"I think you're crazy, just like me." -Gnarls Barkley (Crazy)
"You seem happy today," Neville commented as we walked down to the forest. "I mean, you're always happy, but today you seem extra happy."
"Well, we are going to see the thestrals," I said. "I didn't get to see them when we got here last week since we missed the carriages. It's okay though, because they're always here whenever I want to see them."
"Luna, do you ever mind that I come to feed them with you?" Neville asked nervously.
"No, not at all," I said. "You're actually one of the only people who want to come feed them with me. Not that I've asked anyone else, of course, but I can imagine they wouldn't want to."
"I like feeding them," Neville said.
"I'm glad," I told him as I took a seat on a rock once we reached the thestrals. "I like it, too." One of the thestrals immediately came over to me and I patted it on the nose as I fed it. When I looked up at Neville, he was absentmindedly watching another thestral eat out of his hand.
"You know," he finally said, "they really aren't all that scary."
"No," I said, shaking my head, "they aren't."
"I used to be afraid of them," he said. "I could see them in my second year. I could have probably seen them in my first year as well, but we took the boats first year, not the carriages. Anyway, the first time I saw them, they scared me. It scared me more when I asked Seamus if he knew what they were and he didn't know what I was talking about."
"When did you find out what they were and why you could see them?"
"Last year," Neville admitted. "In Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid taught us about them. That's when I found out what they were and why I could see them. Right after that is when I first came to find you while you were feeding them. Remember that?"
I nodded. "Yes, I do. I'm glad you came. It was nice knowing that other people could see them."
"Yeah, it makes me feel better knowing that other people can. It's like I'm not alone."
"You're never alone, Neville," I said. "You have me and your other friends."
Neville nodded. "Yeah, thank goodness for that."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Thank goodness."
"It's good that we can come down here without having to worry about Umbridge," Neville said.
"I know," I answered. "Not that we really let her stop us anyway."
"Definitely not," Neville answered. "I wonder what happened to her, anyway. The last I saw of her, she was in the hospital wing after her centaur attack."
"She's probably back at the Ministry," I said. "She loved that job and the power too much to leave."
"True," Neville said, "but now she has to admit that Harry was telling the truth about You-Know-Who."
"She probably feels very silly," I said, "but she wouldn't dare admit it."
"True again," Neville answered.
There were a few moments of silence before I smiled over at Neville and said "Ribbit."
He began to laugh and I laughed with him. It had been a sort of inside joke between us last year to make frog noises whenever Umbridge was around.
"So," Neville said once we were done feeding the thestrals and heading back up to the castle, "I have to go to a dinner with Professor Slughorn again."
"Oh, how nice of him to invite you," I said.
"Yeah, I guess," Neville said. "Harry's invited and so are Ginny and Hermione."
"Hermione?" I asked.
"Yeah, because she's smart," Neville said. "I'm only invited because of my parents."
"I thought you said a lot of people were there because of famous relatives."
"Yeah, but Harry's invited because he is famous, Hermione's invited because she's the smartest witch in our year, and Ginny's invited because of that Bat-Bogey Hex. I wish I could even perform one spell as well as she can perform that Bat-Bogey Hex."
"You improved so much during D.A. meetings," I told him, grabbing his hand.
"Yeah, you're right," Neville said, his expression brightening again.
"You are a great wizard," I said. "Slughorn's blind if he can't see that."
"I'm not my parents, though," Neville said.
"No, but isn't that a good thing?"
"Is it?" he asked.
"It depends on how you look at it. I'm sure your parents were wonderful people. They sure seemed it when I met them-,"
"You met them in St. Mungo's," Neville said.
"It doesn't matter," I shrugged. "My point is that they're wonderful, but you don't want to be just like them, do you? Don't you want to be your own person?"
"Well, yeah, but my Gran says I should be like my parents. She's always comparing me to them."
"She wants the best for you," I said.
"Whose side are you on?" Neville joked.
"Yours, of course," I laughed. "Just be yourself, Neville."
"That's easy for you to say. You're always yourself." We had reached the castle by then and Neville held open the door for me. Dinner was just starting and the entrance hall was crowded with people heading into the great hall.
"Well, of course I am. Who else would I be?" I asked.
"What a cliché conversation," Neville said with a chuckle.
"Cliché's can sometimes be incredibly true," I said.
"I believe you."
"Well, I guess we should head to dinner," I said.
"Yeah, I guess we should. Feeding the thestrals made me hungry."
"Me too," I agreed, "but unfortunately we don't eat raw meat. At least I don't."
"I don't either," Neville said, laughing. "Honestly, Luna."
"It's okay with me if you do," I joked, smiling.
"I know it would be," he answered. We held hands all the way to the great hall and when we had to go our separate ways at the doorway Neville leaned closer and whispered "I love you."
"Hello, Neville, how was that dinner with Slughorn last night?" I was sitting outside on the grass by the lake, pulling up long blades of grass and tying them into knots. Neville had just come to sit beside me.
"Boring," Neville said. "I don't think Slughorn is that interested in me. Once I told him everything about my parents, he kind of stopped talking to me. He's more interested in people like Harry. Apparently, he has this thing called the Slug Club, where he picks certain students and they go to regular dinners. I wonder if he'll pick me."
"Why wouldn't he?" I asked, running my fingers through the grass.
"For everything I just said. He probably won't pick me. I never get picked for anything."
"Oh, Neville, stop," I said. "You have just as good a reason to be picked as anyone else."
"He was talking about planning a Christmas party for people who make it into the Slug Club."
"Oh," I said. "That sounds like fun."
"People will be able to bring guests."
"Well that's good," I said.
"I'll bring you if I get in."
"You don't have to, Neville."
"Of course I do. There's no one else I'd rather bring."
"What if you don't get in?"
"We'll hang out just you and me. Either way, I'll get to spend time with you. You're much more fun to hang out with than most of the people there anyway."
"That's very nice of you to say," I said, moving closer to him and draping my legs sideways over his. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
"You know, maybe it's not such a big deal if I don't get in."
"Of course it's not."
"It would make my Gran happy though."
"Does she know what the Slug Club is?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Then imagine her reaction when you tell her without explaining first. I don't think she'd be too thrilled."
Neville laughed and imitated his Gran. "The Slug Club? You're in the Slug Club, Neville?"
I giggled and rested my head against his chest. "He's not such a bad teacher, though."
"I don't mind him," Neville said. "He showed us a cauldron of Amortentia yesterday."
"Isn't that the love potion that smells like-,"
"What attracts you, yeah," Neville answered. I noticed he was blushing slightly.
"Well, what did you smell?" I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, but I just had to ask.
"Well, I smelled the greenhouses. I've always loved the different smells of all the plants and the greenhouses were the first place at Hogwarts where I truly felt completely comfortable. Not that I didn't feel comfortable at Hogwarts already, but you know what I mean. I also smelled pine trees. I know it's another plant, well, tree actually, but I love pine trees. I always have. When I was little, I used to lie under the Christmas tree, just so I would be able to smell it and also look up at the lights."
"That sounds beautiful," I said. "Lots of people would never think to look at a pine tree from underneath."
"Have you?" Neville asked.
I nodded my head. I've never done it with an actual lit Christmas tree, but I've sat under trees outside and looked up through the branches."
"You've done it with other trees besides pine trees?"
"Yeah, they're all different, you see," I said.
"Can we do that one time?"
"You want to go sit under different types of trees?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I had heard him right.
"Yeah," he said. "I know it must sound strange, but it'll be fun, and if we go at night, it'll be romantic." He held me tighter and playfully blew into my ear.
"Is blowing into my ear a romantic gesture as well?"
Neville began to laugh, but my question had been somewhat serious. I had never heard of people blowing into other people's ears, but everyone was different. How was I supposed to know? Maybe Neville thought it was cute.
"No," he said. "I was just being funny."
"Okay," I answered. "So, what was the last thing you smelled?"
"What?" he asked.
"You only told me two things that you smelled in the Amortentia. What was the third one?"
"Daisies," he answered, blushing even worse than the last time.
"Daisies?" I asked. "That's my-,"
"Favorite flower, I know," he answered. "You wear them in your hair a lot, so you always smell like them."
"So, technically, you associate the smell of daisies with me?"
"Yeah," Neville confirmed. "I guess you could say that."
"And you smelled daisies when you smelled Amortentia?"
"Yeah," Neville said again. "It's obvious isn't it?"
"I know it is. I also think it's funny that you smelled three different plant related things."
"I guess what that says about me is that I love plants and you."
"And more plants," I said.
"You're better than plants," Neville answered.
"Why? Not that I'm questioning you, I'm just curious."
"Well, can I do this to a plant?" Neville gently pressed a kiss to my lips. I smiled in the middle of it, causing him to deepen it.
"You could," I answered once we had pulled apart, "but you might look a little crazy. Even crazier than me."
"Maybe we're both a little crazy," Neville said, lying back on the grass. I flopped back next to him and took his hand.
"We'll be crazy together," I said.
Neville smiled. "Because even going crazy is better with someone you love."
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. I've been super busy, but I should have more time now. Don't forget to review! Even if it's just one word, it means a lot. :)
and I don't think I've done the disclaimer yet, so I'll do it now to get it out of the way: If JK Rowling wrote it, I don't own it