To Luna,
Hello. I am sorry that I have yet to respond to your last letter. I have had very many things that I had to do. Headmistress McGonagall is making me go forth and take care of many things for her, since she is in failing health. Luna, I think you should go for the position of headmistress. What do you think? We could finally be much closer together.
I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry. I know how much you love to go out and do your research as an auror. I know how you would feel cooped up inside of a school for many months of the year.
I really do not have much to say. That is another reason why I have not been around for quite a while. I am sorry, Luna. I just feel like I don't have very many important things to say. I always thought people thought I was stupid or something. So, I've just been keeping to myself, not really talking to much of the staff or anything like that.
I've been thinking about changing jobs, Luna. I love my job here at Hogwarts, but lately since everyone else has gone, and the only person I know is Professor McGonagall, I really do not know why there should be a reason to stay at Hogwarts to teach anymore. Luna. I know, I'm bogging you down with my sadness, when you are out in the world living your dream. I am so sorry. Let me make it up to you somehow. Do you think that we could meet in Hogsmeade somewhere, sometime? You pick the time and the place. Preferably a time that is reasonable for the both of us. And, do you think we could possibly go somewhere more remote? The students here, gave me quite the hassle last time they saw me with you. They thought we were on a date or something.
Were we... on a date? Sorry! Don't answer that if you don't want to. I just wrote before I stopped myself, and I'm writing in indelible ink, damn it! All right, I'm calm. I am so sorry.
I wish you were here, Luna. You're always good to talk to. I need a friend to listen to my woes, sometimes. I let my emotions get too bottled up on the inside.
Love from your friend,
Neville Longbottom.
Neville looked up at the owl patiently waiting for him to finish his letter to Luna. He tied the letter around it's leg and put his last couple of knuts into the pouch and washed it swish away.
"Sometimes, I wish I was a bird so I could fly away too," Neville whispered. He turned around and walked back to the Herbology greenhouses. He sighed, walked into his office/study, and started to grade his students around about their final exams, while waiting impatiently for a reply.
A few moments later, he heard a tap at the door.
"Come in!" He called.
"Hello, Neville. I got your post a little earlier than you expected," The sweet voice called back. Neville perked up happily. "Well. It looks like you're feeling better already juust by seeing me."
"Luna! How are you? What are you doing here? Last time I had heard from you, you were in South America researching wombats," Neville cried. He ran over to the girl, squeezed her tight, hoping that this moment would not go away. "I've missed you, Luna."
"You look different, Neville. Have you been eating? Your hair is thinning out, I've noticed," Luna said dreamily. "Remind me not to muss with it. I wish you had been in South America with me."
Neville smiled happily at her as she slowly wandered around his office. He followed her around slightly.
"Luna?" Neville called, clearing his throat nervously. "Why did you come back?"
"There are so many beautiful objects in here, Neville," Luna said looking at his potted cacti. "I wish I had as many belongings as you did."
"I wouldn't touch that, Luna. That cacti could really...," Neville said quietly as Luna touched the cacti. He rushed over to her. "Come along, Luna! I'll take you to the school nurse."
"I know the way to Madame Pomfrey's," Luna said holding her finger out, while pus started to drip from it.
"Ah, that's the thing Luna. Hogwarts has changed a lot. They renovated almost the whole school," Neville said. "Everywhere is the same, except they redid a lot of the walls, I can't even remember where the room of requirement is anymore."
"That's sweet of you to take me, Neville," Luna said staggering more, as they go closer to the castle doors.
"That's my girl," Neville said smiling slightly. "I wouldn't miss helping you out for the world."
"Where did you say Madame Pomfrey went?" Luna asked, putting her head on his shoulder. Neville scooped her up with ease.
"She passed away a while ago. Luna you're so much thinner now. Have you been eating enough?" Neville asked as he walked with ease up the grand staircase. He hurried to the medical ward.
"Miss, Miss? She got poked by my new cacti. You know the one with the the shooting poison?" Neville said to Miss Triss while lying Luna down on the closest bed.
"You're the only one with the antidote, son," Miss Triss said clucking around Luna, who was growing paler by the moment.
"I'm fine, really," Luna said smiling.
"Hush, hon, clearly you are not," Miss Triss said, stroking her long pale blonde hair.
She glanced pointedly at Neville.
He sprinted out the door again. Running back down the halls, he realized he had a class in twenty minutes.
"Shit shit shit. Stupid classes! I have to—MOVE IT!" Neville cried to the kids.
"What's up with him?!" a student asked. Neville paid no attention to them as he scrambled through the Herbology greenhouses and back into his office.
"Think Neville. Think," Neville whispered to himself. "Grandmother sent you all of those things to help you, remember." He rubbed his temples for a moment. "AH HA!" He reached into his inner pocket and found his antidote.
"Calderis!" He cried, brandishing his wand, while sprinting through the greenhouses. The ghost popped up and started fixing up the room.
"YES! It worked, finally... That automatic substitute teacher thing really comes in handy sometimes," Neville said, blushing slightly with pride. "I need to remember these things more often." He smiled to himself as he rushed into the medical area.
"Finally. She is turning blue, and looks like a fish out of water," Miss Triss cried, berating Neville.
"Sorry, Ma'am. I had to make sure that my class was not without a teacher as well," Neville whispered, looking down. Miss Triss clucked at him as she poured the antidote over Luna's finger.
Neville hurried over, dragging a chair along to the side of her bed. Miss Triss threw a stern glance at him that went unnoticed. The swelling slowly started to go down, and Luna finally started to regain some of her color.
"Where have I been?" Luna asked groggily, trying to sit up.
"Ah, uhm. Well, you pricked your finger on my cacti, and well... ended up in the hospital wing, Luna," Neville rushed to say. He jumped forward and shoved her back down on the bed. "Oh I'm sorry!"
"Oof!" Luna cried thumping onto the back of the bed. "It's all right, Neville. I'm fine. You just knocked the wind out of me. That's fine. I suppose I do have a bit of luck pricking my finger on your cacti. Why do you have one in your room, anyway?"
"Erm, I was really studying it. It was sort of like the mimbulus mimbletonia, and that was the only plant I could sort of relate it back to," Neville said, pondering. "If you think about it, plants are the only big resource that we have. All of our food either comes from it, or eats it. And I really want to know what this cacti is about because of those pricks people get from it."
"That's nice, Neville," Luna said softly.
"Oh, I'm boring you, aren't I?" Neville said, coming slightly out of his reverie. "I'm sorry, I just love to talk to plants with someone. Professor Sprout has not answered my last inquiry of plants yet. I hope she is researching as well. We used to share notes, exchange letters I mean, but then... she kind of stopped writing letters to me."
"I'm sorry, Neville. She will come back, eventually," Luna said drifting off into sleep. "I hope she will, I mean, she's a mentor to me. I don't know where I'd be without her," Neville continued. "I remember my first day teaching. She left all of these little reminders. I couldn't believe that she remembered how forgetful I was. And I sent her a note about some plants. I can't really remember their names right now..."
And it continued like that, Neville just talking to Luna about the beginning of his career. He had blossomed into his career late, only because of his nervousness and forgetfulness. Neville looks like he tends to get carried away about things he finds interesting, but from what one can tell, Neville only is interested in plants and Luna. Why isn't he interested in the outside world? Does he not like change? Whatever happened to his parents, Frank and Alice?
"And so that concludes on why monkeys prefer bananas over kiwi," Neville said smiling to himself, and glanced over at Luna. "Oh my God. I actually bored another person to death. Man, I am the worst. I knew that no one was interested in anything that I had to say."
"I do have a lot of interest in what you to say, Neville," Luna said groggily. "I was just resting my eyes."
"Yeah, right, Luna. I know I know. I know what's best for me. I'll just be going back to my office now and sleeping," Neville said getting up and stretching.
"Emergency! DANGER DANGER! COMING THROUGH. MORTAL DANGER," a light screamed coming through.
"I hate those things," Neville muttered to himself. They were illuminated balls of light. They looked quite similar to rememberalls, if they shone through with a reddish color, rather than tinted gold. And well, if they shine when someone forgets something.
"Neville, wait!" Luna croaked. "It's almost morning. I should be better soon, right? You were the one who made the antidote. Tell me when I should be better."
"Yeah. You should be better by early this morning. Wow is it tomorrow already?" Neville asked looking out his window.
"Neville. Who is the person next to me?" Luna asked pensively.
"Headmistress McGonagall," Neville replied without really thinking. He spun around quickly. "MISS TRISS! It's Headmistress McGonagall! She's really injured! Come quick!"