RP: A lot to carry
Date: May 22, 1999
Characters: Luna Lovegood
Location: Hogwarts library
Status: Private
Summary: Some things change... and some things only take a while to go back to normal.
Completion: Complete
Luna sighed and closed her text book, meeting the eyes of the girls across the library from her. She knew these girls. They were the ones that, to Luna's knowledge, had started the trend of calling her 'Loony.' They were in Slytherin, if Luna recalled correctly, though the blond she was smiling at placidly might have been a Hufflepuff.
She watched them calmly as they spoke behind their hands, glancing in her direction. She had wondered when they might start trying to antagonize her again- it had been quite a while without her belongings going missing when she dozed off in the library or her books being knocked out of her hands in the hallway. But perhaps she was jumping to conclusions. They appeared to be packing up. Perhaps they would leave her alone, as they had for the majority of the year.
Or perhaps they were growing restless with all the NEWT revisions, Luna thought with pursed lips, as the three girls headed towards her.
"Hello," she said, smiling serenely when they stopped by her corner table. The first girl, who Luna vaguely remembered used to follow Pansy Parkinson whenever possible, smiled sweetly back. "How are you three?"
"Are you with Gregory Goyle?" she asked, and Luna kept her serene smile in place, looking up and folding her hands, even as she inwardly processed the haughty sneer in the girls' voice.
"I was with him this weekend, if that's what you're asking," she said, and it set the other two girls to giggles. She wondered for a moment why it was funny. They had had a lovely time.
"See, I told you she wasn't one of those do-gooder Gryffindors," the blond said. Luna frowned a little.
"I'm in Ravenclaw," she clarified. More giggles. Luna thought she preferred the days when they would knock her books to the ground, because making conversation with them was proving to be near impossible. She wondered briefly if she sounded like that when she laughed, but immediately dismissed it. Her smile fell a bit. What did they want?
"Did he tell you he was reformed or some bollocks like that?" The first girl- Luna really wished she could remember her name- said. Luna raised an eyebrow- something she'd learned from Hermione. She was starting to get angry and she hoped it didn't show. What could these girls possibly know about Greg? "Well, answer me, Lovegood. Did you just not see the kinds of things he did last year?"
"Why are you concerned about this?" Luna said, after taking a deep breath. She hadn't had to control her emotions like this in so long; she felt out of practice. She should have known that she would need her guard firmly in place, until she left Hogwarts - should have known that the reprieve in the hassling wouldn't last the whole year. She surprised herself by thinking one more month, something that hadn't crossed her mind since she was forcibly removed from the Express and she wasn't allowed to go to school. School hadn't been part survival since then, like it was her first few years.
The one that hadn't spoken up yet flipped her hair. Luna couldn't help arching her brow again, and that little gesture made her feel a little more irritated than angry, which was a relief. "Have you ever considered the fact that he only pays you any attention because you're the only girl that is nice to him? Do you really think he'd be thinking about you if a pretty girl looked his way?"
Luna had. She had thought of this, but she had pushed it out of her mind. And she would now, too- because she couldn't afford to think about this in front of these antagonizing girls. Instead, she opened her book again and looked down at the page and began to hum. She hummed a bit louder when one of the girls said something, and louder still when one of them snapped her fingers in her face. They were quiet for a moment so she looked up and offered them a serene smile and wave.
A few moments later, she let out a breath and stopped humming when she heard their heels clacking away from her. Mutterings of "crazy" and "waste of space" floated back towards her before she hummed a few more bars.
Characters: Luna Lovegood
Location: Hogwarts library
Status: Private
Summary: Some things change... and some things only take a while to go back to normal.
Completion: Complete
Luna sighed and closed her text book, meeting the eyes of the girls across the library from her. She knew these girls. They were the ones that, to Luna's knowledge, had started the trend of calling her 'Loony.' They were in Slytherin, if Luna recalled correctly, though the blond she was smiling at placidly might have been a Hufflepuff.
She watched them calmly as they spoke behind their hands, glancing in her direction. She had wondered when they might start trying to antagonize her again- it had been quite a while without her belongings going missing when she dozed off in the library or her books being knocked out of her hands in the hallway. But perhaps she was jumping to conclusions. They appeared to be packing up. Perhaps they would leave her alone, as they had for the majority of the year.
Or perhaps they were growing restless with all the NEWT revisions, Luna thought with pursed lips, as the three girls headed towards her.
"Hello," she said, smiling serenely when they stopped by her corner table. The first girl, who Luna vaguely remembered used to follow Pansy Parkinson whenever possible, smiled sweetly back. "How are you three?"
"Are you with Gregory Goyle?" she asked, and Luna kept her serene smile in place, looking up and folding her hands, even as she inwardly processed the haughty sneer in the girls' voice.
"I was with him this weekend, if that's what you're asking," she said, and it set the other two girls to giggles. She wondered for a moment why it was funny. They had had a lovely time.
"See, I told you she wasn't one of those do-gooder Gryffindors," the blond said. Luna frowned a little.
"I'm in Ravenclaw," she clarified. More giggles. Luna thought she preferred the days when they would knock her books to the ground, because making conversation with them was proving to be near impossible. She wondered briefly if she sounded like that when she laughed, but immediately dismissed it. Her smile fell a bit. What did they want?
"Did he tell you he was reformed or some bollocks like that?" The first girl- Luna really wished she could remember her name- said. Luna raised an eyebrow- something she'd learned from Hermione. She was starting to get angry and she hoped it didn't show. What could these girls possibly know about Greg? "Well, answer me, Lovegood. Did you just not see the kinds of things he did last year?"
"Why are you concerned about this?" Luna said, after taking a deep breath. She hadn't had to control her emotions like this in so long; she felt out of practice. She should have known that she would need her guard firmly in place, until she left Hogwarts - should have known that the reprieve in the hassling wouldn't last the whole year. She surprised herself by thinking one more month, something that hadn't crossed her mind since she was forcibly removed from the Express and she wasn't allowed to go to school. School hadn't been part survival since then, like it was her first few years.
The one that hadn't spoken up yet flipped her hair. Luna couldn't help arching her brow again, and that little gesture made her feel a little more irritated than angry, which was a relief. "Have you ever considered the fact that he only pays you any attention because you're the only girl that is nice to him? Do you really think he'd be thinking about you if a pretty girl looked his way?"
Luna had. She had thought of this, but she had pushed it out of her mind. And she would now, too- because she couldn't afford to think about this in front of these antagonizing girls. Instead, she opened her book again and looked down at the page and began to hum. She hummed a bit louder when one of the girls said something, and louder still when one of them snapped her fingers in her face. They were quiet for a moment so she looked up and offered them a serene smile and wave.
A few moments later, she let out a breath and stopped humming when she heard their heels clacking away from her. Mutterings of "crazy" and "waste of space" floated back towards her before she hummed a few more bars.