Work Text:
There were few memories left of Pandora Lovegood that Luna could remember.
No matter how hard she had tried to recollect her memories through her memory spells in attempt to reminisce about her mother, but most of those memories were blown away like the sand at the beach.
The nostalgia sprinkling out of the hourglass like dust in the wind, forever lost in the grains of life.
But, there was one memory that had formed, molded into the sandstone, and had been cemented into Luna's mind. And so, here she was, standing barefoot in the sand, her toes wiggling in the soft grains. In the very place where that memory was more poignant.
Her eyes were closed as the warm breeze embraced her, kissing her rosy cheeks and playing with her hair. Mum.
In her hand was a small woolen bag, knitted by her mother all of those years ago. It was lilac with a pink, rosy flower that brightened in colour when Luna thought fondly about her mother.
Pandora had once caressed her, embracing her into a warm hug and kissed Luna on the forehead, "I love you, my little pearl."
Luna squealed and giggled, "I love you too, Mama!"
She pressed her forehead against Luna's and noticed the movement in the rock pool below, "Shh, my little pearl, we mustn't scare the crabs."
"Crabs?" Little Luna had asked, her grey eyes wide with innocent wonder.
Pandora waved her hand, the rocks becoming transparent, exposing the little crustaceans below, taking solace in their home, "They are non-magical creatures, I read about them some while ago."
"They're so beautiful, Mama."
Pandora smiled, her hand soft as she caressed the top of Luna's head, "Come closer, my pearl." She says, and quickly moved to get a closer look, "Be careful, and watch closely." She acted quickly, peeling the rock up and reaching forward. She pressed her fingers against the crab's shell and carefully lifted it up with her fingers facing away from the crab's sphincters.
"Ah!" Luna says, clutching onto her mother's long skirt, "You're holding it!" She says, peaking from behind her mother's skirts.
Pandora stifled a laugh, "Little Luna, it's alright. See, he is just curious."
"Is he hurt?" Little Luna asks, her startled self had gone, and instead her giggly curious self was creeping out of her shell.
Pandora held the crab gently in her palm, watching as he peeled his eyes away from his shell and moved slightly to his left.
Luna giggled, "He's walking funny!"
"That's how they walk, my pearl. Say good bye now, we don't want to stress him out."
"Bye bye!"
Pandora reached down and placed the crab back into his home, before tucking her wand into the woolly knitted bag. Pandora beamed as Luna had waved at him.
Luna did not cry at the memory; instead, she smiled fondly as she opened the woolly bag and pulled out the clam that had earned her the little nickname. She hadn't remembered how she had gotten the clam, but she had heard the story of how she had spotted it whilst she had ventured. How she had picked it out and carrying it with her. Since her young age, she had cared for it, unknowing that it had feelings of its own.
But it was alive and her her mother had taught her about the kindness to give to life, and despite it looking like a rock, it still played a part in the ecosystem that Muggles were still discovering.
Her mother had encouraged her curious, innocent and gentle nature. And despite growing older, Luna had grown to be more conscious and aware of nature- her mother's presence and love had always influenced that.
Her thumb caressed it as it lay in her palm, still alive. Luna's heart tightened in a phantom pain, and she took slow, easy-paced steps towards the shallow rock pools where clams and crabs were hiding.
Luna smiled softly at the clam in her hand, "I'm sorry." She says, her voice so soft and fair, "I hadn't realized I separated you from your family."
She gently placed the clam down into the rock pool, "I would be very upset if I got separated from my family too…"
It shimmered into the sand, hiding with the other clams and crabs there, it didn't wait to say goodbye despite being with Luna for so many years.
"I'm sorry, I was too young to understand."
Her blonde her shined from the sun, the heat kissed her pale skin, and she was sure it was almost time to go back home. They had only been here for a moment to say hello.
From behind, Ginny Weasley stood leaning against her motorcycle, her red hair flashing wildly in the breeze, and her helmet rested against the back of the bike. She knew her girlfriend needed this day to reminisce about her mother, to ground herself, and connect. Even if the Quidditch Captain for the Holyhead Harpies didn't understand it, she respected it.
This is where Luna came when she was upset, when she was angry, when she felt a rollercoaster of emotions: love, rage, depressed, despair and fulfilled.
This beach saw more of Luna than Luna had seen of her mother. And when Luna first brought Ginny here, she thought it was bittersweet. The memory lingered from a few years ago.
"This is Pandora's Beach." Luna said, as she glanced over at their interlocked fingers as they lay underneath the moonlight. The stars had twinkled above them, and the pearls had glistened around them, peaking out from underneath the sand.
At first, Ginny hadn't understood, until Luna had spoken about her mother more that night.
"I come here for her. It's where I feel her the most. Where the memories lie. They're in the sand, the breeze, the soft push and pull of the tides." Luna said, shifting to lay her head on Ginny's lap, "It's silly, I know. But it reminds me of how I was back then. How we were back then."
She had paused as Ginny caressed her soft, golden hair, then confessed, "My mother didn't die in the experiment, Gin."
Ginny paused, frowning as she looked down at Luna's dark grey eyes that sparkled from the moonlight, "What?"
Luna proceeded, "After the experiment explosion, she…refused to go to St. Mungos…"
"She refused?"
"I think she knew she was going to go."
Luna recalled that night where her mother, in the last of her strength had taken Luna and apparated them both to the beach. A little girl gone missing, clutching onto her mother who had died where she had felt the most comfort.
Besides the lovely crab hunting memory with her mother, she also had the witnessing of her mother's death. How blood had seeped into the sand, becoming one with the world, and thus; Pandora's beach it became.
It was as if Ginny had simply understood, without words being said, she gave a sad smile. Ginny slowly embraced Luna in a hug, her silver rings almost catching onto Luna's lilac cardigan, "Pandora's Beach is beautiful." She acknowledged.
Ginny staggered over the metallic fence from the pavement to the beach and walked over to Luna in her black boots. She pulled her into a hug as the tide swept in and dragged the clams further away.
"Are you okay?" Ginny managed to ask.
Luna Lovegood's shoulders sagged, and she remained quiet for a while, trying to find the words in her foggy brain. "I'm not sure. Mother had given me that clam years ago. It's like I'm letting a piece of her go."
Ginny pondered, then asked, "In a good way?"
Luna glanced at her girlfriend, blonde brows knitted together as she frowned, thinking, "It…is good to look back at the memories."
She looked back over at the rock pools, and took a step closer to Ginny, "It's good to reminisce at the hope of what once was; the hope that you get to spend more time with the people you love; or hoping that you get that job you've always wanted, even if it turns out to be the worst job you've ever taken; or hoping that your crush loves and falls in love with you too but they actually don't in the long run."
Ginny peels her sunglasses out of her back pocket and slides them on, "Sometimes… being hopeful is easier than being realistic, it gives you something to believe in."
Luna sighed, "Is that so bad?"
"I wouldn't say so. I was hopeful that you'd say yes to going on that date, look at us now. Luna, you may be letting a piece of her go, but you will always remember her here, and, yes, you may not've gotten more time with her, but she'll be watching you every step of the way."
Luna smiled, "I believe she will be."
"Then she is," Ginny says, gently pulling Luna closer to her, wrapping her arms around her waist and kissing her forehead, "If you believe so, that's hope in itself, right?"
"Yes, I suppose," Luna says, wrapping herself into Ginny's warm embrace, "I'll always come here, and remember the shells we used to collect at the bay, and the crabs we would catch in the rock pools."
"She'll appreciate that."
"I know…" Luna closed her eyes, "I can feel her embrace in the warmth of the breeze, I can hear her whisper in the rustle of the tree leaves dancing around each other."
Ginny smiled, pressing a kiss to the blonde's temple, "So gentle-natured, Luna." She lift Luna's chin up, their lips pressed against the other; soft, tender and hopeful.
Luna drank into the kiss, her lips caressed and molded against Ginny's, smelling the flowery scent of lavender. The lavender was not from Ginny, who smelt of amber and jasmine, and Luna beamed to herself, she didn't mention it, instead she asked, "You think so?"
Ginny almost laughed, pressing a kiss onto her jaw, "My sweet Luna, I love you too much to know so."
From the veil of life and death, Pandora Lovegood stood watching her daughter and her girlfriend embrace one another, a warm smile that caught on the breeze, a small lavender fragrance swirling with the breeze. "My little pearl."