The flash of long red hair told him it was Ginny the instant he opened the door.
"Thank Merlin, Neville. I was worried I'd get Ron, oh of course he's already asleep isn't he the great big lump." She peered behind him into the darkness of the attic room.
"What is it Ginny?"
"It's Luna, she's acting odd. I mean odder than Luna acts. I thought about waking up Mum but then that would make it an adult thing and then we get chucked out of the loop like usual."
"Ginny, stop. You left her alone?" He fought back the urge to shake her. It wasn't Ginny's fault that he hadn't said anything, that he hadn't done what he'd promised.
"I had to get someone Neville, nothing is going to happen to her in my bedroom" Ginny said defensively.
"Something already has," he said angrily pushing past her into the darkened hall way the glow from his wand only giving him a 5 foot circle of shadow. "I, I don' know the way," he admitted.
"Come on then," she said pushing the sleeves of her hand-me-down pyjama top up to her elbows. She steered him down the wooden stair cases. "She won't come to bed; she's sitting on my desk staring out the window not saying a thing."
"She doesn't sleep."
"She slept at the Hog's Head I saw her," Ginny answered like Neville was talking utter nonsense.
"She can't sleep at nigh', not alone, I don' know wha' they did to her bu' she's afraid," he whispered back trying to explain something he was sure he didn't understand.
"But I'm there, it's the Burrows, what is she afraid of?"
"I don' know Gin, I don' know, but she is afraid. I don' think it works like tha', I don't think she can just tell herself there's nothing to be afraid of. I shouldn' have left her." He felt so angry, at those men on the platform pulling her away, at the Malfoy's for keeping her locked up, at Ginny for not getting him sooner and himself for leaving her, she'd told him he made her feel safe and then he'd left her.
"In here," Ginny said finally opening a door on the first floor. It was a small room but clearly a girl's room bright and airy no hint of dirty socks. Her own bed and been pushed up against a wall to accommodate a cot for Luna. Lit by oil lamp the room was amiable, Luna however sat upon Ginny's desk her legs pulled up to her chest and her hands wrapped around her shins. She was staring out the window at the stars but her face seemed to register none of the beauty in it. It was almost as if she was trying to make the sun rise with sheer power of will. "Luna? Luna I got Neville," Ginny said gently. She looked back at him when Luna did not react, the worry evident on her face. Neville understood, this was not something she could hex away.
Neville moved next to the window. He could see how tightly Luna's pale hands held each other now. "Luna, I'm sorry." The pale girl did not move. "There are lots of things I'm terrible at; I think we found another one. I should have said something; I should have stayed with you. I said I would stay. I'm so sorry." He reached out to touch her shoulder and felt her shiver. He couldn't stand it any longer; he quickly slipped an arm around her shoulder and another beneath her legs hoisting her light frame up and on to the nearby cot. He could see Ginny's horror from the corner of his eye as he sat behind Luna on the low camp bed pulling her frozen figure into his chest and wrapping his arms back around her. "I'm staying now, I'm not going," he murmured as he held her. "You're safe."
It seemed hours but it may have only been minutes before Luna relaxed her head against his shoulder. "Thanks for getting me," he said quietly to Ginny who was seated on her own bed with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders watching them. "I'm sorry I snapped before."
"Eh, I'm used to it, you get snappish when you are doing what you think is important."
"She is important."
"I didn't say otherwise. She's my friend too Neville."
"I know, sorry."
"Neville, what's wrong with her? I always thought she was a lot better at dealing with all this death and destruction stuff than the rest of us… she's always been…"
"Odd?"
"No. Philosophical," Ginny corrected firmly.
"I don't know. I wish I did. I wish I was a whole lot smarter than I am. I wish I'd noticed sooner. I don't think its death she's afraid of. She's afraid to close her eyes. I know that much."
"She's closed her eyes now," Ginny said softly.
"Good," he sighed and he turned to kiss the crown of Luna's head.
"You care about her a lot don't you?"
"She used to scare me… the way she'd look at you like she could read your mind, the way she never said anything normal. I really wanted to be normal, invisible."
"You can't be invisible with Luna around," Ginny smiled.
"And I don't want to be anymore. I just want to be me, whoever that happens to be. It doesn't matter whose looking or laughing. She taught me that."
"No one's laughing at you Neville." Ginny shook her head smiling like he'd said the most absurd sentences in the history of sentences.
"How does she look?" he asked.
"Like she's sleeping, look she's even stopped holding her hands so tightly." Ginny pointed for Neville to see.
"You think I could lie her down without waking her up?" he licked his bottom lip concerned.
"Yeah, I think you could. You look exhausted too."
"Well that makes three of us then doesn't it? I'll just make sure she doesn't wake up and I'll head back up to Ron's," he said moving to the side so he could gently rest Luna's head against the pillow.
"You can't go," Ginny said appalled, "You promised Luna you'd stay."
"Ginny, I can't. It's not appropriate, your parents, Ron, Harry…"
"Bloody Hell Neville. Harry? Ron? If they really thought anything was going on in here tonight they can bloody well grow up. They ran around the countryside with Hermione and no one ever said anything about inappropriate. And I'll deal with Mum and Dad, I always do."
"You're sure?" he said as he stroked Luna's cheek.
"She can sleep when you're around. I'm sure," Ginny answered climbing under the covers of her own bed. "Put out the light and get some sleep yourself. We can work out what to do in the morning," she ordered reminding Neville of many orders similarly made in the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall.
Neville slid himself down onto the cot beside Luna pulling a blanket up over them. He wrapped his arm around her waist and felt her hand grasp his thumb like an infant. He inhaled sharply but she did not stir again. Whispering the charm to put out the light he closed his eyes and wished that they would indeed work out what to do in the morning.
