𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | l. lovegood

xxxix

𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐑. The group of five spent every waking moment traveling to different areas. Dorothea spent the majority of these days in her animagus form curled up in Luna's arms. When she wasn't doing this, she was walking silently beside her with her headphones on, blasting the music on all of the mixtapes her dad had made for her.

She didn't want this to be real, but she'd seen his body for herself. Just like when Sirius died, she had shut down completely, refusing to speak to anyone with the exception of Luna and sometimes Hermione.

One night while Hermione was cutting Harry's hair, Dorothea was sitting on the floor in front of Luna's bed, the blonde putting small braids into her hair. It had grown a lot since she cut it off last year. It wasn't as long as it had been her 4th year, but it was a good way past her shoulders.

"How are you feeling right now?" Luna asked softly.

Dorothea shrugged. Some days were better than others, and right now, she just felt...lost. Mentally lost. She was so overwhelmed by everything that was happening in her life at the moment. She kept wishing that she'd wake up in her bed at home during a time where everything had been perfect; where her family had been whole instead of broken.

"It's all just too much," she eventually said, her voice quiet, barely above a whisper. Luna didn't have to ask to know what she meant by this. She understood perfectly. Dorothea had lost two important people in her life within a little over a year of each other.

Luna finished another little braid, tying it off with a colourful elastic band; purple, blue, yellow, and pink decorated her hair. She slid off the bed so that she could sit next to her on the floor. She took her hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'm here for you, okay? As a friend...or whatever else you need me to be...I want you to know I'm here."

Dorothea's gaze drifted down to Luna's lips, the other girl's doing the same. Just as she was leaning in, Hermione exclaimed, "Oh, my God!" and rushed to the table, Harry following behind her.

"What is it?" Luna asked as she and Dorothea joined them at the table. Hermione was flipping through a book.

"The Sword of Gryffindor," Hermione said. The other three stared at her, confused. "It's goblin-made."

"Brilliant," Harry replied.

"No, you don't understand. Dirt and rust have no effect on the blade. It only takes in that, which makes it stronger." Hermione flipped the book around so that they could see. She pointed to the page in the book.

"Okay," Harry said, still not following.

"Harry, you've already destroyed one Horcrux, right?" Hermione asked. "Tom Riddle's diary in the Chamber of Secrets."

"With a basilisk fang. If you tell me you've got one of those in that bloody beaded bag of yours..."

Dorothea's brows furrowed for a moment before she gasped in realization. "Harry, in the Chamber of Secrets, you stabbed the basilisk with the sword."

"Its blade is impregnated with basilisk venom," Hermione added.

"It only takes in that which makes it stronger," Harry realized.

"Exactly, which is why—"

"It can destroy Horcruxes."

"And that's why Dumbledore left it to you in his will."

"You are brilliant, Hermione, truly," Harry complemented.

"Actually, I'm highly logical, which allows me to look past extraneous detail and perceive clearly that which others overlook." Hermione gently nudged Dorothea with her shoulder when the younger girl sat down next to her. "You and I are a lot alike in that way, Thea."

The girl managed a small smile, which Hermione returned. The lights suddenly went out, and they turned to see Ron staring at them with a grumpy look on his face.

"The sword was stolen," he said, returning the light to the lantern. "Yeah. I'm still here. But you four carry on. Don't let me spoil the fun."

Sensing that an argument was about to break out, Luna excused herself from the table and went to fetch Dorothea's headphones. Hermione took the Hufflepuff girl's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, standing up.

"Wrong?" Ron scoffed. "Nothing's wrong. Not according to you, anyway."

"Look, if you've got something to say, don't be shy," Harry snapped crossly. "Spit it out."

"Alright. I'll spit it out. But don't expect me to be grateful just because there's another damn thing we've got to find."

Luna returned with Dorothea's headphones and Walkman. She gave them to her, and she pulled them up over her ears, her knee beginning to bounce and her thumb rubbing the palm of her hand.

Harry and Ron began to bicker about the Horcrux hunt. Hermione pleaded with Ron to take the locket off, stating that he wouldn't be saying any of this if he hadn't been wearing it all day.

"Do you know why Thea and I listen to that radio every night, do you?" Ron asked Harry, his eyes full of rage. "To make sure that she doesn't hear her mother or sister's name. To make sure that I don't hear Ginny's name, or Fred, or George, or Mum!"

"What, you think I'm not listening, too?!" Harry raised his voice. "You think I don't know how this feels?!"

"No, you don't know how it feels!" Ron yelled. Dorothea clicked on her music and placed her hands on top of her headphones, holding them down to her ears tightly as Luna comfortingly rubbed her back. "Your parents are dead! You have no family!"

Harry lunged at Ron, the two boys angrily wrestling each other as Hermione tried to break them up. Harry shouted at him to leave, and Ron took off the Horcrux, throwing it down to the floor before grabbing his bag. He turned to Hermione, asking if she was coming or if she was staying. When she said nothing, he stormed out of the tent. She ran after him, calling his name, but he had already Disapparated.

»--✩--«

They traveled to a new location the following day. Dorothea's arm had healed, so Hermione was able to Apparate them away. Nothing eventful happened; it was oddly quiet without the fifth member of their little party.

Dorothea spent the day writing in her journal and playing outside with Luna. Later that night, she was messing around with the radio that Ron had left. A song came on on one of the stations, and she recognized it as O Children by Nick Cave. Her dad had put that song on one of her mixtapes. Luna knew this, so she took Dorothea's hands and pulled her up from the bed to dance.

A tiny smile twitched on Dorothea's lips as she danced with her. For the first time in months, she was able to think about something else other than the war. In this moment, the only thing that mattered to her was the beautiful blonde, blue-eyed beauty twirling her around the tent.

When the song ended, Dorothea leaned up and pressed her lips to Luna's.

Just as she was panicking and pulling away, Luna wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her back in. Dorothea put a gentle hand on the side of her face, smiling softly into the kiss.

When they broke away, Luna whispered, "I've been wanting to do that for a really long time."

"Me, too," Dorothea admitted, blushing. "A-And I'd, um...really like to do it again?"

Luna grinned and brought her in for another kiss.