The Houses Competition
House: Hufflepuff Stand-in
Class: Ancient Runes
Category: Drabble
Prompt: [Action] Floating
Word Count: 598
The sound of the waves was muffled.
Her ears were completely submerged and no noise reverberated around her. Underwater, everything was calm.
The only disturbance of the moment's tranquillity came from the cool wind that agitated the surface of the water, creating ripples that lapped against her sun-warmed skin.
Luna had chosen a particularly warm day to wade into the Black Lake. It wasn't the reason she had done it, as that had all to do with the growth pattern of Audacious Lilianes, but it was nice. No cloud hid the sun and even with her eyes closed she could pinpoint the star's position; its light left the brightest spot of red behind her closed eyelids.
Her nose itched because of the direct rays of sunlight, and Luna picked up a hand from the water to scratch it. The displacement of one of her limbs caused a small wave to form, rocking her floating body ever so slightly. Cool droplets of water fell from her arm and landed on her almost-dry chest, one of the only parts of her body not submerged in water. The contrast between the cool pinpricks and her exposed skin left her shivering, goosebumps prickling all over her skin. In the semi-stillness of her floating body, she could almost feel the currents run through her hair.
Luna lowered her hand back into the water and thought about the next trip she would take with Daddy once the term was over. She only had two days left at Hogwarts, then she would be home. Luna was excited to go back to the Rock, and she flapped her arms and opened and closed her legs as if she were making a snow angel. It moved her through the water in a gentle back-and-forth that she imagined was the way jellyfish swam. Thinking about jellyfish reminded her of the dirigible plums that grew in her backyard. In little less than a week, she would be able to pick them from their little bushes. It was always fun to try and catch them as they flew up from their stalks and the prospect of jumping after them had Luna curl her toes under the water. If Luna and the plums could come to an agreement, she would try and bake a pie with them. She hadn't been able to yet, but she knew her mum used to– She scrunched up her face.
Luna loved her mum. She often thought about her, because her mum was such an intrinsic part of who Luna had grown up to be that thinking about herself without acknowledging her mum would be like writing a paper about unicorns without ever mentioning purity.
But Luna didn't know if she wanted to cry right then, and that felt like one of the times when thinking about her mum would make her cry really easily.
So she wasn't sure if she wanted to think about her, right then.
She turned her face to one side and water licked at her brow, temple, and cheek… even her nose, and Luna had to exhale quickly to avoid breathing it in. Still, the water lapped at her gently, caressed her, enveloped her. It held all her weight and as Luna's thoughts inevitably turned back towards her mum, it felt like a hug.
Luna smiled as she floated, gently rocked by the lake.
How silly to think that she should postpone her feelings. What moment could be more perfect than this? Her face was already wet as tears left her eyes and joined the freshwater of the lake.
Nothing changed.