First Place in the Ultimate Het-Love Competition. Level: Slytherin.

(PS, I cried... forewarning)

Neville had both of his hands sitting in his lap, and unless you looked at them, you would never see just how upset he truly was. Things were so different now, Harry and the others were gone. Neville sat still in his compartment on the train, and was so oblivious to the things around him that he missed when Luna Lovegood slipped into the compartment.

But she reached and grabbed his hand, jolting him out of his revery. "Neville." Was all she said, before releasing his hand and sitting back. Neville looked at her in shock, and was surprised to notice things about her he never had before. Her dirty blonde hair was framing her heart shaped face delicately. He couldn't help but examine her face, and he started with her delicate chin, moving to her lips.

Neville could feel himself staring at them. They looked as though she had just bitten out of strawberry, and he could tell that it wasn't from some girly product either. He wondered why he had never noticed before. Suddenly she turned to him, and Neville felt himself caught up in her eyes. If one didn't observe, they could have missed the pure silver flashes mixed into the misleading grey of her eyes.

Neville could see the emotion as her pupils changing. First she was mildly confused, than she grew wary, and then she grew aware. And as these emotions swept through her eyes, the color just outside her pupil changed slightly. There was green at first, then blue, then a deep violet shade. But it was so miniscule that unless he was sitting very close he would have missed it.

"Your eyes are so colorful." He muttered, and it was only when his lips brushed hers, that he realized just how close he was sitting to her. Blinking, he sat back. And he saw her eyes dim in disappointment, but he was too far away to judge the color that accompanied it. "I'm sorry." He mumbled as he sat back.

She eyed him for a moment before saying, "I suppose the Quickwabs were about."

"Quickwabs?"

"Yes, they are funny little creatures that act as a magnetic force between two creatures."

"Oh... I suppose that was it than." He said, beating himself up over the retreat. They sat in silence, and both of them listened to the sound of the train as it took them to Hogwarts.

Neville kept spotting Luna around the castle, but they didn't have any classes together, and with the strict and cruel punishments that the Death Eaters were tolling out, they never got a chance to meet outside of class either. But every time their eyes would meet, she would smile at him softly and bob her head.

Finally about 2 weeks into the school year, he was walking down a corridor when a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him into an empty classroom. Shocked he looked and spotted Luna.

"Luna?" He said grabbing her arm, he began to examine her. "Are you ok? What's wrong? Did..."

She put a finger to his lips and Neville looked at her, and found affection in her gaze. "I am fine." Neville sagged slightly in relief, before pulling her into a hug. Luna accepted it calmly and hugged him back. Than she pulled back. "We need to get the DA back together."

Neville was fascinated at an almost gold lining by her pupils and hardly heard what she said. But then it registered and he nodded, not taking his eyes from hers, nor did he step back. As he watched, it changed to the dark violet shade he had seen before. He could only guess the meaning, but her pupils dilated slightly. "So colorful." He muttered, almost shivering at the feel of his lips brushing hers.

"Neville..." She whispered before closing her eyes, and closing the gap between them. Neville felt himself gasp as her lips pressed against his. He had kissed before, but nothing prepared him for the feeling of her lips on his, and he wrapped both arms around her waist to pull her closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

It started so innocent, but quickly heated as Neville licked her bottom lip in an effort to see if it tasted of the berry it resembled. It tasted so much better, so he sucked it into his mouth to better enjoy the taste. She moaned slightly, and Neville felt all of his blood rush south at the sound.

But then there was a bang outside the door, and they both froze, and listened as the sound of footsteps faded away. Than they both pulled back slightly, just enough to look into each other's eyes again. Neville noticed the violet was almost black. "We should go." He said reluctantly.

She nodded and stepped out of his embrace and turned to leave. He couldn't help reaching out to her arm and pulling her back to another hug. "I am so glad you are ok." He whispered to her. He released her, and was pleased when she leaned in to kiss her on the lips in a quick peck.

It took a lot of quick thinking, but in the next couple weeks they were able to alert everyone in the DA, and they finally all met inside the Room of Requirement. He and Luna stood at the forefront, and Neville was forced to concentrate on not staring at Luna. They had only met twice since the first time in the classroom. And had been unable to do anything be discuss the DA during that time. But every night Neville went to bed thinking about her, the kiss, and her beautiful colorful eyes.

Neville heard Luna clear her throat and took her hint. "We wanted to gather today, because we need to fight back." There was a shocked silence for a moment, as everyone realized just why Neville was placed in Gryffindor. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley are all out there doing what they can to bring down Him" It had been established the danger of saying his name, but Neville refused to call him anything other than just that.

"How do we know that he didn't just run away." Zacharias Smith spoke up.

"Get out." Ginny Weasley stood up and pointed to the door.

All the color drained from Smith's face. "Now, Ginny..." Neville began.

"No Neville." Ginny turned to him. "He has never believed in Harry. And right now, we have to believe in Harry otherwise this will all be for naught. I won't have him around spouting his doubts." She declared crossing her arms.

"How do you know that I won't go to Professor Snape and tell him what you are doing. Or worse, the Carrows?" Smith demanded, but he quickly fell back at the look on Ginny's face.

"If you so much as breath a word about this, the Carrows will be the last of your worries." He fled. There was a moment's silence as everyone stared at her. Ginny grew uncomfortable and sat back down.

"Anyone else is welcome to leave." Luna spoke up, but no one stood. "Than good. We can go back to what we were doing. Neville..." She placed her hand on his arm and Neville told himself to calm down as he turned to the group.

"Now, let's start making plans to make these people regret ever coming here." There was a cheer, and everyone began to talk.

It wasn't until Mid November that Neville and Luna had another moment alone together. They were both crouching in an alcove hiding behind a tapestry, just waiting for the signal. Neville was worried about this newest attempt to thwart the Death Eaters. But as soon as he realized he and Luna would be here a long time, as the signal wouldn't happen for another half hour or so, he turned to her.

She glanced at him and pressed her hand to his lips and shook her head. No they couldn't talk. Neville couldn't help but kiss her delicate fingers. She gasped and her fingers fell down. Neville watched Luna. There was a moment's pause, where she looked unsure, and Neville knew that the ring was a blue color. But then she lit up, and leaned toward him. Neville cursed the darkness that hid the violet ring he knew was there, but quickly forgot his agitation as he once again kissed her.

They had been crouching on the floor, so the quickly situated with Luna leaning toward Neville's chest with their knees touching. As they continued to kiss, her fingers threaded through his hair, and one of his hands was on her waist, the other on her knee. Neville cursed their need to not cast any magic right now, because there was no silencio to hide the groan of pleasure he wanted to let out. But he held it in.

But when Luna leaned fully against him, sitting between his knees, one hand in his hair the other drawing circles on his chest; he couldn't help sneaking his tongue out to see if he would open for her. She did. Neville was grateful for the high pitched wailing that was the signal, as it hid the groan he had let slip, and he was almost sure she had moaned. But they sprang apart and went to action.

Later that evening, Neville was sprawled on his bed, fingering his ribs, which he was sure a few were at least cracked. He was glad that Luna had gotten off better. But they all had detention on top of their injuries. But Neville was relieved he would see Luna again so soon, if only to check to see if she was ok. The biggest downside is that they had been unable to steal Godric Gryffindor's sword from Professor Snape's office.

It was the day before they would all go home for Christmas. The DA had calmed down a bit since the sword incident, after the severe punishments they had all received for weeks at the hands of the Carrows. Neville was cleaning up the Room of Requirement, after a small subdued Christmas party. Most everyone had gone, it was just him, Luna, and Ginny.

When he felt Luna's hand on his arm, he looked up at her. "It can wait." Was all she said, and she pulled him over to a loveseat. It was then that Neville noticed that Ginny was no longer in the room. "Where is Ginny?" he asked, unfoundedly nervous.

"She wished us a Happy Christmas."

"She did?"

"Yes." And Luna leaned in for a kiss. It was soon that they were pressed together, and Luna opened her mouth allowing Neville's tongue to dance with hers. And this time there was no doubt at the moan Luna let out. The sound redoubled Neville's efforts, and soon she was laying on top of him hands in his hair, as his hands rested tensely on her lower back, begging to go a bit farther down. Neville gulped and pulled back from Luna. Her eyes were extremely dilated, and the almost black ring was almost invisible. Luna looked at him and licked her lips. Neville groaned and almost pulled her back for another kiss when he remembered why he had pulled away in the first place.

"We have to stop." He gasped out, as she pressed her hips a little firmer against his.

"Why?"

"Because if we don't, I don't think I could." Neville realized what he had just said made hardly any sense.

Luna seemed to have understood though because she nodded. The ring took on a red tinge he had never seen before. He was instantly afraid that she was mad at him, but then she spoke and he realized he had interpreted the color completely wrong. "I don't want to stop."

Neville groaned and pulled her back to kiss again. And he knew that the red was Gryffindor red, for courage.

Later they lay together, covered only with a blanket that had appeared when they needed it. Luna was tracing some designs on his chest. "What are you drawing love?"

She shivered at the endearment before answering. "Protection spells that I learned from the swinsl to protect you from harm." She looked up and Neville caught her eyes again. The color was now a very light pink, and Neville's heart soared at what the color might indicate. He couldn't' resist placing a small kiss on her lips. They lay together for a little longer when she spoke up again. "I suppose we should go soon."

"I suppose." He echoed.

"It is getting close to curfew." She muttered.

Panic at that filled him, but he held it back for a moment to hug Luna to him. "Than I suppose we must."

Luna sat up and Neville followed her. They both dressed quickly, but paused every now and than to kiss again. When they were fully dressed, Neville stopped them just inside the door,and pulled her to him to kiss her deeply. She responded in kind, until finally both reluctantly pulled away. They snuck out of the room, holding hands until the point where they had to separate. Neither dared to kiss here, where anyone could see, knowing that if the Carrows caught wind of it, it would cause grave things to happen. But just before they let go of each other, they both squeezed and shot quick grins at each other before heading in opposite directions, and it took all of Neville's effort not to turn and watch her go.

On the train back to the platform, they sat in a compartment with Ginny. And if Ginny saw them holding hands the whole time she didn't say anything.

When Christmas was finally over, Neville was impatient to see Luna again. When they arrived at the Platform he quickly located her, and although he didn't say anything to her, or look at her; he saw her relax a bit with his nearness. Than on the train they again sat with Ginny, and again held hands. But when a Death Eater suddenly opened the door to their compartment, and grabbed Luna, Neville was filled with fear. He fought back trying to get to come back, but finally the Death Eater hit him with a spell that made him black out.

When he had awoken, he had found a teary eyed Ginny. She explained that she had also been knocked out, and when she had come to, Luna was gone. Despair filled him at that, and he redoubled his efforts to thwart all Death Eaters, doing crazy things. A dim hope filled his heart at the thought that she may still be alive. If they had wanted her dead, they would have killed her in the beginning.

The months passed in an almost blur, which was partly helped by the beatings he continually received after being caught. But his efforts had seemed to embolden the rest of the DA, and though much more careful about the acts of defiance, they began to do more.

It was late March when Neville received a letter. It was delivered by an owl he didn't know, so he was very careful about touching it. But the moment he saw the handwriting he ripped open the letter and read:

Neville,

Neville I can only write you once. For both of our safeties. And for that sake, you cannot write me back. But I know you will think of me. The crateribs assure me of this. But I am safe. I am free. They are safe. There is a plan. Stay safe always.

The letter was only signed with an "LL" but there was no doubt in Neville's mind who had written it. He became much more careful about his antics, but was constantly blamed for anything that happened, due to the previous weeks.

Than Ariana told him that Harry Potter was back, and things quickly became hectic. But the moment he spotted her silver eyes, time seemed to freeze. Luna looked at him from across a room, and smiled sadly at him, before turning away.

And his heart broke.

He had learned enough about Luna, to know that she no longer welcomed anything between them. He didn't know what had happened, or even what had changed her mind. He desperately wanted to take her aside and beg her to tell him all of it. But he was in the midst of a battle. And he couldn't. And he didn't know if he ever would have the chance.

But he realized, even as he fought that no matter what he did. Luna was the type to never change her mind about something like this. She would never had hurt him, if she thought there was another way.

The rest of the battle was a blur. There were only 2 moments that really stood out. The first was when Harry told him about Voldemort's snake. This filled him with purpose. He would find the snake, or find out how to kill it. And that was his focus as he fought the Death Eaters, and tried to rescue his comrades.

The second moment was the announcement of Harry's death. When Voldemort stood before them all asking for them to join. Neville caught Luna's eyes. She was hurt. Her eyes said as much. She looked close to giving up. But Neville couldn't let her give up. He hardly heard himself as he stood forward and confronted the madman. But then suddenly he was in pain. he was burning, and that was when real clarity came to his mind. He thought of Luna, and Harry, and Ginny, and everyone else. But when the pain stopped, he went almost into auto pilot again, until he suddenly had a sword in his hand, and a snake before him. A snake he cut down.

Whenever he was asked about the battle, that was all he said he could remember. When he finally returned to Hogwarts as a Professor, after Professor Sprout retired, some of those memories came back. But mostly the memories of Luna. But so much time had passed that the ache was almost gone. Neville hadn't talked to Luna since the battle. They had seen each other for a time, but neither initiated conversation, and no one tried to step in for them.

He had married a Hogwarts classmate, Hannah Abbot, and was in love with her. If it wasn't for Hannah, he may not have healed as much as he had. At first he had always been comparing the two. But the compassionate Hannah had slowly won over his heart. He had eventually told Hannah what had happened. Hannah had accepted it all, even though they had had a small falling out, Neville had realized just how much he loved the soft spoken girl and had quickly made it up to her with a second Honeymoon.

Of course he still kept tabs on everyone, including Luna. Luna was world famous now, and had married about a year after Neville had. For all intents and purposes, she looked happy. And that was all Neville could ask for.

Two years after he had started teaching, he went to the yearly ball in honor of the victory of hogwarts. The great hall was always decked out for the occasion, and Neville looked around happily at all of his friends, as his pregnant wife's hand rested on his arm. At one point, Hannah slipped from him and left. Neville thought nothing of it, until he was laughing with Harry and Ginny when he felt a tug on his arm. Looking down into his wife's honey brown eyes, he was dragged away, waving a hand to the chuckling Harry behind him. His wife led him out of the Great Hall and to an empty classroom. Neville looked at his wife surprised at her gumption when a voice spoke up. "Hello Neville."

His eyes first shot to Luna standing a little awkwardly next her husband, than back to his wife confused. "Come Rolf." With that his wife left with Luna's husband, leaving Neville flabbergasted.

"What is going on?" He finally gasped out.

"Apparently our spouses have been planning this for months." Luna spoke up coming to stand closer to Neville but still arms length apart.

"Planning what?"

"Planning to let us talk. Rolf explained it to me."

"What is there to talk about?" Neville couldn't help asking. He had moved forward from the pain, he understood...

"Because I never apologized." Neville looked at her. "I am sorry Neville. I just... I couldn't..." Her eyes filled with tears. Neville moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders. He was just close enough to see the light brown ring, standing out against the silver he had missed.

Neville froze, realizing something for the first time. He could only look at her as a friend now. Maybe it was the heartbreak, maybe it was his wife. Or possibly it had been the stress of the time's that had put them together in the first place, and never really love. But Neville felt himself smiling in a brotherly fashion at Luna.

"It's ok. I forgave you long ago." He pulled her into a hug, and Luna grabbed onto him and began to cry. Not sobs, but just grateful tears. Once she had calmed down enough, they pulled apart. Neville saw the friendship and compassion in Luna's eyes, but could no longer see the color, as he stood too far apart. But he held out his hand. "Friends?"

"Friends." She agreed and they shook on it.

Moment's later they both left the room and quickly spotted the spouses standing nervously in the hallway. They both went to the side of their respective spouse. Neville caught Hannah's eyes, and knew that his wife had wanted this for him, but at the same time had been worried that Neville was still in love with Luna. Smiling he leaned down and kissed her. Than leaning toward her ear whispered. "I love you."

Teary relief filled his wife's eyes and she put her arm back in his and turned to the other two. It was apparent that they had had a similar conversation. There was a moment's pause before Neville spoke up. "Shall we?" Rolf nodded and the four of them rejoined the ball.