Title: Promise
Pairing: GinnyxLuna
Word Count: 4, 670
Summary: Compiled vignettes showing the progression of Ginny and Luna's relationship.
oOo
The first time Ginny Weasley saw the other girl, she was hugging her father goodbye. The day was cloudy and gray, and the platform bathed in London smog, the air thick with oncoming rain. None of that, however, stopped the girls' hair from shining like a halo around her face, as if the sun had been born from her curls. The gray dullness of the sky didn't change the fact that the girl's eyes were a shade of blue Ginny herself had never seen and had no words to describe. The thickness of the smog-filled air didn't change the fact that the girl's laugh sounded like the tinkle of a thousand silver bells all ringing out at once, somehow harmonious and melodic at the same time.
Ginny stood beside her parents, eyes following the blonde's progress through the crowd and onto the train. In a sort of dazed dreamlike state, Ginny let her parents hug her and say goodbye, making absentminded promises to write every day. When her thoughts finally cleared, she found herself standing on the Hogwart's Express, trunk in tow, making her way down the corridor. The first open compartment she came across was empty but for someone's trunk, and so she slid inside and pushed her own trunk up onto the rack alongside the other one.
"Oh, you've decided to join me."
Ginny nearly fell over in surprise as she spun around to see who had managed to sneak up on her. Her thoughts came to a crashing halt when her eyes alighted upon the same blonde girl from before, the one she had seen on the platform, and she could do nothing but stammer out an apology as she stared.
"I- I'm sorry, was, is- I mean, is this your compartment?"
The girl blinked slowly before moving further into the compartment and sitting down slowly. "Well, it isn't as if I own the compartment, but if you mean did I choose to sit here, then yes, I suppose this is my compartment. At least, that is my trunk up on the rack beside yours." The girl pointed up at the rack above their heads and smiled dreamily.
Ginny had to shake herself before she could respond, and flopped down onto the bench across from the other girl. "Sorry, I hope I'm not intruding or anything."
The blonde smiled and shook her head. "You are, but it is far from unwelcome. In fact, I'm glad for it; Daddy told me to find someone to sit with on the train, or else it could get terribly lonely. I'm Luna, by the way."
Smiling shyly, Ginny ducked her head down a bit. "Okay then, thank you. I was afraid I wasn't going to have anyone to sit with at all, so I'm glad I've found you. I'm Ginny."
They sat and talked for a bit about nothing of importance, the sorts of things people who've just met generally discuss. It wasn't long before Ginny's brothers were popping in to disturb them, and she found herself distracted. By the time they reached their destination, Ginny didn't know much more about Luna than her name, and she didn't have the chance to ask anything more before they were standing in line to be sorted.
They weren't really friends, not even really acquaintances, but Ginny couldn't help feeling a little bit sad when Luna was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor. She didn't let it stop her from grinning, however, when the Sorting Hat shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!" the moment it touched her orange hair. She jumped up with her arms in a V above her head and joined her brothers at the Gryffindor table, every single one of them cheering as she did so. It wasn't until she found herself fighting over the last baked potato with Percy that she caught sight of the other girl again, and she had to force herself to stop staring when Percy managed to steal the baked potato right off of her plate.
The second time Ginny saw Luna Lovegood, they were both rushing through the halls of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, they were going in opposite directions, and Ginny only saw Luna at all because they ended up crashing into one another, the blonde's books tumbling to the floor.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-," Ginny knelt down and began picking the fallen books up, trying to stack them neatly together.
Luna knelt as well and helped her, smiling and shaking her head. "It's perfectly alright. I wasn't watching where I was going."
Ginny smiled and gathered the stack of books, holding them to her chest as she stood. "Neither was I," she said truthfully, and when Luna reached out a hand for her books, Ginny shook her head. "No, let me carry them for you."
Luna blinked her wide blue eyes. "I'm going to Ravenclaw Tower, which is in the complete opposite direction from Gryffindor Tower." Her head was tilted slightly to the side, and her brow furrowed in confusion.
Shrugging as much as she could while holding a stack of heavy books, Ginny said, "I know," and then turned around and began the walk, glancing back over her shoulder at Luna with a small smile. Luna eventually followed, skipping to catch up, and the pair of them walked side by side in companionable silence the entire way to Ravenclaw Tower. When they arrived, Ginny watched Luna answer the riddle to open the door, before finally handing the books over. She smiled once again before turning to leave the way she had come.
Luna's voice stopped her mid-step. "Wait." It was the first word Luna had spoken since they'd begun their journey, and Ginny could only glance over her shoulder with one eyebrow raised in question.
"Thank you." Luna's face was open and unguarded, her wide blue eyes shining with something Ginny wasn't quite able to read. She was holding the stack of books tightly against herself, almost like a shield.
"Anytime." She said sincerely and stood there smiling happily until Luna was out of sight behind the door of the Ravenclaw common room. It wasn't until then that she turned back around and made her way down flight after flight of stairs, and through corridor after corridor until she eventually reached Gryffindor Tower. It took her nearly an hour longer than it should have to join her friends in the common room, and she had to sit out of a few rounds of Exploding Snap as a result. But Ginny honestly couldn't find it in herself to care.
She'd said anytime, and she'd meant it.
The third time she saw Luna, they found themselves sitting next to one another in History of Magic. It was one of the only classes the Gryffindor's had with Ravenclaw, and after a while, the two girls decided to sit together. Ginny usually spent each one of Binns's lessons switching between napping and doodling and found conversing with Luna a refreshing change from her boring routine.
So while Binns talked about the Goblin war of 1562, Luna and Ginny discussed their favorite flavor of ice cream (Luna liked cinnamon raspberry and a Muggle flavor called 'bubblegum', but Ginny preferred strawberry and chocolate). During a lecture on the mightiest Goblin wartime generals, Luna told Ginny about the time her dad and mom took her to the Amazon forest to search for Fizzily Blimpets. While ignoring an extremely repetitive lesson about the turning point in Goblin history, Ginny talked about how difficult it was to grow up the youngest child of seven, as well as the only girl.
Eventually, chatting during class turned into chatting in the halls, which then turned into extended conversations on Hogwarts grounds. Ginny learned about Luna's love of animals, wind chimes, and rain, and Luna learned that Ginny hated squash, was allergic to shellfish and liked to climb trees.
Ginny found herself awaiting each History class eagerly, and felt happiest when she was with Luna, whether or not they were talking animatedly, or just sitting together in silence. She made more and more time each day for the blonde, only spending time in her common room when she was unable to find Luna anywhere, or when she began to feel guilty for neglecting her housemates.
"The thing you love most in the world."
"My father."
"I said thing, not person. What's the thing you love most in the world."
"Are people not also things?"
Ginny laughed and tossed a handful of grass at Luna from where she was stretched out on the ground. "Okay then, what is the thing you love most, other than your dad?"
Luna hummed as she plucked blades of grass from her hair. "Apricot jam. No, goldfish. Or maybe the color purple."
Giggling, Ginny pushed herself up into a sitting position and pointed a finger. "Hey, you're supposed to pick a single thing, not just name everything you like!"
"Yes, but there are so many wonderful things, how can I possibly pick just one?" Luna smiled softly and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She glanced up at the sky as the first raindrop fell, and reached up a hand to touch her wet cheek. "Like rain; I love rain too, it's certainly one of my favorite things." She tilted her face up and closed her eyes just as the sky opened up above them and water began to pour down.
Ginny shrieked as she became soaked immediately, and she jumped up. "Ack! You didn't tell me it was going to rain!" She pushed her already soaking hair off her face and smiled as she reached a hand down to pull Luna up off of the ground. "Come on, let's go look for someplace more sheltered than the middle of a field."
"You don't want to go inside?"
Ginny shook her head and grinned. "Nah, I know you love the rain, and probably want to like, skip through it or whatever. So we'll stay out here, but I would like to be able to watch it without feeling like I'm swimming on land." She grabbed hold of Luna's hand and pulled her along.
Luna's voice was soft as she said, "Really? You don't mind?"
When Ginny answered with, "Nope, anything for you," Luna tightened her hand around Ginny's and laughed the laugh that was like a thousand silver bells.
The first time they kissed, it was like coming home. Ginny was standing in a meadow, watching Luna spin about picking wildflowers, wearing a daisy chain crown. The sun was shining and the weather beautiful, and when Luna turned to smile at her, Ginny couldn't help herself. She stepped forward, hands coming up to gently hold the sides of Luna's face, and her lips pressed against the blonde's as softly as possible.
When Ginny opened her eyes and stepped back, it was to see Luna's eyes half shut, the blue a shade darker than normal. She felt her stomach twist up into knots, and felt apprehensive. She waited for Luna's response with bated breath.
With a hand coming up to press against her lips, Luna sighed. "Was- why did you-,"
Ginny shook her head and smiled. Her nerves left her suddenly, and she took a tiny step forward, her arms wanting to wrap themselves around the other girl more than anything. "Luna, I like you."
Luna looked at her for a moment. "I like you, too. You kissed me."
"Yes." Ginny's eyes crinkled slightly.
"Why?" Luna's eyebrows drew together in her confusion, and her eyes clouded over slightly, no longer half closed.
Ginny breathed in slowly. "Because I like you. Because it's summer, and you're beautiful."
Luna no longer looked confused. "Oh," she breathed out softly, and her cheeks were tinged pink, her lips pulling up in a shy smile. "Oh."
With a smile, Ginny allowed her arms to finally wrap around Luna, pulling her that slightest bit closer. "Quite." she tilted her head down slightly and gazed into her favorite pair of blue eyes. "I'd like to do it again."
"Yes." Luna's voice was soft and breathy, and her eyes were already closing in anticipation. "Please, yes."
"The new school year starts soon. OWLS, and everything."
"I know."
Ginny rolled over to look at the girl beside her. "And? Are you nervous? Excited?"
Luna's lips turned up in a smile. "I'm happy."
With a snort, Ginny's eyebrows flew up her forehead. "Happy? About school and exams?" She sounded incredulous.
The blonde opened her eyes and her smile grew. "Of course. It'll be fun." She turned her head to meet Ginny's gaze.
"Fun? Are you daft?"
"Mm. Everything's fun when I'm doing it with you," agreed Luna, and Ginny felt herself melt a bit. The sun was shining down on them from above as they both lay sprawled in the grass on the hill between their two homes. Ginny reached a hand out to link their fingers together and smiled happily back at Luna.
"I'm happy, too."
Luna let her eyes close against the glare of the sun as she asked, "You are?"
"Yep. We're both going to have loads of fun this year. Although I still think you're a bit daft."
Giggling, Luna rolled over until her side was pressed firmly against Ginny. "You're probably right, but you like me anyway."
Ginny squeezed the hand in her grasp and sighed happily.
When they kissed after the fight in the Department of Mysteries, it felt like drowning. She had no idea which way was up, and she was left breathless. "You- we almost-,"
"Shhh, it's okay. Ginny, I'm okay, I'm right here. We're fine." Luna tried to comfort the other girl, letting Ginny wrap her arms as tightly around her body as was possible.
Ginny swallowed down the fear in her throat, the terror she had been feeling during the entire nightmare slowly dissipating. They were both sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wall, and she had to choke back a whimper when her leg was shifted.
Luna's eyes were watery, but she was smiling when she looked down at her and said, "Hello."
With eyes closed and fingers still grasping tight to the other girl's cardigan, Ginny let out a harsh breath. "Luna, I,-"
"I know."
Ginny opened her eyes and stared through her tears into Luna's blue gaze, looking for the understanding she could hear in the girl's voice. "I was so afraid," she whispered, her voice broken and soft.
Luna leaned forwards and rested her forehead against Ginny's. "So was I. But-," she cut herself off and drew back a bit, looking suddenly unsure.
Ginny smiled slightly and pulled her back down so their faces were once again touching. "But it was fun?" she asked, her voice sounding quietly amused.
Luna's face reddened but she smiled back. "Everything's fun when I'm doing it with you, Gin."
Ginny's eyes closed once more and she let out a breath, a smile curling the edges of her lips upward. "Promise?"
The answer was a whisper against her lips as Luna tilted her face forward and kissed Ginny with all the gentleness of the wind brushing through the trees. "I promise."
"Do you remember our first year?"
Luna looked up from the book she had been reading in the sun by the lake and into the troubled eyes of her best friend. "Yes." She closed her book and set it aside. "Are you okay?"
The redhead's eyes shut and she shuddered before dropping down to sit in front of Luna. "I don't think so," she said, before shaking her head and opening her eyes. "Do you remember how I told you about Tom, the boy in the diary?"
When Luna nodded, Ginny suddenly lurched forward to wrap her arms around the other girl in a tight hug, her face buried in the blonde's hair. Luna's eyes widened a bit as she wrapped her arms around Ginny, and held her as tightly as possible. "Ginny, what-,"
"I'm so sorry, Luna! I was so blind, so selfish, and every time I think about that lonely little boy, with no true friends, always bullied because he was different, always alone, I just-," Ginny's voice was cut off when she sobbed, and Luna felt the collar of her shirt begin to grow damp. All of a sudden it dawned on Luna just what exactly was causing Ginny to cry, and she held the girl just that little bit tighter.
"Ginny, you know it's not your fault, right? The way other people treat me?" Luna kept her voice soft and soothing as she spoke. "You know that I'm okay, right?"
"I know, but it's just so hard! It makes me so sad, and I worry that- that if I hadn't, well, sometimes I wonder what could have happened."
Luna hummed quietly. "You worry about how I could have been like Tom, that poor lonely boy in the diary, with no friends and no hope. You think about what he became, and then you think about how sad that makes you. And then you think about me." She gently pushed Ginny back and looked into her eyes. What she saw there, the pain and the sadness, the burden of knowing and understanding, well, it made Luna's heart ache.
"Ginny, we can't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there. We can't know, not for certain, who I would be now. But Ginny," Luna brushed a few tears off of Ginny's cheek and smiled. "You were there, always, making things better, giving me a friend. You're here now, and it's lovely. It's perfect, you're perfect."
Ginny swallowed thickly and sighed. "I used to feel so lonely, sometimes, even though I have my family and my friends, and lots of people like me. I used to feel so alone that it hurt." She shifted so that she was kneeling properly, looking down into the beautiful blue eyes she had come to love so much. "Sometimes I think we could all be like Tom, that we all have the potential to fall down that path, into that hole."
Luna's smile widened and she lifted a hand to brush a piece of Ginny's hair behind her ear. "I think you're right."
Ginny smiled slightly at that. "But I also think," she whispered as she moved forward and let herself be wrapped up in Luna's arms. "That if we're lucky, really lucky, we find the one person who can save us from that." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, letting the feel and scent of Luna settle into her senses, grounding her. "If we're lucky, we find the one person who makes us feel not so alone, anymore."
"I think so, too. And are you lucky?" Luna's voice was soft and hopeful, and her arms tightened slightly around Ginny's body.
"The luckiest."
When she spoke again, Luna's voice was no longer hopeful and soft, but firm and full of unbridled happiness. "Me, too."
Sixth year was the hardest year of Ginny's life. Luna was gone, and in her place stood the Carrows, cold and cruel. Their eyes were filled with madness, and their wands filled with pain. And every single day, every single moment, Ginny wished for Luna to be by her side while being simultaneously grateful that she was safe from it all, wherever she might be.
"Please," Ginny whimpered and tried to stand up but her legs were weak and shaky.
Amycus Carrow sneered. "What were you doing on the fifth floor after curfew? Tell me!"
"Nothing, I wasn't doing anything, I swear."
"Liar! Blood traitor scum! Crucio!"
Ginny screamed herself raw. The torture went on for what seemed like years, but she refused to say anything more to Amycus Carrow.
"I will make it through this, Luna, and we will live happily ever after," Ginny whispered into her pillow later that night, her eyes searching the sky outside for some clue as to what would come next. "I love you so much." She curled up, her body feeling like it was on fire, and tried to sleep. Every day, Ginny fought alongside other students, and every day she used her love for Luna to inspire hope and the will to fight within herself. Because she had to believe that she would see Luna again one day, she just had to.
Sixth year was the longest and darkest year of Luna's life. She spent her days sitting amongst the shadows in the cell beneath Malfoy Manor, her clothes falling to rags and her fair skin darkened with filth. She spent her nights listening to the cries of anguish coming from Ollivander's corner, and the sharp tapping of Goblin nails upon the metal bars locking them in.
"Loony Lovegood, locked away in my home. Where's your precious savior now?" Draco Malfoy's voice was cruel and unkind, but every day Luna watched as his face became more afraid, more unsure.
"We don't need Harry Potter, or any other savior to save us, Draco. The world might need him, but we both know that the power to save us lies within ourselves." Her voice stayed calm and broken, but she let her eyes smile. Draco Malfoy had never looked more lost than in that moment, and despite the fact that she was locked away in his basement far from her father and her girlfriend, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"You, you don't know what you're talking about, Lovegood! You're just a, just a stupid blood traitor!"
Despite his harsh words, Draco spent a little bit of every day down in the Manor basement, and though most of that time was spent in silence, sometimes it wasn't.
Eventually, his visits to the Manor basement stopped and Luna assumed that he had gone back to school. She was left to her corner of the cell, and gradually the darkness and silence of it all turned her dreams into nightmares and her sparkling blue eyes dull.
It was the thought of Ginny, brave and loving and kind, that kept her going in those darkest of days. She would close her eyes and imagine her friend, smiling and happy and safe inside Hogwart's walls where nothing bad could touch her. I love you, Ginny Weasley, she thought, as she closed her eyes to sleep. I will find you again.
Neither girl knew that the other spent their days in the darkness, not seeing the light of the sun. Neither one knew the pain and horror the other girl was going through. Neither one knew that the other girl was kept alive only through thoughts of finally being together again.
The next time they kissed, it felt like goodbye. Painful and desperate, it tore Ginny apart only to put her back together again. Their hands gripped each other's clothing in a desperate attempt to hold onto something that was quickly being tugged away from them.
Ginny forced her hands through the quickly closing portrait hole, trying to touch as much of Luna as she could, fingertips tracing over every inch of warm skin they could find. "I love you," she whispered against the blonde's lips. "I love you. Promise me."
"I promise, Ginny, I love you and I promise."
And then the portrait was shut tight, and people were preparing for war, and Ginny wasn't sure if the promise had been about having fun or about surviving. Either way, she knew she would fight; alongside her family, alongside her friends. Alongside Luna.
"Luna? Luna!" Ginny ran through the wreckage and the rubble, dodging people both fallen and standing, searching for a flash of blonde hair or indescribable blue eyes. "Luna, where are you?"
Her mother caught her by the arm as she ran past and pulled her into a hug. "Ginny, thank goodness you're safe." Molly Weasley was sobbing and shaking, her face buried in her youngest child's hair. "Sweetheart, I love you, don't you ever scare me like that again,"
"Mum, Mum I love you, and I'm sorry," Ginny hugged her mother back briefly, before gently removing herself from the hug and stepping backwards. "I'm sorry, Mum, but I have to go." She turned away, but before she could restart her search for Luna, she tripped over a piece of marble and fell forward into someone.
Ginny scrambled back up and apologized, even while her eyes were searching the Great Hall for her best friend. "Sorry, I'm sorry, I have to-,"
The arms holding her up tightened around her. "I kept my promise."
Letting out a gasp, Ginny whipped her head around, and her heart stopped when she saw who was in front of her. "Luna," she whispered, feeling wrecked completely and utterly. A soft hand rested against her cheek, and as she leaned into it Ginny's heart began to beat again until it was beating twice as fast as normal.
Luna smiled, and despite the smudges of ash on her cheeks, the strands of charred hair upon her head and the tears in her clothing, Ginny had never seen anything more beautiful. Her arms unfroze from her sides and she launched herself at the other girl, and the tears she had forced back earlier spilled over.
"I though- I couldn't find you, Luna, and I didn't-," Ginny sobbed incoherently, her thin body shaking, and Luna ran her hands through Ginny's hair slowly, and closed her eyes.
"Shhh, Gin, shhh, it's okay. Darling, it's fine, I'm fine. I love you, I love you, I love you." Luna's voice was like a lullaby, and gradually Ginny stopped sobbing and calmed down enough to lean back. She saw that they were surrounded by a small crowd of people, including both their parents and most of her brothers, although she couldn't see the twins anywhere. Luna tilted her head to the side a bit, and Ginny refocused. They looked at each other for a moment, and everything around them fell away.
Ginny spoke suddenly. "Luna."
Luna's lips curled upward slowly, almost as if she knew what Ginny was going to say next. "Ginny." She inclined her head slightly.
Ginny swallowed past the lump which had just appeared in her throat. "I love you. Marry me," she said, her arms tightening around Luna, and she heard someone from the crowd around them gasp. She ignored them and leaned a tiny bit closer.
"If I could, I would marry you right now." Luna's response was frank and full of honesty, and it made Ginny burst out into laughter before leaning forward to kiss her best friend, her girlfriend, her fiance.
Her Luna.
AN/: I may eventually write an epilogue (or a sequel!) to this story, because I really love it so far and feel like I could add more. Until then, however, this is it. I hope you liked it, and please leave a review! If you have any fic requests just PM me, and I'll see what I can do:)