Thanks for the reviews BellaEllaWrite and James Birdsong! Chapter two :)
Eccentric.
Yes, eccentric was the perfect word to describe her. He never liked her nickname Looney Lovegood but he did have to admit that she was different. In 5 days he had turned his house upside down both figuratively and literally. His plan had been to just make sure she didn't injure herself more and retreat to his room for the rest of them time. But it seemed like Luna had plans of her own.
The first day she turned all of paintings and pictures upside down (they weren't too happy by the way) because it would spook off god knows what creatures from his cupboards. Then she decided it was too dark and that would not allow her radish earrings (yes, she still had those) to blossom, so she took it upon herself without his consent to change all his dark curtains. She almost fell and if it wasn't for him sulking in a corner and being able to catch her, she would have hurt her other leg too. And she just laughed it off.
And if that wasn't enough, on her third day she just HAD to re-arrange his furniture but since he hadn't cleaned in forever, he had to first clean everything so that she wouldn't do it and hurt herself. Then she directed him from the kitchen table as to where everything should go. Somehow his center table ended by a corner with a cushion on top of it. He was exhausted by the end of the day since she kept changing her mind, so that night he dropped dead on his bed. Although he had to admit it was the best night sleep he had gotten in a while, too tired to think about anything else but sleep.
At least on her fourth and fifth day he got a break since Luna stayed in the guest room and him in his. He would only be vigilant of any suspicious sounds, but other than normal kitchen noises he heard nothing more. So that's when he started to worry, maybe she was in pain or something and wasn't telling him.
He sighed and got up off his bed. He approached her closed door and knocked ever so softly. Silently hoping she hadn't heard and could continue his sleep without feeling guilty for not trying. But alas was his luck that immediately after he heard a small voice. "please go away"
He frowned, should he say as he was told or should he continue to press on. What would his mum do? He thought to himself.
"Luna, you okay? I just want to make sure you're not dying." He replied back.
He heard some rustling about and then the door opened an inch, she only peeked out an eye. "I am perfectly alive, however I was unaware of difficulties that would ensue further down my recovery."
"What do you mean? Are in any pain?"
Luna smiled slightly at his worried tone and opened the door to reveal herself wrapped in nothing but a towel.
George immediately blushed. "I…" he wasn't sure what to say.
"I can't shower. I managed with great difficulty to remove my clothing, but now I am bound to this towel since I am unable to properly fit in the shower and actually bathe myself. It's no wonder you have forgone that habit. I suppose it is troublesome."
George blushed yet again, this time for having been called out on his lack of showering. But he knew it wasn't meant in any malicious way, there was no visible malice in those now seemingly sad eyes.
He knew what he had to do, he just wasn't sure how. "Um, maybe I could help… And before you say anything I don't mean in it in a pervy way, like I know Ron would." He said rather quickly.
Luna giggled. "That would be wonderful. And I know you do not mean it in any particular way, I really would appreciate your help."
And with one quick movement, Luna let her towel go and directed herself towards the bathroom…Naked. Whereas George almost fell where he stood, speechless at her actions. He might not be in the right state of mind, but he still had basic male instincts and he couldn't help but appreciate her lean figure, especially from behind, if you know what he meant.
He stood still, what was he to do? She was still one of her sister's best friend, he couldn't just stare at her, no matter how much he wanted. He had been thinking of helping her more along the way of a semi sponge bath, with her towel still on.
He suddenly imagined his twin Fred standing next to him. 'Bloody hell, what are you waiting for!' he was sure Fred would say. And that made him laugh, he knew Fred would already be with Luna making double meaning comments that she would not understand.
"George?" he heard her call from the bathroom.
He sighed for the second time that day, god he really hoped his mum never found out about this. "Coming…"
George was looking at himself in the mirror after the rather challenging activity of showering Luna. Something he would never in a million years would have thought he would do. But as she mentioned, it was a small bathroom, no rails and her cast were quite the nuisance to get around.
He had asked her if maybe she wanted to cover herself up a bit as he passed her the soap, to which she only asked "It's nothing new, you've seen a naked woman before right?"
He wasn't one to get flustered easily, but the way she said things so nonchalant made him feel at odds with himself. "Well yeah, but it's different…" he replied. And she just had to ask "How?" to which he had no answer. Or maybe he did, but he didn't really want to discuss that with her at that moment or even with himself.
So after changing the topic and another 20, of not so uncomfortable, minutes they were done and now he stood facing himself in his own bathroom.
Luna's shampoo had smelled of lavender, a stark contrast with his own odor, which made him realize it was worse than he thought. Maybe a shower wouldn't be too bad, at least for the time Luna would be here, then he could just go back to his dark hole….and well maybe a shave, a beard was not a good look on him. But he liked the semi long burgundy red hair, that way the mirror would not remind him so much of his other half.
It took him three rather harsh lathers to get the odor completely off and after many cuts he was finally clean shaven. For some strange reason he felt a small weight off his shoulders. It was probably the heavy beard he thought to himself.
By the time he had finished it was almost dark, only a small sliver of sunlight passed through his now light green curtains. He went over to the kitchen where Luna was trying to balance a tray of food on her arm whilst she held her wand in between her lips and her crutches splattered on the floor. It was quite the sight.
He quickly took out his wand and lifted the tray off her arm. "Where do you want it?"
"Thanks, out in the balcony please." She replied already crouching down to pick up her crutches. "You look very handsome by the way, beards also attract Nargels. Never been too fond of them."
Blushing he only mumbled a quick thanks and he seeming less flew the tray and tea cups that were on the counter as well out to his small balcony overlooking Diagon Alley. He liked that balcony, before the war, Fred and he would look over and just watch people. Kids with their parents asking for sweets, couples holding hands and window shopping, and best of all friends laughing. Sometimes they would play pranks, but mainly they liked the seeming blissfulness that was before the announcement of the return of you-know-who. After that, there was no one to watch and no time to do so.
But now, almost everything was back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened which made him kind of mad. How fast the world had forgotten about the war, the destruction, the sacrifices and deaths. How could they forget about Fred? How could they move on?
"It's so different, isn't it?" Luna said almost in a whisper, now standing next to him on the balcony.
He looked at her confused. "It's back to how it was before. Only my building remains as a reminder of what happened, of what we lost." He replied a bit harsh.
"Your vision must have been blurred by gnomes." She replied. "In the re-building, everyone affected decided to leave a piece untouched, a sort of scar and reminder of their efforts. Very much like your ear. But the outside is really the least of it. It's the inside of all the shops that have really changed…..you should really go take a look."
George looked back at the buildings, Flourish and Blotts the closest, he could tell in a very small corner by the door were a couple of bricks worn and torn and he could not read it from where he stood but there was writing on it. Maybe, just maybe he would go see what it said.
Luna sat down at the small table. "I made some sandwiches with what was in the fridge. It's rather hard to maneuver my wand with my right hand. Spells don't turn out quite right. Hope you like them. "
George suddenly felt a bit guilty. He had been accustomed to eating very little and had not bought groceries or anything for Luna's stay and hadn't realized she had hurt her wand hand. "They look great, thanks."
And they really were great. He didn't even know what was in them but he hadn't had a sandwich taste so good since he left his mums house. He ate 5 of them, his stomach had woken up it seemed, since it demanded more. He hadn't felt hunger in a while.
And then it seemed like his brain also woke up. "I never asked, but what were you doing in Diagon Alley outside the shop?"
Luna seemed surprised by the question. "Shopping, I was going to go on a small excursion with Newt Scamander in search of a magical creature's nesting place."
"Newt Scamander? That name seems familiar."
"He is author of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. You should have read that book in your first year." She replied.
"I didn't really use books to read, truth be told." He said remembering how he would enchant books to not open or scream when they were opened which scared most first years to death. "I am sorry you didn't get to go."
"Oh it's alright, after writing to him about my accident, he also mentioned he would not be able to go and had sent his grandson instead…Rolf, I believe was his name."
"Lucky that my sign fell on you then. I saved you from an excursion with a nobody." He replied teasingly.
Luna giggled. "Yes, very lucky indeed."
George then asked why she was going on an excursion in the first place, which seemed to have opened the flood gates. She told him about taking over the Quibbler and changing the theme to center around REAL magical creatures with a focus on protecting them as apparently many had gone extinct due to the black market.
She also spoke about losing her father. He had not heard about his passing, or maybe he had but hadn't really cared at the time. Now she had no one, an orphan per say and had decided to continue her father's legacy. She told him about her experience at the Malfoy house, apparently he was the first person she told and he for some reason did not feel worthy of hearing her story.
She had been tortured, threatened and starved. And yet when he recalled seeing her at the battle, she seemed to strong. He didn't know where she got that strength from but it was admirable. There was a point during her story that he felt shame, if only for a moment, as his own weakness. He wished he could feel better and yet every time he felt a glimmer of hope, the memory of his brother came back and made him feel guilty for having hope whereas he was dead. No happy ending for Fred so why should he be happy?
George commented on a couple of things and would nod along but he much preferred the sound of her voice and was actually very interested in her story despite causing conflicting feelings in him. She definitely knew how to describe everything to perfection that he could imagine it all, it was no wonder the Quibbler was doing so well.
Time seemed to pass by much faster than he thought because by the time Luna finished telling him about her last trip to Egypt and finding a colony of Acromantula which had to be relocated, it was already way past two in the morning and they had moved inside to the couch and gotten a blanket to cover themselves from the breeze.
"We should probably go to bed now. You have an appointment later at St. Mungos." George said.
"I am quite comfortable here." She simply replied. "You are welcomed to stay as well."
George didn't know what to say. But he was pretty comfortable and warm, and tired of his bed he told himself. So he stayed.
And as George turned off the lights with a flick of his wand, he felt Luna hold his hand and rest her head on his shoulder.
He had quite the nice sleep that night, dreaming of magical creatures and perhaps of a certain naked blonde….