From his lonely bench in Diagon Alley, Neville looked over at Luna. She had her boyfriend with her. Neville was twenty- three at the time. He wanted to talk to her, tell her it was he who she should be with, not this naturalist who was only special because his grandfather was Newt Scamander, bestselling author. Life just wasn't fair. He looked down at his hands. What happened to the Dumbledore's Army meetings? And during the Battle of Hogwarts, there was a time when he defended her and their hands brushed together. What happened to those days?
Looking up, Neville saw that Luna and Rolf were now snogging. It took all of his self control, but Neville managed to keep his breakfast down. What was wrong with him? Stupid Rolf with his blasted grandfather. Neville wished desperately that Luna would come over and comfort him. Oi Luna, he wanted to shout. Remember me? The boy that killed Nagini the snake? The one that kept the DA functioning even when Harry Potter wasn't around? The one who took beating after beating to defend the Muggle-Borns? The one who believed you when you said that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks were real? Well, I researched it, and they'renot real! Take that Lovegood!
But Neville uttered no such words. He kept his mouth shut just as a good boy should. He glanced around, wanting someone to talk to. His gaze landed on Hannah Abbot, who was jotting down notes outside of the local owlery. Neville raised his eyebrows. Luna could wait. He waved merrily at Hannah and called her name. Hannah happily sat down next to him and together they began to discuss starting a career in Herbology.