Luna lay on the damp grass, looking up at the bright, cloudy sky. The clouds made sense to her. They were pure and free. They could look however they chose. Her favorite that particular afternoon was a small cloud, which looked just like a nargle.
One thing she noticed about the clouds was that they went in pairs. It was strange, she thought, how something so seemingly inanimate could be so beautiful, and could choose not to be alone. Luna thought she might quite like to be a cloud.
She was always one of a kind. That didn't really bother her, that people thought she was mad, or weird. Maybe she was. She didn't think so. She just smiled at them, and played with her butterbeer cork necklace. People questioned the sorting hat when they found out she was in Ravenclaw. She didn't mind that, either. Ravenclaw was a house of Intelligence, indeed, but Luna knew that not all intelligence came from books. Luna's unique intelligence came from understanding and belief.
No. What bothered Luna was that she was never the most important person, not to anyone. She had friends, oh yes. She had a lot of friends now. Ginny, Neville, Harry, Ron and Hermione were her friends. Even Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe smiled at her and said good morning. She appreciated that. Even Lavender, and Dean and the some other Gryffindors and Ravenclaws spoke to her occasionally.
Luna was appreciative of her friends. She hoped they knew that. No, what bothered Luna was that she was still on her own. She knew Harry, Ron and Hermione were together first and foremost. She knew Ginny had a million friends that she could talk to, she was ever so popular. She knew Cho and Marietta were just being polite. She knew Lavender and Pavarti, and Dean and Seamus were best friends. Neville traveled by himself, she had always figured he wanted it to be that way because he never really talked to anyone. She knew she was on her own.
Luna looked at the clouds floating by, one in the peculiar, but comfortingly familiar shape of a radish, closely followed by what looked suspiciously like a rat. Luna didn't laugh at the oddness of the couple. A radish and a rat. Nothing made more sense than that.
The radish and the rat had chosen each other, just like she hoped that one day, someone would choose her. Yes, Luna thought, it might be quite nice to be someone's first choice.
She shifted her position, she decided if she looked at it upside-down she would see something new in the clouds. Most people looked at her right-side up. Maybe if they let a bit of curiosity loose, they could see her the way she liked her world; upside-down…
"Ugh," she grunted, "why do people have to be so inflexible?" She closed her eyes tight.
"Only because unusual things scare them." Replied a familiar voice.
"Hello, Neville Longbottom." Luna said dreamily. Her eyes remained shut, but she relaxed them a bit.
"Hey Luna." He responded, "What're you doing?" He sat down next to her.
"Observing the clouds, I saw one from the Ravenclaw tower this morning that looked awfully like a wrackspurt." She stated.
"That's what I thought you were doing when I came over here," Neville said, "but then I saw that your eyes are closed… didn't you say wrackspurts are invisible?"
"Very observant Neville Longbottom," Luna complimented, "I hadn't realized I'd shut my eyes… maybe yourpies are to blame… they can control your body…" Luna began to mumble going through various possibilities, then returned to the point, "You can see wrackspurts through purple glass, I saw one once and they look peculiarly like squirrels."
"Oh." Neville responded, but had no idea what she had just said.
Luna opened her eyes and stood up. Neville followed in suit, and they headed toward the castle.
"You're very tall." Luna observed, "This is unfortunate, for I am short and you probably cannot hear me talking… being tall also makes you susceptible to hedginaks…"
"I can hear you perfectly." Neville said.
Luna stopped walking. "You inquired what I was doing before and I said I was watching the clouds, but I was wrong because my eyes were closed." Luna continued, "What I really was doing was thinking. I love to think, nobody stares at you while you sit quietly and think to yourself. However, today's topic was rather grim. It was about why I am alone."
"You're not alone, there are plenty of people who will talk to you at Hogwarts and you have several friends." Neville back tracked to where Luna was standing and he added, "Including me."
"Yes I know that," Luna snapped, getting frustrated, her eyebrows furrowed, "but none of them would pick me first over their other friends. And then there's you, who prefers to just 'go solo'."
"I do not prefer to 'go solo'!" Neville exclaimed, "Nobody really picks me first either, and I'm way too shy to make any new friends." Neville's face fell and he blushed. "Do you think we could pick each other?" he added softly.
"That does sound nice, but don't you think that the others will think that…" Luna blushed too and stopped short.
"We're dating?" Neville finished in a hopeful whisper.
"Well, yes. And I don't like rumors very much. They can be very hurtful." Luna frowned.
"I know." Neville lifted her chin up.
"Neville," Luna spoke very carefully, the blush creeping back onto her cheeks, "Do you think we should make the rumors true?" her eyes were large and full of hope as she looked at Neville. "Just so there won't be any lies going around." She added hastily.
Neville smiled. "That sounds great!" he said excitedly and he hugged her. He also quickly added, "Just for no rumors, though."
"Just for no rumors." She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss.