Ever since Neville Longbottom began working as the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, he'd been slowly becoming friends with someone he'd never have considered to be friends with a his time in school. Rolf Scamander.
Rolf had taken the position as the Care of Magical Creatures job when Hagrid had become too old for that job, and he'd so far served it well. Yet the boys had one other thing in common, besides their positions at Hogwarts, and love for a good Cockaroach Cluster- Luna Lovegood.
Luna Lovegood was the only source of real trouble in Neville and Rolf's friendship. It was well known by everyone that Neville and Luna had a fling the summer after the Battle of Hogwarts, and they were really close friends, even after the love had faded away. And both men knew that Luna was dating Rolf now.
One night, Rolf had taken Neville to the Leaky Cauldron while they were on Christmas holiday. Rolf ordered them up two Driggible Plum Draughts, favorites of theirs- and Luna's. When they came, Neville frowned down into his drink.
"This is Luna's favorite." He remembered aloud. It was as if a gun went off in both of their hearts. Rolf looked somewhat stricken, Neville, afraid.
"We're not here to talk about Luna." Rolf said harshly, and then, he took a long drink out of the fancy tinted glass.
"No, we are," Neville said, standing up. Everyone in the bar went quiet. These were the two people nobody ever thought would fight, much less over a girl (no matter how hot Neville became past puberty, no girl seemed to want to date him because they still remembered the stupid, ugly boy he was for most of his Hogwarts years, and Rolf had always been a strapping, muscular man, even since eleven, because of his tireless work with magical creatures).
"Why should we? You broke up with her!" Rolf cried, drawing his wand. Chestnut and unicorn hair, quite rigid, he thought to himself.
"Because, I'm sick of it being between us, the thing we don't dare touch, it's time we just talked it through." Neville said, drawing his own cautiously. Cherry and unicorn hair as well. Cherry was a very obedient wand- and powerful. If Neville lost his temper now, there was no telling what his wand could do to Rolf.
"Well, it was never something we needed to talk about!" Rolf shouted back in reply, disturbing Neville's thoughts.
"But it was a loaded gun. Dangerous, easy to reach, never something either of us could ignore. I'm not going to duel for the lady's hand, that's much too... Chauvinistic. No, I just wanted to know what you like about her." With that, Neville placed his wand back in his cloak pocket especially sewn in for that very purpose (so he wouldn't lose a buttock, he thought grimly).
Rolf softened. "What I like about Luna?" He asked. Neville nodded frantically, hoping he would get the point, one way or another. Rolf put his own wand away, and both men sat down.
"Luna's so nice to everyone, even those who look down on her, telling her that she's ditzy, that she needs to go to a mental asylum, or get her brain checked out at St. Mungo's. When people say those things right to her face in public, it makes me so mad, but she just squeezes my hand, and gives me a look that tells me that she doesn't care what people think of her. Only what I think of her, or her closest friends, of even her own family." Rolf said it all in a very long stream of thought poured aloud for everyone to hear. Rolf then turned to Neville. "What do you like about her?" He asked.
Neville only took a moment to consider the question on hand. "I loved that she believed in so many things. She believed in creatures and such that nobody else did, and she didn't care how many people told her that they weren't real- they were very real to her and her father. She defends those who are kind, and tries desperately hard not to judge those who aren't very harshly. She always acts as though she is an angel, and every decision she makes counts, so she has to choose right. I also love that Luna isn't afraid of death. Heaven knows I am, looking into the eyes and soul of death so many times, and seeing so many horrible exits from this world. But she isn't Luna is a sweet, angelic girl who will know when her time has come, and she won't fight it. She will never fight it, try to become immortal and loose her morality and mortality that makes her so special, and she will never try to fit in- and that includes fearing the reaper."
The men finished their drinks and paid for them. Luna had become an easier topic to discuss since that cold December night. Sure, there wrfe still a few brawls between Neville and Rolf, since boys would be boys- excuse me- men would be men, and it was just in their blood, amongst all their chivalrous behaviors.
Luna took all of this into stride just fine. She didn't care about the reasons why, as long as the boys were happy.
Yet on the bar on the way out, Rolf said, "I'm glad we resolved it. You were right, Neville. Maybe we'll have a bit more to talk about. But don't worry, no girl will get in the way of our friendship again."
At this, Neville chuckled. "We'd have to remain friends either way. We do have to go to work tomorrow."