Prize for Doom n' Gloom, Autumn Wonders, and Hufflepuff Farewell Challenges 2018
Written for Monthly Challenges for All 2018
Dedication: Chantelle (FanfictionFanaticForvah)
Prompt: Lunar Emeralds (Daphne/Luna/Tracey)
Winter Bingo: B2 (Silver)
Word Count: (Per Google Docs) 1,100
Things were starting to look bleak in the world, even Hogwarts – the school that swore to protect didn't feel safe anymore. Not with Umbridge roaming within its walls. However, it didn't stop some of the students from attempting to find some joy among the darkness of the future.
A cold winter day in early December didn't hinder to draw a girl out to the bank of the Black Lake. Bundled up in her thickest robes, a bronze and blue scarf kept the cold off her face while she transfigured her boots into ice skates. The lake seemed to have a thin layer of ice already, but Luna charmed the skates to have them freeze what they touched anyway.
The cool winter sunlight glistened a silvery-sparkle against the frozen water. Luna set out onto the lake, her skates doing their job well as they glided across the water-turned-glass beneath her. Her dirty-blonde hair billowed behind her while she skated with an elegance that would put onlookers at ease.
The fourth year Ravenclaw hadn't noticed the two older girls watching from the snowy shore until she broke from her slow spin and glided in their direction. Their emerald green garb stuck out against the bright silvery snow, but Luna didn't pay them any mind. She was used to being teased and mocked, it was easier to simply tune it out.
After several minutes Luna finished her icy dance and skated over to the bank, humming a cheerful tune. She stepped into the snow nearby the observing Slytherins and waited for her boots to transfigure back before heading back to the castle for some hot chocolate.
"Excuse me, Lovegood?" one of the girls asked.
Luna's silver eyes drifted over to the girls, not holding promise that they wanted to just talk. "Yes?"
"What spell did you use? On your skates, that is, to freeze the ice?" the dirty-blonde haired girl questioned.
Her auburn-haired friend didn't seem as interested to know, or at least didn't want to be bothered in asking as she uttered under her breath about just looking it up in a book rather than ask. Luna was genuinely surprised someone took an interest in her spellwork. The modified freezing charm was crafted by her mother and was never published outside her own personal grimoire.
"You're interested in my spell?"
"Mhm." the blonde nodded. "If you don't mind that is. I'd love to skate, but the ice is never thick enough here."
Luna unintentionally stared for a little longer than she thought, making the girls shift uncomfortably.
"Forget it, Daph, she isn't going to spill her secrets. You can skate on the pond at my house over break, okay?" the auburn-haired one said, hooking her arm around her friends.
"I'm sorry, I'm not used to others taking interest in me," Luna said, snapping out of her trance. "It's a spell my mother created – well, modified anyway. If that doesn't bother you, I can teach it to you both, if you like?"
"I'd love to learn it!"
"A homebrew spell?" the auburn-haired witch scoffed. "Those are dangerous, Daphne!"
"Lighten up, Tracey," Daphne snapped, turning her hazel eyes back to Luna. "Sorry for being so rude. I'm—"
"Daphne, right?" Luna cut in, her silver eyes looking at her skeptical friend. "And you're Tracey? I'm—"
"Loon—"
"Luna, isn't it?" Daphne all but shouted, covering Tracey's mouth with a hand.
Luna wasn't phased by the insulting nickname. "Pleasure to meet you two."
The three girls spent the rest of the Saturday afternoon learning Luna's special ice-skating spell, as well as getting to know each other a little. It was nice to be friendly with the other girls, even if it was for a brief while before they forgot about her. What Luna didn't know was that a seed had been planted, and it would soon sprout into something she would soon depend on in the coming months of darkness.
Somehow the reign of Umbridge was a children's game compared to the reign of the Carrows. It was something no one ever fathomed would happen, Luna knew. Without Dumbledore, everyone acted like all was lost, the war was conquered by the enemy, and that they all must bow down and oblige or pay the price.
Luna didn't like the idea of relying on one soul to ward off the evil. Instead, she relied on herself and her friends. Together as one standing against evil served a better chance than one person doing it all, and that was exactly what she made sure she did.
Daphne,Tracey, and Luna drew very close. They met almost daily to ice skate on the silver-sparkled lake's face. The two taught Tracey, and the laughter kept the spark of hope alive during the worst of times. When they didn't skate, they made snow angels in the powdery snow where they walked away with silver frost in their hair and smiles, arms linked together that promised nothing could separate them.
Tracey was becoming more confident in her strides, and even when she over-shifted her weight and drug the other two down with her, somehow it sealed the trios bond even more. Daphne taught Luna how to do jump-twists, while she showed Tracey how to do a slow and simple gliding turn.
These were the memories that Luna clung onto the most, when everyone was happy and focused on the same thing. The dreadful days of war were not thought about, instead they lived in the moment, the little silver bubble out on the Black Lake. Even the bone-chilling cold that lingered in the air from the dementors that blackened the sky didn't stop them from going outside to skate. The silver hare Luna produced to protect them kept them at bay.
"Though I look forward to seeing Daddy soon, I'll miss you two," Luna half-whispered to the two older girls laying in the snow beside her.
She tightened her grip on both Daphne and Tracey's hands, not wanting to let go.
"I'll write you, will that be okay?"
"Of course it will," Daphne said, not missing a beat.
A sad smile formed on Luna's lips. Daphne rested her head on her shoulder and sighed.
"We'll miss you too," Tracey stated. "But it will be good to know that you'll be safe from here for a little while, at least."
Daphne nodded.
"Or you could stick with us and not defend the troublemakers all the time," Tracey continued.
"They're my—"
"Friends," Daphne interrupted. "We know."
"Yeah," Luna whispered. "But it is worth it anyway, so long as I am with you two.