Disclaimer: No, I'm not J.K. Rowling and I don't own anything. Except my dog.

Drooble's Best

Neville couldn't sleep. Aside from the fact that he'd just had yet another terrible Monday (Binns, Snape, and Umbridge), he had just gotten back to Hogwarts after Christmas break, and Christmas break meant visiting Mum and Dad.

After lying awake in bed for what felt like an eternity, he gave up on sleep and tiptoed out of his dormitory and down to the common room, where he would at least be somewhat comforted by the gently crackling fire. As he settled down on the sofa, he pulled out the Drooble's wrapper he'd stuffed in his pocked days before, and was once again overwhelmed with emotion. Why? Why did this have to happen? A silent tear rolled down his cheek.

Just then, he heard someone shuffling down the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. It was Ginny. She was shrouded by a large fluffy blanket, but Neville knew it was her nonetheless. Please don't let her see me… please…. His prayers went unheeded, however, and she walked over to him with a worried expression on her face.

"Neville, what's wrong?" He said nothing, but fiddled with the paper in his hand. She noticed this, and with a look of dawning and a sigh, sat down gingerly next to the distraught boy.

Be tough… don't let her know you're weak…. Oh, what the heck, this can't get any worse.

"I… I was just thinking… I was thinking about my parents," he said quietly. "Sometimes… well, it's hard – you were there, you saw what it was like."

"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry… I didn't know… I didn't know…." Her voice trailed off, nearly a whisper, as she pulled Neville into a tender hug. He looked lost for a moment, and then realizing what was happening, he leaned into the hug, not believing how close he was to the girl – the young woman – whom he so much adored.

After a few seconds, he pulled away, and sniffed, "So what were you doing down here so late, anyway?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep," she stated, standing up, "so I was going to see if the house-elves wouldn't mind fixing me a mug of hot cocoa. Care to join me?"

Neville stood up as well, smiling, "Sure, that'd be great," and they walked out of the common room through the portrait hole side-by-side, sharing Ginny's blanket.

Fin

A/N: I got the inspiration for this ficlet from the scene at St. Mungo's (obviously), pages 514-515 in the US version. Thanks for reading – now review!