RP for Neville Longbottom

[bth_lunal]

Title: A Meeting in Diagon Alley
Date: August 10, 1998
Time of Day: 6.00pm, approximately
Characters: Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom
Location: Diagon Alley
Status: Public

Brief Summary: While waiting for the rest of the Malfoy trials, two friends meet to catch up (and possibly go Kneazle shopping).
Completion: Complete
Warnings: None

Comments

[bth_nevillel]

The flaw in his plan for meeting Luna was immediately apparent but Neville wandered Diagon Alley cheerfully enough. All the while he kept an eye out for Luna and checked the DA Galleon in case she'd messaged him. If it got to late, he'd use that to get in touch with her. He had bought a couple of packets of seeds to plant in the new greenhouse.

He had thought though for the house share it might have an idea to have a house shared owl. Neville had never owned a post owl of his own, for a multitude of reasons, mainly owing to not actually sending that much post generally combined with the thought it would prove extremely unpopular with Trevor. He headed down to the Magical Menagerie just to check it out.

Thoughts of owls went entirely out of his head when he saw recognised Luna's pale blonde hair and face as she stared entrance into the window. He smiled and called her name. "Luna," he said, his pleasure at seeing her evident in his voice. He glanced over her shoulder at what she was watching, "changed your mind?" he asked.

[bth_lunal]

"Hello Neville," she said happily, turning away from the window at the sound of his voice. For a moment, worries about the trial and her father were forgotten.

"Oh no, I haven't," she assured hm, before smiling momentarily back at the rats. "They are rather sweet though, aren't they?"

"I thought you might not remember to meet me," she added, "Since we didn't make proper arrangements. I'm very glad you're here, though."

[bth_nevillel]

He watched the rats for a moment and offered, "yeah not really kneazle or owl compatible though are they." He didn't know if she'd talked her father round but he thought it likely.

"I thought I might have had a bit of trouble finding you," he admitted, "but I wouldn't forget to meet you." His memory was not
that bad. Well mostly. She looked more cheerful than he might have expected and he was grateful both to the rats and to her rather enviable ability to distract herself. "Do you want to shop now?" he said, "or go for a drink and catch up."

[bth_lunal]

"I don't mind," said Luna amiably, "It'd probably be better to get a drink now, so that the Kneazle doesn't have to sit there while we're drinking. I'm sure they wouldn't like that very much."

She turned away from Magical Menagerie at last, facing him properly and smiling widely. "Is there anything else you want to buy?"

[bth_nevillel]

"That's a good point," he said, Kneazles were smart but not particularly patient, at least his gran's had been though that could have been the pet taking after her owner. "The Leaky Cauldron?" he queried thought it was the most likely spot.

"I've bought some seeds and I want to look at owls," he told her. "I probably won't buy one today, its for the whole houseshare rather than just me and I want to see what everyone else thinks first."

[bth_lunal]

She nodded and, in an utterly self-concious act, linked her arm through his

"Who is going to be sharing the house with you?" she enquired as she began to walk. "It should be a lot of fun for you. And an owl would be a good idea. I hope you'll still write to me a lot next year."

[bth_nevillel]

"Lavender, Parvati and Padma," he told her, glancing at her arm sort of awkward and yet pleased. "And possibly Ron."

"Of course," he said, "as long as you write back. Anyway I'll only be in Hogsmeade we'll see each other lots." Neville was glad about this he'd missed Luna last year when she hadn't come back, which had felt stupid given circumstance and only made him more determined to fight.

[bth_lunal]

"That's nice," said Luna, though she was in fact thinking just girls? The thought took her by surprise, so much so that she almost forgot where they were going for a moment. It wasn't quite jealousy, but it was certainly an alien sensation.

"I don't know," she said "We both might be very busy wth our NEWTs. She meant it as a joke, but her dreamy tone of voice might have made it a little difficult for Neville to tell that.

[bth_nevillel]

"You should come see it," he said, "it's really nice." He looks vaguely sheepish, "has a great greenhouse and everything."

He looked at his feet hesitant, "I suppose," he mumbled because you could hardly argue that the exams weren't important. "Though I'll be done after October if you can fit me in."

[bth_lunal]

"I'd like that. And greenhouses will be nice," she added. "You could buy some more mimbulus mimbletonia. And I was only joking, Neville. Of course I'll find a way to make time for my friends. Exams aren't that important, really. Besides, my father always said exams are a terrible way of judging people."

[bth_nevillel]

"I was going to take cuttings," he said enthused, "see if I could start some offshoots that way. You can have one if it works. If you want."

He relaxed suddenly, "sorry, I'm being stupid, you wouldn't believe the conversations I've had with Gran. She got me a book about ministry careers for my birthday."

[bth_lunal]

"Oh yes, I could get it to grow in the dormitory. I'm not sure my roommates would like it, though."

That should have made it even more attractive, if Luna had had a vindictive bone in her body.

"Ministry careers? Oh dear, that sounds very boring. What sort of career would you rather have?"

[bth_nevillel]

Neville did not much care for the opinion of Luna's room mates. They'd behaved quite appallingly in the past in the stories she mentioned in passing, as if it were normal for them to steal things. A face full of stink sap would be just the thing, because Luna would no more go to a teacher about it than he would, though perhaps for different reasons. "I don't think they can mind you having a plant," he said. "I definitely give you the very first one when it's big enough."

"It does, doesn't it?" he said, having given it more than a bit of thought. "I wanted to do something in Herbology, research maybe or," he looked away, "I never thought I'd be even able to get a job at the Ministry and maybe it's more important than Herbology." It was that that gave him pause, rather than what his Gran wanted.

[bth_lunal]

"Oh no, you shouldn't work at the Ministry," said Luna, as if it was obvious. "You're far more interesting than that. You don't want to spend the rest of your life doing a job you don't like, do you? That would be horrible."

"I'm sure your grandmother will understand eventually," she added, though she had never even met her. She simply couldn't imagine anyone wanting to make someone they supposedly cared about miserable. "I wouldn't want to work at the Ministry either. First there was Fudge and the terrible Rotfang conspiracy, then Rufus Scrimgeour, a vampire. Then...well, you know what happened then."
isn't exactly the best place to be. They're hardly loyal and reliable, are they?

[bth_nevillel]

Neville did not think he had ever been referred to as interesting before. "It might not be so bad," he said in a unconvincing tone.

"I think she would," he said or at the very least she'd just accept it rather than admit she'd lost an argument. "I just," he thought about this a lot. "Everyone knows the ministry was rotten. But it's not going to get better unless people work at it." And as much sense as this made to him it still sounded well really really dull.

[bth_lunal]

"Unless better people work there," she said with a nod. "I understand what you mean. But don't make yourself miserable. That wouldn't be very nice for anyone. Besides, the Ministry isn't the only place where people can get important and useful jobs."