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Challenges at the bottom
Word Count - 330
Spread Thin
Luna blinked slowly, green slime dripping down her forehead.
Neville stared at her sheepishly as the others in the room laughed hard.
"Only you," Seamus said, patting his back gently as he passed Neville by.
The gentleness of the pat was a stark reminder of the times they were living in, when every touch to someone's body had to be soft in case there was an injury hidden beneath the clothing.
"Sorry, Luna," Neville murmured, offering her a towel to clean herself off with. "I, uh, didn't expect it to do that."
Luna smiled serenely at him, wiping the slime away as best she could.
"What are you doing?" she asked, perching beside him on the cot he'd been working on.
He shrugged. "Just an experiment. I want to make the balloons that the twins were talking about on the radio," he explained. "You know, the magic water bombs. But… perhaps with something a bit more lethal than water."
She nodded slowly, her eyes automatically moving to the wireless that was taking pride of place in the middle of the room of requirement.
"I'm proud of you," she said suddenly, her gaze settling on his face. "You've accepted everyone in here, no questions asked, and you've looked after everyone. There aren't many people who would do that, Neville."
He shrugged, his cheeks burning slightly. "We might be different houses, but… we all want the same thing, Luna. Freedom."
"I just thought you should know," she replied quietly. "That I'm proud of you."
Neville could only watch after her as she walked away, before another of the balloons exploded in front of him, covering him with green slime and refreshing the laughter.
As he looked around the room, he could only think that even if he hadn't yet perfected the 'bombs' he'd made his friends and comrades laugh.
With moments of happiness spread as thin as they were at the moment, he thought he could probably call that a win regardless.
Written for;
TV Show Of The Year - Jack - Neville / Slime / An Experiment
Character Appreciation - 14. Accepting of those that are different.