Author's Note: A lot of the REAL story line is lost on these. As I said in my profile (which I hope you read), this is just for fun and has no real meaning or anything. If you don't like it, don't read it. If you do, thanks.
"Affirmations"
He was resting, his back against the arm of the couch, legs stretched out on the cushions in front of him and crossed at the ankles as he struggled with a particularly difficult algebra equation.
"I don't really care what 'y' is," he muttered to himself, erasing a mistake and sweeping away the rub-off with his fingers.
"It's 87," she stated, reading over his shoulder as she walked past. Neville turned to look at her and she nodded, "87."
He went back to his homework and, after working it through again, he found that the answer was, indeed, 87. Luna picked up his feet and moved to sit with them in her lap.
"The funniest thing happened to me today, Neville," she told him, retying a loose shoelace.
"That's great, baby," he mumbled absently, frowning at the next problem in his book.
"Do you remember Colin Creevey?"
"No," Neville answered, reaching for his calculator.
"He used to live down the street from Harry. Moved away in fifth grade."
"Sorry," he mumbled, clicking more lead out on his mechanical pencil.
"It turns out, he moved back. We were both waiting for our rides after school today, and we talked."
"Twenty-five squared is fifty, right?"
"Six-hundred-twenty-five. Squared is multiplied by itself, not doubled."
He made a face at his own stupidity and nodded, "That's right. Thanks,"
"Colin says hi," she went on.
"Hi."
"But that wasn't the funny thing."
"Luna, if you let me finish this, we'll talk all night, I promise, but I have to get this done," he informed her, turning back a page to read the lesson again.
"He asked me out."
Neville's head snapped up.
"What?"
Luna repeated, "He asked me out."
"The scrawny kid with the calico cat that used to follow Harry around?" His voice was slowly raising.
"Yeah, that's him," she smiled.
He got to his feet, algebra paraphernalia falling to the floor as he walked to the phone and dialed.
"Neville?" Luna sounded confused.
"Just making a phone call."
"Hello?" a young man answered.
"What are you doing?" Neville demanded, skipping the greeting and ignoring the girl on the sofa.
"Ron and me were just trying to do algebra. Did you get 59 for number 5?"
"It's 87. How soon can you meet me at the bus stop?"
"Like now. Why?"
"Some kid hit on Luna," he replied quietly, not wanting her to overhear. She didn't.
He heard Harry's algebra book slam shut.
"You're fucking kidding me."
He heard Ron inquire about the phone call and Harry explained the situation.
"What the hell?" Ron spat.
"Bus stop then?" Neville said.
The phone clicked and he hung up, making his way to the door.
"Why are you going to the bus stop?"
"I'm meeting Harry and Ron to discuss our homework.
"Then I'll come with you."
"No, you'll stay here. I'll be back in a minute."
He bent to kiss her forehead and she grabbed a handful of his shirt, tugging him onto the couch with her.
"What?" he asked, their faces an inch apart as she studied his eyes.
"He didn't know," she whispered.
Neville kissed her quickly before standing and leaving the house. Harry and Ron were waiting for him.
"Who did it?" Harry wanted to know.
"Where is he?" Ron questioned, cracking his knuckles.
"Don't they know she's unavailable?"
"Who doesn't?"
"Apparently . . ." Neville began, but catching site of a calico cat trailing along behind a teenaged boy with mousey hair walking away from them a block up the street, he narrowed his eyes and finished, "Him."
Harry and Ron spun and searched the area for the boy. Neville had already started off by the time they saw the target and they marched after him.
"Isn't that the dork who used to follow you around, Harry?"
"Nah, he moved away."
"He moved back," Neville said over his shoulder. The boy caught site of the trio as they approached.
"Oh, hey, Har . . ." he started, but his sentence was truncated when Neville's fist connected with his chin. Colin tumbled backwards, his pet retreating into the brush, and gawked up at his assailant.
"Don't touch my girlfriend," he commanded as the boy stood.
"I didn't touch her."
Neville took another swing and his victim fell back to the cement.
"Just don't do it, ever. Don't touch her, don't ask her out, don't flirt. She's attached."
A bruise had already started forming under Colin's left eye and he looked scared to death.
"I didn't know, I'm sorry," he stuttered, cringing when Neville held out a hand.
"I'm not going to hit you. Get up."
He helped him to his feet and started to walk away.
"That's it?" Harry piped up.
"He'll never do it again. That was the point."
"I've never seen you hit anybody before," Ron remarked.
"Yeah, we usually do the punching," Harry added.
"It's never been about Luna before," Neville told them and they nodded, following him into his house where Luna was waiting with her arms crossed over her chest, perched on the back of the couch.
"I saw what you did. You didn't have to hit him once, let alone twice," she said flatly.
Ron and Harry made pained faces and thought 'Uh-oh' before retreating into the kitchen.
"I'll be damned, Luna, if I'm going to let that kid think he's got a chance with my girlfriend," Neville proclaimed. Luna sighed in exasperation and fell backwards, sliding to hang upside down off the couch. He moved to sit beside her and she quirked an eyebrow at him. "You are my girlfriend, right?"
"Yeah. Aren't I?"
Neville nodded and took her hand, "Yeah, yeah. You are. Sorry."
"Duh!" Harry shouted from the kitchen sounding like he had a mouthful of food.
Luna smiled up at Neville and he turned to recline, his head resting on her belly. She played with his hair as he played with the fingers of her free hand.
"Maybe I shouldn't have punched him. Twice."
"A simple, 'Hands off' would have sufficed."
"I said that after I hit him. People can't go around thinking you're free to be handled. You're my girl."
In spite of herself, she grinned and he knew it, even if he couldn't see it from where he was.