Goyle's Fascination
Goyle liked his seat in Herbology. He didn't like it because he sat next to his good friend Draco Malfoy; no, he liked it because Luna Lovegood sat directly in front of him. She was in the perfect spot for him to stare at her without getting caught. Yes, Goyle definitely liked his seat in Herbology.
Luna's head tilted to the side as she listened to the Professor speak. Goyle knew that whenever she tilted her head like that she was thinking really hard about stuff. Sometimes Goyle wished that he could think hard about things because if he could he might've been able to impress her with his knowledge.
Goyle felt the corners of his lips start to twitch upward in a smile as Luna straightened her head sending a wave of a delicious blueberry scent straight to his nose. Her hand rose in the air, and Goyle leaned forward to get a better whiff of Luna's shampoo.
"But don't the Polly Wiggles live inside of fire mushrooms, professor?" Luna asked. "We can't just slice up the mushrooms when a living Polly Wiggle could be in there."
Goyle suddenly found himself growing concerned for the Polly Wiggles. He was always concerned for the things Luna wanted to protect. Just last week, he refused to eat dessert because Luna had announced that Jumping Jellies could often be found living in large tubs of ice cream.
Draco sniggered, and Goyle sent his friend a rather large frown that shocked Draco to the point where he immediately stopped laughing. Pleased with his results, Goyle went back to staring at Luna Lovegood's blonde hair while trying his hardest to ignore the look Draco was sending him.
The class wore on with the occasional comment from Luna before the professor announced they needed to take notes. Goyle had been in the process of pulling out his lucky quill – the one his grandfather sent him from Germany – when Luna Lovegood turned around to face him. Naturally, Goyle blushed when his eyes met hers, and he quickly focused on staring at his blank piece of parchment instead of at that the beautiful girl in front of him.
"Goyle," Luna's voice sent shivers down Goyle's spine and he couldn't help but stare at Luna in wonder. "I seem to have left my quill in my room. Do you mind if I were to borrow one of yours for the day?" Goyle immediately handed Luna his lucky quill not once bothering to think of the bad things that might occur without his trusty quill by his side. "Thank you." Luna turned around and another whiff of blueberry washed over him.
"Isn't that your lucky quill?" Draco asked curiously. Goyle sent Draco one of his infamous blank stares before shrugging. "You don't like Loony Lovegood, do you?" This time Draco whispered his question, and Goyle began to blush uncontrollably while his friend looked him up and down. "You're not attractive enough for Lovegood. You should aim lower; perhaps Millicent would be a good match."
Goyle looked down at his hands that were neatly folded in his lap. He had never noticed until now, but his hands were awkwardly big and beefy. He thought of how his face looked in the mirror that morning and Goyle cringed; he had remembered his eyes being too small and much too far apart and his nose being rather large. It was a well known fact that Goyle wasn't the most attractive of boys, but he had never thought of himself as ugly until now.
He suddenly felt very ashamed and self-conscious. Maybe he wasn't attractive enough to be able to date someone as pretty as Luna. Who could be able to bear staring at his ape-like face and stomach the fact of dating him?
Yet despite his sudden lack of confidence, he couldn't help but wonder if Luna would care about what he looked like. He was pretty sure that even though he wasn't a genius he would still be smart enough to at least carry out a decent conversation with her. He could mention the Five-Horned Dung Beetles that had been found nesting under the Minister of Magic's desk.
Class was dismissed much too fast for Goyle's liking, and he found himself delaying the process of walking out of the door just so he could stay and watch Luna pack up. She would often stay organize her notes, help the professor water the plants, and head to her next class.
With shaking hands, Goyle placed his notes – or lack of notes – into his bag and was about to leave when he saw Luna begin to water one of the man odd looking plants arranged on the shelves. He stood there awkwardly before grabbing one of the water pails and approaching the blonde haired girl.
"H-Hello Luna," Goyle was stumbling over his words, and his palms were sweating. He had never been nervous before, and he was sure that he never wanted to feel nervous again, but he could never control his emotions when he was around Luna.
"Hello Goyle," Luna replied quietly as she gently ran her fingers over a large leaf. "Have you come to help me water the plants? I've noticed you watching me do this for that the last three months, and I've been waiting for you to work up the nerve to approach me."
Goyle swallowed. Had he been that obvious with his crush?
He smiled at Luna though he was sure it looked more like a grimace, and he started watering the plants that were closer to the blonde haired beauty. He glanced over at her, but began to blush when he noticed her ice blue eyes watching him.
"I heard what Draco said," Luna said softly. Goyle's heart beat faster as she rested a small pale hand on his massive shoulder. "You're not unattractive Goyle, and you should aim much higher than Millicent Bulstrode despite whatever it is Draco believes."
"Th-Thanks," Oh gosh, he was stumbling over his words again!
"You're a brilliant boy, Goyle." Luna wrapped her arms around Goyle before placing her water pail back on the table. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." Luna didn't wait for a reply; she walked out of the door leaving a very confused and very embarrassed Goyle behind.
Fin