"Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you." -Elvis Presley (Can't Help Falling In Love)
I had almost forgotten how much I loved being back at school. The only thing I didn't especially miss was the constant teasing, but I was so good at ignoring it that I didn't even hear the taunts anymore.
"You don't mind?" Neville asked one afternoon as we sat out on the front steps of the castle, doing homework. The weather had been really nice lately and everyone was taking advantage of it.
"Don't mind what?" I asked, looking up as I double checked the length of my History of Magic essay. It was the exact length I needed. I stuck my quill behind one ear and my wand behind the other as I rolled up my essay.
"People still call you Looney Lovegood," Neville whispered. "I heard people today saying it."
"Oh, yes, they've been calling me that for years. I don't expect they'd stop now."
"But you don't mind? That's my question," Neville said.
I shrugged. "I've been hearing it and ignoring it for so long that I barely hear it going on."
"It just seems that it hurts me more than it hurts you."
"It wasn't easy to deal with the teasing when it first started, but—wait, Neville, are you upset?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, I love you and I hate hearing them say those things about you."
I smiled. Last week had been the first time Neville had said he loved me. It had been a nice surprise. I hadn't expected him to say it, and especially not as casually as he did. I had actually been so surprised that I didn't answer him, so I decided that now might be a good time.
"Well, I love you too, Neville," I said with a smile, reaching out to squeeze his hand.
"Really?" Neville blinked.
"Really," I said.
"I didn't expect you to say it back. There wasn't any pressure when I said it last week, I mean." He blushed and focused on his homework.
"No, I know," I answered. "I was just so surprised."
"You didn't show it," Neville smiled. "Anyway, I was surprised too. I had been thinking it for a while, but I didn't know how to say it. Then, it just kind of came out."
"It's quite alright. I think the way you told me was a lot better than planning out some special way to tell me."
"Well that's a relief," Neville joked. "Anyway, yeah, I hate hearing people say rude things about you."
"You should have seen him yesterday." We both looked up to see Dean and Seamus walking towards us.
"Oh," Neville blushed, realizing what they meant.
"What did you do yesterday?" I asked.
"He almost hexed Zacharias Smith," Dean said with a smile.
"It was awesome," Seamus said proudly.
"Why?" I asked.
"He was talking about your radish earrings and how it's not normal to wear vegetables in your ears." Neville frowned as he talked.
"Oh," I said calmly. "Well he's not the one wearing them, so I expect he's perfectly normal and has nothing to worry about. As for me, I like these earrings and they also keep away the Nargles. And around Christmas, I get to switch them for the mistletoe ones you gave me, Neville."
"Yeah," he sighed.
"You know, you may have a point, Luna," Dean said. "Smith's not the one wearing the earrings, so why should he care? You just be yourself, Luna."
"Hasn't she always?" Neville asked, finally smiling.
I nodded. "I actually don't care much for that Zacharias either. He's not very nice to anybody."
"Do you two want to come watch the Quidditch tryouts?" Dean asked. "Ginny's trying out for Chaser."
"That's why you want to go," Seamus said, "but I just want to see Harry's first tryouts as captain."
"So you can laugh at him if something goes wrong," Dean laughed.
"In a friendly way," Seamus said defensively.
"Sure, we'll go," Neville said, standing up and sticking his homework in his bag. I did the same before taking Neville's hand and letting him pull me up.
"Looks like Cormac Mclaggen's trying out for Keeper," Neville said as we reached the Quidditch pitch.
"Who's Cormac McLaggen?" I asked.
"He was invited to a few of Slughorn's parties," Neville said. "Well, all of them, really. He's a bit annoying, if you ask me. I don't think Harry likes him all that much either, and I think he's got a bit of a thing for Hermione."
"Cormac does?" I asked. "Well, that's nice, but he doesn't seem to be Hermione's type. In fact, I've always thought she'd go well with Ron."
"Ron?" Seamus laughed. "Ron and Hermione? They're always arguing."
"Exactly," I said.
"But you and Neville never argue, and you're still a good couple."
"Sometimes very similar couples can work out just as well as extremely opposite couples," I told him.
"Okay," Seamus said, looking confused.
"She's going to end up being right about Ron and Hermione," Neville said, swinging my hand playfully. "I wouldn't doubt it."
"So you believe it?" Dean asked.
"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was right." I smiled, but then my smile faltered when we heard a voice behind us.
"Look, now she's got antlers!" It was Draco Malfoy and he was looking straight at me while Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle snickered behind him. Apparently they had come to watch they tryouts as well.
I reached up and gently touched one ear and then the other. I knew my wand was still behind one ear, but I had forgotten that I had put my quill behind the other. It probably did look like I had a pair of lopsided antlers.
"G-go away, Malfoy," Neville stuttered, stepping in front of me and holding up his wand.
"What'll you do if I don't?" Malfoy asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I'll hex you," Neville said.
"Yeah, he will," Seamus chimed in. "You wouldn't believe how good he got at hexes since last year."
"And if he doesn't hex you, I will." It was Ginny, coming over from the center of the field, her broom in her hand. "Now, we're about to start tryouts, so Malfoy, if you would kindly leave, we can-,"
"Oh, I came to watch," Malfoy said, smirking. "I'm sure it'll be really entertaining. It'll be like watching a bunch of people who can't play Quidditch."
"No, I'm pretty sure that's the Slytherin team," Ginny said calmly.
Malfoy's face turned red, but he didn't say anything else as he stomped away, sending glares our way.
"Well, he's certainly pleasant," I said.
"Yeah, as pleasant as Snape on a Monday," Seamus mumbled.
"Or Snape any day," Neville added.
"Oh, yes, Snape is another rather unpleasant person," I said, nodding.
Ginny smiled and gave Dean a peck on the cheek. "Go find a seat and watch," she told us, "and hope Malfoy gets hit with a Bludger during the Beater tryouts."
A week later, I was sitting on my bed, art supplies surrounding me as I worked on my lion hat. I was making it for the Gryffindor Quidditch match against Slytherin that was coming up that weekend. I was really hoping for Gryffindor to beat Slytherin, which was why I was making the hat. I was even hoping, if there was time of course, to add a snake inside of the lion's mouth so it would look like the lion was eating it.
"Luna, someone's outside the common room looking for you," Cho Chang said, sticking her head in the door. "What is that?"
"It's my lion hat. I'm going to wear it for the match on Saturday. It's not finished yet, though. It's going to roar and everything, if I can get the charm right."
"Oh," Cho said, "it looks very big. Big for your head, I mean."
"Oh, I know. It's supposed to." I smiled up at her.
"Okay, as long as you know," she said with a smile.
"Who's waiting outside for me?" I asked, setting down a piece I was using for the lion's nose.
"Neville," Cho said smiling wider. "He said he was going down to the greenhouses and wanted you to come with him."
"That sounds lovely," I answered, standing up quickly and walking out of the room. I skipped down the stairs and gave Cho a wave and a smile over my shoulder. "Thanks for letting me know, Cho."
"No problem," she called after me.
I swung open the door that led to the stairs leading down from the tower and accidentally hit someone. "Oh, sorry, Neville!" I gasped, realizing it was him.
"No, it's my fault," he said, rubbing his shoulder. "I probably shouldn't have been standing right outside the door."
"Why were you right outside the door?" I asked. "I mean, why weren't you waiting at the bottom of the stairs?"
Neville shrugged. "No reason. I didn't really want to wait all the way down there. The stairs curve so I can't really see the door."
"Why do you need to see the door?"
"Why all these questions?" Neville teased, grinning at me.
"I was just curious," I said.
"I needed to see the door so I could see you," Neville said all in one breath. "Happy now?" he smirked.
"You would have seen me eventually, whether you waited at the bottom of the stairs or not," I shrugged. "But I'm glad you didn't."
"Me too," he grinned, giving me a kiss. "I'm glad we settled that. I was about to ask why we were having that conversation."
"I don't think I would have had an answer," I said. We had reached the front doors by now and I smiled as Neville pushed one open and let me through first.
"Why?" he asked curiously.
"Conversations just happen, don't they?" I asked. "That's what I think, at least. "You never really know when or why they're going to happen and even if you try to, you can't really plan them out."
"So our conversation right now…" Neville began.
"It just happened. You said you were about to ask why we were having the conversation we had. I don't know why either. It just happened. We couldn't really control it. We didn't know it was going to happen."
"But we sort of did," Neville said, scrunching up his face in thought as he unlocked the greenhouse door. "I mean, I walked up to your dorm, which basically started the conversation in the first place."
"No, you standing outside the door started the conversation," I said.
"Okay," Neville agreed, pulling the door open. Neither of us walked through it. Instead, we stood in silence as Neville thought. "So, I stood outside the door and that started the conversation, but we can control what we say, so we can control the conversation."
"True, but did you come to my dorm knowing we would have that conversation?"
"No," Neville shook his head, "and I certainly didn't plan on having this one."
"Which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been standing outside the door," I said. "It's funny, isn't it? How much choices effect things?"
"I never really thought of it until now," Neville said. "All I do know is that I always seem to have the most interesting conversations with you."
I smiled and walked into the greenhouse, Neville right behind me. "I rather like it in here," I said.
"Why's that?" Neville asked, walking up and down the rows of plants, checking on them.
"Mainly because you do, I think. You're so happy and relaxed in here. More than usual."
"There isn't another reason for why you like it?" Neville teased, looking over his shoulder at me.
"I was about to say that," I said. "I also like the plants."
"Luna!" Neville laughed. I laughed along with him.
"You asked me out in here and we had our first kiss in here as well."
Neville nodded and leaned back against a table. "I remember that as if it were yesterday," he said quietly.
"Almost a year," I reminded him. "Time is funny like that, isn't it?"
"Hm?" Neville asked.
"Time is funny. It's kind of scary really. I think that may be the thing I'm the most scared of."
"Why?" Neville asked, pushing off of the table and crossing the greenhouse to me. He wrapped me into a hug and I rested my cheek against his jacket.
"Well, think about it," I began. "There's so much of it, but at the same time never enough. It goes by so fast, but so slow. It tricks you."
Neville was silent for a moment. "You're right, it does," he said finally.
"It makes me wonder," I said, "how much time we all really have. You never really know. I thought I was going to have a long time with my mum and you thought you were going to have a long time with your parents, but there just wasn't enough time."
"You're going to make me develop a fear of clocks," Neville whispered, which made me giggle. "What's your boggart?" he asked suddenly. "If the whole time concept thing scares you, then…"
"Well the first time I saw a boggart was when I was 10. My mother's death had still been pretty recent at the time, and when I saw the boggart, it was another spell going wrong and killing my father that time. It was quite terrible. I didn't know it wasn't real at first until my dad came running in to get rid of it. Now, though, I'm not sure if it would still be the same or if it would have changed to include losing my friends: Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and most importantly, you." I pulled away and looked up at Neville to see him looking at me with a concerned look on his face.
"Luna," he whispered. He didn't say anything else, and he didn't have to. He brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes and tucked it behind my ear. Then, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me as hard as he could as if he were trying to help me concentrate on something better and happier than what I had just told him, and I must say, it certainly worked.
A/N: Sorry for the slow update! but the good news is that i'm on vacation now so I'll have more time for writing and updating!
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