Prompt: A Full Moon (#30)
December Moon
It was the holidays, and Luna was so ready to have this baby out of her already! It made her so sluggish and irritable, and it had just gotten so heavy that Luna didn't know what to do with herself. She almost felt like pulling her hair out.
Returning home for the holidays of course, meant that the news was finally, definitively out. As soon as she walked in the door of the Burrow, to celebrate with the Weasley's who had kindly invited her and her father over for Christmas, the room had gone completely silent.
Until George that is, announced to the room, "Well if it ins't a full moon."
He'd received a thump on the head from his mother for his troubles, but it had made Luna laugh wildly. And after the first initial shock and awkwardness wore off, Luna was accepted with open arms and of course to much questioning on behalf of Mrs. Weasley before she was saved by Ginny exclaiming, "Mum, if her dad didn't give her the third degree I don't think you should. Lay off her, I'm sure she's tired."
Which of course only resulted in Mrs. Weasley becoming mother hen to Luna and making sure she had double and tripple helpings.
For the most part, Ron and Harry both stared at her in both discomfort and shock. However, neither seemed capable of really saying much to her.
As for Fleur, she watched Luna with an envious gaze.
As luck would have it, Luna found herself seated next to Bill through dinner. Although, it wasn't so much luck as engineered by Bill himself, as subtly as he could manage. Throughout most of dinner, he was particularly attentive to Luna and her needs, even going as far as to place a hand on her shoulders and asking her if she was all right when she'd grabbed her abdomen and winced.
"Oh, I'm fine. The baby is resting on my bladder," Luna stated as she made a move to get up, which was quite a difficult task these days.
Immediately Bill had jumped to his feet, "Here, I'll help you," he stated, grabbing her gently by the arm while supporting her back with the other and helping her up.
"My Bill, always the perfect gentleman," Mrs. Weasley beamed.
"I'll be back in a tic, I want to help Luna up to the loo," he stated ignoring Luna's protests and escorting her up the stairs, for the moment forgetting all about Fleur's ever-watchful gaze.
Though there was a lot he wanted to say, Bill found that he simply could not find the words as he silently escorted Luna up the stairs and later back down. Somehow, he thought saying sorry was simply too pathetic and completely inefficient.
XX
Luna couldn't sleep, which wasn't really a surprise. She'd never been a good sleeper and despite the fact that the pregnancy made her feel exhausted, it also didn't help much with her insomnia. The size of her belly simply made Luna too uncomfortable to sleep well.
As she made her way across the field surrounding her home that she knew so well, she found herself staring at the full moon and smiling as she recalled George's comment. She laughed to herself as she walked, minding the light sheet of snow that covered everything and bundled up tightly in her cloak. It wasn't long before she found herself near her favorite little glen of trees and sitting on a log.
However, she wasn't alone for long. Turning, Luna was slightly surprised as Fleur stepped into the glen she was presently sitting in.
"Oh... I did not know," Fleur was saying before stopping, her french accent not as thick as Luna remembered. "Are you unable to sleep as well?"
Luna nodded as Fleur sat next to her. For a while, the two sat silently together in what could have been a companionable silence as they were lost in their own thoughts.
"How far along are you?" Fleur asked after a while, her voice low and carrying a slightly sad tone to it.
"About eight months," Luna replied after pausing for a moment. Sometimes, she forgot these things.
"Do you know what you are going to have?" Fleur asked, continuing in the same subdued voice. Luna shook her head.
"I don't want to know," Luna replied.
"You want it to be a surprise?" Fleur asked, giving Luna a very small, gentle, understanding smile. However, Luna shook her head.
"It makes no difference to me," she stated matter-of-factly in her musical voice. Fleur was a bit taken a back by this. "Whether it is a girl or a boy, I think it's all the same. I have no expectations, and... I've been thinking about giving it up for adoption."
"Have you told Bill of this?" Fleur asked, furrowing her brow in concern for her husband and surprising Luna.
Turning to look at the blonde beside her, Luna inspected her with her large, silvery-blue eyes. Beside her, Fleur squirmed. The younger girl's protuberant eyes, which were wiser than Fleur thought they had any right to be for a girl her age, were staring at her unblinkingly and it made her feel unnerved. She felt as though Luna was looking into her soul and weighing her worthiness.
After a moment, Luna shook her head. "I haven't had a chance to. I know it affects him as well but I know that I cannot raise this child. There is a lot I still want to do and I have no plans to settle down yet," Luna stated calmly in her dreamy voice.
"Is that not rather selfish?" Fleur asked, her voice a bit judgmental but still soft.
"To some, perhaps," Luna responded. "But I think it would be just as selfish of me to keep a child I cannot afford and don't even know if I could provide a stable home for. Much less the attention and devotion it requires."
Fleur nodded. She supposed that she could understand that. And some might even think Luna's act of giving up a baby one of love and the sacrifices that come of love.
"I don't think Bill would like for his child to be raised by strangers," Fleur stated, feeling her heart throb in her chest. The pair were silent for a moment more.
"How did you find out?" Luna suddenly asked, her voice full of curiosity as she turned to look.
"I suspected for a long time Bill was not faithful and when I saw him tonight, so attentive to you, I just knew. I think perhaps it is partially my own fault. I let the wedding and then later the war get in the way of our intimacies," Fleur started, not feeling as uncomfortable as she should be as she was speaking to her husbands paramour.
In France, she had heard and known that couples were not as faithful as their British counterparts and it was almost acceptable in their society. For her part, Fleur thought it would never happen to her and if it did, she would terminate the relationship. But now... she didn't think she could leave Bill, no matter the hurt that he caused her or humiliation it put her through. She loved him too much to not forgive him.
"I was not as careful as I should have been. It is never wise to admit younger, unattached women live in such close quarters to your man but I didn't see you as a threat when you were with us," Fleur went on, turning to give Luna an ironic smile. "I underestimated you."
"I am sorry, for any hurt we caused you," Luna stated. Fleur looked into the girl's unnerving eyes, and nodded after a moment in acceptance. She saw nothing but sincerity in Luna's eyes.
"I don't think I can really blame you. We all had so much to contend with, with the war and Bill, he is beautiful, non?" Fleur asked, with a slight smile. She found that the ache in her chest wasn't as strong and as she looked at Luna once more, she could see what Bill saw in her. Luna had something of the Fae to her, both in appearance and personality and she could see where Bill would have been charmed by it. After all, it was that very same quality that he'd seen in Fleur, unfortunately for Fleur, her's was only skin deep.
Once more, they lapsed into silence. After a long moment, Luna turned to Fleur. "How is your own baby?"
Fleur looked down into her lap. "I miscarried," she replied, her voice cracking slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Luna stated in a heart-felt way. "I didn't know-"
"No one knows, only Bill."
They sat a while longer, eclipsed by silence and lost in their own thoughts. Unconsciously, Luna had tucked one of Fleur's hands between herself and Fleur felt a her breath rattle in her throat as she squeezed the hands holding her, surprised by the unexpected comfort.
Luna stood up then, feeling suddenly tired, however before she went, she looked at Fleur.
"You should tell Bill, that you know and that you have forgiven him. Or else he'll drive himself mad with the guilt."
"And how do you know I have forgiven him?" Fleur asked, arching a brow though her attempt at sounding arch floundered by the gentility in her voice.
"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken," Luna quoted. "And you love Bill."
"And you?" Fleur asked.
"I..." Luna thought about it before smiling. "I think I am like my namesake, the moon, always there and constant, but far removed from the constraints of the every day."
TBC...
