Author's note: I adore Neville/Luna. I don't own anything. Enjoy! :-)
Five Years after The Battle of Hogwarts
Neville walks into the Three Broomsticks and takes a seat in the back, where there were barely any people. It's only about eight o' clock in the morning. Neville had fallen asleep quite early the night before. Being the Herbology professor wasn't as stressful as he thought he would. He didn't assign many writing assignments and besides, he did love herbology.
Madam Rosmerta had caught sight of him and walked over to where he was.
"Ahh, Professor Longbottom. Haven't seen you 'round here in a while."
"Oh! Madam Rosmerta, yeah… it's been a while. Busy being a professor at Hogwarts, that's all."
"The students? How are they?"
"Oh they're all wonderful. Gryffindors, especially."
They both laughed with each other.
"How's the love life going?"
Neville didn't know what to say. The only girl he had ever fancies was… was…
"Luna?"
He had sighted Luna walking across the room and stood up immediately. She looked back to where the voice had called her.
"Neville!"
A huge smile spread across Luna's face. She skipped over to where Neville and Madam Rosmerta were.
"G' afternoon Madam Rosmerta!"
"Luna, my dear!"
They hugged and she let Luna sit in the seat that she was standing beside.
"Wait. Is anyone sitting here?"
"No," said Neville. He was suddenly so excited.
"Well, I'll bring over some butterbeer and let the two of you catch up," Madam Rosmerta said, leaving with a mischievous face.
Luna sat in the seat.
"Blimey, Neville. Didn't notice you there."
"Well, I definitely noticed you. Your long, blonde hair and all."
Oh how he admired her hair. Her lovely, long hair.
She laughed. Neville felt so happy to be here. Finally speaking to the love of his life, that he hadn't seen in years.
"Where've you been? All this time?" he asked eagerly.
"Oh you know, practically everywhere!"
Neville smiled.
"How are you, Neville? I caught up with Ron and Hermione a few days ago and they told me you were now the new Herbology professor at Hogwarts."
Did that mean she asked about him? Probably not.
"I'm great, actually. The students are magnificent. I'm just glad they don't have to worry about any wars or death eaters and can go to school with no worries."
Luna admired that answer. She remember her school years when Lord Voldemort still existed. She remember Harry, Ron, Hermione, and everyone else suddenly befriending her. She remembered the drawing of them on her ceiling. She drew a replica of it on the ceiling of her new home.
Suddenly, Madam Rosmerta arrived with two filled mugs of butterbeer and left.
Luna took a sip. Neville had noticed the ring on her finger. No…
"You're married?" he asked, trying not to sound worried.
"Yeah. Actually met him a few months after the battle while in Europe."
"That's… great!"
Luna knew Neville didn't think it was great. It hurt her that he was hurt. She thought their slight romance back at Hogwarts would fade away. Yeah, she loved him too. But time does eventually change some things.
Neville looked down at the table.
"Neville…I'm sorry…I really am."
Her voice were like knives. He felt so much pain.
He looked back up at her. Her grey eyes were glistening.
"Luna… please don't – don't cry."
"I didn't know this meant so much to you…"
She closed her eyes, letting the tears flow down her cheeks. She opened them again.
"I'm happy for you, I really am, Luna. I didn't want to upset you."
She didn't know what to say next so she just gulped some of her butterbeer.
"Why don't we focus on the positives, eh?" Neville asked, trying to sound cheerfully.
She smiled up at him.
"Okay."
"Who's the lucky man?"
"Rolf. Rolf Scamander."
"You two must be a match made in heaven!"
They laughed. Neville knew he couldn't be with her anymore. She was married.
They laughed and talked all day. They both felt warm and peaceful on the inside.
It was already noon.
"Oh! Look at the time! I've got to be going!" Neville exclaimed.
"Oh you're right, me too!"
They both got up, staring right into each other's eyes.
They then immediately looked away.
"Neville?"
"Yeah?"
"I did think about you a lot after the war though. Even after I married Rolf."
Silence.
"I'll see you later then?"
"Defenitely."
They both hugged each other and kissed each other on the cheek. They walked together and exited the Three Broomsticks. They stopped right outside.
"Goodbye, Luna."
"Goodbye…Professor." She said with a smile.
They both apparated at the same time, leaving nothing to where they were both standing before."
Later that day
"Hey, mum."
Alice smiled at the boy.
"I've realized something today…It's that… there will only be two women, I'm sorry, three, including Gran, that I'll have a place in my heart for. "
Neville took a deep breath.
"First off, you're one of them of course."
The hand he held in his gripped a little bit tighter, causing him to smile even bigger.
"Second, like I said before, Gran. I'll always love her. I mean, she took care of me… when… you couldn't…But I don't blame you of course. At least you and dad are avenged, right?"
She didn't respond.
"Well, anyway. The third woman… I recently caught up with her today. In the Three Broomsticks. I was getting some coffee. And there she was. Haven't seen her since the war…"
This time, Neville's grip on his mum's hand tightened.
"She's doing well. She's a wizarding naturalist. She's married and is doing what she loves to do. She's…happy."
A tear slipped down Neville's cheek. He looked away from his mother, knowing that seeing her reaction to his crying would be even more heartbreaking.
"But it's alright. As long as she's happy... I told her I was mad for her…The night of the battle. We could have had something. But then she left the day after we all helped clean up. Then I hadn't seen her since. Until today."
He looked at his mother. She was smiling at him.
Alice let go of Neville's hand. She picked up a gum wrapper from the table next to her bed and placed it in his hand. He took it and smiled at his mum. His eyes were glistening.
"Thanks, mum."
HOW WAS IT? :D
