August 18th, 1991
It was a gorgeous day at the burrow. Ginny was playing outside with her older brother Fred's beater club and a tattered old quaffle. She was aiming the ball at a particularly fat garden gnome when she heard her mother call from the back door.
"Ginny, sweet heart, come here come here. Now you remember little Luna here, do you?"
Ginny wandered over to see her mother gesture to a petite blond haired girl at her side. The girls hair was to her lower back, and she was all mismatched in various colored clothing, as well as some bottle cap earrings and a safety pin necklace.
"Yes, mum. I remember her."
Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly and stroked the top of Luna's hair kindly.
"Well, you two play nicely together out here. Luna could use the company right now." Her mother said, and bristled back inside to start on lunch.
Ginny surveyed the girl a moment, and awkwardly passed the beater club from one hand to the other.
"Em... Luna? Do you want to hit the quaffle?" Ginny asked and Luna dropped he eyes to the grass. Ginny just noticed she was barefoot.
"No, thank you." the blond girl replied quietly. Her voice was quite the soprano and very tune like in the quiet outdoors.
"Eh, well... want to sit under my favorite apple tree?" she tried again. She didn't like being put on the spot like this. She was only nine, and felt like she needed to baby sit. This girl had to be just about the same age as her, anyway. Surprisingly, Luna nodded, so Ginny led the way up a small path and up a bit to the hill overlooking the Burrows back garden. The tree stood proudly at the top and she could already see some gnomes swinging from the branches and throwing apples all around.
"Shoo! Go, you treacherous imps!" Ginny yelled, waving the club and smacking them down off the tree. They scurried away and Ginny plopped down, leaning her back against the trunk. Luna lowered herself beside the red head and stared off into the distance.
Ginny didnt know what to say now that they were here, so she just sat silently watching the clouds go by. Luna was always an odd one, but Ginny liked her well enough. She wasn't mean to her and Luna always had something amusing to say, but not today it seemed.
Ginny grabbed up an apple and wiped it on her shirt. She held it out to Luna, who took it and said thank you in her usual dreamlike voice. Ginny grabbed another one and cleaned it off for herself, and took a massive bite. She chewed it happily and looked around to the blond girl again.
"You gonna tell me what's bugging you, Lovegood?" she asked before taking another bite.
"My mum died this summer. My dad thinks I need to get out of the house more." She simply stated and Ginny choked on her chunk of apple. She promptly spit it out to the side much to the gnomes delight, and turned completely toward her acquaintance.
"What in Merlins... I'm sorry Luna!"
She looked at Ginny with a sad expression in her eyes but a smile on her face.
"Its alright, Ginevra. She promised we would meet again one day, so I'll just wait patiently until then."
Ginny frowned at her but didn't say anything. She took a bite from her apple and thought about how Luna must be feeling. She herself had only recently began to understand loss, but so far, had not experienced it herself. She decided the best thing she could do would be to let Luna know she was here for her.
"If you want to come over here, Luna, you can. Anytime. I have so much stuff in my room I think you'd like to see. We can even play some muggle board games my dad gave me for my birthday this year." Ginny was looking at her for a reaction and felt great knowing that she could make Luna smile.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Ginny knocked on her brother Bills bedroom door that night after Luna had gone back home. He opened it and smiled at her and let her in.
"What's up, Gin?" he said, settling back down onto his bed where he'd been rough sketching on a notepad.
"Bill, what do people do for someone that has had a family member die?" She asked curiously, sitting down in his desk chair. He frowned at her, not having expected such a serious question from her.
"Well, it depends, I suppose. On the people, the situation, what they have available to them. I guess most of the time, the most important thing is to be there, and listen if they want to talk." He said thoughtfully.
"What if they don't want to talk?" she asked. He tapped his quill to his chin.
"Then.. I think being a good friend that helps to take their mind off it would work nicely. Gin, has your friend Luna lost someone?" he asked, now his curiosity peaked.
"Yea, her mum died this summer. Luna doesn't want to talk about it really, but she was so quiet all day. The only thing I managed to get out of her is that her mum said they'd see each other again one day, which is a bit odd, but that's Luna for you."
Bill nodded and gathered his thoughts. "Just be her friend, Ginny. She'll come around. You're funny and smart and kind, I'm sure she will open up eventually."
"Thanks, Bill. I'm going to miss you terribly when you move. No one else gives me advice like you." She pouted, already dreading the days of possibly needing to turn to Percy or the twins or, horrifyingly, even Ron. She shuddered to think and Bill laughed, shaking his head.
"No worries, little sis. I'm an owl away and I will always make time for you."
She smiled and jumped up, giving him a tight hug and left him alone in his room again.
After showering quickly and dressing herself, she gave hugs and kisses to her parents and headed to her bedroom. Maybe she could invite Luna over for a picnic. She might like that as a distraction. She grinned excitedly to herself. She was very sorry Luna had to lose her mum, but she was still glad to have another girl to spend time with. Having all brothers could be really annoying at times.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
September 1st, 1991
"Mum, can I just go over to Luna's house? Why do I have to come see off the boys to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked, frustrated by her mother's reluctance at leaving her behind.
"I just don't know her father very well, that's all..."
"Mum, it can't be that bad, Luna is still alive and well. He must be doing fine with her. Besides, we will be in her room or their garden the entire time anyway. He will be busy with his magazine, or dirigible plums."
Mrs. Weasley looked at her confused but stern, hands on her hips, and Ginny knew she'd lost this one.
"If you'd like Luna to come over here for a bit when we return, that's fine with me. Now hurry up and get dressed so we can go."
Ginny grumbled all the way up the stairs to her bedroom. It's not like anything interesting was gonna happen at the platform anyway.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Ginny was bouncing in front of the fireplace when they returned home, waiting for Luna to arrive. Her father pat her on the head and chuckled as he walked passed, just as it lit up bright green and Luna stepped into the sitting room.
"Hello, Ginevra." She said in her dreamy tone.
"Luna! Come up to my room!"
Ginny grasped her hand and they hurried upstairs. Ginny shut the door behind them and bounced onto her bed. Luna sat down gently in the middle of the mattress and crossed her legs. Ginny took a moment to appraise the girls outfit today. She had on a flowing yellow dress with purple tights, a pink and white striped shoulder jacket and a flower crown with red and blue flowers. She was still wearing the same safety pin necklace, but had on some corkscrew earrings this time.
"Luna, you look odd in your outfit, but I really like it." She said, grinning. Luna beamed at her and blushed. Ginny found honesty worked best with Luna. It removed any awkward gaps of conversation, and she knew Luna appreciated it.
"Thank you, Ginny. I like that braid in your hair. It's very practical for hunting nargles."
Ginny giggled and shook her head.
"Okay, well I wanted to tell you, I met Harry Potter today at the platform! I didn't know it was him at the time, but Ron sent us an owl and told us! They sat together on the train and he said Harry bought a ton of sweets for them to share! That's so cool!" Ginny was bouncing in her bed and squeezing her hands together.
Luna nodded and allowed Ginny to continue bouncing them both up and down on the bed.
"He must be a very interesting person to speak to. Maybe we can, one day."
Ginny nodded eagerly. "I'd never let Ron keep him all to himself!" She exclaimed and Luna nodded in agreement.
"Well, anyway, I want to show you some of those boardgames I got for my birthday. Let's pick one to play." Ginny said, and scooted off her bed to look underneath it and pulled out several options. She lifted them to the bed and noticed Luna rifling through her messenger bag. Finally she pulled out a small tray of brownies and two bottles of milk. Ginnys eyes went wide.
"I made these and thought we could snack while we play." She said with a serene smile and Ginny clapped her hands excitedly.
"Wow, you made those! That's so amazing, Luna, thank you so much!"
Luna beamed again and then busied herself with looking over each game so they could pick something to play.
End Chapter One
