__________________________<br/><br/>Had Neville not know better, he could have sworn Harry had walked out of breakfast and right back into oblivion. The man had all but disappeared off the premises, and, frankly, Neville was surprised to see him seated for lunch - granted, he had skipped breakfast.<br/>Neville had walked with Draco to the Great Hall, and the sight of Harry seated on the far left of the table cut him off mid-sentence; Neville had otherwise been in the midst of telling Draco about the Hungarian Dragon Grass Charlie Weasley had gifted him over the course of the summer.<br/>"He's gonna do my head in," Neville exhaled, more than anything an unconscious curse. If one knew to look for it, Neville almost sounded paternal. "Here I am thinking it'd be weird seeing him here, who would've thought I'd be more stressed by his absence."<br/>As they approached the high table, it became evident that Harry had noticed their arrival. Even before being spoken to, Harry's eyes dipped upward from his plate.<br/>"I thought we'd lost you," Neville pocked once he was able to meet Harry's eye. Though the plurality of his phrasing was more out of habit than anything intentional, it still made Harry's eyes dart to Malfoy.<br/>In a little, welcoming gesture, Harry leaned back into his chair, abandoning his Shepard's pie. Then, a smile brightened his features before his eyes refound Neville.<br/>"I was off catching up," he said, sounding almost sheepish.<br/>"With whom?" Neville challenged. Thoughtlessly, he had steered out of course, walking towards the left of the table instead of their usual right. "Not with me, surely."<br/>"Do we need to catch up, Nev?" Harry grinned. No matter how Neville painted it out to be, Harry<span style="font-style: italic">had</span>been by his quaters; he had only just showered, his wand holding his still-damp hair off his shoulders in a loose updo. After a moments pause, Harry continued in a more civil tone. "I went to see Myrtle."