Work Text:
phantasm
Luna Lovegood sat among the others in the main hall of Hogwarts and felt that a certain era in her life had ended.
Last year they defeated Voldemort, Harry became The-Un-Defeated and began intensive training to become an Auror. Ron saw himself in only one place on earth - the Quidditch pitch, while Hermione decided to return to Hogwarts for her final year.
Luna had no idea what she would do after graduation - she only knew that she would return home and visit her mother's grave.
Last year - for some, the eighth - was a strange one because, for the first time in years, they didn’t have to fear anyone or anything.
This state of affairs filled Luna with both optimism and anxiety. The past year had been hard on her, and she thought and dreamt much less often. Many would say it was a sign of adulthood, while for her, it tasted like personal failure.
Hermione's voice echoed,"I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We'll all become somebody's mom or dad. But right now, these moments are not stories; this is happening. We are finishing Hogwarts today, and we can celebrate."
She finished, and the hall burst into cheers - an era was over.
The Great Gala had been organised to celebrate the first post-war year, and it was a huge event. Everyone who meant something in the world of magic was invited. For many of them, returning to Hogwarts was extremely painful, like Molly Weasley, Mr and Mrs Brown or... Harry.
Harry found Luna standing on the sideline, a glass of punch in her hands. She had a headache for a long time, and sometimes the dance floor was spinning. Harry asked her if she was okay, and she nodded and shrugged him off. He didn't go on, just smiled and poured himself some punch from the tureen.
“Crazy, huh?” He took a sip, and Luna nodded, smiling sadly in return. “Look, I even took an old picture of my parents. It was taken exactly on their last day of school - they were our age." He swallowed as the figures in the photograph moved. Luna looked at the picture and… She blinked a few times.
"Can I?" She felt her voice tremble, but he didn't notice. He handed her the photo, and she caught it cautiously in both hands.
In the picture, she saw a young James Potter and... herself. It was her . She looked exactly the same as today.
A long purple dress resembling swans' feathers. The same hairstyle, but different eyes. The eyes of the girl in the photo were flirtatious, full of vigour and sex appeal. She stood close to James, and the sexual tension was palpable, especially as he looped her around. She smiled and lowered her gaze while…
"Harry..." She gulped and looked up at the man standing next to her. "It's not Lily." Her voice sounded hollow and dry in her throat, but Harry didn't seem to hear her words.
He stared at her blankly, then shrugged and took her hand, asking,"Shall we dance?"
Luna agreed, slightly dazed, and offered him her hand. The photo fell to the floor as he dragged her across the dance floor. He grabbed her by the waist, and after a moment, she could look into his bright green eyes as the lively music began to play.
Harry had never been a great dancer, so he was limited to lifts and turns. And at some point, Luna was lifted up and…
She stared into brown eyes in which she saw boundless love. She felt a pang in her heart and suddenly took back her hand, which made James raise an eyebrow. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.
He grabbed her hand again and pulled her in, hugging her tightly. She could clearly feel his heart - it galloped in his chest, trying to catch up with her own.
Luna's vision blurred and she decided to break free from the embrace and run off the dance floor. Along the way, she bumped into more couples and felt tears burning under her eyelids.
What was going on in her head? The question was on the tip of her tongue, burning, but she couldn't find the answer.
She reached the door and looked around - most of the guests were dancing, and she saw familiar faces in the crowd. She inhaled sharply through her nose and exhaled.
She had to check something to make sure she wasn't crazy. And only one way was possible - she had to check the old books in the library.
Ignoring the surprised looks, she almost ran to the library, which was now empty and quiet. Silently thanking Hermione for spending the long hours here, she turned her steps to the vast archives. She found a 1978 yearbook, took it out, and leafed through it, looking for portraits. She came across the Marauders one by one until she finally saw the page with James' portrait. It looked exactly like the picture Harry showed her - and that gave her a shiver of anxiety. She flipped through the heavy, yellowed pages and found Sirius, Peter, and Remus. However, Lily was nowhere to be found until…
Luna Lily Evans.
The same photo she knew, she - this girl - in a purple dress.
Luna slammed the book shut with a bang and slid it back into the same place, causing dust to rise from the others. She began to cough as she felt the panic rising in her.
It all made no sense.
She ran out of the library and, not knowing what to do, decided to go back to the Gala.
She re-entered the room and spotted Harry in the crowd - now it was Harry. She waved at him, and he waved back and headed towards her. Luna took a deep breath, and when Harry was close, she turned to take a drink. McGonagall was standing next to her, smiling kindly at her.
Luna smiled back at her and made sure that it was all just her imagination.
"Luna." She heard a warm voice and felt a shiver because it wasn't Harry's voice. She looked up and saw James again .
She started screaming as loud as she could and getting ready to run away. However, she did not notice McGonagall and bumped into her, falling and losing consciousness for a moment.
She awoke in a few minutes to a throbbing pain in her skull. She groaned and opened her eyes - Minerva was bending over her with a clearly worried expression. Luna sat up and started rubbing the back of her head as McGonagall handed her a glass of water, with the words.
"Are you okay, Miss Evans?"
Luna felt the words chill her blood, but McGonagall didn't seem to notice.
"Mr Potter, please take your fiancée and take care of her. She was unlucky.”
"Of course, Professor." Like a ghost, James appeared beside her and helped her to get on her feet. Luna was disoriented - she was wearing the same clothes as a second ago, but the surroundings were different. She didn't see anyone familiar in the sea of faces - except for McGonagall, who was definitely younger, and James, who…
James grabbed her arm and shoved her towards the Gryffindor table. Luna realised that someone was standing and about to speak. And this person looked like Lily Evans - the real Miss Evans.
"Who is speaking?" She asked weakly, and James raised his eyebrows in surprise. He thought she was joking, but after a moment, he replied softly.
"It's Pandora from Ravenclaw." He looked at her understandingly, and she understood less and less. When they reached the pews, they sat down and Lily - Pandora - began to speak. Luna paid no attention for a moment as Sirius Black brought the photos and handed one of them to her.
The same photograph Harry had shown her a moment ago.
She swallowed as she felt a warm hand wrap around her waist. James kissed her hair, and only then did Luna hear the words coming from the scene.
“We had photos taken today as a souvenir. I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We'll all become somebody's mom or dad." The whole room laughed, and when James kissed her ear, she flinched involuntarily. Pandora continued as silence fell again, “But right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening."
Luna closed her eyes - the same words Hermione had spoken an hour ago or so, standing in exactly the same place.
This moment wasn't history, even though it was. But was she in the right place in this messy puzzle?
James grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear, "Shall we dance?"
Luna opened her eyes and glanced at the hand with the ring on it. Fiancée. She licked her lips and looked up, nodding her head. He led her to the dance floor and a slow song was playing.
James grabbed her waist and nearly touched her forehead with his lips. He smiled, and she was silent.
It all made no sense...
And it didn't start to make sense when James kissed her.
Luna closed her eyes and succumbed to the wave - her body shuddered, and hundreds of images filled her mind. It lasted several seconds, and when she regained consciousness, James was looking at her. And she saw the love in his eyes that made her uncomfortable.
"Did you have a seizure?" he asked softly, and she nodded weakly.
That was all she was sure of because it didn't make any sense. And she didn't have the strength to fight back and find out what was going on.
Was this all a figment of her mind, or was she really delusional all these years? And what she witnessed never really happened?
She had no idea, but she knew deep in her bones that one day she would solve this mystery. Sooner or later, she would find out the truth.