A Gift
A/N: I have never written Harry Potter fanfiction before, so this isn't an exceptional piece. Also I'm not a usual Fred/Luna fan, so this was strange to write!
For Xenovia77, a loyal friend and dedicated Fruna shipper.
"So, do you have a Charms class-"
"-that you would rather miss?"
"Or perhaps a Potions lesson-"
"-which proves to be a bore?"
"Instead, you want to spend the day relaxing in bed-"
"-with no worries over homework?"
"Then try our Puking Pastilles! Guaranteed to grant you access to the hospital wing-"
"-and a ticket out of the classroom."
George Weasley passed his brother an item from their stock as he chuckled.
"Good luck trying to skip Potions, though."
Fred presented the Skiving Snackbox in his hands to a group of female Ravenclaws. They all crowded closer in the nearly deserted hallway, as George gestured to the coloured sweets.
"As you can see, they are double-ended. Eat the orange half to throw up-"
"-and then the purple half to restore your usual charm and attractiveness."
The three girls giggled and shared looks with each other as they blushed at Fred's words. After taking a moment to calm down, they turned their attention back to the Puking Pastilles. George glanced at them hopefully as they eagerly stared at the chews.
"Do we have a buyer?"
"Yes! Oh, wait...just got to get my purse."
One of the girls rummaged around in her bag, as the other two started to jump up and down in excitement.
"Imagine what we can do with these! We can't be told off for not doing our Transfiguration homework if we're sick!"
"I can think of better things than that. We could ask Jeff to get Loony to have one! With the purple bit taken off, of course..."
The girls all erupted into laughter at the thought of Luna Lovegood.
"She'd probably blame Nargles!"
"Hey, do you think she's still crying near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom? She'll never find her shoes that way!"
Their giggles increased in volume as they remembered the events that had occurred recently to the strange blonde.
Finally the girl had found her purse, and turned to Fred.
"How much?"
He contemplated her for a few seconds, before handing the box of sweets back to George.
"I'm afraid that this item has just been taken off sale. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."
The Ravenclaws looked at him in shock, and even George raised an eyebrow at his brother.
"You can't be serious?!"
Fred nodded at the girls to confirm his statement.
"Right, c'mon Tanya, Kris. We're leaving."
As the three stomped away from them, they kept turning around to glare at the twins. Once they were out of view, George questioned his brother.
"We almost made a sale there. Why did you have to do that?"
"Well, Luna's...a friend of ours. It wouldn't be right to help people like that. They've hurt her enough already."
George sighed as he placed the Skiving Snackbox on top of a stack of others.
"I guess..."
"Do you think we should check on her? She may need some help."
"You can go, if you like."
"Really? Thanks."
Fred quickly left in the direction of Myrtle's bathroom. George looked after him for a few moments before remembering the large pile of stock beside him.
"Now, what am I going to do with these..."
ooooo
Luna didn't understand what she had done to anger the other Ravenclaws. Of course she must have hurt them, or why would they have hurt her?
As she sat tucked up in a corner out of everyone's way, Luna couldn't help but assume that they were bad people. Well, not bad as such, just not nice. Though it wasn't nice of her to think that about them.
Maybe they weren't really her friends, after all. After receiving compliments on an item of her possession, she would later find it missing or broken. During classes people fought not to work with her and if they were made to by the teacher, they would insult and complain about her to their friends, or even to her face.
Yes, as Luna was alone, it didn't feel like she had many friends.
"Hey, are you okay?"
She looked up in surprise, to see that someone had found her comfort place. Grateful that her tears had ceased a few minutes ago, Luna stared at the boy as she tried to think of his name. Tall, ginger hair, caring eyes, lopsided grin...
"Fred?"
"Yep. How did you know I wasn't George?"
He leaned against the wall, and then lowered himself to sit beside her on the floor.
"Well...your head's filled with less Wrackspurts."
"I...guess that's a good thing. Thanks, Luna."
They sat in silence for a few moments, as Fred searched for the right thing to say.
"So, why are you here?"
Luna thought over what he had asked, before deciding it was safe to tell him.
"Some people were mean to me, and I wanted to get away from them. You?"
"Some people were mean to you. I thought you might need some help."
"Oh, thank you for your offer, but I'm quite alright. You get used to it after a while."
Fred was concerned at her dismissive attitude of the cruel bullying, and his eyes wandered to her bare feet.
"You don't have to take this, Luna. Why haven't you told anybody? What about your friends?"
"They are my friends. And I don't want to trouble anybody with my problems."
"They're your friends?! How can you say that after what they've done to you?! What about your other friends?"
"I don't have any."
"Well, you have me."
Luna raised her eyes to meet Fred's.
"Really?"
"Of course, Luna. We're friends
"I-I...thank you."
She felt heat rise to her cheeks under his stare, and looked back to the ground. Fred sighed, and then got back onto his feet.
"So, do you want to help George and I test out some of our new ideas on your old friends?"
He offered a hand down to Luna. It didn't take long for her to make up her mind.
"I would like that."
She clasped his hand, and he pulled her up to stand beside him. When they walked down the hallway together, neither of them let go.