Warning: this one-shot portrays femme slash. I myself usually don't read or write slash of any kind. not that I find anything wrong with it, it's just not usually my cup of tea. I did it in a way that I hope is both respectful and tasteful as most of the slash portrayed is from memories of children. I had to make this as innocent as possible, so no there will not be any slash smut or anything of that nature. Sweet and innocent children learning about themselves is all this is.
Also, if you like the story, you should go listen to 'Next to Me' by Sleeping at Last. It's a beautiful song that loosely inspired this story.
Enjoy!
The funeral was rather sparse in comparison to some she had been to over the years. Then again, she didn't really expect much beyond the old D.A. to attend.
Luna had never been the most popular girl in school, or at life in general, and had no other family that she knew of. Her mother had died when she was a little girl. Ginny still remembered visiting Luna long ago before their Hogwarts years and Pandora Lovegood would always bake them treats to eat as they played.
The memory brought a smile to Ginny's face.
That's what memories with Luna did. They made you smile.
Ginny could still remember Luna's old dog that had arthritis. His name had been Banana Muffins, surprisingly. Luna would strap him into a pram and they would chase the Muggle postman down the road laughing so hard they were crying as Banana Muffins just barked like hell.
On any other day, Ginny would have laughed at the memory.
Her dad had passed away a couple of years ago from some unknown disease. Luna never said and Ginny never pushed.
Luna had been her only friend growing up, and as living in a house full of older brothers who teased her constantly was rather wearisome at times, Luna had always been there to make her feel better.
She had even been her first kiss. Ginny did laugh at that memory due to its absurdness.
"I see a dog," Ginny said, pointing to a cloud off to her left.
Luna was with her, both of them laying on the soft summer grass behind the Burrow, as they pointed out different shapes in the clouds.
It was a few weeks before Ron was to start his first year at Hogwarts.
"Really?" Luna questioned her as she looked at the cloud thoughtfully, "I think it kind of looks like a Blibbering Humdinger to me.
"You would say that," Ginny giggled.
Luna had always been a strange girl, even more so since her mum had died not even a year ago. Losing her mum had changed something in her. What exactly that was Ginny never found out. She was still the same Luna inside and out, but something lurked under the surface of her eyes.
"Ooh, look, a giraffe!" Luna shouted, grabbing her hand and pointing to an oddly lumpy looking cloud.
"What? That looks nothing like a giraffe!" Ginny exclaimed with a laugh.
"Yeah, maybe you're right," Luna said as she dropped their hands but didn't let go.
"Did you hear? Apparently, Harry Potter is supposed to go to Hogwarts this year. I heard Ron talking about it yesterday?" Ginny asked.
"Our future husband is going to Hogwarts this year?" Luna questioned.
Ginny nodded emphatically.
Had anyone else said that, Ginny would've been mad, but not Luna, never Luna.
Luna clapped her hands together before propping herself up on her elbow to look at Ginny. "You know what that means, right?"
"Er, no," Ginny said.
"That means we have to practice kissing each other so when we snap him up, we'll know what we're doing and he won't leave us for some harpy."
"But I'm going to be a Harpy someday, Luna," Ginny giggled.
"Oh, you know what I mean," Luna said as she stared off at another cloud. "What do your brothers call them, scarlet women, I think?"
"But wouldn't that make us scarlet women if we kissed each other and married the same boy?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know, maybe," Luna replied. "Or maybe, because we're best friends, it's perfectly normal. Even if it isn't, does it bother you?"
"Not really," Ginny shrugged.
"Good," Luna said. "I'm going to kiss you now, Ginny Weasley."
Luna had indeed kissed her after that. She had kissed her many more times after that in fact. At the time, they thought it was perfectly normal. As two almost ten-year-old children, they didn't have a proper social construct on relationships, or what was right and wrong in relationships, not that anything they ever did was wrong. They just didn't know at the time that certain things might have been frowned upon by some people.
An ache started to form in her chest as if a damn were about to burst. An ache, she was sad to say, she was all too familiar with. She tried to push it down.
Ginny still couldn't believe she had been okay with sharing her dream husband with another woman all those years ago. It just went to show how naïve both of them had been. Part of her wondered what her life would've been like if all their dreams from back then had come true. Maybe they could've all been happy together; her, Harry, and Luna. Living their lives as unconventionally as possible in a way only they could.
She couldn't say that she would be unhappy.
What she wouldn't give to be a kid again. Before everything went wrong. Sure, she had a husband whom she loved very much, she just always thought Luna would be a part of her life; lovely, and odd, Luna. Perfect just the way she was.
Her husband squeezed her hand, and handed her a handkerchief to let her know she was now crying. Ginny didn't even know when she started. Ginny blew her nose as quietly as she could after wiping her eyes and looked up to the podium to watch a parade of random people, mainly from the D.A., tell stories and funny memories that involved Luna.
She tried to pay attention but couldn't, and instead became immersed in another memory.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Luna asked as she opened the door to Ginny's room. "Your mum said you'd be in here. I see a lot of Wrackspurts floating around."
"I'm not doing so well, Luna," Ginny replied honestly from underneath her quilted blanket. "How would you feel if you had been the one to attack all those people?"
Ginny heard Luna shut the door and shuffle over to the bed, before crawling in under the blanket next to her.
She wrapped her arms around Ginny and said, "Even though it wouldn't have been my fault, I'd still feel pretty badly."
Ginny returned Luna's hug and both of them were quiet for many moments while Luna held her, as Ginny hungrily drew in the comfort of her friend's embrace.
Ginny finally spoke up, saying, "I'm glad you're here, Luna."
"That's what friends are for," she replied as she kissed her. "I'll always be here."
The memory faded, and Ginny choked back a sob.
"Where are you now, Luna?" she asked herself. "I thought you said that you'd always be here!"
Memories, the same memories that not only kept her alive, but killed her at the same time, invaded her mind, taunting her with the twisted past of a better future. She half wished she could forget altogether, but knew that she couldn't. She'd never be able to forget Luna.
Her husband grabbed her, gently, and brought her to his chest just as the dam in her broke open with ferocity.
She hated crying in front of other people and her husband knew this. He had proactively cast a Silencing Charm over them the minute they had set down. He was always full of small acts of kindness like that.
Ginny had explained to her husband exactly what Luna had meant to her and while he didn't necessarily understand it, he accepted it.
She and Luna had loved each other all those years ago. Ginny liked to think that they were still in love over the years and they just became separated on life's journey somehow, fated to come back together again one day. The shame of it was, they had just been too young to know what love was. Looking back, Ginny wished she had known what love was just a bit sooner.
And, just like Harry took up a space in her heart, so too, did Luna. And Ginny didn't think that would ever change.
Everyone tells you that you only have one soulmate in life but Ginny now knew that to be untrue. You could have as many soulmates as it took to finally complete you, and while Ginny knew she would probably never feel whole again, she had loved. She had loved intensely, passionately, and more than once. How could everyone else be so wrong?
How could everything be so wrong?
"C'mon, love," her husband said. "The funeral is over now."
Ginny looked around, blinking to clear her eyes from the tears, and saw that he was right.
People were getting up and moving to the back, probably to conversate some more on how amazing Luna was.
Ginny just wanted to go home.
She mustered up a small smile to which her husband gave her a smile of his own.
"Let's go home," she said
The past beat inside her like a second heart, and although memories could be both a blessing and a curse, she knew she had to take the good with the bad. Life wouldn't be as enjoyable if everything was perfect and easy.
Maybe she'd be able to look for the animals in the clouds again one day.
Looking into her husband's warm, grey eyes, she had to admit that maybe everything wasn't so wrong after all.
AN: I never mentioned Ginny's husband by name because I wanted to be as ambiguous as possible and let the reader try to guess. If you read to the bottom, that means you know it wasn't Harry, so some people will guess what happened to Harry. I left a clue somewhere in this story. I wonder who all will find it. I will answer any questions from reviews in PM's.