Written for:
Week 1 of the Shippers Dictionary with 'Frozen Moonlight' aka Druna.
'Incendio' for the Hogwarts Scavenger Hunt.
I always find myself watching her from a slight distance. She always sits in the same spot, in the middle of the grassy banking overlooking the Black Lake. She's missing a lesson again, as am I. No one else is around, as all the other students are in their classes. It doesn't matter whether I'm missing a lesson. Being around Luna while she is alone and uninhabited is much more important.
She sighs and smiles to herself as she leans back, letting the bright sun warm her arms and chest. Her long, bedraggled blonde hair hangs down her back, tickling the grass that she is sat in. As she tosses back her head gently, letting the tresses glisten in the golden sunlight, she reaches out and lets her fingers run through the green grass, until she clasps hold of a dainty, pink-edged daisy. She plucks it from the ground and pulls it to her face, smiling into it's citron centre. "Hello Draco," she calls.
Heat rushes to my face at being caught, and I immediately consider ducking behind the tree that I am lingering beside. Instead, I take a breath, and start to tread towards her. It's better to pass it off as a coincidence, instead of running away and embarrassing myself. When I reach her, I sit down on the bank beside her, but she doesn't look at me.
"Can I help you with anything, Draco?" she asks in her airy voice. I find myself vaguely wondering how she can be so personal towards me, when we have barely exchanged words before. As I am considering this, Luna suddenly turns to me, her huge, silvery eyes glittering. I blink back at her, momentarily confused.
"What did you say?" I ask, trying to tear my gaze away from her eyes. Eventually I settle on the daisy, that she is twiddling between her fingertips. She smiles, cocking her head on one side.
"Are you alright?"
I nod. "Why wouldn't I be?" I respond.
"I couldn't help but notice that you were hanging around back there, like you needed something."
I purse my lips, racking my brain. "Yeah, I was on my way to the Great Hall, there is a study session there."
Luna's smile widens a little, and her eyes sparkle. "Is that why you've been standing up there every day for the last few weeks?" I open my mouth to reply, feeling my cheeks tinge. When no words come, I just shrug instead, turning to look at the lake. Luna continues to smile absently, and fiddles with the flower in her hand.
"What are you doing with that thing?" I snap. Luna continues to smile, and holds the flower out so that I can see it.
"I was just thinking," she begins. "About how much I would love this flower to just remain as it is. So pretty and pure. But it won't - it has to keep growing until it will eventually die. Just like everything else," there is an air of sadness to her soft voice.
"What are you getting at?" I ask, but my tone is a little gentler than before.
"I've been thinking about how I only have a few years left at Hogwarts, and after that I have to go out into the world. It's so nice at Hogwarts; so peaceful. I would give anything to just stay like I am now."
I furrow my brow, watching her intently as she studies the daisy. "I don't understand. Of course we can't stay here."
"But wouldn't it be nice to?"
"I don't think so," I reply. "I'm looking forward to getting a job and starting a family, and making my family proud."
Luna sighs. "It makes me so sad to think that I have to...grow up," she continues. I cock an eyebrow.
"Of course we have to grow up, don't be ridiculous," I mutter. I stand up, and shake my head down at her. I had been watching this girl for so many days, thinking about how mesmirising and beautiful she seemed from afar, but in reality she really is as strange as everyone says. I purse my lips and pull out my wand, pointing it at the daisy in her hand. "Incendio," I say, and the flower erupts in a flame, and then dissolves into a flutter of ashes. She looks up at me, but doesn't say anything. "You're living in a dreamworld, Luna," I continue.
"It's nice to have dreams," she murmurs, her silver eyes boring into me.
"Not when they're unrealistic," I respond. Luna doesn't reply, and I begin to walk away from her. As I head back up to the castle, I think about her vague words. Of course it would be nice, to remain young. But she was being ridiculous.
Eventually, we all have to grow up.