The next night Rory and I snuck Fred, George, and Cedric into the Ravenclaw common room so we could exchange gifts in Luna's room. Evie had disappeared again, but to where was beyond me. We went up to Luna's room with parcels of all colors and sizes stacked in our arms, and once we were all in I shut the door behind us. Luna and I sat on the bed, Fred and George on the window seat, Cora in the armchair, and Ced and Rory on the floor. Sage was loving the company; she made her way around the circle, rubbing against us and jumping into our laps.
"Who's first?" Luna asks, looking around. Nobody volunteers.
"I guess Cora since she's the youngest," Cedric says. There are no objections, so everyone hands one of their parcels to her. We all watch as she unwraps a book of muggle fairy tales, purple woolen mittens, chocolate frogs, color-changing ink, and finally my dress. She immediately rushes to the bathroom to try it on and when she comes back out she seems shy. She looked great, and it fit her perfectly.
"The queen called," one of the twins says. "She wants her Sunday clothes back." We all laugh.
"Oh, hush," Luna scolds him. She turns to Cora. "You look beautiful, who's it from?"
"Me," I reply. Cora smiles.
"I love it. Thank you," she says.
"Happy Christmas, your majesty," I joke, pretending to bow to her. Next up was Cedric, and almost everything he got was plant-related. Three books about plants, a small terracotta pot painted yellow with white dots, and a set of little gardening tools. He unboxed my plant and his face lit up.
"An echeveria? These are native to Mexican deserts," he said. Luna smiled.
"Must have come a long way, then," she responded.
"What should I name it?" Ced asked, placing it in his lap. He looked around at us expectantly.
"Name it after Snape," one of the twins said. Rory shook his head.
"No, give it some snooty American name, like...Eliza Mae," he replied with a terrible American accent. We all crack up, and thus the name of Ced's new plant was decided. We kept exchanging gifts; Rory wore his hat immediately upon unwrapping it, and the twins were excited about their brand new invisible ink. I wasn't sure how much I trusted them, though. Luna got a pinkish glass bottle of rose perfume, a muggle book called The Little Princess, a felt mouse on a string for Sage, and when she opened the hairpins she immediately knew they were from me. She smiled at me in thanks, and I felt my heart speed up. After that, it was my turn to open gifts. I unwrapped Rory's first.
"Peppermint sticks," I say, taking the plastic parcel in my hands. I remember waiting for him and Luna at the train station at the end of first year. "Another bribe?"
"Not this time," he laughs. The twins got me Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jellybeans, Cora got me a pair of silver earrings shaped like little hearts, and from Cedric was a crown of real wildflowers.
"It's not the best quality, I know. I made it out of a bouquet from a store, and I charmed 'em before to make 'em stay forever. Thought it might help you channel your inner Juliet, and Flitwick might even let you wear it for the shows." I smile at him and put it on; it's a little too wide, but if I positioned it on the crown of my head it fit snugly. Luna handed me a small parcel wrapped in red paper with white dots, tied up with a green ribbon. I undid the ribbon and tore off the paper to reveal a black box, inside of which was a very familiar-looking glass bottle. I took it out and took the cap off, and the smell inside brought me to tears. Luna had bought a brand-new bottle of my dad's cologne.
"There wasn't much left in the one you had," she begins. "I used a geminio charm on it and I took the duplicate to Hogsmeade to see if I could find a new one, and-" I cut her off by throwing my arms around her, knocking the flower crown off my head. For a moment I forget that we're not alone, I forget that she and I have secrets to protect. She hugs me back, and I hear a mass "awww" from my friends. This, by far, was the best gift I've ever received. We let go of each other and I thank her, wiping my tears away. I wish with all my heart that I could just kiss her.
After I was finished we all went back to our rooms, as all the gifts had been exchanged. As I was crossing the hallway to get back to my room, I clutched the glass bottle to my chest. To me, having a new bottle of cologne was the closest thing to bringing him back from the grave. The smell of cologne, a few flannel shirts, and framed pictures back home were all I had left of him, and the fact that Luna remembered something so small that I had told her months ago made me wonder how I could repay her for such a wonderful gift, or if I was able to do it at all. All I could do was change into my pajamas, spray the new cologne on my pillowcase and bury my face in it, inhaling the comforting smell with tears in my eyes. I lay awake thinking about the hole in my heart that had been there since he died. Now, though, that space didn't feel so empty. It was full; full of joy, and grief, and love, and gratitude, and a couple million other feelings that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Minutes later, I fell into a dark, dreamless, blissful sleep and everything was silent.
Dear Reader,
Wow this chapter has exactly 1,000 words lol ik its short but I have like half an idea for the next chapter, but you know what I'm gonna go for it even if I have no clue how I'll incorporate said idea. On that note, y'all might want to bring some tissues when I post the next chapter...that's all I'm gonna give away. Thank you guys so much for reading, and make sure you leave a few comments for me to read (I get lonely at like 3 am okay) and tell me anything! Until next time...
XOXO
Frankie :)
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Looney (Luna Lovegood x Fem Reader)
Fanfiction"How could my love for her be wrong? Sure, it was odd to some people, but it was love just the same." Since your first day at Hogwarts, there have been rumors about that strange Lovegood girl who wears mismatched clothes and talks about creatures th...
