Freckles Neville/Padma
Title: Freckles
author: phil_urich
Pairing: Neville/Padma
Word count: 587
Rating: G
Prompt: Freckles
She watches him from under a tree, just four or five meters away from the lake. He seems to not have noticed her attentions, but instead is intent on what is going on in the lake. His friends jumped in ten minutes ago, but Neville decided to stay on dry land for just a few minutes longer. He wants to see how they react to the water. Is it too hot? Too cold? And is the Squid in the mood for children to be splashing about it's domain?
She admires that in him, his reluctance to act on mere instinct. Gryffindors are known throughout the Ravenclaw common room as the Kings and Queens of Rash Decisions. Neville seems to exist in defiance of that stereotype though.
He seems to exist in defiance of most Gryffindor stereotypes actually. He is not particularly remarkable in anything, save Herbology, a study that is often looked down upon. He is dull looking and often lost in a crowd and he knows these things.
He knows that he is not anything remarkable and yet he handles it in the most remarkable Gryffindor way. He tries and does it without complaining. He is pushed into circumstances that at times he really has no business being in and yet he meets them with a determination all his own. She knows his grandmother often berates him for not being more like his parents and that that might be the cause behind his heroism, his bravery. Yet she’s been with him, seen him weigh the options and has seen the dull fire in his eyes when he’s made his decision and knows that every bit of it is him.
She wonders if she could ever be that brave? She sees her sister gesturing from the lake to come join her. Mandy is at the edge of the lake talking with Dean, all the while staying just out of his reach so as not to be pulled in. She stands up and walks past Su and Lisa, both of whom seem bewildered by the fact that she is walking towards the lake. The two girls in question would study day in and day out if given half the chance and at one time Padma would have been right beside them for each of those days.
This is not easy for her to do. She is much more comfortable spending the rest of the afternoon with the girls she has shared a life with these last few years. They are secondary to the relationship she has with her sister of course, but that doesn’t make them any less in her sight. She can see Neville beckoning towards her from the lake now and sees Seamus trying to sneak up behind him. Her warning is to late and Seamus pushes him under before Neville even knows what’s going on.
He emerges quickly from water and Padma watches the water trailing down his face and onto his shoulders. The skin is white except for the few freckles that run across his shoulders and she blushes at the thought of her hands on those shoulders. He smiles up at her from the lake and joins her sister in chanting her name so that she’ll jump into the lake. She smiles, but shakes her head. The amount of bravery it took for her to walk those four or five meters has exhausted her nerves, so she simply sits down beside Mandy and watches as Neville makes his way closer to where they’re sitting.
author: phil_urich
Pairing: Neville/Padma
Word count: 587
Rating: G
Prompt: Freckles
She watches him from under a tree, just four or five meters away from the lake. He seems to not have noticed her attentions, but instead is intent on what is going on in the lake. His friends jumped in ten minutes ago, but Neville decided to stay on dry land for just a few minutes longer. He wants to see how they react to the water. Is it too hot? Too cold? And is the Squid in the mood for children to be splashing about it's domain?
She admires that in him, his reluctance to act on mere instinct. Gryffindors are known throughout the Ravenclaw common room as the Kings and Queens of Rash Decisions. Neville seems to exist in defiance of that stereotype though.
He seems to exist in defiance of most Gryffindor stereotypes actually. He is not particularly remarkable in anything, save Herbology, a study that is often looked down upon. He is dull looking and often lost in a crowd and he knows these things.
He knows that he is not anything remarkable and yet he handles it in the most remarkable Gryffindor way. He tries and does it without complaining. He is pushed into circumstances that at times he really has no business being in and yet he meets them with a determination all his own. She knows his grandmother often berates him for not being more like his parents and that that might be the cause behind his heroism, his bravery. Yet she’s been with him, seen him weigh the options and has seen the dull fire in his eyes when he’s made his decision and knows that every bit of it is him.
She wonders if she could ever be that brave? She sees her sister gesturing from the lake to come join her. Mandy is at the edge of the lake talking with Dean, all the while staying just out of his reach so as not to be pulled in. She stands up and walks past Su and Lisa, both of whom seem bewildered by the fact that she is walking towards the lake. The two girls in question would study day in and day out if given half the chance and at one time Padma would have been right beside them for each of those days.
This is not easy for her to do. She is much more comfortable spending the rest of the afternoon with the girls she has shared a life with these last few years. They are secondary to the relationship she has with her sister of course, but that doesn’t make them any less in her sight. She can see Neville beckoning towards her from the lake now and sees Seamus trying to sneak up behind him. Her warning is to late and Seamus pushes him under before Neville even knows what’s going on.
He emerges quickly from water and Padma watches the water trailing down his face and onto his shoulders. The skin is white except for the few freckles that run across his shoulders and she blushes at the thought of her hands on those shoulders. He smiles up at her from the lake and joins her sister in chanting her name so that she’ll jump into the lake. She smiles, but shakes her head. The amount of bravery it took for her to walk those four or five meters has exhausted her nerves, so she simply sits down beside Mandy and watches as Neville makes his way closer to where they’re sitting.