elasticella

Luna is lost in the woods, sitting in a clearing with a summoned candle, staring up at the foliage. The trick is not to look through, even though the sky beckons. It took her a few hours to get properly lost, she’s visited too many of the forest’s creatures to easily misplace her way. But a small confundus charm, and closing her eyes and walking in circles, and behold- she is a lost girl.

It’s marvelous and freeing as witchcraft should be. She stays until the cold seeps into her bones, until her hands are splattered with candle wax, until the sun rises- refuses to hide behind leaves as the other stars do.

(It’s distressingly easy to get back to hogwarts, and no one minds a student up early.)

.

Lavender is sick of tea. She’s been drinking at least a pot per day- because spitting the liquid out ruins the reading of course- and still the damn moon shows up. In every single reading she’s done since September.

A full moon could mean romance, or the rhythm of time, or the changing of seasons. There had been a lackluster snog back in the beginning of the school year, and Lavender’s set with romance until they all grow up more. The point, is none of the readings make sense. Professor Trelawney says she has to discover the meaning for herself, and when Lavender’s really fed up with her cups, she thinks at least her teacher doesn’t know the answer either.

(She still drinks the tea, but she doesn’t know if she’s hoping more for inspiration or for the moon to go away.)

.

Luna never studies inside anymore. The library has too many interesting things to ever complete an assignment, the dorm is full of people happy to spill ink on her work, and deserted classrooms are just waiting for someone unsavory to happen upon her.

The woods are safe. The nixies keep her company most often, and her fellow students are afraid of the unknown and make-believe. She brings them shiny rocks and pastry bits as big as their heads, and they fly about her, the air glittering and jingling.

Every time it is a little harder to leave the woods behind, the wild seeping a little deeper into her skin. It nearly glows, her transformation inching closer and closer to her heart.

.

Lavender doesn’t like the scent of lavenders. The house elves use lavender soap in the laundry, and her dormmates must be convinced she’s a pureblood snob who has to be seen in a new robe every day. When she was young her relatives thought it the height of cleverness to gift her lavenders, or lavender charmed items, and then it became the default.

She hates herself a bit, most witches must, and she shoves all the feelings into a lavender bouquet that gets buried in the back of her mind. (And her mother thought there was no reason to teach such a young girl occlumency.)

Every time it’s a little easier to bury the flowers. A graveyard of blooms that better not return- and it’s too late to change the design now- she was such a foolish child, hoping to hide flowers where they root.

.

Luna thinks she made a friend today. She isn’t sure, it’s so very hard to be. Sometimes her old friends drift away, and sometimes they call her that terrible name when they think she isn’t listening, and sometimes they get all pitying and polite.

Luna doesn’t want any more friends like that.

She doesn’t want to be too hopeful, doesn’t want to be crushed if she’s wrong. But Lavender seems rather nice to her, and her aura glimmers pretty like sliver.

.

Parvati went out with Blaise again, and Lavender pretended not to notice because she’s a nice friend. Parv better fess up soon, she’s so very curious about them.

She hung out with the Lovegood girl by the greenhouses, drawn in by the hoard of butterflies around her. Luna introduced her to the insects, as though they could understand. Then again, after she said how cool it would be to have butterflies in her hair, Luna told them they could- and they did.

The butterflies flew away when they went into the castle, and Lavender wished she could spend the night beneath the stars with her new friends. Luna said to come back tomorrow if she still wanted.

.

Her dreams are full of improbabilities, they always have been.

Luna dreams of a world empty but for her, of a world drained of magic, of a world where everyone sees as she does.

The last one should be the least frightening, and yet, it remains the most.

.

Lavender almost doesn’t return. It isn’t a simple question of wanting like Luna proposed, but of the future. Of prospects and other hated words her family has gone on about since she could remember. Of how relieved they were when she mentioned Parvati was dating Ernie last year, as though Parvati would be the bad influence.

Lavender knows she wants this. And the want grows louder and louder, drowns out any reason or detail. Her feet must walk her, for she finds Luna deep in the woods, deeper than she’s ever gone. Her eyes are big and bright, smile shining as she sees her.

“You came.”

“I wanted to.”

Luna hugs her, and Lavender kisses- can’t think of anything else to do with so much emotion bubbling up inside her. Luna smiles into it though, kisses her softly and pets her hair.

“There, there,” Luna says, breaking the kiss. “Shall we run?”

Luna wipes away tears Lavender doesn’t recall crying, has never felt to ready, so alive in her life. She nods quickly, heart thumping loud.

And they run and run and run, two ribbons of pure silver intertwined forevermore.

There’s been a full moon for many nights, her face open and waiting, unwilling to blink. Seeking out destiny wherever she may. It has come to pass, her children wild once more, and she may turn away again.