Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me.
Chapter Three: Better Man
The next few days flew by quickly for Neville. Ginny had gone home with her family instead of riding the train, which had made for a rather boring trip back to England. His grandmother had then declared loudly on the platform that she "couldn't believe her little Neville was a fully qualified wizard – never thought he'd make it." He hadn't been thrilled with the implication that he was completely incompetent, but she had at least refrained from mentioning his father.
Neville didn't think she would be overly pleased about his plans regarding Ginny Weasley, which was why he had given her a fake reason for his Diagon Alley trip. He wished he hadn't forgotten what it was he'd claimed a need to go buy – she was bound to ask.
Hands in pockets, Neville approached Weasley's Wizard Wheezes cautiously. He had always been somewhat intimidated by Fred and George, and he definitely did not fancy turning into a canary again. His gran had steered him away from the garishly decorated shop last year, claiming it was "far too ridiculous." Coming from a woman who wore stuffed vultures for hats, this was a bit rich, but Neville had not dared tell his gran that.
"Ah, Mr. Longbottom, Dad said you would be by the shop today." Either Fred or George ushered him into the shop – he could never tell them apart.
"Yes, I've been invited for dinner. Mr. Weasley said I could Floo from here," Neville replied as he eyed a display of something called Forget-Me-Knots.
"Yeah, there's a fireplace in the upstairs flat. Fred's up there right now," George explained. "By the way, I can get you a deal on those Forget-Me-Knots. You tie the string on your wrist and it changes colors to remind you of certain events – anniversaries, birthdays, stuff like that."
Neville tried to appear indignant as he fished some coins out of his pocket, but he failed miserably.
"There you are, Neville," George said with a smirk as he dropped the change in Neville's palm and handed over the small box. Smiling sheepishly, Neville headed upstairs.
"Neville! Good to see you!" Fred exclaimed, clapping a hand on Neville's back. He was beginning to think Mr. Weasley had told the twins why he had been invited to dinner.
"Best get a move on. George and I'll be late, but the rest of the family should be there. Floo powder's in that little jar, just call out 'The Burrow.'" Fred winked and shoved Neville into the fireplace.
Neville liked the Floo better than Apparating, but he had a slight smoke allergy that tended to flare up inside fireplaces. He had ridden in a car once and enjoyed it immensely, but it was a little slow, he supposed.
Mrs. Weasley was the only person in the kitchen when he arrived. She looked up and smiled at the sight of him.
"Here, let me clean you off." Mrs. Weasley muttered a few cleaning charms to remove the soot. Neville nodded his thanks; he was rubbish at those types of spells.
"Ron and Hermione are in the parlor," she added, directing him through the doorway. Neville looked around in wonder at the house; it was decidedly different from the Longbottom family home. His gran would probably not have approved of the cramped rooms or mismatched cushions, but Neville did not think he had ever been in a more welcoming home.
"Hello Neville," Hermione greeted warmly. Neville returned her smile, but he couldn't help but feel a little out of place. He knew he was a poor substitute for Harry, in more ways than one. This was a stupid idea, he thought for the millionth time that day.
"Listen, Neville, I know we weren't exactly best mates at school…but I always considered you a friend. Me and Harry both did," Ron said. His right leg was propped on a stool, his crutches resting nearby. "You're a good man."
Hermione exchanged a glance with Ron. "We just have one question." She paused, then took a deep breath. "We thought you had a thing for Luna."
Neville blinked several times, then laughed. "Well, I did kiss her once, earlier this year – because neither of us had kissed anyone before and we figured that was sort of pathetic, so…yeah." Neville reddened; he couldn't believe he had just admitted that. "Luna and I are just friends. She's a bit too wonky for me, really. Besides, she's been dating Colin Creevey since February." He grinned at the stunned looks on Ron and Hermione's faces.
"How did that happen?" Ron asked.
"Well, apparently Colin just barely got the marks required by Flitwick to be in his N.E.W.T. Charms class, so Flitwick got Luna to tutor him. With you gone, Hermione, Luna was one of the top Charms students. She'd probably have a shot at Head Girl if anyone, uh, respected her." Neville laughed, but stopped suddenly when he saw the look on Hermione's face. He belatedly realized that the topic of Head Girls was most likely a sore one for her.
"Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen. Ron hurried as fast as he could on his crutches, causing Hermione to shake her head.
"I'll just go fetch Ginny, then," Hermione said. Neville nodded and headed for the table.
He was greeted by a sea of red hair and plenty of noise. He recognized Bill, who was sitting next to the only other non-redhead currently in the room – his wife, Fleur. The man sitting on Bill's left side had to be the next oldest brother, but Neville was at a loss for his name. The twins had arrived as well, to Neville's surprise, and Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table reading the newspaper.
"We got out a little earlier than expected," Fred or George said. "Good thing, too. I'm starved."
Neville sat down opposite the strange redhead, who introduced himself as Charlie. "I work in Romania, but I've been in town for…you know."
Neville nodded and shifted a bit, accidentally bumping into Ron. "Sorry," he mumbled. Ron waved him off and looked hopefully at the stove.
Hermione entered then, trailed by a tired-looking Ginny. Ginny's red hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and she wore Muggle jeans and a short sleeved green blouse. Neville felt suddenly overdressed in his grey robes, the ones his grandmother always made him wear when anyone came to dinner.
"Hi, Ginny," he said with a smile.
"Hi, she responded softly. She sat between Hermione and one of the twins. Mrs. Weasley set down several plates of food and the meal began.
Dinner was a lively affair, and Neville enjoyed himself immensely. Charlie had just finished telling yet another dragon story when Bill suddenly looked at Neville thoughtfully.
"Any idea what you'll do now school's done, Neville?" he asked.
Nodding, Neville replied, "I've been offered a job as an Herbal Research Assistant at St. Mungo's, provided my Herbology N.E.W.T. was good enough…and I think it was."
"That's great, Neville! You were always the best at Herbology," Ron said. "Wish I'd already taken the N.E.W.T.S….Hermione has me studying constantly."
"Of course I do," Hermione retorted. "The Auror Academy said they'd let you start in January only if you passed the required N.E.W.T.S." Ron shrugged and shoveled more food into his mouth.
"Do you know what you're going to do, Hermione?" Charlie asked.
Hermione looked uncomfortable. "I was actually recruited to work in the Department of Mysteries, as an Unspeakable. But I don't know that I could go back there, after…"
The room went remarkably silent. After several awkward moments, Fleur coughed delicately. "Zis bread is wonderful, Molly," she said appreciatively, flipping her long silver hair over her shoulder. Molly beamed at the compliment and the table broke out into conversation again.
After the plates had been cleared away, Mr. Weasley looked at Ginny, who had not spoken at all during dinner. "Why don't you show Neville the garden, Ginny? The flowers are nice this time of year."
Ginny rose slowly from her seat and led Neville out through the kitchen door. She walked in front of him, her eyes staring at the ground. She finally sat down on an old wooden bench near the hedge and motioned for Neville to join her.
They sat in silence for several moments as Neville looked around the garden. Mr. Weasley was right; the flowers really were nice. He thought he spotted a garden gnome peeking around the corner of a large overgrown bush, but he couldn't be sure.
"I missed you on the train," he said finally. "I tried sitting by Luna, but she was with Colin. So then I found Seamus and Dean, but they were busy snogging their respective girlfriends. I finally found an empty compartment and fell asleep."
Ginny snorted, but flashed him a small smile. She sighed then and turned to face him. "Neville, I know why you're here; my family isn't good at keeping secrets. And while I appreciate the gesture, I really don't think – "
"It was my idea," he interrupted. Ginny looked surprised at that. He fumbled in his pocket, finally managing to grasp the object he had purchased earlier in Diagon Alley. Falling to his knees in front of her, he held up the box. "I'm serious about this, Ginny. Will you marry me?"
Ginny's eyes widened as she took the box. Opening it, she revealed a simple gold band adorned with a single diamond flanked by two smaller rubies. Her lip quivered. "Neville, this is too much…I mean…I don't love you like that…Harry…"
"Yes, I know," Neville replied quietly. "But I don't think you hate me, either, and that's good enough for me." Ginny didn't respond, so he continued. "Ginny, you've been a good friend, especially this past year. I want to marry you. I know I'm not Harry, and I won't try to be." He took Ginny's chin in his hand and raised her face to meet his eyes. "But it would be an honor to raise Harry's child, and there is nothing I want more than to keep you and the child safe…even if I am probably the least qualified person to do that."
Ginny suddenly flung her arms around his neck, crying tears of what Neville hoped was happiness. He rubbed small circles on her back, and she finally sat back and wiped her eyes. Taking the ring from the box, she slipped in on her left ring finger.
"I can never repay you for this," she said softly.
"You already have," he answered honestly. "Come on, your family is probably dying to know what happened."
Ginny laughed, her smile finally reaching her eyes. "Yeah, they're probably all straining to hear from the kitchen." She grabbed Neville's hand, not seeming to care that it was all sweaty.
She paused just outside the door. "Ready?" she asked. Neville nodded, and Ginny opened the door.
As expected, everyone was congregated near the door trying to appear casual. They all looked up as Neville and Ginny entered. Someone coughed.
"So, how was the garden?" Ron asked a little too loudly. Hermione elbowed him.
Ginny raised her left hand, and there were immediately bombarded with hugs and pats on the back. Neville was slightly disconcerted but recovered quickly. He figured he needed to get used to this, since it seemed he would soon be a part of the Weasley family.
He finally managed to pull away, and Ginny joined him near the fireplace.
"Sorry about that," she said with a grin.
"That was nothing." He leaned in quickly and kissed Ginny's cheek. "Now I have to go home and tell my gran."
A/N: In the next chapter (which should be out Monday or Tuesday), Neville's gran finally makes her appearance. Please review - reading your comments, good or bad, makes my day!