Work Text:
2001
“You just don’t understand, Neville,” Ginny sighed, looking at Neville from across their usual table at the Three Broomsticks.
It was almost winter- the weather outside was dreadful, rainy and cold. The pub they always frequented was warm and full of life, festive decorations were already up, making it feel as though Christmas was right around the corner, which, it technically was, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that Ginny and Harry had been fighting- a lot.
Ginny didn’t know why. The themes of their fights varied from accidentally leaving the stove on and burning the food, to putting on “the wrong” bed sheets. It was ridiculous . It was as though the spark that had been there when they first got together had faded. Though Ginny loved Harry, she was now sure that she did platonically.
“Well then, explain it to me, or something,” Neville said, a pout forming on his face.
Ginny sighed. She wasn’t angry at him, she was angry at herself. She was really bothered by her feelings, and didn’t know what to do about them.
“Even I don’t know what’s going on inside my stupid head.” She looked down at her glass, still half full. Why did she even let Neville drag her out at eight p.m. on a Thursday night to drink? His reasoning behind it was that Ginny had looked sad when they’d been celebrating Neville’s grandmother’s birthday the week before. Well, she had been sad, only because Luna hadn’t shown up. She had been on an impromptu work trip to Beauxbatons Academy, to check out a possible new breed of unicorn.
Neville hummed and looked up at one of the ceiling lights. “Maybe you and Luna can talk about it, then. You know, girl talk,” he trailed off. Despite becoming more mature as he’d grown up, some things he said were still quite childish. It’s not like Ginny would feel different and figure out all of her problems if she talked to a girl- maybe Luna was an exception. She just had a way with words that made Ginny want to tell her everything, things she didn’t even know. Speaking of Luna, as soon as Neville mentioned her name, Ginny’s heart sped up. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, she hoped she would see her soon.
Ginny cleared her throat and sipped her Firewhiskey. “Do you know when she’ll be back? I miss her.”
“She should be here any moment, actually,” Neville responded.
Ginny’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t look her best, in her opinion; she had bags under her eyes, her hair was in a bun and unwashed, and she was wearing an old flannel from her time at Hogwarts. She’d always cared about the way she looked in front of the girl because Luna was so effortlessly beautiful all the time. Luna had a heart of gold and Ginny knew she would never, but she was afraid Luna would judge her.
As if on cue, they heard a soft click-clack of heels coming towards them. Ginny looked at the woman walking towards them, and a smile appeared on her lips. Luna looked like she always did. Her blonde hair was flowy and long, some locks pushed in front. Her mouth twisted up in a never-ending soft smile and her blue eyes sparkling with happiness as usual. She was holding a small pink purse and her nails were painted light blue.
“Hi, guys!” She exclaimed, as always happy to see her best friends.
Ginny blushed as she made eye contact with Luna and heard Neville say hi back. She saw a delicate colour starting to bloom on Luna’s cheeks, too and, shit, Ginny understood. She finally understood.
She felt stuck in place as Luna sidled up to her to sit on the chair next to her. Ginny knew she liked girls. In fact, she had had a crush on Hermione at some point in school, she had liked her wit and the fact that she was smart and passionate about a lot of things. The feelings had faded when she found out the things she had said to Luna. They were quickly replaced by a profound liking towards Harry. Fucking Harry. Ginny was smart enough to realise her true feelings, and was suddenly very angry at herself for not realising them sooner.
When she tuned back in, she heard her two companions talking. Luna was talking, very passionately, about the beauty of Beauxbatons. Ginny blatantly stared at her side profile, at her nose and her long lashes, a little clumpy from mascara. Ginny wasn’t stupid. Ginny was afraid. She was scared that Luna didn’t like girls, much less her. She was scared of breaking up with Harry, but also, if she even had the opportunity at all, she wouldn’t want to cheat on him, either.
Luna turned her head to look at Ginny, tilting it and smiling, her thin lips stretching even thinner, but still looking soft, and Ginny knew they tasted sweet, like the chapstick she always used- something organic made out of beeswax, but flavoured with cherry. She wanted to kiss her. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. But she wanted to.
She smiled back and furrowed her brows, glancing at Neville whose lips were tilted up. He coughed a little. The little turned into a full fit and he was hitting his fist on his chest.
“Are you alright, Neville? Are you sick?” Luna asked worriedly, the spark from her smile gone and a look of concern clouding her face.
“Yeah, ye-“ another cough, he cleared his throat, “I think I’m alright. Might be coming down with a cold, though.”
“It’s because you don’t wear your bloody gloves, like, ever,” Ginny huffed. Luna giggled. Ginny’s heart lurched.
“Oi! I wear my hat and scarf, that’s enough for me.” Neville raised his chin.
“You know you have a tendency to touch everything you see. The cold must have travelled to your throat, or something,” Ginny spared a look to Luna, who was smiling again. She loved making her smile.
“Alright, whatever,” Neville smirked. “Mum.”
Ginny rolled her eyes. Luna put her hand on her thigh and looked at Neville. Ginny’s heart just about stopped. “If Gin’s the mum here, she would’ve noticed I was wearing a skirt and definitely said something about it,” she said proudly.
“True. Hey, Ginny, are you alright? You look a bit,” Neville stifled a giggle, “Red.”
“I’m fine,” she managed a smile. Luna’s hand was still on her thigh. She wanted to put her hand on top of hers. That, she could do, though. So, she put her hand on Luna’s and felt her fingers twitch a bit, before going lax. It wasn’t weird or out of character for them to hold hands, only maybe now, Ginny realised why she liked doing it in the first place.
“Speaking of dress code, Luna, I’m not quite sure I like the fact that you are wearing heels in this weather,” Ginny spoke. Her face resembled that of a mother when she would reprimand her child in- well, in that exact situation. “You might slip on the ice and lose your balance.” She pressed her lips together and looked down at Luna.
Luna’s mouth was in an O-shape, a small smile stretching her mouth slowly. Neville laughed a little, and dissolved into a fit of cough again.
“You’re right, Nev. Maybe Ginny is a mum,” Luna shook her head in mock annoyment, and turned her hand around so that her and Ginny’s palms were against each other. It was a silent cue, Ginny thought, so she intertwined their fingers together. Luna’s hand was soft and sweaty, a nice contrast between Ginny’s calloused and cold one.
Neville smiled triumphantly and looked at Ginny. He stood from the table and said, “Right, then, ladies. I’m gonna pop off to the loo and then we can go somewhere, maybe? I have to buy a present for my grandma’s boyfriend,” he muttered something at the end, and gave a meaningful look to Ginny.
Once he had sauntered away, Ginny turned her torso towards Luna, only to see that she was already looking at her. A blush pink colour arose her cheeks and Ginny didn’t know what to do with that information. The confusion turned into fear when she started thinking about mulling these things over in bed next to Harry.
“His granny’s a very active person, isn’t she? Such a shame I didn’t get to see her for her birthday,” Luna trailed off in a breathy tone.
“It’s alright, Luna. She appreciated the gift you sent her,” Ginny smiled, squeezing Luna’s hand a little.
“I’m glad,” Luna sighed. The gift had been a necklace. Not any necklace, a muggle necklace. It was made with a special stone you can only find in northern Europe, it was a beautiful amber colour and had streaks of peculiar brown through it. Luna had bought it in Finland- another impromptu work trip, just before her visit at Beauxbatons.
Ginny cleared her voice. Her mind was practically running wild. Should she tell her about her and Harry? Should she not? Should she? She could. Maybe not. Should-
“Are you okay?” Luna’s concerned voice questioned.
“Just a lot on my mind,” she couldn’t manage a smile.
“You can tell me, if it makes you feel better,” Luna batted her eyelashes like she always did when silently pleading for something.
Ginny wanted to tell her, Merlin if she did. It was risky but, maybe, just maybe, it would all work out somehow? Even if it didn’t, there wasn’t much to lose. She caved in.
“I-“ Maybe it was a bad idea. “Harry and I, we’ve been fighting.” She left it at that to see what Luna’s reaction would be. It was what she had expected. Luna’s eyes saddened and her usually happy glow became somber.
“How come?” Her pinky was brushing slowly on Ginny's hand’s side. It made Ginny get goosebumps all over her.
“I don’t think I love him anymore,” Ginny stopped, and as soon as Luna opened her mouth to say something, she explained. “I do love him, but, platonically, I think?”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry,” Luna bit her lip and looked at the bar, where Madam Rosmerta was serving a young, lean man some Butterbeer.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry for him,” she didn’t mean to say that . But, as always, Luna made her feel things and- okay, Neville was right, girl talk did help.
“How come?” Luna turned to face Ginny with a glimmer of something in her eyes.
“I like someone else and,” Ginny sighed, gazing at Luna’s coat. And her throat. And her breath hitched. She recovered fast. “I think he may still like me, though I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt him by breaking up with him but if I cheat on him it would only be worse.” Ginny was rambling, all of her feelings flooding out as she looked into Luna’s eyes. She had just confessed she liked someone else. She didn’t care. Fuck it, make it obvious, maybe the feeling is mutual , she didn’t know, she just didn’t know. Maybe Luna was oblivious, though she was smart. She had found a great love in wizard’s chess after leaving Hogwarts, so she definitely didn’t lack logical thinking.
“Hey, Ginny, it’s okay. It’s not your fault for liking someone else, not every relationship is supposed to last,” Luna spoke softly, smiling a little and squeezing Ginny’s hand in reassurance.
Ginny thought selfishly if her and Luna’s relationship would last, if they were to ever get into one, and shook the thought out of her head. Not appropriate timing. Though, what Luna had said, it made sense, and it put Ginny’s heart at ease. Maybe Harry didn’t love her anymore either, and by breaking up with him, it would put them both at ease.
“You’re right,” she said confidently. “You’re always right, Luna. Merlin, you should’ve become a couples’ therapist.”
“A what?” Luna asked curiously.
“Oh, it’s- well, they sort of mend couples when they are going through something. I dunno, my father told me about them, finds muggles’ ways of mending fascinating.” She flapped her wrist.
“Oh, that’s cool,” Luna smiled, all teeth, yellowish under the light of the pub.
Neville had come back, stretching for a moment, and then putting on his winter jacket, taking it from the back of his chair. Ginny let go of Luna’s hand, going to put on her own coat.
It was silently agreed to go to a shop that sold pocket knives. The trio knew that Augusta’s boyfriend’s passion was knives. Of all sorts, but especially pocket knives, or, as Ginny had chimed in, Swiss knives, in muggle Britain. That day, Luna had told her that she found it lovely that she knew so much about muggles. She had blushed, of course.
After they found a new colour of Swiss knife Terrence didn’t already have, they walked a bit towards a park that was nearby. As adults, parts of muggle Britain didn’t faze them anymore, so they went on without worries and looks of amazement towards the technology they weren’t very familiar with, yet.
“So, I think I’m off. Granny wanted me back by nine thirty, we’re putting up our Christmas tree,” Neville said happily. He loved Christmas, and despite having bought a flat somewhere in Edinburgh, Neville seemed to still spend a lot of time with his grandmother, this time excusing it as “visiting for the holidays”.
“Alright, I’d love to see Augusta again before Christmas, so send me a letter if you’re free at any time.” Luna smiled.
“Sure, we’re always free. Well, she is. I’ll mention it to her,” Neville responded.
“Well, I should be off too,” said Ginny. In truth, she wasn’t very happy to leave, for she knew that when she arrived at her and Harry’s house, she would have to break up with him. It was now or never. She couldn’t string him along, even if she didn’t get with Luna, liking someone you’re not in the relationship with while in the relationship, wasn’t ideal.
Neville and Luna were to walk in the same direction, whereas Ginny had to go in the opposite direction.
Neville hugged Ginny, and she felt her body warm up. His hugs were tight and made you feel like nothing else existed in the world at that moment.
Next was Luna and, oh, how Ginny loved her hugs. They were soft, almost hesitant, but full of affection.
Ginny let herself forget about anything else, and basked in the feeling of Luna so close to her. Her scent was feminine and sweet, like a vanilla fragrance mixed with flowers. Her arms were around Ginny’s shoulders and Ginny’s around her waist. It was sort of intimate, and different from the usual. Did that mean something? Ginny could feel Luna’s breath on her neck, warm and slow, and their cheeks were pressed together.
They both let go at the same time, but Ginny left her hands on Luna’s hips. She simply couldn’t resist it. If she couldn’t kiss her, she would at least try to get in as much physical touch as she could. It was the only thing she could do without making her feel guilty.
Luna’s cheeks coloured again and she looked at Neville. Ginny knew , again. Luna liked her. Or maybe it was the cold, but subtle hints were always there and Ginny just wanted to believe.
They bid goodbyes and Ginny left for her house, a myriad of thoughts in her head, of ways to slowly ease into the conversation and break up with Harry in a way the both of them wouldn’t be too sad about.
The break up had been… messy .
Harry was too sweet and too understanding. Ginny had felt like shit when she saw Harry smiling sadly and silent tears were rolling down his cheeks. She had started crying, too.
They had clung on to each other, with Ginny mumbling apologies and Harry dismissing them, telling her that he understood and that love wasn’t always supposed to last.
Now, Ginny was sitting on Luna’s teal couch in her small flat. Luna’s 21st birthday was a quiet event, with only Ginny, Neville, some acquaintances, and Luna- beautiful Luna, who seemed to shine even more on that day. She was wearing a frilly lavender dress with yellow pom poms adorning the neck. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, with various butterfly clips pinching some locks. She was wearing her usual makeup, but the smile on her face was like nothing else, not even the cold February sun could compare, nor could a hot summer day one.
Ginny was enthralled in every sense of the word, she couldn’t take her eyes off her. Now that she was single, and she’d told her best friends so, too, immediately after the break up, she and Luna seemed to get even closer, sometimes leaving Neville as almost a third wheel. Not that they’d done it on purpose, but it seemed as though they both were brought in by some kind of force, making them stick together more than ever.
Luna was pouring some champagne Ron had brought. Neville and Ginny were sitting close, and Neville was talking with Hannah. Ginny just stared at Luna, whose eyes she met as soon as she had finished pouring her guests the drinks. The party was just getting started. Luna smiled softly at Ginny, and Ginny didn’t even fight the smile that came onto her face. Luna then put the bottle down, and sat next to her, taking with herself two champagne flutes. She handed one to Ginny, and Ginny was hyper aware of Luna’s warmth, and the fleeting touch of fingers she had felt when she was handed the glass.
“Cheers,” Ginny said, silently, for no reason at all, since there was music playing and a never leaving chatter was in the background.
“Cheers!” Luna exclaimed a little louder, and clinked their flutes together. She downed the glass in one go. Despite her innocent look, she was quite the drinker- not in the alcoholic way, of course- but she knew how to handle her alcohol better than most, better than Ginny.
A crash sounded from the kitchen, and Luna’s eyes widened. She excuses herself and told Ginny to wait for her, as she stood up and went to check what happened.
Ginny waited, and waited, and waited and- what the hell was she doing in there for so long? Granted, she was the tiniest bit tipsy and she could never really keep track of time, but she was about to go to the kitchen herself, she was getting bored. Though she felt the sudden need to pee, so she downed the last drop of fancy champagne and stalked to the bathroom, leaving Neville and - to chat or kiss or whatever they were doing.
She washed her hands and walked out of the tiny bathroom, hugging herself as she suddenly felt cold. She saw Luna saunter towards her with a small smile on her face, which morphed into a small frown. Ginny was confused and they met in between.
“You okay?” Asked Luna.
“I’m just cold,” answered Ginny, assuming her hunched position had alarmed Luna in the first place. And- okay, maybe she had expected that, and maybe the only reason she physically showed the fact that she was cold, was for Luna to notice. And, the plan worked, because as soon as Ginny muttered those words, Luna embraced her hard. Ginny melted into her and snuggled her face against Luna’s neck. Her warmth was like none other; it was addicting.
During the summertime, when Ginny was sweating all of the water inside her off, Luna would jokingly hug her, smothering her face against her shirt. Ginny didn’t mind, ever. She loved it. She loved Luna, she’d realized when the New Year came. All of her feelings were those of love, and it didn’t surprise her. She might have been a bit biased, but she thought it was impossible not to love a sweet soul like Luna’s.
“I can’t breathe,” Ginny croaked out. It was a bit of an over-dramatization, but Luna’s grip was strong and Ginny’s nose and mouth were pressed against Luna’s warm neck, which smelled like her in a dizzying way that made Ginny want to kiss it.
Luna just giggled and tried to pick Ginny up. If she had the strength, she wouldn’t have minded jumping up and hooking her legs on Luna’s small waist. But Ginny was strong and had muscles, all thanks to quidditch. She wanted contact so bad, and as soon as she felt Luna retreat, she returned the favour and picked Luna up. She screeched a bit, quietly, and hooked her legs on Ginny’s hips, doing the same with her arms and her neck. That was… intimate. Ginny felt colour rise to her cheeks, and fought off the awful urge to just kiss her, for she didn’t know what the others might think of such a sight.
They gazed into each other’s eyes and laughed lowly. Ginny let go of Luna’s waist, but Luna didn’t let go of her, making Ginny’s lower stomach pool in warmth. She was shaking a bit, now really fighting the urge to kiss her.
Luna felt her shaking and let go of her, jumping down. She thought that maybe she was a bit too drunk and couldn’t hold her anymore. Ginny frowned and retreated a bit towards the bathroom door, bumping into a person making their way towards it. She stumbled a bit and Luna caught her arms. That was… romantic and quite cliche. They didn’t kiss. They could’ve, though.
Ginny and Luna were in Luna’s bedroom for one reason or another. There was muffled music coming from the living room. The door was closed and they were sitting on the bed- Luna had wanted to show Ginny a book that she’d gotten as an early Valentine’s Day present from a secret admirer. Ginny had thought it was a silly thing to do, they were in their twenties, not children. Who sent an anonymous gift to their crush? Ginny would be lying if she said she wouldn’t have done something like that to Luna, but the problem was, that it hadn’t been her. What bothered her the most (and she hated saying she was jealous, for Luna had shown disinterest towards the secret admirer, but heavy interest in the book. It was a muggle novel about a boy who had been raised in the jungle by monkeys, or something), was that she was as enthralled with the book as Ginny had been when she first saw Luna earlier that day.
“You can borrow it some time, if you wish,” Luna said gently, gazing at Ginny’s face, which was bent forwards.
“Yeah, sure,” Ginny said, looking at her hands. She did that on purpose, sounding upset or like something was wrong, to make Luna understand or maybe even just do something. Ginny was brave, so very brave, yet she couldn’t do something like confess her love- or whatever- that she felt towards her best friend, or just kiss her. Just kiss her.
The song was muffled and slow, becoming even slower as Ginny came to a conclusion. Whatever she was scared of, she would get over it. If Luna really didn’t want Ginny in any way more than a friend, then it just wasn’t meant to be. But she’d paid attention to her body language around Ginny, and it was the same as when Neville was anywhere close to Hannah. She was practically one-hundred percent sure Luna liked her back. So she did it. She decided that she had to kiss her, even just to get it over with.
Ginny looked up fast, and she faintly heard Luna ask if she was alright. She turned her head in almost a creepy way, choppily, like a porcelain doll, and looked at Luna with a fondness on her eyes she was sure waa never going to leave as long as Luna was there, as long as she could look at her.
Luna tilted her head to the left, kind of like they were already kissing. Ginny glanced at her lips, glistening a little in the bright light of Luna’s bedroom, wet with saliva. Colour arose in Luna’s cheeks and- yep, she totally liked Ginny back. She couldn’t hold back anymore, it physically felt impossible at that point not to kiss her pretty lips, so Ginny bent forward.
Luna flinched back a bit and bit her lip. She’d never kissed someone on the lips, there weren’t many people she’d been really interested in. Ginny didn’t mind, and connected their lips. Luna’s were soft, Ginny’s were chapped- a perfect combination, like two pieces of a puzzle.
And to Ginny’s delight, she felt Luna’s lips move in sync with hers, rather unsurely. But Ginny knew how to kiss, had done it a load of times before, and gently guided Luna into the slow and comfortable rhythm of a kiss without tongue. Her hand went up to caress Luna’s warm cheek, pressing her thumb on the hollow between her cheek- and jawbone, her other fingers laying softly on her jaw, close to her ear. Luna’s one hand came to touch Ginny’s copper strands, for lack of anything better to do, and the other went to Ginny’s wrist, the one that was on her thigh.
They broke apart with wide eyes, and they both felt as though their hearts were going to explode. “That was something,” whispered Ginny.
“I’ve wanted to do that since seventh year, Gin,” Luna said elatedly, a broad smile on her face. Ginny’s eyes widened a bit more, then she broke into a grin and kissed Luna again, and again, and again. Soon, they were kissing with tongue, rudely said, making out. It was clear that Luna hadn’t had any experience yet, so Ginny went slow. She tasted of birthday cake and that stupid cherry flavoured chapstik. Ginny would never ever forget that taste.