Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is meant purely in tribute to the original work.

Luna's gaze swept the reception ballroom for Neville. She had been caught up in making small talk and exchanging pleasantries with what seemed to be a good third of the population of redheads in the United Kingdom. Then again, there were so many people that Luna had lost track of exactly who was in the Weasley or Granger clans. Luna had glimpsed Neville earlier when he had been standing at the bar, drink in hand. She watched as he walked to a deserted spot along the wall. Neville checked his pocket watch intently and then looked around as if to check if anyone was looking in his direction. He did not notice Luna observing him and his apparent secrecy piqued Luna's curiosity even more. She continued watching as Neville drew a small bottle from his pocket, shook out what looked to be pills, popped them in his mouth, and downed them with help from his drink. After that, a fellow bridesmaid had approached to ask her if she had seen the maid-of-honor. After Luna answered in the negative, she turned back to Neville only to find that he had moved and she had lost him again. "You'd think with so many people with varying shades of red in their hair that a tall, dark haired man would stand out.", she thought in mild frustration. Neville's behavior had only caused Luna's concern for her old friend and former lover to grow. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was not quite right. Luna's eyes locked onto Neville's form a few tables away. He appeared to be holding a conversation with an older member of the Weasley family and his wife. Luna really did not mean to eavesdrop but she did not really have a choice as she quietly approached from behind them.

"I was on my way to becoming an auror you know. But I had other obligations and life took me in a different direction. I like to think I would have done alright!", the older man declared.

"It's a shame, Reginald.", Neville replied in a slightly bored manner.

The older man, Reginald, seemed not to notice. "Just Reg is fine, remember? You must have some exciting stories from the field right? Some infamous names you've chased down?"

"Not much chasing for me really. A lot of time in a lab or sifting through a crime scene."

"Surely you must have some interesting anecdotes? What was the last case you worked on?"

"I'm not really supposed to discuss pending cases-"

"Well then the last one you closed! You can share a tale or two with a former candidate, right?"

"The last case I completed involved a hidden workshop making enchanted narcotics in a Muggle neighborhood. They got careless and the whole place went up."

"Good riddance to those miscreants.", Reg's wife spoke up.

"Unfortunately, the explosion was in a residential area. Some families had gathered at a neighboring home to hold a child's birthday party. Guys from my office had to sift through the scene to secure all the evidence. The unfinished product in this case was quite toxic and could be absorbed through skin. Debris was everywhere; in the walls, trees, dirt, furnishings…and body parts. We had to make sure we collected as much of the substance as possible to prevent further contamination."

"I imagine that must have been difficult.", Reg observed.

"That wasn't the first scene I've been to that was like that.", Neville explained. "After you pick up the severed head of a child for the fifth time, you kind of become desensitized."

Reg went silent and his wife turned a distinct shade of green and quickly excused herself. Reg mumbled something about checking on his wife and departed as well after telling Neville it was nice to meet him. Neville took a drink from his glass as Luna walked up beside him. "Is this the usual reaction to your stories about work?", she asked him.

Neville turned and looked up to answer a voice he knew all too well. He was sure he still heard it in his dreams. "No, but he was starting to try my patience. I don't know how much you heard but he was one of those types who spends an hour telling you all about how he could have been an auror and then spends another hour telling you why he didn't."

"Does that happen often?"

"More times than I care to remember."

"It looks like he didn't get very far in telling you his story. Was yours true?"

"It was.", Neville answered quietly. "It's good to see you again Luna.", he said, standing up and changing the subject. Neville set down his champagne flute and moved to give Luna a hug. Luna walked easily into his arms and returned his embrace. Neville couldn't help but feel a pleasant warmth in his heart in feeling Luna's familiar form against him. He imagined for a moment that if he closed his eyes and forgot his surroundings, not a day had passed since they had gone their separate ways.

"I'm very glad to see you again. It seems like it's been far too long."

"It has. You look well, your tan suits you."

Luna smiled and sat down. "Thank you. I usually use a screening charm but I still get at least a light tan no matter what. I forgot once, that wasn't a pleasant experience."

Neville winced on her behalf as he sat in the chair next to her. "I imagine it wasn't. Were the shoes not to your liking?", he gestured to her hand.

Luna looked down. "I don't think they were meant for dancing. Or at least not my type of dancing."

"Judging by the looks of them they don't even look like they would be comfortable for standing."

"I'm not sure. Maybe if I had danced like everyone else they would be more comfortable. Maybe you can help me. We'll dance and I can test my theory out."

Neville couldn't help but flush a little at her suggestion to dance with her but he managed a small smile. "I don't think that would be a very good test Luna. My foot stepping on yours would negate any validity to the test."

"I doubt you have to worry very much about that."

"Not according to the bridesmaid I was paired with for the wedding party dance."

Luna giggled at the mental image. "I am glad to see you again.", she said quietly.

Neville nodded slightly. "I've missed talking with you like this."

"Neville", Luna hesitantly began, "What happened?"

"What do you mean?", Neville replied although he had a good idea just what Luna was asking about. She didn't answer him but gently slid her hand against his scarred cheek. Neville flinched slightly at her touch on the rough skin.

"I think you know what I am asking about."

"Not here. Not with this many people about. Let's go out to the terrace." Neville stood and retrieved his glass. Luna stood and picked up her shoes. They walked in silence out the glass double doors to the terrace. There were few people milling about as most of the activity was taking place indoors, which had better acoustics for the music. Neville took a sip from his glass before speaking. "Why do you want to know?"

"Does this have anything to do with those pills you took earlier?", Luna asked.

"You saw that?" Luna answered him with a nod of her head. "They're painkillers. High quality ones made from the extract of an amaranthine lotus."

"Do you have to take them often?"

"Regular schedule. Otherwise I get migraines that nearly incapacitate me."

"Should you be washing them down with alcohol?"

"What, this?" Neville held up his glass. "This isn't champagne. It's sparkling apple cider. I haven't drank all night. I can't drink alcohol ever again. The interaction with the medication would most likely cause death. At best, I may stop breathing if I'm lucky but at least I could possibly be resuscitated."

"Amaranthine lotus. Does that mean they're addictive?"

"It's possible. Highly unlikely. It varies from person to person. I'm considered a low risk. But if I don't take them…" Neville grimaced. "Let's just say I forgot to once or twice when I first got them. It wasn't a pleasant experience."

"And you can't ever drink again?"

Neville shook his head. "It's not that much of a loss. It just means I'm always the designated driver."

"The what?"

"Sorry, it's a Muggle thing. Picked it up during the Muggle tours back at the academy. "

"How long do you have to take those pills?", Luna steered the conversation back on subject.

"For the rest of my days."

"Is it because of this?", Luna took Neville's hand and gently slid her thumb over the scarring on his wrist.

"You didn't answer me before Luna.", Neville fixed his gaze on her eyes. "Why are you asking?"

"Do I have to have a reason?", Luna replied with a hint of irritation in her voice. "Did you consider that maybe it's because I care about you? That maybe I want to know if you are well and I am distressed to find that you are not?"

"I'm sorry." Neville answered with a contrite expression. "I didn't want to worry you."

"Friends are meant to share in all of your times, good and bad."

"You're right. I should have considered your feelings. But…", Neville paused, "…I always found it difficult to bring up in our letters. You always had so much good and happy news. I felt I would spoil it somehow."

"Neville Longbottom", Luna fixed a rather intense gaze into Neville's eyes, "Don't ever think you are ruining my day with any news or thoughts you have to share with me. Please don't ever do that again." Neville nodded. He found words difficult to come by under the intensity of her gaze. "Now, will you please tell me?"

Neville motioned for Luna to sit at a low bench mounted near the terrace's stone railing and joined her when she sat. "It was a clandestine narcotics workshop. Not unlike the one you heard me describing to Reg. This one got our attention as a former Death Eater was involved."

"Death Eaters peddling magical drugs?", Luna asked, puzzled.

"There are some who are not that hardcore about blood purity. Some of them are willing to deal in unsavory practices with purebloods, half-Muggles, or pure Muggles alike, as long as it turns a profit, keeps them alive, or one step ahead of us. Or a combination of all three. Some joined the Dark Lord just because they were mercenaries. Some are looking to build empires of a different sort."

"Do they sell only in the Wizarding world?"

"I wish. When this crap makes it into the Muggle world…", Neville grimaced. "What a bloody mess. Sometimes literally. Anyways, this workshop got our attention because a former Death Eater was involved. The first team of aurors got in clean and took down all the targets. Minor injuries only. I went in after the scene was secured with a team of three others. My task was to collect all the plants used for manufacture." Luna nodded for him to continue. "The distillation apparatus was rigged. In case they were raided they wanted to level the place and take any law enforcement with them. They had well hidden explosives set up with a timer. The device was small since all the material used to manufacture the drugs would just add to the effects. When the raid began they must have triggered the timer. The first team must have cleared the place faster than expected because the blast didn't go off when they were there. It went off when my group was in there. I was one of the lucky ones." Luna moved her hand to take his. She could tell this was the most difficult part of the story. "I was one of two that survived. The other survivor had to be medically retired. I spent the better part of a month recovering. I was told I was unconscious for 4 days. The healers said it was better that way since burns are extremely painful to recover from."

Luna linked her arm around Neville's and leaned her head into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. For you and your friends."

"They had families. They had kids. It was a bad day.", Neville said quietly. "Not the first, certainly wasn't the last."

"Is it all worth it?"

"I try to tell myself it is. You should see what some of this shit does to people. Then again, be glad you haven't seen it if you haven't."

"I wish I had been there for you."

"I'm kind of surprised none of the others told you."

"Ginny and Hermione mentioned you had been hurt. But then they mentioned Harry and Ron getting hurt before as well and all of you seem to recover just fine. I got lulled into believing yours wasn't that bad."

Neville squeezed Luna's hand reassuringly. "I'm fine."

"You almost weren't." A long silence followed before Neville decided to change the subject.

"How was Brazil?"

"Very hot, very humid. There seem to be 100 different types of snakes there and 99 of them are venomous."

"What about the last one?"

"That one tries to eat you whole."

"Ahhh…."

"Do I hear some apprehension from the slayer of Nagini?", Luna gently teased.

"Can you blame me if I still don't like them much? Even though the snake mostly dissolved it still made a mess on my sweater." Luna giggled. "How's Rolf?", Neville asked rather abruptly.

Luna was quiet for moment. "He's doing fine. We broke up 6 months ago."

Neville's mouth went dry. "That was…unexpected.", he thought. He took a quick swig of cider before replying. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright. Sometimes things just don't work out."

"I had thought that since you had introduced him to your father, things were going well."

"Daddy did think well of Rolf. And they got along. But that wasn't a guarantee things would work out." Neville simply nodded in a silent reply. "How are things with Hannah?", Luna asked.

Neville was so distracted that he nearly missed Luna's question. "She's fine too. We broke up about a year ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that too." Luna paused to smooth out an imaginary wrinkle in her dress. "Aren't we a pair? Neither of us seems to be able to maintain a relationship."

"She wasn't you.", Neville quietly said. Luna raised her head from his shoulder and faced him with a surprised, wide-eyed expression. It was clear she did not quite believe what she had just heard. Neville swallowed and found his resolve once more. "It wasn't fair to her. Someone else was on my mind. You."

"Neville…", Luna began.

"I'm sorry." Neville said. "I know I'm dumping this on you from out of the blue. But it's the truth. I just… felt like I had to tell you."

"This is very sudden Neville. I'm…not sure what to-"

"Luna! Hermione's about to throw the…bouquet…", Ginny's voice broke in as she came walking out onto the terrace. Luna and Neville abruptly broke apart at their friend's sudden presence. It was clear from the look on her face that Ginny wondered if she had interrupted a "moment".

Luna rose and straightened out her dress. "Thank you for letting me know Ginny."

"I figured you wouldn't want to miss that. But first, Ron is going to throw the garter. I was going to ask if you had seen Neville."

Neville rose as well at the news. "Well, I guess my presence is required. Thank you for letting me know Ginny." As the three of them moved to re-enter the banquet hall, Neville hesitated. "Luna?" The former Ravenclaw and Gryffindor both turned. Neville held out Luna's shoes that she had left behind under the bench. "I think you'll want these back. Even if they're not that comfortable."

Luna smiled as she accepted the shoes from Neville's outstretched hand. "Thank you."

"Will you be around after the reception? For the next few days, I mean."

Luna nodded. "I'm staying with my father right now."

"Can we meet again? We didn't finish talking and…I still want to talk with you."

"Yes.", Luna said in a voice just above a whisper.

"I'll be in touch soon." Neville picked up his glass and re-entered the hall. As Luna moved to follow him, she noticed Ginny throw a very knowing grin in her direction.

"Sorry for interrupting you two."

"It's alright Ginny."

"So, what was all that about?"

"I'm still not sure myself."

Author's Note: I figured the life of an auror can be pretty tough. Again, I took some liberties with Neville's experiences. I figured his language has probably gotten a little coarser as well. Neville's story to end the conversation he did not want to have was based off the experiences of a co-worker of mine who used to work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams. His stories contain some truly disturbing stuff.

The pace of my writing has slowed somewhat as my family and I will be moving soon. Rest assured, I am determined to finish this story and I will not abandon it. I'm not sure how many out there are reading this but even if there aren't any, I am still adamant about finishing the story. If you are reading, please take a few minutes and write a review. At the very least, it would be good to know that I have not drifted woefully off course with these characters.