pretend, pretend, that serenity we can mend
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Neville Longbottom & Luna Lovegood
Prompts: 29. the calm before the storm
Word Count: 626
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Notes: Written for 500themes. Prompt table is here.
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Everything is quiet, except for the soft murmur of the forest around them, of the buzzing of the tiny lives that they can’t see, especially not in the current darkness. They’re sitting side by side, not touching, yet close enough to be, and not talking, yet the silence seems to suffocate them. But they both know it’s not the silence that’s suffocating; rather, it’s the reason behind her lack of nonsensical words, and his charmed laughter.
Finally, Neville decides that that’s enough nonsense from the both of them, and clears his throat. The noise sticks out sorely amongst the complimentary noises of the forests, and it’s a disturbance, just as they are to the scenery.
“What do you think it’ll be like?”
Luna stays silent for a while, perhaps pondering his dreadful question, or perhaps just studying the plethora of stars that decorate the night sky. But after a few moments she answers, in a quiet and singsong voice so unlike his own. Her voice seems to blend in the with calm forests, and it even calms him down, even as her words drive knives into his being.
“Death. Anguish. More death,” she says in her bell-like tone, “Maybe all that death will bring us peace. Maybe, it’ll only bring the beginning of disaster.”
It’s the truth, of course, and Neville never expected Luna to say anything but the truth, if he’d been expecting anything at all. But nonetheless his heart clenches at her words, as if they’ve confirmed a suspected disaster in his mind and heart, when in actuality they’re nothing but speculation, not unlike his own.
“Will we live, do you think?”
Again she’s silent, as if deep in thought, or just deeply connected with the life around her. And again she drives needles through his soul as she replies truthfully.
“Probably not. We’ll be at the front lines of the battle, after all.”
It’s the truth, the hard, hard truth. The truth behind death and the truth behind fate. Neville wants nothing less than to face tomorrow, when he knows that serenity will be a thing of the past. Tomorrow holds for him nothing but death and Death Eaters who will bring down upon them all the death in the world. Is it enough to know that, should they perish, it was in the Fight for Light, the Fight for All That Is Right?
Heavy hands squeeze Neville’s heart tightly as he thinks of these things and their impending doom, and out of this fit, he reaches his right hand out and grabs for her left. It takes less than a second, because she neither moves nor reacts, but when his fingers close around hers, he tightens his grip, holding her slender fingers tightly within his large hand. He squeezes them so hard he knows she’s probably lost all feeling in them, but he doesn’t have it in him to let go.
Neville closes his eyes, breathes in deeply and pitches backwards onto the large rock they’re perched on, until he’s all but lying on it. Still, he clutches onto her hand, and using his other hand, he tugs the wool blanket over his body.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Luna,” he whispers, his voice cracking and hoarse. Under the moonlight, she thinks she can see the trail left behind by a silvery tear on his innocent face, so she too closes her eyes. Mimicking him, she also falls backwards onto the rock, and tugs their shared blanket over her body once she’s lying down.
She whispers a soft, anguished good night that’s lost to the night air, and before she surrenders herself to tomorrow and the chaos it will bring, she tightens her grip on Neville’s hand.
Characters: Neville Longbottom & Luna Lovegood
Prompts: 29. the calm before the storm
Word Count: 626
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Notes: Written for 500themes. Prompt table is here.
-
Everything is quiet, except for the soft murmur of the forest around them, of the buzzing of the tiny lives that they can’t see, especially not in the current darkness. They’re sitting side by side, not touching, yet close enough to be, and not talking, yet the silence seems to suffocate them. But they both know it’s not the silence that’s suffocating; rather, it’s the reason behind her lack of nonsensical words, and his charmed laughter.
Finally, Neville decides that that’s enough nonsense from the both of them, and clears his throat. The noise sticks out sorely amongst the complimentary noises of the forests, and it’s a disturbance, just as they are to the scenery.
“What do you think it’ll be like?”
Luna stays silent for a while, perhaps pondering his dreadful question, or perhaps just studying the plethora of stars that decorate the night sky. But after a few moments she answers, in a quiet and singsong voice so unlike his own. Her voice seems to blend in the with calm forests, and it even calms him down, even as her words drive knives into his being.
“Death. Anguish. More death,” she says in her bell-like tone, “Maybe all that death will bring us peace. Maybe, it’ll only bring the beginning of disaster.”
It’s the truth, of course, and Neville never expected Luna to say anything but the truth, if he’d been expecting anything at all. But nonetheless his heart clenches at her words, as if they’ve confirmed a suspected disaster in his mind and heart, when in actuality they’re nothing but speculation, not unlike his own.
“Will we live, do you think?”
Again she’s silent, as if deep in thought, or just deeply connected with the life around her. And again she drives needles through his soul as she replies truthfully.
“Probably not. We’ll be at the front lines of the battle, after all.”
It’s the truth, the hard, hard truth. The truth behind death and the truth behind fate. Neville wants nothing less than to face tomorrow, when he knows that serenity will be a thing of the past. Tomorrow holds for him nothing but death and Death Eaters who will bring down upon them all the death in the world. Is it enough to know that, should they perish, it was in the Fight for Light, the Fight for All That Is Right?
Heavy hands squeeze Neville’s heart tightly as he thinks of these things and their impending doom, and out of this fit, he reaches his right hand out and grabs for her left. It takes less than a second, because she neither moves nor reacts, but when his fingers close around hers, he tightens his grip, holding her slender fingers tightly within his large hand. He squeezes them so hard he knows she’s probably lost all feeling in them, but he doesn’t have it in him to let go.
Neville closes his eyes, breathes in deeply and pitches backwards onto the large rock they’re perched on, until he’s all but lying on it. Still, he clutches onto her hand, and using his other hand, he tugs the wool blanket over his body.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Luna,” he whispers, his voice cracking and hoarse. Under the moonlight, she thinks she can see the trail left behind by a silvery tear on his innocent face, so she too closes her eyes. Mimicking him, she also falls backwards onto the rock, and tugs their shared blanket over her body once she’s lying down.
She whispers a soft, anguished good night that’s lost to the night air, and before she surrenders herself to tomorrow and the chaos it will bring, she tightens her grip on Neville’s hand.