Briar watched him with curiosity as he shuffled closer. He stumbled when he neared her but managed to steady himself before he fell. He slightly blushed and stuck out his hand with the dandelion in it. He murmured, "For you."
She felt something odd...
Hogsmeade was absolutely beautiful on the Saturday the two of them went on their first date. When they arrived, Neville hurried out of the carriage and then proudly offered a hand to Briar. She didn't try to hide her smile as she placed her hand in his. She used his support to hop out of the carriage gracefully.
After Neville shut the door, the carriage moved along, and the two of them were left standing in Hogsmeade together. Briar took the moment to look over Neville's appearance. He was wearing his nicest sweater and his puffy coat over top. She loved that puffy coat since it reminded her of the day she first realized she was falling for him.
Briar herself was wearing her favorite dress. It had originally belonged to her mum, so it was an extra special dress to her.
Did her mum get to do things like this at her age?
Somehow Briar doubted that, so it comforted her that she was living and making her mum proud by doing all the things that teenagers were supposed to do, in a dress that hadn't seen enough of the world yet. History wouldn't repeat itself. Briar was making certain of that.
Neville and Briar stood side by side and looked around Hogsmeade. There was so much they could do, but Briar wasn't sure what Neville had planned. He had refused to tell her about the plans he had made, but he seemed extra twitchy lately. Briar tried to assure him that she was going to be happy no matter what they did, but this didn't reduce his anxious jitters. He wanted it to be perfect.
Briar glanced up at him with a bright smile, and Neville carefully took her hand and intertwined their fingers. He stared down into her eyes and murmured, "Is this okay?"
"Of course," Briar replied and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
A slight blush came to his cheeks and a happy smile danced on his face as he started to lead them towards the shops. Briar was admiring all of the beautiful shop windows when the two of them came to a stop. She looked over and grinned when she noticed that they were standing outside The Three Broomsticks. She happily squeaked, "We're going in there?"
Neville nodded and tried to gauge her reaction, but when she jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck in a giddy embrace, he realized that this was exactly right. He stammered, "Well, I just thought- that you might like to come, uh, since you said you weren't allowed before."
She nodded frantically and hugged him tightly. Briar wasn't allowed to go to many of the shops here because of her "father". He only allowed her to go to Dervish and Banges, Gladrags Wizardwear, and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. He stated that such shops had purpose and items that she could actually use. Everything else was a worthless waste of space, and she was forbidden from visiting any of the other shops.
Gideon Davies especially despised the Three Broomsticks, as he believed that it was a dirty, foul place that only lowlifes visited, but Briar had always wanted to try butterbeer. Her peers seemed to love it. She wondered if she would as well.
The two of them found a table at the edge of the pub, and Briar settled into her seat. The dark, crowded space reminded her of 12 Grimmauld Place in an odd way, and she was comforted by that thought. Neville and Briar both ordered some lunch and a butterbeer.
Briar was most excited about the butterbeer.
The butterbeer arrived before the rest of their food. After she had a taste of it, she widened her eyes and took another sip.
It was delicious.
Anger rose up in her at the thought of how much she missed out on because of Gideon Davies. She thought of how many times she had turned down her peers' offers to get butterbeer because she was afraid that her father would find out somehow.
Briar reached across the table to hold Neville's hand. She grinned at him, and he gave her a smile back with the frothy butterbeer cream resting on his upper lip. She slightly giggled and told him, "You have a bit of something on your face, Nev."
He released her hand and immediately moved to cover his face with his hands. His eyes were wide as he searched the table for his napkin. Briar laughed and leaned across the table to wipe it off him herself. They both froze when her finger gently brushed his cheek. She murmured, "I'm sorry," and started to pull away, but Neville caught her hand before she could.
Her eyes scanned his face as he stared right back at her. His thumb glided over the back of her hand, and Briar felt her stomach doing cartwheels at the simple movement. Neither said a word for a couple beats, but Neville finally broke the silence by commenting, "I wish you were sitting on this side of the table."
She scrambled to her feet and brought her butterbeer with her as she settled into the seat beside Neville. She sat sideways in her chair and faced him with her gaze on him unbroken.
He leaned towards her and placed a hand on her cheek. She parted her lips with the puff of air that escaped her lips. Her chest rose and fell quickly as they leaned towards each other. He captured her lips in a kiss, and her heart rate doubled. She placed a hand on his chest to feel that his heart was beating just as quickly as hers.
Neville's kisses were slow and sweet, and Briar felt so whole and loved in his presence. Did he feel the same way?
When the two of them pulled apart, he happily whispered, "I love you."
He quickly jolted with his confession and stared at Briar with fear clouding his widely opened eyes. This was their first date. This was far too soon to be saying things like this, wasn't it?
Briar slowly placed a hand on each cheek and whispered, "I love you too."
Neville swallowed and stared hard at her. He breathed, "Do you mean that?"
She nodded, and he happily closed the space between them again. This kiss was much more frantic than their other kisses. His giddiness could be felt through his touch, and Briar giggled against his lips. She tugged him closer with her hand around the back of his neck, and his hand dipped down to rest on her hip. Briar loved the feeling; she never wanted him to remove it.
"Oh," Madam Rosmerta gasped when she reached their table with food in hand.
Briar and Neville sprung apart quickly and looked over at Madam Rosmerta with sheepish glances. Neville turned back to the table with a full body flush while Briar awkwardly scratched at her head and stared down at the table.
Madam Rosmerta placed their food at the table then, but as she turned to leave, she giggled, "Ah, young soulmates. How absolutely adorable." The rest of her ramblings remained unheard as she shuffled away from the table.
The two of them glanced at each other, and they both burst into laughter once they made eye contact. Neville reached for her hand and interlaced their fingers as they ate. They chattered on about random things. Neville told her about all of the new plants they got to work with that year while Briar talked about how she wanted to get a new sketchbook since her current one was nearly full of her random doodles.
The two of them also talked about what they'd like to do after graduation. Neville explained that he'd love to take over Professor Sprout's position when she retires, but Briar admitted that she wasn't sure what her plans were. A part of her knew that she now had the freedom to do whatever she pleased, and she wasn't sure what to do anymore.
For the first time, she was able to truly make her own decisions. She was free, and god, it felt good.
———
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