((i don't own any of this it all belongs to the fabulous mrs. jk rowling. r&r would be lovered!))

A tiny smile crept across her pink lips as she looked down at a rather large flower. Their garden was not by any stretch of the imagination large—it was only a section of the rooftop. The flower took up most of the room in the garden, but she didn't seem to mind. It was the best in her opinion. This flower, about three times the length of any woman's palm, would probably not be considered the most pretty of all flowers. Its petals were a mixture of deep purple, bright yellow, and pea green. The leaves, about half the size of the petals, were as sharp as razor blades, and more seemed to pop up every day. However, she still liked this one best. The man standing next to her couldn't possibly imagine why, of course. But he accepted it, just as he did with everything he didn't understand about her

It had been three years since Harry Potter had finally conquered over Lord Voldemort, and things were just beginning to become normal again. Hogwarts had reopened the year before, and the fear was diminishing more every day. They hadn't really talked much about what happened; the year Harry Potter was going around killing horcruxes had been traumatizing for both of them. They barely thought about it, but it was the woman who first spoke about it at this time. "D'you remember the snake?" She asked with her normal wispy voice, though it had deepened and mature slightly over the years. She rose up, and her large blue eyes went over to him, watching him stutter over a few of his words. She knew that maybe this wasn't the right time, or that maybe it would bring back memories—but then when would be a good time

He finally answered. "Yes. I'll never forget it," He said, and he looked back over to her. His tone was shaky and unsure. "Why…why d'you bring it up, Luna?" He asked, then, and he watched as her proverbial wheels turned. He knew the day would soon come that they'd have to actually talk about it. But why did it have to come today? Why couldn't it have come when they weren't enjoying this Moonbright flower he'd planted, special for Luna

The woman named Luna paused before answering. "I've just been thinking about what it was like at Hogwarts," She said to him easily enough, and she sighed. "I wonder sometimes if the thestrals are still there." She mused, and she looked up to him for his opinion of at all. He simply shrugged, and she nodded, taking his rather large hand. She held it in her small, pale hand. "The Carrows were dreadful." She frowned, then, and her expression grew dark as she thought about it

Neville Longbottom sighed heavily as he looked over to her. "Why are you revisiting it?" He asked suddenly, and it even seemed to shock her. "We…we're happy. We have a flat, I'm teaching at Hogwarts, you've discovered many new species of animals…why would you want to come back to it? No one likes to go back to it," He said, and she sighed. In spite of his somewhat angry tone she did not look offended, but instead looked patiently up at him.

"Why do you think Harry and Ginny have been having problems in their relationship? And Ron and Hermione?" Neville stuttered over a few answers before Luna nodded. "Because they're carrying these memories with them, and have yet to sit down and relate to each other with them. They don't talk about it. And who can blame them? It's torture." Luna wrinkled her nose, and Neville's grip on her hand tightened. "It hurts, thinking about the lives that were lost and the sacrifices that were made. All of us in the D.A. had our youth torn away from us." Luna frowned, looking quite concentrated about all of this.

"You're about to say something wise that's going to give me instant clarification," Neville said flatly.

"I'm about to say something that is true, not wise," Luna corrected him. A light breeze seemed to blow through her, and it made her light blonde curls move a bit before the wind died back down. "If you hold these things in they eat you inside. They taunt you with flashbacks and…" She closed her eyes. "They hurt. But when you talk about them, when you let go of all of these feelings you have about them, and especially to someone who cares about you and knows what you mean…your burdens will be lifted and you'll be able to smile and really mean it."

Neville was in shock. Was all of this really behind those eyes of hers? Neville had a difficult time thinking that Luna could be scared, or hurt, because of how confident she acted most of the time. He moved his hand to hold hers now, and he looked over to her. "I never…I never thought you felt the same way as I did. But why shouldn't you? You were put through just as much, if not more," He said. "I never thought."

Luna smiled a sad smile. "Human beings are ego-driven," She said in a reminding tone, and he pretended to remember. "I cannot and would never fault you for thinking of yourself first." She looked up to him. "Would it be worth it to go through with this with me? To help us individually, and as a functioning couple?" She asked, and Neville hesitantly nodded. He supposed he would be willing to revisit all of this with her. What choice did he have

The moon was high in the sky by the time they'd finished talking. They still sat up on the rooftop of their flat, in front of the Moonbright flower, but it looked quite different than it had before. The purple was now lighter, and the yellow a bit more pale. The leaves were no longer razor sharp but were now velvety if anything, and it would leave behind a substance that made Luna's hands soft when she touched it. They sat on a quilt, looking up to the moon. Luna lay in Neville's large and awkward arms, but didn't seem to mind that he was a bit uncomfortable. For what was uncomfortable to most was comfortable to Luna. She listened as he talked about the Moonbright, her eyes closed as she listened. It had taken Neville a bit of time to get used to talking freely about the things he kept in his mind, but after a while, he couldn't stop talking. And all the while Luna listened with an attentive ear

Neville paused in his excited speech, letting out a sigh, and he frowned. "Hey, Luna."

"Yes, Neville?" She asked softly, her voice quieter than usual.

"Why…err, why do you like the Moonbright so much?" He asked. "I mean, it's one of the ugliest. No offense meant, of course." He looked down to her, placing a careful peck on her temple before she began to speak.

Luna smiled. "The world has enough beauty in the light. Anything can be beautiful in the light, anything can shine, and anything can be something special. It takes a special thing to be beautiful in the dark, however. Because in the dark, things and people tend to be ugly. But the Moonbright is prettiest when it's the darkest hour," She answered smoothly, her voice and body relaxed.

Neville smiled. "I get what you're saying." And then he snickered. "It's a bit like you, isn't it?" He asked, and then panicked. "Not that you're ugly at all, you're just…not stereotypically beautiful. But when things are bad, that's when you seem to…y'know. Shine the brightest." He smiled, and he found himself stroking her hair softly, his brown eyes wide. "Hey Luna?"

"Yes, Neville?" She asked, even more relaxed.

"Thanks for helping me. You don't know how much that's been bothering me, all of that…that happened. It was worth it in the end, but the means were very difficult." He sighed, and a few minutes of silence went by before he spoke again. "Hey Luna?" He asked.

Luna's response was a soft snore.

Neville grinned. "I love you."