AN: Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.
WARNING: BULLYING, MILD VIOLENCE AND HOMOPHOBIA
you're a fighter (and she's a dreamer)
AlwaysPadfoot
"Oi, Loony!"
Outrage rushed through Ginny's veins almost as soon as she heard the words escape Daniel Goyle's mouth. It was happening again; they were picking on the new girl: Luna Lovegood. If there was one thing Ginny hated more than anything else, it was bullying. She turned away from the vending machine she had been in the process of buying a drink from and searched for the source of the voice. She spotted Luna first, sat by herself on an empty table. The blonde was sketching — clearly trying to ignore the sound of what was the most heard taunt in their year.
Unfortunately, Daniel was making a beeline for her.
Ginny's eyes remained fixated on them, hoping — for Luna's sake — Daniel would leave her alone. She'd tried ignoring it; she'd even got Ron to get his mate Seamus to try and persuade Daniel from bullying Luna, yet to no avail.
"Whatcha drawing?" Daniel snatched up Luna's sketchpad and scowled at the page. "Fucking hell, Loony, you're more psycho than I thought — what the fuck are all these freaky symbols?"
"Druid's used these symbols," she began.
"The fuck's a druid; what are you some sort of witch?"
Luna reached out for her book but Daniel held it out of reach, flicking through the pages. Ginny watched Luna's expression change from her usual dreamy indifference to a far more emotional one. Feeling her nostrils flare, Ginny began to weave towards them, her hands clenched into fists.
"If I could have my sketchpad back—"
"I should fucking burn it; this is a Catholic school you know, you freak," Daniel spat.
Ginny stepped into his line of vision, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. "Hey, dickhead, give Lune her book back."
"Back off, Weasel."
"No," Ginny responded simply. "Give the book back now."
For a moment a surprised expression flickered across Daniel Goyle's face before it contorted into a look of anger. He took a step towards Ginny, easily standing a foot taller than she was. Luna began to protest explaining that it wasn't a big deal but the standoff between Ginny and Daniel remained ever strong. They were beginning to attract attention.
"Who the fuck do you think you are? Some sort of gay vigilante? You in love with Loony or something."
"Oooo, resorting to homophobia, nice one," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes. She'd heard it before; she'd hear it again no doubt — there was a downside to realising you were gay and not giving a fuck who knew. "Give her. The book. Back."
Daniel scoffed, leaning closer. "Or what?"
Ginny had been hoping he'd say that. She smiled, pulled back her hand and punched him exactly like her older brother's had shown her. SHe felt the satisfying crunch of his nose upon impact. Daniel howled with pain, dropping the sketchbook and staggering backwards. Ginny scooped it up of the floor in a flash, handing it back to Luna just as people started the jeer and chant.
Fight, fight, fight.
Daniel threw a misplaced fist which Ginny quickly dodged. "C'mon, Goyle, think about it. I have six older brothers; did you really think I didn't know how to fight?"
Blood was cascading from Daniel Goyle's nose, staining his white shirt. There was true anger in his eyes but it was all over before either he or Ginny could even exchange another word. All of a sudden there were teachers everywhere. They were taking Daniel away, dispelling the crowd, and calling Ginny to follow them. Fearing that Luna would hate her for getting involved, or even be scared of her, Ginny did as instructed following Mr Flitwick in the direction of the staff corridor.
Even though she knew she was in trouble; Ginny knew she'd done the right thing.
A weeks suspension wasn't that bad. Her mother, naturally, was furious and had Ginny doing every chore she could possibly find to do. She'd already rung Dad and then preceded to explain to Ginny how disappointed they were that she had lost her temper in school. Each one of her brother's had told her how badass she was, which definitely made up for the concern and disappointment she was getting from her parents. Even Percy was keen to congratulate Ginny on her rebellious behaviour; that being said, he had pointed out that there were more discrete ways of going about getting revenge.
Having spent her first afternoon of suspension cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms, and the lounge, Ginny was sat in the back garden soaking up the autumn sun, her muscles aching.
They'd had to send Daniel to the hospital to check he hadn't got a concussion. Ginny wasn't convinced she'd hit him that hard, rather that he was milking the injury to get more attention. It wouldn't surprise her, he'd always had the flare for the dramatic.
Stretched out on the grass, staring up at the blue sky, Ginny allowed herself to close her eyes. She was tired and being out here specifically helped her to avoid her mother. Drifting on the edge of consciousness, Ginny was sure she would fall asleep here for a moment until, suddenly, she heard a distant, unfamiliar voice calling out to her.
"Psst, Ginny Weasley."
Ginny sat bolt upright, eyes scouring the garden for the source of the voice. Her gaze fell upon the figure poking their head over the fence that backed out onto the fields. Whilst the voice was unfamiliar, the face certainly was not. Luna Lovegood was looking straight at her, her head cocked slightly, whilst beckoning her to come over. Ginny looked back around at the house just in case and then pushed herself to her feet, hurrying over to the fence.
"Luna? What on earth—?"
"Am I doing here?" Luna finished, causing Ginny to nod in response as she climbed up to get face-to-face with Luna. "I live across the road from you."
"But why—?"
"Am I coming to see you? That's simple. I wanted to say thank you."
Ginny pulled a face. "Honestly, Luna you don't have—"
"To thank you?" Luna finished again with a smile. "Yes, I do. Daniel was going to take my book; he's done it before. That other students like to take my things."
"Why don't you report it?" Ginny asked.
Luna shrugged slightly. "They don't mean enough to me."
"But they are your belongings!" Ginny said fiercely. "No one should be taking them in the first place, Luna. You should tell someone."
Luna's blue eyes sparkled as the sun shone down on them and then she sighed. "Today was a good day."
Ginny was taken aback by the sudden change of topic. Luna had always seemed happiest when she was in a world of her own; Ginny admired that — she never got chance to disconnect from the world around them. In some ways she was envious.
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Ginny asked.
"Because my favourite day before today was when we were paired up in that group in Geography. Any day spent with you is my favourite day. So today is my new favourite day." Luna responded simply as though it was obvious. "Also, you punched Daniel Goyle in the face."
Ginny snorted with laughter. "Luna, you're unique and kind, and we should hang out more often."
"Ginvera! Ginerva!"
"But maybe not when my mum is on a rampage," Ginny added quickly. "Add me on Facebook and we'll talk, yeah?"
Luna smiled, and disappeared out of sight, just as the back door swung open.
"Ginevra Weasley, get down from that fence this instant before you break your neck."
Ginny was sure she heard Luna laugh on the other side of the fence as she jumped down, making her mum gasp. She was about to get an earful, that, Ginny was sure of. That being said, she didn't really mind because somehow, by punching someone, Ginny had made a better friend than any other she'd had in the past few years.
Luna was right; today was Ginny's new favourite day too.
Comps & Prompts:
Assignment #7 Arithmancy: Numerology: Task Five: The Freedom Seeker: write about an adventurous person causing chaos.
Insane House Challenge: 576. Plot Point - Standing up for a friend/sibling
365 House Challenge: 214. Plot Point - Protecting Someone
Going Going Gone: Luna/Ginny
WC - Character Appreciation - 41. Trait - Finishing each other's sentences
WC - Disney - "Any day spent with you is my favourite day. So today is my new favourite day."
WC - Showtime: The Robbery - genre: angst.
WC - CYB - 5. Dialogue - "Back off."
WC - TVShowoftheMonth - Cassie Ainsworth: (character) Luna Lovegood, (colour) blue, (trope) dreamer.
WC - AAA - 9. The Dark - Word: Vigilante
WC - LL - 1. Bruce Banner: write about someone with anger management issues.
Word Count: 1342 — not inc. notes, titles, or ANs.