Observant
by The Eighth Weasley
Harry had always been observant; he always noticed the shape of people's noses, the color of their eyes and hair, and their posture. Professor Dumbledore had a crooked nose, blue eyes, silver hair, and stood slightly stooped: he was so tall that it had most likely become habit for going through short doorways. Professor McGonagall had black hair, black eyes, and a very straight, aristocratic nose, and she stood ramrod straight, rather like there was a pole in her back. Hermione had a small nose, brown eyes, and bushy hair that Ron loved to tangle in his fingers; she had adopted a rather awkward posture from carrying so many books all the time.
When he'd first seen Luna, he'd noticed a rather upturned nose, straggly brownish blondish hair, and silvery eyes. But somehow he was never able to place her posture. Sometimes she slumped, like when she was working in the library; sometimes she stood extremely straight, like when she was arguing with Hermione about the Blibbering Humdinger. Other times she was a bit half-stooped, neither here nor there, maybe with her shoulders rounded but her spine straight, maybe with her shoulders and head aligned but her spine curved outwards so that her soft tummy jutted slightly under her skirt.
And her eyes did odd things, too. They bulged a bit, especially when she was excited, but when calm, they were bright and wide, taking in the world just as Harry thought his did.
Harry always sat in the Great Hall facing the Ravenclaw table these days, just so he could see how she was shaped that day. This morning she was sitting facing him, but the latest Quibbler had come and her eyes weren't visible. Her shoulders were straight, the head held back in alignment, and because the table was in the way, he couldn't see her lower back.
Her hair was falling forward a bit; Harry found that he wanted to pull it back, to feel it. Ron was always telling him how wonderful it was to tangle his fingers in Hermione's hair, but Harry was a little wary of Hermione's hair: what if you never found your fingers again?
Luna's head came up to search for the treacle jar, and Harry saw that her eyes were calm today, accepting, placid, the kind that she had when she knew she'd foiled Hermione.
Then Harry noticed that the reason he could see her eyes so clearly was because she was staring at him.
Their eyes met, and Luna gave him a small smile. I know you've been watching me, her eyebrows said, one rising slightly into her high forehead. Her lips continued on with, and it's perfectly all right. Watch all you like.
So he did.
--fin--