Chapter Six
He met her again in the Malfoy's Dungeon almost a year later. She looked terrible; her hair dirty and her body undernourished. After they escaped to Shell Cottage, during Dobby's funeral, the feelings had had for her at Bill and Fleur's wedding began to creep up upon him, and he found himself avoiding her.
He spent most of his time with Ron and Hermione shut up in a small room making plans to retrieve the goblet from the Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. There were times he wanted to tell her everything that he had been doing the last year, to unburden his fears of death and loneliness because she always seemed to understand him, but he kept his thoughts to himself, and he didn't talk to her alone until the night before he left for Diagon Alley.
He had been moodily contemplating the water (as he did most days since coming to Shell Cottage), when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to find Luna approaching, her long blonde hair whipping around her in the wind. She was wearing a blue cloak of Fleur's that Harry couldn't help but notice brought out the blue of her eyes.
"Hello, Harry," she said as she clamored over the rocks to where he was. There was a moment when she stumbled, and Harry immediately stood up and caught her hand, helping her over to where he was.
They sat down beside one another—close, but not touching. Harry could feel the heat of her body and the scent of her—
"You know, I think this was the perfect spot to bury Dobby," Luna said solemnly. "Merpeople adore the cliffs around Cornwall. Perhaps they might visit and sing to him."
Harry looked at her sideways, feeling a twinge of humor somewhere inside his chest. It was a wonderful feeling, so different from the aching pain he had felt since Dobby's death. "I don't suppose Fleur would like a bunch of screeching Merpeople hanging around," he replied, giving her a small smile. "Especially not after there are children."
"But in water, Merpeople have the most beautiful voices. Their lullabies will send the fussiest baby to sleep within minutes," Luna replied looking out across the sea. A breeze lifted a lock of her hair over her cheek, where it caught on her lips. Harry suddenly had an urge to brush it away, but before he could, the breeze lifted it away once again.
Instead he nodded and wrapped his arms around his knees, looking back at the water. They sat for a long while, listening to the seagulls and breathing in the salty air.
"Harry," Luna said finally, breaking the silence. "You and I, we have seen death. The veil, do you remember?"
Harry looked over at her and was startled to see her cheeks streaked with tears.
"Luna—"
"I want you to know, it is nothing to be afraid of." she said, and then standing, quickly made her way back over the rocks, leaving Harry staring after her. He clamored to his feet and was just about to follow, when he heard Ron calling his name, carried over the wind. Harry climbed over the rocks and met him half way.
"Hermione says she needs you," Ron said grumpily, his hands shoved in his pockets. "And I've been put on errand boy duty."
"Right," Harry replied absentmindedly, looking over Ron's shoulder for Luna. There was no sign of her.
Ron looked at him curiously. "You looking for something, mate?"
Harry turned his attention to Ron and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Nah," he said. "C'mon."
That night he couldn't sleep. He wandered through the silent house and found himself standing outside the room where she slept. He almost knocked, but changed his mind at the last moment, unaware that on the other side of the door, Luna wasn't sleeping either.
Instead, he went back to his bed and stared at the ceiling with only his anxiety and doubts for company.
When the sun finally rose, Harry and Ron got up and dressed and went down to meet Hermione and Griphook. As they were leaving the house, Harry thought he felt someone watching him. He turned and looked at the house, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw a flash of blonde hair in a window. When he looked again, there was nothing there.