Bathwater

The Effects of Nargles

Luna Lovegood was not someone easily frightened or swayed away from things other people thought were odd. Often, these same people thought she was odd, and Luna hardly thought she was anywhere near as fascinating as all the things yet to be discovered in their world. Their hesitance about what was not normal came from fear, but that is where her Ravenclaw heart drew courage from—at the endless possibilities that came from digging deeper, from seeing beyond the surface of one thing to discover a plethora of truth. 

For that reason, Luna had to nudge Cho on the shoulder a half-hour past midnight.

"Blaise, I'm not reading you another bedtime story. Go to sleep," mumbled Cho, swatting Luna's hand off her shoulder. 

"It's Luna," she said, nudging gently again. "Although, I do have an interesting story about a niffler that used to belong to Newt Scamander. The little thing was responsible for the biggest jewelry theft in—"

Cho opened her eyes, a glare already present as she rolled over to look at her house-mate. "Why?"

"Well, you see, nifflers are quite notorious for being attracted to—"

"No, Luna," Cho mumbled again, sleep still threatening to weigh down on her eyelids. "Why are you waking me up? Did someone steal your pillow again?"

Luna shook her head, slowly sitting up on her knees, looking around to make sure the other Ravenclaws were soundly asleep. They were sharing a four-poster, she and Cho, courtesy of the latter's little sister for the sleepover they kindly invited Luna to join. 

"Ginny keeps waking me up."

Cho groaned, pulling herself up on her elbows to scout the dormitory. When she did not see the redhead Gryffindor, she sighed, "Explain, please."

"She's in my head."

With something that sounded like an exasperated curse word, Cho dropped herself back on the four-poster. "All right. What's Weasley saying?"

"That I'm being silly."

"I can agree with her there," mumbled Cho before saying more clearly, "Is this about Thomas?"

Luna nodded, moving the stray blonde hair falling out of her ponytail from her face. "I think Ginny might be right. I've been silly to hide from Dean because I'm scared."

"Why are you scared, Lu?" asked Cho, no more trace of annoyance across her tired eyes. "You love him."

"Isn't that the most terrifying thing?"

Cho was not a stranger to tears. In fact, she knew they were going to surface, her own little waterfalls, always ready to leave trails down her cheeks as evidence that heartache still lived within her. Grief, she knew so well already, was a monster of a different magnitude, but so was love. 

Love opened possibilities for extraordinary things, but was also the gateway for the things that could ultimately destroy all that was built. 

Four years after Cedric Diggory's passing, Cho didn't know if loving him was worth everything that came because of it. 

She could not be frustrated at Luna's hesitance, then. Not when giving away one's heart was a chance game most people were terrified to play.

"It is," Cho murmured, "but Thomas loves you, too, Luna. If you're going to be terrified, be terrified together. You don't have to have everything figured out. Believe me, none of the rest of us do, but at least you, alike Weasley and Harry, or Neville and Hannah, are a step ahead. You already have what the rest of us have to find."

Luna put her hand on Cho's shoulder again, squeezing. Cho moved her own hand over hers, smiling one of those watery-eyed smiles Luna sadly thought were too common on her friend. "You deserve it, too. You know that, right? You just have to let yourself."