House: Gryffindor
Position: Prefect
Category: Drabble
Prompt: [Last Line] "So, I'll see you around," he said walking backwards
Word Count: 564 words, excluding header, author notes, and title.
Beta: Tiggs. CK, and Aurora. Thanks lovelies!
A/N: This was written for The Houses Competition, Y3R5. AU.
Neville's Back in Town
Hermione made her way down the bustling streets. Her high heels rang out against the cobblestone walkway with each step she took. Her arms were heavy with books and her purse kept sliding down her shoulder. She balanced the books on her hip and adjusted the strap again with irritation.
She heard the clock chime and immediately quickened her pace. She was going to be late again! She quickly rounded the corner and ran into another person. Her ankles gave out beneath her and she instinctively reached out in front of her, desperate to keep herself from falling. She frowned at the books that tumbled to the damp ground and felt tears sting at the back of her eyes. This was turning out to be a terrible day.
She steadied herself and quickly let go of the muscled arm she was still clinging to.
"I'm sorry."
She looked up to see Neville's warm face, smiling back at her.
"It's alright," he said, bending down to retrieve her books. "I never mind it when a pretty lady runs into me." He gave her a sly wink before holding her soggy books out to her.
Hermione's cheeks reddened and she blinked at him a couple of times in disbelief. It had been a couple of years since she had last seen him. He had been traveling the world, collecting rare plants to study. He looked the same—he still had the same wide smile and warm eyes—but he was different, too. These were subtle changes that Hermione quickly picked up on. He was standing tall, not slouched over like he used to be, and he was looking directly into her eyes. Hermione could feel waves of confidence rolling off him.
"I didn't know you were back," Hermione said quickly once she realized she was staring at him.
"I've only been back a couple of days. I didn't really know who would want to see me since it has been so long." He shrugged.
"Of course, we all want to see you! We should get together and have dinner soon."
"Like a date?" Neville asked hopefully.
Hermione's breath quickened and she tried to avoid Neville's eager eyes. She had never been interested in Neville romantically. It wasn't that she didn't like him, because she did. He was sweet and caring, but his lack of confidence had always turned her off. She examined him from the corner of her eyes; there was no denying his confidence now. She bit her lip, deep in thought. She couldn't find a reason to say no. She wasn't seeing anyone; she and Ron had broken up over a year ago. Neville's baby face had been replaced with the sharp angles of manhood and she couldn't deny that she found him attractive.
"Okay," she said with a shaky breath.
Neville's eyes widened and a large smile cracked his face. "Great!"
They quickly made plans to grab dinner that night when the clock chimed the half-hour.
"Blast it!" Hermione cried, "I have to go!" She smiled at Neville apologetically.
She would most certainly get an earful from her boss about punctuality, but she found that for once, she didn't care. The day started out horribly wrong but Hermione had a feeling it was going to end wonderfully.
He smiled at her teasingly and winked. "So, I'll see you around," he said walking backwards.