Luna was at a loss of what she should do. What could she do if she couldn’t lift her arm a centimeter? What could she do if she could barely utter a sound? She was just so cold. Currently, she has wrapped in a dozen quilts, had her feet in hot water, and was still shivering. It didn’t feel like a fever; she only had chills, but she felt no sense of heat whatsoever. Luna wondered if this was what being around a dementor felt like. The horrid creatures, sucking all warmth and happiness out of the very air. Luna didn’t feel particularly unhappy, but distraught at her situation and frozen to the bone.
Her father had taken off work for the time being until he had gotten her well, and he sat with her all day, occasionally making some food he would hand feed her as she was unable to move her soup spoon. Luna had never felt like this before. The ability to be independent had been stripped from her and her blood had gone cold. Constantly, she beat herself up about it. How could she have been so stupid?
She felt that if she cried, her tears would freeze when they came in contact with her skin. So, she wept on the inside. And as her mind filled with sadness, another startling thought occurred to her.
Hogwarts.
If she couldn’t unfreeze her body, how on Earth could she go to school in just a few days? She would miss classes, it would be impossible to catch up on the homework, and how would she get there…wait.
What about…?
Neville.
She never did write a letter back to him. He would think that she didn’t like him—that she didn’t want to be his friend! And there was no way for her to tell him that this was false. Luna couldn’t possibly write to him herself and there was no way she was going to have her dad write to him! She was so confused and upset she couldn’t think straight.
Just then, her father walked into the room, worry creasing his brow as he came to change the water at her feet.
“How are you feeling, Looney-bear?” he said quietly, his voice soft and thick under a velvety layer of labored sadness.
Luna merely tightened the corners of her lips for a brief moment. She had lost the words she had gained the previous night and had consented to short, slight movements all through the day. She had dozed a few times, but the worry that she would not be able to open her eye lids again kept her on edge.
Mr. Lovegood continued the process of changing out the water, his back to her. His form was slouched with grief. He had already lost his wife. He did not want to lose his daughter, too.
Then all of a sudden, his arms went to brace himself on the stove, the searing burners charring his skin. He took no notice. This was when Luna realized he was sobbing, something she had never known her father to do before.
“Daddy,” she managed to croak.
He turned to her and came to sit by her at the table. Wrapping his arms around her, the two embraced. Luna breathed him in -- his scent, inky and warm; his being, soft yet tired beyond his years. And as he silently cried into her ragged arms, a single tear cascaded down Luna’s face.
A drop of ice.
A drop of fear.
YOU ARE READING
Luna Lovegood
Fanfiction[BOOK ONE] Loony Lovegood--the girl everyone made fun of. The girl with more to her than what meets the eye. She's different, you know (although I presume you already figured that out for yourself). She's special, and she has a story, too. Foll...
