A/N: I've always had a soft spot for these two characters, but this is my first time writing a story about them. I'm sure it won't be my last though because I really enjoyed it! Hope you do too xD
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Snorkack Cookies
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December 1, 1995
Neville pulls out a slip of paper from the Secret Santa hat. 'Luna Lovegood' is written in a neat cursive script. Great. What in Merlin's name am I supposed to give her? Neville stuffs the paper into the pocket of his robes and shuffles over to his friends, feeling defeated.
"Who'd you get?" Dean asks quietly.
"Lovegood."
"Ooh. That might be tricky."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Neville mumbles.
"You could get her some dangly earrings," Dean suggests. "She seems to like those."
"I dunno… isn't jewelry something you only give your girlfriend? I wouldn't want her to get the wrong idea."
Dean laughs. "Nah, mate! She'd never think it was romantic. Now, if you gave her a ring, that'd be another story."
Neville thinks of her strange radish earrings. I doubt they'll have anything like that in Hogsmeade. Then he remembers Gladrags Wizard Wear. I might as well go… it's not like I have any other ideas.
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December 2
A helpful clerk points him towards the back of the shop. Neville stops dead in his tracks when he spots Luna's waist-length blonde hair. And of course she's standing right in front of the jewelry rack. Neville groans inwardly. Just my luck… now I can't get her anything from here.
Luna turns around. "Oh, hi Neville. Are you looking for a Secret Santa gift too?"
"Uhh, yeah. Have you found anything?"
"Not really. These earrings are too simple for my taste," she replies, putting back a pair of silver hoops. "I think I'll make Susan something… I've always preferred handmade gifts because they come from the heart."
But I don't know how to make anything by hand! I am not a crafty person.
"What's the matter? Do you have toothache?"
Her strange question startles him. "No! Why would you say that?"
She blinks her silvery-blue eyes. "You had a pained expression on your face. It reminded me of when Daddy got a cavity."
"Oh. Well I'm fine. Just feeling a bit hungry is all." It isn't a complete lie. His stomach is growling. "Want to join me at The Three Broomsticks?"
"I'd love to." Luna smiles. "Thank you for inviting me."
"Sure. No problem."
Neville leads the way out of the shop. The snow drifting down is the enchanted kind, but it's still cold outside. He shoves his hands into his coat pockets. Neville lost his last pair of gloves back in November.
He pauses on the cobblestones, waiting for Luna to catch up. That's when he notices her winter coat. It's an oversized tweed one in a multi-colored plaid. His Gran would call it a 'a loud print,' but it suits her somehow. "That's a very unique coat you're wearing."
She beams at him. "You think so? It was my mother's. From the sixties, you know. A lot of my clothes once belonged to her."
"Umm, has she... passed on?"
"Yes, when I was little."
He glances sideways at her. "I'm sorry to hear that. You must miss her."
She smiles wistfully. "I do. I always think of her this time a year. Yule was her favorite holiday, you see."
A wave of depression comes over him. He'll be visiting his parents in St. Mungo's for Christmas – as he does every year. I would give anything to have them back home with me.
"Are you okay, Neville?" she asks in a gentle tone.
He shakes his head. "I... yeah, I'm fine. It's just not a very happy time of year for me."
Luna places a comforting hand on his arm. "I hope you can find something to smile about this Christmas."
Her words make his throat constrict with emotion. He clears it and says gruffly, "Thanks, Luna. I'll try."
"Would you like a peppermint toad? They always cheer me up when I'm feeling sad."
"Sure." She opens the flap of her knitted purse and passes him a Honeydukes bag. Neville reaches inside to retrieve a toad. "Thanks." He pops one of the peppermint creams into his mouth. Within seconds, it's hopping around in his stomach. Neville chuckles.
"See? Daddy always says that laughter is the best remedy for the blues. Well, that and a good cheering charm."
He smiles at her fondly. "You're a nice girl, Luna."
"Thank you," she says, returning his smile. "And I think you're very sweet. When I first met you on the train, I knew you were a kindred spirit."
Neville feels a bit guilty because he'd thought she was completely daft back then. But he knows now that she just sees the world in a different way. I'll make it up to her with my present. I'll give her something special… something she'll really like. I just need to find out what that is…
As they approach The Three Broomsticks, Luna says, "I always eat by myself whenever I come to Hogsmeade."
Neville knows what it's like to be bullied, but he's always had a few friends at least. He can't imagine being alone all the time – not the way Luna is. He feels a surge of anger towards her roommates for excluding her.
He holds open the door for her. "You can hang around with me today. If you want to, that is."
"I do. Very much."
The air is pleasantly warm inside, and as usual, the tables are packed with students. He's about to head upstairs when someone calls out their names.
"Neville, Luna! Come and join us!"
He glances round and spots Harry waving at them from a table near the frost-paned window. They weave their way through the packed pub and say hello.
"We were just talking about our Secret Santas," Harry says. "I got Colin Creevey, Hermione got Padma Patil, and Ron got Justin Finch-Fletchley. What about you two?"
Neville drapes his coat over the back of a chair. "Um. I'd rather not say."
"One of us, is it?" Ron grins. "Well, if it's me, mate, I could really use some Dungbombs."
Hermione sighs. "For heaven's sake, Ron – you aren't supposed to make requests. The whole point of a Secret Santa is to surprise the recipient."
"Relax, Hermione." Ron rolls his eyes. "This one has no sense of humor. She's exactly like my brother Percy."
Hermione is about to tell him off, but Harry interrupts their argument by asking Luna who she got.
"Susan Bones. I've decided to make her a change purse with her Animagus embroidered on it."
"Oh, that sounds lovely!"
"I can make one for you too, Hermione."
She waves her hand. "Thank you for the offer, but you don't have to do that."
"I want to – as a thank you for organizing the Secret Santa exchange. I've never received a gift from another student, you see. I'm excited to finally get one."
"Blimey, that's the most pitiful thing I've ever heard," Ron declares.
Hermione gasps. "Ronald! Would you please stop saying the first rude thing that pops into your head?!"
"Sorry, Luna," he says quickly. "I only meant that it's really sad. Everyone deserves presents. Well, except for Malfoy and his minions." Ron's face darkens. "I think we all know what that lot deserves."
"Hear, hear," Harry pipes up.
The waitress stops by a moment later to take their orders. While he waits his turn, Neville receives a flash of inspiration on how he can learn more about Luna. He asks his question as soon as the waitress leaves.
"Hey, what's everyone's favorite Christmas memory?" He listens patiently while the trio shares their stories. Then it's Luna's turn.
"I suppose it was the last Christmas I had with my mum. We baked Crumple-Horned Snorkack sugar cookies. They were decorated with purple frosting and rainbow sprinkles."
"Errr, what does a Snorkack look like exactly?" Harry asks.
"No one really knows for sure, but ours looked like sheep with a horn in the middle of their foreheads. They were so adorable… I only wish mum would have written down the recipe. She never did, you know. She'd just improvise with whatever ingredients we had in the house."
Neville decides right then to make those cookies for her. But he's going to need help. And lots of it.
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December 21
Luna receives quite a few unexpected presents throughout the day. A magenta bobble hat and matching scarf from Hermione; color-changing drawing pencils from Harry; Honeydukes chocolate from Ron; velvet hair scrunchies from Ginny; and barrettes with sparkly crescent moons from Cho. Luna is taken aback by their generosity, particularly because none of them are her Secret Santa. When she asks why they're giving her presents, they all say the same thing.
"Because you're my friend, Luna."
Friends. It's the one thing she's always wanted, and all it took was a student rebellion to finally grant her wish.
Neville approaches her after Herbology class. "Happy Christmas, Luna." He holds out a red tartan tin topped with a big green bow.
"Are you my Secret Santa?" she asks, accepting the gift.
He rubs the back of his neck. "Uhh, yeah."
"I had a feeling you were." Luna smiles. "I have something for you, too."
His blue eyes widen in surprise. "Really?"
She nods. "Let me find it." Luna plops down on a bench and starts digging around in her messenger bag. "Here it is!" She passes him a lumpy package wrapped in dark blue tissue paper and tied with a sparkly silver ribbon.
"Thanks." He sits down beside her. "You open yours first."
Luna's eyes fill with tears when she sees what's inside. "Oh, you made my cookies!"
"Well, I didn't do it on my own. My gran sent the cookie cutter, and the recipe is from Mrs. Weasley. I made them though. Harry got me into the kitchens. I burned the first two batches, but Dobby the house elf made sure I didn't wreck this one."
She beams at him. "Thank you, Neville. This means the world to me."
He grins, showing off the small space between his two front teeth. "Go on – try one."
Luna raises a frosted cookie to her lips and takes a bite. It's sweet and buttery with just a hint of vanilla. "Mmm, delicious!" Luna closes her eyes while she eats.
She tries to picture that day with her mother all those years ago… they are snuggled together on the couch with a plate of cookies. She can hear Mum's soft voice telling her something… but what is it? And then she suddenly remembers.
Luna's eyes snap open. "Here, have one." Neville takes a cookie from the tin. "Have you ever made any sweets with your grandmother?"
He shakes his head. "Our house elf Libby makes all our food."
"You should bake something with her. I'm sure you'd both enjoy it."
"That reminds me." Neville wipes the crumbs from his fingers and retrieves a purple drawstring bag from the pocket of his robes. "It's the cookie cutter and recipe card. Now you can make them whenever you want."
Luna takes his warm hand in hers. "You're a very thoughtful boy, Neville Longbottom. Thank you for being my friend."
A blush suffuses his round face. "Uh. You're welcome."
She releases his hand. "It's your turn now."
"Oh, right." Neville rips open the package. "Wow, gloves! I really needed these. I lost my last pair."
"Yes, I noticed you weren't wearing any in Hogsmeade. I chose that deep blue to match your eyes. Do you like them?"
"Yeah, they're great." He pulls it on. "Perfect fit too. How'd you manage that?"
"I asked Harry to measure your hands while you were asleep."
Neville laughs. "Seriously? Wow, I never even woke up! Thank you, Luna. And I promise not to lose them either."
"If you do, I'll just make you another pair." Luna holds the tin out. "Have another cookie."
"All right. But just the one. This is your present, not mine."
They eat their purple Snorkack cookies in companionable silence. Luna smiles. You were right, Mum… food really does taste better when you share it with a friend.
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The End.
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Closing note: Thanks for reading my little oneshot! I also made a fic aesthetic, which you can find on my livejournal. Happy Holidays! Love, D