The middle of December, it never was Neville's favorite time of year. "It's too cold" he whispered, speaking more to himself than anyone else. "The only good thing is that Christmas is in two days. Food and friends always make the cold worth it!" he added trying to cheer himself up.
He'd been in a bit of a slum lately. With the weather being unsettling, and all of his students heading home to their families for the holidays, he couldn't help but feel down. He has a family back home, but it wasn't one that he wanted to go spend the day with, let alone the entirety of winter break.
So instead of facing the family he despised, he had made plans to visit his parents for Christmas that year. They needed the company during the holidays, and even though it hurt to see them in their current state he wanted to be there for them. Plus, it wasn't like he had anywhere else to be.
Neville managed to pull himself out of his own thoughts in time to realize that he was almost to the great hall for dinner. There were very few students left, and several of the teachers had left as well, so the hall was rather empty.
It looked as glamorous as ever though, with candles floating above the tables acting as twinkling lights, almost like stars shining in the dreary night sky. The walls were lined with several large trees fully decorated to fit the season. The decorations for each tree alternated between the colors of each house, except for the largest tree seated directly behind Headmistress McGonagall's chair. This specific tree acted as the center piece, bringing all of the houses together in unison. It represents Hogwarts very well, or at least that was his opinion on the matter.
As he approached the Professor's table, Neville's breath caught in his throat. Sitting at the seat directly to the left of his was Miss Luna Lovegood. She was a Professor at Hogwarts as well now, teaching the new Care of Magical Creatures course.
Luna looked absolutely radiant. She was wearing white dress robes, they looked like snowflakes were cascading down her body falling to floor at her feet. Her hair was in its usual state of curly mess, but it just made her look even better.
As he neared his seat, she caught his approach out of the corner of her eye and beamed at him. "Hello Neville!" she said, turning to face him as he took his seat. "G-good evening Luna" he stuttered, somehow managing a smile. Luna opened her mouth to continue speaking with him, but at that exact moment Professor McGonagall rose to her feet to give her pre-feast speech.
Neville breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that had the conversation between Luna and himself continued he would have only made a fool of himself. He was never very good at talking to girls, especially not girls that he had feelings for., and he definitely had feelings for Luna. He had fallen for Luna in his 6th year at Hogwarts. She was so backwards and independent, he admired her quirkiness because it matched his own. He was absolutely and immaculately in love with her.