For the Houses Competition. Thanks to the mods and judges for another amazing year!

House: Ravenclaw

Year: 5

Category: Standard

Prompt: Violet

Word count: 911

Ginny breathed in deeply as she lay back on the damp grass, watching the first stars begin to blink into existence. It wasn't dark quite yet, the sky only just beginning to turn from violet to deep purple, to black. She'd always loved to watch the stars - when she was younger, she'd thought that they were magical creatures who would watch over her and protect her. She knows better than that now, but that didn't make them any less fascinating. Such was her love for the stars that she'd decided to take Astronomy as an O.W.L - a mistake if she'd ever made one. Turns out, she hated studying the sky; she only liked watching them.

She closed her eyes, feeling her body begin to relax for the first time in a long time. What with everything that was happening - Voldemort, Harry, the Half-Blood Prince, whoever he was - it was difficult to get a minute to herself, these days. She thought that she should probably head back inside the castle soon to avoid being caught, but she couldn't quite bring herself to move. Things were so peaceful here; for once, she could pretend that the rest of the world didn't exist, and it was just her, and the stars.

The violet skies had almost bruised blue and black when she heard soft footfalls approaching.

Damn, she thought. She'd hoped to have more time.

She sat up and went to stand, when she saw that it wasn't a professor coming towards her, but Luna. She frowned, but relaxed a little and smiled at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, scanning her eyes over Luna's form. She was wearing some sort of cloak over her uniform, those ridiculous - yet endearing - radish earrings dangling from her ears, no shoes, as per usual. Ginny smiled to herself at the sight.

"Oh," Luna said dreamily. "I think I was sleepwalking again. Then I woke up and saw you so I thought I would come and join you."

"Oh," Ginny replied, lost for words. "Um. Would you like to sit?"

Luna beamed at her, then lay down next to Ginny who, after a moment's hesitation, lay back down, too. A companionable silence fell between them soon enough, and Ginny quickly began to enjoy the peace once more. Much as she cherished her time alone, she had to admit that it was nice to have a familiar body next to her.

A while later - it could have been five minutes or five hours for all Ginny knew - Luna sighed softly and turned her head towards Ginny.

"Violet is such a lovely colour, isn't it?" she said, so quiet that Ginny almost didn't hear her.

"I- I suppose," Ginny replied uncertainly. "I haven't really thought about it much."

"It was my mother's favourite colour," Luna informed her, almost as though Ginny hadn't spoken. Maybe that should annoy Ginny, but, well. It didn't.

"She always said it was a magical colour, and that it helped her keep her focus when she was working. She was a very wise woman."

Ginny felt a pang of sympathy for Luna. She didn't know much about her mother, only that she died when Luna was nine because of a spell gone wrong.

"I think we could all use a little wisdom right now," she commented, but Luna didn't seem to hear her.

"She made this cloak for me when I was younger," Luna continued. "She made it out of a special violet fabric she'd been saving for something special, and she told me that, whenever I wore it, I would always be safe. It's a little small now, but I still like to wear it when I'm sad." Luna's voice had become far away as she spoke, and she had turned her eyes back to the sky.

Ginny leaned up on her elbow and looked over at Luna. She couldn't see properly because of the dark, but she could just about make out a slight violet hue to the material. She smiled at the image of Luna as a young girl, wearing this cloak around the house, the hem dragging along the ground. Then she registered exactly what Luna had said and frowned, sitting up properly this time.

"Why are you sad, Luna?" she probed gently, looking at her friend in concern.

Luna looked surprised at her worry. "Oh. I suppose… it feels like everything is going to change soon, don't you think?"

Ginny hummed in agreement and flopped back down onto the grass. "Yeah," she said softly. "It does."

"It's as my mother used to say, though," Luna piped up after a moment's silence. "We can't stop change from coming, but we can always try to shape it."

Ginny thought over that for a moment. She wasn't entirely sure she understood, but something about the words resonated with her. "I think…" she started, then bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She considered, then took a deep breath and turned her head towards Luna. "Then, I think your mother was very wise, Luna."

Luna smiled back at her, then gently entwined Ginny's hand with her own. As they lay there, just two girls under a deep violet sky, Ginny felt all her fears and worries wash away. Luna was right: change might be coming, and fast, but that didn't mean Ginny was powerless against it. As long as she had her friends at her side, she could do anything.

Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you have a moment!