Yes, It Is

Neville was picking up his parcels from the table when he heard a muffled cry. He finished putting his potions essay in his bag, put his bag under the table, and followed the sound. He was following the cry with interest as it led him to the restricted section of the library. The gate was unlocked and slightly ajar.

Neville contemplated going in for a moment. Someone was sobbing. He could try to comfort whoever it was, but what if it was a Slytherin or something? He would probably get hexed into next week if he caught some Slytherin crying.

His Gryffindor side finally won, and he brought up the courage to enter the restricted section. He turned around to make sure no one was watching him. The library was empty, and he had a pass to be out past curfew. The librarian was on the other side of the library, not even visible from where Neville was standing.

He slipped in quietly and completely closed the gate behind him. He followed the cries until they came to an abrupt halt. Whoever was crying must have seen him. He knew that if it was a Slytherin he would have been hexed by now so he decided to speak up.

"Hello?" Neville whispered. He now felt like a complete idiot.

He had only a few seconds warning before someone flung themselves at him. He lost his balance as he tried to stay standing, and as usual, he fell on his back. This time though, he had someone on top of him. He let out a yelp of pain as he hit the ground. The figure on top of him fumbled around and stood up abruptly. Before he knew it, he was on his feet again, wondering how he got there he looked at the person standing in front of him.

"Sorry," whispered the figure. It was too dark to tell who it was, and the voice wasn't ringing any bells. All he could tell was that it was a girl. "I was running and I just..." The person burst into half-controlled sobs again.

"Lumos," whispered Neville.

"Oh!" the person said in shock. Neville looked up from his wand, and into the tear-streaked eyes of Lavender Brown. When their eyes met, the momentary shock fading, she burst into tears again.

Neville took two strides over to her, not sure what to do, and put his arms around her cautiously, waiting for her to shake him off.

She moved her hands to her face and leaned into Neville, who was a head taller than her. Neville extinguished his wand and put it into his pocket. He wasn't used to being so close to anyone, except for Ginny at the Yule Ball, but they never embraced like this. Neville was starting to feel uncomfortable as reality sank in.

He was in a dark room, with Lavender Brown, one of his best mates' girlfriends, holding her so close he could feel her breathing.

She finally gained a bit of control over her sobbing and let her hands wrap around Neville's waist, still crying silently into his robes.

"Want to tell me what this is all about?" asked Neville with more confidence than he felt.

"Ron... broke up with me," said Lavender lifting her head from his robes to look up at him. She could only see his outline, but she noticed he had a slight frown on his face. Realizing he must be uncomfortable she pulled away gently, as not to offend him. "Sorry."

He put his finger to his lips and she listened also. There were footsteps coming this way.

"Hello?" a voice said from where Neville had entered.

He grabbed Lavender's hand and pulled her behind him silently but swiftly until they were several bookshelves away from the voice.

"Anyone in here?" asked the voice. The footsteps started coming closer then stopped just a bookshelf away from where Neville and Lavender had taken refuge. Their footsteps started to fade away as Neville held his breath. He heard a faint click, and then the footsteps were gone.

Neville breathed a sigh of relief echoed by Lavender. He then noticed he still had a hold of her hand and abruptly released it.

"That was close," whispered Lavender, who then burst into fits of silent giggles. Neville wasn't sure what was particularly funny about what had happened, but her laughter was contagious that he found himself laughing quietly with her. He slid down the bookcase as his laughter settled into a content smile. Lavender settled herself in front of him leaning on the bookcase opposite him.

"So," said Neville uncomfortably, "Ron broke up with you, did he?"

"Yeah," Lavender admitted, her smile disappearing at the mention of Ron's name.

"And, you ended up in the restricted section of the library after curfew-?" Neville let his almost-a-question hang in the air before she got what he meant.

"I was holding my feelings in all day," she admitted. "I came to the library ten minutes to closing and noticed the restricted section had been left unlocked so I slipped inside, and couldn't hold it in any longer. I just wanted to cry."

"Then I came in..." Neville said

"Well yeah, you ruined everything, ya big lump-o-comfort!" she said, her smile reappearing. Neville wasn't sure whether to take that as a complement so he just smiled. "I thought you were the librarian so I wanted to get out of here and I started running towards the exit. Not so smart seeing as how you were in the way of my getaway. But, luckily it was you."

Neville was surprised she hadn't said "just you" like any other person would have. It seemed as if she was choosing her words carefully.

"I noticed it wasn't the librarian when I fell on you-" She stopped talking immediately.

"Because she is a girl..." finished Neville shyly.

"Erm... yeah...okay..." Lavender stammered. "You're a guy and you have guy parts and you don't have breasts."

"Well, thank you!" Neville said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean!" snapped Lavender with a hint of nervousness. Neville had never been in the presence of a girl that was nervous around him. Unless, of course, they were afraid he may ask them out. He hoped that wasn't what was going on here.

"I think you are too good for Ron," Neville admitted.

"What?" Lavender was taken aback.

"Oh! Um... see I meant that ya know, him and Hermione are... perfect together, so I was thinking you are better than her? NO! I mean that... ya know you are cool, but... you deserve better!" Neville was proud he had found the perfect words, even if it did take insulting Hermione to do it.

"Thank you Neville," said Lavender. She did seem genuinely pleased with his response. "So, what were you doing in here?"

"I was looking for the person crying..."Neville said.

"Well, you found me... Now what are you going to do with me?" Lavender asked. Neville was taken aback, and surprised to notice she had seriousness in her voice. He must have imagined it.

"I'm going to take you back to your common room," Neville said seriously. "Your friends can comfort you better than I can."

"Couldn't we do something fun first?" Lavender asked.

"Erm... what did you have in mind?" Neville was standing up now and was helping her off the floor.

"Lumos," she whispered and they were illuminated by a soft glow of wand light. She stepped closer to him until they were touching. Neville's heart was beating fast. "You are better at comforting me than you give yourself credit for Neville," she said, gazing into his eyes.

He was looking into her eyes when a sudden urge overwhelmed him. He put his arms around her and held her close to him. He could hear, and now feel, her breathing. He wasn't sure if he wanted to kiss her. Not with all that practice she had with Ron. It would be his first kiss. He knew it was coming though. He had to let her go sometime.

She waited until he released his grip on her to look at him again, her gaze fixed on his lips. He was breathing hard as she stood on her toes. He leaned his head down and their lips touched.

It was as if an electric current shot through Neville when their lips met. He could feel it from his head to his toes, as she brought her hands up to his hair. He did the same as she opened her mouth, and then closed it again. He followed suit, and before he knew it he had her pushed up against a bookshelf pressing his lips onto hers with a force he had never known. He was sad when he had to break the kiss to catch his breath. He stood there for a moment, staring at the person he had, just minutes ago, felt reluctant about kissing, and smiled.

"We should probably go," Lavender said breathlessly.

"Yeah, I guess we should." Neville took her hand and led her to the gate slowly. He reached out his hand and tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn't turn. They were locked in.

"This is going to be a fun night," Neville sighed.

"Yes, it is," agreed Lavender just before she started kissing him again.