Round 13
Position: Keeper
Team: Chudley Cannons
Prompt: Neville/Hannah Abbott ruin Neville/Luna
Their hands tangled together as they crunched through the autumnal forest, Luna humming quietly under her breath as Neville murmured the names of plants they passed. The air was crisp and clean, with a slight whiff of wet leaves. They finally came to a stop by a large oak, which signified the end of the walk they knew so well. They turned back on themselves, heading back down the beaten track, wet branches brushing against their legs as they walked.
It had been six months since the Battle of Hogwarts, but the calm routine in their lives was still much appreciated. The walk to and from the oak - the furthest point seventh year students were allowed into the Forbidden Forest alone - was a welcome distraction from the castle and the memories that came with it. Many had returned for their final year, but enough hadn't to serve as a constant reminder that things would never be the same. The join between old stone and new was still visible, and the memorial was still a pristine white marble.
Neville and Luna walked back up to the common room and pulled off their outer layers. It was beginning to get chilly, and the fire roared. First years ran around, as excitable as ever, whilst fifth years scratched away anxiously at their homework in preparation for the ever-looming OWLs. The couple settled onto the sofa near the fire, the cushions already compressed into their favourite positions; Neville sprawled out with Luna leaning up against him. They read books, or just stared into the fire. It was a comfortable relationship.
Luna hadn't seen Neville for several hours as she made her way to Herbology. It was the only subject she had taken for NEWT level that she had with Neville, and they usually the enjoyed the brisk walk down to the greenhouses together. Her classmates had already reached greenhouse 5, and the area was empty when the door to the shed sprung open and Neville sprang out, his face red and hair tousled. He looked alarmed when he saw Luna, closing the door quickly behind him. Luna smiled, but he ignored her and strode into the greenhouse. Hurrying, she tried to catch up with him, but the lesson had already started when she arrived, and Neville had sandwiched himself between two other Ravenclaws.
Neville almost ran out of the classroom, and Luna didn't see him again till lunch.
"What's going on?" She asked him softly, as she helped herself to some potatoes.
"Nothing," he said abruptly. "Nothing at all."
And nothing more was said that meal.
Luna was rarely observant, but Neville seemed to be spending less time with her, and when he was he seemed preoccupied. She had no close friends to turn to and didn't want idle gossip to spread around the castle, so she kept it to herself and tried not to mind. But Neville was the one person who was always, unconditionally kind to her. It was hard not having that foundation any more.
Luna stepped into the bathroom between Potions and Herbology only to smack into Hannah Abbott.
"Hi," Luna said. Hannah was sweet, and Luna remembered how Hannah had once partnered up with her in their sixth year.
Hannah blushed deep crimson and pushed past her, her eyes fixed on the floor. Luna was used to people acting like this around her. But she had thought Hannah was kind?
It was late in the evening when Luna hurried back from Hagrid's hut. Unlike Hermione, Ron and Harry had not returned to Hogwarts, and she disliked going down there alone after dark. They were all paranoid after last year, always checking they had their wands, peering to see what lurked in the shadows. But Hermione had already headed back to the castle, keen to finish an essay, leaving Luna alone.
She had a thump from the Quidditch store cupboard. There were often odd sounds around the castle, and she was ready to hurry on when she had the crash again. She stopped, and there was another thump. Gingerly, she opened the cupboard door. It was dark, but there was definitely something there. She produced her wand and murmured Lumos under her breath…
There, resting against piles of old Quidditch robes, Neville and Hannah Abbott, out of breath and sweating, half-naked. His hands on her, her hands on him. Going places Luna had never even dreamed of doing with Neville.
It was Hannah who spoke first.
"I'd better go." She grabbed her jumper and pulled it on, taking her T-shirt and bra with her as she near ran past Luna.
Neville pulled himself up and put on his jacket.
"I'm sorry Luna," he said. "It was lust, not love."
Luna turned, tears in her eyes.
"I needed to feel something! I just wanted to feel something!" he shouted, the panic clear in his voice.
But Luna was gone, wandering away into the night.
Love was impossible to hold onto. And she'd just lost it.