Neville Longbottom worked his way slowly down the path, bending now and then to cut a few leaves to add to the basket on his arm. He was Professor Sprout's apprentice, only one year away from his Herbology Mastery, and the years had been kind to him. Gone was the pudgy and awkward child he had been; in his place stood a well-built and handsome young man, tan from his time in the sun and muscular from the exercise he had continued to do after Voldemort's defeat.
It was a hot summer day, but the shade of the forest kept him cool. Two years into his apprenticeship, Professor Sprout had finally deemed him ready to enter the Forbidden Forest on his own, after he had learned all he could about the denizens of the forest, both animal and plant, under her strict supervision. Professor Sprout was widely regarded as a kindly, gentle soul, but she could be very firm when the occasion called for it, and she had been firm indeed when she warned him about entering the forest on his own. It had taken him several weeks to get up the courage to enter the forest alone once she had given him permission, but after a year of solitary trips, he was quite confident about it.
The path he was on was a small dirt trail, barely visible, that led to a little clearing further in, where there often were unicorn droppings and shed hairs to find, though he had never spied the herd. On the way there he gathered Smufflepod leaves, which were excellent in teas, especially in combination with vanilla.
Humming quietly to himself, the young man worked his way along the path, stopping now and then to drink some water from his hip flask, a Birthday present from Ginny some years back. She and Harry were happily married, and their second kid already on the way; they had started a family very young. Harry was an auror while Ginny invented spells for Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes, which had turned out to be a very lucrative business. Neville spared a moment to smile at the fortune they all enjoyed before shaking his head and returning to his task.
The one person he wished he had more contact with was Luna. After graduation she had taken to traveling the world, often with her father, in search of extraordinary creatures, and was rarely in the area. They exchanged the occasional letter, hers often arriving with exotic birds carrying them, but he wished he could see her in person. Perhaps then he'd finally confess his love to her; the torch he had carried for her since his fifth year had only grown and matured with age. He wondered where she was now, and whether she ever thought of him…
Letting his thoughts roam, he worked on in silence until he reached the edge of the clearing, where he stopped and looked up into the sunlit area. The sight that met him there robbed him of his breath.
"The unicorns," he mouthed silently. For there in the clearing milled a unicorn herd, eating the grass and dancing in the sunlight, their coats sparkling like molten silver. It was the singularly most beautiful sight Neville had ever had the privilege of seeing, and he stood in the shade just outside the clearing, enraptured.
Just then the herd parted slightly and he saw to the very heart of it, and suddenly his knees felt weak. There, in the middle of the herd, stood Luna Lovegood, white-blond hair as luminescent as the unicorn's hides, her white summer dress swirling in the wind generated by the crowd of magical beings surrounding her. She stood face to face with the biggest unicorn of them all, looking the majestic being straight in the eye before gently reaching up a hand to cup the equine's cheek. Her skin glowed, and she had never looked as delicate, and as strong, as she did just then.
Frozen in that tableau, it could have been mere moments later or an eternity before she lowered her hand, took a step back, and bowed to the lead unicorn, receiving a regal nod in return before the silver being turned and galloped away, the herd following and disappearing into the shady forest. Luna watched them go, a single luminescent figure caught in the remnant magic of the herd, before turning around and unerringly catching Neville's eye. The soft smile she had throughout her interactions with the unicorn broadened into a radiant grin, and she ran lightly towards him, sparkling hair fanning out behind her.
"You came," she stated happily when she reached him, and placed a hand on his arm as she rose to her toes to place a soft kiss on his lips. That done, she leaned into him, burrowing her face in the crook of his neck, and his arms rose reflexively to hold her, his basket forgotten on the forest floor. Resting his cheek on her head, it occurred to him that he should probably feel surprised, or confused, or any number of emotions, but he was filled by such a deep sense of peace that he simply reveled in the moment.
"You love me," came Luna's dreamy voice, and it wasn't a question.
"I do," he confirmed softly, and no further words were needed.