~*~The Unexpected~*~
by Hatter of Madness
It was odd, Luna had decided, being in love. It made her do things that only being under the influence of wrackspurts would do. But there was the one thing that she had heavily regretted doing in that relationship, and now, she had to pay the price.
She felt out of place in the store, slapping down some money for, it seemed, the death penalty. The cashier, a girl quite like herself, but with bright red hair and probably about four years older, raised her brow at Luna. Luna…the seventeen-year-old crazy girl that everyone had Hogwarts had probably seen but never wanted to go near…the one "insane" enough to believe in the existence of Crumple Horned-Snorkacks and nargles…the one hopelessly in love with Neville Longbottom.
"Paper or plastic?"
It was a Muggle drugstore. Luna had begged Hermione, one of her 'friends', to exchange some Galleons and Sickles for a few pounds. After all, Hermione was probably the most in contact with the Muggle world. She wouldn't have much of a problem with it. After Hermione gave the eight pounds to her friend, she asked what the money was for. Luna begged her not to question. If it came down to it, she said, she'd tell her.
That was when Hermione knew, but she didn't say anything.
"Paper, please," Luna said, too ashamed to be seen with the death stick. The girl handed the bag over and started to get Luna her change. "No cash back." The cash register slid closed.
"How old are you, exactly?" she asked.
"S-seventeen," Luna sputtered. "Have a good day, Libby," she finished, reading the name tag of the girl helping her, then turned quickly on her heel and left the store. Having already taken an Apparation test, she ducked quickly into a deserted alleyway, concentrated hard on her house, and with a flash, she was gone.
She stood outside on the stoop, peering down at the dirigible plums her father and mother had planted some ten years earlier. They looked almost ready to be picked, but Luna pushed all thoughts of food from her mind. She turned the knob to the house quickly, then started to dash for the stairs.
"Luna!" the all too familiar voice boomed. "Slow down! Don't you want to come see your father?"
She turned around, seeing the man whose features looked quite like her own. He even had the same scraggly blond hair. "N-no, Daddy," she said quickly. "I mean…yes, Daddy, but…I have…things to do. That's all."
"Oh, did you just go shopping?" her father asked, observing the brown bag in his daughter's hand. She was two steps up and it looked like she wouldn't be getting any farther in the near future.
"Er…yes, me and Ginny went," she said quickly. She showed him the logo for the pharmacy and said, "Nothing exciting…we just needed a few things for something Ginny's been working on. A potion, or something. For her N.E.W.T. classes." She started up the stairs again. Her father didn't question this time. She thanked Merlin that she had inherited her mother's ability to lie. She never thought it'd be handy or useful…but it seemed that it was, just that day.
In her room, she threw away the bag in the corner, then rounded on the box. The directions were simple enough…but they took so much willpower. She just didn't have the strength to see what the outcome would be for about an hour, then decided enough was enough and just went and got the thing over with.
"Back again, Luna?" Libby said as Luna came to the cash register with her selections. This was the fourth time she had frequented that store and each time had bought the same thing. This time, however, she bought three, each one different than the last, and a little something for Hermione as a "thank-you-for-loaning-me-money-when-I-didn't-have-any present": A small bottle of perfume that only cost two pounds, but Luna found the fragrance to be very pretty; it tickled her nose when she smelled it.
"There has to be some mistake," Luna said, taking out the money one more time as Libby scanned the items. "It's about 33 pounds, isn't it?"
"Here," Libby said, taking a card out of her pocket and swiping it in the machine. "Use my employee benefits." The machine now read 26 pounds instead of the original thirty-three.
"No, I don't feel right," Luna said, not wanting Libby, who was almost a complete stranger, to waste her benefits on her, a girl she barely knew and obviously did not envy.
"Well, if those tests have the outcome I think they've been having, you'll need to save your money, Luna."
"There has to be some mistake," she repeated.
"I don't think there is," the girl said sadly. "You've taken, what, three tests now?"
"One was negative," Luna reminded.
"Two thirds of them weren't, though," Libby said, handing Luna seven pounds in change. "I'm pretty sure you've got a baby in that stomach."
"I just want to be sure," Luna said, wishing Libby hadn't used the word 'baby'.
"If I were you, Luna, I would just tell Neville what's going on. I'm sure, from what you've told me, he'll understand. Besides, if you've taken one test, then you're already pretty sure that you're pregnant, right? And if you're really unsure, maybe you should see a doctor. I'm sure they'll be able to tell you what's going on."
"T-thanks," Luna said as the other girl started to grab a paper bag. "Plastic, please," she said instead. The girl raised an eyebrow. "And can you giftwrap the perfume? I can pay extra."
"Free of charge," Libby said, getting out purple giftwrap with pink ribbon and quickly wrapping the box. When she was finished, she got out a pen and scribbled a number on Luna's receipt. "That's my telephone. Give me a ring if you need anything."
Luna stared at the number, trying to unscramble what a telephone was, and slid it in her bag. "Thanks," she said, walked quietly out of the store, and went to the alleyway again, then Apparated to her home. Her father wasn't there, so she made a beeline to the bathroom. Positive. She took the second one. Positive.
She went to her room, got a knapsack, and stuck the last box and the perfume inside, then wrote a quick letter to Ginny telling her to get to Hermione's home. No, she hadn't taken an Apparation test yet, but Mrs. Weasley or someone else was sure to be more than willing to do Side Along Apparation. She stood looking around her bedroom as though she had forgotten something, then put the boxes in the trash and used a quick spell to tidy up her otherwise cluttered bedroom before leaving.
As Luna ended up in Hermione's bedroom, to her surprise, Ginny was already seated on the bed. "I got your letter," Ginny said at the blonde's puzzled expression. "What's up?"
She fell to a fetal position on the floor, looked between the two girls' faces , and finally blurted out, "I've taken five pregnancy tests. Four positives."
There was a shocked silence. Hermione, of course, already knew what Luna was saying. After her friend's frequent requests for money, she was fully aware of what was going on. But Ginny had been left out in the dark, and the only thing she could think of to say was, "Neville's?"
"Of course."
"Does he know?"
Sullenly, she shook her head. "I haven't seen him all summer."
"It's only the second week of the holidays," Ginny said, still a little shocked. "You have time."
"I have one more test," Luna said, reaching into the floral bag. "Are your parents home?" she asked Hermione.
She said one word: "Work." Brushing herself off, Luna stood up, the test in hand. "Luna?" She glanced at Hermione. "Good luck."
Luck would have nothing to do with it, Luna realized miserably. What Libby said was true. After so many positives, a negative probably wouldn't do much to help her at this moment. She left the room quietly, holding the box in her shaking hands. This one was called Clearblue. There would be a little blue plus sign if it was positive, a minus sign for a negative. She waited the long wait time, then opened the door. To her surprise, Hermione and Ginny were waiting.
"Well?" Hermione said cautiously.
Tears ran down Luna's face. "I'm pregnant."
Pregnant Luna? Say what? Sorry, this plot bunny has been floating in my head for so long, so I decided it was time to kick it out. Sorry if this is a little confusing, I meant it to be that way since Luna is obvs confused at this point. But at the same time I think I failed at attempting to do that x_x Don't mind me. I'll probably have a little more time for FanFiction now, water polo's almost over :D
-Hatter of Madness
