A/N: For the HPFC 100 Christmas Prompts. Prompt 21: Magic.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling
Neville pushed the front door with his elbow, his wand pointed at four hovering brown boxes in front of him, which were filled to the brim with tree trimmings and Christmas decorations. As soon as the door shut itself behind him, his wand faltered just the slightest bit and all the boxes fell loudly on the floor, little green and red pieces spilling through the floor.
He sighed as Luna came up to him, a smile on her face, "Oh good! You got everything!"
"Yes, I did," he looked around. The walls were bare, with paint coming off and there was no furniture to speak of (unless a mattress on the floor near the fireplace counted. Neville didn't think so). However, there was a very tall tree in the middle of the living room. Its top touched the ceiling, making little flecks of paint fall on their heads from time to time. Luna was already charming some decorations on the tree, so they'd twinkle by themselves.
An alarm buzzed somewhere in the kitchen, and Neville noticed the familiar scent of gingerbread wafting through the air. He took three short steps and found himself in front of the oven. Putting some oven mitts on, he stared out the white window on top of the kitchen sink. Their garden was in need of being mown and de-gnomized. He sighed again, opening the oven door and was greeted with a wave of heat being blasted on his face. He carefully took out a tray filled with batch of little gingerbread men, some talking, some just looking around, their little marshmallow eyes turning everywhere, and a few of them fighting with each other. One was missing a leg already.
"Luna, you're not supposed to charm them before putting them in the oven, you know they get grumpy," he said out loud.
She was next to him in seconds, "Oh, yes, I suppose you're right. But they just looked so sad before baking them, I simply had to, Neville!"
He kissed the tip of her nose, "Always soft-hearted."
She grinned at him, her blonde hair shining in the waning evening light, "Come, you must see how the tree's coming along."
They both sat on the mattress, which they temporarily called their bed, and watched as large and small ornaments floated around the tree, finding themselves a spot on the needles, tinsel and garlands untangling themselves from each other and wrapping themselves on the tree as well. Luna took her wand from its usual spot behind her heard and flicked it, several floating candles lighting themselves, casting a warm light through the room.
"It looks lovely," said Neville, hugging her side.
"Thank y-," Luna was interrupted by the pitter-patter of several gingerbread men making their way from the kitchen and onto the tree. The one with no leg stayed behind, limping towards them. Neville got up and helped him onto the top of the tree.
Luna smiled at him, gazing him with a dreamy look in her eyes. He leaned into her and kissed her lightly on the lips, "Good work, love".
They were silent, watching the tree, the chatter of gingerbread men and the crashing of waves filling in for their conversation.
"Okay, so, we've got Harry's gift," said Luna as they walked through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley, crossing a name of a piece of parchment.
"Yes, a miniature snitch," confirmed Neville as he struggled with two very large shopping bags.
"And your Gran is taken care of too," she crossed another name out.
"We still haven't gotten anything for Ron, though."
"Oh, you're right! How about the new Chudley Cannons biography?"
Neville nodded, and looked around anxiously. Every window shop touted to have the perfect Christmas gift, but he still had yet to find the right present for Luna. At first he'd thought about giving her something for their new house, a sofa, perhaps. Or a bed. But it felt so impersonal, he wanted it to mean something. It was their first Christmas as a married couple, he had to make it special, give her something memorable and that would remind her of him. He thought of jewelry, but she had never cared much for that, so he thought of a pet, like a cat or dog, but they already had an owl and always forgot to feed it. He thought of flowers (too simple), a plant from the Greenhouses (Luna already complained on how he kept bringing his work home) and even new quills (he remembered she bought about two new ones a week). He had asked everyone he knew for advice, and kept getting the same answers. He was at a complete loss.
"Let's take a break, my legs feel like they've been turned to jelly," she said, guiding Neville into Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlor. They were greeted by a plump witch with freckled cheeks, who sat them at a table and took their orders.
"I'm glad someone took over this place after what happened to Fortescue. It was nice of them, keeps his memory alive."
Luna was staring out the window, not listening to a word he said to her. She quite often went into a dreamy haze, and he knew better than try to snap her out of it. He'd only tire himself out. The witch came back with their hot chocolates, and as he handed her a silver coin, Luna woke from her daydream.
"As much as I love our home, I'll miss having a white Christmas. Too bad it doesn't snow by the seaside."
"It does snow by the seaside, love, just not this year. It hasn't snowed at all yet."
Looking up, she pointed at the ceiling, where a bunch of mistletoe hung, "Did you know Nargles live in Mistletoes?"
"I do, Luna," he leaned over the table and kissed her.
"Hey, hey, you two, stop trying to push each other to the ground," warned Neville as two young Huffepuffs ran past him, shoving each other. It was the last week of school, and he was accompanying some of his students on a final trip to Hogsmeade. He still hadn't gotten Luna a gift.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around from shop to shop. Perhaps some notebooks? He'd already given her those for her birthday. Display cases for new species of insects? Too gruesome. How about a necklace?
Hitting his forehead with his hand in frustration, he sat down on a bench, his fingers nervously tapping his knee. A lone snowflake fell on his glove, and he looked at the sky, hoping more would follow. They didn't. A snowless Christmas was a very sad thought indeed. His eyes suddenly widened, and he jumped out of his seat and into The Three Broomsticks, looking everywhere for Professor Flitwick.
Luna poked the fireplace with a stick, trying to make the flames more lively. She was never very good at making fires. Neville came out of the kitchen with a big Christmas pudding his Gran had sent him floating in front of him, his wand in one hand, and two glasses with eggnog on the other. He placed them on the small table in front of the sofa. Their sofa! Their kind friends and family had given them some furniture as an early Christmas gift. They'd probably never get any furniture at all if left to their own devices, as Luna was too immersed in her work to simply shop, and Neville spent of his time at Hogwarts, and had no patience to look at faucets whatsoever. Everything was wonderfully mismatched, the sofa was purple and the curtains were either light-blue or a shocking yellow, but it reminded him of Luna, so he was okay with it. She was wrapping herself up in blankets next to him, the knit reindeer on her sweater prancing around on her stomach.
Reaching under the sofa, she pulled a small bag about the size of her hand and handed it to him, "Merry Christmas!"
Neville smiled, looking at the bag. It was purple and had several hats hand-drawn on it. He gingerly opened it, and peeking inside, he saw several seeds.
"They're apple seeds. You can plant an apple tree in out backyard, and I can always make apple pie."
Apple pie was his favourite. He hugged her, nearly spilling her eggnog in the process, "I have something for you too."
He got up and kneeled in front of the tree, searching the back for a square box wrapped in pink paper. Sitting down next to her, he placed it on her lap, beckoning her to open it. She ripped the paper, and before her stood a new radio.
"So I can listen to the Quibbler's newscast!"
"Exactly! Do you like it?" he asked, nervously.
"Love it!" she answered, smiling and hugging him. She started fiddling with the buttons, but Neville interrupted her.
"Wait, I still have one more present for you. Close your eyes."
She did as she was told, and Neville flicked his wand.
"You can open them now."
Little snowflakes filled the entire house, landing softly on the stairs, covering the gingerbread men and all the presents under the tree. Luna got up, twirling around the living room, her long skirt in her trail. Neville joined her and took her hand.
"How'd you know this was exactly what I wanted?"
"It's a special kind of magic."