Chapter 6

"PANSY!" Claudia was running full pelt towards Pansy as she said goodbye to Ron at the doors to the great hall. When she finally reached her Pansy was looking at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Claud you haven't run a day in your life what's up?" Claudia ignored her and just turned to Ron.

"She likes you, by the looks of the blush on your ears you like her to so when do you want to see her again?" Claudia asked while Pansy just gaped at her and Ron looked like her was going to internally combust. When he didn't answer she shook his shoulder and he woke up slightly.

"Oh umm well are you staying for the holidays Pansy?"

"Yes she is. She'll meet you by the lake at 1:30 on christmas eve for your date. Now if you'll excuse me I need my friend urgently." With that she dragged a gaping Pansy back to the common room then up to the girls dorms where she sat her down on the bed and waited for her to wake up.

"You just asked him out for me!" She shouted after a second. She didn't really seem angry just astonished.

"Yeah well he was taking too long. It was going to happen anyway so don't worry you've still got a romantic story to tell your children."

Pansy just stared at her some more, trying to get her head around her friend. She found she couldn't.

"What's wrong you look really tense and you haven't stopped pacing since we got here." Pansy said after a while.

"I am tense. Something very strange happened to me just now and I need you to help me." Claudia then went on to explain everything that had happened to her at the ball. From being made to jump by Neville then his admission that he was looking at her. Pansy's mouth had formed a gentle 'O' by the time she finished.

"So he just said it, all honest and open 'Why would I look anywhere else?'. My god who knew Longbottom had it in him to be romantic?" Pansy said in obvious awe

"Romantic? No he wasn't being romantic. He was having me on in some way I just know it." Claudia was now pacing and was biting her nails in nervous worry.

"Why would he have to be having you on? Maybe he just thinks you're pretty or-" Claudia cut her off.

"Nobody has thought I was pretty the entire time i've been here. No one even notices me why would he?" She said finally stopping pacing and was sitting hunched on her bed next to Pansy who was looking at her with sympathy in her eyes.

"It only takes one." Was all Pansy said before leaving Claudia on her bed and wandering off to get changed for bed, leaving the other girl dwelling over her words and trying not to get her hopes up too much about Neville Longbottom.

The next few days were Saturday and Sunday so Claudia managed to successfully avoid near enough everyone. She walked for hours on her own down by the lake just thinking and looking at the scenery. The weather was chrisp and wintery but there was no snow as yet so as long as she wrapped up warm she had no problem over coming the cold.

For a normally observant girl Claudia was loosing her grip on her surroundings. She was so lost in thought the majority of the time that she failed to notice that someone had been following her with his eyes.

Neville had started to look for her where ever he went. Even when he was just tottering around the castle he would look in every nook and cranny for her until on Saturday night he was up on the astronomy tower just looking at the moon when he noticed a small amount of movement down by the lake, of which he had a fantastic view of.

He noticed a girl with short brown hair and a curved body. It was only 8 so she was well within curfue but he was intrigued as to why she was out on such a cold day. Ofcourse it could be the same reason he was out, she was looking for someone, but he could tell by the slowness in her step and the way she seemed to not be paying attention to anything around her that she was just thinking.

Thinking about he didn't dare dream to know. The girl was an enigma and he would never really understand her he didn't think. She could be thinking of ways to torture and kill bunnies or she could be thinking about him. Not that he'd let himself beleive she might think about him. She was far too proud and pure to think about someone as lowly as him. Wasn't she?

The thought made his heart sink.

She didn't seem like the other Slytherins around her. She had danced with him and hadn't seemed to mind him touching her in any way. She didn't seem stuck up or selfricheous and holier than thou. She just seemed quiet and rather reclusive which was unusual for a Slytherin, who are normally the centre of attention at any party, usually it was the Hufflepuffs who were the recluses.

No she might not be thinking about him right now but she certainly had the capacity to think about him.

Neville had never been more intrigued and more attracted to someone in his whole life. The only time something had come close was when he had a crush on Luna Lovegood before she told the world she was gay. In comparison though that was just a passing fancy. This girl was such a mystery to him and he was so turned on by that fact he just needed to know more.

Little did he know that the girl by the lake was in fact thinking about him and was in fact wondering if he was thinking about her also.

Sunday was spent in much the same manner for the two of them. Claudia walked by the lake while Neville watched. He took in the smoothness of her gate and the upright yet fluid manner in which she moved. She was like the best muggle television for him and he couldnt pull his eyes away from the swinging hips and the perfect posture of Claudia Weisseman.