Luna wanted to make Ginny feel at home at the Rook, even though they had been in and out of one another's houses since infancy. She made up the guest bed with clean sheets and laid out a spare pair of pyjamas. Luna's cooking could never compete with Mrs. Weasleys, but she braved the cobwebs of the pantry in the hopes of rustling up a respectable dinner. Her friend only shrugged when Luna offered her a drink and a neat platter of snacks. They had always helped themselves to whatever food and drink they wanted in each other's homes since they were tall enough to reach the shelves and stove. The two girls stood awkwardly in the front room, wringing their hands and paralyzed by a nervous, overly solicitous politeness that had never plagued their relationship before.
Finally Ginny asked, "Do you still have those sweets in your Christmas stash?"
In the end they gorged themselves on chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties and played exploding snap until they passed out from exhaustion shortly after eight o'clock. They fell asleep huddled up on Luna's bed still wearing their clothes, the clean pyjamas and tidy guest bed both unused. Luna was soothed by the steady rhythm of Ginny's breathing and the warmth of Ginny's cheek pressed next to hers on the pillow. She fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
The girls awoke early the next morning, stretching like lazy cats in the dawn sunlight filtering through the curtains. Most of the embarrassment from the night before had dissipated, although Luna still blushed when Ginny reached over to wipe a trail of dried spit from her chin. While eating their cobbled together breakfast of porridge and wild berries foraged from the overgrown garden, they realized that they had never sent word of Ginny's whereabouts to the Circle. Ginny sent an owl to Cornworthy informing them that she and Luna would be staying at the Rook for the time being. It wasn't an olive branch so much as a concession that they were daughters first and foremost, with mothers who they didn't want to worry.
Less than two hours later, there was a sharp knock on the front door. It was two days after the alleged downfall of the Dark Lord, and they were home alone. Both girls jumped and Ginny let out a frightened yelp. Luna's breath hitched in her throat, but she forced herself to suppress the memories of Ginny's lifeless form in the Chamber of Secrets. It occurred to her that Narcissa and Draco might have double-crossed them, or perhaps accidentally revealed the truth of their arrangement to the Dark Lord and his followers. Luna opened the door with her wand clutched in her hand. Ginny stood beside her, yew wand held aloft in a fighting stance, her shoulder pressed into Luna's chest to half-shield her.
Two figures stood on the doorstep, one nearly a head taller than the other. Their faces were obscured by the stacks of bags, boxes, and parcels they each carried.
"Who's there?" Ginny demanded. She stepped in front of Luna and raised her wand higher in the air, until the tip was nearly poking one of the cardboard boxes.
"Just us! Don't worry, it's just us," said a muffled voice as one of the figures slowly lowered the parcels to the ground. It was Tonks, her hair a somber dark brown and her features mousier than usual, less bold. Her companion also set down his burdens and revealed himself to be Dexter, one of the Muggleborns from the Department of Mysteries.
"Going to attack us, eh?" Dexter said, raising his hands in mock surrender.
"Sorry, we're a bit jumpy." Luna stowed her wand in her robes.
"Hey, I might still hex you if you don't get me that Aidan Lynch card you owe me, Dex," Ginny said with her wand still raised.
"Alright, alright. I just needed to check your Wilda Griffiths was authentic," Dexter chuckled.
"You think I'd give you a fake!?" Ginny took a running jump at Dexter and tackled him to the ground, where they tussled between bursts of laughter. Luna rolled her eyes at the inscrutable dramas of Quidditch trading cards and turned to greet her cousin.
"Woah, look at you, little cuz!" Tonks said as she ruffled Luna's newly blonde hair.
"We can't annoy our mums anymore with matching streaks, but this felt right," Luna admitted with a self-conscious shrug, leaning into a half-hug.
"I think it suits you. Besides, I felt in the mood for a change, too." Her cousin gestured to her own head. It was strange to see Tonks sporting a natural hair color. It wasn't exactly that it didn't suit her; it just felt so out of character for the effusive Tonks. Luna wrapped a finger around one of her own locks of hair. Was that how the others felt about her lighter hair, like it was somehow antithetical to who she was? But this was who Luna was meant to be all along.
"Anyway, what's all this?" she asked as she nudged one of the boxes with the toe of her slipper.
"We got Ginny's owl. Oi, you two! Help us bring this stuff in." Tonks shouted at Ginny and Dexter, who were still wrestling on the sun-bleached grass.
"It was a nightmare Apparating with them, I'll tell you. Wingardium leviosa!" Tonks pointed her wand at a few of the boxes and levitated them into the front room of the house. Luna did the same with a trunk and musty-looking hatbox.
"What's all this stuff?" Ginny asked as she brought in the last of the boxes. Dexter followed with two bags slung over his shoulders.
"It seemed like you're going to be staying here for a while, so we figured we should bring you some of your things," Dexter said.
"Oh, that's nice of you. I guess I figured I'd just Floo back to get my clothes and stuff. I only sent the owl 'cos didn't want my mum to worry and all."
"Yeah, well, here we are." Tonks shifted from one foot to the other, nearly knocking over a hideous vase on an end table.
"I didn't even know I had this much stuff!" Ginny said, stooping down to prod open the ancient trunk, "Oh, I didn't realize you brought my winter clothes, too." She ran her hands over several of Mrs. Weasley's famous home-knitted woollen jumpers.
"You want all of it in the guest room, Gin?" Luna asked, lifting her chin towards the staircase. Comforting though sharing a bed that first night had been, it felt like a fever dream now. She did not dare hope, much less expect, that it would happen again.
"Uh, yeah, that's fine. Wingardium leviosa. Blimey, this one's heavy. What's in here?" Ginny allowed her wand to fall to her side, causing the box to crash to the ground with a surprisingly loud clatter. It sounded like there was metal and glass inside.
"Wait," Luna said as she rifled through the box of clinking bottles and oddly shaped, rusted instruments, "This is our equipment from the laboratory!"
"What? They haven't dinged anything, have they?" Ginny demanded.
"We were really careful," Dexter insisted. Ginny glared at him.
"So does this mean we can't use the laboratory at the Circle anymore?" Luna asked. Tonks shrugged.
"We thought you'd like to have a workspace of your own now."
"We did have a workspace of our own. At the Circle!"
"What, are we just banished now? We're pariahs because we needed some time and space away from the circus for a while?" Luna could hear Ginny's voice crackling with indignation. She knew it was immature, but seeing her friend lose her temper was thrilling. Ginny didn't just shout and stomp like a common hothead; she wove a tapestry of withering facial expressions and creative swears. It was like watching a virtuoso at work on a masterpiece in their preferred medium.
"No, of course not," Tonks said, but her arms were folded across her chest and she wouldn't meet their eyes.
"You're welcome at the Circle any time," added Dexter.
"Wow, thank you for the invitation, Dex. I didn't realize I was a guest at the Circle now. My Circle that I helped found," Luna snapped.
"You don't need an invitation. But the workshop and other Circle facilities are for current members of the Circle, those of us who actually live there. They're meant to be used for projects that benefit the Circle. Not independent projects by people who are living in Ottery St. Catchpole." There was an odd stiffness and formality to Tonks's voice, like she was reciting a script. Luna frowned and took a step backwards from her cousin.
"Ah. I see," Luna said, even though she didn't see at all. It felt like a rug had been ripped out from under her; there had never been any awkwardness between her and Tonks before. Is this what things were going to be like now that she wasn't the raven queen?
"Anyway, where should we put the things from the laboratory?" Dexter asked. He made a point of stepping between Ginny and Tonks on his way to pick up the boxes of their equipment. Ginny looked ready to punch him in earnest this time.
"Dunno. Some notice would have been nice, so we could decide these sorts of things," Ginny grumbled.
"Well, let's see. It's probably not safe to be experimenting in the library with all the books. And the garden shed is way too small. So the kitchen for now, I suppose," Luna shrugged. While Ginny had only flared hotter at the indignity of their treatment, Luna wilted. Her anger had dulled to indifference and then resignation at the sight of the determinedly blank expression on her cousin's face.
"Got it." Dexter and Tonks began shuttling various boxes and parcels from the front room to the butcher block countertop of the kitchen. Luna and Ginny watched them work in silence.
"There, all done. You'll keep me updated on your progress with the Hallows, yeah?" Tonks said. She sounded more like herself as she smiled at Luna and rifled through the boxes.
"Yeah, of courses. So it seems like things are different now. Does she run a tight ship?" Luna busied herself making four cups of tea and set them down on the kitchen table.
"Hmm?" Tonks said. She seemed determined to continue fussing with the boxes.
"Bellatrix, of course! I know she's only been in charge a couple days, but we're dying for news," Ginny said, still sullen but somewhat animated by the prospect of gossip.
"Honestly nothing's really that different," Dexter said loudly.
"And Bellatrix isn't really in charge. It's all very democratic," Tonks said, without looking up.
"Oh," Luna said at the same time Ginny said, "Huh."
"Yes, it's a very exciting time at the Circle," Dexter agreed.
"Really? You can tell us the truth, you know. It's not like we'll go tattling," Ginny prodded.
"Why would we lie? Where is it? Dex, where's the box that had the gifts in?"
"It was that one," Dexter pointed.
"Ah, here it is!" Tonks pulled out a small carved wooden box and handed it to Luna. Inside were several gemstones, including a particularly fine black opal. Tucked into a midnight blue velvet pouch at the bottom of the box were three sleek black threads that were so shiny they seemed almost silver.
"Thestral tail hairs," Ginny breathed. She plucked one and held it up to the light, handling it as carefully as if it were made of glass.
"Did Bellatrix and Narcissa get all this?" Luna asked. Had Bellatrix really remembered their conversation about expensive Hallows supplies in the laboratory?
"The stones, yes, but not the tail hairs. Cressida collected those from the Forbidden Forest while she was patrolling the perimeter the other day. She said she wanted you to have them, Luna."
"Mm," Luna grunted and placed the strand of hair back on the countertop.
"You wouldn't believe how upset she is," Tonks hazarded, her eyes darting quickly over Luna's face and then back to the countertop.
"Good for her. I can't accept this," Luna pushed the beautiful box away from her.
"Are you mental? We need these supplies!" Ginny cried. She set her tail hair down very carefully and picked up the box. Perhaps she feared Luna would push it to the floor.
"Your mum said you don't have to forgive her. She wanted you to have them anyway."
"I don't care what she wants!"
"If you won't accept it, I will," Ginny insisted.
"Fine. Just get it out of my sight before I change my mind." Luna blinked rapidly and turned away from the ornate box cradled in Ginny's arms.
"Well, we ought to be going." Tonks rapped her knuckles on the counter and stood up.
"Oh, I made tea! Stay a while. I'm sorry I was rude."
"No, no, that's alright. We shouldn't have stayed so long anyway." Dexter pushed away his mug untouched.
"Stay safe." Tonks ruffled Luna's hair again.
"See you soon?" Luna asked, pulling her cousin into a tight hug.
"Of course, little cuz. Let me go, now." Tonks patted Luna gently on the arm as she disentangled herself. They were gone as suddenly as they had arrived, leaving Luna and Ginny alone once more.
Over the next few weeks, Luna and Ginny settled into a comfortable rhythm at the Rook. In mere days they commandeered nearly the entire kitchen and turned it into their personal workshop and laboratory. There remained only a small corner of the table where they prepared and ate their meals. The rest of the table and counters were crowded with gemstones, wood samples, potions in various vessels, discarded mugs of tea, and stacks of research notes.
Ginny unpacked her things gradually, so slowly that Luna suspected it might be deliberate - though for what reason, she could not divine. There was still a knot of anxiety and uncertainty deep in Luna's stomach, a sense that Ginny did not truly want to be there, or that she was only staying at the Rook out of a sense of duty to her oldest friend. Eventually, however, the guest room was furnished with Ginny's belongings and she began sleeping there most nights.
It was a glorious, infectious freedom. Every morning they slept in as long as they pleased until they were awoken by the sun, birdsong, or hunger. Then Luna and Ginny ate breakfast together and spent the day doing exactly what they wanted to do, nothing more and nothing less. They usually spent at least a few hours each day on Deathly Hallows research. Luna had to admit that accepting the supplies from the Circle had been for the best, for they made more progress on the wand and stone in a few short weeks than they had for the previous few months of false starts and dead ends. They had begun using a few of the smaller and inferior elder samples to successful results, and Luna had already selected the black opal she planned to cut and refine into a Resurrection Stone.
The work was progressing at such a frenzied pace that they often lost track of time and looked up to find the sun had moved across the garden without their noticing. They were more prone to work themselves to exhaustion when it was just the two of them, without responsible adults to remind them to eat at sensible times and other friends to nudge them into taking breaks. In some ways, however, it was also easier to steal moments and hours of pure self-indulgence. They didn't have Mrs. Brown asking them to run daily defensive drills or Dexter quizzing them about potioneering. And they certainly had fewer chores when there wasn't a rota and Mrs. Weasley's withering glare holding them accountable.
They often walked to the Burrow to see the Weasley clan and occasionally went to visit Andromeda and Ted Tonks. But usually, Luna and Ginny spent entire days laying in the sun with snacks, books, and a game of exploding snap or gobstones. They revived the long-dormant vegetable garden. Occasionally Ginny even convinced Luna to play one-on-one Quidditch. Sometimes the girls played wizard's chess with the ancient set in Xenophilius's office. On one memorable day, Luna and Ginny decided to celebrate a major breakthrough with the Elder Wand by making themselves an elaborate (to them) three-course meal. Nearly all of it was inedible, and they ended up eating most of the dishes coated in gravy, butter, and icing. It was the hardest Luna had laughed in months.
By mutual unspoken agreement, they did not speak about the Circle. In her mind, Luna imagined the place where her memories of the Circle, the prophecy, and her mother lived as a room shut away behind a thick door, double-locked and bolted. When she thought of Cressida in particular, she still felt tender and bruised. Both she and Ginny tiptoed around any mention of her, Luna using her Occlumency training and Ginny by sheer force of will. It was quite the feat considering they were both living in her house.
For several weeks, the wound was fresh enough that Luna even avoided Gwenog and the protests. To her, that seemed firmly her mother's territory. Cressida had been protesting for years before Luna was born; she had staked the claim to that part of their lives. But eventually it became an itch that Luna needed to scratch. She missed the feeling of connection with the other protestors, she missed Gwenog, she missed making the signs and composing the chants and seeing the hope and determination on people's faces. Ginny convinced Luna that they could not stay away forever. If they were going to run into Cressida at a protest or discover that Luna's mother had turned the others against her, they were going to find out sooner or later. She might as well get it over with now.
Luna and Ginny were surprised to find the headquarters in the dingy London warehouse empty. Then Gwenog came striding out of the back room with her wand held aloft. She was wearing one of their masks, but Luna could tell it was Gwenog from her physique and confident, long-strided gait. Gwenog was cagey; she seemed to think they might be strangers or spies. She demanded secret code words from both girls, and then insisted that they ask for her code word, even when they demurred.
"It is you!" she finally exclaimed, "Sorry, one can never be too careful." Gwenog lowered her wand and pulled both girls into a hug.
"Where have you been? And what have you done to your hair?!" She pulled back to inspect Luna.
"It's a long story," Luna said, reaching up to pat her scalp self-consciously. She had almost forgotten that she must look like an entirely different person to Gwenog.
"So what have you been up to?" Ginny called from the back room as she fetched tea and biscuits.
"What have I been up to? The real question is what have you been up to? Is everyone alright? I thought something terrible must have happened, or that you had been compromised, or Morgana knows what."
"What do you mean? Hasn't my mum been round?"
"No! I haven't heard from anyone at the Circle in weeks. I was worried sick, waiting for the Ministry to come knocking. Hence all this," she gestured to the mask and wand.
"So she doesn't know about…" Ginny whispered as she passed Luna a steaming mug of tea.
"How do I explain this? A lot's happened, and we can't tell you everything," Luna warned.
"I'm used to that, of course." That was the thing about their line of work. They all knew that secrets were necessary for survival, even among friends.
They were three cups of tea deep by the time they finished regaling Gwenog with the tale. Luna and Ginny left the Dark Lord and the child Tom out of the narrative completely, but they summarized the revelation about the prophecy, the shift of power within the Circle, Luna's fall from grace, the fight with Cressida, and Bellatrix's new role at the helm of the Circle.
As she talked, Luna couldn't quite ignore a sense of unease gnawing at the room in her mind where she had shoved all her thoughts and feelings about her mother. To Cressida, protesting and organizing was like breathing. Luna would have expected her mother to be elbow-deep in planning some demonstration or other to distract herself from their fight and the truth about the prophecy. Was Cressida really so determined to avoid her? Had Luna permanently tainted her mother's only remaining solace in life?
"Phew, I have missed a lot," Gwenog whistled.
"I suppose they must be too busy rebuilding the so-called true Circle or whatever it is they're doing," Ginny spat. She did not try to keep the bitterness from seeping into her voice, and Luna loved her for it.
"So you haven't heard from any of them?"
"Tonks and Dex came by to drop off Ginny's stuff, and that was it. And we see Mrs. Weasley and Aunt Andie sometimes, but never at the Circle." Luna shrugged.
"Not even Lav?"
Ginny shook her head and shot a worried glance at Luna.
"Yeah, well." Luna's nose and throat prickled, and she turned away so the others would not see her eyes glassy with tears, "She's made her choice."
"Maybe she's just busy with everything that's happening. You three were always inseparable! I'm sure she won't be able to stay away for long."
Luna shook her head, brought her fist to her mouth. This was another corner of her mind that she kept firmly sealed off. Her gnawing worry that Ginny was only staying with her out of pity was nothing compared to the knowledge that her other best friend had cared more about a prophecy than about her. At least Ginny had come, in the end. At least Ginny cared.
"Anyway, what have you been up to, Gwen?" Ginny said into the dead air that had festered between them.
"Me, right, yes!" Gwenog said, too loudly. Luna could feel both their eyes on her, but she was determined to remain turned away until she could compose herself.
"Well, it didn't feel safe organizing anything until I heard from you lot. I've been focusing more on supporting other protests, building up a network. Arabella's been doing amazing work with Squibs United. They've started an adult education training programme to help Squibs find jobs, and they're planning to picket at Platform 9 ¾ on the first of September for the rights of Squib children to go to Hogwarts. And I think some of the mermaids are finally starting to trust me after I showed up to their last three demonstrations off the Isle of Wight."
"That's amazing! I know it's just the two of us and it's not the same as having everyone at the Circle back, but we'd love to help out. We've been a bit distracted by Hallows research, but we've both missed it," Ginny said.
"I'd like that. I've missed you two around here," Gwenog said. Ginny's eyes widened. After all this time, she still occasionally got starstruck around her idol.
"Oh, and I almost forgot to say, Luna. A goblin stopped by a few days ago asking for you. It sounded like he knew you?"
"I don't think I know any goblins," Luna was only half-listening, still deflated by the mention of Lavender.
"He said his name was Urgnok; he was wearing a Gringotts uniform. He wouldn't talk to me, though. He said it had to be you."
"Urgnok...oh, you know, I think he's the goblin I talked to at the Squib protest! I gave him up as a lost cause months ago. I wonder what changed his mind."
"Wow, really? Mermaids and now goblins? We're building quite the coalition here!" Gwenog raised her cup in toast.
"It seems like it." Luna allowed herself a small smile. Ginny bumped her shoulder against Luna's.
"Hey, this can be our circle now."
It wasn't quite the same, but Luna knew she was right. No prophecies, no ruins, no ancient legacies to worry about. A fresh start. It was nice to have something to build.
AN: Thanks so much for reading! Sorry this update is a little late, I had some stuff going on in real life. But I should be on track to post the next update in two weeks, and I'm doing Camp NaNo this month so I'll be writing a lot.
As always, any positive comments and encouragement are much appreciated :)