Hey everyone!

I'm taking a little break from working on chapter 3 of Though I Know That It Never Can Be, and writing this little challenge.

Again, this is edited by keelhaulrose. How she puts up with my overuse of commas and spelling mistakes, I'll never know (XD).

It's "Dictionary Divine" challenge by Bookwormofmassiveproportions.

I was given three words and said I'd write a Neville/Hannah fic.

My three words were; Gambol, Contretemps, and Chaff.

I decided to do three non-corresponding oneshots on their relationship.

First up; Contretemps
-An opportune or embarrassing situation or event.

~&~

There's something to be said about warm Hogwarts days. The feel of a beating sun above you, soft lush surreal grass beneath you and the giggles and laughs of fellow classmates around you. The fact that you could be here, in this moment, forever, and feel like you'd never age. That life before you could be filled with as many twists and turns as anyone could muster, and the past a fiery pit of destruction, whereas that would not matter because it's hard to imagine anything else but the present.

That's what Hannah Abbott was thinking as she lay on her back beneath one of the many trees decorating the grounds of the beloved school. Her shoes were a few feet away, thrown off as she lay down, stretching so that the sun's rays could reach even the secluded places between her toes. She had lost time long ago, and knew only that the sun had been directly above her for a while now. Somewhere in that time her eye lids had begun getting heavy and she had therefore closed them, enjoying much more warm light on the pieces of flesh.

Hannah stretched her arms away from her side, instead folding and placing them behind her head. She could hear few intelligent mutterings in this place she had chosen, as she was much too far away from the general Hogwarts population to be seen or heard. Or to see and hear others. The spot was perfect, as perfect as the day she had found it her very first year. She had told no one of her spot beneath the growing maple. Not even Susan or Ernie heard of where she went when she said cheerfully 'I'm off to the library!' She tried not to think of this as being selfish; because truly, she wasn't. Like most others, Hannah often required that one place to think or let go. People like Justin enjoyed flat rocks by the lake. Susan frequently prized the extremely lumpy old armchair that was always shoved-off in the corner of the Hufflepuff common room. Ernie, different also, chose to fume in the nook of to the left of the Charms corridor, behind a tapestry. But Hannah? She enjoyed the towering maple, and its growing wildlife around her. She preferred the shadows of nature to the confines of a stone castle made of magic.

It was odd that she was here at this moment. It had been a long time since she needed the stress release that the maple provided. She was, admittedly, a stressed person by character, often resulting in shaking. And the harder she shook meant the more tensed her nerves were, or the more potentially catastrophic the situation was. Sometimes, when Susan shoved her into a chair just to keep her from falling, she would look like one of those muggle-toys that wound up, then, upon release, shook up and down very fast, vibrated almost until they slid off a flat surface. At first her best friends had been worried, seeing her act in such a particular fashion barely a week before their very first exams, but after they had come to expect it, knew what food to offer, or what suggestions to give. She was never one to feel right with such stability in other people, but she would sheepishly admit that having friends like the ones she had found was both unique and rewarding.

However even to best friends like her own, there were some secrets to which she could not bring herself to mutter. She could tell them just about everything, what classes she was worried for, how stressed she was for her family, how much she missed home, and even to complain about certain students or faculty members that sometimes made her life a little, like most teenagers would say, unbearable. Still there were some longings she couldn't tell. Certain stories she couldn't even think herself without blushing, if not at her own wishes, then at the unlikely possibilities themselves. Growing up with two older sisters, Hannah had always accepted being a little overshadowed. She herself was the only offspring her mother and father had that had picked up the magical abilities her mother was given. Unlike most would think, this gave no edge of competition for attention with her other siblings. They were treated equally, mostly, and although she did not mind in the least, as she loved her sisters dearly, she often felt underappreciated. It was not a serious matter; she was loved by many and knew that, truly, she was valued as much as her sisters were. But it was thoughts like these that rushed to her head when she thought of him.

He was someone she could never trust herself to talk to. He was someone who she raised upon an unreachable ledge, torturing herself with the unlikely odds of ever being anything to him. He was the reason that she shook so much these days, why a simple cute scuffle of feet, or his small chuckle at a friends joke could make her feel like she was one of those muggle-toys. He was the reason her most favorite place in the world, lately, had been the ever-faithful Maple.

But he was someone she could never have. He was as untouchable as the rest of the closed away world. Admittedly, he was not the most popular. Nor the most experienced, and hardly the most concentrated. Although he was also charming, in his own special way. Like how he would always think carefully before choosing words to add to a conversation. The way he would always, if he could, help someone he noticed needed help. The way he could catch her eye right before an exam and with a lopsided grin make every nerve even out and cease her shaking. The way that he could make her think of him, only him, without even muttering a word.

Hannah groaned and moved her arms from under her head so that they lay over her eyes. This is ridiculous she thought cynically to herself. Nuts. The boy had hardly held a full conversation with her, let alone be willing to give her a second glance. He would never think of her in that way who would? He was cute. He was smart. He was caring. He was—

He was on top of her.

"Oh my goodness Hannah, I'm so sorry!" Neville Longbottom spluttered from his position, clumsily fallen on her.

Well then.

She had to say, even if she should feel completely uncomfortably in this rather compromising position, it took everything just to try and keep the blood from rushing to her cheeks. Her body felt like it did right before she started becoming anxious, before she started shaking. It felt like her nerves were all on some hotwire circuit, and at this moment, every point Neville's body touched her own seemed to be on ultra-sensitive.

"I-Erm, I me-mean," she managed to force out of her mouth, the dreaded-blush creeping up her neck at her ever-so witty comment. She felt the situation extremely satisfying, yes, but also unbearably embarrassing. A complete contretemps.

"Gosh, Hannah, I didn't mean to fall onto you like that!" Neville said, removing himself from on top of her. She instantly felt the cold sun return to drench her skin and robes.

"I was only running towards the greenhouse to get the Potions essay I was working on before next period," he said, standing over her and pointing to the north, where you could see the tops of the structures looming over some of the smaller trees.

Hannah felt the blood rush to her face once more as she managed to get out an "oh, really, it's perfectly alright" and was sure she had the same shade of a tomato when he offered his hand to help her up.

She liked the feel of her hand in his when he pulled her up. She liked the way his were just big enough to cover her own, and how they were soft, but not too soft. She like the way he brushed his hand against her own when they let go.

"What were you doing under there anyway?" Neville asked, shrugging towards the Maple, while looking at her shoes which still remained near them.

Hannah smiled, a tinge of rose still coloring her cheeks. "Oh, I was just... you know, thinking..."

"About what?" He sounded perplexed.

"Everything." She responded simply.

"But... why would you want to think under here? Didn't you get lonely?" he inquired, looking off in the distance to where you could see the colored blobs of the rest of the students of Hogwarts.

"Not particularly," she shrugged. "I mean, sometimes you just need to, you know think. Sometimes, when you need to tell someone your thoughts, the right person to tell them to is yourself."

"Wow. That's pretty deep, Hannah" he smiled, as she resisted the urge to grin at the way he said her name.

"Naw, I mean, everyone has a spot like this, don't they?"

"I don't know... I never—wait, yeah I guess I do too," Neville responded thoughtfully.

"See? Only, now you've got to show me your thinking place," she said playfully, feeling one side of her mouth turn up in a grin.

"What? I don't think so Abbott," he gasped in mock shock.

"It's only fair, you got to find mine!"

"Yeah, but that was on accident."

"Please?" she asked, trying to fight a smile and putting on a pleading face. She could hardly imagine that only minutes ago she was dreaming of simply having a conversation with this boy. Now? Now it seemed almost as if they were, well, flirting.

"Oh, fine. But only if you promise I can share this one," he responded, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"Deal," she grinned happily.

"I've got to go Hannah, Potions soon and Snape would kill me if I was late"-he shuddered-"but I wouldn't forget about what I said. We'll talk later okay?"

Okay? Okay? Okay wasn't the half of it. Talk later? Bloody brilliant!

"Okay, no problem Neville" she said enthusiastically.

Neville moved the weight of his body to one foot, seeming to contemplate something. Hannah could see the thoughts in his head debating, and remembered this was one of the things she had always loved about him, he thought every action through,

Coming upon a decision he quickly hugged her, so fast she barely felt his body head before he let go and broke off running in the direction of the Greenhouses.

"Later, I promise!" she heard him shout.

I promise she repeated, looking up at the trusted maple, realizing just how much she owed the tree.

~&~

See, isn't that just adorable? I love Hannah/Neville.

More one shots on the way~

PS; I hate the title of this fic, so if anyone has any ideas, REVIEW.

And if you don't, review anyway.

;D