fic for jncar: Repairment (Luna, Mr. Ollivander, G)
Title: Repairment
Author: laurus_nobilis
Recipient: jncar
Rating: G
Characters: Luna, Mr Ollivander
Warnings: Spoilers for Deathly Hallows
Author's Notes: Many thanks to solesakuma for beta reading!
--
It felt strange to return to Diagon Alley after it was all over. It was one of those places that didn't let you pretend nothing had ever happened. Luna wasn't trying to forget there had been a war, but sometimes she just did. It was a bit like what had happened after Mum died. She could never forget she was dead... but she didn't have to constantly remember it, either. This was just the same. When she was really concentrated on something, she only thought of what she was doing. It was getting easier and easier to focus on redecorating her room, or chatting with Daddy, or writing to her friends. She only ever thought of the days under the Carrows' rule or at Malfoy Manor when something external reminded her of them.
In Diagon Alley, all the details that had started to fade jumped into people's sight again, clearer than ever. Only a few of the shops had reopened, and others were just beginning to do it. Many of them wouldn't ever open again. She tried not to look at Fortescue's ice-cream parlour. Instead, she walked straight to her destination, where changes were positive after a very long time of loneliness and silence.
Mr. Ollivander was still working on his shop's return; it wasn't officially open yet. But Luna knew she was welcome there. She had offered to help him clean up and put things in order. Even though she was quite busy, it didn't seem too difficult to find some time to do this. There were probably other people who needed her, too, but they had other friends apart from her. Mr Ollivander had no one else to help him. The others could spare her for one afternoon.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered when she knocked on the door. He looked surprised once he opened it and saw her standing there, as if he hadn't really expected her to show up.
"Oh... Luna! Welcome, girl, do come in."
"Thank you," she said, and handed him a small package. "I brought scones for when we get tired."
"Ah, yes, yes. Thank you," he replied.
He seemed to be a bit confused, but Luna didn't blame him. She could tell she had interrupted him in the middle of his work; his shop was a mess. The shelves were empty and dusty, and there were wand cases all over the place. Mr. Ollivander cleared some space on the counter and placed the package with her scones there.
"Look at this place," he sighed, noticing her gaze. "It will be a nightmare to put it in order. I am so glad you came to help me, child."
"I did say I would come," said Luna. He stared at her for a moment, then smiled a little.
"Yes, you said that indeed."
"Then why are you surprised?"
Mr. Ollivander blinked, shocked, and didn't reply immediately. He took a moment before speaking, and she wondered why it was taking him so long to find an answer. He should know why he was surprised.
"Well," he said at last, "everyone has so many things to do now, and you know so many people... I assumed family and friends would come before a mere acquaintance."
"But you are my friend, too," she said simply. "I don't know if I am your friend. I guess you have to decide that yourself. You are my friend, though. I already knew that back in Malfoy Manor."
Once again, he just stared at her, as if she had said something completely strange. Then he seemed to relax at last.
"Thank you," he told her. He turned around and pretended to become quite interested in the boxes that he'd moved aside from the counter.
Luna sat down on the floor and started dusting off the wand cases that lay around her. She opened them to make sure that none of them was empty, and then ordered them in several piles. It was better than having them sprawled over the floor at random, even though she couldn't give them any proper organization. There were no inscriptions on them, no way of knowing what the wand materials were or when they had been made. Mr. Ollivander must have kept all that knowledge in his mind. It was quite impressive, really.
She hummed quietly to herself as she worked, trying to at least make more space for them to walk and move around the shop. It would take hours, but she didn't mind. It was a very soothing activity. She didn't have to think too much, but she kept her hands busy. It felt a little like when she was painting. Besides, she could see many old and curious wands. Once in a while she picked one up and asked Mr Ollivander about its origins. Although he was a bit confused the first time she showed interest, he seemed to like the attention, and soon he was giving her long and detailed explanations. Sometimes they even forgot to work as they talked.
The afternoon was almost over when they were done. The mess on the floor had disappeared, leaving its place to dozens of neatly piled cases. Luna and Mr. Ollivander sat at the counter, now ready for tea and scones.
"You've been really helpful, Luna," he told her, looking around his shop. "It will be much easier to organize them properly now. They go together by material, you see."
"Isn't there a spell for that?" she asked, putting down her teacup for a moment. "There must be an easy way to get them on the shelves in order."
"There are spells, yes," Mr. Ollivander replied. "But I much prefer doing the work by hand. It's better for the wands if they don't come into contact with too much magic before their first use. It could be downright dangerous, with so many of them around. My grandfather used to tell me about a large chain reaction that forced him to remodel the shop."
"Oh," she said simply. There was silence for a second until she spoke again. "Still, it must be nice to put them in order the slow way, right? Even if it takes long."
"What do you mean?"
"These are things you make. You love them. So it feels nice to handle them with care and take the time to give them the best treatment," she explained. "It's a bit like when I painted the ceiling in my room. It took a lot of work, but when I was done, it felt much better than if I had only used magic to do it."
He looked at the cases that surrounded them, thoughtful, and smiled.
"Yes," he said, "I suppose you have a point."
They finished the scones in silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. On the contrary, it felt just right. There had been a lot of moments of silence, back there in Malfoy Manor, and after a while they hadn't felt the need to fill them with words anymore. Just knowing that they weren't alone was enough to make them feel a little better.
It was the same now. Sometimes they still had to be reminded that they weren't trapped and alone. It was easier for Luna; she had her Daddy and her friends. Mr. Ollivander had his wands, and soon he would have the children that came to buy them. But no one understood them as well as they understood each other.
"I'll come back to help you tomorrow," said Luna. "We need to make sure everything's ready before the students come to get their new wands. It won't be just first years this time. You'll probably have a lot of work."
"I'll be glad to see you again," he replied. And that was enough.
Author: laurus_nobilis
Recipient: jncar
Rating: G
Characters: Luna, Mr Ollivander
Warnings: Spoilers for Deathly Hallows
Author's Notes: Many thanks to solesakuma for beta reading!
--
It felt strange to return to Diagon Alley after it was all over. It was one of those places that didn't let you pretend nothing had ever happened. Luna wasn't trying to forget there had been a war, but sometimes she just did. It was a bit like what had happened after Mum died. She could never forget she was dead... but she didn't have to constantly remember it, either. This was just the same. When she was really concentrated on something, she only thought of what she was doing. It was getting easier and easier to focus on redecorating her room, or chatting with Daddy, or writing to her friends. She only ever thought of the days under the Carrows' rule or at Malfoy Manor when something external reminded her of them.
In Diagon Alley, all the details that had started to fade jumped into people's sight again, clearer than ever. Only a few of the shops had reopened, and others were just beginning to do it. Many of them wouldn't ever open again. She tried not to look at Fortescue's ice-cream parlour. Instead, she walked straight to her destination, where changes were positive after a very long time of loneliness and silence.
Mr. Ollivander was still working on his shop's return; it wasn't officially open yet. But Luna knew she was welcome there. She had offered to help him clean up and put things in order. Even though she was quite busy, it didn't seem too difficult to find some time to do this. There were probably other people who needed her, too, but they had other friends apart from her. Mr Ollivander had no one else to help him. The others could spare her for one afternoon.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered when she knocked on the door. He looked surprised once he opened it and saw her standing there, as if he hadn't really expected her to show up.
"Oh... Luna! Welcome, girl, do come in."
"Thank you," she said, and handed him a small package. "I brought scones for when we get tired."
"Ah, yes, yes. Thank you," he replied.
He seemed to be a bit confused, but Luna didn't blame him. She could tell she had interrupted him in the middle of his work; his shop was a mess. The shelves were empty and dusty, and there were wand cases all over the place. Mr. Ollivander cleared some space on the counter and placed the package with her scones there.
"Look at this place," he sighed, noticing her gaze. "It will be a nightmare to put it in order. I am so glad you came to help me, child."
"I did say I would come," said Luna. He stared at her for a moment, then smiled a little.
"Yes, you said that indeed."
"Then why are you surprised?"
Mr. Ollivander blinked, shocked, and didn't reply immediately. He took a moment before speaking, and she wondered why it was taking him so long to find an answer. He should know why he was surprised.
"Well," he said at last, "everyone has so many things to do now, and you know so many people... I assumed family and friends would come before a mere acquaintance."
"But you are my friend, too," she said simply. "I don't know if I am your friend. I guess you have to decide that yourself. You are my friend, though. I already knew that back in Malfoy Manor."
Once again, he just stared at her, as if she had said something completely strange. Then he seemed to relax at last.
"Thank you," he told her. He turned around and pretended to become quite interested in the boxes that he'd moved aside from the counter.
Luna sat down on the floor and started dusting off the wand cases that lay around her. She opened them to make sure that none of them was empty, and then ordered them in several piles. It was better than having them sprawled over the floor at random, even though she couldn't give them any proper organization. There were no inscriptions on them, no way of knowing what the wand materials were or when they had been made. Mr. Ollivander must have kept all that knowledge in his mind. It was quite impressive, really.
She hummed quietly to herself as she worked, trying to at least make more space for them to walk and move around the shop. It would take hours, but she didn't mind. It was a very soothing activity. She didn't have to think too much, but she kept her hands busy. It felt a little like when she was painting. Besides, she could see many old and curious wands. Once in a while she picked one up and asked Mr Ollivander about its origins. Although he was a bit confused the first time she showed interest, he seemed to like the attention, and soon he was giving her long and detailed explanations. Sometimes they even forgot to work as they talked.
The afternoon was almost over when they were done. The mess on the floor had disappeared, leaving its place to dozens of neatly piled cases. Luna and Mr. Ollivander sat at the counter, now ready for tea and scones.
"You've been really helpful, Luna," he told her, looking around his shop. "It will be much easier to organize them properly now. They go together by material, you see."
"Isn't there a spell for that?" she asked, putting down her teacup for a moment. "There must be an easy way to get them on the shelves in order."
"There are spells, yes," Mr. Ollivander replied. "But I much prefer doing the work by hand. It's better for the wands if they don't come into contact with too much magic before their first use. It could be downright dangerous, with so many of them around. My grandfather used to tell me about a large chain reaction that forced him to remodel the shop."
"Oh," she said simply. There was silence for a second until she spoke again. "Still, it must be nice to put them in order the slow way, right? Even if it takes long."
"What do you mean?"
"These are things you make. You love them. So it feels nice to handle them with care and take the time to give them the best treatment," she explained. "It's a bit like when I painted the ceiling in my room. It took a lot of work, but when I was done, it felt much better than if I had only used magic to do it."
He looked at the cases that surrounded them, thoughtful, and smiled.
"Yes," he said, "I suppose you have a point."
They finished the scones in silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. On the contrary, it felt just right. There had been a lot of moments of silence, back there in Malfoy Manor, and after a while they hadn't felt the need to fill them with words anymore. Just knowing that they weren't alone was enough to make them feel a little better.
It was the same now. Sometimes they still had to be reminded that they weren't trapped and alone. It was easier for Luna; she had her Daddy and her friends. Mr. Ollivander had his wands, and soon he would have the children that came to buy them. But no one understood them as well as they understood each other.
"I'll come back to help you tomorrow," said Luna. "We need to make sure everything's ready before the students come to get their new wands. It won't be just first years this time. You'll probably have a lot of work."
"I'll be glad to see you again," he replied. And that was enough.