Chapter 5:

It not a date… or is it?

Neville and Luna had been passing notes and letters for almost two weeks. Neville had just picked up another note from her. It read:

Dear Neville,

I think we should meet in person sometime soon. Maybe on the next trip to Hogsmeade this Saturday? I'd really like to see you. Write back and tell me what you think.

-Luna

Neville turned a sickly shade of green. Meet in person? He was so much better just talking to her through letters! He wasn't ready for an actual meeting with her!

He then did as any wise man should do when faced with a situation like this: he ran to one of his friends that were girls for advice.

Neville ran all the way to the common room. He ignored the angry yells from teachers telling him to slow down. He just kept running, the only thing he could hear was Luna's voice saying, "I think we should meet in person sometime soon."

When he got to the common room, he scanned the room with frantic eyes. He found Hermione talking to Harry and Ron by the fireplace. He sprinted to her.

"Hermione," he said when he got there, out of breath. "I need your help, NOW."

Ron snickered at Neville. "Why, hello there, Mr. Lovegood. Don't I get a hello?"

Hermione shot him daggers. But Ron didn't seem to notice. "How's the Missus? Is she doing ok?"

Neville felt like punching him. But he didn't have the time. "Hermione, I need you, now!"

She got up with wide eyes full of concern. "What is it Neville?" she said as they walked away from Harry and Ron, still snickering. "What happened?"

Neville handed her the note. She read it with a grin on her face. He felt like slapping it off, saying "What? What are you smiling at? What's so good about that?" But he didn't. He just stood there, patiently waiting for her to finish.

She looked at him with a wide smile. "What's the matter, Neville? This is great news! She wants to see you!"

He looked at her helplessly. "But I'm not ready to meet her. I won't know what to do."

She grabbed his wrist. "Come on. I'm going to help you."

He tried to protest, but she wouldn't hear it. "But, Hermione, how are you… I mean—how are—"

"Just come with me, and be quiet." She led him up to the boy's dormitory staircase. She walked up to the room he shared with Seamus, Dean, Harry and Ron.

"I'll be right back, Neville." She left him in the room, where he read Luna's letter four more times.

When Hermione came back, she brought Ginny with her, as well as several bags.

Neville tried to look at what was in the bags, but Ginny slapped his hand away.

"No peeking," she said sharply, but then she smiled. "Where's the note, I want to see it."

He handed her the note from Luna and watched that same, horrifying smirk on her face when she read it.

"Aw, that's so sweet. Did you write her a letter back, confirming that you are going?"

Neville looked down. "Um… I—I didn't—"

Ginny looked at him with eyes full of horror. "Neville! What were you thinking? You have to confirm it! She said very clearly write back!!!"

Hermione looked at him too, but her eyes were full of sympathy.

Ginny was staring him down. "Well? What are you waiting for? Grab some parchment and write like the wind!"

Neville jumped out of where he was sitting. He grabbed some parchment that Hermione was holding out. He looked around franticly for a quill. He searched around his trunk and his bag, until he saw Hermione holding one out too.

"Thanks," he said, running out of the room to the common room. He sat down quickly at a free armchair. He scribbled down his response.

Dear Luna,

I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you this Saturday. I think it sounds like fun.

See you then.

-Neville

He ran out of the chair, nearly running over two first years. He ran like he had never run before.

When he reached the tree where they put their letters, he shoved his letter into the little hole in it. He leaned against the tree, trying to catch his breath, when he saw Luna in the distance, skipping toward the tree. She was going to pick up his response.

Neville turned around before she could see him. He ran back to the Gryffindor common room at a speed that would've given his Gran a heart attack.

When he sprinted back up the stairs to his room, he collapsed on his bed.

He sat there with his eyes shut, trying to regain the breath that he thought would never come back to his lungs, when he noticed the girls had set something up on top on his trunk.

He sat up and looked at something that horrified him: supplies to get him ready to meet with Luna.

And when he said supplies, he meant hair potions, and a bunch of other stuff that made him want to throw up.

"What is all this for?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer to that.

Ginny rolled he eyes. "It's for your date, of course."

Neville nearly choked. That wasn't the answer he was expecting. "My what?"

Hermione tried to stop Ginny, but she just kept going. "Your date. You're going on a date."

Hermione leaned in and whispered to Ginny, "He's not used to that phrase yet, so just, don't mention it."

Ginny nodded and whispered back, "Right, sorry."

Neville threw his head back and groaned. "No. It's not a date, it can't be! No…."

Ginny looked at him apologetically and said again, "Sorry."

Hermione changed the subject quickly. "Neville! Do you think Luna answered your letter yet? Why don't you go check?"

"I guess." Neville slumped out of his room. He wasn't ready to even meet Luna, much less go on a date with her!

He figured the note would get his mind off of things.

Boy, was he wrong.

When Neville reached the tree, he saw a piece of parchment shoved into the hole. He could tell someone had hastily shoved it in, which made Neville's stomach do a flip.

She wanted to talk to him, she really did.

Neville opened the parchment, and what he saw nearly made him pass out.

Dear Neville,

Ok, it's a date. See you.

-Luna

He started to hit his head against the trunk of the tree. "It's not a date, it's not a date," he moaned as he hit his head. After his head started to hurt a little, Neville dragged his feet all the way back to the common room and up to his dormitory.

Hermione gave him an expectant look. "Well? What did the note say?"

He tucked the note further into his pocket. "Nothing, she just said 'ok.'"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Let me see it."

Neville was going to grab the note, shove it into his mouth and chew it up, so there would be no evidence, but, this was Hermione. She'd probably just track down the pieces of the note and spend days putting back together, just to stare at the words, 'It's a date.'

He held it out and she read it with wide eyes. She tried to hide her smile.

Ginny read it over her shoulder, but she did nothing to hide her's. Neville wanted to turn to pudding.

Hermione handed him back to note and he tried to hide the fact he was blushing.

He got up and walked over to his bed and tucked the note underneath his mattress without letting Ginny or Hermione see what he was doing. All of the letters Luna sent him were there, tucked into a corner of his mattress.

He strolled back to where they sat, and stared at the witch beauty products in absolute terror.

"Again," he said, feeling more and more tired the further he got into that day, "why all the fuss about me and Luna going to Hogsmeade together?"

Ginny gave Neville a soft look and explained as gently as she could, "Neville, you're going to have to get used to, now that you're a teenager, the word date."

Neville threw his head back and moaned. "Can't we just call it a meeting? I'm not ready for the word 'date.'"

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "Why not? What's so wrong about that word?"

Neville gave them a pained look. "Because it would mean we are, involved with one another."

Ginny groaned "Oh, for Merlin's sake, you've been passing notes to her for nearly three weeks now. How could you not be 'involved?' Even as friends!"

Neville made a tortured face. "No… I mean involved, uh—romantically."

Ginny giggled and Hermione acted as if she didn't hear a thing to save Neville the embarrassment.

"This is it," Hermione said, holding up some clothes.

"What's so great about those clothes?" Neville asked, thinking all this preparation for his and Luna's "meeting" was stupid.

Ginny shook her head and muttered, "Boys…."

Hermione laid the clothes down on Neville's bed. "Neville, this is perfect! You have to look amazing when Luna sees you."

"Yeah," Ginny said. "You have to make some heads turn and some jaws drop. You have to make those Hogwarts girls do a few double takes."

Neville looked at the clothes. It was a pair of Muggle clothes, which is usually Hogwarts students wore to Hogsmeade. There was a dark blue Muggle shirt and a pair of Muggle jeans.

"Again I ask, what is so great about these certain clothes? Can't I just show up in night clothes?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. That would be all wrong! You have to look perfect."

He stared at the clothes in dread, wondering what horror awaited him on Saturday.

Everywhere Neville went, he heard the word date.

Friday morning, he sat down to eat breakfast with Seamus, Dean, Harry, and Ron.

Dean had reached over and picked up a plate that he shoved toward Neville.

"Want a date, Neville?" he asked him.

Neville stared at him, surprised, "What?"

Dean looked confused. "Uh, a date. One of these fruit like things. They're actually quite good."

Neville breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh."

Seamus looked at him with concern. "You ok, date."

Neville jumped back. "What?"

Seamus leaned in and said very loudly, "I said, are you ok, mate?!"

He relaxed again. "Oh."

Harry looked perplexed, but he went on saying, "You know what I date?"

Neville jumped again. "What?"

"I said," Harry nearly shouted, "You know what I hate?!"

Neville sighed. "Oh, what do you hate?"

"That we have the keep re-dating ourselves!"

Neville stared at him, confused. "What?!"

Harry looked frustrated. "Repeating ourselves! Gosh, Neville, do you need a hearing date?"

Neville almost leaped out of his seat. "What?"

Ron shot up, leaned in to Neville's ear and screeched, "A hearing AID!"

He certainly needed a hearing aid now.

After his paranoia was nearly through at the end of the day, he slumped back to the common room, wanting to die. Hermione and Ginny had told him on Wednesday that he was going to have to undergo a "hair process." He wasn't really looking forward to that.

As soon as he got comfortable in an armchair, he was attacked by Ginny and Hermione.

"Let's go, Neville," Ginny said, grabbing one arm while Hermione grabbed the other one to lift him up from the chair.

Neville knew it would be useless to argue. Hermione and Ginny together could accomplish anything. They could even take over the Ministry, if they wanted.

So he got dragged to his room, where he was seated in a chair and Hermione and Ginny did lots of different things to his hair, none of them too pleasant. At one point, he had looked into the mirror and yelled at the top of his lungs because he had a blue Mohawk.

Hermione looked flustered. "Don't worry, Neville. We can fix this… I hope."

"I hope?!?" Neville screamed. "You better! This was your bright idea!"

Ginny had grimaced and said, "Sorry."

So, they had spent about an hour and a half, trying to help Neville get his hair back and make him a hairstyle suitable for the "meeting."

When Neville looked at his hair, he had to admit, he was surprised. His hair had retained its original color. But, it looked different, somehow. It looked, nicer. More tamed. He liked it.

When he had thanked Hermione and Ginny, stood there and tried to stand the excited grins on their faces, and had promised to wear the clothes they had picked out, he escorted them out.

Then he looked at himself once more in the mirror and tried to get ready for what lay ahead.