Feelings Found

"Do any of the professors know you do this?" Neville asked, referring to Luna's frequent visits to the forbidden forest.

"I'm positive Dumbledore does. I don't exactly know how, but he does. It's kind of like we have this unspoken agreement. This year, when he was doing his speech on the first day, he was talking about how no one is allowed in the forbidden forest, and he winked at me." She looked over at Neville and smiled. He always found Luna's stories to be fascinating and he quite enjoyed them.

The pair were nearly to the forest when Luna asked, "Do you think Pansy got in trouble? I was planning on visiting the thestrals the day she attacked me."

"Probably not. Especially since Professor Snape is in charge of her punishment. He probably gave her a pat on the back," Neville said spitefully.

"I do suppose you're right. He's not usually one for fairness," Luna sighed. "I don't mind too much, though. Just as long as she doesn't bother me anymore."

Neville gave her a stern look. "I think we both know that's probably not going to happen. She was rude to you before, why would that change now?" Luna shrugged in response.

"We're nearly there." Luna fastened her pace and grasped Neville's hand once more. They came to a small clearing and Luna came to an abrupt stop.

"They should be coming soon. They have a really good sense of smell, so they'll know we brought them food. And the meat is bloody, so that'll help." Sure enough, a couple minutes later, a thestral made an appearance. Then another. Soon enough, there were four thestrals to keep Luna and Neville company.

Luna took an apple out of her bag and rolled in onto the ground in front of the thestrals. No takers.

"They usually don't eat the apple, but I want to give them more options," Luna explained. Then she grabbed a chunk of meat and tossed it. This time, one of thestrals stepped up and started cautiously nibbling it.

"Who did you see die?" Luna asked. She hoped it wasn't too personal. She didn't want him to be uncomfortable. It was meant to be a light question.

"My grampa. It was a very peaceful death, though. How about you?" Neville sat on a nearby boulder.

"My mum died when I was nine. She liked to experiment with potions and spells and things. One day something went wrong and it blew up." Luna didn't mind talking about her mom's death to Neville. It still made her sad sometimes, but she found closure. And it wasn't like she would never see her again. Luna recalled her mother telling Luna that she should consider growing her already long hair out the day before she passed. She hasn't cut her hair since. She grasped a lock of her blonde hair between her thumb and forefinger and began to twist it absent-mindedly.

"Gosh Luna, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Neville knew Luna's mom died, but it's different when you watch your parent die, when you know what death means.

"It's alright, I asked you first. It might have been considered rude if you didn't ask in return. Like how when someone asks 'how are you', it's polite to ask them also. But we should talk about something happier. Are you excited for Christmas?" Luna threw another piece of meat to the thestrals.

"Christmas is, like, a month away. But, yeah, I guess so. For Christmas break. Not too excited about Slughorn's Christmas party."

"Are you going home over break? I thought you weren't in his club anymore." Luna's gaze remained fixated on the thestrals.

"I am. But somehow I agreed to hand out snacks."

"Oh." Luna set down her bag and walked up to one of the beasts. She started to pet it. "They are very beautiful creatures. It's unfortunate that so many people think they are bad omens." She continued to stroke it. After a moments silence, she flounced over to the rock Neville was on and sat beside him. She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a happy sigh. Neville looked over to see Luna resting peacefully with her eyes closed.

"Is it alright if we hold hands?" Luna asked. Her eyes flickered open for a moment as she looked up at Neville. He nodded and they intertwined their fingers. Luna shut her eyes again and returned to her previous position.

He observed her features. She had an adorable button nose that fit her face perfectly. Her lips were soft and a pretty shade of pink. The sun hit her blonde hair in such a way, it seemed as if it were glowing. fIt was a shame Luna's eyes were concealed, they were most extraordinary in Neville's mind.

His heart skipped a beat and Neville had the sudden urge to kiss her.

Where the bloody hell did that come from? Neville thought. His insides started churning madly and Neville felt like he was going to throw up. He peered at Luna again to make sure she didn't sense his uneasiness. But thankfully she remained still and serene. Neville had no clue where all these feelings were coming from all of a sudden, and it was honestly scaring him.

"Uh, Luna?" He started. She slowly opened her eyes. "I forgot that I have an assignment for Herbology that I need to finish. And we should get back before it gets dark." It wasn't untrue, but he was already nearly done and he still had five days to complete it. But it wasn't the reason he wanted to leave either.

"Alright, let's head back then." Luna said. She stood up and walked over to where her bag lay on the ground. She tossed one more hunk of meat. She could tell something was wrong, and knew that he probably didn't actually have homework to do, but didn't want to say anything. Luna just hoped that she wasn't the source of his problems. Even more so, she hoped he wouldn't go back to avoiding her.

Neville and Luna walked backed to Hogwarts together, though with obvious tension. 'Sexual tension', Ginny had called it while talking with Luna. Luna recalled the memory and shook her head while trying to hold back laughter. She was unsuccessful and let a few giggles slip out. Neville gave her a questioning look but didn't say anything.

Lost in her own thoughts, Luna hadn't realized that she had been shivering. "Are you cold? Do you want my coat?" Neville asked. Before Luna could say anything, he shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Thank you, but aren't you going to be cold now?"

"I'll be fine. We're almost there anyways."

Neither of them said a word until they reached Ravenclaw Tower. Luna looked at him expectantly. She knew if they were going to have a conversation, he would have to start it.

"So I guess I'll see you later?" It came out more as a question than a statement.

"Yes. I hope you enjoyed feeding the thestrals with me. You better go finish your homework."

"Yeah, I should probably leave. Bye, Luna."

"Goodbye, Neville." She waved him off before turning her focus to the entrance. She had to answer a riddle before she would be allowed in. Luna admittedly enjoyed figuring out the riddles, and it wasn't usually very difficult for her to figure out.

"I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?" Luna repeated the riddle to herself. She went over possible answers in her head. After only a few seconds of contemplating, Luna was confident she knew the solution.

"Is it a nose?"

"Correct." Luna smiled to herself as she entered Ravenclaw Tower.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, Nevilles difficulties were much more complicated than solving riddles. He had to sort out his feelings for Luna and figure out what to do with them. A part of him wanted to shove the memory deep down inside him where no one could ever find it and forget the whole ordeal even happened. Another part, a larger part, knew that he couldn't bottle up his emotions, he had to face them.

He obviously realized that he must've had feelings for Luna. It's not like he was constantly thinking about kissing girls who also happened to be close friends. But where did they come from and when did they start?

Luna was an attractive girl. She might have even been popular if she wasn't, well, Luna. Her crazy beliefs prevented anyone from seeing her as more than 'Loony'.

But it wasn't just her looks that had Neville going crazy. He loved the way she remained calm in hectic situations. And she never cared what anyone thought of her, she wasn't afraid to be Luna. She also had an elegant way with words, and she seemed to have an explanation for everything. The list could go on and on.

When did it start? Well it definitely wasn't love at first sight, he recalled their first meeting to be very awkward and uncomfortable. When Neville thought thought about it, he has been unknowingly crushing on Luna for weeks now!

He remembered feeling something towards her during the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, when they were holding hands. At the time, he mistook it for something else. So that answered his other question.

After getting over the initial shock of having a crush on Luna, Neville found himself smiling. His jitteriness was replaced with a certain level of excitement.

It wasn't soon after when Neville reached Gryffindor Tower entrance. He had no trouble remembering the password (which wasn't usual for him). It was then when he decided he needed to confide in someone to share his secret with.

His first choice was obviously going to be Ginny, since she could give him advice, because she was relatively close to Luna and himself, plus she was a girl.

Neville found Ginny in the common room, doing homework. She was sitting closest to the fire place.

"Ginny," Neville said after in closer proximity to Ginny, "can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah, sure." Neville took the seat nearest to Ginny and looked around to make sure no one was eaves dropping. Ginny set down her quill and closed her textbook. "What is it?" she asked.

Neville took a deep breathe. There was no going back after this. "I'm pretty sure I like Luna, more than as a friend," Neville said, smiling.

Ginny let out a high pitched squeal. There were not many people in the common room, since it was getting late. But those who remained turned their heads in Ginny's direction. She didn't seem to notice, though. Either that or she more likely just didn't care.

"I knew it!" She pointed at Neville excitedly as she stood up from the chair.

"Wait, how?"

"After the incident with Pansy, you refused to leave her side. And the way you look at her. It's obvious. I caught you sneaking looks at her the other day at breakfast. The list goes on. You aren't very subtle."

If Ginny could so easily tell that Neville had feelings for Luna, who else knew? Did Luna know?

"Wow, I never realized I did any of that," he paused before changing subjects, "so did you tell anyone else?"

Technically she told Luna, but she didn't believe Ginny. "No, don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks, Ginny. Do you know if Luna likes me?" Neville said, but he wasn't entirely positive he wanted to know.

It took all of Ginny's power not to scream 'She does! She told me! Ask her out! You are perfect for each other!'. Instead she settled for a shrug.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," Ginny said, faking a convincing yawn. She wasn't even that tired, she just didn't know how much longer she could hold her tongue. She wasn't supposed to interfere. A promise was a promise. Ginny got up from her seat and started moving towards the stairs that led to the dormitories.

"Wait, Ginny."

She turned around and raised her eyebrows.

"What should I do?"

Ginny smiled. "Just be yourself. And for goodness sake don't ignore her."

*fangirls* I love Nuna sooooo much!

Wow! Im so excited that people like this story! So thank you to whoever votes and comments! Dedicated to my new reader Hey_Girlie, because you make my shoulders bounce :D (aka aka laughing) and I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments, you fabulous biatchh

Thanks for reading! Vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter. Yaaaay for Nuna!