Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter, J K Rowling does but I am borrowing them for my own thoughts :)
Authors Note: I like writing one shots because I don't need to do a lot of speech and it makes me feel more of an insight into a character. -shrugs- I always like this pairing so here it is. Please R&R :) Thanks for reading.
Creatures in the Darkness
'Lovegood? She's a bloody oddball mate! Don't wanna get mixed up in that kinda crazy!' A male voice laughed, joined in by the others he was obviously surrounded by.
Luna smiled sadly to herself and continued to walk through the courtyard up toward the imposing building that was Hogwarts School. She had lost count of how many times she had heard similar statements, lost track of the feeling of discontent and sadness it left rolling around within her stomach and lost track of how many times there was never anyone around to contradict similar sorts of statements.
All throughout her life the pretty blonde Ravenclaw had heard the descriptions of herself as odd, crazy and unhinged. It had never really bothered her until recently. Until recently Luna had continued to think of herself as a free spirit. Someone who wasn't as close minded as everyone. Someone who had the ability to see the world through open eyes, to see that what was out there wasn't what everyone always suspected. They lived in a world of magic, of unseen miracles and wonders. She often wondered how her thoughts, ideas and beliefs were so harmful to others that they would want to hurt her with their opinions on her state of mind.
Harry, she had first thought, was different. He didn't want to nastily probe at the creatures her imagination talked her into believing might be out there. He didn't scorn her simple statements and whisper behind her back. And yet… she knew her ideas did make him uncomfortable. She had seen it in his eyes when she had offered comfort. Had seen the slight mistrust behind the congenial smiles, and she knew that whilst she would be there to support him with an evil that wasn't so hidden in the world she would never confide her more outlandish beliefs to him after that slither of unease.
And whilst she thought about it how crazy was it that the world could take in and focus so much on evil. Could see, now that it had been brought out into the open by Harry and now the ministry, that Voldemort was out there torturing wizards and muggles alike, yet couldn't put some positive thought that there might be creatures out there that were wonderful? Those that were made to shed light and happiness in times that were dark and uncertain. Why couldn't anyone see that?
He had seen it though. Luna knew that he had when he sought her out to talk about them. Well not solely the creatures but her ideas behind them. Her thoughts on loyalty, friendship and magic. He seemed genuinely interested in her insightful views into well everything. He didn't shy away when she spoke of her hurt at the treatment of her fellow students, at the loss of a mother she couldn't really remember and the profound loneliness she felt even when surrounded by a hundred other people.
He had shared his views on the world and the darkness within it. Why sometimes it was so easy to be swept up into that darkness. Why on some days the darkness threatened to drown him from the inside out. He seemed to understand the loneliness, understand how it felt to be crowded by others yet remain truly unseen by them, those who saw only what they wanted and only the important faces within a crowd.
He who took the time to comfort her when the evil made her susceptible to all those bad thoughts, when they left a gut wrenching pain within her, wanting to sweep away all her innocent ideals about the world and the goodness within it.
Her fifth year at school seemed to be the best one she had had within the castle walls. She knew if she asked whether he was the one responsible for ensuring people no longer took her things, no longer taunted her to her face or spoke hateful worlds behind her back he would deny it. She no longer asked, but it didn't matter because she knew he was the one responsible for these things. And yet she knew no one would be accepting of this friendship. The one that was anchoring her to stay true to the person she wanted to be, and the one she hoped was helping him to starve off the darkness. So when in the summer of her fifth year, she painted pictures of her friends onto her bedroom walls at home, when her father asked why her aura seemed so much brighter, she never mentioned him. He was he light that she kept within her, the secret that allowed her smile to be that much brighter that year and her ideals still intact.
In Luna's sixth year at Hogwarts things changed. The oppressive air that had threated to swoop down on the castle like the dementors fog everywhere else, squashing out life and happiness finally began to take its toll. It became time to act to preserve the wonder that was Hogwarts, no longer allowing the dream like quality to stay put within the blonde haired girl. And yet, he never left her. She could see that the depressive air that was now a permanent feature within the castle hadn't reached him, hadn't put out that faint light of goodness that apparently only she could see within his golden coloured eyes. It would seem she had more to thank him for this year, for hardly ever did she get caught writing pro muggleborn statements anywhere. Never did she get caught helping out younger students and being a strong part in the campaign against the tyrants that wanted to evaporate any goodness left within the students. And suddenly those talks that had always been personal, had always meant so much to almost elven like girl, came to mean more. Whispered conversations in desolate hallways came to include what were at first innocent touches, developing further into hesitant kisses and bone crushing hugs.
Days when she didn't see him came to include anxiety and worry for the sixth year girl. Pinched lines around her lips and creases in her forehead told of concern for someone, though it could easily be put down to a number of things given the current situation, which thankfully for her was what her closest friends, Ginny and Neville, seemed to think. Times when she did manage to catch him now included passionate clinches and kisses that threatened to burn her whole body into flame. It was almost humorous to her now that others considered him to be icy, all she could associate with him was how alive, enthralled and safe he made her feel.
When she was taken off the Hogwarts Expresss on her way home she was never worried about herself, she was fraught with fear for him. Of course she was plagued with trepidation at how her father was, what those moronic Death Eaters were making him do under the threat of holding her prisoner. Concerned over how her friends were dealing without her and what they themselves were going through at that prison that was somehow still referred to as a school. But no, her main thoughts rested with him. She was quite certain he wouldn't give himself away, was sure he was still in control of his mask he wore to hide his emotions around anyone but her, but the unease was still there.
Being held as a prisoner at Malfoy Manor wasn't quite as horrid as it could have been. Luna wasn't sure if she was imaging it but Malfoy, the younger one Draco, seemed to make sure she was treated reasonably ok. She was never put forward for torture, always had water and basic food and because of this still held her ability to help the others that were there with her through the situation. She couldn't be entirely certain, but he had to have something to do with it. Malfoy had never treated her as cordially as he did now, in fact she was almost certain he had lumped her in with the craziness others thought her capable of. So when he came forward to speak with her, asking about the fire creatures her father had always told her about, enquiring whether they had any weaknesses or why they would suddenly take a master when they had never followed orders before, Luna was certain someone had told him she would be the best person to ask and she was certain she knew who that person was. Because of this, she gave Draco the information he wanted, gave it in good faith that there was good reasoning behind it and gave a message to be passed on – that she was OK, not to do anything stupid and that she would see him again soon. Draco raised his brow a little but saw how resolved she was in this and nodded once to let her know her message would reach he who it was intended for.
The battle was fierce as she knew it would be. If she had been asked several years ago whether she thought she would be in within the thick of the second coming of Voldemort she would have said that was the craziest thing she had heard. Yet here was she, fighting Death Eaters she knew would give no second thought to her untimely end, did not care it was a bunch of teenagers they were fighting and did not care that death for any of them was not the way.
As she turned to throw up a shield, a jinx missing her by a matter of millimetres, an arm came around her middle throwing her to the floor. Before she could see who it was, she smelt a fragrance she had come to associate with feelings of home and freedom. Minutes passed like seconds, and she was vaguely aware of the sound of heavy set silence followed by what sounded like a million cheers. Luna found that she didn't care, her entire focus was invaded by the black haired boy that seemed to be… sobbing into her shoulder. And suddenly his lips met hers in a kiss that couldn't be described as anything other than desperate and frenzied. In between their lips brushing together she could hear whispered promises that she wouldn't be in danger again and Merlin being praised that she was OK.
At the celebrations of the fall of the dark side, which went on for days and seemed to contain a simplistic joy Luna had never seen, the tanned skinned boy wouldn't be separated from her side. Her friends had informed her of his help to them whilst she had been imprisoned and her father seemed impressed that she had found someone who seemed genuinely interested in their wild variety of creatures. The smile on Luna's face lasted a lot longer than the celebrations.
In fact Luna was certain the smile on her face was permanently etched there. It was there when he asked her if she wanted to go on a worldwide exploration mission to find more of her amazing creatures. It seemed even brighter, and included a few tears, when he asked her to marry him after a particularly successful finding of the crumple horned snorkack on a mountain in the Andies. The tears seemed to have joined the blonde woman's smile when she was walked down the aisle by her father, who had long since retired from the Quibbler which Luna had successfully changed into a scholar worthy prestigious award winning magazine. Standing in front of all her friends, family and even people who had previously scorned her about things she had since proven fact, she wasn't sure if she remembered how not to smile. And years later when a honey eyed, blonde haired baby was handed to her, she looked over at her husband as he whispered, 'And she might be the most amazing creature of all, Mrs Zabini.' She knew he was not wrong, and the feelings of safety, love and being home were still present as she knew they forever would be.