Chapter 1: The Dawn of Love
Neville was pondering his life. He was not feeling happy. He had just returned to Hogwarts after his summer holidays. His Grandmother had been particularly stern with him and, in a way he was glad to be back in the school he called home among people who did, at least, accept him.
It was evening. He had finished his dinner. He was sitting in the last of the evening sunshine on the grassy slope in front of the castle. In front of him, at the bottom of the slope was Hagrid's hut and the Forbidden Forest. He was musing about friendship and the fact that, although he now felt accepted, he did not have any really close friends. In fact, he was a slight outcast.
He was looking down the glen towards the lake, when he sensed that someone was sitting next to him.
"Penny for your thoughts." said a light airy, but soothing voice.
It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He looked round.
The owner of the voice was a very pretty, blonde girl with prominent ice blue eyes and a winning smile. She was wearing earrings in the form of radishes.
"You're Luna Lovegood aren't you?" asked Neville, "Why should you want to talk to a nonentity like me? I'm Neville by the way."
Luna smiled sweetly and rested her hand on Neville's knee.
"I am Luna," said Luna, "And you're not a nonentity. I know you're Neville. You should stop thinking that way. You're just a shy young man, who should have a better opinion of himself."
"You've noticed me?" said Neville, posing a question.
"Of course I've noticed you." Said Luna, "I've noticed that you look towards me at mealtimes and look away rapidly when you think I'm looking towards you."
"I – I'm sorry. I'll stop looking at you." said Neville, somewhat crestfallen.
"Oh you silly billy!" said Luna, smiling sweetly, "I didn't mean it that way. It's nice when someone notices me. You needn't look away when I look your way. You won't see my smile. Don't be so shy."
"Don't take this the wrong way," said Neville, "But I like looking at you. You seem to be a beacon of brightness on the Ravenclaw table."
"And I guess you'd like to 'get to know me'?" said Luna, looking into Neville's eyes and smiling brightly.
"I – I – er – I – er!" was all that Neville was able to say.
Luna's sweet charm had rendered him speechless.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'." said Luna, smiling and giving Neville a gentle peck on the cheek, "Don't worry, I won't eat you. I'd like to know you better as well."
"You would?" asked Neville.
"Of course." said Luna, sweetly, "I can't put my finger on it, but I believe there's something special about you."
"You do?" asked Neville.
"Yes!" said Luna, "You see yourself as a shy, awkward, timid boy. The sorting hat put you in Gryffindor for a reason. I see a potentially brave competent young man, who will know where he's going. Your time is to come. I'd like to be there when it does. Anyway, why would you want to be closer to me?"
Neville was somewhat dumbfounded by Luna's wonderful words. It took him a while to get his thoughts together and pluck up the courage to answer Luna's question.
"I - I noticed you last year." said Neville, "I noticed your bright smile and your apparently carefree disposition. I learnt that you were thought of as 'strange'. I didn't like that your housemates called you 'Looney'. I felt that I would like to be close to you in the vain hope that some of that brightness would rub off on me."
"Why didn't you just come up to me and talk?" asked Luna.
"I - I was too shy." said Neville, "I thought that you might just drive me away with a cutting remark. After all, I am thought to be 'strange'."
"Don't worry about it." said Luna, "So am I. We're two outcasts brought together by fate. Now we're talking, what are you thinking?"
It took a while for Neville to formulate an answer to this one. He didn't want to say anything that would drive Luna away. He was developing deep feelings of affection for this strange, sweet, wonderful Ravenclaw girl.
"Talking to you has only strengthened my impression of you." said Neville, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought your voice just now was the loveliest thing I have ever heard."
"Wow!" exclaimed Luna, "I didn't think my voice was that wonderful. What's so nice about it?"
Again, Neville had to think before replying. He didn't want to say anything that would upset Luna.
"Although it's quite high pitched," said Neville, "It's gentle and so soothing and reassuring. It's a voice which expresses a love for everyone around you. When you first said 'Penny for your thoughts ', I was instantly relaxed. I knew in that moment that you were going to be my first real friend in Hogwarts. It was a lovely feeling."
"That's good," said Luna, "Because that's exactly why I came out here to see you. I want a real friend as well. It doesn't matter that we're in different houses. We can still see each other."
Neville felt a wave of calm relief wash over him. This beautiful girl was actually interested in him and wanted him as a friend - a real friend. As if to seal their new friendship, Neville and Luna linked their fingers. Luna gave Neville another little kiss. This time, he blushed.
"That was nice." said Neville, "It felt normal. I really think we're going to be friends now."
By this time the sun was setting. Luna suggested that the two of them take a walk round one or two of Luna's favourite parts of the grounds before they went back inside.
"That's a wonderful idea." said Neville as they got up off the grass, "I'll be able to see some of your world."
The pair of them went down the hill and headed for the 'Black Lake', where they sat down and Neville was encouraged to appreciate the peace and quiet of the place, as the daylight diminished. They sat by the lake holding hands until it was completely dark. It was a wonderful, peaceful experience for both of them.
"Let's go back towards the castle." Said Luna as she took Neville by the hand.
She led him out of the woodland surrounding the Black Lake as surely as if it were daylight.
"Shouldn't we be using our wands for light?" asked Neville.
"Not if you want to see the stars." replied Luna
When they returned to the grassy slope in front of the castle, the Stars had come out. They found a place to sit next to each other, from where they could see the South and South West areas of the night sky. Since they had not destroyed their night vision by using wandlight, all the stars were visible. The Milky Way arched right over them, from South-West to North-East. High up in the sky, slightly to the South-West, the 'Summer Triangle' was clearly visible.
"It's beautiful, isn't it." said Luna, ecstatically, "Do you see that big triangle of stars up there? Which do you think is the brightest?"
"The top right one." said Neville with some certainty.
"You'd be wrong." said Luna, "It's only 25 light years away. The brightest one is top left."
"But that's the dimmest one." said Neville.
"It's a very long way away." Said Luna, "Imagine someone shining a torch at us from Hagrid's hut. Then imagine someone shining a searchlight from several miles down the lake. They would seem to be about the same brightness. You are seeing Deneb as it was over 2,000 years ago."
Neville was enraptured by Luna's musical voice. It was so lovely that he could listen to it forever. She indicated the great square of Pegasus and the very faint smudge that was the Andromeda nebula. Before they went back into the castle, Luna suggested that they go down the slope a bit so that the Eastern sky was visible.
"How good is your eyesight?" asked Luna.
"Pretty good." said Neville.
"You see that faint patch of light very low down in the East," said Luna, "That's the Pleiades. Look at it carefully and tell me how many stars you see."
"Four, no, five." said Neville, "Ah! There are seven."
"Well done, Neville." said Luna, "Your eyes are okay. There are seven stars."
As they returned to the castle, Luna explained that an alternative name for the star cluster was 'The Seven Stars'. A number of English public houses were named 'the Seven Stars' after the cluster. As they approached the place where their paths would have to part, Neville looked sad.
"What's the matter?" asked Luna, "Why are you sad?"
"I'm about to say 'Goodbye' to you, Sweet Luna." said Neville, "And your sweet voice won't be serenading me anymore."
"You should realise, sweet Neville," said Luna, "That all good things have to come to an end. I'd love to see you tomorrow."
"You would?" asked a startled Neville.
"Of course," said Luna, "This evening, you have become my best friend. You're so lovely!"
"Would you like to eat with us at the Gryffindor table?" asked Neville, I'm sure Padma and Parvarti would like to be together."
"Of course I will." said Luna, "See you at breakfast, sweet Neville."
"See you at breakfast." said Neville, "You're so lovely."
With this, the pair went their own separate ways, Luna to Ravenclaw and Neville to Gryffindor. Neville felt a kind of euphoria that he had not felt before. Luna's late arrival raised few eyebrows as she often spent the evening on the astronomy tower. However, Neville showing up at about eleven o'clock did cause a stir.
"Where have you been all evening?" asked Hermione.
Neville smiled.
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." said Neville.
"Go on." said Ron.
"Just after dinner," said Neville, "I went out to get some fresh air. I was sitting a little way down the slope, when Luna Lovegood came up and talked to me. We've just spent the whole evening together. That girl has got such a lovely speaking voice. I could listen to it for ever."
"Nev's in love with looney." piped up Seamus in a mocking tone.
"Don't call her 'looney'." said Neville with a firmness he didn't realise he had, "She may have some odd beliefs, but she's a really sweet person. Once you get to talk with her, you realise she's special. I now regard her as my friend."
"Well said, Neville." said Hermione, "She must have affected you. I've never heard you speak so confidently. Keep it up."
"She's persuaded me that I'm not useless." said Neville, "If it's alright with you, I've invited her to eat with us tomorrow."
"That's a lovely idea." said Hermione, "You've obviously made friends with her, so it would be good to meet her properly. Anyway, several of us have Snape first up tomorrow, so we'd better get some sleep."
With this, the Gryffindor students left the common room for their dormitories.