p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" She could feel the madness creeping up on her, a silence that screamed in every chamber of her mind. It wasn't real, not the way things could be some times, but it was a warning. It was her brain trying to tell her it had seen a bad pattern coming down all these little pathways she was learning about. She took a deep breath and slid into all that tension, trying to find where it would let itself be pushed. In the space of a what was only a second or two she let her mind wander, feeling for a place to send it, trying not to push too hard. Her brain was a delicate thing at times, she had come to learn, best to take the time to do things right when she had the luxury. Luna's eyes landed on her laundry basket. I was full of clothes that needed putting away and something about handling that little task felt good. She slid her books out of her way and started sorting and folding her laundry, an old curiosity left her inventorying as she went, no matter how hard she tried not to every time. She was starting to think it was her determination not to do it that had her still at it all these years later. She had used a pretty rock to tune in to Pandora from her computer with an experimental spell she and Hermione were trying to develop as a potential Muggle/Wizarding product, but there were still some bugs in the gesture controls without a wand to direct them. As she tried to skip a song with a slightly too ambiguous wave of her hand, the shiny blue rock tried to thumbs up and skip forward at the same time and decided to launch itself both up and forward. It was a sort of poetry that made Luna start chuckling to herself as she checked the wall to make sure it hadn't cracked the plaster./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" It was strange, this wasn't really the life she thought she'd be living in a world without a Voldemort in it. There was a good bit there, almost every minute of 4 very long years and most of another 2, where Luna couldn't have been dragged from the distant corners and coves of the earth by a herd of Thestrals, not even the Hogwarts herd. Every time she came back to civilization to present her most recent findings, Hermione would always be around somewhere, and take the time to look her up. At first Luna had thought it was just Hermione's way of saying sorry to someone she'd mocked who had turned out to be her scholarly equal. There was a good chance that the first few times were at least partially from that, though Hermione had yet to admit it. They had talked mostly of their different research projects at first, but cryptozoology and Hermione's pet Magic/Science experiments had very little in common. Strangely they found other things to talk about. The idea of the codified Muggle scientific method, especially some of the things Hermione told her about quantum physics and the study of neuroscience, appealed to Luna's sensibilities. Just because something was complex and subtle and sometimes difficult to pin down didn't mean you couldn't prove it existed in a logical way. You just had to be clever. Luna and Hermione were very clever. The cleverest witches of their age, some said. There was a rumor running the rounds these days that a prophecy had put one of them with a Nobel Prize, but not which one, because that's the way of those sorts of things./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" It's not like Luna doesn't still love the far places and the hunt and the creatures no one's quite ready to believe, they go on studies any time a student asks for a Mentor on a research trip, but those research trips aren't nearly as common as they once were. Now Luna is trying to learn as much as she can as fast as she can about all of the Muggle world, using Hermione for a crutch and keeping a Witch's eye for how magic could take advantage of technology and scientific discovery. Hermione is trying to do the reverse, learning the advanced nuances of magic, both those that come from intense study and being immersed fully in the magical world for generations. First they were just avid scholars, trying to learn from the world and each other. Now their symbiosis has… evolved./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" The clock on the wall, an idea Hermione fell in love with at the Weasley's house, no matter that Luna tried to explain that these days they were thought to be "cheesy", chimed softly. Luna set down the pants she was folding and turned toward the living room as the doorknob noisily accepted Hermione's key and allowed her entry. She was like a sip of ice water for the tension in Luna's skull, and as Luna silently embraced her Lady every touch was another little sip, until Luna finally let go and helped Hermione put her things away./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" A little look, a particular set of head angle and expression and eye contact, but not for too long, was all the words Hermione needed to ask after all their work together./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" "Just fond memories," Luna answered, letting her voice take on it's sweetest and most drowsy tone. "And there's very little holding you doesn't make better." It was a white lie of a dodge, the sort of thing to which there is really only one good reply./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" "Fair enough." Hermione scooped up a jar of Talenti in one hand and Luna in the other and settled both in her lap on the couch. She rested her head against the sweet madwoman's and asked, "So whatcha in the mood for; Capaldi or Little Rick?" as she turned on the media center./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" It was strange, this wasn't really the life she thought she'd be living in a world without a Voldemort in it. There was a good bit there, almost every minute of 4 very long years and most of another 2, where Luna couldn't have been dragged from the distant corners and coves of the earth by a herd of Thestrals, not even the Hogwarts herd. Every time she came back to civilization to present her most recent findings, Hermione would always be around somewhere, and take the time to look her up. At first Luna had thought it was just Hermione's way of saying sorry to someone she'd mocked who had turned out to be her scholarly equal. There was a good chance that the first few times were at least partially from that, though Hermione had yet to admit it. They had talked mostly of their different research projects at first, but cryptozoology and Hermione's pet Magic/Science experiments had very little in common. Strangely they found other things to talk about. The idea of the codified Muggle scientific method, especially some of the things Hermione told her about quantum physics and the study of neuroscience, appealed to Luna's sensibilities. Just because something was complex and subtle and sometimes difficult to pin down didn't mean you couldn't prove it existed in a logical way. You just had to be clever. Luna and Hermione were very clever. The cleverest witches of their age, some said. There was a rumor running the rounds these days that a prophecy had put one of them with a Nobel Prize, but not which one, because that's the way of those sorts of things./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" It's not like Luna doesn't still love the far places and the hunt and the creatures no one's quite ready to believe, they go on studies any time a student asks for a Mentor on a research trip, but those research trips aren't nearly as common as they once were. Now Luna is trying to learn as much as she can as fast as she can about all of the Muggle world, using Hermione for a crutch and keeping a Witch's eye for how magic could take advantage of technology and scientific discovery. Hermione is trying to do the reverse, learning the advanced nuances of magic, both those that come from intense study and being immersed fully in the magical world for generations. First they were just avid scholars, trying to learn from the world and each other. Now their symbiosis has… evolved./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" The clock on the wall, an idea Hermione fell in love with at the Weasley's house, no matter that Luna tried to explain that these days they were thought to be "cheesy", chimed softly. Luna set down the pants she was folding and turned toward the living room as the doorknob noisily accepted Hermione's key and allowed her entry. She was like a sip of ice water for the tension in Luna's skull, and as Luna silently embraced her Lady every touch was another little sip, until Luna finally let go and helped Hermione put her things away./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" A little look, a particular set of head angle and expression and eye contact, but not for too long, was all the words Hermione needed to ask after all their work together./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" "Just fond memories," Luna answered, letting her voice take on it's sweetest and most drowsy tone. "And there's very little holding you doesn't make better." It was a white lie of a dodge, the sort of thing to which there is really only one good reply./p
p dir="ltr" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 19.7505px;" "Fair enough." Hermione scooped up a jar of Talenti in one hand and Luna in the other and settled both in her lap on the couch. She rested her head against the sweet madwoman's and asked, "So whatcha in the mood for; Capaldi or Little Rick?" as she turned on the media center./p