No Nonsense.
A Ravenclaw's life is not an easy one. Luna didn't expect many in the other Houses realized that, but this was the case. When you are put into Ravenclaw, you are put there with the understanding that you will make the best grades in the castle, set an example to follow, and do it cheerfully. You will love your books more than your food, your teachers will be your best friends, and you will go onto become either a teacher yourself or a high-ranking Ministry official. That is the Ravenclaw standard. Luna Lovegood fell sharply below expectations.
Nobody quite understood how she had ended up in the middle of a bunch of scholars—she was more of a dreamer, a Hufflepuff, really, they whispered. She would have been odd either way, but it would've been far more acceptable if she was doing it with the lesser mortals of Hogwarts. Ravenclaws had standards, they had good grades, and while Luna always passed her tests and did her homework, the fact that nobody ever witnessed her studying was more annoying than ever. Luna was not like them, she knew that, and it did not phase her. Daddy had taught her that life was about believing in what is important to you, and never mind what those other people think.
She was a loner by nature, but when a person was kind to her for a change, it tended to make her entire day. Her fourth year had been a turning point—that was when that nice Ginny Weasley had introduced her to Harry Potter. He was the bravest boy Luna had ever met, and through him, she met Neville Longbottom. Neville was much like her, she recognized at once. He was a Gryffindor, but nobody understood why—and oh, dear, just look at that poor boy try!—and she had heard people say he would've been better off in Hufflepuff. Well, she and Neville could be outcasts together—she supposed HE wouldn't mind listening about the Crumple-Horned Snorcacks and their possible extinction. He looked very nice.
And he was very nice. Neville Longbottom was Luna's first and only real friend. He did not mind that she was odd, and they liked each other's company. He made her…laugh. And turn very red, sometimes. Luna was not very serious about many things, and she had never had a friend before to be very protective of, but she had lately become very, very scared of losing Neville, and she was very, very worried about what would happen when they fought in this war. If they fought in this war.
Which is why she screamed. She hadn't meant to, she really hadn't, but she saw Neville fall when the spell hit him, and she screamed so hollowly and horribly Ron Weasley spun around on his heel to see what had happened to her. Luna ran to Neville, her tangled dirty blonde hair whipping around her as she dodged a red jet of light.
"Neville," she gasped, falling to her knees beside him, and grasping for his hand. "Hello, Neville. Neville, please." His eyes flickered open, but they were strangely cloudy.
"Oh, Luna." He saw her, and he smiled. He smiled even as somebody screamed in pain in the distance, and a violent bang erupted throughout the field. His hand slipped clumsily to her cheek and stayed there. She covered it with her own, staring at him desperately.
"Neville. Please. Just breathe."
"No more nonsense now, Luna," he murmured, his eyes seeming to fade. "There's nothing for it."
"No," she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. "No nonsense. Never any nonsense." He did not respond.
And then for reasons she could not quite begin to fathom, Luna Lovegood held his hand to her cheek, and for the first real time in her life that she could remember, she sobbed.
ooo
Once again, dears, review please! Coming soon to a very roughly compiled story near you: Second-Best.