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The moon was still hanging low in the sky when Severus led Luna out of the castle. She'd been sitting at the window watching the sky when he'd knocked.
“Come on, Luna,” he'd said, offering her his hand. She'd taken it without question, allowing him to lead her out of the castle.
“Where are we going?” she asked, looking around. “Are you taking me to catch more moon sprites for class? I do have enough now I think,” she said, giving him a smile. Severus found himself returning it.
“No, this has nothing to do with classes, with the school at all. You mentioned last month that you wished you were home to for Beltane.”
“I did, but I know I need to be here,” Luna replied, skipping across the field. Severus was leading her to the Forbidden Forest. Luna had never feared the place and she knew Severus felt the same.
They'd somehow started becoming friends after the war. Luna had been the one who had attended his injuries during her internship at St. Mungo's. Being able to heal one's self was important, especially since many of the places Luna wished to visit in her quests were remote and she might not be able to make it back to a healer in time.
Severus had been a difficult patient at the best of times, but Luna had eventually managed to break through his defenses. It had been him who had arranged for her to come to Hogwarts between her expeditions. At first, she'd only been there to give guest lectures about the strange and wonderful creatures she'd discovered on her expeditions.
Somehow, Severus wasn't sure how, that had lead to her taking a position here. She'd taken over the lower level care of magical creatures classes from Hagrid. This worked in both their favors. Hagrid got to deal with the dangerous creatures he loved and Luna got to pass her love of magizoology onto a new generation.
“Are we almost there?” Luna asked, watching as she could see a slit of light starting to appear on the horizon.
“Almost,” Severus answered. Luna nodded, looking around. She'd never been this far into the forest, but she could tell the trees were getting smaller and smaller. Severus had discovered a spell in an ancient text that could link one piece of land to another temporarily. He'd spent several days working to get this set up, he couldn't wait to see Luna's reaction.
Soon she and Severus stepped out of the tree line entirely and into a large empty meadow. Luna's eyes widened. She knew this place!
“Severus! How?” she asked, looking around. This was the exact same field her mum had taken her to every Beltane. There were a empty circles in the grass, enchanted spots where one would build and light their fire. Luna circled around until she found the perfect one.
“This is amazing,” she whispered, kneeling down on the grass ground. Severus nodded, standing next to her. He drew a large bag from his cloak and set it down.
“I wasn't sure if you would have everything you needed, so I might have brought a few things,” he answered. Luna pulled the bag open and took out several large pieces of wood. Her smiled widened as she took in the type of wood Severus had brought.
Aspen offered cleansing and protection and was perfect for Beltane. Luna started building her tiny structure, making sure that the fire would get enough air to spark and grow. She picked up the pieces of flint Severus had also brought. Striking them together made a sound that echoed through the meadow.
Severus watched Luna. He knew it would be easier to do all of this by magic, but there was something about seeing the ritual being done by hand that made it feel right. Luna looked over to him.
“Would you like to try?” she asked, handing him the stones. He nodded, leaning down over the structure and clinking the stones together. A small spark flew from the friction and into the bed of shavings Luna had built. He watched it smolder for a moment. Luna leaned against him, blowing on the spark until it caught properly. Luna sank to her butt on the grass watching the flame start to dance. Severus slowly lowered himself to sit next to her.
“I can't believe you did all of this for me,” she said after a moment.
“You were there on my darkest days, when I was delirious from what had happened. You never ran,” he said, watching the flames.
“True, I saw there was still something in you, something good, this only proves it. I was offered a chance to go to South America on an expedition,” she said.
“Are you going to go?” Severus asked, not sure which answer he wanted to hear. He knew she loved searching for creatures, loved exploring. But he'd also seen the way she'd taken to teaching, how she loved watching the students learn.
“I don't know. Part of me wants to, it'll be an oppurtunity of a lifetime, Severus, but at the same time...I don't want to leave you here by yourself. I know you can handle yourself, but I hate knowing you'll be lonely.”
“I could,” Severus paused, surprised at the idea that had flittered through his mind. “I could come with you?” he offered. Luna turned and looked at him with shock in her big blue eyes.
“Really?”
“Really. You're right. I would be lonely without you here to light my days. I would throw myself into my work, same as always. You said it yourself, this is a once in a life time.”
“I'll clear it with the expedition leader, but I'm sure they'd be thrilled to have someone else along, especially someone with your reputation at potions,” she jabbed, giving Severus a smirk.
“I'll have no issue clearing my schedule, Minerva is always on me to take time for myself, although I am not certain this is what she meant,” Severus laughed, putting an arm around Luna's shoulders as they watched the fire.
“I'm glad I stayed, Severus. I'm glad I looked past what you wanted the world to see, to see the real you,” she whispered.
“I am too,” he replied, thinking about how Luna was so different from everyone he knew, and he was extremely glad she was.