"If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter" — Markus Zusak
December 1994
"Ginny?"
"Oh, hi Neville," Ginny said, smiling up at the fourth year from her seat beside the fire. "Did you want to sit down? I'll just move my books, and-"
"Actually no," Neville said. "I was just...um, can I have a question?"
"Can you...pardon?" She blinked, wondering if she'd misheard.
"I meant to say 'can I have a word' but then I changed my mind and meant to say 'can I ask you a question', but it got confused in my mind and that was what came out, sorry!" Neville said all this very quickly and finished with a high pitched, rather strangled sounding laugh, which caused Ginny to look at him with some concern.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Do you want to go to the Ball? With me?" he blurted out in response.
"Why?" asked Ginny. She quickly realised how this question sounded on seeing the look on his face. "I mean, why do you want to go with me when you could go with someone you like? A girlfriend, I mean?"
"I don't er...well, I thought I'd ask you," replied Neville. "You're only a third year so you won't get to go if you don't go with someone older..."
"That's true and I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to get in the way if there's someone you'd rather go with," she said. "You know, someone you like. I know we're friends, but I don't want you to miss the opportunity to go with, you know, a proper girl."
"There's no one I li—I mean, no one I'd rather go with," Neville said quickly. "Unless, of course, there's someone you'd rather go with?"
"No, no, there's no one I'd rather go with!" Ginny said brightly. "Well, thanks Neville! I'd love to go with you."
"Oh...good," Neville said, looking as though he couldn't quite believe his ears.
"Good," nodded Ginny.
"Yes, good," he repeated, rather confusedly. "Well er...I'm off to bed now!"
"Sleep well," Ginny said.
"Good," he said again. "I mean, er, you too."
xxx
"Have you seen Ron's face? Look!"
Neville looked over to where Ginny was pointing. "Oh dear, he's not very happy..." he agreed.
"Look at who he's staring at, though!" Ginny said, nodding over to where Hermione was dancing with Viktor Krum and looking as though she couldn't be happier.
"Does he like her? Ron, I mean," Neville asked.
"Oh yes, only I don't think he's properly realised it yet," Ginny said. "Mind you, I don't think she has either. Imagine! I don't think I could ever not realise someone was in love with me - especially when they were making it that obvious, could you?"
Neville gave an odd sort of hum in response, and Ginny realised she was probably boring him with her gossiping. "C'mon then Nev, let's get some exercise," she said, pulling him to his feet. "Don't you feel like dancing?!"
She was sweet, and didn't say anything when he trod on her feet - though he did notice her wincing occasionally. She chattered away even when she had to fill all his awkward pauses by herself and she did a good job of pretending to care when he waffled on about Herbology for fifteen minutes straight. She looked beautiful in her dress robes, and when Harry disappeared off somewhere with Ron, she stopped sending him longing looks across the dancefloor and was able to give him her full attention.
It would have been almost perfect, were she not completely oblivious to the fact that he was in love with her.
xxx
She bounded up to him the corridor a few days after the Ball, apologising profusely for abandoning him when she went up to the Common Room at the end of the evening without him. "It was Hermione, you see, she was so upset about Ron and everything, I just couldn't leave her. But I just wanted to say that I had such a lovely time with you, and thanks again for asking me!"
"Is Hermione alright now?" he asked, because he didn't think he could get the words "I had a lovely time with you, too, and want us to have more lovely times together" out in the right order.
"Oh, she's fine - still mad at Ron, of course, but she's going out with Viktor Krum and she's so happy about that! Anyway, I can't stop because I promised Sarah I'd meet her in the library to do our Potions essays together and I'm already late," she continued cheerfully. "But thanks again for taking me and being so nice!"
She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek. "See you around, Nev!"
He'd seen Lavender do the same to Seamus after the Ball, and Seamus had swung her round and planted a kiss on her lips which quickly deepened, much to the laughing disgust of himself, Parvati and Dean. He'd wondered what it would be like to do the same to Ginny, but couldn't imagine ever being brave enough to do it.
He was surely no Gryffindor.
February 1998
"Happy Valentine's Day," Ginny said flatly, dropping a box of chocolates down on the sofa next to him. "Given that both of us are separated from our nearest and dearest on this day, I suggest we celebrate by stuffing ourselves with food. Any objections to this plan?"
"Hah," Neville scoffed. "Happy Valentine's Day indeed." He waited until she'd settled herself next to him before continuing. "Maybe we should sneak over to Amycus's office and attach a love note to these - 'to Alecto, love you forever, kisses from Amycus'?"
"What, and waste some of Honeydukes' finest on those cretins?! I think not!" Ginny replied. "And don't ask how I got these - but trust me, they'll be worth it. C'mon, have one!"
"Oh my Merlin, these are good!" he said, reaching for a second as soon as he'd finished his first. "How did you get hold of them? I thought the owner of Honeydukes had to flee from the Death Eaters?"
"Like I said, ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," she replied. "But...I've had them for a good few months. I had hoped that maybe...maybe Harry might be back by Valentine's Day, and I'd have a present for him, ready and waiting. But hey," she said, mock-offended. "Seeing as my boyfriend hasn't bothered to turn up to wish his lovely girlfriend a Happy Corporate Love Day, I am just going to find myself a nice new boyfriend to munch chocolate with!" Her playful words were belied by the tears which sparkled in her eyes.
"So you're still together, then?" he asked, helping himself to another chocolate and tactfully looking away as she brushed her cheeks.
She shrugged. "Well, technically we broke up 'for my protection and blah blah blah', but I mean...yeah, we're still together. Unless he's met some Veela or something on his travels..."
"That's what the Boy-Who-Lived is up to then, is it? Snogging rouge Veela girls in an attempt to bring down You-Know-Who through the power of love and a quick shag?" teased Neville.
"Oh, absolutely," said Ginny. "Which is why you're my new boyfriend."
"Oh marvellous," Neville said.
"It is indeed," agreed Ginny. "Although..." she added, her voice turning serious. "I'm guessing I'll only be your girlfriend until you're reunited with the one you really want to be with?" He frowned at her, puzzled. "Luna," she said softly. "I'm sure she's okay, and when we get her out of wherever she's being kept, the two of you can-"
"No!" Neville said quickly. "No. I love Luna dearly, and don't get me wrong, if I have to kill every single Death Eater up to and including You-Know-Who himself to get her back, I will, but we're nothing more than friends. She's like my sister."
"Oh!" said Ginny, genuinely surprised by this. "I thought you...and her...you know..."
"Yeah, everyone seems to think that," Neville said. "I'm not offended by it, but it's not going to happen. Ever."
"Fair enough," she replied. "So, come on. Who do you fancy?" she asked, drawing the word out like a twelve year old girl.
"Celestina Warbeck," he replied promptly. "She may be seventy five, but she's gorgeous."
"Excellent choice, but you do know she bats for the other team, don't you?" Ginny asked, popping a chocolate in her mouth.
"Dammit, there go all my hopes and dreams..." he sighed.
"Exactly, so you need someone else to get over her with," Ginny said. "And, obviously, you are the most lucky guy in the world because you have me for that, but if you didn't have me, who would you rather be spending your Valentine's Day with?"
It would have been so easy to keep up the friendly banter, but he paused a second too long before replying, "There's no one I'd rather spend a Valentine's Day with than you."
"Oh," said Ginny, once that statement had sunk in. "Do you...oh."
"And it's okay - I know you're with Harry even though you're not but I...I just wanted to tell you that I like you. As more than a friend," he said quickly. If he got it out fast enough, they could go back to their chatter and pretend this hadn't happened...
"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Ginny said. "I honestly didn't realise..."
"No no, it's okay," he said quickly. "It's my fault entirely, and-"
"Neville! It's not your fault you like someone," Ginny said sharply. "You don't have to apologise! How...um...how long have you...?"
"How long have I liked you?" She nodded. "Since...since the beginning of my fourth year."
"The beginning of...Neville! I can't believe I had no idea all this time," she said. "Why didn't you say something?"
"I think because I was afraid that you'd say no and we wouldn't be friends anymore," Neville replied slowly. "Because even before all this started, with the Carrows and the DA and everything, you've been one of my best friends and I didn't want to lose that by saying that I, you know, fancied you and not having you fancy me back."
"Neville," Ginny said gently. "I love Harry, and I can't imagine myself ever being with anyone other than him. But you are one of my best friends - and I can't imagine that ever changing, either"
"Then I shall think myself lucky to have you as a friend," he said, managing a small smile.
"Oh Neville," she said. "It's me who's lucky to have you as a friend! And I'm sorry I don't feel the same way about you...but pretending to myself that I do and us going out would ruin our friendship."
"And that we definitely don't want to do," Neville said. "But hey - at least I finally worked up the courage to tell you how I feel. It's only taken three years! I'm definitely the bravest Gryffindor alive..."
"You're the best Gryffindor I know," Ginny said seriously. "We couldn't get through this horrible year without you."
"Thanks, Gin," he said.
"Look, you should have the rest of these," she said, pushing the box of chocolates towards him.
"Why, because you feel sorry for me?" he joked.
"No, because if I eat any more of them, I'll get sick," she replied, clambering to her feet. "But they're not a present - they're a loan. Next Valentine's Day, I totally expect a fresh box delivered to me by you, okay? From one best friend to another, regardless of whether I'm with Harry, or another boy, or...or...or the Giant Squid!"
"Of course," he said gallantly, waving her off to her dormitory.
Eventually, of course, he got over Ginny, and fell in love with someone who loved him back the same way. But even when they were old and grey and married to different people with children and grandchildren of their own, they always remembered to send each other boxes of Honeydukes' finest chocolates on Valentine's Day. Love came in many forms, but it wasn't unchangeable and evolved into something new every day. And that was the most important thing Ginny Weasley ever taught him.
A/N: I was challenged to write a Neville/Ginny piece for Round 2 of the Women's Football in the 2012 Hogwarts Games and it was surprisingly hard! I guess that's the whole point of being challenged though? Please let me know what you think about this one - I'd love some constructive criticism :) As usual, I own nothing!