Sal Sparks and her best friends, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood have been inseparable since Sal and Neville's second year, when Luna and Ginny arrived. It's Sal and Neville's 4th year now, but why and how could Neville and Sal feel this way towards each other if they're just best friends? And how is Sal, being a young metamorphogus, going to learn to keep her hair from turning pink when she thinks about Neville? How are they going to keep Luna from that Malfoy boy? How are they going to help Ginny capture Harry's heart? Sal Sparks is my OC, and I only own her and Dallie-Dins. :) Anything you recognize is J.K Rowling's.
Neville/OC.
Chapter 1-
Dallie-Dins and Hogwarts at Last.
The four best friends have an eventful ride to school.
"Neville? Oh...no...Sorry..." Sal Sparks said, walking into a group of 7th years' compartment on the train. She closed the shaded door with her small hands, but not in time for her not to hear a response.
"Stupid 2nd year," she heard one of them whisper. Sal's eyes narrowed at the burley boy who had muttered it.
"4th year," Sal corrected him, frustrated, rolling her eyes and whipping her angry red hair behind her.
She continued to look for Ginny, Neville, and Luna, walking down the train and checking every compartment window she passed. Sal's heart raced thinking of the four of them together again, getting into trouble together. But then her mind shifted to only one of them.
'Neville. I can't wait to see Neville,' she smiled, thinking of him, when a voice pulled her out of her thoughts like a fish on a hook.
"Sal!" she heard Neville exclaim. She looked up smiling, and saw him trip on his new robes while walking towards her, trunk in hand. "Hair pink today, eh?"
Sal blushed, hair turning even pinker than it already was. She laughed and shook her head, turning back to its normally purple color.
'Damn it, I've got to stop that,' she thought to herself.
"I've been looking all over you!" Sal gave him a hug and he looked unsure what to do with himself, but hugged her back, blushing. She squeezed him tight, loving the feel of being in his surprisingly strong arms and towering 6 or 7 inches over her head, Neville being almost six feet tall already.
"Can you believe we're fourth years? You don't even look like one," Sal teased, pulling Neville along by his hand with their trunk-free hands, searching for the other two.
"I know! But are you kidding? My face makes me look twelve," he exclaimed, looking at their entwined hands, and then blushing some more when Sal caught him looking at them. "It's cr-crazy."
"Oh, shush. Your face is just fine, you're just so tall! Towering over me! Our other friends too," Sal laughed, staring up at Neville.
"Well, just make yourself taller," Neville suggested, forgetting how Sal usually answered to this.
Sal laughed, "No, silly. You know how it is. I don't like to change anything but my hair."
"Right, right," Neville nodded, smiling down at her, "You still haven't told me you're actual hair color..."
"Not today Neville," Sal laughed.
"Damn," he replied, "Worth a shot, eh?"
They laughed together continuing to walk down the train hall.
Neville heart-race sped up to more than normally. What was going on with him? He kept glancing down at their hands unconsciously. Sure, they'd held hands before, but not for very long, not for this long, and Neville thought this time he'd faint by the time she pulled her hand away.
Neville smiled then, liking how everyone could see them together, attached by the hands. Sal was a pretty girl, a very pretty girl, and he knew she had been since she was little, he knew this was her real self; he'd seen baby pictures, her hair changing colors every few minutes but her face always the same. He had heard the guys last year in the dorm talk about her, and her looks, when they thought Neville was sleeping. They all thought she was something worth looking at, Seamus saying cruder things than just that, and it had infuriated Neville to the very core, yet he hadn't known why. But, he didn't stir, not wanting them to think he liked Sal...more than a friend. Plus, he was just too scared Seamus might punch him, he got angry easily. A lot.
"So, how was your summer?" Sal smiled at him, still checking compartments.
"I thought you'd know, sending me letters every week," he laughed and Sal giggled in response, rolling her eyes at him. "But uneventful, to be honest. Gran wouldn't get tickets to the World Cup," he frowned at her.
"Oh, I know, I couldn't go either. Ginny and her family got tickets, remember? I think Hermione and Harry went too," she replied, squeezing his hand. Sal went on to talk about how she had boring summer as well.
Neville nodded like he was listening, but his head was really swimming with feelings while he stared at her profile.
'I thought I only felt this way over the summer because I missed her...What's going on with me? At least my hair doesn't turn colors too; I'd be caught straight away. And to make matters worse: she's my best friend. She has been since our first train ride, when we both thought we'd be Hufflepuff's.
"Hey! Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Hearing Sal say their names pulled him back down to earth, but Neville was still grinning at his memory of Sal and himself on their first train ride.
"How was the World Cup?" Sal asked the trio, grinning broadly at them when she saw them notice her and Neville's hands.
Harry grinned at Sal and they quickly hugged, and Sal let go of Neville's hand to his dismay. He felt something strange boil up inside him in the pit of his stomach, just like last year when the guys in his dorm would talk about Sal...and it just got worse as she hugged Ron too.
"Great!" Harry and Ron said at the same time. They both launched into stories telling Neville all about the highlights of the Cup, while Sal and Hermione talked, catching up.
"It sounds like it was amazing! Too bad Gran wouldn't let me go," Neville said with disappointment after they'd finished with their stories.
"Eh, don't worry about it, Neville. There's always next time, right?" reassured Harry, patting him on the back. Surprisingly, it made Neville feel a bit better. Harry always knew how to make things feel better, trying to or not.
Bidding good-bye to their other friends, Sal and Neville continued down the train hall.
"Why didn't I ask them where Ginny was?" Sal cursed under her breath, looking back but not seeing the three of them, having already disappeared.
"No need," laughed Neville, pointing to a compartment to their right. "They're both right in here."
Neville promptly slid the door open for Sal, and she said thanks as she ran inside. He followed right in after her, trying to keep his eyes up.
'What HAS gotten into me? Why am I staring at Sal's…arse?' Neville thought to himself, shaking his head as if it could rid him of the thought of Sal. He never acted like this!
"Ginny! Luna!" she laughed, hugging them both in turn. Neville did the same, and Sal tried to ignore when Ginny hugged him much longer than necessary.
'Don't be silly, she likes Harry,' Sal told herself, plopping down next to Neville after stuffing her small trunk up top.
"How were your summers?" Sal asked as Neville scooted closer to her, making them an inch away from each other. Ginny waved her arms about, excited to answer. Luna simply smiled serenely and stared out the window, seeming to be listening.
"Bloody fantastic! Well, the beginning of the summer was quite boring, except for when Fred and George kept me entertained with their pranks and these products they're making. The Quidditch World Cup was bloody brilliant, though!" Ginny beamed, "Well, not when the Death Eaters showed up..."
"Death Eaters showed up?" Sal exclaimed, hair turning a vivid blue. She didn't know much about the wizarding world lately, being muggleborn, so this news was all new to her, "Why hasn't anyone told me?"
She looked at Neville accusingly, but he just shook his head, looking scared as though she might punch him. Despite being angry he didn't tell her anything, Sal laughed. She had only punched him once on accident in their first year, when she had aimed for Malfoy, but Neville ran right in the way, trying to protect her, when she threw her fist and he got hit right in the cheek. Sal still feels bad about to this day, and Neville's completely embarrassed about it. Malfoy never let him live it down.
"Well, they showed up and tortured the muggles who own the land where everyone was camping out on. It was horrible. They set things on fire in the middle of the night and had everyone scared out of their minds, running around like nutters. That's not even the worst thing that happened," Ginny shivered. Sal did too, thinking about those poor muggles.
'Imagine if those were my parents...or my sister...' Sal thought.
"Yeah, the Dark Mark showed up, right? And Crouch thought it was Harry?" Neville asked solemnly.
"Yeah. Did Harry tell you?" Ginny asked, looking at the floor.
Neville nodded, an angry frown across his face.
"That's horrible..." Sal shook her head, hands twisting in her lap, "Who did conjure it?"
"We don't know. Barty Crouch thought his house elf that did it. He sent her away," Ginny said, shaking her head, "She's not his house elf anymore. It's crazy. Like a house elf would do that!"
"Poor, poor Winky," sighed Luna in agreement, looking at them all finally. They all sat in silence, nodding.
"So, Luna, how was your summer then?" Neville asked, changing the subject and frown disappearing.
"Oh! It was nice. Daddy and I spent the summer traveling around France, looking for Dallie-Dins."
They all gave her a blank look, so she went on to explain.
"They're these tiny, tiny, purple bugs known to hide in French flowers. Very, very rare. Good for pets...and soup! Daddy and I didn't give up until we found one."
"Why French flowers?" Neville asked. Ginny kicked him in the shin, "Oof! I mean...never mind."
Neville rubbed his shin and Ginny gave him an apologetic look. Luna appeared not to have heard what he had asked.
"Did you find them?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Oh, of course! We found only one, to our dismay. It's right here, in my bag. Since we only found one, there was no use for the soup. Although, I don't think I could bring myself to eat one of these cute things." Luna dug inside her blue star-patterned bag and pulled out a jar. All four of the friends crowded around it, looking for the small, purple Dallie-Din.
"Where's the Dilly-whatsit?" Neville asked, his eyes traveling over the jar.
"Dallie-Din! And it's right there, on the leaf," Luna said like it was obvious, pointing at a spot in the jar.
"Oh!" Sal exclaimed, pretending to spot it, trying to be nice. "I see it. It's...pretty!"
"Isn't it?" Luna smiled, putting the jar back into the bag. Ginny and Neville looked at each other and shrugged. Neville gave Sal a searching look, but Sal gave him a "Don't Say Anything or I'll Kick You like Ginny Did" face, so he just let it be. Sometimes he didn't understand Luna, but they were still as close as ever.
Talking and laughing for the next hour was easy for them all, having so much to catch up on. Whenever Ginny or Luna would be talking, Neville and Sal would steal glances at each other. Sometimes catching each other, they'd end up grinning to themselves, or in Neville's case, blushing all the way to his ears.
Later, while Neville was in the middle of a funny story about his Gran yelling at a postman on the street, three people they least wanted to see decided to show up.
"So, looks like this is the loser compartment here, eh?" Draco Malfoy, a blonde, sneering boy laughed. His friends, who looked like giant body guards compared to him, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle grunted in reply.
"It wasn't one until you showed up, Malfoy," Ginny shot back immediately. Sal gave him a face of absolute disgust, and Neville stared down at his shoes. Luna simply stared at Malfoy with curiousness etched across her face.
"Whatever. At least I don't hang out around mudbloods with freaky hair," Malfoy sneered, looking Sal's way. Sal's face didn't falter one bit, being so used to that insult, although her hair did turn a bit more of a reddish shade. Neville's hands balled into fists and his stomach boiled with rage.
"You're only saying that because you can't think of anything else to say that is insulting, Draco Malfoy. Maybe you should think of something else? You've used that one quite a lot," Luna said breezily, staring him right in the eye, grinning slightly.
Malfoy just seemed to have noticed her. He turned towards her, "And who are you?"
"I'm Luna Lovegood," she replied simply. Neville continued to look at the floor, face red. Sal gave him a pleading look, silently asking him for help. She gripped his hand for a moment before letting go.
"Leave her alone, Malfoy, and get the hell out of here," Sal spat, giving up on Neville for a moment and standing up for her friend.
Ginny stood up with her, and Neville slowly got up with them too, standing behind slightly behind them. He seemed to be trying to stay out of view, which was a slightly impossible considering his towering height. Luna stayed in her spot across from Neville, kicking her feet back and forth like she did this sort of thing every day.
"Fine," Malfoy answered softly, still staring at Luna with an odd expression. Surprisingly to all of them (including Crabbe and Goyle by the looks on their chubby faces), Malfoy left without saying another word.
"He's such a prat," Ginny hissed, sitting back down with a thud, still staring at the door where he just left.
"Huge prat," agreed Sal, nodding.
"A giant tosh-pot," Neville said. All of them started laughing uncontrollably at Neville's sudden choice of words, all except Luna.
"I think we should be nice to him," Luna said suddenly. They all immediately turned quiet, turning to stare at her.
"But...Luna, he's a huge, spoiled...bastard who makes Harry's and everyone's life he can, miserable...you know that," Ginny said exasperatedly.
"He seems lonely to me," Luna shrugged. "I can see it in his eyes. I feel quite sad for him."
Neville and Sal raised their eyebrows at each other, and Ginny just stared at Luna openmouthed.
"Just...don't go talking to him, okay Luna? He seemed to take a liking for you...or something," Sal said, sticking out her tongue thinking of Luna and Malfoy together, hair turning green for effect. The idea to her seemed horrible.
"He did get that weird look when he saw you," Ginny added. Neville nodded in agreement.
"No worries," Luna said, then started humming a tune none of them had ever heard of. But in the back of Luna's mind, something hit her.
'He is quite lovely looking. But he seems so...lonely. I want to help him,' Luna thought, still humming loudly, not wanting the others to question her.
Shaking their heads, the three went back to Neville's story; and the rest of the ride to Hogwarts was enjoyable for them all. The ride was especially enjoyable for Sal and Neville when they scooted closer to each other every minute or so, Neville's face blushing redder each time. Sal felt filled with pride, keeping her hair purple the whole time. Finally they were thigh to thigh by the time the train stopped at Hogwarts, which Ginny took an easy notice to.
"So, are you and Neville finally an...item?" Ginny giggled loudly, grabbing at Sal's arm while they walked off the train, purposely trying to annoy her; acting as girly as possible, which is something they both don't do often. Girls like Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were the ones they liked to avoid who did that so often.
Rain came down like buckets now, and Neville and Luna were in front of them, Luna going on about the Dallie-Dins again, and Neville trying to comprehend what she was saying through the harsh rain, hands over his face and trying to keep the rain from soaking him further.
"No! What makes you think that?" Sal laughed nervously, staring at Neville. He looked so...cute with his wet hair plastered to his face and the confused expression he had on.
Ginny raised her eyebrows and pointed to Sal's hair. Sal slowly pulled up her hood on her robes over her head, knowing her hair must've betrayed her once again. Ginny started to laugh.
"Well, I don't like Neville that way, and nor does he with me," Sal sniffed, pulling Ginny's arm off her's and shivering from the rain.
"Whatever, Sal, I can tell people like each other that way when I see it, and you two have got some sparks between you, Sparks," Ginny beamed, feeling smart. "Plus, your hair and his blushing help me out quite a bit."
"Whatever, Ginny," Sal laughed, running to catch up with Luna and Neville. She snatched Neville's hand and walked towards the carriages. Ginny could see him blush at the contact, even in the pouring rain.
"Whatever, my arse," Ginny laughed, jogging to catch up.
A/N:
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I've already got chapter 2 written, so it should be up/or will be up soon (depends on when you're reading this). I'm really liking Sal. Something happens (it's little, but it still happens) between Neville and Sal next chapter! Whoopieee.
I'm trying to keep this story in the storyline of "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire," by J.K Rowling, as much as possible.
Please review if you liked it?
Thanks again for reading!