Story Title/Link: The Beginning of a Hallmark Masterpiece
School and Theme: Durmstrang: Plant Poisoning
Main Prompt: [Platonic Pairing] Ginny Weasley/ Luna Lovegood
Additional Prompts: None
Year: 5 (Exchange students standing in should put the year they are standing in for this section)
Wordcount: 1738
The Beginning of a Hallmark Masterpiece
"Don't you dare die on me," she whispered tearfully.
Luna gathered her friend into her arms. A broken vial of deadly nightshade lay beside them, its contents empty. She had a sneaky suspicion that her best friend Ginny Weasley was abusing the potion containing the powerful hallucinogen; the plant was known to calm the mind and promote a peaceful night's rest. In small doses, the plant was harmless, but Luna should've known better. Little did she know that Ginny was self-medicating as a means to forget everything that happened during the second war. Prolonged exposure led to dependency. Luna had always been by her side and no matter what, she was going to help her friend get through her addiction to Belladonna.
She carefully maneuvered Ginny's seemingly lifeless body over her lap and began checking her vital signs. Luna frantically reached for her wand, casting a protective spell over Ginny's body. As soon as her magic enveloped her in a cocoon of radiant warmth and comfort, the light in her eyes extinguished, leaving Ginny vulnerable to the mistress of sleep. Luna had not been the one to cast the charm, so her friend would remain a deep state of uncertainty for the remainder of the night. At least until all her wounds have been successfully healed and she has been administered enough healing potions. Voices sounded around her and people she didn't recognize began to arrive. Although she couldn't make out what they were saying, she understood what they needed. All she could focus on was her friend her dried blood coating her skin, the shock of terror still lingering on her face. Luna tried to move but couldn't. Her body would not allow the closeness; her mind could not bring her to accept what could have been. She was almost entirely too late. If she hadn't received word when she did, Luna would have surely missed the chance and Ginny would have died.
Chaos ensued instantly as several individuals clad in black robes and maroon hats ran immediately to the young woman's side. Some shouted a variety of incoherent instructions as someone, much too young to be a part of the Healer's Committee, began whispering a string of foreign incantations while pointing their wand at the deep cuts on the woman's arms and thigh. A soft groan escaped Ginny's lips, but she did not wake from the clutches of unconsciousness. For thirty long minutes, the small team of highly trained professionals worked frantically to stop the bleeding from her head injury, close any open wounds, and patch her up the best they could with limited resources. Even after twenty years, their world still fascinated and delighted her beyond belief. Magic was indeed enchanting. No words could describe the depth of Luna's appreciation, though, the resentment still lingered eagerly inside her heart.
"Please, open your eyes for me," Luna murmured, moving her body ever so slightly. All she wanted was to see her face. As she smoothed over her cheeks with her fingertips, she whispered another gentle plea but her friend remained unresponsive. "Ginny, you can't do this to me. Open your eyes!"
Luna lightly shook her incapacitated friend, but it was to no avail.
Quickly, she checked her pulse.
She paused for a moment and waited, and there she found it. There was life in her yet and she would be damned if she let Ginny slip from her so easily. Luna gathered her into her arms again before reaching frantically for her wand. Once she found it, she murmured a spell and her friend levitated gently into the air. She sat there for a moment, watching Ginny bob up and down. The simple motion almost seemed the most dramatic thing. In one moment, she could fall but she'd always be there to catch her when she does.
Everyone had their own way of dealing with death.
Unfortunately, Ginny had chosen wrong.
Of all people, Luna had been introduced to death at an early age. Her mother had died as a result of accidentally tampering with a spell she created and Luna had always been wary about the dangers of creating spells and potions. However, this was entirely different. Ginny was using a plant as a means to numb and forget the pain. They all lost so many; Ginny herself had lost a brother and Luna had almost lost her father, but that didn't give them the right to forget. In fact, they should rejoice and live as if every day would be their last. Luna was going to save Ginny if that's the last thing she did.
"Luna, what on earth-" the familiar voice of her father began but the situation was much too dire to sit down and explain everything.
"She tried to overdose with Belladonna," she explained quickly. "I don't know what the doses were papa but we need to hurry."
"Dear Gods," her father breathed softly.
"What should we do?"
"Get her onto the sofa, Luna," her father whispered. "Gently now. We don't want to disturb her too much as the effects of the plant are temperamental."
"Will she survive this," Luna couldn't help but ask. She didn't think she could tolerate losing another one of her friends. At least, not so soon. "From my understanding papa, she's been abusing the drug for months now."
"Then, we better act fast," he murmured softly. "She must have slowly bumped up the doses when she realized the potion was performing to her expectations. Belladonna is harmless in small doses but becomes very lethal the more you come to depend on it. Quickly, check her vitals again," he commanded anxiously. Luna bent down, reaching out and placing her fingers around one of her wrists to check for Ginny's heartbeat.
"Faint, but strong" Luna murmured after two full minutes.
"She'll be fine. We must administer the counter potion for the drug. Otherwise, I fear she may not make it."
"Do you have everything you need for it, Papa," she asked her father quietly. Their delay was costing them precious time; he trusted the Healers to provide the highest possible service to her friend. Though, something deep down told her she shouldn't be allowing her father to use potions to save her friend. It had been that very act that got her in this state in the first place. Against her better judgment, she allowed him to magically heal her. She felt as if she was standing on the sidelines of the scene, training her eye on her father as he worked frantically to save her friend. He moved about the space of their living room. The only solace they could find was from the light of the fireplace. Soft murmurs caressed the night; jets of green and yellow lit up the night sky, warding off the small enclosure to ensure no Muggle saw the transparency.
As they worked, Luna couldn't repel the sense of dread as it descended upon her. It was like death itself was there witnessing the end of Ginny's life. Horrid images blurred into existence as her father announced that his daughter's vitals were finally stable and that she was ready for the transfusion with the counter drug. Luna surveyed the surrounding area until her eyes, unfortunately, met that of the lifeless body of the unconscious friend. Seeing her in such a deplorable state was enough to entice tears to swell in the corners of her eyes. She had to stay strong, even if that meant temporarily forgetting what she was fighting for.
Luna stood completely immobilized as the ambient air grew tighter. At least fifteen people had arrived, with a promise of more to follow. As much as she wished to simply shake Ginny so that she was awake again, she knew it would only dampen the long journey that lay ahead. Periodically, her father would turn and engage the reaction of Luna. She had insisted that she help mend some of the nastier cuts, spewing that she had the proper training when someone dared question her ability and credentials. He obviously felt just as horrible as she did; the tears of his sadness, self-hate, and bottle up emotions stood as evidence on his face in perfectly jagged lines.
Luna tried to move but couldn't.
Again, she was fighting a lost battle. She wanted to be everyone's hero, to provide that strong justice that most didn't possess.
But, it was no use.
The guilt was too much.
"Will we be able to save her, papa," Luna asked softly.
Her father didn't answer.
He only gave her a look of pure uncertainty.
Luna was certain she was incapable of emotion.
She was most certainly void of such a strange attraction and display of anything remotely human. As she continued to stare at her friend's lifeless body, a single thought continued to plague her mind. And, that was why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be Ginny, who appeared as normal as anyone would be after a horrible emission of survivor's guilt and regret?
"You have a wonderful gift for scaring people," Luna murmured, her face completely eclipsed by darkness. "I thought for certain that you were going to make it."
"All I wanted to do was forget…"
"You think forgetting would erase the fact that they're all gone? You think destroying their memories would, in essence, bring them back? No, Ginny. You're absolutely and irrevocably wrong. No one deserves that easy escape, especially you."
"You think I actively asked for this," Ginny sneered.
Luna tilted her head mockingly," You're dead, Ginny. You took a coward's way out because you were too afraid to remember and to live every day as if it were your last."
It had been three months since Ginny's unexpected death and she was only just coming to terms that the only solace Luna had now was with the same drug that had killed her friend. She played smarter than Ginny did, only resorting to improving the effects of the drug as a means to stop those who wished to abuse it. Belladonna had wonderful healing properties, and she was determined to legalize it so it was safe for consumer consumption. She supposed Ginny's death only taught her what she tried to teach everyone; life was about taking risks, facing trials head-on, and striving to make for a better tomorrow.
-END-
