A Trek Through Worlds- HARRY POTTER X OC

42.

AN: Welcome to Book 2 bitchesssss! As always, I love you all and I look forward to feedback of any kind. Enjoy!

For the next week, everything would set Effie off. Her hands shook serving every male customer. She flinched so hard when Velma replaced the trash bag that she shattered the glass in her hand. Neither of her coworkers pried or questioned her in any way, which Effie was grateful for. She tried to forget it even happened... but still she scanned the Daily Prophet everyday for the headline she feared: "Two Men Found Dead in Hogsmeade."

When Luna came to visit, Effie was glad for a distraction. They spent her day off from work dancing to music on the radio and baking all kinds of sweets and their night snuggled up by the fire, talking and eating the sweets they had baked. Effie kept a smile on her face and acted interested in all of Luna's stories, but she still didn't feel herself.

"You can tell me, you know?"

Luna's voice cut through the crackling of the fire. The girls were staring into the flames, mesmerized at how they danced.

"Tell you what?"

"What dulled your fire."

"Dulled my fire?" Effie laughed.

Luna nodded.

"Yes," she affirmed. "I love you very dearly Effie, but you are missing your spark. What happened to the fire that made you weaponize baked goods and steal school property? The blaze that ignited you to befriend an outcast such as myself."

Effie shrugged off her questions with a fake smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about Luna."

Luna nodded knowingly, and Effie worried for a moment that she truly did know. After all, Pandora Lovegood - Luna's mother - was theorized to be a powerful seer. Perhaps some of the oddities that her peers attributed to the Loony Lovegood nickname were simply wrongly construed characteristics of a clairvoyant.

"You don't have to talk about anything if you are uncomfortable. Just know that you have me and other people in your life who love you and support you."

"Getting a little deep there, Luna," Effie laughed awkwardly.

Luna was unamused. She simply stared at Effie and for the first time, her silver eyes were void of their typical whimsical spirit. Effie suddenly feared that she was about to be the receiver of Luna's famously blunt honesty.

"You are surrounded by darkness," Luna observed, waving her hand around Effie's head as if dispersing a cloud. "I suspect you are aware of its presence, as you are certainly open-minded enough to recognize it."

Her hand returned to her side, but her eyes remained just adjacent to Effie's head, as if she were hypnotized by the darkness.

"Don't let the shadows smother your flames. It will consume you."

The two girls returned their eyes to the dancing fire and a silence fell over the room. Almost an hour later, Effie finally spoke.

"I won't let it."

She turned to assure her friend, but Luna had already fallen asleep. With a genuine smile, Effie pulled a blanket over Luna and decided that she would also rest. With her eyes closed and a sense of safety settling over her, Effie let the roar of the fire lull her to sleep.

--

The Quidditch Pitch looked beautiful during the summer. As it was not in use, Hagrid did not have to maintain its typically pristine playing condition. The grass had grown tall and wild, creating a mesmerizing effect as it was blown in the wind. Wildflowers and sunflowers had sprouted and Hagrid had even utilized a large space in the corner of the field to grow fruits and vegetables.