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The crying could be heard from two corridors over, but Neville wasn’t expecting Pansy Parkinson, of all people, to be attempting to comfort what looked like a second-year Slytherin. The cut on the back of the girl’s hand told Neville she had been on the wrong end of a Blood Quill more than once. When Pansy noticed him out of the corner of her eye, she snapped.
“What you do want Gryffindork?” Her tone was harsh as she moved to shield the younger Slytherin from view. Closing ranks like all Slytherins did when confronted with a threat.
“Take this.” Neville held out a small jar of Essence of Murlap, which Pansy took with a mistrusting expression. It didn’t take a seer to see that she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. “Every hour on the hour.” Pansy looked at the jar with some disdain, yet when he went to leave the cutout they were hiding in, her voice stopped him.
“Wait…” she seemed hesitant to speak, but one look at the sniveling young Slytherin had her changing her mind. “Is that Granger’s recipe?” It had become common knowledge that she made the best Essence of Murlap when Dolores Umbridge had been overly fond of Blood Quills. To the point, even Slytherin students were clamoring to buy a jar from her.
“Her recipe, yes, but she didn’t make this batch.” He wanted to ensure there was no misinformation in what was beginning to feel less like a conversation and more like a business transaction.
“Doesn’t matter. Everyone knows her recipe is better than what’s in the textbook.” She said it with such certainty that Neville was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that from Pansy Parkinson, of all people. Pansy accepted the jar with a tight smile. “Even if she is a know-it-all.”
Neville knew it was the best answer he would get from Pansy, of all people. They weren’t exactly the best of friends. Turning to leave, he could have sworn he heard a soft thank-you echo from behind him.
Neville didn’t think much of the interaction over the next few days. Avoiding the Carrows was of more importance than a one-off conversation with a Slytherin who had hardly said two kind words to him in a grand total of seven years. It wasn’t until she practically cornered him a week later that he realized the impact their conversation had taken on the dark-haired girl. One day, he was entering the library when she practically hauled him deeper into the stacks by his arm.
“What the hell?”
“Keep your voice down.” Pansy’s hiss was louder than Neville’s words, causing him to roll his eyes as they disappeared into the back of the library.
“You’re the one practically jumping people and dragging them off to who knows where.” Neville hissed back as they rounded a corner near the back of the library. The shelves were dusty, and the books looked like they hadn’t been checked out in decades. When she finally released his arm, Neville took a few steps back and raised an eyebrow at the Slytherin.
“Would you be willing to trade for more of the Essence of Murlap?” Pansy bit the words out like it was choking her to say them. She knew how much asking for the potion told the man before her. Neville’s brow creased in worry before he dropped his voice.
“How bad is it?” If it was anything like it was in Gryffindor, they would need a lot more than they managed to keep in stock. Pansy glanced around, as if she was worried about being seen with him before she sighed.
“The older students are starting to go after the younger ones. It started out harmless. Little jinxes and hexes, but now it’s slowly starting to escalate. Professor Snape is no longer head of Slytherin House. Professor Slughorn is doing an okay job, but he’s so busy brewing for the infirmary that he’s hardly sleeping as it is.” Neville frowned at this new information. He had noticed Professor Slughorn was showing signs of exhaustion, but he had thought the stress of the school year was finally taking its toll.
Running through a few different scenarios in his head, Neville came up with a lightning fast plan.
“You know it won’t come free, right? It’s hard enough getting supplies in as it is.” Neville knew Pansy knew that, but he wanted to make sure she understood the terms of the deal. Pansy rolled her eyes, but it was in a good-natured way.
“I’m a Slytherin, Neville. Of course, it won’t come free.” Pansy picked at her nails, but he knew enough to know it was for show. “The question is, what do you want in return?”
“Can your parents get access to what we need to brew?” Pansy’s eyes flew wide at the insinuation, but she understood why he asked.
“I’m sure they could, but I can’t guarantee that it won’t get back to the Dark Lord.” There was the crux of the matter. Everything in the castle was being reported to and for the Dark Lord that reigned over Great Britain. Neville sighed before steeling himself and straightening his spine.
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll deal with that when it happens. If anything, maybe you could say the Carrows have been going after Slytherin?” At Pansy’s skeptical look, Neville rushed on. “It wouldn’t be a lie, though. They have been, and you know it. It would get us the supplies we need, keep the entire school stocked and possibly get back to the Dark Lord. What would the Dark Lord do if he knew the Carrows were deranged enough to go after prominent pureblood children?”
Pansy’s eyes lit up, finally understanding where Neville was going with his request.
“We want it to get back to the Dark Lord. If it gets back to the Dark Lord, it’s likely to stop.” Pansy’s voice show, it’d first signs of excitement since they had been interacting.
“Exactly. It may not stop entirely, but one less student being hurt by a Blood Quill is a win in my book.” The grin that broke out across Pansy’s face surprised him.
The fact she was willing to work against the Dark Lord subtly shocked him even more. When she rushed to continue speaking, Neville knew he might succeed in turning her into a double agent.
“What else do you need? Surely you don’t just need the supplies for the Essence of Murlap?” Neville shook his head before glancing around.
“No, the list is nearly ten pages long.” Seeing the look in her eyes, he continued. “It’s too long to risk asking for all at once. Unless someone is known to have an affinity for potions or is doing an apprenticeship, it’d be too obvious.” Her eyes lit up at the mention of the apprenticeship.
“Draco’s doing one under the Headmaster.” At the mention of Draco, Neville’s face contorted. “He didn’t have a choice you know. None of us have a choice. The Dark Lord was living in his house; he would have been killed if he hadn’t done what he did.” Neville bit his tongue as Pansy continued. “I should be able to get Draco to get the list ordered. He may not even have to go through his father to do it. If he was able to go through Professor Slughorn, we’d be able to avoid that entirely.”
“No one’s going to question the Potion’s teacher ordering a large number of supplies.” Pansy was practically beaming at were their brainstorming session had gone.
“Especially when he stocks the hospital wing.” Pansy continued, her grin catching from Neville’s infectious grin. “How soon do you need the order? It’s still going to take days to actually get the order placed and for it to start arriving.”
“Doesn’t matter but the sooner, the better. We’re running low on a lot of stuff.” Neville sighed as he forced his hands through his hair in frustration.
“Get me a list of what all you need as soon as possible.” Pansy paused, eyeing Neville before she continued. “Aren’t you a herbology enthusiast?” Neville nodded before she continued. “Can’t you get some from Professor Sprout?”
“I already am, there’s only so much she can give me without getting caught. It’s not worth losing a steady supply to get a one-time shot.” Pansy nodded, knowing he was right. “You need to go, we’ve been gone too long as it is. I’ll be in touch about the Essence of Murlap tonight.” Pansy nodded as she made her way to exit the library.
Neville noticed her turning to look back as she left.