You’d seen Neville before, of course—shared classes, Herbology and a few scattered others. You’d noticed him, not because he was loud or attention-seeking, but because of the quiet way he moved through the world, the gentle way he handled plants, the way he always greeted Professor Sprout with a kind of reverence. You hadn’t given much thought to what he might be like outside of class, but the more you saw, the more it became clear: Neville was full of quiet, unexpected surprises.

The first time he sat near you in the library, you didn’t think much of it. A coincidence, maybe. There were plenty of empty seats, but he settled at the table across from you with a stack of books and a soft “hi.” A few days later, it happened again. Then again.

He never interrupted you. Sometimes he would offer you a soft smile as he opened a book on magical flora or scribbled quietly into his notes. Other times, he would ask—very politely—if you had a spare quill or had seen the revised edition of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.

And then one afternoon, when the late-autumn light cast golden stripes across the pages of your Arithmancy text, he spoke without prompting.

”I always see you here,” he said, a little awkwardly. “You study a lot.”

You glanced up. “So do you.”

He flushed, looking down at the open pages in front of him. “I guess I do. I like the quiet. And the company’s not bad, either.”

That made your heart skip, but you didn’t show it. Instead, you tilted your head. “You mean the books?”

His smile curved, small but genuine. “I mean you.”

Silence settled between you, warm and a little charged. You hadn’t thought he noticed you like that, but now that he’d said it, you realized all the signs had been there—his consistent choice to sit near you, the nervous way he’d glance your way when you caught his eye, the time he quietly left a peppermint toad beside your stack of notes.

It all seemed so obvious now.

Neville rubbed the back of his neck, eyes flicking to the books between you, then back up. “I was wondering…” He cleared his throat, clearly working up the courage. “If maybe next time… we could study together. Not just… end up near each other. I mean, on purpose.”

He smiled, sheepish but hopeful, and your heart caught at how much it clearly cost him to say it—and how much he meant it.