July 28 - Hogwarts

[ginevra_dark]

Ginny crawled through the portrait hole, weary and tired. The night before with Fred had been fantastic, but even with the potion she felt a bit off. And she suspected, from the way he'd looked that morning, that he'd not actually taken a potion himself. Damn him. She smiled softly. He always had taken care of her. Well... when he wasn't turning

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[not_golden]

Neville had been staring at the fire, watching the way the flames danced and fought but never seemed to die. He'd been letting his mind wander freely, wondering about this and that. The head on his shoulder startled him. He turned to see that a flame had joined him here on the sofa. "Ginny." It had been an age since they'd talked, or at least it seemed that way. "I'm good. How have you been?" She looked tired. "It's been a while since I've seen you."

[ginevra_dark]

She smiled wearily. "I can't complain. Things could always be worse, yeah?" She twined her arm around his and gave him a half hug. "Being an only child has it's advantages, doesn't it?" She rested her head against his arm. "Are you going to get your apparation license this weekend? You must be excited."

[not_golden]

"I wouldn't know." His parents had never had the chance to try again. "You're brothers giving you trouble?" Neville curled an arm around her. They'd grown more comfortable over the years, and while he once couldn't have imagined hugging a girl, especially one as lovely as Ginny, now it was easy. "I'm not sure about this weekend." It would depend on what happened with the Order. Some of them might not make it to the weekend. "I guess I'm excited."

[ginevra_dark]

"One of them is, yes. All right, two, but one of those doesn't really speak to me. So he's not an issue too much." She snuggled a bit closer. "You should be excited. You're turning 17. You'll get to apparate legally, you'll be considered an adult. It's a big deal." She smiled. "You have a way to get to the Ministry, don't you? Because Fred or George could take you. I know they can be a bit... over the top, but they're really good guys."

[ginevra_dark]

"I don't think he'd use it against me. I know he wouldn't. But he'd veiw weakness as something that... as something irritating, like I said. As a problem." She took his hand in hers and twined their fingers together, squeezing softly. "I'm sorry for what you went through. I wish I could make it go away for you."

[not_golden]

Neville smiled softly and squeezed her hand back. He'd not been thinking of the things she thought he was. "I'm not. Better me than... well, than any one of you. Better than Harry." He turned to look at her, seeing her sweet smile, tracing the freckles on her nose. "Those things go away when you put them back into the box you build for them. When you find the key again, lock the door, keep it safely hidden behind the smile that no one sees through." He was silent for a moment, noting the knowledge in her eyes. "I'd take your monsters from you, too, if I could." It was bold and presumptuous, but the time for caution was quickly passing. The world was going away.

[ginevra_dark]

She smiled a bit wider at him. "Oh sweetie, I know you would. No one can though." She was fairly sure no one could take his monsters away from him either. She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. "Hey. Wanna go get something to eat?" she asked. "I skipped breakfast."

[not_golden]

"I would love to accompany one so fair, anywhere she'd like to go." Neville stood, with an odd little grin and bowed to her.

[ginevra_dark]

She smiled against his shoulder. "Don't thank me, silly. I care about you. It's what friends do." She pulled back and gave him a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Come on."

She took his hand and led him to the kitchen, pausing to tickle the pear and pulling open the door for them. It was a pleasant surprise to find that they weren't alone in the kitchens. "Luna!" Ginny said, beaming and pulling Neville along behind her. "How are you?"

[lunatwist]

The house-elves had been very helpful, talking to her earrings and helping her with their stories. And there was food, which was always nice. The pastie was still steaming gently on her plate as she contemplated the latest revelation, and she was startled to hear new voices in the warmth and bustle of the kitchens.

"Hi, Ginny, Hi, Neville," she said as she identified the intruders. "I didn't know you were here already, although if I'd thought about it I'd have realised."

A house elf tugged gently on her sleeve, distracting her for a moment, but she bent down and whispered, "it's okay, we can do some more another time. Thank you."

Straightening up she waved her hand to indicate the seats at the low bench-like table. "Would you like to join me?" she asked, wondering if it was improper to sound hopeful. "The pasties are nice, I don't think there's any centaur meat in them at all. You did hear about the scandal in Austria, I'm sure."

[ginevra_dark]

Neville looked a bit unsure how to respond and Ginny smiled and pulled him over to the table, ushering him into his seat. "I'm sure there's no centaur meat in them. The scandal hasn't made it to Hogwarts yet, but that's what we have you here for, Luna. To keep us all informed." She grinned at her and asked one of the house elfs to bring Neville some soup and rolls and to bring herself some waffles as she poured juice for all of them.

[not_golden]

Neville sat, smiling softly at Luna. Luna was always a breath of fresh air. The soup, when it came, smelled amazing. "Tell us about the scandal. Did you just get her." He looked at Ginny again, "Thanks for the soup."