Hard Times Easy

Sitting in the common room with his schoolwork finished and with boredom clouding his mind, Neville decided it would be a good idea to walk around the corridors. The thought of Harry Potter teaching Defense was very intriguing, but the fact that there seemed to be no place to train was very disappointing. Neville kept trying his best to come up with places to meet up at, but continued to hit a dead end. He was stressing out about that fact more than necessary.

The current Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Umbridge, is a crazy old woman. She follows the orders of the Minister of Magic flawlessly. The students of Hogwarts are not allowed to use magic. The professor claims that there is nothing living in the world that would want to harm them. The inability to use magic inside the classroom has taken a toll on everybody. Hermione Granger came up with the idea of getting together a group of trustworthy and reliable people. Although Harry was unsure about the idea at first he finally gave in to being the teacher.

Now, Neville was wandering around, wondering how things will work out. He thought back to the first meeting in a dark pub called Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. People were asking about Cedric Diggory, the boy killed by Voldemort last year, when Luna Lovegood spoke up. She asked about whether or not Harry could produce a Patronus Charm. Luna's plan of trying to divert people's attention and get them off Harry's back made Neville very proud of her.

She became a good friend of Neville's during the beginning to the year, and continued to be just that. Neville smiled at the thought of how her mind works. She believes in things that most would only laugh at, but when people do, she simply doesn't care. Everybody tends to call her Looney Lovegood. Neville never really thought twice about it before this year, but ever since he actually met her, the name has done nothing more than offend and irritate him. Although he has never been the bravest student, he would stick up for Luna against anybody, possibly even the Dark Lord himself.

Neville's mind was far-gone, when somebody tapped on his shoulder. He stopped walking, unsure of where his feet had taken him, and turned around. In front of him stood a beautiful blond-haired girl whose wide eyes were filled with wonder. A large smile brightened her face, and every worry consuming Neville's mind flew down the corridor as if they were never there to begin with. It seemed like Luna would never fail to blow him away.

"Where are you going?" Luna said while looking up at Neville with honest curiosity.

"Actually, I'm not quite sure. I was just walking around."

"Are you thinking about something important? Maybe I could help you. It's always nice to have friend to talk to." Her musical voice filled his ears.

"It's nothing really. Just thinking about the future." Neville could not look away from her face. He wanted to smile, and the urge to laugh from the unknown happiness was overwhelming.

"Are you looking forward to leaving? I know it's a few years off, but the time will pass quickly. What are you planning on doing? Father told me that he knew he was going to write since he was a boy. Mother . . . She only ever wanted to experiment. Everything fascinated her." She looked up toward the ceiling, wishing to see the sky. Memories of her mother flew through her mind.

"I guess we know where your curiosity came from. I think I am going to try to teach Herbology. I am actually good at it. I think that could work." Neville let out a slight laugh before looking around him. At once, he noticed that he was not far from the Great Hall. "Are you hungry? I think I want something to eat, and I suspect that it's about dinner time by now."

"That would be great. I am ravished. I would not want the Nargles to take all of the Jell-O." Her face brightened - if possible - even brighter than before.

Neville began walking in the direction of the Great Hall with Luna by his side. Next thing he knew Luna reached out, grabbed his hand, and laced her fingers with his. Neville looked down at Luna with surprise, and she looked up at him with a hopeful smile. His heart swelled with pride as he gave her hand a squeeze. She squeezed back, and they continued walking in perfect symmetry. When they walked into the Great Hall, nobody looked at them. Not a second glace went their way, not even a first. However, that was unsurprising to Neville even with the shocking beauty by his side. He took at deep breath before Luna began to pull him toward the Gryffindor table to sit with his friends instead of with the Ravenclaws. They took their seats across from Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Luna gave them a small hello, looked around the table, and then looked up at Neville once again. Then the most magical thing happened, a pair of soft pink lips brushed over Neville's cheek. His whole face burned with heat, and he knew his face would be red with a blush. Laughter slipped from her mouth, then his. People looked up, astonished by the sudden outburst, obviously not noticing what had occurred only seconds before.

Things would be hard. Nevertheless, they both knew as long as they had a hand to hold everything would work out in the end, no matter what the road getting there might be like.