It didn't take the brightest person (which Neville admitted he wasn't) to figure out that they were watching Harry, not Luna. (of course this excluded Neville, who was staring at her with a rapidly beating heart) And if they were, they were wondering why she was standing next to ‘The Boy Who Lived’.

Neville thought she looked unbelievably beautiful. If it were at all possible, he would’ve melted into a puddle of nothingness then and there. And for a moment, Neville thought he would.

Luna’s eyes scanned across the room until they met Neville’s, where they lingered for a few moments. Then she turned and whispered something in Harry’s ear. He nodded, and she proceeded to walk towards Neville.

Neville, on the other hand, was trying to process what was happening. And once he did, he began to panic. Why hadn’t he thought this through? Was there still time to hide? Neville looked around for his options and spotted a table with pumpkin juice on top. So he ditched his platter and dove under it. He was thankful for the tablecloth that helped in keeping himself hidden. He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them.

Did Neville feel bad about hiding from Luna? Most definitely. But he felt he had no other choice. Neville had three main fears: pretty girls, starting conversations, and don't forget Professor Snape. Facing 2/3 of your fears in one day is overwhelming. He hadn’t even thought about what he was going to say to Luna when the time came. He knew he was letting his nerves get to him, and he should just tell Luna how he really felt, but everytime he thought about it, his stomach lurched and he had to calm himself down

Nevilles thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. “Neville?” Luna said as she lifted the tablecloth. “What are you doing under there?”

“I'm, uh, well I’m, I'm checking for nargles. The coast is clear,” Neville mumbled as he twiddled his thumbs. 

Luna grinned widely. “Nargles tend to flock up to the ceilings, especially when there’s mistletoe. Mind if I join you?”

“No, not at all,” Neville said, silently cursing to himself. One good thing came of this, though. Neville wasn't the one who had to start the conversation.

Luna went on her hands and knees and crawled under the table. To a person watching from a distance (a logical possibility), this would’ve looked bizarre. But they wouldn't have taken even a moment to question it, for it was Luna who was doing the deed.

“Ginny said you wanted to tell me something?” Luna asked after a bit of silence.

Bloody hell, Ginny!  “Oh, well I. . . just wanted to say that you're roommates, what they said about you, didn't change my opinion of you. . .” Neville said, feeling his cheeks get hot.

“So what’s your opinion of me?”

Neville thought. He could say two things. Option A: ‘I think you're a great friend Luna.’ Option B: ‘I really like you, more than friends.’

Neville swallowed his pride. “I think that you're a great friend, you're always there for me, you always seem to understand. I never want our friendship to end,” Neville took a deep breath before he continued, “But at the same time, I want to be more than friends. Every second I spend without you is a second wasted. And I think I've felt like this for a while, it's just taken me too long to realize that I really like you. You're beautiful, funny, strange, unique. I don't think I've ever met anyone like you, and I won't meet anyone else like you in the future. So before I let this opportunity slip from my clumsy hands, will you be my girlfriend?” As soon as Neville finished, he felt a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders.

Luna looked surprised to say the least. After her initial shock went away, a look of sheer joy took over her face. She flung her arms around Neville and held him in a tight embrace. Neville took this as a good sign and hugged her back. It wasn't nearly as awkward as it might seem, hugging under a table, because both Neville and Luna felt it was the most natural position in the world, within each others arms.

“Neville Longbottom, that was the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” and with that, Luna took Neville’s face in her hands and kissed him. Fireworks went off, and the world seemed to stop for a moment. It was Neville’s turn to be taken by surprise.

The kiss itself might have been short, but they both knew it was just the beginning, and they had time to take it slow. 

They both looked into each others eyes. A goofy grin was plastered on Neville’s face, and the same could be said for Luna.

“We should probably get out from under this table,” Neville said, still exhilarated from the kiss he shared with Luna. She nodded in agreement. 

The new couple left the party hand in hand, not caring what people would say or think. And it was that day that sparked many happy memories of laughter, long talks of mythical creatures that probably didn't exist, daisy chains, and love.

                                                The End