Gift exchange fic for Muffin!
To: Muffin | muffinpatronus
From: Crystal | bluemermaid
Title: Warm Socks and Hot Chocolate
Summary: That was the best part of Christmas, she thought: warm socks and hot chocolate.
Characters/Pairings: Neville/Luna (friendship, with a hint of more to come)
Genre: Gen
Beta: My dear friend J.
Rating/Warnings: G, no warnings
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 1257
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: No, thanks.
It was cold in the castle, but Luna didn't mind, because she had her favorite pair of warm socks on and she was looking forward to a nice cup of hot chocolate in the Great Hall. That was the best part of Christmas, she thought: warm socks and hot chocolate. And there was never a shortage of hot chocolate when the holiday came around, especially after most of Hogwarts' students left to spend some time with their families.
Usually, Luna would be home as well, decorating her home and singing carols with her father. It was nice, being with him during such a lovely time of year. But sometimes Luna just felt the need to be at Hogwarts, to be alone with the castle and her thoughts.
It was peaceful, to wander the corridors in just her socks, tiptoeing around without any disruptions. There were no Slytherin girls to tease her, no homework assignments to turn her mind away from its own pursuits. There was no air of danger here, in the quiet time of Christmas. Even Filch the caretaker seemed a bit more lax at this time of year. Luna imagined him sitting holed up in his office, knitting a Christmas sweater for his cat. No student was actually fond of Mrs. Norris, but Luna supposed that every cat deserved a Christmas sweater.
Colorful flashing lights held by fairies led the way to the hall, and Luna smiled up at them while keeping her distance, because everyone knew that fairies couldn't be trusted. Her father had uncovered quite the plot to spread Fairy Pox throughout the Wizarding World, despite the naysayers who claimed the disease did not exist. Still, the lights were quite pretty, and Luna enjoyed the sight of them.
Entering the Great Hall, Luna found to her surprise that she was not to be alone with her hot chocolate. She had assumed that nobody else would be awake so early, or at least would not have yet left their common room. Christmas morning was usually a time of sleeping in and enjoying presents in bed; Luna herself would still be upstairs with the book her father had sent her, had she not yearned so deeply for hot chocolate. But there was a sparkling warmth in Luna's chest at the sight of none other than Neville Longbottom, sitting at the Gryffindor table with a steaming mug before him.
“Good morning, Neville,” Luna said brightly, bouncing over to him. “And a very happy Christmas to you. I don't suppose I could join you? I'm certain house tables are free to be ignored on Christmas.”
Neville smiled tentatively up at Luna, without quite meeting her gaze. “Sure, Luna,” he said quietly, gesturing beside him. “Happy Christmas.”
Luna sat down next to Neville and placed her hands upon the table. “I'd like some hot chocolate, please,” she said, and watched as a mug of said liquid appeared before her. She pulled herself inward and took her initial sip. “The first sip of hot chocolate on Christmas morning is well worth waking up early for,” she said conversationally, looking over at Neville. “I can see why you might want to join me here.”
“It wasn't exactly for the drink,” Neville confessed. “I just felt a bit alone up in my dormitory. Everyone else went home for the holiday.”
“Why didn't you go, Neville?”
He shrugged. “I just felt … like I needed to this year. Because the outside world's a scary place right now. Here, at Hogwarts … I can pretend life is still normal. I feel bad not going to see Gran and - and others,” and his face flushed red, “but I just couldn't quite bear it this year.”
Luna looked at him for a moment, and then she nodded her head. “Well, I'm glad you did decide to stay,” she said eventually. “I do like my alone time here on Christmas, but it's lovely to share hot chocolate with a friend, too. I do hope I can call you my friend? We've shared lots of nice memories together.”
Neville chuckled, looking nervous again. “I don't think you can call a battle against Death Eaters a 'nice memory.'”
“No, I suppose not. But it was a good way of putting all our DA work to use,” Luna replied, taking another sip of her drink. She reflected that the second sip was just as delicious as the first, especially as it was beginning to give her a nice warm feeling all over.
“Merlin, Luna, you always have such a way of looking at things. You're so brave.”
“I'm not alone in that.”
He caught her meaning and shook his head briskly, looking down at his lap. “You're wrong about that one. I'm a coward.”
“You've held your own, Neville, and come out of it rather unscathed, from what I can see. I admit I missed much of your actions during battle, but you've done wonders in DA lessons. I only wish we still had them; I bet I'd see you doing wonderfully there.”
Neville shrugged. “Maybe I would. It'd certainly be better than the DADA classes I'm having now.” He shook his head. “I can't learn anything from Professor Snape.”
“He is a bit cruel,” Luna replied. “I do wish Harry would run our own special class again. But I suppose he's got a lot on his plate at the moment. Though, did you know he took me to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party? It was so kind of him, and I had a lovely time, even if Harry did vanish right in the middle of it. I think perhaps he was following some Nargles.”
Neville chuckled. “Harry's the curious sort.” He hesitated, then took a deep breath. “Listen, Luna, if you wanted, maybe you and I could practice Defense spells together sometime? It doesn't have to be anything official, just a couple of friends studying together. And only if you wanted to; I'd understand if you didn't.”
“Oh, Neville, that would be amazing!” Luna practically leapt from her seat in excitement. “Friends do study together, don't they? I see Ravenclaw friends doing that all the time. It would be so very nice for me to have a friend to study with, too.”
Neville beamed at her. “Then that's settled,” he said. “We'll look at our schedules and pick a time that works for both of us. I'm sure we can learn a lot from each other.”
“Oh, yes, indeed, we could,” Luna replied, smiling back at him. “For instance, did you know that vampires are extremely territorial, and wouldn't dream of going into another vampire's realm? I could teach you how to disguise yourself as a vampire, to keep the real ones out of Gryffindor tower. I do it for Ravenclaw all the time.”
“Sure, Luna,” said Neville, with another bright smile. “I'd love to learn just about anything from you.”
“I think you ought to change your socks, too,” Luna said, gesturing towards Neville's frayed, old, ordinary-looking socks. “Christmas morning is not a time for ordinary socks, Neville. Next Hogsmeade weekend, I'll take you to find something rather more interesting.”
“I think I'd like that quite a bit,” Neville said, with his cheeks turning a pale shade of pink. “Going to Hogsmeade with you.”
“Defense class and Hogsmeade,” Luna said dreamily. “I'm so pleased to have another true friend.”
“Me too,” said Neville, and they sat and sipped their hot chocolate together.
Crystal | Puff | 42 points
From: Crystal | bluemermaid
Title: Warm Socks and Hot Chocolate
Summary: That was the best part of Christmas, she thought: warm socks and hot chocolate.
Characters/Pairings: Neville/Luna (friendship, with a hint of more to come)
Genre: Gen
Beta: My dear friend J.
Rating/Warnings: G, no warnings
Medium: Fic
Word Count: 1257
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: No, thanks.
It was cold in the castle, but Luna didn't mind, because she had her favorite pair of warm socks on and she was looking forward to a nice cup of hot chocolate in the Great Hall. That was the best part of Christmas, she thought: warm socks and hot chocolate. And there was never a shortage of hot chocolate when the holiday came around, especially after most of Hogwarts' students left to spend some time with their families.
Usually, Luna would be home as well, decorating her home and singing carols with her father. It was nice, being with him during such a lovely time of year. But sometimes Luna just felt the need to be at Hogwarts, to be alone with the castle and her thoughts.
It was peaceful, to wander the corridors in just her socks, tiptoeing around without any disruptions. There were no Slytherin girls to tease her, no homework assignments to turn her mind away from its own pursuits. There was no air of danger here, in the quiet time of Christmas. Even Filch the caretaker seemed a bit more lax at this time of year. Luna imagined him sitting holed up in his office, knitting a Christmas sweater for his cat. No student was actually fond of Mrs. Norris, but Luna supposed that every cat deserved a Christmas sweater.
Colorful flashing lights held by fairies led the way to the hall, and Luna smiled up at them while keeping her distance, because everyone knew that fairies couldn't be trusted. Her father had uncovered quite the plot to spread Fairy Pox throughout the Wizarding World, despite the naysayers who claimed the disease did not exist. Still, the lights were quite pretty, and Luna enjoyed the sight of them.
Entering the Great Hall, Luna found to her surprise that she was not to be alone with her hot chocolate. She had assumed that nobody else would be awake so early, or at least would not have yet left their common room. Christmas morning was usually a time of sleeping in and enjoying presents in bed; Luna herself would still be upstairs with the book her father had sent her, had she not yearned so deeply for hot chocolate. But there was a sparkling warmth in Luna's chest at the sight of none other than Neville Longbottom, sitting at the Gryffindor table with a steaming mug before him.
“Good morning, Neville,” Luna said brightly, bouncing over to him. “And a very happy Christmas to you. I don't suppose I could join you? I'm certain house tables are free to be ignored on Christmas.”
Neville smiled tentatively up at Luna, without quite meeting her gaze. “Sure, Luna,” he said quietly, gesturing beside him. “Happy Christmas.”
Luna sat down next to Neville and placed her hands upon the table. “I'd like some hot chocolate, please,” she said, and watched as a mug of said liquid appeared before her. She pulled herself inward and took her initial sip. “The first sip of hot chocolate on Christmas morning is well worth waking up early for,” she said conversationally, looking over at Neville. “I can see why you might want to join me here.”
“It wasn't exactly for the drink,” Neville confessed. “I just felt a bit alone up in my dormitory. Everyone else went home for the holiday.”
“Why didn't you go, Neville?”
He shrugged. “I just felt … like I needed to this year. Because the outside world's a scary place right now. Here, at Hogwarts … I can pretend life is still normal. I feel bad not going to see Gran and - and others,” and his face flushed red, “but I just couldn't quite bear it this year.”
Luna looked at him for a moment, and then she nodded her head. “Well, I'm glad you did decide to stay,” she said eventually. “I do like my alone time here on Christmas, but it's lovely to share hot chocolate with a friend, too. I do hope I can call you my friend? We've shared lots of nice memories together.”
Neville chuckled, looking nervous again. “I don't think you can call a battle against Death Eaters a 'nice memory.'”
“No, I suppose not. But it was a good way of putting all our DA work to use,” Luna replied, taking another sip of her drink. She reflected that the second sip was just as delicious as the first, especially as it was beginning to give her a nice warm feeling all over.
“Merlin, Luna, you always have such a way of looking at things. You're so brave.”
“I'm not alone in that.”
He caught her meaning and shook his head briskly, looking down at his lap. “You're wrong about that one. I'm a coward.”
“You've held your own, Neville, and come out of it rather unscathed, from what I can see. I admit I missed much of your actions during battle, but you've done wonders in DA lessons. I only wish we still had them; I bet I'd see you doing wonderfully there.”
Neville shrugged. “Maybe I would. It'd certainly be better than the DADA classes I'm having now.” He shook his head. “I can't learn anything from Professor Snape.”
“He is a bit cruel,” Luna replied. “I do wish Harry would run our own special class again. But I suppose he's got a lot on his plate at the moment. Though, did you know he took me to Professor Slughorn's Christmas party? It was so kind of him, and I had a lovely time, even if Harry did vanish right in the middle of it. I think perhaps he was following some Nargles.”
Neville chuckled. “Harry's the curious sort.” He hesitated, then took a deep breath. “Listen, Luna, if you wanted, maybe you and I could practice Defense spells together sometime? It doesn't have to be anything official, just a couple of friends studying together. And only if you wanted to; I'd understand if you didn't.”
“Oh, Neville, that would be amazing!” Luna practically leapt from her seat in excitement. “Friends do study together, don't they? I see Ravenclaw friends doing that all the time. It would be so very nice for me to have a friend to study with, too.”
Neville beamed at her. “Then that's settled,” he said. “We'll look at our schedules and pick a time that works for both of us. I'm sure we can learn a lot from each other.”
“Oh, yes, indeed, we could,” Luna replied, smiling back at him. “For instance, did you know that vampires are extremely territorial, and wouldn't dream of going into another vampire's realm? I could teach you how to disguise yourself as a vampire, to keep the real ones out of Gryffindor tower. I do it for Ravenclaw all the time.”
“Sure, Luna,” said Neville, with another bright smile. “I'd love to learn just about anything from you.”
“I think you ought to change your socks, too,” Luna said, gesturing towards Neville's frayed, old, ordinary-looking socks. “Christmas morning is not a time for ordinary socks, Neville. Next Hogsmeade weekend, I'll take you to find something rather more interesting.”
“I think I'd like that quite a bit,” Neville said, with his cheeks turning a pale shade of pink. “Going to Hogsmeade with you.”
“Defense class and Hogsmeade,” Luna said dreamily. “I'm so pleased to have another true friend.”
“Me too,” said Neville, and they sat and sipped their hot chocolate together.
Crystal | Puff | 42 points