"You were very brave tonight," Luna noted in her usual airy tone, sat next to Neville in the Great Hall. The battle had just finished and the sounds of tears and laughter jumbled into a hazy blur as everyone bustled around, celebrating the win and grieving over lost loved ones.
"Oh, thanks," Neville grinned bashfully. "You were amazing, helping Harry find the Ravenclaw diadem even though everyone said it was lost." One of the things he loved most about Luna was her complete faith in everything she believed in. He'd witnessed Hermione trying to tell her that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks didn't exist, and was glad to see that the girl refused to budge on her opinion.
"Listen, Luna, there's something I've been meaning to tell you but I couldn't find you earlier and then I was caught up with killing that snake, so I'm just going to say it now," Neville started, his words rushing out and overlapping each other in his haste. He had never been good at talking to girls.
"Okay," the blonde replied happily.
"You see... the thing is... what I'm trying to say..." Neville groaned in frustration as the words just wouldn't form properly.
"Wrackspurts in your head?'"Luna asked curiously, a sympathetic look etched on her beautiful features. "They can cause you to lose your train of thought, you know."
"Something like that," he muttered miserably.
"That's okay, I can wait," she smiled in a way that made Neville entirely sure that he had to tell her how he felt, if only to see that expression again.
"I'm mad for you," he blurted out softly, watching her carefully.
Her eyes, normally so far-away and content, zeroed in on Neville with an uncharacteristic seriousness.
"Sorry?" She breathed.
Neville shrugged. "Have been for a while now, actually. Didn't realise it until the Death Eaters snatched you at Christmas. Hogwarts wasn't the same without you, especially the DA meetings." There was always a looming gap whenever the group met up, a silence that no one but Luna herself could abolish. More and more Neville had found himself wishing that she'd come back.
"I missed you, too. Although I'm not sure why you like me. People tend to find me odd," Luna mused in her honest manner.
"You're not odd, Luna. You're special," he supplied kindly. There was a pause as they both smiled at each other, then – "so you missed me too, ey?"
"Of course. It was quite lonely at the Malfoys' with only Mr Ollivander and Griphook. I sometimes used to imagine what it would be like if I saw Dumbledore's Army again – especially you. I never thought that you liked me back, though. Like I said, people think I'm – " she was cut off abruptly by Neville's lips on hers, gentle and careful through both hesitance and the fact that they were injured from the battle; he didn't want to hurt either of them.
"Special," he repeated as he pulled away. "People won't think of you as that odd girl anymore. They'll think of you as Luna Lovegood – member of Dumbledore's Army and a key part in Voldemort's downfall."
She smiled faintly, still taken aback by the kiss. "That does sound nice. But you missed something from that description."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"You should have said, 'Luna Lovegood – member of Dumbledore's Army, a key part in Voldemort's downfall and Neville Longbottom's girlfriend.'"
Neville laughed gleefully. That certainly did sound better.