Rating:
G
House:
Astronomy Tower
Ships:
Luna Lovegood/Neville Longbottom
Characters:
Neville Longbottom
Genres:
Romance Fanfiction Challenge
Era:
1981-1991
Stats:
Published: 08/02/2006
Updated: 08/02/2006
Words: 2,284
Chapters: 1
Hits: 662

The Second Annual British Quidditch League Cotillion

Absinthe Jade

Story Summary:
Luna and Neville meet as children under special circumstances, and Luna helps Neville realize his wizarding potential. Written for the five-year fic challenge. Cute and fluffy!

The Second Annual British Quidditch League Cotillion

Posted:
08/02/2006
Hits:
662


"Is this going to be boring?" Luna Lovegood asked her mother, somehow managing to drag out the word boring into ten syllables.

Daphne Lovegood smiled and crouched down on her knees to look her only daughter in the eye. For a moment, the two, identical, blue-grey pairs of large pale eyes stared silently at each other.

"It all depends, Luna," Daphne said, finally. "Are you willing to make it interesting?"

Luna scrunched up her round, childish face in thought as she tugged absentmindedly at the hem of her purple dress robes.

"I think so," she said hesitantly, looking up at her mother.

Daphne smiled radiantly and leaned forward to give her only child a hug. "These kinds of events will always be interesting if you make them so," she advised Luna.

"Everyone all ready?" A deep male voice was heard in the sitting room. Both Daphne and Luna looked up and beamed at the tall, dark-haired man who had appeared in the doorway.

"A little help, Daff?" Thomas Lovegood sheepishly gestured to his untied bowtie as he fiddled with his cufflinks underneath the long sleeves of his sleek, black robes. Daphne sighed, still smiling, and pulled her wand out from behind her ear, where she often kept it for safekeeping.

"Vinculum," Daphne breathed, waving her wand in Thomas's general direction. The black bowtie mustered up enough magic to lazily fold itself into a decent-looking knot. Thomas leaned forward and kissed his wife firmly on the lips before straightening the tie with his own hands.

As he helped Daphne into her coat, one of her handmade turnip earrings caught on her scarf and fell to the floor. Luna picked it up, turning it this way and that way in the light before handing it back to her mother.

"I like turnips," the somewhat precocious child stated simply.

"I do too, Luna," Daphne Lovegood said, giving her daughter's hand a small squeeze before replacing the earring in her ear.

"Ready?" Daphne addressed her husband. He sighed in response.

"You know how I detest these Ministry functions," Thomas stated with chagrin as he linked his arm through his wife's.

Daphne shrugged. "You never know," she said. "You may uncover your next big story for the Quibbler." Daphne's large eyes glowed as she looked optimistically up at her husband. He shrugged, briefly kissing her again as he motioned for Luna to follow them out the door.

The stars in the cold night sky above Ottery St. Catchpole glittered as the ice sharply crackled, squealed, and broke underneath the Lovegoods' feet.

"Are you ready Luna?" her father asked as he grasped her hand. Luna nodded, her large luminous eyes dilated in the darkness.

A large crack snapped in the night, sounding much like the breaking of ice underfoot as the stars winked their goodbye.

* * *

Neville Longbottom stood perfectly still. The six year-old boy knew that if he remained motionless and quiet, he would draw less attention from his family and less attention, in Neville's case, was always a good thing.

At the moment, Neville didn't feel like moving anyways as he was currently transfixed by a gleaming gold fountain in the center of the hallway.

"Come along, Neville," the sharp voice of Augusta Longbottom cut through the young boy's thoughts. Neville's eyes temporarily refocused on the stuffed vulture that was permanently, but precariously, perched on his grandmother's hat.

He suddenly found himself being dragged towards a set of golden gates at the end of the hallway. Neville gaped as his grandmother entered a smaller hall filled with dozens and dozens of lifts. She was a bright green spot among the witches and wizards in colorful dress robes who were milling around the hallway, chatting as they waited for family members.

"Augusta!" a shrill voice pierced through the buzzing of the crowd. Neville's head snapped up to see his Great-Aunt Enid barreling towards them. As his grandmother stepped forward to embrace her sister-in-law, Neville wearily looked around the room for his Great-Uncle Algie.

"Where is Algie?" Augusta asked, mirroring Neville's thoughts. Enid waved her hand noncommittally.

"He'll be along. He said he'd meet us at the party."

Augusta nodded and pushed Neville forward onto the nearest lift. Neville tried to step towards the lift, but he suddenly found his feet unable to move and tumbled to the floor. As he struggled rather helplessly to rise to his feet, his great-aunt sighed and muttered a countercurse discreetly under her breath.

"Oh, hey sport!" A booming voice echoed in the confines of the lift. "Nearly didn't see you there," Algie said, ruffling Neville's hair roughly and somewhat affectionately. "Anything?" he muttered to Augusta under his breath.

"Nothing, and stop it! One of these days you're going to hurt him!" Augusta whispered severely as she tapped her wand on the button labeled 'Level Seven.'

The lift shuddered, lurched, and rattled as it rose upward. In the corner, Enid and Algie were involved in what appeared to be a heated debate. Although he was only six, Neville somehow knew that it was about him.

"Level Seven," a cool witch's voice rang out as the lift came to an abrupt halt. "Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Patent Office."

Augusta nudged Neville forward. With a weary look back at his great-uncle, Neville stepped forward into the warmly-lit corridor. As they rounded the corner, Neville gaped at the many glossy portraits mounted along the hallway, depicting famous British and Irish Quidditch players in action. Augusta quickly ushered him into the door labeled 'British Quidditch League Headquarters' before he could take all of them in.

"Wow, they did an amazing job," Neville's great-aunt breathed as she took in the classy décor of the quidditch headquarters.

Somehow all of the desks had been moved out of the room and bright blue, red and white drapery hung from the high ceiling. In the center of the ceiling, a chandelier mysteriously hung in midair, rotating slowly in front of a banner that read, 'Second Annual British Quidditch League Cotillion,' flanked by two, large British flags. Underneath the banner a sidenote occasionally winked at the guests below, reminding them that all proceeds from the event were to be donated to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Augusta steered Neville towards a series of smaller tables, filled with the other unfortunate children who had been dragged by their families to this event.

"Now stay here," she instructed sharply. "We won't be but an hour or so." Neville nodded and chanced a look around the table. The dull faces of three young wizards stared back at him blankly. Neville shrugged and sank into his chair. He wasn't sure if it would be worse to stay with his family, or be bored at this table.

As a plate of appetizers magically appeared in front of him, the round-faced boy decided resolutely on the children's table. At least there he would be fed, and his Great-Uncle Algie hopefully wouldn't appear and try to force magic out of him again.

"Excuse me," a small, whispery voice echoed in his year. Neville yelled in surprise and tumbled neatly out of his chair onto the ground. He looked up, startled, to see a young girl, about his age, peering down at him from the table. Her pale eyes were wide with curiosity as she reached a hand down towards him.

"You didn't have to fall," she said somewhat matter-of-factly, the glare of the lights glinting oddly off of her light-colored hair. "I was simply asking if you were going to eat that?" The girl's speech was impeccable as she pointed towards an unopened chocolate frog package on Neville's plate.

Neville shrugged as the girl withdrew her preoffered hand to snatch the dessert from Neville's tray.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," she said as Neville drew himself up from the ground, dusted his dress robes off, and sat back down in his seat, all the while staring incredulously at this blonde-haired girl who had tucked her silver fork neatly behind her ear.

"N-neville Longbottom," he stuttered nervously.

"I'm five," Luna continued. "My parents brought me." Neville nodded and dug in to a pumpkin pastie before realizing that the girl expected a response.

"I'm six," Neville said finally, after swallowing. "I came with my gran."

"Where are your parents?" Luna asked.

Neville blushed. "They're uhh...t-they're sick."

Luna nodded. "I'm sorry."

Neville shrugged and looked down at his plate. Noticing that there was another chocolate frog on his plate, he offered it shyly to Luna. Her large eyes lit up with excitement.

"Thank you," she said seriously as she accepted the dessert. Neville nodded and turned his attention back to his own food. Before he could take another bite, however, he heard a soft gasp from Luna.

"Quick! It's getting away!" she said, and before Neville could reply, the small five year-old girl had grabbed his hand and was dragging him across the room after an escaped chocolate frog.

The pair weaved their way haphazardly through the crush of wizards and witches, most from respected and well-known pureblood families, chasing the troublesome dessert until, panting, Luna came to an abrupt halt near a door at the back of the room. The door was nearly hidden from sight by a few potted plants and some blue, red, and white crepe.

Neville heard a weak croak and looked down to see the chocolate frog wiggling itself underneath the doorway. He peered up in an attempt to read the small placard label, however it was blocked by a sign that said 'No Admittance.'

Luna softly tapped on the doorway with her finger, and then reached up behind her ear to throw the fork at the door. As the fork loudly clattered on the ground, Neville jumped and took a step backward.

"It's okay," Luna assured him, squeezing his hand tighter. "No Imperturbable Charm, see?" She pointed at the fork. Neville nodded instinctively as Luna pulled out a wand from underneath her dress robes.

"Where did you get that?" Neville asked incredulously.

Luna shrugged. "It's my mom's. She doesn't really mind. She thinks a lot of the Ministry's laws are dumb."

Neville couldn't think of anything to say. Instead he gaped openly at Luna as she softly said, "Alohomora," while waving her wand at the lock.

"A-aren't we going to be in trouble?" he stuttered hesitantly at the five year-old girl. She laughed prettily and dragged him into the empty room, shutting the door behind her.

As the lights magically lit themselves, Luna and Neville gasped and stood quietly for a moment, awestruck by the room that they had entered.

A freshly cut, full-size quidditch pitch stood in front of the pair. Neville paused to breath in the grassy smell as he took in the glistening silver hoops, bright green field, and nicely upholstered bleachers.

"Now this is interesting!" Luna said happily as she dragged Neville onto the field. For his part, Neville was too dumbfounded to worry about getting caught and willingly followed Luna to the center of the pitch.

Chocolate frog forgotten, the two children lay down in the grass next to each other and breathed happy sighs.

"So what kinds of magic can you do?" Luna asked Neville after a few minutes had passed. The boy blushed again and looked down to study his dress shoes.

"I can't do anything," Neville mumbled. "My gran thinks I might be...a...uh squib."

"Nonsense!" the girl said resolutely, throwing her mother's wand at Neville. "Try."

Neville stuttered and grasped the wand with both of his hands. Squeezing his eyes shut he concentrated as hard as he could, his round face turning red with his effort. After a few minutes of silence he opened one of his eyes and peered at Luna hopefully.

"You're trying too hard."

"I just...can't," Neville cried with frustration, collapsing onto the pitch with all the melodrama of a young boy. Luna walked over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I think you can," she told him, her bright grey eyes iridescent in the overhead lights. Neville blushed and gripped the wand with both of his hands again and breathed deeply, forcing himself to relax. Slowly, he prodded a blade of grass with the wand.

Luna crowed with delight and clapped her hands together as a small buttercup grew up from the ground and unfurled itself in a small flash of gold. Neville's eyes shot open and widened as he blushed with excitement and dropped the wand onto the pitch, poking the small flower with his chubby index finger.

"I did it!" he said happily to the girl. Looking back at the flower, he reverently pulled it up from the pitch and handed it to Luna.

"Thank you, Neville Longbottom," she said seriously, accepting the buttercup and patting him affectionately on the head.

* * *

"Neville Longbottom!" Luna Lovegood's voiced echoed sharply in his ear as Neville felt a none-too-soft tap on his skull.

"Wha?" Neville's eyes shot open and he quickly drew himself to his feet in a fighting stance, wand at the ready.

Luna paused to take in his disheveled appearance and erupted into peals of laughter. She slowly covered his hand with hers and lowered his wand hand slowly.

Neville blushed as he realized that he had fallen asleep by the shores of the lake and quickly gathered his books together.

"Say...Luna?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him expectantly, her eyes wide and inquisitive.

"Never mind," Neville said, shrugging as the two of them walked away from the lake together.