Open Your Heart. (Draco/Oc) (potassiumboron/Severu

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Neville sighed and shrugged.
"Draco was being such an ass, and so I just wanted to put it out there. I know everyone thinks I'm this gigantic loser, just like when we were at Hogwarts, but.. I've changed."
It was the truth. He hated how people treated him, even now, years after school had ended.

"Cats are just fine." He told her, smiling.
He had been enjoying the past year of being single with just his cats.
Honestly, after a while, relationships got tiring. At least the ones he'd had.
Neville took a few more bites of his dinner, and finished it with one big forkful.
"That was really good, Karina. Thank you for inviting me and making me dinner."

---

Atropa nodded, knowing Draco spoke the truth. She took their bowls to the sink and filled them with soap and water before making her way back into the bedroom.
She was full and warm now, sleepy and ready for bed.

It was a great relief to be speaking with her husband again, despite the horrible way the day had started.
She was sure she'd actually get some sleep tonight.

Atropa smiled and climbed back into bed with Draco, pulling the blanket over both of them.
"It's only eight, but.. I'm sleepy." She told him, yawning.​
 
"Oh, don't mention it! Knowing you like my cooking, I can make something for you again," she grinned obliviously, reaching to take the empty bowl from him with a contented smile, her cheeks a happy pink in colour. The evening, despite having started embarrassedly with her nervous babbling, had seemingly ended on a high, even if her plans consisted of simply finishing off the open bottle of wine.

"So, I'll see you in work tomorrow then?" She asked, taking the other's comment as a way of marking the end of the night, which she was okay with. Sure, it had been a little short, but that was fine - there was always next time. "And you can cook for me soon. You said I could come see your place, right?"

---

"You've hardly slept the last few days-- weeks, even. It's been scattered. And you've hardly eaten anything too. It's no wonder after a full meal that you're sleep," he murmured, moving into that cocoon of warmth and the share of affection, mostly to get her comfortable and have her actually sleep through the night for once.

"...Promise me you'll get healthy," he sighed, his smile fading as his expression became serious. "Because you know I'm worried. I know now's not the time to bring it up, after a nice meal, but still..."​
 
"S-Sounds great!" Neville replied, smiling at her.
He would just have to do a spell again. It was simple as that.
He felt horrible for lying to her, but he knew he would feel even worse if he told her how bad the food had been.

"Oh, sure!" He told her, standing. He hadn't meant to end the night yet, but looking at the clock, he realized it was time to go.
He was usually in bed by ten.

"Of course. Maybe Friday?" He asked her, hoping she would agree.

----

"Mm.. True." Atropa murmured, scooting closer to him, taking his warmth happily.
She was already falling asleep, wrapped in a warm cocoon of love and happiness.

Hearing his next sentence made her open her eyes though.
"I promise." She told him, smiling.
She knew she looked awful. She'd lost fifty pounds, and now only weighed 110. She was bones.
Usually she had a pretty curvy body, at least she had some fat on her hips- but not now.

"I'll do better, Draco." She said, kissing him on the cheek gently.​
 
"Friday sounds amazing," she beamed. Usually, Fridays were the days she and Draco would spend their evening together, Draco having told Atropa that he worked late on Fridays. And because of that, she had always had her Friday evenings booked up to go on dates with him, and generally just spend time with her now ex lover.

But given that that was now completely over, she automatically took to accepting Neville's offer - an evening of hanging out with him was just as appealing, even more so, than what she had usually done.

"'I bet your home's lovely. Not just a rubbish apartment chock a block with everyone from the Ministry..."

---

"It's obviously not just you that needs to change-- but you've taken the brunt of what happened, and... yeah. You need me to support you too," he smiled. The last few months had proven that he was lacking the husband role, not being the supportive figure she had understandably needed.

Especially when having to deal with depression and losing so much weight of her body.

"Anyway, we'll... focus on that over the weeks. Just know I'm gonna be with you every moment from now on. Not like I have any mates to hang out with, is it?" He sighed. His only friend had really been Karina, but hanging out with her was obviously an impractical option now.​
 
"Great. Shall I pick you up? The old fashion Muggle way?" He asked, smiling.
His house was quite a way from town, and he didn't want her ending up somewhere he didn't know of.
It would be easier to pick her up the first time, and then she could apparate afterwards.

"Your apartment is great! My house is very small." He told her, blushing.
It was cozy, to say the least.

----

"I've never had much support in life.. So I'm glad that I can have it now."
She told Draco, smiling slightly.

"Well, you can make some! I'm sure there's plenty of people at work who would like to hang out with you. Plus, you know, we're best friends, as well as married, right?" She asked, looking at him.
Sure, she had friends. But Draco was her best friend.
​
 
"I... I'd love to be picked up the Muggle way," she grinned, hardly managing to keep back the sudden waves of blushes, though if the two of them were undergoing the same bashful problem, she was starting to accept that blushing was something she had to grow used to.

And it at least gave her an insight as to how much she did like Neville - she rarely did blush, after all.

"Oh, I'm sure your house is lovely-- I'll get to se Friday, hm? You can just pick me up from here, so I'd have time to get ready and stuff," she decided, figuring she needed to make the effort on Friday. If his house was nice, she at least wanted to show she cared by getting a nice dress for the occasion...

---

"Yeah, best friends. Course we are," he laughed, his eyes lighting at that comment. It wasn't just a marriage between two people that loved each other, he had to remember that. It was also a marriage between two best friends, and suddenly being reminded of it did make him grin.

The tension between them the last few months had clouded the little things, and he did feel his gut twist in guilt once more, however much he should just move on and not look back at it any longer.

"There's nobody at work, Atropa. You're my only friend," he admitted, knowing that she had no idea just how unsociable at work he was. He wasn't like Karina, in that sense. Nobody gravitated towards Draco. If he had made the effort, they would like him. It was nothing to do with the Malfoy name, or his previous Death Eater status. No. His lack of friends was purely because he refused to make any, and it did bite him later on when he was in this situation with no friends bar his wife to help him out.​
 
Neville smiled, glad she was open to the idea. She looked so cute when she blushed, too.
"Great. I'll pick you up at seven." He told her, making his way out her door, finally.

As he walked out of the building, he yawned, realizing just how tired he was.
Apparating home, he went straight to bed, falling asleep right away.

---

Her comment about them being best friends made Draco light up like he hadn't done in months.
It made Atropa smile too. They'd began as friends, after all.
"I think I've got the greatest best friend in the world." She told him, giving his torso a squeeze.

She hadn't made any new friends, but she still kept in contact with the ones she'd been friends with at Hogwarts.

"Well.. Then we'll have to hang out a lot." She told him, shrugging.
She knew Draco had never been very... Friendly. But she still wanted him to have friends.
She couldn't force him, though.​
 
Once Neville eventually went, Karina was ultimately left sitting on her couch for a good few minutes: she needed both to calm down before moving to her room, and it was at least a way to take in how quickly the night had gone. With Draco, time did go fast, but the same could be said for Neville, which Karina did know that time felt quicker when she was around those she like a great deal.

And that, evidently, was the reality with Neville too.

---

"Unless it just means we annoy one another. In which case, I'll just make friends," he sighed, knowing that too much time together could hinder their relationship and create more tension than was necessary - it was nice to have some space, after all. Wasn't that healthy in a relationship too?

"Look, you're my best friend and all that, so I'll spend time with you-- let's just get some sleep, okay?" He smiled, deciding now was the best time to get some rest. It was late, and they'd both had meals and cuddles for a while, so sleep did come as a natural option.

---

Skip forward five days for that day of their second date to arrive, the Friday, and while it should have been a nervous moment for Karina for the previous days, nobody would have known it for the fact she hadn't actually come into work since the Monday. She rarely ever took days off, the only prominent time being one of her friends needing help to move house, but aside from that, she was someone who took work seriously, and even if she felt on her deathbed, she would be in work, struggling on through with the help of medication and her friends in the office.

So the talk of where she had been for three days was a hot topic - as much as Draco was trying to distance himself, even he found himself quizzing the topic with Atropa, despite also knowing the woman didn't want to hear Karina's name - but this was a mystery, and if Karina was in trouble, Draco intended to help her because she surely wouldn't disappear from work unless it was gravely serious?

Yet, before anyone began to truly worry, she arrived in on the day of her date with Neville, only half an hour late though, sitting down at her desk with no word to anyone on her questionable disappearance. Silently smoothing her cardigan down, she took a moment to apply her lipgloss and do her hair up, having seemingly rushed in without time to do these things, and when it appeared she would just get on with the day without talking, she quietly turned to face Neville - something Draco at the neighbouring desk felt a pang of jealousy out of. He just thought of her as a friend, and he did care, so to be disregarded in that sense, despite it being unintentional, did hurt.

"Neville," she sighed, managing a brief smile. "Do you have the paper clips?"​
 
After his date with Karina, Neville had gone home and slept well. Better than he had in weeks, actually. Even his cats seemed to notice this- they enjoyed sleeping on his bed, but usually, he tossed and turned, so they never could when he was in it.
The past week, they'd been sleeping with him, keeping his feet warm.
He hadn't heard or seen Karina since their date, and it was a bit troubling.

Neville had begun to worry about Karina when she hadn't shown up by Friday morning.
He was planning on going to her apartment after work that day, but she eventually walked in, though it was half an hour late.
She looked okay- but rushed, doing her makeup at her desk, and not really speaking to anyone.
Not even Draco.

When she turned to him to ask for paper clips, Neville nodded, handing them to her, a small smile on his lips.
"You okay?" He asked quietly, worried about her.
Glancing over at Draco, he noticed a familiar expression on his face.
Jealousy.
But that relationship was over- wasn't it?


----------------------------

Atropa had been to work every day that week, as well as every counseling session.
She'd been making dinner every night, and finishing her grading too. It had been a very successful week for her.
She wasn't sure how Draco's week had been going- he'd seemed worried that Karina hadn't shown up for work, and after that awkward conversation, Atropa hadn't really felt like talking about it anymore.
She understood he was friends with the woman, but she just didn't care to hear about her.

Friday finally arrived, and Atropa was actually a bit disappointed to be away for the weekend, for once.
She'd been enjoying work a lot more, and it showed in her students work.
The more interested she was, the more interested they were.

On her first break, Atropa had made her way to the teacher's lounge, where a few other teachers were sitting about.
Grabbing a drink, she glanced down at her papers, not paying attention to where she was going.
She didn't even notice the man in front of her until she bumped into him, spilling hot liquid down the front of her shirt.
"Oh, oh God! I'm so sorry!" She called out, wiping at her shirt, sighing.

It was stained now, but luckily she was a witch.
Doing a quick spell, her shirt was as good as new.
"Are you okay?" A deep voice asked, and Atropa looked up, surprised to see a man she hadn't seen before.
"Oh, yes, I'm fine, thanks." She replied, smiling.

"I'm Adrian, the new Muggle Studies teacher." He held out his hand, and Atropa shook it, grinning.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Atropa, I teach Potions."
Adrian nodded, his grin wide.
"I'm actually glad I ran into you. I had a question about a potion I made the other night. May I speak with you about it?"
Atropa smiled and nodded, letting him lead her to a sofa.
​
 
"Why wouldn't I be fine?" Karina replied swiftly, albeit gently and with another of those smiles, masking them rather well to hide what she may or may not be feeling underneath them, accepting the paper clips and turning back around to her work, so absorbed in it that she failed to even really recognise that Draco was trying to get her attention through their signal of subtle coughs - granted, it was previously used for when they wanted to be intimate, but he had no other way of subtly catching her attention just to see how she was.

He had no interest in being romantic with her, no. He was just worried as to why she wasn't her usual social self, and had stayed away all these days with not so much as an explanation to their boss - Draco had plagued him with questions on where Karina was, only to receive nothing in response.

And despite Draco being the one worried, with Atropa being the person he ranted to about it all, Karina disregarded him again to turn back to Neville with a weary sigh. "...Are you still cooking for me tonight? I mean, is the date still on?" She asked, her expression wavering and face much paler than it usually was. When examined, in fact, dark rings ran under her eyes through lack of sleep, presumably, and her eyes were somewhat red, cheeks bearing the brunt of tears she may have been crying. Not that she'd openly admit to them, though.​
 
Neville shrugged, studying her. She'd been crying, but she was trying to hide it.
"You've been gone a few days. I was worried." He told her, glaring over at Draco.
He was obviously trying to get her attention, but she was ignoring him.

"If you need to talk, I'm available. We can go somewhere private."

-----

Atropa had enjoyed the conversation she'd had with Adrian, and it was over far too soon.
Seeing that it was time for class again, Atropa said goodbye and made her way back to the dungeons.

~~

A few hours later, classes were over for the day, and Atropa was looking forward to going home.
But then she looked at the huge load of papers she had to grade.
Sighing, she sent a quick owl to Draco.

I'll be late tonight. Got a lot of grading. Love you!

And with that, she set to work, sighing loudly. Sometimes she didn't like being a teacher.
As she worked through her papers, she sat back in her chair, thinking on how best to criticize the papers.
A knock on the door startled her, and she looked up, smiling when she saw it was Adrian.

"Hey, sorry to bother you. I was hoping you'd be here."​
 
"Why do you want privacy? Because Draco's given me a secret signal to get my attention?" She chuckled, peering guiltily over at Draco with a sudden frown. Sure, it was best to avoid him at all costs, just until he was in a point in his marriage of trust with Atropa where Karina and him could be friends again. But that didn't mean she didn't miss his company - they were friends, first and foremost, and she missed him, pure and simple.

But she did have Neville, and his concern immediately made her smile, even if she didn't want to give anything away as to what had caused, or was causing her to have taken days off and become emotional. As much as she appreciated the concern, she was hardly going to face it. Not yet, at least.

"Thanks Neville, but I'm alright," she smiled appreciatively, moving to smarten up her desk. "I'd rather not talk about it-- remember, pick me up at six, okay?" She grinned, spending the rest of the day just defecting all attempts of others to try and get to the root cause of her swollen, teary eyes that many assumed was why she'd been off. No, she simply shrugged, refused to take part in social conversations, and by the time five o'clock came, and it was time to go, she didn't even glance at Draco when his owl from Atropa arrived. Even if she noticed the look of annoyance cross his face, and heard his cussing to himself at the amount of work Atropa seemingly had (even if he was unaware that she wasn't alone), she simply ignored it to put herself together. "...I'll see you in an hour Neville, alright?"​
 
Karina wasn't talking to him. She wasn't really talking to anyone, honestly.
Neville was still worried about her, but he decided that she would tell him when and if she was ready.
Sighing, he returned to work, waiting eagerly for his date that night.

-

After work, Neville went home and showered, and tidied up his house.
He began making a dinner- rosemary chicken with mashed potatoes and corn, with a light sauce made with wine.
He hoped it would be good.

When he left, he locked the door, and got into his car. Despite being able to apparate, he'd bought a car.
Now he was glad he had.
Karina's home was half an hour away, and when he finally arrived, he we ten minutes late.
Knocking on her door, he waited nervously.

-------

Atropa smiled over at Adrian, who had taken a seat next to her, and had been sitting there for the past hour.
They'd spoken quietly about everything as she sat there grading, and she was having fun.
Adrian was kind, and intelligent, and he'd actually been at school with her.
He'd been in Ravenclaw, the house she'd almost gotten into.

"Looks like you're almost done." He said, sounding a bit disappointed.
Atropa nodded, yawning.
"Mm, I'm glad. I think I'll actually leave this for Monday." She told him, standing to stretch.

Atropa gathered her things and blew out the candle she'd had lit.
"See you Monday!" She called out, waving as she apparated home.

It was eight at night now, but luckily the next day was a weekend.
Opening her front door, Atropa hung her coat up as she entered, and took off her shoes, locking the door behind her.
"Draco?" She called, wondering if he was home.
​
 
Opening the door in clear delight -she had been doubting that he would come when time ticked on-, she smoothed her dress free of cat hair, given one of them had decided to promptly nestle against her minutes before Neville knocked. Having decided to leave her hair down, and curled, she had made a bit more of an effort this time around - her makeup was done, her clothing consisted of a knee length dress, white in colour, and a pair of white heels to accompany it.

Smiling happily, she held her scarf in hand as she hurried out - at least she had disguised sore eyes with light, natural makeup, and quietly moved to hold his hand shyly, but it was automatic by now. "You look as dashing as ever," she grinned, pecking his cheek politely. "How come you were late? I... was sorta worried."

---

"Yeah? I'm in the kitchen," he called out, despite moving himself to find her voice, leaning in the doorway to the living room as he watched her in the hall, smiling gently to himself. He may have been annoyed, sure, but he understood the workload she had -he was often the same-, so it was something he had to accept would happen now and then. And to make up for it, the smell wafting from the kitchen would be his cooking, having decided to time it well enough that by the time she walked in, she'd have a hot meal placed in front of her - and seemingly, just as he finished and she walked in, his timing was spot on.

"You must have had a stressful night, huh? At least you have some company now," he grinned, still under the impression she'd been alone, and so was a tad more sympathetic - he didn't think she ought to be alone when they had been talking about friends only the night before. "I bought us some of that really fancy wine to accompany dinner~"​
 
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Neville grinned at Karina when she opened the door. She looked lovely as always.
"Thank you! And you're looking lovely as always. Sorry, I didn't time the driving distance right. I'm so used to apparating that I forgot it actually takes time to drive."
He laughed, squeezing her hand.

It felt so natural to be holding hands with her.
"I hope you'll enjoy my cooking." He told her, opening the car door for her, closing it gently once she was inside.

He ran to the drivers side and got in, buckling himself as he shut the door.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked her, turning the car on.

---------

Atropa smiled when she spotted Draco in the doorway of the kitchen. Whatever he was cooking smelled delicious.
She made her way to meet him in the kitchen, kissing his cheek softly as she gazed at the stove.
"I'm so glad we can both cook." She said, laughing.

It was good to be home.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I much prefer your company. I'm amazed I got any work done tonight, actually. Adrian seemed to want to chat quite a bit."
She told him, grabbing the wine bottle.
"Ooh, I love this stuff!" She called out, turning to face him, a grin on her face.​
 
She immediately froze at the simple question, only because it brought back what had happened the last three days or so, causing her to instantly tense and stare out of the window for a moment, both to avoid having to answer and to keep an eye out. As she had said, most of the Ministry had apartments in the nice area, and including many of those in her department, so having one of the women spot her would be a tad embarrassing.

Finally deciding her silence had become awkward, she flashed a smile at him and completely decided just to avoid the answer altogether. "So what are you making for dinner? I'm in the mood for chicken, really~ Though anything you make will be delightful, I'm sure."

---

He followed after her, her cheeriness not exactly helpful - the fact she had mentioned a name he had never heard before had made him a tad curious. Not mad, no. He didn't care if she had male friends, he wasn't the sort of guy to grow jealous, but the sheer fact he had never heard of this 'Adrian' guy made him frown.

Plating out the food -roast potatoes, vegetables and some beef with gravy- and motioning for her to crack open the expensive wine, he carefully thought out his words just to avoid sounding bitter. "...So... who's Adrian then? A friend?"​
 
Neville drove in the silence, not speaking.
She then avoided the question altogether, but Neville wasn't going to let her get away with it that easily.
"I made rosemary chicken, with mashed potatoes and corn, and a wine sauce."

They would be at his house in less than ten minutes, now.
"Karina. Something is going on. Please, tell me."

-------

Dinner looked amazing. Atropa could feel her mouth watering at the sight.
Popping open the wine at Draco's request, Atropa took the bottle to the table and took a seat.

"Oh, well, he's the new Muggle Studies teacher. He said he went to school with us, but he was in Ravenclaw."
Smiling, Atropa served dinner to both of them, sighing happily as she took it all in one more time.

"Man.. This just. This looks so good. I'm starving."
​
 
Freezing abruptly again before Neville had even asked her what was wrong, she cringed and sunk down into the seat a little, simply opting to stare out as the city landscape she knew began to leave - it was nice to get out, she absently thought, though those thoughts were immediately brought back at his urgent pleading, panicked blue eyes peeking at him.

Reluctance hit hard - she didn't want to admit to anything that could easily ruin the growing and possible relationship they could enter.

"Neville, just leave it, please," she breathed softly, managing to smile to herself despite the overwhelming urge to break into tears, but still made an inner note to herself: avoid the wine sauce definitely.

---

"He was in our year? Oh, well, if he was a Ravenclaw, he was basically a nobody," he decided easily - it wasn't him being deliberately malicious. Draco just had a tendency to say things that came across... wrong. "Oh well, as long as you like 'im and you have a friend, that's cool by me. And if he stayed marking with you, he can't be such a bad guy."

"I'm glad you like it. I... like cooking, I guess. It's nice to have a finished product together like this. My father would always leave it to my mother, unsurprisingly," he chuckled, sitting down with a smile once the meal was plated up, rather proud of himself even if his father would class this as emasculating.​
 
Neville sighed but didn't ask anything else.
He had a feeling that this night was going to be awkward and painful.

Pulling up to his house, Neville parked the car and got out, opening the door for Karina.
His house was small, and painted a light blue color. It had a large fence around the backyard, protecting his garden.
One of his cats was in the window, and it meowed when it spotted him.

"Yes, I'm home." He said to it, smiling as he unlocked the door.

The cat ran up to him, rubbing on his legs.
"Feel free to sit wherever. I'll get our plates."

Neville made his way to the kitchen and plated the food, putting the wine sauce in a bowl to the side.
Grabbing one plate in each hand, Neville returned to the living room, where he took a seat on the sofa and set the other plate down on the table for Karina.

----------------

"Well, not a nobody.. I was almost in Ravenclaw." Atropa said, smile fading.
It wasn't Draco being mean. He spoke often without thinking.
"He also sat with me at break, he wanted to ask me about a potion he was making. It was silly, really. It was so simple, and he actually made it correctly- but he wanted to be sure, I suppose."

"I don't mind cooking, of course. But nights like this, when I get home late, I appreciate having dinner ready at home."
Smiling at him, she took a bite, closing her eyes to savor it.
"Mmm. This is delicious, Draco!"​
 
Yet, while she was painfully avoiding Neville in the car, once she arrived at his house, she immediately fell into typical Karina - happy, bubbly and gushing over how quaint the home was. Once spotting his cats, she paid little care to the hairs she'd get on her, sitting as she waited and simply petted them all with an eager grin.

"Oh, Neville... this looks amazing. I didn't know you were this good," she purred, eyeing the food brought in with a surprising gusto even she didn't imagine, immediately reaching for her cutlery. The fact the sauce was a separate was a relief - if it had been on the food, she would have had to just avoid everything, and pretend she didn't like it, and upsetting Neville was the last thing on her list. "Could I have some orange juice? Or water? I'm not in the mood for wine, actually."

---

"Almost being the operative word. You were in the best House in the end, hm?" He cooed playfully, holding a great love for Slytherin - all the other Houses came in behind his own, as far as he was concerned. Hearing her talk about the day with a smile on her face immediately eliminated any negatives he had about Adrian. He seemed like a nice enough bloke, and if he was friends with Atropa, that was good enough for Draco.

"Oh, I'm not that good a cook. It's just shoving it in the oven, really," he laughed, pouring the gravy over his food with a hum. "You're much better, but I can't let you do all the cooking, can I?"​
 
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