Chapter Sixteen – Study Session
"You're my tutor?" Neville asked in disbelief.
Luna nodded. "What would you like to work on?"
Neville's jaw dropped. They hadn't spoken to each other in a month, and now she was going to help him with his Potions Essay? It was too much. "Luna, I can't do this," Neville said sadly.
Luna looked down at her hands. "When Bradford said he needed a replacement, I jumped at the chance."
"Why?" Neville asked.
She looked up at him sadly. "Because I didn't think that you would talk to me any other way."
Neville rubbed his eyes. "I would never say no to you Luna. You didn't have to go through all of this," he sighed.
"Oh," Luna said softly. "Well, what are we going to work on?"
He gave up. He wasn't sure what she wanted, except that she wanted to help him with his homework. "Potions. I've got an essay that I need proof- read."
"I'll take a look at it," Luna said eagerly.
He tossed the roll of parchment at her. She caught it easily and started reading. He watched her intensely as she read, making correction here and there with her quill.
Finally, she looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she said slowly.
Neville looked away. "What are you sorry about? Is my essay that bad?" he grumbled.
"No, the essay is fine. There were only a few errors. I'm sorry about other things," she told him.
Neville stared at her. "Other things?" he asked softly.
Luna nodded, and held out his essay to him. She pointed at a specific paragraph with her quill. "You should probably go into more detail about the marigold stem here. How it's cut up is essential to the potion."
"How do you know that?" Neville asked. "This is a sixth year potion."
"Oh, I know all of my books for next year. I like to get a head start," she said, smiling.
Neville then remembered what they were talking about in the first place. "What other things are you sorry about?" he asked, needing to know desperately.
She looked at him for a moment. Then to his essay, and met his eyes one last time. "I was selfish," she said finally.
"Selfish?" Neville repeated.
"Uh-huh. I won't point out the grammar errors now; I've marked them on your essay. Other than that, you did a really good job, Neville," she said, beaming at him, as if she had helped him write it in the first place.
He just stared at her. His brain couldn't seem to find anything useful to say.
"Do you have anything else you would like to work on?" Luna asked quietly.
"Bloody hell, Luna," Neville whispered. "What's going on? Why are you here? If we're just going to talk about homework, I'd, well, I'd prefer you to go."
"I don't want to just talk about homework," Luna said, her eyes widening.
"Good," Neville said, standing up. "Let's go." He threw his books back into his bag and started walking about of the library. Luna had to take huge steps to keep up with him. They walked through the hallways in silence. He was going to take her to the Great Hall to talk. She stopped when they were in front of the Greenhouse. Neville hesitated, not knowing if he wanted to talk to her there.
"Please?" Luna asked softly. Neville said the password and walked inside. He looked by his station. When they had been together, she would sit on that stool and watch him work. He didn't want her sitting on that stool again. It might tear his heart in two.
Luckily, she simply stood in front of him. She carelessly tossed her book bag to the ground.
"Why did you say you were selfish?" Neville asked mutinously.
"Neville, the first question you asked me was 'Are you dying?' Not 'How are you feeling?' or 'Are you okay?'" Luna said quickly. "All I could think about was that you knew that I was going to die young."
"Luna, if you could've seen yourself in the hospital bed..." Neville trailed off. "You looked awful. Your dad told me not to touch you. I thought you were going to die that day!"
"But I didn't," she said softly. "And I'm not going to die tomorrow, or the next day, or many, many days after that."
"Luna..." Neville barely could say her name.
"I've missed you, Neville Longbottom," Luna whispered.
"What?" Neville said, not believing what he heard.
She looked him in the eye. "I've missed you. I know I was selfish. I got so wrapped in how miserable I was feeling that it didn't even dawn on me that I was making you miserable too," she said, sounding more resolved.
"What are you trying to say?" Neville asked, scarcely allowing himself to hope.
"I haven't been the same since we came back from term, Neville. I thought I just didn't respond well to my last treatment. That happens sometimes. But then the other day, I realized what was wrong," she said.
"What was wrong?" Neville asked, not trusting himself to have the right answer.
"You weren't with me," Luna said simply. "I'm stronger with you than without you."
"Luna..." he trailed off, as Luna placed her hands gently on his face brought him in for a kiss. Neville was in heaven, feeling her lips against his again.
She broke away and looked him in the eye. "If you want me to go away, I'll understand," she said sadly. "I just wanted to tell you how I feel."
It felt like it was ages before Neville could find his voice. "I don't want you to go away, Luna," he said meekly.
Her face lit up. "Really?" she said brightly.
"Really," he told her. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. He could feel her heartbeat. "I've missed you, Luna."
She looked up at him, and to his horror, saw that she was crying. "Please don't cry," he said softly, wiping her tears away with his thumb. He didn't want to make her upset.
"These are happy tears, silly," Luna said softly. "Happy tears are good tears." Then she raised her head to kiss him again.
-------------------------
When Neville walked Luna back to the West Tower later that evening, he thought he was the happiest person in the world. It didn't even bother him that people were staring at them, holding hands and walking through the corridors. He was back with Luna. That's all that mattered.
He glanced at his pocket watch. There was still another hour before the curfew for sixth years. Neville decided to go back to the library. Instead of sitting down at a table, he walked over to a medical reference section. He was determined to learn everything he could about her disease.
The first few books he looked through were no help. He wasn't entirely sure if he had the name of the disease right. He was thumbing through books at the same he was glancing at the shelves. Finally a title caught his eye. "Diseases of the Blood." He took it over to a table.
The first section of the book made him feel queasy. He was pretty sure she didn't have any of those diseases. Then there was a section on blood poisons. The words Cruor Toxicium jumped out at him. That was it!
Neville read the description of the disease in horror.
Cruor Toxicium, more commonly known as Poisoned Blood is a very rare disease, only known in the wizarding world. There is no equivalent for muggles. One is born with the disease; it cannot be contracted after birth. It is a hereditary disease. The wizard's blood turns poisonous, leading to great fatigue and eventually death. The only known treatment is to be completely drained of blood, and then given new blood. Eventually, the body turns the blood into poison faster after each treatment.
Neville slammed the book shut in frustration. That was all there was describing the disease. But what about looking for a cure? What steps had been done? Had they taken the poison and tried to find an antidote? Neville wanted to howl at the lack of information. He was muttering just that when Madam Pince announced that the library was closing.
He decided to come back to try to find out more tomorrow.
-------------------------
News spread quickly of Neville and Luna's reunion. More rumors and speculations flourished through the Great Hall the next morning. Neville decided not to listen to them this time. Though even he had to laugh when Colin said he heard that Moaning Myrtle had possessed Luna's body and could finally give in to her passion for Neville. Neville just smiled; everyone knew that Moaning Myrtle had a crush on Harry.
Besides, he had more important things coming up. Valentine's Day was quickly approaching. The Turnishes were finally ready. He was going to make two of them into earrings and give them to Luna. Then he would suggest they eat some. He hadn't tried them himself. To tell the truth, he was rather afraid to.
Valentine's Day was on a Friday this year. There was no Hogsmeade visit the next day, so the couples of Hogwarts were forced to find other ways to celebrate. Over and over, Ron, Neville and Seamus (who was now dating Hannah Abbott) discussed what they were going to do for their girlfriends.
Ron said his goal was to be romantic and inexpensive. Seamus countered that quickly, saying that girls wanted blokes to spend a lot of money on that day, and didn't Neville agree? Neville quickly decided that Ron had the right idea. He certainly didn't have a lot of extra money lying around to spend.
But before he could commit to thinking too much about Valentine's Day, he had to worry about the up coming Quidditch match, Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw. Luna had been very vocal that she would be supporting Ravenclaw for this match. Neville tried not to get too upset; she had to support her own house after all.
The day of the match arrived, and Luna still ate breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Several members of the quidditch team looked at her suspiciously. "What if she's a spy for the Ravenclaw team?" Ron blurted out.
"Just because I'm supporting Ravenclaw, doesn't mean I don't want you to do well, Ronald," Luna said calmly.
It looked like an uneasy truce had been called at the table. That is, until she put on an enormous hat. An enormous hat that had an enormous eagle staring down at the team. The eagle sat in what looked to be a real nest.
Ginny stood up, almost shaking in rage. "Out!" she cried. "You can sit here any other day but today!"
Luna smiled pleasantly and stood up slowly. She gave Neville a quick kiss on the cheek, the hat almost falling in the process. She walked away unhurriedly, as if to give the Gryffindor team plenty of time to stare at her hat.
The entire table seemed to be staring at Ginny and her outburst. She sat down quickly. "Sorry," she mumbled to Neville. "It's just...that hat is...Ravenclaw...at our table..." She couldn't seem to find the right words.
Neville grinned, and took out his face paint to give some to Dean, who had just sat down at the table. "If you hadn't said something, I would have!"
-------------------------
Gryffindor won 320-80.
-------------------------
A/N – Who will be my lucky 100th reviewer? Tee-hee!
"You're my tutor?" Neville asked in disbelief.
Luna nodded. "What would you like to work on?"
Neville's jaw dropped. They hadn't spoken to each other in a month, and now she was going to help him with his Potions Essay? It was too much. "Luna, I can't do this," Neville said sadly.
Luna looked down at her hands. "When Bradford said he needed a replacement, I jumped at the chance."
"Why?" Neville asked.
She looked up at him sadly. "Because I didn't think that you would talk to me any other way."
Neville rubbed his eyes. "I would never say no to you Luna. You didn't have to go through all of this," he sighed.
"Oh," Luna said softly. "Well, what are we going to work on?"
He gave up. He wasn't sure what she wanted, except that she wanted to help him with his homework. "Potions. I've got an essay that I need proof- read."
"I'll take a look at it," Luna said eagerly.
He tossed the roll of parchment at her. She caught it easily and started reading. He watched her intensely as she read, making correction here and there with her quill.
Finally, she looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she said slowly.
Neville looked away. "What are you sorry about? Is my essay that bad?" he grumbled.
"No, the essay is fine. There were only a few errors. I'm sorry about other things," she told him.
Neville stared at her. "Other things?" he asked softly.
Luna nodded, and held out his essay to him. She pointed at a specific paragraph with her quill. "You should probably go into more detail about the marigold stem here. How it's cut up is essential to the potion."
"How do you know that?" Neville asked. "This is a sixth year potion."
"Oh, I know all of my books for next year. I like to get a head start," she said, smiling.
Neville then remembered what they were talking about in the first place. "What other things are you sorry about?" he asked, needing to know desperately.
She looked at him for a moment. Then to his essay, and met his eyes one last time. "I was selfish," she said finally.
"Selfish?" Neville repeated.
"Uh-huh. I won't point out the grammar errors now; I've marked them on your essay. Other than that, you did a really good job, Neville," she said, beaming at him, as if she had helped him write it in the first place.
He just stared at her. His brain couldn't seem to find anything useful to say.
"Do you have anything else you would like to work on?" Luna asked quietly.
"Bloody hell, Luna," Neville whispered. "What's going on? Why are you here? If we're just going to talk about homework, I'd, well, I'd prefer you to go."
"I don't want to just talk about homework," Luna said, her eyes widening.
"Good," Neville said, standing up. "Let's go." He threw his books back into his bag and started walking about of the library. Luna had to take huge steps to keep up with him. They walked through the hallways in silence. He was going to take her to the Great Hall to talk. She stopped when they were in front of the Greenhouse. Neville hesitated, not knowing if he wanted to talk to her there.
"Please?" Luna asked softly. Neville said the password and walked inside. He looked by his station. When they had been together, she would sit on that stool and watch him work. He didn't want her sitting on that stool again. It might tear his heart in two.
Luckily, she simply stood in front of him. She carelessly tossed her book bag to the ground.
"Why did you say you were selfish?" Neville asked mutinously.
"Neville, the first question you asked me was 'Are you dying?' Not 'How are you feeling?' or 'Are you okay?'" Luna said quickly. "All I could think about was that you knew that I was going to die young."
"Luna, if you could've seen yourself in the hospital bed..." Neville trailed off. "You looked awful. Your dad told me not to touch you. I thought you were going to die that day!"
"But I didn't," she said softly. "And I'm not going to die tomorrow, or the next day, or many, many days after that."
"Luna..." Neville barely could say her name.
"I've missed you, Neville Longbottom," Luna whispered.
"What?" Neville said, not believing what he heard.
She looked him in the eye. "I've missed you. I know I was selfish. I got so wrapped in how miserable I was feeling that it didn't even dawn on me that I was making you miserable too," she said, sounding more resolved.
"What are you trying to say?" Neville asked, scarcely allowing himself to hope.
"I haven't been the same since we came back from term, Neville. I thought I just didn't respond well to my last treatment. That happens sometimes. But then the other day, I realized what was wrong," she said.
"What was wrong?" Neville asked, not trusting himself to have the right answer.
"You weren't with me," Luna said simply. "I'm stronger with you than without you."
"Luna..." he trailed off, as Luna placed her hands gently on his face brought him in for a kiss. Neville was in heaven, feeling her lips against his again.
She broke away and looked him in the eye. "If you want me to go away, I'll understand," she said sadly. "I just wanted to tell you how I feel."
It felt like it was ages before Neville could find his voice. "I don't want you to go away, Luna," he said meekly.
Her face lit up. "Really?" she said brightly.
"Really," he told her. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. He could feel her heartbeat. "I've missed you, Luna."
She looked up at him, and to his horror, saw that she was crying. "Please don't cry," he said softly, wiping her tears away with his thumb. He didn't want to make her upset.
"These are happy tears, silly," Luna said softly. "Happy tears are good tears." Then she raised her head to kiss him again.
-------------------------
When Neville walked Luna back to the West Tower later that evening, he thought he was the happiest person in the world. It didn't even bother him that people were staring at them, holding hands and walking through the corridors. He was back with Luna. That's all that mattered.
He glanced at his pocket watch. There was still another hour before the curfew for sixth years. Neville decided to go back to the library. Instead of sitting down at a table, he walked over to a medical reference section. He was determined to learn everything he could about her disease.
The first few books he looked through were no help. He wasn't entirely sure if he had the name of the disease right. He was thumbing through books at the same he was glancing at the shelves. Finally a title caught his eye. "Diseases of the Blood." He took it over to a table.
The first section of the book made him feel queasy. He was pretty sure she didn't have any of those diseases. Then there was a section on blood poisons. The words Cruor Toxicium jumped out at him. That was it!
Neville read the description of the disease in horror.
Cruor Toxicium, more commonly known as Poisoned Blood is a very rare disease, only known in the wizarding world. There is no equivalent for muggles. One is born with the disease; it cannot be contracted after birth. It is a hereditary disease. The wizard's blood turns poisonous, leading to great fatigue and eventually death. The only known treatment is to be completely drained of blood, and then given new blood. Eventually, the body turns the blood into poison faster after each treatment.
Neville slammed the book shut in frustration. That was all there was describing the disease. But what about looking for a cure? What steps had been done? Had they taken the poison and tried to find an antidote? Neville wanted to howl at the lack of information. He was muttering just that when Madam Pince announced that the library was closing.
He decided to come back to try to find out more tomorrow.
-------------------------
News spread quickly of Neville and Luna's reunion. More rumors and speculations flourished through the Great Hall the next morning. Neville decided not to listen to them this time. Though even he had to laugh when Colin said he heard that Moaning Myrtle had possessed Luna's body and could finally give in to her passion for Neville. Neville just smiled; everyone knew that Moaning Myrtle had a crush on Harry.
Besides, he had more important things coming up. Valentine's Day was quickly approaching. The Turnishes were finally ready. He was going to make two of them into earrings and give them to Luna. Then he would suggest they eat some. He hadn't tried them himself. To tell the truth, he was rather afraid to.
Valentine's Day was on a Friday this year. There was no Hogsmeade visit the next day, so the couples of Hogwarts were forced to find other ways to celebrate. Over and over, Ron, Neville and Seamus (who was now dating Hannah Abbott) discussed what they were going to do for their girlfriends.
Ron said his goal was to be romantic and inexpensive. Seamus countered that quickly, saying that girls wanted blokes to spend a lot of money on that day, and didn't Neville agree? Neville quickly decided that Ron had the right idea. He certainly didn't have a lot of extra money lying around to spend.
But before he could commit to thinking too much about Valentine's Day, he had to worry about the up coming Quidditch match, Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw. Luna had been very vocal that she would be supporting Ravenclaw for this match. Neville tried not to get too upset; she had to support her own house after all.
The day of the match arrived, and Luna still ate breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Several members of the quidditch team looked at her suspiciously. "What if she's a spy for the Ravenclaw team?" Ron blurted out.
"Just because I'm supporting Ravenclaw, doesn't mean I don't want you to do well, Ronald," Luna said calmly.
It looked like an uneasy truce had been called at the table. That is, until she put on an enormous hat. An enormous hat that had an enormous eagle staring down at the team. The eagle sat in what looked to be a real nest.
Ginny stood up, almost shaking in rage. "Out!" she cried. "You can sit here any other day but today!"
Luna smiled pleasantly and stood up slowly. She gave Neville a quick kiss on the cheek, the hat almost falling in the process. She walked away unhurriedly, as if to give the Gryffindor team plenty of time to stare at her hat.
The entire table seemed to be staring at Ginny and her outburst. She sat down quickly. "Sorry," she mumbled to Neville. "It's just...that hat is...Ravenclaw...at our table..." She couldn't seem to find the right words.
Neville grinned, and took out his face paint to give some to Dean, who had just sat down at the table. "If you hadn't said something, I would have!"
-------------------------
Gryffindor won 320-80.
-------------------------
A/N – Who will be my lucky 100th reviewer? Tee-hee!
