Till Forever Falls Apart

Chapter Twenty-Five: Luna Lovegood

*Decided to release two chapters today. Hope you enjoy them!

Val was packing a small tote bag with her things when Padma approached her in their dorm.

    "Anthony's sorry, you know," Padma sat on the edge of her bed. "For what he said."

    "Do you believe him?" Val said flatly, stuffing a sweater in the bag, making an effort not to look at her friend.

    "What part?" Padma asked. Val gave her a cautious look.

    "I'll be honest with you, Val, because that's what you deserve," Padma said hesitantly, but surely.

    "You tag along with them far more than you do with us. Don't get me wrong, I know you love being a Ravenclaw. I can tell. But Harry's not your only friend. We are too," She said tightly.

    Val stopped what she was doing, and looked at Padma's face. The girl looked tired and torn, caught between an argument she had no initial part in.

    A hardness in Val's chest fizzled, but only for a brief second.

    "He called me stupid."

    "We all are sometimes!" Padma threw her hands up in frustration. "He said it in the heat of the moment."

    "I'm not second to Harry," Val said in a low, strained voice.

    "Not to me," Padma shifted, trying to meet Val's eyes. "Not to anyone that matters. I think if enough people knew what you were really like they'd love you as much as we do."

    Val sat down, leaving a few inches of space between her and Padma. She toyed with the handle of the cloth bag, caught somewhere between surrender and stubbornness.

    "You don't have to forgive Anthony right away," Padma tried to be assuring. "I would be a bit angry too. Just... give him another chance. When you feel it's time."

    Val knew that Padma was right, and that she was too smug for her own good to wave the white flag first. She was too full of pride as her guard began to waver.

    "I'll think about it," Val finally said as she packed her wand into the bag and closed it shut with the drawstrings. Padma's expression was partly relief, but more so impatient as she opened the door for her friend.

    "He misses you," Padma whispered.

    Val pretended that she did not hear as she descended the steps, exiting the common room area.

    The journey from Ravenclaw Tower was a long one, but Val appreciated it all the more, as it gave her time to decide what to do with her aggravation.

    Anthony was one of her closest friends. He even knew her better than Harry, in some aspects. The Goldstein boy could read Val surprisingly well, and she knew she could never hide from him for too long. They studied together, roamed the castle when they shouldn't, even planned what their first flat together would look like when they were older and finished school.

    But now, they were at a crossroads, and Val would not be willing to shake hands without a proper apology.

    She carefully stepped on the soft, marshy land that took her to the part of the Hogwarts grounds near the Whomping Willow.

    She looked at the vicious tree with a small fleck of timidity. Why on earth would someone place such a harmful plant near a group of children?

    "Hello, Valentina Lupin-Black!" Luna called from far away.

    Val quickened her pace and descended the stone steps, trying not to slip. "You can call me Val, Luna. All of my friends do."

    "I do like your name," Luna said in her light tone of voice. "It may be a bit much to say, but it's pretty. Did you know your name is derived from the Latin word 'strong'?"

    "No," Val shook her head curiously. "I didn't."

    "Well, I suppose you learned something today, didn't you Valentina Lupin-Black?"

    Val knew she was going to have to get used to this new friend using her full name.

    They walked using the path to the greenhouses, and just a few more feet away were the veggie gardens, full of ripe vegetables awaiting to be plucked. Val followed Luna, unsure where they were meant to stop.

    The blonde-haired Ravenclaw arrived at a group of trees, resting a gentle hand on the trunk of an evergreen as she placed her basket on the ground.

    "It's best if you stay by me and have your wand ready. Nargles can be agitated quite easily."

    "What is a nargle?" Val inquired, watching Luna spread the branches of a bush apart.

    The first-year gave her an ominous look. "You don't want to know."

    Val did not ask any more questions about the mythical creature as she kneeled next to Luna, carefully filtering through parts of the bush to see if she could spot any of the berries that Luna's basket seemed to be getting full of. Val had only managed a small sum compared to the other girl's and was feeling quite self-conscious at the sight of her basket.

"Have some of mine," Luna smiled as she took a few handfuls of berries and carefully transferred them into Val's basket.

"Thank you, Luna," Val said as she carried her now half-filled basket back to the place where their belongings were. Luna took a small cloth from her purse and smoothed it out on the grass, looking expectantly at Val.

"I heard you can do many charms."

"A few," Val tried her best to sound modest. "I suppose you want me to perform an Engorgement Charm?"

"If you would like," Luna politely gestured to the cloth.

Val called the hand movement to mind and watched as the ice-blue light shot from her wand, largening the cloth until it became the size of a well-produced blanket. They sat on the material, popping berries in their mouths as they watched the sky turn gray.

"What is your father like?" Val said wondrously. Luna seemed to brighten at the question, wiping the berry juice from her fingers on her skirt.

"He's wonderful," Luna said dreamily. "He often likes to ask me for my input on The Quibbler-says the issue will be more exciting if we work on it together. I hope to take over someday. I don't think I would like it to be like the Daily Prophet-certainly not. Perhaps I would include more articles on creatures. Yes, that would be nice."

"And your Mum?" Val said as she chewed a few more berries.

Luna's smile faded the tiniest bit. "She died two years ago after a spell she was working on went terribly."

Val cursed herself for asking. "I'm so sorry to hear that Luna. What was she like?"

"Beautiful," Luna reminisced. "She was a very bright woman too."

"Well she sounds amazing," Val said gently. She was not known for being the best comforter to others.

"Yes, she was. And what are your fathers like?" Luna returned from her memories, placing the remains of her berries in a cloth pouch.

Val gave her an inquisitive look. "How did you know I had two fathers?"

"People talk about you," Luna said simply.

Val whipped around. "Really? What do they say?"

Luna looked up briefly, deep in thought. "One of your fathers is a pureblood, and the other is a half-blood. That's all I heard. I think it's wonderful you have two fathers. I wonder if I had two of my dad what it would be like."

"It's alright," Val shrugged. "I suppose I wouldn't know any different. I love them a lot."

"Yes. Family is important," Luna said as she stood up. "I must be going back now. Will you walk with me?"

"Certainly," Val pointed her wand, shrinking the blanket back to its original form. She retrieved her bag, and scurried to catch up with the small girl already climbing her way back up to the castle.

The pair stopped outside the library, and Luna turned to wave. "Thank you for coming."

"See you, Luna," Val smiled as she left the girl, walking back to the dorm alone.