Starlight In The Stands; Gift for lunalovepotter!
Recipient: lunalovepotter
Title: Starlight in the Stands
Author: teganscrush
Beta: ripping_rich
Pairing/s: Ginny/Luna, mentions of Harry/Ginny
Rating: Light R
Warning(s) : None
Length: 2,138 words
Summary: Sometimes a thought-of foe turns out to be much, much more.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction set in the Harry Potter universe - all recognizable characters and settings are the property of J. K. Rowling and her associates. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is made from this work. Please observe your local laws with regards to the age-limit and content of this work.
Author's Notes: This version of Luna may seem a bit OOC to some, but I believe that she was a touch more devious than ever given credit for. lunalovepotter, I hope you enjoy!
Starlight In The Stands
His afternoon had not gone quite the way Harry had expected.
He had barely passed an Arithmancy quiz, Snape had scorned his attempt at a Befuddlement Potion and suggested - rather acidly - that he extract a drop of blood from his boon companion, Weasley, and that should do the trick. And then at practice, his attempt at a rolling drop had not gone well, resulting in a nasty tumble and his trousers splitting up the ass.
No, it had not been a good day, but it was over now or at least the worst of it - he hoped. Now he could shower, eat and hopefully get in some cuddle time with Ginny.
He still couldn’t believe they were together, and he had an actual girlfriend, with whom he could count on a warm snuggle and a long snog with. It was a soothing thought.
A thought that was abruptly shattered when said girlfriend glared at him across the dinner table, her eyes narrowing. “What the hell were you thinking, Harry? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Harry looked at her, then glanced from side to side; Ron’s expression plainly said “No idea, mate,” while Hermione’s just as plainly said “Oh Harry, how could you?”
Great; maybe Snape was on to something with that whole Befuddlement thing.
“Ginny, what the hell are you talking about? What did I do?”
She huffed and folded her arms. “You know exactly what you did, Harry James. Don’t sit there and give me that innocent look. I heard from Parvati, who heard from Vicky Frobisher, who heard from Lavender that you were flirting with Luna in Ancient Runes! Don’t deny it!”
Christ, Harry hated the girl’s network at Hogwarts - it never stopped, was always annoying, and usually wrong. Or at least heavily skewed.
“Ginny, I wasn’t flirting with Luna,” he said, making sure he spoke slowly and clearly, and kept his lips in full view at all times. “We were talking about the essay we have due Thursday and that was all.”
Ginny was unconvinced. “She was giving you that look and you were sitting there with this sappy smile on your face, like she was the most fascinating person on the face of the earth. You were seen, Harry, by a lot of people. You two were about a minute away from jumping each other!”
Her cheeks were red, and her voice was getting louder; Harry winced. Ginny showed promise of being as loud as Molly, and if that happened …
“Gin, for God’s sakes, I was not about to jump her, we weren’t flirting and you’re being totally ridiculous. And insulting,” he added a moment later. “I wouldn’t ever cheat on you, and if you think I would, then you’re the one with the problem, not me.”
He wasn’t hungry anymore. He had not given her a single reason to doubt him in the three months they’d been together and for her to just jump all over him for something she herself hadn’t even seen? It was insulting and he pushed his plate away and stood up.
She looked up at him, and her eyes were shiny. “Harry, I’m …”
He just shook his head and left the Great Hall, heading for the Pitch and the Slytherin stands; it was the last place anyone ever thought to look for him.
Ginny stared after him, blinking hard, and everyone else at the Gryffindor table suddenly became very interested in their Shepherd’s Pie.
~ 0 ~
When she couldn’t find Harry, Ginny turned to the next logical person in this situation - a friend let her into Ravenclaw Tower, and she stormed up the stairs to the fifth year girl’s dorm.
Luna was sitting cross-legged on her bed, which she had fitted out as some sort of butterfly-laden spring meadow, and she looked up from her ‘memory book’ when Ginny stopped at the foot of her bed, flushed and angry.
“Hello Ginny,” said Luna sweetly. “Your cheeks look very pretty when they’re pink like that.”
Ugh, thought Ginny. Why did she have to be so damned nice?
“Don’t try and butter me up, Lovegood - what were you doing, flirting with my Harry in class? Don’t you know he’s taken?”
It felt odd to be angry at Luna; she inspired a variety of emotions in many people, but anger was usually not one of them. But Ginny was determined to get to the bottom of this situation, one way or the other.
Luna smiled at her. “Of course I know, Ginny; everyone knows. Harry was having trouble with interpreting a Mayan rune, and I was helping him.” She tilted her head. “He really is hopeless at Mayan ruins - much better at Aztec ones.” She nodded and Ginny sighed.
“That’s not what it looked like to … well, a lot of people,” Ginny finished weakly. During her hunt for Harry, she had done some thinking, and well, the people who had seen them weren’t the most reliable sources in the world. It wasn’t like, say, Hermione had seen them. It had been Lavender, and God knows she was a die-hard gossip and not overly concerned with truth-telling.
Damn. She felt herself tearing up again and shook her head angrily.
Luna watched her, and then got up and moved over to put a cool hand on Ginny’s hot cheek. “I’m sorry if it looked like I was trying to flirt with Harry,” she said softly. “I would never do that to you, or to him. I like you both too much.”
Listening to Luna, Ginny knew it was true, and then the tears did start; she had upset Harry, made him feel terrible, and now come here intent on making Luna feel badly too. Some girlfriend and some friend she was.
“Oh Ginny.” Luna was wiping her face with a lemon-scented handkerchief. “This is no place to talk - the walls have ears, you know. Literally,” she added, looking around at the portraits, most of whom were watching them avidly. “Let’s go somewhere private and you can cry, because I can see you need to. I know a good place; come with me.”
Ginny found herself being led down the stairs and out of the Tower, Luna’s hand wrapped around her own.
She was barely registering where they were; all she could think of was that she had probably lost Harry with her jealousy and why would he want someone who flew off the handle over a mere rumor, who believed others before him and who insulted him in front of all their friends?
Luna’s hand tightened around hers and Ginny felt a wave of cool, almost cold air wash over her, and then she was being led out to the Quidditch pitch and up the stairs into the Ravenclaw stands, festooned with silver and blue.
Luna spread out a blanket - where had that come from? And pulled Ginny down beside her. The blanket smelled faintly of the same lemony fragrance as the handkerchief had, and for some reason, that made Ginny cry harder.
Luna didn’t say anything as Ginny wept, just stroked her hair back off her cheeks and shoulders. Her hand was constantly moving, but so gently that it felt like the breeze was calming Ginny, helping her breathing slow and her tears become a trickle instead of a flood.
She started to speak, and the words came tumbling out; how much she loved Harry, how she worried for him, how he was so closed off sometimes, even to her, how every time he kissed her, she was afraid it would be the last. And worse, how she could feel that he feared the same thing.
And Luna listened, because that’s what she did best, and tugged Ginny back to press her back against Luna’s chest so she could rock her as she rested her small pointed chin on Ginny’s shoulder.
~ 0 ~
The night was still, and sounds carried; Harry, laying on his back and staring at the sky, heard the sounds of sobs as if they were right next to him. He tried to ignore them because dammit, he had the right to feel bad and the right to be alone, but after a bit his innate do-gooder self pushed him up and to the edge of the stands to look around.
He preferred the very top of the stands for two reasons; one, no one ever bothered to come up this far, and two, he was nearer his beloved sky. So it wasn’t hard to look around and see the two girls in the stands to his right. A bright red head and a silvery blonde one, close together.
Harry’s brows drew together - what the hell was this?
Silently, he made his way down from the stands, and up through the back of the ‘Claw stands, emerging into the stands several rows above them; Harry was no stranger to stealth. He stayed in the shadows, listening.
“It’s like he … like he’s waiting for it to be the end, Luna, like he expects the world to end any second, and there’s nothing sweet and gentle, only frantic and I know he’s thinking about destiny and war but he shouldn’t be thinking that when we’re together, should he? I feel like I’m a means to an end, but if I say anything, he closes up and withdraws and I don’t know what to do anymore!”
Ginny’s voice was still choked, and Luna touched her shoulder, then her neck and cheek.
“Harry has a weight on his shoulders that we can’t even imagine,” she said softly. “We can try to, of course, and might even succeed, a bit, but not wholly. He is a complicated man, Ginny; you knew that from the start, didn’t you?”
Ginny nodded and bit her lip. “I thought I … I thought he would let me in, me if no one else. But he, God, I don’t even know that he can.”
“Perhaps he can’t, but if that is the case, then you can’t blame yourself, Ginny. You cannot let it make you sad - you’re far too lovely to be sad.”
She brushed her lips against Ginny’s neck then - and meeting no resistance, she licked a light trail up to Ginny’s earlobe, which she sucked.
Ginny’s eyes closed; she was exhausted from crying and venting and crying some more, and the soft, gentle touches seemed to seep into her core and cool it, soothe it. She let her head fall back onto Luna’s shoulder and sighed deeply.
Harry was watching this, his mouth agape, and had barely closed it when Luna’s hand slid up under Ginny’s shirt; he watched the outline of her small hand slide over Ginny’s breast, then under it, judging its weight and fullness.
He swallowed hard; this should be arousing as hell - and it was, to a point - but more than that it was a betrayal. Ginny talked about him not letting her in, and then let someone else touch her like this?
Ginny had turned her face towards Luna now, and in the starlight, Harry saw their lips meet - a soft press at first, and then more firmly, Luna tilting her head.
“Luna - we can’t, this isn’t … Harry …”
“This has nothing to do with Harry, Ginny; just let yourself go, let yourself relax and feel better, feel … loved. Love isn’t wrong, is it Ginny?”
“No, but … “
“No more buts.” Luna was kissing her again, and Ginny let herself fall into the kiss, and didn’t protest as Luna tugged the shirt over Ginny’s head and pressed kisses to the swell of freckled skin that was revealed.
Harry watched the pink lace bra - his favorite - slide off her shoulders and drop to the bench next to them, and then saw the blonde head dip to lick and suck the dark nipples. He could only imagine where the hand he couldn’t see was traveling.
He was achingly hard but he tossed his glasses aside then and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes - but it wasn’t enough.
Hearing Ginny’s sobs had been bad enough, but hearing her moan was a million times worse. She had never, ever moaned that way for him.
Luna’s fingers were tangling in dark red hair, her forefinger sliding into wetness - and then there were two voices moaning, soft sounds that were more piercing than any wail could ever be.
He got up then, his breathing ragged and grabbed his glasses, jamming them on his face; unable to resist, he looked down at the two girls one last time.
Luna, too, was no stranger to stealth, and as Ginny bent her head to bite and suckle Luna’s breast, she looked up at Harry, and in her eyes he saw pity.
And triumph.
Title: Starlight in the Stands
Author: teganscrush
Beta: ripping_rich
Pairing/s: Ginny/Luna, mentions of Harry/Ginny
Rating: Light R
Warning(s) : None
Length: 2,138 words
Summary: Sometimes a thought-of foe turns out to be much, much more.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction set in the Harry Potter universe - all recognizable characters and settings are the property of J. K. Rowling and her associates. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is made from this work. Please observe your local laws with regards to the age-limit and content of this work.
Author's Notes: This version of Luna may seem a bit OOC to some, but I believe that she was a touch more devious than ever given credit for. lunalovepotter, I hope you enjoy!
Starlight In The Stands
His afternoon had not gone quite the way Harry had expected.
He had barely passed an Arithmancy quiz, Snape had scorned his attempt at a Befuddlement Potion and suggested - rather acidly - that he extract a drop of blood from his boon companion, Weasley, and that should do the trick. And then at practice, his attempt at a rolling drop had not gone well, resulting in a nasty tumble and his trousers splitting up the ass.
No, it had not been a good day, but it was over now or at least the worst of it - he hoped. Now he could shower, eat and hopefully get in some cuddle time with Ginny.
He still couldn’t believe they were together, and he had an actual girlfriend, with whom he could count on a warm snuggle and a long snog with. It was a soothing thought.
A thought that was abruptly shattered when said girlfriend glared at him across the dinner table, her eyes narrowing. “What the hell were you thinking, Harry? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Harry looked at her, then glanced from side to side; Ron’s expression plainly said “No idea, mate,” while Hermione’s just as plainly said “Oh Harry, how could you?”
Great; maybe Snape was on to something with that whole Befuddlement thing.
“Ginny, what the hell are you talking about? What did I do?”
She huffed and folded her arms. “You know exactly what you did, Harry James. Don’t sit there and give me that innocent look. I heard from Parvati, who heard from Vicky Frobisher, who heard from Lavender that you were flirting with Luna in Ancient Runes! Don’t deny it!”
Christ, Harry hated the girl’s network at Hogwarts - it never stopped, was always annoying, and usually wrong. Or at least heavily skewed.
“Ginny, I wasn’t flirting with Luna,” he said, making sure he spoke slowly and clearly, and kept his lips in full view at all times. “We were talking about the essay we have due Thursday and that was all.”
Ginny was unconvinced. “She was giving you that look and you were sitting there with this sappy smile on your face, like she was the most fascinating person on the face of the earth. You were seen, Harry, by a lot of people. You two were about a minute away from jumping each other!”
Her cheeks were red, and her voice was getting louder; Harry winced. Ginny showed promise of being as loud as Molly, and if that happened …
“Gin, for God’s sakes, I was not about to jump her, we weren’t flirting and you’re being totally ridiculous. And insulting,” he added a moment later. “I wouldn’t ever cheat on you, and if you think I would, then you’re the one with the problem, not me.”
He wasn’t hungry anymore. He had not given her a single reason to doubt him in the three months they’d been together and for her to just jump all over him for something she herself hadn’t even seen? It was insulting and he pushed his plate away and stood up.
She looked up at him, and her eyes were shiny. “Harry, I’m …”
He just shook his head and left the Great Hall, heading for the Pitch and the Slytherin stands; it was the last place anyone ever thought to look for him.
Ginny stared after him, blinking hard, and everyone else at the Gryffindor table suddenly became very interested in their Shepherd’s Pie.
~ 0 ~
When she couldn’t find Harry, Ginny turned to the next logical person in this situation - a friend let her into Ravenclaw Tower, and she stormed up the stairs to the fifth year girl’s dorm.
Luna was sitting cross-legged on her bed, which she had fitted out as some sort of butterfly-laden spring meadow, and she looked up from her ‘memory book’ when Ginny stopped at the foot of her bed, flushed and angry.
“Hello Ginny,” said Luna sweetly. “Your cheeks look very pretty when they’re pink like that.”
Ugh, thought Ginny. Why did she have to be so damned nice?
“Don’t try and butter me up, Lovegood - what were you doing, flirting with my Harry in class? Don’t you know he’s taken?”
It felt odd to be angry at Luna; she inspired a variety of emotions in many people, but anger was usually not one of them. But Ginny was determined to get to the bottom of this situation, one way or the other.
Luna smiled at her. “Of course I know, Ginny; everyone knows. Harry was having trouble with interpreting a Mayan rune, and I was helping him.” She tilted her head. “He really is hopeless at Mayan ruins - much better at Aztec ones.” She nodded and Ginny sighed.
“That’s not what it looked like to … well, a lot of people,” Ginny finished weakly. During her hunt for Harry, she had done some thinking, and well, the people who had seen them weren’t the most reliable sources in the world. It wasn’t like, say, Hermione had seen them. It had been Lavender, and God knows she was a die-hard gossip and not overly concerned with truth-telling.
Damn. She felt herself tearing up again and shook her head angrily.
Luna watched her, and then got up and moved over to put a cool hand on Ginny’s hot cheek. “I’m sorry if it looked like I was trying to flirt with Harry,” she said softly. “I would never do that to you, or to him. I like you both too much.”
Listening to Luna, Ginny knew it was true, and then the tears did start; she had upset Harry, made him feel terrible, and now come here intent on making Luna feel badly too. Some girlfriend and some friend she was.
“Oh Ginny.” Luna was wiping her face with a lemon-scented handkerchief. “This is no place to talk - the walls have ears, you know. Literally,” she added, looking around at the portraits, most of whom were watching them avidly. “Let’s go somewhere private and you can cry, because I can see you need to. I know a good place; come with me.”
Ginny found herself being led down the stairs and out of the Tower, Luna’s hand wrapped around her own.
She was barely registering where they were; all she could think of was that she had probably lost Harry with her jealousy and why would he want someone who flew off the handle over a mere rumor, who believed others before him and who insulted him in front of all their friends?
Luna’s hand tightened around hers and Ginny felt a wave of cool, almost cold air wash over her, and then she was being led out to the Quidditch pitch and up the stairs into the Ravenclaw stands, festooned with silver and blue.
Luna spread out a blanket - where had that come from? And pulled Ginny down beside her. The blanket smelled faintly of the same lemony fragrance as the handkerchief had, and for some reason, that made Ginny cry harder.
Luna didn’t say anything as Ginny wept, just stroked her hair back off her cheeks and shoulders. Her hand was constantly moving, but so gently that it felt like the breeze was calming Ginny, helping her breathing slow and her tears become a trickle instead of a flood.
She started to speak, and the words came tumbling out; how much she loved Harry, how she worried for him, how he was so closed off sometimes, even to her, how every time he kissed her, she was afraid it would be the last. And worse, how she could feel that he feared the same thing.
And Luna listened, because that’s what she did best, and tugged Ginny back to press her back against Luna’s chest so she could rock her as she rested her small pointed chin on Ginny’s shoulder.
~ 0 ~
The night was still, and sounds carried; Harry, laying on his back and staring at the sky, heard the sounds of sobs as if they were right next to him. He tried to ignore them because dammit, he had the right to feel bad and the right to be alone, but after a bit his innate do-gooder self pushed him up and to the edge of the stands to look around.
He preferred the very top of the stands for two reasons; one, no one ever bothered to come up this far, and two, he was nearer his beloved sky. So it wasn’t hard to look around and see the two girls in the stands to his right. A bright red head and a silvery blonde one, close together.
Harry’s brows drew together - what the hell was this?
Silently, he made his way down from the stands, and up through the back of the ‘Claw stands, emerging into the stands several rows above them; Harry was no stranger to stealth. He stayed in the shadows, listening.
“It’s like he … like he’s waiting for it to be the end, Luna, like he expects the world to end any second, and there’s nothing sweet and gentle, only frantic and I know he’s thinking about destiny and war but he shouldn’t be thinking that when we’re together, should he? I feel like I’m a means to an end, but if I say anything, he closes up and withdraws and I don’t know what to do anymore!”
Ginny’s voice was still choked, and Luna touched her shoulder, then her neck and cheek.
“Harry has a weight on his shoulders that we can’t even imagine,” she said softly. “We can try to, of course, and might even succeed, a bit, but not wholly. He is a complicated man, Ginny; you knew that from the start, didn’t you?”
Ginny nodded and bit her lip. “I thought I … I thought he would let me in, me if no one else. But he, God, I don’t even know that he can.”
“Perhaps he can’t, but if that is the case, then you can’t blame yourself, Ginny. You cannot let it make you sad - you’re far too lovely to be sad.”
She brushed her lips against Ginny’s neck then - and meeting no resistance, she licked a light trail up to Ginny’s earlobe, which she sucked.
Ginny’s eyes closed; she was exhausted from crying and venting and crying some more, and the soft, gentle touches seemed to seep into her core and cool it, soothe it. She let her head fall back onto Luna’s shoulder and sighed deeply.
Harry was watching this, his mouth agape, and had barely closed it when Luna’s hand slid up under Ginny’s shirt; he watched the outline of her small hand slide over Ginny’s breast, then under it, judging its weight and fullness.
He swallowed hard; this should be arousing as hell - and it was, to a point - but more than that it was a betrayal. Ginny talked about him not letting her in, and then let someone else touch her like this?
Ginny had turned her face towards Luna now, and in the starlight, Harry saw their lips meet - a soft press at first, and then more firmly, Luna tilting her head.
“Luna - we can’t, this isn’t … Harry …”
“This has nothing to do with Harry, Ginny; just let yourself go, let yourself relax and feel better, feel … loved. Love isn’t wrong, is it Ginny?”
“No, but … “
“No more buts.” Luna was kissing her again, and Ginny let herself fall into the kiss, and didn’t protest as Luna tugged the shirt over Ginny’s head and pressed kisses to the swell of freckled skin that was revealed.
Harry watched the pink lace bra - his favorite - slide off her shoulders and drop to the bench next to them, and then saw the blonde head dip to lick and suck the dark nipples. He could only imagine where the hand he couldn’t see was traveling.
He was achingly hard but he tossed his glasses aside then and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes - but it wasn’t enough.
Hearing Ginny’s sobs had been bad enough, but hearing her moan was a million times worse. She had never, ever moaned that way for him.
Luna’s fingers were tangling in dark red hair, her forefinger sliding into wetness - and then there were two voices moaning, soft sounds that were more piercing than any wail could ever be.
He got up then, his breathing ragged and grabbed his glasses, jamming them on his face; unable to resist, he looked down at the two girls one last time.
Luna, too, was no stranger to stealth, and as Ginny bent her head to bite and suckle Luna’s breast, she looked up at Harry, and in her eyes he saw pity.
And triumph.