Warning for implied physical abuse, violence, injuries.

Voldemort Wins!AU

Luna finds Neville in Greenhouse Three, tending to his Venomous Tentacula plant. He'd Stunned the plant and is wrist-deep in soil; his hair is matted with sweat.

"Neville?"

As he turns his head, Luna glimpses a cut on his cheek and another on the underside of his jaw. The sunlight streaming in through the grimy glass windows does not favor his face, highlighting the shadows under his eyes and the hollowness of his cheeks.

Luna knows that if she looks into a mirror, she'd more or less see the same.

Ever since Harry Potter had been murdered by Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, the entire Wizarding world had fallen under his regime quite easily. Once Hogwarts, the infallible, had fallen, people had feared for their safety and either hunkered down in their homes or fled the country — or, some had, just before Voldemort had closed the borders of England and Scotland. He had the power to do so because of the Ministry and the Muggle government being in shambles.

The "insurgents", as they'd been dubbed, had been all placed under Headmaster Snape's care at Hogwarts, where they could be watched and punished according to the severity of their crimes.

As leaders of Dumbledore's Army, Neville and Luna had not been spared. If nothing else, Snape punishes them more severely; they're on eggshells.

Luna scarcely had time to herself; it is either spent attending seventh-year classes or doing detention. For some odd reason, she'd brought the Carrows' vengeance upon herself (probably because she, along with Harry, had broken into the Ravenclaw common room and Stunned Alecto).

"Need some help?" she asks Neville, not missing the way he'd grimaced as he'd tugged at a tentacle.

Neville grunts. "I wouldn't mind, this bloody bruise hurts like —" He pauses, pursing his lips. "Well, it hurts a lot."

"Who was it this time?" She pats him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Amycus."

"I have some salve if you'd like," Luna offers, pulling the small bottle out of her sleeve — she'd been keeping it there since the first time the Death Eaters had beaten her. "It's one of Daddy's last bottles, he's making more, but it's hard with…well, it works like a charm."

Neville considers it, blinking slowly. "Yeah, can't hurt," he mutters and takes the bottle. His eyes fall on her neck. "I see they haven't taken that from you yet. Your cork necklace, I mean."

"Yeah, once the Carrows heard about Nargles, they were too scared to take it off me." Luna lifts her chin proudly. Something flickers in Neville's eyes and he allows a small smile to emerge.

"There is a pile of gloves by the door," he says, dashing Luna's hopes that he'd remark about the necklace. "Unless you're willing to risk going without…"

Luna glances swiftly at the gloves and decides to choose safety. She grabs a pair of gloves and rejoins Neville.

"I used a Severing Charm to stun it," he explains, "and it severed some of the vines, but I couldn't get at the ones closest to its mouth. Have you studied these yet? Sixth years typically study these."

"No," says Luna, "I was in the cellar of Malfoy Manor."

An awkward silence. "Right," Neville mutters, splotches of pink appearing on his cheeks, "well, they're quite easy to handle once they've stopped biting and trying to strangle you. I'll hold the mouth shut and you sever the vines, those are the better ones —"

As Neville continues to speak avidly about the plant, Luna is impressed. "Why are you doing this?" she asks as she carefully lines up her wand.

Neville shrugs. "Well, since Professor Sprout is gone —" He swallows, grief showing on his face. " — I thought she'd like it if I took care of her plants for her. She did ask in her will that I take care of her greenhouses. Besides, Professor Slughorn wants the leaves for Potions, I thought I'd give him some…"

"Well, I think it's pretty admirable, what you're doing," Luna says candidly, and the pink on Neville's cheeks darken into unmistakable red. "You were notoriously Professor Sprout's favorite student, after all. I bet she'd be glad that you'd stepped up, even though you didn't have to."

Neville smiles faintly. "I figured someone ought to preserve her legacy."

"A noble cause." Luna severs the vines around the left side of the mouth. "Well, let me know whenever you need help, I don't mind."

"I will. If you could move your wand to the right, just like that…"

757 words

Spring Funfair:

Milkshake Bar: Flavor: Cherry - Character: Neville Longbottom

Cherry Blossoms - 2. Kanhizakura - (trait) Eccentric

Urban Safari Checklist - 18. Chimpanzee - (character's House) Ravenclaw

Paint a Rainbow - Orange: Luna Lovegood

Tree Planting: Yew - (word) Notorious

Birdhouse Building - Step 1: (AU) Voldemort Wins

Spring Petting Zoo: Alpacas - (trait) friendly

Others:

Assignment 6 - Healer Studies - Task #9: Green Thumb: Write about someone with a green thumb (metaphorical or literal).

Would You Rather: Write a fic set in the Founders' Era or the Trio Era?

Leaving on a Jet Plane - Sydney: (AU) Voldemort Wins

Salad Bar: Salad Base - Arugula: Write a character with an odd or eccentric sense of fashion.