Luna's Surprise
Neville had somehow found out the date of Luna's birthday. She had not told him, and when he asked, she was evasive. He wanted to do something about it but wasn't sure what. He wanted to surprise her. He wanted her to have a joyful experience. Luna kept her birthday secret because of the unpleasant things the girls in her junior school did to her. Now she was at Hogwarts, she wanted to make a fresh start, free of such unpleasantness. True, she was teased. Her classmates hid her things, especially shoes, but she accepted this as part of the life of a girl who realised that she was different. Her name didn't help. Even the few friends she did make at Hogwarts, inadvertently called her 'looney' now and then, so the date of her birthday was a closely guarded secret.
Luna had made very few friends in Ravenclaw, but now had two really close friends in Gryffindor, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom. Ginny was in her year and shared some classes with her. Neville had admired her from a distance, and eventually, with Ginny's help, the pair were brought together. They were now close friends and were beginning to trust each other. At this point, they felt that they were almost ready to talk about love. They found each other's company pleasant and reassuring. They tried to spend as much time together as they could without their relationship being noticed by too many people.
Neville had decided that what he was planning for Luna would involve either Hogsmeade or the astronomy tower, more likely the latter. He knew that he would have to keep it secret from her. He needed advice, but had to think about who he asked, in case Luna found out. The one person he trusted was Hermione. She was close enough to Ginny and Luna to know what would be pleasing to them, but hopefully she would be discreet enough not to let either of them be made aware of what was going on. He met Hermione at morning break time.
"Hermione," said Neville, as he met her, "I'd like you to keep quiet about this, but I'm planning a surprise for Luna."
"When?" asked Hermione.
"February 13th." said Neville.
"That's the next Hogsmeade day." said Hermione, "Perhaps you could take her there as your companion."
"That's a good idea," said Neville, "But I'll have to ask her without giving her the impression that I know the significance of that particular date. That could be difficult."
"Just ask her along as if it was the most normal thing in the world." said Hermione, "And try to keep calm."
Neville gave some thought to this and a plan gradually formed in his mind. His first thought was that he would get his and Luna's friends to go to the Three Broomsticks. He would come in with Luna, and they would all greet her with 'Happy Birthday'. He dismissed this one, because her birth-date was a secret. His next thought was to take her to Hogsmeade early, buy her something special in Honeydukes, then go to Madame Puddifoot's. They would end their trip by joining their friends in The Three Broomsticks. He would wish her a happy birthday in Madame Puddifoot's, where the couple would have some degree of privacy, and would not be overheard.
On the Friday evening, before dinner, Neville sought out Luna in the throng of students heading for the great hall. When she saw him, she was the first to smile. This, Neville found reassuring. He approached her.
"Luna?" said Neville tentatively and with a question in his voice.
"Yes, Neville?" said Luna, smiling, and looking deeply into Neville's eyes.
"Tomorrow is a Hogsmeade day." said Neville.
"So?" asked Luna.
"W - would you like to be my companion on the trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" asked Neville, tentatively.
"Of course, I would!" said Luna, beaming, "That'll be so absolutely lovely."
Luna stood up on tiptoes, flung her arms round Neville and kissed him on the cheek. Neville blushed scarlet.
"What was that for?" asked Neville, somewhat embarrassed.
"For you being you." said Luna, still beaming, "You're the sweetest boy I've ever known."
"I know that the Patil twins are going to have tomorrow's breakfast on the Ravenclaw table." said Neville.
"So?" asked Luna.
"Would you like to breakfast with me on the Gryffindor table?" asked Neville.
"You know I'd love to." said Luna, "It'll be so much more friendly there."
"That's a sad thing for you to say." said Neville, "I'll see you just before breakfast tomorrow. Then we can go to Hogsmeade together straight afterwards."
"See you then, then." said Luna, "Byee!"
"Bye, sweet Luna." said Neville, "See you just before breakfast at the bottom of the Ravenclaw staircases."
Neville immediately had doubts about calling Luna 'sweet'. However, he tried to put them out of his mind as he headed for the Gryffindor common room. He was reassured and comforted when Luna waved and smiled at him when the two streams of students went their separate ways. To say that Neville was excited would have been an understatement. He was about to spend a whole day in Hogsmeade with the girl of his dreams. He did eventually manage to calm down enough to get some sleep.
Dawn broke at last. Neville managed to keep cool while he got ready for the day. As arranged, he met Luna at the bottom of the staircases from the Ravenclaw common room.
"Good morning, sweet Neville." said Luna, smiling, "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Reasonably, surprisingly." said Neville, "I was so excited."
"That's good." said Luna, with a sweet smile,
Neville and Luna continued to the great Hall with the Patil twins. When they got there, The twins headed for the Ravenclaw table talking animatedly. Neville and Luna took their seats with Gryffindor. Luna sat between Neville and Ginny. Harry, Hermione and Ron sat opposite. Not unexpectedly, all talk was of the day's Hogsmeade visit.
Once they were well on the way to Hogsmeade, Luna held Neville's hand. He was surprised, but accepted the gesture with some satisfaction. He felt that things were going well. As he had planned, the first visit was to Honeydukes. They spent some time surveying the shelves, before Neville bought Luna two bars of Honeydukes Best Chocolate, one milk and one dark, and a small iced cake. Before looking round the rest of the shops, they went into Madame Puddifoot's Teashop. When they entered, Neville had a quiet word with Madame Puddifoot, so they could eat the Honeydukes cake in her establishment. Once they were settled in a quiet corner, Neville began to open up about his feelings for Luna.
"When I said 'Goodnight' to you last night," said Neville, "I called you 'sweet Luna'. I meant it at the time, but then spent the first part of the night worrying that I'd been too affectionate, that saying things like that might drive you away."
"Oh, Neville!" said Luna, "Don't be so silly. I liked it. It means that I must mean something to you, so don't worry about it. As for driving me away, all the wrackspurts in the world couldn't do that, so an affectionate remark won't break our relationship. Relax! Don't forget, I called you 'sweet Neville' this morning."
"Thank you." said Neville, "I was fretting a bit about it. I really like you and don't want to spoil things."
"You won't," said Luna, smiling, her eyes shining, "I like you as well. In fact, I more than like you."
"You do?" said Neville, "I feel flattered. Anyway,the reason I brought you to this quiet place is twofold. Firstly, I feel I have to apologise to you for possessing some information about you that I shouldn't have. And secondly to wish you a happy birthday."
"Oh, you silly Billy, Neville!" said Luna, smiling sweetly, "You don't have to apologise for knowing my birth date. I know you're not going to do anything unpleasant to me."
"It's good that your birthday is today," said Neville, "Because tomorrow is Valentine's Day. We can have two special days of love and affection, one after the other."
At this point, Neville unwrapped the cake, set it on a spare plate in the centre of the table, placed a little candle in the centre and lit it.
"Happy birthday, my sweet Luna." said Neville, smiling.
"Oh! Wow! Thank you so much." said Luna, "Where did you get the cake?"
"I bought it at Honeydukes while you were browsing." said Neville, "I made sure you weren't looking, selected it and bought it. I wanted it to be a surprise."
"It certainly was that." said Luna.
With due ceremony, Luna blew out the candle and looked pensive for a moment.
"You looked a bit thoughtful when you blew the candle out." said Neville,
"I was making a wish." said Luna, "It's something I do when I blow out a birthday candle."
"What did you wish for?" asked Neville.
"Ah! That would be telling!" said Luna, "You don't reveal birthday wishes, because they wouldn't be granted if you did."
Neville and Luna spent the rest of their time in Madame Puddifoot's enjoying the cake with a large pot of tea. They were fairly confident that nobody had seen them together in the café, which had gained a reputation for romantic assignments. Once they had eaten the cake and drunk the tea, they emerged into the bright February sunshine and started to look round the shops. The first place they called was Olivander's as Luna's wand needed some attention. They were advised to return in an hour. They spent the next half hour browsing Tomes and Scrolls. Neville found a book on Herbology, while Luna bought a book on magical creatures. Neville and Luna spent the remainder of the hour in Zonko's being entertained by the jokes and tricks on offer.
Once they had picked up the wand from Olivander's, Neville said it was time for lunch. They had decided that they might as well let their friendship be brought out into the open. Accordingly, they entered The Three Broomsticks hand in hand, looking into each other's eyes and smiling. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were waiting for them at the table set out for them, as were Cho Chang and the Patil twins.
"Welcome to our little party." said Ron, as they sat down in the seats kept for them.
"This is a lovely surprise!" exclaimed Luna, "You must have planned this very quickly."
"We did." said Neville, "We had a meeting last night and decided that you, Luna, needed to have a nice day out."
Luna blushed.
"The lunch was arranged while you were in Madame Puddifoot's." said Hermione, "Ron and Harry went ahead to see Madame Rosmerta to arrange the table. Neville asked us to keep quiet about it."
"Oh, thank you so much, Neville." said Luna, "I knew you were thinking of giving me a day to remember, but I didn't realise you had planned anything like this. Why have you done it?"
"Because I want our friendship to be out in the open," said Neville, "Not the subject of rumours, so I thought that we would have a little party here to celebrate. I want everyone to know we're very close friends."
"There is another reason." said Luna, "I've kept it secret up to now, but today is my birthday. Up until this morning, I thought that Ginny was the only person who knew when I was born, but Neville told me that today was a birthday treat."
"I think I must have let slip that today was your birthday when Neville wanted a bit of a confidence boost when he was hesitating about asking you out." admitted Ginny.
"How many people knew today was Luna's birthday apart from Ginny and myself?" asked Neville.
"Only Cho Chang and me." said Luna. "The only two people who might make trouble are Latisha and Felicity."
"I wouldn't dream of telling them." said Neville, "They've given you too much grief already. I don't want to give them another 'button' to push."
The lunch consisted of Madame Rosmerta's best pub food; roast shank of lamb with mint sauce, roast potatoes, vegetables and all the trimmings. There was pudding, of course, as Luna did like her desserts. It was chocolate sponge with a rich chocolate sauce. The group took their time over it, since they wanted to enjoy it rather than eating to a time schedule as they did most days in the great hall. Much butterbeer was consumed. After lunch, there was more time to visit the shops before everyone had to return to Hogwarts.
Luna was fascinated by Neville's explanation of what could be found on the shelves of Dogweed and Deathcap. He was equally enthralled by Luna's description of some of the strange musical instruments found in Dominic Maestro's Music Shop, some of them dating back centuries. Neville found the bass rackett and the serpent particularly interesting, the rackett because of the wheezy sound it made and the serpent because of its shape.
Just before Neville and Luna returned to the castle, Luna remembered that she needed a new quill as her present one had been trimmed too many times. Accordingly, their last call was to Scrivenshaft's. Neville paid for two new quills for her as well as one for himself.
"Have you enjoyed your day?" asked Neville, as they started back towards Hogwarts Castle.
"It's been wonderful!" said Luna, smiling, her eyes shining, "It was so lovely, spending a whole day with you. You're so sweet."
"What's with the past tense." said Neville, "Your special day isn't finished yet. We're going to go up to the Astronomy Tower after dinner. I believe the Northern stars are at their best this time of year."
"You're right about the stars." said Luna, "I'll look forward to that."
"Would you like to dine with me on the Gryffindor table this evening?" asked Neville.
"I'd love to." said Luna, "It's nice spending time and eating with real friends."
Once they reached the castle, Neville and Luna went to their respective common rooms to get ready for dinner. Since it was going to be a clear night, they also put out some warm clothes for the visit to the astronomy tower.
At dinner, Luna once again sat between Neville and Ginny with Hermione, Ron and Harry sitting opposite. They didn't take as much of the food as usual, as they had eaten a substantial lunch at The Three Broomsticks. Luna did, however, enjoy her pudding, hot apple pie and a generous helping of custard.
"I envy you, Luna." said Hermione, "You're so small and slim, but you seem to really enjoy your food. I don't know how you do it."
"I don't know either." said Luna, "I just love food, especially the puddings. The house elves' custard is almost ambrosial."
"Ambwhat!?" asked Ron, perplexed.
"To the ancient Greeks, ambrosia was the food of the Gods." said Hermione, "Didn't you know that?"
"I probably did, but I didn't remember at the time." said Ron.
After dinner, the friends dispersed to their common rooms. Once they got there, Neville and Luna put on their winter clothes and met at the foot of the stairways that led up to the astronomy tower. The climb up more than two hundred and fifty steps was worth it. It was an exceptionally clear evening. A very thin crescent moon was setting in the West, so their view of the night sky was not going to be compromised by moonlight. High in the Western sky was a really bright point of light, brighter than anything else. To the south, the bright Winter stars were shining. As their eyes accustomed themselves to the darkness, they could see the faint cloud of stars that formed the Milky Way. It could be seen arching right across the sky. Although the visit to the Astronomy Tower was Neville's idea, because he knew it was Luna's favourite place, it was Neville who was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the celestial sphere.
"Oh! Wow!" gasped Neville, "It's totally lovely. I didn't think there were so many stars."
"Welcome to my private world." said Luna, "The beautiful night sky. This is where I come to think, under the friendly stars. As you know I love starlight."
Luna went on to explain the group of four prominent constellations that were plainly visible in the South. She explained that they were named after Orion, the hunter, his two dogs, Sirius and Procyon, and the bull he was hunting. When Luna mentioned the name 'Sirius', Neville was prompted to make an observation.
"Wasn't Harry's godfather named Sirius?" asked Neville.
"Yes." said Luna, "Several of the Black family were named after stars, including Bellatrix Lestrange and Regulus Black. Bellatrix is the name of the star at the top right corner of Orion. If you look over to the East, can you see a constellation that looks like a crouching lion?"
Neville looked eastwards.
"I can see a group of stars looking like a sickle." said Neville.
"That's the one." said Luna, "The bright star in the handle is Regulus. Now, which is the brightest star you can see in the whole sky?"
"That one descending in the West." said Neville, with some confidence.
"That isn't a star." said Luna, "It's the planet Venus. If you looked at it through a telescope, it would look like a bright crescent moon. The apparently brightest actual star is that one."
Luna pointed out the lowest of three bright stars which formed a large triangle. It was bluish white and was twinkling strongly.
"That is Sirius," continued Luna, "But it isn't the most powerful star. The stars at the top left and bottom right corners of Orion are very much brighter, but they are a lot further away. The light from Sirius has taken less than ten years to reach us. To make the numbers smaller, astronomers use the distance light travels in a year as a unit of distance. Betelgeuse, that's the reddish one is six hundred and forty light years away. Rigel is eight hundred and sixty light years away. It's 126,000 times as bright as the sun. Imagine someone shining a torch from Hagrid's hut down there and someone else shining a searchlight from the other end of the long lake. They would look about the same brightness. The same applies to stars. Some are bright because they are close. Others are a lot further away, but they are far more powerful. Deneb, which I mentioned to you last September is 190,000 times as bright as the Sun, but is two thousand, six hundred light years away."
Neville was finding Luna's enthusiasm for her favourite subject infectious.
"Oh, sweet Luna," said Neville, "You explain things so well. Incidentally, I don't think I've mentioned this before, but your voice is so gentle. I could listen to it for ever."
Neville turned to Luna, embraced her and kissed her on the lips.
"What was that for?" asked Luna, surprised, "You certainly meant it."
"For you being you." said Neville, "Happy birthday, my lovely Luna. I did mean to kiss you. Didn't you like it?"
"Of course I liked it, sweet Neville." said Luna, "I was wondering when you were going to do that again. I don't think you're quite ready to admit it, but I do just get the slight impression that you're falling in love with me."
"There's no fooling you, is there?" said Neville, with a smile in his voice, "I am beginning to feel really deep love for you. You're a wonderful person."
"Don't forget, I did say that 'I more than like you' this morning." said Luna, "What I meant by that was that I'm beginning to feel real love for you as well."
The couple kissed again, more fervently this time, before Luna continued her explanation of the night sky with an eye test for Neville.
"Now look above and to the right of Orion." said Luna, "Do you see that bright reddish star?"
"Yes." said Neville.
"That's Aldebaran, the eye of the bull." said Luna, "Now continue in the same direction. Do you see a misty looking group of fairly faint stars?"
"Yes, what is it?" asked Neville.
"That's a star cluster called the Pleiades." said Luna, "It's a good test of eyesight. How may stars can you see in the cluster?"
"I can certainly see four, no, five." said Neville, as he concentrated on the star cluster, "Ah! There are seven, three dimmer ones in addition to the four bright ones. Oh yes, I remember you asking this last September. You mentioned that several English pubs were called 'The Seven Stars'."
"There's still nothing wrong with your eyes." said Luna, "And well-remembered about the pubs."
'"Then perhaps you'll believe me when I tell you you're beautiful." said Neville.
"I fell into that one." said Luna, chuckling.
Neville was entranced by the sound of Luna's tinkling laughter.
"You are beautiful." said Neville, "You're the loveliest, sweetest girl in Hogwarts in so many ways."
Since the temperature had now dropped below freezing and their fingers were beginning to feel the effects, Neville and Luna decided to call it a night.
"If it had been less cold," said Luna, "I'd have shown you Venus and the Orion Nebula through the telescope, but my fingers are too cold to handle the adjustments. Let's go somewhere warm."
"Perhaps tomorrow if it's milder and clear." said Neville.
"That would be lovely." said Luna.
There was still over an hour before bedtime when they had descended the stairways, so Neville invited Luna to spend it among his friends in the Gryffindor common room. Once they had been passed by the fat lady, they entered. They were greeted by Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"How was it up there?" asked Ron'
"Beautiful." said Luna, "The stars were really bright. Hermione, have you heard a weather forecast for tomorrow? What's the evening going to be like?"
"We're expecting rain tomorrow morning." said Hermione, "After that, it should clear. Tomorrow evening should be clear, but it will be a lot milder."
"That's marvellous!" said Neville, "You can show me the crescent Venus."
"That sounds such a romantic thing to do on Valentine's night." said Hermione, "You two have certainly become a real couple. I'm happy for both of you. I'm also pleased that you've made it public. Incidentally, why did you choose this particular time to reveal your relationship to the World?"
"We've been seeing each other regularly since last September." said Neville, "We've tried to meet where we hoped nobody would see us up till now, but I felt I couldn't keep our relationship secret any longer. For one thing, Professor Snape isn't the only one to notice that I've changed."
"I see." said Hermione, "Do you feel better, now that your friends know about you two?"
"I feel a sense of relief." said Neville, "It means we are able to greet each other openly and don't have to worry about being seen holding hands."
"And we can kiss each other in public." said Luna, smiling sweetly at Neville and kissing his cheek.
Neville and Luna spent the next half hour or so discussing their plans for the next day. All too soon, it was time for bed. Neville escorted Luna to the doorway of the Ravenclaw common room. Before she entered, the couple kissed long and passionately and said their 'goodnights' before parting for the night.
"Luna, there's one thing I want to ask you before you go in." said Neville, "Would you like to breakfast with Gryffindor again tomorrow?"
"I'd love to!" said Luna, excitedly, "See you in the hallway before breakfast. Goodnight, sweet Neville."
"Goodnight, my lovely Luna." said Neville, "See you outside the great hall tomorrow."
The couple kissed once again before reluctantly disengaging their embrace and going to their dormitories. Neville felt a sense of euphoria, the like of which he had never felt before as he returned to the Gryffindor common room. He had just spent a whole day with the one girl who made his heart beat faster, the one girl who made him feel he was worth something. Yes, he had to admit it. He was in love with her. He resolved to tell her about his feelings at the next possible opportunity.
Sunday morning dawned dull and rainy, as forecast. Neville met Luna at the bottom of the steps leading up to the great hall. They smiled as they met.
"Good morning, sweetness." said Neville, "Did you have a good night."
"Wow!" exclaimed Luna, smiling, "That was an affectionate greeting. Yes, I did. You must have. Shall we go in?"
Once again, Luna sat between Neville and Ginny and opposite Harry, Hermione and Ron. It was obvious that the affection between them was growing. They were exchanging glances, smiling and obviously ecstatic in each other's company.
"What would you like to do this wet morning?" asked Neville.
"We could go to the library," suggested Luna, "And you could show me that Herbology book you keep talking about. Or, alternatively, we could put on our rain gear and explore the grounds. If yesterday had been wet, we would have wrapped ourselves up to go to Hogsmeade."
"I suppose so." said Neville, "I'm inclined towards the library. We can wander round the grounds after lunch. It might be brighter then. When I looked out this morning, you couldn't even see the lake."
"Okay, then." said Luna, "We'll spend the morning in the library and go for a walk together after lunch. Talking of lunch, would you like to have it with me on the Ravensclaw table."
"I suppose so." said Neville, "Will I be accepted there?"
"Of course you will." said Luna, "If you're worried, I'll make sure Cho Chang sits next to you and the Patil twins can sit opposite. You'll be welcome. After all I am letting it be known to everybody that you're my boyfriend."
As they had agreed, Neville and Luna headed together to the Library immediately after breakfast. They headed first for the herbology section, and spent half the morning exploring the book that Neville had been going on about for months. Luna found it fascinating. Later in the morning, Neville found the books Luna found on fantastic beasts equally enthralling. During this time, shafts of bright sunlight began to shine through the windows. The weather was clearing up.
Much to his surprise, Neville enjoyed his lunch on the Ravenclaw table. Thanks to the presence of Cho Chang, the Patil twins and, of course, Luna, he felt he was among good friends. Afterwards, the couple started their exploration of the grounds by going down to Hagrid's hut. They followed the valley round away from the forbidden forest towards the Black Lake. When they arrived there, Neville conjured up a dry park bench facing the lake. He invited Luna to sit with him.
"This is a lovely place," said Luna, "Even in February."
"I know." said Neville, "That's why I've brought you down here, well away from everyone else. There's something I just have to tell you, otherwise I'll burst."
"It must be important." said Luna, "What is it?"
"We've been seeing each other, mostly in secret, since last September." Said Neville.
"So?" asked Luna.
"Each time I see you I've liked you more." said Neville, "I don't know how to put this, but I more than like you now. I might as well admit it. I love you. There, I've said it."
Neville breathed deeply as though a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"I know you do." said Luna, gently, "I've sensed for some weeks that your feelings for me were a lot stronger than mere friendship. If it saves you worrying, I love you as well, sweet Neville."
The couple stood up from the bench, embraced and kissed each other to seal the admissions they had just made to each other. After this, Neville made the bench disappear and the couple walked slowly round the shores of the Black Lake, holding hands.
"I think we can truly say that we're a couple now." said Luna, "We've been close friends for months. Now we've told each other how we feel, we can face the future together."
"I don't know about you," said Neville, "But I've got this lovely warm feeling inside. I'm really happy, and you're the reason."
"That's the feeling of love." said Luna, beaming, "I get the same feeling when you're around me."
Neville and Luna made their way back to Hagrid's hut, before a brief visit to the forbidden forest. Luna wanted to visit and feed the Thestrals. Once again, Neville could see vague shapes between him and the background, and could hear them moving around. Once they left the thestrals, they started to walk slowly back to the castle. On the way there, Luna had an interesting thought.
"I've had a thought about your parents." said Luna.
"Oh, yes?" said Neville, intrigued.
"You say Bellatrix Lestrange put the curse on them." said Luna.
"Er, yes." said Neville, "I'm not sure whether dementors were involved."
"Let's hope not." said Luna, "There's no way back from a dementor's kiss."
"Why the sudden interest in my parents?" asked Neville.
"I don't want to give you too much hope," said Luna, "But there might, just might be a spell that could restore them to life."
"That would be marvellous." said Neville, "What kind of spell? Why hasn't it been tried?"
"It's not a normal wizarding spell." said Luna, "It's one that is used more by the house elves. Would you be interested?"
"You know I would." said Neville, "Are there any drawbacks?"
"I think the worst that could happen is that they won't change," said Luna, "But I think there is a sliver of hope."
By this time, Neville and Luna had reached the front doors of the castle. The clouds had cleared away and the sky was clear. Neville invited Luna to dine with him on the Gryffindor table, as they could then go straight to the Astronomy tower after dinner. She accepted his invitation without hesitation as Neville had admitted his deep feelings for her, and by so doing, had prompted her to declare her love for him. The couple returned individually to their common rooms for a short time, before going down to the great hall for dinner.
"You're looking very pleased with yourself." said Hermione, as Neville entered the Gryffindor common room wearing a broad grin, "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen you so happy. Something nice must have happened to you on your walk."
"It has!" said Neville, still beaming, "Luna took me down to the Black Lake, we sat down for a while, and I told her how I feel about her. She didn't run away, but said she felt the same about me. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Well done, Neville!" said Hermione, "You did the right thing. You overcame your nervousness and told her. Now you're happy and so is Luna. How do you feel?"
"Relieved and calm." said Neville, "I'm more comfortable talking with her."
"I really hope it lasts." said Hermione, "I think it will. You two seem to be made for each other."
"Thank you." said Neville.
The couple met, as before, in the foyer outside the great hall. This time, they were wearing some extra layers, so they could go straight up to the Astronomy Tower after dinner without calling at their common rooms first. When they entered, and made their way to the Gryffindor table, they were holding hands, talking in an animated way and smiling. It was obvious to all who saw the pair that they were very much in love with each other. This didn't escape the notice of some of the Slytherins.
As previously, Luna sat between Neville and Ginny, with Ron, Hermione and Harry opposite. This Sunday evening, the house elves had prepared French onion soup followed by what is perceived to be the French national dish, steak and chips. Each Sunday, they prepared a different national dish.
"This is a delightful meal." said Luna, "It's almost as if it's been provided to celebrate us declaring our love for each other."
"Yes!" said Neville, "It makes our day even more special."
The dessert comprised crêpes, filled with fruits and served with double cream. These, Luna found particularly delicious.
"We'll need to climb all those steps to work this off." said Luna, "That was an absolutely lovely meal. Did you enjoy it, Nev?"
"Of course!" said Neville, "It was a wonderful meal, eaten with a very special friend and among other good friends on a very special weekend. Thank you all for making Luna so welcome on this table."
"She's welcome at any time," said Hermione, "Because we all now realise just how special a person she is."
Luna blushed. She wasn't used to having such nice things said about her.
As the Gryffindors left their table and entered the foyer outside the great hall, they were intercepted by Draco.
"Hey, Longbottom, Looney," said Draco in a mocking tone, "I suppose you two are going all soppy and weak."
"We're totally in love with each other, and we're stronger together." said Neville, firmly, "I pity you, Malfoy. Love must be a concept so completely alien to you that you hate it. You really don't know what you're missing."
Draco was unusually, for the moment, speechless. He was completely taken aback by Neville's confident reaction.
"Yes!" said Luna, "Now we're properly together, we're happy and confident. We're ready for anything, even your envious insults, Malfoy."
As if to underline the closeness of their relationship, Neville and Luna embraced and kissed passionately, right in front of the astonished Draco. Since his two thuggish minions, Crabbe and Goyle, were nowhere to be seen, he felt powerless to react to this turn of events. He was not used to being answered confidently and firmly by two people he had previously dismissed as nonentities. He retreated and merged into the crowd of Slytherins.
Luna led Neville up the two hundred and fifty plus steps that led to the Astronomy tower. When they reached their destination, Luna looked around to check on visibility. It was another cloudless night, but a lot milder than Saturday. The Sun had set, but there was still light in the Western sky.
"This is better for looking at Venus," said Luna, as she removed the weatherproof cover from the telescope, "If the sky isn't completely dark, the crescent won't be so glaring."
Luna directed the telescope towards the planet and invited Neville to look.
"Wow!" exclaimed Neville, "It is a crescent, just like the moon."
"Not quite like the moon." said Luna, "You can't see any detail. You can't see the surface."
Luna then redirected the telescope toward the crescent moon and focused the telescope on a part of the inner edge of the crescent. She once again invited Neville to look.
"Wow, again!" said Neville, "It's all mountains and craters. How come?"
"They were made when the moon was bombarded by thousands of meteorites and small asteroids." Said Luna, "There's a lot less debris whizzing round the solar system now. Because the moon has no atmosphere, the craters last for ever."
The couple spent a little more time exploring the surface of the moon. After this, Luna directed the telescope towards Orion's sword.
"And now for something completely different." said Luna, "Take a look at that."
Neville looked into the eyepiece of the telescope at the great nebula in Orion.
"That's beautiful." said Neville, "What is it?"
"It's a large concentration of gas and dust," said Luna, "It contains some very new stars. Muggles have sent a large telescope into space and made some amazing pictures of it. Next time we're in the library, I'll show them to you."
Their last telescopic visit was to the Andromeda Galaxy, so that Luna could show Neville the difference between the Orion Nebula, which is in our own galaxy, and the Andromeda 'nebula', which is another separate galaxy two million light years away.
Luna put the telescope back into its 'parked' position and replaced the weatherproof cover. After this, Neville and Luna spent the next hour just enjoying the night sky and noting the occasional meteor. They also spent some time embracing and kissing each other.
All good things have to come to an end and Time does not stand still.
"Much as I love spending time with you," said Neville, "I think we should think about going back down. We don't want to be caught by Filch."
Just before they started down the two hundred and fifty stairs, they embraced and kissed deeply and passionately. As they disengaged, they had a final look at the sky, just as two really bright meteors streaked across the sky from East to West, leaving glowing trails which persisted for nearly a minute. The couple watched them until they disappeared behind the mountains low on the Werstern horizon.
"What do you think they were?" asked Neville, "They were very bright."
"They could have been an artificial satellite coming down," said Luna, "Or bits of a comet, or bits of an asteroid reaching our atmosphere. Don't forget what the moon looked like. Most of the big stuff has either hit something or been marshalled into stable orbits, but there is still a lot of pieces of small debris and dust circulating round the Solar System. Remember when I showed you the Orion Nebula. That was a huge cloud of gas and dust. Parts of it are coming together to form stars. Once a star is formed, there is still a lot of material left over, caught in the new star's gravity. This debris forms a disc orbiting round the spinning star. In turn, gravity forms this dust into lumps, which become planets. Over billions of years, the remaining bits either hit one of the newly formed planets, or the gravity of a very large planet forces them into stable, safe orbits. Anyway, I believe that those two shooting stars are a good omen for us."
"How so?" asked Neville.
"They were very bright, like our love." said Luna, "They were close together, like us, and they were visible all the way to the horizon. They also left long glowing trails. I believe that means our partnership is going to have a lasting effect on the future, not just our future."
"Wow!" exclaimed Neville, "You can see the future?"
"One thing I haven't mentioned to you," said Luna, "Is that my mother was a seer. I think I may have inherited some of her powers. I do see a bright future for both of us, provided we stay together. You've changed so much for the better since we met. You're not the awkward, clumsy boy I met last September. You're the courageous young man who loves me and will protect me."
"Courageous!?" said Neville, surprised.
"Yes, courageous," said Luna, "It takes guts to put down a bully like Malfoy, and you did it. It's also nice that you're such a sweet person."
"Oh, sweet Luna," said Neville, "I could listen to your beautiful voice for ever. It's so gentle. It's one of the many reasons I love you as much as I do."
With this comment, Neville gently embraced his little Luna, kissed her, then escorted her down the stairs to the hallway. Not wanting to part with Luna just yet, he invited her to spend the remaining time with him in the Gryffindor common room. She accepted.
"Let's make an entrance." said Luna.
Once Neville had given the password to the fat lady, the common room door opened. Neville and Luna entered with arms round each other's waists, smiling and looking into each other's eyes. Seated on the sofas were Ron, Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Seamus.
"Hello Neville," piped up Seamus, "You must so love Looney."
"As a matter of fact, I do." said Neville, as he sat next to Seamus, "You only know her by reputation. I've come to know her as a person, and she's the sweetest girl I think I will ever meet - and don't call her Looney. Her name's Luna, after the moon. She's intelligent, gentle, compassionate and a really amazing person. We're totally in love with each other."
"Sorry, Nev," said Seamus, "I didn't realise you were that close. You've kept it very quiet about it. Why?"
"I think you know why, Seamus." said Neville, "To protect Luna from nasty comments, mainly from her Ravenclaw housemates."
"Point taken." said Seamus, "I do admit I've been mocking Luna, but she's affected you. She certainly seems to have made you into a better, more confident person. I must admit, she does seem to be a lovely girl."
"Sorry about that." said Neville to Luna, who was sitting the other side of him, "I had to settle that one."
"That's Okay." said Luna, "You'll probably have to talk firmly to a few more scoffers, now that our relationship is in the open."
Neville and Luna spent the next hour in conversation with Neville's Gryffindor housemates. Many topics were covered including the fantastic creatures believed in by Luna and her father. Attitudes were changed and Luna came to be accepted for the wonderful human being she was. Even Seamus was won over and even congratulated Neville on finding such a marvellous companion.
Far too soon, the evening came to an end. Neville, always the gentleman, escorted Luna back to the door of the Ravenclaw common room. The couple embraced and enjoyed a final goodnight kiss before parting.
"So this is 'goodnight'." said Luna, "Thank you for a totally wonderful weekend, my sweet Neville. I now know you love me and really do care about me. It's a lovely feeling."
"I do, care about you, that is." said Neville, "I'm glad you've enjoyed the last two days. We really will have to do this more often. Now that our friendship is in the open, we won't need the excuse of a birthday or any other special occasion to do it. Anyway, goodnight my sweetness. See you in the library after lunch, and you can show me those pictures of the Orion nebula."
"Goodnight my gentle Neville," said Luna, "See you in the library after lunch, and you can show me more of that Herbology book. Sweet dreams!"
"Sweet dreams, sweet Luna." said Neville as he disengaged his embrace and started down the stairways. Luna disappeared into the Ravenclaw common room, while Neville returned to the Gryffindor common room by way of the many moving stairways. Fortunately, he did not encounter Argus Filch or Mrs. Norris, since it was now well after curfew.
The love between Neville and his sweet Luna became stronger and more intense. When Harry and Hermione formed Dumbledore's Army, Neville was able to use memories of this Valentine's weekend to generate his patronus, which was either non corporeal, or a lion. Luna said that this meant that he did indeed possess Gryffindor courage. Despite his reputation for being the class 'dunce', he had mastered the very advanced spell to produce a non corporeal shield patronus, which he could then morph into anything he wished. He knew that it was Luna that had enabled him to do this and was at a total loss as how to thank her. Another wand phenomenon that was generated by their close relationship, was the filament of light that joined the tips of their wands when they both used the 'Lumos' charm. Hermione explained that this was because they were so emotionally and spiritually into each other that their lives were intertwined. They had become part of each other. At the climax of the battle of Hogwarts, Neville found that the courage that Luna inspired in him enabled him to summon the sword of Gryffindor and kill Nagini. Thus, thanks to the love of his sweet Luna, he had become pivotal in the outcome of the battle, indeed, the war.