A/N:
So this is something I wrote a while ago and just discovered in my laptop files- tell me what you think! Also, I'm not sure I like the title, suggestions are welcome.
Disclaimer: I am not JKR.
I sighed, walking down the deserted hallway away from my two bickering best friends. They didn't even notice. The two of them had been dating for a few months now, and their previously common fighting had become practically constant. The worst part was the make-ups, this usually happened every few nights or so, involving a long make out session in the common room.
I tried to be happy for them, I really did, but I had given up on that long ago. They hardly ever talked to me anymore, often not even noticing I was in the room. I had never realized how much that would hurt. But the pain in my chest from that was nothing compared to the constant ache in my heart. I used to think the reason I was so protective of Hermione was because I thought of her as a sister. The first time I saw her kissing Ron, I realized how wrong I was.
Sometime, I have no idea when, I had fallen in love with my female best friend. By the time I had figured it out, it was too late. I may have been desperately in love with Hermione, but I wasn't cruel enough to sabotage her and Ron's relationship. Especially since the chances she had any feelings for me were slim to none.
Wandering through the empty hallways of Hogwarts, I had never felt more alone. The only constant I had in my life, strangely enough, was Luna Lovegood. Ron and Hermione, and the rest of the school for that matter, didn't understand my friendship with the blond witch, but I knew she was special. She was always good for an interesting conversation, and was an incredible listener, not to mention how she always managed to just know things...
Like she had known I was thinking about her, Luna appeared at the end of the corridor I was lumbering down.
"Hey Luna," I smiled at her, attempting to appear cheerful. I don't know why I even tried; Luna would be able to see through me in an instant.
"Hello Harry. It seems very gloomy in this corridor doesn't it? Must be all the nargles," she said in her usual dreamy tones, yet her large eyes wandered around the area, taking everything in.
"Yah, it is a bit gloomy, isn't it," I replied, we both knew that we were talking about me, not the corridor.
"You know Harry, you shouldn't worry so much," she said bluntly, in a very un-lunaesque fashion.
"I worry about everything Luna, what in particular are you telling me not to worry about this time?" The fact that I worry too much was a common conversation topic between the two of us.
"The otter, and the terrier. You spend much too much of your time troubling about how they interact," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I know that she was talking about Ron and Hermione; she clearly wanted me to understand what she was saying, knowing that I would easily understand the reference to my friend's patronus forms.
"I can't help it Luna, you know how amazing I think otters are," I had long ago learned that when talking to Luna, it was a lot simpler to adopt her way of speech then having to switch back and forth from reality to Luna-reality.
"Never fear Harry, all will be well in the end. The otter will one day understand where it truly belongs," Luna looks into my eyes while saying this, and I could only hope that meant that Hermione was meant to be with me.
"But what about the Terrier?" I couldn't even imagine what Ron's reaction would be if I got together with Hermione after the two of them broke up. It would probably turn into fourth year all over again.
Luna laughed at this. "The terrier will find, well, a female dog, that will make him happy." I didn't know anyone other than Ron with a dog patronus, but I got the feeling that Luna's reference was no longer referring to patroni. Could she mean bitch by female dog? That could be almost anyone! Setting this aside for later use I nodded, there was no use in asking Luna for more information, she didn't work that way.
"You know Harry, it almost seems like the hall is less gloomy than before, some of the nargles must have left," Luna said thoughtfully. It was true, her presence and conversation had cheered me up.
"You tend to have that effect Luna," I told her, "you make the nargles around me go away. You truly are a great friend," I smiled at her. She smiled back.
"You know Harry, you are one of the few people I know who truly loves watching lunar eclipses," she informed me. To most people this would seem like a completely irrelevant comment, but I knew that whenever she spoke of lunar eclipses, or the moon, she was referring to herself. I wasn't sure if this was because of her name, or because the first time I ever really understood her was when the two of us were on the astronomy tower, watching a lunar eclipse. Either way, I understood what she was trying to tell me. She was thanking me, in her own special way.
Staring out the window, she said, "I have always found stags such magnificent creatures. So brave, majestic, powerful, and strong. But what many people don't realize, is that they have very sensitive ears. This allows them to...pick up on things, that other animals...might not be able to. I've always respected them for that, for being different from other creatures like that." She looked me straight in the eye, and I knew that she was talking about me, and how I understood her.
I had the sudden urge to show her quite how much I understood and cared for her. Without even thinking about it, I opened my mouth to say, "Yes, but as strong as the stag may appear on the outside, in reality it will always be prey. And sometimes it feels week and conflicted, and needs comfort. So, it'll search for a constant. And do you know what's always there for a stag? No matter where it is? The gorgeous light of the moon."
"Harry..." Luna choked out, her eyes watering with unshed tears.
"You were right, I am rather fond of lunar eclipses. They're just so unique, and refreshing. Most people don't understand them, they're quite mysterious you see, but once you know the right patterns, they're quite simple to understand. They are horribly under-appreciated too, so many people just don't understand their beauty." I stared right into Luna's eyes while saying this, watching as a single tear rolled down her left cheek. The second I had finished talking, she launched herself at me, and enveloped me a warm hug.
"Thank you Harry," she said, looking into my eyes, "thank you."
Two years later
The War was over, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry. The threat of Voldemort that had been hanging over my head since I had first learned about magic, was gone. Yet, I wanted to cry for the losses, so many losses. Remus, Tonks, Fred, Snape, there were so many. But there was one that hit me harder than all the others combined, Luna. The girl had become my best friend during my last year at Hogwarts, and she was the only one who truly understood me. I would miss her more than anything. I owed her so much, we all did.
So here I was, almost six months after the Dark Lord had been killed, finally visiting Luna.
"Hey," I croaked, walking up to the marble coffin. "I'm sorry it took me so long to visit, I really should have come sooner.
Well, I did it, he's gone. I never could have done it without you of course, all those hints, leading me to the Horucruxes, I never would have found them otherwise.
I miss you, ya know. You were so brave on the battle field, how the hell did you learn to fight like that anyway? I guess I'll never know...
You were right about Ron and Herm, and me and Herm too. Then again, when have you ever been wrong? Oh! And I finally got that the other day, about Ron and the the female dog thing. I mean, Pansy? I'll never understand Ron's thought process on that one, but, he's happy. I have to wonder though, were you referring to the fact that most of the time she's a complete bitch, or that her face used to look like a pug? Either way, nice one Luna.
I, well, I planted a bush in my garden. It's a moonstar, the flowers only bloom during a lunar eclipse, it's beautiful..." by this time the tears were streaming down my face, and I watched as a glistening drop fell onto the smooth top of the coffin.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a piece of silvery parchment solidified where my tear had hit the marble and I picked it up. Glancing at it, I recognized Luna's neat but Loopy script.
I knelt down in the dirt and began to read.
Harry,
If you are reading this, then I am dead, and you are crying over my coffin.
You should not be crying for me, you should be rejoicing in the fact that there is peace in the world.
I wish to thank you Harry, for understanding and caring for me like no other did.
This letter will be short, as I really don't have much to say.
I figure that if there is a time in my life, or death as this may be, to say things outright, that this is it.
I love you Harry Potter.
I have been in love with you for years, and possibly still am.
I am not saying this to make you feel bad, in fact I wish for you not to, but I felt as though I should tell you, so I did.
I do have one request, if it isn't too selfish of me.
Every time there is a lunar eclipse, would you look up to the sky, and think of me?
I think this would make me happy, wherever I am now.
Lastly, thank you Harry, for making my existence an enjoyable one.
Forever living until you forget,
Luna
And with that, I dropped my head into my hands, and wept.
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Many decades later a man with the name of Harry Potter lay dying in his bed. He was not sad, however, as he had lived a long prosperous life, and was now surrounded by his friends, family and those he loved.
The night before his wife, his dear Hermione, had passed away in her sleep. While others were mourning her, Harry was not upset. He knew that she was in a better place now, and that he would join her there soon enough.
His wise green eyes took in the 18 people he loved most, and he was content. Just as he was about to shut his eyes in eternal rest, he caught a glimpse of the night sky through a glass-pained window. It was the night of a Lunar Eclipse, and he was struck with an idea.
Ordering his eldest daughter to levitate his bed outside into the vast green gardens surrounding the house, he began to tell his loved ones a story. The story was of a mysterious young girl named Luna, who Harry had known once upon a time. He told them everything, from how Luna was treated by her peers, to the letter in silver ink she had written to say goodbye, to how she was the reason Harry had managed to win the war.
Many were crying by the end of the tale, but Harry informed them that Luna would live on, as long as someone remembered her. All 18 people standing in the vast green grass promised never to forget, and to share the story with the next generation, so that Luna would never be forgotten.
With the knowledge that his best friend's memory would live on, that the one he loved was waiting for him, and that he was surrounded by loved ones, Harry Potter drifted into a never-ending sleep.
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A Thousand Years Later, a dark haired man stood with his dark haired son in the middle of a clearing. This clearing was in a vast forest that had once been named Forbidden, but it had been long since anyone had called it that. The man, one Hal Jacob Peterson, took his son's hand in his, and looked up at the Lunar Eclipse displayed proudly in the sky.
Hal remembered a tale he had been told as a small child, the tale of a mysterious young girl. Hal nodded to himself, made himself comfortable in the green grass of the clearing, and began to tell his only son the Legend of Luna Lovegood, the Tale that Time Forgot to Forget.