Much as I love these characters, I don't own them. They belong to J K Rowling.
NEVILLE'S GLOOM
Cho Chang was making her way to Professor Sprout's herbology class with her fellow Ravenclaws. She happened to meet Luna, who didn't seem to be her usual bright optimistic self.
"Luna," said Cho, gently, "I don't know quite how to say this, but you seem to have lost that aura of serenity and joy that usually surrounds you. What's happened?"
"Neville seems to be avoiding me." said Luna, tearfully, "He hasn't spoken to me for over a week. Even at mealtimes, he sits with his back to me. I must have upset him, but I don't know how or when."
"Oh, Luna," said Cho, "I'm sure there's a logical explanation. He's probably been set a lot of extra work, so he hasn't got any spare time."
At this point, Padma Patil joined the pair. She had overheard the conversation between Cho and Luna. She had also noticed the change in Luna's mood. She was concerned, because she knew that Luna never outwardly showed signs of sadness, even when she was very depressed.
"I couldn't help overhearing you two." said Padma, "Perhaps I can help. My sister is in Gryffindor. I'll have a word with her and try to find out what's happened with Neville."
It was true that Neville was feeling down, but he didn't know why he was depressed. His herbology course was going well. He had come to realise that Professor Snape was not all bad, but was just being very strict. Nevertheless, he was feeling sad a lot of the time. At night, he couldn't put thoughts about his parents out of his mind. One thing he felt was that he couldn't let Luna know just how low he was feeling. He tried to do this by avoiding her. In his depressed state, it hadn't occurred to him that she might notice.
He tended to spend a lot of his spare time in the Gryffindor common room. On the rare occasions when he went out of the castle, he kept away from the parts of the grounds he knew might be frequented by Luna. His withdrawn behaviour had not gone unnoticed. Ginny was becoming concerned about her friend's emotional state. That evening, in the Gryffindor common room, she approached him.
"Neville," said Ginny, "What's wrong?"
"What do you mean, what's wrong?" asked Neville, "Nothing, as far as I know."
"I know you, Neville." said Ginny, "I'm quite sure it's more than nothing. You've withdrawn back into your shell. I'm not the only person who's noticed. Harry asked me about you, and Luna isn't smiling any more. Have you two stopped seeing each other?"
"It's nothing like that." said Neville, "I'm just feeling really miserable. I'm not seeing Luna because I don't want to inflict my gloomy feelings on her."
"I think you already have." said Ginny, "She's missing you. Parvati says Luna's wondering what she's done to upset you."
"She hasn't done anything." said Neville, "I just don't want her to be as miserable as me."
"And just how is avoiding her going to achieve that aim?" asked Ginny, "All that's going to do is break her heart. She loves you and you love her. Don't think I haven't noticed. You're depriving her of that love by avoiding her."
"I hadn't really looked at it that way." said Neville, "I felt that, while I'm feeling this way, it wouldn't be fair to bring Luna down with me."
"I don't know whether you realise it," said Ginny, "But you mean a lot to Luna. After all, you're the only boy who has taken the trouble to actually get to know her. She needs you. Has it occurred to you that Luna might be the only person who can bring some light into your gloomy world. Try to sleep well tonight, but think about what I've just said. Goodnight. See you at breakfast."
With this, Ginny departed for the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, leaving Neville to think about what she had just said. He did think about the thoughts Ginny had put into his mind. She was, after all, Luna's closest female friend. He dragged himself up to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory and went to bed. As he tried to sleep, he did think about the effect his apparent coldness might have on Luna. As he drifted off to an uneasy sleep, his thoughts turned into dreams about Luna. In these, she avoided him in the same way he had been shunning her during the last couple of weeks. Twice, he woke up weeping in the middle of the night. In the morning, after a somewhat fitful night, he woke up. Somehow, he sensed that his mood had changed. He still felt sad, but during the night he had realised that, by avoiding her, he had hurt the one person he really loved. He resolved to make it up with Luna as soon as he could.
The Gryffindors went down to breakfast. Neville sat in a position where he would be facing the Ravenclaw table. To his dismay, Luna didn't appear. Ginny noted that she didn't show up at the first class of the day, 'Charms' with Professor Flitwick, which Ravenclaw shared with Gryffindor. As well as being depressed, Neville was now worried about Luna. At the mid-morning break, he encountered Ginny, Padma Patil and Cho Chang.
"Have any of you seen Luna?" asked Neville, "I didn't see her at breakfast."
"Need you ask!" retorted Cho, angrily, "She didn't wake up this morning. Her heart and spirit are broken. She was crying all last night. It was pitiful to listen to her. I think you know why."
"I wanted to make things better this morning." said Neville, "Ginny made me see sense last night. I was going to try to make it up to her today. Now I feel terrible, so guilty. How is she?"
"She's been moved to the hospital wing." said Padma, "Madame Pomfrey is with her."
"Could I visit her at Lunchtime?" asked Neville.
"I'm not sure." said Cho, "Since you're the cause of her collapse, Madame Pomfrey may not let you, but it's worth a try."
This news did not make Neville any happier. Not only was he feeling depressed for no apparent reason, but he was now seriously worried about his sweet Luna. He felt he was responsible for her collapse. Feelings of guilt were overwhelming him. He felt he was wading into an infinite swamp. The fact that the rest of the morning was taken up with double potions didn't help his mood. A somewhat explosive lapse of concentration during the class led to him earning a detention from Professor Snape.
Lunchtime came at last. Instead of going straight to the great hall for his meal, Neville went up to the hospital wing to try to see Luna. He was met by Madame Pomfrey, who informed him that Luna was not able to receive visitors. She continued by giving him a lecture about loyalty, friendship and reliability. Needless to say, this did not improve his mood. He felt that everything he did was taking him deeper into the swamp. He did not go to the hall to eat his lunch, but went to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to think about his situation. He got so carried away by his musings that he lost track of time. He was late for 'Defence Against Dark Arts' and earned another detention, this time from Professor Umbridge. As a result of the detentions, both of which had to be served that evening, he was absent from dinner as well. It was after midnight by the time he reached the Gryffindor common room. On the way there, he had to explain himself to Argus Filch, who gave him a third detention for wandering about in the corridors after curfew.
That night, he did not sleep very much. When he did manage to drift off, his slumber was interrupted by the distressing thoughts put into his mind by Professor Umbridge during her detention. He finally found sleep just as dawn was breaking. He fell into a deep sleep from which none of his Gryffindor friends could rouse him.
After about half an hour of attempting to wake Neville, Ron went to see Madame Pomfrey before going down to breakfast. She suggested that he be left to sleep, but someone should check on him from time to time. He was still totally lost to the world at the mid-morning break. At this point, Harry mentioned to Madame Pomfrey that he was still deeply unconscious. She visited him in the Gryffindor dormitory and had him taken, on a stretcher, to the hospital wing. She thought about what she had said to Neville the previous day and put him in a bed next to Luna, who was asleep. She then set about trying, gently, to wake Him. Gradually, she managed to stir him into consciousness.
He eventually woke up, disoriented at about midday.
"Where am I?" asked Neville, "What's happened?"
"You're in the hospital wing." said Madame Pomfrey, "Nobody could wake you up this morning. From what Ron Weasley's told me, I don't think you've slept much for at least three nights, probably longer. He also told me you haven't eaten anything since yesterday's breakfast. Why?"
"I – I came up here to see Luna at lunchtime yesterday." said Neville, hesitantly, "You said I couldn't. After that, I didn't feel hungry, so I didn't have lunch. Then I had to serve two detentions one after the other."
"Who with?" asked Madame Pomfrey.
"Professor Snape, then Professor Umbridge." answered Neville.
"Professor Umbridge; what did she make you do?" asked Madame Pomfrey.
"She made me sit in silence, writing lines with her special quill for an hour." said Neville, "Then she spent the second hour putting really horrible thoughts into my mind. I couldn't sleep after that."
"What kind of horrible thoughts?" asked Madame Pomfrey.
"She said that if she saw me with Luna, she'd give her the cruciatus curse and make me watch her suffer." said Neville, who was near to tears, "Then she went on to describe in detail how this might happen."
"Is there no limit to the cruelty of that woman!" said Madame Pomfrey, "When did her detention finish?"
"Just after midnight." replied Neville, "I met Mr Filch on the way back to my dormitory. I've got another detention tonight for being out after curfew."
"Since you've been writing lines for Umbridge," said Madame Pomfrey, "I'd better look at your hands. I'll also have a word with Minerva. There's no way you're going to be able to serve Mr Filch's detention. When I've dealt with your hands, I'll get you a meal. I'm sure you're hungry, then I'll put you into a deep sleep. When you wake up, you'll feel a lot better."
Madame Pomfrey attended to Neville's injured hands and commented that she had treated similar wounds on at least a hundred other students.
"What's the matter with me?" asked Neville.
"You've got a touch of the mournful woebegones." said Madame Pomfrey.
"Is it catching?" asked Neville.
"Only if the other person is sad." said Madame Pomfrey.
"Then I was right to avoid Luna?" said Neville.
"No! You weren't." said Madame Pomfrey, "That was the worst thing you could have done. I sense that you two are somehow connected. If you hadn't avoided her, she would have cured you in less than an evening. She's that kind of person. As it is, both of you are affected. Anyway, here comes your lunch. When you've finished, I'll charm you into that profound sleep I mentioned earlier."
Neville sat up in bed and ate his lunch: roast shank of lamb with all the trimmings and chocolate sponge with chocolate sauce to follow. He did actually enjoy it, probably because he hadn't eaten for about twenty-eight hours. When Madame Pomfrey returned about three quarters of an hour later, once Neville had finished, she cleared away the tray. She erased the memory of Professor Umbridge's detention and cast a charm which would ensure Neville would sleep, but that sleep would be punctuated by pleasant dreams. She had already cast a similar charm over Luna. Hopefully, thought Madame Pomfrey, Neville and Luna would dream about each other.
During the latter part of the day, Madame Pomfrey met both Minerva Mcgonagall and Filius Flitwick to explain why Neville and Luna were in the hospital wing. She had some sharp words with Argus Filch about Neville's third detention and had it rescinded. After this, she took up Professor Umbridge's threat to use the Cruciatus curse on Luna with Professor Dumbledore, pointing out that even the threat to use this curse was illegal. The head teacher was shocked that one of his professors would issue such a threat. He promised to have a quiet word with Dolores Umbridge, but couldn't promise anything as she had been appointed by the Ministry of Magic.
Madame Pomfrey let both Neville and Luna sleep until the following morning. While they were sleeping, she gave a lot of thought as to how to wake them. She had put Neville in the bed next to Luna, but had kept the curtain between them drawn. Neville had been totally unaware of Luna's presence in the next bed. She decided that she would wake Luna and Neville simultaneously with the curtain drawn back.
Mid-morning, the next day, Madame Pomfrey checked on Neville, then Luna to ascertain that they were laying facing each other. She drew back the curtain and gently charmed them into wakefulness. Neville was the first to open his eyes, followed very soon after by Luna. Neville smiled as he saw Luna. He smiled more as her eyes opened. It was Luna who spoke first.
"Hello." said Luna, sweetly, "How come you're in here as well?"
Her gentle voice was music to Neville's ears. For the first time for over a week, he began to feel happy.
"I had two detentions, one with Professor Snape, the other with Professor Umbridge," said Neville, "They went on until after midnight. I know I went to Professor Umbridge's office for the second one. I vaguely remember meeting Filch on the way back to bed, but the next thing I remember clearly was waking up in here."
"That is very strange." said Luna, "I had a night full of horrible dreams. I did eventually sleep, but then nobody could wake me. I woke up in here as well."
"What did you dream about?" asked Neville.
"I dreamt that I'd lost you for ever," said Luna, "But before I woke up just now, I dreamt that we were together and in love. It was lovely. Incidentally, why were you avoiding me?"
"I was feeling totally miserable." said Neville, "I didn't want to inflict my sadness on you."
"Oh, you silly billy!" exclaimed Luna, smiling, "I could have dispelled your gloomy feelings in an instant. You know that. I've done it before."
"I suppose I was so down, I couldn't think straight." Said Neville, "I was caught in a downward spiral and didn't want to take you down with me."
"I would have pulled you out of that spiral." said Luna, "Did you have any nice dreams just now?"
"Strangely, I think I was in your dream." said Neville, "I was sitting on a sofa in the room of requirement, and you were enfolded in my arms. It felt so sweet and natural. I was disappointed when I woke up in this bed, but it was lovely to see you in the next bed."
"That was my dream." Said Luna, "I didn't want it to end either, but I woke up to see you in the bed next to mine. Madame Pomfrey must have linked our minds."
"Anyway, how are we going to get ourselves out of this pickle." said Neville.
"I suggest we just see each other as we did before and let things develop." said Luna, "I think we both know how we feel about each other, so, when you're feeling down, let me cheer you up instead of hiding away from me."
At this point, Madame Pomfrey entered the ward with Ginny, who had come to visit the couple. She had overheard the last exchange between Luna and Neville.
"It sounds as if you two are speaking to each other again." said Madame Pomfrey, "I've brought you a visitor."
Ginny came round and sat on the chair between the two beds.
"How are you two feeling today?" asked Ginny, "We've all been worried about you."
"I'm feeling relieved." said Luna, "It seems that Neville thought his misery was contagious. That's the only reason he was avoiding me. It did hurt though."
"And you, Neville?" said Ginny.
"I feel strangely cheerful," said Neville, "Waking up and seeing Luna in the next bed was reassuring. I don't have to tell you how I feel about her."
"Anyway, Neville." said Ginny, "What happened to you? I haven't seen you since mid-morning the day before yesterday."
"I had a bad day." said Neville, "I was so worried about Luna that I couldn't concentrate. An explosion in Potions earned me a detention from Snape. Madame Pomfrey didn't let me see Luna, so I didn't go to lunch. I went to the Forbidden Forest to think. I let time run away with me. My late arrival in 'Defence Against Dark Arts' got me a detention from Professor Umbridge. Both detentions had to be served that evening. The strange thing is, that I don't remember anything about Professor Umbridge's detention."
"That's because I erased your memories of it." said Madame Pomfrey, "I've told Ginny what happened, but It's best if you don't know what she said to you until you've completely recovered."
"I do know that I didn't get out of Professor Umbridge's detention until after midnight." said Neville, "I met Mr Filch on the way back to the dormitory. I've got another detention from him."
"You will be relieved to know," said Madame Pomfrey, "That I've seen Argus Filch. His detention has been cancelled."
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey." said Neville.
"It seems you've had an eventful day." said Ginny, "I'm not surprised you ended up here."
"As I just said, dear Neville," said Luna, "You are a silly billy. I care about you. I do love you. You should have come to me when you felt down and none of this would have happened."
"Which is exactly what I said to you the other night." said Ginny.
"Suppose." said Neville, feeling contrite.
"Anyway, Luna," said Ginny, "I think you know how Neville feels. You mean a lot to him. Now you're going to be together again, how do you feel?"
"Relieved." said Luna, "I now know I didn't upset Neville. I now realise he did what he did because he cared about me. I think he was infected by woeful wrackspurts and wanted to keep them away from me."
"Something like that." said Neville.
Anyway," said Ginny, "I'll be off now. I'm glad you two are seeing eye to eye again. Bye bye."
"Bye, Ginny!" said Neville and Luna together, "See you at dinner."
Once their visitor had left, Neville and Luna enjoyed lunch together in the hospital wing. They spent the afternoon making up their differences and discussing how they might prevent a repeat of the events of the past week. She persuaded Neville to promise to come straight to her if he felt depressed. As they talked, it was clear that Luna was making Neville feel really happy, calm and contented.
At the end of the afternoon, Madame Pomfrey decided that the the couple were rested enough to return to normal college life. She had, during the afternoon, received an assurance from Professor Dumbledore that Dolores Umbridge had no intention of torturing Luna. She just wanted to make Nevile feel even worse than he already did. She suggested that Neville invite Luna to eat with him at the Gryffindor table at dinner. This he did. She accepted. To make room, the Patil twins ate together at the Ravenclaw table.
Neville and Luna enjoyed the hospitality of the Gryffindor table at dinner. It was smiles all round. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny made them welcome. After the meal, Neville spent the period between Dinner and curfew with his sweet Luna in the room of requirement. They caressed, kissed and declared their feelings of total love for each other. Neville promised that he would never again give Luna the impression that he didn't love her. Neville sat with Luna on a comfortable sofa, his arms enfolding her. They enjoyed the comfort of the sofa and the warmth of each other's bodies. Their sweet waking dream of that morning had come true.