In Your Darkest Hour - Harry/Luna - 1/4
Title: In Your Darkest Hour (1/4)
Author: Tonya (_fullofgrace)
Characters: Harry/Luna
Prompt: #30 - Death
Word Count: 1979
Rating: PG/PG-13
Summary: Death is common during the second war, but sometimes it hits closer to home than imagined.
---------
Harry had almost fallen into a good sleep when the knocking began. He blindly grabbed his glasses off the nightstand before tossing back his covers. He glanced at the alarm clock with a frown as a bright red 2:30 glared at him.
No good news every came at this hour in the morning, especially not with the second war going on around them. Harry, himself, had delivered news at such awful hours, waking family members from their slumber to inform them of a loved one lost on a mission.
His hand on the doorknob, he hesitated, fearing who would be standing on the other side with sad eyes and heavy words. He finally pulled the door open to see Remus Lupin stood on his doorstep, his dark robes matching the expression on his face. Harry swallowed hard, silently going through the list of survivors in his head and wondering which would be the one he’d drink about tonight.
“Lupin,” he said simply, moving aside so that the older man could enter.
“I hate to disturb you at these hours, Harry,” Remus sighed, turning to Harry as soon as the door closed behind them.
Harry nodded, silent.
“Harry…” He paused, closing his eyes momentarily. He opened them before continuing. “The Lovegood home was attacked.”
Harry’s insides twisted painfully.
The Lovegood home was attacked.
Harry had been corresponding with Luna Lovegood by owl since the beginning of the second war, while she finished off her last two years at Hogwarts and he continued on his search for horcruxes. They had been simple messages from the girl at first, a general “how are you” essence to them which amazed him. They were in the middle of a war, and she was still able to write as if they were catching up with each other over summer camp.
Eventually the letters became longer on both sides. She would keep him adrift of happenings inside Hogwarts while he told her of things happening in his search. And sometimes, neither talked about anything concerning the war, and these were the letters that Harry welcomed the most. All it would take to bring a bit of brightness to one of his bad days was simply reading about one of her fantastical creatures.
The last time Harry had actually laid eyes on Luna had been at a dinner at the Burrow. Even during wartime, Mrs. Weasley made sure that they all still gathered every few weeks for a meal. The dinners at the Burrow were the only time he could catch up with her in person. During the last gathering, Luna had given him a hug and told him of her latest trip with her father, where she had started to try her hand at photography, before Ginny had drug her away to converse with Hermione and Fleur.
That had been a month ago.
The Lovegood home was attacked.
“Harry, did you hear me?”
Harry blinked, Remus’ voice breaking through to him. “No,” he answered honestly.
“Xenophilius Lovegood was found dead.”
Harry closed his eyes tightly, fearing the worst. “And Luna?”
When Remus did not answer instantly, Harry opened his eyes. If it had been possible for Remus’ previous sullen expression to worsen, it did so in that moment.
Remus sighed as Harry caught his gaze. “She had been away for the evening. She… she found him, Harry.”
Harry lowered his head with a deep exhale. It was bad enough that Mr. Lovegood had been murdered, but it made it worse that Luna had to be the one to find his body. She had seen her mother’s death with her own eyes at the age of nine, and now ten years later, she had seen the aftermath of her father’s demise.
“Where is she?” he asked quietly, eyes still focused on the carpet under his bare feet.
“She’s safe,” Remus replied, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder. Harry slowly looked up as he continued. “She’s at Grimmauld right now. Tonks is there with her.”
Harry nodded. “I should probably go put some clothes on,” he replied softly. He moved to walk back towards his bedroom, but Remus’ grip on his shoulder tightened, holding him to his spot.
“She is safe, Harry,” he said, relaxing his grip. “She should rest tonight.”
Harry nodded, though silently he wondered just how much rest Luna would be getting tonight.
“You can see her in the morning, but right now? You should get your rest as well.” He patted Harry’s shoulder gently as he started towards the door. “There will be a meeting at noon tomorrow.”
Harry stared down at the floor. “Alright.”
“Get some sleep, Harry,” Remus ordered softly before stepping out the front door.
Harry listened to the door shut before finally lifting his head. Sleep was the last thing on his mind at the moment, and though he trusted Remus’ word on Luna’s safety, he still wanted to see her with his own eyes.
His decision made, Harry walked back down the hallway to his bedroom to change back into his clothes.
---------
Harry slowly pushed open the front door to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the heavy door squeaking on its old hinges. The house was eerily silent, as it usually was when no meetings were going on inside the walls. The house was very rarely used as basic housing, with the exception of late night missions that ended there.
He quietly made his way down the hallway and towards the staircase. His foot barely made contact with the first step before he felt something hard ram into his back.
“Hold it right there.”
Harry recognized the voice instantly. “Tonks,” he said, turning to glance over his shoulder. “It’s me.”
“Oh! Wotcher, Harry,” she greeted, dropping her wand as he turned to face her. She smiled warmly at him, using her wand to pin up her bright blue hair. “What are you doing here?” She answered her own question before he could even open his mouth. “The one upstairs,” she said with a knowing nod.
Harry frowned. “How is she, Tonks?”
Tonks shrugged. “She’s a hard one to read, that Luna. Hasn’t really said much outside of ‘thank you’ and ‘goodnight’ since she got here.”
Harry’s frown only deepened, his gaze traveling up the dark staircase.
“She might be asleep, I don’t know,” Tonks replied to his silence. She added gently, “Then again, if she’s not? She might enjoy the familiar company.”
“I should have known this would happen,” he sighed, looking back towards Tonks.
“Harry,” Tonks said, placing her hand on his shoulder just like Remus had done earlier in the night. “None of us could have expected this.”
He grunted in response.
“Look, Harry, don’t go beating yourself up over this. You’ve done a lot to protect people these past years.”
“Yeah, tell that to Luna.” He ran a hand through his hair. “All she had was her dad.”
Tonks studied him with a tilt of her head, a knowing look on her face. “I don’t think that’s the case, Harry.” She let go of his shoulder. “Go see her if that’ll help you sleep better tonight. If you need me, I’ll be down here.”
Harry nodded. “Thanks for watching after her, Tonks.”
Tonks simply smiled before turning down the hallway towards the kitchen, leaving him to return to the reason he had come here tonight.
----------
Harry stood outside the door to the guest bedroom, hesitating. He had come all this way to make sure she was okay, but now, he actually feared that she would be resting. He frowned at the closed door before taking a seat in the hallway, his back resting against the solid wood. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, he decided he would wait a moment for any sort of sign of movement coming from the room before knocking.
However, the next time Harry opened his eyes, he was in the middle of falling.
Luna pulled the bedroom door open with a surprised gasp as Harry fell backwards. He blinked in shock as Luna stared down at him with wide eyes. She stood over him, looking as stunned as he felt from being suddenly jolted awake. Still fully dressed in a blouse and jeans, her hair pulled back into a messy blonde ponytail, it didn’t appear that she had been resting like everyone had thought.
“Harry! Are you okay?”
He rubbed the back of his head with a slight grimace. “Um, hi, Luna,” he said, finally sitting up.
She continued to watch him with a hint of concern on her face. “Harry, it’s late. What are you doing here?”
Luna offered down her hand, and he took it with a small smile, allowing her to help him to his feet. His hand continued to linger in hers as he spoke. “Lupin… he came by and told me.”
“Oh.” Luna’s gaze slowly dropped from his, and Harry felt a tremble go through her hand.
He studied her for a moment, not sure what to say. “How… how are you?”
She finally looked up to meet his gaze again, and Harry noted how tired she looked. Her usually bright silver eyes held less of their typical Luna gleam, and the beginnings of dark circles could be seen forming under her eyes. Everything about her seemed to be muted. Her usually expressive eyes. The casual airiness of her voice. Just her general aura. Everything that he always associated with Luna.
She hitched her shoulders in a small shrug. “I’m here,” she replied simply.
Harry nodded, not wanting to push her to talk about something she didn’t want to. He knew from experience how frustrating it could be when people kept asking about your well being, your mental state, when all you wanted to do was forget for a moment. When all you wanted was to keep all those thoughts to yourself until you were ready to share them.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked, reluctantly releasing her hand.
Luna shook her head. “No, I was about to go look for something to eat actually.” Her lips curled into a faint frown. “It’s very quiet here. Empty, really.”
“No one usually stays here,” he explained. He smiled weakly as he continued. “Quite honestly, there’s probably nothing edible downstairs outside of a questionable box of biscuits.”
Luna returned the smile as best as she could, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
They stood in silence for a moment before Harry made a decision that had not crossed his mind until he had set eyes on the girl. “Actually, Luna, you can stay with me if you want. If anywhere is safe, it’s my place….”
Luna stared at him for a moment, and Harry began to wonder if she had even heard his question. But then she gave a small shake of her head. “No, it’s quite alright, Harry. I really don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding. I’d feel better if you were there.”
Luna waited a moment to decide before finally nodding and smiling sadly at him. “Thank you, Harry.”
He waved it off with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s no problem. I’ll let you get your things, and I’ll let Tonks know you’re leaving with me.”
Luna nodded. “I’ll meet you downstairs, then?”
Harry returned the nod before giving Luna another smile and stepping out of the room, closing the door securely.
Even with Tonks there, Grimmauld was not a place for someone to stay indefinitely. It was safe by all definitions of the word, but he would honestly feel better if Luna were somewhere closer. He felt the need to protect her now more than ever since he had failed at doing so for her father. All she had left now were her friends, and he would be damned before he failed her again.
Author: Tonya (_fullofgrace)
Characters: Harry/Luna
Prompt: #30 - Death
Word Count: 1979
Rating: PG/PG-13
Summary: Death is common during the second war, but sometimes it hits closer to home than imagined.
---------
Harry had almost fallen into a good sleep when the knocking began. He blindly grabbed his glasses off the nightstand before tossing back his covers. He glanced at the alarm clock with a frown as a bright red 2:30 glared at him.
No good news every came at this hour in the morning, especially not with the second war going on around them. Harry, himself, had delivered news at such awful hours, waking family members from their slumber to inform them of a loved one lost on a mission.
His hand on the doorknob, he hesitated, fearing who would be standing on the other side with sad eyes and heavy words. He finally pulled the door open to see Remus Lupin stood on his doorstep, his dark robes matching the expression on his face. Harry swallowed hard, silently going through the list of survivors in his head and wondering which would be the one he’d drink about tonight.
“Lupin,” he said simply, moving aside so that the older man could enter.
“I hate to disturb you at these hours, Harry,” Remus sighed, turning to Harry as soon as the door closed behind them.
Harry nodded, silent.
“Harry…” He paused, closing his eyes momentarily. He opened them before continuing. “The Lovegood home was attacked.”
Harry’s insides twisted painfully.
The Lovegood home was attacked.
Harry had been corresponding with Luna Lovegood by owl since the beginning of the second war, while she finished off her last two years at Hogwarts and he continued on his search for horcruxes. They had been simple messages from the girl at first, a general “how are you” essence to them which amazed him. They were in the middle of a war, and she was still able to write as if they were catching up with each other over summer camp.
Eventually the letters became longer on both sides. She would keep him adrift of happenings inside Hogwarts while he told her of things happening in his search. And sometimes, neither talked about anything concerning the war, and these were the letters that Harry welcomed the most. All it would take to bring a bit of brightness to one of his bad days was simply reading about one of her fantastical creatures.
The last time Harry had actually laid eyes on Luna had been at a dinner at the Burrow. Even during wartime, Mrs. Weasley made sure that they all still gathered every few weeks for a meal. The dinners at the Burrow were the only time he could catch up with her in person. During the last gathering, Luna had given him a hug and told him of her latest trip with her father, where she had started to try her hand at photography, before Ginny had drug her away to converse with Hermione and Fleur.
That had been a month ago.
The Lovegood home was attacked.
“Harry, did you hear me?”
Harry blinked, Remus’ voice breaking through to him. “No,” he answered honestly.
“Xenophilius Lovegood was found dead.”
Harry closed his eyes tightly, fearing the worst. “And Luna?”
When Remus did not answer instantly, Harry opened his eyes. If it had been possible for Remus’ previous sullen expression to worsen, it did so in that moment.
Remus sighed as Harry caught his gaze. “She had been away for the evening. She… she found him, Harry.”
Harry lowered his head with a deep exhale. It was bad enough that Mr. Lovegood had been murdered, but it made it worse that Luna had to be the one to find his body. She had seen her mother’s death with her own eyes at the age of nine, and now ten years later, she had seen the aftermath of her father’s demise.
“Where is she?” he asked quietly, eyes still focused on the carpet under his bare feet.
“She’s safe,” Remus replied, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder. Harry slowly looked up as he continued. “She’s at Grimmauld right now. Tonks is there with her.”
Harry nodded. “I should probably go put some clothes on,” he replied softly. He moved to walk back towards his bedroom, but Remus’ grip on his shoulder tightened, holding him to his spot.
“She is safe, Harry,” he said, relaxing his grip. “She should rest tonight.”
Harry nodded, though silently he wondered just how much rest Luna would be getting tonight.
“You can see her in the morning, but right now? You should get your rest as well.” He patted Harry’s shoulder gently as he started towards the door. “There will be a meeting at noon tomorrow.”
Harry stared down at the floor. “Alright.”
“Get some sleep, Harry,” Remus ordered softly before stepping out the front door.
Harry listened to the door shut before finally lifting his head. Sleep was the last thing on his mind at the moment, and though he trusted Remus’ word on Luna’s safety, he still wanted to see her with his own eyes.
His decision made, Harry walked back down the hallway to his bedroom to change back into his clothes.
---------
Harry slowly pushed open the front door to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the heavy door squeaking on its old hinges. The house was eerily silent, as it usually was when no meetings were going on inside the walls. The house was very rarely used as basic housing, with the exception of late night missions that ended there.
He quietly made his way down the hallway and towards the staircase. His foot barely made contact with the first step before he felt something hard ram into his back.
“Hold it right there.”
Harry recognized the voice instantly. “Tonks,” he said, turning to glance over his shoulder. “It’s me.”
“Oh! Wotcher, Harry,” she greeted, dropping her wand as he turned to face her. She smiled warmly at him, using her wand to pin up her bright blue hair. “What are you doing here?” She answered her own question before he could even open his mouth. “The one upstairs,” she said with a knowing nod.
Harry frowned. “How is she, Tonks?”
Tonks shrugged. “She’s a hard one to read, that Luna. Hasn’t really said much outside of ‘thank you’ and ‘goodnight’ since she got here.”
Harry’s frown only deepened, his gaze traveling up the dark staircase.
“She might be asleep, I don’t know,” Tonks replied to his silence. She added gently, “Then again, if she’s not? She might enjoy the familiar company.”
“I should have known this would happen,” he sighed, looking back towards Tonks.
“Harry,” Tonks said, placing her hand on his shoulder just like Remus had done earlier in the night. “None of us could have expected this.”
He grunted in response.
“Look, Harry, don’t go beating yourself up over this. You’ve done a lot to protect people these past years.”
“Yeah, tell that to Luna.” He ran a hand through his hair. “All she had was her dad.”
Tonks studied him with a tilt of her head, a knowing look on her face. “I don’t think that’s the case, Harry.” She let go of his shoulder. “Go see her if that’ll help you sleep better tonight. If you need me, I’ll be down here.”
Harry nodded. “Thanks for watching after her, Tonks.”
Tonks simply smiled before turning down the hallway towards the kitchen, leaving him to return to the reason he had come here tonight.
----------
Harry stood outside the door to the guest bedroom, hesitating. He had come all this way to make sure she was okay, but now, he actually feared that she would be resting. He frowned at the closed door before taking a seat in the hallway, his back resting against the solid wood. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, he decided he would wait a moment for any sort of sign of movement coming from the room before knocking.
However, the next time Harry opened his eyes, he was in the middle of falling.
Luna pulled the bedroom door open with a surprised gasp as Harry fell backwards. He blinked in shock as Luna stared down at him with wide eyes. She stood over him, looking as stunned as he felt from being suddenly jolted awake. Still fully dressed in a blouse and jeans, her hair pulled back into a messy blonde ponytail, it didn’t appear that she had been resting like everyone had thought.
“Harry! Are you okay?”
He rubbed the back of his head with a slight grimace. “Um, hi, Luna,” he said, finally sitting up.
She continued to watch him with a hint of concern on her face. “Harry, it’s late. What are you doing here?”
Luna offered down her hand, and he took it with a small smile, allowing her to help him to his feet. His hand continued to linger in hers as he spoke. “Lupin… he came by and told me.”
“Oh.” Luna’s gaze slowly dropped from his, and Harry felt a tremble go through her hand.
He studied her for a moment, not sure what to say. “How… how are you?”
She finally looked up to meet his gaze again, and Harry noted how tired she looked. Her usually bright silver eyes held less of their typical Luna gleam, and the beginnings of dark circles could be seen forming under her eyes. Everything about her seemed to be muted. Her usually expressive eyes. The casual airiness of her voice. Just her general aura. Everything that he always associated with Luna.
She hitched her shoulders in a small shrug. “I’m here,” she replied simply.
Harry nodded, not wanting to push her to talk about something she didn’t want to. He knew from experience how frustrating it could be when people kept asking about your well being, your mental state, when all you wanted to do was forget for a moment. When all you wanted was to keep all those thoughts to yourself until you were ready to share them.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked, reluctantly releasing her hand.
Luna shook her head. “No, I was about to go look for something to eat actually.” Her lips curled into a faint frown. “It’s very quiet here. Empty, really.”
“No one usually stays here,” he explained. He smiled weakly as he continued. “Quite honestly, there’s probably nothing edible downstairs outside of a questionable box of biscuits.”
Luna returned the smile as best as she could, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
They stood in silence for a moment before Harry made a decision that had not crossed his mind until he had set eyes on the girl. “Actually, Luna, you can stay with me if you want. If anywhere is safe, it’s my place….”
Luna stared at him for a moment, and Harry began to wonder if she had even heard his question. But then she gave a small shake of her head. “No, it’s quite alright, Harry. I really don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding. I’d feel better if you were there.”
Luna waited a moment to decide before finally nodding and smiling sadly at him. “Thank you, Harry.”
He waved it off with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s no problem. I’ll let you get your things, and I’ll let Tonks know you’re leaving with me.”
Luna nodded. “I’ll meet you downstairs, then?”
Harry returned the nod before giving Luna another smile and stepping out of the room, closing the door securely.
Even with Tonks there, Grimmauld was not a place for someone to stay indefinitely. It was safe by all definitions of the word, but he would honestly feel better if Luna were somewhere closer. He felt the need to protect her now more than ever since he had failed at doing so for her father. All she had left now were her friends, and he would be damned before he failed her again.