Luna sat alone, under the oak tree in the grounds of Hogwarts witch craft and wizardry. She was reading the lastest note from Seamus. "He's so sweet" she thought to herself. She didn't know him that well, but about a month ago he had started sending her these little notes out of the blue.
Notes saying how much he liked her and that she was the prettiest witch her knew. So Luna was mad not to go out with him, right?
No things were much too complicated for that. Luna was the closest thing to in love with Neville. So she couldn't take her chance with Seamus.
The strangest thing about the whole situation was that Seamus knew about her feelings for Neville but didn't give up. As sweet as he was, Luna was afraid to trust him, not with information of course. She had trusted him with her biggest secret, she was afraid to trust him to catch her if she fell for him.
Her friends, thinking this was a way for her to move on from the lost cause that was her love for Neville, thought she should go for it.
"Fall fast and fall now!" Katie had said to her. They all had her best interests at heart, and wanted her to be happy, Neville included.
"Ooohh somebody's got a little love note" said Neville jokingly as he caught the parchment from her hand. "No I don't, come on Neville give it back!" she pleaded, but she was giggling to much for him to take her seriously.
She gave a little jump in attempt to get it back, as he held the small piece of paper over her head.
He was just about to read it aloud "Dear Luna…" when Hermione grabbed him from behind, giving him a a fright and Luna a chance to snatch back the letter. She put it safely into the pocket of her robes.
"Neville some things are private, and letters from love-sick teenage boys are one of them" she giggled.
"He is not love sick!" Luna retorted.
"I've heard him in potions talking to Dean, he's love-sick alright, sure he's mad about you!" Neville added to Luna's already awkward situation.
Ugh, she thought, there's the boy of my dreams telling me I'm the girl of someone else's. This situation could not get anymore messed up. If only she thought, if only it were the other way around and Neville liked her, then things would be perfect.
She was sure that someone must like Seamus too, he was so sweet and he wasn't that bad looking he had a cute mop of dark hair. She was in a love-triangle, well square if she was to include the possible mystery girl.
She wasn't going to lie, she liked the attention from Seamus, she wasn't used to boys noticing her. She usually hid behind her friends and she felt she looked plain. So the little complements from Seamus went along way in making her happy.
"You're so making that up Neville, don't mess with my head!" Luna said calmly but inside she was ready to scream.
"No I'm not, ask Dean if you want to, you know I'm right anyway, you're the one getting love letters every day" came Nevilles reply.
"Fine I get it, Seamus has a crush, but I don't like him, I mean I hardly know him." Luna couldn't say the real reason in front of Neville, but she wasn't making the other part up, she hardly knew him at all.
They hardly ever spoke before the notes, being in separate years and different houses, but since the notes, things had become awkward they had spoken once in Hogsmeade. They had been walking on opposite sides of the street, Neville with Dean and Luna was with Ginny.
"Oh Luna look its Dean," Ginny said excitedly. "Yeh that's Dean, look that's a tree!" she said sarcastically. Ginny gave her a look. "What, I thought we were stating the obvious" she smirked.
"Theres your one Seamus, go on, go talk to her!" Dean had said as they turned the corner. "No not today, it's too weird, I will talk to her someday, but not with you and Ginny standing there listening."
"Oh would there be something you wouldn't want us to hear?" his friend teased. "No, just not today ok?" "Fine!" Dean said. As he pulled his friends arm and made him walk in the opposite direction, back to where they came.
"Please can we just walk back, casual like, just turn around and let me get a good look at him, figure him out."
"If I agree to this do you promise you will stop going on about him from the rest of the day," Luna figured it was the only way to change the subject. "Yes I promise" Ginny said, delighted with herself. They left Honeydukes and turned back the way they came. Just as they turned the corner they saw the two boys, who had obviously had the same idea. "Hey" they both said and kept walking, Luna smiling like a little kid.
She didn't fancy him, but seeing him made her feel happy. Not the butterflies she got when Neville was around though.
That was the only time since the notes had started that they had spoken to each other in person. She had a dilemma she had to tell Seamus she wasn't interested before things got too much, but she was afraid that if she turned him down he would tell Neville why.
He had asked her to go to Hogsmeade together, the next day out, just the two of them. He had asked a few times before, but this time she had given him a more hopeful answer, because she thought he would make a great friend, she just had to persuade him that it was what was best, friendship.
She didn't want to hurt him, she just didn't want a relationship with him, she was against the advice of the best way to get over someone was to start going out with someone else, as her friends had told her. She hated being a teenager.
"Well if you don't like him back then theres nothing you can do about it, life goes on" Hermione was very rational about the whole situation.
"I'm not sure he would see it that way Hermione", Luna replied. "How do I always manage to end up in the middle of these girly conversations."
"Neville if you haven't noticed you usually start them" Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Yes Neville you do seem to be the reason this one started anyway, taking the note." "Hmm I guess this time, but I'm going to go find the lads before you ask me if you can do my make up," he joked.
"Hmm next time then Neville," said Luna messing as he left.
