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Yes, this is a pairing fic, but you'll have to read on to discover more. I don't want to spoil any more.

Professor Longbottom sat at his desk, patiently flicking through the mound of letters he had received since the start of term. It had been his first year as Herbology teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and it had been tough on him.

Sometimes there was so much to be done, he didn't know where to begin. Paperwork seemed to apparate into the filing cabinets in his office, chewing up more space by the day. He ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair, whilst absentmindedly drumming his quill against a scrap of parchment.

But he loved teaching. He had taken some time previously in the Ministry of Magic, working in the 'Department for the Control of Magical Plants'. Not that he didn't like the job, in fact it proved fascinating, but Neville hated the stuffy atmosphere of the place. Hogwarts was were he truly belonged. In fact, he could say at a gander, he was happier now than at any other time of his life.

Except for one thing. Students kept him busy most of the day, bustling around between greenhouses, directing first years to their Huff Spurts, and occasionally dealing with the odd injury. But company in the long hours after school hours was what he really craved. He had often considered buying a pet for himself, but Trevor, still as youthful as when Neville was a boy, seemed to suffice.

Neville sighed, glancing out of the window as the last traces of crimson leaked from the afternoon sky. He turned his head suddenly. He thought he could hear a soft, very quiet tapping noise coming from outside his door. Listening again, Neville shook his head. Nothing. Turning again to his pile, he picked up a letter in his left hand, flicked it open, and began to read:

Dear Neville,

How are you doing? I hope you got over that burst of Honeknok Fever, I really do! They can be evil little things! Just thought you'd like to know where I am. Rolf and myself are doing fine, in fact I'm sure we'll find sign of a Crumple Horned Snorlack any day soon! Rolf's sure people have seen strange signs around here, mostly from muggles lost in the bush. Sometimes the outback can be a little scary though. I remember last night I tried going to the loo, and there was a spider THIS big on the rim! Eek! I never liked those icky things anyway!

Hope you can write again soon!

Love, Luna

xxxxxxx

P.S, Rolf's sent a sample for you to analyse. He thinks its from a Snargaluff tuber, but I can't believe he can be so silly!

Neville rummaged around on his desk, finally settling upon a rather battered looking envelope. Shifting his hand inside, he let out a small yell as what looked like a pale green worm flopped from it, leaching mucus onto the floor.

"Yup", he thought to himself, "definitely Snargaluff."

Picking up the tuber and placing it into a nearby jar, he felt deeper into the envelope. Eventually he removed a photograph of a man and woman, arms held around each other, smiling up at him from the Australian Outback. Like all other wizarding photographs, it moved; the man and woman, both of whom had equally fair hair, jostled slightly, grins spread across their faces.

Neville noted the preposterously large pith helmet the woman seemed to be wearing, as well as her garish earrings. "Yes," he said to himself again, folding the photo and letter back inside the envelope, "definitely Luna."

Placing the photo back into its envelope, along with Luna's letter, he shifted it to one corner of the desk. "Great," Neville thought. "One down, five hundred odd more to go."

He paused for a minute, penning his thoughts. Snargaluffs? That reminded him of his old Herbology lessons under Professor Sprout. Interesting, to say the least…

Professor Sprout walked briskly up and down between the sixth year students. Many small, stump-like plants were spread out between them. Occasionally some pulsated, but for the most part them looked totally harmless. But, as a restless sixth year made a grab for it, thick, bramble-like vines extended from it, wrapping themselves around the student's hand. He yelled, and Professor Sprout bustled over. She pointed her wand at the boy's hand, and the vines instantly retracted, leaving large scratch marks all over his hand.

"That is why, Mr Finnegan, we wear gloves," she said simply, glaring at him.

Determined not to repeat Seamus's example, a sixteen-year old Neville Longbottom carefully took his dragonhide gloves from out of his school bag. Quietly eyeing up the plant, he pulled them on. He felt his head, knowing he had forgotten something important. Fumbling on the workbench near him, he found what he was looking for, a pair of goggles. Strapping the leather straps around his head, he felt ready at last.

Feeling determined, Neville positively jumped forwards. Instantly the think vines flew from the top of the Snargaluff again, battering at Neville. He ducked his head, and made a lunge for the hollow in the plant that had just become visible through the branches. Vines grappled for his face, some cutting him across it, but Neville fought through them. Heaving, he threw his hands into the hole, seized a grapefruit-sized green object, and quickly withdrew them.

Sensing danger was over, the stump instantaneously reverted back to how it was before. "You're a nasty one," Neville thought, looking down at the now deceptively innocent looking stump. Wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his palm, he looked up to see Professor Sprout smiling gently at him. Turning her head, she frowned at Harry Potter's group, and marched over. "Quiet enough chat over here!" she said sternly, looking at the three who were deep in conversation. "You're lagging behind, everybody else has started and Neville's already got his first pod."

"Okay, Professor," said Ron, sitting next to Harry, "we're starting now!" Neville shrugged apologetically at them. They did have one advantage over him however. Smart as he was at Herbology, it would've helped to have a partner.

Turning back to his work, Neville quietly dropped the pulsating pod into a small round bowl. He looked up, however, when Professor Sprout quietly coughed above his head. "Mr Longbottom?" she said, looking quizzical.

Neville was confused. "Yes, Professor?"

She looked knowingly at him. "You do not have a partner, yes?"

He nodded quickly. He could really do with some help with those annoying brambles.

"In which case, could you please help with Miss Bones?" Sprout added, gesturing to a rather exasperated looking, red haired girl in the corner of the greenhouse, with many cuts across her face and forehead, her yellow Hufflepuff robes covered in dirt. "She doesn't have a partner either, I'm afraid. And I'd hate to send her back to her mother blinded," she added, Neville noting that Susan was not wearing goggles.

"Oh," Neville nodded. "Sure, Professor!" In any other subject he might have been more than a little wary of helping anyone else. But he felt able here. Grabbing his bowl in one hand, he slowly weaved his way towards Susan.

She was still struggling with her stump. Susan looked slightly confused, her right hand extending backwards and forwards in mid-air in mid air, withdrawing it sharply when vines waved towards it, only to gingerly thrust it back towards the plant again.

"Erm, Susan?" Neville spoke up, looking shyly at her face screwed up in concentration.

"Huh?" She looked up suddenly, seeming slightly shaken. "Oh, hi, Neville." She rolled her eyes and grimaced at the Snargaluff, before turning to him. "I hate these things."

"I dunno," replied Neville, his eyes seemingly fixed on a space just above her left shoulder. "I, erm, thought you were pretty good at Herbology actually."

She raised her eyebrows. "Neville, I'm totally rubbish. Charms is more my thing, anyway." She glared down at the plant. "Ideas?"

"Well, there's two of us," Neville said, still strangely unable to meet her eye. "Maybe we could go in together. I was thinking that one of us could distract it, and the other grab the pod."

Susan bit her lip. "Sure, but who's gonna do what part?" she asked.

"I'll distract it," he said. "He was surprised; his voice was peculiarly definite.

Susan nodded in agreement. "And I'll grab a pod. Sure."

She looked ready to begin, but Neville still noticed her lack of goggles. He coughed slightly. Susan looked up confused. Neville, slightly bemused, pointed at her forehead. She smiled at him, mouthing 'thanks', waved a large strand hair out of her eyes, then leaned down again.

Neville was now slightly worried. He coughed again. She looked up, her expression stuck somewhere between confusion and irritation. An idea seemed to flash across her face, and she bent down, searching through her satchel. Finding what she was looking for, she stood up, and with slightly more force than she would usually have, pushed a large packet of muggle cough sweets into Neville's hand.

She had just bent down to begin again, when Professor Sprout's voice carried across the greenhouse. "Miss Bones, will you please put on your goggles! Its extremely dangerous to leave them off." Susan turned redder than a gurddyroot, and hung her head slightly, whilst Sprout continued. "Now class, back to your projects, if you will!"

Susan looked up, still bright red. "Sorry," she muttered. "Don't know what I was thinking…" she muttered, her voice trailing off as she stared at him.

Neville met her gaze, beaming. "Don't worry. Happens to me all the time. I remember in potions when I forgot the nettles once. Snape went totally mental with the mess I made. I think he would have made me drink it actually," he said, laughing about what at the time had seemed such a terrifying situation. No wonder them that Snape was once his boggart…

Susan was still giggling, as he fished inside his bag, and handed her a spare pair of goggles. They didn't fit too bad either, she thought, as she looked at her tall partner through the lenses.

And they were off. Neville enjoyed Susan's company. For once he had found a partner who not only understood him perfectly, neither taking advantage of his knowledge, nor sidelining him, but was also quite funny. He was sniggering loud enough to attract stares from people opposite, and even forgetting the slightly sickening smell that rose up as he mashed the collected pods, revealing the ugly tubers.

The lesson ended soon, and Professor Sprout called above their heads. "Please, put all your pods collected into the bowls provided, and store the tubers in the jars!"

There was a great rummaging, as students hurriedly stowed their bowls containing the slimy pods on a bench set against the greenhouse wall. Neville, holding another bowl full of the wormy tubers headed to a large jar, upon which was written: 'N. Longbottom & S. Bones'. She opened the lid for him, and Neville poured the writhing mass inside.

She took a long look at their handy work, and pulled a face. "Yuck. Told you Herbology wasn't for me."

The bell started to ring, and the class began to remove their goggles and gloves, and packed their bags. With a quick smile to Susan, Neville headed back to where he had left his bag.

Hermonie looked slightly sheepish as she called to him. "Nice lesson?"

Neville smiled back at her. "I think so," he replied, joining the queue to leave class.

Susan checked her things carefully, making sure she had definitely packed 'Advanced Spells: Defence Against Dark Magic' for her next lesson. She didn't want to look a fool in front of Professor Snap of all people. The image of Snape threatening to make Neville drink the disastrous remnants of his potion swum into view in her mind's eye. She smiled broadly.

Sure she had everything, she made for the door, only to find Neville standing by it, grinning. He was holding a yellow packet in his hand.

"Erm, cough sweet?"

Lying back in his chair, Professor Longbottom could only chortle at the memory. He was wasn't exactly surprised to find that she was his official partner for the rest of that project. Oh well, he thought, back to sorting for me then.

He could only sit and wonder what else his letters would remind him of…

Enjoy it, so far?

Strange pairing, yes? Well no, not really. I will continue this, promise.

I suppose Neville deserves someone, and since Luna is now officially taken (yes, Rolf Scamander/Luna Lovegood is now canon, check one of JKRs webcasts), this came to my mind.

Oh, this is indebted to a brilliant fic I read around on this site, which inspired this scene. Please tell me if it was you who wrote it!