A/N: Whew! Is anyone else hot in here after last chapter? Things will be ramping up quickly in the love department. In this chapter, see what Neville wants in a lady! Please let me know what you thought of chapter four and be on the lookout for chapter five soon!
Hermione spent the rest of her afternoon trying to get the thoughts of Neville's bare backside from her mind. The whole time she was doing her hair and putting on minimal makeup she couldn't help but daydream around what he might look like coming back out of the water. She hadn't gotten a chance to see his chest, but her dirty mind was willing and able to fantasize about how muscular that might be too.
She'd shuffled herself into a nice red dress that was a step up in formality, but not too formal either. It's not like they were going on a date, it was just a casual meal between friends on a fabulous island.
Neville had come inside at that point, cheeks a bit pink, and Hermione hoped that he hadn't seen her spying on him. She decided to watch a bit of television while he finished getting ready. It was a bit mindless, but it gave her something to focus on other than the very naked man in the shower, just feet away.
"Wow, this doesn't look anything like what they show in Muggle Studies." Neville said brightly behind her, causing her to spin around on the couch. He'd put on a pair of denims and a button down shirt that had been rolled up, showing the ropey muscle in his arms.
Hermione shook her head. Maybe she should obliviate herself, so that she wouldn't have that delicious memory rattling about in her head. Instead, she cleared her throat. "Yeah, the television that they show in class is about thirty years old. A lot of advances in technology have been made." She switched it off, realizing that she'd selected some kind of dating show, and she didn't want Neville to mention it.
"Shall we?" He asked, casually offering her his arm, and leading her out to the deck, where their little boat was waiting to take them ashore. Neville went down the ladder first before helping her into the boat. Hermione thought that it was a sweet gesture. She didn't think that Neville thought she was incapable of walking, but he wanted to see to her safety. A bit of old fashioned manners, she mused.
They spent the ride over to the little restaurant in relative silence, the waves lapping up against the boat. It was rather soothing, and Hermione mused that she might like to go on a little boat ride one of these days. Maybe they had a sailboat rental. She'd be sure to stay within the islands, as she didn't fancy being out on the open ocean.
The restaurant was beautiful, almost reminding Hermione of a beer garden, with its twinkling white lights illuminating the palm tree canopy that covered the outdoor seating area. She never wanted to leave!
A waiter came to their table quickly and greeted them with a broad smile on his face. "Ah, if it isn't Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom! We weren't expecting you see you out of the villa today." The wizard nugged Neville's shoulder and wagged his eyebrows at Hermione.
She didn't think that she'd ever seen Neville look so red before. He cleared his throat. "I told you before, this isn't our honeymoon, and we aren't together. We are just friends."
The wizard seemed to willfully ignore hearing Neville's words, which Hermione thought was odd. "Whatever you say...let me go bring you some chilled champagne. It's on the house." He swept away before Neville or Hermione could get a word in edgewise.
"Merlin, that was embarrassing." Neville said, letting his head drop to his hands. "I am so bloody sorry, Hermione."
She could tell that he was really embarrassed, and Hermione wasn't sure what to feel. Was he embarrassed that someone thought that she was his wife? Was he embarrassed of her? "Come now, Neville. If you keep protesting so much, I am going to be hurt that you are too mortified to be romantically attached to me. I hear, I am quite the catch."
His head shot up hearing her words. "No, Hermione, it's not that. I'm not embarrassed of you, it's just I already corrected them once, and I know you came with me to get away from the...romantic business, and a honeymoon is basically the most romantic thing that you could have." His cheeks went pink. "And I can't believe he wasn't subtle at all about the...the sex."
Hermione burst out laughing. "It's alright, Neville. If they are going to give us free stuff, we might as well not argue with it. I will continue to drink free, expensive champagne with you, husband." She said winking at her friend.
He seemed a bit more relaxed after she joked about it, glad to have some of the tension melting away. By the time the waiter returned with their drinks, all awkwardness had dissipated. Hermione ordered a tiki drink that sounded quite strong, but Neville bit his tongue. She was a bit girl, and she could drink whatever she wanted. They both ordered fish, knowing that it was likely to be very fresh and extremely delicious.
Hermione, internally, was bursting with curiosity about what kind of woman Neville wanted in his life. Sure, they'd talked a lot about her love life, but he hadn't mentioned anything himself, except for disdain with his students' love lives, but nothing about his. By the time their entrees were at the table, she couldn't keep it in a second longer. "So Neville, turnabout is fair play. What are you looking for in a woman?"
Neville's cheeks instantly went pink, and Hermione was struck by the fact that maybe Neville wasn't looking for a woman. "Or, you know, a guy, life partner in general." She added on, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable.
If it was possible, his cheeks turned even pinker. "No, it's uh...definitely women." He told her, his hazel eyes cautiously meeting hers. "I um, haven't really given it much thought either, I suppose I always thought that it would just click."
"So, why did things not work out between you and Hannah Abbott? You seemed pretty crazy for each other after the war." She asked, curious about what had split the two lovebirds up, though, if Hermione was honest, they always seemed too different to work well together. They didn't compliment each other like some opposites did.
"Well, it was great at the beginning." Neville revealed, honestly, not at all embarrassed. "After the war, it felt like everything was going to be wonderful for once. And having someone who wanted you back just felt like walking on thin air. But after a while, we just ended up fighting more than we spent enjoying time together."
Hermione pursed her lips. She was entirely sure she knew what that was like, because she remembered those halcyon days that she had left behind pretty quickly. She was ready to move on after the war, get rebuilding, fixing society, but it seemed like everyone else was happy to stay in the haze of post war bliss. There was so much to get done.
"She wanted me to be an auror, but, when Professor Sprout offered me the apprenticeship, I knew that getting my mastery in Herbology is what I wanted to do. I didn't even have to think about it twice." Neville told her, a smile on his face.
She was genuinely happy for her friend. "That's wonderful Neville. I am glad that you knew just what you wanted." She wished that her own life had had that clarity. To this day, she wondered if she made the right choice when she'd accepted her job from the Ministry. "Is it awkward now with Hannah?"
"No, I think she was a bit relieved when I broke things off, to be honest." He said, pushing his fish around his plate with the fork. "But I hardly ever go to the Leaky, so I don't see her all that often."
Hermione nodded. It would be nice to not have to see Ron very often, and she hadn't even dated him! If he wasn't so sure of himself, if he wasn't so sure that she was secretly crying over him, Hermione wouldn't find him so intolerable. "Alright, well, you still haven't told me what you prefer. Blondes? Shall I set you up with Luna?"
Neville laughed at the suggestion. "Thanks, but no thanks. I mean, I suppose, objectively, I am actually most attracted to brunettes." Hermione watched as pink spots reappeared on his cheeks, perhaps because she was a brunette. "I want someone with more substance than just the color of her hair. Someone thoughtful, because Nimue knows I forget everything. Someone kind, someone who has hobbies of her own and won't mind me spending hours out in the garden. Someone who likes the outdoors and doesn't mind getting in a bit of dirt. Someone who understands that family is a touchy subject for me." His voice caught at that. "And someone who just likes me for me, not the guy who killed Voldemort's snake."
Hermione smiled, thinking that she perhaps understood Neville better than he thought she did. She could appreciate family being a touchy subject - something that the Weasleys could never wrap their head around - with her own family away in Australia. And she could understand the pressures of what people thought she was like as a war heroine, without understand who she really was.
"That sounds like a very nice life, Neville. I am sure which ever witch you choose will be very happy."
"You make it sound like they are lining up around the block for me." Neville teased. "You know, for someone who says they hate romance, you seem to enjoy romantic gestures."
Hermione tensed. "I am not really sure what you're talking about." She was quite practical, and she was positive that she didn't like being put through what she had been these past months.
"Well, I think that you like watching the sunset, taking walks, nice dinners with the right wizard of course." Neville said, thinking about all the little things he'd noticed about her in just the one day they'd been in Fiji. "So why are you running away from all of it?"
"I can like those things and not want to be pushed into a relationship, just to date someone." Hermione snapped at him, feeling cornered. "I fought in the war for more than just getting married and having children with the first person who asked me for drinks."
"Of course you did." Neville conceded, surprised by her tone, but not willing to back down. "But no one is saying you have to. Someone asking you out doesn't mean that those things will happen."
"But everyone expects it, Neville." Hermione looked down at her plate. "All of my friends, the newspapers, the tabloids. Everyone else has it, so they just look at me like some kind of freak because I haven't found the right person yet. Even if I did find the right person, I don't think I'd want to get married right away." She defended herself, taking a breath before continuing her little tirade. "And I just hate the way that they pity me, thinking that I am some kind of lost puzzle piece that just needs to find her other half to be fulfilled!"
Neville was beginning to get the fuller picture now. "So it's not that you don't want to be swept off your feet, it's that you don't want to be swept of your feet because everyone else expects you to want to be swept off your feet?" He asked, trying to show her how ridiculous she sounded.
Hermione was getting very annoyed now, though. She hadn't wanted to discuss this at all. "Look. I just wanted to get away from the dates and the owls and the other little presents I get from wizards who don't even know me. Now, I don't want to talk about this any more."
Neville was a smart enough wizard to sense that Hermione had been pushed too far on the subject, and he knew when to keep well enough alone. The silence between the pair of them seemed to stretch on and on like the vastness of the ocean. "I've convinced Professor Sprout to build a special greenhouse for the NEWT students."
That certainly caught her attention and got her in a more positive mood. "Really? That would be nice, you'd be able to work with more dangerous plants." She mused, thinking about all the trouble some of the less dangerous plants caused for first year students.
"Yeah, one of the second years got caught by a Venomous Tentacula for a few hours...he came out a little bit funny." Neville said, a smile from ear to ear, remembering the boy. He wasn't seriously hurt, but he was definitely going to drop Herbology as soon as possible. "The Board of Governors wanted them taken of the curriculum."
Hermione snorted at that. "Oh yes, wonderful idea! Surely, they know how lucrative selling the leaves are for the school? Don't they know how much income that they lend to your department?"
"Well, you know Hermione, a lot of people don't think that Herbology is a very worthwhile subject to study." Neville said, with a scowl, thinking of his own grandmother. "But, this way, I think we will be able to still work with the plants. I think I might even grow a couple of cobra lilies too. I reckon the Slytherins will enjoy that."
And just like that, their dinner conversation was back on track, discussing the politics of working at Hogwarts, and Hermione's role in Magical Law Enforcement. She spent most of her time reviewing the laws that were put in place during the Death Eater's reign and worked to roll them back. Then she could start working on the rest of the Wizarding World's antiquated laws.
By the time that Hermione had finished her second tiki drink, she was giggling along with every story he told about his most unfortunate second year student, Marcus Slewyn, and Neville found that he quite liked that sounds of her laugh. He endeavored to hear it more often on their trip.
