Run Away With Me (hp) (Luna x Harry)

The Runaways

The stars seemed so close, as if Harry could almost reach his hand out and touch them. Harry had seen them a million times before, but this time they seemed different. Brighter, maybe. More defined. Of course, the stars were the same as they always were. It is down to individual perception that these changes exist. Harry saw them beautiful to the fullest extent because of an external factor of which the stars didn't really relate to in the slightest. The stars were better because Harry was seeing them with Luna. Luna had, too, voiced her opinion of them, stating wildly, "I'm related to a star." No further explanation was asked for and as such, one was not given. Harry had learned to accept her nonesense as sense. It was very much in character.

They had left the small town that night. For good. Harry had been apprehensive at first, yes, but then it was revealed that some students and staff had been sent to the two by Dumbledore to watch over him. Snape, Ron, Trelawney, Neville, were the ones he'd met. Some kid named Lavender Brown who Harry hadn't met, but also lived in the orphanage, was also watching over him.

Harry had immediately agreed to run away with Luna after that. He did not, like most people, like getting unknowingly watched. Dumbledore had apparently sent so many people to look after him, like he was a little kid, but hadn't told him anything about the wizarding world. It infuriated him. And his friends, Ron and Neville? They'd lied to him! Who even knew how much of their friendship was real and not just instructed by Albus? They'd hid such a big thing from him. It explained things with Snape, though. People always wondered why he did the job if he hated kids, and now the reason is clear; he'd been watching Harry.

Harry also pondered what Dumbledore's real reason as to not telling him he was a wizard was. To keep him out of the limelight was a weak reason; barely a reason at all, really. What else, oh what else, was up his sleeve?

It had been around five when they made the decision to leave. It was best to leave as soon as possible, they had decided. Luna had said that the spies would, for a small while, notice his absence at school but not suspect anything. Maybe he was sick or something, they would likely think. But then Lavender would notice his absence from the orphanage whenever she arrived home from school and they would be alerted that something else was up. Lavender slept in the girl's dormatory and left early in the mornings, so she would not notice Harry's absence in the mornings. That left them until approximately 3:10pm the next day to get as far away from the town of secret wizards as possible. Lights out was at 7, so they'd leave around 8. Around 19 hours. Lots of time, but it didn't seem it.

Luna had a flying broomstick (which Harry was shocked to hear, magic was still new to him) which would be good for travel. Except, she only had one and didn't double-ride well. It also couldn't be used for daylight travel, because Muggles would see them. So that was a bust. They settled on stealing two bikes from the other children at the orphanage. Harry felt a bit bad about this (first, your parents die, or abandon you, or they traumatize you and then some kids steal your bike? Talk about bad luck), but he pushed these feelings down.

Harry packed his backpack with stolen packaged food from the orphanage and stolen money from the matron (not feeling very bad about stealing anymore, it would seem), as well as some of his own poccessions. He left his school supplies in the orphanage, deciding he had better things to do on the run then study algebra. He kept his clothes, hygienic items, a single pillow an thin blanket, and the one picture of his parents he had. It didn't all fit, but that was okay, because Luna did some fancy wand waving and shrunk everything. Luna also carried a backpack full of tiny poccessions, but didn't say what she'd brought.

Supper came, passed, and soon the matron ordered Harry and the other orphans to their beds and shut off the lights for the night. Harry didn't sleep. He laid awake staring at the ceiling, glancing at the clock in his nightstand every once and while. After what seemed like forever, it was eight and Harry silently slipped out of his bed and left the room with his supplies. He could not say he would miss the place. He was not sad to go. In fact, he was happier than he'd ever been. Overjoyed.

He'd spent almost all of his life in that damned place. He wondered if he should've missed it. But he didn't, and Harry thought it was okay not to miss it. He was not obligated to feel a certain way because people said he should. The orphanage represented everything he hated about himself. Boring, repetitive, normalness. Getting bullied. Not fighting back. Fighting back, and losing. Doing homework. Not doing homework, getting in trouble for it. Doing nothing with his life. Friends who are doing nothing with their lives. Friends who weren't really friends. Wanting to be different. Thinking he was meant for something different deep down but never knowing what. Thinking he was boring like everyone else he knew.

Boring, normal, boring.

He spat on the lawn of the orphanage before he left. Good, he thought, fucking riddance.

They rode their bikes until their legs ached and throats bunted and bodies pumped with adrenaline and until they thought they couldn't ride anymore, and kept riding past that until their tiredness turned into exhaustion. That's when they took a break. They sat in the grass and fished out some water and crackers from Luna's bag. They ate. They would get going again when they were no longer exhausted. The sun had risen.

As they ate, they didn't talk. There was much they needed to talk about, but didn't. And that was okay. They had all the time in the world to talk.