"Come here, my darling," she whispered in a barely audible sing-song. "I won't hurt you. Of course I won't. I'll make it all better- just come here… come here-" she stretched forward, placing all her weight on her knees and reaching as far as she could under the table. No luck. The old toad just jumped further away.
"Fine, then." She muttered, her mood spoiled. She straightened the aluminum crown resting on dirty blonde hair and brush a few strands out of her eyes. With one last forlorn look behind her into the near- empty classroom, she swept from the room, her nightgown trailing regally on the cold stone floor.
Every other Thursday night at eleven she would seek him out. Never once had she caught him, much to her chagrin. Now that she was older, the custom which had once seemed so ordinary was beginning to seem hopeless, if not the tiniest bit absurd.
But it had to work. It was just a matter of catching him. That was the way it happened in Fairy Tales, wasn't it? Fairy Tales were real. Her father told her so, and her Dad never lied. They never said just how hard it was to catch the Frog Prince, though. She mused on her way back to the Ravenclaw tower, and fell asleep after another unsuccessful Thursday night. Next time would be different, she promised herself. Next week.
Two weeks later found her crouching along the walls near the kitchens. Trevor the Toad was blissfully unaware of the pale blonde girl following him, leaping blithely from one flagstone to the next. Luna saw her chance- and jumped.
She caught him.
She clasped him between gentle, pale hands for a moment as she contemplated her relentless hunt of the Frog Prince. Slowly, she raised him to eye level.
He blinked at her.
"You ready?" she whispered seriously. She could swear she saw him lick his frog-lips fleetingly with a long, sticky tongue. She brought him closer.. closer… Trevor the toad was a hairsbreadth from Luna Lovegood's face, both staring intently into the other's eyes, when the silence was broken.
"Excuse me," came a voice, a shaky, trembling boy's voice. "But what are you doing to my toad?"
"He's not a toad," Luna replied, not breaking her gaze with Trevor. "He's my Frog Prince, and I'm going to free him."
"You mean you're going to snog my poor toad?" The voice came again, slightly alarmed. Luna finally turned to face him, smiling vaguely. "It sounds so unromantic that way. Neville, isn't it?"
Neville peered at her with suspicious eyes. "Yes," he said, sounding unsure. "And you're Loony Lovegood." Luna grinned widely at her nickname.
"If that's what you'd like to call me," she said breezily, turning her attention once again to Trevor. "I like men who are creative with pet names-" Neville opened his mouth to protest, but she didn't notice. "-but I think I like Trevvie's better. Kurrrk and Griggit are just so romantic, don't you think?" Neville just stared, openmouthed.
"Erm," he managed. "If you don't mind, I'd like my toad back." Luna giggled shrilly. "You can't have him back, silly. He's a free human being." Neville was about to protest, saying Trevor was a toad, not a human being, but he was stopped short by the sight of Luna Lovegood kissing his toad delicately on the lips.
Nothing happened.
A moment later, Trevor had given a little croak and wriggled out of her grasp, hopping into the shadows and out of sight once more. Luna looked crestfallen.
"But- the fairy tales!" she whispered. "What about the fairy tales?"
"Fairy tales aren't real," Neville said flatly. Tears started to drip from Luna's pale eyes, splashing onto the rumpled locks of blonde hair and the floaty nightgown that gave the appearance of a misplaced angel. Her tinfoil crown slipped off her head and lay on the floor. She stared at it, disheartened, and gave it a gentle prod with her wand. It skittered a few inches away and a spark flared and died on the center jewel (which was in actuality a candied nut).
"Don't do that," Neville whispered, horrorstruck that he had made her cry. "Oh, don't cry. Don't listen to me, I'm nobody." He had picked up her crown and held it out for her.
"You're not nobody," she sniffed, taking the crown from his hands and placing it on her head once again. "No one is nobody." She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her nightgown and slipped her hand into his.
He turned to look at her, eyes wide in the weak starlight coming in from the window. She smiled, then, very, very slowly, leaned in to kiss him.
"Wait," Neville croaked. Luna pulled away, confused.
"Um, the last person- thing- whatever- you kissed was my toad, and um…" Luna brightened. "Oh!" she said. "Sorry, I forgot. But toad germs aren't nearly as fatal as Nargle saliva."
"Erm, okay." Neville said, eyebrows clear into his hairline. "Um, I should go." Luna nodded sagely. "Of course. Meet me outside the Room of Requirement tomorrow after supper," she instructed. "And leave Trevor."
FIN