It had been a year since the battle, and now the grounds were back to their green glory on this day, May the 3rd 1999. Every last student, every teacher and even Mrs Norris was inside the great hall with the headmistress Professor McGonagall, all except that is, a certain professor.
Crouched on the grass, away from the raucous cheers, the relentless chatter and the repeated chime of the side of a glass, tapped imperiously for silence, sat the lone professor. The sweet breeze brushed his unruly hair into his eyes as he savoured a look around the lake and with a flick of his head the sun caught his now slackening jaw and shone back off the now faint red line, marking his papery skin. The scar worn proudly by Professor Neville Longbottom.
He was not sure why he had come here, of all places. He had been on his normal route to his greenhouses to tend to his mandrakes, deep in thought he hummed a little tune as he tootled along on his way. He smiled fondly as the memories of his first herbology lesson, mostly the shame of the pink fluffy earmuffs, filled his head, yet instead his footsteps directed past the forest and the across the grounds, too the sparkling savannah ahead of him.
This was not the first time this had happened,ever since his last sight of love he had been drawn to this tranquil seeming spot that still slipped uninvited into his dreams and the bittersweet memories along with it. It had been a year now since that last sighting of her. Her was all he could muster as he felt the familiar squeeze of his heart and pin-pricks behind his eyes. Just saying her name was too painful, better to keep it all within the overstuffed compartments of his mind, and this would have helped at least a little, if it wasn't for the door, the drawer, the wardrobe that burst open every time he was alone, spilling out all those stolen glances, forgotten smiles and blushing conversations.
"Neville?"
It was Luna, walking over to him; over the once trim and green lawns that now, like her had earned their scars. Her clothes were spattered with dried blood from the fallen and tell-tale tear tracks stained her grimy face.
"Neville?" She called again, her voice cracking from the pent up emotion and sharp grief wound up in her small, slim body, enough to break a warrior, but then, he thought despondently, that's what she was now. Timidly, as if he was a lifeboat in the middle of a vast stormy ocean that could be washed, swept or nudged away at any point she coaxed his hand into hers and turned him towards her, as she did the moonlight shimmered on her long dirty blonde hair and brightened the blue of her eyes, tearing away the his hurt and pain to see his love, his Luna.
He felt a warmth in his chest, growing and growing till he felt he wasn't strong enough to bear it, his love for her- he realised with a jolt, shocking his fragile being to giving in to the urge to pull her into his chest and enfolding her in his arms. Originally shocked by his uncharacteristically bold actions he loosened his hold and tried to take a step back, his cheeks heating as he ran through the frequent series of emotion, embarrassment, awkwardness. But a pair of arms squeezed him harder, and then he realised, it was Luna who was hugging him and even though they were grieving, even though friends, family and Hogwarts needed them, this time was theirs, a small selfish moment just for them.
"Luna….there's something I need to say, I've been putting off this moment ever since I saw you, met you, laughed with you, saw how beautiful you are..."
"Neville?"
It was her voice, calling his eyes open and with a sudden burst of emotion he whipped around and between the rays of ancient everlasting sunshine she walked towards him her dirty silver blonde hair flying in the wind free, untethered and wild as spirit.
His words sputtered and left, he had anticipated this day for so long, the words he'd been practising since his teens melted away like butter and as if guided by a silver thread he walked towards her slowly and reached out to touch her cheek with his roughened and calloused hands, worn by years of hard work and at that chaste touch he felt that blistering heavenly heat, spreading out from her just as it had done years ago before life parted their paths. The sun seemed to explode in light, the sky burst, brighter and bolder to truest blue and he felt himself lean in towards her, guided by the memory of her soft lips, and how they fit perfectly against his own the very recollection setting off a tingle on his wrinkled lips. In a haze of memory and love he leant towards her,angling his face just as he had that very first time to brush her perfect lips, when all of a sudden her finger, her skin as thin as his pressed to his own and an murmur slipped from her mouth.
"Do you think after all these years you can just kiss me without so much of a hello?"
These words shook him from her spell and into action, his cheeks flushed and he let a stuttering apology, pulling back to mutter a polite greeting, wringing his hands in embarrassment as his washed out blues fell to the floor, waiting for her to speak, to say anything. Anything to melt the ice hurriedly forming from years long passed. When this did not happen he dared to glance up for just a second and saw her, still as vibrant as she had ever been, years had filled out her figure but kept it's eternal elegance and poise and the experience of her years had shrunk her height and dulled her hair but those eyes. They were as blue as a gentle wave on the beach of a tropical land, as bright as the sun and brimming with emotion.
It was these eyes that entranced him, as much as they did before drawing him closer till her lips swept the hairs breadth between them away and he kissed her back, saying everything they both knew, and wiping their slate clean of the past ready to start a new life, new love as the world fell silent around them fading away till all there was was him and her standing on the grounds of Hogwarts right where it had all began.