Hey there! Here it is, the Hogsmeade chapter! I made it especially long too! I'm basically writing this story as I think of it and I have no idea where it's going from here. I've got some ideas for future chapters though, so I'm going to stick with it! My thanks to my fabulous editors: YourPrincess and HermioneGrangerisME.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Chapter 3

Hogsmeade

Sparkling spheres of dew covered the grounds on the morning of the scheduled trip to Hogsmeade. Luna loved to walk the grounds in the early hours of the morning. When the school had yet to wake up and students were still asleep in their beds. That was the time Luna liked best. The silence was peaceful to her. Rays of sunlight peeked through a stone arch and illuminated her blonde head as Luna's feet began to move faster. Her sneakers glided across the slippery grass as she made her way to the courtyard.

Luna thoroughly enjoyed visits to Hogsmeade. One of her favourite shops was Tomes and Scrolls. It was the only book store in Hogsmeade. Which was fine with Luna because they had a great selection of specialty books. She had spent hours in that shop, perusing the shelves, her fingers trailing across the spines. She usually arrived back home with her trunk full of new books from the book shop. They ended up in haphazard piles around her bedroom and occasionally stacked on the stairs, in the kitchen and in the living room.

In fact, Luna's corner in the Ravenclaw dormitories was also scattered with books. She had tripped over one of them in her haste to get out the door in time. The herbology books she had borrowed from the library were spread out on her bed as she had fallen asleep reading them the night before.

Luna jogged the rest of way to the meeting place for all students going to Hogsmeade. The courtyard was crowded and Luna had to push through students to find Neville.

Neville waited in the courtyard nervously. Wait. Nervous? He had no reason to be nervous, he told himself. Yet those butterflies persisted as they flitted around in his stomach. He wondered if Luna would actually show up. He hadn't spoken to her since that afternoon on the grounds. They didn't have any classes together since Luna was a year younger than Neville. He wondered if she kept to the Ravenclaw tower, or if she spent her time elsewhere.

As crowds of students started to gather in the courtyard, Neville became more anxious. He spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione and waved to them. The threesome started to move in his direction.

"Hello Neville", said Hermione politely.

"You want to join us at the three broomsticks?" Harry asked. The three had noticed Neville standing alone and came to invite him for a butterbeer.

"Actually I'm waiting for someone", Neville replied awkwardly as his cheeks heated. He silently hoped they wouldn't broach the subject.

"Yeah? Who?" asked Ron rather loudly. Neville internally cursed Ron.

He cleared his throat and said somewhat quietly, "Luna."

"What was that?" Ron asked quite obnoxiously.

"Luna", Neville said more clearly, exasperated with the red-headed bloke. Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs, giving him a glare.

"I guess we'll see you around then!" Hermione said cheerfully and grinned. She looped her arms around her companions and steered them away from Neville.

Over his shoulder, Harry called, "See you Neville!" Neville watched them walk away swiftly and noticed Hermione lean toward Ron to tell him something.

"Neville! Fancy Luna?" Ron practically shouted. Hermione shushed him and gave him a smack for good measure. Neville threw his hands up in irritation. Ron and his big mouth. No one seemed to notice his outburst, though, thankfully. And Neville certainly did not fancy Luna.

Speaking of Luna, he believed he spotted her blonde head bobbing in the sea of students. He waved to get her attention at the same time that she turned her head in his direction. A grin spread across her face as she made her way over to Neville. "Good morning, Neville", Luna greeted him. Neville couldn't help it. His face flushed immediately.

"G-Good morning, Luna", Neville stuttered and internally kicked himself. How was it that he was able to have a conversation with her last week without his palms getting sweaty and his face turning as red as a tomato? If he could do it then, he could do it now. He calmed down slightly. It was just a friendly meeting of two friends. Without noticing it, Neville had begun to think of Luna as a friend. She did have a friendly face. Open, and slightly innocent. But it was more than that.

"Did you sleep well?" Luna asked suddenly.

"Uh… er, yes. I guess I did." Neville replied. They stood staring at each other for a few seconds. Luna's radish earrings twinkled in the breeze. Neville finally realized he was being rude. "Oh! Right… and, did you sleep well?" He asked in return.

Luna gave a small laugh before saying, "Yes, quite well."

"Right… well, that's good." Their conversation was interrupted as Professor McGonagall asked for everyone's attention. Neville was relieved as he turned his attention to the Transfiguration Professor.

Luna and Neville ambled the streets of Hogsmeade in comfortable silence. Luna concentrated on the crunch of gravel under her shoes as they walked. Witches and Wizards of Hogwarts crowded the lane, excited for the first Hogsmeade trip of the school year. Seeing as they weren't walking to anywhere in particular, Neville spoke up, "Is there a shop you wanted to visit?"

Luna looked startled for a moment. It appeared as if he had interrupted her thoughts. "I quite like Tomes and Scrolls", Luna replied looking in the direction of her favourite shop. "Would you like to stop in Honeydukes first?"

"Sure," said Neville, relieved that they now had a destination.

Honeydukes was crowded when they entered, the bell above the door chiming at their arrival. Luna squeezed between the shop patrons, making her way to the back of the shop. Neville was close behind her. The colourful shop was an assault on the senses. Not only was it bright (apparently candy at Honeydukes came only in the loudest of colours), but the sweet smell was quite over powering.

Luna picked up a tin of Sugared Butterfly Wings, her favourite treat at Honeydukes. "Neville!" she called over her shoulder, "Have you tried these?"

"Uh, no, I don't think I have", he answered, getting a look at the tin.

"They're my favourite. What's yours?" she asked.

Neville looked around the shop for a few moments before striding over to a display. "Salt Water Taffy", Neville said shrugging.

"Great", Luna said, and idea forming in her mind. "Lets get... two of those, a few of these…" she trailed off as she picked up two boxes as well as a couple Sugar Quills and a box of Fudge Flies. "Right. That should be enough."

"For what?" Neville asked, a bit confused. But Luna was already on her way to the checkout. Neville caught up with her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to look back at him. "I'll get that", he said pulling out his wallet."

Luna stretched out her cramped legs as she reached for another Sugar Quill. The book that had been sitting in her lap plopped the floor, the pages collapsing together. The two had left Honeydukes and now sat on the floor between two shelves of books in Tomes and Scrolls. They were on the third floor of the shop. Hardly anyone came up here. Luna crossed her legs again, picking up the book. Books were leaning in heaping piles around them. Luna took in a deep breath; the smell of parchment invaded her nose. It was a good smell. One that sparked many happy memories for her.

Neville was content. There was no stress or anxiety when he was with Luna. Thinking back, he had no idea why he was so nervous for today. She was easy to be around. When there was silence between them, instead of being awkward, it was comfortable.

They had been looking through books for about an hour already, occasionally exchanging words. Neville noticed how passionate Luna was about books. She had practically dragged him down the aisles, pulling books from shelves and piling them in his arms. There was a stack to his right of books which were "Luna's Recommended Reading". The stack on his left she had called "Books That Must Be Read No Matter What". Finally a slightly smaller pile next to that which she said were "Books I Think You Might Like".

Neville chuckled remembering Luna's eyes light up as she tried to explain why these books were so great. Obviously she couldn't do so with words and just ended up pushing a pile of them against his chest. "Just trust me", she had said.

Now as they sat in the 'Fiction U-Z' section, Neville realized he quite liked Luna's company. They were very much alike, he observed. He picked up a book from "Luna's Recommended Reading" called Unlikely Magical Beasts. Flipping through it, he found sketches of strange creatures he'd never heard of. Dabberblimps and Aquavirius Maggots were among them. Turning the book around, he read the back cover.

From Heliopaths to Wrackspurts, this anthology delves deep into the mysterious creatures of the Wizarding world. While sceptics argue over the existence of these creatures, Unlikely Magical Beasts will provide you with the facts. Details on Moon Frogs and the long controversial Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!

Neville smiled when he finished. Yes, they certainly were unlikely. But he would give the book a try, since it seemed important to Luna. She had asked him what his favourite books were. He had admitted to not reading much other than book on herbology. Yet as a child, he had adored detective novels. They had searched the aisles and came up with a stack of books Neville recommended. She was reading one now as she sat across from him. Her blonde hair fell over shoulder and was pushed behind her right ear. Neville stared at her radish earring as it swayed against her ear lobe. Her taste in jewellery was interesting, but Neville admired her indifference to popular culture.

As another hour passed, Luna became restless. She was enjoying herself, spending the afternoon in Tomes and Scrolls. Neville turned out to be splendid company. He didn't seem over whelmed when she started tossing books at him earlier. In fact, he seemed to take it quite well. That was good. She believed this type of bonding they were doing on the third floor of Tomes and Scrolls officially made them friends. At least it did in Luna's books (no pun intended) as she had never done this type of thing with anyone else before. Well, no one outside her immediate family at least.

Deciding that they had had enough literature for one day, Luna stood and stretched. Bringing her arms above her head, she stretched her spine like a cat waking up after an afternoon nap. Neville looked up at her in question. "I think I'd like to eat something other than candy now", she said holding out a hand to him. He clasped his hand in her as she pulled him up.

"Right", he said smiling, "The Three Broomsticks?"

A quarter of an hour later, Luna and Neville were seated at The Three Broomsticks. Two bags filled with books occupied the empty chair at the table. Luna was rather satisfied with their success at Tomes and Scrolls. Neville had been a good sport about her spontaneous idea.

Luna closed the menu she had been looking at, crossing her hands on the table. "I had fun today", she told Neville. He looked up at her, hazel meeting grey.

"I did too", he responded honestly. "You know, before today I hadn't even been inside Tomes and Scrolls."

"I go there every time we visit Hogsmeade. It's a great place to finds books you can't find anywhere else." The waitress came then and the two ordered their lunch with two butterbeers. The waitress flitted away with their order and the two were left in silence. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Luna chirped up. "Have you ever handled a Fanged Geranium?" She couldn't think of anything else to say and she didn't want all of that acquired herbology knowledge to go to waste. Besides, she was actually interested in his answer. Neville looked a little surprised but she could see that she caught his interest.

Leaning closer to her across the table he said, "Well, Professor Sprout has some rare plants in her green house. I'm not exactly supposed to tell anyone this, but she lets me handle all kinds of plants a sixth year shouldn't be exposed to yet. It's brilliant!" Neville's face lit up when he talked about herbology. Luna found it endearing. "As for the Fanged Geranium, well… yes. I have handled one. They require a lot of precaution. Nasty things, they are. Real temperamental and bloody painful when they bite." He had a glint in his eye when he said this and Luna wondered if he had ever been bitten.

Luna had sparked Neville's interest and it seemed he couldn't stop talking about all the amazing plants Professor Sprout kept in the greenhouses. Luna enjoyed listening to him speak in such an excited manner. She had never seen him this way and she was delighted that she had been able to chase away his shyness.

"The greenhouses are a great place to just spend some time when you want to be away from everything else. I guess I spend a lot of time there…" Neville realized he had been talking for a long time, Luna nodding along, laughing occasionally.

"I'll remember that next time I want to get away", she said truthfully. Neville smiled at her. She felt like she hadn't given Herbology enough of a chance. Seeing Neville talk about it so passionately, she felt like she could learn to like the class more.

They had finished eating by now, Luna's butterbeer almost empty. Neville took a last gulp to finish his off. "We should probably start heading back. It's almost time to be back at Hogwarts", he noted. Luna sighed and pushed her chair out. She was a little disappointed that their time in Hogsmeade had to end. "Thanks Luna, by the way, for coming with me", Neville said suddenly.

Luna stopped what she was doing and looked at Neville. She sensed his sincerity by the look in his eyes. "It was my pleasure, of course", Luna said, a grin spreading across her lips.

Students from Hogsmeade were back at Hogwarts in time for dinner in the great hall. Luna was coming back from the Ravenclaw dormitories after dropping off the books she purchased from Tomes and Scrolls. She was excited to read the books Neville picked out for her, especially because she had never read anything like them before. Some of them were Muggle novels that he said he had read as a boy. He said his Gran had purchased them from Muggle book shops and had encouraged him to read them. It was strange luck that they were found at Tomes and Scrolls, yet Luna had never been disappointed in their selection before.

As she entered the Great Hall, she spied the Gryffindor table. She caught sight of the hazel-eyed boy she was looking for. Walking up to him she decided she might as well be frank. She wanted to spend more time with him. All she had to do was ask. "Hello Neville, Harry", she said nodding at the boys as she took a seat on the bench beside Neville. He looked a little startled to see her, but quickly composed himself.

"Hello Luna. How are you?" Harry asked. They hadn't had a proper conversation lately and he felt bad for not seeking her out to ask about her summer.

"Oh I'm great. I just came by to ask you something", she said, turning to look at Neville. "Are you busy the day after tomorrow?"

Neville thought for a moment. "I don't think so. Why?"

"Would you mind helping me with something? I'm afraid I can't do it alone."

"Yes, but what—", Neville started

"Great! Thanks so much Neville, I'll come find you then." At that she hopped up from the table and headed to join Ravenclaw.

"Right, well…", Harry trailed off. "That was rather… strange."

"That was Luna", Ron said approaching the table having heard the conversation. "What did you expect?" Neville was still staring after her, trying to figure out what just happened. He smiled to himself, realizing it didn't really matter, because the day after tomorrow he would be spending more time with Luna Lovegood.

A/N: Hold your Hippogriffs! I'll be starting to write the next chapter as soon as I can! Thank you for all the Reviews so far, keep em coming. They are fabulous inspiration to me!