The dull sound awakened eight-year-old Cedric Diggory from his slumber. He stumbled out of bed and glanced at his clock. "Three o'clock," he said to himself, more as a statement of fact than anything else. He rubbed his eyes and went down the stairs to the lower level of his house to answer the door.
"Salutations, Cedric Diggory!" The blonde head bobbed up and down as she cheerfully piped out a greeting and invited herself into his house. She glanced around the roomy house see if anyone was awake. "It's time," the girl whispered, almost conspiratorially.
Cedric was very, very tired. "What is it now, Luna? Have the Sling-Wingers come out of hibernation?"
Luna looked insulted. "Cedric, you very well know that they don't come out of hibernation until September. It's only June!" She grabbed his hand and started leading him out of the house.
"Hey! Hey!"
"What is it? If we don't hurry, we're going to miss them! You don't want that, now do you?" Luna said. The pair now stood in the doorway of his house. One of the things Cedric liked most about his house was that, no matter how hot the temperature got in the summer, it always stayed rather cool. Nice and comfortable.
"Luna, listen. As much as I want to go around and chase some new creature you think exist-"
"They DO!"
"-I am very tired. It is three in the morning. Now we can we just wait until later in the morning. Maybe… you know… we could invite Cho…. or someone…" Cho Chang was his neighbor, and the prettiest girl he thinks he has ever seen. She had shiny hair, and it was always put up into a neat ponytail. She wanted to play Quidditch, like him.
Cho was a lot different from Luna. Luna's hair was always a mess, in a heap that she hardly ever brushed. Cho would never be like that. And Cho was always so pretty and… well, girly. Luna hardly ever acted like a real girl. She wasn't into dresses or the color pink, but at the same time she didn't really fit the tomboy description, either. Luna was a completely different thing. She was immune to labels.
"Now, Cedric Diggory, this is the last night we will be able to see them." Luna put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. "You do not want to miss this amazing opportunity." Luna was five ("Almost six," as she was quick to point out), and she could boss him around. Cedric didn't see this as a good thing.
He stifled a yawn. He wasn't sure there was any way of getting her to leave. Although, yes, she was very strange and quirky and made no sense most of the time, she was also one of the most stubborn people Cedric had ever met. She frustrated him.
"Let me grab shoes…."
"Cedric, you don't need shoes! In fact, the extra noise will probably scare them away. A lot scares them away, you know. Daddy says that they're quite hard to catch…" Luna trailed off and became lost in her own world. Cedric took the opportunity to fully wake himself up, by rubbing his eyes and then opening them wide really fast.
"Cedric, are you pretending to be a Bumberill?" Luna inquired, her head cocked to the side and her hands hanging loosely at her sides.
"Umm, just come on then!" Cedric's cheeks turned pink.
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"Luna Lovegood, if you don't tell me when we are going to get there, I'll…. I'll…. do something real bad." And hour later, Cedric's legs were hurting, more than he thought that he would ever hurt in his lifetime. And he had already had a long life. He was eight.
Luna didn't answer him, but instead looked up toward the sky. She pointed, then ducked suddenly and got on her stomach. Cedric was confused, but chose to follow suit. He decided it was best if no questions were asked. Luna was gazing at the dark sky in wonderment. "What is she doing?" Cedric thought to himself.
That's when he noticed.
Large, but faint, lights were swirling around the sky. Cedric figured a few of them had to be at least as big as his Dad's wand. The spheres would fade in and out, and in and out, and in and out… all brilliant shades of green, purple, red…. it was completely unlike anything Cedric had seen before. It was prettier than Cho's hair.
None of the large lights ever came closer, however, so Cedric couldn't fully determine what the source of the lights were. He guessed they were some kind of strange insect. Luna would know. She brought him here, after all. He turned to look at her.
The lights didn't reflect on her skin, yet he felt that she was somehow glowing in the darkness. Her eyes were wide with amazement, wonder, curiosity. Cedric imagined she must be dying to tell her parents about what she was seeing. Cedric decided that, in the amazing lights, she actually looked a little… pretty. Nowhere near Cho, but fine on her own.
"Are you seeing this?" Luna finally muttered to Cedric, after watching the brilliant lights for almost ten minutes. Cedric nodded, not wanting to speak and ruin the moment. He smiled at her, then, after seeing her smile back, turned back to watch the lights.
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"So… thanks, Luna." Cedric and Luna had finally made it back to his home. The sun was going to be up soon. He was surprised they spent so much time watching the lights, but now, walking back home and knowing that he wouldn't see them again for awhile, he was a little sad. Not as sad as when England lost the Quidditch Cup to Japan, but almost.
Luna scrunched her eyebrows together. "For what?"
Cedric was now the one who was confused. He was almost always confused when Luna was around. "You know… the lights…. For taking me?"
"Oh, you don't have to say thank you. Did you think I would let you miss them?" Luna said, as if it was the silliest thing in the world. She skipped down his porch and started walking towards her home. Cedric watched her until she was out of site, and then went to his room to dream about the brilliant lights.
END.