A Little Push

For the next few days, students had found their own ways to fashion bow-ties and formal jackets out of whatever they could get their hands on. The teachers finally insisted on a ban only after a few students showed up to class with cummerbunds that were obviously really just poorly transfigured badgers. No one could quite figure out if it had been the badgers that were squeaking or if the noise had come from the students themselves after being bitten so many times in the pelvic area.

Harry had found this disturbing at first and had let Ginny know exactly how he'd felt about it only the day after the incident in the Great Hall.

"So, they refuse to listen to me for an entire year when I say Voldemort's back in town, but I put on a suit for two seconds and suddenly I'm a fashion icon?"

It was hard to stay mad, however, when Ginny seemed to be having so much fun.

"Oh, calm down Harry. Look! That boy's got suspenders! I didn't even make you wear those! Oh, I should've! People are really doing their homework, aren't they?"

Ron and Hermione weren't speaking. Harry had been slightly concerned about this as well, but Ginny assured him that it was all according to plan.

"Was this fashion craze all according to plan too?" he asked Ginny in a whisper during breakfast one morning.

"Well, no. Although, I think you should consider yourself lucky. You could've been eaten alive. I thought you'd be made fun of for months to come. You truly are the boy who..."

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Harry, throwing a spoon at her as she caught it and laughed.

Hermione raised a suspicious eyebrow at the two of them from her seat across the table and they both lowered their heads and hid their smiles.

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"Er... Hmmm...... Maybe?.... No. Ugh!" Neville tapped his quill on a book a few more times before writing another word, crossing it out, and tapping again.

This cycle had been going on for half an hour and it was driving Ron insane.

One more "Hmmm" later and Ron had had it. He slammed his own book shut with a muffled THUNK! causing Neville to nearly jump out of the armchair he'd been sitting in by the fire.

"What is it, bloke?" Ron asked as politely as he could. "Stuck on something? Why don't you just ask for help?"

Neville bit his lip sheepishly and looked down at what he'd been working on. "Well... It's... It's really nothing."

Ron looked doubtful. "If it was nothing you wouldn't be talking to it. Give it here." And he grabbed at it before Neville could so much as flinch.

As Ron read down the page, his jaw dropped ever lower until it looked like he'd managed to unhinge it completely from the rest of his skull. He stared for a long moment before looking back up at a now thoroughly squirmy Neville.

"Is this...?"

Neville was quick to snatch the parchment back. "It's just a first draft," he said in a small voice.

"It's a love note!"

Neville blushed and nodded. "It's not finished."

Ron wasn't hearing any of this. "It's a love note to Luna Lovegood! What's this about burning flesh and... moonlit orbs?!"

"I told you I'm not done with it," repeated Neville, not meeting the other boy's eyes. "I just thought I should go for it. I mean... what do I have to loose, right? Anyway, girls like poetry."

"Who says?" asked Ron skeptically.

"Other girls."

Ron shook his head firmly. "No. They just say that to watch us men do stupid things like this."

Neville folded the note carefully, put it in his pocket, and stood up. "I think they just like to see that we're willing to put ourselves out there for them, you know? Take risks."

"That's sadistic," said Ron.

Neville shrugged. "Yeah, but I think it's just the way it works."

Ron frowned thoughtfully as he watched Neville exit the portrait hole. The poor guy had a point.

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Outside in the hall, Ginny waited impatiently, shuffling her feet and biting her nails. Finally, the portrait hole opened and Neville came out, giving Ginny the thumbs-up. She grinned and hugged him. "Thank you! You're brilliant, do you know that?"

Neville smiled bashfully. "I was really nervous. I didn't think I could act."

Ginny glanced back at the portrait hole as if looking through it to Ron inside. "And you remembered everything you needed to say?"

"Well, I had some of the main points written on my arm, but yeah," Neville responded with a nod.

"Good," said Ginny, letting out deep breath. "That should give dear Ronnikins a thing or two to think about."

Neville pulled his book bag over his shoulder. "Thanks for helping with the poetry, Ginny."

"Oh, no problem! Remind me to give you the names of a few good poetry books I know of in the library, okay? You write really beautifully, Neville."

He actually gave a full-out grin at that. But then he remembered a concern he'd been wanting to ask about.

"Hey, um... Ginny? What happens if he tells Luna he saw me writing her love poetry? I mean, she's a good friend and all, but I don't really..."

Ginny quickly shook her head. "Don't worry about that. She's in on this too. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to donate to the cause."