Early the next morning, Neville awoke to the sound of the kettle boiling in the kitchen. Rubbing his eyes, he walked in, finding Luna perched on the counter top, sleepily watching the kettle as she reached round to her other side to grasp two mugs fitted with tea bags. She smiled at him.

"Morning, Neville." He nodded at her, still groggy, walked into the kitchen, leaning against the counter where she sat. She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Do you sleep on a down pillow?"

"Um..yeah. Why?"

"because," she said as she reached out and plucked something from his thick hair "you have a feather in your hair." She smiled and handed him the feather and then the cup of now steeped tea. His fingers brushed hers as he took them, sipping the tea and slipping the feather into his pocket. She slid off the counter, hitting the floor with a bounce, and opened his cupboard, standing on her toes to reach the top shelf. Grabbing the box of Muggle cereal she knew was up there, she opened the box and munched on it dry. He smiled at her and shook his head, then reached in himself, grabbing a handful. "So do we floo?" She asked.

"Yes. I should get dressed." Neville took a last handful of cereal and went to his room. Luna followed suit, apparating quickly home to change into better clothes. It was warm, so she put on a pale yellow dress that was thin and soft, with bits of shining gold thread running through in places. She found a pair of matching socks, her Converse and the small bronze eagle hair comb her father had given her on her last birthday. She figured meeting her best friend's parents was something of a dressy occasion. She apparated back to Neville's where he was pacing the living room, looking distressed. His hair had been combed, but he'd mussed it. He had on a pair of dark jeans and an untucked red short sleeved button up. She walked over quietly and carefully grabbed both of his wrists. He stopped and looked down at her. She smiled serenely at him and reached up, smoothing his hair for him.

"Much better." She said quietly. She took his hand comfortingly. "Shall we?" she tilted her head towards the fireplace. He nodded. They walked towards the fireplace. He went first, she followed after. Moments later they were both waiting for reception to let them into the ward where Neville's parents were. Neville quietly seemed to shrink back into the awkward little boy he'd been, losing the strong young man he'd become. Luna reached over and squeezed his hand again, but when she went to move it away, he squeezed it back and wouldn't let go. The receptionist opened the door to the Longbottoms' room, and informed them that they were both magically sedated for the time being due to a few manic episodes. Luna followed Neville, walking softly. Alice and Frank Longbottom lay in their respective beds. Still except for their breathing. Neville's eyes shone a bit as he walked towards his father.

"Hey, dad." He said, his voice quiet. Luna stepped back a bit, to give him privacy, but watched as he spoke. "I know it's been awhile. But I was fighting, and then everything was such a mess. But I'm here, finally. I killed his snake, dad. I killed You Know…Voldemort's snake. And I helped restart the resistance at Hogwarts. I wanted to make you proud." His voice shook a little and he looked to Luna. She walked over and leaned her head against his arm. "I didn't do it alone though. So many people helped. Especially Luna Lovegood. You went to school with her dad. She's here. I've know I've never brought anyone along before, but you would like her, dad." Luna squeezed Neville's hand again, Neville shut his eyes and was quiet for a minute.

"Do you mind if I say something?" Luna whispered.

"Go ahead."

"Hello, Mr. Longbottom. I'm Luna Lovegood. Your son Neville is my best friend. You would be so proud of him, Mr. Longbottom. He's been so brave and so loyal and devoted to defeating Voldemort. And he's a good friend." Neville looked down at Luna and smiled at her.

"Thank you." He whispered. He bit his lip and walked towards his mother.

"Hi mum. I missed you. Gran died, a few weeks ago. I think the stress of the war was too much. But it's over now. Voldemort is gone. Forever. I've been reading a lot. Trying to see if there's any way to unlock a human mind. I miss you so much mum, even if I never really knew you." Luna noticed that Neville was crying and gently leaned into him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I want you to meet someone, mum. She's right here. Her name's Luna, Luna Lovegood. She's the greatest person I ever met. You'd love her. She punched Amicus Carrow so hard she broke his nose. And she's brilliant. I'd probably dead if she hadn't been around the past two years."

"He's lying, Mrs. Longbottom. He'd be just fine. Your son is an extraordinary person. But you always knew that. I'm sure you did." She smiled at Neville. "I'm going to step out for just a second." Neville nodded. He moved to the chair by his mother's bed, and turned to face her, his back to the door.

"I love her, mum. Luna that is. She's brilliant. You really would love her. I wish you could meet her. Really meet her. She means the world to me. Hell, she is the world to me. I don't know what I'm going to do when she falls in love with some brilliant Ravenclaw and leaves to travel the world." He shook his head sadly and stared in silence until Luna re-entered the room.

"The nurse says we should go." She looked up at Neville, her eyes gentle. He nodded and followed her out to the bank of fireplaces and floo-ed back to his house.

Back home, he sat on the sofa and rubbed his face a few times with his palms, trying to snap himself out of the funk he was in. Luna sat down beside and leaned her head on his shoulder, humming a tune under her breath softly. It sounded vaguely familiar.

"What are you humming?"

"A muggle song I heard in the store the other day. Take a little time, walk a little line
Get the balance right Give a little love, gimme just enough So that I can hang on tight We will be alright, I'll be by your side" she sang softly, and a little off tune, but Neville smiled anyway.

"Thank you for coming today, Luna. You're the only person who's ever met them."

"Thank you for letting me, Neville. I know it has to be hard. To know they're still alive but know nothing about you or what you've done." She reached over and stroked his cheek once, gently, and smiled at him. "I should get home and floo call my father. I'll swing by tomorrow, alright?" She stood and he nodded and smiled, wrapping her in a hug before she apparated away.