It was on a warm, balmy day in early August that Luna Lovegood could be found perched on her bedroom's window ledge, legs swinging in the summer air. The gentle morning breeze caused blonde strands of hair to tangle around her face, but she had long ago lost patience with brushing them away.

'One year and three months,' Luna whispered to herself. Yet despite the quietness with which they were said, the words seemed to catch on the air and echo again and again.

She often wondered if one day she'd forget how long it had been since the final battle, if one morning she'd wake up with pleasant thoughts in her head, rather than ones about death and fallen heroes. She was not optimistic about achieving this breakthrough any time soon, however. Every morning without fail she would wake in a cold sweat as she relived that long night, the events of which seemed to be etched on her subconscious ready to be accessed during her dreams.

It had gotten worse since she'd come home. Luna had returned to Hogwarts after the battle for her final year and, despite it being the place where everything had happened, the memories and nightmares hadn't been so bad. Luna had spent a lot of time with Ginny, and it was as if their friendship had cocooned them against dark thoughts.

But now Luna was back at her father's house, with no school to escape to when September rolled around.

Luna sighed deeply and looked around at the fields beneath her. The entire area was deserted except for the occasional Muggle strolling along with a dog bounding at their heels. If Luna squinted, she could sometimes make out the chimneys of the Burrow in the distance.

She'd been invited there today- apparently Bill and Fleur were bringing the three month old Victoire, and the entire family was having one of Molly Weasley's home-cooked masterpieces. Luna had politely declined Ginny's offer, partly because her father, Xenophilius, had been rather reluctant to attend, but largely because Neville would be there.

Neville had appeared on Luna's doorstep a few days previously, accompanied by a blonde pigtailed girl called Hannah Abbot. He had blabbered on about wanting to introduce Luna to her, his face red and anxious. Hannah, meanwhile, had extended her hand to Luna and politely enquired about what she was doing now that she'd left Hogwarts.

Despite common opinion, Luna could not have cared less about Hannah Abbot apparently being Neville's new girlfriend. On the contrary, Luna was pleased that he had found someone he so obviously cared about. But because Luna and Neville had spent the last year writing each other platonic letters and meeting during the holidays, Ginny and everyone else assumed that Luna would be devastated that he had found someone new. Therefore, the prospect of enduring an afternoon of pity at the Burrow was more than Luna could stomach.

Luna sat at her window for a few more minutes, just watching the world go by. Two butterflies were chasing one another, and as Luna watched their beating wings she envied them. She too wanted to be able to fly, but she couldn't. Her wings were clipped, ensuring she was stuck at home in a haze of Quibbler articles and with a melancholic father.

Luna had no idea what she wanted to do exactly, she just knew that she wanted to do something different.

Suddenly a claustrophobic feeling washed over her, as if impenetrable had wrapped itself around her lungs. She needed a walk. Maybe some time in the fresh air would clear her head and reconcile her with the prospect of living with her father and working for his magazine.

Or maybe not.

Luna jumped off the ledge and landed lightly on her feet on her bedroom floor. Disregarding the pair of silver pumps that were propped against the wall, Luna skipped downstairs.

Unsurprisingly, Xenophilius was sitting in his usual armchair, the latest edition of The Quibbler resting on his knee.

'Going out, Luna love?'

'I'm just going for a walk.'

'Would you like me to come with you?'

'No.'

Her reply was harsher than she intended it to be, and the bluntness of her words punctuated the air like a knife. Xenophilius recoiled as if she'd shouted at him, and sunk further into his armchair.

Hating herself, Luna remained silent and headed out of the front door. She loved her father dearly, there was no denying that; it had been just the two of them for so many years after all. But there was also no escaping the fact that something had severed between them during the war- there were somehow fewer links tying them together than before.

Normally Luna tried not to think about it, but in the darkest hours of the night, she found that her mind always returned to one thing- her father hadn't rescued her.

When Luna had been taken by the Death Eaters, Xenophilius had sat in his armchair lamenting his loss and weeping. Never once had he picked up his wand and gone looking for his only daughter.

Luna shook her head, as if doing so would expel such thoughts from her brain, and set out across the fields.

It really was a lovely day, she thought, as she felt the grass tickle the soles of her bare feet and as she trailed her hands along the tall, wild flowers. There were more butterflies out here. All of them fluttering before her, challenging her to follow them.

Luna walked for ten minutes or so, before she reached the little brook which ran along the back of the field. Coming here had always soothed her when she was little, no matter what had upset her. One of Luna's favourite memories of her mother involved the latter producing a tent and declaring that they were camping by the brook. They had pitched the tent on the grassy bank and Luna had spent the night listening to her mother's delicious stories of water dwelling monsters, and of fairies who built their nests in willow trees.

Luna was busy smiling at the memory, and almost failed to notice that someone else was already there by the water. A tall, red haired figure was sat on the bank, staring aimlessly at the flowing turquoise water.

It was George Weasley.

While most people would have hesitated upon seeing a person sat alone, so obviously consumed in their own thoughts, Luna Lovegood wasn't most people.

She had met George many times thanks to her friendship with Ginny, and liked him very much. He was always the loud one, the person making jokes to cheer everyone up and make them laugh.

Or he had been at least.

The last time Luna had seen George was during the Easter holidays and he had been a shadow of his former self. It had been as though he was completely separate from the world around him, consumed by his own grief. Luna had wanted to wrap her arms around him, which was a very peculiar feeling because she hardly ever hugged anyone.

It was only when Luna sat down on the bank next to him that George turned his head and noticed that he was no longer alone.

His dark blue eyes pierced Luna for a moment, before he broke the silence and spoke.

'Hello.'

Luna forced a smile in response, but internally she was gripped with concern. George looked utterly helpless, his dark mood matching the colour of his eyes.

They sat in silence for a moment, with Luna watching George randomly pull strands of grass up from the ground and throw them into the rippling water.

'Why aren't you at the Burrow?' she asked after a while.

George shrugged and didn't look at her. Instead he picked up a small stone and skimmed it across the surface of the brook.

Luna didn't press the point, having learnt from experience that people would often start talking of their own accord after a few minutes. Sure enough, they had been sitting there for only a short while when George broke the silence.

'I couldn't stand being there,' he whispered, his voice low and devoid its old energy, 'they're all there, acting like… as though he… forgotten…'

George trailed off, evidently not having the words to express the extent of his grief. Luna, meanwhile, felt like the worst person in the world. For the past few weeks she had been acting so melodramatically, as if she was the only one who had suffered. Seeing George in such a state put everything into perspective. He had lost his twin brother- the person he had been closer to than anyone.

Luna placed her hand on George's shoulder and rubbed her fingers against his t-shirt in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

'George, no one has forgotten Fred. No one ever will.' She paused, and watched George, who still wasn't looking at her. Taking a deep breath, she continued, 'But he's not coming back, George. You can't shut yourself off from everyone. You need them.'

He shook his head, and she noticed that tears stained the blue of his eyes, 'They don't understand.'

'Yes they do,' she insisted, managing to sound firm and soothing at the same time, 'They all loved Fred, everyone loved Fred. The rest of your family are grieving too.'

'It's different for them though.'

'I know.'

Silence fell around them again, but it was somewhat different to last time. The quiet was weirdly comfortable, and Luna could feel George's shoulders relax slightly under her hand. She wondered how long it had been since he'd talked about Fred to anyone- she wondered if he ever had.

'Maybe you should go home?' she suggested quietly, after a while.

George shook his head, 'No. Not yet.'

'Okay, fine, well I'll sit here with you until you do.'

For the first time since she'd arrived, George turned to face her properly. His expression was one of surprise, as though he couldn't understand why she had just made that offer.

'Don't you have anything else you'd rather do?' he asked sceptically.

'No,' answered Luna, realising just how true her words were.

George watched her for a moment and then frowned slightly, 'I thought Ginny invited you to the Burrow today?'

'Yes, she did.'

'Well why didn't you come?'

Luna shrugged, and a slight smile played at George's lips- the first one she'd seen in a year and three months.

'Is it because the lovely Hannah Abbot is there?' he asked, his tone surprisingly light considering what they'd just been speaking about.

'No!' exclaimed Luna, annoyance building up inside of her, 'When are people going to realise that I don't care about Neville and Hannah?'

George raised his eyebrows at her and smirked, his navy eyes alight with humour. Luna stared at him for a moment, marvelling at the change; the old George was still there, he was just lost at the moment.

'Maybe I do a bit,' conceded Luna, feeling that it was only fair she confided in George since she'd just seen him at his most vulnerable.

'That's understandable,' agreed George, 'Everyone assumed the two of you would end up together.'

Luna shook her head, 'No, I'm not jealous of them because I want to be with Neville. I suppose…' she paused and glanced at George, who was looking at her encouragingly, 'I suppose it's because Neville and Hannah have moved on. They've gotten over the war, they're making new lives for themselves. And…'

'And you're not,' finished George.

'No,' said Luna quietly, as if she was admitting some terrible secret.

'I know how you feel,' sighed George.

'Go on,' said Luna encouragingly.

'The rest of my family are moving on. Harry and Ginny are getting friendly again, he's joined the Auror Office and she's just been scouted by the Harpies. Ron and Hermione are together, Bill's just had Victoire, and Percy's worming his way back up through the Ministry.'

'And what about you?' asked Luna quietly.

'I can't move on,' whispered George, his voice barely audible above the trickling of the water, 'Because if I do then I'm leaving him behind.'

By way of response, Luna took his hand in hers and rubbed her thumb along George's palm. She could not find appropriate words to reply to what he'd just said. He had gone through one of the worse losses imaginable, one which she couldn't even comprehend.

They sat in silence for a moment until George spoke again, 'But then I keep telling myself that he'd want me to move on.'

'He would,' insisted Luna, 'You need to try, for him.'

George sighed deeply and Luna felt his hand squeeze her own.

'So what are you going to do?' he asked her after a while.

'I'll probably stay here and work on the Quibbler. It's what my father wants me to do.'

She failed to keep the resentment out of her voice, and George picked up on her attitude immediately.

'But you want to do something else?'

'Yes but I don't know what! I just want some time away from here, doing something fun.'

George looked at her for a moment, as if scrutinising her.

'I have an idea,' he said cautiously, 'If you want a job then you can come and help me in the Diagon Alley shop.'

Luna's heart leapt so far at his words that she could barely speak for a moment. She'd never thought of that before, never considered the possibility of working with George. But why not? They got on well, and maybe they could help one another.

'Are you sure?' she asked.

'Of course. Ron's working there at the moment but I know he wants to go and join Harry at the Auror Office.'

'I'd love to,' smiled Luna.

This was something of an under-statement because, if truth be told, she was so happy she could burst. She had a chance to leave home and work in London for a while, to get away from all the memories that were associated with her father's house. Maybe the chance would finally help her move on.

George grinned back at her, looking as though he was genuinely pleased that she had accepted his offer.

Luna lost track of how long they sat next to the brook for. It could have been ten minutes or it could have been two hours- she didn't care. They were both silent, but she could tell something had changed. George was brighter, and so was she. Luna realised that this was not the end; she would still wake up in the night remembering the sight of Colin Creevey crumpling to the ground, and George would continue to mourn Fred for the rest of his life.

Nevertheless, as she sat there with George, she could tell that weights had been lifted off of shoulders, and carried away by the summer wind.

'I should probably go home,' admitted George eventually, 'Do you want to come?'

'Yes,' answered Luna, honestly; she found that she no longer cared that Neville would be there, it didn't matter.

She stood up and walked along the length of the brook, her hand entwined with George's since neither of them had decided to let go from earlier.

As they made their way down the lane towards the Burrow, another butterfly flittered through the sky. Luna smiled to herself, realising that this time she too could stretch her wings and explore. She was going to London, the city widely regarded as having the largest, most vibrant wizarding community, but a place she'd only previously visited in order to buy school equipment.

George paused as the topsy-turvy Burrow came into sight, and, because she was still holding his hand, Luna stopped too.

Before she was aware of what was happening, George leant down and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was chaste and tentative, but it was also completely perfect. When they broke apart, she smiled up at him, and saw that he was beaming at her as well, his blue eyes alight with happiness.

Luna Lovegood was definitely moving on.

Written for Fanon Pairings Competition. Prompts used: 'He's not coming back, George,' Hannah Abbot, Butterfly, Blue