Disclaimer:
The characters belong to J. K. Rowling, as does the Harry Potter series.

Currently written just by:

@libraryhaunter
@AmAeRaI

[nEviLle]

"Impedimenta!" The cushion in front of Neville flopped pathetically, and he felt a surge of frustration overcome him. Almost everyone had gotten the hang of the spell by now, he could see from looking around the Room of Requirement. He tried not to feel useless, but it was hard. This was, what, the twenty fifth time he'd tried? He would have asked Harry for help, but he was busy staring at Cho, and he didn't want to interrupt anything.

Then, behind him, he heard the slightly far-away voice of Luna Lovegood. "I could help you if you like."

He jumped and turned. Luna often made him nervous, but, before, it had only been because he hadn't known how to react to her vagueness and surprising personality. Now, he wasn't sure if his reasons remained the same.

She was standing with her dirty blonde hair untidy around her shoulders, and, as usual, covered with strange little trinkets. Next to the Dirigible Plums dangling from her ears,  her Butterbeer cork necklace and her copy of Magical Creatures the Wizarding World Refuses to Accept: (Photos of Crumple Horned Snorkack inside!), he  felt rather unremarkable.

"I know that charm well," she went on, her gaze going to his wand.

"Erm...all right," Neville muttered awkwardly.

Unhesitatingly, she leaned forward and grasped his wrist. Neville's muscles jumped, and he felt his face succumb to heat. Glancing around quickly, he saw no one looking in their direction except Ron, who offered a wink, and then convulsed into silent laughter.

Luna propelled him around so he was facing the cushion again. Standing next to him, she demonstrated with his hand the exact sharp move through the air that the spell required. He nodded, his gaze still on the place where her pale fingers encircled his wrist.

"Try it." The Ravenclaw released him and he promptly forgot what she had done. He tried a stupid sort of wave, expecting her to laugh, but she remained serious in her own strange way. Taking hold of his wrist again, she said, "It's more of a slash, really. Harry showed it to me."

She paused, looking thoughtful. "He's very sweet."

Neville felt a flare of jealousy, although it was quickly dampened by the fact that Harry was unlikely to have any interest in Luna what with his goggling at Cho all the time.

This time he concentrated as she demonstrated and when she let him go, his wand swept through the air just as she had shown him. The cushion flew a good few feet away from them and Luna smiled at him. "You need to practise a little but you've got the hang of it. See you later, Neville."

She turned, apparently expecting him to let her melt into the crowd of people, but he started to speak. She looked back. "Yes?"

His cheeks flaming, he said, louder than he had meant to, "Can you come to Dogweed and Deathcap tomorrow?"

Luna's eyebrows shot up. "With you, you mean?"

Neville cursed himself for opening his mouth here, in the middle of the Room, surrounded by  many now interested wizards and witches. "Yeah," he said. It was an odd date, but he and Luna were not exactly normal people.

A little color came into her face, the first time he had seen it change color. She didn't look nearly as composed as she usually did either.

"Are you just being nice?" She asked, her knuckles whitening as she clutched the book in her hands.

"N-no," Neville stuttered, surprised.

Luna looked as if she were considering him to see if he was telling the truth. Then she said, "Yes, I'll come."

He felt himself break into a huge grin.

"Take this, though." She pressed a round, orange pebble into his hand. "It keeps away the Nargles. They often infest Herbology shops, you know."

Perplexed, amused and enormously happy all at once, he stared after her as she walked away.