Before She Was Taken...
Sometimes people say its love at first sight. I'm not one to believe it. Though I believe it can be lust at first sight. Love is a concept you can feel when you truly know someone. For example, it's like when I first met Luna in my 5th year on the train. Ginny called it love at first sight. I just call it lust. I will know when I fall in love. Yes I do find Luna attractive, unique, imaginative, and kind. But it's not love; at least not yet.
This moment however gave me the rumbles in my stomach. I may embarrass myself in front of girls sometimes, but I never get these rumbles. Just this moment, as I gazed at Luna's anxious eyes, I felt this odd feeling in my stomach and an obscure taste on my tongue. My mind was clouded with only her.
Maybe it was love because right at that moment I was craving to kiss those pink supple lips.
This moment in this broom cupboard alone with Luna so close to my body was the most random time for me to realize the beauty in Luna Lovegood. Maybe I was always in love with her. It's my last year at Hogwarts and I can't imagine what my life will end up like after. I can't even think about not having Luna around to talk to.
Out of all the time I spent with her, this is when I discovered I was in fact falling for Luna Lovegood.
"Hey Neville?" Luna whispers in that sing song voice of hers.
"Yes Lu?" I reply gazing at her blue orbs for eyes.
"When can we leave this cupboard? I'm really tired." She yawns resting her head in her knees.
"Soon. Just sleep for now. I'll wake you up when it's safe to leave." I offer my shoulder and she leans down fatigued passing out as soon as she closed her eyes. Never have I ever enjoyed being alone with her so much especially with her cuddled against me. Deep inside I hoped those bloody blokes never left this corridor.
When you think about it, those Carrows might just kill us when they finally find our idiotic hiding place. Then again they are pretty dim-witted themselves.
We were a bit brainless to put both ourselves in danger. It was just a random night in the Room of Requirement together. Ginny had a marvelous idea to vandalize the corridor walls and booby trap the classrooms. Of course we went with it. We would do anything to mess with those bloody Carrows. And just like that Ginny attracts them and she disappears and we're stuck hiding in this broom cupboard in the Charms classroom.
It was probably about an hour later and I was half asleep when I heard Amycus Carrow pass by again muttering to his sister, "Those bloody kids are in for it tomorrow. Let's call it a night. I'll need your help torturing them tomorrow."
I bolt awake as the two creep up the stairs. I was relieved they were gone, yet unusually upset we had to get back to bed.
I nudge the sleeping girl lightly carefully waking her up, "Lu, we can go now. They're gone." I say cheerfully as the dreamy girl rubs her eyes awake. "Let's get going before they change their mind."
"Okay Neville." I take her smooth hand and we tip toe out the door into the empty dark corridor.
Together we skip down the corridors till reaching the Room of Requirement. When we open the door and sneak in, the room was fully asleep except for Ginny and Seamus in the corner of the room.
"Oh Neville, Luna, you're not dead!" she hops over hugging us both. She smelled oddly of rotten eggs.
"Thanks for leaving us alone Gin." I mutter annoyed.
"You smell marvelously revolting." Luna randomly states.
Ginny takes a whiff of herself and pulls away in disgust. "I'm so sorry. While I was running I got stuck in that trap you set in the courtyard. Did you get caught?"
Luna shakes her head in a reply and yawns drowsily. "Better get to bed. Everyone's in for it tomorrow." I say taking Luna's hand yet again leading her to our cots. Since the three of us were the ones to discover and rebuild the army we got the cots in a private corner of the spacious area.
"You guys head off. Seamus and I are busy." Ginny replies taking out a piece of parchment. With that said I tow Luna into our corner. I leave her to dress as I stash away some of the dummies from today's DA lesson.
It felt great to be a leader for once. I'm not some waste of space. I feel like what I'm doing is actually great. I sneak away to get into my night clothes and wash my face before returning to the private little corner.
"Neville?" Luna whispers timidly relaxing cross legged on her bed between mine and Ginny's.
I take a plop across from her on my cot and tousle my hair. "Yeah Lu?"
"Can you tell another story?" she asks rubbing her weary eyes and cuddling under her blankets.
I smirk slightly crawling under my own covers, "Of course."
She flips her body and I roll mine so we faced each other. Most nights, especially after a rough day, Luna would ask me to tell her a story. Just like tonight, we'd face each other and just sit in the serene peace. I'd either tell her an old children's story or something I'd make up on my own.
I stay up just droning on and on until Luna would fall asleep. Before tonight I thought it we were just best friends finding comfort. But now, I feel a bond with her I've never felt with anyone else. The rumbles were back and I felt my palms get sweaty. I could have never fallen for someone more than Luna.
Even though her eyes were closed I knew she could hear every word taking in the comfort in my voice.
And I talked and talked till the drained girl finally passed out. I noticed her pale arm hanging out over her cot. I could not help myself. She was asleep and it was right there. I utter her name to make sure she was snoozing before wrapping my own large fingers around her nimble ones. Like that I fell asleep dreaming a dream full of nargles, pudding, and blue orbs.
"G'afternoon WInky." I shout happily through the kitchen door.
"Master Longbottom has returned. Does Mr. Longbottom need more food for the rebellion?" the weakening house elf squeals.
I gently pat her wrinkly head and sniff the wondrous foods around. "Chocolate pudding?" I ask dipping my finger into the cake frosting for one of the Carrows lunches. I asked some house elves to make Luna some pudding last night. I wanted to surprise the Ravenclaw. We know each other well enough for me to remember its Luna's mother's death day today.
"Bitsy has made Master Longbottom's pudding." The shortest of all the house elves mutters frightened climbing onto the counter to reach Neville's blundering height.
"You don't have to be nervous around me Bitsy." I manage to say before the house elf scurries away.
It's a shame. I didn't want to frighten the poor house elf. I shrug my broad shoulders thanking the elves before sneaking into the corridors concealing the bowl of pudding. It was lunch time so it was pretty simple to sneak through the passageways back to the Room of Requirement. I knock seven times before Dean opens the door for me.
"Oi Neville! Remember what today is? Seamus and I are heading…" Dean trails before being interrupted by me.
"Sorry Dean. I'll meet you both a little later than planned. Does Luna happen to be in there?" I ease myself into the room which shifted itself into a DA training area and resting place.
"Luna's in here, along with a few third years." Dean strides away as I hop into the room.
There she was sitting in the middle of the room on a rug with multicolored crayons scattered around her as she colored and drew on multiple pieces of paper. Her back was facing me so I used this opportunity to stare down and shoo away the third years reading in the corner by the bookshelves.
I conceal the bowl of pudding behind my back. "What are you drawing Lu?"
"Just pictures of me and people I care about." She spins around to face me and pats the floor next to her, "Want to look Neville?"
I take a seat next her setting the bowl of pudding down behind me keeping it out if her sight. She allows me to ruffle through the many cartoon drawings of various people. I recognized one of her and I believe her mother making a snowman together. I noticed one of her and Ginny dropping crystal balls on the Carrows head. Then I discovered another of her and Harry feeding the threstals in the forbidden forest. I flipped through a few drawings of Luna and various creatures before I choked on my own breath.
I pulled out the only drawing not yet colored. It was a girl and boy seated up next to each other in a bed. The girl had her head leaning on the boys shoulder. The boy had messy hair and a frog resting on top of his head. He was also holding a book in his lap. The girl had a scarf around her neck partially hiding her smile and Luna shaded slight blushing on the boy's cheeks.
"Hey Luna?" I show her the drawing, "Is this me?"
"It's me and you. " She hands me a yellow and blue colored crayon. "Do you want to help me color?"
I begin shading her hair blonde. Luna began coloring my hair dark brown. As I was coloring I managed to pull out the pudding placing it in Luna's lap. "This is for your mother's deathday."
She took a longing look at the bowl in her lap and grabbed my hand. I felt the hairs on my chest and the back of my neck stick straight up. I grew slightly sweaty as she gripped my hand smiling widely as she stuck her finger in the bowl trying the chocolate pudding.
"I thought the Carrows banned pudding from meals?" she questions licking her finger.
"I asked Winky to make you a secret batch. I thought this was an important reason to sneak some pudding for you."
Her grin was more radiant than the goddess of love herself. She leaned in and snuck a longing kiss on my cheek. My eyes grew ten times their size and I was sure my face was as red as cherries. Sure enough I began lightly sweating as my face became searing hot.
"Thanks Neville." She announces as I float back to earth.
That afternoon we finished coloring her drawings and the large bowl of pudding. We hung her pictures around our cots that night and fell asleep with our beds scooted closer together as we sketched random thoughts and talked about our dreams. And throughout that whole day I took few moments to just lightly graze my cheek with my hand treasuring that kiss.
That was the last I saw of Miss. Lovegood. I spent every night dreaming of finding her. I treasured those pictures around our cots letting them rock me to sleep. I frequently touched that spot on my cheek to fill me with hope she'll return. I made the DA practice harder. Our rebellion was stronger than ever. All that, ever since Luna was taken away.
I made a promise right then the next time I ever saw her I'd tell her everything I felt. Nothing was going to stand in my way and no one would stop me. I'll fight for her.
