All Or Nothing

Chapter Five. Homecoming

Luna boarded the train for Hogwarts for the seventh time, the last time. She wasn't quite sure what to think and how to feel about it. On the one hand, it was hard to imagine that she was actually leaving. It felt like she had just gotten there. On the other hand, she couldn't wait and see what the rest of her life would take her. Who would she be in a year?

So many good and bad things had happened to her at Hogwarts. She had her first kiss here, made her friends, and had actually learned things, both educational and otherwise. Also, she had lost her best friend here, was often made fun of, and Dumbledore had died. It had to be the magic of the castle that made it such a good and bad place to be.

Luna started looking for a compartment to sit in. Just then Ginny stuck her head out of one. "Come sit with me, Luna."

"Sure," she said. She liked Ginny. She had always been nice to her, even when others weren't. Last year (their sixth year) they had become good friends. They had often confided in each other.

Truthfully, they had nobody else. Luna had been an outsider from the start. But at least she was used to it; Ginny's status of being a loner was quite newfound. In the summer between fifth and sixth year, she lost her brother Percy to the war. Also, Harry, Ron and Hermione had left for unknown parts and only sent letters at Christmas.

At first her friends had been supportive of her, oftentimes giving her a shoulder to lean on when she needed it. But then Ginny started pushing them away and eventually she pushed them too far.

However, Luna had refused to be pushed away, because she already knew what it felt like to lose somebody you loved. She had went through it twice before and knew exactly how to help her, though Luna never told her about Draco.

"Guess what?" Ginny asked, looking ready to burst. Luna probably could guess but she wouldn't take away her glory.

"What?"

"I got a letter from Ron saying that they should be coming home soon! Probably within the next month or so. Isn't that great?"

Luna smiled. She knew that was most likely the explanation behind her giddiness. "That's great news. You must be really excited to see them."

"I am. Anyway, how was your summer?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"It was not that interesting," she replied, only half telling the truth. Summers for her weren't interesting at all anymore. They gave her a lot of time to think of things that she would much rather forget. "I edited papers for The Quibbler."

Ginny shrugged. "Better than sitting around waiting for a letter that I thought was not going to come anyway."

Suddenly Luna realized the real reason why she was so happy; Ron returning meant Harry returning. And even though they had broken up before he left, Ginny had told her that she knew they still had a chance to be together.

"I suppose," Luna said.

As the train took off she settled in her seat and prepared for the long ride ahead of her. Patient as she was, she absolutely hated long rides and the ride to Hogwarts always seemed especially long. She took the latest issue of the Quibbler out and groaned.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She sighed. "It's just that I've seen so much of this magazine for the past two months, that I'm pretty much sick and tired of it."

Ginny chuckled. "Trade with me then." Witch Weekly sat on her lap.

"Thanks," Luna said gratefully. Though she almost felt like a traitor to her father, she was glad to have something else to read.

They both read in silence until the lunch trolley came. Luna ordered a couple of sweets while Ginny bought an armload. She had to laugh to herself; Ginny was was just like her brother.

"I wonder what are NEWT classes like?" Luna wondered.

Ginny shrugged. "I have no idea. When Bill and Charlie took them I was too young to remember what they said about them. And Percy said they were actually very easy, but then he's always been smart. Not to mention a complete weirdo."

Luna nodded. "Yes, I doubt they're called 'nastily exhausting' just to get people to study."

"You never know," Ginny said.

"Your mum must be pretty upset, though."

"Why?"

"Because now she has three children who never took the exams."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. When it came time for the results, I saw her checking the mail expectantly every day. I guess she hoped that wherever Ron was, he was somehow able to take his exams."

She got a faraway look in her eyes; she was obviously missing her brother. Luna could tell that she worried about him a lot too. She could relate - she often felt the same things about Draco.

"I wonder whatever happened to Malfoy?" Ginny suddenly asked her. The question took her by surprise. What a weird coincidence that Ginny should ask the same thing she was thinking.

Was she a hounderot? Hounderots could actually read people's thoughts. She knew all about them because they had been in the Quibbler last month. Luna shook her head. No way could Ginny be a hounderot because they did not have the ability to shape-shift.

"I don't know..." she said warily. She usually tried to think of him as little as possible and she always felt as if she had to be on her guard when his name was mentioned.

"The last I knew," Ginny continued, "is that he was no longer with Snape and the other Death Eaters. Fred and George told me. But nobody knows the whys or hows of it."

"Nobody knows much of anything these days," Luna countered.

It was true. The other side had been suspiciously silent for the past year. Of course there had been random and minor attacks, but nothing of any real substance. With Harry Potter gone and You-Know-Who still hidden, everybody was especially tense, just waiting for the other shoe to fall.

"That's for sure," Ginny said and sighed. And that was the last thing they said for the rest of the ride.

Seeing the castle for the first time in awhile was always an amazing sight. The sense of nostalgia came back full force as she stepped into the Great Hall. It was just as magnificent as she remembered. She felt like a little first or second year all over again.

"I'll see you later," she said to Ginny as she headed over to the Ravenclaw table and prepared to watch the Sorting. This was one of her favorite parts. She liked to guess what house the kids would be sorted into before they actually put the hat on. Most times she was right.

After the sorting was over, Professor McGonagall got up to make her speech. It was still hard to get used to having her instead of Professor Dumbledore.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I'm glad to see familiar faces and new ones to. Now, before we begin the feast, I'd like to introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher - please give a warm welcome to Professor--"

Suddenly everyone turned their attention over to the staff table. Luna herself had even forgotten to look over because the concept of having a new Defense teacher was hardly new. Last year they had Hestia Jones. And while she was just a tad boring in her methods, too cut and dry, she was a competent teacher nonetheless, which is more than could be said about other previous Defense teachers. But her mother had been killed in a "mysterious accident" and she could no longer teach them.

"--Professor Longbottom."

There was a collective gasp in the room. Luna could not believe it. Neville teaching Defense? Sure, Hogwarts was a magical place, but it transferred them into an alternate universe?

And sure enough, there he was looking somewhat nervous but with a definite air of confidence. It was extremely strange to see him sitting there. It was almost like seeing a different Neville - or rather, Professor Longbottom - altogether. What had made McGonagall hire him? It was unlike her to get somebody that wasn't qualified; but then again, the position hardly elicited a plethora of applicants.

However, thinking back on it, Neville had certainly changed last year. From what she could see and the scattered conversation she had with him, he was very focused in his school. Much more so than ever before. And whatever drove his ambitions to work harder, they also worked wonders for his personality. Though his anxiety and clumsiness weren't completely abolished, Luna could definitely see where he had greatly improved in those areas.

"I said," McGonagall warned, fixing the crowd with her stern gaze, "please give a warm welcome to Professor Longbottom."

A scattered applause followed. Nobody was trying to be rude; they were just too confused to know what to do. Luna, however, was by far the loudest clapper, and when she looked over at the Gryffindor table, Ginny was coming at a close second. They caught each other's eyes and smiled. Looking up at the staff table, she saw that Neville reddened slightly, but smiled as well.

"Thank you," Professor McGonagall said stiffly. "And now, enjoy your meal."

As she said the words, the food appeared on the tables. She dug into it ravenously as she was starving. She avoided all the meat, though, because she was a vegetarian.

As the meal ended, Professor McGonagall rose to her feet once more. Immediately all eyes shifted to her because, like Dumbledore, she demanded attention, though in a very different way and for different reasons.

"Good night, everyone."

Slowly, everyone got to their feet and headed to their respective dormitories, bewildered. The thing about the Headmistress was that nobody ever knew if they were about to reprimanded, praised, or something else altogether.

The next day at Breakfast when the timetables were handed out, Luna was happy to see that she had Defense first. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. It was Ginny.

"Ready?" she asked excitedly.

Luna smiled. "Yes."

She got up from the table and left the Great Hall with her. They were both in all the same N.E.W.T level classes, which included Defense, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and Herbology. Luna had been delighted last year to learn that she only had one class a day; however, that meant the workload was much heavier.

They made their way quickly to the Defense room. Neville was already there seated at the teacher's desk, though they were the only students.

"Good morning, Professor Longbottom!" chirped Ginny.

Neville beamed and flushed with pleasure at the same time. "Good morning, ladies."

Luna walked to a desk in the front row and set her books down. "If you don't mind me asking, how did this come about?"

"No I don't mind," he said, brushing his hair back. Luna was suddenly struck by all the things she had failed to notice last year - his broader shoulders, his deeper voice, and his more toned body. Though hardly a "hottie" he certainly was very good-looking in his own right.

Of course, she thought, I should notice this now that he's my professor. Ginny caught her eyes and lifted a brow as if acknowledging the subtle changes in Neville.

"Well," he said, "Nobody knew it but I was doing some training on the side with Lupin last year. He really helped me out a lot and even recommended me to McGonagall for the post. Plus I got top score on my Defense, Charms and Herbology N.E.W.T's, and," he added proudly.

Luna was impressed. She had no idea of anything he had been doing last year. "That's great, Neville. Or rather, Professor Longbottom."

He waved his hand in dismissal. "When it's just us you don't have to call me that. In fact, I insist that you don't. It would be too strange."

Speaking of strange... Luna thought, looking at Ginny. She had a weird look on her face, as if trying to piece together a puzzle in her head.

"Was Lupin coming here?" she asked slowly.

"Er, no," Neville answered, looking uncomfortable. "I, er, went to Grimmauld Place to practice on the weekends."

Ginny frowned. "But I thought Grimmauld Place has been closed for over a year? I mean, Harry is the only one who can open it now and he's..."

The last piece of the puzzle slipped into place. She trailed off and her eyes narrowed dangerously. Neville was starting to sweat and even Luna wanted to run away as fast as she could.

"I shouldn't have said anything," he muttered.

"Well it's about somebody did! Tell me everything!"

"I can't!" he protested. "You're not even supposed to know this much."

The glint was gone from her eyes, instead to be replaced with a look desperation.

"Please," she pleaded. "I've been thinking about non-stop since the last day I saw him. I don't have anything to go on and nobody will tell me what's going on."

He looked torn. To herself, Luna smirked. Ginny knew just how to play him. Obviously she had learned much from growing up with six older brothers.

"Oh, all right," he finally said. "But you've got to keep this an absolute secret. Don't even talk about it between the two of you."

"We won't," Ginny answered for them both.

Neville looked at her. "I won't."

He sighed. "Well it started on the day of Dumbledore's funeral. I overheard Harry talking with Ron and Hermione about some thing they had to look for and that they wouldn't be returning. Ever since Dumbledore had died, I wanted to do something meaningful for the war and so I asked if I could come."

Luna gasped. "You did?"

"Let him finish." Ginny shot her the evil eye.

"Anyway, he said no, of course. But I was determined to do something so I went to Lupin and the three of us came up with me practicing Defense, Charms, and Transfiguration on the weekends. That's why my marks were so high."

"And Harry...?" she prompted.

"Right, well he was only allowed to go on the condition that he come back every now and then to check in."

"But where is he? What was he doing?"

Neville shook his head. "I don't know. Not even Lupin knew. And I only saw him twice."

"Two more times than I did," she muttered darkly.

"And why did you decide to teach here?" Luna asked.

He shrugged. "I guess I want to be helpful in anyway I can and coming back here seemed the right thing to do. I'm not good enough to be an Auror and I don't particularly want to be one, either. I'd actually like to do some work with plants and other different herbs, but I can wait."

Students gradually started drifting in for class. Neville ushered them away and they sat down. Luna held a lot of respect for Neville, more so now than ever. She thought it was really brave and noble of him to sacrifice his dreams for a greater cause.

Maybe there can be more than one hero to a story.