Neville stopped in his tracks. He didn't want to seem rude to his friends and just leave them. But he needed to see Luna, make sure she was okay.
Hermione seemed to realize it first. "Go, Neville," she laughed. "Why are you waiting with us?"
Neville started walking as quickly as he could to the end of the Ravenclaw table without breaking into a run. When he was halfway there, Luna looked up and saw him.
To Neville's surprise, she jumped out of her seat and ran the rest of the way to him. When she was in front of him, Luna jumped into his arms. She placed her arms tightly around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. Neville was glad she wasn't wearing a skirt.
"Are you okay?" he whispered into her neck.
"I'm fine, Neville. Honestly," she said softly back, running her hands through his hair.
Neville could hear a soft laughter behind them. Some students would undoubtedly use this a gossip topic tonight. He hugged her tighter. "I was so worried," he admitted. "No one would tell me anything."
Luna pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "Let's not talk about it here," she said.
Neville nodded. "That's fine."
"Sit with me?" she asked. She put her feet on the floor and took his hand. Together, they walked back to the end of the Ravenclaw table. Neither said much as they ate dinner. Neville couldn't help himself from staring at her. Luna was back. She looked healthier than he had seen her in a while. A thought snuck into his head. And she's yours, the thought whispered. Sometimes it just amazed him that Luna could love him as she did. And that he could love her back as much as he did.
As he continued to stare, he realized that she looked much different. "What happened to your hair?" he asked.
Luna ran her hand through her now very short blonde hair. A sad look crossed her face. "The Healers at St. Mungos cut it when I was in stasis. They said it kept going in my face, and causing problems," she said, sounding upset.
Neville couldn't blame her. Luna loved her waist length wavy hair. Now it was cut in a layered bob. Before when her hair was long, she simply had waves in her hair. Without the extra weight of long hair, it was incredibly curly.
"I hate it," Luna announced.
Neville took another look. The new haircut made Luna look older, a bit more sophisticated. It framed her small face very nicely, actually. "I kinda like it," Neville said tentatively.
"Really?" Luna asked. "Do you really?"
Neville lifted his water glass. "Out with the old, in with the new," he said jokingly.
"Well, I guess it's not that bad."
When they both stopped eating, Luna stood up and practically dragged Neville towards the Greenhouse. Neville sat down on the floor, wanting to hear every detail of what happened to her, but apparently, Luna had different ideas.
Luna pushed Neville down on his back. She laid next to him, on her side, and they started kissing frantically. Neville was in heaven. They hadn't been able to kiss like this in a while, because Luna had been too weak.
Neville started nibbling a place on Luna's neck that he knew she liked. Then Luna moved, so that she was on her back. Neville switched to his side and continued sucking gently on the spot where her jaw met her neck.
His hand rested gently on her stomach. She wasn't wearing the school uniform, but a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The shirt had risen slightly, so Neville's hand was resting on bare skin.
Before he could stop himself, Neville's hand started inching upwards. When his hand made contact with her breasts, Neville quickly drew his hand away, realizing that she wasn't wearing a bra.
"It's okay, Neville," Luna whispered.
Neville looked down into her eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked timidly.
Luna nodded, looking like her normal peaceful self. "I'd like you to," she said finally. Neville put his hand back where it was and started exploring.
A while later, Neville was sitting up, leaning against a table. Luna was lying on the floor, her head in Neville's lap.
"I almost died," she said softly.
"I figured that," Neville said.
"I was so determined not to get a treatment for three and a half months," she said. "I had completely forgotten that I hadn't responded well at first."
"But you're better now, right?" Neville asked.
"Until I need another treatment," Luna conceded. "All I could do was just lie there. It was awful. I stayed in the same small little room until they were able to conjure the blood."
A small smile crept on her face. "It's basically my idea of torture, being forced to be still for so long. But I kept thinking of you."
Neville ran his hand through her now curly, short hair. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made it."
"I wouldn't have if it wasn't for you," Luna told her. "You kept me alive."
She sat up, and put her arms around him. "I have a question to ask you, Neville Longbottom."
"Sure," Neville said good-naturedly.
"I'm going to have another treatment in the middle of July. After that, Daddy and I going to go to Africa. Daddy got a tip that the Kifern Faeries left Britain to go to the desert. He said I could bring someone with me…"
"Still looking for those Faeries?" Neville said, smiling.
Luna nodded, and then rested her head on his shoulder. "Everybody searches for something, Neville. It's just that we're all looking for different things."
She paused for a moment. "Would you like to come with? I know it might be a bit awkward, cause we'd be with my dad, but just think of us in Africa. It would be perfect if you were there."
"Africa?" Neville said wonderously. "I've never been outside of Britain."
Luna sat up straight. "Then you have to go. I won't accept no for an answer!"
"I'll have to ask my gran," Neville said seriously. "I don't know if she'll let me go."
"I hope she will," Luna said. She stood up. "We're going to stay with the Masai tribe. Daddy made a friend of one of them years back.
"Can't you imagine us dancing around a bon fire and learning African magic? It's even more ancient than Egyptian magic!" Luna cried. Neville smiled. Luna seemed to be dancing around an imaginary bon fire as she spoke.
"I will do everything in my power to make sure I can go," Neville promised her.
Luna stopped her twirling, looked at him and smiled. "Good," she said softly. She nestled herself back in Neville's arms and sighed. "Just think of all the adventures we'll have when we're done with school."
88888
Time passed, and there was still no sign of Snape. A third year Hufflepuff claimed to have seen him in the Hospital Wing unconscious. But no one really believed her.
In a way, Neville was very disappointed that Professor Snape seemed to have disappeared. Without him, Neville couldn't really work on an antidote for Luna.
Neville was doing some of his best work in Potions. Professor Parkison was the complete opposite of Professor Snape. He was very patient, and was more than willing to answer any of Neville's questions.
One day, he stayed after class with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hermione had a question for him, and then they were all going to go outside and do homework.
Neville watched with interest as Professor Parkison said, "Have a good day, Pansy." Pansy Parkison threw her nose in the air and walked past him without another word.
The group started to share a look when Professor Parkison joined them. "I will answer your unasked question," he said, a serious look on his face. "Pansy is my niece. Her father and I are brothers."
"Why won't she speak to you?" Hermione asked quietly. Pansy never even looked in the professor's direction.
"I did the unthinkable. I married a muggle," he told the group. "I soiled the Parkison name, they told me. No one in the family speaks to me, my wife or my son."
"Is your son a wizard?" Ron blurted out.
Professor Parkison shook his head. "Surprisingly not. He's about your all age. He goes to a muggle school called Smeltings."
At this, Harry let out an odd sound, a cross between a cough and a laugh. "Are you all right?" the professor asked kindly.
"My cousin goes there," Harry said. "Dudley Dursley."
Professor Parkison's eyes narrowed slightly. "Dursley, eh? I've heard about him from Nelson. I think he picks on my boy a bit."
Harry shrugged. "Dudley picks on anyone he can," Harry said. "I'm his favorite target."
Professor Parkison raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"I'm used to it."
88888
As the end of the school year approached, Neville found himself seeing less and less of Luna. Her O.W.L.S. were very soon, and she seemed to want to spend every free moment she could studying.
She was incredibly tense, and they got into their first real fight just two days before testing began.
They were in the Greenhouse. Neville was hoping that she'd want to snog a bit, but her Charms book wouldn't leave her hands.
"Test me?" she asked.
Neville sighed. He tested her all the time. He was confident that she would do great on the tests, but Luna never agreed.
"Okay," Neville shrugged.
Luna practically threw the book in his hands. For a half hour, Neville asked Luna to before different charms. She got every single one right.
"I'm going to fail," Luna said miserably.
"How can you say that?" Neville asked. "You're doing great!"
"I'm doing horribly," Luna snapped. "I was supposed to make that shovel do the cha-cha! I only was able to make it waltz!"
Neville tried to stifle a laugh. "You still made the shovel dance, Luna."
"You're laughing at me," Luna said seriously.
Neville stopped smiling. "I'm not. Really, I'm not. I just think you're being too hard on yourself."
"Too hard?" Luna cried. "Just because you didn't take your O.W.L.S. seriously, doesn't mean I'll take mine that way."
Neville went cold. "What did you say?"
"You heard me, Neville," Luna said, hands on hips.
"You think I didn't take my O.W.L.S. seriously? I barely knew you then!" Neville yelled. "How would you know?"
"Because of your grades, Neville. You are so smart, and you don't even realize it!" Luna yelled back.
"If you didn't notice, I happen to have some issues with school, such as a reading disorder and what else?" Neville said sarcastically. "Oh yeah, some Death Eaters thought it would be fun to destroy my memory."
Luna turned around quickly and stared out the window. "Stop using that as an excuse," she said quietly.
Neville was prepared to yell at her again, but stopped when he heard what she said. "What do you mean, an excuse?" he asked.
Luna didn't turn around. "How is it that you can remember every single plant in our Herbology text book, but you can barely make a decent potion?"
She continued. "You have no problem facing a Venus Fly-trap to get a cutting, but Defense Against the Dark Arts leaves you cold?" she asked.
Neville couldn't think of an answer. It was true. Everything she just said was completely true. "I don't know," he whispered.
Luna finally turned around and looked at him. To Neville's horror, there was a tear falling down her cheek. She took a few steps towards him and put her hand on his cheek. "I know it sounds harsh, Neville Longbottom. But there is so much power in you. I know I'm not the only one who sees it. You just need to find it, and you'll be a great wizard someday. A powerful wizard."
"Do you really think so?" Neville asked, clutching her hand.
"I don't think," she said softly. "I know."
