Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I thank Ms. Jo Rowling every day for the characters that inspire me.

"Oh come on, Luna" they pried, "who do you fancy?"

The discussion of romance, relationships, heartthrobs and puppy love had been a weekly ritual for four years now, and I still couldn't pinpoint the sense of entertainment it brought the other girls. I kept my head down as they rambled on. Cho and Cedric were now dating, a match I found most unsuitable for both of them. There was always someone who liked Harry, and after years of hearing it, I still couldn't understand what they found so "alluring" about his scar. Then Marietta confessed, red in the face, that she and Terry Boot had been "flirting all over the place", to which all the other girls shrieked for forty-five seconds. Really, I only noticed because it was distracting me. I knew I could figure out the last crossword clue in The Quibbler without having to owl Daddy for help again, if I could only find a quiet place to focus.

After about twenty minutes had passed, the other fourth and fifth year Ravenclaws had made their way around the room, pleading each other to share their affections for Hogwarts' male inhabitants and then laughing and teasing each other because they had done just so. As they braided each other's hair, they begged for opinions and approval and squealed things like "Oh, you two would be so cute!" I didn't see cuteness in any of them. I didn't know why boys with arms that bulged more were more appealing or why some people preferred blue eyes or brown. What baffled me was how the girls currently sitting cross-legged in a circle on my dorm room floor could be so obsessive over these people, when everyone they mentioned seemed so uncivil, so closed minded. These were people who had laughed in my face and behind my back before, and the other girls knew it. I just didn't understand.

Once every other girl in the room had offered a honey-glazed list of the boys they admired, they decided to pry at me again and see if my lack of romantic intent- something that had remained constant over the past few years- had suddenly changed in the last fifteen minutes, and assumed that if it had I would feel compelled to share with them. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that if they shared who they fancied that I had an obligation to do the same.

"Come on, Luna, you must fancy someone. No one doesn't like anyone"

"No," I finally looked up at Marietta Edgecombe, who was casting a shadow over my cozy spot in the corner.

The other girls gawked at me, baffled at the prospect of not being compelled to ush over boys. Sheer confusion was on their faces, as if it was a difficult concept to process.

I continued, "I like the crickets, and the music they make in July. I like the rabbits I see occasionally that stay very still for a moment before darting behind trees. I like exotically colored birds, and how it sometimes seems as if they're flying right into the sun. I do like many boys, too. But I do not fancy any of them."

For a couple of seconds, there was silence, which obliviated into a wave of laughter, starting quietly and eventually flooding the room. "Alright you lot, best we get to bed, now. Luna wouldn't fancy anyone anyway. She's too innocent for all that," said Cho, the leader of the pack, as she rounded up her fellow fifth years. They followed her out of my dorm room like a heard of sheep.

I frowned and climbed into bed, peeking at my Quibbler one last time to see if the wrackspurts had cleared from my mind and I had miraculously remembered an eleven letter word for "A creature that lives in the sea and transfigures into krill for self-defense".

I tried to fall asleep, but I couldn't clear the cloud of irritation hanging over me. I reflected on the day's events to see if I could figure out where it came from. It was not my fellow Ravenclaws' jeers that annoyed me, or the drop in their perceived value of me. No, it wasn't that. After a few minutes of meditation, I realized what was bothering me. I did have someone who... I wouldn't say I "fancied" in the sense that I always dreamed of snogging him or sharing pointless conversations about who loved whom more. No, not that, but there was one boy who I smiled a little more around.

It was Neville. Neville Longbottom. I met him when we became partners in Herbology a few weeks back, due to both being the last ones picked, and since then, I had been growing closer with him. I knew we had something in common, something intangible.

I guess we just had the same outlook on life. We'd had wonderful conversations, and I learned that like me, he felt at home when he was just lying in the grass, looking up at the clouds. He would hold my hand sometimes, not as a romantic gesture. It was what we did in a playful prayer that our Venomous Tentacula wouldn't reach out and grab us. Laying there in the dark, I smiled, remembering how he promised to risk himself and protect me if they ever did.

Sometimes I feel lonely. Sometimes the girls of my dorm stand a tight circle and speak in whispers. I don't know what to do, and I wish I could owl my mother for help. Sometimes, as I lie in bed at night, silent tears drip down my face, and all I want is to go home. But every day at three o'clock I walk into Herbology, and every day at three o'clock, Neville's smile gives me hope. As we care for our plants and talk about our dreams, I finally feel relaxed. He's quite bright- brighter than I am- and his eyes twinkle when he says hello to me.

I fancy Neville Longbottom. I fancy him quite terribly.

AN:

Yeah, I know a fourth year Ravenclaw would not have classes with a fifth year Gryffindor, but I've always thought Herbology would be the best thing for them to bond over.

Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed the fluff :)

Reviews are always welcome