A/N: I've been consistently reading fanfiction since 2008, but I haven't brought myself to write anything in probably 5 or more years. First time writing Harry Potter in a long while. Please let me know what you think!
Dear Hermione,
Thank you for the notes about the Fireseed Bush. I don't know that I would have been able to get the cuttings to take if you hadn't told me to add the ashes to the soil. Thank you for taking the time to dig into that for me. You're an absolute angel. I want to explore the idea of using it for frostbite treatment, but I think we both know where my potions skills stand. If I can get you some of the sap do you think you would want to give it a shot? Or maybe you know someone in research at St. Mungo's who could do something with it?
At any rate, I have something for you that I'll be sending your way. I think you'll be right pleased with it, but I suppose we'll just have to see, won't we?
We've been in Majorca now for about 3 months and I know that I am definitely ready to start looking elsewhere for my next adventure. Any ideas for my next trip?
Hannah and I are going to get the house sorted and closed up, and I guess then it'll be time to move on. Somewhere green, maybe? Cold? I've been in Spain long enough that I don't think this sunburn will ever go away.
I think you should be getting your surprise in the next couple of days, by the time you get this letter.
Yours Always,
Neville
Hermione ran a finger across the signature on the letter. Since leaving Hogwarts, Hermione had been spending most of her waking hours in the halls of the Ministry. When she wasn't working on research for work, she could often be found completing research for her own pet projects, or helping Neville with the herbology research he couldn't complete from the road.
Neville had taken off after killing Nagini, and had spent the last few years criss-crossing Europe looking for the rarest plants that he could find. When he couldn't find the information on the plants that he needed in the books he took with them, he would send a note to Hermione asking for her help. Not only was her personal library beginning to grow out of control, but she had almost unlimited access to the Ministry Library with its wealth of research opportunities for her. She would put together the most relevant information that she could find on a given plant's pedigree, and then send it off to Neville, who continued to remain abroad. With Hannah. His girlfriend.
Although Neville had been abroad for close to 5 years now, she likely communicated with him just as frequently as she did with any of her friends who stayed in England. It wasn't often that she found the time to sit around and do nothing, and on the off chance that she did, she'd rather sit down and read a book that she'd picked for fun than sit in a dirty pub. Not that she doesn't love her friends. But she was the only single one left in the lot, and she was beginning to feel more and more disappointed every time she returned to her flat after a night out with all of the happy couples.
But Neville. The years of continuous communication with him since Hogwarts had brought them closer. He had remembered more of her birthdays than Harry and Ron had, and had managed to send gifts ahead for her. He remembered what she had going on in her life, and always remembered to check in after a big deadline, and remind her to take a minute for herself. He recognized the work she did for him. At some point she had stopped thinking of him as the same lost little boy on the Hogwarts Express searching for a missing frog. When he wrote to her of his travels, of his adventures… the way that he described the plants he was finding and provided her with such detailed drawings of everything that he catalogued. At some point, she had begun to think of Neville as something less like that boy, and something more akin to a man.
Albeit, a man in a relationship.
Neville was simply the man she talked to most frequently, and she certainly had no desires to do anything to ruin what he had with Hannah. Hannah was nice, if a little quiet, and Hermione wasn't exactly the time to insert herself into the middle of a happy relationship- despite whatever Rita Skeeter might claim. No, she told herself, it wasn't Neville himself that she found herself so pulled to. Rather, it must be the passion, the excitement, the desire to learn and to share his findings that he had, even if that thirst was focused entirely around herbology.
This letter was a lot shorter than most of the ones he usually sent, but if he was planning to move then she couldn't exactly blame him. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, she realized she didn't have enough time to pen a reply to him before she headed to work, so she drained her cup of tea and, stepping into the fireplace, whirled her way into the ministry.
"Hermione? Hermione!" She lifted her head from the dense text she was combing through on the possible uses of Lady's Mantle in vision clarity potions and wildly looked around her, trying to find the source of her name. There was no one in her dark office that she could notice, but her field of vision was limited to the small sphere of light cast by the lamp on the corner of her desk.
How long had the sun been down?
"Oh, don't tell me you forgot! I knew when you didn't answer your front door that you were probably still at the ministry. I should've taken Harry on that bet- I'd have enough galleons to get that new Nimbus. Maybe then we'd stand a chance against the Kenmare Kestrels next week."
Eyes finally landing on the fireplace, Hermione spotted Ginny Potter- or at least the head and shoulders of her. "Hurry up and wrap up for the night. It's gone half six and you said you'd be ready to floo to the Leaky by seven!"
Right. She'd promised her friends that she'd come out tonight, and that she'd spend some time alone with Ginny getting ready before they met the others at the pub. It wasn't often these days that she felt like she had an opportunity to go out with anyone, let alone just pop out for nothing but dinner and a couple of pints.
Even more rarely was she able to spend time with any of her friends one on one. It was much more common for them to go out in a group so she could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Especially now that Ginny and Harry had been married for a couple of years, and Ron and Lavender seemed to be finally reaching an equilibrium point in their relationship. It's not that she felt like a fifth wheel, having grown closer with both Ginny and Lavender in the years since Hogwarts. More accurately, she didn't feel the pangs of loneliness until she was in the midst of the group and realized that there was nothing waiting for her back home when she left.
Even Crookshanks, bless him, had gone on to the great sunbeam in the sky.
"Sorry, Ginny. I'm coming," Hermione assured her, rolling up a couple of scrolls and folding a couple of memos to soar down the hallway. "Just let me tidy up my desk and I'll be right through. Why don't you take a look through the closet and try to put something together for me that doesn't look so…"
Ginny laughed, and cut her off. "Of course. But you have about 3 minutes to get here before I'm coming through for you."
Fortunately for Hermione's sake, Ginny's sanity, and the clothes in the closet, it didn't take her long to wrap up. Flooing into her living room, Hermione toed off her shoes and hung her ministry issue robes up in the hall closet. She briefly considered stopping into the kitchen to pour them each a glass of wine, but upon noticing the time on the clock above the mantle she realized that it would probably be for the best to hurry and find Ginny to change.
Ginny herself was wearing a soft blue blouse and a pair of brown tweed trousers. So fortunately, it seemed the bar wouldn't be sky high as to how formal tonight was expected to be. The last time she'd gone to meet them, she'd come straight from work to the Burrow and was severely underdressed to Molly and Arthur's 30th anniversary dinner.
Laying on the bed beside Ginny-who seemed to be passing the time by flipping through an old photo album- was her outfit for the night. It appeared to be a pale pink shirt-silk by the looks of it- and a pair of high waisted, navy, wool trousers and a wide brown belt.
"Mum bought them for me last Christmas. The blouse is too pink for me, and the pants are a little too short for me. I think everything might fit you though," Ginny said, a little too innocently. Hermione knew good and well that Molly Weasley had had nothing to do with the purchase of the clothing, because they looked a little too expensive and a little too in-fashion for the tastes of the Weasley matriarch.
"Of course," Hermione muttered with an eyeroll, unbuttoning and shrugging out of her blouse. "Well give your mother my thanks for picking such an award winning combo for me. Who all is coming tonight?"
Ginny trailed a finger across the faces in a picture taken in the Gryffindor common room, tapping them as she named those who she expected to be in attendance. "Harry, of course. Ron, Lavender. Luna's coming, and I think she might be bringing whoever it is that she's been seeing. Dean and Seamus- maybe. He sent an owl their way, but who knows."
Buckling the belt Ginny'd given her, Hermione slipped her feet into some shoes a color just a shade darker than the blouse. "Then it sounds like we should probably get going. That's a lot of people to keep waiting."
"Merlin, Mione!" Harry cried, standing up to greet them. He pressed to Ginny's lips and one to Hermione's forehead. "Good to see you. You look lovely. Good pick, Gin."
Ron lifted his glass in a silent toast, and Lavender smiled at her. "Where's that blouse from?"
"Gladrags," Ginny said, shrugging out of her coat and finding a seat next to Harry. "There were plenty left in most sizes when I bought it yesterday," she added, stealing a sip of Harry's beer.
"Ginny!" Hermione cried, looking down at the shirt. Ginny shrugged at her, smiling over the top of the glass.
"You look lovely. And I don't know where I put the receipt and I cut the tags off, so you can't pay me back or return it. Oh well. Why don't you go buy a round- then you'll feel better."
Hermione shook her head and dropped her coat on the back of an empty chair. Everyone chimed in their orders, and she turned to head to the bar, running smack into the broad, warm chest of someone who wrapped their arms around her.
"Steady on, Hermione. You alright?"
Shouts of "Neville!" came from the table as people stood to shuffle chairs and make room, reaching to clap him on the back or embrace him.
Ignoring them, he slid his large, warm hands from her back to the tops of her arms. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have crept up on you. Are you alright?"
The noise of their friends faded out as the smell of fresh soil, sandalwood, and rain rose up around her. Her eyes trailed up the broad chest, clothed in a Fair Isle sweater that she'd made for him herself the first Christmas after the war. It certainly fit tighter now than it had when she'd given it to him. The chest and arms of the sweater were far tighter now, and the stomach a fair sight looser. A smattering of hair was nested just below the hollow of his throat, framed by the collar of the shirt he wore underneath the sweater. The hair thickened rising up his neck and onto a jaw sharper than she remembered. He ducked his face a little closer to hers, capturing her eyes with his. Had Neville's eyes always been so hazel? Had his eyelashes always been so long? With their eyes locked together, a shiver of heat ran down the back of her neck. Her eyes never left his, but she saw the corner of his lip lift in a small smile.
"Yes, sorry," she said, shaking herself a little. "It's good to see you. I'm headed to the bar, do you want a pint?"
He released her arms, letting his hands slowly fall from her biceps. "I'll just come with you. This many people it wouldn't help to have an extra hand," he said, gesturing at Seamus and Dean who had walked in while she'd stood staring at him.
Hannah... Hannah… Hannah... Hermione chanted in her head as he steered her towards the bar. Although she hadn't seen Neville in years, she had to remind herself that not only was this still Neville Longbottom, her first friend she'd made upon boarding the Hogwarts Express at age 11, but he was dating Hannah Abbott. Still, that didn't stop the shiver that ran down her back at the ghost sensation of his warm hands on her arms.
Hermione ordered and paid for the round of drinks, and the two stood there in slightly awkward silence while they waited for Tom to get everything poured.
"I'm glad to see you," He said with a smile, resting his forearms on the bartop. "Did you get my letter?"
"Yes!" she cried, remembering that she hadn't had an opportunity to reply. "Of course, I didn't expect that you would be my surprise, but it's so good to see you!"
He chuckled, and lightly bumped her with a shoulder. "Who said I was the surprise?"
She flushed pink and looked down at her feet, immediately feeling the atmosphere between the two of them turn slightly awkward. He'd been back all of 10 minutes, and she'd already said something ridiculous.
"So how've you been?" They asked at the same time after a moment too long standing in silence.
"You first," Hermione said, craning her neck to see his face. Merlin, he'd gotten tall.
"I've been... alright, I suppose," he said lowly, tracing a finger through a ring of condensation on the bar top. "Just about alright. I'm glad to be home, but I don't know what's next for me. I got so used to being abroad, but now I'm back and I have no clue really what I'm going to do or where I'm headed. How about you?"
"Not much has changed since my last letter," she sighed. "Probably spending even more time at the ministry if it's possible. I actually haven't been a very good friend lately. I almost didn't come out tonight, and I probably wouldn't have if Ginny hadn't called me down. I've just been so caught up lately, and I suppose it hasn't been very fair."
"Hey now," Neville placed his hand back on her arm, reigniting the fire that had run across her skin earlier.
HannahHannahHannahHeHasHannah.
"I highly doubt anyone at that table thinks you've been a poor friend. It's part and parcel of being your friend to recognize that you give your full attention to whatever project you're working on. I bet you anything that Ginny called you because she wanted to help you remember, not to gloat that you forgot. And, for what it's worth," he turned and effortlessly lifted the tray of drinks and turned back toward the table, "I'm quite glad you did come out tonight."
She wordlessly followed him back to the table, sitting down in the chair she'd dropped her jacket onto earlier. With the addition of Neville, Seamus and Dean, the table had needed to be enlarged. The table that had been a large rectangle when she'd arrived was now a large circle, and the only empty seat was beside her.
"We're going to need another seat, aren't we, Neville?" Harry asked, reaching over to help pass glasses around. "What's keeping Hannah?"
Neville flushed and sat, taking a long pull from his drink. "She and I broke up, actually. It's alright, I mean. We're still friends. But there were a few things we couldn't get past. So she's staying on the continent with some cousins who studied at Beauxbatons, and I'm back."
"Well what'd you break up for?" Ron asked before Ginny and Lavender hit him simultaneously on each side of his head. "Ow! Bugger all! Sorry. I was just curious!"
"Don't be rude, Ron!" Lavender admonished. "He'll tell you if he wants to."
"Not that he has to, or should," added Hermione making eye contact with Neville.
"Sorry mate," Harry said, patting Neville on the shoulder.
Neville shook his head, and offered a little half smile. "Don't be. We're both alright, and it was more or less mutual. It happened almost a year ago now, and we stuck together for a while but last I heard she'd been talking to some bloke she met when we were in Majorca. They're staying in Spain for a while, and I just took the time to sort my things out before coming back."
"Well I'll drink to that," said Seamus, raising his glass. "To sorting things out."
"To sorting things out!" they cried in unison, taking a drink. So there was no Hannah. She couldn't help but feel relieved- and then feel guilty for feeling relieved- to know that Hannah and Neville weren't together anymore, especially given that he didn't seem too upset about it himself. While her time at Hogwarts had been focused almost entirely on keeping Harry alive, Neville had been her very first friend there, and a steady and present source of support in her life. He was kind, polite, supportive, so incredibly brave… and now so incredibly fit. She'd thought that the feelings that had started to stir every time she opened a letter from him would have disappeared upon seeing him again. At any rate, she certainly hadn't expected them to be ignited.
"And speaking of getting sorted mate," the Irishman continued, "I work with a bird who could use a right bit of sorting if you know what I mean and I think you could be man for the task now that you're a free man."
Neville flushed, and lightly pulled at his collar around his throat. "No, I- I couldn't."
"From what I've heard, I rather bet you can," interrupted Ginny. A laugh went around the table, and everyone laughed, including Neville. Hermione shifted in her seat, remembering flashes of whispers she'd overheard between Hannah and Susan Bones in the bathroom of the Three Broomsticks the last time they'd all been together. Yes, she rather bet he was up for the task, if said whispers were to be believed.
"That's not exactly what I meant," Neville said, rubbing the back of his neck and leaning his chair back onto the two rear legs. "I've been talking to this girl-woman- for a little while and I figured I'd come back and see if maybe she wants to give things a go."
"Out with it, Longbottom" Ginny cried out, leaning onto her forearms across the table. "Do we know her? Who is she? Was she at Hogwarts with us?"
Yes, Longbottom, out with it. She couldn't help the thought as it ran through her mind. There was something about the way that he carried himself now that was still sending a current across her skin. Back and forth, he ran his fingertip across the rim of the glass in front of him with his right hand, the left coming up to push his thick hair back. She could see that his hands were a bit calloused from his work in the dirt, but there was still something graceful and gentle in how he moved.
"Yes," he sighed, falling heavily back onto all four chair legs. "She was at Hogwarts with all of us."
"Don't tell me you're about to start spilling secrets without everyone here," a soft, high voice said from a few feet behind the group. Everyone on that side of the table turned as all eyes landed on Luna Lovegood.
"Luna!" they all cried, except Hermione who felt a peculiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Where's this lad I've heard you've gone and caught?" Lavender asked, "I thought you were going to bring him tonight? We all want to meet him."
"You don't have to meet him, you all already know him. Hello, Neville."
That would explain the sinking feeling, then.
A/N: Let me know what you think! I haven't got a ton of time (I'm in law school) but I have this idea and I want to try to finish this story. Stay safe out there.