Wigtown Wanderers - Beater 2 - Round 7

Main Prompt: Write about a magical creature mishap (It must be an accident)

Secondary Prompts: 5.(character) Neville Longbottom and 6.(dialogue) "It seems like something is missing."

Word Count: 1614

~wWw~

"Luna, there's nothing here," Neville said quietly, looking towards the soft-haired girl. She smiled sweetly at him, not a hint of malice in her eyes. He ground his foot against the dirt, looking down at the floor instead of at his best friend. Luna was never mad at him when he missed seeing her creatures, but he wanted so badly to see one of them. He just wanted to see one, a singular one.

"Nev, it's okay, you'll see one next time," Luna said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the trampled dirt. Neville didn't fight her, rather he allowed her to tug him away from the clearing and into the forest. Luna led the pair through the trees. They didn't encounter a single creature. There was nothing, not even the constant chirping of birds which normally echoed throughout the forest. He continued on watching Luna who was walking ahead of him, her pale hair blowing in the breeze.

There was a small rustle in the bushes behind the pair, but Luna continued dragging Neville towards the edge of the forest, ignorant of the sound behind them.

"Luna? Where are we going?" Neville stopped moving, jolting Luna back slightly. She moved back towards Neville and stood directly in front of him, staring into his dark eyes. Neville stared right back at her, both entrapped in the other's eyes. They were so distracted by each other that they missed the rustling of a tree from above.

"Nev, we are just heading home," Luna said.

"Oh, but Luna, we haven't found the Nargles," Neville replied. "We came here so that you could find Nargles and we aren't going to leave until we find them."

"But Nev, they are just figments of my imagination. There's nothing here. The signs are all off and it's a waste of time"

"So what? Just because everyone thinks something is true doesn't mean it is," Neville said gently.

"It's been years, Nev. Every time they dismiss them it hurts, but every time I try to defend them it seems like something is missing, like I've forgotten something I used to know," Luna said, breaking eye contact with Neville. He gently raised his hand to her chin, carefully directing her eyes back up to his.

"Then we will figure it out. We will find the missing part or we will spend the rest of our lives trying. Luna, this is something you have been passionate about since before I met you and I'm not letting you give up on your dream." Luna grinned at him, leaning forward to give him a light peck on the cheek.

"Fine, we can come back tomorrow, but it's getting dark out and you really don't want to be out here then. The night is when the scary creatures come out to play." Neville smiled back at her. All too often he had seen her beautiful eyes brimming with tears as she attempted to ignore another hateful comment about her work. People just didn't understand what she was trying to do. To be honest, Neville didn't either, but he supported her anyway. Even though he didn't understand her work, he was invested in it—it was hard not to be. Luna cared so much about finding these creatures, to study them and, most importantly, to protect them. The passion in her voice along with the pure joy that shone in her eyes as she talked about them was what drew him in. It was her show of pure emotion.

"Okay, but before we go back, can I do one thing?" Neville asked. Without a moment of thought, Luna nodded. His grin widened and he took a step forward, invading the smaller woman's space. He then gently cupped her face, watching her carefully for any signs of discomfort. He didn't see any so he continued, moving his face closer and closer before gently tapping his nose against hers.

~wWw~

"Ah, Luna, um, look at the sun," Neville said, finally pulling away from her. Keeping her body close to his, she looked up towards the sun, or at least where she thought the sun was. Her eyes shifted across the horizon, searching, her stomach dropping as they moved. Based on the light, she knew where it must be but she really wanted it to be higher than that. So she kept looking, looking at every place it wasn't until she found it.

"It's too low in the sky," Luna finally whispered after almost a minute.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Neville said, scratching the back of his neck and sheepishly dropping his eyes. Luna looked around, taking note of their location. She didn't know exactly where they were, but she had a pretty good idea and it wasn't good. They were just too far out to make it back before the sunset.

"It's okay, it was an accident," Luna said, still looking around, although this time for a different reason. This time, she was looking for firewood.

"We could Apparate back," Neville suggested.

"Nev, can you Apparate? Because I can't, well can't if you want to be in one piece," Luna said, but at the hurt look on Neville's face, she quickly backtracked. "Look, I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I'm just worried. The forest is different at night, you see different things and it is much more dangerous. I've never been out here at night before."

"It'll be a new adventure," Neville suggested.

"Always the Gryffindor," Luna teased.

"Of course," Neville grinned.

~wWw~

Under Luna's direction, Neville helped gather enough wood to make a sizable enough fire to keep them warm for the night. He watched as she carefully arranged a few larger pieces in a triangular formation and piled leaves and smaller sticks in the middle. She pulled out her wand and carefully lit the fire, blowing on it. He wasn't quite sure why she blew on it but he trusted her that she knew what to do. Neville carefully cast a few Muggle-repelling wards around their area, not going out farther than a few feet in any direction. A larger space would have been better but Neville had never been the best at warding.

He watched as Luna's hair blew in the wind, the flames bright against her pale hair. Luna carefully reached into a bag, pulling out a package of uncooked meat along with some bread.

"Why do you have that with you?" Neville asked, wondering how she could be so prepared while he was not.

"Just in case," she said as she levitated the meat above the now-raging fire. He watched, entranced, as she cooked the meat. She would turn it every minute or so, never letting it touch the flames for too long. It didn't take long for it to be completely cooked.

"Come sit," Luna said, patting the ground beside her. Neville followed her command without much thought. After he got settled, she moved over so their sides were pressed tightly together. She then used a spell to cut the meat before handing it to Neville. He held it for her as she grabbed the bread and assembled two sandwiches.

"Thanks," Neville said as she handed one of them to him. She smiled softly at him before turning to stare into the fire. The pair ate in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest which had come alive once the sun had set. Birds chirped in the trees, their peaceful notes bouncing about the forest, and leaves rustled as some of the larger creatures moved around, branches breaking under their weight. But all of this sounded so far away until they heard a branch snap directly behind them.

Neville turned his head a tiny bit, looking towards Luna. He had passed his Care of Magical Creatures class and achieved his NEWT in the subject, but he knew far less than Luna did. She didn't give any indication that she had even heard the sound, however, it was like she was frozen.

"Luna?" Neville asked, his fear beginning to grow even as he attempted to control and ignore it. She didn't respond so Neville took action. He spun around while still sitting on the ground. Behind them was a fuzzy green creature. It was about the size of a frog, but it had an eye on each side of its head. Then it jumped. It was flying through the air towards Luna Without a second thought, his wand was in his hand and he had cast a spell. He watched as it hit the creature, blasting it back into a tree.

"NO, Nev!" Luna exclaimed the moment after Neville cast his spell. She grabbed his arm in an attempt to divert the spell, but she was too late.

"Luna, what was that?" Neville asked, carefully watching her expression. She looked disappointed. Not mad or upset, just disappointed.

"That was a Nargle," Luna whispered. Neville's heart sank.

"Oh, Luna, I'm sorry, I didn't know. Please forgive me? I'll make it up to you, anything you want," Neville said, not wanting her to be mad at him.

"I know you didn't mean it, it's okay," Luna said as she carefully began to move towards the creature.

"Hello, I'm Luna and that's my friend Neville." Luna pointed back towards Neville. "He's really sorry he cast a spell on you."

"I am sorry," Neville said, adding on to Luna.

"It was an accident," Luna said. The Nargle seemed to debate it for a moment before moving closer to Luna. Slowly, tentatively, the creature climbed onto her shoulder, seemingly trusting her.

"Well, I guess you found your Nargle," Neville said with a wide smile.

"That I did."