An unconventional pairing
This was my submission for the April Fools’ Day Challenge: Unconventional Pairing over on romancingwizard.
Tile: Bravery in the Face of Love
Author: lunafish
Main wizard: Neville Longbottom
Other characters: Minerva McGonagall
Ratings/Warnings: er…look at the characters. Otherwise, no warnings.
Genres: romance, fluff
Complete: (yes or no) yes
Word count: 836
Summary: Neville is a man with a mission.
Neville sighed. He’d already waited two hours, and she still hadn’t arrived. Once again, he had to remind himself that, after seven years of waiting, a couple hours were nothing.
Then he saw her.
God, she’s beautiful
As he gathered his courage, he couldn’t help but admire the little, unruly tendrils of ebony hair that swirled down the sides of her neck. And the way she carried herself-too many girls today were wont to slump around with no pride in their bearing, but she looked like a lady should-shoulders back, head high, and eyes sparkling. And just now those eyes had come to rest on him.
Jumping to his feet, Neville stepped up to meet her.
His former professor greeted him with a smile, taking his proffered hand in her own. “Mr. Longbottom, I certainly didn’t expect to find you still here. I hope you didn’t miss the train.”
“No, Professor. I was…well, I was actually waiting for you.”
“For me? But how did you know to find me here?”
“I heard you mention to Professor Sprout that you’d be coming down for a drink once you’d seen off the last of the students.”
“You know you could have visited me earlier in my office? It’s a long way you have to apparate home now. Never mind. What’s done is done. Why don’t we sit down and talk here?”
Once they’d settled themselves and sent Madam Rosmerta off to fetch their drinks (Neville followed his companion’s lead and ordered a gillywater), Professor McGonagall began, “Well, Mr. Longbottom-”
“Neville.”
Pursing her lips disapprovingly, she nonetheless nodded. “Very well-Neville, what can I do for you?”
“I’m…you see…well, that is to say, I was hoping you’d join me for dinner.”
“Surely we can discuss whatever’s on your mind well enough right here, can’t we? Oh, thank you, Rosmerta,” she added as she and Neville accepted their drinks.
Neville waited until the other witch returned to the bar before answering.
“No. I meant that’s what I wanted to speak to you about. Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?”
Professor McGonagall simply stared at him. Finally, she blinked.
“Pardon?”
“Professor, I know I’m very young still and not the most talented wizard, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned these last two years, as I’ve watched my schoolmates, my friends even, suddenly disappear from our lives, it’s that you can’t waste even a single moment.” He hurried on as she opened her mouth to interrupt. “No, please let me finish. I expect you’ve never thought of me as anything but a hopeless student, and I’m not asking you to jump into anything serious. I just thought that maybe we could get to know one another-just as friends, if that’s all it can ever be.”
“Neville, I hardly know what to say. I’m old enough to be your grandmother. Surely someone your own age…. I mean it’s natural to feel affection for your teachers, perhaps even to think it’s something more, but….”
“Yes,” he replied. “I admit it started as a schoolboy crush. However, my feelings during these last two years, since I stopped being your student, have only grown stronger. When we stood together this spring against the Death Eaters, I could no longer deny them. You were so fiercely determined to protect the school and its students, so lovely in your outrage at the invasion, that you truly appeared to my eyes to be the Greek goddess of war.”
Seeing the deep rosy flush in Professor McGonagall’s cheeks, Neville glanced down at his drink to steady himself. They sat in silence for several minutes, pretending to enjoy their drinks as they both tried to come to grips with what Neville had just confessed. Finally, he heard her quietly clear her throat.
“Neville, I’m flattered-believe me, I am-but I really don’t think it would be appropriate for me to date someone your age, let alone a former student. I’m sorry.”
Neville had expected this, but he didn’t want to let it end awkwardly. He’d been awkward for eighteen years, and, as far as he was concerned, that was eighteen years too many. After all, he was one of The Heroes of the Wizarding World, one of the warriors who’d brought down the “greatest evil of our time,” listed right next to Harry Potter on the plaque the minister had ordered placed in the Ministry of Magic. He even had his own Order of Merlin, First Class.
No, Neville wasn’t going to run off and die of embarrassment or splinch himself as he tried to make his way home in an agony of despair. Instead, he looked earnestly across the table at the woman he loved and grinned.
“Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying!” He stood and held out his hand. “How about that dinner anyway?”
Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment, and Neville saw doubt written all over her face. Then, suprising him, she reached out to accept his invitation with a smile of her own. “Why not?"
Tile: Bravery in the Face of Love
Author: lunafish
Main wizard: Neville Longbottom
Other characters: Minerva McGonagall
Ratings/Warnings: er…look at the characters. Otherwise, no warnings.
Genres: romance, fluff
Complete: (yes or no) yes
Word count: 836
Summary: Neville is a man with a mission.
Neville sighed. He’d already waited two hours, and she still hadn’t arrived. Once again, he had to remind himself that, after seven years of waiting, a couple hours were nothing.
Then he saw her.
God, she’s beautiful
As he gathered his courage, he couldn’t help but admire the little, unruly tendrils of ebony hair that swirled down the sides of her neck. And the way she carried herself-too many girls today were wont to slump around with no pride in their bearing, but she looked like a lady should-shoulders back, head high, and eyes sparkling. And just now those eyes had come to rest on him.
Jumping to his feet, Neville stepped up to meet her.
His former professor greeted him with a smile, taking his proffered hand in her own. “Mr. Longbottom, I certainly didn’t expect to find you still here. I hope you didn’t miss the train.”
“No, Professor. I was…well, I was actually waiting for you.”
“For me? But how did you know to find me here?”
“I heard you mention to Professor Sprout that you’d be coming down for a drink once you’d seen off the last of the students.”
“You know you could have visited me earlier in my office? It’s a long way you have to apparate home now. Never mind. What’s done is done. Why don’t we sit down and talk here?”
Once they’d settled themselves and sent Madam Rosmerta off to fetch their drinks (Neville followed his companion’s lead and ordered a gillywater), Professor McGonagall began, “Well, Mr. Longbottom-”
“Neville.”
Pursing her lips disapprovingly, she nonetheless nodded. “Very well-Neville, what can I do for you?”
“I’m…you see…well, that is to say, I was hoping you’d join me for dinner.”
“Surely we can discuss whatever’s on your mind well enough right here, can’t we? Oh, thank you, Rosmerta,” she added as she and Neville accepted their drinks.
Neville waited until the other witch returned to the bar before answering.
“No. I meant that’s what I wanted to speak to you about. Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?”
Professor McGonagall simply stared at him. Finally, she blinked.
“Pardon?”
“Professor, I know I’m very young still and not the most talented wizard, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned these last two years, as I’ve watched my schoolmates, my friends even, suddenly disappear from our lives, it’s that you can’t waste even a single moment.” He hurried on as she opened her mouth to interrupt. “No, please let me finish. I expect you’ve never thought of me as anything but a hopeless student, and I’m not asking you to jump into anything serious. I just thought that maybe we could get to know one another-just as friends, if that’s all it can ever be.”
“Neville, I hardly know what to say. I’m old enough to be your grandmother. Surely someone your own age…. I mean it’s natural to feel affection for your teachers, perhaps even to think it’s something more, but….”
“Yes,” he replied. “I admit it started as a schoolboy crush. However, my feelings during these last two years, since I stopped being your student, have only grown stronger. When we stood together this spring against the Death Eaters, I could no longer deny them. You were so fiercely determined to protect the school and its students, so lovely in your outrage at the invasion, that you truly appeared to my eyes to be the Greek goddess of war.”
Seeing the deep rosy flush in Professor McGonagall’s cheeks, Neville glanced down at his drink to steady himself. They sat in silence for several minutes, pretending to enjoy their drinks as they both tried to come to grips with what Neville had just confessed. Finally, he heard her quietly clear her throat.
“Neville, I’m flattered-believe me, I am-but I really don’t think it would be appropriate for me to date someone your age, let alone a former student. I’m sorry.”
Neville had expected this, but he didn’t want to let it end awkwardly. He’d been awkward for eighteen years, and, as far as he was concerned, that was eighteen years too many. After all, he was one of The Heroes of the Wizarding World, one of the warriors who’d brought down the “greatest evil of our time,” listed right next to Harry Potter on the plaque the minister had ordered placed in the Ministry of Magic. He even had his own Order of Merlin, First Class.
No, Neville wasn’t going to run off and die of embarrassment or splinch himself as he tried to make his way home in an agony of despair. Instead, he looked earnestly across the table at the woman he loved and grinned.
“Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying!” He stood and held out his hand. “How about that dinner anyway?”
Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment, and Neville saw doubt written all over her face. Then, suprising him, she reached out to accept his invitation with a smile of her own. “Why not?"