The Final Date

The Final Date

Chapter One: Another Blind Date

"So you teach Herbology right?" Janis asked, absent-mindedly stirring her drink with her straw.

Neville nodded. "Yep." He pushed the food on his plate around, making small neat piles.

"I was always rubbish at Herbology. It was a complete bore. How interesting are plants, really-I mean, I'm sure they're interesting to you since you teach it and all but to the average person?" Janis said. Neville just nodded. "What's so fascinating about them?"

Neville speared a piece of broccoli and popped it into his mouth, chewing it slowly. She stared at him, waiting for a response. "You're asking me?" he said.

"Der. You're a bit thick, aren't you?" She took a long swallow of her drink and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Well...there are lots of different kinds of plants and they have many valuable uses," he said slowly, not really wanting to explain why he enjoyed Herbology to Janis Bad Manners.

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense," she said. "My last boyfriend was obsessed with runes. Or was it card games. You know, I really can't remember."

Neville listened to Janis go on about her ex-boyfriend, and contemplated why he was on yet another blind date. She was the sixth woman he'd been out with in the past four months or so. His dear friends, Ron and Hermione, had taken it upon themselves to find him these dates. Why he ever agreed to any of it, he wasn't sure. After repeated questions and a few mini conferences disguised as dinners about his personal life, he finally gave into their request to set him up with someone.

First, it had been with Luna Lovegood. She ran a shop in Hogsmeade, which wasn't the sort of shop Neville regularly visited but he saw her around town at times. So it was quite surprising to see her at the appointed time and place. Everyone seemed to have it in their heads that they would make a neat couple--the nutter and the absent-minded professor. It's not that he didn't like her, she was nice and interesting in her own way. She was just a little...eccentric for his tastes.

Then there had been Holly Gingersnap or was it Gingerstar. She had shocking purple hair and an affection for spicy foods and strong liquor. She was one of Fred or George's ex-girlfriends and somehow he had been set up with her. The women really started to blend together after that. By next week, he probably wouldn't remember Janis's name. Where had Ron and Hermione found her anyway? She might have been one of Ron's Quidditch mates' sister or cousin.

Ron and Hermione meant well, he knew, but he didn't understand their sudden interest in his love life. It seemed rather out of character for them to be so meddling but then he'd heard the stories about the times they'd tried to set Harry up with someone. So he chalked it up to their old age and their running out of things to argue about. Okay, so they weren't that old but they acted as if they'd been an old married couple forever.

"Well?" Janis said.

"Well what?" Neville repeated, realizing he must have missed something. Or everything she just said. Maybe not everything, the words 'bottle' and 'is boring' drifted in at some point.

"What do you like to do for fun?" she said asked.

"Fun?"

"Yeah, you know, fun," she said slowly, looking at him as if he really were thick. "Surely, you do more than lecture about plants."

Neville raised an eyebrow, imagining the kind of fun Janis liked to have. It probably included touring clubs until four in the morning with her garishly dressed girlfriends and seeing who could drink as much as possible before passing out. He had a feeling that she probably wouldn't understand his kind of fun.

"Janis, I think it'd probably be best if we just cut this date short. You're a...nice girl, but I don't think we have much in common. I seem to bore you and frankly, listening to you go on about your past boyfriends' hobbies or that funny thing your friend said bores me. We should just quit while we're behind," Neville said.

Janis looked at him blankly. "Does this mean we're not having dessert?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, Neville decided to pop into the Three Broomsticks. The night was still young even for Neville. It was a bit rowdy as it normally was on a Saturday night. The tables in the corners were filled with shouting patrons knocking back drinks. Neville just took a seat at the bar and sipped his pint.

He knew Ron and Hermione would be pestering him for details soon. Then they'd probably try to set him up again. He didn't know how they got into their heads that they ought to play match maker; they weren't very good at it.

In the beginning, when they tried to set him up on dates, he wasn't keen on the idea. No, his personal life didn't consist of many dates but he was content. They seemed to be convinced that he would be happier if he had someone in his life and after a few months of them continually pointing that out, he gave in. It was nearly impossible to stand up to the two of them together. They were so stubborn.

"Neville Longbottom?" someone to his right said.

He turned his head. "Yes?" Parvati Patil was smiling at him.

"Parvati?"

She nodded and stuck her hand out. He shook it and smiled unsurely. "Just enjoying a pint then?" she said.

"Yeah, I just stopped in. What brings you down here? I haven't seen you in ages." Neville said.

Parvati's grin widened and she glanced away for a moment. "I just happened to be in the area. I'm here with my sister. I came up to get our drinks." Her cheeks were tinged pink and her voice sounded warm and pleasant. He wondered if it were some special occasion.

"Just you and your sister?" he asked.

She nodded. "We're out celebrating. I just got engaged recently." She held out her hand and the diamond on her fourth finger flashed in the light.

"Congratulations," Neville said.

"It's not really that big of a deal. We've been talking about it for ages now."

"It still must be exciting."

"Well, a bit, I suppose. He's really great. I don't know if you know him. He works at Gringotts." The barmaid slid down her drinks and Parvati grabbed them. "Are you here alone then?"

"Yes," Neville replied, glancing around.

"Do you want to join us?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't intrude like that on your-"

"No, it's okay really. In fact, Padma's a bit of a bore. It'd be nice if you came and livened things up a bit."

"I'm not really a liven things up kind of bloke..." Neville trailed off as Parvati kept smiling at him. Her smile was really pleasant. He didn't remember that so much from their schooldays. "Sure, why not?"

He followed her over to a table by the window where Padma sat. She looked up at them as they came over. Parvati set their drinks on the table and indicated towards Neville. "Pad, this is Neville Longbottom. I don't know if you remember him. He was in my house, same year as us," she said.

"Course I remember him. I have a better memory than you. Anyways, wasn't Longbottom directing involved in the war? Who doesn't know him?" Padma said, then looked at Neville. "Hello."

"Er-hello." He was surprised, actually. Not that many people really knew him. They might recognize his name but it usually took a while to connect.

"Well, sit down," Padma said, nodding at the empty chair next to the table.

Neville sat at the end of his chair and took a sip of his drink. Padma was a little intimidating compared to her sister. Her hair was pulled back into a twist whereas Parvati wore hers loose down her back, and her voice sounded sterner. He was reminded a bit of Professor McGonagall.

"You're teaching at Hogwarts now, aren't you?" Parvati asked, taking a delicate sip of her drink.

"Herbology," he answered.

"I remember, you were pretty good at that subject. How long have you been teaching?" Parvati asked.

"Three years now."

"I've always preferred potions myself. I find it a bit more substantial than studying plant life, rare or otherwise," Padma said, leaning back in her chair. "I recognize the importance of it but what makes someone want to study that?"

"Well, I suppose one must possess a certain aptitude for it. It requires patience and diligence to study and mark the changes that occur. I don't know about most others but I find figuring the different uses of plants fascinating," Neville said. He found that he did not mind explaining his interest in Herbology so much this time.

Padma stared at him and then looked down at her drink. "So in essence, you're saying you enjoy the slow pace of it? Does that mean you prefer a steady routine to change?"

"I look at a steady routine as being comfortable with one's own self. Noting the changes in herbology takes subtlety; those things can't be rushed," Neville replied.

Padma looked as if she were about to respond but Parvati cut her off. "Honestly Pad, are you going to badger Neville all night? Don't mind her. She's always a bit analytical after another failed blind date."

"Parvati!" Padma said sharply, giving her sister an exasperated look.

"Wha-Oh sorry. But what's the big deal? Nearly everyone's been on a blind date. No one's judging you just cos' this one didn't work out either. Well, except for mum and dad maybe and-"

"Parvati!"

"Okay, sorry."

"I just came off a blind date too," Neville said to Padma whose cheeks were still flushed.

"See, even Neville's gone on one," Parvati said.

"More like a good few."

"Aren't they the worst?" Padma said.

"They were pretty bad in the beginning but I'm starting to get used to them, which is a rather scary thought actually."

Padma gave a small laugh. "Yes, I suppose that is. What was yours like?"

"Are you going to pester him all night?" Parvati said again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Then they had me cornered and I had no choice but to say yes. They're quite scary when they're together," Neville said, laughing at the memory.

"Well, you Gryffindors were always pretty adamant about your beliefs. Merlin knows, Parvati is always pushing her opinions on me, trying to get me to go along with her ideas. Her goal's always been to get old, uptight Padma to let her hair down and have a bit of fun," Padma said, shooting a look at Parvati who was resting her chin in her palm and looked quite peaceful sleeping that way.

"But I know how to have fun. Believe me, I have loads of fun," Padma paused to take another large swallow of her drink. "I have such-much fun, even she'd be envious. It's just that my kind of fun is different than her kind of fun or most other people's kind of fun for that matter, know what I mean?"

"Yeah." Neville nodded slowly, noticing how some of the hair that had slipped out of Padma's bun was framing her face. Her eyes were warm and looked lively in the dim lighting as opposed to the measured stare she'd had earlier. "No one understands our kind of fun. There's nothing wrong with not going out or having lots of dates or even one date."

"Exactly," Padma said, slamming her glass on the table harder than necessary. "Whoops," she giggled.

The sound of her giggling was funny. Neville started to laugh.

"Whas so funny?" Padma asked, laughing too.

Neville shrugged. "You're pretty funny."

"I am...You're taking the mickey, aren't you?"

Neville shook his head. "No, I'm not. Really."

"Yes, you are." Padma covered her mouth with her hand and turned her head away. Neville was pretty sure he heard a snort come from her direction, which made him laugh harder.

Padma looked at him, her laughter dying off. Neville followed suit. "See, we are fun people. Next time someone says otherwise, we'll just tell them to, to...we'll tell them to bugger off. Agreed?" Padma slurred.

"Agreed."

Suddenly Padma was leaning across the table towards him; before his heart even had the chance to race, Padma gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He touched two fingers to his lips, which suddenly felt very warm. Padma was calmly finishing off her drink.

"Oi! You lot, go home already. We're closing," the barmaid yelled at them.

They both jumped at the sound of her voice. Neville glanced around the empty pub and then at his watch. "I guess it is getting late."

Padma stood up quickly and then fell back in her seat. "Oh my." She placed both of her hands on the table and pushed herself up again, slower this time.

"Will you be okay?" Neville asked.

"I'm fine. Maybe just a little tipsy. You?"

"Me? Oh, I'm great. I only have a little ways to go anyhow..." They stared each other.

"Uhh...what's going on?" Parvati said groggily. "Oh, are we still here?"

Padma broke their stare first, looking down at her sister. "Come on, let's go."

"What time is it?"

"Never mind that. Let's just go." Padma grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the chair. Neville followed them outside.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to be so rough, Pad." She glanced back at Neville and then at Padma, the corner of her lips turning up into a smile. "You two certainly enjoyed yourselves it seems-"

"Parvati," Padma cut her off.

"See you later, Neville," Parvati called.

"Bye." Neville waved at both of them. The cold air stung his face, sobering him up a bit. Padma flashed him a small smile and then they were gone.