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Luna left breakfast and immediately headed for the library. She needed to look for more on the advanced Pain Relief Potion Anthony Goldstein had mentioned seeing in a NEWT level book last year. The Carrows had of course removed all the truly helpful books they could find from the library, but that didn't mean it wasn't worth trying. It's not like she could do much else.
She gingerly placed her foot on the bottom step and grimaced as she pushed herself up. Getting downstairs hadn't been so bad, but going back up would be hell. She hit both of her legs with an underpowered Numbing Charm. It wasn't a perfect solution—she had very little feeling in her legs, so she had to move slowly—but she managed to get up to the library without crying.
After dropping her things at a table in the back, Luna began hunting through the meager stacks in search of any book that looked useful. She was close to giving up on the Herbology section when she heard a clicking noise behind her—their signal.
"Gin, what are you doing here?" she whispered, turning to face the redhead. She glanced around and thankfully didn't see anyone else nearby.
"I needed to make sure you were all right," Ginny replied. She smoothed a hand over Luna's limp hair and didn't bother trying to smile. "They never even touched me, they just made me listen to you scream and… well, I just had to see for myself."
Luna nodded. "I'm okay, I promise. Nothing that some sleep and a few days' time won't fix."
"Thank Merlin." Ginny stepped toward her, close enough that Luna could feel her breath on her nose. "I hate hearing you hurt as much as I hate seeing it."
"It's going to happen again if we keep meeting up like this," Luna murmured. "Our secret is out, Gin. They're going to watch us like hawks now."
She flipped her red hair proudly. "The Carrows only outlawed interhouse relationships to favor the Slytherins and make the rest of us miserable. I'm not going to let them dictate who I can or can't be with. I'm not giving us up."
Luna was all too familiar with that fiery, earnest look in Ginny's eyes. "I don't want to either, but there are other factors to consider. We have responsibilities, people that rely on us to keep DA going and boost morale. We can't do that if we're locked in the dungeons or out of commission because of the pain. We have a resistance to lead."
Ginny leaned in close, her lips brushing against Luna's ear. "Kissing you is worth putting the resistance on the back burner for a few days," she breathed.
"In case you missed it, we're in the middle of a war!" Luna hissed, jumping back. "A war we can't afford to be sidelined for or 'put on the back burner.' People around us are going down to those dungeons and coming back with arms in slings, stomachs shrunken from not eating, and defeat in their eyes. We're supposed to be the ones looking out for them, protecting them. We can't do that if we're locked up, too."
Ginny grabbed her hand and looked deep into her eyes. "I know we have a duty to them—I'll show them all that I don't give a damn about this stupide rule. We also have a duty to ourselves, Lu. We owe it to ourselves to be as happy as we can. I don't care if they lock me up and torture me, I'm not giving you up."
Luna felt tears well in her eyes, and she tilted her head back to keep them from falling down her face. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry.
"Hey," Ginny crooned, reaching out to stroke Luna's cheek. "What are those tears for? We aren't going to let them win."
"You may not care if you're tortured, but I do," she whispered as she melted into the other girl's touch. "They put us in cells side by side for a reason. They want us to hear each other scream in pain, to listen to each other whimper as our bodies spasm in in the aftershocks. They want that to be the picture that's burned in our minds, even when they aren't around. They want to break us by breaking each other, and I'm afraid that one day it's going to work. I don't want us to survive this war only to live as broken shards of the people we were."
Ginny smiled sadly. "War leaves us all broken. What it can't make us do is stay broken. Every time we break a little, every time a new crack appears, we have to patch it up and make it even stronger. That's what you do for me, Lu. You give me something to stand for, something to hold on to. So let them try to break me down for being with you. I'll just come back and let you make me stronger than I ever was before."
Hope swelled in Luna's chest. She dropped her head to the crook of Ginny's neck and relished the feeling of arms enveloping her waist. "I suppose I can work with that. You'll make a rebel out of me yet, Gin."
She felt more than heard the laugh in Ginny's chest. "I think that ship has sailed."
Luna leaned up and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her lips. "Hmm, then I say we stay here and practice our rebellion a bit longer."