A/N: Here's something you never expected to see from me: fluff. I know, my beta-reader laughed too (thanks a trillion to my li'l sis Cece for editing this in record time! You rock!). I dedicate this to my dear friend Jake, who has the best taste in 'ships. This sticks to canon through OotP. All comments and criticisms welcomed!
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Colin slid the photo paper into a dark purple solution, making sure the edges were completely submerged. Seven developing attempts lay discared in a sticky, wet pile at his, all pictures of Luna that hadn't quite turned out right. In his mind's eye, Colin knew exactly what the perfect image would look like: Luna would jump out from the picture, holding his attention with that maddening stare, and then her lips would quirk and her eyes would smile, and he would take it with him everywhere.
Unfortunately, that mental image wasn't translating so well on paper. Technically, it was a great picture; the Ravenclaw's face was perfectly in focus in the left third of the frame, and the background was blurred and swirled, just as he wanted it. No, it wasn't the picture itself that was the problem, but the potion that was being used to develop and animate the image.
He'd been using this particular potion since his second year at Hogwarts, when he had decided he really wanted to develop color prints. This time though, it was simply not having the desired effect. No, Colin thought as he pulled an eighth rectangle from the swirling purple solution, this is not working at all. Frustrated, the small Gryffindor added a little more water to the mixture and tried again.
The last image of Luna was far too strong for the setting; every few moments her face would break into a wide toothy grin that looked entirely out of place before slipping into absolute seriousness once more. At least in this one she isn't jumping, thought Colin with a frustrated smile as he glanced back to his first test. The fact that eight attempts to dilute the solution hadn't been enough to bring the intense expression of the dreamer to life was depressing, but Colin was determined. He knew what he wanted, and he was willing to stay up all night if that was what it took to capture that moment.
It had been earlier in the day, and Colin and Luna were walking around the lake together. Luna was chattering breezily about classes and creatures and other simple things, while Colin was listening enthusiastically and occasionally taking pictures of things that inspired him. He really enjoyed spending time with the Ravenclaw girl, and she was intense like nobody he knew. Luna was brilliant. She always knew things that nobody else did, and Colin knew that the vague way she explained things was intentional. Talking with Luna was like speaking a different language, one where your hearts were connected and there were no secrets to keep. Everything was easy with her.
And so it was that the pair found themselves paused on a hill in the glorious sunlight, Luna sitting on her knees with her ankles crossed and Colin leaning lightly against a tree beside her, admiring his girlfriend's silhouette against the bright water. Their conversation fizzled out gradually along with the shade as the sun crept across the sky, and Luna twisted herself around to look back up at Colin.
They didn't say anything for a long moment, and then Colin rose up his camera and lined up a careful shot of the Ravenclaw girl, who watched him avidly despite being the subject of the composition. Her eyes regarded him like always, intense and unguarded, and the connection between them was strong. Colin never wanted to let go of it, just like he never wanted to let go of her.
Now he wanted to put that feeling on paper, and it wasn't good enough. Colin wanted to capture the profoundness of that moment, and the animation potion wasn't cooperating at all. The Luna it had brought to life was the one most people at Hogwarts thought they saw, the crazy girl who was too loud at all the wrong times and spouted insane theories without so much as an invitation. That wasn't the girl he knew though, and that wasn't the real Luna at all.
So, decided Colin, it is time to reevaluate. The picture itself looked fine, but it didn't seem to convey that remarkable spirit that only Luna had; the image was too clean and simple to do the Ravenclaw justice. Luna Lovegood was many things, but few would accuse her of being clean or simple. There was no mystery to the picture, no depth, just Luna staring curiously back at him. It was going to drive him mad.
"How do you capture Luna?" Colin mused aloud without thinking, and his friend Brandon's voice immediately answered from within the dorm. "Levitate a cucumber over a lit candle and whistle real loud." Colin snorted. Brandon Altover was his best friend – he had been ever since he showed Colin how to develop pictures so that they moved – but he, along with the rest of the Gryffindors in their year, thought that Luna was a bit dotty.
Dots, thought Colin. That might do the trick. It needs to be grainier. In a rush, he ran back into the dorm and dove under his bed. "Er, Colin?" came Brandon's muffled voice from above. "You're not really gonna try and catch her with a cucumber, are you?"
"Already got her," said Colin as he slid back into sight, pulling with him a large box full of assorted potion ingredients. "Black and white, black and white," he muttered distractedly, pulling various dusty bottles into a separate pile on the floor. He grinned excitedly; this was going to work, this was right, he just knew it.
Scooping up the containers in his arms, Colin dashed back into the bathroom as Brandon trailed after him, laughing in amusement. The bottles clinked down to the floor as he dropped to his knees in front of several potion-laden trays. "Clean that out, will you?" he asked of his roommate, nodding towards the purple developer while uncorking one of the dusty bottles. Brandon did the task easily, and Colin immediately poured a smoking yellow liquid into the now-empty tray. "I'll add the water," volunteered the less frantic Gryffindor, and Colin set to work on copying the image of Luna's captivating gaze onto a new sheet of photo paper.
With practiced ease, the mousy-haired boy tapped the chosen negative and aligned his wand so that it hovered in the exact middle of the paper. He tapped the center, murmured a few chosen words, and then dragged the wand tip around the four corners of the page before tapping the middle once more. Quickly, he slid the paper into the potion and prodded it gently with his wand to ensure that the whole photograph was immersed.
"Desperate?" asked Brandon once the paper was settled in the developer, flipping through the pile of discarded pictures. Colin rolled back on his heels and smiled. "I just know what it's going to look like. What she's going to look like. Rather, what she did look like. Does look like. She's amazing, Brandon! You wouldn't believe it! She understands me, and I understand her, well mostly anyway, but it's just like we're connected when we're together."
Brandon shook his head, laughing softly. "It's nice to hear you rambling about someone that isn't Harry Potter," he joked, and Colin rolled his eyes. His hero-worshipping days of first year were long over, but Brandon was never going to let him live it down.
Turning his attention back to the supplies in front of him, Colin smiled. He loved doing this. His pictures were a huge part of his life, documenting everything worth remembering for all of eternity. He'd finally gotten the developing process down to near-perfection, a mix of muggle and wizard formulas to create lasting images that he cherished. The camera he used was a gift from his grandparents, and the pictures kept him connected with life in the world he'd grown up in. Sometimes he missed his old life so much, but this was a way to mix both worlds to create something new.
The two boys watched as the image slowly appeared on the sheet, the white slowly darkening into shades of gray that spilled out across the center like an oil spill. Luna's face came slowly into view, emerging from the shadows and eventually overtaking the background. Colin smiled back at the image as it darkened further, watching carefully for the first sign of animation.
Luna's expression started to stretch into a content smile, and Colin quickly snatched the picture up from the potion and slid it hastily under a stream of cold water. He held the photograph lightly, allowing it to rest on the tips of his fingers as the water spilled over the picture's face.
"Colin… isn't that going to stop the animation?" asked Brandon curiously from over his friend's shoulder. The Gryffindor in question merely nodded in response, keeping his eye on the photo and keeping track of time in his head. After exactly one minute, Colin shut off the water and cast a simple drying charm on the picture. "Hand me that brown bottle, the one with the funny cap," he said, turning back to the pile of rejected images and comparing the two. Brandon shrugged but complied, and when he handed it to Colin, the boy popped off the top with his thumb and proceeded to dump the entire brown contents of the bottle over the picture.
Satisfied at last, Colin rinsed the photograph thoroughly and dried it once more, being careful not to overheat the paper and melt the surface. The end result was almost exactly as he'd envisioned, and he stared at the picture of his girlfriend with a content smile on his face. Her wide eyes surveyed him thoughtfully, and after a few moments she tilted her head to the right, blinking her eyes lazily. She moved almost in slow motion, in drastic contrast with the swirled background that framed her delicate face. This was Luna – his Luna – as she truly was. As a tired smile spread across Colin's face, he felt as though he'd done the impossible: he'd captured Luna Lovegood, and she wasn't going anywhere.