1Chapter Three. Poor Trevor.
Luna felt a growing discomfort as the cabin door closed, and it was just herself and Neville left. She looked sideways at his face, and pushed a piece of hair out of his eyes to behind his somewhat large ears. He stirred and slowly opened his eyes. When he realized he was laying on Luna's shoulder. Luna smiled and stood up.
"The train is slowing, we ought to get changed." She said, pulling down a small bag from above her trunk.
"Where'd everyone else go?" Neville asked nervously.
"I'm not sure. I think Hermione and Ronald went off because they're prefects, and Harry went with them. Draco and Ginny are probably in a storage cupboard somewhere." She said, unzipping the small bag and taking out a skirt, vest, white shirt, tie, and her black robe with ravenclaw crest sewn on the chest. "Oh dear, where are your things at?" Luna asked, realizing Neville hadn't had anything with him when he stumbled into the compartment with a bloody nose.
Neville suddenly looked very sick. "I...I think I left everything at the station..." He said quietly, slumping back into his chair. Luna's eyes widened as she sat down beside him. "Would your grandmother have noticed? And be sending them to school tomorrow?" Luna asked, clutching her skirt in her hands.
"I was at the station alone, I don't live with my gran anymore. Moved out last year. I wouldn't doubt everything's been sold off by now." Neville said, a tear running down his cheek.
"Oh no... Was there anything irreplaceable?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow with care.
"Not really, but I don't exactly have enough gold to buy everything new." He said, closing his eyes as the train slowed down even more, and shuffling could be heard coming from various compartments.
Luna stared from a moment, then stood up and pulled of her rainbow-striped long sleeve shirt to reveal a baby-pink camisole. Neville sat pin upright.
"What are you doing?" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"Changing." Luna said simply, buttoning her white blouse overtop her camisole. She pulled on her gray vest, put on her tie, and pulled her skirt over top of her jeans. She tried to pull on her black robe, but it left her stuck with her arms in the air next to her ears. She moved around in a circle, trying to pull her robe down, with no success.
"Want some help?" Neville asked, his hoarse voice changing back to his regular voice in mid-question.
"Oh yes, please." Luna said in her airy voice, standing still and Neville pulled on the end of her robe, which easily fell down to the ground, leaving his hands accidentally on her hips. They stood there for a moment, looking into each others eyes, but Neville jumped when he realized his hands were on her hips.
He hadn't really noticed how much Luna had changed since the first time he had seen her. She was sixteen now, and as tall as himself, which is rare for a girl, at least the ones he knew. Her facial features had become softer, and her eyes a light, almost white, compared to the blueish-gray that they once were. Neville scratched his neck, trying to look casual as he realized the thoughts going through his head as Luna lugged down her trunk from the top shelf above the seat.
"H-here, let me get that for you..." Neville said, rushing forward to help you.
"I got it up there, didn't I?" Luna said forcefully, before Neville got a foot from her. She noticed a moment later how harsh she had sounded as Neville stepped back. "Sorry, thank you, that'd be nice." She said, throwing her small duffle back over her shoulder, and picking up her helmet which must have fallen on the floor again when she had been dozing off.
Neville smiled, and walked forward. He easily pulled the trunk down, and stood waiting for Luna to lead the way. She smiled, but then looked around nervously.
"Where's Trevor?" She asked, not seeing one spec of green in the cabin. Neville looked around as well, seemingly startled that someone remembered his toad.
"Trevor..." He called, dropping to his knees to search under the seats, Luna following. She started at one side of the cabin, and he at the other, crawling across the dusty floor on their hands and knees, calling the name of a creature that probably wouldn't come to them even if he had been in the compartment instead of stowing away in Ginny's purse, who was indeed in a storage cupboard with Draco like Luna had predicted, which isn't the point at the moment.
"Trevor... Trevor... Tre-ouch!" Luna and Neville called in unison as they rammed into each others heads in the middle of the floor. Luna rubbed her forehead as she fell on her back laughing, looking up at Neville who was kneeling overtop her, also rubbing his forehead.
"I think we're going to have to call a search from all the students." Luna laughed
"Don't joke, what if we really don't find him?" Neville squeaked, rechecking under the seats, but not moving from his place.
"I wasn't joking." Luna said calmly, looking up into Neville's eyes, upside down.
"Luna..." Neville asked, looking deep into her eyes.
"Yes?" She asked, interesting herself with a bit of thread that was coming loose from Neville's sleeve, and tugging at it.
"Do you remember what you were going to ask me before Trevor... and the whole...incident?" Neville asked, half-smiling at the thought that Luna could be side-tracked so easily with a thing so simple as a piece of thread.
Luna looked up, her hand resting dangerously close to Neville's. She thought for a moment, about whether or not she should ask Neville to be her boyfriend like she was going to before Trevor decided to grope her. She thought about the different outcomes. If she asked him, and he said yes, it could be terribly lovely. If he said no, he might never want to talk to her again. He she didn't ask him at all, they would still be friends, if they were even friends at all. She bit at her bottom lip as she thought, stray pieces of blonde hair obscuring her sight into Neville's eyes.
"Sorry, I have a terrible memory." Luna said, a sound of disappointment in her voice.
"Oh..." Neville said quietly, annoying himself that he was too cowardly to ask Luna to be his date to the graduation dance, or be his girlfriend, or even have a drink at the three broomsticks on their first trip to Hogsmeade. Just then, the compartment door slid open, and Luna looked over to see black robes and shiny shoes standing in front of them.
"Well! Isn't this questionable and suggestive!" Shouted draco, his arm around Ginny's shoulder.
Luna sat bolt upright, and brought her knees to her chin, wrapping her arms around them.
"And where have you two been?" She asked as Neville stood up fidgeting nervously.
"Nevermind that..." Ginny said, bending down next to Luna. "Didja kiss him? Didja? Didja?" She asked, poking Luna in the arm as if she were a three year old.
"You scare me sometimes, Ginny." Luna said, trying to act proffessional as she stood up, but tripping over her own feet and falling sideways. Draco acted quickly, and caught her a few feet from the floor, his hands landing at innapropriate places on her chest. Luna blushed as she gained her balance, which was accompanied by Ginny's laughter.
"Erm...Thanks..." Luna said, looking at the floor as she pushed her hair out of her face.
"No need to thank me. I'm sure Neville would've give anything to have done the same." Draco cracked, laughing along with Ginny.
Luna looked to Neville, and realized his face was red with what seemed to be both anger and frustration, staring at Draco.
"Ooo... Looks like Neville's a bit jealous... Don't worry Nev. Luna's all yours, Draco didn't mean her to land that way." Ginny said, seeming to fear the growing anger on Neville's face.
"Wha... Oh yeah, no, I know." Neville said in a confused voice. Luna's eyes travelled from Neville, to Ginny, to Draco, and back to Neville as the awkward silence grew.
"Oh look, the train's stopped, onward then Draco?" Ginny said uncomfortably, charming her trunk to float along close beside her, Draco doing the same, just before they left the cabin without look back.
Luna and Neville remained seeded to the floor for quite a few long minutes, when Luna's eyes grew wide.
"Neville..." she whispered cautiously.
"What?" he snapped a bit too harshly, but Luna was too occupied to notice.
"Don't move..." She said, seeming to stare straight at him as she moved slowly closer. Neville obeyed, his limbs frozen as she moved within inches of his face, approaching like a lion to prey. Suddenly, she clapped her hands within millimeters of Neville's ears, and scraped her hands proudly.
"Got it." She said, nodding her head firmly.
"Got... What?" Neville asked, shifty his eyes confusedly.
"The Frizzlittnet. You didn't hear it? It was flying around right beside your ear." She said, lowering her eyebrows.
"Oh... Oh, yeah." Neville said, nodding his head as convincingly as possible. Luna smiled, even though she knew he had no idea what she was talking about. She knew Frizzlittnets only lived in Cambodia, and very few people had ever actually seen one. She knew Neville probably hadn't even heard of a Frizzlittnet because they were so rarely discussed. And she knew that she made up her story so she could get so close to Neville again, like she had been when they were looking for Trevor. Trevor!
"Oh no, what are we going to do about Trevor?" She asked, speaking up a bit louder as students shuffled loudly in the hallways.
"He'll turn up sooner or later. Hopefully. He usually does." Neville said, taking hold of Luna's trunk again and smiling, Luna returning the smile.
They walked towards the door, but before Neville reached out to open it, Luna placed her hand on his wrist and jumped in front of him.
"Neville..." She closed her eyes for a moment, but opened them widely again as she looked into his eyes, which were only inches away from her own.
"Y-yes, Luna?" Neville gulped.
"Would you like to go to the graduation dance with me?" She asked quickly and cheerfully, proud of herself for asking.
Neville's eyes widened, but returned to normal as a discrete smile spread across his face.