This is a compilation of miniature oneshots based on quotes – sometimes, I just read a quote and a scenario pops into my mind, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to build those scenarios into proper stories. The thinker is rarely named, but you can find out easily who said these amazing quotes by using google (or asking me!). You're welcome to use these snippets in your own stories as long as you let me know and give me the credit ;) Enjoy!
OoOoO
"I'm not sure this is a world I belong in anymore. I'm not sure that I want to wake up."
Hermione whispered the quote, meant only for herself, but opened her eyes when a warm hand grabbed hers and squeezed.
"Don't say that," Harry whispered, a wealth of emotion in his voice. She squeezed his hand back and closed her eyes to the sight of a white bandage wrapped around her arm. She was branded, now, and though she lay in a clean bed in Shell Cottage she felt the cold stone against her back and the knife on her arm. Mudblood.
OoOoO
Hermione Granger had never thought she'd get a tattoo. But then, war changed people, hardened or broke them. And she had hardened. It seemed only fitting to get a tattoo for herself, another permanent mark to offset the word carved into her left arm.
Peeling away the protective cover, she peeked at the words inscribed on her right arm and smiled.
"A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water."
OoOoO
There was a lull in the fighting, then, and Hermione found herself standing side-by-side with Luna Lovegood.
"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain," the blonde said conversationally, and Hermione looked over at her. The girl had dirt smudged on her face, torn robes and several cuts, but her expression was the usual one of serene unconcern.
Turning her gaze back to the dark figures of their opponents, Hermione nodded. "I imagine so."
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"There is a quote I always thought suited Albus rather well," the man drawled. "'If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.' W. C. Fields. Do you disagree?"
("It seems only fitting that the Lovegood family motto should suit him," Luna replied absently. "His mother was a Lovegood, after all.")
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"I've never quite understood why everyone thinks that's our family motto," Luna said absently after Harry quoted W. C. Fields at her. "Daddy much prefers Winston Churchill's quote, 'Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.'"
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"To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time."
Her voice was shrill as she exclaimed, "I'm not asking you to forget anyone! You're clinging to the past, Severus, and I just want you here, in the present, with me! Is that too much to ask for?"
There were tears in her eyes, he realized with some dismay. Sighing, he reached out a hand and wiped a stray tear from her cheek.
"No," he said quietly. "You are asking for far less than you deserve."
OoOoO
"What got you through it?" Hermione asked Draco, curled around him in bed and feeling his slow exhale reverberate through his body.
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent," he quoted, and though Hermione was surprised at the Muggle quote she said nothing, shutting her eyes and mulling over the words. They suited him.
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A dark smile curves her lips, her eyes cold as chips of ice. "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
Snape just regards her with a level gaze. "Did you really?" he asks softly, and though the incurious tone irks her she merely smiles more dangerously.
"No."
OoOoO
Hermione finds out about the prophecy, and while everyone else erupts into chaos she sits, completely still, by Harry's side.
"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all," she whispers, and Harry closes his eyes in accord.
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"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
He whispers the words, but his student stills, one hand on the doorframe, and whispers back, "Ralph Waldo Emerson."
With that, she is gone.
OoOoO
She scowled. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." A passing student whispered, "Edison," appreciatively, but Harry and Ron were too busy laughing to catch the single word. Hermione sighed and cast a longing glance at the other student's back, and brown hair fanned out as the girl turned her head, caught Hermione's look, and winked. Hermione was still looking after the shorter Slytherin after the figure disappeared from view. (Hermione/Astoria, not necessarily romantic)
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One time, she made the mistake of leaving one quote where Severus could come across it. "Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing." - Elie Wiesel
It hadn't been on purpose, and as soon as she realized he'd seen it she knew she had hurt him more than she had ever dreamed she could.
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And Luna said, "And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."
And with that single phrase, Hermione Granger finally understood Luna Lovegood.
OoOoO
"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."
"You really like to quote Nietzsche, don't you?"
Luna just turned her level gaze on her. It wasn't until Hermione looked away in discomfort that Luna said lightly, "You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist."
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Her silver eyes pierced him, and her words hurt all the more for being delivered so calmly. "I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you."
(Basically, write an entire fic with Luna as the protagonist, using quotes by Friedrich Nietzsche. They're perfect for her!)
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"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
- Lao Tzu
Hermione spent a long time considering that quote. Snape, she thought – Snape had certainly had courage. But where had his strength come from? Or was it sheer force of will that got him through the war? Would he have even wanted to go on once Lily's murder was avenged?
Slowly, she closed the book and stood. She needed a walk. Disregarding the portraits hanging on the wall behind her desk, the Headmistress of Hogwarts closed the door to her office softly behind her and walked through the halls of her school. The answers she searched would come from within, not from the reflection of her former professor hanging on her wall.
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She hesitated briefly, then added to the letter, '"Honor is a fool's prize. Glory is of no use to the dead." Do what you must, but make it through alive. I'll find you when it's all over.'
OoOoO
Anthony stood, attracting the attention of his housemates. They were holding a House meeting about whether to claim neutrality in the coming confrontations, and as a Ravenclaw member of the D.A. he had watched and listened, letting his friends Terry and Michael give their opinions but remaining silent himself. He knew his reputation in Ravenclaw: Reserved, but firm once he'd made up his mind. He knew others tended to listen to him.
"We must always take sides," he quoted softly. "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
Passing his gaze over the silent community once, he smiled sadly. "Consider that."
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"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."
Hermione bristled at him. "Stop insulting my friends!" Severus just smirked.
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"I am not young enough to know everything," Dumbledore smiled kindly, and Hermione frowned. She was too respectful to say what she thought of that reply, but Harry thankfully didn't have her qualms.
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Smart!Sirius: In the Battle of the Ministry in Harry's fifth year, it is not Sirius who dies, but both Remus and Harry. Insight into Narcissa's thoughts, and we see her realize that Sirius now has absolutely nothing left to lose. She writes Sirius a letter that for once honestly shows her thoughts – he was always her favorite cousin, despite their differences – and in his reply he includes a pointed message for her husband.
"Excerpt from Aphorism #172: Never contend with a Man who has nothing to Lose
for thereby you enter into an unequal conflict. The other enters without anxiety; having lost everything, including shame, he has no further loss to fear. He therefore resorts to all kinds of insolence. One should never expose a valuable reputation to so terrible a risk, lest what has cost years to gain may be lost in a moment, since a single slight may wipe out much sweat. A man of honour and responsibility has a reputation, because he has much to lose.
- Balthasar Gracian"
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Hermione rushed into the library, stopping just inside the doors and drinking in the sight of the full shelves.
"So many books, so little time," she quoted in a whisper, knowing there were lives at stake and yet unable to enter the library without stopping to get her bearings. Then she set off like a woman starved of knowledge, gathering small towers of books and setting about devouring them as though deprived of the written word her entire life. If anyone could find the solution to their problem, she would.
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Draco was startled out of his intense concentration by a cold touch to his hand, stopping his feverish stirring.
"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible," the bug-eyed girl said gently, taking the stirrer from him and sprinkling cinnamon over his potion without breaking eye contact. Strangely, he felt the rightness of the odd girl's words reverberate through him, and he nodded.
"I'll prepare the Bubotuber pus, then."
Her bright smile soothed something within him, and it was a far calmer Malfoy that set about work. Maybe a deviation from the written instructions would work where the proper potion hadn't.
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"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."
Neville held Harry's solemn gaze for a long moment, then nodded. "I can do that."
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Hermione plonked the stack of books on the desk before him with a huff.
"Let me change the order of a famous quote for you," she said with narrowed eyes. "'Learn as if you were to die tomorrow. Live as if you were to live forever.'"
Harry frowned, trying to understand. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Hermione huffed again. "Honestly, Harry – if you were to live as if you were to die tomorrow and learn as if you were to live forever, what would you do? Not learn at all and spend your last day flying, eating, maybe shagging Ginny?" Slapping her hand down on the table, she looked into his eyes intently. "The other way around makes much more sense: Learn in an attempt to stave off that death, and enjoy the small things rather than rushing to cram as much living as you can into a single day. Ginny will be much happier being able to shag you a year from now rather than doing it now and not having you a year from now. So," she pushed the books towards him, "we're going to learn."
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Narcissa quelled her protests with a single look. "You can never be overdressed or overeducated."
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Lucius looked down at the knife jutting from his stomach in surprise, then laughed in delight, a bit of blood trickling from his mouth as he met the dark eyes of Severus Snape. "A good friend will always stab you in the front," he grinned. (This sounds kind of Addams-like. Maybe a crossover?)
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Draco muttered, "I don't want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there."
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They dragged her in front of their Lord, the little girl bloodied and bruised, and yet when she looked up at him from where she knelt, her gaze was as tranquil as ever.
"Evil will never find peace. It may triumph, but it will never find peace," she said, and though her voice was soft the words hung in the stillness of the room.
The Dark Lord looked down at the tiny form – and laughed. "Peace," he crooned, caressing the word as he rose to his feet. "Peace is stagnation, decay, corruption," he said, drawing out each word even as he neared her, sweeping slowly down the length of the hall. "Peace," he sneered, reaching her and tipping her head back painfully with a hand around her throat, "is for the weak."
"All cruelty springs from weakness," the girl said levelly, and the Dark Lord flung her away with a snarl.
"You know nothing, little girl," he hissed, and she inhaled a terrible little gasp of breath through her abused windpipe. Despite having seen far worse, the Death Eater found himself as short of breath as she.
"The weaker you are the louder you bark," the poor, foolish child whispered, and the Death Eater couldn't look away from her. There she lay, wheezing every breath and yet defiant to the last. And what defiance – calm, almost serene despite the pain she was clearly in, despite the pain she knew had to follow such a challenge.
And the Death Eater couldn't look away from her even when it was her screams and not her words that filled the air.
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A frown creased her brow as she turned slightly towards her companion.
"I've never understood it," she confessed quietly. "Neville is such a strong, amazing person, but he still flinches every time Snape gets close to him. Why is that?"
It was obvious that she wasn't actually expecting an answer, and Luna regarded her silently for a long while, seeing that the former Hufflepuff really didn't understand.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel," Luna said finally. "Maya Angelou." With that she drifted away, curling her hand around her husband's arm and smiling serenely up at him. Certainly she'd never forget how Neville made her feel.
OoOoO
"Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it," he said, and she eyed him shrewdly.
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything," she countered. "Also a quote by Mark Twain. Interesting, how one man can have two so seemingly different statements, no?"
He just snorted and swept her off for another dance.
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"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall."
He had never understood how Luna always seemed so unaffected, so pure, so serene – but in that moment, with her words lingering in the silence, he briefly felt that he could understand. And she seemed to realize it, for she reached out with a soft smile to touch his cheek.
"You always underestimate the power of words," she said, and he turned into her touch to kiss her palm.
"It's a good thing I have you, then," he said softly, a confession that came as easily as breathing. And she just smiled and kissed him.
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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored," she said sharply, and Dumbledore inclined his head gravely.
"Indeed – but it would not do to ignore the power of faith," he said, a sad smile playing unnoticed across his lips. "Surely, Minerva, you can see the need for faith, in these times."
She wished she didn't.
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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored," she said sharply, and Dumbledore smiled.
"Ah, Huxley. But as Maya Angelou once said, 'There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure truth.'"
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"Here's all you have to know about men and women: women are crazy, men are stupid." Ginny said flatly. "And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid."
"Hey!" one of her brothers called across the room, looking affronted. "We resent that!"
"Yeah!" his twin agreed emphatically. "We're crazy, not stupid!"
"Can't speak for these others, though," the first twin said, waving a hand in the general direction of his older brothers, who reacted with predictable feigned outrage.
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The Golden Trio watched the chaos with horrified bemusement, seeing Ministry workers rushing back and forth like so many disturbed ants.
"I never thought I'd be able to apply this Churchill quote to anything," Hermione breathed. She shook her head disbelievingly, then quoted, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened."
Harry exhaled incredulously. "That described Fudge from the first," he commented flatly, and Ron agreed. Hermione took one last look at the upturned Ministry and turned away, swallowing hard.
"How does Australia sound?" she asked weakly, and both men immediately turned and took one of her hands in theirs.
"Bloody brilliant," they both agreed. They didn't look back.
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"My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best."
Narcissa almost snorted at that. Who did this man think he was; Lucius Malfoy? She'd had enough of that in her first marriage, thank you very much.
"That is certainly uncomplicated," she said with a polite smile, and the wizard winked at her. It was pathetic, how sure he was of his charm.
"Oh, is that the time?" she exclaimed, feigning surprise as she rose. "I do apologize – I have a pressing appointment…" she trailed off, but needn't have bothered. The man seemed to genuinely believe her. She let loose a vexed sigh only after she had swept out the door. Merlin keep her from shallow men with delusions of grandeur!
(Could go on to her meeting a much more sensible man and completely ignoring the talk and scandal to be with him. Her arranged marriage to Lucius Malfoy had been shallow enough for a lifetime. (Not someone from Harry's generation – can you imagine what would happen if she came to fancy the widower Arthur Weasley? That would certainly make for a shocking pairing. Or maybe Charlie Weasley, who is not only a Weasley (and single), but also considerably younger than she. That's a pretty hot pairing, to be honest!))
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"Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip."
Charlie stared at that quote for a long time, reading and rereading it until he was sure he'd never forget the words. Then a delighted laugh bubbled out of him, and he went back to work with a spring in his step. That sounded exactly like Narcissa.
OoOoO
"But what does it mean?" Harry asked in frustration, and Hermione could see that Ron was frowning pensively.
"There are no facts, only interpretations," Dumbledore said, spreading his hands apologetically. She wondered whether he knew that was something Nietzsche had said, and decided she had been talking with Luna too much lately. "I can tell you but my interpretation."
Harry didn't seem at all satisfied with that answer, but Hermione laid a hand on his arm and he stilled.
"Then please let us hear it," she said for him, and listened closely to Dumbledore's interpretation. The way people interpreted things could tell you so much about them, and she didn't let the actual words of the prophecy distract her yet. There would be time to pore over them in private, later. For now, she wanted to take advantage of the rare glimpse into Dumbledore's thinking process.
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"Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake," Luna smiled, and Hermione wondered as they walked which person the Ravenclaw had just quoted. Luna always seemed to be quoting, and even something so innocuous a suggestion as a walk could come from some other great mind.
Deciding she was unlikely to find out on her own, she asked, "Who said that?"
And Luna smiled at her a smile more present than Hermione had seen in some time.
"Wallace Stevens."
OoOoO
"Imperfection is beauty,"
"Madness is genius,"
"And it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring," they concluded as seriously as they had been when comforting a younger student after a session with Umbridge.
Realizing they meant it quite seriously, Harry nodded slowly. "Then Luna's perfect for you."
(Story where the twins get ever closer to Luna, to the point where Harry realizes that she'll be devastated if they're not serious about her. He confronts them as the older brother Luna doesn't have, and once they realize he's serious they, too, sober, and tell him the above.)
OoOoO
"Well-behaved women seldom make history," she said fiercely, and Harry knew he would forever remember the fire in her eyes as she turned and charged into Voldemort's stronghold.
OoOoO
Luna beamed up at him. "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" That said, she skipped off, leaving him to look after her with bemusement that he was rapidly coming to expect when she was near.
OoOoO
"Always do what you are afraid to do," Luna quoted under her breath as she stopped in front of the great double door. "Always do what you are afraid to do."
Taking a steadying breath, she raised her hand – and knocked on the door to Malfoy Manor.
(Continuing the idea of Narcissa/Charlie:
Mrs. Malfoy looked slightly shocked when she saw her standing there, but hid it swiftly.
"Miss Lovegood," she inclined her head politely, already stepping aside. "Please, do come in. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
"Mrs. Malfoy," Luna said just as politely, shivering slightly when she stepped into the familiar entrance hall. She was dragged through it frequently in her dreams. "I believe we may be related someday soon."
"We are already distantly related, Miss Lovegood," Narcissa Malfoy parried smoothly, leading the way to a small living room. "Tea?"
"Please," Luna agreed, feeling herself relax minutely in the unfamiliar room. This one didn't haunt her dreams. "I thought I'd make- I thought it might be wise-" she broke off, blinking. "No, that won't do." Sitting down on one of the delicate chairs, she smoothed out her skirt before meeting Narcissa's eyes.
"Mrs. Malfoy, I was tortured in this house. I wanted to confront it, and you, before the circumstances bring- before I am confronted with you in a way outside my-" she broke off again, frowning slightly at the tremble in her fingers. "I apologize – I can't seem to quite put it into words." She paused for a moment to smooth out her skirt again.
"I still dream of you," Luna said frankly, looking down at her fingers. "Not just this place. Sometimes I dream of you, hurting me. Killing me." She looked up and cocked her head slightly. "It upsets Fred and George. I thought it might upset Charlie if he knew I dreamt that way of the woman he loves. I thought-" she stopped, blinked, then stood abruptly. "Would you give me a tour of your home, Mrs. Malfoy?"
To her credit, the woman hesitated only an instant before standing in turn. "Of course, Miss Lovegood. Please, follow me."
"Luna, please," the young woman offered, and Narcissa stopped to meet those startling silver eyes.
"Then you must call me Narcissa, Luna."
The girl almost managed a smile. "Narcissa," she agreed. "It is a lovely name."
"Thank you," Narcissa replied, turning again to begin the unexpected tour.
As the widowed Malfoy showed her through the manor, Luna could see a bit of what Charlie Weasley loved in the woman. Even though she had every reason to turn down Luna's request, Narcissa led her patiently through the entire house, introducing each room with anecdotes and charming comments, somehow understanding that Luna needed to know the manor as something other than the place she had nearly died.
When they reached the dining room, however, Narcissa hesitated briefly before opening the door.
"This is the main dining room," she said, and Luna could hear the uncertainty in her voice, the lingering horror, the pain, and froze in the entrance.
"Oh," she exhaled, staring at the room that hadn't changed at all since she had last been here. "Is that my blood?" she asked numbly, seeing a splatter of gore on the flagstone floor. She hadn't expected it to be the same, and briefly she saw dark figures surrounding her, a cold, high laugh ringing in her ears-
"Luna!" came a sharp voice, and she refocused abruptly on the face in front of her. Narcissa stood before her, hands up as though she wanted to grip her reassuringly but wasn't quite sure whether to or not, and she really looked quite distraught.
"I'm so sorry- I never come in here, wanted nothing to do with it- when you asked for a tour I could hardly call for an elf in front of you and tell them to clean it up- I didn't want-"
Luna smiled, and Narcissa stuttered to a halt.
"I'm glad," Luna whispered, and took a small step forward. Her gaze fell to that bloodstain again, and though the smile remained on her face she just felt cold. "Excuse me," she murmured, and Narcissa stepped aside to let her pass.
Luna walked slowly, uncertain of the strength in her legs, and sank to the floor next to the bloodstain. "So much hurt," she whispered to herself, touching a single finger to the gore. For a second she relived the pain of the Cruciatus Curse, the chill of flagstones against her bare skin, and a violent shudder wracked her. "So much pain," she whispered, raising her eyes to the throne still present at the head of the hall, so noticeable against the bareness of the room. She realized suddenly that the room must have had a dining table and decoration, if it had been the main dining room before Voldemort's stay.
She wondered what had happened to them.
Rising to her feet, Luna moved with deliberate steps to the front of the room, surrounded by her memories of black figures and cruel laughter. Reaching the throne, she touched one armrest with her fingertips. It remained simple wood under her touch.
"Just a chair," she murmured. "And yet so terrifying." Spinning, she lowered herself into the seat – and looked out over the hall.
And saw only Narcissa Malfoy, standing uncertainly in the doorway, dressed all in white.
And Luna smiled.
"Thank you," she said when she returned to Narcissa's side. On an impulse she reached up and touched the older woman's cheek. "We can move on to the next room now."
She kept that smile through the rest of the tour, even when they descended into the dungeons. After all, here there had been little pain, only Ollivander's company and eventual rescue. And the promise of more pain, but she had confronted that already.
"Thank you, Narcissa," she said again when they returned to the entrance hall. Smiling up at the taller woman, she reached out for her hand. "That was lovely. Would you like to come over for tea someday soon?"
"I would be honored," Narcissa answered, and Luna smiled more brightly.
"Wonderful! Is tomorrow too early? It's just that Daddy's away in Norway till Thursday."
"Tomorrow would be fine," the widow said firmly, chancing a small smile. It was an honest one, and Luna beamed at her.
"Till tomorrow, then!"
It was with a far lighter heart that Luna Lovegood left Malfoy Manor.)
OoOoO
He had no strength left. He lay there, hand still stretched towards the open door of his cell, and his body had no strength to move towards it. Unbidden, a quote rose to his mind.
"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."
And, with a shuddering breath, Harry clawed his fingers into the stone – and dragged himself across that rough floor. He had no strength, but by God, he would keep moving forward.
OoOoO
"'Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.' Albert Schweitzer said that."
She could tell how much it had taken George to say that, and kissed him as tenderly as she knew how. He clung to her, and she knew that while she could never take Fred's place in his heart, she would do her best to make the loss less raw. Heal his heart, and fan his flame. He deserved nothing less.
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"Hell is empty and all the devils are here," Severus whispered before slipping on his mask and joining his fellow Death Eaters. The black robes, so much looser than his teaching robes, felt stifling, and he could feel his breath under the mask. There were days he wished he had died at Lupin's hands.
OoOoO
When Luna Lovegood accepted her Order of Merlin, her speech was the shortest of them all.
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible," she said with a smile. It got the loudest cheer from her friends, though the rest of the audience seemed uncertain in their applause.
OoOoO
It was strange, when he came to her for advice. No one came to her for advice, even though she made helpful comments often. When he came to her for advice, she didn't have to think for long.
"Have you heard of Bob Marley?" she asked, and knew by his furrowed brow that he hadn't. She shook her head before he could say so.
"It doesn't matter," she said pragmatically. "But he has some advice for you. 'If she's amazing, she won't be easy. If she's easy, she won't be amazing. If she's worth it, you won't give up. If you give up, you're not worthy.'" Luna paused, watching to make sure he had heard her. Then she smiled and stood.
He blinked, and opened his mouth, but she was gone before he could say thank you.
OoOoO
When Hermione came across her out there, letting the rain pour over her, she seemed shocked and tried to shepherd her back inside. Luna just turned her level gaze on her, feeling the water drip from her hair, run over her cheeks, pool at her feet.
"Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet."
They were still standing there when the rain stopped, holding hands and feeling the rain.
OoOoO
"They said I was ugly," she frowned. "They said I was ugly, so I asked in what way. The only tangible thing they could name was my scars, and they seemed surprised when I made no move to cover them. Better to be strong than pretty and useless. I doubt they'd understand that, though."
OoOoO
"You're so much more clever," they said.
"You deserve so much better," they said.
And she just smiled, and disagreed politely, and went home with the simple, uncomplicated man. "I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him," Galileo had said. And she could learn so much from this man – not book learning, not the academics she valued so highly, but something far more important. Steadfastness. Earnest honesty. Simple living.
Love.
OoOoO
Years later, they would ask her why she became a writer. Why she would travel, in search of fantastical creatures, and write stories while she was at it.
Oh, she would tell them many things. But in her heart, she knew that it was because of one thing only.
"Because paper has more patience than people."
OoOoO
"I'm sorry," she sniffled, her self-reproach muffled in his coat. "I didn't mean to cry all over you."
He looked down at her in silence for a moment.
"Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary." He paused, then stroked a hand over her hair, pulling her slightly closer when she sobbed. "Mark Twain."
OoOoO
Luna Lovegood needed only five minutes in her first Potions class to whisper a quote to herself.
"Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it."
OoOoO
Bill blinked at his younger brother, then sighed and sat down beside him. He should have seen this coming, seen that the youngest boy in the family could feel like he didn't matter when his older brothers had already seemingly done everything, been everything he might have aspired to be. Overlooked, undervalued – why, after all, should one aspire to be Prefect, or Head Boy, or Quidditch Captain, when someone else had already done it and it wouldn't be properly appreciated? Just something one or more of his brothers had already done.
"Ron," Bill sighed again, slipping an arm around his brother's slumped shoulders. "Listen – let me just tell you a quote, and you think about it a bit before we have a proper talk, alright? It really inspired me when I first heard it, and I think you might like it as well. Okay?"
A dejected nod, but Bill could tell Ron's curiosity was peaked.
"'Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.'" Bill paused, then nodded. "Think about it, yeah?" Giving his little brother's shoulders a squeeze, he levered himself off the couch. "You can talk to me whenever you want, but we'll be proud of you whatever you do, as long as you stay true to yourself and our family." A slightly awkward pause. "I'll be out in the garden for a bit."
OoOoO
To say he was shocked would be an understatement. His hand cupping his stinging cheek, he opened his mouth to say something cutting when the young woman spoke, her words as sharp as her slap.
"A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live," she hissed, and he found himself quite lost for words.
OoOoO
Draco sniffed. "When in a relationship, a real man doesn't make his woman jealous of others, he makes others jealous of his woman."
OoOoO
They both lay there, beaten and bloodied, and Ollivander marveled at the strength of the delicate girl beside him when her smile never wavered. Her small hand found her way into his.
"There is some kind of a sweet innocence in being human- in not having to be just happy or just sad- in the nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time," she whispered, and her smile was the purest thing he had ever seen.
OoOoO
"I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells," Luna chirped, and Harry left with a buoyant sense of everything being right in the world.
OoOoO
Blaise clacked his tongue. "Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit." Then he smirked. "Come on, clean yourself up; we have Gryffindors to antagonize and it wouldn't do to neglect appearances."
OoOoO
Dumbledore turned his twinkling gaze on him, and for the first time Draco felt it was truly approving.
"The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise."
OoOoO
Ginny pursed her lips; the tittering of the girls was really getting on her nerves. A comment about men being from a different planet finally did it for her, and she stood with a scowl.
"Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it," she snapped before stalking away. She, for one, was going to find some better company before the vapid talk drove her completely up the wall.
OoOoO
Millicent Bulstrode had never thought to find a sympathetic ear in Loony Lovegood, of all people. But the Ravenclaw had silently sat down beside her when she'd found her crying in a classroom one day, not asking for anything nor offering any platitudes.
"It's always the same," Millicent hiccupped finally, her voice muffled by her sleeve. "Fat-" a sob, "fat, ugly cow- ungainly- ugly, ugly, ugly!"
She deteriorated into sobs again, then, and still Lovegood sat silently by her side.
"Is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be?" Lovegood said finally, her voice quiet and unjudgemental. "Is 'fat' worse than 'vindictive', 'jealous', 'shallow', 'vain', 'boring' or 'cruel'? Not to me." A brief silence, then a slight rustle of robes. "That's a quote I've always found quite clever."
Millicent sniffled. "Who said it?"
"Oh, some author," Lovegood said, but a tiny, mischievous smile curved her lips.
A/N: That author, of course, was J. K. Rowling, and this seems a good place to end this first installment! I'm sure more will be added in due time. Again, if you feel inspired to use any of these, let me know and have fun! Someday I think I'll have to write a Hermione/Luna fic using all the lovely Nietzsche quotes…