"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou
I don't own Harry Potter
Neville walked me back to Ravenclaw tower and I found myself twirling in small, happy circles as I walked up to my dorm. He had given me a kiss goodnight and we hadn't bumped noses again, thank goodness.
My pajamas were missing again, but I didn't even bother trying to get them back. They would turn up eventually. Hopefully before I went home tomorrow for the holiday. I climbed into bed wearing my clothes and tried to go to sleep, but I was finding it quite difficult. I was also finding it difficult to stop smiling and I knew it was definitely not due to the Nargles that I had sensed flying around earlier.
"You're certainly in a good mood," Hermione observed the next day as we boarded the train back to King's Cross.
"I am," I answered, smiling. I was craning my neck looking for Neville. He had said he would meet me on the train so that we could sit together.
"I get the feeling it's not because Christmas is coming," Hermione smirked knowingly.
"Let's sit in here," I said, picking a compartment. It was too crowded out in the aisles.
"So why are you so happy?" Hermione asked. "I mean, you're always happy, but today you're even more so than usual."
I sat down and leaned against the window, still smiling. "I went to the greenhouses with Neville to help him feed the plants last night."
Hermione smiled. "How nice. But wait," her eyes widened. "You snuck out of the castle?"
"I thought you were becoming more lenient about breaking the rules," I said.
"Well, yes, but still rules are rules," she answered, crossing her arms.
"That's not all," I said.
"No?" she asked, smiling again.
I shook my head. "Neville and I are dating now." It still felt funny to say. I wasn't quite used to it yet.
Hermione's smile widened. "That's great! You make a really great couple."
I smiled and reached into my bag. I was looking for the newest edition of the Quibbler that my dad had sent to me two days ago. I hadn't gotten the chance to read it yet, but he wrote in his letter that it was a very interesting edition. I found it and opened it up to the first page.
"Hi," said a familiar voice from the compartment door.
I looked up and smiled. It was Neville.
"Hello Neville," Hermione said with a wide grin and a glance at me.
"It looks like Luna told you the news," he said, glancing at me.
I nodded and smiled at him. He sat down next to me and tentatively put his arm around my shoulders. I relaxed into him and I felt his arm relax as well. Hermione was giving us a look as if she was our mother and she was wondering where the time had gone.
"Where are Harry, Ron and Ginny?" I asked. "They aren't staying at school, are they?"
"No," Hermione said, becoming serious. "I got a letter from Ron early this morning. The Weasleys and Harry left the school in the middle of the night. Ron's dad is in St. Mungo's."
"Why?" Neville asked at once.
"Snake bite," Hermione answered. "He was working at the Ministry and he was attacked."
"That's terrible. Will he be alright?" I asked.
"He should be," Hermione nodded. "It was a close call, though. I would've gone straight over as soon as I heard, but I already promised my parents I'd go skiing with them. I might be able to leave early though."
"You'll have to let us know as soon as you find out any news," Neville told her. She nodded and there was a silence between the three of us.
"Do you want to read the newest edition of the Quibbler?" I asked Hermione. "I have lots of copies in here." I nudged my bag with my toe.
"Sure, why not?" she shrugged. I passed her a magazine and leaned back into Neville.
"Do you want one too?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I'll just read over your shoulder."
"There's an interesting article in here about common myths on Nargles," I said. "I haven't gotten to read it yet, though. I like to wait until the magazine comes out before I read the articles."
"That makes sense," Neville agreed. "Have you ever written anything for The Quibbler?"
"Once," I said. "When I was eight I wrote an article about freshwater plimpies and how to make soup out of them. Dad edited it and then published it."
"Do you still have that edition? I'd like to read the article."
"You really would? I was only eight. It's not very good. Even though my dad edited it, he mostly only checked for grammar."
"Of course I want to read it," Neville gave my shoulders a squeeze.
"I'll mail it to you over the break," I said, smiling.
"There's no rush," he shrugged.
"It'll be no trouble," I answered, smiling and flipping through the magazine in my hands.
I found the article on Nargle myths and held the magazine so that Neville could read it too.
"Ah, look, there's the one about mistletoe," he said, pointing to number five on the list.
I nodded. "Yes, that's actually a very common myth. Another common one is this one." I pointed to number six and read out loud. "'Nargles only live in warm climates.' Nargles can actually live anywhere in any weather condition, even snow, rain, and extreme cold. They can even survive in water for a small amount of time."
"Interesting," Neville said.
"Have you or your father ever seen a Nargle?" Hermione asked. She was reading the same article in her own magazine.
"I haven't, but dad claims he has. He's done a lot of research and traveling as well. That's how he gets his facts for the magazine."
It was no surprise that Hermione doubted a lot of the creatures I talked about existed. I didn't mind, though. A lot of people didn't believe me and they made it clear. The difference between them and people like Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Neville was that they didn't make fun of me for it. Hermione sometimes subtly showed her skepticism, but she was never rude about it. And of course Neville had always shown an interest; the most interest out of anyone and I really appreciated that.
When the train pulled into the station, Neville, Hermione and I dragged our things off of the train.
"Well, there are my parents," Hermione said, gesturing to two friendly looking people who were waving. "Have a good holiday."
"You too," Neville and I said together.
"I can see my gran," Neville said, staring over my shoulder. I turned to see an old lady moving slowly through the crowd, her eyes narrowed as she searched for her grandson. "Do you want to meet her?"
I hesitated. I didn't see my dad yet, so I had time, but I was nervous about meeting Neville's grandmother. I actually worried that if she didn't like me, Neville would change his mind about wanting to date me. I sort of knew deep down that he wouldn't do that, though. "Alright," I said finally.
"Great." Neville excitedly pulled me towards his grandmother. "Hello, Gran," he said, kissing her cheek when we reached her.
"Hello Neville. How is school so far? Are you studying hard? Doing all of your homework? Socializing enough?"
"Yes, Gran," Neville sighed. He had a slight smile on his face. "I'd like you to meet someone. This is Luna. She's—she's my girlfriend." He turned and beamed at me, running his thumb along the back of my hand.
"Girlfriend!" his grandmother practically shouted. A few people actually stared. I waved at them and smiled. They just walked away and diverted their attention to other things.
"Yes, girlfriend," Neville said, looking embarrassed by his grandmother's outburst.
"Since when?" she asked.
"Since yesterday," Neville answered.
His grandmother turned her attention to me and smiled. "Well hello, Luna. It's lovely to meet you."
"It's lovely to meet you too," I smiled.
"Now, are you in Neville's year at school?" she asked.
"No, I'm only in my fourth year," I answered.
She nodded. "Neville's going to have to start thinking about what he wants to do after he leaves school. He has his OWL's coming up as well. I do hope he is studying hard for those."
"I'm sure he is. Neville is very smart," I told her. I smiled at Neville and he smiled back at me gratefully.
"Are you in the same house?"
"No, she's in Ravenclaw," Neville said. "I wish we were in the same house, though. I'd get to see her more often. We don't even have classes together because of the age difference."
"Just as well," his grandmother said. "We can't have either of you getting too distracted." She smiled at Neville. "I'm sure you're going to make your parents proud one day."
"I think he already has," I chimed in." Both Neville and his grandmother looked at me.
"I haven't really done anything special yet," Neville mumbled. "I mean, I'm still going to school and I'm not even the best in my year."
"I think they'd be proud of you no matter what," I said. "You're their son after all. I'm sure they're proud of you for being you."
Neville smiled at me and kissed my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered into my ear.
Neville's grandmother was smiling as well. "Neville, I think you've picked a keeper."
"I think so too," he said, grinning.
"Luna, darling, there you are!"
I turned to see my father, dressed in bright blue, walking towards me happily. He had a leaf stuck in his long, pale hair.
"Hello daddy," I said, hugging him and pulling out the leaf. "What were you doing?" I held it up and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I was just searching for some Camouflaged Canaries. There are supposed to be some living in the woods near our house."
"Did you find any?" I asked.
"Camouflaged Canaries?" Neville asked at the same time.
"Canaries that live in the woods and cab blend in with any surrounding. It helps them avoid getting caught," I whispered.
"Which, I'm sorry to say, is probably the reason I didn't find any. There are certain types of binoculars that can help with that. I should probably invest in a pair." He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Dad," I said. "This is Neville Longbottom, my boyfriend."
Dad snapped out of his momentary trance and blinked. He looked at me, then at Neville.
"And this is my gran," Neville said, gesturing to his grandmother.
"Xenophilius Lovegood," my dad said, shaking her hand.
"Augusta Longbottom," she said.
My dad looked back at Neville and me and glanced at our intertwined hands. He raised his gaze to Neville and looked him in the eye. Neville stared politely back.
"I do hope you'll treat my daughter well, Neville," he said seriously.
"Of course I will," Neville answered. "You don't have to worry, Mr. Lovegood."
"Oh, please, call me Xenophilius, or even Xeno if you wish." My dad waved his hand around in the air as if brushing away Neville's attempt at being formal and polite.
"Okay," Neville said hesitantly. I guessed that an adult had never asked him to call them by their first name before.
"Well, we'd best be going," Neville's gran said. "It was lovely to meet you, Luna. You too, Xenophilius."
My dad nodded. Neville and I glanced at each other and luckily, my dad took the hint and engaged Neville's grandmother in a conversation about the Camouflage Canaries.
Neville and I walked a few feet away. Neville looked at me thoughtfully for a second. "Gran and I always go to visit my parents in St. Mungo's on Christmas. I think I might have mentioned that to you, but I was wondering if this year, you'd like to come with us."
"Oh, Neville, I couldn't. It should be just for family. I don't want to impose on that visit."
"I want you there," Neville said. "I don't know, I just think having you there might make it easier on me. Plus, I want my parents to meet you, even if they won't understand who you are."
"Neville, I-,"
He shook his head. "I really want you there. Gran and I have been visiting them by ourselves for years. This time I want you to come. Please say you will. Gran and I can even come get you and bring you there. You're the only person besides gran, Dumbledore, and the rest of my family that knows about them."
"Alright," I said slowly. "If you're sure you want me to be there."
"I'm completely sure," he said. "We'll come get you at noon. We don't stay very long either, so we should have you back home within a few hours. Is that alright?"
"That's fine," I nodded. Dad and I usually spend the morning together opening gifts and then usually cook something together later in the evening, so my afternoon would be free.
"Okay, thank you so much," he said.
I smiled. "I don't mind at all. As long as you want me there, I'm happy to go."
Neville looked thrilled. He kissed me goodbye, his hand snaking around the back of my neck. Then, we ran off to rejoin my dad and his grandmother. We walked our separate ways and I turned around and waved goodbye right before my dad and I left the station together.
Even though the purpose for Neville and I getting together was a rather sad one, I was glad that I would get to see Neville over break. I was also honored that he thought enough of me that he wanted me to meet his parents, even though they would never understand who I was and I would never be able to tell them how happy I was to have gotten to know their son.
