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When the fourth-years' classes on diluting bubotuber pus came around each year, Neville always kept a very careful eye on his students, remembering what happened when Hermione's hands were exposed to undiluted bubotuber pus during his own fourth year. He was proud to say that none of his students ever had an incident with the pus under his supervision, even after a pair in Ravenclaw and Slytherin attempted to sabotage each other's efforts at diluting the pus a few years back.
This year was no different, although he couldn't quite say that he was as vigilant during the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs' class as he had been in past years. His eyes kept catching on Lily, marking her progress far more carefully than he marked that of her peers, for she kept glancing towards him throughout the class.
"Is there something I can help you with, Miss Potter?" He asked as she turned in her bowl of perfectly diluted pus at the end of the class.
She hesitated and gave a terse nod, but then moved out of the way as her cousin came up behind her to turn in his bowl. Hugo gave her a questioning look, which she replied to with a small shrug. He seemed to understand, and shot Neville an indecipherable look before stepping away, making Neville feel all the more confused.
As the other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs filed out of the greenhouse, she remained behind, packing up her bag far more slowly. Neville watched silently, waiting for her to tell him whatever it was she wanted to say.
Finally, she turned to him. "Could I ask you something, Professor?"
"Of course, Lily," he replied, dropping the formality now that she was the only student still present. "How can I help?"
Still, she hesitated for a few more seconds, visibly anxious. "Could I see a picture of your mum?"
"My mum?" Neville stared at her with high eyebrows. "Erm, of course." Reaching into his pocket, he fished out the wallet that Hermione gifted him years ago and pulled out a small photograph of his mum. He stared at the smiling image of her for a moment before handing the photo over to Lily.
"She's pretty," Lily murmured.
"Yeah, she is," Neville agreed, watching Lily's face.
"Do you think I look like her?"
His jaw fell. There was certainly a resemblance, and it had been noted by those who were in on the secret, but it was still a shock to hear the question from... "Lily, do you know that I'm—"
"Stop." She held up her other hand, cutting him off. "I don't want to have a Darth Vader moment with you, it would be too weird. You're still my professor, first and foremost."
He shut his mouth, his heart sinking. He had wondered throughout her life how she would react when she was finally told the truth, whether she would reject him as her father. This felt like something close to a rejection.
"How long have you known?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I think a part of me has always known. You've always looked at me differently, and you and my mum are always... different with each other."
His spirits rose back up at the thought of Ginny. "I love your mother very much."
"And then, last year, I tried to perform a finite incantatem on Hugo's face after a prank went wrong, and it turned his eyes green, exactly like my dad's. We couldn't figure out how the cancellation charm did that, even if I had botched it somehow, and realized that must be his true eye color. We put the pieces together after that."
Neville remembered when Hermione very carefully placed the charm on Hugo's eyes when he was still a newborn. He was impressed that Lily had managed to undo it without intention. "So you've known since then? Why have you... Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
She shrugged again, carefully laying the smiling picture of his mum on his desk. "You're my professor, and you've also always been like an extra uncle to me. It's not easy to tell you that I know you're... more than that."
Neville swallowed, wondering if that was any less of a rejection than what she said before. "And how do you feel about that?"
She looked down. "It's complicated."
"I know."
A thin smile flitted across her lips. "Hugo is relieved, I think. You know how much he and Uncle Ron fight sometimes, and he's glad that he's not at risk of inheriting the infamous Weasley Temper like Rose did. Although, between Aunt Hermione and my dad, it's no wonder he's so damn stubborn."
Neville chuckled.
"As for me..." Lily gave yet another shrug. "It... kind of feels like I have two dads. Am I allowed to say that?"
"Of course you are. No one can tell you what you're allowed to feel, Lily."
At his words, her face relaxed, the complexity of the emotions within her bubbling to the surface. "You know how much I love Harry. He's always been so wonderful with me. He's... He's my dad in everything but blood."
"I understand."
"And you..." She shrugged yet again, feebly attempting to downplay her emotions in order to articulate them. "I love you too, you know that. And I'm glad that you and my mum are happy together."
"We are," he confirmed.
She sniffed. "When did it happen? Obviously, it was between me and Albus."
"It was shortly after Albus and Rose were born. We decided that we couldn't keep pretending anymore, at least in private. There was too much at stake politically for your parents and Ron and Hermione to get divorces, of course, but we... I guess you could say that we rearranged ourselves behind closed doors."
Lily laughed. "That's bordering on too much information."
"Not like that. I mean, yes, like that, or you wouldn't exist, but... you know what I mean."
"Not really, but let's pretend that I do. So you and my mum, for all this time."
"In secret, yes. And we've loved each other for much longer than that. The same goes for your dad and Hermione."
"And what about Uncle Ron?"
"He has Padma."
Her eyes widened. "Padma Patil? That... explains a lot, actually."
"Hermione was quite surprised when she found out, but she was glad that he'd found someone."
Lily shook her head. "So who else knows the truth?"
"Only the six of us... and, now, you and Hugo."
She looked down. "Hugo and I want to wait until the holiday to tell our... our other parents. Can you keep this secret?"
"I'm terrible at keeping secrets from your mother, but I suppose I'll manage."
She bit her lip. "When were you actually planning to let the cat out of the bag?"
"To the two of you? We never really decided on a time, but it probably would have been after you graduated. The Hogwarts years can be... turbulent, and we wanted to keep things as simple as possible for you."
She sighed. "I'm glad you didn't wait that long."
"It wasn't exactly our choice in the end."
"That's true. You just underestimated us."
Neville chuckled. "Yeah, we did. We should've guessed that something like this would happen. You're smart kids."
"Yeah." She bit her lip again. "I should probably get back to the castle."
His smile fell, although he knew she was right. "Yeah, you should try to get some homework done before dinner."
She raised her eyebrows at him.
"I'm saying that as your professor," he quickly added.
She nodded. "Right. Well, Professor, I'll see you later."
"See you later, Lily."
She hesitated for another moment. Then, suddenly, she lurched towards him, her arms wrapping around him in a surprise hug. "For the record, I'm proud of you."
He shut his eyes and hugged her back, his heart beating painfully hard within his chest. "Thank you."
She lingered in the hug for another moment, and then drew back, smiling. With one last, small shrug, she shouldered her bag and turned away, leaving the greenhouse.
He sat back down at his desk, feeling like an immense weight had been lifted off of him, until he remembered that he had to, somehow, keep this hidden from Ginny for as long as their daughter had requested.