~ For Holly ~
Luna watched as Ginny pulled an oversized sweater over her athletic frame, a small frown on her face. Her brows were scrunched up, mouth a thin line. Luna hated seeing her girlfriend like this, but she didn't know what was causing this reaction. What had happened, and why couldn't Luna figure it out? A terrifying thought struck her as she sat on the end of their bed, what if she was the problem? What if she'd said something wrong, done something wrong, acted in a way that made Ginny feel lesser?
She stood up and moved quietly over towards her lover, wrapping her arms around Ginny's shoulders and pulling the redhead into a warm embrace. She could feel Ginny's shoulders tense beneath her, feel the small trembles that came off of her form. Though she wasn't looking at the freckled face she'd come to love, she could still envision exactly what expression would be covering it. Ginny's eyes would be scrunched up tightly, and she would be willing herself not to cry. Luna had seen it happen far more times than she hoped she'd have ever had to. So Luna held on.
"What's wrong love?" she murmured into Ginny's ear.
"Nothing," mumbled Ginny, her voice barely above a whisper. Luna only nuzzled her head further into Ginny's neck, hoping to give more warmth and comfort with her embrace, to try and soothe whatever was bugging the love of her life. She felt Ginny's shoulders relax slightly - they both knew Luna wouldn't push for an answer, if Ginny felt like telling her she would, and Luna just had to accept that. A shuddering sigh escaped from Ginny's lips, as she opened her mouth to speak.
When she did speak it was in whispers, right up against Luna's ears so no one but each other could hear - as she heard the confession Luna's blood began to boil. Who felt like they had the right to belittle and bully Ginny, who felt it right to bully anyone. Luna - who was normally slow to anger - was absolutely livid. Though she tried to conceal it, she needed to focus on consoling her love. So she held on tighter.
"How long has it been going on?" came Luna's quiet question, soft and gentle, as if she thought speaking too loud would cause Ginny to shatter.
"About a month," was the solemn reply. Luna hated it, hated this - hated whomever was making her girlfriend feel this way. She made a mental note to tell Ginny's brothers, they would surely do something about this, they would make it easier to leave the bullies alone - Merlin knows if Luna went after them looking for a fight she'd end up worse off, and she couldn't have Ginny worrying over her. Not over this anyway - she continued with her embrace, holding on tighter than before.
Ginny was brilliant and magnetic, electric, someone who had the capability of drawing you in without your own knowledge. Had the power to embrace you with friendship before you'd even said hello - she was a warm, welcoming person who was amazing to be around. Luna hadn't noticed how much time they'd spent together until they were apart, and then the loss kicked in and she realized just how often she really spent with the brilliant girl.
Luna loved how smart Ginny was, how studious and scholarly she could be at times. Loved how she was so willing to help with homework she'd already done, or explain a problem that the blonde just couldn't grasp. But on top of that Ginny was incredibly athletic, though it was in her genes to be so perhaps, since almost all of her brother's were star quidditch players. And perhaps this was where her insecurities stemmed. Luna hugged Ginny closer - Merlin knows she needed the comfort.
Or that's what Luna believed to be the case. Ginny, since she was so sports driven, had a more square and athletic build. While she still had curves, they just weren't as defined as some of the other girl's in their year. Ginny had explicitly told Luna about this multiple times, trying to brush it off as if it was no big deal, as if didn't bother her - but Luna could see in her eyes that it did. It mattered so much and it hurt Luna to see Ginny bottling it up, packing it away into her ever growing box of insecurities.
It hurt Luna to see her strong, beautiful, brilliant girlfriend look so disheartened and sad. So down in the dumps and broken. Hurt to see the girl who'd normally stand up for herself looking like she'd break into a million pieces at any given moment. But Luna would always be there to help if she did, to put together the brilliant puzzle that was Ginny Weasley. They both knew that much - so Luna held on even tighter.
Ginny would get past this, Luna knew what much. Because Ginny was strong, and she would only get stronger from this. Self-doubt was a tough thing to deal with, Luna knew from experience, and she knew it would take a while for Ginny to feel alright again - would take a while for her to feel confident again. But Luna would wait for however long it took, would always be right by her girlfriend's side through it all.
Luna knew that it was an awful thing to doubt yourself because of others - Merlin, she couldn't count the times she'd felt like that back in her earlier Hogwarts years. But Ginny had stuck by her side through it all, had given her comfort, what kind of person would Luna be if she didn't return the favor. Because she knew deep down, that even though it was really hard to deal with this - it would have been even harder to deal with it alone. And so Luna held on even tighter.
You are beautiful my dear, no matter what they say.