Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to the great J.K. Rowling

Author's Note: I've been wanting to write a Ginny/Neville story for a while. While I like Ginny with Harry, I think they would make a good couple. This is only a very short one shot based on a little idea that I had. As soon as I have an idea for a proper story I will work on that :)

Boy loves girl

Neville Longbottom was the kind of guy girls only ever wanted to be friends with. He was shy and awkward, but he was also loyal and fiercely protective of his friends and he was a sweet and gentle soul. He was the type of guy girls claim to want but never notice when he is in front of them.

He couldn't remember when he started liking her. He started noticing her when she was with her brother and his friends who were in his year. She was confident, outspoken, quick tempered – so very different from himself. He liked that about her. He liked her long blood red hair and her expressive brown eyes and her kindness.

He knew that when he asked her to go to the Yule Ball with him, she only said yes so she could go at all, since it was technically only for 4th graders and older. He was nervous the whole time and stepped on her feet a million times, he didn't know what to say, his hands were sweaty and yet it was the best night he's ever had so far.

She was part of the DA in his fifth year and he enjoyed the excuse to be near her. She didn't talk to him much, she barely noticed him, but he still saw here there regularly. She was quite popular with boys – all boys who were much more confident than he was.

In the Department of Mysteries he discovered a new side of himself that he didn't know existed. He fought with all he had, and though he was by no means a real match for the full grown death eaters, he realized that even though he was scared to death there was something inside him that wouldn't let him back down and run and hide for cover but instead it made him stand up and fight. This was the start of his transformation. He would never be pompous and flashy like a Cormac McLaggen he would never have the swagger and cockiness of the Weasley twins, he would still be slightly shy and awkward but he started to believe in himself.

He had long suspected that she had a soft spot for Harry. He had seen the longing glances she had shot his way for a long time. He wanted to be happy for her, but it hurt so much. She had gone out with boys before, but this time it was different, more serious, she really cared for Harry, Neville could tell.

Maybe it was because Harry was his friend or maybe it was that he was still too much of a coward that he never told her how he felt about her. During his horrible seventh and her sixth year at Hogwarts, they've become quite close. They became almost inseparable plotting their resistance and leading the DA together. There were many times that their heads were bent so close together that they nearly kissed, but they never would. He knew she still had feelings for Harry, he saw that look in her eyes whenever his name was mentioned. She was also worried for her brother and Hermione. It was in many ways a difficult year. When they started sleeping in the room of requirement she would sometimes slip under the covers with him, clinging onto him, crying silently. While all he could do was hold her in his arms, helplessly caressing her hair, being so close and yet at the same time she couldn't have been further away had she been on the other side of this earth.

After the battle she got back together with Harry. He wasn't surprised in the least. They all remained friends after Hogwarts and met regularly. He was the first she showed her engagement ring from Harry to and he was with her moments before she walked down the aisle.

"Oh Nev, can you believe it? I am about to be married."

He looked at her and his heart constricted. She looked stunning in her white dress, her hair pinned up and her aunt's diadem placed on top of her head.

She was nervous but as soon as she had peaked inside the church and caught a glimpse of Harry her eyes started to shine with happiness. Neville descretely wiped away a tear.

In a few moments she would be Mrs Potter.

They would always be friends but she would never be his.