AN: This piece was written for the 2017 Fairest of the Rare Christmas Advent event. Special thanks to MissandMarauder, the first person I shared this idea with, and LuceFray27 for betaing. You guys are awesome!
I am also on tumblr at birdieming.
The Interstellar Heart
European Astronaut Centre
Monday, June 16th, 2003
Cologne, Germany
"The approval of this building was a decision made pressured by competition, but it was born out of a dream. Out of the insatiable curiosity and iron-clad determination that run through its pipes and embedded themselves in the walls. It is what I hope is unbreakable within all of you." Minerva Mcgonagall's voice seemed to echo in the small room as her sharp gaze scanned twenty faces holding steady in their eagerness.
"The next sixteen months and beyond will challenge your abilities; it will push you to the brink and leave you wondering if it's worth it. As we were all reminded just four months ago, this is a dangerous profession. It is an act of bravery to put on that suit and set foot upon a spacecraft." She paused, eyes downcast and lips pressed firmly together as the weight of her words permeated a solemn silence. "There can only be bravery if there is fear. Do not lose it."
Hermione Jean Granger had been precocious as a girl—curious and perceptive, and maybe a touch too serious as she toddled after her parents, who were always happy to entertain every babbled question.
A basic lesson of the solar system and the following school trip to the National Space Centre in Leicester had left her hungry for more. There were whole other worlds, things so beyond that if found, it would flip every stone in our foundation. That night, she laid in the yard and stared at the sky, cursing the light pollution for blurring the fullest potential, but counted as many stars as she could anyway.
The next day, she sat her parents down on the couch and solemnly told them that she would like a telescope for Christmas; this exact one, please. Mr and Mrs Granger had looked at each other unsurprised by the request before nodding back, equally solemn; of course, darling. Hermione's stoic expression broke as she tackled them with a fierce hug, filling the living room with laughter.
That Christmas, in a show of pure, beautiful enthusiasm, Hermione had only barely remembered to pull on her boots before carrying the telescope into the snow-covered yard, insisting that they set it up straight away.
That spark of wonder when she thought about space never dimmed, even as she grew older and her interests spiraled, sprouting into branches. How could it when it was the biggest unknown that existed?
Luna Pandora Lovegood always had her head up in the clouds, imagination running wild whether through grey storms or warm sun. She saw the universe interlocked in harmony and sought to break it, then sew it back up and watch it heal, adding to the scarred fabric that grows ornate and wide.
She stared up at the sky and called the stars diamonds. After her mother's death, due to an accident in the lab, Luna would look up at the sky and ask her father if she was there now. Her father's pained eyes and hoarse voice always answered that she was.
He bought her a telescope a few months later and set it up in the overgrown yard. They had both stopped trying to look for Pandora Lovegood in the stars by then; it was just nice to look beyond where they were.
He took to her to the National Space Centre one afternoon, and as the flat lands whooshed past on the train, Luna pointed up at the light sky and said, "Look Daddy, there's the moon."
He had smiled and kissed his daughter on the forehead; his little moon was right here. As the editor of The Quibbler, a publication dedicated to the eccentric, Xenophilius committed his time to avidly pursue undiscovered species, taking Luna with him on nearly every weekend expedition.
Luna perhaps spent too much time thinking about the 'what ifs' of the world and not enough about the building blocks that would take her there, but in order to discover the biggest unknowns there were, one had to think of the impossible first.
The room was now filled with chatter and sounds of pages being flipped. Hermione was sitting ramrod straight, trying to hide her nerves and excitement with an air of serious academia, highlighting strips of text in her informational packet.
A gentle tap on Hermione's arm made her startle, then a soft, dreamy Irish lilt whispered from the right, "It's amazing, isn't it? We could live on forever."
Hermione turned to look at the blonde woman sitting beside her, who smiled almost absently at her bewilderment. Brows drawn together in confusion, she turned back to the front and tossed those words around in her head.
After a few careful moments, Hermione realised that she didn't get the woman's name. She shifted in her seat again and opened her mouth, but before she could say a word, round blue eyes looked up. "I'm Luna Lovegood, and you are?"
"Hermione Granger," she said with a hesitant smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Hermione Granger."
Baikonur Cosmodrome
Monday, September 18th, 2006
Kazakhstan
The tension in the elevator was palpable. An electric buzz seemed to bounce between the four to-be astronauts. Lee Jordan and Padma Patil, of the United States, were already seasoned veterans on their third and fourth expeditions, respectively. Their nerves were less prone to vibration these days, hands only showing the slightest of tremors as quiet whispers of anticipation filled their corner.
The newcomers, however, showed a clear contrast. Hermione had taken to breathing deeply, while Luna shifted her weight from heel to toe in a steady tick-tock. But they were ready, despite first flight jitters. Their unrealistic, slim-chance, one in a billion dream was in reach, it was just a matter of closing their fingers and finally savoring the fantasy of it all.
Upon the doors sliding open, they were greeted with camera flashes and cheers. With a final exhale, they walked out, excited grins upon their faces as they waved to the crowd of well-wishers, their home country's flags sitting proudly on their shoulders.
Much too quickly, the walk from the elevator, past the crowd, and into the astrovan waiting to take them to the Soyuz was over. The doors of the van shut and suddenly, they were plunged into quiet once again.
"There's nothing to it," Padma said, breaking the silence. "It's the best thing we'll ever have the privilege to do."
Lee nodded in agreement with an easy grin, "Just enjoy the ride."
In the incredibly small space of the cockpit, Padma and Lee occupied the front two seats as commander and flight engineer one. Hermione and Luna, as flight engineer two and science officer, sat directly behind them.
T minus ninety seconds and counting. All systems are go.
No one seemed able to stop fidgeting in their seats; adjusting parts of their suit, flexing their hands, or rereading the booklets in their lap, though every word was already committed to memory.
T minus thirty seconds and counting.
The on-board computers would now begin their terminal launch sequence. The butterflies intensified in Hermione's stomach as she silently recited the subsequent procedures. Luna had her hands clasped tightly in her lap, gazing out the window.
T minus seventeen seconds and counting. Fifteen. Twelve. Eleven.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
The spacecraft began to shake violently as its engines roared.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
And we have liftoff for Expedition 14!
Another violent shake of the spacecraft, and they were ascending into the atmosphere. Shakiness stuttered into smooth flight. Now all there was left to do was wait for eight and a half painstaking minutes to pass as they sailed into orbit.
Watching as everything got smaller, Hermione fought the urge to blink; she didn't want to miss a single second of this.
Expedition 14 successfully in orbit.
The four of them grinned wildly as tears began to blur their vision, Lee letting out a loud whoop.
They turned to look at each other then, their fellow crew members, the few people in the world that would know what it was like to experience something this amazing. It was a burst of blinding warmth in their chests, humbling as anxieties coming from both the seasoned and freshly debuted settled into honor and duty.
International Space Station
Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
After being warmly welcomed by Blaise Zabini of Italy and Fleur Delacour of France, members of Expedition 13, the first week aboard the International Space Station had been a whirlwind of work and sleep as they fought to get acclimated to their new environment.
But, as in most professions, astronauts also had their weekends off.
After getting an extra hour of sleep and having a leisurely breakfast with the rest of the crew, Hermione sat in front of a window, waiting for the sunrise to come around again. Fleur had insisted that she take the time to admire "ze most beautiful planet" upon Hermione's admittance that she'd been too caught up in working straight away to spend much time gazing out the window.
Looking down on swirls of white against the dark blue and bright bronze dots of lit cities, she had to agree that she had been missing out on one hell of a view.
A little while later, Luna came over to sit opposite her with a pouch of coffee in her hand before checking her watch. "Just fifteen more minutes."
She then took a sip from the pouch before making a face, "Oh, what a shame. Best to stick with the tea, then."
Hermione smiled sympathetically. "I'm afraid we've taken Earth food for granted."
"Everyone does, but I'd say that it's worth it, just for this," Luna said.
Hermione hummed in agreement as the Earth continued to spin beneath them. They sat in companionable silence, not finding the need to fill it.
A glaze of golden orange began to crawl over the curve, warming every cloud. With wide-eyed reverence, Hermione whispered, "It's beautiful."
Luna thought the look of wonder on Hermione's face didn't warrant disturbance, so she stayed silent and admired the view.
Friday, October 27th, 2006
After much debate, it was unanimously agreed upon that quite literally nothing could be "too on the nose" for people of their circumstance. Lee had staunchly argued that he had decided to become an astronaut solely for gratuitous alien references and it would, quite frankly, be a travesty to let this golden opportunity slip by. They had all looked at each other in the dead silence that followed Lee's passionate assertion before declaring it so.
As the opening scene of Men in Black began to play on Blaise's laptop, which served as a makeshift movie screen, it seemed almost an unconscious movement when Luna swapped her gummy worms for Hermione's freeze-dried ice cream while Hermione retrieved a bag of kettle corn for them to share from what little supply of popcorn they had.
After everyone had settled in with their snacks of choice, the lights shut off, leaving them bathed in a blue glow. It was a total cliché when Hermione reached for the kettle corn at the same time as Luna, their fingers brushing together—Hermione's cold ones against Luna's warm ones—leaving them both with hitched breaths and flushed cheeks. It was drowned in the loud commentary and laughter surrounding them, a private moment in the midst.
Shoving a few gummy worms into her mouth, Hermione chanced a glance and slid her gaze over to Luna, whose attention was on Will Smith's character being accosted by tentacles. The corners of her round eyes were crinkled as she grinned widely at the scene, and with her bun having been loosened over the course of the day, escaped strands floating to frame her head, Hermione thought she looked almost…ethereal.
In the back of her mind, she dimly recognised that she had perhaps stared for a touch too long, so she turned her head back to the screen, hoping no one noticed the way her riotous curls swayed to the left with the hasty movement.
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
Morning Conference
The six crew members aboard the International Space Station were gathered in the main cabin, each with a clipboard holding onto a fat stack of paper.
"All right, team. Big day today." Dirk Cresswell's voice came crackling in through the speakers from mission control. "Expedition 14's first spacewalk is scheduled to begin at eleven o'clock Coordinated Universal Time and to be performed by Luna Lovegood. The mission is to inspect the bolts on one of the two Strela hand-operated cranes on the docking compartment, duration to be around three hours. Standard routine stuff, should be no problem."
Hermione shot Luna an encouraging smile at which she couldn't help but grin back excitedly. From the stories Fleur and Blaise had told about their own spacewalk experiences, getting a chance to see the Earth without a window frame was worth the extreme physical taxation and, at times, frustration. No contest.
"All equipment and gear have been inspected, we will do so again two hours before the suit-up. Cabin has been decompressed for twenty-seven hours and counting, prebreathe is set to begin at nine-thirty Coordinated Universal Time," Padma reported.
"Copy that. We'll be in touch then."
10:45 pm UTC
The airlock in which an astronaut was to solely occupy for a lengthy amount of time prior to a spacewalk was no larger than a standard fitting room. In those hours, the nerves would have a chance to calm as every part of the suit was carefully inspected. Likewise, there would also be enough time for them to flare once more.
For Luna, who always had a habit of wandering off the beaten path, tension and worry had no place in those moments. In an almost meditative state, she hummed a little tune as she methodically locked her helmet, EVA, and outer gloves with a click. "Ready for depressurisation, Padma," she said into the microphone that would now allow everyone within the station as well as mission control to monitor her progress and safety.
"Copy that, twenty minutes and counting. Then it'll be on your mark."
12:09 am UTC
The first glimpse out of the payload bay was not one a starstruck tourist might've donned. Instead, it was one of intense focus, as Luna slowly made her way to the docking compartment. Her task, her job, had to overtake all other thoughts of folly. She did, however, make a silent compromise to spend at least a few minutes indulging in the sights offered only from this perspective once she reached her destination.
Panting slightly from exertion as she grasped onto the handhold, Luna said, "I'm here, Dirk. That was quite a long journey."
"I'll bet it was," he chuckled good naturedly. "Proceed mission."
Attaching herself to the rail, she made good on her promise and turned around to face the spinning Earth. With only the suit's fan whirring and the sound of her own breathing in her ears, the only known live thing that rages so brightly with emotion in seas of nothing, the thing that now flashes with bolts of lightning and glows green and red over the poles was nothing short of heart-stopping.
"Luna? Is everything all right?" Dirk's voice broke Luna's quiet captivation. "Oh, yes. I was just enjoying the view. It's quite mesmerising," Luna reassured him. She turned back to the crane she was to inspect, reaching into her tool bag to retrieve a torque wrench.
She began to tighten each bolt, reporting the ones that had loosened to mission control. "Five…seventeen…twenty-three—" She suddenly cut off with a sharp gasp as her left eye began to sting painfully. The tears formed rapidly, enough to collect into a blob of fluid that not only obscured the vision of her left eye, but also her right.
Luna was now effectively blind in space, alone and an hour's crawl away from the payload bay.
"Luna? Luna? What happened?" Dirk asked urgently. Both of her eyes were shut tightly, unable to be opened against the searing pain and fluid. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I can't open my eyes. My left began stinging and the tears contaminated my right."
"Okay. All right. Because this could be a toxic gas leak, I want you to open the valve on the side of your helmet to clear out the contaminant," Dirk relayed.
It went against every survival instinct Luna had, but she trusted that mission control wouldn't have suggested doing so unless it was a necessary risk. Her right hand was still holding the torque wrench, her left grasping onto a handhold. She released her left hand to find the tool bag attached to her waist, opening it to shove the torque wrench back in, freeing an extra hand. As she felt herself begin to float backward, though the tether was still safely attached, she instinctively swam her arms forward until her hands bumped into the crane, feeling around until she was able to grasp a handhold.
She reached up and opened the valve, releasing the air in her helmet into the vacuum of space. Slowly, the tears evaporated and flushed the irritant out of her eyes, the stinging sensation reducing significantly. Shutting the valve with a sigh of relief, she said, "It worked, the stinging has reduced. I can open my eyes again. Thank you."
Dirk let out a matching sigh of relief, "Good, good."
Looking down at her hands, Luna felt dread fill her stomach as she zeroed in on her left glove. "Dirk, I hate to be the bearer of bad news again, but there seems to be a small tear on my left glove, broken through two layers. It must've brushed against the no-touch when I was freeing my hand."
She could hear Dirk confer with Irma Pince and Kingsley Shacklebolt. She pressed her lips together as she awaited their decision.
"It's too big of a risk to continue with a tear. We're going to have to abort. Be careful as you return to the station immediately."
Luna's five crewmates were there to receive her when she came out of the airlock and back into the station, relief visible on every face as they had witnessed every moment in tense silence through the camera streams. They worked quickly to help her dismantle her suit.
She was swept up into a hug from Padma as soon as the last piece was off. Fleur, then the men followed suit as Luna assured everyone that she was perfectly all right.
She caught Hermione's eye over Blaise's shoulder and mouthed I'm fine with a soft smile. Hermione returned it with her own watery one, subtly wiping away the tear that escaped before composing herself to make her way to Luna and embrace her. "I'm glad you're safe, Luna," she whispered into the other woman's ear as she buried her face into Luna's neck.
Later that night
In the dim light the wires and computers emitted from the next compartment, Hermione and Luna were strapped to the wall in their respective sleeping bags.
"This will never happen again, I swear it. The anti-fogging agent leaking? For goodness sake, it's outrageous that happened. We'll develop stronger materials and put them through the most rigorous tests there are. I know they're developing this new plastic at MIT and Stanford, I'll persuade Fenwick in Developments to look into it. Hell, if the ESA won't take it, I'll go to NASA. Lee's got a contact there, these twins that—" Hermione whispered furiously, her arms bobbing with the strength of her statements almost comically in front of her.
She was cut off when Luna placed a hand on her bicep. "Hermione, these things happen," she began, squeezing Hermione's arm gently when she opened her mouth to protest. "They shouldn't, but they do, and it's no one's fault. I understood the risk of death when I decided to train specifically in this area, and I still do," she said, pausing before quietly adding, "But it's worth it, every bit of exhaustion and frustration."
She then chuckled, "I know you won't stop though. You're Hermione Granger and you'd go through every contact and every space agency there is, fighting valiantly until improvement is made and I'd be right behind you every step of the way." She turned solemn. "What happened today was scary, but it happened and it could've been worse." At Hermione's still frowning face, Luna pushed her arm down to take her hand, squeezing tightly, "Hey, look at me. I'm fine. I promise."
Looking slightly abashed, Hermione nodded, squeezing Luna's hand back.
Friday, December 1st, 2006
With a Santa hat snugly on his head and reindeer socks on his feet, Lee had called everyone to the storage module through the intercom. When they all arrived, he cheerfully announced that it was officially Christmas season and insisted that they could all surely take a break from their very important work for the sake of spreading holiday cheer on their humble space station.
It hadn't taken much more convincing before they were all springing into action, gathering the boxes and telling Padma to get the Mariah Carey CD that everyone knows she has and broadcast it over the intercom.
A flurry of decoration ran through the ISS as six stockings were firmly attached to a doorway, the miniature tree was set in the main living area (albeit upside down on the ceiling), and mistletoe were hung in several spots. Soon enough, they dissolved into holding a theatrical lip synching contest in which Fleur won by a landslide after a truly excellent performance to "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town."
Friday, December 15th, 2006
"It's here!" Hermione shouted as the alert from ground control came in. Blaise's head shot up as a grin lit up his face. "Fantastic! Fleur, come! It's here!" he called. Her blonde head poked into the doorway. "Is it? Excellent!"
"We should go get it," Luna chimed in calmly, looking deeply amused.
"A capital idea!" Lee grinned as he propelled himself past them all and toward the retrieval area.
"Should we open it?" Hermione asked tentatively as they all stared down at the red and green sack that welcomed them into the cargo ship.
Fleur looked unsure, but shook her head, "No."
"Christmas is only ten days away. Surely, we can wait until then," Padma reasoned.
"Group pact?" Lee suggested with a shrug, glancing around their half-circle, and put his hand in the middle. Everyone else's hands quickly stacked atop of his. "Do we solemnly swear not to open the sack—not even to take a peek—before the twenty-fifth of December?"
"We do," they intoned.
And so the red and green sack had been wrapped in velcro—perhaps excessively so—and stuck on the ceiling beside their miniature Christmas tree.
A week before Christmas
It was a scene of the classic, last minute rush. The station was uncharacteristically quiet, much like a university library in the days leading up to finals, though none of them were actually behind schedule. The anticipation for the incredibly rare three-day Christmas weekend had the inadvertent effect of increasing focus and productivity in each of the crew members. They had thrown themselves into their main objective of conducting studies and experiments, working an hour or two longer and with even more ferocity.
It was the perfect distraction, really, as the sack on their ceiling had begun to taunt them with its shiny fabric. They all knew perfectly well that it contained presents from Earth, and knowing that it was from their friends and family just made it all the more difficult to resist. Nevertheless, their pact remained unbroken.
Their various assignments often required participation from each crew member, such as providing a sample of white blood cells for Chromosome-2, having their skin observed and measured once a week for SkinCare, sitting for eye measurements for ETD, or wearing the ALTEA helmet for ninety minutes at a time as it collected data. So really, despite each project being headed by a single person, they all had a toe dipped in every ongoing observation or experiment.
It was gratifying work, to conduct research in such a unique environment and make discoveries that would not only aid future astronauts, but assisted studies being done on Earth.
Friday, December 22nd, 2006
Warmth and cheer filled the ISS on their last full day of work before the Christmas weekend, their increased productivity having earned them a relatively relaxed day.
During Hermione's search for some spare parts, an old dusty mixtape, labeled "Lively Christmas Songs 1991," had been found at the bottom of a box, presumably left behind by a member of a previous expedition. Sticking the tape into a cassette player had revealed it to be perfectly intact and playable.
As they finalized their reports together in the main work cabin, they bobbed their heads along to Jimmy Buffett's "Christmas in the Caribbean."
Christmas Eve
With the entire crew settled in around the dinner table, pouches and cans velcroed or tied down with bungee cords, Padma cleared her throat at the head of the table sheepishly. "I promise to keep this short. But gosh, what an honor it has been to be your commander and partner these past few months. As you all know, this is my fourth expedition—" She smiled humbly as cheers and claps broke out.
"But the bond and easy friendship we've developed in this crew is unlike any other, and I cannot thank you enough for your brilliance, your support, your humor, and most importantly, your kindness. These first ninety-five days have been an absolute joy, and I look forward to our remaining days together." She raised her pouch of cider, everyone following suit. "To friendship and continued discovery!"
"To friendship and continued discovery!"
Christmas Day
Eager to get to the gift opening portion of the morning, breakfast had been a quick affair. Now, each with a pouch of hot chocolate in hand, they were gathered in the main living area. Blaise had not wasted time retrieving the sack and passing out the boxes inside, grinning when he saw that Draco and Pansy had sent a small, but beautifully wrapped package.
Luna carefully unwrapped the slim square box covered in blue and silver, finding a card from Neville, a short letter from her father, and a photograph.
The letter read:
My dearest Luna,
How wonderful it is to know that you have achieved something so monumental through pure passion. I fear that you may grow tired of hearing this, but I am forever proud, as much as your mother would have been. I've begun watching the skies through your first telescope again, catching a glimpse of the very station you are on, just the once, but enough to feel the same wonder you must feel in every moment.
I'm afraid I have held back during our most recent phone calls, and enclosed, you will find out why. I hope you will not be irate with me for keeping this from you.
All my love,
Papa
She picked up the photograph, curious. It was a candid photo of her father, along with the rest of the team at The Quibbler. Their arms were thrown up in celebration, grins splitting across every face. In the back, it looked to be Mrs Figg popping open a bottle of champagne. Luna smiled at the scene of jubilation, but when her gaze slid down to the caption, she let out a sharp gasp, clapping a hand over her mouth as tears of elation sprung to her eyes. In slanted handwriting, it read; WE WON A PULITZER!
Luna had waved everyone's looks of concern away, and promised to pass along their congratulations after she revealed the news.
Hermione's box, rectangular and wrapped simply in red and gold stripes, held three cards and the latest Neil Gaiman novel that she had lamented missing the release of on a phone call to Ron. The first card was from her parents, which had also been signed by her beloved cat, Crookshanks, by way of paw print.
In Ron and Harry's card, every centimeter had been filled with cramped handwriting, the shifts in style indicating whose it was as they regaled her with their latest police chase in London before telling her that they missed her terribly and looked forward to her return, upon which they would rent DVDs of every television episode she had missed, and marathon them with her.
In nearly miniscule print, Harry had wrote, P.S. I hope Luna likes the card!
That Afternoon
The extra card Hermione had slipped discreetly into her pocket seemed to grow heavier as time passed. She had been hiding behind her laptop for the past twenty minutes, trying to pluck up the very same courage that prompted her to send in her astronaut application all those years ago. With one last exhale, she powered down the laptop and came out of her compartment to face the one across from hers.
She knocked gently on the doors. "Luna, do you have a moment?"
Almost immediately, they opened. Luna greeted her with a friendly smile. "Yes, of course."
Hermione tilted her head in the direction of the windows—where she had shared her first sunrise with Luna. They stayed silent for a moment when they arrived, struck by the sight of the Earth below, as they always were.
Luna broke the silence, suddenly looking concerned. "Is everything all right, Hermione?"
"Oh, yes—yes, everything's fine," Hermione stammered. "I just wanted to give you this." She took out the card and hesitantly held it toward Luna. "I asked Harry to send up an extra," she explained a bit needlessly, feeling her cheeks beginning to burn.
Luna, however, had never looked more luminous, taking the card and opening it to reveal a 3D peacock with intricately cut paper feathers.
"I know it's not really holiday themed, but he'd mentioned seeing it in a shop and—"
"It's beautiful, Hermione. Thank you," Luna said, eyes shining with awe.
Hermione ducked her head. "It was nothing," she mumbled.
"Oh, look. Mistletoe," Luna said suddenly, looking at the doorway they just came through where there was indeed a small sprig of plastic mistletoe. Hermione's eyes were wide as Luna moved forward into her space and cupped the back of her neck.
"Okay?" she asked, blue eyes meeting chocolate brown.
"Okay." Hermione nodded before closing the gap herself, welcoming the warmth and peace that followed.