I don't deserve it

"You know, Viktor Krum is going to drop dead when he sees you," Riley smiled as she began to pin up Hermione's hair. "You better not forget me when you two get married and he takes you to every Quidditch match."

Hermione groaned, "Marriage?! No! I cannot wait for Viktor to leave Hogwarts because he bothers me. All he wants to do is watch me study or watch me do my homework. We have zero in common."

"Zero in common with Viktor Krum? He is a Quidditch legend! You do not need to have anything in common with him."

"And he is very handsome." Ginny giggled as she made her way to the two girls. The relationship between Ginny and Riley was a bit strained in the past few weeks, mostly on Riley's part. Ginny would continuously try to explain her situation with Neville, but Riley wanted to hear none of it.

"Ginny," Riley whispered. "You look beautiful. Neville is a very lucky guy."

"Riley.."

"No, I am very happy for you. Neville is a great guy, and he'll treat you right." Riley interrupted. She just nodded her head trying to be happy for her younger sister. Ginny deserved it. Riley was the first girl, so she was a daddy's girl, her brothers defended her more than Ginny. She couldn't get Aleksander's voice out of her head, she acted mightier than she really was but was able to hide behind her brother's when things didn't go her way. Ginny did not have that, Ginny had Riley, but Riley was a fake. She was not a true Gryffindor, she didn't deserve to be in Gryffindor, she didn't deserve to be a Weasley. Ginny was a vital part of the whole You-Know-Who thing two years ago, and all Riley has done follow Harry around like a lost puppy.

"You're done... I... You two head down and I'm just gonna... I'll meet you there." She whispered and ran to the bathroom.

Hermione and Ginny did not know what happened, but after five minutes of trying to get Riley out, they sighed and reluctantly headed to the ball. After like a minute of trying to not cry, Riley headed towards the Great Hall. She made it to the staircase and saw all her friends at the bottom looking up at her. Riley blushed slightly before making her way to join them, giving Neville a small smile as they made eye contact.

"Padma, Parvati. You both look so beautiful," Riley giggled.

"Us?" Padma Patil asked.

"You're the best looking one around here," Parvati Patil argued and then together giggled, "And you have the most dapper date!"

Riley shook her head, "No... No date." And then she left the group, leaving everyone shocked. Professor McGonagall rushed everyone but the champions into the Great Hall. The champions entered the Great hall and began to dance. Professor Dumbledore was the first to join the champions by inviting professor McGonagall to dance with him and then slowly other students started to participate.

"Where's your date?" Neville asked Riley. "Isn't he going to ask you to dance?"

"He's not my date. I told him I wanted to come alone," Riley whispered. "He did not like it, but I wasn't what he wanted."

"Then he's an idiot but... I'm tired of being one, so I have to at least try." He replied before sticking his hand out towards her. "Will you dance with me?"

"What about Ginny?" she asked shocked.

"Ginny isn't my date. She's a friend who wanted to come to the dance but with the whole age thing, she couldn't so I offered to bring her as my date so she could attend," he rambled on until Riley chuckled and took his hand. "I knew you were too sweet of a guy."

Neville blushed and took her to the dance floor to dance. This caught the attention of everyone; Ron, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, Dean, Seamus, and even Aleksander. Fred and George started cheering them on which resulted in their dates hitting them, and Riley blushed bright red.

"I am so sorry," she whispered as she hid her face in his chest.

"W-why?" he stuttered. He prayed to Merlin that she couldn't his heart almost leaping out of his chest. "I should be apologizing to you. I have the most beautiful girl in my arms while you're with the most cowardly Gryffindor there is."

"Neville," she whispered. "You're more of a Gryffindor than I'll ever be."

"More than Riley Weasley? That's not even close to true."

"He said I was a child. That I hide behind my brother's and he might be true," she whispered. The music stopped, and everyone clapped, except Neville took Riley's hand and did the one thing no one ever expected Neville Longbottom to do and snuck out. He led her to the Black Lake, and they sat on the grass.

"Why would you think that's true?" He asked shocked.

"Because! I have six older brothers and two parents and everyone else in my family that are the definition of bravery while I just... All I'll ever be is Harry Potter's lame friend. I won't be Hermione or Ron."

"You're not them, you're like... the mom friend. You always put others first, and you make sure they're safe and that they don't forget anything. But you also have Fred's and George's sense of humor. When I first saw you on the train heading towards Hogwarts for the first time, I thought there would be no way a girl like that would ever even look in my direction. You always help others see the best in themselves. I wish you could see what I see," he whispered, and before Riley could reply, he did what he's been dreaming of since he met her.

He kissed her.