This one is dedicated to everyone that I love and all the people who are spending this Valentine's Day reading fanfiction like I am! :3
Be My Valentine... Maybe?
"So... have any plans for Valentine's day?"
Neville instantly regretted bringing up the subject as soon as it came out of his mouth. He and Seamus were the only ones in the boy's dormitory after dinner that evening. Neither one of them had spoken a word to each other for over fifteen minutes; Neville having his nose in his Herbology textbook and Seamus choosing to neglect his Divination homework in favour of lying down and staring blankly up at the elaborate canopy of his four poster bed.
Surprised by his friend's choice of topic for conversation, Seamus took a moment to respond.
"No," he sighed, shifting into a more comfortable sitting position. "And what about you? Got yourself a date?"
"Well...erm no, not exactly," Neville spluttered, "but I-I sort of wanted to... you know... ask someone, but I–"
"It's Luna, isn't it?" Seamus interrupted.
"How did... I mean, what makes you say that?" Neville blushed.
"Mate, everyone knows you fancy her."
"They do?" Neville's ears were turning bright red.
"Yeah, well you're not exactly very subtle, now are you?
"D-d'you think that Luna knows?" Neville asked anxiously.
Seamus merely shrugged in response.
"Oh my God! What am I going to do?" Neville panicked.
"Calm down, mate" Seamus said, fighting back laughter. He could tell that his friend was on the verge of a panic attack and he did not want to make him feel any worse than he already did.
After freaking out for nearly five minutes, Neville finally stopped hyperventilating and regained the ability to speak in a register audible to humans.
"I mean... do you think she might like me back?" he said breathing heavily and hugging his pillow tightly.
"Well here's a thought," Seamus chuckled, "why don't you just ask her?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Neville could not believe how lavishly decorated The Great Hall was decorated for Valentine's Day. It was just as Seamus had so elegantly described it to him earlier this morning: like cupid vomited all over the place. The long tables had become a sea of red and white, while the ceiling had been transfigured to mimic what looked like pink candy floss. Hearts and pink streamers were strewn everywhere and little cherubs were whizzing through the air, flitting about and occasionally swooping down on unsuspecting couples as they ate their meals. Even the house elves were in good spirit and made special heart shaped pancakes for the occasion, but Neville did not have the stomach to eat anything this morning.
He was going to do it. He he was going to ask Luna Lovegood to be his Valentine. The nerves were still eating away at his insides, even after weeks of planning and convincing himself that he wouldn't make a fool of himself... or at least not more than he normally does.
His heart started to race in anticipation when he saw Luna skipping down the centre aisle. She was carrying a wicker basket of pink daisies, stopping every now and then to give each of the passersby a flower along with her signature Luna smile. The same smile that Neville had fell in love with the first time that he met her. Some people would smile and graciously accept the offering, while others completely ignored her and went about their business, but most people just looked back at her in utter confusion as she drifted off to the next person.
Palms sweating as he clutched the tiny notebook in his hands, Neville marched forward with pure determination in every step. As he approached, several worries ran through his mind. He just repeated to himself what he always does before attempting to do anything out of his comfort zone: what's the worst that could happen?
I could faint, he thought. Oh God, what if I faint?
He didn't have time to imagine such a scenario, for at that very moment, Luna popped up right in front of him.
"Hello Neville," Luna said in her dreamy voice. "Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Happy Valentine's day," he said shyly.
"Here, this is for you," she smiled as she handed him a daisy.
"Thank you Luna," he said smiling back at her. "That's so thoughtful of you! What made you decide to hand out flowers to everyone?"
"Well I really love daisies and I just thought they might brighten other people's days. I think that everyone deserves to feel extra special on Valentine's Day. I love Valentine's Day, because it reminds people of how much other people care for them. I think that everyone deserves to feel extra special today, so I decided to do something that would make them feel exactly that."
"That's a really nice thing to do." Luna looked up at him and smiled.
She also added, "Although, some people say that daisies attract Snargleflies, but I haven't seen any in my garden at home."
"Hmm..." Neville said a bit distracted.
Come on, you can do this! he thought as he stood there awkwardly and averted his gaze from Luna's. It took him a while to pluck up the courage to so, but he started to lay the groundwork for the moment that he had been dreaming of for nearly a year and a half.
"Uh... I actually have something for you as well," he mumbled. His cheeks growing warmer as he handed the notebook he was carrying to Luna.
Still smiling, she examined the rather plain-looking cover and grazed the tattered pages delicately with her thumb. She then carefully opened it to see that there were dried flowers stuck between the pages.
"Often when I'm in the greenhouses I come across pretty flowers like these that fall off some of the blossoming plants, and it always seemed like such a waste to just sweep them up in a dust pan and toss them out; especially when the blossoms were still intact. So, I started collecting them and preserving them in a notebook, and I jotted down what they were and what made them unique. Some have magical properties, while others don't. I even think there's a daisy in there somewhere... I know there's a violet. I just thought, you know... that you might like it," Oh God, Neville thought to himself. Am I seriously giving a girl a bunch of shrivelled up flowers on Valentine's Day? What was I thinking? She probably –
"Oh Neville, I love it!" she exclaimed
"Really?"
"Yes, of course I do! I wouldn't say so if I didn't mean it you silly goose!"
The tint of pink in Neville's cheeks was becoming even more visible now. He knew now that he had to ask her before his shyness reached the point where he would start babbling like an idiot.
"So, erm," he said rubbing the back of his neck to distract himself from the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. "I-I was just wondering –" he stuttered, "if you're not doing anything that is... if you might, um...um... want to go to Ms. Puttifoot's Tea Shop this afternoon... with me?" Neville had to look away; his face was positively crimson, but as he was silently cursing himself for being such an inarticulate bumble, something extraordinary happened.
"I would love to!" she said.
Neville thought that he must not be hearing correctly. There was no way that a girl would ever accept to go on a date with him, but the genuine look in her shimmery silver blue eyes told him otherwise.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" she squealed. "I've never been anybody's Valentine before!"
The way her whole face lit up made Neville's heart leap.
"Well... would you be mine?"
"Yes! I would like that very much," she grinned
Neville chuckled nervously. Luna lightly took hold of his hand and looked up at him.
"I just need to go finish handing these out to people before we go."
"Of course," Neville smiled. "I'll wait here until you come back!"
"Alright, I'll see you later!"
Luna grinned, then trotted off to make the rest of her deliveries. Unbeknownst to Neville, Seamus had been watching him the whole time from the Gryffindor table, silently cheering on his mate. When Neville spotted him, Seamus flashed him a wicked grin and gave him a thumbs up, to which Neville returned bashfully. Seamus then smirked and pointed at him, but Neville did not understand why. It was then that he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
Neville turned around, and before he could register what was happening, Luna stepped up on her tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek before running off down the aisle again. He was so flabbergasted that he froze on the spot; a goofy grin etched onto his face. After a good minute or two, he walked back to his spot at the Gryffindor table with a slight hop in his step.
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! :3 You do not know how much I appreciate your support! If you have some time, please leave a review telling me what you think so I can try to write stories that are more to people's liking :)
Also, for those who were following my chaptered fic Madness, I would like to thank you once again for all the support that you had shown for it and the patience that you have with me. I know I said a long time ago that I would try to update as soon as I can, and I would like to apologize for not living up to my promise. I am not known for my consistency, so it might have been a little too ambitious for me to start a chaptered fanfic as my first Fanfiction story, but maybe after some more practice with little oneshots like these, I'll start focusing on it again. Just know that updates will likely be very sporadic, and that probably won't be changing anytime soon. However, I am optimistic!
I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day filled with love, friendship, and lots of chocolate! :3 Tee hee!
Love Lily
xoxo