Nargles
It was the Gryffindors' first Herbology class. And, luckily, they found themselves paired up with the First Year Ravenclaws, and not the Slytherins, as was the case in Potions. James found that he didn't much care for the Slytherins, no matter what stories his father told him. Casting his gaze around at the others that joined them just inside the archway to the greenhouses, he noticed a familiar face in the crowd of blue and silver. A great beaming smile met James' eye as the other boy recognized him as well.
"James!" Teddy Lupin shouted, making the gaggle of First Years jump.
"What are you doing here?" James asked, wondering vaguely where their professor was.
"Just bringing these first years down to their Herbology lesson. Prefect and all," Teddy clarified as his hair turned a dark, lovely green. "And, don't tell anyone, but I'm a bit of an Herbology nut." He looked at the color his hair had taken on, frowning slightly at the contrast with the Ravenclaw blue. He quickly amended it, making it thoroughly silver, shining like the moon in the nearly empty courtyard.
"I won't tell," James assured him. There came a noise from the other end of the courtyard, near the tall glass greenhouses, and all attention turned.
Walking toward them was a tall, round-faced, genial-looking man in his mid-thirties. His hair was mussed and brown, a bit longer than it probably should be, as it hung into his eyes. His face and arms were bronzed and a bit pink from too much sun, and his smile was bright and wide. He had dragonhide gloves on his hands, reaching nearly to his elbows, and was covered in soil. As he approached, it seemed like the anxiety drained out of every first year present, and a few of them smiled in return. The man dusted off his hands, as if that might help, and wiped at something under his eye, leaving a streak of soil in its wake.
"Morning, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws!" He beamed down at the children bedecked in the familiar gold and scarlet. "I think I remember these faces."
"Good morning, Professor Longbottom," many of them replied, grinning back. James was surprised. Either Professor Longbottom hadn't mentioned that he was the Herbology teacher as well as Head of Gryffindor, or he hadn't been paying attention. Of course, he'd visited his mother and father several times, but he'd never once heard the word Herbology mentioned.
"Teddy," Neville said with surprise in his voice. "Can't keep you away, can I?"
"Not with a Bludger on one hand and a Tentacula on the other, Professor," Teddy beamed. His silver hair had unknowingly acquired pesky soil-brown highlights. Neville reciprocated the boy's enthusiasm, then returned his attention to the first years before him.
"Now, if you'll all follow me, we'll be in Greenhouse One this morning," Neville said jovially, turning quickly on his heel. "You've all brought your gloves...?"
The first years fumbled in their bags, one Ravenclaw nearly tripping over herself in the process. Teddy helped her balance herself, watching the back of Professor Longbottom's head intently. James pulled on his gloves, flexing his fingers in the strong dragonhide. Neville glanced over his shoulder, leading the children through a vine-covered archway.
"Good, good. Watch your heads; that's the vine of the Vernaculus plant. She likes to snag a First Year every once in a while." Neville ducked, avoiding the swinging vines. The children covered their heads, looking frantic as they dashed through the archway. Teddy stood beside Neville, shaking his head with a smirk.
"Always with the Vernaculus, Professor?"
"It keeps them on their toes," Neville said sagely. "Usually they figure out the Vernaculus is harmless by the third week." He picked up the pace again once most of the students were through the archway, then pulled out his overloaded key ring and unlocked the greenhouse with a large number one over the door. Many were shooting furtive glances over their shoulders at the First-Year-eating plant in the archway. Teddy mussed his hair, looking longingly at the foliage inside the greenhouse and sighed.
"I'd love to stick around, Professor, but I promised Headmistress McGonagall I'd be in her office in five minutes. She wants Head Boy and Girl there to arrange First Year festivities for the end of the week."
"Work, work," Neville responded dully with a grin that didn't match. "I'm free after the third years come in after. We can work on that Flutterby bush you wanted for Victorie--"
Teddy flushed bright red, and his hair flushed to match. He excused himself politely, and was jogging back through the arch and out of the courtyard when he disappeared. Professor Longbottom ushered the rest of the students into the greenhouse. They mulled about absently, many looking at the bright and colorful blooms that surrounded them. Above hung large, umbrella-sized flowers that ranged in color from fire orange to bright, blinding pink.
Neville inched his way to the back of the greenhouse, skirting a confused student here and snatching a little hand back from a snapping dragon flower before it could sustain any damage there. Once he'd reached the back, he clapped his gloved hands together to get the first years' attention.
"As first years," he started out in a voice that could be heard over the honking daffodils that someone had inadvertantly awakened, "you'll be sticking to the plants in Greenhouse One. They don't bite nearly as hard." The students didn't know whether to laugh or not. He encouraged them with a laugh of his own, and they twittered in response. "Today, we're starting simple, introducing you to Herbology, and just what some of these magical plants can do."
A hand shot up from the group of Ravenclaws. Neville's thoughts immediately went to young Hermione, with a permanent hand in the air, which made him smirk involuntarily. Neville pointed. "Yes...?"
"Donald, sir. Donald Fairbanks." He fidgeted slightly, shying away from a twitching plant just at his elbow. "I was just wondering why we have to learn about plants."
Professor Longbottom paused, and the honking daffodils took that as their cue to go off into a strained rendition of the 1812 Overture. Some children giggled, and Neville had to admit that it was amusing.
"You know, Mr. Fairbanks," Neville said at last, "I thought that very same thing my first Herbology class. And it was a wise little old woman who took me aside after class and told me that she had thought the very same thing. The truth of it is, Mr. Fairbanks, no one knows just what about this world is going to make them into who they are. And just like me, or Teddy Lupin, or Pomona Sprout, you might find it's these silly plants that make you flourish."
He looked up as the greenhouse door opened, and a smile seemed to melt across his face. "Or Charms, if that's your forte." James whipped his head around to see who had entered, along with the majority of his classmates. A lithe woman stood in the doorway, with her long frazzled blonde hair done up in two ponytails in the back of her head. She had wide, staring grey eyes and earrings shaped vaguely like radishes. Under her teacher's robes she wore an eccentric assembly of clothing that didn't seem to have a theme. She smiled boldly, flowing past the confused Gryffindors. The Ravenclaws seemed ecstatic.
"The daffodils," she said once she'd arrived at Neville's side, cocking her head and making eye contact with the flower hanging above his head. "Their repertoire has increased over the summer. I had no idea they knew Haydn." She met his eyes then, and both brightened. Neville turned then to his Gryffindors, holding the blonde woman's hand beside a potted plant resembling purple tentacles.
"Gryffindors, this is Luna Longbottom. My wife."
She had pulled off the glove on his left hand, gazing at the wedding band on his ring finger. Sticking her tongue out in concentration, she adjusted the ring on his finger, turning it just barely to the left.
"Fall equinox is approaching," she muttered, checking the sun outside the glass of the greenhouse and adjusting the ring just so. She nodded in approval, returning the glove to his hand.
"Don't you have a class to be teaching, Luna?" Neville asked endearingly, not even bothering to ask about the adjustment of his ring. She fiddled with the strap of her bag before she began digging in it.
"Fifth years," she said absently. "I told them to practice levitation charms, and that if I found any of my belongings damaged or missing, it would be permissible to hex them individually." She grinned up at her husband. "I do very much like hexes. They are wonderful tools for motivation."
Neville took a moment to raise his eyebrows at his Ravenclaws, who giggled amongst themselves. He returned his attentions to Luna when she let loose a short "Ah!" She pulled a small brown paper bag out of her shoulder bag, and presented it proudly to the man beside her. He took it questioningly as the daffodils took this chance to honk the chorus from the latest Weird Sisters single.
"What is it?" Neville asked, digging into the paper bag. His fingers brushed metal, and Luna beamed.
"Protection," she said simply. "With the equinox approaching, it signals the yearly migrations of Snetterbeaks from the southern mountains of Germany. Unfortunately, being quite nearly all the time invisible, it's impossible to magically defend yourself. So I made us these." She indicated the odd necklace she was wearing, along with other assorted charms. It seemed to be made out of bent, malleable copper and aluminum wire, with a large green pendant in the center. "It's infused with essence of--"
"It's great," Neville said quickly, a wide encouraging smile on his features. "It really is." He slipped his necklace over his head to prove his point, and it hung nearly to mid-chest. The chain was old and used, unlike Luna's. "You'd better get back to that Charms class before someone discovers that Crumple-Horned Snorkack horn--"
Luna gasped, as if the thought hadn't come to her. She quickly latched her bag, stood on her toes to peck a kiss on her husband's cheek, and took off at a dash. She skidded to a halt beside James Potter, who looked like he'd seen a ghost. She leaned down to his level, pointing at the plant just in front of him and whispered confidentially: "Watch out for nargles." And she was gone, a whirl of blonde and blue.
The Ravenclaws began tittering amongst themselves, and it took a good two minutes for Neville to regain control. He fiddled absently with the green pendant, which appeared to be wooden and carved with a large "N". He laughed quietly to himself, then reached for the potted plant beside him.
"Now, back to reality." The Gryffindors smiled up at him encouragingly. "This is the Flowering Teuthida, characterized by its tentacle-like appendages..."
Outside Greenhouse One, the musical honking daffodils could be heard throughout the courtyard, warbling now without melody, into the silence that Herbology professors had loved for centuries. Just before she disappeared into the castle, Luna Longbottom had stopped to spray the air with protective silver sparks. Throwing a glance back toward the greenhouses, she smiled placidly and vanished into the darkness of Hogwarts.
AN: Hello there, Potter-world! I believe that the world needs some Neville Love, and who better to give it than a Rabid Neville Fan? I didn't know until recently that I was a Neville/Luna shipper, but it turns out I am. I just think that they're adorable. And I was originally writing this as a oneshot, but I decided it could easily be multichapter. I think I've decided on multichapter. Tell me what you think, leave some love, and thanks for reading!