Sunflowers

Chapter 3- The Black Lake

      I'm almost to the Black Lake. I'm breathing in the cold and fresh air.
      I look down at the lake and see Neville waving me down, "Y/n! Down here!"
      I smile and run down by the tree he's at, "Hey." I say, smiling.
      "H-Hi." He smiled at me.
      The wind carried Neville's scent over to me. Lemon. Potting soil. Mandrakes. "What are we gonna do?" I ask him.
      He looks down at his bare feet, "T-Take your shoes and r-robe off."
      What? I reach down and remove my shoes from my feet, and slip my socks off. I crumple the socks into balls and shove them into my shoes. I peel my robe off of my back and roll my sleeves up.
      He smiled, "You might want to roll your pants up as well." He pointed at his own pants.
      "Okay..." I bent over and rolled both of my pant legs up.
      When I looked back up, Neville was standing in the water. I tilted my head at him, "I-It's okay. Come on." He waved me into the water, "C-Careful, it's a little cold."
      I walked up to the water. I dipped my toe into the liquid and instantly pulled it back out, "You're right. It is cold."
      He laughed and patiently waited for me to step into the water with him.
      I put my right foot into the water and squinted my eyes shut. I put my other foot in the water as well. I opened my eyes and waddled over to Neville.
      "That's it." He chuckled. He bent over and pulled something out of the floor of the lake, "You see this? T-This is Gillyweed."
      "And it's used for breathing under water?" I asked, guessing.
      His face lit up and I felt the butterflies in my stomach, "Yeah."
      I reached for something in the water and pulled it out, "What is this?"
      He laughed, "That's just seaweed."
      I tilt my head back, "Oh." I laughed loudly.
      "G-Gillyweed is pretty much the o-only water plant, but if you k-keep pulling, you'll eventually f-find water creatures."
      I nod and pulled more Gillyweed out. We stay silent for a while, not knowing what to talk about.
      I finally break the silence, "Did you hear the news?"
      He looks up at me, "News?"
      I nod and toss some Gillyweed back into the lake, "Um, you know Bellatrix Lestrange? The Death Eater?"
      He gulped down his saliva, "Mhm."
      I pull another clump of Gillyweed, "She escaped Azkaban. So, that's another thing the Army needs to train for."
      "She what?" He asked sternly.
      I can't help but jump at his tone, "She escaped?" He sounded like he was stabbed through the gut.
      "Yeah." I whisper, "Are you okay?"
      He cleared his throat, "Yeah."
      I hesitate, but I drop the Gillyweed in my hands and walk up to him. I shake my hands to get the excess water off. I grab his forearm, "No you're not. What's wrong?" I said gently.
      He stood up straight and closely examined the plant in his hand. I reach and take the Gillyweed from his hand, dropping it into the lake, "Neville."
      "My parents. T-They were members of The Order of The P-Phoenix." He took a deep breath, "Bellatrix was asking where You-Know-Who was, and when t-they didn't answer, she-" he let out a little sob, "She tortured them."
      "Neville, I didn't know."
      He turned and looked at me, "She tortured them to the point that they didn't recognize their own son. I'm proud to be t-their son, but it would be n-nice to be known by my own p-parents."
      I can see the tears forming in his eyes. To be completely honest, I can feel them in my eyes, "Neville, I'm so sorry." I whisper weakly.
      The tears started rolling down his cheeks. I watch his body language. I can see that he's about to give out. I take one more step closer to him and hug him.
      Even though he was a little bit taken back, he hugged me and started sobbing. That's it. My heart is shattered. I let one maybe two tears of my own slip out, but no more than that.
      He let go of me and pulled away, wiping the salty tears from his cheeks, "I-I'm sorry." He told me.
      "Don't be." I tell him. I reach my hand into the water and splash it towards him.
      He looked up at me, confused at first. He put his hand into the water and splashed me back.
      We both giggled at each other before Malfoy came along, "Look, Crabbe, the love-birds are on a little date."
      I look at Neville and can see that he's blushing, "How pathetic." Blaise says.
      I scowl at them, "Shut up, Malfoy."
      "And if I don't?" He asked cockily.
      I reached for my wand in my pocket, "Or I'll use a spell on you." I try to sound bold.
      Malfoy laughs, "Please. You're nothing but a filthy. Little. Mudblood."
      I slump my shoulders, but Neville runs through the water and past me, "How dare you!" He yelled.
      "Neville-" I tried telling him that it's okay but he interrupted me.
      "No, y/n. That's not okay." Neville reached for his own wand as the other three boys laughed.
      In the distance I heard, "Mischief managed."
      I looked up the hill and saw the twins walking towards up, "Hey, y/n." George said.
      "Hey, Neville." Fred greeted him.
      They both gave Malfoy a death glare, "Malfoy." They said at the same time.
      George brought his attention back to me, "We've been looking everywhere for you."
      I walked out of the water, "No you haven't. You used the map."
      "Map?" Malfoy asked.
      "Shut it." Neville, George, Fred, and I all said at the same time.
      Neville and I put our wands away and Fred continued, "It nearly dinner. You need to come to the Great Hall."
      I turned back at Neville, "I'll see you later, Nev."
      He grabbed my stuff that were sitting in a pile and handed them to me, "Bye."
      I took my belongings and left with the twins. When we were plenty far away from everyone else George said, "So, Neville, huh?"
      I rolled my eyes, "He's a friend."
      Fred teased George, "You shouldn't even worry, Georgie, you would never have a chance with y/n anyways."
      I shook my head and George responded with, "Reckon I'm still better looking than you."
      "Ladies." I said, "Can't we just make it through dinner?" I asked them.
      "Sorry, Darlin'." George said.
      "Yes, Princess." Fred smiled.
      "Thank you." I said as we got back to the castle.