I'm back after the longest time away possible! I have had the worst writer's block and lack of motivation in the world but I hope this chapter makes up for it!
~ CHAPTER TWO ~
HIS SECRET
The grounds of Hogwarts Castle were still covered in snow days after Neville and Luna's late night talk and dance in the Room of Requirement. In fact the snow which had begun falling that night had not stopped for the last few days; making it almost impossible for even the most dedicated students to get to their Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures lessons. Darkness once again filled the sky, the moonlight reflecting off the bright white snowflakes falling from the sky and the deep layer of snow on the ground, casting an eerie glow over the Room of Requirement again, which was also lit with oil lamps and candles, trying to provide some semblance of warmth against the harsh cold, which was so extreme that the very tops of some of the statues in the room had developed a thin layer of frost on them.
It was in this room that the members of Dumbledore's Army could be found once again, all wrapped up in gloves, scarves, coats and hats, protecting themselves from the cold in the best way they could, as they tried for the second lesson in succession to perfect Patronuses, as it had become common knowledge that the Ministry was having problems controlling the Dementors and there was a possibility that anywhere outside of Hogwarts, students could encounter them and their fearsome ways, making it essential that they knew how to defend themselves. More and more people were experiencing success when it came to conjuring full-bodied Patronuses and soon the room was full of all kinds of different animals; from dogs to cats to birds to alligators, every animal seemed to be represented.
Luna Lovegood had once again conjured her Patronus with ease, using her memory from a few nights previously of when Neville, her best friend, had stood up for her, comforted her and then they had danced and talked for hours. Luna had always enjoyed Neville's company; he didn't laugh at her, he let her be herself and he stuck by her even when other people called her strange, even though he didn't have to. At first Luna had believed that she enjoyed Neville's company so much simply out of friendship, but recently she had started to wonder if it was something more she was feeling, an emotion that up until now had been foreign to her outside of her family; love. Over the few months she had known Neville, Luna had grown very close to him and she was sure Neville valued her company as much as she did his. Luna always seemed to find herself looking for Neville in a crowd of people, and she was always happy when she saw him and sad when she didn't. Something about Neville made Luna feel like she was the most important person in the entire world and like nothing could hurt her; Luna felt safe and happy when she was with Neville, and if that wasn't love then she wasn't sure what was. Neville made Luna's heart skip and he gave her odd butterflies in her stomach; sometimes Luna even found her head going fuzzy and realised that it must be the Wrackspurts, for they were famous for being attracted to people in love. At first these emotions had scared Luna slightly because they were so new to her, but she had started to accept them recently and just enjoyed spending as much time with Neville as she could; she would tell him how she felt when she was ready.
Luna stood watching the very man who had stolen her heart so effortlessly without even knowing it, as he struggled to conjure his own Patronus. Luna remembered how Neville had been so happy, elated even, at the last Dumbledore's Army meeting, as he had been able to produce a Patronus. However, now he appeared to be having some difficulty with the spell once again and Luna could see in his expression and body language that he was rapidly becoming quite upset and frustrated with himself.
Luna had also noticed that Neville seemed to be unusually quiet around her this evening; in fact he had been quiet all day. Luna knew that Neville liked to keep himself to himself when he was around other people, but he always opened up around her and became a confident and self-assured person; the person who Luna always knew he could be. Luna began to wonder for the third time that evening, if something was bothering Neville that he wasn't telling her; she had asked him this question earlier on when he had seemed quiet, but he had brushed the question off quickly and begun talking about something else, so Luna had left the topic alone for another time. However, as Luna watched Neville and saw his frustrated wand movements, his repeated pacing up and down and the constant running of his fingers through his hair, she became almost certain that something was wrong, but wasn't sure how to approach this with Neville, for she hadn't seen him upset before. Neville had never shown Luna any negative emotions except for anger, which was usually directed at someone else when they insulted her, and a lack of self-confidence, which would usually diminish after a few kind words from Luna.
Luna decided that she would have to try and ask Neville what was wrong again; she was desperately worried for him and had never seen him look so upset in all the time she had known him. With that in mind she closed the distance between them, stepping in front of Neville to get his attention.
"Neville?" she enquired quietly, just loud enough so that only Neville would hear her.
Neville looked up as Luna's voice said his name and Luna was sure she saw the ghosts of tears in his eyes as he looked at her. However, as soon as Luna had saw the haunted expression Neville had given her, it was gone, replaced by a gentle smile, which, while not unlike the smiles Neville gave to Luna, it was not quite a full smile, it did not quite reach Neville's eyes, which only made Luna worry further.
"Neville are you all right?" asked Luna gently, her voice barely louder than a whisper "you've been really quiet and withdrawn all evening, is there something bothering you?"
"I'm fine Luna," said Neville, his voice taking on a dejected tone "I'm just getting frustrated with myself for not being able to produce another Patronus."
Luna did not quite believe Neville; she still thought that there was something more he was hiding from her, but she left that for now and decided to focus on what he had just told her, especially when she saw the desperation in his eyes; the desperation to be as good as everyone else in his own eyes, even though he was better than anyone else in Luna's eyes.
"It is very advanced magic Neville," said Luna in a soothing voice "your mind does have to be totally clear of negativity when you try to cast it; maybe that's why you're finding it hard, are you not fully focused on your happy memory?"
"Maybe not," conceded Neville "I am trying though, it's not like I'm just not giving it everything."
"I know," said Luna, who could hear the frustration in Neville's voice "that's why I asked if there was anything bothering you; sometimes if there is something bothering you then that can cloud your ability to perform spells correctly, so if there is anything then you can always talk to me about it."
"I know," said Neville, with a hint of sadness in his voice "I'm all right though, I promise you Luna."
"If you say so," said Luna persistently "but I'm not sure you're telling me the whole truth, however, I will be around when you want to tell me what's wrong."
"Thank you Luna," said Neville "but nothing is wrong."
"All right then," said Luna, although she didn't accept what Neville had said at all "do you want me to see if I can help you with your Patronus?"
"Yes please," said Neville, watching as Luna smiled up at him and managing a weak smile himself.
"All right then," said Luna, smiling brightly, hoping that she would be able to make Neville happier simply by being herself.
For the next twenty minutes or so, Luna stood with Neville instructing him on everything about the Patronus Charm, from the way to wave his wand, to the tone of voice he had to use when saying the incantation, however nothing seemed to work as after a substantial amount of time Neville still had not produced another Patronus like the one he had during the previous Dumbledore's Army meeting, much to the amusement of the people surrounding him who were all snickering loudly.
"What am I doing wrong Luna?" asked Neville in a sad and frustrated voice "I've done this before, why can't I do it again?"
"I'm not sure Neville," said Luna, sighing "I mean you're saying the incantation right, everything should work, it just doesn't seem to be at the moment, maybe your heart and mind is elsewhere tonight?"
Neville ran his hand through his messy brown hair and sighed in a frustrated fashion, something which only served to fuel Luna's suspicions that something was wrong. Neville looked Luna directly in the eye at that point and Luna saw tears swimming in his eyes for a millisecond before Neville blinked furiously and turned away once again raising his wand to attempt to cast another Patronus Charm.
"Expecto Patronum," said Neville, while Luna watched on as a Patronus failed to materialise yet again "Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum!"
Neville's last attempt at casting the Patronus Charm had turned into a frustrated yell and left him breathing heavily with tears in his eyes and the attention of the entirety of Dumbledore's Army on him. Cautiously, Luna stepped towards Neville and laid a hand on his arm, not surprised when he tensed and jumped at her touch.
"Neville, come on let's go outside," said Luna in a calm and soothing voice.
Neville looked at Luna and Luna saw true sadness in his eyes for what she knew was not the first time. Neville's grip on his wand slackened and as did the hold he had over his own emotions as his eyes filled with tears while he watched Luna who still had a gentle hold on his arm.
"What's the matter Longbottom?" sneered an unfamiliar voice "finally realised how hopeless you really are?"
"Yeah Longbottom," another voice jeered, while laughter began to rattle through the room "you got lucky last time didn't you? Now you're just as useless as you've always been. I bet even your family hate you."
As had happened in the last Dumbledore's Army meeting, peals of laughter raced through the room, engulfing Neville in a sound he did not want to hear and an irrational feeling of anger and sadness which was very unfamiliar with him. Even Luna's hand on his arm was not enough to calm Neville down this time as his fists clenched and angry, hot tears of hurt filled his eyes.
"You know nothing about me or my family!" he growled, his voice trembling as he tried not to succumb to tears.
"Neville, come on, let's get out of here," breathed Luna in a soothing voice "let's go for a walk."
"Listen to your crazy girlfriend Longbottom," jeered Terry Boot "she's the only one you're ever going to get, no one wants you, even your grandmother. We've all seen the way she talks to you and looks at you; she hates you. Do you live with her because your parents hated you as well? Did they leave you when you were young because they couldn't stand to be around such a failure?"
Once again the room filled itself with laughter, the cruel laughter of peers turning on one of their own and the cruel laughter of friends turning on another friend, which was exactly the way both Neville and Luna saw it.
"Everyone, come on," called Luna, in a graceful voice that carried over the noise "this isn't fair, stop it, you all have no right to treat Neville like this."
"Shut up Loony, what do you know?" jeered Zacharias Smith "Longbottom is used to all this laughter, he deserves everything he gets!"
"No that's not true!" said Luna, who could hear the frustration in her own voice "nobody deserves to be treated like this, especially not Neville, he is fantastic, he's worth ten of every one of you!"
"No, he's useless!" shouted a boy Luna didn't recognise "that's why his parents aren't around, they left him when he was young because they couldn't stand him, he has nobody who values him, nobody who cares about him."
"He has me!" Luna shouted back, in a tone she had never heard herself use before.
As had happened previously, the room roared with laughter, something which caused Luna's own eyes to fill with tears momentarily. However, she blinked them back expertly and turned to Neville, who was her only concern at that moment because she knew she had to get him out of the room as soon as possible. As Luna turned and saw Neville's face her heart shattered for him; his eyes were glassy, clearly full of tears, however his teeth with clenched and his jaw set as if he was trying to hold all his emotions inside. Neville was gripping his wand, which he had retrieved, so tightly that Luna could see tiny sparks emitting from the end of it and the white of Neville's knuckles straining against his grip. Despite the roar of laughter around them Luna managed to catch Neville's eye, and as she did she watched a tiny part of him break inside as a single tear slid down his cheek; the first tear she had ever seen him cry.
Before Luna could react Neville seemed to lose any hold he had on his emotions and the whole room watched, apparently stunned into silence, as he threw his wand to the floor and ran from the Room of Requirement, slamming the door behind him. The stunned and eerie silence lingered in the room as Luna picked Neville's wand up from the floor and walked gracefully from the room, stopping only when she got to the door.
"You should all be ashamed," she said in a calm voice as she let the door close behind her and it disappeared back into the wall.
"Neville?" called Luna, as loudly as she dared; for she was sure it was after curfew and did not wish to get caught.
Luna was not surprised when she received no answer; she suspected Neville did not want her to see him cry and show any sign of weakness. Luna knew where the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room was and thought that this would be a logical place for Neville to go when he was upset, so she started walking towards there, always alert for any sign of movement that meant Mrs. Norris or Filch might find her. As it had been a few nights previously, luck was on her side and she encountered no one as she navigated the dark corridor with ease.
Luna walked by the light of the moon, using the portrait of The Fat Lady as her ultimate goal. However, as she neared the portrait she began to hear small sounds coming from a tapestry to her left. Taking her chances Luna lit her wand, shining the beam of light it created towards the tapestry, which turned out to be a depiction of the Four Founders of Hogwarts. Luna edged towards the tapestry nervously, knowing full well that this could be one of Professor Umbridge's tricks to catch students who were out of bed. However as Luna got closer to the tapestry it became apparent to her that the sounds she was hearing were in fact quiet sobs; more specifically heart-wrenching tears which Luna knew in an instant could only belong to one person; Neville Longbottom. Luna was slightly nervous now that she had found Neville; she hoped he wouldn't push her away through fear of what she would think of him for showing her some vulnerability. Luna didn't mind in the slightest that she was about to see Neville cry; she knew that often a person succumbed to tears as they had been strong for as long as they could, but at the same time she did not know how Neville would react to her presence.
Luna took a deep breath and drew back the tapestry, revealing as Luna had suspected, a sobbing Neville Longbottom, the many tear tracks on his cheeks suddenly shining in the moonlight, along with the only sign of vulnerability he had ever shown to anyone but himself. Luna quickly extinguished the light coming from her wand and let the tapestry fall gracefully back into place as she stepped forward, towards Neville, who seemed to flinch, as if trying to make himself as small as possible so Luna could not see him crying. Luna did not say a word to Neville, words could be said at a later time, when Neville was ready to listen and talk to her, instead she simply sat down next to him so that their knees were touching as they both sat with their legs crossed, and grasped his hand between both of hers, before resting her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for some time, with the only sound breaking the silence between them being Neville's sobs, unheard by anyone else as Luna had long ago cast a Silencing Charm to give them both some privacy. Soon Luna felt Neville alter his position next to her so she looked up out of concern, hoping he wasn't going to run away from her, only to find him holding his arms open for her, clearly wanting a hug as tears still fell down his cheeks silently. Obliging his silent request Luna hugged him tightly, a gesture which Neville returned, holding Luna tightly against him, as if trying to take some strength from his best friend.
"Thank you," were the only two words Neville could manage to whisper to Luna.
"I didn't do anything," said Luna astounded "only what a friend would do."
"You did more than you know, you always do," Neville managed to say, despite the lump in his throat.
"What's wrong Neville?" asked Luna in a concerned voice, deciding now was probably the best time to see if Neville would tell her the truth "you've been acting strange all day, at first I thought it was Wrackspurts but I can't see any, what are you upset about?"
"Today has just been a tough day," said Neville, in a voice which told Luna he was still holding something back from her.
"Because of what happened in the Room of Requirement?" said Luna, her airy voice disappearing for an uncharacteristic tone of annoyance at the people who had made Neville so sad "you don't need to listen to them, they're all idiots, you're brilliant."
"It's not just that Luna," said Neville quietly, putting his head down as tears threatened to fall again "that was just the final straw."
"Have I upset you?" asked Luna worriedly, regarding Neville with her big eyes.
"No, no, of course not!" said Neville, his head moving so quickly to look at Luna that he nearly cricked his neck "you could never upset me."
"That's good, I was worried then," said Luna, sighing in relief "I find I tend to upset people by being myself, I couldn't bear it if I hurt you."
"You're the only thing that's kept me going today Luna," said Neville, squeezing her hand as he wiped the remnants of some tears away with his free hand "it's just hard to explain, I hope you understand."
"I do," said Luna kindly "you don't have to tell me Neville, but I'll be here to listen if you want someone to talk to, how about we cheer ourselves up and go and get pudding from the kitchens?"
"But what if Umbridge catches us?" said Neville nervously, who had heard about the horrors of Professor Umbridge's detentions from Harry.
"She won't, I saw the Weasley Twins slip something in her drink at dinner time and I haven't seen her since," said Luna, giving Neville a small smile "come on, trust me."
"All right then, let's go," said Neville, getting up and taking Luna's hand, before pulling her to her feet, both of them glad to stretch their aching legs.
Neville and Luna walked quickly and silently in the direction of the kitchens, the light of the moon their only guide as they both stayed very alert, jumping at any small sound, hoping that it wasn't Professor Umbridge out to catch them, who despite seemingly being ill, if Luna's predictions were correct, still held a fearsome reputation for them both. A short while later Neville and Luna found themselves inside the warm, welcoming kitchens of Hogwarts, somewhere which was familiar to both of them. It was only when they stopped walking and stood still, taking in the warmth of the kitchens in comparison to the freezing cold which symbolised the rest of the castle, that they both noticed they were still holding hands. Both blushed slightly and gave each other nervous smiles and they disentangled their fingers, both wanting to speak their desires to the other, but neither having the confidence to do so.
"Hello Miss Lovegood, Mr. Longbottom," called a tiny rust coloured House Elf with bright blue eyes as she came bounding over to them.
"Hello Delilah," said Luna smiling, as Neville saluted the Elf that both he and Luna had come to know during their many visits to the kitchens.
"What can Delilah get for you tonight?" asked Delilah in a squeaky voice as she led the two teenagers over to a table.
"Do you have any extra pudding?" asked Luna hopefully "we need something to cheer us up."
"Leave it to me, Miss Lovegood," said Delilah cheerfully, bustling off to find cakes, desserts and treats of any kind.
"Hopefully dessert will help keep away whatever is making your head fuzzy, Neville," said Luna, looking over at her best friend to find his eyes glassy once again as he looked as if he was lost in his own thoughts.
Luna did not say anything else, she didn't feel it was right to push Neville to talk to her; she knew if he wanted to tell her what was wrong then he would do so in his own time. Neville's demeanour did not change when Delilah came back with a basket of goodies, something which Luna gracefully thanked her for on multiple occasions while Delilah bowed so low that the tips of her ears touched the ground.
Soon Luna and Neville were alone again and slowly munching their way through the delicious treats provided by the House Elves, which included chocolate iced buns, chocolate éclairs, jam doughnuts, cookies of every kind and chocolate brownies. Luna and Neville still sat in silence, however Luna watched Neville closely and she could slowly see him starting to relax a bit more, something which in turn made her settle down as well; she hated to see Neville sad.
"Chocolate is always the best way to get rid of a fuzzy head, keeps away the Nargles," said Luna absent-mindedly as she licked some chocolate off her finger.
"They don't know who I am," whispered Neville suddenly, his voice taking on a haunted quality.
"Who don't? The Nargles?" said Luna, glad when she saw the ghost of a smile touch Neville's lips "they do Neville trust me, I told them all about you."
"No not the Nargles," said Neville "although I would like to meet them."
"Who then?" asked Luna kindly, sensing that she may be getting to the reason as to why Neville had been so down all day.
"My parents," breathed Neville, his voice catching slightly "they don't know who I am."
"How come?" asked Luna sadly, noticing that Neville had grasped her hand again.
"They're in Saint Mungo's," said Neville, his voice now shaking with unshed tears "they have been ever since I was a baby, I don't remember anything else about them other than the hospital ward and they don't even know my name. When I was a baby they were tortured; put through hell for information about the fight against You-Know-Who, but they never gave in; they succumbed to insanity before they would give away any information. All I have now is pictures showing me how happy they used to be, and hospital visits with my Gran, but they don't know me and it's heart breaking. My Gran constantly tells me I'm never going to be like them and that I don't make her proud so there's that as well, but she's right, I am useless. I just wish my parents recognised me so that when I saw them it actually meant something to them."
"Neville I'm so sorry," said Luna, putting her arm around his shoulders "I know that doesn't help at all though."
"It's all right," said Neville sadly, wiping away a stray tear "today is the anniversary of when they got tortured; that's why I've been so negative all day, I'm not very good at dealing with it and what they all said in there didn't help."
"For what it's worth, I know your parents would be proud of you," said Luna kindly, looking Neville in the eyes as he turned to her in surprise "you're kind and brave and caring. You put other people before yourself all the time and you are a great wizard, despite what you think, you just need to have a little bit more belief in yourself, I believe in you and I'm sure you're parents do too."
"They don't even know who I am," said Neville miserably.
"Deep down I bet they do," said Luna in a soft voice "you can never break the connection between parents and their child. I think the torture probably just means they don't know how to show you that they know who you are or that they are proud of you and believe in you because the memories are buried so deep down they no one knows how to unlock them; I bet they smile at you though, don't they?"
"Yeah," said Neville, sounding tearful "and every time I go and visit Mum always gives me a sweet wrapper; Gran thinks it's junk but I've got them all in a box under my bed, I can't bear to throw them away."
"They know who you are Neville," said Luna, certainty in her voice "your Mum's sweet wrappers are probably her way of telling you they know you're special to them, they simply just can't connect all the dots to communicate in a conventional way, so they show affection by giving you sweet wrappers, but that's not your fault or their fault."
"I know," said Neville, anger suddenly taking over his features "it's Bellatrix Lestrange's fault, she's the one that did it to them."
"Is that why she's in Azkaban?" asked Luna.
"Yeah," said Neville, anger evident in his voice "she deserves to rot in there for the rest of her miserable life."
"You'll be all right Neville," said Luna kindly "your parents are proud of you; they just don't know how to show you that they are. Your Gran is proud of you as well, I'm sure she is, she's probably just grieving over having lost her son and daughter-in-law in the worst way and because she has no one else she sometimes takes that grief out of you; sometimes we hurt the ones who are closest to us when we have no one else to turn to."
"I just wish I meant something to someone," said Neville sadly, tears threatening to fall again "instead of just being useless Neville Longbottom."
"You mean something to me," said Luna quietly, while Neville looked at her, shocked "you're my best friend; you know that, you mean the world to me and I will always be proud of you and believe in you."
"Thank you Luna," said Neville, whose urge to cry was becoming stronger by the second "you're my best friend too."
"That makes me happy," said Luna, smiling hugely "I've never been anyone's best friend before. Please don't ever feel like you can't come and talk to me Neville, about anything that's bothering you."
"I know Luna," said Neville, his voice trembling "it's just this is still a huge thing for me, you're the only person that knows."
"I understand," breathed Luna, sensing Neville's increasing vulnerability once again "Neville?"
"Yeah?" choked Neville, barely holding back a sob.
"It's all right to cry," soothed Luna, already wrapping her arms around Neville's shuddering shoulders.
"Oh Merlin, Luna!" cried Neville in an anguished voice as he succumbed to tears "I'm so sorry."
Luna did not say a word to Neville; she simply tightened her arms around him and hugged him as he continued to cry. Luna sensed that Neville had never really grieved over what had happened to his parents, and that telling her had been the trigger which finally allowed him to cry and show some vulnerability, so she simply stayed quiet and let her best friend sob his heart out on her shoulder. After a short while, Neville's sobs subsided ever so slightly, so much so that he was able to disengage himself from Luna's hug and look up at her through bleary eyes.
"I'm sorry," was all he could say, in a voice barely above a whisper "I'm so weak."
"You're not weak Neville," said Luna in a firm voice "not at all. You've been through more than most people could ever even imagine; you've been strong for so long, by no stretch of the imagination could anyone consider you to be weak."
"Are you sure?" asked Neville, still seeking reassurance "I just feel so silly for getting upset."
"You're not silly," said Luna smiling warmly "it's understandable that you would be sad about this."
"If you say so," said Neville, still sounding dejected as he looked down at his hands.
"I do say so," said Luna strongly "and you know what else I say?"
"What's that?" said Neville, looking up at his best friend once again.
"That you owe me a dance in the snow," said Luna, the ghost of a mischievous smile playing on her lips "so come on, we're going outside to dance, right now, it'll cheer you up!"
"But what if we get caught?" asked Neville nervously.
"We made it down here without getting caught didn't we?" said Luna grinning "come on Neville, it'll be fun, please?"
Neville still looked sceptical however, and as a result of this Luna put on her sweetest smile and fluttered her eyelids, which made her look so innocent and excited that all Neville could do was smile weakly and agree that they should go outside and dance in the snow. This caused great delight to materialise in Luna's demeanour and consequently Neville couldn't help but smile too. Soon both he and Luna were making their way out of the kitchens, Luna stopping to hug Delilah on her way, and exiting the castle, to the snow covered grounds.
Despite the thick layer of snow; so deep in fact that it touched Luna's knees, the aforementioned young woman twirled unperturbed, making graceful circle patterns in the perfect snow, beckoning for Neville to join her. Neville was more cautious as he made his way through the snow, knowing how clumsy he was, however, as soon as he reached Luna, he felt himself become a different person. Luna took Neville's hands in her own, seemingly oblivious to the biting cold, and whirled them both around in circle after circle, until Neville was laughing heartily and had enough wherewithal to slow their dance down to a waltz, so they could both regain their senses.
"Thank you Luna," said Neville, finally allowing himself the first genuine smile of his day.
"I don't see what I did that was so special," said Luna in a matter of fact way, "but that's all right."
"As always, you did more than you know Luna," said Neville quietly.
The two friends continued their waltz for a short while longer, watching as the snow fell around them, only stopping when Luna's hair had entrapped so many snowflakes, it looked completely white, and had resulted in her shivering slightly. As Neville watched his best friend though, he noticed that she had never stopped smiling, something which made him feel infinitely better.
"Come on Luna," he said kindly "we really should get back inside before you catch a cold."
"I'm fine Neville," said Luna, although her chattering teeth told Neville otherwise.
"I know," said Neville smiling "but the snow will be here tomorrow, how about we get some sleep for now? We can come back full of energy in the morning then."
"All right," conceded Luna, allowing Neville to lead her through the deep snow back towards the castle "I am a bit cold."
Neville slowly walked Luna back to her Common Room, happy that for once luck seemed to be on his side again, as they got to the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room undetected. It was then that Luna looked up at Neville, with her huge orb-like eyes and Neville regretted having to leave Luna alone; she had made today a bit easier for him, and he didn't want to be without her.
"Thank you for today, again," said Neville.
"Thank you for trusting me enough to share your biggest secret," said Luna "I know that can't have been easy."
Neville managed a lopsided smile at Luna's last comment, amazed at how she always knew the way he felt or the right thing to say. Acting on impulse, Neville hugged Luna close to him at that point, unsure of what to say, but glad when Luna returned his gesture.
"I'll see you in the morning Neville," said Luna smiling, when they had let each other go."
"You will," confirmed Neville "night Luna, sleep tight."
"Don't let the Nargles bite," said Luna serenely, earning a chuckle from Neville as the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room opened.
Once Neville was sure Luna was safely in the Ravenclaw Common Room, he jogged back to the Gryffindor Common Room, still going through the evening's events in his head; he had never imagined sharing his deepest secret with Luna tonight, but now he had, he couldn't imagine not having done it. Luna had rapidly become one of the most important people in Neville's life and he adored her, so he felt infinitely better for sharing his secret with her, it felt almost like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
As Neville and Luna both climbed into bed in their respective dormitories, they both became aware that they were about to enter a world of dreams about each other for the second time in only a few days. They were also both aware of their newfound feelings towards each other and hoped that one day, they would have the confidence to share these with each other, however for now they were happy as they were at least for the time being.