Neville wasn't worried about holding Luna's hand on the way back to the Gryffindor dormitories. It didn't take long before he was reacquainted with the Fat Lady. Still snoring. Not such a lady after all.
"I guess this is goodbye," Neville said, looking directly at Luna. He wanted to make sure he remembered everything about her: the way her hair fell, the sparkle of her eyes, the bounce in her step. Just everything.
"For now." Luna practically glowed.
"Will I see you again?"
"I'm sure of it. Have sweet dreams!" she called as she retreated, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder at Neville as she ran up a staircase to the North Tower.
Neville knew he'd sleep well. He'd dream of Luna.
Over the next few weeks, Neville looked out for her in the Great Hall, in between classes, and in the Library. He tried to find the Ravenclaw dormitory entrance but got completely lost and ending up by the Defense Against the Dark Arts classrooms. He didn't have any shared lessons with the Ravenclaws, but even so, Luna was only a second year. Who else did he know that was a second year?
One evening, after scouring Transfiguration classrooms in hope of spotting Luna's iridescent blonde hair, he trudged back up to the common room to discover Ginny Weasley sitting alone by the fireplace. Now was his chance to see what Ginny knew of Luna Lovegood, and her irregular timetable.
"Ginny?" Neville said her name to draw her attention away from the book that sat open on her lap. The pages were filled with drawings of mermaids and sea creatures that supposedly dwelled in the Black Lake.
"What is it Neville?" she sounded irritated about being disturbed.
"Can I ask you a question?"
She nodded, turning the page of her book without looking.
"Do you know Luna Lovegood? She's a Ravenclaw," he mentioned to clarify.
Ginny nodded again. "She's in my Potions class. Always day dreaming and never adding the right ingredients at the right time."
Neville smiled. He was equally hopeless at potion making and was glad he and Luna shared that trait.
"What else?"
"Umm…well, the only other things we do together are flying lessons. She doesn't own her own broomstick…" Ginny trailed off as her twin brothers came running down the stairs of the boys' dormitories.
"Ginny, come and play Wizard's Chess with us. This time, we're convinced we can beat Ron at his own game," Fred called over. Without a fuss, Ginny closed her book and went to join her brothers. The Weasley brothers had become really protective of their only sister after the attack last year. Neville had no doubt that Percy, the Prefect, was checking to make sure she didn't go picking up any more black diaries.
"I hope that helped you Neville," she said. "Sorry I didn't know much else."
"That's OK, thanks for the help." Neville paced over to the window, getting ready to draw the heavy curtains. Before he pulled the golden tasseled cords, he swore he caught a glimpse of a fairy like figure, walking into the Forbidden Forest, white blond hair glinting in the moonlight exactly the same way it had before. Neville shook his head.
Must be my imagination.
An idea struck Neville the minute his head hit the pillow. I found Luna the night I got locked out of the common room. Surely, all I have to do now is sit outside and wait for her to skip past me again? He carefully pushed the patchwork quilt away from him, and slid his feet into his flannel slippers. The other boys in the dormitory were already asleep; he could hear Dean's heavy breathing in the bed next to him. Just to be sure, he walked on tiptoe across the room and opened the door as carefully as he could, knowing it had a tendency to squeak when shoved too hard.
Down the stone steps he went, until he came to the common room entrance. No one was dithering around the dying fire or snoozing in an armchair. No one around meant no one could ask where he was going. He chuckled, thinking of how in his first year, he'd stood up to Harry, Ron and Hermione when they were trying to escape to the third floor. He could remember all too clearly the pain of hitting the floor when Hermione cast the petrification curse. Never did Neville think that he'd be the one escaping but something about him had changed. He was no longer afraid of being caught (although still slightly afraid of the punishment.) Luna had helped change his mindset, and he meant to thank her.
Without a moment's hesitation, Neville stepped out of the common room and into the hallway. Unlike before, some of the painted figures hadn't yet fallen asleep. Their eyes were drooping with fatigue but they continued to stay awake. Neville wondered why.
After a few minutes of just standing beside the Fat Lady, he decided to move. As he did, the portraits on the opposite side of the wall began to stir. One of them coughed to clear their throat; the other rubbed their eyes.
"Are you Neville Longbottom?" A man with a Shakespearian collar whispered.
Neville didn't know what to do. A portrait had never spoken directly to him. He did the only thing he thought sensible: replied. "Yes, I am."
"Are you indeed looking for a Miss Luna Lovegood?" Neville drew his head back in surprise. How did the paintings know about his quest to find Luna? The portrait seemed to read his mind. "We paintings are the eyes and ears of this school, Neville. We know a lot more than you think."
"Do you know where Luna is?"
"I often see her skipping down these halls. She liked to watch the armour down the hall," The painted man motioned to the collection of armour that lined the west side of the corridor. "Nice girl, full of spirit."
"But do you know where I can find her?" Neville was beginning to grow impatient. He didn't want to have to wait any longer for his answer.
"I believe I saw her go down to the Kitchens in search of some extra dessert," the man chuckled. "The chocolate iced buns did look particularly nice today, I saw a couple of first years smuggling them into their-" before the gentleman could finish, Neville took off down the closest flight of stairs.
He would finally be reunited with Luna. Good job he knew exactly where the Kitchens were.