Neville Longbottom loved his office at Hogwarts. He loved the exposed brick on the back wall with its two windows. He loved the wall with the built-ins where he kept his books, smaller plants, trinkets and oddities from his parents — jars full of bubble gum wrappers for instance, and tokens of appreciation from students. On the wall opposite the brick he had botanical illustrations of plants framed and hung up on the walls. They moved more gracefully and elegantly than portraits, shifting as if being pushed around by a soft breeze. The last wall in his office was for larger and more demanding plants — there were glass cases against the walls for certain ones: ones that needed to be contained for safety purposes; ones that needed to be in a tropical climate at all times — Neville charmed the case for these plants to be quite muggy and warm, and the like.
And then there was his desk. Neville never thought he'd feel such affection for a piece of furniture, but he did. He made it himself out of old wood he found from a fallen cedar tree in the woods behind his gran's house. Working with plants taught him to appreciate any work done with one's own hands, and while he used magical elements in building the desk, Neville enjoyed sanding the wood himself - the feel of the grain against his hands. There were several magicked drawers and compartments in his desk, many of which were hidden. In a small rectangular shaped drawer near the back, beneath where he kept spare quills and ink, he kept his letters from Luna Lovegood.
Two years he'd been sending and receiving letters from Luna while she travelled in search of some rare magical creature — a different one every few weeks. Their letters to one another often felt more like journal entries. Luna would spend pages discussing people she met, creatures she encountered, plants she saw; Neville would spend pages discussing the plants he was caring for, his students, new ideas for lessons, and so on.
The two began exchanging letters after an encounter in Diagon Alley. It had been a hot summer day, and he was in desperate need of a drink after spending hours working in the greenhouses.
Dusk had begun to settle as Neville walked into The Leaky Cauldron for mead. He had seen her immediately. Luna was sitting in a booth, by herself, reading a book. She had quills and flowers nestled in her dirty blonde hair. She wore a sundress; it was far too hot for robes of any sort. It was a light chambray color with thin straps. Her hair draped around her shoulders and fell down to the middle of her back. Her pale skin was tinted with a soft red hue, as if she'd been out in the sun for hours — her cheeks, in particular, were flushed. She was drinking what appeared to be a fizzy lemonade. She wore hooped earrings that Neville noticed had been made out of small limbs from some pliable and magical tree. From the hoops there were small buds of leaves; he watched as a small leaf sprouted.
Neville had always been and, in his opinion, would always be enamored with Luna. When they met they were similar in that they were outcasts, but they bonded in D.A. meetings, and in their seventh year at Hogwarts. They spent together after the war, before Luna began her travels and before Neville began teaching.
For Neville, Luna could walk into a room and brighten with just her existence — she'd done that since they first met. It didn't matter how sad or lonely he felt, seeing her made all the difference in the world to him. Neville, being himself, didn't spent too much time dwelling on his love for Luna; he accepted that he'd always love her and that was that.
She, to him, seemed wild and free in a way he'd never be, and this, of course, caused Neville to believe that Luna would never think of him in the romantic way. He knew that Luna loved him platonically, that she'd spend time with him and enjoy being around him. "He knew that she cared for him, but he believed that her heartbeat would never quite line up with his.
Neville had ordered his mead, taken a sip, and walked over to her table. He sat in the chair opposite her.
"I was hoping you'd come over here." Luna said, not even looking up from her book.
"I didn't realize you noticed me," he said with a soft chuckle
"Oh, Neville. I can tell when you walk into a room. There is a shift in the waves of the atmosphere. You bring such a calming presence with you. It's really quite a lovely effect, and I imagine it to be quite beneficial in the classroom or in crowded bars." Then she looked up, bobbing her head back from side-to-side to indicate she was talking about where they were now.
Neville had felt himself blush a little at her compliment.
"Nah. It's not me. I just have excellent students. Plus, it's never rowdy in here."
"Mmmm. If you say so, but the waves shift. They run smoother when you're around." Her sing-song husky voice left Neville feeling lightheaded, and he blamed it on the heat and on the mead.
"Well, anyway, how long are you in town for?"
"Oh. Just the weekend. I arrived yesterday from Portugal. It's so fascinating there, so many interesting and beautiful creatures. I spent the day in the forest trying to find the right type of plant to take back with me. I'll spend the night here in town, and I'll go back tomorrow, I suppose. After Portugal, I believe I'll go to France for a while, and then up to Ireland. There's just so much to see and look for. The research is quite fascinating. I'm sure you'd love it too, so many interesting plants with bizarre elements. You should come some time."
"You know my job doesn't allow me to travel like that."
"Perhaps one summer, then."
He shrugged. "Perhaps."
She took a sip of her drink, raising her eyebrows as she did.
"What have you been up to today, Neville?"
"Oh, you know, getting things ready for the start of term. Lots of prep work to do in the greenhouses, plus the usual maintenance of all the school's plants, and all of my personal plants."
"Tell me about them."
Neville and Luna had spent several hours discussing plants and whatever topic around one in the morning, Neville stifled a yawn. He couldn't believe how time had passed; how he came here for a few drinks, how he had intended to have dinner in his quarters before sleeping off the long day of work. Yet here he was, sitting in a bar with Luna at one in the morning.
Luna, too, had noticed the time. "It's gotten quite late, Neville. I believe I should probably retire to my room now. Apparating tends to exhaust me, I believe it's something to do with the magical flow and the rapidity we are asking our magic to move. Tomorrow will be a tiring day to return all the way to Portugal. Would you mind walking me to my room?"
Standing up from his chair, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers and he shook his head, "Of course I don't mind."
She stood and walked past him, leading the way up to her room.
She didn't say anything. She let her hand trail along the walls and against the rail of the staircase as they walked. Neville, walking behind her, tried not to stare at her body above and in front of him. The way her dress cinched at her small waist and clung gently to the curve of her hips and bottom. How shapely and smooth her legs were. Despite the tinge of red on her cheeks and shoulders from the sun, her skin was still a beautiful ivory. He noticed that Luna was barefoot. She padded up the stairs lightly as if she were walking on air. Earlier, mid-conversation she'd pinned her hair up with magic using the quills she had behind her ear.
Long strands of her hair fell loose and rested against her neck. Her hair was neither curly nor straight – it was somewhere in between wavy and messy. Neville thought it matched Luna perfectly.
"Here we are. I always request the last room on the right side of the hallway."
He raised his eyebrows questioningly at her.
"It's the energy."
He nodded, "Of course."
"You'll understand one day. In time."
With his hands in his pockets again, he shrugged. "Enjoy your travels, Luna. Tonight was great. It was wonderful to see you. As it always is."
Luna let her hand fall from the doorknob and stepped close to Neville. She was standing in front of him, looking up at him. She was petite, and much smaller than Neville, but her presence was so huge that he felt overwhelmed by her instantly.
Luna pushed up on her toes, bringing herself closer to Neville. She rested her hands on his shoulders, tilted her head to the side in the way she tended to do, and smiled.
She leaned forward and kissed Neville gently on the lips before sliding back onto her heels.
She smiled again at him and turned to her door.
"Goodnight, Neville. See you soon, I hope."
She walked into her room, and shut the door.
Neville had stood in the hallway for a few seconds as he processed the kiss. Then he'd shoved his hands back into his pockets and walked back down the stairwell to the Apparition point.
Neville never thought he'd spend the next two years pining over Luna, and their brief kiss. He'd already loved her, but he'd established their relationship so distinctly in his mind that now he wasn't sure what to do with the fact that she'd kissed him – so quickly and unexpectedly. In all their letters neither of them mentioned the kiss, and Neville couldn't quite figure out why.
See you soon, I hope. Neville sat at his desk in his office and mulled this words over in his head again, as he had so many times in the past two years. He often wondered if she meant it at all. Why would she spend two years away from him, not stopping on once to see him, if she hoped to see him again? Why would she have kissed him and never mentioned it again? None of it made sense to Neville, although he understood that Luna might not be considering all the things he was considering.
He didn't know if this was good or bad; he just knew he missed her, that her quick-kiss was too much of a tease, a taste at something carnal and delicate that he'd secretly wanted to experience for also knew he couldn't spend all his time waiting for her if she never intended him to wait.. Which was why Neville planned on finding a date to the Christmas party.
Since the war, Hogwarts established the tradition of hosting a Christmas party for faculty, staff, and alumni. It was a way to break old animosities amongst people after the war. Christmas, while wonderful, also brought a certain amount of sadness along with it, a longing for those lost and often a loneliness that couldn't be shaken. Neville had attended every party thus far, and he'd enjoyed himself immensely, but he was usually without a date. But this year he had found that he enjoyed occasionally chatting with former classmate Hannah Abbott at the Leaky Cauldron where she now worked. She was pretty and sweet and she seemed to like Neville just enough. There wasn't any expectation for the evening, but he was excited to not be spending the evening alone and thinking about Luna.
The Christmas party was, as always, enjoyable. There was great music and food and drinks and a constant sound of laughter filled the air. Neville ended his evening back at Hannah's place. Hannah didn't seem sure she was ready to take their relationship past friendship, and so Neville told her he'd see her tomorrow, at the bar and that he had a great time with her, and then he headed home.
Upon returning to Hogwarts, he needed to go into his office to check on a few of his plants. As his made his way past the kitchens and to his office, a house-elf named Pip stopped him and squeaked, "Master Neville has a visitor."
Neville knew that the house elf insisted on calling him Master, but Neville insisted the house elf at least call him Neville and not Master Longbottom. Pip was Neville's assigned house elf; he took care of his laundry and his meals. Neville had come to love Pip dearly, and the feeling was mutual.
"I do?"
"Yes sir. Strange woman. She has odd things hanging from her ears and bits of old flowers and twigs in her hair. Very nice to Pip. I let her in your office, sirs."
Neville's heart began to race. Could it be her? Was she there?
"Pip, was it Luna Lovegood? She, you know, was in Ravenclaw. She was a year behind me."
"It may be her, yes sirs. I didn't know many of the Ravenclaw students, sir. She was very nice though, to Pip. She seems to care for Master, sir."
"What makes you say that, Pip?"
"It's written all over her face, sirs. Plus, Miss has a plant for you, sirs. Miss knows how much you love plants. She told me she found it for you. She told me this plant will change your life, sirs."
Neville looked confused.
"Change my life?"
"Yes, sirs. Go now. Go see her."
Neville's heartbeat didn't slow as he began to walk towards his office. The door was open, and he saw Luna sitting on his desk. She was sitting cross-legged with her hands in her lap.
She smiled at him as he approached.
"I'm sorry I was gone for so long." Her voice. Always her voice. It got him. The huskiness of it. The soft sing-song nature in which she spoke.
"It doesn't matter. You're here now."
"Of course it matters. I can tell it mattered. You feel a bit different than before. I'm sorry if I caused that."
"I've missed you."
"I've been here the whole time." She patted lightly on his desk right above where her letters lie hidden.
"It's not the same." Your letters don't have your voice. They don't bring as much light with them.
He was standing in front of her now. She reached out with her hands and grabbed his. Her hands were soft; his were rough and calloused from his work.
She ran her thumb against the top of his hand. "I have something for you."
"Can it wait just a few moments longer?" he asked.
"For what?" She looked up from their hands and to his face.
He bent down. Their faces were close, almost touching. Their lips mere centimeters away from crashing together.
Luna closed the gap and pressed her lips against his. She tasted like strawberries, and as she opened her mouth to deepen their kiss, she felt like a warm summer day. She uncrossed her legs and allowed them to hang off of his desk. He stepped in between her legs to bring their bodies closer. She was wearing a velvety deep-blue dress, with gold constellations and stars patterned across it, that was cut like her summer dress from their last encounter, but with a deep v-neck neckline and three-quarter-length sleeves. The material was soft against his hands as he rested them on her waist.
Luna tangled her fingers into Neville's hair as they kissed. Kissing Luna wasn't like kissing anyone else — she was tender and intense all at once. She exuded confidence and Neville felt like he could have spent the entire night just kissing her.
Luna let her hands find the hardened bulge in his trousers and used her fingers to nimbly undo them. Releasing his aching erection, she began to stroke him. Neville,shocked by this development, felt frozen, overwhelmed by his thoughts. He didn't know how to proceed. He kept telling his brain to shut up and his body to act.
Luna helped him to stop over-thinking as she quickened the pace of her hand, as she ran her tongue against his, and as she took his bottom lip into her teeth. He felt his emotions and his love for her overtake him. He ran his hands down to her legs, sliding his fingers up the soft skin of her thighs. Her legs were parted already, as he stood between them, and he laughed when he found she had no underwear on.
He pulled back."You don't wear shoes in the summer and you don't wear underwear in the winter."
"I don't wear underwear in the summer either. It's a pointless article of clothing, don't you think?"
He chuckled again, "In this instance, I would say you're right."
His lips found hers again, and he traced a nimble finger over her wet entrance. She moaned at his touch, and he slipped a finger into her sweetness. He pumped his finger slowly, using his thumb to rub her clit. Luna's voice hitched as he moved within her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung closely to him. Her hair smelt of grass and flowers, as if she'd spent these past two years rolling around in a field of wildflowers somewhere. He felt that this was right, that Luna belonged among tall grass and wildflowers. Her skin was cool against his, and listening to her soft whimpers and moans he slid another finger into her and then pushed them deep inside her, coming to press against her wall again and again. "Oh, Circe, Neville," she moaned and he felt her body shake as she came. He kept pumping his fingers inside her, trying to make her orgasm last.
Her face, buried in his shoulder, pulled away to look at him. She kissed his cheeks and then his lips — just as sweetly and quickly as she had the time before, and for a moment he was worried she was going to leave again.
She smiled at him with her wide smile. She grabbed his cock again and tugged on him, and with a wink she said, "Neville, I think you should fuck me now."
Neville raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened. "Absolutely," he stammered. He grasped onto her hips, pulling her slightly off of the desk and closer to him. He slid himself into her, and he felt his own breath catch at the warmth of her body enveloping him. She wrapped one of her legs around him to push him deeper into her. She felt perfect. He took a steadying breath and then began to move inside her.
She leaned back slightly on the desk, resting her arms behind her, o she could see him better. She wanted to watch his face as he moved inside her, and she wanted nothing more than to see his face when he came. He watched as her chest began to flush red, as her breasts bounced in her bra, as her hair, half pinned-up with twigs and flowers, began to fall out of place and into her face. Her mouth opened as her chest heaved. Neville felt himself about to come and slowed down, taking an arm and wrapping it around her waist,pulling her to him. He wanted to feel her pressed against him. As he slowed, he pressed deep into her with each thrust; their foreheads touching, their lips touching, kissing between the moans and the breathing. The slowness, the deepening, this seemed to be what sent Luna over the edge again. She pressed her mouth against his as she came, her moans reverberating in his mouth and against his lips. He continued to pump himself into her, hard and slow, sending himself over the edge – emptying himself inside her.
He kissed her again and again and again. Small quick pecks on her mouth, her cheeks, her neck, her chest. He didn't want what had just happened to end. He didn't want her to leave him again.
She pulled herself away from him and hopped down off his desk.
"Are you leaving so soon?"
"Of course not, Neville. There are other things to attend to, however… like your present." She moved to his shelves. On one shelf sat a small pot, and within it a small green sprout sat tucked into the soil.
"Yes! Of course. I'm sorry. I just thought you might be running off again."
"I didn't run off, you knew I was leaving."
He sighed at this.
"Plus…" she continued, "I left because I was looking for something for you. I'd only heard rumors about it, but I felt that it must be true. My sources aren't usually wrong."
"What is it?"
"This is a Medemti plant. I found it in a forest in Ireland."
He stared at her.
"Neville. Haven't you ever heard of one? They are supposed to be quite rare and quite special."
"No, Luna. I haven't gotten a cluewhat you're talking about."
She took a deep breath, "Under the right care, which I believe you can administer, this plant's leaves can be used in a potion to counteract the lasting mental effects of the Cruciatus curse."
She paused to see if he understood. The look on his face seemed to show that he did.
"I have a book here for you to use to take care of it. You'll need to keep it in one of your cases. It thrives in cool wet weather. The plant needs a lot of care, but I know you are the person to care for it. The plant can also be used for dark magic, so your intention is important to the plant as well. She'll know that you're caring for her for good. Your heart is so good, Neville. She'll grow beautifully for you, and when it's time,I know how to brew the potion. We can meet, together, with healers, if you'd like,"
Neville felt tears swelling in his eyes.
"Thank you, Luna. This means everything to me."
She stepped up to him. She held his face in her hands, grazing her thumb against his cheek. "You've meant so much to me for so long. You have always been so kind to me."
"I, well, I'm going to see my parents tomorrow, for Christmas. Would you like to come with me?"
She beamed at him. "Of course."
He nodded and took a deep breath, bending down to kiss her again.
"Are you going to be travelling much more?"
She shook her head, "No, not as much anymore, I don't think. I think I'd like to stick around. See what might grow from staying here. What do you think?"
"I think that sounds perfect."