Written for Christmas Collection Competition using prompts

15. (Colour) Maroon.

26. (Object) Tinsel.

The tinsel was in her hair. In. Her. Hair. Luna watched it without blinking. She couldn't blink. If she let herself blink then the tinsel would creep into her ear, create Nargles and Wrackspurts which would then grow a family and Luna didn't want to think about the consequence that. So she couldn't blink. Touching it was also out of the question, it was maroon. Maroon tinsel was dangerous. Only a lion could touch maroon tinsel. Luckily, her boyfriend was one. She would just have to wait until he found her. So she stared.

Harry was worried. It wasn't an unusual feeling but this time he wasn't worried about being killed by a teacher, or a snake, or a dragon, or a... well he wasn't worried about getting killed. He was worried about Luna. His girlfriend was meant to meet him over two hours ago for lunch and she never turned up. That wasn't like her.

Luna was many things. She was interesting, absent minded, distracted easily, a great kisser but she was never late. No matter how distracted she became she was always on time. It honestly impressed him. So Luna being late was a very odd occurrence. Not to mention he hadn't seen her since breakfast.

He remembered seeing her because she had bounded into the hall with a large blue hat covered in tinsel. She was hard to miss. He remembered her eating a small bowl of fruit and yogurt, drinking a glass of pumpkin juice and then skipping out of the hall, presumably to her first class, or the common room.

"Uh... Harry Potter?"

Harry whipped around at the voice. He saw a Ravenclaw first year that was refusing to look at him. Harry smiled at the girl, not that she noticed, and answered her.

"Are you dating the Lovegood girl?" She asked, still not looking up.

Harry's eyes widened.

"Yes, is she okay?"

"Well... I'm not sure."

Harry's heart almost stopped at those words. He couldn't lose Luna, not now. Not ever.

"She's sitting in the common room, not blinking and muttering your name. I decided to go find you as everyone else just laughed. I was worried." The girl scuffed her toe against the stone floor and finally looked at him.

Harry's heart calmed slightly knowing that Luna wasn't injured but he was still afraid for her. What had happened to cause such a reaction?

"Thank you." He said to the girl. "Thank you so much. Do you think you could show me the way to the common room?"

"Sure." The girl said.

Harry smiled at the girl and followed her down the corridor all the while wondering what had happened to Luna.

They had reached the Ravenclaw common room and the girl, who he now knew was named Kisa, was pointing to a couch where Luna was sitting. She was no longer wearing the large hat she had at breakfast but it was sitting next to her on the couch. She was staring with wide watering eyes at something in her hair and was muttering under her breathe. When he approached he realised it was his name.

"Luna?" Harry whispered. He didn't want to startle her.

She jumped anyway but didn't remove her eyes from her hair. She didn't blink.

"Harry? Where have you been?" Her voice was calm, collected and Harry was left completely confused.

"Uh... waiting for you. What are you doing?"

"Watching the tinsel."

Harry noticed for the first time a maroon piece of tinsel hanging from the hair Luna was staring at. He was still completely confused and expected he would stay that way.

"Okay? May I ask why?" Harry could feel the eyes of Kisa on his back but he tried to ignore them and focused on his girlfriend.

"Because I can't let it crawl into my ear. Bad things would happen. Very bad."

"...Okay... why you don't remove it?"

"No!" Luna raised her voice for the first time he had known her but she still didn't move or blink.

Harry jumped half a mile at the outburst and went to ask why not before he just shook his head.

"Can I get rid of it?" He asked instead.

Luna smiled for the first time.

"That's what I've been waiting for. Only a lion can remove it."

Harry nodded along to his girlfriend's logic and removed the tinsel.

"Only you Luna. Only you."

Luna just smiled.

WolfWinks -xx-