The Houses Competition

House: Slytherin

Class: Herbology

Prompt(s) [Location] Cemetery (alt Graveyard)

Word Count: 805

Beta: Dhrish, Hope, Ash

Luna visits her mom at her grave and talks to her about what went down at the Minister of Magic.

Having a Talk With Mum

The sun bloomed over the horizon, painting a picture of golden petals stretching ever outwards into the rich blues of the morning sky. The only sound that could be heard was the groaning organ from the time-worn church along with the voices of the choir. Stained-glass shadows fell onto the grass below, traveling upwards towards the cemetery.

Luna gingerly stepped through the grounds, dodging forgotten graves. On a few tombstones, candles had been lit and placed in memory of loved ones; some candles had died out in the middle of the night. The majority of graves had bouquets placed on top of them as well; others had weather-eroded toys and notes, which had been attacked by the rain. Luna paid no attention to those graves until she got to one that read: Pandora Lovegood, loving wife and mother, may you rest in peace. Luna knelt down on the grass, not minding that the cold morning dew was soaking through her pants before gently tracing her finger over the carved letters of the tombstone.

"Hey, Mum," Luna spoke gently before sitting back and digging though her bag and pulling out a glass jar of applesauce. "I brought you some homemade applesauce," she murmured as she set the jar on the tombstone. "I made it myself. I even added some cinnamon to it. I can still remember you putting cinnamon on everything. I know I haven't come to see you in a while, but things have been crazy lately. You may be aware that I've found it difficult to make friends, so I didn't start this year with many expectations… until I met some new people."

Luna smiled as she looked down and traced her hand over the blades of grass in front of the tombstone before she continued. "Their names are Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. They're a rather odd group...Perhaps that's why I like them, but they do seem a bit socially awkward though.

"I think Harry and I have the most in common. We're both outcasts. We have some other things in common too: we've both lost people. Harry is always there for people, so when he offered to teach us how to defend ourselves, I jumped at the chance and I went to every meeting.

"It's like having friends. I learned so many new spells, Mum. You would be proud of me...at least I hope you would be?

"As a teacher, Harry has us all excited to learn. We practice defending ourselves against a mechanical Death Eater, which was kind of fun, but then...we had to stop practisting and really do it."

Luna took a deep breath as she was forced to remember the whole ordeal with the Ministry. "I was really afraid at that moment. I didn't know if I could. We went to the Ministry of Magic because Harry had a vision that his godfather was in trouble, but it turned out to be a trick that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named played on him.

"You remember me telling you that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came back last year?" Luna paused, as if waiting for an answer before continuing with the story. "Well, things went sideways after that. A bunch of Death Eaters showed up and started attacking us and we had to put what we learned to the test. The sad thing is that we couldn't save Harry's Godfather. You see, he showed up because he heard that Harry was there looking for him. I know that Harry blames himself because of that, and I don't know how I can make it better for him." Luna paused once again, staring at the ground for a moment as the sunlight streamed over the many tombstones.

"Things are changing, Mum," Luna whispered as sorrow filled her voice. "The world is getting darker and a battle is coming. I can feel it. We will have to fight soon, but I know we can do it because of what Harry said. We have something worth fighting for." She smiled to herself as she traced her hand over the cravings of the tombstone again.

"I really miss you, Mum, and I wish you were here with me." Luna said before bringing her hand up to her mouth and kissing it before placing it back on the tombstone. She got up and brushed herself off. "I'm sorry I have to cut my visit short, but I promised Dad I will help this morning. We are cleaning out the attic since a gnome seems to have moved up there. We both hoped to move him to a better home," Luna explained.

"Anyways, I love you, and I will see you next week. Enjoy the applesauce! I made it just for you," Luna said before giving her mother's grave one final look as she headed back though the grounds towards home.