Honestly, I'm not really sure if this one shot is any good, but I've been trying to practice writing one shots. Constructive criticism is welcome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, or Harry Potter. I only own my OC, Carly San-Johns.
The first thing Neville heard was the crying. He was walking past Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, trying to hide from some bullies, when he heard a girl (a living girl) sobbing behind the door.
Maybe it was a bad idea, but hey, he wasn't about to let a girl cry. Besides, the bathroom was abandoned by all except Moaning Myrtle, so he opened the door.
And found Luna Lovegood crying on the tiled floor of the girls bathroom.
Neville was shocked. He'd never seen Luna cry, much less so much. She was always so happy and dreamy and confident with herself and her unique behavior.
"Luna?" He whispered.
She looked up with red rimmed eyes. "What are you doing here? This is the girls bathroom."
"I, um, heard you crying," Neville said. "What's wrong?"
She shrugged. "Nothing, just the usual. Some kids called me names." Her gaze returned to the floor.
Neville hesitated. "Me, too."
She looked up. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yep, anything from chubby to coward to idiot. What are kids calling you?"
She didn't say anything for a moment, and Neville thought she wasn't going to respond.
But finally, she spat, "Loony Lovegood. Weirdo. Freak. Ugly with my bottle caps and parsnip earrings and-"
Neville seated himself beside her. "None of that's true."
She snorted. "Yeah, right."
"It's not true. You're not loony; you're unique. You're not weird; you're misunderstood. You're not a freak; you're different, and people can't accept that. You're not ugly; you're beautiful."
She looked at him, her eyes filled with disbelief. "You really think so?"
Neville considered what he was going to say next to convince her before taking her cold hands in his. "I'm positive. Kids are cruel and unaccepting. Sometimes they just... don't understand people like us. They don't understand Nargles or why I love Herbology, and that's not our fault. And it never will be."
"Thanks, Neville," she said, but she still didn't sound convinced.
"You ever heard of Demi Lovato, the Muggle singer?" Neville said, abruptly.
Luna looked startled by the sudden question, but she nodded, slowly.
"One of her quotes- my favorite, actually- is "you are beautifully and wonderfully made." I think that quote applies to now, don't you agree?"
Luna shrugged her shoulders. "I guess."
Neville thought about giving up and walking away, but he thought that what he was about to say may work. If only he could bring himself to say it...
"My parents are, um, unavailable," he said. "They went insane during the war, and ever since, I've been different. Growing up with my grandmother was absolute torture. She wanted me to be my dad, but I couldn't and I tried to be. In doing so, I only made more of a mess. I was a klutz; I still had my baby fat; my teeth were crooked; I absolutely sucked at magic. People made fun of me, and all I really wanted was a friend."
Luna didn't say a word, but she lifted her blue eyes and stared at him.
"I'll be your friend if you'll let me."
She smiled, her dreamy expression slipping back into place as happiness blessed her once more. "I'd love to be your friend, Neville."
She stood and walked towards the door. "I have to get to Transfiguration, but it was nice talking to you."
He smiled and waved at her back.
She suddenly stopped. "Oh, and Neville? You're beautifully and wonderfully made, too."
For the first time in a long time, Neville Longbottom grinned a true, honest smile.
From that day on, Neville and Luna were best friends. There was even a rumor going around that they were dating, which wasn't true, but that said how much they started hanging out. They walked to classes together; studied together; and even found some new friends. It was like after they found one friend, they found more. All they needed was a push.
But the real test came when Luna ran into Carly San-Johns, the number one bully, and Neville wasn't with her.
"Well, lookie here, it's Loony Lovegood, " Carly mocked. "The freak. Heard you've been hanging out with Neville Longbottom, the stupid klutz of a gardener."
Luna opened her mouth to defend her new friend, but Carly cut her off.
"Two weirdos in a pod," she chuckled.
Luna smiled, calm once more. "Your words don't affect me anymore, Carly."
She tried to hide her surprise as she fumbled with her words. "Well, it's all true."
"Made it is," Luna grinned, "but as Neville says, I'm beautifully and wonderfully made."
She turned on her heel and began to walk away.
She stopped and said to Carly with her back turned. "But, Carly, if you ever insult my friend again, you better start sleeping with one eye open at night."
I like the beginning, but I personally thought the ending as kind of choppy. Tell me what you think! Review!
Also, my goal for the New Year is to write a short one shot-probably under 1000 words- each day. I missed yesterday because my grandparents are going out of town and I went to see them before they left. But that's my goal, so this is January 1st and I'm working on January 2nd.
Thank you!