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The golden confetti of sunrise snow is glimmering in front of her eyes. Like New Year’s daytime fireworks. Luna’s managed to get all the way from under that marvellous ceiling up to the common room without stumbling or losing the vivid image.
She’s only forgotten to finish her sandwich. Now she stuffs her mouth with it before reaching for her cloak, which she correctly remembered leaving on the back of an armchair where she seldom sits. It seems nobody noticed or guessed it was hers.
The vision threatens to fade, and fastening the cloak, Luna turns to breathe in the light streaming through the high windows. And there’s someone standing with her profile to Luna, next to the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, illuminated beautifully and looking quite as lovely and intimidating. Cho Chang’s even got the same half-smile. But, for once, she’s not surrounded by other fifth-year girls.
Luna allows herself to be drawn closer, and she detects a tear on the peachy perfection of Cho’s cheek. “You’re sad,” she says, with some bread still in her mouth.
Cho sighs and shakes her head. “It’s… I’m all right.”
“You are…” Luna swallows. “Right to seek light. It helps. Better still if you agreed to come out with me.” Without any high hopes for this popular girl’s company, she’s already turning to go.
“What d’you mean?”
“I left the Great Hall in a hurry when I saw there’s a light snowfall.” A snowy lightfall. Luna smiles to herself at the double meaning of the small, elusive, light word. “I miss last winter’s storms and deep drifts. There was a challenge to find Nargles and colours…” What challenge could she share with Cho? “Today… would you look for laughter in the cold?”
Cho’s now opened up her smile. “Let’s go then… all the way to the Quidditch pitch, or to the lake?” She draws out her wand and points it towards the dormitories. “Accio, my winter cloak!”
The door behind the statue flies open, and Cho’s pretty cloak with the Quirrell-fur lining in the hood arrives and wraps itself around her shoulders.
“Wow. You make that spell work through closed doors.” When Cho’s swinging gait has brought her close enough, Luna can’t resist reaching out to stroke the fur and a shiny black tendril on Cho’s temple, too. “Poor Quirrells,” she’s blurted out when Cho’s just starting to reply to something she’s almost forgotten.
“In two years you’ll learn to do the same. Or would you like me to teach you now?”
“Later, thanks. We’ve got what we need.” In excess. Even company.
Half-way towards the lake, Luna’s jerked out of sliding on the silvery, frozen grass, and swirling, swimming, floating in the sparkly air, as she notices her companion has fallen behind.
“My gloves,” Cho says. “I forgot to bring my gloves, and I can’t Summon them from this distance. I’m not that good at the spell yet,” she admits, “not at all like Harry. I want to be as good. I think I am at flying. But I must practise to Summon my broomstick in the way he did in that terrible dragon task.”
“He did well, didn’t break any eggs. Poor Chinese Fireball… Anyway, even he couldn’t Summon my mittens when we’ve got no idea where someone’s taken them. And never mind. We can hold hands to make them warmer.” Between deep breaths onto her palms and fingers, Luna goes on, “That’s what I did with Professor Lupin. That’s what I meant when I said I missed last winter’s cold.”
Cho, too, has lifted fingers in front of her mouth. “You used to hold hands with him?”
“I guess it was like having a friend.” Luna reaches out a hand. “It’s a shame he had to leave, and now nobody knows where he’s gone.”
Cho’s grabbed the hand perhaps not fully focusing on what she’s doing. But Luna can’t help staring at the treasure given to her. Such smooth skin, small fingers, nails still painted the bronze shade of her dress robes. Colouring every other nail Ravenclaw blue would make the look more interesting.
Pulling Luna to continue walking, Cho asks, “But don’t you know what he is?”
Luna still misses stroking the chapped and wrinkled, scarred skin, looking up at the teacher who always listened to her, and posed new questions together with her, instead of repeating old answers. “Yes.” She adopts her airiest tone, as she’s learnt this stops people from arguing with her. “And he’s also the best teacher we ever had.” She decides to guide them in another direction. “Perhaps there’s less wind at the Quidditch pitch. And you miss Quidditch.”
“I do.” Cho’s voice is sombre. “I wish we had our tournament instead of this international co-operation.”
“But you got to dance at the Yule Ball! Even with one of our school champions.” Luna tilts her head to look at her face more closely. “You wanted the other one.”
“No… It’s not that. I don’t know.” Sudden tears are streaming onto Cho’s graceful cheekbones. “Stupid…”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“No, I am stupid. I cry too easily. I started crying when Cedric wanted to kiss me at the ball.” Cho’s nails press harshly into Luna’s hand, as if she’d forgotten it’s not a broomstick. “And I can’t tell my friends, because they all always want to kiss boys, any boys.”
“But you can tell me.” Luna squints up ahead at the solid gold of the goal poles, and against them her fragile confetti all but disappears.
“Because you’re not… You’re two years younger.”
That’s irrefutable. But hardly essential. “Or perhaps because I always want to kiss anyone, any creature I like a lot – human or more than human? I told him I wanted to hold hands first, but really… But he said we should wait.”
Cho’s hardly happy yet, but she’s forgotten to go on crying, while not started to laugh at Luna, and she looks only puzzled. “He?”
“Professor Lupin. Now I believe he was right.” Luna hopes this can comfort Cho and make her smile at least. “We’ve got time to find out whom we really want to kiss.” She lifts her free hand, which is covered with a jumper sleeve, and uses the wool to dry a pearl of a tear close to Cho’s nose.
“But…” Cho draws in a shuddering breath. “I’m afraid I’ll never want to kiss anyone at all.”
“That’ll be all right for me. We can hold hands. And dance.” Luna swings their arms, as the idea makes her heart and her limbs light. “You offered to teach me. Could you teach me to dance? With a partner, I mean.”
“All right. You know, I loved the dances at…” Cho takes a step back and lifts her arm, allowing Luna to swirl around under their clasped hands. “I love dancing. It’s like flying.” And she lets out a soft bud of a chuckle.
“It’s light, like laughing.” Luna’s always loved it, and it’s ever better together.