Disclaimer: I do NOT in any way, shape or form own any of the characters in this story. JK does.
Pairings: HPxLL, possible RWxHG, one-sided NLxLL and whatever else I choose to throw in. Oh! And mentions of SBxRL
Warnings: Mention of boyxboy relationship, AU, and some possible other stuff I'm not going to reveal right now! MUAH!
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To Keep the Nargles Away
Chapter 1
"Luna… Luna… Luna, what's wrong? Has a wrackspurt got you?" Luna shook her head gently and looked up at her father across the small dining table between them.
"I'm sorry father… I think you're right, though, perhaps a wrackspurt did get me. Do you see one around? Luna began looking around, but settled her eyes back upon her father at his stern expression. "What was it you were trying to say?" The middle-aged man sighed and adjusted the glasses perched on his nose.
"I was just asking if you had everything ready for school and if you were excited."
"Oh, yes, father, I have everything and I'm quite excited, really. You see, I believe I might make friends this year. That would be nice wouldn't it?" Mr. Lovegood smiled, knowing well she'd been saying those exact words for the past five years and, still, no friends.
"Just watch out for those nargles, now, I'd hate to have to buy you new robes again." Luna smiled.
"Nargles never steal the same thing twice, except on the second Tuesday of every April on Leap years, and you know that." Luna's father chuckled.
"You've got me running for my money on this magical lot, now don't you?"
"Naturally," Luna replied before looking out the window at the darkening sky. The sun was setting into the earth and stained the sky with reds and purples as it slowly drifted away.
"Why did we move here, father? Why not stay where we used to live?" A chair moved and Luna could hear her father getting up and walking further into the kitchen.
"You know why, sweetie. The wrackspurt infestation was horrible over there and it's getting worse here. We might have to move soon if it gets any worse."
"It's because of mum isn't it?" The movement behind her stopped.
"Of course not, dear. We moved to Stoatshead Hill because the wrackspurts wouldn't leave you alone, remember?" Luna sighed.
"You say that all the time." In the silence that followed, Luna watched the sun sink fully into the earth, and then walked to the stairs. "We moved because mum got you, didn't we?" Without waiting for an answer she walked up the stairs and into her room. Carefully (so as not to harm the gargglenots she felt sure were living beneath her mattress) Luna laid on her bed and thought about the next year.
"Maybe I will make friends," Luna stated absent-mindedly as she went to lying very still, hoping to catch one of the gargglenots in action as they tried to put her hair in knots.
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"Good-bye father!" Luna waved goodbye to her father and walked up the stairs and into the Hogwart's express, her baggage pulled behind her as she walked past every compartment, met with either glances or jeers but nothing inviting.
"Hey, Loony! You can sit with us!" Luna looked to her left, a redhead girl with freckles had the door open.
"Why thank you, Miranda –"
"Not!" The girl laughed and shut the door behind her returning to her giggling friends. Luna sighed. Perhaps she was wrong and this was going to be like every other year? As Luna continued on her way, toying with her butterbeer cork necklace, she tripped and fell to the ground.
"Oof!"
"Oh my goodness I'm terribly sorry!" A boy with brown hair and a scared look to his eye was suddenly apologizing to her. "You see, my frog, Trevor, he gets out and – Oh Merlin! My grandmother'll have my head if she finds out I've lost him on the train again!" Luna smiled.
"Don't worry. A nargle probably got him. He'll turn up in the end." The boy nodded, then started as if a needle'd poked him.
"I'm sorry, I-I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom."
"I'm Luna Lovegood. Do you read the Quibbler?" Just then the corridor started to become busy and Neville thought it best they move on down and find a compartment and he'd search for Trevor once they'd put their belongings away. They walked all the way to the last car before they managed to find an open compartment and put their stuff in the racks above the seats.
"You know, Neville, if you just try to look for him you're only going to lose him more. I mean, now that the nargles have him your only hope is to wait for him."
"Right, but… what if the nargles didn't get him and he hopped out of my hand?" Luna looked at him.
"Oh, well, then I suppose you should wait for him to turn up."
"Right… I'll be right back." Neville shut the door behind him and could be heard asking people still in the halls if they'd seen Trevor.
Luna looked around the compartment. Red seats and that was about all that was colorful about the room. Something bright on the wall caught the corner of Luna's eye as the compartment opened and Neville came back in followed by a boy Luna knew as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger – who was always doubting her belief in very important subjects like nargles and Ministry interference in the cooking of rice – and a boy she'd never met before.
"Guys, this is Luna. She told me all about nargles! I'd never known they'd existed before she told me. Maybe they're what happened to my –"
"Neville, don't be silly, nargles don't exist." Luna looked to where Hermione was placing her things on the rack as Harry sat next to her.
"Of course they do. My father writes about them all the time in the Quibbler." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Of course he does. That's because the Quibbler is filled with made-up stuff, like how Cornelius Fudge has a rooster that lays eggs through it's mouth and how he's taking over the world with it." Luna felt a little spike of… oh what was that? Rage?
"I'll have you know it's a hen, not a rooster, and they're called umgubular slashkilters. Just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
"Only someone gullible enough to –"
"Would you quit pestering her, Hermione?" Luna looked to the side where the voice came from. Harry was the only person there, so she had to assume it was he who'd said it. Nobody ever defended her before. It felt kind of nice. Luna smiled.
Harry turned and lay his head on the side of the compartment and took something out of his pocket to look at. Curious, Luna leaned forward and peered over his shoulder. It was a picture of a group of witches and wizards, all smiling and hugging each other. A lady in the front with long hair caught Luna's eye – she had the kindest expression and a comforting look.
"I'm sorry, what are you doing?" Luna looked up to see Harry looking at her a little confused. Then she realized she was nearly in his lap looking at the photograph.
"Oh, sorry. I think a wrackspurt must be in here. I thought I saw one around her earlier," she explained, remembering the light on the wall.
"Right… What do… er… wrackspurts look like?" Luna was disappointed to see that Harry'd folded the photo and put it in his pocket.
"Well… they look like white light you see out of the corner of your eye. They zoom into your ear and make you space out." Harry looked at her in disbelief. For the first time in a long time, Luna actually felt like she cared, just a little bit, about what someone thought. "They really do exist, you know." Hermione giggled. "They do! And so do nargles, too. That's why I wear these butterbeer corks – to keep the nargles away. But, if you don't want to believe me, then that's just fine." Luna stood up and took out the latest copy of the Quibbler from her bag.
It was a long while before anybody spoke again, but Luna just kept reading the Quibbler, pretending not to listen. After all, nothing is more interesting than the snorlinkers invading Egypt or how Fudge plans on taking over the world by infesting vanilla pudding with trinklehops. What a shame, too. Luna really loved pudding.
When they finally reached the castle, Luna was the first to leave the compartment, absent-mindedly reading the Quibbler and wondering who else might be able to see the thestrals this year.
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TBC
So... thoughts??? R&R makes me very happy!
AA