Chapter Three
Neville, despite his new-found bravery, was shaking nervously. He walked halfway into the Room of Requirement, where Luna was sitting alone on a bench. Ironically, this bench is the same one where the two had really gotten to know each other. It was funny; the room was buzzing with activity, except in the one small corner where Luna was gazing into space. Nobody noticed "only Neville" walk in, and then suddenly stop in the middle of the hub-bub. Some were celebrating victory, some were mourning loss. He was run into a few times, with a " 'orry, Neville," or something like that. The uneasy boy was about to give up entirely ("I don't even have something to give her when I tell her," he thought) when a book magically appeared in his hand. It was dark blue, with a golden lock, covered in Ipomoea Alba, or moonflowers. Neville didn't notice it at the time, but without that gift, he would have never had the courage to ask Luna.
The only problem was that Neville didn't have the key to the lock. He noticed this fact, but it was too late now; he was standing in front of Luna already. "Uh, um," he stumbled over his words anxiously, "Luna?" She snapped out of her daze, and when she saw his face, she smiled. "Hello, Neville," she said brightly, "Have a seat." Neville thankfully plopped himself down next to her. "I, er, got something to tell you," Neville said quietly.
Luna stunning blue eyes opened even wider than usual. "Oh, well," she replied, "I suppose you should tell me, then." Neville's nerves relaxed; Luna always seemed to have that effect on him. "I wanted to, uh, ask you if you'd want to, you know, go to dinner sometime, if you can." He burst out. Luna looked into his eyes gratefully. "Of course, Neville," she said.
At this moment, she saw the journal in his hand. "What's that?" she asked curiously. Neville had honestly forgotten about the gift. He held it out to her and said, 'It's for, uh, you."
"Moonflowers, how did you know those were my favorite flowers?" Luna said graciously, taking the book. She flipped it over in her hands. "It doesn't have a key," she noted. Neville blushed. "I, um, couldn't find it," he answered truthfully. Luna pulled a necklace out from under her shirt. A silver key hung loosely from a chain.
Neville stared in amazement as she slid it into the lock. With a soft click, the book opened to beautifully decorated, empty pages, longing to be written in. "Where…" he began, stunned.
"I found the key a few months ago. One morning, I was putting on my shoes, and this was inside it." Luna said thoughtfully, swinging the chain. "I asked around, nobody put it there. It seems to have," she moved her hand in a circular motion, "come out of thin air." A shiny purple butterfly flew from her fingers. It glided gracefully around Neville, then slowly faded away.
As Neville relived this memory, he smiled. "Way to go Longbottom," he said to himself, "It took you two years, but you finally did it."
