This is my response to Day 6 of Sinistra Black's "Sheherazad/Day by Day" challenge. Yes, it is another Remus/Luna, but I love them to death.
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Luna Lovegood stood ankle deep in the water and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in bittersweet pleasure as the scent of sea salt reached her nose. If she kept her eyes shut then it became easier to imagine that he was with her- to imagine that he was toying with her hair and not the wind- because Remus Lupin smelled exactly like sea salt, no matter how far from the ocean he was. Wrapping his jumper more tightly around her slight frame, Luna allowed herself to slip into the past.
"I want you so badly- more than anything." Remus looked utterly at war with himself, pain shining like a beacon from his amber eyes. Unable to ignore the urge to comfort him, Luna stepped forward, but he held out a hand to stop her. "But I can't, Luna. I just can't be with you."
"Why not? I love you, and I know that you love me too." Her heart skipped a beat when Remus failed to contradict her and Luna knew that she should not give up hope. "Why should anything else matter?"
"You deserve so much better; a man who is whole, a man who is human." He looked utterly desolate as the last word left his mouth. This time Remus didn't protest as she wrapped her arms around him. Before she replied, Luna breathed in as much of his scent as she could.
"Remus, you are human and you are everything I could ever dare to hope for in a man. Don't throw this away because you believe otherwise." Wiping away her angry tears caused Luna's grip on him to loosen, and Remus pulled away.
"You won't always think that way." He had disapparated with a sharp crack and Luna had fallen onto the sand in a crumpled heap. When she finally felt brave enough to look up again, her namesake was high in the sky. It was Luna then, not the werewolf, who howled at the moon in a sound of pure agony.
Since that fateful first visit to the beach, a year ago today, the grains of sand had doubtlessly been washed away and replaced by others. The molecules of water that had soaked her skirt had long since been replaced by others. But Luna's feelings remained the same, and the pain of rejection had not lessened with time because she still loved Remus Lupin with all her heart.
She jumped as a hand came to rest on her back, the spell broken. Luna opened her eyes and turned, blinking several times. Standing before her was Remus Lupin, a guarded expression on his face.
"Luna... I'm sorry to intrude. Molly told me that you would be here, and I came to..." He trailed off, unsure how to proceed. Luna watched with interest and wondered what he was thinking. "I don't know why I came."
"If you're not certain then you shouldn't be here." It surprised her, how tired and how bitter her voice sounded, but Luna couldn't bring herself to apologise. She did her best to ignore the way her breath hitched when Remus caressed her back through the thick material of what had once been his jumper.
"Then I'll stay." They remained in this position for several seconds, and Remus didn't look away from her piercing azure gaze.
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Thanks for reading. Please review. Not my usual happy ending, but there was a real element of hope, I think.