Solidarity
It was a clear, September morning. The sunshine filtering through the open windows in the classroom gave the impression that summer would last forever. However, that was not the case today, because Hogwarts was back in session and had been for about two weeks. The school bell rang for the start of class, and the students sat down with resigned acceptance. Although they certainly weren't happy about staying inside on a perfectly sunny day, at Defense Against the Dark Arts was a popular class.
"Wands away, please. We'll be working in pairs today," said Professor Lupin from the front of the classroom.
There was a general groan of displeasure at his words, and the second years only begrudgingly followed the request. No fun class had ever been preceded by the words 'wands away'. Several hopeful students shuffled closer to one another, as though trying to convey just how desperately they wanted to be partnered with a friend. Ginny Weasley, from her seat at the back of the classroom, felt her heart plummet to the bottom of her chest. None of her classmates sought eye contact with her or even dragged their chair closer to her table. Since the start of the new school year, class partners had been nothing but torture. She was still very much alone.
"Sorry, everyone, but I will be assigning partners this time," Professor Lupin continued, smiling despite the shadows that framed his face. He looked somewhat amused by the second outcry that followed these words. "I know, I know. Perhaps we can consider selecting partners later on in the year if everything goes well. Show me how you can handle this project with maturity."
From the pocket of his shabby robes, he pulled out a list of names to cross reference. He eyed the students shrewdly, switched around a few of the pairs with his wand, and then he divided them into groups of two. Ginny sunk as low as she could possibly sit in her seat without sliding off. She knew that everyone was talking about her, praying silently that they would not be forced to work with the girl who had killed nearly half the castle last year.
When Professor Lupin reached her name, he gave a slight pause. Perhaps he was struggling to read Ginny's face from the two inches of her forehead just visible over the top of her desk. Then he said, as brightly as he had the other names: "Ginny...I have you working with Luna."
Ginny glanced over to the group of Ravenclaws on the right-hand side of the classroom. Luna Lovegood sat on the perimeter. Although she was not quite included in their circle, they were not to the point of ostracizing her completely. She was, however, probably the most unpopular girl in their class. There were a handful of words that would have summed up Luna including, but not limited to: dotty, eccentric, weird, and spacey. At the present moment, she was sitting on her knees in her desk chair, twirling one strand of dirty blonde hair absently around her finger. She was also staring into space, and therefore, had not noticed that her name had been called.
"Luna?" Professor Lupin said in attempt to catch her attention.
Still Luna did not respond. Several of the other students giggled, cupping their hands around their mouths to cover the fact that they were whispering. Although she hadn't thought it was possible, Ginny felt infinitely worse than before. She could feel her face flush with color, and she knew that she must've looked somewhat like a burnt carrot. Earlier that week, Professor Lupin had invited her over for tea, and Ginny had been given the impression that he was sympathetic to her situation. However, he must have had a twisted sense of humor if he thought partnering her with Loony Lovegood would make things better.
Finally, one of the other Ravenclaw boys had the decency to nudge Luna in the side. She looked around, noticed Professor Lupin, and smiled her somewhat dreamy smile. Not for the first time, Ginny wondered if there was something wrong with the girl. They had known each other as children, but she could not recall if Luna had been quite so weird back then.
"Yes?" Luna asked.
Professor Lupin, with his inexhaustible patience, pointed back to Ginny. "You will be working with Ginny on the group project."
"Okay," Luna replied. She gathered her things up in her arms and moved over to sit in the open seat at the back of the classroom. Ginny scooted over to make room for her, though she did not lift her eyes from the patterned swirls in the wood of the desktop. She thought longingly of home and the comfort of her bedroom. Even though she was trying hard to put on a brave face, for her mother's sake at least, every part of her was screaming out from painful anxiety. Tom had done this to her. He had made her a coward.
"Alright," said Professor Lupin once he had finished dividing them into pairs. "I want you and your partner to go over the definitions for Chapter Two. Write down any questions you might have had from last night's reading and see if your partner has the answer. I'll give you fifteen minutes, and then we will proceed with the next part of the assignment. Go ahead."
Light conversation filled the classroom. Ginny went to reach for her textbook, but Luna stuck out her hand for a handshake. She wore chipped purple nail varnish.
"My name is Luna Lovegood."
Ginny blinked. "Luna, I know your name. We grew up in the same town."
"Oh," said Luna, her hand dropping to her side. "I know that, but you haven't talked to me in over three years, so I wanted to make sure you hadn't forgotten me."
"I didn't forget about you," Ginny said incredulously. It was true that the two girls had lost touch shortly after the death of Luna's mother, but her words had made it seem as though Ginny had intentionally ignored her. Ginny suddenly felt guilty, though it did not seem as though Luna was trying to be mean. In fact, she was staring at her with the same wide-eyed curiosity that she had just devoted to a random space on the wall.
Before Luna had a chance to respond, there was another burst of silent giggling. Ginny turned to see Alannis and Katie whispering behind their hands once again. She was starting to hate that particular gesture, because it made her feel as though everyone were talking about her. In this case, it appeared to be true. Professor Lupin, who was helping Colin Creevey up at the front of the room, did not seem to notice.
"It was a smart move putting the crazy ones together," Alannis said in a carrying whisper.
"That's not very nice," Luna said, frowning. She turned back to Ginny; "I don't care that you nearly killed everyone."
It was like a blow to the diaphragm. With Tom's voice roaring triumphantly in her ears, Ginny ran out of the classroom. She hurried down the hallway and escaped to the safety of the nearest bathroom. Fortunately for her, it was empty. She went to the first stall, slamming the door shut behind her. It was only then that she allowed the tears to fall. She sank down onto the toilet, and doubled over, sobbing into her hands.
The bathroom door opened and closed. Ginny tried to stifle the sound of her crying, but it was pointless.
"Ginny?"
She recognized Luna's voice. From underneath the gap in the crooked stall door, she could see black Mary Janes over mismatched socks. At first, Ginny tried to ignore the other girl. She hoped that if she did not speak, Luna would get the hint and go back to the classroom.
"Ginny, I know you're in here."
"I'm fine."
There was brief second where Ginny thought that Luna had reconsidered, but then, to her complete and utter surprise, the other girl climbed right under the gap in the bathroom stall door. Luna straightened up, brushing imaginary dust off her robes, and then she looked down at Ginny's blotchy and tearstained face.
"Hello," she said.
Ginny forgot that she was supposed to be crying. "You just climbed under the door!"
"Yes," said Luna, failing to see the significance.
"Don't do that! It's weird."
Luna shrugged. "I knew you weren't using the toilet."
"But still…"
Ginny wiped her face with the sleeve of her robes and stood up. She felt awkward sitting on the toilet (albeit fully clothed) with Luna standing over her. She made to unlock the stall door, but Luna caught her hand. "I'm sorry I made you cry."
"You didn't make me cry," Ginny mumbled.
"Yes, I did. Sometimes I say things that are mean even if I don't want to be mean. It makes other people upset and I don't always know why."
"At least you aren't like Alannis, who actually was trying to be mean."
Luna mulled it over in her head. "True, but unlike Alannis, I don't have any friends."
Suddenly, Ginny looked into the other girl's face and saw, in a rush of empathy, someone not unlike herself. There was something reflected deep in those wide blue eyes that made her think back to all the nights she had spent staring up at the canopy of her four-poster bed, dreading the dawn. Luna, odd as she was, understood exactly how it felt to watch all the other students and have no idea how they could make it look so easy. The tears prickled once again in the corner of Ginny's eyes, and before she knew it, she was crying again. Luna patted her on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Ginny sobbed. "I'm just so alone. Nobody was supposed to know what happened, but everyone does and now I don't have any friends."
"I'll be your friend," said Luna, but then she quickly added: "Only if you want to be friends, though. If not, then I'll just be alone with you...you know, in solidarity."
"In solidarity?"
"Yeah, like comrades in a battle."
Ginny hiccupped. "I think I'd rather be friends."
Luna gave a real and genuine smile. It lit up her face, so that even the gloom of the girls' bathroom seemed nonexistent. She looked around as though noticing the toilet and crooked stall door for the first time, and said: "Well, I didn't think I would make my first friend in a bathroom, but you can never know for sure."
And Ginny laughed. It was the first time she had laughed in days.
A/N: This was supposed to be a flashback scene for Toy Soldier, but it wound up being too long. So I decided to go ahead and post it on here as a one-shot. I just had this idea that Ginny really struggled at the beginning of her second year, and everyone knows just how terrible middle schoolers can be to each other. Also, this story is dedicated to my good friend, Firefly!