A/N: Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 6: Link 'Em Up. The optional prompts I used are 6. Object: Glow-stick, 8. Dialogue: "Is that really what you want?", and 14. Object: Blanket. This is a Muggle!AU.

Betas: Thank you so much to secretfanficlover and S. for catching my many mistakes.

WC: 1,557

"Come on, Ginny, it will be fun. You have to come," Hermione prodded.

"Not this again," I sighed and rolled my eyes. I'm getting sick of Hermione pestering me about this. "I already told you, I'm not going."

"But all our friends will be there. You wouldn't want to miss out on that, would you?"

"Hermione, I know who you mean by 'all our friends,' and that makes me want to go even less. You know how awkward I am around Harry after he and I broke up."

"Fine," Hermione huffed. "Excuse me for trying to help you with your social life. Although, I do have one last trick up my sleeve that will make you want to come." She smirked and raised her eyebrows in a knowing way, then said, "Neville's going to be there."

"Really?" I said without thinking, then internally smacked myself at my far too eager tone.

Neville had taken me to prom a year ago, but things changed when he said he would be going away for college. I had pretended to like Harry, to cover up my feelings for Neville. That had completely backfired when Harry had asked me out. I went with him, hoping that I would develop actual feelings for him to fill the void in my heart that was reserved for Neville.

We soon agreed that we were better off as friends, but by then Neville had left for college with the misguided idea that Harry and I were dating, because of it Neville and I had drifted apart. I hadn't heard anything from him since.

Hermione grinned as if she knew the battle was won, which in my mind it already was. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to see Neville again.

"Oh all right," I said. "I'll come with you."

"Yes!" Hermione cheered.

~NG~

"Who even invented tents? Whoever it was should have made them easier to set up!" I grumbled as I struggled to get the tent pole into the correct hole. It didn't help that all the girls had gone off with their boyfriends, leaving me to set up the tent alone. I growled in frustration as the pole slipped out of the hole, yet again.

"Need a hand?" a familiar voice said from behind me. I spun around, letting go of the tent pole, which was an unfortunate mistake. The pole, which I had been holding down, sprang up and hit the back of my head with such force that it knocked me forward into the arms of the unsuspecting stranger.

I looked up to see who I had so unceremoniously crashed into. I blushed and stumbled backward when I recognized the newcomer as none other than Neville Longbottom. "Sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my head, which was still stinging from the hit. "You startled me."

"Do you usually throw yourself into the arms of anyone who startles you?" Neville asked with a small smile.

I couldn't think of a witty comeback, so I just blushed again and stared at the ground.

"So do you need a hand?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, I actually would. Have you ever tried setting up a tent all by yourself?"

"No, but I imagine it would be quite difficult. Let me assist you."

With Neville helping me, the tent was up in about five minutes.

"Thanks," I said. "You're a lifesaver. Now, shall we go teach those slackers a thing or two about work?"

~NG~

When we joined the main group, they were planning to play a game.

"It's just like hide and seek," Hermione was explaining, "except since it's so dark, we'll all be wearing glow-stick bracelets." She handed an indigo coloured one to me, and then continued passing them out.

I cracked the glow-stick, loving the sound it made. That was just the easy part, though; the next thing was to get it around my wrist. I made a few fumbling, one-handed attempts before I gave up.

"I can help you with yours if you do mine," Neville said.

I quickly helped him connect his, then held out my band and connector for him to take.

I gave an involuntary shiver as his fingers brushed the inside of my wrist. He looked up, and I noted that there was a little concern in his gaze.

"Are you cold?" he asked me. "Maybe we should stay here and build a fire instead of playing the game."

I was tempted to say yes. I would have loved to spend more time alone with Neville, but I knew Hermione would be disappointed if we didn't play, so I shook my head. "I'm fine," I said.

Hermione interrupted our moment by saying, "Harry and I will be 'it' first. Is everyone ready? Then go!"

I sprinted towards the beach. I had seen a tiny shed there that would make a perfect hiding spot.

I opened the shed door and crept inside, moving a stack of life preservers to the side so I would be more comfortable.

A minute later, the door creaked open for the second time. Was I going to get caught already? I held my breath, as if that would somehow turn me invisible. But no, there was only one person at the door. It must be someone thinking of hiding in here too.

I shifted slightly, my movement knocking the pile of life preservers to the floor. The figure at the door stiffened, then whispered, "Oh, sorry. I didn't realise there was already someone in here."

He turned to leave, but I knew he had to hide in here as well. I had seen the 'its' coming this way, and I knew he didn't have a chance if he had to find a new place to hide.

"The 'its' are coming," I hissed. "Get in here and close the door."

The stranger stepped inside the crowded shed and softly latched the door behind him. The shed was so full of odds and ends that we had to stand very close together. I could make out his profile in the dim light of our bracelets, but I couldn't tell who it was.

"Is that you, Ginny?" he whispered, and then I knew who it was. I hadn't recognized his voice before, but now I was certain that it was Neville.

"Yes, it's me," I whispered back, then clamped my mouth shut as I heard Harry and Hermione talking right outside the door.

My heart pounded as adrenaline coursed through my veins. Would they come in here? I pressed myself against the wall in hopes of making myself less visible. Then I heard the 'its' voices move away, and breathed a sigh of relief. We had evaded capture!

Now that the excitement of the moment had passed, I realised just how crowded this place was. My heart pounded again, though this time for an entirely different reason.

"Ginny? I want to talk to you about something," he said, but before he could say anything more, we heard Harry yelling that the game was over.

We made our way back to the tents, where we discovered that the next activity was making s'mores, which was fine by me as I was getting hungry.

The boys made a fire, and we started roasting the marshmallows. It was getting cooler, so Hermione got out the blankets she had brought along for the trip.

"There's not enough blankets for everyone to have their own, so we'll each have to share with another person." Her glance landed on Neville and me and she smirked as she tossed us a blanket.

"I'm not that cold actually," I said, but my words were proved wrong by a shiver. Neville moved over so he was right next to me and draped the blanket around us both. It made me feel safe, like we were together in a cocoon of warmth, where no one could get to us.

"Ginny, I really need to talk to you about something," Neville said so quietly that no one but me could hear him.

"What?"

"Hermione told me that you had broken up with Harry," he said. "I'm sorry for you, but I can't help but be happy, too. After I left for college, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I really like you, Ginny, and I would be very glad if you agreed to go out with me. I have to go back to college next week, but I would love it if I could spend all of my time here with you."

"Is that really what you want?" I asked, my heart beating erratically in my chest. I was almost afraid to hope, because I didn't want to get hurt again like I had when he left last time.

"Yes, it is," Neville said, and I could tell by the sincerity in his tone that he really meant it.

"Yes, Neville, I would like to go out with you," I replied, my heart bursting with happiness.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt your moment," Harry said, "but, Ginny, your marshmallow is burning."

I burst out laughing as I tried frantically to blow out the flames. "Does anyone like their s'mores extremely well done?" I asked.

As Neville caught hold of my hand under the blanket, I thought that this was the best camping trip I'd ever been on.