First year was hell for Ginny Weasley. There were several reasons for this. But when Valentine's Day came around and Professor Lockhart put together the gaudiest celebration her 11 year old eyes had seen Ginny Weasley, hopelessly crushing of her brothers best friend managed to destroy every hope in her small heart of every winning his affection. So she ran to one of the most deserted girls bathroom and let her broken heart leak out through her eyes.
That's how Luna Lovegood found her. Crying her eyes out, nose so red you couldn't see her freckles. Luna unfortunately was not aware that the smallish red headed girl she knew was a Gryffindor was currently possessed by Tom Riddle. Though if she did, Luna wouldn't have minded. When she did find out in fact Luna had held Ginny straight through the night so that the nightmares wouldn't destroy her. But right at that moment all Luna wanted to know was why she was crying.
"Because boys are stupid." Ginny replied, running her sleeve under her nose to stop the dripping.
Luna handed her a handkerchief. "Boys can be yes."
Ginny used the handkerchief. "And because boys are stupid I won't have a valentine for the first year and that's a terrible way to begin a school career."
"If it's that important to you then we should make a pact to be one another's valentine every year from now until forever." Luna stated as she started to reach into the fluorescent backpack she carried her books in.
Ginny took a moment to really look at the girl in front of her. She'd never met this tiny Ravenclaw before but no one else seemed to notice she was missing and what did she have to lose? She reached out her hand. "I'm Ginny Weasley."
"I'm Luna Lovegood." Luna took it. "How should we seal our pact?"
Ginny had seen her brothers spit on their hands and shake before but that didn't seem like the right fit for a Valentine's pact. A hug was too commonplace.
"Well the story goes that Valentine wrote letters to encourage his people using his own blood." Luna shared, looking at her pointer finger. "We could prick our fingers and mingle our blood."
Ginny looked at her own finger. "I have a safety pin in the armpit of this robe. Do you think you can fish it out?"
Luna was enthusiastic to get the pin out from the worn greying fabric. She pricked her finger and waited for Ginny to do the same. Both girls just looked at each other for a moment, hazel eyes on blue, before touching and letting their blood drip from their fingers to the floor. Ginny found a smile creeping onto her face, the first in a long while, as Luna withdrew contact.
"Episkey." Luna breathed as she healed her and her new friends cuts, tiny excitement bubbles forming in her stomach. "Can I walk you back to your dorm?"
Ginny agreed. As they walked down the hall Ginny felt Luna reach for her hand. She grabbed onto the other girl and felt normal for the first time in a while.
It was shortly after that when Ginny started to get handwritten messages in red ink encouraging her. The letters were rambly and sometimes in verse but the handwriting was even and measured. The L's leaned a little to the right and her r's were always capital. Without realizing it Ginny began to rely on those notes to remind herself that she wasn't crazy, at least not beyond help. When first year ended Ginny found Luna on the train platform.
"Lovegood." It came out more stilted than she wanted but Ginny knew she had a hard time talking to people she liked. "Here's my address. I want to write you this summer."
Luna's eyes got wider than Ginny had ever seen them as she fidgeted with her beads. "Did you know it was me Valentine?"
Ginny found her giggle as she reached to hold Luna's hand. "I figured. It helped...with everything. Like the sleepovers." Most nights Ginny would find her way to Ravenclaw, give her answer to get in and made her way up to sleep side by side with Luna. "Thanks. I've never had a girlfriend before."
Luna's face pinkened. "Me either."
They stood there for a moment, hand in hand, waiting for crowds to clear and watching their classmates greet parents and say farewell. Luna leaned over at one point and kissed Ginny's cheek. "Stay true Valentine. I see my Dad."
Ginny touched the place that Luna had kissed and taking a big breath she went to find her family.
The letters would continue only this time Ginny found the time and words to reply. Soon, writing Luna took the place of every secret she'd poured out to Tom Riddle. Luna also gave much better advice. Ginny found herself listening to Luna's stories with more interest. They could not be more opposite. Youngest of 7 and only child. An ever present mother and a never present mother. The both had eccentric Fathers however and a passion for charms. Luna excelled at things like healing and care whereas Ginny found her strength in destruction and creation. Each letter got longer, contained more sketches or poems, pictures of their adventures. Luna and her Father went to Peru. Ginny and hers went to Egypt. It was during that trip that Ginny saw Charlie, her favorite brother, for the first time since he'd come home for Christmas before her first year.
"Hey kiddo, do you get your period yet?" Charlie stood in the doorway of the room they were sharing.
Ginny had been crying from laughing at Luna's most recent letter, eyes watery and sides aching, when Charlie interrupted. She took a moment to find her breath. "Yeah, I got it this year. Did you just get yours?"
He nodded, coming in to sit next to her on the bed. "Do you have anything? I rarely get mine anymore but as soon as I'm around Mom and you it kicks back in."
Ginny left the letter on the bed as she went to bag to grab tampons. "Here you go."
Charlie was glancing at the letter. "Is this a Valentine's Day card? It's July."
Ginny shrugged. "My girlfriend, Luna, we met on Valentine's day and became Valentine's for life. Now we write each other notes of encouragement like Valentine did for his people."
Charlie grabbed one of the tampons. "Your girlfriend huh?"
Ginny felt her ears heat up and then shrugged. "Yeah. Like a friend who's a girl."
Charlie just rolled his shoulders and left the room. Ginny grabbed a pen and some paper to write Luna back and tell her what a bother having so many nosey brothers was.
By the time second year began Luna felt that she and Ginny could be twins from another life or dimension. They rode the train together, ate meals together, studied together. For the first time in her life Luna felt like someone could see her. Most of the time she was fairly certain that a Gloamgozer had made her invisible when she was young which was why other children didn't talk to her. Ginerva Molly Weasley, however, could only be described as the wittiest and most competent witch Luna knew. She would watch Ginny fly when they had free periods and before Ginny was on the quidditch team. Every time there was drama with Hermione or Ron Ginny shared that with Luna. When Luna went home for Christmas, or well to Switzerland, she made sure to send Ginny a present and a note for all of the 12 days of Christmas. In return, Ginny asked her mother to knit Luna one of her sweaters. It was the most pleasant gift she'd ever been given. Once they were back into the swing of school Luna felt that nothing could make her friendship better.
"Luna, you didn't tell me your birthday was February 13th." Ginny stormed in on her in the girls bathroom.
Luna shrugged. "You never asked."
"But last year it was the day after your birthday and you spent the whole time consoling me." Ginny crossed her arms and glared a bit.
Luna, pressing her lips together before trying to explain, answered. "You were crying." It was simple for Luna. Ginny needed her, everything else felt irrelevant.
Ginny grabbed her shoulders. "This time we're gonna celebrate Valentine's Day and Luna Day all in one."
"Luna day?" It was like confetti and balloons and the way the moon looked on the lake at 2:00 am and it was perfect the feeling that she had a day to celebrate herself and a friend to do it with.
The days leading up to the 13th and 14th however Luna found Ginny was distracted and absent. It made her nervous, maybe Ginny had found a better Valentine. It didn't stop her from working on the charm bracelet she planned on giving Ginny but it made focusing on the present harder. The evening of her birthday came with only a paper card on her plate telling her to wait by Great Hall instead of going into dinner. As she waited Luna noticed little lights floating down in the hallway off to the right and being the inquisitive investigator that she was Luna followed them. The light's led down to Hufflepuffs basement and stopped at a particularly generic bowl of fruit. Luna paused, a little befuddled as to why she was in front of this painting when suddenly the wall pushed forward. Standing in the doorway was none other than her favorite person, Ginevra Molly Weasley holding a cake beladen with icing flowers and candles.
"Happy Luna Day, Valentine." Ginny whispered holding out the cake. "Make a wish."
As Luna blew out the candles her wish was that nothing would pull she and Ginny apart. Ever. She said as much when she handed Ginny her bracelet as they sat in the kitchen finishing their cake. The bracelet was alternating white and yellow beads shaped like roses, with a single red bead shaped like a droplet. Ginny put it on right away and kissed Luna's cheek.
"It's beautiful, thank you!" Ginny practically squealed.
"It's a symbol of our pact." Luna replied showing Ginny the matching one she wore. "I'm glad you like it. I thought we should make our second official Valentine's day as special as I knew how."
Ginny ate her last bit of cake and nodded. "This is definitely special. A blessing from the stars."
Luna kissed Ginny's cheek. "A blessing from the stars."
And so the evening of the 13th into the 14th of Feburary became a sacred time. In third year Luna was prepared and had gifts to give Ginny. In fourth year Neville Longbottom joined them as an experiment but both girls agreed afterwards that Luna and Valentine's Day were for them. It was a time for too much cake, a small handmade gifts and celebrating being...well...best friends. Throughout the years Luna couldn't help but be proud that no matter what boy Ginny was dating - Michael, Dean, even Harry that day was spent with her. Not that Luna cared if Ginny dated boys. Boys were stupid. They both agreed.
In fifth year they got matching star tattoos. There was a visiting artist in Hogsmeade so the trip before Luna and Valentine's day the girls got geometric stars above their left elbows that spun when you looked at them too long.
"You should have gotten the moon." Ginny mentioned as they sat on the actual feast night eating cake in the Room of Requirement.
"I like matching." Luna replied, handing Ginny a napkin.
Ginny wiped her mouth and then frowned. "Next time you should get a moon then, between your shoulders."
"Only if you get a sun." Luna replied. "It fits. I'm the moon and you're the sun." She reached out to tug on Ginny's hair, tucked in its perpetual braid. Luna watched her best friends eyes catch on her hand. When Ginny watched her, Luna found her heart beating a little faster. But then how could it not? Ginny was, hands down, the most amazing person Luna knew. Her days were better if she had classes with Ginny although even when they didn't she sat with Luna at lunch. Luna had taken to studying on the bleachers when Ginny had practice. Whenever and however she could Luna found ways to be around Ginny.
Ginny wasn't oblivious to Luna's attention. It might seem that way but the redhead knew that Luna would be there even when everyone else left. It was a truth of her being that Luna Lovegood was there. She wasn't impervious to the reality that Voldemort had returned. She'd seen the shift in her parents, her brothers, Harry, even Hermione but as the years passed and first year became more of a memory Ginny stopped worrying. She did all she could to support those fighting and when needed even lended her wand but she wasn't about to butt in where she wasn't wanted. Harry had all he needed and even when his attention was on her, finally, Ginny found that her "dream relationship" was just that...a type of dream. Throughout every twist and turn Luna was there to listen.
"I'm going to play for the Harpies one day."
"I'm going to get better NEWTS than all the others."
"It's going to be a piece of cake to learn the Patronus Charm."
"It'll be easy to stay in touch over the summer."
Every declaration Ginny made Luna supported which caused Ginny to strive every day to be worthy of this type of devotion.
They got drunk on champagne at the Burrow after Bill and Fleur's wedding reception ended in chaos. They handled their liquor while adults handled the craziness sitting on the floor of Ginny's room.
"He's really back." Ginny whispered, sniffling a little.
"Are you scared?" Luna was close, almost too close, her shoulder leaning against Ginny's. Both of their dresses were disheveled. Luna reached out to smooth Ginny's over her knee.
"Fuck yes." Ginny replied. "I've been scared since he first pushed into my head."
Luna shrugged. "That's normal I guess. But I won't let him hurt you again."
Ginny snorted but as she breathed in Luna's scent she knew her friend was supporting her, once again, like every time before. The feeling of affection that burned in her heart was so strong Ginny wanted something physical to prove it to Luna.
"Do you remember when we mingled our blood?" Ginny whispered. "I still have your bracelet." She saw Luna's eyes grow wide and jumping up Ginny pulled it from the jewelry box on her armoire. She slipped it on her wrist. "I never gave you anything back."
"Of course you did." Luna move to stand next to her. Her lips were dry but Ginny couldn't seem to look away from them. She was still talking. "You've given me so many gifts since our second year."
"I know but right now all of it seems...small...compared to this." Ginny held up her wrist. Luna watched her and smiled. Sometimes when Luna smiled Ginny's heart liked to skip. It happened more and more often. Before she could think Ginny leaned forward and pressed her lips to Luna's. They were dry and she tasted like stale champagne but Ginny didn't know how else to repay everything Luna had done for her. She stopped the kiss before Luna had time to respond. "I'm sorry."
Luna, dazed a bit, just smiled and shook her head. "Don't be...I've wanted to do that for a while."
Ginny laughed and sank back to the floor relief flooding her system. "So it's ok if I kiss you again Valentine?"
Luna sat next to her and reached for her cheek. "As many times as you want Valentine."
They kissed. They kissed for hours. They kissed and cried and planned for the future and kissed and fell asleep next to each other on the floor. When they woke things would be different from before but the girls didn't care. They had each other. What could possibly tear them apart?