A/N: This is for Rachel. Happy Birthday, you beautiful, sparkly sunflower. And thank you to Sunday Storm for beta-ing for me! Check them out, their awesome!
If you recognise it, it's not mine.
Ginny stood at the door of Madame Malkin's. She looked up at the cracked purple sign hanging over the door frame disdainfully. She had to get a new robe for her quidditch team and the cost made her Gringotts account groan. She had enough money, she just didn't want to spend it on something as pointless as a new quidditch uniform.
Ginny sighed. Maybe Madam Malkin's could wait. She could pop over to Hogsmeade for a quick butterbeer and come back later. Pulling her scarf tightly around her neck she apparated to the front of The Three Broomsticks.
As Ginny landed she stumbled. She looked around confused for a moment until she recognised where she was. She had miscalculated her landing and was instead standing on top of the hill where the Shrieking Shack stood. Underneath her lay Hogsmeade, smoke coming out of the fireplaces and covered with dirty melting snow. It was still January, but the snow had started to melt at around the beginning of December. Damn global warming.
She looked apprehensively at the Shrieking Shack. Of course she knew that it was in fact not haunted and was actually Lupin undergoing his transformations, but after hearing enough stories during first year she was still slightly creeped out. The appearance of the place didn't help at all- all rotting wood and collapsed roofs. She was not happy to be up here alone.
She adjusted her cloak and shoved her hands in her pockets. She might as well walk over there. Who knew how off she'd be if she tried to apparate there again. As she rounded the corner and started the long trek down the hill she heard a sound like twigs snapping. Like something big moving through the undergrowth. This is it. This is the end, she thought rashly as she tried to extract her wand from the tangle of her robes.
The something came closer, at least by the sound of it. She supposed it could just be teenagers trying to break into the Shack, but teenagers always traveled in groups. That's why it was teens, plural. This was definitely a singular something.
She finally pulled out her wand from her robes and pointed it at the tall shrubs around the house, ready to Stupefy the first thing that moved. A shape covered with dirty blonde hair came out of the brush, long hair snagging on the branches. Ginny's heart rate sped up and she cursed. I've been through a fucking war, a wild (possibly hostile, mind you) animal shouldn't freak me out this much.
"Stu-" Ginny started, but stopped when the creature raised their head. "-Luna?!" Ginny stood completely gobsmacked while Luna came fully out of the bushes. She had her wand tucked behind her left ear in a way that was so purely Luna and a necklace made of butterbeer caps hanging around her neck. "What on Earth are you doing up here?"
"Saving Umgubular Slashkilters." Luna said simply, holding up a stack of flyers. How she could be so calm Ginny had no idea. She hadn't seen Luna since their last year at Hogwarts three years ago. Ginny had mostly kept up with her other classmates, but for all she knew Luna had fallen off the face of the Earth. She had disappeared completely.
"Umgubular...A drink. Would you like to get a drink with me?" Ginny said. Her brain was still muddled by seeing her old friend after three years. I'm going to need something a lot stronger than butterbeer, she thought weakly. Luna tilted her head to the side and smiled.
"Sounds lovely." She replied. Luna gestured to the town. "Shall we?" She said casually, as though she didn't just emerge from the bushes around the Shrieking Shack after three years of silence. Ginny nodded again, more sure of herself this time now that she wasn't in shock. Grabbing a drink with Luna- what could go wrong?
;;;
Ginny reveled in the burn of the Firewhiskey going down her throat. Talking with Luna had been as unusual as expected. It was a nice change from the pleasant small talk she usually received and the sad exchange of memories from the war. Apparently Luna had been 'finding herself'. She had joined an organization with such a ridiculously long name she hadn't bothered to remember it in India and then had stayed with Muggles in Manchester. She says both experiences had been enlightening and they led to where she was today:
"Of course Fudge had a slashkilter. It's one of the facts of life. The sky is blue, Nargles live in mistletoe, Cornelius Fudge had an umgubular slashkilter." Luna said matter of factly.
"And why do the…"
"Umgubular slashkilter."
"Yes, one of those. Why do they need saving?" Ginny questioned. She wasn't sure she really believed in the existence of such a creature, but Luna and her organization surely did, so she decided to humour her.
"Well they're nearly extinct, don't you know. Global warming. It's terrible for them." She said, shaking her head. "Here, take a flyer." She said, fishing one out of one of the large pockets in her lavender cloak. "It'll tell you everything you need to know."
"No, it's okay." Ginny said. As much as she loved Luna, she did not want another piece of parchment cluttering her desk.
"No, really, take one." Luna shoved a piece of parchment so flimsy and light it crumbled at once at her. Distracted, Ginny took it out of her hand.
"What's this?"She said in wonder.
"That's paper. It's like muggle parchment." She explained.
"It's so thin."
Luna laughed. "Well, yeah. It's a lot easier to write on. Wait until I show you a pen. It's like magic in itself."
Ginny rubbed her fingers on the paper. She put it in one of her pockets and looked up at Luna, brushing her red hair out of her eyes.
"So what was living like a muggle like?" She asked. Luna smiled, her eyes crinkling in delight as she leaned forward and explained things such as televisions and headphones. She was so completely enraptured by the explanations and the way Luna talked- eyes sparkling, hands waving in the air- that she didn't even notice that The Three Broomsticks was nearly empty and it was dark outside.
"Luna...Luna!" She said to get Luna to stop talking. She was talking about American politics and was getting rather passionate about it so Ginny hated to stop her rant, but the owners were sending them dirty looks and Ginny realized that it was past closing time.
"Is it time to go already?" Luna asked. "My, does time travel fast. I think we ought to tell him to slow down."
Ginny laughed even though she wasn't sure whether that was a joke or not.
"I've got to get to Madame Malkin's," Ginny said. "But I'd love to see you again sometime. It's been really great catching up."
Luna took Ginny's hand in her's. A strange tingle went up and down Ginny's spine.
"I hope we can too. You go on ahead, I'll pay. You should make sure to get there before closing." Luna said, drawing out a sack of money. Ginny began to protest, but one pointed look from Luna silenced her.
"Okay, thanks. I'll see you." She waved one last goodbye and apparated to the robe shop.
Thankfully she landed in the right place. Ginny was suddenly reminded of earlier when she had stood in the exact same place. The only difference was the darkness surrounding the shop and the sign on the door that said 'Closed'. Ginny sighed. She'd just have to get her new robes tomorrow.
Ginny recalled her evening with Luna. It was definitely a good thing they had run into each other, lack of robe sales aside. Though coming across Luna had been quite terrifying. Now that Ginny thought about it, Luna had never said why she was in the bushes surrounding the Shrieking Shack. It was just something to ask for next time. Next time.
Something to look forward to.
;;;
Ginny was on cloud nine the next time she apparated to the Shrieking Shack. Her team (The Holyhead Harpies) had just won a game. Actually she had just won a game, catching the snitch just five minutes after the starting whistle. Ginny felt like she was walking on Sunshine.
So when Ginny apparated to the Shrieking Shack she was happy. But if there was anything that could bring down her mood it was the absence of her friend. She didn't know why Luna would still be hanging out at the Shrieking Shack a week and a half after they had last met, but Ginny, overcome with joy and excitement, hadn't really thought her logic through. After calling for Luna anyway for five minutes Ginny gave up and decided to retire at The Hog's Head. At least no one would care that she was still in her quidditch uniform. Why she had run to see Luna immediately instead of getting changed first was strange.
Ginny walked into the Hogs Head and sat down at a table in the far corner of the room. She ordered a firewhiskey, but set it on the table without drinking it. The bell rung from the entrance to the pub, but Ginny didn't look up until the person who had come in sat down directly across from her.
"Luna?" Ginny sputtered. Luna leaned back into her chair and dumped a stack of bright orange flyers on the table.
"You seem to be asking that question a lot lately." Luna said. Ginny blushed. She distracted herself by looking at the top flyer of the stack. 'SAVE THE NORTH -EASTERN DAPPERBLIMPS' it read. There was a picture of what must've been a dapper blimp swimming in a murky lake. It bared its fangs and hissed at Ginny, who placed the paper at the top of the pile.
"No, take one, please." Luna said. Ginny shook her head. Paper was cool, but she had no need for a bright orange flyer resting on her desk.
"Ginny, if you don't take one of these flyers I am going to shove it down your throat." Luna said, without hostility. Ginny gulped and grabbed a flyer.
"That was awfully Slytherin of you." She remarked. Luna shrugged.
"We've long ago graduated. Hogwarts houses hold no meaning to me anymore. It's good that people are stepping out of their comfort zones and are mingling with the people from houses they would not have talked to."
"So when Harry and Draco…"
"I always suspected something-"
"Well, we all did, but I wasn't sure it would actually happen. Harry was so against Slytherins." Ginny thought back to her Hogwarts days when Harry would talk about Draco Malfoy for hours.
"Harry told me that he was almost placed into Slytherin." Luna stated. Ginny's eyes widened. She imagined how everything would have been different if he was placed there. The slytherins would have probably gotten more respect during the war. He probably would have ended up with Malfoy sooner.
"Wow, I had no idea."
Luna nodded solemnly.
"Everything would be much different during the war." She said. Ginny pondered that for a few seconds more until Luna spoke up again. "So how was your game?" She asked, nodding at Ginny's robes. Just like that Ginny's excitement flared.
"We won! I won!" She said happily. Luna gave her a dreamy smile while Ginny launched into the play by play of how the game went.
Luna held up a hand to stop her.
"I want to hear the rest, but I think this is cause for celebration." She said. "Come outside with me?" Luna held out her hand and Ginny took it, blushing. Luna led them outside and then to the back of the building. She let go of Ginny's hand to climb a ladder up to the roof of the building and then gestured for Ginny to follow. Once on the building she sat down next to Luna who was already seated. Luna passed her a glass of champagne, which Ginny sipped carefully.
"Did you know that the muggles have their own stories about the pictures in the stars?" Luna asked. Ginny shook her head. "Over there is Orion," Luna said, pointing to a line of three stars. "We know it as Fieri the Famished, but to muggles it's Orion." Luna laid down, her long blonde hair splayed around her. Ginny fought the sudden urge to wrap the strands around her fingers, to feel if it was really as soft as it looked.
"And over there is Heracles. We know him as Bernstein the Brave."
Ginny listened as Luna talked about the stars until she no longer heard the words and all she heard was the smooth softness of Luna's voice moving up and down with the pitches. Luna spoke like a book was written, Ginny decided. Everything was short simple sentences that held a deeper meaning. Ginny really liked it.
The stars twinkled above them merrily. Ginny felt warm and happy looking at the trail of the Milky Way (Luna explained it was called the same thing for Muggles too) and listening to the rise and fall of Luna's voice. I think, Ginny though. I think I really like being with Luna.
Only after she noticed Luna stop talking and gaze at her fondly did she realize that she had said that out loud.
;;;
It took two whole months of seeing Luna regularly for Ginny to realize that she liked much more than just hanging out with Luna. She liked the way she loved the colour yellow and included it in everything. She loved the way she would use her wand to tie her hair back and especially loved the way it billowed down as soon as she took her wand out. She loved the way she looked at her, her light grey eyes wide, but crinkling at the corners when she smiled or laughed. Every time she learned a new thing about Luna she loved it because it was a part of her and because most of all she loved Luna.
;;;
"Thank you for helping me with the flyers."
"No problem."
Ginny and Luna were sitting in the middle of a small meadow of flowers that Ginny had enchanted to bloom early. Luna was weaving together a crown of flowers- daisies and marigolds and strands of lilac, while Ginny watched mesmerised by the way Luna's fingers moved. Honestly she was mesmerised by everything about Luna.
"The Russian crumple-horned snorkack is very important." Ginny added. They had passed out and posted flyers for hours and Ginny had learned everything there was to know about snorkacks. A little bit too much if you ask me. Luna nodded in affirmation.
"Here, I've finished." She said, holding up the flower crown. She placed it on top of Ginny's head. "It complements your hair nicely and it should ward off any unwanted sneaglers."
Ginny lightly touched the crown. She smiled at Luna who returned it with one of her crinkly eyed smiles. Ginny felt herself blush to the roots of her hair as she looked away. I cannot keep doing this, she thought. Ginny wondered what would happen if she just told Luna how she felt.
She could imagine it clearly. Luna would smile and say it's okay and that she was glad Ginny was being honest. Then she would tell Ginny that she didn't feel the same way, but wanted them to remain friends. But how would I feel? Probably like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. But, at the same time, like someone had in turn crushed her with another kind of weight. She wasn't sure which was worst- the weight of holding her secret or the weight of rejection. Ginny made a split second decision. If Luna does something in the next minute that makes my stomach flop and reminds me of how much I like her then I will tell her right here and now.
Luna stretched and scooted closer to Ginny, laying down across her stomach. Oh. Something like that.
"Luna…" Ginny started. She took a deep breath, which was hard with Luna's head on her stomach. "I have something I want to tell you."
Ginny's breath hitched when Luna tilted her head to look at her, her grey eyes wide and curious.
"Luna, I really like you. And I don't just mean in a friend way. I mean...in an I'm in love with you way….And if that's not okay with you then you can go and I won't hold it against you or you could just say no and I mean, it would hurt but I could hand-" Ginny stopped her rambling when she felt Luna hook their pinkies together. She waited in anticipation for Luna to say something, anything (hopefully along the lines of 'I'm in love with you too').
"I am so glad you're finally ready." Luna said softly. Ginny blinked. That's not what she expected.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked. Luna smiled up at her.
"It means I've known for a while now. I just wanted to give you time to sort everything out."
Ginny held her breath and waited to see if Luna would continue. When she didn't she spoke up.
"And you feel…" She prompted. Luna moved off of Ginny's stomach and rested on her forearms, her head above Ginny's and her hair creating a curtain around their faces.
"I feel the same way." Luna concluded. Ginny's eyes widened and Luna laughed slightly. Then she leaned forward and kissed the tip of Ginny's nose. Ginny found this to be odd (yet endearing) and recalled the old nickname people used to call Luna. 'Loony Lovegood'. What nobody understood was that Luna wasn't Loony, she was just too clever for anyone to understand her. She probably knew Ginny liked her before she did.
Finally Ginny smiled broadly in a way she hoped the corners of her eyes crinkled like Luna's did and she grabbed the collar of Luna's light yellow robes and pulled her in for the real thing.
A/N: Counting Stars will be up in the next two weeks for those of you who read that!
-skulls-surround-suns
P.S: Rachel, I know you do not have an account and that I handed the printed copy to you, but I just wanted to say I love you!