"Taste of Life" is.... disturbing, in a way I can't quite put my finger on.

And it's not that, from context, Neville obviously has a Pash for Harry. I don't usually read slash for much the same reason you object to Jack Sparrow's having fillings-- most of the slash I've tried reading in the past is so wildly counter-canon that my suspension of disbelief doesn't survive the first few pages.

This one worked on that level-- I could quite see Neville being attracted to Harry-- but something about the scene in the closet seriously creeped me out.

Poor Neville.

Didn't quite ring true, did it? Not the need to "practice" or the willingness to practice with either boys or girls...

Something seemed off.

The germ just starting to ferment in my mind is post OotP, because Neville seems more real now.

The thing about practicing was a bit odd, but I could accept it. (Though if I'd been writing it, he'd have been using that as an excuse because he wanted to kiss either Ron or Hermione. ) It sorta-kinda fit the "urge to experiment" pattern, y'know?

I've been pondering it and I think what bugged me about it was twofold:

First, Harry didn't seem to be seeing Neville as a person at all-- just as a convenient object to 'practice' on. That squicked me, especially since he seemed to enjoy it rather a lot.

Second, Neville's reaction was pretty darn close to that portrayed in the old-style "warning" stories about a girl who agrees to "park" on a date with the school football star, expecting kissing and maybe a bit of petting-- and panics when she feels his hand sliding under her skirt.

The combo-- Neville's terror/panic/obviously not enjoying it when he'd probably expected to and Harry's detachment/pleasure-- were pretty creepy, taken together.

On a gut level, it felt like a barely-avoided-getting-date-raped story, if that makes any sense.

At least Harry took "no" for an answer. It could've been worse, I suppose. (bleh)