Moonlight's embrace: A Harry Potter love story

Chapter 8

WARNING: There will be ONE swear word mentioned in this chapter! (If you've watched the movie, I'm sure you know which part I am at! ;)

Luna carefully wrapped bandages around the arm of a young girl while Ginny comforted her. 

"Don't worry, sweetie. You fought very bravely and it won't hurt as much later," Ginny soothed.

"I want to go home. I don't want to fight any more," The girl cried. 

"I'll help you find your parents when the fight is over. But for now, let's go back to the room of requirement. You should rest there,"Luna said gently. She held the girl's hand and took her back upstairs. As she headed up the stairs, she saw Harry disappear into the headmaster's office. I wonder why he's going in there...is he going to fight Snape?  Luna shook the thought away and made her way into the room of requirement where it was self. Nearly all the first years, second years and third years were there. Some of the braver third years stood by the door, their wands pointed out nervously.

"Hannah!" One of the first years girls ran over and hugged them. 

"Is everything ok? No death eaters got in right?" Luna asked anxiously.

"Of course not," A tall second year boy replied.

"I would have fought them off," A third year bragged.

"We would have fought them off," A fourth year corrected him. "There's no way you can fight a death eater single handed.

"Can too," he muttered. 

"Just hope that you don't have to," Luna said, looking at them rather sternly.

"EVERYONE GO OUTSIDE!"

"Omg! Is that Hagrid carrying Harry?"

"He turned himself in?"The loud chatters of the students made Luna spin around. Without looking back she sprinted out of the room and followed the crowd of students outside, pushing her way to stand next to Hermione and Ron. Ginny was more in front and Neville was staring at the death eaters with blood running down his face and his hand gripping a dirty old hat. 

"Harry Potter is DEAD!" Voldemort announced. Luna's heart felt like a ton of bricks that had been forced down the throat. No! He can't be...How could he be dead?

But as Luna stared at the motionless body in Hagrid's arm, she could feel the hope she had clung onto for so long slowly slipping away. 

"People die everyday!" A voice rose out from front. Luna stood on her tippy toes and her heart nearly stopped when she saw Neville glaring defiantly at Voldemort.

"Yea..we lost Harry tonight..but he's still with us.. in our hearts," He turned to address the Hogwarts students.

"So it Fred, Remus, Tonks...everyone we lost today... they didn't die in vain," He said, his voice soft but still ringing out. 

"But you will!" Neville turned back to Voldemort. "This is not over!"As he spoke, he reached into the hat and pulled out a long glimmering sword. The sword of Gryffindor!  Just as he reached it out, a movement near Hagrid made everyone's head turned. Harry's body had thrust itself out of Hagrid's arm and had vanished from sight.

"Harry!"

"Where did he go?!"

"WHERE IS HE?" Death eaters and students shrieked. 

There! There was a sudden movement along the rubles of  the school as  a flash of red light shot out, aiming for the snake that was shifting around next to its owner. The spell bounced back off a invisible shield. Finally Voldemort could see him. He blasted the rubble but Harry had already moved his way next to the shocked students. 

"He's alive!"

"But how??"

"He survived once. Whose to say he wouldn't survive it again?"

Luna pulls out her wand as the death eaters moved towards them, but many of them were already fleeing. Luna turns and runs inside the school and follows Ginny and Hermione into the school. 

"Got you!" All three girls turn their heads. Bellatrix!  Luna and her friends raised their arms in unison, eyes narrowed. Although it was three against one, Bellatrix was almost equal to them as we weaved around her. A flash of green flashed so close to Ginny that I jerked my head around to check that she had not collapsed.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"Luna turned to see Mrs. Weasley raising her wand against Bellatrix, her face contorted in anger and grief. Luna pulls Ginny and Hermione back as the two women face each other, jets of light flying from both wands.

"No! She's mine! Get back!" Mrs. Weasley shrieks as students tried to help her. 

Luna backs away to help George as he struggled to bring down Yaxley. Percy comes to their aid and together, they stun the already weakened wizard until he stands and up flees. A sudden silence filled the whole castle as Voldemort was finally brought down, but it was soon followed my cheers. The students dragged out his body and tossed it to one side, separating him from the bodies of the students and fallen wizards. Luna finds Neville sitting on one of the steps, sits next to him and smiles. He smiles back. As she leans her head on her shoulders. She was aware of a girl with pale blond hair staring at them. Next to her was Rolf. Luna glances over, but both of them turn their backs and walk away. 

"Luna, I-" Neville began. Her eyes were gentle as she brushed the dust off his face. 

"I've always liked you," He said at last, taking her hand. "You understand me like nobody else. You've understood what I've gone through because..you know what it's like to be..different,"

Luna smiles. "We are all different, but I know exactly what you mean. Both of us..everyone has looked us at like we're weird..but what they don't know is that they underestimated us. You killed that snake..you are no longer the boy that everyone thought they could pick on. We both played our parts and proved ourselves in this battle."

"No, you proved yourselves from the moment you fought beside us," Harry's voice came from behind us. They both turn. Harry stood side by side with Ginny. Hermione and Ron were a little way off, helping the teachers treat the injured students and adults.

"You don't need other's approval to be worthy," Ginny said. "They have no right to judge,"

"You're right..but because of that, we both found our paths," Luna and Neville glance at each other and for the first time, there was pure joy in there. There was no fear, no uneasiness, no concern, only love. Neville takes her hand and pulls her to one side, away from the blood and broken stones of Hogwarts and holds her face in his hand before leaning down to kiss her. There was nothing but calmness surrounding them as if the kiss had simply washed away the trauma that had happened. When they finally break apart, they hold hands and walk back inside the school again, ready to rebuild their future for those to come