Main Prompt: Your character makes a deathbed confession
Secondary Prompts: 1.[word] consequence and 12.[emotion] nostalgic
Word Count: 1090
Written for QFLC Season 9 Round 1, Beater 2 Wigtown Wanderers.
TW, for talks of death and an actual death
~wWw~
Luna Lovegood hated life, but she hated death even more. She didn't want to die, but at the same time, she didn't want to live. But it didn't matter anymore, she didn't have a choice, she was dying. Well technically everyone died a little bit every day, waiting for that last day, but she knew when her last day was. It was today and it was already half gone. There was still so much she wanted to do. She wanted to find the Nargles, she wanted to see her godchildren, but she couldn't, she no longer had time. Her time in this world was very quickly coming to an end.
It didn't even seem real to her, that she would no longer be able to visit Hogwarts, to see her friends. She guessed one might say she was being a little nostalgic, but then again who in her place wouldn't be? There was one upside to the knowledge of her time of death, she wouldn't have any consequences for her actions, but that wasn't her. She wouldn't do something wrong just because there were no consequences, it just won't feel right to her. It would go against everything her parents had taught her.
Luna sat under her favorite tree watching the clouds lazily drift by, it was one of her favorite things to do. It was just peaceful, it made her forget all of her troubles. Sometimes she wished she was one of the clouds, so she could peacefully drift above the world, watching from afar. The one time she had expressed that thought to Harry he had offered to take her flying so she could experience that. Luna was sure she would never willingly go flying again with Harry after that experience.
The corners of Luna's mouth twisted up into a slight grin at the memory. Harry was one of the few people whom she would miss, he had always treated her kindly, never looking down upon her quirks. He often was too naive in this case as he never judged her for her biggest mistake, one only he knew about. She knew that if anyone found out about it there would be a number of consequences.
~wWw~
It was an hour until Luna was going to die, an hour that seemed like it would never end. Luna had finally jumped the gun and told her friends what was happening, that she was dying. Their reactions were almost exactly what she had expected. They were all over, visiting the second they got her letter. Neville had brought her favorite plant, Harry had brought a fresh batch of her favorite cookies, and Hermione, she had brought her portable library. Hermione wasn't going to sit by and watch her friend die if there was anything she could do about it, so she turned to her books. Luna appreciated Hermione's sentiment, but she had come to terms with her imminent death and didn't want her to waste her time.
It was now that Luna wished all of her godchildren weren't still at Hogwarts, she wanted to see them, but there wasn't enough time for that to happen.
"Hermione, I promise you that I'm okay with dying, I've known it was going to happen for years," Luna said slowly. She reached up and gently grabbed Hermione's shoulders with her hands in an attempt to comfort the older woman. Her grip was already beginning to weaken, it was just the beginning of the end for her. Hermione could tell that her friend was struggling so she gently led her to her bed, carefully laying her down, just like a mother would a small child.
Hermione sat beside her on the bed, gently running her fingers through Luna's soft hair, knowing that it calmed her from their time spent together at Shell Cottage, it was there that the pair's friendship bloomed. Now, ten years later they were best friends.
Harry and Neville were having a short conversation just out of earshot of the two women, both of them having noticed something odd about Luna in the last couple of weeks.
"Harry? Neville?" Luna called out, her voice wavering slightly like she wasn't sure they were really there.
"Yes?" Both responded in unison, heading over to where the girls were sitting.
"There is something I have to tell you, you might hate me for it, but you need to know," Luna said, her voice just above a whisper as she began to tell her story. "You all know how Ron and Ginny left right?" At their silent nods, she continued. "Well, that isn't the whole story."
~wWw~
The pair of red-heads were easily seen in the midst of the crowd covering Diagon Alley. From her spot manning the cash register of Flourish and Blotts Luna wondered if they would come in and say hi, but they didn't. She watched as they slipped into the darker side of the alley. Without thought, Luna waved over her boss and informed him that she needed to quickly do something. He accepted her request without question, having gotten used to her quirks in the years she had worked for him.
She carefully followed her two friends, making sure they didn't see her. She followed them through the grey area of the ally into the dark side, which only past Death Eaters and other dark wizards entered. She watched as they entered a shop, placing a necklace on the counter before pocketing a hefty bag of gold. Even from a distance, Luna recognised the necklace. It was Salazar Slytherin's Locket, something she knew Harry had as a reminder of Regulus. A reminder to look past what people outwardly showed and to look at their intentions.
~wWw~
Everyone was silent for a moment, with Luna carefully watching her friends. She could feel herself slowly slipping away, but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. It was like she was gradually becoming more numb to the pain coursing through her body, until she didn't feel anything anymore. She was cold and she couldn't feel the warmth of Hermione's hand on her own.
"Luna, we don't blame you for what you did." Hermione started gently rubbing her thumb on her friend's hand. Something felt off, she was too cold, too silent. Luna's eyes were open but she wasn't blinking and they were glassy, dead. Hermione gently let go over her friend's hand before flinging herself into Harry's arms, burying her head into his shoulder and allowing her hot tears to drip onto his shirt.