Choices

Chapter 2

I was watching Luna as she stared out the window. Really, it looked like she was looking past the window at something I couldn't see.

Without tearing her gaze away, she said,"I like your name. It's very pretty and different."

"Thank you" I replied.

She turns her head and looks at me. "You have really pretty hair too. And your eyes are beautifully green, like the grass in a meadow at springtime."

Why is she giving me all these compliments?

"Um......Thank you...." I say again. I decide to try to speak to her, to try to make a friend. "I like your hair as well. And your eyes are really sparkly, like the sun reflecting off water." I flush slightly and look away.

I keep my head lowered but I look to see her face.

She smiles the biggest smile I've seen on her since I met her. Granted that was only an hour ago, but still. It made me feel fluttery inside. What is going on??

"Thank you!" She says. "Would you like to be my friend?"

I'm shocked for a bit. After I recover, I say,"That would be lovely. You have no idea what that means to me." I don't know why all that came out, but it did.

Luna didn't stop smiling. In fact, had it been possible she would have smiled even more.

Suddenly, the train came to a stop. It was to early for us to be at Hogwarts, so I was became nervous. The power went out, leaving the train dark. Frost started to creep up the windows, and the air turned cold and misty. I knew what it meant. Dementors.

I began to shake, fear coursing through my body. I started hyperventilating, my breathing coming in and out in short, quick breaths. My father had order some of the dementors from Azkaban to come to our house and protect it when Voldemort was around. They would scare me into running to my room as fast as I could and I would hide under the blankets.

Now, without the comfort of my bed, I was terrified. I curled myself into the smallest ball I could, tears streaming down my face. I feel someone move next to me. I open one eye and see that it's Luna. She wraps her arms around me and hugs me to her, soothingly shushing me and petting my hair. My crying turns to wimpers and my hyperventilating slows as she rocks me in her arms, stoking my hair. I open my eyes and see the compartment door slide open slowly with a cold looking, grey wrinkled hand with horrendous fingernails. I squeeze my eyes shut, hard. I feel Luna rest her forehead on the top of my head, trying to calm herself down as well. I wrap my arms around her waist, trying to help because that's what friends do, right?

I hear the door shut again, and I open my eyes to see that the dementor has moved on. I release a breath, however I'm not completely relieved until the train moves again.

Luna lifts her head back up and looks down at me curled up in her lap. I'm suddenly exausted from the onslaught of emotions, and feel myself drifting off to sleep in her lap, comfortable, warm, and safe.