Harry Potter: Secret Mischief, George/Luna, PG 13
Title: Secret Mischief , Dancing With the Gnomes (2/10)
Author: ginny112
Beta: Mistletoe from MNFF
Character/Pairing/Group: George/Luna
Word Count: 2200
Rating: PG 13
Summary: As Luna Lovegood begins her seventh year at Hogwarts, she finds herself joining Ginny and the others in their plan to help a forlorn George Weasley move on from his misery and ‘become himself’ again. But when Ginny decides to spice things up by altering the plans secretly, Luna is treated to an unexpected surprise …
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling.
Warning(s): DH Spoliers.
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay. I just had a lot of things to do at a time.
Luna Lovegood gradually made her way up the uneven streets of Ottery St. Catchpole. It was a rather warm and bright morning, and it would have been a perfect day to search for Blibbering Humdingers. However, she already had other things to do, because her friend Ginny had invited her to the Burrow for the day. And it would be the first time ever Luna had visited Ginny during summer holidays apart from the one time she went to Bill Weasley’s wedding. She had never been invited to any of her friends’ houses to spend a whole day before, and she had been quite amazed to receive the owl from Ginny the previous day.
Luna hadn’t seen any of the Weasleys since Fred’s funeral a few weeks ago, so she was unsure if she had done the right thing in accepting Ginny’s invitation for a visit. It seemed rather unusual to visit them now, when they were going through such tough times, but Luna was glad to know that Ginny considered her close enough to share her troubles. Luna was very fond of Ginny’s family, and she was willing to help the Weasleys in any possible way. She had tried to help George on the day of Fred’s funeral, but she had been unable to explain things properly to him. She didn’t know if she would have the chance to do so today; She certainly hoped she would.
After some time, Luna realised she had reached the front steps of the Burrow. She had been there a year before for Bill Weasley’s wedding and it had been buzzing with activity that day. But today, there was an unwonted silence about the house that made Luna feel sad, because she knew it was because of Fred’s death. She knocked on the front door uncomfortably and after some time, a slightly pale Mrs. Weasley came rushing to open the door with a soft creak.
“Hello, Luna dear,” said Mrs.Weasley, as she tried to put a soft smile on her face that Luna could tell it wasn’t very genuine. “Ginny told me that you were coming over for the day, and we’re all really pleased to have you here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley,” replied Luna, taken aback by Mrs. Weasley’s warmth even when she was going through such difficulties. She had never been spoken to in such a polite manner before. “It was very kind of Ginny to invite me.”
“Not at all, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said gently. “You are, after all, a very good friend of Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione. They are all inside waiting for you.”
She led Luna to the living room to wait for the others. Luna looked around and caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, who were smiling at her and waiting for her to join them.
“Come on, Luna,” called Ginny, as Luna was surveying of the living room.
“Hey, Ginny,” Luna said brightly.
Ginny was pointing at the vacant seat beside her, motioning Luna to sit down.
“You have a very unique house, Ginny,” Luna noted after she sat down, before turning her attention to the others gathered in the living room.
“How are you, Luna?” asked Hermione, who sat beside a rather unusually quiet Ron.
“I’m well, Hermione,” Luna replied comfortably. “I’ve just been slightly busy helping Daddy get The Quibbler back up and running. There have been some marvelous stories to deal with. This lady sent us pictures of herself with a Snorkack while she was hiding in Sweden during the war. So, what about you?”
Luna looked up to see Ron smirking slightly and Hermione looking slightly incredulous. She wondered why Ron was amused but put it down to simple ignorance of the wonders of Snorkacks.
“Uh - I’m doing well, and I’m planning to go back to Hogwarts to finish my N.E.W.Ts,” Hermione said in a serious tone. “I’ve been talking to Professor McGonagall about it, and I asked Harry and Ron to think about going back as well, but they don’t want to go.”
“I wish Ron and Harry were going back, too,” said Luna truthfully, but she was pleased to know Hermione would be at Hogwarts with her this year.
Luna spent the rest of the morning talking to her friends about almost everything. She had never talked to any of them so freely before, and she was enjoying it. She had lunch at the Burrow, which was a delicious treat, and she was introduced to Ginny’s entire family. However, there was no sign of George Weasley anywhere, and somehow Luna really wanted to have an encounter with him. She didn’t really know if he was indeed at home, but since all of the Weasleys were there, he should’ve been present. When Ron went up to call him down for lunch on Mrs. Weasley’s orders, Luna couldn’t help but wonder why he had been hiding from everyone, especially when there was a guest at his house. However, Ron returned without his brother and lunch was taken very quietly and in rather low spirits. Luna knew George was lamenting the loss of Fred, and she remembered how she had also kept to herself after her mother’s death. But she could tell his behaviour had hurt his family because no one spoke much during the meal.
After lunch, Luna went to the Weasley’s garden to take a look at the Gernumbli Gardensi, whom she had become very good friends with at Bill’s wedding. She found them to be very interesting creatures just as she had always heard from her dad. She was gently running her fingers over one of the gnomes when she heard a soft thud behind her. She turned around to see George standing quite a few feet away from her, and staring at her in disbelief.
“Hello,” Luna murmured, continuing to play with the gnomes. The gnomes seemed to be trying to break away from her and formed a circle around her. Luna realised that they were going to dance around her, and she beamed happily.
“I didn’t know you were here,” George whispered awkwardly as he turned his eyes towards one of the gnomes.
Luna gazed at him calmly; he looked rather drained and sullen-faced, and he had lost a lot of weight. He seemed very hesitant to speak. It was as though he had a lot of things to say but he was not sure if he should say them. However, the short period of pause was broken after a while.
“Hey, I was wondering,” he began cautiously, not looking directly at her. “What did you mean by I’d see -I mean the other day?”
Luna had been expecting that he would ask her that question. She knew that he wanted to talk about what she had told him on the day of Fred’s funeral and was searching for a way to bring it up. She could understand how difficult it must be for him to talk about that day, and how troubled he must have been after hearing what Luna had said and not understood it entirely.
“Oh, I was just telling you that don’t need to cry for Fred,” Luna began uncertainly, trying to find the right words to explain. “I think if he knew that you were being sad because of him he’d be upset. He wanted everyone to be happy and he would do anything to cheer you up.”
George was slightly surprised by her words and seemed rather anxious and defensive. “Uh-yeah,” George said apprehensively.
“Your family doesn’t like it, either,” Luna pointed out. She wanted to let him know how much his behaviour was hurting his family. “I think they feel very bad to see you like this.”
“What should I do then?” George growled defensively, looking slightly irritated. “I’m not prepared to face anyone at this moment, and I never intended to hurt anyone. But it’s-not possible for me to pretend-like nothing happened.”
“Of course, you didn’t intentionally hurt them,” Luna replied reflectively. “I can understand what it feels like when you lose a loved one. I know it’s not going to be easy for you. Fred isn’t with you now, but I’m sure he wouldn’t have wanted you to be sad because of him. He would want to see you smiling and making everyone around you happy. Ginny told me you’re very good at cheering people up, and I think everyone could do with a bit of cheering up after the war.”
“It’s not that simple, is it?” George began, sounding angry and desperate. “I never even imagined I’d be alone like this. He’s always been there and when you said I’ll be able to see him again, I thought …”
George didn’t complete his sentence, and Luna noticed a hint of disappointment in his voice as he was finished speaking. She felt rather uncomfortable seeing the miserable look on his face. It more important than ever for him to understand what she was saying.
“You’ll see him again, just like I’ll see my mother. We always see our loved ones who have departed after our life has come to an end too. But until then, you have to keep going ahead and enjoying life.”
George seemed pensive and slightly stricken after listening to Luna, who was pleased to have completed her explanation. She was, however, unsure of the effect it had on George.
“I never really thought of it that way,” said George in a tone of surprise. “I understand what you’re trying to say, but it’s just that I miss him every moment, and it’s like a part of me is gone.”
“You shouldn’t think like that. He’s not with you visibly, but he is always there with you in spirit,” whispered Luna soothingly, looking at George, who remained silent and thoughtful. “Would you like to join me in dancing with the Gernumbli Gardensi?”
George twitched slightly before narrowing his eyes. He gave her a confused look and said, “Dance with the what?’
Luna tilted her head in the direction of the little garden gnomes marching around the garden. George gave her an incredulous look, before his lips curled into a smile. “Are you talking about our annoying garden gnomes?”
Luna shook her head in disbelief. “They are called Gernumbli Gardensi, and they are very sweet creatures. Look, they love dancing with me.”
“They’re not dancing with you, Luna,” George said laughing slightly. “They’re encircling you to gear up for an attack.”
“But they’re such gentle creatures,” Luna said, amazed. “Why would they want to attack me? I was having so much fun dancing with them, George. ”
“You’ve just taken it in a different spirit,” George said with a smile. “They think you’re here to chuck them out, like we all do while de-gnoming the garden.
“Oh…”
Luna was slightly disappointed to hear that. She felt sorry for the little ‘gnomes’ as George liked to call them. They didn’t deserve to be chucked out, but she was pleased to hear George laugh and see a smile on his face.
“You’re not really like I thought you were -you’re not … err,” said George, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Well,” Luna replied seriously. “What did you think I was? Loony?”
“Err-yeah,” George said slightly embarrassed. “Everyone at Hogwarts said - anyway, they were wrong about you.”
“That’s very generous of you,” said Luna with gracious smile.
“No, I mean it,” George said, lowering his gaze. “Thanks a lot, Luna, for … everything.”
His words took Luna by surprise and left her lost for words, and before she could speak, she saw Ginny come out in the garden. She was walking very quickly and with every step she took, she looked more and more surprised.
“George?” Ginny asked with a bemused look on her face. “What are you doing here?”
“We were just dancing with the Gernumbli Gardensi,” George replied with a slight laugh. Ginny looked even more bemused. “I’ll get going then. Take care, Luna.”
George went back inside, leaving a very bewildered Ginny with Luna.
“Did George just laugh?” Ginny asked incredulously, as she tried to figure out what had just occurred. “And he was with you all along? What did you do to him, Luna?”
“Nothing,” Luna replied simply, as she did not want to disclose the subject of their conversation. “We just talked.”
“Really, you just talked?” Ginny said with a smirk. “Well it certainly seems like you two understand each other well. You should talk more often.”
Luna didn’t know what Ginny had meant by that remark, but it was rather difficult to deal with the mysterious looks she kept giving Luna throughout the rest of her time at the Burrow. One thing was certain; Ginny was not going to let this get away so easily.
Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Author: ginny112
Beta: Mistletoe from MNFF
Character/Pairing/Group: George/Luna
Word Count: 2200
Rating: PG 13
Summary: As Luna Lovegood begins her seventh year at Hogwarts, she finds herself joining Ginny and the others in their plan to help a forlorn George Weasley move on from his misery and ‘become himself’ again. But when Ginny decides to spice things up by altering the plans secretly, Luna is treated to an unexpected surprise …
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling.
Warning(s): DH Spoliers.
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay. I just had a lot of things to do at a time.
Luna Lovegood gradually made her way up the uneven streets of Ottery St. Catchpole. It was a rather warm and bright morning, and it would have been a perfect day to search for Blibbering Humdingers. However, she already had other things to do, because her friend Ginny had invited her to the Burrow for the day. And it would be the first time ever Luna had visited Ginny during summer holidays apart from the one time she went to Bill Weasley’s wedding. She had never been invited to any of her friends’ houses to spend a whole day before, and she had been quite amazed to receive the owl from Ginny the previous day.
Luna hadn’t seen any of the Weasleys since Fred’s funeral a few weeks ago, so she was unsure if she had done the right thing in accepting Ginny’s invitation for a visit. It seemed rather unusual to visit them now, when they were going through such tough times, but Luna was glad to know that Ginny considered her close enough to share her troubles. Luna was very fond of Ginny’s family, and she was willing to help the Weasleys in any possible way. She had tried to help George on the day of Fred’s funeral, but she had been unable to explain things properly to him. She didn’t know if she would have the chance to do so today; She certainly hoped she would.
After some time, Luna realised she had reached the front steps of the Burrow. She had been there a year before for Bill Weasley’s wedding and it had been buzzing with activity that day. But today, there was an unwonted silence about the house that made Luna feel sad, because she knew it was because of Fred’s death. She knocked on the front door uncomfortably and after some time, a slightly pale Mrs. Weasley came rushing to open the door with a soft creak.
“Hello, Luna dear,” said Mrs.Weasley, as she tried to put a soft smile on her face that Luna could tell it wasn’t very genuine. “Ginny told me that you were coming over for the day, and we’re all really pleased to have you here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley,” replied Luna, taken aback by Mrs. Weasley’s warmth even when she was going through such difficulties. She had never been spoken to in such a polite manner before. “It was very kind of Ginny to invite me.”
“Not at all, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said gently. “You are, after all, a very good friend of Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione. They are all inside waiting for you.”
She led Luna to the living room to wait for the others. Luna looked around and caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, who were smiling at her and waiting for her to join them.
“Come on, Luna,” called Ginny, as Luna was surveying of the living room.
“Hey, Ginny,” Luna said brightly.
Ginny was pointing at the vacant seat beside her, motioning Luna to sit down.
“You have a very unique house, Ginny,” Luna noted after she sat down, before turning her attention to the others gathered in the living room.
“How are you, Luna?” asked Hermione, who sat beside a rather unusually quiet Ron.
“I’m well, Hermione,” Luna replied comfortably. “I’ve just been slightly busy helping Daddy get The Quibbler back up and running. There have been some marvelous stories to deal with. This lady sent us pictures of herself with a Snorkack while she was hiding in Sweden during the war. So, what about you?”
Luna looked up to see Ron smirking slightly and Hermione looking slightly incredulous. She wondered why Ron was amused but put it down to simple ignorance of the wonders of Snorkacks.
“Uh - I’m doing well, and I’m planning to go back to Hogwarts to finish my N.E.W.Ts,” Hermione said in a serious tone. “I’ve been talking to Professor McGonagall about it, and I asked Harry and Ron to think about going back as well, but they don’t want to go.”
“I wish Ron and Harry were going back, too,” said Luna truthfully, but she was pleased to know Hermione would be at Hogwarts with her this year.
Luna spent the rest of the morning talking to her friends about almost everything. She had never talked to any of them so freely before, and she was enjoying it. She had lunch at the Burrow, which was a delicious treat, and she was introduced to Ginny’s entire family. However, there was no sign of George Weasley anywhere, and somehow Luna really wanted to have an encounter with him. She didn’t really know if he was indeed at home, but since all of the Weasleys were there, he should’ve been present. When Ron went up to call him down for lunch on Mrs. Weasley’s orders, Luna couldn’t help but wonder why he had been hiding from everyone, especially when there was a guest at his house. However, Ron returned without his brother and lunch was taken very quietly and in rather low spirits. Luna knew George was lamenting the loss of Fred, and she remembered how she had also kept to herself after her mother’s death. But she could tell his behaviour had hurt his family because no one spoke much during the meal.
After lunch, Luna went to the Weasley’s garden to take a look at the Gernumbli Gardensi, whom she had become very good friends with at Bill’s wedding. She found them to be very interesting creatures just as she had always heard from her dad. She was gently running her fingers over one of the gnomes when she heard a soft thud behind her. She turned around to see George standing quite a few feet away from her, and staring at her in disbelief.
“Hello,” Luna murmured, continuing to play with the gnomes. The gnomes seemed to be trying to break away from her and formed a circle around her. Luna realised that they were going to dance around her, and she beamed happily.
“I didn’t know you were here,” George whispered awkwardly as he turned his eyes towards one of the gnomes.
Luna gazed at him calmly; he looked rather drained and sullen-faced, and he had lost a lot of weight. He seemed very hesitant to speak. It was as though he had a lot of things to say but he was not sure if he should say them. However, the short period of pause was broken after a while.
“Hey, I was wondering,” he began cautiously, not looking directly at her. “What did you mean by I’d see -I mean the other day?”
Luna had been expecting that he would ask her that question. She knew that he wanted to talk about what she had told him on the day of Fred’s funeral and was searching for a way to bring it up. She could understand how difficult it must be for him to talk about that day, and how troubled he must have been after hearing what Luna had said and not understood it entirely.
“Oh, I was just telling you that don’t need to cry for Fred,” Luna began uncertainly, trying to find the right words to explain. “I think if he knew that you were being sad because of him he’d be upset. He wanted everyone to be happy and he would do anything to cheer you up.”
George was slightly surprised by her words and seemed rather anxious and defensive. “Uh-yeah,” George said apprehensively.
“Your family doesn’t like it, either,” Luna pointed out. She wanted to let him know how much his behaviour was hurting his family. “I think they feel very bad to see you like this.”
“What should I do then?” George growled defensively, looking slightly irritated. “I’m not prepared to face anyone at this moment, and I never intended to hurt anyone. But it’s-not possible for me to pretend-like nothing happened.”
“Of course, you didn’t intentionally hurt them,” Luna replied reflectively. “I can understand what it feels like when you lose a loved one. I know it’s not going to be easy for you. Fred isn’t with you now, but I’m sure he wouldn’t have wanted you to be sad because of him. He would want to see you smiling and making everyone around you happy. Ginny told me you’re very good at cheering people up, and I think everyone could do with a bit of cheering up after the war.”
“It’s not that simple, is it?” George began, sounding angry and desperate. “I never even imagined I’d be alone like this. He’s always been there and when you said I’ll be able to see him again, I thought …”
George didn’t complete his sentence, and Luna noticed a hint of disappointment in his voice as he was finished speaking. She felt rather uncomfortable seeing the miserable look on his face. It more important than ever for him to understand what she was saying.
“You’ll see him again, just like I’ll see my mother. We always see our loved ones who have departed after our life has come to an end too. But until then, you have to keep going ahead and enjoying life.”
George seemed pensive and slightly stricken after listening to Luna, who was pleased to have completed her explanation. She was, however, unsure of the effect it had on George.
“I never really thought of it that way,” said George in a tone of surprise. “I understand what you’re trying to say, but it’s just that I miss him every moment, and it’s like a part of me is gone.”
“You shouldn’t think like that. He’s not with you visibly, but he is always there with you in spirit,” whispered Luna soothingly, looking at George, who remained silent and thoughtful. “Would you like to join me in dancing with the Gernumbli Gardensi?”
George twitched slightly before narrowing his eyes. He gave her a confused look and said, “Dance with the what?’
Luna tilted her head in the direction of the little garden gnomes marching around the garden. George gave her an incredulous look, before his lips curled into a smile. “Are you talking about our annoying garden gnomes?”
Luna shook her head in disbelief. “They are called Gernumbli Gardensi, and they are very sweet creatures. Look, they love dancing with me.”
“They’re not dancing with you, Luna,” George said laughing slightly. “They’re encircling you to gear up for an attack.”
“But they’re such gentle creatures,” Luna said, amazed. “Why would they want to attack me? I was having so much fun dancing with them, George. ”
“You’ve just taken it in a different spirit,” George said with a smile. “They think you’re here to chuck them out, like we all do while de-gnoming the garden.
“Oh…”
Luna was slightly disappointed to hear that. She felt sorry for the little ‘gnomes’ as George liked to call them. They didn’t deserve to be chucked out, but she was pleased to hear George laugh and see a smile on his face.
“You’re not really like I thought you were -you’re not … err,” said George, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Well,” Luna replied seriously. “What did you think I was? Loony?”
“Err-yeah,” George said slightly embarrassed. “Everyone at Hogwarts said - anyway, they were wrong about you.”
“That’s very generous of you,” said Luna with gracious smile.
“No, I mean it,” George said, lowering his gaze. “Thanks a lot, Luna, for … everything.”
His words took Luna by surprise and left her lost for words, and before she could speak, she saw Ginny come out in the garden. She was walking very quickly and with every step she took, she looked more and more surprised.
“George?” Ginny asked with a bemused look on her face. “What are you doing here?”
“We were just dancing with the Gernumbli Gardensi,” George replied with a slight laugh. Ginny looked even more bemused. “I’ll get going then. Take care, Luna.”
George went back inside, leaving a very bewildered Ginny with Luna.
“Did George just laugh?” Ginny asked incredulously, as she tried to figure out what had just occurred. “And he was with you all along? What did you do to him, Luna?”
“Nothing,” Luna replied simply, as she did not want to disclose the subject of their conversation. “We just talked.”
“Really, you just talked?” Ginny said with a smirk. “Well it certainly seems like you two understand each other well. You should talk more often.”
Luna didn’t know what Ginny had meant by that remark, but it was rather difficult to deal with the mysterious looks she kept giving Luna throughout the rest of her time at the Burrow. One thing was certain; Ginny was not going to let this get away so easily.
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