Neville was so nervous that he was actually shaking. The prospect of officially asking Lavender out was almost as frightening as going to Potions with Professor Snape. He knew it was ridiculous to be uneasy, especially because he already knew she liked him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't calm himself down.
For some reason, the idea of asking Lavender out had only just crossed his mind. He liked her, she liked him...what was next? There was no way she'd ever be bold enough to ask him out, especially with Parvati always following her around. It was obviously his responsibility to make the next move. However, he had quickly found that actually going through with it would be much harder than he thought.
"You all right Neville?" Seamus asked. "You look as if someone's about to kill you!"
"N-N-No...I'm all right...really..." he stuttered. "I'm just worried about...the Potions test."
"Have you gone mad?" Ron laughed. "There is no Potions test!"
"R-Right," Neville replied, blushing. "I guess I was just getting my classes mixed up."
Seamus shot him a suspicious glance. "What's really wrong? What're you hiding?"
"Nothing!"
Now Ron was also suspicious. "And now that I think of it," he said, "you and Lavender have been pretty friendly lately. Since when are you two so close?"
Neville blushed more. "I...I dunno..."
"Oy mates!" Ron shouted, beginning to laugh. "I think our Neville's got himself a bit of a crush!"
"Well she likes me too!" Neville snapped defenisvely.
Ron's eyebrows went up. "Oh? And how do you know that?"
"I just...do..."
Ron was about to pester Neville further, but Harry then entered the room.
"Hey Harry!" Ron said to him. "Neville here fancies Lavender!"
Harry chuckled. "Neville and Lavender, who would've thought?"
"Well she fancies me too!"
"How'dya know?" Harry asked him, unable to keep himself from grinning.
"Well..." Neville began slowly. "She...she sent me a note."
"She sent you a note? A love note?" Seamus snickered. "Well what'd it say?"
"That's none of your business!"
"Oh c'mon Neville," Harry began. "If you don't read it to us, we're just going to steal it from you and read it ourselves!"
Neville paused. This was true. "Oh all right." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Lavender's note...and then hesitated.
"Hurry up Neville, read it!" Ron shouted.
He sighed. "Fine. It says, 'I've liked you for a while, but haven't gotten up the courage to tell you. I think you're amazing.' There, are you happy now?"
The instant the inevitable laughter started, Neville blushed again and hurried out of the room. He was in such a rush to flee the scene that he never once realized that only two of the boys had burst into hysterics. The other one had turned a rather pale shade of green.
Hermione walked slowly throughout the library, wondering where she'd be able to find a book on Cornish Pixies, when she spotted him. There, on the other side of the library, was Ron. He seemed to be doing homework, which would make sense because Colin Creevy and twenty-six dungbombs had made doing homework in the common room quite impossible. However, it wasn't what Ron was doing that interested Hermione. It was the fact that he was alone.
Finally she would have the opportunity to mention the note to Ron.
Casually she wandered over to him, trying to think of something to say. Once he realized her presence, he looked up from his parchment.
"Hey Hermione, what're you doing here?" he asked.
"Oh nothing," she replied, taking a seat across from him. "How about you?"
"Damn potions homework," he muttered, returning to his parchment. "This is going to take me forever."
She suddenly felt uneasy. Surely she didn't want to distract him from his homework...it was a miracle that he was actually doing it.
"How far along are you?" she inquired, hoping to continue the conversation.
"Not far."
There was a silence. Hermione wasn't sure what she should do.
"Well, if you're busy I'll leave you here," she said, rising from her chair."
Ron nodded.
**AN EXCERPT FROM HERMIONE'S JOURNAL**
It's official. Boys...just don't like me. I like them, but they have no interest in me. I have given up.
But then who sent that note?
I'm beginning to think that this whole note thing is just a joke. I have no evidence to prove that it's from Ron, and no one else has even pretended to show the slightest bit of interest in me. Or maybe the note wasn't actually meant for me. Maybe whoever sent it put it in the wrong book or something. Who knows...
I hate everyone.
"I-I-I mean...uh...how's your...erm...mum?" Neville stammered.
"She's fine," Lavender replied. Why was he acting so nervous? "Is anything wrong?"
"NO! Nope, nothing at all!" he quickly responded. For the past eleven minutes, he had been trying to gather the courage to ask Lavender out, but things were not going well.
"So...you never told me," she said slowly. "What was it that you wanted to ask me?"
"I just wanted to ask you..." he began. "I wanted to know...I was wondering...maybe...if you want to..."
"Yes?"
"Could I borrow a quill?"
Lavender's heart sank. This wasn't what she was expecting. "Oh. All right." She removed a quill from her bag and handed it to Neville.
"T-T-Thanks."
"It was nothing, really." Lavender sighed and began to walk away, when Neville called to her again.
"WAIT!" he shouted. "I-I-I...I have something else to ask you."
She turned around. "What is it? What's wrong."
"I was thinking...I was wondering...maybe...if you wanted to...you don't have to..."
"Spit it out already!"
"Wouldyouwannagooutwithme?" Neville blurted out, all as one long word.
"What?"
"Would you want to...maybe...go out with me?"
Lavender blushed. Neville blushed harder.
"I'd like that.
Ron's Potions homework was far from finished. Part of the reason was because he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. The other part was because all he could think about was Hermione's note. There was a great deal written on his parchment, but none of it was worthy of handing in. The words "Potions Junk" were scribbled at the top of the page.
POTIONS JUNK
by Ron Weasley
Potions class is really boring and impossible to do good in cause Snape is evil and hates Gryffindors and especially Harry and me. This essay is dumb and I don't feel like doing it. I don't even know what it's on. Does Hermione like me...not that I like her or anything...
I don't know what to write and hate doing homework and hate Snape and hate Potions. I'm never going to get this stupid thing done. And I still don't know who sent that note but I think it's Hermione not that I want it to be from her I just think it is. I hate Potions just as much as I hate Snape. I wish it didn't exist or I didn't have to take it or Snape would just...go away. Forever.
And I hate potions.
He sighed and dropped his quill. He was getting absolutely nowhere with this homework and had managed to chase Hermione away by pretending to do it. Did he like her? No, he thought to himself, ridding his mind of that thought. They were friends, not...more.
He picked his quill back up again.
And then he put it down. It was useless. He would never be able to concentrate on doing homework while thoughts of Hermione filled his head. Did she ever think about him? Did she like him? No...he stopped himself...it didn't matter because he didn't like her. He wouldn't even admit to it in his own mind.
He picked the quill up once more.
And five minutes later, after writing absolutely nothing, he dropped it.
The Great Hall was buzzing with whispers during dinner.
"Didn't you hear?"
"Neville and Lavender?"
"When did it happen?"
"And she sent a love note..."
"And he asked her out..."
"Neville and Lavender?"
"Who'd of thought?"
All of the commotion bothered Hermione. All of the attention Neville and Lavender were getting...she knew she'd never get that kind of attention. Why, she thought to herself, did boys have absolutely no interest in her? It was annoying.
**AN EXCERPT FROM HERMIONE'S JOURNAL**
For me, it's sad to see how happy Neville and Lavender are because I'm quite aware that I'll never, ever, ever, have that kind of happiness. This is making me depressed. If Ron had sent me the note, he would've been acting funny or something. Ugh, I hate this.
**A RANDOM BIT OF PARCHMENT HARRY DECIDED TO SCRIBBLE ON**
Neville got the note...Merlin...Neville got the note. Neville got Ginny's note. Ginny didn't get the note. Neville got the note. Neville got my note...Neville...of all people...Neville...NEVILLE!
A/N: The plot thickens! Well...I don't know if you could say that...If you haven't already, please consider reading my other stories (The Secret Thoughts of Hermione Granger, Oh the Insanity - The Thoughts of Hermione Granger, Hogwarts Overturned, and Target Practice) all of which are in the humor section. And like always, PLEASE REVIEW!