Written for a contest but never submitted.

TITLE: Unusual

PAIRING: Gen, slight Neville/Luna

RATING: PG

WORD COUNT: 560

Neville Longbottom walked toward Hogsmeade with the other students, a slip of parchment clutched in one grubby-nailed hand. On the paper could be seen what appeared to be a list of words unfamiliar to all but the professors and a few choice seventh years- alihotsy, mallowsweet, hellebore…

"Good morning, Neville," said a dreamy voice from his elbow, making him jump slightly. "What's in your hand? Passwords for the common room again? You should be more careful."

"Umm, morning Luna," the blonde girl smiled ecstatically at him, as though thrilled that he remembered her name. "It's actually a list of plants I thought… I won't really need them or anything. I just want to see if they're here and maybe, um, learn a bit more about them."

"Unusual plants?" she drew out the second U in the word. "Is gurdyroot on your list, then? We wouldn't want you getting hurt in the lake by those awful gulping plimpies. Everyone thinks they're small, but last month the quibbler posted a picture of one that was as big as a thestral! I suspect the giant squid may actually be an overgrown plimpy."

"Uh-huh," Neville nodded, a dazed look on his face. "Makes perfect sense."

"Do you think so?" Luna asked rather seriously. "I wonder if I might cite you as a source?"

Neville shook himself out of his puzzled and slightly frightened state, grasping for something normal to say. "Who have you come to Hogsmeade with, Luna?" Then he mentally kicked himself.

"No one ever asks me to Hogsmeade," Luna said. "Unless you count the DA meetings in the Hog's Head. That was sort of like being asked along, I suppose."

"I'm sorry, Luna-"

"No," she cut him off. "It's just as well. I love Hogsmeade weekend."

Neville was a bit surprised. He'd never liked Hogsmeade much because no one ever asked him either, even Ginny in fourth year had wanted to go with friends or her brothers instead of him. "Do you really?"

"Of course," Luna said, staring off. "I usually check Scrivenshaft's for new products, enjoy a nice cup of tea at Madam Puddifoot's, and then just wander over to the Shrieking Shack for the rest of the visit. Did you know everyone thinks it's the most haunted building in Britain? But of course, it isn't. It's totally rife with a nest of nogtail!"

"I… see. I don't stick around the town much either. Nobody ever asks me along either, Luna." "I don't see why not," said Luna. "You're nice." Neville blushed profusely. "You should come with me."

Neville turned as red as his Gryffindor scarf, right to the tips of his ears. "I… well… I… I guess it wouldn't hurt."

So together Neville and Luna walked the rest of the way to Hogsmeade, where they stopped at all Luna's usual places and discussed normal student things like teachers and classes and the upcoming war, with only a hint underneath that they saw the last issue with a different, more personal shared perspective. And at the end of the day they skipped Luna's typical walk to the Shrieking Shack and walked instead back to Hogwarts, beside the lake, where Neville taught Luna about plants, and Luna taught him about the unsighted creatures that might be living just a few feet away from them, and he was only scared a little bit.