Disclaimer: I dont own any of the characters mentioned. If I did they would have ended up together.
Neville was sitting in the back of the room. He sighed as he watched the couples in front of him happily slow dancing.
It was the Hogwarts ball for the reopening of the school. Neville looked around him and examined the area. The castle looked exactly like it did a year ago, before the battle of Hogwarts. Except for the decoration of course, which had been changed for the special occasion.
The Great Hall looked really similar to when the Yule Ball was held. He had a blast that day! Not only did he have a date but he was also from the last people to leave.
But now it was the opposite. He was all by himself and he was thinking of leaving in a few minutes. He couldn't complain though. It was nice of seeing his old teachers and friends but now they were all dancing with their partners.
It was all Neville's fault. How can someone have the courage to stand up to the darkest wizard of all time and slay the snake but is unable to ask a girl out? Although to his defense it Luna was not "just a girl", she was the girl of his dreams.
And now he lost every chance he had to admit his feelings. He was so stupid! Now she was dancing with Rolf Scamander. Ugh...
Neville was about to get up and leave when Hannah Abbot sat beside him.
'Hi, Neville.' She said shyly.
'Hey, Hannah.' Neville greeted her back.
'Listen, I've been watching you the whole afternoon and I saw that you were alone.' Hannah said slightly blushing. 'So I wanted to ask you. Do you want to dance?'
Neville was really not in the mood but he just couldn't say no to her so he took her hand and led her in the middle of the dancefloor.
'So.. how does it feel to be a hero?' Hanna asked him as she put her hand on his shoulder.
'What do you mean?' Neville asked her slightly confused. He hoped she wasn't talking about killing Nagini because he really hated having this conversation. At first it was cool not to be treated like a loser but now he realized that people didn't care to learn anything about him rather than that.
'You know, how you killed the snake and everything.'
Yep. She was leading it where he feared. 'Listen, Hannah, can we talk about anything else except for that?' Neville asked as nicely as he could.
'Why? Have you done even more interesting things than that?' She asked and clearly all the embarrassment she might had was gone.
'No. But I'm pretty tired of that being the only topic of conversation I have with people.' Neville said still in a soft, calm tone.
'Well then, I guess there is nothing we can talk about.' Hannah said and left Neville alone on the dancefloor.
He was stunned. He couldn't process what had just happened. He couldn't fathom they were so rude people. He shook his head and walked outside of the castle.
He would have returned home via floopowder but that would bring a lot of attention and all Neville wanted now was leave Hogwarts unnoticed.
As he was walking down the hills he stopped to appreciate the beauty of the place. The lights from the castle were illuminating through the windows and the music from the ball was easily audible. Hagrid's hut stood a few meters away, next to the Forbidden Forrest that seemed even creepier in this time of the night. Neville's favorite place was the lake. He used to hang out there whenever he wanted to relax.
Now is a really good idea to relax. Neville thought to himself and approached the lake. He sat on his usual spot next to the tree and sighed.
'Hello, Neville.' He heard a sweet dreamy voice right behind his ear. He was so startled he almost fell in the lake. Instead he drew his wand and lit it.
He saw Luna Lovegood, was standing behind him. His stomach did a backflip.
'May I join you?' She asked him.
'Sure.' It was all Neville could say.
Luna sat beside him and put off her shoes. She dived her naked feet in the lake. Neville mimicked her. 'So... How come you are here?'
'I really enjoy sitting by the lake, gazing at the stars.' Luna said and looked up the clear sky. 'While I was at Hogwarts I used to do that very often.'
'No I mean... shouldn't you be at the ball? With that Rolf guy?'
'Oh, he found better company with another girl.' She said but she didn't sound hurt.
'Really? He is such a big...' Neville didn't say the word he was thinking of because he had manners. 'How can he be with the kindest, smartest, most gorgeous person in the room and dump her to dance with someone else.'
Luna looked at him and smiled. 'You are so sweet Neville.'
Neville smiled back his cheeks were burning. 'I would have asked you to go to the ball with me but I didn't have the courage to do so.'
Luna got up and held his hand. 'It's okay, we can dance now.'
Neville would have protested, saying there was no music but he wouldn't let another chance slip away. He got up and put his hand on her waist. His heart was beating faster.
They were dancing in the middle of the night with no music or shoes but Neville couldn't care less because he was with Luna.
She was so beautiful. Her blond curls were let down reaching her lower back. Her fair skin was bright as the moon was illuminating her and her silvery gray eyes were dreamy as always.
Neville looked down at her lips. They looked so soft and delicious. He tried to look away but he couldn't as if they were magnetic.
He leaned in and captured her lips in his. At first Luna was taken aback but the she returned the kiss.
Neville felt the world spin around. The butterflies in his stomach were flying with such force he thought they would escape. Luna stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around him while Neville cupped her cheeks with his hands.
He had heard how people lose the track of time when they were kissing but he didn't believe it. It turned out he was wrong. He couldn't tell whether they were kissing for minutes or hours. All he knew was that it was the best first kiss someone could ever have.