Who: Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley (with special guest Augusta 'Scary' Longbottom
What: A romantic night out turns goofy-crazy-fun
When: Erm. LAST Monday night. (it's a novel length thread, we should be forgiven!)
Where: Out and about around London
Status: LONG but complete
Rating: PG for like, three swear words and so much sweet you need a bucket...



Neville still somehow didn't grasp that he was about to take Ginny Weasley out for a real, honest date. Not just a walk around Hogsmeade or sitting together at dinner. The two of them, together, dressed nicely, in public. An actual couple. It was something he knew he needed to get used to at some point. She was his girlfriend, no matter what all had happened along the way. Years of hoping and waiting and being put on the back burner were gone as he straightened the tie he'd talked himself into wearing. The nervous feeling settled in the pit of his stomach once more as he had a silent argument with his hair. While he hadn't gone all out and worn a suit or anything, he was wearing a nice shirt, trousers, and the tie. Which he was reconsidering again.

"If you don't hurry and quit fussing, she'll be here, and then you'll look like some prima donna female, won't you?" a voice muttered from behind him. Neville jumped in surprise, glancing in the mirror to the spot over his shoulder where Gran stood in his doorway. Merlin, he still wasn't used to her being able to do that. He wondered how long it'd be before he could actually make an effort to move out.

With a huge sigh, he gave his hair one final push out of his eyes and forced a smile. "Will not. If she got here, I'd quit fussing and just go and not worry about it anymore." Only that wasn't entirely true and he knew it, because he'd worry even more once they were out of the house. He should've just Apparated to the Burrow, it would likely have been much easier. And he wouldn't have had to have dealt with a critical look.

But then, her old features softened considerably and she stepped forward, evening out his tie and pressing the crease in his collar. "Oh, I don't think I realised how much you've started to look like your father," she said quietly, stepping back to look at him. "Look at you, all grown up, taking girls on dates..." Neville's eyes widened in surprise when he realised his grandmother was actually tearing up.

"Not girls," he reassured, though it sounded shaky even in his voice. "Only one." One very special one who he'd gladly take anywhere she wanted.

"I always did like the Weasleys," Gran said, though she'd sounded nearly well stunned when he'd told her he was seeing Ginny. "Arthur and Molly both. You chose well, I'd say."

Neville flushed furiously under her praise but was saved by the sound of the floo flaring to life. It would still be over a month before Ginny was of age to Apparate, though fortunately they could Side-Along. He rushed down the hall and down the stairs just in time to see his girlfriend stepping out of the grate and brushing herself off. Even with a bit of ash on her cheek, she couldn't look more beautiful to him. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Gran wasn't right on his heels, he stepped over to kiss her lightly. "Hi," he said quietly, suddenly more bashful than he'd been around her in a long time.

Neville hadn't been the only one reconsidering outfit choices for that evening. The redhead couldn't for the life of her decide what was appropriate to wear out with her boyfriend and it was utterly maddening. She wondered vaguely when she became this girl. The girl who fussed so bloody much over what she wore that she was close to tearing her hair out. It shouldn't be that hard. And he'd even said in the owl not to worry about it and that something clean was good enough but she knew that she'd end up looking a tad ridiculous if she wore what she really would've preferred which was a rather comfortable Weird Sisters tee-shirt and a pair of nicely broken-in jeans. She did want to look nice though. And that was why her bedroom looked like a tornado had ripped through it.

With an almighty sigh she pulled on the one pair of pants she hadn't tried on yet. They were black and fit her just right in the waist, but were about an inch too short for her to wear heels with. Which didn't bother her much, she always felt clumsy in even a low heel. She was convinced they were some sort of torture device developed by men for the sole purpose of making women look absurd. Flats it would be. Three tops later, she settled on a nice green blouse with a bit of shimmer to the fabric. It had been a gift from Fleur and though she absolutely hated to admit it, it was rather fetching. The colour worked well with her hair and her complexion and the cut of the shirt was quite flattering to her curves.

Leaving the room without another glance in the mirror, lest she change her mind again, Ginny hurried down to the living room.

"Mum! I'm leaving!" She called out, eager to get out of the house before her mother began again with how she couldn't believe her baby girl was growing up and how Neville was such a "fine boy" and what all else she'd been going on about since Ginny had told her about the pair of them. She threw the handful of powder into the fireplace and called out Neville's address before stepping through the floo.

When she arrived at the Longbottom residence she took a moment to brush her self off, not wanting to track soot all over the house. When she looked up after brushing off her pant legs, Neville was there beside her. She felt her cheeks heat up as he kissed her, and she grinned. "Hi, yourself." She said softly.

"You look..." Wow. He wasn't sure he'd seen her look that put together since the Yule Ball. No, she wasn't in dress robes or anything, but she still looked amazing. Which was exactly what he said. "Wow. Amazing. I..." The stuttering boy of his youth was in danger of taking the place of the almost confident young man he'd become.

Fortunately, he was saved. Or unfortunately, as it was his grandmother, being rather nosy as she appeared at the foot of the stairs, that knowing look on her face. "Neville, for shame, you ought to at least introduce your guest."

Neville rolled his eyes where only Ginny could see and gave her a slight grin. "Gran, you've already met."

"Yes, but not since she's been your girlfriend."

If there was a God out there, the earth would happily open up and swallow him whole. Merlin forbid she go ten minutes without embarrassing him. "Ginny, this is my Gran, who you've met," he added under his breath. "Gran, this is...my girlfriend, Ginny."

He'd have sworn she was smirking as he stammered out the last bit. "Ginny, it's a pleasure, how is your mother? And your Auntie Muriel, I haven't seen her in a bit."

Ginny smiled as her cheeks flushed something fierce at his stammering compliments. "Oh go on. You're looking rather sharp yourself." She said with a small laugh. Reaching up she brushed his hair from his face with a grin. "There. Perfect." She said softly. He really did look brilliant and she was more and more glad that she'd picked out a nicer outfit than the one she originally tried on. Somehow standing there with him was calming her down quite a bit. He seemed to have that effect on her.

The sound of his Gran's voice startled her and Ginny was once again a vaguely flustered bundle of nerves. Though when Nev rolled his eyes she had to stifle a small giggle. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she turned to face his Gran with a smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Longbottom." The redhead said politely. "Mum is doing well. She said to say hullo. And Auntie Muriel is...fine." It took a surprising amount of self-control for Ginny not to pull a face at the mention of her aunt. The old bat was more trouble than she was worth and Ginny was glad it would be another month or so before she was dragged off to go and visit her.

Neville had to chomp down on his tongue to keep from laughing out loud at the pause in Ginny's words. Anyone who knew her well knew there was little love lost between her and her Great Aunt. Something about her being a proper lady versus a reckless tomboy or some nonsense.

Fortunately for them both, however, Augusta Longbottom didn't know her terribly well. Only what he'd told her over the years and what she knew from Ginny's parents. Granted, Augusta was a keen older woman and had known even before Neville did that Ginny Weasley made her grandson alternately happy and miserable, depending on who she was seeing at the time. But that seemed to be behind them, at least for the moment, and she impulsively stepped forward, taking the girl's free hand in hers for a moment. "I'm glad to hear it. We'll all have to have tea some time, have an actual visit. I'll drop your mother an owl soon." She turned to Neville then, whose cheeks were pink with his usual shyness. Grinning in that knowing manner that infuriated her grandson, she placed a light kiss on his cheek. Then, the steel rod returned to her spine and her face took on its usual stern appearance. "Don't you go keeping her out too late, either. All those brothers, this girl's bound to have a search party ready and in place."

"I won't," Neville mumbled, avoiding Ginny's eyes for fear of bursting out laughing. Though it wasn't as if he needed the reminder that he was Public Enemy Number One and she was their sweet, good, kind baby sister. Sort of. Before Augusta could squeak in another word, however, he nodded towards the door and started leading Ginny out. "Come on," he all but whispered. "I usually Apparate outside, Gran says it leaves behind a smell she can't get out of the curtains. Or we could take the floo if you're terrified I'll splinch you." A wry smile crossed his face. "Which I wouldn't exactly blame you for..."

"Neville, don't scare the girl!" a voice scolded from behind him, but he ignored it and grinned a bit sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm sure Mum would love that." Ginny said, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be expected to attend this lunch, but knowing full well it would likely be completely unavoidable. Still, she gave Mrs. Longbottom a very polite smile. She didn't want to seem rude, and it was really nothing against the older woman, and entirely the fact that she wasn't sure she'd make it through an entire lunch with Auntie Muriel. Mental old bat that she was. At the mention of her brothers forming a search party Ginny let out a small laugh. "I'm sure my brothers are well aware of how much of a gentleman your grandson is, Mrs. Longbottom."

Ginny smiled as Neville encouraged her towards the door. "Apparating is fine by me." Ginny assured him with a gentle smile. She took his hand in hers and gave it a small squeeze. "It was lovely seeing you, Mrs. Longbottom. I promise not to keep him out too late." The redhead remarked over her shoulder before following Neville to the door. "So where is it we're going?" She asked when they were safely outside.

Neville was too busy laughing to answer her. "Oh, Merlin, you didn't just tell her you wouldn't keep me out too late!" He shook his head, a grin on his face. "And no, I'm not telling you a thing. Not until we get there. I'll let you know we're doing London, though." The truth was, he'd made reservations for one of the nicer restaurants in London, but he was going to make her get there to find out. And if she'd shown up dressed in denims and a t-shirt, he even had a backup plan. He might not be the smartest man his age, but he was certainly resourceful. "Do you like Italian?"

"Yes. And you know, I don't think she believed me really." Ginny laughed, leaning up to peck his cheek. "Why must you insist on torturing me with all of these secrets?" Ginny whinged dramatically. "And telling me that we're doing London is hardly a hint!" She gave a pout before dissolving into a bit of laughter. "Alright, alright. I'm done acting like a child." She said, still with the troublemaking grin on her face. "Italian? Yes!" She perked up quite a bit and linked her arm with his. "Shall we go then?"

Though he'd been rather certain she did, he breathed a sigh of relief on her affirmation that she did actually like Italian. "You'll have to get used to being surprised once in a while, you know," he reasoned with her, like the patient adult would were she actually the child she was complaining like. "Come on, then." It would take everything he had, he knew, but Neville took a huge breath, focused, said a tiny prayer, and moved the both of them to the middle of London to a location just near Diagon Alley that many wizards used as an Apparition point.

And, to his amazement, they actually arrived. In, presumably, two whole pieces. "All toes still attached?" he questioned, though he was smiling. And why shouldn't he, it wasn't that long ago no one had thought he'd even pass his Apparition test, let alone be able to side-along.

The rather unpleasant sensation of being squished from all sides came over Ginny very suddenly and then was all at once over and she was fairly certain, had she not been holding on tightly to Neville, she would've toppled over from the force. She smiled over at Neville and looked at her hands. "10 fingers, and 10 toes. How do my eyebrows look to you?" She teased lightly with a grin, thinking back to Ron's first attempt at his Apparation test.

Neville shook his head, giving her a slightly scolding look. "We can't all be as brilliant as you, you know," he reminded her, pausing to kiss her lightly. There, in front of the whole of London. Because he was allowed to. Merlin... "But they're still attached and still rather perfect, but maybe I'm biased?" At that, he grinned. He hadn't released her arm yet and instead starting the walk towards the main street towards the restaurant, following the Thames to get there. If he was going to get credit for anything, it'd be for picking a restaurant with an amazing view.

Ginny smiled against his lips and felt her cheeks flush slightly. They were standing right in the middle of the walkway kissing for all of London to see. Well, alright that was a bit of an exaggeration as the apparation point was a ways away from the main street and all, but still. It was quite different than simply sitting beside one another in the Great Hall at breakfast and dinner time. This was the real world and they were a real couple going on a real date. These were all things that were just starting to sink in for the redhead. "Of course you're biased." Ginny laughed with a shake of her head. The started towards the main street and Ginny smiled widely at the view of the Thames from where they were. "Merlin that river is lovely, innit?" She asked as they strolled.

"Bit polluted, really," Neville replied with a teasing grin sideways at her. "Wonder why someone doesn't just charm that clean. Could call it a community clean-up project. It'd work, I swear it would. Muggle prime minister couldn't possibly object, could he?" Still, it did add for a nice view for the two of them. Even if it wasn't some crystal clear babbling brook. "Hmm. Probably not my best choice. I should've picked somewhere by an ocean instead, huh?"

Ginny laughed and shook her head. "The Thames is a wonderful view." She assured him. "Besides, the nearest ocean is nearly a hundred kilometers from here. I think you did brilliantly." She punctuated this opinion with a peck on his cheek and resting her head against his shoulder. "So this place we're going..." She began in an innocent sort of voice. "Is it Muggle?" She asked curiously.

Neville shot her a slightly shy look and nodded. "Did some reading up, Hermione would be proud. Should be fairly easy, just can't go talking about flying and dragons and...a few other things they don't have, damn I hope I don't go and forget." Admittedly, he was a little nervous. It wouldn't do to have his first proper date ruined by breaking the Statute of Secrecy and being arrested and tossed into Azkaban. Probably wasn't the best impression to go and leave his girlfriend with. Still, it was exciting, doing something completely out of the ordinary for him, and possibly for her, too.

Ginny laughed. She was definitely excited. "Oh this is going to be ace!" She said happily. She'd never been to a Muggle restaurant before. Despite how much her father would've probably liked to have gone. Molly wasn't so keen on eating out when she was perfectly capable of making a meal in their house without all that fuss. Besides, taking nine Weasley's out for a
dinner would end up a bit costly, not to mention chaotic. "We'll just have to talk about normal Muggle things. Or else, you know, pretend to be some sort of spies speaking in code." She laughed again. This would be fun, she was sure of it.

"Spies, hmm?" Neville asked, making one last turn to wind up in front of the restaurant. He'd already been earlier in the week to make sure the place was as good as it had sounded in the newspaper he'd read. So far, so good. "And what are we spying on? Secret Russian space programs? Zoo animal takeovers? Oh, wait, I've got it. Health inspectors!"

"Oh Merlin, you reckon we could get away with that one?" Ginny asked with a wry smile. She knew well enough how Health inspections worked in the Muggle World. It was a fairly big deal from what she could tell and these people who did the inspecting were often treated far better than anyone else in the place, as a sort of unspoken bribe. "Though, if they were on to us, it might end extremely badly." She reasoned with herself. "Maybe we should stick to being personal restaurant testers for the Queen?"

Neville grinned, then, but placed a finger to his lips as he pulled the door open for her and slipped in behind her. "Now, now," he whispered into her ear, "we don't want people knowing ahead of time! Puts us in a terribly awkward position, after all." Still, for her sake, he used his snottiest tone as he advised the host that they had arrived for their reservations. It was everything he could do not to burst out laughing. As soon as they were seated, he stifled his desperate chuckles into his shoulder. "I actually considered dragging you to that place Daphne Greengrass is always going on about, but I'm relatively certain they'd have poisoned us."

As Neville spoke to the host, Ginny had to disguise her burst of laughter as a cough into her hands as she covered her face to keep from being completely obvious about it. Biting her lower lip to keep her giggles to herself, she followed the host and Neville to the table. "Oh without a doubt they would've!" Ginny laughed. "The likes of us showing up there? Though, it might almost be worth it just to see the looks on their faces." Ginny teased with a grin. "This place does look rather brilliant though. And it smells amazing."

It really did. The smells of tomatoes and garlic and fresh cooked pasta were things he wasn't around often. Gran's cooking, though nutritious and healthful, was often pretty bland and overwhelmingly British. And though the food at Hogwarts was amazing, he wasn't actually around when it was being made. It didn't have quite the same appetizing effect. "It's supposed to be really good," he assured her, tapping her foot gently under the table with his. "Surely you didn't think I was going to bring you to some rubbish bin in the middle of the slums?"

"Weeeell" Ginny teased with an innocent sort of face. "I'm only joking, of course you'd bring me someplace fantastic." She said with a grin. "There was never a doubt in my mind that this wouldn't be a perfect evening." She paused and gave a sheepish grin. "Unless I went and bollocksed it up by wearing something completely out of place." She added after a moment. "You'll never guess who I have to thank for this blouse, by the way."

Neville laughed, shaking his head. "Come on, you think I don't know you by now?" he teased. "I had a backup plan. If you'd worn something entirely different, I'd have abandoned you to the hands of my grandmother, run upstairs to change, and we were going to some carnival nearby. Or maybe this weird thing I'd heard about--miniature golf? I've never even seen normal sized golf, but it's apparently really popular among the denims and trainers crowd." When she mentioned her shirt, he caught himself gazing at her a little too long. "And who is it I need to thank for how incredible it looks on you, by the way?" And, less than thirty seconds later, he was flushing pink.

"A Carnival!?!" Ginny said excitedly. "Can we go there anyhow, after dinner?" Okay, so really, she was a child at heart, but the idea of a muggle carnival was entirely too much fun to pass up. She took a moment to try and figure out what in the name of Merlin's trainers miniature golf could possibly be, but she was entirely stumped. "What do you reckon it is? I mean, most of their games are a bit self-explanatory from the names, but this one doesn't make any sense at all." She said, scrunching her nose up. "Though, the denims and trainers crowd does make it sound like my kind of game." She grinned briefly. The grin, quickly shifted to a shy smile as her cheeks burned under his gaze. "Fleur." she managed after a moment. "It was a Christmas gift this year. I was rather amazed that it wasn't bright pink or purple and it has absolutely no ruffles. Though, I think Bill had a bit of a talk with her about that."

He should've known if it left his mouth, she'd want to go. Still, he couldn't say no to her. Pretty much ever. Maybe it was because they were so close or maybe it was because he was completely crazy about her, but he'd never said no to anything Ginny asked him. "Of course we can," he said simply, as if that had been the plan all along. "Just remember, you promised to not have me out too late." He winked across the table and leaned back, glancing down at the menu he'd barely peeked at. "And I figured it would be like that rugby thing Dean's always going on about. Or football. But with smaller balls, maybe?" Shrugging, he peeked up and took one more glance at how the sparkling shirt set off her hair and freckled skin. "She did well, I think. Not too girly but...just right."

Ginny often accidentally took that fact for granted. It wasn't something she consciously thought about and maybe if she had, she'd feel a bit guilty about it, but Neville was always the one who was going out of his way to accommodate for her. It wasn't anything she actually expected, but then again, she never had her will denied by him and so it was hard to imagine her reaction if it had to happen. "Brilliant." Was all she said giving a rather pleased smile and bobbing her head excitedly. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Ginny laughed. She took idly fingered through the menu, already a bit overwhelmed by the choices. "Hmm, if it's miniature, I'm sure the balls would have to be smaller. And perhaps its a smaller field? We'll have to make a day of that too then. See what all the fuss is about among the denim and trainers crowd." She scrunched her nose at her indecision as she continued to examine the menu. "What're you getting?" She asked, biting on her lower lip as she picked out four or five options to choose between.

When she asked, Neville realized he had no idea what he wanted. He'd spent so long just wanting to actually have this night together with her, that he hadn't thought about the fact that he'd actually have to eat. Anything with a red sauce sounded terrifying, honestly. Neville was known for having the grace of a baby elephant, and all he needed was to wear his dinner to some London carnival. "The fettuccine, I think," he replied, looking the menu over one more time. "Seems safe enough. I can pronounce it and everything!"

"Oooh. That looks good." Ginny said, reading over the description once more. It had been on her list of potential dinners. So now she was down to deciding between three and that was a number she could work with. "I'm between the chicken with pesto sauce and the linguine." And also the ziti. Hmm. "Why are there so many choices?" She giggled and shook her head. "Alright. I'm pulling out the tie-breaker." She took a deep breath and placed a finger on one of her choices. "Bertie-bots, Bertie-bots in a dish. Pick one up and pray it isn't flavored like fish." With that she landed on the linguine and gave a decided nod. "Well there we go."

He couldn't help it. Her oh so scientific method of narrowing down her dinner options made him laugh helplessly. "Oh... Oh, Merlin, did you really just..." Shaking his head, he attempted to cover up the rest of his giggles with his napkin. "Erm, right, then. Linguine." It was one of the reasons he'd fallen so pathetically for her. She'd never once failed to make him laugh. Well, there were the times she unknowingly made him hurt all over, but that was hopefully far behind him.

That thought was pushed aside as the waitress showed up, looking extremely posh and making him feel like some backwards country bumpkin. Still, he could do the polite thing. Though not raised with the elite of pureblood society, he knew how to be a gentleman. He placed his order with a smile, but stopped short of ordering Ginny's meal, too. One thing he loved about her was her independence, and as much of a gentleman type thing as it might have been, he didn't dare place her order when she was likely to change her Bertie-bots mind at any moment.

Ginny gave a face with a laugh. "Yes. Yes I did." She said proudly. "I can't handle these sorts of decisions!" She laughed. She ran a hand through her hair and gave him a sweet smile. "It's a good thing you like me and will subject yourself to being seen in public with the bird who has to sing a song from when she was a kid in order to choose between dishes." Maturity, the redhead felt, was vastly over-rated and she didn't plan on letting go of her childhood all too soon. Besides that, getting older just meant that you were better equipped to do the things you always dreamed of as a child.

As the waitress came over, Ginny detected a slight bit of attitude about her, but nothing that was enough to cause her to say something about it. Ginny smiled at Neville as he let her place her own order. She ordered the ziti at the last second, flashing a smile over to Neville as she did so.

"Knew it," he said with a triumphant tone as she walked away. "Somehow I knew you'd change your mind! The Bertie-bots game isn't reliable, Ginny, it just isn't!" He carefully cut the bread at the table into small pieces and took one, though he was still grinning widely. "And what do you mean from when you were a kid, you just did that two weeks ago trying to pick a quill!" Though he'd never actually expected her to do so in public... In fairness, though, he found it incredibly appealing.

"It is so long as you don't go changing your mind." Ginny laughed. "I'm a bird. It's our prerogative to go changing our minds." She justified with a wide grin. She took a piece of bread for herself and smiled over at him. "I'm just lucky to have a brilliant bloke who will put up with me and my indecisive nature."

Well if he hadn't had a problem with blushing before, he did then. His smile was bashful as he looked up at her and shrugged. "I've dealt with it for this long and still want to be with you, I imagine I can put up with it now." Clearing his throat, he tried to return to acting as normally as possible. "Besides, it makes things interesting and different. Predictability is boring." Well, not when he did it. When he did it, it was nice and stable. But with her, there was something thrilling about it.

"I'm glad I can help make things interesting and different." She said with a goofy sort of smile. "And honestly, if everything in the world were predictable, than what would be the bloody point? Without surprises and spontaneity then how is there any sort of excitement?" She was clearly quite passionate about this point. One of the things about growing up with the twins was learning to relish the value of the unexpected. So much could happen at any given moment and it was in that moment that living actually happened. Ginny would never be a perfectly organized, planned out girl. That sort of structure would likely drive her around the bend. She needed the freedom of taking a chance to keep her going.

The meal arrived and went surprisingly well, even if it meant Neville was on his very best behaviour, watching for those little spills and drops that ordinarily would've plagued him. Granted, Ginny had seen him in his clumsy moments, he couldn't always avoid them. But he'd been pretty lucky since they'd actually become a couple and he wasn't going to risk ruining that then. Paying the bill turned out to be easier than he'd thought, too. Muggle money was fairly simple, with numbers on it and all, and he'd gotten crash courses from Hermione and Dean over the years. He'd have to thank them at some point.

Finding the carnival, though... That was going to be a little more difficult. Especially at night. And walking. Neville refused to take the Underground, because, quite frankly, it was sort of terrifying, really. And he couldn't Apparate them when he didn't know for sure where it was they were going. So, he did the only thing he could think to do. He purchased one of those muggle newspapers from one of the carts on the side of the street and looked it up in their events section. "Oh," he exclaimed, as soon as he found it, realising how simple it should've been, really. "It's only a couple of blocks from here. Here I was all terrified it was going to be forever away and we'd be walking till next week! Come on, then, if you're really sure you want to do this!"

"Course I'm sure!" Ginny said as though there had never been a question on the subject. She took hold of Neville's arm and rested her head against his shoulder. "It's a carnival! Plus the fact I get to spend it with my best bloke? I am failing to see any reason not to go." She knew it sounded unbearably sappy, but it was true. And besides, somehow Neville made sappy okay. She didn't feel quite so ridiculous when it was with him, mainly because Neville hardly made her feel ridiculous when she did anything. That wasn't to say she'd be going out tomorrow to make them matching tee-shirts or anything of the sort, but sometimes it could be nice to say the sweet sappy things that she usually had a gag-reflex for when she heard them come out of someone else's mouth.

It was simple, sure, but the light touch of her head against his shoulder made him smile almost automatically. He couldn't help it; she'd always caused that reaction in him, and that certainly wasn't going to stop because she was his girlfriend. Rather, it made it twice as special because she'd called him her bloke in the process. Grinning, he paid close attention to the numbers on the money he pulled out as he bought tickets to the rides for the pair of them. It didn't seem much different than the carnival they'd had at the school, with the exception of them not being at the beach and there not being as many sports style activities. And he didn't have the satisfaction of watching anyone dunk Michael Corner into a tank of cold water. "This seems alright," he said, glancing around at people lining up for games and rides and food. "They don't seem all that different from us, do they?"

"It looks brilliant if you ask me." Ginny said excitedly, giving a look around. There were tons of lights and colours and games and rides. She saw several muggle children walking around with cotton-cady the size of their faces and couldn't help but smile. "I think that's why dad is so fascinated by them." Ginny said with a laugh. "Cause they seem so normal and everything, but he's been showing me things since I've been home and I have to say, they do have strange tendencies."

Ginny caught sight of a ride involving funny-looking horses on sticks going about in a circle. She gave Neville's arm a pull and nodded towards it. "C'mon, that one looks like fun." She said grinning.

"Strange tendencies like riding horses with sticks through them, I'd say," Neville muttered, but he was smiling as he was all but dragged towards the attraction. He handed over two tickets and looked warily at the houses, apparently made of some sort of plastic or wood. "How do you get..." On, would've been the next word out of his mouth, were it not for the kid two horses away from them, scrambling up the horse just as he'd seen people getting on real horses. Only there was apparently no fear of these moving while you were getting on. "You owe me for this," he pointed out, knowing how completely awkward he was bound to look as he ever so carefully climbed on to a brown horse's back and clung to the golden coloured pole for dear life.

"Oh hush, it's going to be brills." Ginny laughed as she gave another tug on his arm. She bounced excitedly as she waited to be let onto the ride and chose a nice white horse beside Neville's brown one. "I don't think they're going anywhere fast, love." She laughed. She held out her hand for him to take once she was settled on the plastic saddle and wrapped her other hand around the pole to keep herself steady. The music-box like tune began playing and the ride gave a bit of a lurch as it started to move and Ginny beamed. The horses began moving up and down in a slow pattern as the whole ride moved around. She glanced over at Neville and gave a smile. "Alright there, Nev?"

He'd been a little pale at the idea of letting go, but he took her offered hand just the same, lacing his fingers through hers. The panic washed over him again once the ride actually began moving, but she was right. The horses didn't exactly run, they didn't really jostle you any, and it wasn't as if they were charging around in circles. He let himself relax, even laughing as his horse moved at a different pace than Ginny's, causing their linked hands to move up and down in opposite times with the horses.

There was a bit of surprise that rushed over him when he realised the ride was over, and he just as awkwardly climbed off the horse, taking a minute to feel his legs settling back under him. "All right, my love, what next?" It was the first time the pet name had slipped from his lips and he coloured slightly, but it didn't stop him from leading her towards the little automobiles that were apparently supposed to be crashed into each other. He'd talked to Harry, Hermione, and Dean, and none of them had ever mentioned these things were supposed to crash. Rather, he'd always gotten the impression that crashing was the thing you weren't supposed to do.

Ginny smiled at the pet name and gave his hand a little squeeze as she looked around for their next adventure. When she realized they were walking towards those odd little cars with the big bands of rubber around them, she gave an intrigued look. "What d'you reckon about those?" She asked, both wary and curious at the same time. She knew what cars were. She'd ridden in her father's Ford Anglia several times even but it looked nothing like what was in front of her now. And with everyone bumping into each other and laughing and looking like they were having a grand time doing it she was a bit confused. "Hmmm..." she gave a glance over at Neville and shrugged. "Should we try it then?"

"Judging by the look on your face, I'd say I don't really get a choice," Neville remarked with a grin. "Come on, then, feel free to...apparently slam me around and bang me up and send me home all bruised and battered." It sounded awful, honestly, but there were squeals of laughter coming from the people inside the large cage looking thing, so he figured it had to be safe enough to try. "But for the record, beat me up too badly and you're going to have to kiss and make it better."

"No, but it's only polite to ask and make you think you get a choice in the matter." Ginny said sweetly, batting her eyelashes to appear a bit more innocent than she really was. "There are small, ickle, itty-bitties in there. It can't possibly be that dangerous, right?" She reasoned as she smiled widely before leaning up to give him a quick kiss. "I'll happily kiss it all better." She assured him before giving him a tug towards the entrance.

A scruffy looking bloke took their tickets and let them in to pick out cars. Ginny took a moment to look around before grinning as she spotted a red and gold one with a large number 9 on the side. She made a bee-line for it and after a rather sharp glance at a younger boy who had been eyeing the car, it was all hers. She took a seat and fumbled with the strap for a moment before finally figuring it out. She wasn't exactly sure how to make it go and looked over to Neville with a questioning look on her face. She was sure that she probably shouldn't shout it out over to him that she hadn't the foggiest how to work the blasted thing, but she was going to be quite the sitting duck if she didn't figure it out soon.

Neville burst out laughing as he caught the look on Ginny's face. He'd settled, a bit more calmly, behind the wheel of large, blue and silver car. That much he knew, behind the wheel. He glanced around the machine, taking in the parts. Nothing a little experimentation wouldn't take care of. He pulled the little handle next to him. Handles usually made things go. There were also things underneath him. That felt weird, but he noticed a change in the feel of the machine when he pushed down on them. "What the hell," he muttered, ignoring the scoffing look of the teenager next to him. When a loud bell went off over his head, he held his breath, pushed as many things at the same time as he could, and watched the car sputter forward. "What's the matter, Weasley?" he called teasingly, moving forward in nearly slow motion. A car slammed into him from the side, and he probably should've been angry, but the same person got jostled from their other side and burst out laughing. Grinning, he looked tauntingly in Ginny's direction. "Foot pedals!" he mouthed over to her, bursting out laughing as he got rammed from behind.

The bell dinged and everything around her started moving, but Ginny was still trying to figure out the ruddy car. She was rammed from several directions at the same time and her entire body was banged around. She looked up at Neville who was mouthing something to her. It took one more second to get what he was saying and when she tried out the pedal beneath her foot the car surged forward. She spun the wheel in front of her and the car changed direction. She'd get the hang of this thing yet! Alright, so the foot pedal made it go and the wheel made it turn, so what was the handle for on the side? She pulled it and the car came to an abrupt stop and she let out a small laugh. Well alright then. She looked around for Neville and grinned widely. "You're in for it now, Longbottom!" She called out as she slammed down on the foot pedal making straight for him. Unfortunately a cheeky little blonde girl no older than the age of eight slammed into the side of Ginny's car, knocking her off her Neville-destined course. "Bloody hell!" The redhead laughed trying to steer the car back towards her boyfriend.

In the time it took Ginny to recover from being hit by the little girl, though, Neville had gotten the hand of controlling both the foot pedal and the wheel at the same time. While she'd been distracted, he'd figured out how to maneuver the car around her and got in a perfect crash into Ginny from the side. "What was that you were saying?" he asked cheekily, his eyes glimmering with Weasley-worthy mischief as he turned the car in a circle and slammed into her car again before she could recover completely. Knowing she wouldn't stand for that for long, he turned the wheel and took off as quickly as the little car would go. Unfortunately for him, he was too busy laughing at her from over his shoulder to see he was headed straight into the corner. He felt the car come to a jarring halt and turned to glare at this new predicament. Going forward, he'd figured out. Going sideways, he could do. But going backwards? Well. This was new. And not good. At all.

Ginny could see him coming but knew there was nothing she could do to stop him and let out a little scream as his car assaulted hers. Oh he was going to get it. She quickly slammed on the pedal and spun the wheel furiously trying to get the little car to follow him. She realized quickly that he was headed for a trap and grinned wickedly. "You think you're going to get away with that?" She called out as he got himself stuck. Moving around, she maneuvered her car to hit him from the perfect angle to spin him around enough to move away from the corner.

"I think I owe you a thank you!" he called out after her, and he had to admit he couldn't stop laughing. "But I'll worry about that later!" The ride ended all too soon, seeing how long it had taken them to get the hang of it, but Neville had to admit he was grateful to get out of that tiny contraption. "Death trap, that thing is," he grumbled good-naturedly, taking Ginny's hand as they followed the group exiting. "You've got plenty of bumps and bruises to make up for, Ms. Weasley, I'll have you know." That didn't stop him from pulling her out of the general flow of traffic and kissing her lightly.

"Me? You're the one who ganged up with that little girl trying to do me in!" Ginny laughed. She was a bit surprised by his kiss, but returned it none-the-less. Still giggling a little, she laced her fingers with his and began steering them back towards the exit. "Fancy winning some completely unnecessary stuffed animal?" She asked as she gave a nod over to one of the booths with an obnoxiously over-sized purple stuffed dog hanging from the roof.

Neville eyed the dog warily and gave a soft sigh. "You know, I'd only do this for you. I'm likely to knock some poor worker unconscious. How about I buy a load of those balls, give it a shot or two, and hand the rest of you for you to win it? You know you're going to be better suited for it anyway!"

"I'll warn them to duck." Ginny said with a cheeky smile. "And I promise not to laugh." She knew that Neville wasn't exactly the most athletic bloke around, but that wasn't quite the point. The point was they were at a carnival and at carnivals, someone had to make a bit of fool out of themselves trying to knock down silly pins in order to win an ostentatious stuffed-animal. "Fine, fine. But if I win, I'm giving the thing to you as a present." She warned with a devious grin. "And I'll throw lefty just to even out the playing field a bit." She added with a laugh.

"Oh, no, I don't think so!" Neville protested, shaking his head as he counted out a few coins carefully and placed them down for the balding man to hand him a basket of white balls. "You're throwing right-handed now, miss, I want that bear right there!" He pointed to the red and gold bear hanging by his ankles from the top of the booth. "And I'll tell everyone that my much more athletic and coordinated girlfriend had to win it for me because I'm a terrible thrower."

"You are throwing first, mister. I'm winning you nothing until I at least get to see two decent attempts at winning me a prize." She folded her arms across her chest and gave him an expectant look. "Well go on then. Let's see what you've got in you."

Every ounce of concentration he had went into aiming that ball for the plastic pins, rather than the back of someone's head. And, for the first time in a very long time, it actually paid off. No, he wasn't going to be dragging her a giant purple elephant around London, but he did have a small white dog before he was done. "Well..." For a long moment, Neville simply stared in shock, but slowly a grin crossed his face. "This, I believe, belongs to you."

Ginny smiled broadly and took the rather adorable little dog giving it a tight hug. "I am highly impressed." She said sincerely. She leaned up and kiss him soundly on the lips before smiling up at him sweetly. "Thank you. He's brilliant. Now it's my turn to win you something." With that she laid a few coins down on the counter. The grumpy old man handed her a basket of balls and she picked one up, getting a good feel for it first. It was lighter and smaller than a Quaffle which was what she was used to. And it meant it was going to take a bit more aim and more wrist than strength to throw the thing to hit the pins. Her hand gripped the ball tightly and she took a deep breath as she aimed through squinted eyes. Winding up she let the ball fly and it all but eliminated the pins that were set up. By the time her basket was empty the grumpy old man was using a long pole to knock down the red and gold bear that Neville had pointed to. "How's that then?"

Though he should have been shocked, he couldn't be. There were few with aim as good as Ginny's. "That's my future pro-Quidditch player," he whispered into her ear, remembering at the last minute that muggles didn't know the sport and would probably wonder what the hell he was on about. He took a glance at the watch on his wrist and sighed. "And that, dearest Ginny, is probably the last you've got time for before your mother comes and hunts me down. Come on, let's get these two home, yeah?" It was a walk to the nearest Apparition point, and he didn't want to risk getting her home too late, summer or not.

Ginny had to fight against rolling her eyes at his comment and instead sighed and shook her head. "You know, you keep telling me things like that and I'm going to be almost as unbearable to live with as Percy was when he made headboy." Ginny said without even thinking. When she realized the words that had come out of her mouth she became quiet for a long moment and shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts of her older brother...if she could even call him that anymore. "Is it that late already?" Ginny asked, grateful for an excuse to change the subject. She took hold of his hand and gave it a small squeeze as they began walking.

Shooting her a careful look, Neville watched her off and on as they walked. "Are you..." But she'd changed the subject, she'd gone quiet, he knew her well enough to know that she didn't want to talk about it. "So... Was this as fun and exciting as I made it sound or are you wishing you'd stayed home and listened to a match or something?"

"Well..." Ginny started, giving his hand a gentle swing as they walked. "I have to say I'm a bit disappointed." She was fighting the grin that was threatening the corners of her lips. "You see, you hardly did this any justice at all in your owl to me." She said as seriously as she could manage. "I mean, no where in that owl did you mention how bloody perfect the night was going to be and really, I thought you were better at describing things than that." She looked over at him and held her expression for just a moment longer before giving in entirely to the smile that was now stretching widely across her face. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "It was absolutely fantastic." She said softly.

Neville flushed at her praise for the evening, pleased beyond any sort of recognition that he'd succeeded in his goal. For an entire evening, he'd forgotten that he was the shy, insecure best friend who'd spent years wishing she'd just look at him once the way she was just then. He'd been able to accept that she actually wanted to be with him. "Come on," he said quietly, though he was still beaming. "Ready?" They were at one of those points in London where you could slip away and no one would notice. He slipped his arms around her waist, and kissed her softly, knowing how it would probably look to any passersby seeing them kissing in a back alley. And best of all, not caring.

"I was born ready." She murmured, draping her arms around his neck and standing on her tip-toes so he didn't have to lean down too far. She kissed him sweetly, letting her fingers tangle a bit in his hair.

Focusing carefully on the Burrow, he closed his eyes, leaned his head against hers, and willed them not to get torn into little shreds before he found them safely to Ottery St. Catchpole. He knew if someone splinched his daughter, he'd probably forbid the relationship. Just as principle. But, to his sheer delight, they were in the little garden just outside of the tall, tilting house that always gave him a warm feeling when he saw it. "Made it," he breathed in a sigh of relief. "And no one can say I didn't get their little girl home safely. Come on, let me hear how great that is!" It wasn't like Neville to display any level of cocky, but it had been a wonderful night and he was feeling pretty good about himself.

Ginny laughed and leaned up to kiss him again. "It's absolutely," Kiss. "Bloody," Kiss. "Brilliant." Kiss. She smiled widly and let out a contented sigh. "Just like you, I might add." She teased lightly after a moment. "Have I mentioned how perfect tonight was? Because you know, it was. Perfect. From dinner right down to my prize dog." She laughed. "Thank you. I had a fantastic time. And I think you got me home before the boys went out on their search party, so that gets you bonus points."

At first, Neville relished the kissing between every word she said. It was, quite honestly, a bit perfect. But the fact was, they were outside her house and, if her mother was anything at all like his gran, she was pacing the front hall and had been ever since she'd heard the crack outside her window. "Ginny," he admonished, but he still hadn't released her. "Oi, I may have gotten you home at a decent time, but if you keep that up you're still going to make my grave for me!"

"Alright, alright." She laughed. She smiled up at him for a moment before leaning up and kissing him again. "I'm done. I swear." She grinned, still not moving from his arms. She knew her mum was inside. Likely trying to see them from the window if she could get the right angle. But that wasn't particularly concerning to the redhead at the moment. It might be in a few minutes when she got inside and she had to deal with that, but for right now, she was perfectly happy to stand outside in the garden with her boyfriend at the end of an absolutely wonderful night.

"Good thing your parents like me," he said with a smile. To punctuate his words, he tilted his head and met her lips in a firm, long kiss, feeling in the pit of his stomach that at some point some Weasley or another was going to spring out and scold him for his rather bold actions. When they didn't, he merely rested his forehead against hers. "Ginny, I..." But he couldn't say that. He wouldn't. He knew how he felt, and he knew it was right, and he knew someday he'd be able to say it out loud without being petrified of her reaction. But the Gryffindor bravery failed him and he cleared his throat, straightening up a bit. "I had a really amazing time. I'm really glad you said yes." To everything. Being there that night, being with him in general...

"I'm glad too." She said quietly. "Really, it was brilliant and wonderful and I couldn't have dreamed up a better night." She said truthfully. "Promise we'll do this again soon?"

"Definitely. As many times as you want, whenever you want." It wasn't a hard promise for him to make, really. With another kiss that toed the line of innocence and something much more personal, he pulled away from her, taking several steps back. "Good night, Ginny. I'll see you soon."

"Brilliant." Was all Ginny managed before that final kiss. She was still catching her breath and finding her head and thoughts again when he pulled away and stepped back. That was probably the safest thing after that kiss otherwise they'd never leave the garden and the possibility of being ambushed by her family turned into more of a reality than Ginny was really prepared to deal with. "G'night, Nev. Get home safe, yeah?" She grinned, taking a step backwards towards the door. "I'll see you soon."