This is the third and final (for now!) Neville and Luna story. Thank you everyone for placing me on your alerts/favorites pages especially somefanof yours and hermioneGrangerisME ; you inspire imagination. Please note, this is a mature story. I do not own any characters

Summer

Neville was mowing the front lawn. His mom had been asking for two days to get him to do it and he finally admitted that it was pretty long. He was going out tonight with a couple of friends so he needed to do it pretty quick. That's why even though it was hot and sticky, not a breath of air moving, Neville was outside.

He was concentrating on the lanes he was cutting and didn't notice a moving van pull up into the driveway of the house next door. When he finished, Neville turned off the mower and stretched. He pulled his tee shirt from under his shorts and wiped his face, completely damp from sweat. When he moved the shirt back down, there was a girl standing in front of him.

"Hello."

Neville was startled. Stunned actually. She was beautiful. Petite, with long blonde wavy hair, grey eyes, very pale skin. Her voice was soft and seemed to strike a nerve in him. She smiled and it was like the sun had risen and blinded him.

"I'm Luna." The girl said and held out her hand.

Neville took it gently. It was soft, smooth. He was afraid to move, afraid he might scratch her with his own rough and callused hand. He still hadn't said anything.

"And you are?"

"Sorry, sorry I'm Neville."

"Hello Neville, my dad and I just moved in next door. It's very hot today."

Neville nodded, chagrined when some of his sweat flicked out onto her. She looked fresh, not a wrinkle in her interesting outfit of pink tennis dress, blue scarf and green flats. She looked down and he noticed that he was still holding her hand.

"Sorry."

"No, don't be."

Neville stood awkwardly, mentally calling himself an idiot. Luna didn't say anything, just stood there next to him. The two of them watched as Luna's dad waved at them, calling out that he was going to go pick up the car now. They watched the neighbors across the street greeted him. They watched a couple of kids riding their bikes past them, waving. Luna raised her arm up to wave back. Neville just stood there and watched her. He wanted to say something but couldn't. There was something about her that made him completely lose all thoughts in his head. The front door opened behind them.

"Oh you must be Luna! Your dad asked if I could invite you in until he gets his car from the moving company. Come in, you met my son Neville? I'm Alice Longbottom."

"Hello Mrs. Longbottom. Thank you, yes I met Neville."

"Isn't that an interesting scarf! It's beautiful, come in out of the heat. Neville, close the door for heaven's sake."

Neville shuffled in after them, listening as Luna easily made conversation with his mother. She sat down at their kitchen table like she'd been there for years, chatting about the move, her family.

"So you're going to be attending the college in town. Neville graduated from there just this past month, he finished early. He's going on to do a master's in botany. "

Luna beamed at him. Neville reddened, strangely pleased at how Luna was reacting.

"That's wonderful. Are you going away?"

"Yes, not that far though. I'm thinking of studying landscape and urban planning afterwards, maybe teach."

Luna clapped her hands together. Neville pulled up a chair and started to explain why he wanted to study plants and design. Luna asked questions, clasping her hands from time to time, letting Neville talk about everything and before he knew it, his mother had served them soup for dinner, the evening news had come and gone, Luna's dad was at the door and she was leaving for the night.

"Bye Neville, I'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom."

"She is such a lovely girl. Really, just lovely. And Neville, I've never heard you talk that much to anyone. Isn't she pretty?"

"She's all right."

Neville's mom just shook her head. Neville pushed the kitchen chair back in, leaving to go hang out with Ron and Harry. They were talking about leaving for a camping trip with Ron's family in a few days, getting in a last bit of R and R until college classes start. Neville has known them for years, they had all gone to school together. Ron hadn't changed, he was still dating his high school girlfriend, still the same Ron. Harry looked about the same too, quieter, intense. He had undergone a lot of family stress in the past and this had matured him quickly. Neville didn't tell them about Luna, preferring to keep her close to him. He returned after dark, his house quiet, his parents having long gone up to bed. He climbed up to his bedroom. It was small, tucked under the eaves. He wanted the one closest to the maple tree that grew outside his window, liking the idea of watching the leaves changing colors with the seasons, watching ice and snow form from time to time. He sometimes climbed out and lay on the roof, staring up through the branches up into the sky. He looked out of his window now and saw Luna perched on the window seat of her room, opposite him.

"Neville!"

"Hey Luna."

"I love it up here, it's so peaceful."

Neville climbed out, stretching out on the shingles. Luna tucked her knees under her chin, watching him. The moon threw shadows on her face, making her seem younger.

"Don't fall."

"I won't, I've been climbing out here for years."

Neville let his long legs dangle over the edge, propping himself up by his elbows.

Luna sighed. "It's so difficult coming to a new town."

Neville listened as she talked about her mom passing away a few years ago, her father promoted to editor of a section of a magazine, their subsequent move to this town to be closer to the city. Her interest in animals, how she had made the scarf his mom admired, her own mom having taught her before she died from illness. He could listen to her all night. Her voice was sweet, like a caress. Neville lay on the roof and closed his eyes, a gentle breeze blowing over him as he listened to her chatting.

"Neville, I'm boring you!"

"No you're not honey, I'm perfectly happy lying here listening to you." Neville kept his eyes closed for a moment, not realizing what he had said to Luna. He then opened them to see her beaming down at him.

Luna clasped her hands together again, still talking in her calming voice, sighing with happiness.

"I'm so glad you live next door, I was afraid it was going to be lonely for me. It often is, because we move from time to time. I don't want to worry my father about it though, he's got enough on his mind."

Neville understood loneliness. He understood about worrying parents as well. He was often on his own, things being difficult for his own parents. His father was the owner of a small chain of hardware stores but pressure from larger chains had placed him in a difficult financial situation. His mother was constantly worried about him, the state of their finances, and the overlying disapproval his grandmother seemed to constantly convey to them. So Neville kept to himself, studying, not giving his parents anything new to worry about regarding himself. He came up here every night, climbing out onto the roof even when it was raining sometimes, or snowing to escape. Now here was this beautiful girl, looking like she could have any man in the world, admitting to him that she was lonely at times.

"There are plenty of people around here that you'll meet. A lot of them around here go to the local college. I could, I could introduce you. I mean, I'm leaving in a couple of weeks but until then, we could, uh, kind of hang out and do stuff." I sound like a kid, Neville thought to himself. But Luna responded like he had given her a gift of a pony, wrapped in a million dollars.

"That would be very nice Neville. Tomorrow, we can start tomorrow."

"Sure."

Luna sighed and leaned into her window frame. The wind rustled through the trees and moved her hair a little. Neville watched as she lifted up her masses of curls and pinned them up, exposing her very delicate neck. He could see the outline of her body through her nightgown. Could see the curve of her breasts, her tapered waist. He shivered a little, not realizing that at that moment, Luna had captured his heart.

"Neville?"

"Yes."

"I'm so glad that you're here."

Neville never heard anyone talk about him like this before. Usually, it was he's so nice, that Neville. He's so smart. A little geeky but nice. He's going to graduate early. He's not really into sports. He's more into research and plants. No, I'm not interested in going out, but let's be friends Neville.

Neville looked at the girl who had just moved in. Her eyes were closed and there was a faint smile on her lips. He could smell honey and vanilla, which he was sure was coming from her. This moment was the best of his life.

"Me too Luna. I'm glad that you're here too."