The muffling charm dulled the sound of her feet on the cobblestones, bare of course. She knew they would come for her in the morning, just like they'd escorted so many Muggleborns home. Drawn into a professor's office between classes to go home through the Floo connection, or escorted to safety in Beauxbatons.
Luna knew home would not be waiting on the other side for her.
Of the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of alcoves in the castle, Luna found the three that included a view worthy of a stop and stare. One was behind a false wall of the steps up to Ravenclaw tower. She marveled at how few people visited it, as the outcropping could be seen outside but few guessed the location of or looked for the hidden door. Stargazing was nearly as unheeded as the view from the Astronomy tower.
The second was almost always occupied by one student or another; the balcony was just above the greenhouses with a natural canopy of green to shroud any picnicking lovers from all but the harshest elements.
Luna's favorite was the most secluded, in the dungeons near the Slytherin common room, looking out into the depths of the Black Lake.
Pansy was already waiting for her. Luna knew her silhouette as well as she knew her own shadow. An eerie light from the bottom of the lake, refracted from the moon above, illuminated the edges of Pansy's legs and hips underneath her silk nightie and dressing gown. Porcelain hands rested against the convex glass, one knee tucked beneath her body as she curled into the window seat.
Luna waited until Pansy turned to look at her, approaching her slowly from behind, hair limned in the chartreuse glow.
"They're going to -" Pansy's voice choked, all the pureblood aristocratic training could not subdue the thickness of her throat, the muscles constricting, halting the words before she could prove they were true.
"Take me to the Manor," Luna finished gently. "They want the Hallows, Pansy."
Pansy's eyes reflected the flash of a mermaid's tail darting by. She remained steadfastly gazing away from the blonde wraith, both hands pressed against the glass with increasing urgency, as though she could force her way through and away from reality.
"The Hallows are a fairy tale."
"You don't believe that."
"If it meant they wouldn't take you there I'll believe what I want! They will drag you away and lock you up in chains, don't let them take you!"
Luna gathered Pansy into her arms to shield the older girl against her much warmer body, stroking her shorter hair until her shaking subsided. Both girls left the alcove hours later, not a single tear shed between them. Pansy would never allow herself the emotional luxury, and Luna knew she needed to be at the Manor with the other prisoners more than with the Slytherin girl she'd come to love.
If You Dare Challenge | #94 - Chains | Luna Lovegood and Pansy Parkinson | Word Count: 482
April 12th, 2016 Requseted by chiseplushie