What Hope Brings

Harry ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath of the crisp cold air. He replaced his hand on the railing, melting the cool snow with his fingertips. He was at the highest tower in Hogwarts, staring after Hedwig as her swirl of black and white wings disappeared into the sky.

"The snow looks beautiful, doesn't it? Helps to clear the mind and heal the soul." Harry heard a sweet, but almost sad voice. He recognized Luna standing beside him, her pale blue scarf blowing slightly in the wind, her hands pink and white against the icy metal of the railing. She was looking outward, into Hedwig's wake, Harry couldn't see her eyes, but he knew she understood.

He nodded as his green eyes studied her, she couldn't see him but she could hear agreement in his silence.

"People can become unbearable… this snow won't judge you, this sky can't make assumptions." Luna shook violently for a moment before composing herself, "the wind doesn't hurt anyone." She turned slightly towards Harry, "this is pure, this is honest."

Harry noticed a small tear below Luna's eye, he reached to wipe it away in a friendly gesture, but she shook her head and wiped it away first. She smiled, "It's places like these that remind you that the world is not always what it seems, but there is good, there is hope."

Luna looked at Harry once more, with compassion and understanding before she smiled, "be strong, Harry, I'll always be on your side, I'll always help you. Everything will be alright in the end, because you have your friends. But, if you need to be alone, that's okay too, sometimes it's good for you." She smiled and made a move to leave but Harry caught her arm, he didn't want her to go. He didn't want to be with them, the people who had that closed minded view of life, who hardly believed in hope, he wanted to spend time with hope. He wanted to believe that everything would be alright, and Luna's words made him feel that way.

Luna's silvery eyes caught Harry's, he answered her unasked question, "Not now, I don't want to be alone."

"Okay." She simply smiled at him, Harry loved that about Luna, she wasn't about questions and answers and explanations. She just did what she wanted at the moment, she didn't have to know the background behind everything. She was okay with just enjoying life and foregoing all the drama.

She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly, before taking a seat on the snowy ground, gently pulling Harry down and attempting to release his hand. Harry wasn't sure why, but he wouldn't let go of hers, so Luna and Harry simply sat beside each other, hand in hand.

"You'd better be careful with that." Luna pointed to Harry's wand; it had fallen out of his pocket and was lying idly on the floor, "the nargles might take it."

Harry smiled, Luna was better than a breath of fresh air. Harry and Luna talked for more than an hour, Harry feeling more and more lighthearted every moment he spent with her. The two slowly crept closer to each other, subconsciously, until their shoulders were touching, their fingers entwined. They didn't even notice the day get colder until a few flakes of snow landed in Luna's blonde hair, and she began to shiver.

Harry shrugged out of his jacket and gently place it over Luna's shoulders, "I think we should go inside, it's cold."

"Good idea, wouldn't want to Ice Capies to find us." Luna allowed Harry to tug her to her feet, she grinned, "this was nice. I like talking to you, Harry." She stepped on her tiptoes and laid a gentle kiss on his cheek, "thanks."

Harry had already released Luna's hand, and he watched almost sadly as she glided back into the tower. Part of Harry wanted to follow after Luna, but another more rational part told him that Luna had already done enough for him, he shouldn't ask for more. Suddenly Harry decided that he was tired of thinking things out, he wanted to do something out of character. He wanted to do something on the spur of the moment, he ran after Luna and stopped right in front of her. He looked into her surpised eyes and, before his resolve wavered, he wrapped his hands in her blonde hair and pulled her face to his. He kissed her tenderly, and while she froze at first, Luna soon softened into Harry, and kissed him back. Harry noticed the silkiness of her hair, the fullness of her lips, while Luna's arms wrapped around him, and pulled him closer, allowing him to ease her mouth open. Harry put on hand around her back, he felt like he couldn't get close enough, he wanted to get closer. The kiss became more passionate before finally, it slowed and Harry and Luna pulled away from each other, breathing deeply.

Harry opened his eyes, Luna's were still closed, her wonderful mouth twisted into a half smile. He released Luna completely, her eyes slowly creeping open. They stared at each other for a half second longer. "Thanks," Harry muttered, his breath short.

Luna nodded, "I understand, no one will hear about this from me… It was nice."

"Luna – I…" Harry began before Luna interrupted him.

"Seriously Harry, don't worry about it, if you need me, I'll always be around." Luna then turned and skipped down the stairs, greeting Dean as she left.

"You bloody bastard."

I'm not sure if anyone can really get this by reading it, but it makes sense in my head. And if you don't get it, well, that basically means that I'm a terrible writer, which, honestly, isn't that much of a surprise. So I hope that you understood this and enjoyed it, and I'd really appreciate a review, good or bad.

Thanks for reading

Arraela