Written for Monthly One-Shot Exchange (July 2018): Written for afewmistakesago
Prompts: Luna/Ginny, romance, eyelashes, delicate, coming out
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Warnings: bullying
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During the first two years of school, Ginny heard the stories of Loony Lovegood. It was impossible not to hear them and a new one always seemed to pop up every month or two. Ginny heard about how the girl believed in made-up creatures and weird tales. Another story going around was about how Luna had fallen asleep in class only to scream "The Nargles are coming to get me" when she woke up. And every time Ginny heard that story, the girl screamed something even weirder.
So when she did meet Luna, she was not prepared.
It was halfway through the second year. Ginny was walking through the hallway when she saw it. Three people gathering around a girl. Her feet uncontrollably dancing without the rest of her body. Ginny could see how the girl was trying to appear strong, but couldn't keep the tears out of her eyes.
She had to defend the girl so Ginny held her wand up high and cast the Bat-Bogey Hex. The blond girl's tormentors turning to Ginny as giants bats flew out of their noses and attacked them.
"Do something!" One of the girls screamed at a boy.
He gave her one look before running away, followed by two of the bats. The two girls watched him go, blinked at each other and raced away. The remaining bats pursuing them through the hallways.
Ginny pointed at the still dancing blond and cast the counter-spell. The girl looked at her in gratitude before her feet stopped moving and she dropped to the ground.
Ginny ran to her. "Everything alright?" she asked as she helped the girl up.
"Yes, yes. They do that all the time. Nothing to worry about," the girl told Ginny as she wiped the dust off her clothes.
"They do that all the time!?"
"Yes. Don't worry." She seemed done brushing her clothes as she properly looked at Ginny for the first time. "I'm Luna."
The words threw Ginny off track. She was still processing that this girl let people do that to her on a regular basis and now she was introducing herself? "Uh," she said, forgetting her own name for a split second. "Ginny."
"Nice to meet you, Ginny." And Luna looked at her with dreamy grey eyes, almost looking through her.
So this is Luna. She looked nothing like Ginny had imagined after hearing all those stories. A bit weird with what seemed like radishes bungling from her ears and the way she stared in the distance, but it just made her interesting to look at. And Ginny couldn't imagine why all those people liked to laugh at her.
She watched as Luna picked up some books—she must have dropped them when they attacked her—until she realised what she was doing. She skipped to where the books lay and helped pick them up. When they were all off the ground, she handed them back to Luna.
For a moment Luna looked at her like she'd never seen something so mystifying. Then her expression changed to gratitude. "Thanks for helping me."
A smile brightened Ginny's face. "You're welcome."
Luna waved goodbye and as she walked away, Ginny wished she wouldn't go. It seemed a silly thing to wish, but she couldn't think anything else. So she ran after Luna, catching up with her. "Hey, where are you going?"
"The library."
"Can I come?"
And Ginny would never forget the look of disbelief that Luna gave her at that moment. "Yes. Of course," she stuttered, letting Ginny walk beside her.
That one event was the start of a chain reaction that formed their friendship. After that one afternoon in the library, Luna and Ginny soon spend most of their days together. Helping each other with homework or just having fun together. Soon Luna was spending all her meals at the Gryffindor table and they always sat at the same table in the library.
It wasn't until third year that something changed.
Ginny was getting ready for the Yule ball, almost not believing she was going. She fixed her hair and make-up one more time. It was perfect, but she still couldn't help wanting to make it even more perfect. I need to go. She looked in the mirror one more time before she made her way to the common room, where Neville would be waiting for her.
The ball itself was amazing. It was like nothing she'd ever seen, but there was something even more wonderful that she saw that evening.
She'd been there for an hour and was resting on a chair near the doors when Luna made her entrance. Ginny didn't see the boy at her friend's arm and could only look at her. For a full minute, Ginny forgot to breathe.
Luna was wearing a yellow dress and shone like the sun. Flowers decorated the fabric and were braided in her hair. Her long eyelashes widened her cloudy grey eyes. And her face looked so delicate—like it was made of porcelain—and so strong at the same time. Ginny couldn't help but stare at her friend and feel this fluttering in her stomach. A whole herd of hippogriffs flying around in there.
What is this feeling? She looked down, but could still feel Luna's presence in the room. What was this feeling? And then it dawned on her. No. It can't be.
Ginny didn't take the time to answer her own question. Instead, she ran back to her dorm as fast as she could, hoping Luna didn't see her leave.
What do I do? What do I do? She paced her room. How do you tell your best friend you like them. How do you tell your female best friend you like them. As more than friends. How? HOW?
"Ginny? You in here?" And now she really regretted giving Luna the password to the common room.
She paced the room two more lengths before answering, though it sounded more like a question. "Yes?"
Her best friend came in and Ginny couldn't help but notice how breathtaking she looked. Blond hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. Grey, intelligent eyes with long eyelashes scanning the room before they settled on her.
Concern appeared in Luna's eyes. "Why are you so nervous?"
Nervous? Ginny caught herself still pacing. She grabbed control over her legs and stood still. Her limbs didn't want to listen to her though and her foot began tapping the floor, faster and faster. "I'm not nervous." Why did she feel caught? "Not nervous at all."
Luna raised her eyebrows, pointed at Ginny's feet. "That's why you're dancing?" Shock overtook her face. "Has someone cast the Dancing Feet Spell on you?"
"No!" Ginny willed her feet to stand still. "No, no one spelt me. It's not that." The girl sighed and sat herself on her bed. Her feet dangling slightly above the floor.
She'd never seen Luna so quick as when she sat beside Ginny at that moment. Her gentle hand rested on Ginny's knee. "You can tell me what's wrong." With a soft look in her gaze, Luna made eye contact. "I won't laugh."
"I know you won't. You would never laugh. It's just—" Was she really going to tell this to Luna? What if she would never want to see her again? Maybe she should start somewhere smaller. "I—" Silence again. She was so grateful that Luna waited for her to tell and didn't force it out of her. "I like girls."
"Ow."
This was it. Luna would look at her with disgust and tell she never wanted to see Ginny again.
"I like girls too."
"What?" Did she just say that out loud?
Luna nodded, staring into space at something only she could see. "And boys. I don't see the difference."
A deep breath entered and left Ginny's lungs. Was she really hearing this? "You're not making fun of me?"
"No!" The loudness of that one word shocked both Luna and Ginny. "I would never do that. You know me better than that," she said with her normal, soft tone.
Slowly, Ginny nodded. She needed to get everything off her chest. "Can I tell you something else?" She waited until Luna said yes. "I don't just like girls. I—" She was a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake, she could say this. "I like you."
Luna looked like she had just discovered evidence for the existence of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. "I like you too," she breathed out.
Before she knew what she was doing, Ginny pressed her lips on Luna's. Kissing her with everything she had.
When they broke apart, they kept close and neither could stop smiling.
"You're amazing."
"I love you too."