When Death Loves

by Teja_Shree_Pinjala_Ravi

Summary:

Lord Death, Mortem, knew that Harry James Sirius Potter-Black would one day become his master. He decided to keep an eye on the child in case his future turned dark.

That's when he discovered how Albus had meticulously planned his young master's life-right down to how he should behave and even who he should end up with.

The old fool had laid out everything, treating Harry like a pawn.

Mortem, unwilling to let this happen, chose to change his little master's fate. He established a mental connection with Harry and quietly guided him through his time with the Dursleys.

When Harry turned eleven, Mortem appeared before the Dursleys-before Hagrid could arrive-and took Harry to Peverell Manor instead.

Read as Harry and Mortem unravel Albus's manipulative schemes and turn the tables on the so-called leader of the light.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. I have just borrowed the characters. The story is mine.

Chapter 1

Mortem, the god of Death, sat on his throne as he watched over a child named Harry James Sirius Potter-Black.

Mortem was a six feet four inches tall god, coming second in height after his brother Kairos, the God of Time, who was 6 feet 6 inches. Mortem had silver hair that fell on his shoulders in waves. His eyes were obsidian black, the indication of darkness that comes with death, which gave him a dangerous look. He wasn't muscular, but he wasn't lean either.

He knew the little child would one day become his master. He wanted to know how his life would be when his little master would come into his life and decided to see how his little master was as a child.

What he found and saw was an abused little child, praying for his death every day.

Mortem sighed.

"Why are you sighing so many times, son?" Lady Magic, Hecate, asked her son as she sat beside him on her throne, which she had conjured.

"My little master, mother. He's going through so much because of one fool, and I don't know what to do. I can't go against my ethics and morals and kill someone, but I really want to hurt the man named Albus Dumbledore." Mortem replied with yet another sigh.

"Your brother, Faunas, feel the same way about the man, and so do I. My child, Tom Marvolo Riddle, who now calls himself Lord Voldemort, has been manipulated by the old fool, and he's become someone who has lost everything I had always liked in the child. Another child, named Severus Snape, was also manipulated by the man. The poor child regrets even living but is still trying to live to save his sister's son, you little master." Hecate replied.

"What shall we do?" Mortem asked.

"I called for Faunas, let him come. We shall discuss it." Hecate said.

Mortem nodded.

Faunas, the God of Nature, appeared beside Mortem. He was also tall, but just one inch less than Mortem. He also had silver hair, but his eyes were forest green, indicating his control over nature.

"What shall we do? My little master, Neville Longbottom, is suffering thanks to the actions of the old fool." Faunus said with anger in his voice.

"What did he do to them? Weren't the ones who hurt the child's parents the Lestranges?" Mortem asked.

Faunus shook his head. "Like you, I have looked after my little master. The old fool, Albus Dumbledore, was the reason their secret keeper told the information to Bellatrix Lestrange.

Now, the child has to suffer in the hands of his great uncle and grandmother, who think he is a squib. That old fool blocked my little master's magic when he went to visit him."

"We need to save all four of them. For that, we need your master, Harry Potter-Black, to make his move first." Hecate said.

"How should I do that?" Mortem asked, relieved that his little master could gain some help from him.

"Establish a mental connection with him. Faunas will do the same with Neville Longbottom. When the connection is formed, explain to them everything about magic and the magical world.

We are going to change their fates. I have asked your sister Moirae and she has agreed to it.

When they turn 11, take them from their abusive households. I know I am a goddess, but I don't care what will happen to the Dursleys and those Longbottoms after that. If they die, they die.

When you get them away, spoil them for a few months. Let them enjoy life like they had never before.

Teach them about the wizarding world rules and how to act with others. Let them make their own friends, though.

Don't forget to heal them and remove all the blocks they have in their system. With those removed, teach them how to control their high levels of magic and how to conceal it. I don't want Albus to be more suspicious of them than he already would be with their changed addresses." Hecate said.

Mortem and Faunas liked the plan. They could keep their little masters safe and guide them and teach them how to be their masters as well.

"I need to tell you something, Mortem." Hecate said.

"What is it, Mother?" Mortem asked.

"Your mate, he is born." Hecate told him.

"Who is it, mother?" Mortem asked. He had waited for his mate for eons. He had at times thought that he never had a mate to care for and a mate to care about him.

"Your little master, Harry James Sirius Potter-Black." Hecate said with a smile.

"My mate is my little master?" Mortem asked, happiness overflowing in him. He started to care for his little master, and he couldn't stop caring for the child if his mate didn't like it.

He was glad that his mate and master the same person.

"I guess I shall give the Dursleys the welcome they deserve in my realm once they die." Mortem said with a dark chuckle.

Faunus smiled at his younger brother. He was happy for him. He knew how much Mortem had longed for a mate.

"Your little master's mate is Moirae's little mistress." Hecate told Faunus.

Faunus groaned. "Moirae isn't going to let it stay down."

"She won't. But we all love her for that." Mortem said with a smile.

They chatted for a while.

Hecate had explained how Dumbledore never let Tom or Severus stay in Hogwarts when they had asked. The children were free to stay in the castle when it was first built by the founder. They knew what magic hating muggles could do to their children if they knew about it. They also wanted the school to be a second home for the children who had nowhere to return to.

It had been changed only after Albus stepped into Hogwarts to teach and rose in ranks and became the Deputy Headmaster.

Mortem had decided that his little master would first save Tom Riddle, then Severus Snape, and then Snape's mate Sirius Black. Without Black, Snape would always feel that he was missing something in his life and would never be happy.

Mortem appeared near the cupboard Harry was shoved into once his work was done and opened it.

Harry, who wasn't asleep, flinched, thinking it was his uncle.

"Don't worry, my little master. I won't hurt. Can you try to come out for me?" Mortem asked softly. He was angry, looking at the wounds on his little master, but he didn't want Harry scared of him, so he didn't show any anger.

Harry shook his head. "Vernon will beat me."

"He won't. He is sleeping." Mortem assured Harry and stretched his hand towards Harry to take.

Harry very hesitantly took his hand. When the child realized that Mortem wouldn't hurt him, he came out of the cupboard.

"I am Mortem." Mortem introduced himself once Harry was out of the damned cupboard.

"I don't know my name. I know it is not Freak." Harry said, with his head down.

"I know your name. It is Harry James Sirius Potter-Black." Mortem told him with a smile, though he was seething inside.

"Really?!" Harry asked, wonder, and awe was written on his face to finally know his name.

Mortem nodded.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"I am a god." Mortem replied.

"Really?" Harry asked.

Mortem nodded. "I am not lying. I can do magic."

Harry immediately put his tiny hands over Mortem's mouth. "No m-word. They will hurt you." Harry said, panicked as he looked for Vernon or Petunia to appear and smack him.

"They are sleeping, little master. They won't hear me." Mortem said after he gently pried Harry's hands from his mouth.

Harry nodded. "You can't stay here, can you?"

Mortem shook his head.

Harry immediately looked disheartened.

"I want to connect our minds. Can I?" Mortem asked, as he couldn't take the look on Harry's face.

"Can you?" Harry asked.

Mortem nodded.

Chapter 2

"This is normal speech."
"This is talking through the mind link."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This will hurt, though." Mortem said.

Harry nodded, wanting the bond with someone who had finally shown care towards him. "I will be okay later, right?"

Mortem nodded and hugged Harry only after asking the little one if he could, and Harry gave an enthusiastic nod. He wanted to know how it felt to be hugged. Petunia and Vernon always gave Dudley hugs, and Harry wanted to know how it felt.

Mortem smiled and hugged him. "I'll form a connection between our minds."

Harry nodded as he wrapped his arms around Mortem's neck.

Mortem knew the connection being formed was hurting his mate and master, but he was also amazed at the trust Harry was showing him.

After 5 minutes of feeling the stinging pain in his head, Harry heard Mortem's voice in his head, "Can you hear me, my little master?"

Harry nodded, smiling for the first time in three months.

"You can think what you want to tell me, and I can hear them. Try it." Mortem encouraged.

"Can you hear me?" Harry asked, wanting the message to go to Mortem.

"You learn really fast, my little master. If you want to talk to me, think that you want the message to reach me, and if you want to think to yourself, make sure you don't think for the messages to go to me." Mortem said with a smile.

Harry nodded. He had finally found someone who was willing to talk to him despite what he could do.

"Happy birthday, my little master." Mortem said. He wanted to give the connection as a gift on Harry's birthday, and fortunately, it was July 31.

"Thank you." Harry said as he hugged Mortem tighter.

"When you feel lonely, you can talk to me. If you need help, you can ask me. If you are in pain, let me know. I'll come and heal you." Mortem said as he pulled back from the hug.

Harry nodded. "Can you do something to my head? Vernon hit my head on the table because I burnt the food."

Mortem tried to control his anger. He was going to make the Dursleys' time in the afterlife hell, literally.

Mortem put his hand behind Harry head to feel the bump where his head hit the table. One touch and the bump was reduced to normal, and the pain Harry was feeling was gone.

"Thank you." Harry said with a smile.

Mortem gave Harry one final hug and moved away so that Harry could get back into the cupboard. Mortem enlarged the cupboard so that it wouldn't be too difficult for Harry to stay there.

He wanted to take Harry away, but that would cause unnecessary panic in the wizarding world. No one knows where Harry stays, but Albus had put a tracking spell on Harry, which would last until the child turns 11.

That was why Hecate had asked both Faunus and Mortem to wait for their 11th birthdays.

Faunas and Mortem were going to take Neville and Harry away from their abusive houses and show them how beautiful the world could be along with teaching them how to defend themselves.

After making sure that his magic would only be felt by Harry and the other gods, he bid Harry goodbye and vanished to his realm after locking the door to the cupboard so that Vernon doesn't think Harry got out.

"Good night, my little master." Mortem wished.

"Good night, Mortem." Harry wished back.

Mortem smiled at that. He was glad that Harry had accepted him, but he also knew it was because he was the first ever person to show concern and care towards his master. He vowed to make the afterlife of anyone who hurt his master a nightmare and hell.

Faunus walked into Mortem's office. "Did you establish a connection?"

Mortem nodded with a smile. "He wanted it." He said proudly. "What about you?"

"I have one as well. My little master also wanted the connection despite the pain." Faunus said with a soft smile on his face.

"We have two of the kindest little ones as masters, don't we?" Mortem asked.

Faunus nodded with a smile. "But don't forget, they are the most powerful little ones. I haven't felt such power in a child since Merlin and those founders of Hogwarts."

Mortem nodded. "I know. I broke the seal while I established the connection. When the old man is in my realm, he is going to feel real pain."

Faunus smiled. "Make sure you make him feel two times the pain you want him to know. Half is from me."

Mortem nodded with an unholy glint in his eyes.

"We will take them away to the Peverell Mansion that is in Russia where the old man's influence is the least. I know we will heal them and remove all the blocks on them.

I also removed the block placed on my little master's magic. The rest, we will when they are 11.

We know the wolf will come to them. What shall we do to him?" Faunus asked.

"Let him come. Even if he does, he can't enter the Peverell Mansion. That mansion is one of the mansions that reek of my magic. His wolf will never enter there." Mortem said with a smirk.

"What shall we do in the mortal realm?" Faunus asked as he conjured a throne for himself beside Mortem.

"I will be Harry's cousin and his guardian, Obitus Letum Peverell. I shall change my little master's name to Harrison James Peverell. He can be called Harry." Mortem replied with a smile.

"You thought through everything, didn't you?" Faunus asked.

Mortem nodded.

"Did you think anything for me?" Faunus asked. "We would be living together after all."

Mortem smiled and nodded. "Rowan Alan Brooks. Alice's very distant cousin, who found out about Neville and thought of getting him out of that house to raise him with a childhood he should have had."

Faunus gave him a smile. "I like that."

Mortem nodded. "I know. We need jobs, and I haven't thought about it."

"The bank. The goblins wouldn't dare refuse us." Faunus said.

Mortem smiled. "True."

"Do you plan on teaching?" Faunus asked.

Mortem nodded. "I will do that in our masters' fourth year. Mother had warned me something would happen that year, and we would have to be careful."

"Any idea what would happen?" Faunus asked.

Mortem shook his head. "Moirae knows. Want to ask her?"

Faunus shook his head and sighed. "I just escaped her teasing. I don't want more of it. If you want to, you are welcome to ask her."

Mortem smiled at the thought of Faunus being annoyed at Moirae's teasing.

Chapter 3

"This is normal speech."
"This is talking through the mind link."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mortem?" Harry called.

"Yes, my little master?" Mortem asked.

"Can you come here?" Harry asked.

"Just a second. I'll be there." Mortem promised and vanished from his realm.

It has been three years since Mortem and Harry began to talk through the mind link Mortem created. Harry would call Mortem from time to time to heal him if his injuries were too severe for him to work and complete the tasks the Dursleys gave him.

Mortem would also appear every year to wish Harry on his birthday so that Harry knew Mortem would always stay with him and care for him.

"Yes, my little master?" Mortem asked as he walked to Harry, who was taking care of the garden.

"Are you sure my relatives can't see or hear you?" Harry asked.

Mortem nodded. "Only you have the ability to see and talk to souls. I have limited that sight to only me at the moment. When you are strong enough to control all your magic, I'll let you use the Death Sight whenever you want."

Harry smiled as he plucked another weed in the garden. "I saw a snake, Mortem." He said. "I understood it. I knew not to react, but I want to know how I could understand a snake."

"That is because you have the ability to speak to snakes. In the magical world, this skill is called Parseltongue, and you are a parselmouth." Mortem explained.

"So, I can speak to snakes if I want to?" Harry asked.

Mortem knelt down beside Harry and nodded. "You can speak to both souls and snakes."

"What if I want to speak to my father?" Harry asked.

"You can, but not right now. When you are away from here, you can summon his soul and speak to him if you want to." Mortem said as he patted Harry's head.

"You said I would have to live with another boy who is also having a difficult time like me. When would we leave?" Harry asked.

"On the night when you turn 11." Mortem replied. This was the first time Harry had ever asked when Mortem would take him away from the Dursleys, and that in itself had Mortem on high alert. "What happened?"

"They are becoming a lot more abusive than before. Mrs. Figg is taking me in these days only for her to give me a juice that gets me feeling like being hit by Vernon is better." Harry replied.

'That woman will get what she deserves when she finally turns up in my realm.' Mortem thought as he pulled Harry to himself and hugged him. "I shall make sure she thinks she is giving that juice to you, but she wouldn't do that anymore."

Harry nodded.

"Boy, did you complete the work I asked you to do?" Petunia shouted from the kitchen.

"I'm doing, Mrs. Dursley." Harry muttered.

Mortem was trying his hardest not to just barge in and scare her enough to give her a heart attack and send her to his realm early.

"Two more years, right?" Harry asked.

Mortem nodded, and he pulled away from the hug. "Two more years and no more pain from these monsters who call themselves your relatives." He promised.

"Can you try to do something to the scar on my forehead? You said something about it when I was almost asleep, and I couldn't catch what you said." Harry said.

"When I get you out of this hellhole, I will explain everything to you, my little master. Until then, just keep collecting all the questions. When you are finally free, I will answer all your questions." Mortem said.

Harry nodded. "I'm taking your word for it." As he pulled the last of the weeds, he got up and dusted his knees. "I have to go. I still have a lot of work to do."

Mortem nodded and waited until Harry was inside the house and vanished back to his realm to calm himself down so that he wouldn't outright kill Arabella Figg.

Once he was calm enough, he went to Arabella's house and spelled her into thinking she was giving Harry the juice mixed with the potion that causes him pain, but she would be giving him a good meal and some relaxing time which he obviously wouldn't get with the Dursleys. He also made sure to make Figg drink the potion once Harry was out of her house.

With her age and squib status, she would die when Harry would turn 12. By that time, he wanted to explain everything to Harry so that even he could watch Mortem punish Figg for her doings.

Once that was done, he went back to his realm, only to hear Harry scream through the link for help. "Mortem! I need help!"

Mortem immediately went to Harry, only to see Harry on the floor trying his best to stay alive and breathe through the punctured lungs.

Dudley, who had heard Harry muttering to himself about the treatment he was facing with them, snapped and punched Harry in the chest and ran out of the house when Petunia had called him to go out shopping with her and Vernon.

Mortem immediately healed him and let him rest on the couch. "I will go to my mother and tell her that I have had enough of these three trying to kill you. I'm taking you away."

Harry nodded. He had also had enough of being treated like a slave when he clearly knew how other kids his age were being treated by their relatives.

Mortem went to his mother only to find Faunus, also climbing the stairs to her throne room.

"Here to take them away, aren't you?" Hecate appeared behind them and asked.

Mortem and Faunus turned around and nodded.

"My little one had his ribs broken and punctured into the lungs. I can't see him hurt any longer, Mother." Mortem said, still raging on the Dursleys.

Faunus nodded. "My little one just escaped from going to Mortem's realm. His great uncle drowned him in the pool with alligators and left him there to die. If not for him calling for help, he'd have already died."

"I know. I was going to tell you that I would allow you to take your little masters away from their prisons. Make sure the goat still thinks that both the kids are dead. Make bodies that resemble them, drop a few drops of their blood to make sure people think they have been murdered. Let the guardians go to prison." Hecate said.

Mortem and Faunus smiled and went to Harry and Neville to let them know what they would be doing.

Harry and Neville didn't hesitate to agree with the plan and let Mortem and Faunus take some blood so that they could fake their death and escape the house they had been imprisoned till then.

Chapter 4

"This is normal speech."
"This is talking through the mind link."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What will you do with my blood, Mortem?" Harry asked.

"We still have a goat to fool, my little master. He was the one who sent you to this hellhole." Mortem replied as he gently made a cut on Harry's palm.

Harry didn't even flinch at the pain, and that had Mortem fuming on the inside. 'You will feel the wrath of a god once you are in my real, you good for nothing humans.'

"A man with long white beard and wears too bright clothes?" Harry asked.

Mortem nodded. "How do you remember him?"

"In one of my dreams, I saw him smiling as I got hit with a green light from a man who was crying as he pointed his wand at me." Harry replied as he watched what Mortem was doing with his blood.

Mortem nodded and created a fake body that resembled a dead Harry. He added the blood and made sure nobody could track Harry down even with the blood, not even Sirius.

"Will the old man believe this?" Harry asked.

"He will. I will make sure he does." Mortem replied with a smile as he healed Harry's palm. He had enough blood to stage this death.

Once everything was set, Mortem looked at his little master, only to find him looking at his own fake body in awe.

"You got all the wounds right." Harry said as he noticed the scars under the rags, which was a shirt the fake body was dressed in.

"I know all the wounds you have. I just wish I could've done this before it got this bad." Mortem said with a sad smile.

Harry nodded. He knew Mortem was telling the truth. He had seen how mad Mortem got every time he saw more wounds on him. But he also knew Mortem healed him enough to let him live and not heal them completely. That would have resulted in another round of beatings from Vernon for being a freak.

"Do you have anything you wish to take with you?" Mortem asked after Harry was done looking at his fake dead body.

Harry nodded. He went to the cupboard and pulled the towel he was covered in as a baby. The only remaining thing he had to remind him of his parents was the towel.

Mortem shrunk the towel and tied it around Harry's wrist.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked as he held onto Mortem's hand.

"Russia." Mortem said with a smile. "You'll like it."

Harry nodded.

"Brace yourself. I know being my master will make this easier, but you'll still have to get used to the feeling of apparition." Mortem said.

Harry closed his eyes and clung to Mortem's hand as he took deep breaths to calm himself.

Mortem smiled and apparated to the Peverell Manor in Russia. The Manor was in the Taiga, also known as Boreal Forest. The forest gave it more protection even with it being unplottable to anyone other than the Peverells.

When they touched the ground, Harry would've hit his knees and, consequently, his face to the ground if not for Mortem holding him firmly. Harry took deep breaths to get rid of the dizzy feeling. Once he was fine, he looked up to find himself in front of a Manor that looked more like a castle because of its size.

"Are we going to live here?" Harry asked, looking at the Manor in shock. He didn't know how much work he had to do to keep the Manor clean.

Mortem chuckled, hearing his little master's thought. "Yes. There are elves here who like to work. They will manage everything here. You don't need to work at all."

Harry nodded. "I'll still cook. I like to cook, but not for those relatives of mine."

Mortem nodded. He had been wanting to taste his master's cooking, but he knew Harry would risk stealing some for him if he had asked. And if he was found, he would receive the worst from Vernon.

Right then, Faunus arrived with Neville.

Neville looked at Harry for a few seconds and then gave a small smile.

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry introduced himself, realizing that the boy in front of him was a bit shy and scared.

"Neville Longbottom." Neville replied with a slightly bigger smile than before.

"Will he talk to me?" Harry asked Mortem.

"He will. He might need time. His grandmother has done a lot of damage to his confidence." Mortem replied.

When they walked inside, a group of elves popped in front of them.

"Welcome to the Peverell Manor, God of Death, God of Nature, Master of Death and the Lord of Nature." The head elf said. "I is Eliza, the Head Elf, and Master of Death's personal elf."

"I is Mia, the personal elf of Lord of Nature." Mia, another elf, who was standing next to Eliza, said.

Mortem and Faunus nodded. They didn't need the house elves. They had their own creatures to serve them.

"What about you?" Harry and Neville asked as they looked at Mortem and Faunus.

They smiled at their little masters and said that they had their own creatures to help them.

The children picked their rooms and decided to sleep their exhaustion away for the day.

The next day, Mortem and Faunus took Harry and Neville to the Russian Gringotts and got their new identities registered, and made sure the goblins in Britain knew to make files for Harry and Neville's deaths.

Harry, as planned, was Harrison James Peverell, and Mortem was known as Obitus Letum Peverell. Faunus was also known as Rowan Alan Brooks. Neville's name was a bit hard. They didn't plan to give the child a new identity.

Neville wanted to pick his own name. Faunus allowed it.

Neville picked a name, where he could still be called Nev. He liked that nickname. That was the only relation he had remaining to his mother. He wanted to change his name to Nevaris Alan Brooks. He also wanted to be his own cousin, but very distant.

Mortem and Faunus were impressed, Faunus even more. The name Nevaris gave the feeling of connection to nature.

Mortem and Nevaris had the goblins break all the seals on their masters and healed every wound they had.

In the following two years, they taught their little masters to control their magic and hide it so that Albus would never be able to connect them to Potter and Longbottom magic.

In addition, they also taught their little masters how to control the powers they have, which they got for being their masters.

Harry was taught necromancy, and Mortem let Harry see all the souls and let him talk to James and Lily from time to time.

Neville was taught how to control the natural elements.

When it was finally time to get back to Britain and join Hogwarts, Neville and Harry were totally different from the ones who left the country. They boarded the train with heads held high but a humble look on their faces.

They were now confident. They didn't have a problem pointing out the fault in someone if they saw them. But they also knew not to hurt the person's feelings, unlike a certain bookworm they were going to meet on the train in a few minutes.

"Finally." Harry said.

Neville nodded. "Yeah. I want to see the old man's face."

"I want to meet the man who was crying as he fired the killing curse at me." Harry said.

Mortem explained everything about Tom. James and Lily were fine with reviving Tom if it meant revenge against Albus.

"I'll also get Sirius freed." Harry said.

He wanted to meet his godfather and get to know the man. Remus, he didn't want to. He knew his father and godfather were going to miss the man, but he didn't want Remus. The man could find where he was and could've visited him. He knew the man was a werewolf from Mortem and read everything the Peverell Library had to offer about werewolves.

The door was banged open by the said bookworm. "Is the carriage free?"

"No." Harry replied. "Even if it is free and you want to sit here, we don't want to sit with someone who has no manners whatsoever and just barges in. The door was closed, meaning it was occupied already."

Neville got up and was about to close the door on Granger's face when Draco and his two bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, arrived.

"Is the carriage free? Can we sit?" Draco asked.

"You can." Harry said.

Draco gave Harry and Neville a smile and walked in with Crabbe and Goyle.

"The cabin is now full. You might have to search for another one." Neville said with a smirk as he shut the door on Granger's face, as he had wanted to.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. These are my friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle." Draco introduced himself and his friends. He had seen the Peverell ring on Harry's finger the moment Harry was in range and made sure he was polite. With Neville being around Harry, he knew not to disrespect Neville around Harry. He also didn't have a reason to pick on Neville. The boy was a powerhouse himself, just like Harry.