroughly overbred to the point where sometimes relatives were bred together for puppies.
She never really involved herself with poodles like Draco since he clearly had no idea what he was doing. He had absolutely no cunning for one who landed in Slytherin. Draco always traipsed around bullying people as though the repercussions would not get him later. Worst of all, he just had to go around calling hapless students "mudbloods," when he was the result of inbreeding to some degree. At least those students didn't have to tell people that they were going to marry their cousin.
Honestly, if you were going to take someone down a peg, you needed to do it right. Y/N knew that for a fact since she had a very strong alliance with a certain pranking team from Gryffindor. Y/N worked jointly with none other than the Weasley twins. In secret, of course. After all, the infamous feud between Slytherins and Gryffindors was nothing to laugh at.
When they spotted each other in the hallway, they passed each other with indifference. But when they met in the 7th floor's Room of Requirement, such reservations were gone. They hugged like old friends who hadn't seen each other in years, cracked jokes, and made plans together. She had worked with the Weasley twins to pull off pranks on Draco and his gang since the first year.
When Draco and Pansy had matching ghastly bright pink robes in the first year, it was Y/N and the twins who masterminded the operation. Once they swapped Draco's quills for Sugar Quills since he only really used his quills to write insults and hurl them at students. Draco was the lucky recipient of many of their pranks, along with those who blindly sided with him. It was a poorly kept secret among those who found Draco Malfoy obnoxious, but well-guarded against those who loved him dearly.
If Draco was the Slytherin Prince, Y/N was the Slytherin Queen. She would always be steps ahead of him.
Neville Longbottom felt awfully lonely, though he was occasionally invited to hang out with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were nice, but he usually felt left out with them. He didn't really have a group of friends to spend time with. Harry only really talked to him when he needed something, like if they were paired up for a project. The same could be said for everyone else in Gryffindor.
He couldn't help but feel like he didn't really belong in the house. Neville couldn't see himself as someone who embodied the values of Gryffindor. He was timid, shy, forgetful, jumpy, and struggled to be heard. Maybe the hat sorted me into the wrong house, Neville would think to himself as he walked alone. Even his toad didn't want to spend time with him.
Sometimes he wondered how he even managed to get into Hogwarts. He had so little magic that he was practically a Squib, or so it seemed. He was such a late bloomer in terms of magic. How he deserved to be at Hogwarts sometimes bothered him as well.
At the same time, he couldn't forget the day she reached out to him. Y/N. On the train, Y/N helped him look for Trevor and asked the older students without any fear as Neville quietly hid behind her. Sometimes he wondered why she wasn't in Gryffindor instead of him. He had been hopeful that they could be friends and that he might finally get a friend, but fate said otherwise. Neville was sorted into Gryffindor (after arguing at length with the hat in hopes of being put in Hufflepuff) and Y/N was sorted into Slytherin; the two houses with the worst rivalry. His heart ached to know that he would be alone again.
They didn't speak much after that due to the unspoken understanding that the inter-house relations were terrible. While Y/N remained distant, she didn't entirely disappear from his life. She still stood up for him in a subtle manner since she was supposed to stay loyal to her house. When Malfoy had begun harassing him, Y/N had once distracted him. Y/N told Malfoy that it looked like his owl was coming with a rather important-looking package. Malfoy had dashed off to the owlery, probably thinking it was from his parents. But from what Neville heard from the delighted Weasley twins it was a glitter bomb.
He remembered when Harry had insulted Slytherin and the way his heart tightened at that. Neville didn't like that Harry insulted the house because Y/N was in it. Even if Y/N didn't obviously show her support for him, he knew it was there. After all, the one who usually scared Malfoy away was her. Now that he thought about it, Malfoy respected her a good deal and was even scared of her to some degree. Neville never really asked her what she did to scare him like that and he wasn't too sure he wanted to know anyway.
When Pansy Parkinson teased him, Y/N had said something to Parkinson. "Pansy, don't push your luck. If someone says that we started it, the whole house pays for it. No one would be surprised a Slytherin started the fight. Honestly Draco, muzzle your chihuahua."
The Gryffindors stared at her flabbergasted by her response while some of the other Slytherins covered their grins. For Y/N to put someone in their place, especially Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, it was a treat. Of course, Draco didn't care and effectively caused mayhem due to snatching the Rememberall.
One time, when Malfoy and his goons were chasing after him, Y/N had pulled him into a secret passageway. He still remembered that brief conversation they shared while Malfoy ran around like a headless chicken looking for him.
"Neville, do you have any friends here?" She asked with a concerned expression on her face.
"Um, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, I guess." He said staring at his feet, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks.
They both knew that the three he mentioned were closer with one another than with him. It was an unspoken understanding between them that neither one would point out that detail.
"I'll be your friend," Y/N said looking at him carefully, "I'll write you letters every day and send them by an owl. How does that sound?"
Neville's eyes widened at the proposition she offered him. He was surprised that she would go out on a limb for him. No one had ever done that for him in his life. No one had ever wanted to be his friend or keep him safe from Malfoy. It almost felt too good to be true.
In less than a year, he would realize how lucky he was that Y/N was a true friend. He would be faced with increasing taunts and insults from Parkinson who even dared someone to flirt with him. Neville became the butt of many jokes due to Draco Malfoy and his friends. They even wrote him fake love letters and other things as the years passed. It was through that experience that Neville grew to be cautious of others and their intentions.
Neville and Y/N became second-years at Hogwarts the next year with Malfoy continuing to harass him. His situation at home was no better with his gran constantly pushing him to do more and be more assertive. He spent a lot of time getting Howlers and lectures from his gran. He felt small the whole time while he was hearing the lectures. He often wrote about his fears and anxieties to Y/N, who he grew to trust over the course of the first year. He even found out that Y/N had secretly hexed Malfoy for performing the leg-binding curse on him.
His summer was full of his gran's long-winded lectures and visiting his parents. Both of which he found difficult to handle. Especially since his parents did not remember nor recognize him. If they had been able to even remember him, they might have told him that he was far from a Squib. After all, he had a tiny instance of magic when he was an infant. As for his gran, she was stern and strict with him. She had great expectations for him and it was often difficult for him to fulfill them. She became stricter with him after his grandad passed, something Neville witnessed. At the same time, his gran would also tell him he was below average, which made it hard for him to feel confident. It was like he was built up only to be torn down.
He had nightmares about his parents being tortured. He was one when his parents were tortured by Death Eaters; how the memory managed to haunt him was beyond Neville's understanding. Y/N, however, suggested his memory loss could be a side effect of repression. It seemed that no matter what Neville said, Y/N never saw him as any less than he was.
When the Chamber of Secrets reopened, Neville was terrified and told Y/N so. He didn't have anyone to walk with, so she would intentionally plan her schedule to keep him company. At a distance, of course. He knew that she was there and it made him feel better. Though, he still bought various items in hopes of completely barring the possibility of an attack.
If his second year was difficult, his third year was far worse.
Professor Snape had it out for Neville, though Y/N never understood why. Harry was an obvious one since she heard from her aunt Miriam that his father used to harass Snape. While James's actions did not justify Snape's treatment of Harry, it did provide some context. But Neville's parents had done nothing to Snape during his school years, so his hatred for him was unusual.
Y/N was good at Potions, so she was usually the student that Professor Snape favored. It still bothered her greatly the way her head of house mistreated a young boy. Neville was atrocious at Potions, but weren't there always a few who weren't that great?
But she didn't involve herself in the Shrinking potion incident since Hermione handled it for Neville. She did start to plan on partnering with Neville in the future for Potions though. She figured that if she watched Neville carefully and led the potion making, it was unlikely they would be failing anytime soon.
However, Defense Against the Dark Arts was alright due to Professor Lupin's involvement in trying to help him build confidence. While his class mocked and scorned him for fearing Professor Snape, he was able to face that fear to some degree. This made him quite grateful to Professor Lupin.
But the worst had yet to come. When the Fat Lady was attacked, the Gryffindors got a new portrait to guard their common room, Sir Cadogan. The knight constantly changed the password to the point where he made a list. Neville lost the list and unintentionally provided Sirius Black with the means to enter Gryffindor tower. He was punished terribly by Professor McGonagall as a result. With many of his privileges removed, Y/N would often have to send him sweets from Honeydukes through owls. But he also received a Howler from his gran which made him feel quite ashamed of himself.
Perhaps the worst part was that Neville could not enter the tower himself. Often, people would refuse to let him in and make him stay outside for hours. Once, they refused to let him in long after curfew. He stood out there shivering and waiting. It was only because Y/N had been going to drop off something for the twins that she spotted Neville outside the portrait hole. She snuck him into her dorms by using an invisibility cloak and managed to charm the stairs to the girls' dormitory to allow him in. She insisted he stay the night and transfigured his robes into pajamas. In the morning, Y/N used magic to turn his pajamas into his robes and used magic to clean them. She then snuck him out again. He had been quite grateful for her intervention since he wasn't sure what he would have done if he had to stay out all night. Later, Professor McGonagall received a letter from Y/N about the issue.
For Y/N, the worst part was when Harry accidentally found out about her friendship with Neville. He spotted them together in the library when he had been looking for Neville in order to do homework together. The two of them were chatting and quietly laughing together, though she left when it was close to when Neville and Harry agreed to meet.
Harry said nothing about it until he came in contact with Fred and George who accidentally let slip that they had a Slytherin pranking buddy. It was through them that he got to know Y/N himself. He was hesitant about speaking to a Slytherin, but since Fred and George trusted her, he decided to speak to her anyway.
"Hey boys," Y/N said as she sat on a cabinet in a secret passageway, "What's our list looking like?"
"Actually, Y/N-" Fred started.
"We have someone we want you to meet!" George finished.
They stepped aside to reveal none other than Harry Potter. She looked at him, analyzing him and attempting to figure out his purpose for visiting.
"I see you're close with Neville," Harry said staring at her with a relatively testy expression.
"What of it?"
"Are you just spending time with him as a joke or what?"
"My relationship with him is none of your business. From what I recall, you two aren't very close at all. What right do you have to nose around in our business?"
"Now, now Harry. We didn't bring you here to harass our pranking buddy," George said, resting a hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry glowered at her from where he stood. He couldn't deny that he was not close with Neville or that it really wasn't his place to ask. But he was still shocked that a Slytherin would actually look out and care for Neville.
"Honestly, Harry. We trust her. She's the one who helps us execute some great pranks on Slytherins. They're not all like Malfoy, y'know?" Fred added as he smiled at Y/N.
Neville never asked Y/N about her knowledge of magic or how it greatly exceeded his. Though he wouldn't have received a satisfactory answer even if he asked. Y/N spent most of her childhood being trained in Occlumency, Legilimency, resistance to the Imperius, and Cruciatus curse, among other things. As a neutral pureblood family, it had become a key part of the curriculum for all children. This was due to the various attempts the Death Eaters had done in hopes of turning the L/N family to their side.
While the family home had powerful charms surrounding it, there was no way to ensure the safety of the children outside the home. As a result, the children were trained from a young age with express permission from the Minister of Magic. After all, it wasn't only Lucius Malfoy who had some sway in the Ministry.
During their fourth year, Neville told her about the strange incidents with Professor Moody and the Cruciatus curse. To which, Y/N comforted him by sending some chocolates his way. She never quite forgave "Professor Moody" for scaring Neville terribly with the Cruciatus curse or dragging him off afterward. But if she spoke up, there would be many questions she could not answer. She hated that Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry so terribly at that moment.
Neville found himself under the Imperius curse in another class, something that bothered Y/N to no end. So much that she sat with a disgusted face while Malfoy murmured that he wished he could use it on Longbottom. She almost decked Draco right then and there for saying such a terrible thing. When the professor attempted a similar stunt with her, the curse failed quite miserably. The training she had gone through as a child was no joke at all. She stared at him with an impassive and unamused expression as she stood before him, arms crossed. The awe and respect the students in the class had for her rose drastically that day.
She was the one who encouraged Neville to find himself a date for the ball. Y/N, herself, was asked out by a student from Durmstrang. Neville could not deny the jealousy that grew in his stomach as she danced and chatted with the boy. He hated that they had to be so roundabout due to their house rivalry. Neville wanted to be the one dancing with her, even if he wasn't that great at it. He yearned to be the one who could stand by her side and talk with her as they danced.
It was that year that Neville discovered he wanted to be closer to Y/N. In all their exchanges, he mainly spoke and she replied to what he said. He knew almost nothing about her. She primarily listened to him, counseled him, and advised him. As they continued to send letters, Neville began to yearn for more between them. He wanted to know more about her, and he began to make a point of asking. She told him tidbits, despite the fact he wished to know more. He ached to be close to her, desperately hanging onto each letter she sent. Scouring them for more clues about her.
In the fifth year when Umbridge arrived at Hogwarts, Y/N remained utterly impassive. She did not join the Umbridge Inquisition Squad as some Slytherins did. Instead, Y/N spent her time studying on her own. She refused to join the D.A., despite Neville's letters asking her to. She practiced in an old classroom that she magically isolated and used for her own purposes.
That same year, when Neville told her about the gift from his mother, she proposed he transfigure it into a ring. They met up in secret so that she could transfigure the gum wrapper into a beautiful ring for him. He treasured that ring quite dearly, even writing to his gran about the transfiguration.
When she told Neville about her secret space, he asked her to tutor him. His determination to learn more spells grew when he found out that a few of the Death Eaters who tormented his parents escaped. So she secretly trained him in what she knew about defense against the dark arts. Her training helped him so much that the members of the D.A. noticed his vast improvements.
She heard about Neville going with Harry, Hermione, and Ron to find a prophecy. Y/N was thoroughly relieved to hear that he made it out intact and alive. Though she spent a lot of letters and visits soothing Neville after the effects of the Cruciatus curse. She resolved to convince him to lend her his ring so she could cast a few defensive enchantments on it. Something she was able to convince him pretty quickly of.
Y/N was also the one who had to tell Neville about the prophecy that either he or Harry was named in. She explained that her aunt Miriam heard it from Professor Trelawney who had actually shared the prophecy twice. It turned out that there was an additional detail in relation to her, which was why her aunt Miriam was told. Apparently, she was involved in some way with one of the two babies, though no one was clear on how. Y/N told him it came true since she was directly involved with Neville and his life. She told him the details had to remain a secret since no one except her family knew about it.
In his sixth year, he felt insecure because Harry chose to remain friends with him. Even though he knew Harry was far better off without him. However, in his seventh year at Hogwarts, the world turned upside down.
Hogwarts was suddenly in the hands of Death Eaters and he found the bravery to lead. He led the D.A. to rebel against the Carrows and even refused to partake in the punishing of younger students via the Cruciatus curse. This all took a huge mental toll on him. During this time, Y/N became a newfound source of support. She would often sneak off to visit him in the Room of Requirement whenever she had time. Her role in the D.A. was as an informant since many Slytherins knew what the Carrows were up to. She would often visit with information and comfort for him. They had grown close over the years they spent together as friends.
Whenever Neville suffered beatings and torture, it was Y/N who came to his aid. He often wondered why she wasn't a Gryffindor before remembering that she was also quite cunning to evade trouble.
There had been a few incidents where she found herself standing between Neville and a raised wand. She knew his fear of the Cruciatus curse due to the memories associated with it. Once, she spotted Neville being harassed by Slytherins who were brave enough to attempt to use the Cruciatus curse on him. She stepped in between them and was struck by the curse. Of course, it had zero effect on her save for a small grimace.
By May, he was living with the rest of the D.A. in the Room of Requirement and practically everyone knew Y/N as the Slytherin who visited Neville. No one really knew what to make of her and there were some rumors she was Neville's girlfriend. Y/N didn't bother herself with the rumors or the questions. She continued to do as she pleased and visited Neville with great care. She often brought potions and salves she made to help care for the students.
Neville was the only one who was allowed to hear the intel she brought to him. She told him, in confidence, that some Slytherins did not like the Carrow regime. But they did not speak out since many Slytherins did. She also noted that they could not count on other Slytherins to join the D.A. or even fight if there was to be a battle. She explained that house loyalty and friendships would definitely prevent them from participating.
"I mean, imagine having to see your friend on the other side. Or being told you're a traitor for firing spells as a Slytherin alum or current student. It's just not something we have the heart to do. Most of the other students hate our house, we have no one else except our housemates. We can't betray them. Even if we do not agree with them."
Neville nodded when she explained the Slytherin situation to him. He couldn't believe how hard it was for her to decide to stay behind while the Slytherins left Hogwarts. Instead, she stayed by his side, even when he greeted the Golden Trio when they returned. Harry had looked at her funny, while Hermione gave her a small smile. He would later learn that one time, Y/N had used a Silencing Charm on Draco to make him stop calling Hermione a mudblood.
Y/N spent her time healing people as they came, side by side with Madam Pomfrey. She did not participate in the battle, except for two instances. The first was when she saw Fred in danger and saved him. After all, she was a secret investor in the company he and George owned. Along with someone who helped with R&D for some of their products that involved complex potions or enchantments. She cast a strong shielding barrier around him which prevented his death when a wall collapsed. The second time came when she later encountered Bellatrix Lestrange while healing a particularly nasty cut. Recalling the torment that Bellatrix subjected Neville and his parents to, Y/N attacked her. Sure, Bellatrix was from Slytherin, but Y/N was past the house thing. Bellatrix had harmed someone whom she cared deeply about. That was unforgivable. In the end, Y/N cast a Reflective charm which caused Bellatrix's Killing Curse to rebound and hit her instead. Revenge was not sweet.
After the war, Y/N and Neville spent lots of quality time together. They traveled the world while Neville studied plants and Y/N did freelance work. After seven years of being together as friends, they finally started to date. Their feelings solidified by their near brush with death via the Second Wizarding War. Y/N and Neville were happy after years of trials and finally able to stop worrying about their house rivalries. His friends warmed up to her in good time, learning to look past her Hogwarts house. Y/N and Neville couldn't be torn apart, even with that whole house rivalry.