A/N: Sorry. Re-uploaded because I forgot the disclaimer.

This was written for for amor-remanet, who requested it over the lj community holdiay-wishes. Thanks to hibiemi for beta-ing and for suggesting the title! XD

Title: Ma Lune
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Luna/Hermione
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter series
Genre: Angst/Fluff, AU
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for kissing. It's sad that this needs a rating.
Summary: The moon leaves her ivory tower.She was always asleep when the moon visited, between the dwindling hours of dusk and twilight.

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The moon never stopped watching her: the young woman who always looked up into the night sky as a young girl, as if seeking for escape or guidance.

The butterflies liked her, because she was always so kind to them. The moon delighted in listening to their stories of the young girl as they played around in the gardens and parks near her home. Hermione (the moon got the girl's name from her day servants) told the butterflies about her life when she took a break from reading one of the several books she always had with her, and they would always try to distract her by perching on her nose after a particularly distressing story.

It always saddened the moon to hear that her dear one did not get along with her peers quite well. Even at an early age, her human already had a character different from most of the people she interacted with. They always teased her since her hair was so unruly and her front teeth were large, "but you could get those teeth fixed anyway because your parents are dentists." Hermione would keep a straight, if slightly embarrassed, face, and later, after they've gone away, she would go in one of her special hiding spots (the ones only for her) and cry.

Most humans are silly, the moon thought; there are some beautiful things that they are blind to, as trapped as they are in their own preconceived notions of the world. They never see the beauty that exists in the different varieties of caterpillars, or the nurtured potential that individual cocoons possess, or the strength and grace that a newly-hatched butterfly could achieve.

Cheering up Hermione was a challenging but pleasing and fulfilling task for the moon. She always sent her butterflies during the day, when she could not watch over her human. At night, she tried animating the girl's garden. Hermione always looked out her bedroom window, and she was always quite fascinated with what she saw. Seeing the fireflies and the contrast of the shadows and lights and moonbeams always made her smile and feel good, especially after a really bad day.

Her human continued to look out the window even after she found friends who were like her, and the moon was glad for both. Though, the moon was starting to feel lonely because, as of late, Hermione's visits to her garden were growing less.

Humans were so caught up in their own affairs that they never saw anything else. The moon was sad, because her mortal was beginning to become one of them. Soon, she would be forgotten again.

And that was why she kept on visiting her dear one as she dreamt the night away - she wanted to, somehow, keep these few precious moments to herself, for her to treasure them even long after her dear one had left for the next world.

She couldn't keep on watching her human, as much as she wanted to. Sooner or later, she would have to release her human from her affections.

Fortunately, the time for her to leave permanently wasn't now.

The moon, in her humanoid form, gently sat on the empty space beside her human and brushed the back of her hand on the other's soft cheek before reaching up and running her fingers through a soft mane of brown, bushy hair. A small smile formed on the sleeper's face as she snuggled closer to her watcher.

Experiencing emotions were always muted events for the moon, so the presence of the sharp pang that she felt somewhere in her gut was rather surprising. Had she been watching her human for far too long?

Seven twilights ago, just as they passed each other, the sun gave her a knowing look and a grave smile. At that time, she refused to acknowledge what that meant. She could not, however, stop herself from remembering the times when the sun gazed longingly at earth, watching his own mortal with sorrowful eyes.

When the sun's mortal died, the earth never saw the day for a month. The moon saw a lot of things back then - the confusion, the terror, the desperation, the grief, and the sacrifices. Offerings were sent by the cartload in their attempts to please the sun for him to return, but the sun ignored them. He only returned when Jove himself intervened, and even then the sunlight seemed a little bit paler, a little bit colder.

She wondered if the same thing would happen to her. Ah, wouldn't it have been easier for her if she was human? Wait. Maybe...

A firefly flew into the room from the open window and landed on the moon's pale shoulder. She listened to the small insect and nodded at the end. "Of course," she murmured. "I'm leaving now. Watch her for me?" The firefly agreed.

When she turned to kiss her human's cheek in farewell, however, she was surprised to see that her human was sleepily looking at her. A warm hand reached out for her pale one, and her mortal murmured a small plea. "Stay with me, please..."

The moon looked at Hermione with a sad, soft smile before kissing her on her lips. "Not tonight, beloved," she murmured in the shell of the other's ear, "but soon." After kissing her now sleeping human one more time, she went out the window and into the night sky.

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Her relatives frequently looked at her in exasperation, so it didn't surprise her when the humans did the same. It was actually quite funny, how similar deities and human were in character.

She supposed that the necklace of rune-engraved bottle caps was a bit unusual even for them, but really - she had to make do with them for now, because she knew that, had she used real silver, she would gather Unwanted Attention of the more unpleasant variety.

"In here, please", said her guide, a rather snobbish blond who looked like he'd rather be somewhere else. She had no doubt that it was really the case.

Nonetheless, she gave him her thanks when he turned to leave - it was only polite to, after all.

The school library was huge. Bookcases lined the shelves and formed several rows in the middle of the room. There were desks for studying, and there were also "lounges" here and there. In one of the lounges near the back of the room sat the person she was looking for.

"Excuse me? Miss Hermione Granger?"

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Hermione jumped, startled by the newcomer. It wasn't often that she was approached by anyone, much less a stranger. "Yes?"

The other girl settled herself in the opposite chair before introducing herself. "I'm Luna Lovegood, and the prefect told me that you were assigned as my guide during my first week at school. I'm pleased to meet you."

Hermione gave Luna a shaky smile as she took in her unusual appearance. There was something odd about her, and it wasn't just the bottle cap necklace - she seemed to have come from somewhere else, and though Hermione couldn't put a finger on it, she somehow understood this intuitively.

She looks familiar, though... A flash of deja-vu ran through her mind; there was an image of a long-haired girl glowing faintly, and there was warmth in her smile, but the scene was lost before she could see it more clearly. Now wasn't the time to look into it; Luna was waiting for a response. Hermione regained her bearings, and managed to talk in a steady voice.

"I'm pleased to meet you, too. I'm sorry, but have we met before? You look rather familiar."

Luna smiled brightly at her, and Hermione thought that, for a moment, even the air around her shined impossibly. "I'm not sure if we've met before, but I hope that we can become good friends."

When warm, pale hands grasped hers, Hermione smiled softly. Outside the window behind her couch, two butterflies danced in joy.

- end -

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