The painting hadn't lied to him. Luna was right where he said she would be.

"There you are," Luna said without turning round. Neville could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. The odd house elf was still cleaning plates from the extensively prepared meal of that evening. They didn't speak. Neville could only hear the scrubbing sound of a brush against cutlery.

"Have you been expecting me?"

"You're the only other person I know that has a tendency to be out of bed at this hour." She licked some chocolate icing from her finger. "The elves really out did themselves with the dessert tonight, it's no wonder I found myself here." She picked up another iced bun that was sat on china plate next to her. "Here, take one. Clyde won't mind." Luna nodded towards the elf that was stacking the dishwasher. "He always leaves a few treats out for wondering students."

Neville approached the table and collected one of the remaining buns. It really was delicious. "It sounds like your stomach has more control over your feet than your brain." Neville wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I often think so, but my brain likes to wonder more than my feet. Just yesterday, I was sat in the library and had the strangest thought-" Neville listened in rapture as Luna recited her strange thoughts. He didn't think them strange at all, he thought they were wonderful. She was wonderful. But, he could have sworn he'd checked the library yesterday – how had he not caught sight of her?

Suddenly, Neville had a strange thought. What if Luna is a figment of my imagination? That couldn't be right. If it were true, then Ginny wouldn't have been able to see her. Still, Neville had to prove it to himself that he wasn't imagining her. He reached out his hand. Luna thought he was collecting the last iced bun so was surprised to feel his hand run through her hair. It fell through his fingers like spun gold.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, trying not to sound too perplexed. He tucked her hair behind her left ear, displaying the beaded radish earrings she'd made herself.

"N-nothing's wrong," Neville stammered, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot, if Luna didn't think that already. "Would you like to split the last bun?"

Luna grinned. "There's nothing I'd like more."

When the last of the dessert was gone, Neville followed Luna up to the North Tower. He wanted, no, needed, to know where the Ravenclaw common room was so that he'd never lose her again. As they reached the painted black door, next to a hanging tapestry of a beautiful woman with raven black hair, Neville shifted nervously from foot to foot, not wanting to be absent of Luna's company.

"It was awfully nice of you to walk me to my room," she said, aware of the heat flooding to her cheeks, "and to come find me in the Kitchens. It's nice to have company that understands the way I think."

"No problem, I just wanted the iced buns," Neville replied, thinking he'd never told a bigger lie. His grandmother would tell him that a thirteen year old boy was not capable of love, that he was too young to understand his heart's emotions, but there was something about Luna made him feel right. It might not have been love, but it was definitely something.

"Well, you best go; I don't think it's advised for other house members to know one other's passwords."

"Of course, you're right. Good night, fair maiden." He bowed.

"Farewell, good sir," Luna curtsied, and watched as he turned the corner. Then she whispered, "Corvus pluma," to the door and slipped out of sight. Neville strained to hear the words down the hall, and knew this was a password he wasn't likely to forget.

Having said that he'd never lose Luna again, he did lose her. As teachers eased in to giving out homework and the topic of exams was brought up, Neville lost a lot of his precious free time. Time he would have spent looking for Luna was now spent hunched over a scroll of parchment, scribbling away about ancient world rune translation or the position of the stars. When his brain wasn't completely exhausted from learning the correct way to hold one's wand, or turn a rabbit into a writing desk, he would scour the library shelves for books on the subject of Herbology. The third years were allowed to use Greenhouse Three, and that meant a whole new selection of plants to discover. It was Neville's favourite subject; the only one he thrived in.

After about three weeks of being separated, he spotted Luna walking across the lawn outside the boat dock. He'd been standing in the water, collecting samples of lichen to study as part of an extracurricular project for Professor Sprout. She'd just returned from feeding Thestrals in the forest, though no others seemed to know they existed, her bare feet scrunching the soft mulch on the ground.

"Luna!" Neville cried, still shin deep in water. At hearing her name, Luna instantly turned round.

She waved energetically, "Hi, Neville!" She began to make way over to the dock, enjoying the way the dewy grass tickled her toes. "What are you doing?"

"Extra credit essay on the variety of lichen found in hydrophilic habitats," Neville recited the essay title.

"Wow, have you found any Dandiwurkles down there? They live in the waters around here."

"What are Dandiwurkles?" Neville looked quizzically at Luna. It made him laugh that she wore shoes at night, but not during the day.

"They're small creatures about this big," she put her thumb and forefinger together to make an 'o' shape, "they have fuzzy yellow fur and green beaks. Father says they love to eat some types of lichen and are attracted to the colour red." She pointed towards his red notebook, laid out on the bank, open on a page full of hand written notes and diagrams.

Neville scratched his head. "I can't say I've even since something like you've described. They sound….interesting."

Luna dipped her toes into the water, sat down and rolled up her lilac jeans, then waded out to join Neville. He stood a head taller than her on level ground. "Very. Father says he saw one once, when he was searching rock pools as part of some research for the Quibbler. The issue was dedicated to newly discovered species."

"Are you sure they really have been discovered?"

"Positive! Newt Scamander says so."

"Of course," Neville cast his eyes over to the textbook, keeping his notes from flying away in the slight breeze that was causing the water to ripple. "Scamander knows what he's talking about."

"One day, I'm going to adventure around the world, discovering new things exactly as he does," her voice sweetened with determination. Neville liked that she had a dream. He wanted to share it.

A stronger gust of wind came across the water, causing Neville to lose his balance slightly on the underwater rock he was standing on. Luna looked equally as unbalanced, her arms out to steady her. He grabbed her arm to hold her steady. As she slipped, Neville pulled her into him. Her face was inches from his. Her eyes were so wide, she looked scared.

"Don't worry, I've got you," he whispered into her hair.