Chapter 19 - Follow Your Heart
Sleep eluded George after they returned to the flat and hours later he was still lying on his back, staring at the ceiling when he heard a shuffling sound in the hallway. The door to his room slowly swung open and Luna wandered in.
She was wearing his jumper over her pajamas and he was relieved to see she was also wearing a pair of Sleepwalk Socks as it was obvious she was having one of her night-time rambles.
She padded forward until her knees hit the mattress. He started to say something but before he had the chance she crawled onto the bed and curled up on top of the covers next to him.
This left George in somewhat of a predicament and he began nervously debating his options. If he shook her awake, would that frighten her? Would she fall off the mattress and hurt herself before he could catch her? Should he try talking to her? Instruct her to go back to her own bed? If she woke up now would she be embarrassed? Or would she be upset that he hadn't woken her before she got on the bed?
He starting imagining all manner of outcomes and was so caught up in his thoughts that he initially missed the fact that she was growing restless. Finally he noticed that she was twitching and whimpering, as if she were having a bad dream. Then, without warning, she suddenly rolled over and her arm fell across his chest. He held his breath, waiting for her to begin flailing about in alarm.
He was utterly unprepared for what happened next. Instead of waking and going to pieces on him, she moved closer and snuggled in beside him. On instinct he wrapped his arms around her and he immediately felt her release a deep breath and relax.
Unsure of what to do at that point he ultimately convinced himself to leave her be. It had been a taxing day, he reasoned, and she seemed to be resting comfortably. He concluded that waking her now would not only be counterproductive but cruel. She apparently felt safe and protected where she was and that was all that mattered. The fact that she was warm and soft and smelled nice had absolutely nothing to do with anything.
The last clear thought he remembered having before falling into a sea of lovely dreams was that it would all make sense in the morning.
When he awoke a shaft of early morning sunlight was streaming through a gap in the curtains. It shone across the bed, softly illuminating Luna's face. Her pale hair was tousled, her lips were parted slightly and she appeared totally at peace.
She reminded George of a picture in one of the muggle story books Hermione read to Harry's godson Teddy. There was a story about a beautiful princess, cursed by an evil witch to sleep until some bloke came along and kissed her. George had scoffed at the tale when he first heard it but now he could see how a man might find a situation like that extremely tempting. The notion of what kissing Luna would be like floated through his mind, causing his heart to race and making him glad there was a thick duvet separating the two of them.
Before he had time further explore such ideas he noticed a slight hitch in Luna's breathing. In a panic he shut his eyes, forced his arms to go limp and began breathing slowly and deeply, as if he were sound asleep. He felt her shift against him, stretch and yawn. There was a pause when it must have dawned on her where she was because he heard a soft gasp followed by a whispered, "George?"
He twitched his nose but maintained the illusion of sleep. After a moment of silence he sensed her sliding off the bed and tiptoeing out of the room. He remained motionless until he was sure she was gone then cracked one eye just enough to verify the fact. He watched the clock for another ten minutes then got up and lingered under a cold shower.
He decided his best course of action was to feign innocence and see if she mentioned the incident. If she did he could act surprised and pretend not to have noticed her presence. If she didn't then he would know the topic was out of bounds and proceed accordingly.
When he entered the kitchen she was already there and he thought he detected a slight blush on her cheeks as she handed him a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, George."
"Good morning, Luna." He couldn't help but test the waters. "Sleep well?"
"Yes. Yes, I did. Very well, as a matter of fact." She turned and began carrying a tray of toast and jam to the table. "And yourself?"
"Same. Better than I have in ages, actually. Must have been all the fresh air we've gotten the past couple of days." He took a seat and began spreading a thick layer of marmalade on his bread. He looked across and smiled. "Don't you reckon?"
She fumbled with a jar of honey, "Yes. I suppose that must be it."
He didn't get the chance to see which direction the conversation would head next. At that moment the floo roared to life and Charlie's voice boomed through the flames.
"Oi! If anyone's interested in seeing a dragon hatch they need to pop over pretty quick!"
In a flash the pair were back in Romania, dashing towards the nursery, arriving just in time to see the Romanian Longhorn emerge from its egg. After ensuring it was healthy, Charlie loaned Luna a pair of fireproof gloves and allowed her to hold the infant. She cuddled the creature, admiring it's dark green scales and tiny golden horns until she had to hand it back for its first feeding.
They headed towards the main camp with Luna asking all manner of questions regarding dragon breeding every step of the way. As they approached one of the staff pulled Charlie aside. They talked for a moment before Charlie returned to George and Luna.
"What's wrong?" George asked.
"Nothing. It's just..." He glanced at Luna. "It's about your Dad."
"What about Daddy?"
"The parents of the girl he saved. They found out your were here. They'd like to meet you." Charlie rubbed his neck. "If you don't want to that's okay. I'll tell them..."
"No. I'd like to meet them."
"Are you sure?" Charlie asked.
"I'm sure."
Charlie led them to his tent so they could have some privacy then left to collect the family. As they waited George took Luna's hand.
"If you change your mind, let me know and I'll take care of it. We'll send them away. Not a problem."
"Thank you, but no. I need to do this."
The tent flap opened and Charlie ushered in a nervous young couple. Trailing behind them was small girl - perhaps three but certainly no more than four years of age - that was doing everything in her power to conceal herself in the shadows.
Luna began speaking in Romanian but before she got three words out the mother flew across the room and enveloped her in a fierce embrace. The woman wept openly, kissing Luna's cheeks while repeating a single phrase over and over. The father stood to the side, tears streaming down his face. George didn't need a translator to understand the sentiment being conveyed.
It took a while but the woman finally released Luna long enough for her to catch her breath. As they spoke, George noticed that Luna's attention was fixed not on the adults but on the little girl trying so hard to melt into the background.
Luna to a step towards the child and knelt to her level. "What's her name?"
"Sofia," Charlie said.
Luna waved softly. "Hello, Sofia."
The girl darted behind her mother's skirt but managed a shy wave in return.
Luna smiled and pulled her wand from behind her ear. She showed it to Sofia while extending her free hand towards the girl. With a wave Luna conjured a small ball of Bluebell flames that hovered over her outstretched palm. She ran her fingers through it so the child could see it was safe then simply waited.
The girl's natural curiosity soon outweighed her fear. She edged closer and closer until she was standing next to Luna. The pair played with the flame until Luna transfigured it into a large butterfly which flew around the tent before disappearing in a puff of smoke, much to the child's delight. It wasn't long before Sofia was nestled in Luna's lap, chatting happily in Romanian while stroking Luna's skin and hair.
The girl then sat up and began pointing at George who turned to his brother for help.
"There aren't any blondes and red heads in her village," Charlie explained. "I'm the only other ginger she's seen and I always keep my hair tied back. She wants to know if yours feels like Luna's."
George sat on the ground next to them and made funny faces at the girl causing her to giggle loudly. He then leaned forward and allowed her to run her little fingers through his shoulder length hair. He smiled until her hand inadvertently brushed over where his ear used to be. He prepared himself for the inevitable shriek of fear or revulsion but the girl did neither. Instead she stood and brushed his hair back so she could inspect the area more closely.
George stayed very still as the child studied the spot. She looked at her mother and earnestly asked a question. There was a brief conference between the adults then the mother answered the child who nodded somberly.
George gave his brother another questioning look. Charlie said, "Sofia asked what happened to your ear and why someone hadn't fixed it. We told her you were injured protecting a friend from a bad wizard and while we wanted to help there are some things even magic can't fix."
Before George could respond he was stunned when Sofia planted a kiss on the side of his head then placed her small hands on his cheeks and spoke very seriously.
George heard his brother's voice, now thick with emotion. "She says when she's hurt her mother does that and it makes it better."
George fought back tears, forced a smile and nodded. "Please tell her thank you. Tell her it feels better already."
Charlie barely managed to get the words out before he had to turn his back and collect himself, missing the heartfelt hug Sofia gave George in response. The girl then threw her arms around Luna's neck. The two whispered and when the child pulled away she was smiling.
Luna stood and spoke once more with the parents. Before the family left the little girl ran back and placed something in Luna's hand. Luna kissed the girl's forehead and cradled the gift as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
Later, when they had returned to the flat, Luna sat by the fire admiring her treasure.
"What've you got?" George asked.
Luna held up a brightly colored object. "It's a rock painted to look like a dragon's egg. Sofia made it."
"That's sweet. She's a beautiful little girl. I wasn't sure she was going to talk to us at first. I guess strangers are scary to kids."
"It wasn't that." Luna turned the rock over in her hands. "She was afraid of me."
"Surely not. Why would she be afraid of you?"
"She thought I hated her."
"You?! Why in the world would she think that?"
"She thought I would blame her for Daddy's death. Her parents said she's been an absolute wreck since she heard he died."
"That's awful," George said, settling in next to Luna on the sofa and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Poor thing."
"It's called Survivor's Guilt. It's actually pretty common when one person survives a traumatic event and someone else doesn't. I only wish I'd known she felt like that. I would have reached out right away and reassured her that I don't blame her at all. As much as I miss Daddy, I know he had no regrets about saving her."
"Is that what you told her?"
Luna rested her head on his shoulder. "Yes. I told her Daddy wouldn't want her to feel bad about living. That the best way to honor him was to be happy. To follow her heart. To be strong and kind. To live a life he would be proud of. That's all any of us would ever want. I hope that helps her."
"I'm sure it will, love," said George, pressing his lips to the side of her forehead. "I'm sure it will."
They stared into the fire until Luna finally stood and stretched. "Well, it's been a long day so I'm off to bed. Thank you again for everything, George. Good night."
"Good night, Luna."
After she'd gone, George went to the bookcase and tentatively pulled out the box of photos tucked away on the shelf. He held it for a moment before slowly emptying the contents into his hand. He shuffled through them until he found what he was looking for.
It was a picture of he and Fred in the shop just after they had signed the deed for the property. The space was nothing but an empty shell at that time but they already had elaborate plans for its future. They shook hands excitedly as they proudly surveyed what was now their domain. George took a deep breath and set the picture on the mantle.
As he did soLuna'svoice rang in his head. "Follow your heart. Live a life he would be proud of."
What would make Fred proud? The answer came immediately. What gave his brother the greatest sense of accomplishment was surprising people and hearing them laugh because then he knew they were happy.
Happy. That word jumped out at George. Perhaps he had been approaching his mission regarding Luna the wrong way round. Instead of focusing solely on manufacturing a laugh, he should concentrate on making her happy and let the laughter spring from there.
This brought up the important question - what brought Luna the most joy? It seemed like it was little things. A garden. A butterbeer cork necklace. A jumper. A hand painted egg from a child. Dragon sneezes...
George stopped and snapped his fingers. That was it. He rushed to his room to make a list of the supplies he would need the following day.