Title: Daisy Chains
Author: OverFlowingBox
Pairing: Luna/Fred
Daisy Chains
Fred Weasley launched himself onto the couch in the Gryffindor common room, kicking his feet up onto the crimson upholstery, leaving no room for anyone else. His twin brother, George, sat on the other side of the room, talking to multiple girls at a time. Fred closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the armrest, but his head met a leg. He opened his eyes and his green eyes met a pair of chocolate ones.
Angelina Johnson, with her high cheekbones, brown skin and hair, was Fred's self-proclaimed girlfriend. She had told everyone that they were dating after the Yule Ball the previous year. Fred, however, had no recollection of agreeing to this arrangement. But Angelina was pretty and she even supported the twins' pranks.
Fred smiled up at her, giving her a wink which she returned. Slowly, she leaned down and their lips met. The kiss didn't last for a second; it went on and on until even Fred, who always claimed to be a professional kisser, was panting slightly. He pulled away and reached up to ruffle Angelina's hair. She scowled and gently smacked his hand away. Just then, George leapt over the back of the couch, pinching his brother's cheek, teasingly affectionate. "C'mon Freddy! Time to go!" he exclaimed in a teasing tone, letting go of Fred's face.
"Shut up, George," he said. But he was smiling. Slowly, he stood up and stretched, his long arms almost touching the dark wood of the ceiling. Fred and George were tall, both almost six-foot-five. The twins crossed the crowded common room, dodging chairs, tables, and other Gryffindors as they made their way to the portrait hole, receiving many smiles and hello's along the way. As they sauntered across the room, they met their friend, Lee Jordan, who gave them both a high five. Lee and George exited the common room, but Fred paused a moment. He blew a kiss around the room, making many of the girls blush, including Hermione Granger (who rarely reacted with an emotion other than anger). He did an internal victory dance and climbed through the portrait hole with a flourish.
The three seventh years looked around quickly before scurrying off towards the disused boy's bathroom. Everyone at Hogwarts knew about the Weasley's shop they had set up; they needed the money for the store they were eventually going to open in Diagon Alley. Harry Potter had already helped with that by giving them his prize money from the Triwizard Tournament the previous year, but the twins had decided to raise some extra Galleons (better safe than sorry).
Fred, George, and Lee hurried along corridors, peering around corners, and dodging in and out of shadows to get to the sixth floor. Finally, they reached the door to the bathroom. The wood was old and splintering and it was locked up. "Alohomora," George muttered. Lee and George pushed open the door, avoiding any stray pieces of wood that could get lodged under their skin, and disappeared through the doorway. But, once again, Fred hesitated before entering. Rhythmic footfalls were moving along the hall. He squinted down the dark corridor, trying to make out what was coming towards him. There was a small, bluish light, just a dot, about fifty yards away. The door opened behind him again, and his brother patted him on the shoulder.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Shh!" Fred replied. George raised an eyebrow and swept his ginger hair out of his face. "Look!" Fred whispered, pointing at the light. It was closer now and Fred could make out a shadowed figure. It was obviously a girl because she was skipping, her long, wavy hair bouncing behind her. George tried to push his twin through the door.
"It's probably a prefect, let's go!" he muttered urgently, still trying to get his brother through the door. But Fred resisted.
"It's not!"
"And how would you know?"
"Because prefects don't skip," Fred hissed through his teeth. The two watched in silence as the girl drew nearer, both holding their breath. She came closer and closer and the twins let out a sigh of relief. "Luna Lovegood, shoulda known," Fred murmured. The blonde paused in front of them, and turned her head to look at them. Her blue eyes seemed to stare right through them.
"She's sleepwalking! Well, sort of," George whispered. The twins backed up towards the door; the way Luna was staring at them was creepy. Her chin was tilted to the side in a questioning look and her long blonde hair was slightly askew.
"Oh hello, Fred. Want to come pick flowers with me?" she asked in a dreamy voice that echoed off the stone walls.
"Er. . . No, no not really," he replied, softer than she had.
"Are you sure? The daisies are quite abundant this year." She was beginning to turn away again. George was slowly opening the door behind them and was itching to go inside.
"No thanks . . . er. . . Luna. The shop's open tonight. I, uh, gotta help George and Lee," Fred said.
"Oh, that's too bad," she said simply as she began to saunter off. Her head was still tilted and instead of skipping, she continued her way down the hall with a dreamy sort of walk.
Fred and George looked at each other, and George sniggered. The two of them then opened the door and disappeared inside.
The blonde was sitting against the wall outside the sixth floor boy's bathroom, twiddling her thumbs and humming thoughtlessly. Sitting beside her a was a blue cup emblazoned with a raven. Inside the cup was three daisies, their petals a pure, untouched white. There was a loud pop! and Luna Lovegood jumped. Her breathing quickened as she looked around, wondering how she had ended up in the sixth floor corridor outside the disused bathroom with a cup of daisies. Slowly, she stood up, brushing her nightgown off with delicate fingertips.
Lips parted slightly and blue eyes wide, Luna pushed the door to the bathroom open and peered inside. Purple smoke swirled around the room, rising up towards the high, stone ceiling. Three dark figures moved around in the smoke, all coughing loudly. "I t-told you n-n-not t-to use t-that m-much Re'em b-b-blood!" spluttered an all-too-familiar voice. Luna saw a flash of red hair and gasped silently, pulling back out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She leaned back against the wall and closed her cerulean orbs, taking long, staggered breaths.
She opened her eyes again, still breathing deeply, and backed down the hall. It must have been that smoke, she thought, almost helplessly as she turned and hurried back to the Ravenclaw Tower. That's why I'm out of breath. Or maybe it's the Nargles. . .
No one spoke about Luna's midnight exploits the next morning, though all the girls in her dormitory knew that she'd been out. When she had finally opened those double doors and wandered in to the familiar four-poster beds with the blue curtains, the homey, musty smell that thickened the air, and the dark, cozy wood floors with complimentary white plaster walls, Luna was met with seven other girls of eyes eyeing her curiously. But it almost surprised Luna when no one mentioned anything about her outing the next morning, but then, none of the other girls really spoke to her other than to tell (or ask) her something about class.
Dreamily, the blonde slid out of bed. For once, she was the first one awake. She glided lazily to her trunk, which lay closed at the foot of her bed. She flicked open the locks and rummaged around until she found her clean, white shirt. As she pulled on the shirt and continued to pull on the rest of her uniform, the other girls slowly came awake, one by one. It was then, when all of Luna's dorm-mates were roused from their beds, did the routine hustle and bustle of the day begin.
Luna gently pulled her wheat-blonde hair back over her shoulders, tying it carefully with a royal blue ribbon as she stared out the window and towards the lake. She reached down to her nightstand and felt around for her hairbrush, not taking her eyes away from the glass. Her pale skin met the wooden handle of the brush and she brought it up to her head run it through the end of her ponytail. She set it back down and glanced at her nightstand. She had a strange feeling that something was missing.
Her eyes skimmed over the dark tabletop several times before her Wrackspurts cleared her brain. Her cup. The one her mother had given her when she was little. The blue one with the raven.
Luna rarely panicked. And even if she did "panic", it was nothing more than a raced heartbeat. But when she saw the the cup was gone, her stomach felt like it had dropped to her feet. No longer worrying about brushing her hair, the blonde flitted to her trunk and rummaged around. She zipped smoothly around the dormitory (all the others had left by now), checking drawers and feeling around under beds. At last, she gave up and settled on her bed. The clear, crystal goblet she had stolen from the Great Hall the previous day was still sitting on the windowsill and it still contained the tiny, white daisy.
She stood up gracefully and sighed dreamily, shaking her head. One of these days, I'm going to catch those Nargles.
A/N: Sorry to everyone for the long wait! Unexpected hiatus from this particular story. So not as good as the first one, in my opinion, but I think it's actually going somewhere now. I tried to make Luna the same, dreamy girl that I made her in the first chapter, but I don't think I did it that well =/. Oh well. Anyway, more chapters to come! And did I just make a Harry Potter video game reference? I think I did! HAHAHAHAHA (and for those that don't know, Fred and George have a shop in the game 8B)
