"You can't stay here forever."
Neville's voice echoes in the cave. It's too loud and makes Luna's head hurt. Lighting a candle, she peers at Neville more closely. He's lost a bit of weight since she last saw him.
"Have you been eating well?" Luna brushes a bit of hair out of his face before sitting down onto the ground. Dirt will be on her dress later. "Your face looks gaunt. Is it just the light?"
"Luna."
"What? I asked you a question." She puts the candle onto the ground next to her. It's a little too close to her dress, but Luna doesn't care.
"I've been eating fine. It's just the light." Neville pushes the candle further away from her flammable clothes. She should know better. "Everyone's worried about you."
Luna smiles. She stands up, brushes off the dirt on the skirt of her dress, and takes Neville's hands into her own. It feels nostalgic to her heart; it feels perfect, like nothing had happened. It feels wrong when she remembers who he is, who she is, and who they weren't.
He squeezes her hands, and says, again, "You can't stay here forever."
Luna lets go of his hands and sits back down. Her father said the same thing. He had cried. She just looked at the paintings she created on the walls. Xenophilius later said that it was like she wasn't really there.
"I won't."
Neville feels his patience slipping, just a bit. They've gone through this same routine for two years, and Luna has only gotten smaller and skinnier as the time passes. He knows her father tries to give her food, but Neville also knows Luna forgets quickly.
"I brought bread and cheese. Thought we could share it." He summons a table and chairs from his dining room and while they fly into the cave, brings out a block of cheese wrapped in wax paper with a couple rolls of bread. Laying his wands on the table, he offers it to Luna. "Take one."
"Did you bring a knife?" She says, her mind clearing. It's just them.
"Who needs a knife when you have a wand?"
They eat the bread and cheese quietly. It's almost romantic, Luna thinks. A candle sitting on top of a chestnut table with two people on either side enjoying bread with cheese. But they aren't lovers. The thought of it alone is strange. They're just a girl and a boy who would do anything for each other. Luna doesn't want to think about how neither of them have been boys or girls for a long time. It brings back things she'd rather deal with never.
"Hermione and Ron are getting married soon. They told me to invite you."
Luna takes a bite of her bread. It tastes fresh. He probably got it this morning from Hogsmeade. Madame Rosmerta is an amazing baker from what she's heard from Neville. She hasn't seen Rosmerta or Hogsmeade in years.
"Will you come? Mrs. Weasley's doing the cooking."
"I don't know. How's Hannah?"
"Hannah? She's fine. Management has always been her thing. She's thinking of trying Healing out though. Wants to work with me in Hogwarts."
Neville and Luna smile at each other, both a little uncomfortable. Luna remembers those early days after the war. When Neville and Hannah had just started dating, they had little spats like all couples do, but whenever Luna came over for a lunch with Neville, a spat was certain to occur the next day. It didn't last, but it still felt strange to know that Hannah Abbott was somehow jealous of her, Loony Lovegood.
Still, Neville looks happy. Love does that to a person. Last time he visited, Neville told Luna that he loved Hannah. He hadn't even told Hannah that. He was fidgety, nervous about the words themselves, but not about sharing them. They trusted each other. Best friends, Luna thinks. The thought warms her heart. Then she remembers when she was sixteen, when they started becoming best friends, when the world was falling apart, and the thought suddenly cuts to the moment on the train, cuts to the attic, cuts to black and the sound of screaming. She puts her hands over her ears, scrunches up her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Neville asks. The chair scrapes against the dirt and falls to the ground as he moves to hug Luna. She leans into him unconsciously. It feels like home, like Mum is still alive telling Luna bedtime stories in that silky smooth voice that always put her to sleep, like Dad is tickling Luna until she was tired enough to go to sleep on her own. It feels like family, something that was in short supply after the war.
"I'm fine. Just thinking."
"You're always thinking. I'm worried about you, Luna."
"Does Hannah love you?"
"I mean she hasn't told me, but I haven't told her yet either."
"You should."
"Don't worry about me and Hannah. You should worry about yourself."
Luna laughs, tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. Everyone's always worried about her. It's only because they love her, she knows. Still, Luna thinks they need to understand that she'll deal with everything when she's ready. She's fine, she swears.
"I have to leave. Need to prepare for classes and such."
"Okay."
Neville pauses for a moment before leaving.
"Will you come with me?"
He always asks that. At some point he'll drag her from here, Luna knows, but not today. She shakes her head.
"I love you. Say hi to Hannah and everyone for me."
"Love you, too."
AN: Happy Esther Day! For those who don't know, Esther Day is a day when you say "I love you" to your family and friends because love is so much more than just the romantic kind. It was created in honor of Esther Earl and is celebrated on August 3rd, her birthday.