Chapter Five – Two of a Kind
Neville and Luna stopped when they reached the doors to the Great Hall. They looked at each other, "Where should we sit?" Luna asked.
"I don't know," Neville stammered.
Neville could almost see Luna making a decision. "Could we sit at the Gryffindor table? It would be nice to talk to people during a meal," she said brightly.
He didn't say anything, just guided her over to his usual spot near the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors. Neville noticed Ron raise his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Luna approach.
"Hello, Ronald," she said, sitting down in-between Ron and Neville.
"Cheers," Ron said, grabbing a piece of bread.
Neville was trying to decide between the meat loaf and fish. Luna was filling her own plate when she said, "You can always have a bit of each, you know."
"Thanks," Neville muttered, grabbing a piece of fish.
Ron and Harry were talking enthusiastically about the quidditch try-outs that were scheduled for tomorrow. "Poor Katie. She has to find two beaters and two chasers," Ron said.
Harry looked at Ginny, who was sitting with the group. "One chaser, you mean. Ginny's guaranteed a spot," he said, grinning.
Ginny blushed, "I still have to try out," she said.
Neville noticed that Luna was listening to their conversation with interest. "I think Quidditch will be going out of fashion soon," Luna announced.
Harry, Ron and Ginny all turned their heads and gaped at Luna. "There's a new game out, called Jiffney. The Quibbler's doing an article on it. That game looks fun," she continued.
"Quidditch out of fashion?" Ron asked, looking like he was trying not to laugh.
Luna nodded confidently and took a sip of her soup.
A very awkward silence overcame the group. After a minute, in which Luna seemed not to notice the silence, Ginny asked, "Have you ever played quidditch?"
Luna shook her head. "I'm hopeless with sports, Ginerva," she admitted.
Ginny raised her eyebrows as if to say, "There you go." The three continued their conversation about quidditch, leaving Neville and Luna own their own to talk.
"Are you trying out for the quidditch team?" Luna asked.
Neville shook his head. "I haven't flown on a broom since my first flying lesson," he told her, "I like having both feet on the ground."
Luna had a dreamy expression on her face. "I love to fly. I'm not very good, but I love it. Being in the air, like a bird. It's like poetry," she said softly.
Suddenly, Neville had an urge to find a broom, any broom and take it for a ride.
-------------------------
"Show yourself!" Frank Longbottom's voice said confidently, wand at the ready.
Five Death Eaters appeared in front of Frank and Alice Longbottom, masks on and wands out. "Seize him!" A high-pitched voice cried.
"Stupefy!" A deeper voice yelled. The spell hit Alice Longbottom and she started falling to the floor, but two Death Eaters caught her.
"Where is our Master? You know where he is!" Rodolphus Lestrange yelled.
A loud snore from Ron woke him up suddenly. Neville sat straight up. He put his hand up to his forehead; beads of sweat were falling down. Neville had pictured his parent's torture over many times. But that was the clearest he ever had seen it. He could see that his parents were willing to take on the threat, but had been completely taken by surprise. Neville closed his eyes and tried to picture his mother's face as it had been in the dream. She had been so beautiful.
Quietly, as not to wake any one, Neville got out of bed and walked to his trunk. Seamus snorted and rolled over, causing Neville to stand still for a moment. He opened the trunk, and reached down to the very bottom. He took out a small box and brought it back to bed with him.
Making sure the curtains around his bed were tight, he opened the box. Over the years, his mother had given him many candy wrappers and scraps of papers. But there was one piece of paper he prized above all others.
He could clearly remember the day she gave it to him. She was having a good day, smiling and even patting his hand once. When his grandmother ushered him out to leave, his mother stopped him, like every other visit. He put the paper in his pocket, like every other visit. And he didn't think of it again until he got home and looked at it.
She had written the letter N on the parchment.
Maybe it wasn't really an N. Maybe it was a Z, or maybe just a scribble that meant nothing. But Neville convinced himself that there was an N on that sheet of paper. That was the day he told himself that she knew who he was.
-------------------------
All in all, Neville had a good first week back at Hogwarts. His classes were tolerable. In fact, everything seemed to be going well for Neville. Which was exactly why he was worried. Things never worked out perfectly for him. Neville was never upset by this; he just accepted it as a quirk of the universe.
He was thinking that very thing when he was leaving Greenhouse Four. Herbology was his last class of the week, and Neville couldn't think of a better way to start the weekend. He left the greenhouse alone, since Ron, Harry and even Dean and Seamus ran out quickly to get ready for the quidditch tryouts.
Neville was walking past the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when he saw Luna way down the hall. He thought he saw her give him a small wave. Anyway, she was walking towards him now. Neville's heart gave a small lurch. He was trying to decide if he had the confidence to see if she'd like to take a walk with him over the weekend.
Suddenly, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came bounding out of the classroom, wands out. "I believe you owe me an apology, Longbottom," Malfoy spat.
Neville was about to reach for his own wand when Crabbe yelled, "Expelliarmus!" It took Neville a moment to realize that his wand was out of his robes. Crabbe even looked surprised to be holding it.
"You're nothing, Longbottom. You're just a big fat loser, who's going to end up just like his parents," Malfoy whispered menacingly.
"I told you not to talk about my parents," Neville muttered. Neville's courage was slowly fading, not having his wand.
"You mean your crazy parents, shut up in the loony bin," Malfoy said. Crabbe and Goyle started laughing loudly.
Malfoy pointed his wand out at Neville. Do something! Neville's brain was screaming, but he didn't move.
"Locomotor Mortis," Malfoy said. Neville cursed under his breath.
There were suddenly footsteps behind Malfoy and his gang.
"You're not being very nice," Luna said serenely.
Malfoy looked at her and started laughing. "Loony's here to defend you, Longbottom. She's perfect for you!"
Luna took out her wand so quickly, that Malfoy was even taken aback. "Please leave," Luna asked them all softly, "Or I will report you. You're abusing your position, Draco."
"Who in their right mind would take your word over mine?" Malfoy asked.
Luna raised one eyebrow. "I think you'll find that a lot of people would."
Draco and Luna stared at each other for almost a minute in silence. Then Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle and said, "Let's go." Crabbe dropped Neville's wand and then stepped on it. The three walked past Luna, and Malfoy walked into Luna so hard that she almost fell over.
Luna watched them leave, and then turned to face Neville. Neville was amazed that she still looked calm, as if she and Malfoy were just talking about the weather. "What spell did he put on you?" she asked quietly.
"Leg-locking curse," Neville said, furious with himself, "He got me with that spell first year!"
Luna quickly said the countercurse. Neville watched her chew on her bottom lip. "I'm sorry I butted in."
Neville shook his head miserably. "Don't be." He picked up his new wand and examined it. The wand didn't look broken in any way.
Neville and Luna looked at each other in silence for a moment. "You look upset," Luna said finally.
"I told myself that I was going to stand up to Malfoy this year," Neville said, "I did in Diagon Alley. But he didn't have the two goons with him then."
"It's not nice to call people names, Neville," Luna scolded.
Neville looked at her, not understanding what she was talking about. Then it hit him. He called Crabbe and Goyle 'goons.'
"Sorry," he said under his breath, not knowing if he meant it.
"I don't normally interfere like that," Luna started, "But after what happened at the Ministry, I promised myself that I would also stand up to people."
Neville grinned at her. "We're two of a pair, aren't we?"
Luna tilted her head to one side and smiled at him.
"I mean, not a pair...but we're the same, I mean..." Neville trailed off and started staring at the ground.
Luna giggled softly. Neville decided he had to ask her right then.
"Luna?"
"Yes, Neville?"
"Would you like to take a walk with me tomorrow?" he said, looking at her shoes the whole time.
"I wish I could," Luna said.
Neville looked up, surprised. He thought that she might say yes.
"I have to go to London tomorrow. I won't be getting back until Sunday night," she said.
"I didn't know students were allowed to leave during term," he said.
"They're not. But Professor Flitwick is making an exception for me," she said brightly.
They both started walking towards the Great Hall.
"Why are you going to London?" he blurted out, not able to stop himself.
Luna didn't even flinch, "I have something to take care of."
Neville thought of the times he saw her at St. Mungos. He desperately wanted to ask her if anything was wrong. But they didn't have that kind of friendship. Yet, Neville told himself. Anyway, if something was wrong, surely Luna would have said something.
Before Neville knew it, they had reached the Great Hall. He was disappointed when they went to their respected tables.
-------------------------
When Neville went up to the common room, there was a bit of a party. Gryffindors were celebrating their new quidditch team. Someone had gotten some drinks and snacks from the kitchens. And a wizard's radio was playing Celestina Warbeck's new single.
Neville was eager to join in. He grabbed a butterbeer and sat down in a group with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"Best team we've ever had!" Harry said excitedly.
"Who made it?" Neville asked.
"Miss Ginny Weasley will be our number one chaser," Harry said as Ginny laughed and took a large sip of butterbeer.
"Seamus is our other chaser," Ginny told Neville.
"And I think we have another pair of Weasley twins on our hands," Harry said excitedly,
"Nick and Rick Frobisher," Ron said, "See them? In the corner?" Ron pointed out a pair of identical twins with black wavy hair. They were tall and had a stocky build.
"They're only fourth years, which is great, then they can be on the team for a while," Harry said.
"They crack me up," Ron said, "They threaten anyone who teases them about their names."
The party continued for quite awhile, until Hermione announced that it was time for anyone third year or lower to go to bed.
Neville yawned, and told the group he was turning in himself with the third years. He made his way up to his dormitory quickly. He liked the silence of the dorm when he was alone. The last thought Neville had before going to sleep was if he'd ever have the courage to ask Luna out again.
Neville and Luna stopped when they reached the doors to the Great Hall. They looked at each other, "Where should we sit?" Luna asked.
"I don't know," Neville stammered.
Neville could almost see Luna making a decision. "Could we sit at the Gryffindor table? It would be nice to talk to people during a meal," she said brightly.
He didn't say anything, just guided her over to his usual spot near the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors. Neville noticed Ron raise his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Luna approach.
"Hello, Ronald," she said, sitting down in-between Ron and Neville.
"Cheers," Ron said, grabbing a piece of bread.
Neville was trying to decide between the meat loaf and fish. Luna was filling her own plate when she said, "You can always have a bit of each, you know."
"Thanks," Neville muttered, grabbing a piece of fish.
Ron and Harry were talking enthusiastically about the quidditch try-outs that were scheduled for tomorrow. "Poor Katie. She has to find two beaters and two chasers," Ron said.
Harry looked at Ginny, who was sitting with the group. "One chaser, you mean. Ginny's guaranteed a spot," he said, grinning.
Ginny blushed, "I still have to try out," she said.
Neville noticed that Luna was listening to their conversation with interest. "I think Quidditch will be going out of fashion soon," Luna announced.
Harry, Ron and Ginny all turned their heads and gaped at Luna. "There's a new game out, called Jiffney. The Quibbler's doing an article on it. That game looks fun," she continued.
"Quidditch out of fashion?" Ron asked, looking like he was trying not to laugh.
Luna nodded confidently and took a sip of her soup.
A very awkward silence overcame the group. After a minute, in which Luna seemed not to notice the silence, Ginny asked, "Have you ever played quidditch?"
Luna shook her head. "I'm hopeless with sports, Ginerva," she admitted.
Ginny raised her eyebrows as if to say, "There you go." The three continued their conversation about quidditch, leaving Neville and Luna own their own to talk.
"Are you trying out for the quidditch team?" Luna asked.
Neville shook his head. "I haven't flown on a broom since my first flying lesson," he told her, "I like having both feet on the ground."
Luna had a dreamy expression on her face. "I love to fly. I'm not very good, but I love it. Being in the air, like a bird. It's like poetry," she said softly.
Suddenly, Neville had an urge to find a broom, any broom and take it for a ride.
-------------------------
"Show yourself!" Frank Longbottom's voice said confidently, wand at the ready.
Five Death Eaters appeared in front of Frank and Alice Longbottom, masks on and wands out. "Seize him!" A high-pitched voice cried.
"Stupefy!" A deeper voice yelled. The spell hit Alice Longbottom and she started falling to the floor, but two Death Eaters caught her.
"Where is our Master? You know where he is!" Rodolphus Lestrange yelled.
A loud snore from Ron woke him up suddenly. Neville sat straight up. He put his hand up to his forehead; beads of sweat were falling down. Neville had pictured his parent's torture over many times. But that was the clearest he ever had seen it. He could see that his parents were willing to take on the threat, but had been completely taken by surprise. Neville closed his eyes and tried to picture his mother's face as it had been in the dream. She had been so beautiful.
Quietly, as not to wake any one, Neville got out of bed and walked to his trunk. Seamus snorted and rolled over, causing Neville to stand still for a moment. He opened the trunk, and reached down to the very bottom. He took out a small box and brought it back to bed with him.
Making sure the curtains around his bed were tight, he opened the box. Over the years, his mother had given him many candy wrappers and scraps of papers. But there was one piece of paper he prized above all others.
He could clearly remember the day she gave it to him. She was having a good day, smiling and even patting his hand once. When his grandmother ushered him out to leave, his mother stopped him, like every other visit. He put the paper in his pocket, like every other visit. And he didn't think of it again until he got home and looked at it.
She had written the letter N on the parchment.
Maybe it wasn't really an N. Maybe it was a Z, or maybe just a scribble that meant nothing. But Neville convinced himself that there was an N on that sheet of paper. That was the day he told himself that she knew who he was.
-------------------------
All in all, Neville had a good first week back at Hogwarts. His classes were tolerable. In fact, everything seemed to be going well for Neville. Which was exactly why he was worried. Things never worked out perfectly for him. Neville was never upset by this; he just accepted it as a quirk of the universe.
He was thinking that very thing when he was leaving Greenhouse Four. Herbology was his last class of the week, and Neville couldn't think of a better way to start the weekend. He left the greenhouse alone, since Ron, Harry and even Dean and Seamus ran out quickly to get ready for the quidditch tryouts.
Neville was walking past the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when he saw Luna way down the hall. He thought he saw her give him a small wave. Anyway, she was walking towards him now. Neville's heart gave a small lurch. He was trying to decide if he had the confidence to see if she'd like to take a walk with him over the weekend.
Suddenly, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came bounding out of the classroom, wands out. "I believe you owe me an apology, Longbottom," Malfoy spat.
Neville was about to reach for his own wand when Crabbe yelled, "Expelliarmus!" It took Neville a moment to realize that his wand was out of his robes. Crabbe even looked surprised to be holding it.
"You're nothing, Longbottom. You're just a big fat loser, who's going to end up just like his parents," Malfoy whispered menacingly.
"I told you not to talk about my parents," Neville muttered. Neville's courage was slowly fading, not having his wand.
"You mean your crazy parents, shut up in the loony bin," Malfoy said. Crabbe and Goyle started laughing loudly.
Malfoy pointed his wand out at Neville. Do something! Neville's brain was screaming, but he didn't move.
"Locomotor Mortis," Malfoy said. Neville cursed under his breath.
There were suddenly footsteps behind Malfoy and his gang.
"You're not being very nice," Luna said serenely.
Malfoy looked at her and started laughing. "Loony's here to defend you, Longbottom. She's perfect for you!"
Luna took out her wand so quickly, that Malfoy was even taken aback. "Please leave," Luna asked them all softly, "Or I will report you. You're abusing your position, Draco."
"Who in their right mind would take your word over mine?" Malfoy asked.
Luna raised one eyebrow. "I think you'll find that a lot of people would."
Draco and Luna stared at each other for almost a minute in silence. Then Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle and said, "Let's go." Crabbe dropped Neville's wand and then stepped on it. The three walked past Luna, and Malfoy walked into Luna so hard that she almost fell over.
Luna watched them leave, and then turned to face Neville. Neville was amazed that she still looked calm, as if she and Malfoy were just talking about the weather. "What spell did he put on you?" she asked quietly.
"Leg-locking curse," Neville said, furious with himself, "He got me with that spell first year!"
Luna quickly said the countercurse. Neville watched her chew on her bottom lip. "I'm sorry I butted in."
Neville shook his head miserably. "Don't be." He picked up his new wand and examined it. The wand didn't look broken in any way.
Neville and Luna looked at each other in silence for a moment. "You look upset," Luna said finally.
"I told myself that I was going to stand up to Malfoy this year," Neville said, "I did in Diagon Alley. But he didn't have the two goons with him then."
"It's not nice to call people names, Neville," Luna scolded.
Neville looked at her, not understanding what she was talking about. Then it hit him. He called Crabbe and Goyle 'goons.'
"Sorry," he said under his breath, not knowing if he meant it.
"I don't normally interfere like that," Luna started, "But after what happened at the Ministry, I promised myself that I would also stand up to people."
Neville grinned at her. "We're two of a pair, aren't we?"
Luna tilted her head to one side and smiled at him.
"I mean, not a pair...but we're the same, I mean..." Neville trailed off and started staring at the ground.
Luna giggled softly. Neville decided he had to ask her right then.
"Luna?"
"Yes, Neville?"
"Would you like to take a walk with me tomorrow?" he said, looking at her shoes the whole time.
"I wish I could," Luna said.
Neville looked up, surprised. He thought that she might say yes.
"I have to go to London tomorrow. I won't be getting back until Sunday night," she said.
"I didn't know students were allowed to leave during term," he said.
"They're not. But Professor Flitwick is making an exception for me," she said brightly.
They both started walking towards the Great Hall.
"Why are you going to London?" he blurted out, not able to stop himself.
Luna didn't even flinch, "I have something to take care of."
Neville thought of the times he saw her at St. Mungos. He desperately wanted to ask her if anything was wrong. But they didn't have that kind of friendship. Yet, Neville told himself. Anyway, if something was wrong, surely Luna would have said something.
Before Neville knew it, they had reached the Great Hall. He was disappointed when they went to their respected tables.
-------------------------
When Neville went up to the common room, there was a bit of a party. Gryffindors were celebrating their new quidditch team. Someone had gotten some drinks and snacks from the kitchens. And a wizard's radio was playing Celestina Warbeck's new single.
Neville was eager to join in. He grabbed a butterbeer and sat down in a group with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"Best team we've ever had!" Harry said excitedly.
"Who made it?" Neville asked.
"Miss Ginny Weasley will be our number one chaser," Harry said as Ginny laughed and took a large sip of butterbeer.
"Seamus is our other chaser," Ginny told Neville.
"And I think we have another pair of Weasley twins on our hands," Harry said excitedly,
"Nick and Rick Frobisher," Ron said, "See them? In the corner?" Ron pointed out a pair of identical twins with black wavy hair. They were tall and had a stocky build.
"They're only fourth years, which is great, then they can be on the team for a while," Harry said.
"They crack me up," Ron said, "They threaten anyone who teases them about their names."
The party continued for quite awhile, until Hermione announced that it was time for anyone third year or lower to go to bed.
Neville yawned, and told the group he was turning in himself with the third years. He made his way up to his dormitory quickly. He liked the silence of the dorm when he was alone. The last thought Neville had before going to sleep was if he'd ever have the courage to ask Luna out again.
