Chapter Thirteen - Trouble in Paradise

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Neville and Luna slipped out of the Great Hall, quietly making their way to Professor Sprout’s ‘secret’ garden. Once the massive doors had swung shut behind them, Neville slipped his arm around Luna. They walked together, arm in arm, their steps evenly matched, and saying nothing. They crossed the grounds quickly. In no time, Neville was opening the hidden gate.

“I hope Professor Sprout doesn’t mind that we come here,” Neville whispered.

“I don’t think she does,” Luna whispered back. “Besides, it’s our place now.”

They settled onto the wooden bench, content to be alone together. Luna entwined her fingers with Neville’s, pulling his hand gently and bringing it to rest on her thigh. She felt Neville tense as his fingers brushed against her bare skin.

I’m so glad I made this dress. I wonder if he’s noticed that I’ve worn it every time we’ve been here.”

Luna slouched down on the bench, bringing herself to Neville’s shoulder level. She rested her head on his shoulder, at ease after a long days worth of work. She could feel his breathing, his chest rising and falling with each breath. Slowly, his body relaxed and he seemed to melt into her.

She looks so amazing in that dress. I still remember the first time she wore it. I can’t believe she made it.”

They sat together until the sun no longer showed in the sky and the moon had been out for hours. Luna had started to get chilly and decided it was probably time to get back to the Great Hall.

“We should get back,” she told Neville regretfully. “I’m sure they have noticed we’re gone. They will probably tease us mercilessly as it is, we should get back before the sun comes up.”

Neville grinned at the thought of staying in the garden to see the sunrise. “I’ll bet they didn’t even miss us,” he teased. “They are couples themselves, after all. They’ve probably been snogging all night. We could stay here until the sun comes up. It’s not too far off, we might as well stay for another hour or so.”

Luna blushed at the thought of spending the whole night with Neville. “We could,” she began leisurely, “but I’m cold.”

“I can fix that,” he offered. “Would you like me to conjure you a sweater?”

“One of yours?” she asked hopefully.

“You want to wear my sweater?” Neville asked, taken aback with a confused look on his face. “It will be too big, it will probably fall to your knees and…”

“That would be all right,” Luna stressed.

“Oh. Well, of course you can wear one of mine. Do you want the blue one or the green one?” Neville asked.

“Blue,” Luna responded.

“Done,” Neville assured her.

He pulled out his wand, waved it, and muttered muttered, “Accio blue sweaters.” He waited patiently. After a few minutes, he started to worry that he had pronounced the spell wrong. Suddenly there was a loud whistling noise and several hundred sweaters, all of them blue, came hurtling at him. He was knocked down by the sheer volume of sweaters.

“Neville,” Luna chortled, “are all of these yours?”

“No,” Neville managed to gasp as he shoved piles of sweaters off his chest. “I only have one blue sweater, so only one of these can be mine. I think the more important question is: Where in Merlin’s name did they come from?”

“I think that when you called for your sweater, you asked for sweaters. While it’s pretty funny, it also means that your powers are progressing. I’m not sure that you are supposed to be capable to call for other people’s possessions.” Luna was still smirking when Neville grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her down onto the soft pile of sweaters.

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