What a Kiss Can Heal
A/N: LOL, be gentle...it's my first Neville/Luna fic. I just love them together! They're so cute...my favorite HP pairing.
Disclaimer: All components are property of J.K. Rowling, other than the plot.
Summary: Luna Lovegood is once again without shoes, prompting Neville to lend her his. One-shot, set during OotP. Neville x Luna
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The breeze buzzing through the forest around Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was very welcome to the mellow spirit wandering through it, Luna Lovegood. The sunlight filtering through the gaps in the tree branches gave the woods a misty air about it, as its producer, the sun, drifted below the mountain tops lazily.
The darkening of the sky somewhat deemed Luna's motley overcoat mundane, hiding the vibrance it held at full-light. The young girl trembled slightly, as the wind blew a horde of leaves by her bare feet, as she looked around curiously at the small clearing she had arrived at.
The unique creatures that pulled the Hogwarts' carriages up to the castle, called Thestrals, normally gathered in this spot at dusk. They resembled decaying horses, which caused the select few people that could see them to steer clear of them. The only way these magical creatures could be seen was if the viewer had once witnessed death.
This thought neither bothered Luna, nor did it indicate to her that she should stay away. She spent much of her time around the Thestrals, and from what she knew, they were very gentle.
But on this day, the Thestrals were nowhere to be found in the large, circular area. Luna couldn't help but feel disappointed in their absence. The raw meat in her knap sack would go to waste, but more importantly, she felt alone in the darkening wooded place.
Her face perked up at the sound of cracking leaves and twigs from behind, and she turned around slowly to see who was joining her. She saw a boy, namely Neville Longbottom, another student at Hogwarts. He belonged to the Gryffindor house, while Luna was in Ravenclaw. She had only recently gotten to know him formally, when their fellow student, Harry Potter, struck up a secret organization called 'Dumbledore's Army'.
This faction was created to properly teach its members how to defend themselves against dark magic, as their official Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were being corrupted by the Ministry of Magic.
"Luna? What are you doing out here?" Neville asked her, looking muddled in her presence, as everyone often did. He approached her slowly, and came to a stop beside her.
"Waiting," she replied softly, her attention focused back on the place where Thestrals usually gathered.
"For what, exactly?" The bumbling boy inquired, attempting to follow Luna's eyes. He could see nothing significant that she would be looking at, and then realized his mistake. Everything that Luna looked at was significant in some way, to her at least.
"Nothing, it would seem. I don't think they will be here tonight," she declared, turning to face him. Her silvery eyes sparkled up at him, and she seemed to be waiting for him to say something.
"Oh, erm, a-all right. Where have your shoes gone?" Neville questioned her, glancing down at her shivering feet.
"The Nargles have taken them again, I expect. They seem to really enjoy my shoes. Almost as much as I do," she answered airily, letting her large eyes flitter over the ground, on a quest for something else to stare at vacantly.
"Oh, well, here you are -- take mine," Neville told her, slipping off his shoes deftly, and sliding them over towards her.
She stared down at them, and then beamed at him.
"Oh, that's very kind of you, Neville," she said with a smile, gratefully accepting his shoes, and manuevering her own feet inside them. She closed her eyes in comfort at the warmth radiating through her feet, and opened them again to find Neville staring at her oddly.
"Has the feast begun?" She wondered out loud, not looking at him.
"No, but it should start any moment. I suspect you'll want to head back for some pudding," Neville stated with a laugh, not understanding Luna's infatuation with the pudding at Hogwarts.
"That would be quite nice. Let's go," Luna said, grabbing him by the hand and leading him off. She obviously had no reservations about holding hands with him, and she also didn't sense how awkward Neville felt.
As they neared the school grounds, the rocks on the ground seemed to become more jagged. One of them made itself quite prominent to Neville, as it dug roughly into his bare foot, and he cried out in agony. He let go of Luna's reluctant hand, and propped himself up against a tree.
It wasn't long ago that night had fallen, but that didn't stifle how dark it was.
"Oh, Neville! Are you all right?" Luna asked him quietly, feeling around for him in the darkness.
She pulled out her wand and muttered 'Lumos Olem', and smiled as a golden rush of sparks poured from the tip of it, engulfing the pair in light.
"I stepped on a rock," Neville replied in a pained voice. Suddenly, he took to watching Luna's odd movements, momentarily forgetting his foot.
She plopped herself down on the ground and removed Neville's school shoes from her own feet. Satisfied, she stood back up suddenly and took her toes, pressing them softly against the sore spot on Neville's foot. He raised an eyebrow at her, though she didn't see it.
"What're you doing?" He asked her, as her toes remained against his foot.
"You'd be surprised at what a kiss can heal," she told him in her light voice. Neville didn't know why, but her comment made him blush furiously. Did she think that's what was happening?
"Luna, that isn't a kiss," he said, in an oddly raspy voice. She still wouldn't look at him.
"A lot of people have different opinions of what a kiss is. I believe it's any form of comforting, physical contact," she responded intelligently, continuing to "kiss" him.
Neville chuckled at how naive she was, and bent to her level. He felt he should set her straight. He felt his chest swell with confidence, as well as some other feeling he could not name. Being this close to her was better than he had ever imagined.
"Luna...that's not a kiss. This is a kiss," he stated, prompting her to finally look at him.
Her bright, silvery eyes gazing up at him curiously made his confidence falter slightly, but he did not stop. He inched closer to her pale face and brushed his lips against hers, softly. He was somewhat bewildered at his own actions, and he kept his eyes open the entire time.
He was amused in the fact that Luna kept hers open, also. They swept from side to side, as though looking for something, before her lips puckered out slightly, making it easier to kiss her. Once he pulled away, Luna shot off at the mouth. Unexpectedly, her dreamy voice only added to the amazing light feeling that shot through Neville's body.
"That was nice, Neville. Even better than the lovely crossbreed of Wrackspurts and Pixies. Yes, kisses are quite wonderful, when you think about them. Why, I'm sure even Nargles enjoy--" she rambled on, in the zephyr-esque tone he'd come to appreciate.
Despite of how comforting he found her voice, he couldn't help but cut her off, wordless in his attempts, but significant all the same. Another kiss was in order...The second could be only twice as good as the first, and Neville was correct in his thinking.
It was deeper this time, but still tentative, with more of a reaction on Luna's behalf, delighting Neville endlessly. She had, at some point, whispered a soft 'Nox'. This dimmed the glow from her wand, enveloping the two in darkness.
He had no idea what she had been waiting for in those woods, but he was certainly glad he'd found her there.
A/N: I'm sure that was pretty corny, but it was my first attempt at writing a Neville/Luna... Hopefully it was as in character as I wanted it to be, although I know it was more realistic on Luna's part. I just adore that girl, I swear. She makes me giggle incessantly.