In Between the Seasons
by Erin Griffin
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Ginny/Luna
Summary: Luna reflects upon the changing of the seasons.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters belong to JK Rowling, Scholastic Books, and Warner Brothers
Note: Thank you Zagury for the prompt as the first line. Unbeta'd and I tried to make it make sense for anyone in any hemisphere, lol.
The leaves were turning shades and danced around and everything; they made her beautiful in the sunlight. Her red hair shone, matching the falling leaves, and her eyes sparkled as green as the ones too stubborn to move. Where Winter seemed to be my element, with the ice and snow bringing out my eyes and hair in their own ways, Autumn was definately hers. The wind blowed and the branches caused full trees to sway, as if to dance with her. I see us both then, in a future not so far away. Days, really, but I haven't the heart to remind her. Soon, when frost would cover the roads in which we walked upon together, we will know that the seasons were to change. When that day came, the two of us could meet in the middle, us in our joined elements, our hands snug in gloves, and earmuffs keeping the both of us warm. She would open her hand to the sky as if to coax the last leaf to fall to the safety of her palm, and I would do the same, inviting the snow to come, each and every unique shape. I would promise that much fun would be had once the snow came, and she would smile at me in agreement, for I have yet to be wrong on this fact. Our other hand would be locked together, passing heat between our bodies, connecting us through our fingers. We would walk carefully down the street then, ducking our heads to the wind, avoiding the coming rain which would chill us both to the bone. We would keep going, though, as it would be tradition for us, one that we didn't know we had started even before the days of Hogwarts and Harry Potter and You Know Who had become a reality to our young minds. We'd make it to the first shop and speak how the seasons, like us each year, changed the displays in our favorite shops. Would marvel at how soon we will be mirror images of some of those mannaquins.
Until then, I smile at the beauty before me as she throws herself down on the pile of leaves she had made for herself with her wand. I wanted to tell her that perhaps it would be better with a pile of snow instead, but I didn't, as I knew the conversation that would follow a remark like that, one that never settled, and one that niether of us won. I decided to wait until our boots sunk into the snow and I copied the motion weeks later, when she would stand over me with her hands over her hips as she mirrors my current thoughts about the leaves. I knew that then we would get into the discussion that would last us all the way home, where we would make tea and continue to discuss it. Still, niether of us would sway the other, and we'd only try again the next year.
"Luna!" she called to me, and I slowly looked from the tree far away from us down to her sprawled body in the pile of leaves. "I said 'come help me', will you?" She held up her hand, and I went to her, leaning forward as I held my own hand out to help her. With one strong tug, I find myself covered in leaves myself.
"Should I have expected that?" I asked her. She laughed, and I reached to pick one of the leaves almost camaflouged in her hair. She did the same to me.
"You never know with me, but you should have expected this," she said, leaning in to kiss me. Long ago I realized that the catapiller she dared me to eat when I was seven had cacooned into a butterfly in my stomach, and she took flight at just the moment my love touched me. It had confused me the first time, for I had thought the catapiller was dead, but maybe it had been a Frindley Parched Catapiller. It would definately explain a thing or two. This day was no different, and the butterfly took flight, especially when her hand took mine, and the connected hands rested on my chest. She will never know that moments like this could sway me to believe that a pile of leaves was better than a mound of snow. Sometimes I wondered if she already knew. When she leaned away from me, breaking our kiss, I knew that a hundred green roses blossomed somewhere in the deepest parts of the world, like the Quibbler legend states. She stood, our hands still together, and she dragged me to my feet. She dusted me off, smiled at me, and then we walked down the road towards our home, where we would wait for that perfect moment when the seasons changed from Autumn to Winter, when that special light would transfer from her to me. Until then, we snuggled by the fire, happy that no matter what season it was, we were enjoying it together.