I: Wonderful
Long ago, before so many of the Giants were killed by war and the horrible conspiracy against magical creatures over 10 feet tall of 1983, they lived in small tribes all over the world. Each tribe had its own customs and its own way of loving one another.
One tribe in particular had a violent way of showing affection. Each night they'd hit each other with clubs, and the one who hit the hardest, loved the most. This was almost always the Gurg of the tribe.
One day a lost giantess happened upon the tribe. She was alone and hungry, and begged the members of the tribe for food. Seeing this as weakness, the Gurg forbade any of them to help her.
This continued day after day, until the new giantess became very frustrated. She found a large rock and threw it at the Gurg. Shocked, the Gurg took this as a sign of affection, but wasn't sure how to handle it. So he simply gave her a scrap of food.
The next day, the same thing happened. The giantess grew angry and threw a large rock at the Gurg. Confused, he gave her a bit more food.
The third day, the Gurg sucked up his pride, and hit her back with his club. She indignantly found a new rock to throw at him. They continued this, each blow becoming harder, until the Gurg submitted. With a grunt of approval, she became family.
We sit on the edge of the dock. Luna slips off her shoes and dips her toes in the water. I sit cross-legged beside her, and kiss her gently. She kisses back with open eyes, which always unnerves me a bit. I keep mine firmly closed.
She breaks the kiss and looks at the lake. The clear sky reflects off it, making it sparkle in soft blues and greens. The cool wind threads through our hair, and Luna turns her face toward it. She smiles contentedly, eyes closed, and she looks beautiful.
"It's wonderful, isn't it, Neville?" she asks me.
"What is?"
"Everything. The water, the wind, you and me here, together."
I look down into the murky depths of the lake beneath us. It looks dark and unfamiliar, and I decide that it's not good water. I've come to hate darkness.
I open my mouth to argue but decide quickly against it. Who am I to spoil her happiness? Most of us can't laugh or live the way she can anymore.
And that amazes me, that Luna can still laugh after all we've been through. She smiles in a way that is so pure, as if she didn't see all the horrors of the war. As if we weren't there during the final battle, when so many innocents were simply slaughtered at the hands of the Death Eaters.
I slide back on the dock, away from the dark water, away from her. I pull my knees to my chest, regretting going with her to see her father.
Luna turns toward me, and the wind whips the hair around her face. "What's wrong?"
"I don't like it here. I want to go back to London," I say. I've got a Nursery in Diagon Alley. I've left Hannah in charge of my plants, but I have a difficult time trusting people with them.
"Daddy needs me," Luna says. "But you can go back if you'd like." She looks disappointed.
"No, I... I want to stay with you."
She smiles, but it is a sad smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "I love you, but all the love in the world won't matter if you're this afraid all the time."
"I'm not afraid," I protest, in a wholly Gryffindor show of false courage.
"You've been afraid since the war ended. And it hurts, it will always hurt, but... well, things change. We grow." Luna looks away from me, but I know she's right. "It's been years, Neville, it's time to forget."
I nod, but I don't know if I can.
II: Hours and Hours
Once there were two lovely birds, named Luna and Padma. Luna was a bird of the moon, and Padma of the sun, but they loved each other anyway. Like sisters, they were, and they spent their time singing and learning.
Luna had a habit of wandering to other worlds, other moons. Padma was afraid of these far off places, and of the darkness of night. Each time Luna wandered off, Padma would wait patiently and worriedly for her to return. Each morning, Luna would return, and she and Padma would watch the sun rise.
Times grew difficult, however, and Luna wandered off more and more often. As time passed, she stayed longer and longer, because those worlds were much less complicated than her own. Each time, Padma waited. One morning, Luna did not come back.
Padma flitted around impatiently for a while, then gathered her courage and went after Luna, following her voice in the wind.
When Padma finally found Luna, she was broken. Luna had fallen a great distance from her far-off moons to the world that was real. She lay in a puddle of tears, waiting for someone to rescue her. And Padma did. She lifted her up and dried her in the sun and showed her that the sun-world was just as good as the moon-world.
And Luna flew again, but not to far-off moons, but to friends in need.
Luna's father is even more eccentric than she is, and I instinctively like him. He talks animatedly with his daughter about creatures and conspiracies that shouldn't exist, but which I am beginning to think do. He waves his arms, imitating something called a Wide-Winged Kendledinger, cawing loudly.
Luna's laughs carry, brightening the rapidly settling evening. I am glad to be with her, and just wish that I can be happy, for her sake. Sometimes, I think she deserves better than me.
After dinner comes Lovegood Story-Time, which I find odd, but probably shouldn't. Luna is an odd girl, and I should expect her family to be equally strange.
Mr. Lovegood tells a tale about giants (which he claims is true) and Luna shares a memory from before the war (in her own, unique way.) Their words spin eloquent tales of love and fantasy, and I think I can spend forever listening to them.
They turn to me expectantly, and I'm not sure what to say. Finally, I settle on a story from my childhood that is very sad but a little hopeful. My voice is gentle, a stark contrast to Luna's dreamy tone and Mr. Lovegood's excited manner.
Mr. Lovegood goes to bed, and Luna takes me back outside. The moonlight reflects off the lake, and she rushes toward it, splashing through the shallow water.
"Come on, Neville!" she cries, laughing.
I walk to the edge of the lake. She takes my hands and tries to pull me forward, but I plant my feet firmly in the grass.
"I'm fine here."
Luna's expression falls to one of worry. "Please, Neville, I just want to see you have a bit of fun. You hardly smile anymore."
I glance down, away from her sad eyes. After a slight hesitation, I kick off my shoes and join her in the water. I wince as the mud squishes under my feet, and the water is colder than I expect it to be.
Luna takes my hands and pulls me further in. She leans back and spins, and I have no choice but to spin with her. The wind and water swirl around us, and it feels almost like we are floating.
Luna laughs, and it is clear and intoxicating. I pull her into my arms and kiss her, and we aren't spinning anymore, but it feels like we are. It's a long time until she pulls away (it feels like a long time, anyway) and we wade through the water and mud to collapse on soft grass.
She presses her body against mine, and stares up at the sky. She points out constellations, and I watch the slow, hypnotic movements of her hand. I decide that I could stay like this for hours and hours. I don't mind being away from London anymore.
III: You're not alone
Once there was a boy who lived with an old witch. He didn't know his parents, and had only heard about them by eavesdropping on whispered conversations between the witch and her brother. He heard words like curse and hospital and pity, but didn't understand what they had to do with his Mum and Dad.
This boy was very timid, but he worked up the courage to ask the old witch about it. Realizing she could no longer avoid his questions, she told him about his parents.
"Long ago," she said, "when our world was at war, your parents did great things. They were heroes. But when you were too young to remember, they were brutally attacked, and they were never the same again. They had to be taken to a special place to be cared for."
The little boy still didn't understand, but the old witch didn't tell him anything else. But he liked the idea that his parents were heroes, and imagined himself as their young sidekick. He still wanted to know more, however, and begged the witch to tell him more. Finally, she agreed to take him to see his Mum and Dad.
When the boy realized that his parents were being kept in a cold, stark place, and were very sick, he became very sad. They didn't even seem to know who he was. For a long time after their initial meeting, the boy refused to go back.
On Christmas, the old witch forced him to go. He cried the whole way there, but when he finally sat before his Mum and Dad, his tears dried, and his confidence grew. His Mum smiled, and he was sure she recognized him. She gave him a small gift, and he promised her that he would be a hero, like her and Dad.
After a few days that feel like a lifetime, Luna declares the project she's been working on with her father finished, and we can go back to London. I am relieved to be going back to my familiar home, my plants, but I don't think I'm ready to leave yet.
I sit in the grass on the edge of the lake again, and it doesn't take long for Luna to find me. She sits beside me. Her skirt rides up above her knees, but she doesn't pull it down, so I do it for her. Then I look back out at the glittering water.
"What are you thinking about?" Luna asks, following my gaze.
I pause. "I feel like I'm missing something important."
"Did you remember to feed Trevor?" she asks seriously.
"No, it's nothing like that," I reply. "I don't think it's something that... that I can grasp."
She nods knowingly. "So many things slip through our fingers, drip, drip," she says in a sing-song voice.
To demonstrate, Luna crawls to the edge of the lake. She dips her hand into the water and pulls up a handful of mud and leaves. Much of the water and mud slip back into the lake, swirling in muddy clouds before settling back to the bottom.
"But you've always got enough of the good stuff left over," she says. She hands me the leaves. "What are they?"
"They're weeds, Luna."
"They're plants, Neville, you like plants."
I sigh and look closer. "It's just common sweet flag. Occasionally it's used in medicinal potions, but there really are better ingredients to use in its place."
"What kind of medicine?" Luna asks.
"Um... you know I'm horrid with potions," I say. "But it's used to... to boost the immune system, I think."
Luna nods, then takes the leaves from me and places them back in the lake. "Have you found it yet?" she asks suddenly.
"Found what?"
"What you're missing."
"No," I say, frustrated.
"Neville, you don't understand!" she cries. And she looks so torn. She looks in my direction, but I can tell she's staring through me, not at me. Then she gets up and goes back to the house without saying anything else.
I stare at the lake. What don't I understand? But I don't dwell on it too long, because I think Luna needs me. And as I walk back to the house along the same path Luna took, it hits me.
Luna needs me.
And all this time, I've been dwelling on myself and the plants and the war. We've been living together for a while, and I hardly notice most of the time. That's why she wanted me to come here with her, to show her that there were other important things.
She's locked herself in her bedroom, so I knock. She doesn't answer, but I hear soft sobs from behind the door.
"Luna? I've figured it out. Can I come in?"
"What are you missing?"
"Let me in," I say stubbornly. I want her to see that I mean it when I tell her.
I don't hear any movement, and the lock doesn't click, so I take out my wand and cast >Alohomora. The door opens, and I look around.
The room is violet and frilly, with patterns of moons and stars along the walls and ceiling. Luna is crouched in a corner, leaning against a pile of old stuffed animals, and clutching a stuffed lion to her chest.
I sit beside her and take one of her hands. "It's you. I'm sorry. I've been holding on to you by so little, and you could have left me at any time." I lean forward and place a soft kiss on her lips.
"I was going to," Luna whispered. "If this didn't work."
Her words sting. How had I missed that?
I pull her close. "Please don't."
She smiles. "Let's go back to London."
Please let me know what you think!