Neville grasped the Quibbler as if his life depended on it.
"There are hidden messages in the wrappers of the popular Drooble's Best Blowing Bubble Gum says one high ranking employee at the gum factory.
'Yeah, I reckon they've always been there. Surprised you haven't seen them yet.' Said our source. 'We've gotten all sorts of letters. One lady writes once a week swearing that the wrappers give her the exact dates of when her bunions are going to hurt. Don't know how many saying the wrappers told them the when You-Know-Who was returning.'
When asked how to read the messages, the source responded: 'Couldn't tell you. Never really been able to figure out the marks myself. I always just figured they were blotches from the ink or something.'
Upon close inspection with a magnifying glass, what appeared to be a delightfully pink and blue background becomes thousands of tiny dots, barely decipherable from one another."
"Luna, can I see your necklace?" Neville asked, looking up from the paper.
"Of course! The third from the end is really quite interesting. Something about the up coming Quiddich World Cup. Apparently, it wants me to bet 100 galleons that the Cannons will win. I don't know much about Quiddich, but I think that may be a long shot."
Neville tuned Luna out as he looked through the glass at the wrappers. "These are just tiny specks. I don't see any difference!"
"Well it is harder for some people. I'm sure it will come to you with time." Luna sounded genuinly disappointed for Neville. "Have you ever had Droobles? I used to be very fond of it. But when daddy printed this article I chewed so much to get the wrappers that I accidentally burst a bubble right over my crup's head. Poor Shnoodle was covered in pink stickiness all week. It wasn't until he came home with a sock stuck in his fur that I decided the only thing to do was to shave him."
Normally Neville would have found this at least mildly amusing, but right now he was busy retrieving his heart from the pit of his stomach. 'I don't know what I was thinking' Thought Neville. 'It was in the Quibbler for Merlin's-sake!'
"You can keep that if you like." Luna stared into Neville's eyes.
"Oh, thanks. I.I think I will if you don't mind." Neville noticed that the crowed was beginning to thin. "I better go check on my wand."
"Great! I'll get to meet your Grandmother! I'm sure my great-uncle won't mind a visit either." Luna laid a galleon on the table.
"Oh, you probably don't want to.err, she's not very.friendly today." But by the time Neville had placed his money on the table and turned around, Luna was halfway out the door.
As Neville stepped into the wand shop, he noticed that some sort of truce must have been made. Gran was finishing up the papers, and the scorch marks on the walls were fading quickly in the waning light.
"If there were another reputable wandsmith in this country, you would never see a penny of my money." Gran spat as she handed over the papers along with a small pile of coins.
"I would be delighted knowing I would never see your fat head again either, my dear." Neville noted the level of immaturity the two had reached as Mr. Ollivander gently handed over his new wand. "Eleven inches even, maple wood, with heart string from a particularly vicious dragon." Then, under his breath he whispered, "perhaps your grandmother should consider giving a few. It's not like she makes much use of her heart these days." Neville bit back a snigger.
"Uncle!" Cried Luna as she launched her self at the old man.
"Well hello Luna! And how's my favorite great-niece today?" Mr. Ollivander asked, holding the embrace.
"Very funny! You know very well that I'm your only great-niece!" Luna giggled.
"Right you are, right you are. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"Well, I was doing some school shopping when I ran across Neville and I.oh, yes." Luna switched focus rapidly, grabbing Gran's hand and shaking it violently. "Hello Mrs. Longbottom! My name is Luna Lovegood. I'm a friend of Neville's from school and I would like to say what a fine person you have in your care! And I very much like your hat!" Luna recited with the air of a soldier answering to his superior.
"Thank you.I suppose." Gran straightened her vulture importantly, as it had nearly been shaken off with the enthusiasm of Luna's greeting. "Neville, we really should be getting along."
"Alright Gran." Neville gathered the bags. "I guess I'll see you on the train then."
"Oh yes. Will you be bringing your iMimbulus mimbletonia/iagain? I think if you are, then perhaps I will bring an umbrella this time." Luna's bulbous eyes seemed to penetrate Neville's skull.
"I.what? Oh, yes. Yes I will be bringing it. But it's much better trained this year, and I'll remember not to poke it." Neville could feel the heat rising up his cheeks.
"Alright then. Goodbye Neville!"
"Bye Luna. Goodbye Mr. Ollivander." Neville held the door for Gran as she exited.
"You know that girl? Rather strange isn't she?" Gran asked with a sneer.
Neville wondered momentarily if Luna was really that strange. And if strange was such a bad thing?
hr
Finally, the day came to board the Hogwarts Express. As Neville waited to get on the train he reflected over the past couple of days.
After he returned home from Diagon Alley, he spent hours trying to break the code on the mysterious wrappers that his mother had been giving him for years. He had finally retreated to his bed in defeat, only to wake up the next morning to try it all over again. His Quibbler was now torn and stained in an effort to squeeze every last drop of information out of it. Unfortunately, the article seemed to only have had the premise that it could be done not how to do it. He had briefly thought that he might ask Luna if she could read his precious gum wrappers, but quickly changed his mind when he imagined one of the gum wrappers reminding him to always wear clean underpants.
Even Gran was beginning to get concerned with him. She knocked on his bedroom door several times a day with strange excuses, 'Have you done your school work' 'Don't forget to feed your plant' and the most outrageous 'I brought you a snack!' After Neville had refused her last offer of tea and biscuits, she stormed off, muttering something about 'going blind'. She even seemed genuinely happy when Neville came marching downstairs this morning, dragging his trunk behind.
As Neville tried with all his might to pull his trunk over the steps onto the train, he felt a force lifting it from the other side.
"Alright, Neville?" Harry Potter asked as he tugged on the other side of Neville's trunk.
" Fine, thanks. You?" Neville inquired.
"Alright, I suppose. The compartment in the back should be free." Harry pointed towards the back of the train.
"I saw Ron, Ginny, and Hermione in Diagon Alley a few days ago. I wondered where you were?"
"Oh, yeah. I...ummm.had to see Fred and George about some business. Here we are." Harry noted quickly. Neville noticed that Harry was eyeing his iMimbulus mimbletonia/i suspiciously.
As Neville entered the compartment, he noticed a familiar sight.
"Hello Harry!" Luna waved excitedly. "How was your summer?!"
Harry looked a little shocked at such a vibrant greeting...or perhaps he was noticing the some new additions to Luna's body as well. "Ummm.fine, I guess." He said with a half smile. Neville felt a clench inside his stomach.
"Wonderful!" Luna beamed. "Oh, Neville! Your plant looks very healthy!
"Oh.yes, thanks. I started it on a new diet of-"
".Going to wring his little ferret neck, I am.see how he likes a.oh, Hi all." Ginny Weasley appeared at the door.
"What's all that about?" Harry asked.
"Oh, Malfoy decided it would be funny to barricade the door to the loo.while I was in there." Ginny frowned "Made me completely miss the prefects meeting!"
"You're a prefect?" Neville asked.
"Yes, what of it?" Ginny snapped.
"Oh, I didn't mean.I was just-"
"Hi!" Hermione Granger yelled as she slid the door open again. "Ginny, where were you? We waited-"
"Don't ask." Ginny insisted with clenched teeth.
"Budge over Neville" Ron asked. Neville briefly noted that he chose the seat farthest away from Luna.
After some time, Neville was beginning to feel slightly crowded in the compartment, what with six people, six trunks, two owls, a cat, a plant, and a toad. He thought it was in his best interest to sit as quietly as possible and to take up very little space. Neville could feel his eyes start to droop, his head was falling to the side, and he was very relaxed. Luna Lovegood.she was getting very pretty wasn't she? i'Oh, dear, your school robes seem to have fallen off. Let me help you with that. What? You want to see my dormitory? Well if you insist.'/i
"Oi, Neville! Catch!" Harry yelled.
"Huh? I-Oof"
Harry had thrown the chocolate frog directly at Neville's head. He would have caught it except the frog had managed to escape from the package, mid- air. Neville set his iMimbulus mimbeltonia/iat his feet while he clamored through his robes to find the missing chocolate frog, but instead returned with a very annoyed Trevor. Setting Trevor on the seat, he dove back in for the Chocolate frog, but unfortunately, so did Crookshanks.
"Crookshanks! No!" Hermione lunged at the cat that was now making confetti of Neville's best school cloths. The train lurched and Neville was Certain that they were pulling into the Hogsmead station.
"Hermione, no!" Neville screeched as she accidentally placed her hand on a very sensitive part of Neville's body.
"Hermione, stop!" Ron yelled reaching for Hermione's hand. Unfortunately, Trevor picked just that moment to jump, flying right into Ron's face. Ron jumped and landed in Harry and Ginny's laps.
"Ron!" They both screamed together, throwing the redhead back into the jumble on the floor. Ron, having landed in a very precarious position on Hermione, immediately jumped back to his seat and promptly knocked over Pigwidgeon's cage, opening the door and setting the bird free.
Pig dived at a spot on the floor, and rose to the air with the chocolate frog clutched firmly in its grasp. But just at that moment Ron grabbed pig by the shoulders.
"Gotcha now!" Ron yelled. Pig dropped the chocolate frog and it landed directly on top of Neville's iMimbulus mimbletonia/i. The plant immediately let out a great explosion of green slime, even fouler than the year before.
Neville looked around at his friends, none of whom seemed to have had time to shield themselves from the blast, nobody except Luna, who was calmly reading her Quibbler behind a large umbrella.
"Oh weasel, I just wanted to say that I." Malfoy took in the scene around him, and suddenly burst into laughter.
"There are hidden messages in the wrappers of the popular Drooble's Best Blowing Bubble Gum says one high ranking employee at the gum factory.
'Yeah, I reckon they've always been there. Surprised you haven't seen them yet.' Said our source. 'We've gotten all sorts of letters. One lady writes once a week swearing that the wrappers give her the exact dates of when her bunions are going to hurt. Don't know how many saying the wrappers told them the when You-Know-Who was returning.'
When asked how to read the messages, the source responded: 'Couldn't tell you. Never really been able to figure out the marks myself. I always just figured they were blotches from the ink or something.'
Upon close inspection with a magnifying glass, what appeared to be a delightfully pink and blue background becomes thousands of tiny dots, barely decipherable from one another."
"Luna, can I see your necklace?" Neville asked, looking up from the paper.
"Of course! The third from the end is really quite interesting. Something about the up coming Quiddich World Cup. Apparently, it wants me to bet 100 galleons that the Cannons will win. I don't know much about Quiddich, but I think that may be a long shot."
Neville tuned Luna out as he looked through the glass at the wrappers. "These are just tiny specks. I don't see any difference!"
"Well it is harder for some people. I'm sure it will come to you with time." Luna sounded genuinly disappointed for Neville. "Have you ever had Droobles? I used to be very fond of it. But when daddy printed this article I chewed so much to get the wrappers that I accidentally burst a bubble right over my crup's head. Poor Shnoodle was covered in pink stickiness all week. It wasn't until he came home with a sock stuck in his fur that I decided the only thing to do was to shave him."
Normally Neville would have found this at least mildly amusing, but right now he was busy retrieving his heart from the pit of his stomach. 'I don't know what I was thinking' Thought Neville. 'It was in the Quibbler for Merlin's-sake!'
"You can keep that if you like." Luna stared into Neville's eyes.
"Oh, thanks. I.I think I will if you don't mind." Neville noticed that the crowed was beginning to thin. "I better go check on my wand."
"Great! I'll get to meet your Grandmother! I'm sure my great-uncle won't mind a visit either." Luna laid a galleon on the table.
"Oh, you probably don't want to.err, she's not very.friendly today." But by the time Neville had placed his money on the table and turned around, Luna was halfway out the door.
As Neville stepped into the wand shop, he noticed that some sort of truce must have been made. Gran was finishing up the papers, and the scorch marks on the walls were fading quickly in the waning light.
"If there were another reputable wandsmith in this country, you would never see a penny of my money." Gran spat as she handed over the papers along with a small pile of coins.
"I would be delighted knowing I would never see your fat head again either, my dear." Neville noted the level of immaturity the two had reached as Mr. Ollivander gently handed over his new wand. "Eleven inches even, maple wood, with heart string from a particularly vicious dragon." Then, under his breath he whispered, "perhaps your grandmother should consider giving a few. It's not like she makes much use of her heart these days." Neville bit back a snigger.
"Uncle!" Cried Luna as she launched her self at the old man.
"Well hello Luna! And how's my favorite great-niece today?" Mr. Ollivander asked, holding the embrace.
"Very funny! You know very well that I'm your only great-niece!" Luna giggled.
"Right you are, right you are. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"Well, I was doing some school shopping when I ran across Neville and I.oh, yes." Luna switched focus rapidly, grabbing Gran's hand and shaking it violently. "Hello Mrs. Longbottom! My name is Luna Lovegood. I'm a friend of Neville's from school and I would like to say what a fine person you have in your care! And I very much like your hat!" Luna recited with the air of a soldier answering to his superior.
"Thank you.I suppose." Gran straightened her vulture importantly, as it had nearly been shaken off with the enthusiasm of Luna's greeting. "Neville, we really should be getting along."
"Alright Gran." Neville gathered the bags. "I guess I'll see you on the train then."
"Oh yes. Will you be bringing your iMimbulus mimbletonia/iagain? I think if you are, then perhaps I will bring an umbrella this time." Luna's bulbous eyes seemed to penetrate Neville's skull.
"I.what? Oh, yes. Yes I will be bringing it. But it's much better trained this year, and I'll remember not to poke it." Neville could feel the heat rising up his cheeks.
"Alright then. Goodbye Neville!"
"Bye Luna. Goodbye Mr. Ollivander." Neville held the door for Gran as she exited.
"You know that girl? Rather strange isn't she?" Gran asked with a sneer.
Neville wondered momentarily if Luna was really that strange. And if strange was such a bad thing?
hr
Finally, the day came to board the Hogwarts Express. As Neville waited to get on the train he reflected over the past couple of days.
After he returned home from Diagon Alley, he spent hours trying to break the code on the mysterious wrappers that his mother had been giving him for years. He had finally retreated to his bed in defeat, only to wake up the next morning to try it all over again. His Quibbler was now torn and stained in an effort to squeeze every last drop of information out of it. Unfortunately, the article seemed to only have had the premise that it could be done not how to do it. He had briefly thought that he might ask Luna if she could read his precious gum wrappers, but quickly changed his mind when he imagined one of the gum wrappers reminding him to always wear clean underpants.
Even Gran was beginning to get concerned with him. She knocked on his bedroom door several times a day with strange excuses, 'Have you done your school work' 'Don't forget to feed your plant' and the most outrageous 'I brought you a snack!' After Neville had refused her last offer of tea and biscuits, she stormed off, muttering something about 'going blind'. She even seemed genuinely happy when Neville came marching downstairs this morning, dragging his trunk behind.
As Neville tried with all his might to pull his trunk over the steps onto the train, he felt a force lifting it from the other side.
"Alright, Neville?" Harry Potter asked as he tugged on the other side of Neville's trunk.
" Fine, thanks. You?" Neville inquired.
"Alright, I suppose. The compartment in the back should be free." Harry pointed towards the back of the train.
"I saw Ron, Ginny, and Hermione in Diagon Alley a few days ago. I wondered where you were?"
"Oh, yeah. I...ummm.had to see Fred and George about some business. Here we are." Harry noted quickly. Neville noticed that Harry was eyeing his iMimbulus mimbletonia/i suspiciously.
As Neville entered the compartment, he noticed a familiar sight.
"Hello Harry!" Luna waved excitedly. "How was your summer?!"
Harry looked a little shocked at such a vibrant greeting...or perhaps he was noticing the some new additions to Luna's body as well. "Ummm.fine, I guess." He said with a half smile. Neville felt a clench inside his stomach.
"Wonderful!" Luna beamed. "Oh, Neville! Your plant looks very healthy!
"Oh.yes, thanks. I started it on a new diet of-"
".Going to wring his little ferret neck, I am.see how he likes a.oh, Hi all." Ginny Weasley appeared at the door.
"What's all that about?" Harry asked.
"Oh, Malfoy decided it would be funny to barricade the door to the loo.while I was in there." Ginny frowned "Made me completely miss the prefects meeting!"
"You're a prefect?" Neville asked.
"Yes, what of it?" Ginny snapped.
"Oh, I didn't mean.I was just-"
"Hi!" Hermione Granger yelled as she slid the door open again. "Ginny, where were you? We waited-"
"Don't ask." Ginny insisted with clenched teeth.
"Budge over Neville" Ron asked. Neville briefly noted that he chose the seat farthest away from Luna.
After some time, Neville was beginning to feel slightly crowded in the compartment, what with six people, six trunks, two owls, a cat, a plant, and a toad. He thought it was in his best interest to sit as quietly as possible and to take up very little space. Neville could feel his eyes start to droop, his head was falling to the side, and he was very relaxed. Luna Lovegood.she was getting very pretty wasn't she? i'Oh, dear, your school robes seem to have fallen off. Let me help you with that. What? You want to see my dormitory? Well if you insist.'/i
"Oi, Neville! Catch!" Harry yelled.
"Huh? I-Oof"
Harry had thrown the chocolate frog directly at Neville's head. He would have caught it except the frog had managed to escape from the package, mid- air. Neville set his iMimbulus mimbeltonia/iat his feet while he clamored through his robes to find the missing chocolate frog, but instead returned with a very annoyed Trevor. Setting Trevor on the seat, he dove back in for the Chocolate frog, but unfortunately, so did Crookshanks.
"Crookshanks! No!" Hermione lunged at the cat that was now making confetti of Neville's best school cloths. The train lurched and Neville was Certain that they were pulling into the Hogsmead station.
"Hermione, no!" Neville screeched as she accidentally placed her hand on a very sensitive part of Neville's body.
"Hermione, stop!" Ron yelled reaching for Hermione's hand. Unfortunately, Trevor picked just that moment to jump, flying right into Ron's face. Ron jumped and landed in Harry and Ginny's laps.
"Ron!" They both screamed together, throwing the redhead back into the jumble on the floor. Ron, having landed in a very precarious position on Hermione, immediately jumped back to his seat and promptly knocked over Pigwidgeon's cage, opening the door and setting the bird free.
Pig dived at a spot on the floor, and rose to the air with the chocolate frog clutched firmly in its grasp. But just at that moment Ron grabbed pig by the shoulders.
"Gotcha now!" Ron yelled. Pig dropped the chocolate frog and it landed directly on top of Neville's iMimbulus mimbletonia/i. The plant immediately let out a great explosion of green slime, even fouler than the year before.
Neville looked around at his friends, none of whom seemed to have had time to shield themselves from the blast, nobody except Luna, who was calmly reading her Quibbler behind a large umbrella.
"Oh weasel, I just wanted to say that I." Malfoy took in the scene around him, and suddenly burst into laughter.