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A band of sunlight snuck between the crack in the curtains and across Ginny’s face, turning the backs of her eyelids from black to glaring red. She turned over and squeezed her eyes shut tight. One of the reasons she and Luna had loved this flat was the way it filled up with light, but that was more appealing when they first saw the place on a Saturday afternoon than it was now, at 8:00am. She lied in bed for another moment, appreciating the warm blankets and soft sheets.
Ginny could hear Luna moving in the kitchen. She slowly opened her eyes and looked through the sheet draped over their bedroom doorway. She felt she was in the presence of divinity. Long blond waves floated around her oversized tee-shirt. Her bare legs stretch to her tiptoes as she dances through the kitchen gathering eggs and flour and sugar and- were those blueberries? Ginny could smell their french roast coffee and hear the machine gurgling. This was enough to draw her out of bed, but the paws of their calico cat kneaded her shoulder to further motivate her.
“Oi Pandora, why don’t you bother your other mum for some food?”
Ginny stretched her freckly feet to the floor, resting her toes on the plush rug for a second before venturing to stand. Still drowsy, she made her way to the kitchen and draped herself over her girlfriend.
“Good morning sunshine, I’m flattered my cooking inspired you to finally part with our beloved bed this morning.” How did her voice sound like bells so early in the morning?
“Morning moonbeam,” Ginny murmured into her shoulder, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m just here for the coffee,” detaching herself to grab cups from the cupboard.
“I guess you won’t be needing any blueberries in your pancakes then?” Luna said with a smirk.
“No!” Ginny protested, “I was rash and uncaffeinated, please forgive me.”
Luna took Ginny’s hands, clasped in mock prayer, and kissed her forehead (Luna had to stand on tiptoes for this).
“Just this once,” she said, handing Ginny a blueberry.
“Thank you m’love,” popping it into her mouth.
Pandora meowed at her feet, reminding Ginny of the empty food bowl she had callously ignored.
“Alright Panda, wouldn’t want you to starve.” Ginny grabbed the bag of cat food from the pantry and poured it into Pandora’s bowl. She munched at the food, appreciatively rubbing against Ginny’s leg once she’d had enough to eat. Ginny rubbed behind her one black ear before returning to the mission she’d ventured from the bed to complete.
Ginny walked over to the coffee pot, pouring one cup nearly to the brim and the other an inch short. She raised her cup to her face and closed her eyes to inhale the rich, dark, scent. The milk was already on the counter for the pancakes. Ginny grabbed it and poured some into Luna’s coffee, swirling the light and dark together with a little spoon. Ginny presented the creamy cup to Luna.
“Thank you, Ginevra dear,” Luna said, taking just a sip before reaching for an egg.
“But of course, Luna darling,”
Ginny sat cross legged on the arm chair in the next room, cradling her coffee. Luna was humming softly as she mixed the batter. It was so quiet you might not notice, but Ginny knew to listen for these things, lest she miss any of her girlfriend’s enchanting quirks.
When she heard the batter sizzling on the pan, Ginny rose toward the cupboard. Two plates, forks from the drawer, and a bottle of maple syrup. She set everything on the island (the kitchen table had been taken over by Luna’s paints and Ginny’s broom, and neither of them liked cleaning in the morning) then clambered on top herself. Luna pushed a small stack of pancakes onto each of their plates and took Ginny’s hand to climb to the counter. Pandora lept up to join them, and Ginny and Luna had a time keeping her from their plates.
‘I’m very sorry Pandora,” Luna said, “but I don’t think syrup is good for cats.”
Pandora looked skeptical, but she resigned herself to peaceably observe their meal from the kitchen sink. She turned the tap to drink from the stream of water.
Sitting across from each other, Luna and Ginny smiled before carving into their pancakes. Ginny tasted blueberries and syrup and the most perfect, fluffy pancakes, and she felt happy.
“Luna, you amaze and inspire me,” Ginny said with a mouth full of pancake.
“People often find inspiration in unexpected places,” Luna said thoughtfully. Ginny smiled at this, because she couldn’t think of anyone more inspirational than her girlfriend.
~*~
When they finished breakfast, Ginny put on music to wash dishes to (Weird Sisters), Luna flipped through the Quibbler on the couch, and Pandora purred contentedly against Luna’s stomach. Luna put down her Quibbler to stroke the cat’s back.
“Have you talked to Harry or Hermione lately?” Luna asked.
“I saw Hermione for tea Saturday, and I saw Harry just after my last Quidditch match. Why?”
“The ministry is overrun with nargles, I was worried they’d be affected.”
“Oh,” Ginny creased her eyebrows, “We can check with them at dinner tonight,”
Ginny hung the pan to dry and walked to the couch where Luna was curled up. She grabbed a knit throws her mother had made for them when they found the flat. Ginny put her head on Luna’s legs, which were drawn against her chest, and pulled her own feet up to the couch, wrapping her blanket around them. Ginny didn’t see Luna smile as she nestled against her thigh, but her soft sigh told her everything she needed to know, mainly that she was so goddamned lucky. That was herd to believe after their trying time at Hogwarts, but here she was, in a room full of sunlight, warm and cozy with otherworldly creature, Luna Lovegood, and their mischievous but sweet cat.
Ginny takes a last sip of her quickly cooling coffee before setting her mug on the floor.
“Do you think we’ll need to get dressed sometime today?” she casted her eyes up at Luna.
Luna looked to the window and then to their bedroom. “I dare say we should,” Luna said, “Though I wouldn’t terribly mind going grocery shopping in your tee-shirt.”
Ginny frowned and pulled the blanket tighter around them.
Luna looked back to the window. “What do you think we should cook for everyone?”
Luna was being generous. Ginny could barely throw together a salad, her mum had always cooked for her growing up, and even when she wanted a quick snack, Fred or George always had some treat they were working give her. Ginny’s biggest contribution to the dinner would be the wine she picked out, or mixed drinks if anyone wanted them. She would clear off the table, maybe put out flowers or candles, but Luna was better at picking those things too.
Luna, on the other hand, had been cooking with her parents for years, and when she was quite young, even cooked for them whenever they got absorbed in their experiments.
“Why don’t you make that pesto pasta you do?” Ginny suggested, “with the tomatoes and spinach? We could get a bottle of champagne.”
Luna cocked her head, “faeries have been charming some of the tomatoes lately, but I’m sure we can find some-- Oh! you could do that plum pie, I think they would be lovely together, don’t you? Especially with the champagne.”
Ginny frowned, “my mum always makes that, I really just crack the eggs for her.”
“I’m more than sure you’ll do fine,” Luna said, “people usually remember more than they think they do.”
Ginny questioned this logic but didn’t challenge it. She did, however let out a spurt of laughter at Luna’s presumption about her cooking instincts. “I think you have a lot more faith in my cooking skills than is probably safe.”
“I don’t believe a person can have too much faith in anything,” said Luna, “especially their girlfriend.”
~*~
Ginny didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she looked at the clock reading 1:30pm. Pandora had slipped away and was lying in a patch of sun.
“Bloody hell,” she muttered. Ginny clambered from the couch, rousing Luna. Luna blinked slowly, looking around their flat. Her eyes searched Ginny before they landed on the clock.
“Oh dear,” she said, “time is an evasive thing, always slipping away from us.”
Ginny stumbled into her room, putting on some jeans from the floor and a flannel hanging from the closet door. Luna followed her, she pulled Ginny’s old tee-shirt over her head and stepped into a dress covered in sunflowers. Ginny draped a chunky cardigan over Luna’s shoulders and grabbed a denim jacket for herself. They searched around for bags, keys, shoes, and stepped out the door.
The grocery store was only a few blocks from their flat, and the weather was brisk but otherwise pleasant. The walk was wonderful. Between their flat and the grocery store, Luna pointed out some dandelions growing in the sidewalk (“muggles use them to make wishes-- it’s nice to know they find some magic of their own”), a lady wearing a wonderful purple coat (“the muggles can be so creative, I would love to have a winter cloak embroidered with lilacs”), and about a dozen pigeons sitting on a traffic light together (“did you know muggles used to use them to deliver mail? I wonder whether they were as efficient as owls…”). Luna knew a good deal more about muggle culture than Ginny did. Although they’d taken the same muggle studies courses, Ginny really only payed attention to the sort of thing she could write her father about (planes, cars, and the like), but Luna was fascinated by all of it. Besides, Pandora (Luna’s mother, not the cat) had been a muggleborn, and she would frequently take her daughter searching for shooting stars and four-leaf-clovers and the like before the accident.
When they got to the store, Luna walked around picking up about a million produce, occasionally handing them to Ginny to check for fae interference. After about an hour of meandering through crowded aisles and tomato displays, they had a full cart and made for the checkout line. Ginny piled their groceries onto the conveyor belt and handed the cashier some muggle money.
“Are you having company, or stocking up for the apocalypse?” The cashier joked.
“We’re cooking for our friends,” Luna said, “We’ve already dealt with a potentially apocalyptic regime, and we should be fine for the foreseeable future”
The cashier frowned. Ginny pulled Luna out of the grocery store before the he could ask any more questions.
~*~
“Ugh!” Ginny was trying to slice plums for the pre-made pie crust she bought and for the third time, one slipped from the cutting board to the floor.
“Why are they so slippery? They shouldn’t be so slippery.” She complained.
“It could be the faeries,” Luna said, rinsing off the plum for the third time, “try it like this:” She carved the pit out of the plum and laid it flat on the cutting board. Her chest to Ginny’s back, Luna held Ginny’s hands, guiding the knife through the plum into neat slices.
“Thanks,” Ginny mumbled, “how are you so bloody perfect?”
Luna smiled, “You’re just saying that because you want me to kiss you,” as she kissed Ginny’s cheek from behind her.
“Well, it worked,” Ginny dropped the knife in favor of Luna’s chin, and pulled Luna’s mouth to her own. The kissed was as soft and sweet as Luna herself. Luna spun Ginny around with the and she was still holding, resting the other on her shoulder. They stayed like this for the rest of the song that was playing, something by Celestina Warbeck. They swayed slowly, Ginny rested her head on Luna’s shoulder. Their chests pressed together, Ginny couldn’t tell if it was Luna’s heartbeat or her own that she felt, steadier than usual.. When the song ended, Luna dropped Ginny’s hand and returned to the basil she was finely chopping.
~*~
Luna stirred the pesto into the bowl of pasta, and Ginny pulled the plum tart from the oven. It was a little burnt but none too worse for it. Luna’s pasta would more than make up for it, Ginny thought. It smelled better than anything the Hogwarts house elves had ever made, which was a high compliment. Ginny put some daisies into a vase and Luna lit some candles; sandalwood and lavender.
There was a knock at the door. Ginny jumped to answer it.
“Neville!” she exclaimed, conjuring Luna from the kitchen. Both girls wrapped their arms around him, which was difficult as he was carrying a potted lily.
“Um, hey, I brought you an asphodel,” Neville managed from under their arms.
“Thank you, you angel of horticulture,” Luna kissed him on the cheek and Ginny took the flower to the windowsill.
They had just sat Neville on the couch when another knock came.
“Hello Hermione,” Ginny said, wrapping her arms tight around her friend.
“Ginny, it’s so good to see you!” Hermione smiled into Ginny’s flannel.
“What, did I step in a pile of dragon dung on the way over here?” said a disgruntled Ron.
“Sorry,” Ginny hugged her brother, “Hullo Ron.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Ron said, “don’t act like you suddenly love me.” Ginny ducked out of the way as he tried to ruffle her hair.
“Is that anyway to treat your host?” Ginny said.
“Is that anyway to treat your guest?” Ron retorted.
“I’m the one who has food,”
Ron scoffed, “Isn’t Luna the one with the food?”
“I helped,” Ginny pouted.
“I’m sure you did,” said Ron, winking at Luna, “Luna would have been very lonely without your help.” Luna nodded sincerely.
“I made the pie!”
Ron raised his eyebrows at the slightly blackened crust.
“It’ll taste amazing, you wait.” she mumbled.
~*~
They all piled onto the couch, except Ron, who took the more spacious armchair. Pandora, who was very good at recognizing cat people, curled onto Hermione’s lap and began purring. Hermione beamed at the affection.
“So do you have anything for us to drink?” Ron asked.
“We’re waiting for Harry,” said Luna.
Ron looked at his watch, “Maybe he could have a butterbeer if he deigned to show up on time.”
“Ron!” said Hermione, “We’ve all worked at the ministry, you know how busy things can get.”
“Only joking,” Ron muttered, “and hungry.”
“Title of your autobiography?” said Ginny.
Ron threw a pillow at her head, but missed and hit Neville.
“Oi, I didn’t ask to be the victim of your sibling rivalry!”
“Sorry, Neville.”
Luna looked pensive. “I think if you write an autobiography,” she said, “you should chose a title with more thematic weight. Maybe something like Beyond Comparison: Growing Up Gagging on Greatness”
Ron gaped at Luna and then at Ginny. Ginny fought back a roar of laughter. She loved her girlfriend. Who else could be so innocently ruthless?
Finally, the knock they were waiting for came. Luna floated from the couch to the door with Ginny trailing behind her.
“Harry, it’s lovely to see you,” Luna fell into Harry’s arms.
“And good as ever to see you two,” said Harry.
Ginny grabbed his hand and pulled him into a tight hug, they way they had done after every quidditch match they played together. She furrowed her brow at the scent of chai masala he drank on bad days. “How’ve you been, mate?”
Harry ran a nervous hand through his hair, “Er, you know, busy,” he said with a shrug in the direction of the floor that suggested this wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on.
Luna nodded knowingly, “I’m sure the nargles are making things difficult for everyone,”
“Errr, right,” Harry said, eager to get off the subject and get onto the couch.
“Harry!”
“Hello, Harry,”
“S’about time you showed up, mate.”
There was a joyful reunion between the friends Ginny knew for a fact had seen each other earlier that week. She couldn’t blame them; she felt just as happy to see everyone in the same place.
“Are we gonna eat now then?” asked Ron.
“Oh, are they adapting your autobiography into a film?” Ginny implored.
“Oi,” Ron glared, staying away from projectiles if only for Neville’s sake.
~*~
Ginny set out plates and Luna brought over the pasta. Their kitchen table had not been designed for seven people, but after spending a year in living in either a tent or in the room of requirement, depending on the person, none of them were strangers to close quarters. And none of them minded being what was perhaps too close to each other since the war.
“Merlin’s beard Luna,” said Ron around a mouthful of pasta, “this is bloody fantastic!” He ignored the dirty looks Hermione was casting towards him and continued shoveling pasta into his mouth.
“Thank you, Ron,” Luna beamed.
“Ooh, wait!” Ginny said, jumping up from the table.
“We already did that,” said Ron, “Harry’s here now so let’s just eat.” He stopped protesting when Ginny returned with the champagne.
“To our beautiful friendship,” Ginny said prying at the cork.
“I think you’re supposed to toast when it’s-” Neville’s wisdom on etiquette was interrupted with a loud pop and a shower of bubbles.
“Try to get some in the cups, why don’t you?” said Harry, wiping flecks from his glasses.
“Sorry mate,” Ginny said, “I’m still pretty new to this legally-buying-alcohol thing, I’m more accustomed to pouring shots of firewhiskey into cola.”
Ginny poured champagne into their cups, which along with champagne flutes featured some assorted wine glasses, a souvenir pint glass from a muggle pub, and a polka-dotted coffee mug. Hermione shared a look with Neville about the presentation but didn’t protest when Ginny poured champagne into the too-round bowl of her burgundy glass.
“Now that we do have our drinks,” Luna said, lifting her coffee cup, “I would like to toast you all.” The room quieted. “You are some of the loveliest people I’ve met, and I’m so pleased to be friends with you all. To new beginnings with old friends.”
“Aww, cheers Luna,” said Neville, “and same to you.”
They stood to clink their glasses, the sound almost musical. Ginny closed her eyes and relished the sweet tartness of the
champagne, the tingle of the bubbles, and the warm glow of something in her chest.
~*~
Ginny grew nervous as Luna cut the pie. Her eyes followed the first slice as Luna slid it onto a plate and passed it to Hermione. That was good-- Ginny could trust her to be merciful and honest, or if not honest, a poor enough liar to get the truth across. Hermione pretended not to notice Ginny watching her and Luna pretended not to wait for Hermione to take a bite before passing a plate to Ron. Hermione put a forkful of plum and crust into her mouth--
“Oh Ginny, it’s delightful!” she said, her wide eyes and pie-muffled voice proving her sincerity.
Ginny released the fork she hadn’t realized she was clenching. She grinned in thanks and threw Hermione a wink of someone who hadn’t bent her silverware with her anxiety. The world fell back into order and Luna was able to pass pie to the rest of their friends.
“Better than anything at Hogwarts, easy,” said Neville. This was dishonest, but his intentions were noble.
Finally, Luna handed Ginny a slice of pie, smiling reassuringly. Ginny pushed her fork through the tip of the pie- flakey crust yielded to sticky magenta filling. She sighed in relief. She could taste all the flavors that were supposed to be there: cinnamon, nutmeg, a hint of clove, and most essentially the rich, ripe flavor of the plums themselves. Maybe saving helpless cooks was another one of Luna’s endless talents.
“How is Hogwarts these days?” asked Ron, seeming very happy not to know himself.
“Great! I have this specky little second year who’s really taken to the mandrakes. Can’t imagine why, even I don’t care for them. But he’s stayed after class to help me repot them twice now!”
“That’s wonderful Neville, your own little assistant! And imagine how great he’ll be on his Herbology OWL.” Hermione was thrilled with the practical education, but Ginny’s gaze slid over to Harry. His weary eyes had brightened for the first time that evening.
“Is the dirigible plum doing well,” asked Luna, eyes wide, “they usually prefer a nice steady drizzle to these storms we’ve had.”
“Me too,” said Ginny, eyeing her neglected broom.
“It’s great,” said Neville, “so many plums floating around I worry it’ll fly off to Nice.”
“Oh, it wouldn’t do that,” assured Luna, “it’s much too warm there. But you should give some to Harry and Hermione, to help with the nargles.”
“I’ll bring a box to the your next quidditch game that the sun makes an appearance for,” He winked at Ginny.
“When I told McGonagall I was seeing you lot, she told me you’re welcome at Hogwarts anytime you want,”
Harry started when he realised this was directed at him.
“Who wouldn’t want to hear from the Harry Potter?” Neville asked, causing Harry to wince and Neville to blush once he’d realized his mistake.
“Er,” he stammered, “Or any capable auror really,”
“I think it’s a lovely idea,” said Luna, “but do be careful if you go Harry-- wrackspurts tend to cluster around adolescents. I can lend you my Spectra-Spects. Neville, you have a pair don’t you?”
“Er, yeah,” said Neville, “they’ve been enormously helpful.”
“Thanks Luna,” said Harry, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ginny stifled a giggle. She loved how hard her friends tried to understand Luna. Or at least accepted what they didn’t understand.
~*~
Soon, the last of the pie and the champagne were gone and everyone clustered around the door. Harry’s hands in his coat pocket, Ron’s on Hermione’s shoulder, Neville’s around a slice of pie wrapped in tinfoil, and Luna’s in Ginny’s own hand. This arrangement caused some confusion as everyone hugged goodbye, but by the time Hermione reached for the doorknob, everyone’s hands were back where they’d started.
“The augureys I know of haven’t been very active lately, so I think we can expect a lovely game Saturday,” said Luna.
“I’ll have to agree because the BBC news predicted sun all week,” said Hermione, “don’t augureys live in Ireland anyway?”
“Yes,” explained Luna, “but some migrate around the British Isles. There’s a flock in London; they like the old cathedrals.”
“In any case,” finished Ginny, “I expect to see you lot with dirigible plums and sunglasses at my next game.”
There was a chorus of goodbyes and I-love-you’s, Pandora swished her tail from her perch on the counter, and then the door closed.
Luna sighed softly, prompting Ginny to fold her into her arms. Ginny didn’t have more than an inch on Luna, but she felt small in her arms. Her thin shoulder blades rose and fell with her breath under Ginny’s hands. Luna leaned into Ginny’s shoulders and sighed again.
“We really have such nice friends,” Luna mumbled into Ginny’s neck.
Ginny closed her eyes at the movement of Luna’s lips against her skin and nodded slightly. “As nice as we could ask for anyway,” Ginny said.
“Thank you,” said Luna.
“For what?”
“Our friends. You know I didn’t have many before you.”
“Oh, I-” Ginny moved to stroke her wild hair, “anyone would be lucky to be friends with you, Lu. You’re a bloody delight!” She
planted a kiss on Luna’s head. Ginny knew that Luna was alone as she was her first years at Hogwarts. It she felt Luna’s ache along with her own now, when she thought about that year of pouring pain into ink and paper for an absence of listening ears.
She held Luna closer to her, wishing the world could see that she was as brilliant as Ginny knew her to be.
~*~
Later, Ginny and Luna were at the sink working on the dishes while Pandora watched from a safe distance. Ginny listened to the record Luna had put on: a muggle pianist Ginny hadn’t heard of. The notes whirled around them like crystal snowflakes. Ginny was drying off the polka-dotted mug when she felt something on her head.
“Like a princess,” Luna said. she had given Ginny a bubble crown.
Ginny giggled and patted the suds. “How’s that for Ravenclaw’s diadem?”
Luna glowed brighter than the moon. Ginny dipped her hand into the dishwater and flicked it at her. “Like a mermaid.”
Luna bunched up her nose in a grin. Pandora found that the distance between her and the water was no longer adequate. Her back arched and her fur prickled, ready to bolt from an approaching water droplet. Luna spritzed some water in the air over them and Pandora sought refuge in their bedroom. Ginny, however, delighted in the fine, lemon-scented shower, and her girlfriend’s face as she twirled beneath it.
Ginny took Luna’s soapy hands into her own and looked into her eyes. The same shade of blue as the sky on a clear day, and twice as bright. They held the brilliance of the moon and all the stars. But still, Ginny couldn’t always see what was behind them. She instead closed her eyes as she pressed her forehead to Luna’s. They exhaled the in same breath, still for a moment. Ginny moved her hands to Luna’s back, where they became happily ensnared in her hair. She felt Luna’s draped delicately over her own waste. Ginny kissed Luna’s forehead, her nose, and her soft, rosy lips, still tasting of plums and champagne.
“I love you,” Ginny said to Luna’s hair.
“I love you too,” Luna breathed.
The dishes lay forgotten in the sink.