Miko: I wrote this right after I finished reading the seventh book. Never quite finished it, but reading it now I realize it is ended. Please read and review!
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.
Spoiler Alert! - Don't read if you haven't read the seventh book!
Alone
George felt his heart shatter as he looked into the eyes of his other half. It was as though he was watching them cover himself with a clean white sheet, heads bowed. Quite a few people came and offered their sorrow to a sobbing Mrs. Weasley. Her husband's arms were wrapped around her as she sobbed into his shirt. Some people offered him sad looks, but none approached him.
The red haired boy reached a hand out to place it on that of his counterpart. He drew back as his warm flesh touched his brother's cold one. He turned away, not wanting or able to accept the horrible blow fate had dealt. Harry locked eyes with his only to be swept away in a tide of people. He had no interest in talking to anyone anyway.
In a haze, he walked out the blasted wall of the Great Hall. He walked through the body strewn grass, recognizing faces of those not yet carried to the Great Hall. His brain raced. He thought of every moment he spent with Fred. He though of every moment of his life.
He didn't know where he was when he finally stopped walking. Some remote corner of the Grounds. Looking around, he saw the Quidditch pitch, untouched by the horrors of the night. He sat with his back against the entrance. He thought of the first time he and Fred had entered. He had nearly turned back but Fred's daring look and reckless comments had kept him putting one foot in front of the other.
He wasn't surprised when a warm presence settled next to him. He didn't look to see who it was and she didn't say anything. He felt her shift to look at the sky.
"It looks the same." Her dreamy voice cut through the silence. George looked over in surprise. Her hair, normally straight, was messed and tangled. Her robes were torn. Blood streaked her face. Yet her eyes were still lost in a dream, gazing into the endless stars. As if feeling his look, she turned to meet his eyes. Half her mouth tilted to form a lopsided smile.
"Yeah…" George let the small sigh escape from his lips. As though a weight had been lifted, George smiled down at the girl beside him.
"Don't you wonder how it never changes? I mean, everything changes but that. No matter who's alive or who's dead, they keep shining." She had turned back to face the stars, her normal dreamy expression covering her face once again.
"Why are you here, Luna?" George asked, his tone turning to anger at the girl's presumptiveness.
"So you know you aren't alone." She said, crossing her legs and turning to face him. He nearly shouted at her but managed to keep his tone down.
"I am alone." He whispers fiercely, eyes boring into the ground. He glanced at her for a second but it's enough to show him her inquisitive gaze. Her head cocked to one side, a dreamy smile on her lips.
"As long a people care about you, you can't ever be alone." She stopped and put a hand on his shoulder. "No matter how much you want to be."
He didn't reply. He just glared at her before shrugging off the hand. He stood up quickly and strode away. He heard a small sigh escape pursed lips behind him. Bells jingling beside him told him the girl had not let him run away. She skipped beside him, easily matching his longer stride. Her hair bounced with her step, giving her the illusion of floating along with him. He sat down beside the lake, his eyes clouding with the memories this new location brought. He remembered how he and Fred had tried to catch the Giant Squid. He remembered talking to the merpeople, their strange broken English. His reminiscences were cut off by the sound of bells sitting next to him.
"Why are you still here?" He asked, eyes flashing in annoyance.
She just shrugged and wiggled her feet. She sprung up lightly and skipped to the edge of the lake. Her shoes had come off and she splashed lightly in the cold water. She let out a yelp and jumped back.
"Now that wasn't nice!" She scolded some invisible water-creature. Bending down carefully, she felt her foot. Her finger came away with blood which she wiped off in the water.
"What was it?" George asked, mildly intrested in this strange witch-child.
"A rundy heratophis." She said, washing her foot in the shallow water.
"A…a what?"
"Rundy heratophis. Small water dwelling imps. They live in shallow water. Normally they're harmless but they like to cause trouble." She sighed and came back to sit beside him, bandaging her foot with a strip of her robe.
"You really are loony." He said. A slight smile appeared on his face and she laughed. A sound so like the bells she wore.
"Can you keep a secret?" She asked. Her face was suddenly serious. George nodded and she smiled in relief.
"I know all those things aren't real." She said it so quietly he wasn't sure he heard. "I mean, they're crazy…"
"Then why do you say they are?" He asked.
"My mum died when I was really little, George." Luna said, half whispering. All traces of dreaminess were gone from her serious face. "My dad and I invented some of these creatures to give us something to talk about when we thought of her. Pretty soon it became a habit. Like we really believed it…I think my dad really did. Believing in things like that made it more likely mum would come back. But I know she won't. Just like I know Narguls and stuff aren't real."
"I…I didn't know your mum died. How?" He asked.
"Oh…She was a brilliant witch." Luna smiled, not at George, but at her mom. "Did lots of experiments and one day…it just didn't work. I was really little." She drew her legs to her chest and wiggled her toes.
"I…I'm sorry." He said. Inwardly, he knew the loss of a mother was nothing like loosing your other half.
"Yeah…" She sighed, her lips parting to reveal white teeth. "But I hardly remember her."
"You're lucky, really." He said. "Lucky you don't hurt so bad. Lucky you'll never know what you lost."
"At least you knew your brother and you loved each other. I don't even remember much of my mother." As George got ready to reply, she sprung up, taking his hands and pulling him with her. They danced through the field, their feet springing on the grass. When they stopped both fell to the ground, laughing.
"Even though everything seems bad, you can always find something good." Luna said when her breathing evened. George said nothing, turning to face Luna. The way he tilted his head and raised only one corner of his lips made her laugh.
"We should go back before they miss us." She said, springing lightly to her feet as though the last few hours had never happened. George's eyes were drawn to the bracelet of bells on her left wrist.
"What're those for?" He asked, expecting some strange answer.
"To remind me of everyone who's died." She said, giving him her strange, half smile. "One for my mum, Professor Lupin, Tonks, and Fred." She pointed to each bell as she named people. "Or it could be to keep the Turny Turmagogers away." She smiled mischievously before turning and skipping towards the castle.