A/n: This is an answer to a challenge, posted in the forum "Writing Challenges". This first chapter is veeeery long, but there was no place to chop it in two, so oh well. Anyways, on with the show. :D
Forum/Thread: Writing Challenges: 48 Hour Challenge
Challenger: Cheelalaucha
Ships/Pairings: some Neville/Luna
Challenge Conditions: Choose 2 characters from the list and trap them in the Divination classroom for 48 hours (two days). Only one person can have a wand. At the end, they need to be let out of the classroom by Professor Lockhart. What do they say/think/do while they are stuck together? Will they become friends or turn against each other? No genre specified. Length preferably more than 1000 words.
"So, what are you doing for the holidays, Ginny?" Luna asked, her eyes their usual dreamy wideness. She, Neville and Ginny tromped up the steps into Hogwarts after being outside in the snow for a bit before heading to the library to work on homework.
"The usual." Ginny shrugged, and shook the snow off her scarf in the Entrance Hall.
Neville stamped the white stuff off his boots and Luna seemed quite unbothered by the small gathered amounts of snow in her hair and on her shoulders.
"What's the usual?" Luna questioned brightly as the three of them set off for class.
"Oh, just going back home and being with my family." She smiled a little. "It's quite nice, really. And usually Harry comes and sometimes Hermione too."
"Oh! It sounds thrilling." Luna smiled vaguely and abruptly stared off into space.
Too used to her ways to think anything of Luna's behavior, Ginny merely turned to Neville.
"What about you?" she asked. "What are you doing for the holidays?"
"Probably staying at Hogwarts. Usually do." He said, more glumly than he'd intended. Hurriedly he added, "I don't mind, though. Honest, I don't. I really like it here, and Gran always sends my gifts here anyways. It's nice."
"Me too." Luna suddenly said. "I mean, I'm staying at Hogwarts this year too. My dad and I usually have small Christmases together, but this year I'm staying at Hogwarts."
"How come?" Ginny inquired.
"Oh, our house has a breakout of vicious Humangle Beasts right now. Rather nasty." Luna said seriously. "Daddy is living with Auntie Ermintrude while Uncle Opheaus takes care of the little pests. He's an expert on Humangle Beasts, you know."
Ginny nodded as though she understood and fought not to laugh. It was quirks like what Luna had just said that made Ginny have so much fun just hanging out with her. Neville snorted but hastily turned it into a cough.
"Do you know who else is apparently staying here for the holidays?" Ginny said, steering the conversation away from vicious infestations of Humangle Beasts.
"Who?" said Neville curiously.
"Professor Lockhart!"
"Really?" Neville raised an eyebrow. "He's ok? And out of St. Mungo's and all?"
Ginny nodded. "I guess he doesn't remember his life before he got his memory obliterated, but he knows enough to start his life over. Dumbledore is letting him stay at Hogwarts from now on – or, starting at the beginning of holidays, that is – and he's probably going to give Lockhart a teaching post."
"Teaching what?" Luna interjected.
"Don't know yet. Rumor has it that Professor Vector wants to retire, so he might be taking up her post." Ginny explained.
At that moment, the trio turned the corner of the hallway that would shortly lead them to the library. They continued chatting on about this and that, when suddenly Professor Trelawney stumbled onto their path.
"My dears!" she exclaimed. "I am in need of aid!" She spoke loudly. It was very difficult for Ginny to keep from bursting out laughing, as Trelawney's massive looking eyes stared them down dramatically. Neville looked startled and a bit wary of the Professor, while Luna simply stared back, quite serious.
"What's wrong, Professor?" Ginny asked, biting back laughter.
"My office – my room – is a mess." She stopped talking and seemed to have lost her train of thought. The air around her smelt extremely strongly of cooking sherry. She looked from Neville to Ginny to Luna and then shook her head as she'd just woken up.
When she continued, it was great flourish and wide arms gestures. "Yes. Well. Anyways. As I was saying. It's a mess and I absolutely must be packed for tomorrow. Tomorrow, I am going away for the holidays! Away… away to a… my home." She nodded importantly, her eyes wide as saucers and appearing about as big behind her massive glasses. "As the cards have predicted, that is where I am needed most."
Trelawney shuddered briefly before she spoke again. "I fear my stock of cat food is dangerously low." She made a small sobbing sound and then straightened stonily. "I need help, is what I am asking."
"Er, when, Professor?" Neville said smally.
"Tonight, of course, my dear boy!" Trelawney boomed. "And thank you for volunteering." She paused, apparently not seeing the dismay and shock on Neville's face. "In the evening, if you please. The Tower…. See you then!"
She twirled slightly before staggering off in the opposite direction.
Neville's cheeks flared scarlet. "I was…"
Luna smiled and turned suddenly to regard Neville. "It's alright. I'll help you. She really does seem to be in a bind."
Ginny snorted. "Old fraud." She muttered, and then also turned to Neville. "I would help you too, but I have to start packing myself. If I miss the train tomorrow because I'm still packing, my mum'll have a fit." She half-smiled wryly.
"It's alright." Neville said reassuringly and but grimaced. He wasn't particularly looking forward to helping a rather drunk Professor clean up her office so she could go home and buy cat food.
Later that evening, as promised, Neville met Luna at the bottom of the silvery staircase that lead up into Professor Trelawney's Divination room. When he'd dropped the subject last year, Neville had been greatly hoping he'd never have to return to the stuffy room ever again. Just his luck.
Neville clambered through the trap door, and Luna followed much more gracefully. She let the trap door slam loudly shut behind her. The room was exactly as Neville didn't want to remember it: dimly lit, full of puffy chairs, excessively hot, and overly odorous with several different scents.
The only thing was it didn't seem to be messy at all. In fact, there was not a bit of dust, nor a chair out of place, or anything, for that matter.
"What is there that needs to be cleaned?" Neville asked, more to himself.
"It does seem rather tidy, doesn't it?" Luna said and Neville started a bit. He'd almost forgotten she was there.
"I suppose we ought to ask her, then." Neville moved towards the back right of the room where there was a small door. He assumed it lead into Trelawney's office. He knocked politely on the door, and there was no answer. He waited another few seconds before knocking again, a little harder this time. Again, no answer.
"Professor?" Neville said loudly. "I'm here to help you clean. And pack."
There was no noise from inside the office and Neville felt worried. Was Trelawney alright? He tried the handle on the door and it turned easily. He slowly opened the door.
"Professor?"
The office was very messy, and there was several sherry bottles littering the floor. A tiny coat rack stood tall in the corner, covered in hats, shawls, skirts, bags, and long pieces of ribbon. There was barely room for a person inside, let alone the desk that must have been magically jammed into the little area. The desk was piled high with playing cards and hundreds of different cards with odd symbols, words and pictures on them. Underneath and stacked on top of the many cards were precariously positioned books of different colors, shapes and sizes, all somehow relating to Divination (The All Seeing: A Magical Guide to the Future, Teacups and Trinkets: How to tell your life from a cup, Divination for Dummies).
In amongst all the clutter, however, was no Trelawney, suitcase, or instructions of any kind for Neville and Luna.
"Odd." Said Luna from behind Neville. "How are we to know what to do if she's not here to tell us?"
"Suppose we ought to go look for her, then." Neville suggested reluctantly. In truth, he would rather gladly head back to the Gryffindor Common Room and forget all about helping Trelawney pack. She certainly seemed to have forgotten. And besides, tomorrow was the first day of holidays and Neville wanted to stay up extra, extra late just so he could sleep in late, with the knowledge that holidays had begun. Just because he could.
Luna nodded. "Oh yes, of course."
They both headed back to the trap door, which was closed. Neville grabbed the handle and pulled, which should have opened it. It didn't budge, and he stumbled a bit, caught off guard.
"Er…" he cleared his throat and felt his cheeks become very hot. He didn't want to not be able to pull open a small trap door, especially in front of Luna. He pulled again, much harder this time, and it merely clunked slightly, as if locked.
"Is it locked?" Luna queried.
"I think it's just stuck…" Neville took a deep breath, braced himself, and gave the door a mighty yank. The handle loosened! He felt a bit relieved. It wasn't locked after all. He yanked again, and it felt a bit looser.
Luna, observing, smiled a bit. "It must be. Maybe together?"
Neville nodded, his cheeks becoming even redder when Luna grasped the handle and his hand tightly.
"Ready?"
Neville bit his lip in concentration. "Right. On three?"
Luna nodded. "One…"
"Two…" Neville counted. And together, they shouted, "THREE!"
They both pulled back on the handle as hard as they could and heard a loud clank and odd snap. The resistance of the door was suddenly gone and Neville and Luna went flying backwards onto the floor. Neville landed first, Luna on top of him. She accidentally elbowed him in the stomach as she hastily tried to stand.
"Well, that did it – " Neville started to say triumphantly, ignoring the way his hands were tingling from where Luna had been touching them.
"No, I don't think it did." Luna said.
"Why?" Neville stood, brushed himself off and looked down at the trap door. It was still firmly shut. "Where – " he began, and Luna held up the handle.
The metal handle swung back and forth in Luna's hand and she winced. They both looked down at the door. Where the handle used to be, there were two old bolt holes and some cracked wood. Neville winced as well.
"Oh great." He sighed and shook his head. "Now we're stuck up here."
Luna tossed the old door handle off to the side as if it was nothing, and it landed on the floor with a loud thud. Neville jumped a bit at the noise, and Luna just sat down to examine the door.
"Not yet. You have a wand, don't you?" she peered up at him, the radish earrings she always wore swaying from her earlobes.
Neville nodded quickly and reached into the folds of his robes for his wand. To his utter dismay, he could not find it.
"I've lost my wand!" he said and frantically began searching all around him. It must have fallen out when he fell… it must be here somewhere…
Luna blinked at him a moment and then quickly began helping him to look. "What does it look like?"
"It's brown… and kind of long… and – " He stopped. Wait – she knew what a wand looked like. Especially since there was one currently behind her ear. "Luna?"
"Yes?"
"Your wand is behind your ear."
"Of course it is, but what about yours?"
"Why don't we use yours to get us out of here and then worry about mine?" Besides the fact that it really was the most logical course of action, Neville had just remembered he'd left his wand in his bag with all his books so that he wouldn't forget to take it to Charms class again today. After Charms he'd replaced in it in his bag so he would remember to take it with his back to the Gryffindor boy's dormitories and so he would know where it is.
"That makes sense. Let's." She immediately stopped crawling on the floor looking for Neville's wand and pulled her own out from behind her ear.
For almost half an hour, they tried as many spells as they could think of (some twice, some more than twice) to open the trap door and nothing worked. Tired and very discouraged – why wouldn't the bloody door open? – Neville and Luna finally each gave a deep sigh and sat back from the door.
"Well, that's that." Luna sighed and bit her lip, studying the door carefully, trying to see something she may have previously missed that could help her open the door.
Neville rubbed his face. "Now we really are stuck up here."
"She can't be gone, though, can she?" Luna looked concernedly at Neville. "I mean, someone will find us, right?"
Neville nodded confidently though he felt far from confident. "Oh, of course. Someone will notice we're missing and go looking for us." He swallowed. But will they think to look up here? The only person who knew they were meeting Trelawney (besides Trelawney and themselves, of course) was Ginny who was leaving early tomorrow morning for the Burrow. She would have no way of knowing that neither himself nor Luna had returned to their dorms at night.
"Right." Luna said, sounding as unconfident as Neville felt. "Someone will notice."
They both sat quietly staring at the shut trapped door for quite some time before a loud dinging sound resonated from inside Trelawney's office.
"What's that?" Neville asked and jumped as the noise sounded again.
"I don't know!" Luna jumped up and dashed over to the office to investigate. Neville followed, though much less enthusiastically.
Luna flung open the door, and there, on the wall in the tiny office was a very large, out of place looking wooden clock, ding-donging out the hour. It was nine o'clock p.m. They'd been in the room for about an hour and a half.
Neville sighed exasperatedly. "Someone might not find us tonight."
Luna nodded numbly. "Right. Not tonight." She sighed too. They both stared at the clock for another moment before shutting the office door quietly.
They stood side by side and surveyed the room they were going to most likely be spending the night in. It was quite spacious, though cramped with tables, chairs and other objects found in a classroom. The walls were lined with shelves holding various colored tea-cups, large misty looking glass balls, and random pictures of cats and fruit.
"Shall we find something to amuse ourselves, then?" Luna asked nonchalantly.
Neville glanced at her and then at the room. "I guess. But, what?"
"Oh, use your imagination." Luna smiled widely.
Neville swallowed and felt his cheeks get very warm. Her smile was very pretty.
"How about…" Luna looked thoughtfully around the rather dimly lit room. "Well, what my Grandma and I used to play whenever we got bored during visits together was Aniname."
"An-ni-name?"
"Yes. Like, Animal and name. Aniname." She smiled widely as if everyone played such a game and therefore knew what it was.
Neville just stared blankly at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You must not know how to play!"
"Er… no."
"Well, it's quite easy, really." Luna suddenly grabbed Neville's hand and led him over to a pair of extra squishy looking bean bag chairs. She sat down on one like she sat on one everyday, while Neville awkwardly settled himself down on the other. "You start with the letter L, and name an animal that starts with that letter."
She sat back with her back straight and cleared her throat. "Lilofly." She sighed. "Its not really that fun, but it passes the time."
Neville nodded slowly. "Right. Ok, so then an animal that starts with M is next, right?"
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you want to go in order? That's awfully boring. But, if you insist."
"Um… yes. Ok. Meerkat." Neville said.
"What's a Meerkat?" Luna asked interestedly, her eyes wide.
"It's a… actually, I'm not really sure what'd you call it."
"Well, Neville, it has to be a real animal!" Luna giggled in a high-pitched tone.
Neville laughed uncomfortably, thinking of Humangle Beasts and Liloflies. "Ok, then, you go."
"Ok…" Luna pursed her lips and scrunched up her eyes.
Neville stared. "What are you doing?"
Luna started as if she'd forgotten he was there. "Oh! Thinking, of course. M has to be… Mistygliders."
"And what do they look like?" Neville asked tentatively.
Luna burst into sharp, piercing laughter that made Neville jump inadvertently. "I made that one up, silly!"
Neville laughed a little with Luna. "Oh hah - I knew that."
Luna stared off dreamily and sighed. "New game, then?"
"I thought – "
"Yes. It gets old fast."
"Oh."
They were quiet for a moment.
"So, Neville, since we're going to be stuck in this room for quite some time how about we get to know each other?" Luna asked abruptly.
"Oh, er… ok." Neville's cheeks went a little pink. He wasn't very good at conversation – that's why he generally stayed out of them.
"My name is Luna Lovegood and I live in a small hundred year-old house with my dad, Mr. Lovegood. I call him Dad, of course." Luna beamed at Neville. "Your turn!"
"Er… ok? Um, m-my name is Neville … Longbottom. And I live in… a big house… with my Gran. Who I call… er, Gran." Neville finished unsurely.
"Oh, how interesting. Tell me more!" Luna grinned and propped her head on her fist. She stared at him intently.
He stared back for a moment, quite confused as to what she wanted to hear more about. When she didn't prompt him, he slowly began talking about whatever came to his mind. "Well, the house is quite large. My room is on the middle floor, and I have a window overlooking my - I mean, THE garden." His cheeks went pinker than before. Just he and Gran really knew of how much he enjoyed gardening. The garden was large and really was his, except for a two small rows of vegetables and flowers which were Gran's, though Neville tended them most of the time.
"You have a garden?" Luna's eyes widened ever so slightly more and if it was possible, she looked even more interested than just a moment ago.
Neville went red and mumbled, "It's just Gran's… off the side of the house."
"But you said 'my garden'." Luna pressed.
Neville swallowed and glanced at Luna. "You wouldn't tell, would you?"
"Why is it a secret? If you're good at something, don't you want people to know?"
"It's complicated." Neville mumbled, hating this conversation being centered on him.
"I don't see why. Professor Sprout says your one of the best Herbology students she's seen in years. You don't need to be embarrassed about that. Just because you're not as good at Charms as Hermione Granger or at Defense Against the Dark Arts like Harry Potter or at Quidditch like Ginny Weasley. None of them are as good at Herbology as you."
"How do you know that?"
"Well, because Ginny is my friend and – "
"No, no. The part about Professor Sprout."
"Oh. Because she told our class the other day."
"She… did?"
"Oh, yes. She's always telling everyone to pay more attention and work harder and then we'll really be something, like Neville Longbottom."
Neville flushed redder than before as the image of Professor Sprout saying this to other classes formed in his mind. He imagined he might get some scorn from people like Draco Malfoy or Zacharias Smith because of Professor Sprout's pride, but he didn't particularly care at that moment.
"Really?"
"Really. I wouldn't lie." Luna smiled sweetly and Neville knew she was telling the honest truth.
Feeling warm and glowing inside, Neville cleared his throat and asked, "And so what about you?"
"What about me?" Luna sat back.
"I told you about me, now you have to tell me about you."
"You didn't say very much – "
"We'll take turns."
"Oh, alright then." Luna sighed. "I don't have any brothers or sisters. My Daddy, as you probably know, is the editor of the highly respected magazine, The Quibbler."
Neville tried not smile at the last comment.
"My mom died when I was young, so it's just me and Daddy." Luna said sadly.
"I'm sorry." Neville said.
Luna nodded without looking at Neville. She almost looked she was about to cry, when she suddenly turned to Neville. "What about your mom and dad? You said you lived with your Gran. Where are your mom and dad?"
Neville stiffened. Only a few people from school knew the truth about his parents and he wanted to keep it that way. "I'd rather not talk about it." he said quietly.
"Oh. They passed away too?"
Neville shook his head and felt tears burning his eyes. I don't want to talk about it… I don't want to talk about… I don't… And then, before he knew it, he was telling her everything. Everything about his life. His parents. What he knew about his parents life. Talking about his relatives, his past pets, his garden, his friends – everything.
When he finally finished, quite some time later, he felt energized and somehow like a massive weight had been released from inside him. He felt lighter and happier and smiled.
Luna smiled back, and without much hesitation, followed suite. She talked about everything. Her Dad, her mom, the rest of her family, her likes and dislikes, her hobbies, her friends, her hopes and dreams – everything.
And when she was finished, she felt different. She didn't know why, or how, but just different. She smiled at Neville.
That's when they could faintly hear the clock donging inside Trelawney's office. They couldn't quite hear it enough to realize how many dongs had already gone past, so Neville jumped up to go check.
"Wow!" he exclaimed after he'd opened the door.
"What?" asked Luna, standing from the squishy beanbag chair. "What time is it?"
Neville laughed. "Midnight."
Luan laughed this time and it was more of a soft, comfortable laugh that she seemed to use when something was only mildly amusing or in the company of close friends. "We've been talking for almost three hours."
"Yeah." Grinning, Neville kept staring at the clock. It hadn't felt like three hours.
Luna suddenly yawned. "Maybe we should make ourselves comfortable for the night." She said. "You know. Just in case."
Neville nodded, his eyelids suddenly feeling heavy. "Yeah. Just in case." He went into the office and gathered up blankets and coats that didn't smell like cats and brought them out in piles into the Divination room. The office was messier than ever, having its precarious balance set off when Neville had retrieved the blankets and such. He just pushed the door shut against the mess and went to help Luna who was pushing tables out of the way to make a space.
Once the tables and different chairs were out of the way, Neville and Luna set to work spreading the blankets and coats out and over each other to form somewhat of a mattress. They rolled up a coat or two to make pillows and saved the thickest blanket to put over themselves.
Feeling quite uncomfortable with the thought of sleeping in a classroom, on the floor, on a teacher's set of coats, beside a girl, Neville took his shoes and socks off and settled onto the makeshift bed, as far to one side as possible.
"We could make two separate beds, if you wanted." Luan said, observing Neville on one far end and herself on the other far end. Apparently she wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea either.
"S'ok." Neville murmured stiffly.
Luna nodded and slid under the blanket.
They lay there silently for quite some time, eyes wide open, before Luna said, "Er… did you want to turn off the light?"
Neville smirked then started laughing. Luna did too for a few minutes before Neville got up and turned off the light. He crawled across the floor to the bed so as to avoid tripping over anything, and thankfully made it without bumping his head.
"G'night Neville." Luna said sleepily.
"Night Luna." Neville said with a smile and closed his eyes.
There was a pause before Luna said, "Goodnight Flesh-Eating Bed Bugs."
Neville's eyes snapped open. "What?"
Luna laughed loudly and high-pitchedly – when something struck her as very amusing. "Just kidding. Go to sleep." She giggled a little bit more before sighing happily.
Neville shook his head and relaxed again. Before long, he had drifted off to sleep.
A/n: See? I told you it was long, lol. Anyways, this is chapter 1 of 2. I should be getting 2 up in the next day or so, if not immediately. So review me. :D