Hi, how are you? I am just writing to ask how you are. After that battle with the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries at the end of the school year I felt so much more
Neville Longbottom tore the piece of parchment in half as he leaned back in his chair. He sat at the small desk in his dimly lit room, half used pieces of paper lay scattered on the floor around him. Neville had been at it all morning, trying to put together the perfect letter for Luna Lovegood, a fellow student at the school he attended, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Neville had only met Luna last year, when he was in his fifth year and she was in her fourth year, they had been one of the students to take Harry Potter's secret Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
They had traveled deep into the Ministry of Magic's building where many workers had been just floors above them a little while before they entered it late at night. They walked down to the Department of Mysteries where there were many different doors, all leading to different, unusual rooms. Down in the Department they met some of Voldemort�s most evil Death Eaters where they were forced to battle for their lives. The Death Eaters tried to kill them all but they stuck together and were able to get away from a few of them.
His grandmother had never cried before and seeing the pain he had caused the woman who had raised him for as long as he could remember brought a certain amount of emotions flooding through him. Neville had never wanted to hurt his grandmother, no matter how strict she was, at times. When the old woman had finally stopped crying and Neville had gotten over his shock his grandmother explained what should have been very obvious to him. His parents had been taken from her, although not physically, many years ago, which is why she was now his caregiver. Neville's grandmother had been worried ever since that day, that the Death Eaters would come to take her grandson from her just as they had done years before with her daughter and son in-law.
Neville shook his head, riding his mind of the memories of his poor, sad grandmother; he focused instead, on the fresh, clean piece of parchment now lying in front of him. He took a deep breath and picked up his quill once more, he began to write.
Hello, how are things this summer? I was just thinking about everything that had happened last year, in the Department. And along with that night I remembered all about Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and you and I wondered how you were all doing, so I thought it might be best to write to all of you and see you were getting on after that horrible battle at the Ministry.
So how are things? Was your family proud of how you took care of things in the Department? My Gran went a bit crazy, she was really worried about me but I guess a small part of her was also proud of me, too. I bet your family was really happy and proud of you, you did so well down there.
Are you scared at all? Do you worry about those Death Eaters coming back for us later on? When You Know Who sets them free from Azkaban? It might be a scary thought but I try not to think about it too much, I might go crazy!
Well anyway, I'd better end this letter and start writing to Harry now. Hopefully you will find time to write me back. Enjoy your summer.
Neville
He didn't know what had gotten into him, since when did he care about Loony Lovegood? He didn't, ever! But since the battle in the Department he seemed to have developed a worry for Luna. He stayed up late wondering if she was all right, whether she ever thought of him, if she had nightmares about the Department.
It had taken him almost three weeks of the summer to gather enough nerve to write to Luna and another two days to write the perfect letter. Neville thought he was going crazy, he had only liked one girl before but that was in his fourth year. He had a small crush on Ginny, Ron's sister, and after he had finally asked her to the Yule Ball he discovered she didn't really feel the same way. He couldn't blame her though; they didn't really know each other to well.
Neville's grandmother was a wonderful cook but at the moment he didn't feel very hungry, his stomach was doing an odd circus act the moment, which consisted of a lot of flips and turns. Holding his mouth Neville walked into the bathroom where he stood in front of the mirror, above the sink. He looked at his reflection, which was staring back at him, pale faced and wide-eyed.
Luna would never like someone like him, he knew. She was the kind of girl who would go out with a smart Ravenclaw boy from her year. Someone who would be able to sit down with her and talk about the greatness of Wolfsbane, or the affects of a Mandrake's cry. Neville didn't understand any of those things, nor would he be able to sit down long without dropping or breaking something.
'Neville! Sit down and hurry up! We've guests!' his Gran called from the dining room where she was setting their fine china on the small oak table. They usually didn't eat in that room unless someone important was coming over. His grandmother's friends from her book club at the library around the corner, or a new neighbor from across the street.