A/N: I don't really think that many people have read this, but to those of you who have I've changed the story to add in a love interest. So I went back and changed a bit in all the chapters. Not much though. I hope you like the new twist...
On Moments and Kisses
She found her on the floor of the girl's bathroom, crying. She took a step back slowing, hoping to exit without incident when those warm brown eyes rose to meet her own gray ones. She retracted that step now, moving forward towards the tears, to where she didn't want to go. She couldn't do this. It wasn't fair. But those brown eyes had already caught her; she felt her body betray her, closing the distance.
No, turn, just go now, she pleaded with herself, yet the part of her that lay entranced with the pain that filled those seeping eyes told another story, that she doesn't know , and that if she did, maybe something else could fill her mind. That voice clamoured within Luna's mind, wishing she could tell her, yet knowing that she could not. She wished that her heart would stop gripping out towards her friend. She wished that the clever, strong girl that she had loved since that first day here could come to love her back. But Ginny loved somebody else, and he didn't even know.
"You know, if you mix tears with nirnroot, you can create a solution similar to muggle fireworks? Well not really similar, but when mixed the two substances will emit a puff of shimmering lights that remains in the air for several minutes. It's really quite enchanting…"
A thin smile waned across the other girls face, never really reaching her eyes. At least the tears had stopped, or momentarily abated. Luna let a matching smile slip out, hoping to cheer her friend.
"You shouldn't cry about him Ginny. Not like this," Luna whispered as she wrapped her arms around her, sinking down to the chilled bathroom floor.
"Why shouldn't I," Ginny demanded, "He doesn't know I exist. All he does is moon over that stupid Ravenclaw Cho."
"That's why."
"Because he cares about some other girl and doesn't know I exist?"
"No, because even if he did, he still would never know how wonderful you actually are. I saw that the first time I saw you Ginny, I've always known. So don't make up excuses for somebody you don't know."
"Oh-" Ginny paused, "But-"
Luna smiled then. "You're wonderful, and smart, and funny. He doesn't see that."
"How could he though? I just want to know that there's a chance."
"And if there was, would he still deserve you then?"
Ginny looked up at Luna then, he eyes still wet with tears. A short frown seemed stuck on her face.
"Luna, he's the Boy Who Lived, a Triwizard Champion, he's faced You Know Who."
Luna reached out to Ginny, brushing a band of hair behind her ear. "Since that first day, I saw you for who you are: the kindness, the stubbornness, the Ginny who I love. And I was right about wanting to be friends with that person; I always knew I would be. I live for what I have Ginny, and I don't want you to slip through my fingers."
Luna inhaled deeply. She felt her body shaking. "So here's to chances and love."
She leaned down, catching Ginny's lips against her own. The moment lingered for longer than a moment felt like it should really be, but it was only that. A moment and a kiss.
Releasing Ginny, Luna felt her breath catch in her lungs. She stood up and picked her way out of the bathroom. Three, four, she counted the steps to the door. Opening it, she gave a searching glance behind her. With a soft sigh she observed her friend who sat precisely as she had left her. Luna extracted herself from the room, inching through the small space that she had opened, and then gently closed the door behind her.
She ran then. Her legs pumped, propelling her forward. Forward was the only way her body could move while her mind remained in the bathroom with Ginny, forever stuck in that single moment. She examined every touch, every word, every moment that had been executed, hoping to gain some glint of understanding that she did not now possess.
Only when she reached the solitary confines of the Astronomy Tower did her mind catch up, startled at her final resting place. It was then that she realised how very tired she was. Her legs ached, her lungs pounded, begging for more oxygen. Oh, she thought, I must not have had a proper breath of air since I left the bathroom, have I? She was panting now, bending over with her palms against her knees. She sank to the floor, splaying her arms and legs out in an attempt to cool her raw frame. What would Ginny think of her? She had always wanted to tell her, but it had always felt wrong, but doing it then?
That was surely just as wrong, it certainly wasn't the right time. Luna smiled then. It may have been the wrong moment, but it had still felt right. She wished that she could press her lips against Ginny's once more, and erase the tears that lingered on her cheeks. Luna closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against her temples. She wasn't ready to consider the possible consequences of her actions yet, so instead she reached out to the magic that filled the castle. It buzzed and whispered through the air. She concentrated on the feeling, letting her own turmoil fade away.
The clock tower was chiming. Dinner had started. But Luna refused to move. What if she had made some monumental mistake? She kept her eyes closed to stave of the impending panic. Sometime later, Luna distinctly heard the bells chime again, the students would all be in their dorms now. Luna sat and listened as the clock continued to ring out the hours, waiting for the sound of the chime to reverberate around the castle, finally winding its way to the upper confines of the Astronomy tower. Her mind wandered, finally shutting down as the twelve long strokes of midnight caroled upwards and into her resting place.
Luna woke up to a sore back and a chilled body. The stones of the cattle had stolen some more body heat it seemed. The tower was illuminated by a weak and formless glow. Luna wished that the sun's rays could travel up the side of the tower quicker, to reach and warm her. She peered down at the watch clasped around her ankle. Five Twenty-One. The castle would still be asleep. Luna slipped through the halls; she was a shadow in this giant expanse of stone. Reaching her dormitory, she reached forward to gently tap the knocker that hung in the doorway.
"You feel it, but never see it, and never will."
"Love," Luna answered, "any emotion suppose really…"
The knocker had begun talking already as Luna mumbled the rest of her response, knowing that it wasn't really necessary.
"As always, an interesting answer."
The door gently swung open, emitting the tired girl into the common room. Once inside Luna moved towards her dormitory. Her roommates were probably glad that she had never shown up. The prefects had always seemed to turn a blind eye towards Luna and the other students antics around her. They had tried at first; but now they only really ignored her. Today, at least, she was glad for that. Pulling off her shoes she turned the door handle, hoping that she wouldn't wake anyone.
The floor was cool against her bare feet. Shoes went next to bed, robes on top of it. Luna grabbed a clean uniform from her trunk and left the room to shower. The warm water rolled down her, bringing goose bumps as cold skin met with steam. Watching the droplets wash down her skin, she wished that yesterday's events could be washed away just as easily.
How would Ginny interpret what had happened? Luna's mind whirled with the potential outcomes, she could lose a friend, they could ignore what happened, she could gain something more. But which? Any of them? The water pressure changed, no longer pounding against Luna's skin, so the other girls were up now. Luna stood emerged in the downpour for one more moment before conceding to the day. It was finally time to acknowledge what had happened.
She entered the dormitory fully clothed, she scuttled over to her bed to pull on her robe and shoes, but they were gone. Of course. Well gone from this place at least, they were always somewhere. And they would turn up in that somewhere later. Luna wondered why the other girls still took them when they knew she didn't mind. Pushing that thought away, Luna then pulled on the crusted yellow galoshes that she used for Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. She slung her bag over her shoulder before sweeping out of the room, her long dirty blonde hair trailing behind her.
Her stomach had been growing louder and louder all morning calling for a meal to replace the ones she had missed the previous day. She trailed down the stairs, her fingers running against many a set of disgruntled painting owners. Luna wondered when she would run into her red haired friend. She wondered if she wanted to. Entering the Great Hall, she found it pleasingly deserted.
Only a bare minimum of students had arrived, the majority of the Ravenclaw's, hoping to get an early start. They were clustered at the edge of their table, books and parchment filling the spaces between them. At the remaining tables, the few students there were slumped over their breakfasts, looking like they still belonged in bed. A single Slytherin sat alone at the end of his table, his dark eyes piercing through the hall. The professors table was just as barren. It was a slow morning at Hogwarts.
Luna sat down in the middle of her table, far enough away from the group at the end that their chatter was turned into a low mummer. She pulled eggs and toast towards her, filling an empty plate. So intent on her food, she failed to notice the student who sat down next to her, a student with blazing red hair. Eventually he cleared his throat. Luna turned towards him, her dishwater hair dusting over her eyes to provide some layer of protection. She could see Ginny in him. The red hair and brown eyes, but his glasses gave him a steely look, more harsh and calculating, lacking his sister's determination and will. His lips were pursed in a tight line, staying that way even as he began to speak.
"Luna Lovegood? Yes?" Even though phrased as a question, it was every bit of a challenge. Like he was judging her reaction. Knowing this, Luna decided that she would rather not challenge Percy Weasley, brother of her best and only friend. So Luna didn't react. Instead she took a rather large bite of eggs and chewed nosily while peering out at him behind her thin wall of hair.
Percy was rolling his eyes inside his head, yes of course, she really was Looney Lovegood. Realising this he felt that the conversation would be completed much more quickly if he did all of the talking.
"I'm here about my sister, Ginny. She's the youngest in our family and that means that we all watch out for her. I want to know why she was looking for you last night, and why she looked so upset when she was doing this. I know she considers you a friend, which is why I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. But you need to know that Ginny went through a lot her first year here, and I'm going to make sure that that never happens again."
Finally swallowing, Luna pushed the hair out of her eyes.
"Was that a question, Percy?"
He seemed surprised that she knew his name. She was best friends with his younger sister, why wouldn't she? Or maybe it was her response that surprised him. Whatever the case his eyebrows had shot straight up when she had finished talking, giving him an eerily owl like appearance. He opened his mouth to make some reply, but Luna was quicker. Although her voice contained is normal dreamy cast, she was, as always, quite serious.
"Ginny and I are friends- yesterday, I failed in that duty somewhat and I may have left her in a worse off state than when I found her. I didn't mean too at all, I suppose I'm not the best at making people feel better, but I'll always have her back, and I'll always be there for her, even if i do a horrible job at that."
Percy glared at her through the thick lenses of his horn-rimmed glasses. Seizing up her small frame.
"Just, don't let her get hurt again?"
Luna smiled, "You know, you're not nearly as a much of a prat as they say you are."
Percy scoffed, attempting to maintain his business-like facade. He nodded curtly before disembarking from the Ravenclaw table to find a place at his own.
(Luna, and Ginny's, Third Year)
