Jasper lifted himself from the rubble with such grace that it was hard to tell he was ever hurt. He stood tall; his past days as a Major graced his broad shoulders. He was a few feet taller than Luna. He looked down at her with eyes that glistened with honey, his long lashes matching hers. Jasper was very handsome; his allure never left him. The sex appeal became slightly more subdued when he wasn't starving.
"My name's Jasper Hale. I apologize for the inconvenience Ma'm. Thank ya for your kindness." He said with a twang. The dangerously seductive voice was replaced by a gentleman's southern accent. (Seductive, nonetheless.)
"You're welcome." Luna smiled dreamily as she threw the remaining meat toward the thestrals. Without another word, Luna began skipping away from where she came.
Surely she shouldn't wander about without a chaperone. It was a mixture of gratitude, gentleman's reflex, and curiosity that bound Jasper to escort the young lady. Within a split second Jasper was at her side, gliding as she skipped forward.
"I'm sorry miss, but I didn't catch your name." Jasper's silken voice echoed through the forest.
"I'm Luna." she chimed. Her gray eyes never seemed to settle on his golden ones. They always danced around with wonderment everywhere else.
After a while of pleasantries, Jasper offered Luna his arm. In his past life, gentlemen attended to young ladies; especially on rocky terrain. Together they walked arm in arm, as if on a Sunday stroll in the park. As if it were perfectly normal for a bare-footed witch and vegetarian vampire to be strolling along in the Forbidden Forest.
Soon enough, Jasper had begun straining. Luna noticed Jasper's shoulder was not completely mended. She lowered her arm from his to relieve the stress and smiled compassionately as Jasper looked away.
"You were hurt because of our protego charms. They line the walls of our dormitories, you see. It's a rather cruel way to keep non-wizarding folk from our school. Our dead headmaster thought it best, when a man with 7 souls snuck a troll into our school." Luna explained.
Jasper raised a perfect eyebrow. But of course. He was in a forest of half dead horses, blonde butcher-seamstresses, and disappearing rabbits. He knew he wouldn't have to ask, because he sensed Luna preparing herself.
Luna proceeded to relay her dreamy version of the past 7 years. She was amazingly accurate, but Jasper found it curious that Luna could speak about the wizarding war with such nonchalance, as if it were a mere dream she had. But the scars on her body did not lie. They were both soldiers, yet both so different. Like himself, Luna was agile, strong, and gifted with perception. But she had been unphased by a war that was as horrifying as his own. She seemed so innocent, but so wise in her own peculiar dreamlike state. Jasper could only register calm, sadness, acceptance, and happiness. Luna did not possess the bitterness, fear, and hatred from wars he typically knew.
As they reached the end of their walk, Luna finished her story. The protego charm would not allow Jasper to pass further.
He chuckled at the ridiculous account of Tom Riddle. He was insane to want immortality. He was also very stupid. With that Tom's debased mind, he could've simply introduced himself to Aro. That ancient vampire wouldn't hesitate to turn Riddle and collect such a depraved mind. Perhaps that would be a more suitable fate, than the sweet reward of death. Certainly ironic.
Jasper finally returned all of luna's smiles with a single brilliant one of his own. He ran a hand through his hair that seemed to shine golden in the moonlight. It fell back in perfect golden waves to rest by his ears. He looked at Luna with such endearing amusement.
"A war waged on immortality. A war in an effort to become a monster like me." Jasper let out a deep earthy laugh that seemed to come from nature itself.
For the first time Luna fixed her serene grey eyes on Jaspers, not breaking eye contact. There was another silence between them. Jasper's lips instinctively parted as she came closer. Her blood still intoxicated him. She took another step closer anyway. He sensed trust. She moved forward until she was right under his nose.
Luna held a curious expression, as if this was the first time she really looked at Jasper. Finally she spoke:
"You're the most noble friend I have Jasper Hale. More than Harry. We'll all die someday, but you'll stay here, trying. Right? Your fight never ends. You're a noble person." Luna stared up at him. She eventually smiled as her eyes lifted and wandered to the sky. She remained close to the vampire.
Her feelings were a mixture of sincerity and empathy, just a hint of sadness..
Before he knew it, Jasper leaned down to place a barely there kiss on Luna's cheek. He lingered there, feeling her calm warm breaths. It was a rather forward move, and something Alice would be jealous of. He would never see Luna again, so it was alright. She had called him a friend, a person.
Without hesitation Luna tiptoed and wrapped her arms around Jasper's broad shoulders in a slow-dance sort of hug. She gently tucked her head under his chin. Luna was used to giving those kinds of hugs. The hugs where you knew that it would be the last time you'd meet.
Jasper instantly felt a human connection to her. Her heartbeat was so close that it felt like he had one of his own. His strong arms gently held her waist. He hungrily took in her alluring scent but strangely, he had only respect for it. They stayed that way, sharing one heartbeat.
Jasper thought in the recesses of his mind: This might be what it's like to begin to fall for someone, instead of bonding with a mate.
"You must certainly have a mate." She dreamily sighed, suddenly ending their embrace. Even for Luna, it was a loaded statement.
Jasper smoothed over both of their emotions and looked away, slightly grinning. In one night Jasper Hale was outrun by his prey, actually injured himself, went on what could possibly be interpreted as a romantic walk, and simultaneously got dumped in the most subtle of ways. This witch turned his world upside down.
Pure blood, half blood, human blood. Luna saw past these things that so many seemed to lose themselves in. She saw beyond what anyone else could see.
Jasper faced Luna as he slowly took three steps back. His golden eyes firmly held her gaze. He stole one more moment. He took one more step back. And in a flash Jasper disappeared. He raced back to Italy to join his coven. Back to his family. Perhaps Jasper could regain something lost in himself, or at the very least- believe in it. He had hope. That was the real magic.
Luna stayed a while back, the light of her patronus hopping about. Even as Jasper turned to run, her wispy smile followed him.
"It's a beautiful night, don't you think?" She gazed at the nargles that seemed float around her heart.
