We descend down the train stairs onto platform 9 3/4, all of our eyes being taken to the two joyful redheads waiting for them. Hermione looks back at me with a sad expression. "We're going to miss you."
"You'll be too busy enjoying your stay at the burrow to miss me, don't worry 'Mione." I assure her with my hand on her shoulder, she nods.
"Fine...But! You have to come next year to Christmas since you bailed on us this time."
"Okay, I will." She lowers her head and looks through her eyebrows not convinced. "I promise!" She pops up and embraces me in a hug.
"Okay, we have to go, all the boys are already done greeting each other." Ginny says, pushing Hermione towards the crowd of Weasleys who happen to be staring at us.
"Bye Y/n!" Hermione squeals as Ginny ushers her off, leaving Maddie to follow behind.
"Hey Maddie, have a good time with George." I say with a wink.
"Oh, thanks- Y/n!" She exclaims, realizing my words. She punches my shoulder making my grin grow even wider. "Shut up. You're annoying." She growls playfully, picking up her trunk from the the ground.
"Love you!" I shout through the platform as she walks towards Hermione and Ginny. After waving to Molly and Arthur with a friendly smile, similar to theirs, I glance around the platform for the platinum blonde girl whom I'd be spending the week with.
"Love you too!" Maddie reluctantly calls back, causing me to snicker.
"What's so funny?" Luna asks cheerfully as she lightly skips towards me. I instantly wrap my arms around her, Neville next, even though he didn't really know what to do with his hands so, I had to put them around my back for him.
"Father's this way." She states before starting towards the other end of the platform. After dodging hundreds of bundled up students heading for the entrance into the muggle world, my eyes fall onto Xenophilius Lovegood, a tall man wearing lose clothing and layers of crystal necklaces with hair the exact shade as his daughter's.
"Father, this is Y/n and Neville." She introduces.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lovegood. Thank you having us for the week." I say kindly, Neville nervously adding a 'yeah' in agreement.
We apparate from there, the swirly green tunnel I am sucked into causes a wave of nausea to come over me like a wave in the ocean with the goal of drowning me. When we land on the frosted grassy ground of the white field that surrounds her home, I almost lose my balance as I fight the urge of throwing up right on the spot. "Are you feeling alright y/n? You're looking a bit pale." Luna mentions as she analyzes my uneasy, colorless complexion.
"Mhm. Fine, just not very used to all the twisting and falling of apparation yet." I respond, breathing deeply to calm my discomfort.
"Understandable, you'd have to get used to it, takes some time though. Don't dwell on it." Mr. Lovegood adds before turning towards their house and beginning in it's direction. I don't know if I would actually consider it a house, more like a tower with it's tall black stone structure and multiple layers. It's sort of lopsided, similar to how the burrow is, but more stable. All different green vines travel up the side of the house, taking over at least a quarter of the outside. I continue following them through the field, tripping over frozen weeds once in a while when they enclose around my ankles.
Mr. Lovegood twists the creaky doorknob and invites us into his home, jewel and gem decorated, but still had a unique cozy feel to it. Windows surround the living room, gladly welcoming the warm, orange tinted rays of the sun which sets above the trees in the far distance past the field. Luna shows us to her room and the ones that Neville and I would be staying in. She chose a gentle sage colored room for me, decorated with paintings of flowers, much like the ones that are scattered around every room in the house, especially hers. There's only one room she didn't show us or even mention, which is fine because they have multiple floors in here so my legs were already tired after the several flights of stairs. With a periwinkle colored room herself, she sits Neville and I down to play games, her favorites are wizard chess and monopoly.
"Which one is this again?" Neville asks confused, tapping his chin as he plans his next move against me.
"Bishop." I inform him.
"And they go where exactly?" He asks timidly.
"They move diagonally." I inform him with a grin.
"Why are you smiling like that? Did I do something wrong again?" He says analyzing me with wide eyes. "I knew something looked off, maybe the queen?" He whispers to himself as he stares at the board in determination to find his error.
"No no. You did nothing wrong. I just find it funny that you're asking me questions because I've seen you play. You're much better than I am." I assure him.
"Oh, really?" I nod believably. "Well, thank you. I'm just for some reason nervous all of a sudden." He admits not mentioning that the reason is that Luna is watching him play over his shoulder. I notice his clammy temples in the window light and do him a favor.
"Hey, I'm going to go fetch a glass of water, anyone want anything?" I offer.
"No, I'm quite well. Thank you y/n." Luna replies kindly. As I turn to walk out of her room, I look back at her.
"Hey Lu, could you take my place while I'm gone? Wouldn't want to keep Neville waiting."
"I'd be delighted." She responds, hopping into the seat across from Neville. He gives me a quick smile, letting me know that my plan had worked. I decend down her three sets of stairs towards the kitchen and take a clean glass from the cupboard. I fill it up with water from the large mason jar that sits in their fridge with a few slices of fresh lemon floating in it and mint Luna grew in her garden.
"Did you need something?" The blonde man questions from the corner of the room, sitting on the creme couch as he flips today's edition of The Daily Prophet.
"Oh, no. I'm alright, just getting a glass of water." I take a sip of the hydrating liquid that i have been yearning for the past hour. "Your home is lovely. I'm fond of all the decorations, the paintings especially."
"They fit perfectly don't they? Luna makes them. Her mother was an amazing artist in her free time if not testing spells." He chuckles under his breath.
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." I ask carefully.
"There was a day a few years ago when she was testing out a new spell like she always had, and it happened that was the one dangerous enough to kill her. Luna was only nine at the time, we've been living only the two of us ever since. She especially loves to paint flowers because that's what her mother always used to paint for her. It's like she's keeping her spirit alive which I don't mind. She is very good though, and thoughtful about every stroke."
"Yes, she is." I agree, admiring the multiple flower paintings in the room. In that thought, my attention is shifted as Neville hurries down the stairs in a huff.
"Y/n/n! I won the game! I am pretty sure she let me though. Anyways, Luna is starting up a game of wizarding monopoly! Come on!" He encourages me with an gleaming smile. I turn to Xenophilius, thank him, and receive a friendly nod and pained smile as I began up the stairs. On the way back up to Luna's room, a rush of guilt comes over me for bringing up her mother as it was obvious that it was a sensitive subject. Luna's warm expression soon comforted me as she invited us over to the corner where a board was laid out and pieces floated above the starting square.
—————
We all eventually fell asleep during the excruciating long game last night and barely made it to our own beds, but when we did, nothing was able to wake us up, especially Neville. I open my eyes slightly, being met with the deep blue sky and sun peaking over the horizon. Nothing came to mind for the first few seconds of admiring the scene, but it wasn't until I recalled a similar sight from a few months ago at the burrow in the summer.
The night that all the Weasley children and everyone else, but Molly and Arthur of course, went out at an hour before dawn and played truth or dare with shots, ending with me having to make out with Percy, a detail I've hoped would fade over time, it hasn't, unfortunately. More importantly was the moment after that, when Fred officially asked me to be his girlfriend in the hallway of the burrow, a magical memory I hope to never forget, even if we are broken up.
I just want something to look back on, a time when I was truly happy and not worried about Voldemort capturing me to become his malevolent side kick.
I flip the quilt from my legs and press my feet to the ground, rubbing my exhausted eyes as I do so. I grip onto the side table for stability as I stand up, my legs still feeling numb as tingles run under my skin. I pull on a amethyst crew neck with a pair of pale blue ripped mom jeans. "Good morning." Neville greets as he passes me in the hall while on my way to the restroom.
"Morning Nev." I end up French braiding my hair into one after way too much time passed of indecision.
A waft of delicious scents intrude my nose as I scurry down the stairs, coming to the realization that breakfast has already been made and is waiting with three different plates for us as the sun finishes rising. I take the seat across from Luna who is beside Neville who struggles to cut his omelet correctly with their special kind of utensils that are new to both of us. "Today should be fun, I've planned something." She mentions.
"Like what?" I ask, taking a bite of my omelet, the pieces of bell pepper adding a bit of sweetness to the dish.
"I prefer not to spoil surprises when I make them. I like to see your reactions when it actually happens." She replies. Neville sends me an 'oh no' type of look with wide, worried eyes.
"Don't worry Nev, I'm sure professor Snape won't be lurking there so there's nothing to be worried about." I tease, bringing up the events of the Boggart unit. He nervously laughs in response, probably not realizing that I'm joking.
After breakfast and washing up, the sun is peaked at the highest point in the sky and is shining down on us, the heat causing beads of sweat to form at the nape of my neck. Luckily, I decided to wear a short sleeve top under the sweater because as we climbed higher up the hill, the thin layer of snow that covered the ground seemed to be melting on sight and the temperature continued to increase. So much for Christmas weather here.
Luna plops down her basket that she's been carrying the whole way. I've tried to get it out of her what lays inside, but she wouldn't budge which isn't surprising, she's quite good at keeping secrets, but is bad for me at this time because I like to know them and be in on the keeping. We stand on the farthest side of the hill from the tower, on the edge of the forest. She ventures in a few feet and stops in front of the largest tree in sight, turning back around to meet Neville's and my confused eyes.
"Oh, yes. I almost forgot." She beams, running back to the edge of forest to snatch the basket once again, before returning. She pushes a camouflage shield of vines and leaves away from a hole in the trunk, placing the basket inside before crawling in after it. "Come on in." She invites, sitting with her legs crossed and hands intertwined in her lap as she waits for us to follow.
I take the initiative to head in first after I realize that Neville wouldn't volunteer. "Are you sure this is going to fit all of us Lu? Looks pretty small from out here." I pop my head in, my eyes widening at the spacious area.
"Woah." I mutter as I make it all the way in and sit beside her with an awed expression.
"Tricks the eye doesn't it?" She asks as I admire the cozy area. She then pulls a long string from above our heads that is followed by a click and suddenly the inside of the tree is completely visible. "Quite interesting isn't it?" Neville finally builds up the courage to join us and experiences the same shock as I did.
In the corner, a large stack of books are piled, at least twenty high with all the different types of genres you could think of. On the other side, a small easel holds a canvas that is splashed with all types of colors in the shape of a tulip and beside it, rows of paint bottles sit with dust covering them lightly. "So, this is where you paint." I say, admiring all the unique art hung on the inner bark.
"Yep, haven't been here in a while as you can imagine." She states, dusting off the sunflower in front of her, reviving its vivid colors and experienced strokes.
"This is brilliant Luna." Neville confesses, glancing around the layers of color splashed canvases that ascend high up the walls.
"When did you make this?" I ask, intrigued.
"Well, when I was younger my mum and I built this together, to have our own place, somewhere I could sit and watch her paint for hours. After she passed away, this kind of became my own little place that I could paint away all my emotions." She explains, her fingers fiddling with the edge of the coral carpet we sit on. "I quite enjoy it though, painting. I like creating things of my own that others can gain happiness from along with me."
"That's amazing. And you're incredible at it too. You could surely go places with it."
"Maybe." She responds blankly.
- Fred's POV-
"I don't know if they're getting back together anytime soon if at all." Hermione admits from the other side of Ginny's door as I walk past. I pause for a moment, not acknowledging that I had frozen in the middle of the hallway.
"Yeah, I don't know. I can tell she's bloody upset about it." Ginny adds, my eyebrows unconsciously being pushed together.
"I hope they do. They're a cute couple." Maddie chimes in.
"She used to be so happy now she's just mad all the time. Well, anytime she sees or anyone talks about Fred." Ginny says. I feel my stomach twist into a knot, the guilt setting in.
"I wonder if she would go back to him because I mean he hurt her. Bad." Belle tells them.
"Yeah, but I think Fred meant to do that though."
"Maybe, but even then, it's his loss because he just dumped his soulmate. I mean have you seen how he looks at her? I dream of a boy looking at me like that." Maddie sighs, falling back onto the bed. George's door creaks open, fishing me out of my pool of regret.
"You alright mate?" He questions with concern in his eyes as he notices my blank expression.
"Yeah." I respond, following him into our room.
"Okay, so here's what I was thinking for the new product. Maybe we could add some-" George explains, referring to his sketch that is drawn on a yellow notebook in front of me. I don't really listen, as I am replaying the girls' conversation about y/n back in my head, reliving the pain I put both of us through with our breakup. The stupid fucking breakup. The moment I ruined everything, just to protect her. Just to Protect her? I cant even tell if it was the right decision anymore. It seems like I've done more damage than protecting recently.
A flash of purple from the corner of the room redirects my attention from my thoughts to below my bed. I stand up, keeping my eyes focused on the purple fabric. "What are you doin Freddie?" George questions as I bend down to get a closer look at the material that calls to me, telling me it doesn't belong to me. I reach for it, lifting it slowly to hold it in my hand. I unfold it, the familiar scent of her perfume severs my heart even deeper than I have already done to myself.
Her sweatshirt that she left here during the summer.
"What is it?" George questions from across the room. I take a deep breath to get rid of the stinging in the back of my throat.
"It's Y/n's." I say, the sadness more obvious in my voice than I would've liked it to be. I turn around, George meeting my eyes, telling him practically everything that I am thinking before I even have to say it.
"I love her Georgie..but I think it's too late."