title: Crescent Moons
summary: Harry gets an unexpected visitor on Halloween night. HarryLuna, for Sophy.
word count without a/n's: 1323
It's one of those rare nights when everyone is gone, and it's just him left in the Burrow. It's only been a few months since the war, meaning that Harry still hasn't really found his own place and the Burrow is still home for him. Mrs. Weasley told him that he could take anything he wanted in the pantry for dinner, but he decides that he won't steal too much, so he ends up drinking nothing but a cup of cocoa. He even finds some mini marshmallows. He checks to make sure that it isn't one of George's food pranks and then plops them in and takes a satisfied sip.
Yup, never too old for a cup of hot chocolate.
Harry makes his way out of the kitchen and finds a cozy armchair in the living room. It really is strange seeing the Burrow empty. Usually it's bursting with life—people talking or laughing or crying or doing something.
But tonight, everyone else is at a Halloween party. He'd been planning to go too, but had dropped out at the last moment. It just hadn't felt right. Anyway, it's nice to be alone with his thoughts. He sinks into his seat, closes his eyes, and lifts his mug to his lips—
A sharp rap from the door jolts him out of his stupor. He groans, sets his hot chocolate down on the table in front of him, and heads for the door. Who could it be? The Weasleys back early? He opens the door.
"Trick or treat!" chirps Luna Lovegood, holding open a green bag and dressed as a—actually, Harry's not sure what Luna's supposed to be. On her head are three green horns, about six inches in length, attached to a yellow headband, and from her ears hang silver crescents. She wears a baggy, formless sheet that reaches the ground, somewhat like a ghost costume, except it doesn't cover her head and is the same green color as the horns.
Harry stares at her, eyeing her costume, and decides that his best option is to swallow his questions and go along with it. "I, uh, don't have any candy."
"Liar," says Luna. "You have a chocolate mustache."
He licks his lips and finds that, yes, there is some chocolate left. "That's from cocoa, though. Not candy."
"That'll do," says Luna happily. She stares at him expectantly.
"I, er, don't suppose you want to come in?" he offers weakly.
She doesn't say anything, simply nods, and Harry invites her in. "No one else is here," he explains. "Halloween party." He gestures towards the Weasley's living room. "Take a seat anywhere. And don't drink the cocoa on the table; that's mine. I'll go make you a cup."
"Okay." Humming quietly, Luna circles around the room before settling down in an armchair across from Harry's cup. She sets her green plastic bag on the table.
"By the way, er, what are you?" he asks, right before he heads for the kitchen.
Luna stares at him as if it's obvious. "A tryeb. They only come out tonight. That's why I'm dressed as one of them; they're attracted to sweet things and creatures that look like them. If I find one, I'll be the first one to do it in fifty years."
Harry gapes at her. "Uh, yeah. I'll be back with the cocoa."
\
When he comes back from the kitchen with a steaming mug and marshmallows on a side platter because he doesn't know how Luna likes it, he nearly trips over a soft red couch.
Wait a minute. That wasn't there before. He surveys the room. All the Weasley's couches and chairs—normally arranged in a neat cozy circle around the coffee table—have been rearranged into a crescent-moon pattern, facing the door. "Luna?"
"Oh, hi Harry." Luna's green horns and blonde hair pokes out from behind a table. "That's the last one," she says proudly, looking over her work. "Now we are ready for the tryebs. Is that my cocoa? Thanks." She walks over and takes the mug. "Oh, marshmallows." She reaches for her green plastic bag and dumps the marshmallows in.
"This is for the tryebs?" Harry asks weakly. He finds the table, which is now on the other side of the room, and picks up his now slightly lukewarm mug. Luna calmly sits in the center of the crescent.
"Yes, I am summoning the tryebs. Sit with me, Harry." She moves over a bit to the left and pats the area next to her, gesturing for Harry to come over. He sighs and sits down next to the girl. They sit in silence for a while, drinking hot chocolate.
"So, uh, do you do this often?" Harry asks, trying to create a conversation. Luna's silence is starting to creep him out.
"Oh, yes, Daddy and I do this every Halloween. It's the only night the tryebs come out. We usually do it in our own home, but we've never had any luck, so this year Daddy and I split up. Daddy will be doing it at home as always, and I'm doing it here," Luna explains. "I'm really glad you're home, and not at the party. Then I would have had to sneak in here, and I don't like doing that, even if it is for the sake of the tryebs. Why didn't you go to the party anyway?"
He shrugs. "Ah-I don't really celebrate Halloween."
"Because it's the day your parents died?" She says it plainly, no trace of pity or subtlety. Directly, her eyes right on his.
He squirms uncomfortably. "No, not really because of that. I never knew them, Luna…"
"But that doesn't make it hurt any less," she interrupts, her head cocked slightly and the horns slipping off. Luna doesn't even seem to notice as her horns fall to the ground, eyes locked on his.
"I guess," he admits. "But that normally doesn't stop me from celebrating Halloween, you know. But this year—I guess, now I know so much more about them; I've even seen their gravestones and everything. It's kind of different now. Besides, I didn't feel like dressing up."
Luna nods. They sit in silence for a few more minutes. And then Luna jumps up. "Oh! Harry, what time is it?"
He checks his watch. "11:03 p.m.," he replies.
"I suppose that's another Halloween gone, then. The tryebs run on a strange clock; they're gone after 11 p.m. on Halloween night. I guess we didn't summon them correctly. And I drank all the cocoa, too." Luna sighs disappointedly. "I'll help you rearrange the furniture, though."
\
After they've finished putting the mugs in the sink and the furniture back in their normal spots, Harry says, "I'm sorry about your tryebs, Luna."
"It's okay," she says. "I got cocoa. And you." She picks up her green bag and smiles gently. And then for the second time that night, she jumps up. "Oh! Harry, where are my horns?"
"Right," he says. "I forgot to tell you; they fell off earlier."
"But where are they now? I've been wearing those horns every Halloween since I was seven." She paces around the Weasley's room frantically, checking under the couches. Harry whips out his wand and says, "Accio horns." Neither is successful in finding the horns.
"The tryebs must have taken them!" Luna suddenly exclaims. "They like things that look like them, I told you. Oh, I'll be sure to find them next year. This place must be a hotspot or something, I can feel it! Harry, you don't mind if I come again next year?" Her eyes shine.
He laughs at her childlike enthusiasm. "Not at all, Luna, not at all."
Luna heads for the door, smiling more brightly than ever. "Happy Halloween, Harry."
He watches her step outside and begin to walk away. "Happy Halloween, Luna." When he closes the door, he finds he's smiling.