"You don't have to be afraid, you know, I've just come to make a wish. I promise I won't be like the fisherman's wife..."

"Luna?" Harry pushed back the reeds to reveal a figure standing by the edge of the lake, peering into the water.

"Harry?" The girl stood up abruptly (she was indeed Luna, clad in a faded gray bathing suit), meeting his stare with a smile. She looked back for a moment, frowning. "Oh, dear, it's gone away..."

Harry blinked. "Er, sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "What was it you were looking for, anyway?"

"The magic fish, of course," she replied, wading into the water. "If you can catch it, it'll grant you a wish, you see. Like in the story about the fisherman and his wife."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Well, there's no harm in trying, is there?" She turned toward him, as if expecting an answer.

He smiled. "I guess not."

She met it with one of her own. "Would you like to try, then?"

"...all right."

She beamed. "You might want to take your socks and shoes off," she advised. "It's a rather wet activity."

"I can imagine," he said dryly, but did so anyway.

Her smile grew wider. "Now we want to be very quiet," she instructed earnestly, eyes trained on the surface of the lake. "Otherwise, the fish might run away, and that would be rather unpleasant, you know."

He cocked his head to the side. "You were talking to it earlier, weren't you?"

"I was, wasn't I? I suppose it's really more important not to make sudden moves then. Funny, that." Suddenly, she started. "There it is! Come here, mister fish, I promise not to hurt you, just let me make a wish and I'll put you back in the water." She began to walk out into the lake. "I expect people lie to you often, but you can trust me, you know. I believe in straight reporting of the facts--that's a journalistic term, Daddy talks about it quite often--did I tell you about him? He's editor of The Quibbler, it's a very informative magazine...oh, thank you! I'll let you go right back, after I let my friend make a wish--here, Harry!"

The slippery little fish dropped out of her hands, into his, then just as quickly back into the water. "It's gone!"

"I expect it was missing the water," she said, looking faintly amused. "What did you wish for?"

"Wish? Oh--!" Harry clapped a hand to his forehead. "I forgot to wish for something!"

She smiled. "You can't forget, Harry, don't be silly--unless you've never had something you'd like to wish for?"

"I guess--" he looked away-- "that I wished things would just work out...I've been thinking about that a lot lately."

"Have you? Well, you needn't worry about that. After all, history is on your side."

"Is it?"

"Of course. Good always wins eventually, you know."

"Yeah?" He smiled. "What did you wish for?"

Her face fell.

"Luna?"

"I was planning to wish for the safety of my friends, but--I think I wished for something else instead. It's a rather selfish wish, really, I don't expect it to be granted."

"...well, what was it?"

She was silent.

"Luna? Are you all right?"

"It was love," she said finally, managing a sad smile. "A very selfish kind of love. I'd better be going now. It's almost curfew, you know, and I still have to change."

She did not run, and yet she was halfway across the grounds before he thought to call after her. "Luna, wait!"

But of course she didn't hear him.

FIN

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EDIT (12/28/06): Fixed up some awkward language/pacing issues.