Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood or any of that stuff. Last I checked I am still not J.K Rowling (though it would be nice if I was.)
This story is based on something in the seventh book, but contains no spoilers whatsoever.
Luna stared down at the empty canvas, pondering what she should create in its empty whiteness. A unicorn, maybe? she mused. No, that's been done. Mistletoe and Nargles? Maybe.
A paintbrush was tucked behind Luna's left ear. Unbeknownst to her it was sending electric blue droplets trickling down her face. Absentmindedly she brushed the paint aside. Then suddenly, inspiration struck her. Her eyes widened with delight at seeing a vision of art no one else could see. Quickly she set down her brush and began to paint.
Hours went by as she crouched in the corner of the hallway. Luna painted in a fervor, making faces as she worked. She only paused occasionally to brush the stray blond strands of hair out of her face.
She was so engrossed in her work she didn't even notice the Slytherins until they were right behind her.
A shadow fell over her painting. Luna frowned and looked up. Directly behind her a group of students in silver and green stood, staring down at her work with mixed looks of curiosity and disgust. "Can I help you?" Luna said to them calmly.
"Yeah," said the boy in front, whom Luna was pretty sure was called Draco Malfoy. "You could tell me just what in the Wizarding World that awful thing you're painting is."
Luna was surprised. "Don't you know? It's a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," she said informatively.
The Slytherins snorted and smirked at one another.
"Don't you know there's no such thing? Honestly, and I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart," said one girl nastily. They all laughed.
"This one's different. Haven't you ever heard of Loony Lovegood?" Malfoy told her.
"But there is such a thing," Luna said, looking up at them defiantly. "Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are real." The Slytherins bristled under her gaze.
Draco Malfoy advanced on her menacingly. "Well I say they aren't, and this painting's rubbish." He grabbed the brush out of her hand and flicked it. Drops of paint landed all over the canvas. She stared up at him in surprise.
"What did you do that for? That wasn't very nice. You've ruined my artwork."
He laughed unpleasantly. "I told you it was rubbish to begin with. That was just an improvement, and so is this!" Malfoy kicked a small bottle of paint on the floor. It splattered all over Luna and her painting.
And then she was surrounded by Slytherins on all sides. They pushed at her and laughed mockingly, knocking her down every time she attempted to stand. Luna fell to the floor under the onslaught. Cold streaks of paint ran down her face and arms, covering them completely in a mask of color. Luna curled into a small ball and shut her eyes tightly.
A voice yelled, and there was a cracking sound. The Slytherins fell back in a heap. From her place on the floor Luna could hear voices, familiar ones. She opened her eyes.
"Luna? Luna, are you alright?" Hermione Granger was kneeling down on the floor next to her, her large brown eyes concerned. The front of her robes were splattered with paint.
Luna blinked. "Oh Hermione, have you started painting too? Yellow really isn't your color though. Next time I'd go for red."
"Yeah, she's definitely alright then Hermione," said Ginny Weasley from behind them. Luna turned and saw Ginny and Neville standing in the hallway. Neville held up a torn, dripping canvas.
"Sorry Luna, but I think your painting's ruined," he said apologetically. Luna stood and took it out of his hands. The front and back were completely covered, and the Snorkack was no longer visible. Luna sadly ran her hands over the wet surface, fingering the long tear in the center.
Ron's voice broke the silence. "SLYTHERINS BEWARE! THE GRYFFINDORS ARE…um..HERE!"
Ron and Harry rejoined the group in the hallway, out of breath but grinning triumphantly.
"Did you get them? Because if you didn't I'm going to go back there and teach Malfoy a thing or two myself!" cried Hermione fiercely. Ginny nodded in emphatic agreement.
Harry laughed. "Whoa, Hermione, your bloodthirsty side is showing. Of course we got them. Chased them all the way back to the dungeons. I doubt Malfoy and his gang will bother anyone for a while." His gaze focused on Luna's paint-stained face. "Hey, you okay?" he asked worriedly.
Luna was crying. She couldn't help it. "Yes, I'm fine," she said a little breathlessly to their concerned faces. "It's just that you- you're all so -I just wanted to say-" Luna stopped, and took a deep breath. "Thank you. Thank you for helping me. You didn't have to do that." You didn't have to be so nice and rescue me. Most people would've walked right by. Most people would've pretended they couldn't see me. You didn't have to do that.
Ginny frowned. "What are you talking about? Of course we did."
"We're your friends, Luna," added Neville.
Friends. The word resonated through Luna's mind. I have friends? "You still didn't have to do that," she whispered.
"Don't be like that," said Harry firmly. "You're our friend, and we're not going to let Malfoy mess with you like that."
Friends.
Hermione took the still crying Luna's hand. "Come on, if you're fine then let's get you to Ravenclaw tower. At least you've got to change out of those clothes."
Luna followed her obediently. Her mind was still reeling from the impact of their words.
I have friends.
The words comforted her more than they would ever know.
Ravenclaw Tower was not her first choice for her art studio, but after what happened before it was the safest place. Another girl had kindly lent her some paints, seeing as hers were destroyed. Luna pushed her hair, still wet from the shower, back over her shoulder. Her hand hovered over the canvas. What to paint, what to paint. Another Snorkack, perhaps? No. That was gone and done. Then what?
Her hand had been idly tracing while she thought. Luna looked down and to her surprise, saw a she had written a word.
Friends.
In her mind, Luna saw five large portraits, each one connected by a golden chain. Luna smiled. This would be even better than a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
She bent over the canvas and set to work.
A/N: TA-DAH! It's my longest work yet- even longer than Walking Out That Door!
I never knew how hard it was to spell Gryffindor or to get your computer to accept the word Slytherin.
Yeah, okay so I was inspired to write this by my own friends, who are crazy awesome and I love them so much! (Friends, you know who you are! Or at least I hope you do!) I don't have giant paintings of them on my ceiling, but it would be cool if I did.
Anyway, thank you for reading, and reviews would be much appreciated.