Promise You'll Never Forget

Chapter 3

I shook the previous conversation out of my mind, having a weird feeling in my stomach, one that resembled butterflies, but the bad kind. You know the ones that begin when something bad is going to happen, or your anticipating something that could go horribly wrong, or cause a ripple effect of terrible events. Is that the effect Draco has on me, making me think something bad is meant to happen? A gut feeling?

The uneasy sense stuck with me throughout the next class, I tried distracting myself with chatter here and there with Luna who was sat next to me.

We had managed to sit next to each other every year in transfiguration class, that's actually how we became friends, on the first day of school she came in after me and straight away pulled a chair up to where I was sitting, I was very fidgety and quite clearly nervous for my first magical lesson. She calmed my nerves almost instantly, she usually had that affect in people, her soft voice carried wisdom which soothed any doubts in my mind. We talked the entire lesson and from that point we have been inseparable I guess.

Luna was speaking passionately about a magical creature she heard about during the summer, she adored them, she enjoyed everything about magical creatures and she was looking forward to learning everything there was to know about every creature, she lit up when she spoke about them, it was inspiring.

I noticed out the corner of my eye, an admirer, Neville Longbottom who sat at the opposite side of the classroom was staring mesmerised by Luna, he shifted his weight nevously, and when she let out a laugh, a smile grew across his face. He was a sweet guy with a massive heart and very nerdy, he loved herbology and could talk about it for hours, just like Luna could talk about different magical animals for hours. He often came across quite timid and unlikely to make the first move no matter how much he wanted to.

Throughout school Luna never really had a boyfriend or even close to one, she always told me about her crushes but she hasn't had one in a long time. I knew the look Neville was giving Luna, he had a crush, and by the smile on his face it was a big one.

"Hey Luna, what do you think about Neville." I asked curiously after she finished her ted talk on creature of the week. She opened her eyes wide and was speechless for a second, unsure why I had asked such a question so suddenly.

"He's a lovely boy, very handsome too." She said looking away and towards him, while he frantically searched for somewhere else to settle his eyes, obviously trying to come across cool and unbothered.

"I think you should take him to the Yule ball." I don't usually play matchmaker but this time I was interested to see what happened between them, they weren't necessarily similar but I can imagine their personalities mixing perfectly, he was funny and awkward and kind, and she was odd, confident and understanding. I think they would really suit each other.

"The Yule ball is weeks away."

"Never too early to get a date sorted out. I think he'd really appreciate it." I gave a nudge and I could see her cheeks flush a rosie pink colour. She had the same reaction Neville had when he caught me looking over earlier, like a deer in headlights.

"He would make a very nice date." A slight smile appeared on her face, thinking about her and Neville arriving at the Yule ball together.

"Oh I'm excited already for you, I just know he'll say yes." I squeezed her arm in excitement, hopefully this pairing will work out better than the last one.

I said I don't play matchmaker often because last time I encouraged a friend to give a guy a shot, he ended up dying. Yes, I was the one that told Cho and Cedric they would look seriously cute together and for a while they were perfect. However when he died, Cho was devastated, she cried for weeks and there was nothing I could do or say to make it any better.

Me and Luna were there for her 100% of the time but it was horrible seeing her like that. Sometimes I wish I had never said anything, thinking if I had stayed quiet then she wouldn't have been so hurt, but then again they loved each other and isn't that worth it?

For the remainder of the class Luna and Neville shared quick glances at each other before shooting their eyes back down to their work and letting an innocent grin grow on both their faces. I don't think it dawned on Luna until now that she too might fancy Neville a wee bit, whenever they spoke her cheeks would burst with colour and if he said something similar to a compliment, she would choke on her words and awkwardly thank him. It was exciting to think that maybe this could grow into something different and good for both of them.

*Later That Day*

It had just passed lunch and I was walking to charms class pretty swiftly, I had already been late to Professor Flitwick's class before and wasn't planning on making it a regular occurrence. Just as I met with the door to the class, Draco burst past me from around the corner and nudged me hard in the shoulder intentionally.

"What gives Malfoy?" I turned to him clearly irritated at what he did.

"I'm ready for your apology." he demanded crossing his arms and looking for support from his friends, Blaise and Camille, both fellow Slytherins.

"My apology?" I asked shocked at his audacity to say such an absurd thing. "I did apologise"

"I want a genuine apology this time." He said remembering how I had 'apologised' earlier on today.

"No."

"No? Why?" He asked, taken back by the abruptness of my answer. He hadn't been spoken to like this very often and it was abundantly clear he didn't appreciate it. The beautiful blonde girl behind him whistled and walked away, leaving the awkward situation.

"Because it'd be a lie." I said swiftly making my way into class "And I don't like lying." I found my seat and shook the dreadful thought of Draco out of my mind for the remainder of the day.

Charms dragged all afternoon until we were finally excused and everyone practically sprinted out of the classroom. I had an hour or 2 before dinner was supposed to be served so I headed to the library to catch up on some homework that needed done.

Word count - 1833