-I felt your body scream to be set free
From the pain of what's gone
I'll move you along-

Weyes Blood

Luna's head ached almost constantly.

She supposed that tended to happen when one was forced to live in a dungeon. Well, cellar to be more precise, but in her weary heart, dungeon felt like a better-suited name. A word reserved for grim fairytales fit perfectly with the dark and dank place she'd been forced to stay in for months now. A dungeon under Malfoy Manor. According to the tally marks scratched into the walls with an old nail she'd found, it was growing close to three. Or so she thought. It was difficult to tell without a window. No sun or moon letting you know when one day ended and another began. Luna had to go purely on intuition. So three months it was. Three months of being away from her father. Three since she'd last seen Hogwarts. But even longer since she parted ways with Harry. Luna had a birthday while locked away and wondered if he remembered. She was seventeen now. It was a silly thought, all things considered. How important was a birthday when you were being held captive ... when screams were bleeding through a dungeon door, making you wonder if you'd be the one shrieking next.

Did Harry hear cries for help too wherever he was? She hoped not.

Luna remembered him once telling her that sometimes it felt like his scar was screaming. She imagined his scar crying out. Another silly thought, but much of her time locked away was occupied with silly thoughts. It was her only means of keeping despair at arms-length. Like her silly idea on how to escape. Without a wand, it was nearly impossible. So she tried to think as a muggle would. Maybe digging a tunnel? She laughed, picturing herself burrowing through the dirt floor using a rock no bigger than her palm. Olivander the wandmaker- a fellow prisoner and her only company- had stared at Luna like she was a loon. It wasn't sane to laugh. What could possibly be funny down here in their misery?

And then Luna had a thought, one more sad than silly. All the mocking she and her father experienced was only due to others not being able to see what their eyes could. A hidden magic for a select few. But perhaps it was finally happening. There was nothing magical or unseen about being trapped in a dungeon and it was just enough to make a witch lose her sanity.

A shiver, cold and crisp, traveled down her spine. For the first time ever, Luna was questioning those old insults, wondering miserably, if they might be true. Was she doomed to become the taunt of Loony Lovegood? After that, all comforting silly thoughts eluded her and she laid down on the hard earth, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. If she gave way to grief and cried, experience told her that the dull ache in her head would turn quite awful. It was one of the reasons she fought so hard against letting sorrow get the best of her. However, at that moment, Luna was unable to find a silly notion to combat the ache in her heart. Not even reminiscing about happy moments with Harry kept the sadness at bay, because those thoughts always twisted into reality in the end. She and Harry were the past, and the present wasn't nearly as agreeable. Luna was trapped in a dungeon and couldn't fool herself into believing Harry's life was any better. He was a wanted wizard. She was simply a political hostage, taken so the Quibbler would post more agreeable stories about He who must not be named. She used to take pride in being able to say his name, now she couldn't even bear to think of it.

At least Luna could comfort herself with the knowledge that Harry wasn't dead. Their connection- as faint as it was- still hummed a tiny tune inside her. Which meant he was likely either hiding or fighting for his life against a Death Eater or some similar evil. Maybe he'd soon be captured and become one of those screaming voices she so often heard. This terrible image broke through what was left of her crumbling wall of hope and released the emotional basin behind it. Hot tears spilled onto the dirt as she sobbed. When someone yelled through the door- perhaps that rat looking fellow- for her to quiet down, Luna swallowed her next cry until it relaxed into a whimper. And then with a mind full of muddle- a gift from a wakspurt, who no doubt needed a dull mind to gnaw on- she drifted into a restless sleep that ended with a scream. Not hers, but it did happen to be a girl's voice. And a boy was shouting too. He sounded closer.

Then the most surprising sound of all, Harry Potter saying her name, and just before opening her eyes to investigate, Luna presumed she must've finally gone mad. What other reason could there be for Loony Lovegood to hear Harry Potter where he most certainly was not.

Even with the fate of the wizarding world weighing heavily on his shoulders, Harry never once let Luna get buried underneath it all. She'd been a comforting presence in his mind even before they'd gone their separate ways, and in her absence, his thoughts seemed to veer towards her even more. Sometimes she was his guide. He would wonder what she would do in a certain situation- her intuition usually proving correct in the past- and would follow through with what he assumed she'd tell him. Other times, she was his encouragement. Picturing a life with her after the war kept him sane and also reminded him of what he was fighting for. But when Xenophillius admitted she'd been taken away by Death Eaters, Luna then became his constant worry.

Perhaps making him worry too much.

Filled with anxiety, he became careless which eventually led to him royally screwing up. How could he have said that name? His name. It was taboo and once spoken, would set a bunch of Death Eaters on whoever was daft enough to speak it. He knew that and yet … out it had come. The easiest blunder to make, and the reason he and Ron were currently being ushered into a cellar under Malfoy Manor, while Hermione was left upstairs taking the brunt of his mistake. Her screams flooded through the door, leaving Ron shattered, crying out to her, and Harry searching in the dark for answers. Anything that would fix this awful mess he'd created!

"Hermione!" Ron struggled against the ropes that tied them together, lurching Harry with every abrupt move he made.

"Stop jerking me around, Ron. We need a plan, we need to-"

But Harry's appeal fell on deaf ears. Ron's anxiety appeared to be just as high as his, except in stark contrast, he was shouting Hermione's name instead of Voldemort's. Harry sighed a desperate sound that was drowned out by another scream from above, followed by Ron shouting once more, his two friends engaging in a horrific back and forth. And then in the darkness- his eyes finally adjusting to the limited light glowing through cracks in the door- Harry detected a lump lying on the ground not so far from them. He could just barely make out a shock of long blonde hair falling in waves over a body, like a blanket. A moment later he didn't even notice when Ron yanked him into another stumble. Harry's mind emptied of everything except the awareness that was now forcing all the air out of his lungs.

Luna!

His Luna! She was lying on the ground with the soft hue of teal clinging to her. Sadness. Weeks had passed since Harry had last been able to detect emotional auras. The melancholy royal blue Hermione had been surrounded by after Ron temporarily abandoned them had slowly paled into a translucent white until he'd stirred one morning to find it altogether gone. Tears had stung his eyes then. The magic connecting him and Luna had reached its breaking point. Separated too long, he was now back to living not only without her but without her magic too.

But now in a turn of events Harry could've hardly anticipated when he gotten them all captured, she was here, her magic connecting them as if they'd never been apart. He shouted out her name several times in quick succession. When she remained motionless, he reversed roles with Ron and dragged him away from the door.

"Bloody hell, Harry!" he exclaimed, nearly stumbling. "What're you doing? Hermione needs our help."

"And I'm trying to get her some," Harry grunted, pulling him until they were standing directly in front of Luna. Ron stopped struggling, his eyes finally seeing what Harry's already had.

"Luna?" Ron said, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, who else did you think I was calling out 'Luna' to?" Slowly they both kneeled on the ground and Harry called to her, wanting badly to brush away the strands of hair that were partially covering her face. "Luna," he tried again.

This time her eyelids fluttered open and she stared at them, confusion furrowing her brow. "Harry? Ron? Oh, dear. That wakspurt must've been greedy and chewed off more than just a little bit of my mind. It seems I've finally gone mad."

Harry chuckled, which probably wasn't the best reaction to have in a moment of crisis. He imagined Ron was probably eyeing him as if he'd gone barmy. Still, there was just something reassuring about hearing Luna use terms that hadn't applied to him in a long while. He'd desperately missed her peculiar vernacular. "You aren't mad, Luna. I'm here. We're here. And so is Hermione. But she's in trouble. Do you think you could help get us out of these?" He gently struggled against the ropes for emphasis.

Luna's eyes widened enough that the silver of her irises shined and the teal surrounding her turned bright yellow. "Oh, it really is you."

"Well yeah, that's what he said," Ron huffed, and Harry silently forgave him for the frustration he so plainly wore. Everything was terrible and needed to be fixed. And Luna was the key.

"Remember when I last saw you, you said, 'Many goodbyes mean many hellos'? Well, this is one of our hellos, Luna."

Tears spilled down her dirty cheeks unchecked as she sat up. "Oh hello, Harry. Maybe this time we won't have to say goodbye again."

Ron made an exasperated noise then barked, "This is all very touching, but could you two lovebirds hurry this along?"

Luna seemed unperturbed, and in fact, her color briefly intensified over Ron's retort. Harry recognized her shine as determination. "You've always cared so deeply for Hermione, Ron. I'm sure this is quite stressful for you. Let's go save her, shall we?" Luna pulled a nail from her pocket and held it up for them to see before she began digging into the rope fibers, trying to free the knots. A few more of Hermione's screams came and went, causing Ron to fight against his binds. "Please, hold still," Luna said. "We won't be much help to Hermione if I can't get you free," and much to Harry's surprise, his friend obeyed. After that, it only took a moment more until the ropes fell away and Ron dashed towards the door, leaving them behind.

They needed to hurry. Harry was well aware of that. And still, he stole a short fleeting flash of time for him and Luna. Pulling her into his arms, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and said, "I've missed you so much." Then pausing to pull in a breath, he savored the intimacy of the moment before uttering a phrase he'd been aching to say again since leaving her behind, "I love you."

She exhaled happily. "I love you too, Harry. I only wish we had more time for a proper hello. But I promise that once we're free, I will cover you with kisses. Until then-" she pulled away, gave him a tiny peck on the lips, and said, "this will have to do." Then escaping his arms, Luna ran towards Ron, a fiery red glow trailing behind her as she went.