Chapter Text
Neville played with his bowtie nervously, waiting at the end of the staircase to the girl’s dormitory. In one had he held a simple corsage, one he had made himself (with some help from Madame Pomfrey) out of daisies that he had gathered earlier that morning. Knowing his way around the greenhouses was definitely a perk for this sort of situation. His eyes darted back and forth between the staircase and the fireplace as he didn’t want to stare but couldn't help but keep looking back. Of course, when Ginny was actually coming down the stairs Neville wasn’t paying attention.
“Um Neville..?” Ginny called softly, coming up on his side now and looking right up at him. Neville took a moment to realize that she was there, shaking him from his trance as he turned to look. His cheeks blushed brightly as he looked down at her in her dress robes. He had never realized how beautiful she actually was. Before this she had always just been Ron’s sister and a friend, but tonight she looked wonderful. He fumbled a bit with the corsage as he tried to speak.
“Good evening, Ginny.” Neville managed to spit out, holding out his hand to shake hers. Not exactly romantic, but it was the first thing that came to his mind. Ginny giggled a bit as she shook his hand gently. Neville let his hand drop to his side as they finished shaking and held up the other to show her the corsage.
“I got this… well, made this for you.” He said with a soft smile, holding out his hand to take her wrist. Ginny allowed him to do so and slip the corsage on. She smiled brightly as she looked down at it.
“It’s beautiful, thank you.” Ginny truly was excited now. At first she was just saying yes to a friend, thinking that this whole night would just be fun, but seeing the effort that Neville was already putting in to make this night special for her made her realize that maybe this could be something more. “Shall we go?” She asked, gently taking is hand into hers so they could walk together. Neville just nodded softly and let her start to lead.
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All of the students, except for the four contestants and their dates, were gathered in a thick circle in the Grand Hall. They watched on as the contestants shared in the first dance. Neville stood to Ginny’s side, playing with his hands. He was unsure of what to do, since it was his first dance, and he didn’t want to over whelm Ginny. As the first dance came to a close, Neville decided to make his move.
“Would you like to dance…?” He asked calmly, trying to hold it all together as he held his hand out to Ginny. She nodded softly with a bright smile and took his hand. Neville twirled her out onto the dance floor and from their own their night was a dream. The pair danced together as the songs passed by, laughing and smiling as they simply enjoyed each other’s company. Even though he had practiced practically non-stop, Neville managed to snag Ginny’s toes a few times. She laughed it off however, being a bit clumsy herself. The two danced through the night, barely stopping for some punch. They chatted idly at times, and simply held one another at others.
As the night drew to a close, Neville walked Ginny up to the tower where they stopped before the girl’s dormitory. Surprisingly the common room was rather empty, most of the students had snuck off with their dates no doubt.
“Thank you for coming with me, Ginny.” Neville said with a bright smile. By now he found it much easier to talk with her, much more comfortable being with her since they had spent the night together.
“No, thank you.” Ginny replied with a smile matching Neville’s. “I had a really good time.”
“Yeah? Wonderful.” Neville couldn’t help but grin, glad she had enjoyed the night as well. Before he could say anything more, Ginny climbed up onto the first step before turning to face him again. She kissed his cheek before turning to walk up the rest of the stairs.
“Good-night Neville…!” She called with a giggle, cheeks bright red as she hurried away. Neville couldn’t answer if he wanted to as she was already gone by time he caught his breath. With that he made his way up to his room, smile plastered on his red face for the rest of the night.