Where am I? When he forced open his heavy eyelids, this question caused him to look about the scene around him.
Blindingly white walls and fluorescent lights greeted his groggy eyes. A monotonous beeping sound was heard to his side. Was he dead? No, this scene is starting to look more like the muggle world each passing second.
A woman was standing at the foot of his hospital bed. Her wispy, flax- colored hair hung down to her waist and there was a glassy look in her eyes. She was muttering something under her breath, maybe a spell?
The man coughed lightly from lack of water. The mysterious woman turned rapidly, staring in unbelief. Why was she staring so quizzically? There was a brief moment of silence passed between the two as their eyes met, yet an eternity was in it. Something about her was familiar, like he had seen her in a vague dream.
"Neville?" she stammered. "How are you feeling?"
"…Where am I?" he said, his previous question passing through his dry lips.
"You're in a hospital," said the stranger. "…Do you remember who I am?"
He was silent. After searching his foggy memory as best he could, the only response he could offer was: "No, I'm sorry." And he truly was, for tears had started to fall from her light blue eyes.
She was inarticulate. There was no way for her to tell him who she was, at least for now. "I'll go and get the nurse," she finally choked out.
Watching her go, Neville felt disappointed. Why couldn't he remember her? As he pondered what had just happened, he glanced at his left hand.
A ring. There was a gold band, wrapped around his ring finger. He had a wife? How could he not remember something as important was this? Something inexplicable had happened, and Neville was intent of finding out what it was.
After the nurse had come in and inquired how he was feeling, the strange woman came back into the room, her eyes red and swollen.
"My name is Luna," she told him after a few seconds of fighting back stubborn tears. "I'm an old friend." As Luna said this, a pained smile appeared on her porcelain face.
"Hello," he said softly. "I'm sorry I don't recognize you." A few seconds of silence passed. He pressed forward cautiously. "Do you," he started, "do you know what happened to me? I can't remember anything."
Where could she begin? So much had happened and yet so little of it made sense. "You were on a mission as an Auror - do you remember being an Auror?"
"Yes, I think so," Neville replied.
"On this mission, you were in a busy city, full of Muggles. As you were chasing a wizard criminal, there was an accident." Luna stopped. This was getting too difficult for her. She stopped for a moment, trying her best to keep the relentless tears from coming.
"What kind of accident?" Neville was beginning to worry.
"As the criminal raced into the street, you followed. A car," she paused, "a car hit you from behind. Blood was everywhere." There was no stopping the tears now. They were pouring from her eyes. "You were rushed to the hospital."
By this time, her shoulders heaved as she sobbed. A few minutes passed before she was able to go on.
"Nurses were everywhere. They took you from me…to try to heal you." Luna stopped. She tried to regain her composure. "This happened six months ago. You've…been in a coma for six months."
Neville's blood ran cold. Impossible. It couldn't be true. Is that why he couldn't remember her?