Just to see you smile, I'd do anything
Laughter could be heard all around the halls, in a mocking manner. It doesn’t bother Luna to know they’re laughing at her. She knows she’s weird, oh, well, what people call weird. She has always been a bit of a loose ball, but there's no shame in it.
Right now they’re laughing at her because she has lost her shoes again. It’s a known fact she loses them way too often. The more they laugh, the stronger the voice of her mother speaks to her. “The things we lose always find a way back to us.”
Luna likes to believe her mother was a very wise woman, so she’ll always follow the words she remembers before she died.
As she walks further into the halls, she hears a loud voice. He’s yelling at others to shut up and leave Luna alone. She smiles at his soft side for her, glad to have him as a friend. Draco always reminded her of a bloke her mother used to speak about.
Everyone around her has fallen quiet, quickly leaving the hallways. The hallways are always peaceful when Draco is around. As she makes a turn towards the great hall, she hears him fall into step with her. “Why, hello, Draco, dear. How is today so far?”
Luna loves Draco dearly. He’s an amazing friend, even though she’s also friends with Harry Potter. Draco is always standing up for Luna, even if she doesn’t mind the bullying. He claims she doesn’t deserve it, and that others need to mind their own business. He also rants about her thoughts a lot, and talks about creatures others claim to be fake.
Most of the time they sit in sacred places, so others can’t hear their thoughts being spoken. They spend this time pretending the war doesn’t exist. She knows Draco is scared of purebloods being the only ones in this world, even if he refuses to say it straightforwardly. She also knows he’s secretly amazed by muggle things. Luna knows everyone has a hard life, but she thinks if she had to say who had the hardest life in Hogwarts, it’ll be Draco.
She knows he’s connected to the Black family, as his mother was a Black herself. The Black family was? Is? The strongest and most feared pureblood family, so having a mother AND aunt in his life who was from that bloodline must be hard. So, Luna has decided she’ll always be here for Draco, for a shoulder to lean on. He’ll need it for a lifetime.
She shouldn’t, but she does constantly compare him to the bloke her mother befriended. Regulus Black. He would’ve been Draco’s second cousin. They both have to fight for their worth in their families, but at the same time, they’re lost on the line of believing their parents' views, but being fascinated by muggles. Regulus was also forced onto the wrong side of the war, but he was always spoken about highly. Luna does the same with Draco, she chooses to speak of him highly.
“Hi, Luna. I’m doing fair, and you?”
She smiles, because she knows Draco is a major softy. Luna is one of the very few who he will be soft with, as if he’s an aggressive cat who chose a special someone to pet him. She sees him as a brother, just like his second cousin was to her mother. The world works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it? She guesses Blacks and Lestranges, even with different last names, are meant to find each other. She thinks if she has a child, she’ll want them to find Draco’s child.
“I’m doing well. Quite hungry, are you accompanying me to the great hall?”
“I will be, I’m also hungry. Busy day, innit?”
“Busy indeed.”
..
Pandora is late for breakfast again, seemingly misplacing her shoes. Regulus will understand, since at this point it’s just routine. Sighing, she grabs her things and leaves barefoot. She knows people will judge her. “A Lestrange who’s a Ravenclaw, never wearing shoes!” It’s a daily occurrence. Lestranges are known to always be a Slytherin, but just like Regulus' brother, she broke the tradition.
As she walks down the halls, she hears everyone whispering and giggling. It’s not bothersome, because it tells her who is reliable and who isn’t. Those who laugh at someone for merely nothing, are those who will be the first to sacrifice their closest friend.
They think she’s a little odd, and she agrees, she is. She embraces her feelings and thoughts, unlike everyone else who hides behind shame. She doesn’t judge them, she just wishes they wouldn’t judge her.
Just like every other day, Pandora meets Regulus halfway down to breakfast. She smiles, taking his arm, “Hello Reg. Good morning?” She makes sure to ask him, because everytime someone says good morning to him, he hates it. She would rather give him a door to open about his emotions.
“I guess. It has been pretty peaceful this morning.”
Pandora hums, knowing not to push any further. Years of being the best mate of the Black heir, you learn how to speak to them. He comes from a difficult place, and she wishes no more than to help him. She also knows she’s one of the very few people who he holds a soft spot for.
It’s a few days after summer break, so they’re waiting on his letter from his parents on what he’s supposed to be doing this year. They’re ignoring the fact that he’s walking the halls with the marking of Voldemort on him. She was the one there for him when he had a breakdown about it.
“I must’ve misplaced my shoes last night, are they in your dorm?” She asks this to get them both away from their thoughts. She will need her shoes before classes, and if they’re in Regulus dorm, she could grab them before heading to potions.
“I believe Evan put them on his trunk for you, seeing as you’re his cousin.”
Pandora knows that’s code for “I found them and gave them to Evan, he’s expecting you to swing by the dorm before potions.” She loves both Regulus and her cousin, because they’ll never admit it, but they love her. Evan was supposed to stop talking to her, but they kept their communication in the dorms only.
“Alright, thank you Reg. I’ll go see him before potions.”
..
Luna is sitting in an alcove, reading a book on magical creatures. They are quite interesting and she loves learning all about them. She is on the 23rd page when she’s approached by a group of girls.
Luna is sitting in an alcove when she hears kids passing by. They stop at her, clearly two years above her. They start laughing at her, and mocking her. She just tilts her head at them, confused. Luna is quite a lovely person, so she doesn't understand why people judge before knowing her. It doesn't bother her, it lets her know who's nice and who's not.
They make faces, say rude words, and make fun of the way she speaks. "Oh, my mother once said…" "Things like these are just…" "Did you know this bug is…"
No, it doesn't bother her, but it does bother her friends. So when Ginny comes up to her and hex's one of the girls, they run in fear. Ginny has always been protective of her. "Are you alright, Luna?" She asks with a soft smile. She loves making Ginny smile.
"I'm fine, Gin. What type of hex did you use?" Luna asks with curiosity. She's not one for violence, but she won't tell her friends to stop. She knows violence is an answer to most things with a war raging on. "Just a stinging one." Ginny sits by Luna in the alcove.
Mineva remembers something similar with Severus and Lily.
..
Severus was sitting in the same alcove Luna was. He was enjoying the quiet away from his house, when a few Gryffindors two years older than him came up to him. They were making fun of him. Laughing at him. Mocking him. He doesn't understand why people are so cruel, but he wishes everyone could be at peace.
He chose his side of the war. He knows he'll regret it. He knows whose side of the war. These students are saying things like "Muggles are magic stealers…" "I'm a Slytherin, so I'm…" "These Dark spells are just…"
It doesn't bother him anymore. The thing is, it always bothered Lily. One of his many friends. So when Lily was walking by and saw these boys laughing at Severus, she sent an hex their way. Once they saw who it was, they ran. People feared Lily. Even if she was a muggleborn. "Are you alright, Sev?" She asks softly.
"I'm fine, Lily. What spell was that?" He was curious. He doesn't know why Lily hasn't dropped him yet. He knows he'll have to push her away one day, to save them both. Lily knows these two, but it doesn't stop her from trying. "Oh! Just a stinging hex for the time being!" She says smiling. Severus
is happy he can still make her smile. He makes room for her to sit by him, which she does happily.