Luna loves her job at the Bishop's Brew because it lets her watch people. Neville isn't really sure he should have let the guys talk him into leaving the green house to play chess in a coffee shop.

Song: Cherry Blossoms by Night Beds

Neville looked up at the clock in the nursery. He was going to be late. It was already 5:30 and he still needed to clean up before he went to The Bishop's Brew. He was looking forward to playing chess with Harry. Ron, not so much. He was still learning how to play and he felt clumsy when he played against Ron. He also did not play outside of his own sitting room or office if he could help it. But, he had decided to try something new. Wiping potting soil from his hands, Neville sent a quick text.

Neville: I'll be a little late
Harry: Everything okay?
Neville: Had a shipment of African violets that needed to be repotted before I could leave
Harry: Just come when you can
Neville: Who is going to be there?
Harry: For chess?
Neville: Among other things
Harry: Me, you, Ron, Theo…the girls are going to be there too
Neville: The Girls?
Harry: Ginny, Hermione and Daphne decided to make it a coffee night…Luna is working tonight so she won't be "writing" with them
Neville: Writing? Ginny is going to be working?
Harry: No, I do not understand it but she likes to write even when it is not for work
Neville: Do I want to know what they are writing?
Harry: Based on the giggling and speed that windows are changed on computers when I approach…NO

Neville watched his screen go dark. He did not have a response to the last message from Harry. What kind of writing could they be doing? Did he really want the answer to that question? Based on how hot his cheeks were getting and Harry's emphatic "NO", he was going to leave that alone.

Girls were strange creature he might never understand. Plants he understood. Give them good soil, enough light and attention, and a little water when the time was right and they blossomed. Just thinking about a girl made his tongue stick to the top of his mouth and his brain scramble.

His Gran had always told him that he was a fine catch and one day he would meet a girl that didn't mind the strong, silent type. School had been a time he preferred to forget. Harry and Ron had pulled him out of the greenhouse and into their small circle during Primary school. He had become "the quiet one" when people talked about them and he liked it that way. He could sit in the background and watch. Maybe, he should stop watching and try to join in.

Luna: When are you getting here?
Ginny: Around 6:30 if Harry gets here in time
Luna: I'm on a break right now. The crowd has been insane
Ginny: Can you hold a table for us?
Luna: No, but it usually calms down between 6 and 7. I can take extra time wiping down a place if someone can get here
Ginny: I think Hermione is getting there before us
Luna: Who else is coming?
Ginny: Daphne, Ron, Theo and Neville
Luna: Neville is leaving his greenhouse?
GInny: Chess is about the only thing that will pull him away
Luna: Gotta go…Regular or Decaf when you get here?
Ginny: Decaf

Luna tucked her mobile in her apron pocket. She was looking forward to seeing the girls tonight, even if she was working. They had been friends for a long time and she appreciated that they let her be herself.

She had never really fit in anywhere. She had spent most of her Primary years moving around because of her father's military service. All that moving made fitting in with friends a puzzle she had gotten tired of trying to solve. So, she decided to figure out who she was.

By the time she met Ginny in Secondary school, she was certain she was a hippie trapped in a time warp. Ginny had looked past the long skirts and funny accent and invited her to share her lunch.

Lunches with Ginny had turned into trips around town with her and Hermione. She never felt out of place with the girls. Even when they had gone to University and she had decided to stay home and take care of her father, they had never let her lost touch. When her father's dementia had taken the last of his memories and his life, the girls had surrounded her and made sure she still had a family by choice.

Hermione was the one who had brought her the application for The Bishop's Brew and encouraged her to try. Sitting at home was getting her nowhere and she really did like helping people. Peeking through the window, Luna smiled. Well, at least one of her not-blood sisters was here. Luna stepped through the swinging doors and up to the counter. "What can I get for you tonight, Hermione?'

Neville: Where is this place?
Ron: In the same shopping complex as the new Sub Station
Neville: That place has been packed since it opened…I drive by it everyday
Theo: Come on Nev…you can ignore the people and just play chess
Neville: I am in the parking lot…There are too many people
Ron: There are not that many over here
Neville: Where are you?
Ron: By the widow on the parking lot side, I will order you something to drink while you decide if you are coming in or not.
Harry: I just pulled in beside you
Neville: Hi Harry
Harry: I'll walk in with you. Chess and coffee. You can do this Nev
Theo: Come on Nev…I have a board waiting for you
Neville: Fine…but I left my set at home
Ron: No worries mate. We have sets here already
Neville: Get me a Chocolate Smoothie

Neville put his hand on the door handle. Could he really do this? Could he go in that coffee shop full of people and not lose his mind? He had to start trying again or Harry would show up at his greenhouse. The guys knew he had issues with crowds but, he did not feel like explaining why. Up until six months ago, he had gotten better. But the pressure of his first full display at the London Flower show and the crush of the crowd had triggered something.

He had retreated to his greenhouse and plants. Online orders and phone calls were how he made most of his profit and he had a good staff that kept the people away when he was having a bad day. He had promised Gran he would try to be more sociable. Fulfilling that promise was really hard right now. But, he could not hide forever.

His friends were proof of that. They had dragged him into their circle when they were young and they never let him fold too far into himself. Chess was a language he shared with them and he needed to play more often.

"Come on, Neville." Ginny's soft voice brought him back to the present. "I promise you can leave if it to becomes too much. My brother promised to try to find a quiet spot so he could think."

"Thanks, Gin." Neville stepped out of his car and gently closed the door. "I am trying to get better. But…"

"You hate crowds and it looks like half the population of London is sitting in that shop," Harry finished his sentence as he locked his car. "We are here for chess and the rest of London can go away."

"Thanks." Neville followed Harry and Ginny across the parking lot. "I don't know why it bothers me so."

"It doesn't matter why, Nev." Ginny touched his arm. "It matters that it does and we are going to help you get through it. There's Ron and Theo. Go play chess. Harry will bring you your drink."

Neville watched Ginny head for the back corner of The Bishop's Brew. Harry was a lucky man. He had Ginny. She took everyone for who they were and then worked them into her garden. He wanted a Ginny. But he also wanted his brain to work when he was in a crowd. He could do this. He could play chess here. Maybe

Luna: Anybody up for food after my shift?
Hermione: I guess…What about the guys
Ginny: I'll ask Harry
Daphne: Why does Theo keep looking over here?
Hermione: Because he is sitting on the side of the table that is by the window
Ginny: And the chess board is between him and the wall behind you
Luna: When did Neville get so thin?
Ginny: Neville is thin?
Luna: Compared to the last time I saw him
Daphne: Which would have been?
Luna: Your University graduation
Ginny: He runs his own nursery now. His Gran left it to him
Hermione: Luna, aren't you supposed to be working
Luna: We close in thirty minutes and most of the people in here are drinking coffee and will not order any more
Ginny: Where are you?
Luna: In the stockroom…counting…
Hermione: So thrilling
Ginny: Harry says the guys are up for some late night food
Daphne: When are they not up for food
Hermione: When they are asleep?
Ginny: Maybe…

Luna shook her head as she finished counting the boxes of coffee filters. It was the last thing on her checklist. She liked working here, but she wanted to spend some time with her friends. She was going to have to try to get next Friday night off. The girls had had fun talking and writing. She had seen snarky messages show up on her mobile throughout the evening. She had not been able to reply to many of them, but they had made her feel like part of their evening.

The biggest surprise of the evening had come about twenty minutes ago. "Can I have a medium Chocolate Smoothie?"

Neville's soft question had caught her by surprise. She knew he was shy and he had issues with crowds. Seeing him tonight had made her think about the first time she had seen him. Harry and Ron were dragging him to their table for lunch and he looked like he was going to burst into flames. The guys had never let him hide just like the girls had never let her hide. It was funny how their paths had never really crossed but their journeys had been similar.

Who was Neville Longbottom? That question had distracted her as she watched him play chess tonight. For the first time since she had lost her father, Luna was interested in getting to know someone. Not just the person they showed to the world, but the person they were when the world wasn't looking. There was something in the way that Neville had looked at her when he had place his order. There was something hiding in those green eyes.

Her father had always told her that the eyes were the window to the soul. Neville's were as green as the plants that filled his greenhouse. What would it be like to work there? To make beautiful things with the materials that nature provided you or to take a small seed and help it grow into something more.

"Lovegood, that mop is not going to clean the floor by itself." Luna was shaken from her haze by sharp words from her supervisor. "Your friends said to meet them at Flying Pies when you could. I told them that this was not a warming shelter and I was not a messaging service. You can clock out when the mopping is done."

"Thanks. Mary," Luna moved the mop across the floor in steady strokes. Pizza sounded like a great way to end her evening.