Not My Loony - A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Eclipsed

The four posts of Luna's bed seemed to enclose her as she lay there in the Ravenclaw dormitory, tossing and turning, unable to find that happy medium between her side and her stomach where she usually slept. Giving in, she sat up and stared out of the window. It was true - Ravenclaw Tower truly did have the best view of all the places in Hogwarts. The moon sat low in the sky that early morning, stuck between the land of the realists and the land of the dreamers. Sneaking out was not something Luna would usually do, but somehow she found herself fiercely compelled just to walk. Walk until her legs tired of it; she could sleep by the Black Lake and be woken by the sun's fulfilment later in the morning. So she stood up, slipped on some shorts and descended the tower's long spiral staircase. She had to stop at the corner of every corridor to avoid attracting the attention of Filch, or much worse - the Carrows.

Once outside she stopped. Hogwarts had a certain aura during the night that made all the horrors of the world beyond seem trivial. The once grandeurous and majestic castle now enclosed its occupants despairingly in the wake of the horrors the Death Eaters committed inside. But all of this was nothing as soon as Luna drew in the air of the untouched earth outside the castle's walls and it was as if Hogwarts was fighting back. She wandered into the night, looking down on the dormant Forbidden Forest as it lay nestled in its far-stretching valley, she wandered to the Black Lake where she took to a grassy spot by the bank. There she sat and there she stayed, staring at the still water, allowing the tranquil night to take her with open arms to another day. A day spent with her mother and father in their garden searching for the blibbering humdinger and making wildflower chains to string at the door to their home.

"You should wear more clothes on a night like this," A voice told her. It took a while to wake from her trance and see Ginny smiling down at her. That smile was as brilliant as the sun and as majestic as the moon. Ginny sat down by Luna's side and looked out at the water with her.

"So what are you doing out here, then?" Luna finally asked.

"I haven't slept right in a month, Luna," her eyes transfixed on the unstirring depths before them, "Not with everything going on. Not even Hogwarts is safe anymore."

"That seems fair enough," Luna said, "I also have struggled to sleep recently, with my father hiding away and the war going on." Neither of them spoke for several moments. Minutes even. They couldn't know.

"You were right about the clothes, Ginny," Luna finally said, "It's quite cold out here." Ginny didn't hesitate to put her arm around her, wrapping her in her long cardigan, pulling her close to her warm bosom. For a split second, everything was perfect as the moon looked set to traverse the rising sun. But then she had a thought that turned her knees to jelly - she could tell Ginny how she felt. The trouble was suddenly she could barely breathe. Thump. Her stomach dropped. Thump. Her head spun. Thump. She was choking on her own heart.

"Are you alright, Luna?" Ginny asked.

"I - well," She stammered. She couldn't keep talking if she wanted to.

"What is it, Luna, wrackspurt got you?" Ginny said with a genuine, sympathetic smile. She pushed a strand of Luna's cloudy hair behind her ear and raised a finger to lift her chin so she could look her in the eye, "You can tell me." Luna was undeniably scared, but Ginny's gaze eased her qualms like rest eases fatigue. As comfortable as she was, enwreathed in Ginny's knitted hold, her lip quivered and her tongue trembled.

"Love," she breathed; and with fierce vehemence, Ginny attached herself to the gracefully responsive Luna.

How was it that their lips were bound? How is it that birds sing, that the dawn melts the Autumn frost as it caresses the moonlit earth, that the stark shapes of Hogwarts' towers kiss the lake with their gentle cast? A kiss and all was said. A kiss so gentle they barely knew, until the heart of the pure eclipsed the heart of the bold, as the moon crossed the sun that cockcrow's rise. And as they shared the air, they kissed like the drowning breathe - as though they had tasted what had never been so sweet. And the clock struck infinity as all things fleeted from between them, waltzing on destiny's waxy palm, showered in butterbeer and firewhiskey. With as much intensity they were seized by the chest and retracted from the Elysian fields, cast back into that lifeless night by the bank of the lake. Neither could speak, rather they stared into one another's eyes, hearts still racing, each in time with the rise and fall of the other's bust. Ginny's eyes seared Luna's with a glowing intensity, like staring into a candle, until she dropped her gaze.

"Are you alright, Gin?" Luna said sweetly.

"Yeah," she smirked, "I just feared if I dive any deeper into your eyes I might not come back for air."

"You know they say drowning in a dream is a sign of an emotional awakening," Luna said matter-of-factly but nonetheless genial. Ginny repressed a giggle.

"Trust you to break the moment," she laughed. Luna flushed; she feared she had ruined a beautiful aura. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Loon," Ginny grinned. At this Luna beamed as proud as the moon and as bright as the sun.

"You know," she stammered, "Lots of other people call me Loony when they are being unkind."

"Not my Loony."