Disclaimer: I own nothing except my exam grades, which I'd rather not. Ugh.

Ever since he'd stepped into Hogwarts, he'd been around the Chosen One, a boy he'd momentarily resented. But all his animosity had evaporated when he'd gotten to know how Harry had stood up for him in just their first class when Malfoy had hijacked his Remembrall. It was then that he'd realised that Harry was just as young and innocent a lad as himself, and from that moment forth, he'd counted Harry, Hermione and Ron as his most bankable friends.

All his life, his grandmother had been doting and loving to a fault; extolling his virtues, brushing aside his flaws. It had been a really rude shock when he was picked on by Malfoy and the Slytherins. He was sad, and couldn't even talk about it to anyone. Snape tormented him to the point that his Boggart was the man. He had started losing interest in classes and made excuses to skip lectures. His friends had noticed but only some bothered to go to the extent of asking what was wrong.

Hermione had offered to help him with his assignments and notes, when she'd seen his blank parchments and books. Harry, who'd seen him being bullied by Malfoy, urged him to go to Dumbledore about the matter. But the man was...the Headmaster. He surely had more important things to worry about. Plus, what kind of impression would that create on the man-son of stupendous Aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, meek and timid, came scurrying at the sight of some trouble? Ron, bless his soul, had taught him a few punches and kicks, pummelling a hapless Seamus who'd simply sat by, to help him with the next Malfoy encounter.

But nothing changed. It was all a vicious, ridiculing world and no one actually understood his predicament.

It was in times like these that he felt like a burden on Earth. He had absolutely no trace of the Gryffindor bravery, no sign of being the son of the gritty Frank Longbottom, or the silent yet warrior-like Alice. What was his existence worth? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It was on an ironic night, Valentine's Day, that he'd lain awake yet again, plagued by these wretched thoughts, doubting the use of his living. An uncanny acceptance had settled in his soul, as he draped a cloak around himself and crept toward the Astronomy Tower. He climbed the steps to the narrow ledge.

Six.

"You clumsy oaf, why do you even bother attending my class?"

Five.

"Haha! Longbottom, what's the matter, dropped your brain somewhere here? What're you searching for, idiot?"

Four.

"No, don't touch that Neville. I don't want it broken! Hey, I'm just joking!"

Three.

"It's not your lack of effort, Longbottom. It's your utter lack of intellect and talent to even try and think enough."

Two.

He now stood one step away from the drop, wind whipping his face as tears dried on his cheeks. Why did people strive to be perfect? Wasn't being imperfect and attempting to be good within one's flaws perfection in itself? Why did he have to conform to the ideals of people, and be ridiculed for being himself?

No more.

It was all going to end now. Gran would be devastated, but she'd understand. Maybe, she would.

One...

"It's an awfully narrow area to sit upon," called out a sweet fluting voice.

Whipping around, he grasped the rails as he almost stumbled and shakily asked, "Wh-who's there?"

"Aren't you Neville Longbottom?" came the reply, and a figure emerged. She was short and contrastingly pale in the shadows, her long wispy hair flowing down her back. Her voice was lilting and her face serene, as she stood up from her perch on a bench in the shadows.

Wow. She was beautiful.

"What are you doing here? And how do you know me? Who are you?" he asked her, rubbing his cheeks as he wiped away the tear-tracks, not moving from the penultimate step.

"I come here sometimes. I like to think alone, it's more peaceful without the incessant comments and statements people make. And we once had a common lecture by Professor Sprout, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I'm Luna Lovegood," She replied calmly, walking upto him and looking up at him.

Luna...ah yes. He'd heard some jokes about a crazy girl in Ravenclaw. Loony, they'd called her. They'd called her lost and ditzy. But he'd never seen someone more perfect than her.

"Oh yes, I remember you," He replied lamely.

She tilted her head and spoke, "It's okay. There's no need to pretend. Most people don't notice me anyway."

How couldn't they? Rather...how hadn't he?

"It's awfully narrow up there. Why don't you come down?" she spoke up.

He then recalled why he had come up there in the first place.

"N...no. I have to do something," He took out his wand and focussed on obliviating her.

"Obli-"

"Expelliarmus," She stated calmly and his wand flew into her open hand. As he gaped, she turned and sat on a bench nearby.

"You were thinking of leaping off, weren't you?" she asked softly and he sat down heavily, shocked at her question.

"There's no need to reply, I understand. It all got to you didn't it? What everyone says, what they think?" she started speaking, "You thought that there was no motivation anymore. You just gave up. You tried finding reasons to carry on, and drew a blank each time. You were frustrated and helpless. You just stopped trying. You stopped surviving, didn't you?"

"H-how can you say these things? You know nothing about me," He faltered, her words hitting home.

"No, Neville, I don't. But I do know someone who was going through the same things as you. She had abandoned hope too. But despite the very same thoughts that ran through your mind just now, something made her step back and turn to her dormitories. Something gave her hope," The girl stopped speaking, and he felt an unwanted silence hanging in the air.

"What?" he asked, curious despite his need to be alone.

"She saw a Kranklehurt chick. It was just the littlest thing, with its miniscule beak and tiny wings. It was trying to fly, and it kept falling. It'd weakly flutter up a bit and just as sadly, spiral downward. As she watched, it kept tumbling down, the wind ruffling its feathers. She'd almost taken out her wand and leant to cast a levitating spell when like a glorious miracle, it somersaulted and swooped up, bobbing up and down as it meandered through the air. Casting a glance back at her, it chirruped and flew toward the horizon, where the palest of pinks was rising with the sun. It wasn't the end; not really, she realised. It was merely a new beginning," she shrugged lightly and looked at the boy.

Neville sat in silence for a moment and averted his gaze from her penetrating icy-blue eyes and stared at the wall, "Who was she anyway? And there's no escape from this-this misery and ridicule."

Luna stood up and hoisted him up by his collar, her grip surprisingly strong as she swivelled him so that he faced the Lake. Standing beside him, she replied, "Don't you see? There's no morning without the pitch black of the night. It's only after the darkest of night has passed that we truly see the brightness of the stars. Look."

She pointed out into the distance and he turned his head to follow her finger. A gentle soft glow of pink slowly made its way over the Lake and he looked up to see the sun rising, peeking quietly over the horizon as it spread its glow in the sky. Awed, he turned to the girl who smiled absently at the sight.

"Beautiful, isn't it? You see, it has no end. It's an infinite loop, but you can choose which end to start with. You can either choose to think of it as periods of sorrow and darkness with joy in the middle for a little while, or as sorrow which is ever so thinly sandwiched between durations of happiness. Which is it, Neville?" She leaned against the ledge and looked at him.

"Well, I-" he began hesitantly, but she stopped him, "No, don't reply now. Think over it. It'll do you good. It did the girl good too."

They jumped as a bell rung in the distance, and Luna said, "I should be going. We have an awfully early class today."

She skipped gracefully down the steps and turned back to look at him and waved, "See you around. Take care, Neville." He raised his hand as she pranced away out of sight. His wand lay where she had sat and he twirled it in his hands as he slowly made his way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

A few days later, Luna received an anonymous Owl with a steady handwriting that wrote just six words: "Thank you. You take care too." Her fellow Ravenclaws were startled to see the calm Luna frantically searching the grounds for something throughout the day. She slid in around dinner and watched as an owl flew in and swooped low at the Gryffindor table.

Neville was eating and involved in a heated debate with Hermione over the merits of Buboter Pus versus those of Ytterbium Lotion when an owl screeched and dropped a parcel on his head. Frowning, he rubbed the sore spot and unwrapped the neat covering. A single feather fell onto the table and a page fluttered to the floor. He bent down and read it, the words printed onto it:

"Krancklehurts are birds that are sighted most commonly when one has a low mood. They have an innate ability to sense sorrow and often appear in the form of spirit-lifters. History holds that the babies are the rarest and most potent sensors of sorrow. Krancklehurts are sadly undermined for their knack of relieving sorrow and show remarkable plumage which, as scientifically proven, have caused a relaxation in the nervous system of the person and releases oxytocin, an anti-depressant enzyme, in the body.

As I mentioned, I saw one and caught its loose feather as it flew away. It's been my guardian charm and I want to pass it on to you. Look after yourself and I hope you chose the sandwich theory.

May you never have to see a Krancklehurt ever again."

The former text seemed to be a page out of a book and the latter was written in a small, neat cursive. As his friends craned their necks and peered at the information, Neville looked up at a soft pale face surrounded by a mass of golden blonde hair. Smiling at the girl, he lowered his head and gazed at the solitary feather as he twirled it in his fingers.

He didn't need to seek out a Krancklehurt bird. He found his own in her.

A/N: Yes, this is still alive! I had written this a long while ago while I was erstwhile actively writing and completely forgotten about it. Yesterday, I was sifting through all the pdfs and presentations that I'd downloaded for my currently ongoing exams(grumble) when I stumbled across this.

So here's to my dearies. Hope you like it. Reviews are always appreciated.