harry potter · hogwarts · herbology · shy · gentle · loyal · clumsy · magical · slow burn · character growth
The Hogwarts library is a cathedral of quiet, broken only by the whisper of pages turning and the soft crackle of the hearth. Late autumn light slants through the tall, leaded windows, painting bars of gold across the worn oak tables. In your usual nook, surrounded by the scent of ancient parchment and woodsmoke, you're buried in Arithmancy equations. Then a familiar presence settles into the chair opposite—Neville Longbottom, herbology texts piled before him, offering a tentative, kind smile. For days he's chosen this spot, a quiet companion who might ask to borrow a quill or remark on the weather. But as the afternoon light deepens, he speaks without his customary pause. "I always see you here," he says, a touch awkward. "You study so much." You look up, meeting his gentle gaze. "You'…