“I can’t believe everything that happened.” Lily said, her yawn faint as she pulled a pajama shirt over her head, pulling her red hair out of the collar. Luna nodded faintly, feeling near-ready to collapse but completely awake at the same time. It was rather puzzling.
“It’s rather unbelievable.” Luna agreed quietly, running her fingers through her hair, letting the curls tumble down in her back in loose waves. She had been somewhat sad to change out of her dress, but all the same it had a few rips in it that would need to be repaired, and rips aside it wouldn't be the most comfortable to sleep in. Now she was comfortable in her pajama pants and t-shirt, though her own bed currently felt cold to her, too big and too lonely. She had refrained from saying so though until Lily was sitting in her own, knees pulled up to her chest and drapes pulled back.
“Luna?” Lily’s voice was quiet, green eyes filled with something that wasn’t quite fear. Nervousness maybe. Luna looked over at her curiously.
“Yeah?”
“Do you just wanna talk for awhile- You can curl up in bed with me. Just for awhile. I don’t think I can sleep yet. I’m not scared, I’m just..”
“Anxious?” Luna asked, understanding. Her own nerves had spiked. Death Eaters had gotten into Hogwarts. What was to stop them from doing so again? And being that Lily was a muggleborn, well... Luna couldn’t even begin to imagine the terror of it. Luna may be a werewolf, but at least she was a pureblood one. The Dark Lord didn’t completely shun werewolves. Her grandfather was proof of that.
“Something like that.” Lily answered, scooting over in her bed and pulling back the sheets. Luna slid out of her own, padding across the floor and into the other girl’s bed, some anxiety lifted from her shoulders. It was easier to be nervous when you weren’t the only one.
“Here- Muffliato.” Lily had her wand in her hand, and though Luna didn’t think anything in the air changed, Lily looked rather content with herself before closing the drapes, leaving the two girls to their privacy.
“What was that?” Luna asked curiously, resting back against the headboard. Lily’s smiled faded slightly as she set her wand back down, still keeping it near to her.
“It was a spell Severus taught me, when we were still friends.” Lily informed her, her tone quiet. Luna nodded, understanding. She had heard very little of Lily’s previous friendship with the obnoxious Slytherin- She didn’t know much, besides that they had a falling out a year or two ago.
“That’s cool.” Luna hummed, at loss for any other words. Catching Lily’s fallen expression she spoke again, wanting to lighten the other girl’s mood. “My brother used to teach me spells, when I was younger- He was never supposed to, of course, but he did anyway. Normally ones involving light- He’d be able to mold it into any form he wanted. It was captivating. It came naturally to him.”
She glanced at the other girl and was pleased to see Lily had smiled just slightly, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. The green-eyed girl looked at her curiously, her smile fond. “How old was your brother?”
“About six years older than me- He was the best. My parents weren’t the most loving,” Luna said slowly, keeping it to herself that ‘not the most loving’ was a huge understatement, “so he kept an eye out on me, took care of me, told me all these bedtime stories when I was little. Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump was my favorite.”
“I’ve read that one.” Lily said with a faint smile. “Well, not really. But I overheard someone telling it. James, actually. In first year, he and Remus got into some kind of argument about the differences between muggle stories and magical ones, which were better and what not.”
“Oh?” Luna asked, amused by how easily she could picture the boys doing the same in seventh year. “Who won?”
“If my memory serves right, Remus. Though James did make some very compelling arguments.” Lily said, her smile small for a moment before it fell. “I hope he’s alright.”
“He will be.” Luna said quietly, reaching over and squeezing Lily’s arm comfortingly. Or she hoped it was comforting. She was only a few months into socializing again, and sometimes she forgot what was too much or too little. It didn’t make it any more difficult that some people had particular preferences. “He’s pretty obstinate. It would take more than any Death Eater’s curse to take James Potter down.”
“I can’t say you’re wrong.” Lily said with a faint smile before she frowned, concern shading her expression. “I think I’m too worried about him. It’s alarming.”
Mentally she nodded in sympathy, understanding the feeling. But outside she was resisting the urge to smirk, instead settling for a small chuckle and a faint pat on Lily’s shoulder. “It’s okay Lily. We all have to come to face our feelings sometime.”
Lily let out a faint scoff, grabbing her pillow and whacking Luna with it. “As if you’re one to talk!”
Luna grinned sheepishly again, using her arms to block her face when Lily attempted another pillow hit.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” She countered, laughing as Lily smacked her one more time before setting the pillow down. Green eyes narrowed in on her, the redhead’s smirk was Slytherin-worthy.
“Sirius. Black.” She claimed confidently, and Luna shushed her, resisting the urge to pick up the pillow and smack Lily with it.
“We’re just friends.” Luna stressed, flushing faintly when Lily rolled her eyes, obviously very sure of her opinion.
“Sure you are.”
“Oh- Shut up and go to sleep, Evans.” Luna said, dropping down onto the bed and pulling the covers up over her head. A moment later there was movement, and then Lily was beside her, cuddling up close.
“You do like him, don’t you?” She whispered after a moment. Luna grimaced, her eyes ducking down even though Lily couldn’t see her.
“More than I should.” She admitted as she looked back to her friend, and even in the dark she could see Lily smile.
“I knew it.” The redheaded said, before falling into brief silence. When it was broken though Lily’s voice was even quieter, and Luna had to struggle past her sleep to hear her properly.
“Wanna know a secret?” Lily asked, yawning quietly. Luna hummed in response. Then Lily spoke, her voice so quiet, even with superior hearing Luna almost had to lean forward to hear it.
“I think I like James. Like a lot.”
Luna smiled sleepily at that, pulling the sheets tighter around her. “You know what, Lily?” Luna asked with a yawn, falling into that happy-sleepy state. “That’s perfectly alright.”
And then she drifted off to sleep, her last thought on how grateful she was she had a friend she could tell secrets to.
_
Luna woke up that morning with a large headache and a warm body next to her.
It took her a moment to realize where she was, the scent around her familiar but not her own- More sweet and floral. And then Luna finally woke enough to open her eyes and was greeted by a large amount of red hair. Only then did Luna realized where she was, and it was with a smile that she stretched and yawned. Lily’s bed. She was in Lily’s bed.
And then the rest of last night’s memories flooded into her, and she was quick to jump out of bed. Sun was just shining through the drapes of the window, giving Luna enough light to be able to move over to her trunk and flip it open, exchanging her pajamas for a jumper and jeans. Slipping into her shoes, she fussed with her hair as she made her way down the stairs, tying it back into something hopefully decent-looking.
The common room was empty, and Luna rushed through it, ducking through the portrait opening and making her way down the halls towards the infirmary. She tried to be as quiet as possible, not entirely sure if she was even allowed to be out this early- But the sun was out, so it must not be too early. Turning to the Infirmary, she opened the door as quietly as possible and slipped inside.
Moving past the beds, Luna made her way to where her friends had been the night before. Even from here she could see James’s head on a pillow, and to her amusement, Sirius was lounging on the bed beside his. The latter though appeared wide awake, staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. He seemed to have not noticed her- Or, if he had, had decided to not say anything.
Luna approached the two, her fingers curling into the sleeves of her sweater as she approached. Sirius did look over at her then, eyebrows raised in surprise. He hadn’t noticed her at first, then. And then he pulled his mouth into something Luna was sure was supposed to be a smile- But with the dark bags under his eyes and the tightness in his posture it appeared more as a grimace.
“Has anything changed?” Luna asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed, letting her legs hang off the side. Sirius shrugged, his gaze moving back to the ceiling.
“Not that I’m aware of. He’s moved a couple of times though- I assume that’s a good sign.”
“You’re not wrong.” Luna hummed, looking back to her friend with a sigh. Without his glasses James appeared younger, his face relaxed and rather peaceful looking. She remembered what Lily had told her last night, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly. It would test her loyalties though when James was awake, and she would have to debate whether to make him aware of Lily’s changed affections or not.
“How’d you sleep?” Sirius asked, sitting up slightly and propping himself against the headboard. Luna shrugged.
“Not too bad.” Luna hummed, deciding to go without mentioning that she shared a bed with Lily. “Kinda on edge. After last night-”
“Everyone’s got the same thoughts, I can assure you.” Sirius said grimly, raking his hands through his hair with a sigh. “I’ve been up all night thinking about it. No one even knows how they got in- I heard some of the professors talking about it. They’re starting to think there must be a student here, someone who let them in.”
“They don’t know?” Luna’s eyes widened slightly in alarm. “How could they not? It wasn’t as though their arrival was subtle. And neither was their departure, you know. Surely someone must have seen.”
“There’s one that they think did- Ravenclaw bloke. Lovegood. But they also think he got confunded- Not that he makes sense the rest of the time, either.”
“And you just happened to overhear all of this while in the infirmary?” Luna raised an eyebrow, staring at Sirius with faint amusement. Sirius shrugged innocently.
“What can I say? I have stellar hearing. And I snuck out earlier for some food- Merlin knows I didn’t get much at the dance.” Sirius snorted loudly, cringing when a loud hush came from one of the other patients in the room. Luna chuckled quietly at his sheepish grin, and the two waited a moment longer before they began speaking again, voices hushed.
“So, insane Death Eaters aside, did you enjoy last night?” Sirius asked, grinning lightly. Luna smiled and gave a small nod, tucking her hair back when it fell out of place.
“Immensely. It was nice, to get dressed up for once.” Luna hummed, smiling faintly. “It’s a shame though- The dress ripped a bit while I was fighting.”
“And it was such a nice one too.” Sirius said, looking genuinely somber. Luna let out a sharp laugh- then promptly slapped her hand over her mouth, smiling sheepishly behind it as yet again they were hushed. Whoops.
“Yes, Luna. Do learn to be quiet.” Sirius said with a grin, ignoring the hand gesture Luna promptly sent towards him afterwords. Rolling his eyes, Sirius sat up, rolling his shoulders. They felt stiff from lack of movement, and it was with a sigh that he moved to get up, maybe stretch out his legs when-
“Wha- Sirius? Tha' you?”
“James!” Sirius could’ve jumped on his friend, shooting up to his feet at a speed that made his head dizzy. James looked up at him with squinted eyes, as he often did when he was without his glasses. Sirius reached over for them without a though, passing them over to his best friend. James took them with a grateful nod, sliding them into proper place on his face.
“What happened?”
“You got hit by a spell.”
“It was purple.” Luna supplied helpfully, coming to stand by Sirius. He could feel her fingers brush his, and for one shining moment he thought she might take his hand, but then she moved her fingers away, pointedly crossing her arms. He pushed aside the disappointment to look at his friend, surveying him with a worry he reserved solely for James Potter.
“What do you remember?”
“I remember I got the door open- Did people get out? Is everyone alright? Where’s the others? Peter, Remus? Lily? Where’s Lily?” James asked, moving as if he was trying to get himself out of the bed. Sirius pushed him back down gently while Luna reassured him that everyone was fine, including Lily, and that he needed to be quiet before he woke someone up. James scowled lightly but didn’t protest, sinking back into his mattress when the tone of his skin seemed to green slightly.
“So what have I missed?”
“Nothing of much interest- Do you have any recollection of the spell at all?” Luna asked, her eyebrows furrowed with concern. James shrugged, his lips pulled into a grimace.
“I can’t really- I remember everything feeling very hot and uncomfortable- But not much other than that. It was purple, the spell, yeah?”
“I’m pretty sure.” Sirius said with a faint nod. James scrunched his face up.
“You could try and contact my dad- He may know what it was. I’m surprised he’s not here, actually.”
“They sent the other office- The what’s-his-face, the one that had dinner at yours’ during the summer.”
“Moody?”
“That’s the bloke.”
“Ah, he’s alright. Not as good as dad though. Try and get a letter to him. You should go now, before everyone is up and the owlery is busy. I’m sure everyone’ll be eager to write home today.”
“I’m not leaving you till I know you’re alright.” Sirius said firmly, frowning. James rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to protest when Luna spoke before him, looking between the two boys almost nervously.
“I could write? I mean, I don’t know your dad, but- If Sirius doesn’t want to leave, I can go. You just need to give me the address.”
James squinted at her for a moment before he nodded, sitting up slightly in bed. “Thanks, Luna- My owl- Hyacinth, she’s the black one, you’ve seen her- She’ll know where to go as long as you tell her home. If she plays dumb, say Potter Mansion.” James instructed, his nose crinkling up slightly in distaste. Sirius smiled amusedly. He knew his friends felt weird calling his home a ‘mansion’ by formal name- Mostly it was referred to as the Den. Luna gave a small nod, some of her hair coming out of the bun she had thrown it back in. Sirius didn’t have time to comment on it though as she was already skirting down the Infirmary, disappearing around the door and letting it quietly shut behind her.
_
Luna couldn’t believe she had agreed to write a letter to an Auror. She was practically throwing herself to the wolves- Rather literally, almost- by introducing herself to one of the head Aurors. No doubt they knew of her disappearance, no doubt her mother had had them search for her, look for the daughter she didn’t really want returned. It was all just formalities. It would have looked strange to have a daughter run away and not search for her.
But, she reminded herself firmly as she stepped into the Owlery, Luna wasn’t to run anymore. She was going to stay by her friends sides, and fight with them and help them- Even if it meant writing letters to their potentially scary fathers.
Locating spare paper and a quill, Luna was careful to avoid sitting down under any birds before she began writing, pursing her lips every now and then as she tried to figure out how to word everything.
Auror Potter,
Was that too formal? She had never written to an Auror before, and this one happened to be one of her best friend’s fathers. With a sigh she continued on.
Auror Potter,
I’m a good friend of James’s.
Good start, Luna, she though idly to herself. Declare yourself.
Now for the next sentence.
Last night during a Death Eater attack on the school he was hit by a purple spell that kept him unconscious for a night period.
Did that sound too mature?
Worried for any lasting affects, he was wondering if you happened to know of any spell(s) that would have such an affect- And if it had any other side effects that we should be worried about.
Thank you so much,
Luna
Luna decided it wouldn’t be too odd if she went without using her last name. Surely nothing would appear too odd about it. Re-reading the letter, it took several pep-talks and one re-write before Luna decided it was good to send. She approached Hyacinth, reaching out and stroking the owl’s black feathers appreciatively. She had never received an owl of her own, and Hyacinth was a warm and lovely creature.
“Take this home, Hyacinth.” Luna instructed, tying the letter to the owl’s leg. Hyacinth hooted in what Luna hoped as understanding before she spread her wings and flew off, disappearing through one of the many openings in the owlery.
There. That wasn’t so terrible.
Feeling very accomplished, Luna decided to head back to the common room and see if Lily had woken up.
She wanted to be the first to see the redhead’s face when she was told James had woken.
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Hello all!
Thanks for being so patient. So so appreciated!
Hope you guys have been having a great week.
As always, let me know what you think by voting, commenting or sending me a quick message! I love to hear what you have to say.
Luv ya,
-Lily