Moonlight's embrace: A Harry Potter love story

Chapter 4

"Yes, Harry likes me as a friend. Doesn't that count?" Luna said pointedly.

"Most people don't think that way," Ginny replied. "If he was upset about the party, it doesn't make much sense for him to mention death eaters unless he was trying to make up excuses. You should know Neville is a particulary sensitive person, ever since he was younger. "

"He did mention death eaters, but he seemed to be stressed about one particular death eater, but he stopped speaking before he mentioned their name," Luna puzzled.

"One death eater? But there are so many..."Ginny murmured. Luna thought hard about the death eaters they had met last summer.

"Maybe it's Bellatrix," Luna said suddenly. Ginny stared at her. 

"Yes, my dad wrote about how she and the rest of the death eaters broke free from Azkaban last year during You-know-who's return. Of course nobody believed us since they were too busy reading the Prophet," She let out a small huff.

"You think Bellatrix has something to do with Neville?" Ginny wondered.

"Yes...but how do I find out more?"Luna sighed. 

"Well, it's best not to force it out of him. Whatever he went through must be really personal if he doesn't tell even us,"Ginny stops as Harry approaches along with Ron. 

"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked, peering behind them. Ron shrugs absently and sits down while Harry casts him an uncomfortable look before sitting down next to him. Ginny looks at them suspiciously but doesn't say anything. Luna flips through her books and concentrates on her homework while fiddling around with her hair. Then Lavender approaches and flings her arms around Ron, giving him kisses on the face and neck. Ginny nudges Luna and indicates with her head towards the hall entrance while casting glares over at Ron. She nods, picks up her books and hurries after Ginny.

"Why Lavender out of all the girls in Gryffindor? I can't believe my brother can be so blind..."Ginny muttered angrily. Luna casts a sideways glance at her, almost unsure of what she meant. As she walked, she nearly collided with two girls nearby.

"Watch it," The girl muttered angrily before turning to whisper something in her friend's ears. They both snickered, glanced back at her before hurrying away. Ginny shot them a fierce glare as they walked away. Neville rounded around the corner and Luna and Ginny made their way over to him. 

"Hey, do you want to join me at Hogsmeades?" Neville asked.

"Isn't it closed temporarily? Didn't you hear what happened to Katie Bell?" Ginny responded.

"Hang on!"Luna said suddenly. "We were there...we were all there..I overheard Katie talking with her friend Leah. She was complaining about something Katie was holding and how it could be dangerous."

"I didn't notice," Neville said, surprised.

"I saw Malfoy there as well..."Luna added. "He was behind the stairs, but he disappeared the second our eyes met so I wasn't too sure."

"What other blond boy could be lurking around like that?" Ginny said, disgusted."Anyways, perhaps you should tell Professor McGonagall. Hermione told me that Harry told her that it was Malfoy who gave Katie that cursed necklace, but Professor Snape interfered, saying he had no proof. You are a witness!"

"She would never believe me though. Why would she single out Malfoy as the one who did it when there were so many other people in Honeydukes? She doesn't know his personality, not like we do."Luna said firmly. 

"Let's go somewhere else then. I'd rather not bad-mouth Malfoy especially if Professor Snape overhears," Neville said nervously, looking around his shoulders. 

"Like I'm scared of him!" Ginny muttered, but follows Neville anyways.

"If we're not going to Hogsmeade, then where do we go?"Luna asked. Ginny shrugged. 

"The Room of Requirement?" Neville suggested.

"Why would we need to go there?" Luna asked, surprised.

"I dunno..I guess it just brings back old memories." Neville replied.

"The room needs more of a reason to show itself than just 'old memories', Neville," Ginny says amused.  

"But, there really isn't anywhere else to go. Unless you want to go to the library like Hermione," Luna teased.

"I don't see why not," Ginny huffed. She headed up the stairs, then stopped, turning back towards them.

"You two can go along and do whatever you want. I just remembered I need to write up an essay for one of my classes," She hurried away so fast that Luna barely saw the grin on her face. Trying to feel brave, Luna turns towards Neville.

"Where do you want to go? Maybe to the lake? Or we can go back to the forest," Luna suggested.

"What if Malfoy is there again?" Neville asked nervously.

"We'll make sure to avoid him," Luna assured him.

"But what if he's with his gang?" 

"You've fought against more dangerous people before,"Luna said, sounding surprisingly fierce but reassuring at the same time. "Malfoy is just one person. Goyle and Crabbe are just his minions. What are they compared to the death eaters we fought last summer?"  Neville looked at her, his eyes wide, then a thoughtful looked passed his face.

"You're right Luna. I guess I've been picked on by them for so long I've never thought to stand up to them," Neville smiles. Luna smiles back.

 Luna took a deep breath and stepped a bit closer to him, looping her arm with his, aware of the tension in her every muscle as she did so. 

"We can go wherever you want,"Luna said, feeling heat creep up her face once more like it did every time she saw Neville. He leans closer to her and Luna felt as if her heart had stopped.

"Of course, but isn't it fair to let the lady choose?" He says in a teasing voice.

"I choose that turning over the decision to you is better," Luna says firmly.

"Alright, whatever you say," Neville says They walk side by side, shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm. 

Note from Author:

Chapters may take longer than usual to go up each week. Even though its the summer, I've been busy studying and doing summer reading.I'll try to get at least 2 chapters up a week. I hope you've been having a nice summer!