A/N: Written for hpfanfic10x10 at livejournal. All comments are appreciated!
Edit 8/15/06: Re-wrote chapter one.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Hands"
Chapter One: Fuzzy
She was wearing her fuzzy jumper, the one that Mrs. Weasley had made her for Christmas. It had a great big "L" on the front and little tiny moons served as polka-dots. It was, in fact, Luna's favorite jumper, even though she had received it only that morning, and she enjoyed wearing it. The sleeves were long, and she was able to bunch them up in her fist and hide her hands. She liked doing that, as she sat by the window, because it made her feel invisible, and she could do anything she wanted when she was invisible.
She could imagine that the snowflakes were talking to her and that the moon was laughing. She could believe that the stars were whispering to her, telling her the darkest secrets of the sky. She could pretend that she was a ghost and she was going to have tea with her mother on Sunday. (Plus, she had read somewhere that certain types of Nargles were sometimes attracted to human hands, and the window was awfully close to the kitchen door, above which hung a sprig of mistletoe.)
Behind Luna, sat Harry and across from Harry sat Ron and to Ron's left, sat Hermione. In between Ron and Harry sat a chess board and in Hermione's lap sat a large book. Luna looked at Harry in the reflection of the window. All she could see was the back of his head, so she moved her gaze towards Ron. He was frowning, his brows furrowed together and his head resting in his hand. She could see the reflection of the fire in his eyes and thought that it looked kind of nice on him. Fire in his eyes . . . .
Luna glanced at Hermione and watched her fingers play with the corner of the book cover, before focusing on her own reflection. "Merlin!" she exclaimed. "My eyes are rather large."
Hermione looked up from her book. "Well, they are a bit . . . round, but . . . ."
"Oh, I don't mind," said Luna. "I like them very much."
"Checkmate," said Ron, sitting back and folding his arms across his chest. He had a smug smile on his face.
"What do you think, Ronald?"
Ron's right eyebrow raised slightly in a silent What?
"Yes, Ronald," said Hermione with a smirk, "what do you think about Luna's eyes?"
"Er . . . ." He swallowed. "They're nice."
"I think you have nice eyes too, Ronald."
"Thanks," he said slowly.
"You're welcome!"
"Right," he said, lowering his eyebrow. "I think I'll go get something to eat. You want something Harry?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I think I'll go to bed."
Ron nodded and looked over to Hermione. She stood up, clutching her book to her chest.
"I think I'll go to bed, too."
The exit of Harry and Hermione, left Ron and Luna alone. He thought about asking her if she wanted to join him for a small snack in the kitchen, but her full attention was back on the window, and he didn't want to disturb her.
The kitchen was dark when he walked in and the door swung shut behind him with a small whoosh of air. He rummaged through the refrigerator until he found some leftovers from that night's Christmas dinner. He picked at those for a few seconds, ate some pudding, and had four large gulps of pumpkin juice before wiping his mouth on his jumper sleeve, feeling much heavier than when he entered the kitchen fifteen minutes earlier. Finished, he pushed the door open and heard a loud bang as the door collided with something hard.
The "something hard" was, unfortunately, Luna's forehead.
She gave a shout of surprise as she fell backwards, as light as a leaf being pushed to the ground by the autumn wind. He reached out to steady her, but she fell too quickly and hit her head on the wood floor.
Her fall produced a surprisingly loud crash and the light flicked on as the bulk of the household gathered around Luna and Ron. Mrs. Weasley saw Luna and gasped, her hand over her heart, as Mr. Weasley rushed forward. Fred, George, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were standing around Mrs. Weasley with equal expressions of alarm and worry on their sleepy faces.
"What happened, Ron?"asked Mr. Weasley. He leaned down to examine Luna's head.
Ron, who was on his knees and leaning over Luna, shook his head. "I accidentally hit her with the door. I didn't mean to. I didn't even know she was there."
"It's alright, Ron. I thinks she's going be fine," said Mr. Weasley, as Luna opened her eyes and blinked a few times.
"Luna? Are you alright?" asked Ron, helping her sit up.
"Yes," she replied, still blinking every few seconds. Her rather large eyes looked clear and observant as usual.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" asked Fred.
She blinked. "Two. I rather like the number two. It's a very nice number. Of course, you know, the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack prefers to travel in packs of two."
Relief washed over everyone and they slowly shuffled off back to their beds.
Ron helped Luna standup, his hand gripped firmly around her arm. She stumbled a little as she took a hesitant step forward.
"Will you be able to make it back to your bed, Luna?" asked Mr. Weasley, placing his hand on her back to steady her.
She nodded, but Mr. Weasley looked a little unsure about her ability to stand up without support.
"I'll help her," said Ron, snaking his hand awkwardly around her waist. "It was my fault anyway."
Mr. Weasley smiled and nodded. "Goodnight kids," he said, making his way back to his bedroom.
Alone now, the silence was piercing, and he felt the insistent urge to apologize.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know you were there."
"It's alright. I didn't know you were there either."
He nodded, and she allowed him to steer her towards Ginny's room. It felt weird to be home again, at the age of twenty, and escorting Luna Lovegood to his little sister's room. It was almost like they were off from school for the Winter Holidays and in the next few days they would return to Hogwarts. In the next few days, however, he would return back home to his flat.
He wondered vaguely where Luna would return to, and he realized that after two years, he never bothered to find out where she lived. He always had the idea that she had remained with her father, and it wasn't like Ron and Luna spent a whole bunch of time together. They would have lunch every now and again with Harry or Ginny and sometimes even Hermione, and naturally they would see each other during special events, like birthdays or holidays. Before she had arrived at the Burrow at the beginning of the week, the last time he had seen her was at his mother's birthday party in October.
She's wearing the same necklace she was then, he thought, followed by, How on earth did I remember that
"So, are you alright now? Still feeling dizzy?" His hand was still around her waist and he felt reluctant to break the contact. Not because her skin was warm and his hand was cold, but because she still looked dazed and dizzy, and he didn't want to feel guilty for causing her to crack her skull open.
She shook her head. "No. I'm fine. Thank you, Ronald."
"Yeah, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
She smiled at him serenely and entered the room, closing the door behind her. He felt strangely shunned, and a little embarrassed that he had to be so clumsy. He shrugged and walked sadly to his room, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
(tbc)
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