This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 30 June 2019.
Beta love goes to GaeilgeRua for allowing me to use her Grammarly subscription. Any other mistakes you find are my own and I'll deal with them whenever. Much love, xxDustNight!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this creation.
Prompt: HH Bingo Square B5: "My heart is so full of you I can hardly call it my own." - Liana Radulescu + HH Roll-a-Drabble May 2019 Hermione/Luna/Fairytale/Soulmates
Hermione was finding things all over the place today. Unfortunately, that meant others were losing them. So far since the morning, she had stumbled upon Ron's wallet, Harry's favourite quill, and even Kingsley's hat. It was a bit funny if not a tad bit of a burden. Finding these items meant that she was running somewhat behind. Tonight was the Ministry's Volunteer Beneficiary Gala and if she didn't get a move on she was going to be late.
Just as she was leaving her office, Hermione noticed something rather strange. There was a random brown shoe sitting by the door to her office. Frowning, she bet to pick it up and have a look. Turning it over, she found no indication of who it could belong to.
"Bugger," Hermione mumbled to herself. "Another lost item to return."
Turning toward her secretary, who was packing up for the day, she asked, "Do you know who this belongs to?"
The girl shook her head. "No, ma'am. I didn't even notice it was sitting there until you picked it up just now."
Sighing, Hermione stared at the shoe again. "That's okay. I'll ask around on my way downstairs."
She said goodbye to the secretary and headed for the lifts. On the way, she asked a few of her department mates if the shoe was theirs. No one claimed the darn thing. By the time Hermione reached the Atrium, she was furious. If she didn't find the owner of the shoe soon, she was going to be late to the Gala.
After ten more minutes of searching through the Atrium hustle and bustle as everyone headed home for the night, Hermione was ready to call it quits. She had resigned herself to the fact that the owner of the shoe had up and disappeared when she heard a familiar musical voice.
"Hermione? Why do you have my shoe?"
Surprised, Hermione turned around to find Luna Lovegood standing before her. Sure enough, the blonde haired witch was missing a brown shoe. "I found it by my office," she answered.
"I wonder how it managed to get all the way up there… I was in the basement filing room most of the day," Luna said with a smile.
"No clue. It just showed up as I was about to leave. Here you go." Hermione handed over the shoe. Somehow she wasn't surprised Luna's shoe had gone missing. Her shoes had disappeared all the time at Hogwarts.
"Gosh," Luna said quietly as she took the shoe from Hermione. "I've been looking for this all day. Thank you."
"All day? Hermione couldn't remember seeing the shoe by her office door until she'd been leaving. She'd been in and out of that office all day. Shrugging, she simply said, "Well, I'm glad I could return it to you."
Luna dropped to her knees and slipped the shoe on quickly. When she stood up, she was all smiles. "Are you going to the Gala tonight?"
"I'm supposed to if I can make it home to change into my dress in time. What about you?"
"I think so," Luna replied, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind one ear. "Maybe we can meet up once we're there?"
Hermine found the request odd, but for some reason, her heart skipped a beat at the prospect of meeting Luna there. Figuring she might as well take a chance on the strange with, she said, "Sure. I'll see you tonight."
Luna merely smiled and gave her a small wave before turning and disappearing to the loo that would deposit her into London. Hermione chose to go for the floo instead. If today was anything to go by, tonight was going to be one interesting evening.
Arriving back at the Ministry Atrium, Hermione smiled at the decorations for the Gala. It seemed they'd gone with a magical night theme. There were glittering stars and moon cutouts floating through the air, and the floor had a mist that followed you about. It was all rather breathtaking.
Hermione held up her long, blue dress as she wandered through the room saying hello to coworkers and other Ministry workers and their family members. She'd nearly forgotten about Luna until she spotted her from across the room. The blonde was standing by the fountain and waved when she spotted Hermione.
Hermione made her way to the fountain to greet her friend. "Hey, Luna," Hermione said as she came to a stop. "You look lovely tonight."
"Thank you," Luna said, her cheeks turning the palest shade of pink at the compliment. "You do as well. I love your tiara."
Hermione touched at her hair. It had taken more time than she cared to admit to getting it just right. "Thank you." Their conversation halted after that, and they both stood there, staring out at the crowd.
After what felt like ages, Luna broke the silence. "Oh, I almost forgot. I was cleaning out my jewellery box and found this locket I thought you might like." She handed the silver locket over to Hermione.
"Oh?" Hermione stared down at the locket in her hand. It was beautiful and looked like it belonged in a fairytale. "This is gorgeous, Luna. I don't know what to say."
"You should open it," Luna prompted, gently pushing at Hermione's wrist.
The skin where the touched seemed electric and Hermione briefly met Luna's gaze before using her fingernail to open the locket. Inside, there was an inscription and a picture of the two of them from last year's Gala. Swallowing back a sudden bout of emotion, Hermione read the inscription, "Have courage and be kind."
"I thought of you when I found it and read that," Luna said quietly. "I added the picture. It's a thank you gift for returning my shoe. That and for always being so nice to me. It's a family heirloom."
"The quote is from Cinderella. I remember it from reading the story when I was a child," Hermione mused. "It's rather fitting that you found this today."
"You returned my shoe." Luna laughed lightly and then reached for the locket. "Let me put it on for you."
Hermione allowed Luna to put the locket on. As she clasped it shut, the chain glowed momentarily before returning to normal. Hermione gasped and touched at the chain. "What just happened?"
"I forgot to mention," Luna continued. "It's not just a family heirloom… It's meant to show your true soulmate. It belonged to my parents… And my mother's parents before that."
Touching the delicate heart of the locket, Hermione thought back on the day. Something had made Luna's shoe turn up outside her office door. Fate maybe? Deciding she might as well take the hint that fate was throwing her way, Hermione took a deep breath and went with her gut. Have courage and be kind, after all.
"Luna," Hermione said tentatively before extending her hand. "Would you like to dance?"
"I would love to," Luna responded and placed her hand in Hermione's. When she did, Hermione's heart swelled with a happiness she'd not expected. Somewhere along the line, Luna had become a little bit more than a friend.
The two spent the rest of the night dancing and enjoying each other's company, and when the clock struck midnight, they decided to go home together. WOuld they live happily ever after? It was too early to tell, but that wasn't going to stop them from trying.