Dewdrops at Daybreak
The way she was going, she'd walk straight into the thestrial. He watched as the girl's strange radish earrings bobbing in time. He hadn't planned to call out; in fact he wanted to hear her squeal. But as he saw her platinum hair spring up and down as she walked, he forgot and shouted.
Luna turned, her eyes wide behind her glasses and fixed on him.
"There's a thestral in front of you," he said, lip curled back.
"Oh, can you see them too?" she said. "Isn't he majestic?"
She stepped closer, and ran a hand down its fur, which was coarse and thin. Theodore Nott shook his head, staring at her. Not he looked, she was the weirdest girl he'd ever seen. Her wand was tucked behind her ears, a single blonde curl protecting it from being wrenched from her. She was wearing a necklace made of corks, and, most disconcertingly of all, had a serene smile plastered on her face.
"Not really," Theodore said finally. She had seemed to expect a reply.
"No, they're brilliant," Luna said. "Clever, too."
"You sound like Hagrid," Theodore muttered.
"But I don't think flesh-eating skrewts are brilliant too."
"These things are no better," Theodore said, casting a dirty look at a thestrial which was ripping apart something which looked suspiciously like a deer. "And Hagrid calls them tame!"
"He managed to tame them successfully enough," Luna admitted. "I often go on thestrial flights when I have time. Join me?"
Theodore snickered, and walked away. He couldn't think of anything less pleasant than a ride of one of Hagrid's savage creatures, accompanied by Loony Lovegood.
There was a patter of footsteps behind him, and Luna scurried to stand in front of him,
"You should, Theodore. It would be nice to have someone to ride with, sometimes, but most people are too scared, or can't see them. If you forget their reputation, they're not scary. Just try flying, Theo."
She took his hand. It felt cool in his but firm. Luna was stronger than she looked, and he couldn't wriggle out of her grasp.
"Like this," she said, and swung onto the thestrial's skeletal back, wrapping her arms round its bony neck. "See?"
"Yeah," Theodore said, and without really thinking about it, swung himself up to sit behind her. She slapped at its neck, and the wings which had been lying dormant by its sides, uncoiled into huge black umbrellas, as the ground shot downwards. He could feel their power, and the thrum of the air against them as they beat. Luna's hair slapped against his face, soft and platinum and he grabbed her shoulders. They were flying.
Breathless, Theodore stared down at the vanishing castle, growing smaller and smaller. They swooped over the lake and then just greenness, spotted in spades, was below them.
"This is…"
"Perfect," Luna said, and they started laughing, just for the joy of it.
He was laughing until the thestrial circled downwards, zooming into the forests, the trees, a patch of scruffy land… and they were on solid again. Suddenly, they were in the real world, and his arms were wrapped round Loony Lovegood's neck. He scrambled off the thestrial and hurried away, feeling as if he'd been exploited in a moment of weakness.
He avoided Luna after that, scowling when he saw blue eyes fixed on him. She was insane, a nutter, a weirdo, and he didn't know what had made him climb onto the thestrial, or why he still thought about. She had been right- it was perfect- but they were in the real world now, where perfection was defiled.
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A/N: This collection is written for the Shippers Dictionary Competition
